CHAPTER ELEVEN

Summary: Hermione Granger, an accomplished witch is working a particularly trying case and is in need of help. Deputy Sheriff Jordan Parrish is a hellhound and just the one she needs. When a fiery witch and a fire-proof supernatural being work together, sparks are sure to fly and Hermione and the Deputy find that they need each other for more than one reason. 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 The Wild Hunt but disregards everything afterwards, so there was no war between the supernatural and humans, there is no Monroe or Gerard and there are no hunters. At least for now! Also, Parrish is 23 and Hermione is 24. Oh, and I'm fudging the time line a bit, too. This will be written mostly in Parrish's POV.

Page count: 8

He felt fabric being wrapped around him and when he opened his eyes and looked down at himself, it was to see him once more wearing his t-shirt but a different pair of jeans than before.

He lifted his eyes to survey his surroundings, glad to see that there appeared to be no damage and nothing had caught fire. Hearing movement, he turned his head slightly towards the kitchen, his eyes widening when he caught sight of Hermione. She looked the same except for her having marks of black soot along her jaw and some on her neck. She had soot on her clothing, but holes looked to have been burnt into her blouse and trousers, but there was still more than enough fabric to keep her modesty.

She slowly approached him with two mugs in her hand and she smiled at him softly.

"He didn't hurt you?" He questioned, sounding surprised even to his own ears.

"No, he didn't hurt me," she confirmed. "Actually, he was really sweet."

He was sure he imagined the blush in her cheeks.

"He was?" He replied, feeling both his eyebrows raising and almost disappearing into his hairline.

"Yes, he was. He said he would never hurt me. We had a little chat and I believe we understand each other, well, mostly, some of what he said was a little jarring and it's still sinking in."

He watched her carefully as she placed the mugs on the coffee table and then took a seat on the couch, kicking off her shoes and pulling her legs up to rest against the cushions. He moved over to the couch, sitting himself down on the opposite side, a single cushion being the only thing that separated them.

"So, Deputy, a deal's a deal, what do you wish to ask me?"

He picked up his mug and settled back against the comfortable couch, turning his body to better face her, and she picked up her own mug and turned to face him, too.

"I've noticed some things," he started, and she gave him a nod of encouragement to keep going. "I don't know how to explain it but you're different. And I don't just mean because of your magic, I can feel the difference in your magic to other witches and wizards."

She bit her lip and titled her head to the side and he had to remind himself to remain focused.

"The others feel like an electrical current, it buzzes and tingles, but you, you feel like fire. Like heat and flames and crackling sparks." He frowned slightly. "And I've noticed that people seem to be not quite afraid of you, but cautious. And I've heard mention of 'your fire' several times by others. You're hot, too."

"Thank you, Deputy," she replied amused, sending him a wink.

"That's not what I meant," his cheeks flushed and she chuckled at him.

"I know, but I couldn't resist. I'm sorry; I'll keep myself in check. Please continue."

He cleared his throat and shuffled slightly. "Your body temperature is hotter than a regular human's, it's not quite as high as my own, but I noticed it. And on the flight during takeoff, your temperature increased and you left soot marks from your hands, as you did on the desk in your office. And I've seen your eyes change colour; I've seen them flash amber when you're angry. So, what I wanted to ask you is, what are you? Why are you different?"

She sipped at her tea, he'd noticed over the time he'd spent with her that she preferred coffee in the morning and during the day, but in the evening she much preferred tea. She nibbled at her lip in thought, he assumed she was deciding whether or not she should tell him the truth or lie to him.

"Your hellhound has noticed also," she spoke, before taking another sip from her mug. "He told me and whilst he may not know why I'm different, he knows that I'm similar to you."

"Meaning?" He asked curiously.

"Meaning, that whilst you are the last of your kind, I am very much the first of mine. There has never before been anything seen quite like me, and for that reason, there is only three people in existence that know of my secret. If it should get out, I suspect I will befall the same fate the hellhounds did."

He leaned closer to her, her words not only worrying him, but also intriguing him. Just what was she hiding?

"I won't tell anyone."

"I know you won't," she spoke, giving him a knowing smile he didn't understand. She took a deep breath and shuffled to get herself more comfortable. "Do you know what a phoenix is?"

"A mythical bird that is said to arise from its ashes," he answered.

"That's the gist of it, but they're not mythical, they're real."

He supposed the news shouldn't have surprised him after learning about giants and dragons and trolls, but it did.

"But they have other abilities, too. Not only do they have incredibly long life-spans, being almost immortal, they have strength that allows them to carry at least four fully grown humans at one time. They can teleport too, and are able to take a human with them. Their tears have healing capabilities that are able to remove most poisonous substances from the body and seal up open wounds. They have the gift of song, and it's known as The Phoenix's Lament. The song is beautiful and sad and fills you with warmth; it fills those that are pure of heart with strength and courage and it strikes those that are impure of heart with fear."

"You've heard it before?" He questioned, picking up on the tone of knowing in her voice.

"Yes, I've heard it before," she confirmed quietly, taking another sip from her mug. "Phoenixes are rarely seen near human civilisation, they live in the wild and they are fiercely loyal creatures and for one to befriend a human is almost unheard of. Albus Dumbledore had a phoenix as a familiar and I suppose that says a lot about his character. Despite his manipulative ways, despite him sending children to war ill-equipped and giving them a mission they had absolutely no idea how to complete, his heart was in the right place and he just wished for the war to be over like the rest of us. When he died it tore the connection he had to his Phoenix, Fawkes, and when that happened, Fawkes was so distraught that he grew ill and he started fading, and this would be for the last time, there would be no regeneration for him. He disappeared after Dumbledore's funeral and no one could find him, we were all worried about him but there was nothing we could do," she explained, a sad tone to her voice.

She downed the last of her tea and placed the empty mug on the coffee table before getting comfortable once more.

"The time of the final battle came and we spent close to twenty-four hours battling for our freedom, I couldn't believe we did it. Despite being outnumbered, despite their forces being older and more knowledgeable than us, we'd won. The battles wound down fairly quickly once the other side realised they'd lost and while some stayed to fight to the death, others fled and became fugitives. I'd been checking the bodies, ensuring that there was no one still alive that needed medical assistance," she spoke, a haunted look crossing her face and he had the urge to comfort her, to protect her from her difficult past.

"Most were inside the castle, collecting the bodies, helping to treat the injured and being treated themselves. The castle grounds were quiet and there were few of us checking the bodies. I'd just discovered the body of a young witch, she'd gotten lost on the way to the dungeons were the underage students where being held for their protection. She'd been caught in the crossfire and there was so much blood nothing would've saved her even if we'd gotten to her in time. In that moment I broke down, all the stress and fear and pain and suffering I'd felt over the years suddenly crashing down on me, I couldn't breathe and I was no longer aware of my surroundings. I was distracted and I didn't notice that someone had crept out of the Forbidden Forest and snuck up behind me."

"The curse struck me and there was nothing I could do to defend myself. It wasn't a particularly strong one but it hurt like hell and I fell to the ground, my blood soaking through my clothing and onto the grass."

Tears fell down her face and she wiped them away as if not wanting him to see them, as if she was ashamed of them, ashamed of showing weakness in front of him. With his heart feeling as though it were being smashed into a thousand pieces and his hellhound's restlessness, he shifted closer to her so her knees brushed against his thigh and he took her hand in his, giving her a gentle squeeze. He could feel the temperature of her hand slowly rising and she didn't pull away from him, which he took as a good sign.

"Despite the pain and the spots in my vision, I found the strength to turn over and three masked figures came into my sight. I didn't know who they were, nothing about them seemed familiar but it was clear to me they were Death Eaters and they planned on not only killing me, but making sure that I suffered first. Everyone knew who I was, everyone knew that the only reason Harry had survived for so long was because I made sure he did. He was The Chosen One, but I was The Brightest Witch of my Age that kept him alive and safe, they hated me as much as they hated him. Through my protection of Harry, their leader had found his downfall."

"In times of great stress and peril, magic can act out instinctively and that's what mine did. My magic protected me, it threw the three men away from me and gave me enough time to stumble to my feet and grab my wand. I tried to get away and signal for help but I wasn't fast enough and a duel broke out, them against me. I fought the best I could but they over powered me and my wand was ripped out of my grasp and I was defenceless with three wands trained on me. I knew what was coming and I closed my eyes, accepting my fate and just wishing that they'd get it over with."

His hand tightened around hers and she winced slightly so he loosened his grip, but barely.

"I heard the words of The Killing Curse and I saw the three beams of neon green light from behind my eyelids. I expected to die, only I didn't. There was this loud screeching sound and when I opened my eyes, I saw Fawkes flying towards me, only he didn't stop like I expected him to. He kept on flying and he ploughed straight into me, knocking me off my feet. The last thing I heard was an explosion and fire burst in front of my eyes."

"When I woke up I was naked and surrounded by fire, and Headmistress McGonagall was kneeling beside me, looking like she might faint. The three Death Eaters, they were dead, their bodies scattered about and burning to ash. Fawkes was nowhere to be seen except for a few of his feathers that were on the ground beside me."

"What happened?" He asked quietly.

She wiped away her tears once more and sniffled. "He saved my life," she whispered. "I was ready to die, I was only eighteen but I had accepted my fate. I hadn't expected to live through the war and so I wasn't afraid of death, but he saved me. When McGonagall gained her bearings, she summoned a blanket and wrapped me up before taking me to the hospital wing, we never told anyone what happened despite the odd circumstances that surrounded me. Once the castle had quieted down and everyone was resting she visited me and explained to me what had happened. She'd been patrolling the grounds and witnessed the duel and she came to help, only she didn't have to. She said that Fawkes had slammed into me and then disappeared in an explosion of bright fire, killing the Death Eaters. Luckily she'd been further away so she hadn't been hurt. Fawkes couldn't be found, and we didn't know why at the time, but over the weeks strange things started happening to me and soon it became clear. We couldn't find him because he was no longer here, he was somewhere else."

"And where was he?"

She brought her free hand up and pressed it against her chest in-between her breasts.

"He's inside of me." His eyebrows rose high in surprise. "We don't know how and we didn't even think it was possible, but when he collided with me, his life force passed into me. The Killing Curse struck me the same time Fawkes did." He frowned in confusion. "I died, Jordan," she said quietly, not only surprising him with her words, but also by the fact she'd called him by his name, she'd never done that before.

"I was dead, but when Fawkes passed into me, I was re-born much like a phoenix. And since that day I've had fire in me, it's the reason behind the strange things you've witnessed. We didn't even know this was possible and it's never been seen before, never in the history of magic and magic's been around for over a millennia. What I am, I'm the first of my kind and probably the last."

He sat back slightly but didn't release her hand as he allowed his mind to catch up with what she had told him, allowing it to process the information and for it to sink in.

"Well, shit!" He cursed and he hardly ever did, which just went to show his surprise.

Hermione laughed at him, breaking some of the tension in the room and he felt a smile pull at his mouth in response.

"That's the craziest thing I've ever heard."

She laughed once more and shook her head before wiping away the last of her tears. "Yes, I'm not surprised, some days I don't even believe it myself."

"Do you have any of the abilities Fawkes did?"

"I'm a little stronger than I once was, but you would hardly notice it. I don't have accelerated healing and as far as I'm aware, I don't have the ability to heal others either. Harry's been injured several times due to his job and other than my basic knowledge of Healing Charms, I couldn't do much for him and he had to go to St. Mungo's hospital. And as far as I'm aware, I don't have the song of the phoenix either. As you know, my body runs at a higher temperature than normal and it tends to get hotter when I'm angry or frightened, and my eyes change colour for the same reason."

"Do you have immortality?" He asked cautiously.

"Maybe," she answered. "We know I died and Fawkes brought me back, but I was working a case a few years back and I was attacked by a werewolf. The bite should've killed me or changed me, but it didn't. The next full moon I was still me, just a witch. When I was found my body was cold and lifeless but the healers didn't know if that was because I was dead or if it is was due to the freezing temperature in the forest and that I'd fallen into a coma, at any rate, by the time I'd gotten to the hospital I was awake."

"But what do you think?"

She looked away from him and down at her hand clasped in his, feeling her mouth twitch, wondering if it was his doing or the hellhound's.

"I think I died," she whispered. "I don't remember anything that happened except for my waking up and being in hospital, so if I do have immortality, I'll be forced to watch everyone I love die, I'll be forced to watch them move on without me and leave me behind."

He gave her hand a gentle squeeze.

"Much like me," he muttered. "We're the same."

"Different but the same," she agreed quietly. "Now you know my secret, was it what you were expecting?"

"No," he laughed, "I thought you were going to say it was due to a potion or spell you used."

She chuckled and shook her head. "If only, Deputy."

"Who knows about you?"

"Headmistress McGonagall as she witnessed it, I told Kingsley as he's a very knowledgeable man and if anyone knew of what had happened to me it would be him, and finally Harry. He's not only my best friend but my little brother, we've been through so much together and during the war we only had each other to rely on since Ronald left us. For a while after the war we struggled to function without each other, but once Harry married Ginny and they had their first child, he was doing much better and I had to get on with things and learn to handle things myself. I wasn't dependent on him but I did need him in a way that I needed his support, much like he needed mine. Harry began to notice my strange behaviour and we brought him in on the secret, I wouldn't have been able to keep it from him anyway. He was always able to see straight through me in a way no one else was."

"You never told Ron?"

"No, he's rubbish at keeping secrets, particular when he's angry. He always finds a reason to be mad at me and when he does, it's not pretty. I couldn't risk telling him something so important, and I swore Harry to secrecy. He usually tells Ron everything but once he understood the circumstances, he agreed it wouldn't be safe to tell Ron."

"No one else knows?"

"No, people are not as observant these days, now that the war is over they have no need to be. Everyone knows I have a temper, I was famous for it well before Fawkes saved me, and that's why they say I have fire. For my temper and my stubbornness and my passion to ensure that all creatures and beings have equal rights, which is why I went straight into the RCMC Department after the war. People expected me to return to school and graduate as I was known for my academic achievements and swottish tendencies, but I couldn't do it. It wasn't the same after what I'd witnessed. I took my final exams outside of school at The Ministry and once I received my results, I'd already been offered a job in the Beings Division. A year after that I was transferred to the Spirits Division, then I spent six month working in The Department of Mysteries, helping them with something I'm sworn to secrecy not to talk about." He raised an eyebrow but didn't interrupt. "I was then transferred to the Beasts Division and six months later, not long after my twenty-first birthday, I was promoted to Department Head, despite not actually being a division head myself, which is why Martin hates me so much. But it wasn't my fault, Kingsley gave the division heads a list of candidates for the job, as well as the Wizengamot, and they were asked to vote for their ideal candidate. I believe it was a landslide decision by the Wizengamot and I received five votes out of eight from the RCMC Department. The next day I was given my own office and ever since I've spent every day proving that I'm good at my job."

"You've had an eventful life," he commented.

She hummed in response and tilted her head back against the couch, her eyes seeming to flutter tiredly.

"So, seeing as we've never had this much time on our hands and we're not working the case, what do you do for fun?"

"Read," she answered without thought.

"No, seriously, what do you do?"

"Read," she repeated and he snorted at her. "Give me a minute," she said, removing her hand from his –they hadn't even realised he still had hold of it- and she stood and disappeared down the corridor, returning minutes later with something in her hand.

She flicked her wand and a bottle of orange liquid and two small glasses levitated from the kitchen and landed on the coffee table and she took her seat once more. Removing the lid from the bottle, she poured a small amount into both glasses and then handed one to him.

"Fire whiskey," she explained, taking a sip from her own glass and wincing slightly at the burn.

He raised an eyebrow before taking a swig from his own glass, coughing in surprise as it burned all the way down his throat and she laughed at him.

"Hell, that's got a kick to it," he breathed out.

She snorted at him. "Some hellhound you are, you can't even take the fire of something we drink on a regular basis."

He narrowed his eyes slightly before bringing the glass back up to his lips and downing the rest of the burning liquid, forcing himself not to wince.

"That's more like it," she smirked, downing her own and then pouring them both another.

She picked up the item from beside her and that's when he noticed it was a deck of cards, which she removed from the box and began shuffling meticulously.

"Let's see if you know how to play," she commented. "And no cheating."

He scoffed. "As if I need to cheat to beat you."

"That's fighting talk, Deputy, I guess we'll see if you're right."

He felt a smirk of his own pulling at his mouth as he watched her deal out the cards for poker. He had a feeling it was going to be a long night.