Savin' Me

Mini Chapter 2

Chapter 24a

Emmett watched as his door closed softly and when he was sure she was out of earshot he dropped to his bed exhausted. His arms and legs felt like the heaviest iron, if Hermione hadn't left when she did, he would have surely dropped to the ground in front of her.

Placing his thumb and his index finger against the bridge of his nose he tried, in vain, to stop his mind from racing so quickly. Though Hermione had fully explained what had transpired in the woods today, Emmett was still unsure what all of this meant. Even when things were completely clear with Hermione, he still had more questions than answers. Though Emmett had spent a lot of time on this earth, he had never once encountered a witch or a wizard.

In all honestly, it seemed like a strange thing to believe, witches and wizards. It was as if, somewhere in the last twenty minutes of his life, he'd stepped into a fable book. Even thought he was a Vampire and he was fully aware that shape shifting Native American's existed, it was still hard to believe in witches and wizards, and magic. It was easy to nod his head and be sympathetic when Hermione was explaining it, but now as he sat staring at the his ceiling trying to wrap his head around everything, it seemed farfetched.

In that moment Emmett felt a strong urge to change the color of the ceiling to something more stimulating. People said white was supposed to clear the mind and help you sleep, but right now it only served as a projection screen for his memories.

Right before his eyes he played out every moment with Hermione, he tried desperately to find any moment in time that could possibly corroborate her story. One particular memory stood out to him. It was recent so it was by far the most vivid.

The day he'd brought Hermione to the house after her episode, Esme had cajoled Hermione into agreeing to stay for lunch and Rosalie had put on the most embarrassing show. Emmett remembered the feel of the hair standing on the back of his neck and arms as Hermione became increasing agitated by Rosalie's behavior. He remembered the warning bells that rung in his ears telling him to take a few steps back and warning him of the present danger.

The memory of the chair sliding out from under Hermione as if moved by an unseen for jolted Emmett into an up right position. He hissed when something in his pocket dug into his hip, being shoved out of his pocket by the sudden movement. Leaning back, he pulled from his pocket the strange baton like object that had fallen from Hermione's grasp. Once again, Emmett was amazed at how much it reminded him of Hermione.

As morbid as it sounded, as he sat there holding the baton like object, Emmett felt as if he was holding Hermione's heart in his hand.

The object had a low pulse that danced across his skin and made the hair on the back of his arms and neck stand. He wasn't sure what possessed him, but he lifted the wood to his nose and inhaled. Though Hermione's scent was there it was subtle, the dominant scent was spicy. It smelled like dew and the forest after it rained. The smell filtered through his nostrils, and slid across his taste buds. The spice was so over powering for a moment he felt intoxicated.

It was familiar, it was the same spice he smelt when he'd first seen Hermione. It had mingled with her sweet aroma perfectly. Emmett had differentiated between the scents, because even thought the spice was present, it was obviously a separate scent, one that was Hermione's but wasn't. That spice came from this object.

The baton like item was outstretched in front of him, as he lay back on his mattress to get a better look at it. The more he held the item the closer he felt to Hermione. Tilting his head to side, he rolled the object between his fingers. "What stories do you have to tell me?"

Scratches peppered the length of the baton, and there were a multitude of chips across the wooden surface. It definitely reminded him of Hermione. Coved with scars, cloaked in mystery, silent, yet strong, holding some unknown power that he couldn't even begin to understand. This object had seen quite a bit and even thought it could not talk, it spoke volumes. The way Hermione's scent clung to it, told Emmett that object was always close to her. The state of its care, clean yet damaged, told him that the object was so important to her that regardless of its damaged appearance, she cleaned it and took care of it. The fact that she takes the time to clean the object instead of getting it repaired, which he sure could easily be done with a sander, told Emmett that the chips and scratches held some significance to Hermione, they reminded her of something she should not forget.

Something told him this object was unique to her, and her alone, as if it were made just for her.

This wasn't an object she left around flippantly; it was a companion.

If his natural warning signals were any indication, Emmett might even think the object was some sort of weapon.

Then things started to make a little bit of sense. Shifting into a sitting position, his eyes widened as they stared down at the object. Things that seemed to be unrelated were starting to create a picture that made Hermione's story more and more real.

The two mingling scents, the identical prickle against his skin, the warning bells, the moving chair, Hermione's uncanny habit of reaching toward her left side when she felt like she was in danger, and even the fact that Edward could not read her mind.

As unbelievable as it sounded, she was really a witch.

The day in the car on Halloween surfaced in his mind. That feeling that she was telling him something, something important, had not been misplaced. She'd confessed to him that day, but he hadn't had enough knowledge about her to truly comprehend the meaning of her words.

For the next few moments Emmett sat slack jawed, running his fingers across the object. A witch and a vampire, what were the odds, he laughed. It was no wonder why he never felt like he could truly hurt her, and then a part of him wondered what Nathan Blackthrone looked like right now.

If he weren't furious with the young man, he would have felt sympathy for him. Hermione was not only passionate, but observant, resourceful, and intelligent. He was sure her hyper vigilance was put to good use.

The thought made him smirk.

Anyone would have been sore that something so monumental had gone unsaid, hidden actually. But Hermione's off-handed way of tell him she knew he was vampire rung something in his chest. Though he couldn't be sure of how long she'd known, her feelings toward him were made clear by the fact that she had not left. She'd even risked her life by continuing to be close to him, regardless of what Nathan Blackthrone had threatened.

Hermione came her to warn them, to protect him.

Even thought she'd deliberately not told him she was a witch or that she knew he was a vampire, it made these things seem inconsequential. Not so unimportant that they did not bear mentioning, because had Emmett to do it over, he would have liked to sit down and have the conversation differently, but not important enough to stop her from seeking an intimate relationship with him. A relationship in which she shared, deep and troubling secrets with him, one in which she knowingly allowed her self to be put in danger, one in which she chose to forsake whatever she'd knew or heard or read about vampires to be with him.

That greatly out weighted whatever resentment, or anger Emmett could ever feel.

None of the things he'd just spent the last several minutes agonizing about had changed how Emmett felt toward Hermione. Being a witch did not change the fact that she was vibrant, understanding, intelligent, and, to him, beautiful. When it came down to it, Hermione was still the same girl. He didn't like her because she was a normal human girl. He specifically went out of his way to talk to her because she was different, and now he had a better understanding of why.

Him being a vampire had not been a determining factor in their relationship and neither should she being a witch. This information only added a new dimension to Hermione, a dimension he would have to spend time exploring and getting to know.

He smirked, twirling the baton between his fingers, time with Hermione sounded great after the long weekend.

Now the Blackthrone business was entirely different. That was a situation that needed to be taken care of before things got too out of hand.

TBC

This chapter went in a completely different direction than I originally planned. Hmmm. I hope you enjoyed it.

Life update: I started my first (post-grad) job this week! I've never been so tired in my life. 40 hrs a week is the pits! But what can one do! I hope my writing doesn't take too much of a hit! We'll see.

XOXO

Ash