CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN
Summary: After completing her Masters in Potions and Herbology and adopting her godson, Teddy Lupin, in the wake of his Grandmother's death, Hermione decides a change is in order. She packs up their belongings, says goodbye to their loved ones and moves across the pond to La Push, where she meets a handsome man and his strange friends.
Disclaimer: I do not own canon events and characters, they belong to J.K Rowling and Stephenie Meyers. I am not making a profit from writing and posting this fanfic. As for the descriptions of appearances for the Twilight characters, all my research is based on the books and not the movies.
AN:
Oh how I've been spoiling you with updates this last week. I've even surprised myself and the muse seems to be cooperating a lot more than usual, of which I'm only too happy to take advantage of.
Q&A
MilandaAnza - What's to say she hasn't been doing that, especially with her research? She does spend a lot of time hidden away in her potions lab after all, possibly working on methods of protecting the pack from Edward's mind reading or from Jasper's manipulation of emotions, maybe?. Also, Victoria would've brought The Volturi's attention to her after the war, but she does have a gift of her own, advanced self-preservation which would help her to survive and avoid their tracker, Demetri. But now we're getting into Eclipse and we know The Volturi knew of Victoria's plan to harm Bella, and they did nothing to prevent it either.
BCgurlie – I'm not going to have any of the pack imprinting, I wrote this fic specifically to explore the relationship between Hermione and the wolves, and between Hermione and Sam, so I won't be writing other imprinting occurrences into this fic. So there will be no imprints for Paul, Jared, Quil or Jacob.
Questions regarding Leah will be answered soon.
Sunday 19th March 2006
"Hermione? You alright?"
Hermione's eyes opened and she lifted her forehead from leaning against the cupboard door and looked over her shoulder, seeing a worried Paul.
She let out a sigh and a tired smile pulled at her face. "I'm fine Paul, just tired," she assured him. "Would you mind getting me an Invigoration Draught, I'm going need it today?"
He nodded and with a worried frown still on his face, he turned and left out the kitchen. She turned around and leaned back against the counter, rubbing at her tired eyes with a hand, only to see the rest of the pack gathered around the breakfast bar and watching her worriedly, too.
"I'm fine, boys, honestly," she promised, before turning back around and turning her attention to making her morning cup of tea and the others' morning coffees.
She'd spent most of the night sat with Seth in front of the fire, telling him of her past and the existence of magic, and despite her having wanting to wait until he'd gotten some sleep, it had been worth it to see the sadness in him being replaced by smiles and wonder.
He'd kept her up most of the night with his inquisitiveness about magic and her abilities, about why he felt so comfortable around her. He'd asked more questions about being a wolf and being part of the pack and she'd answered the questions she could and told him to speak to the pack about things she wasn't able to answer. And before she'd finally convinced him to go to bed, she'd given him a haircut.
By the time they both retired to bed to get some sleep, it was the early hours of the morning. As she had made her way to her bedroom, Embry and Paul had arrived home, explaining that Sam had stayed with Billy until it was his turn for patrols, and Jared left to join him. She would've laughed at the look on Paul's face at discovering they had an almost member of the pack if she hadn't been so tired.
Sam had woken her around dawn, climbing into bed and pulling her firmly against him and they both fell asleep for a few more hours, both being grateful that it was the weekend and the boys tended to sleep longer. It was Jacob that woke them, him being the first to emerge from his shared room with Quil and he collected Teddy from his room.
Despite still being tired, Hermione dragged herself from bed and dressed for the day and she and Sam headed down stairs, making a start on preparing breakfast for the pack. Once the smell of bacon filled the house, Embry, Quil, Paul and Jared soon made an appearance. The only one missing being Seth, but that was understandable.
She shook her head and levitated their morning beverages over to the breakfast bar and when Paul returned with her potion, she dumped it into her tea and took a sip of the hot liquid, immediately feeling her energy levels rising and she saw their looks of worry fade.
"So, Seth," Quil spoke from his place sat on a stool and helping Teddy to take a sip of orange juice from his glass as he sat on his lap.
Hermione sighed and a sad look crossed her face. "He's going to need us," she spoke. "He's going through a lot at the moment, especially with Harry," she said sadly, and they all fell quiet in a moment of respect for The Council member. "I'm not sure how to go about this," she admitted.
"What'd you mean?" Jacob asked, passing a slice of toast to Teddy and then turning his eyes to her.
She bit her lip. "I'm not sure how to treat him, or how you should treat him. Obviously he's going to need your help and it'll likely be a lot harder for him than it was for you all, given what he's going through. Do we treat him as we would anyone else? Teasing and taunting him good naturedly? Do we treat him with kid gloves, watching everything we do and say around him? Do we give him his space or surround him with our presence?"
They all frowned, realising that she had a point. None of them had been in the position Seth was in, and none of them had had to deal with someone in his position either.
"I'm sure he'll tell us what he needs," Sam spoke up, moving to stand behind Hermione and wrapping his arms around her, she leaned back against him and sighed as he rested his chin against her shoulder.
Their attention was drawn when a ringing sound was heard and Jacob frowned, shifting his hand to his pocket and pulling out his mobile phone. And although it was ringing, it seemed to cut off only to start again.
"Outside?" He questioned.
"Afraid so, I'm surprised it's actually ringing at all," Hermione said.
Jacob nodded and quickly left the kitchen, heading outside and away from the house until he had a signal, and the others fell back into conversation until he returned moments later, a sad look on his face.
They all turned to look at him and he opened his mouth but words didn't escape. Hermione's eyes fell shut and she brought her hands up to grip Sam's arms that were still wrapped around her. She just knew.
"Billy?" She questioned sadly.
Jacob nodded, and the atmosphere in the room plummeted as they all knew that it had happened.
Harry Clearwater had died.
No one had much of an appetite after learning the news of Harry's death, so after quickly cleaning up the kitchen, they all moved to the living room and talked amongst each other quietly, the boys mainly retelling stories and memories of Harry from when they were children. Paul, Quil and Jacob were sat on the floor keeping Teddy entertained, Embry and Jared spoke between each other on a couch and Hermione and Sam were on the couch opposite.
Sam had laid himself out and Hermione was laid beside him, being pressed against the back of the couch and his side as his arms held her to him and she rested her head against his chest, silently watching her pack as tears fell down her face.
"He wouldn't let me help him," she whispered. "I could've contacted a healer and had them take over his treatment and all of this could've been avoided. He wouldn't let me."
Sam placed a kiss to her forehead and his hand slipped below her t-shirt to rest against the small of her back, his fingers tracing soothing patterns.
"That was his choice, Hermione." He said softly. "If he felt that he was ready and it was his time, there was nothing you could do to change his mind. He thought it was for the best and you can't argue over that fact and you can't blame yourself either. It was what he wanted and we have to respect his wishes."
"I know, but I still hate it."
He didn't reply but he did press another kiss to her forehead and she lifted her hand and wiped away the tears falling down her face. They all startled as a door from above them was suddenly slammed against the wall and footsteps could be heard pounding down the stairs, before Seth came rushing into the living room, wearing nothing but pyjama bottoms and a panicked look on his face.
Hermione and Sam both sat up instantly and stood from the couch and the others turned to look at him, Paul quickly intervening and stopping Teddy from running over to their new soon to be pack mate.
"What's happening to me?" Seth asked, sounding terrified and he lifted his hands out and away from his body, showcasing that they were shaking uncontrollably.
Everyone shared a look of surprise at what they witnessing, after all, they'd never actually witnessed someone go through their first phase.
"Seth, I think you're going through the final stages of the transformation," she spoke softly, moving to approach him but Sam held her back.
Of course Sam knew that no one in the pack would hurt her, but if she was close when someone phased, she could get accidentally injured. He wasn't risking it.
"Your body's about change," Sam spoke, his deep voice drawing the attention of the scared teen and his frightened eyes snapped to him. "It doesn't hurt," Sam assured him. "There's no pain involved in the transformation, you might feel a little dizzy, but you'll be a wolf before you even realise you've changed."
"Maybe you should all change," Hermione spoke, her eyes looking to her pack and they all nodded in agreement.
Paul handed Teddy to Hermione and she made sure to have a tight hold of him so she couldn't drop him as he struggled against her, wanting to be put down. She pulled her wand and with a few whispered words, all of the furniture in the room suddenly shrunk down and moved to sit on the kitchen counter, leaving a large empty room that would easily fit the many wolves it was about to cater to.
Several moments later, clothes were removed and five giant wolves were lying on the ground, watching and waiting for Seth to phase, too. With them all in their wolf forms, they would be able to communicate with him and hopefully it would be able to calm him. Sam remained stood beside her, speaking to Seth calmly and Teddy was wriggling furiously, on the very verge of throwing a tantrum at not being able to run between the wolves. She could see it; his hair was slowly turning red as were his eyebrows and his face pulled into an angry scowl.
Hermione turned her eyes to Seth, seeing that now his entire body was shaking and his hands were clenched into tight fists, trying to stop it.
"Seth, don't fight it. Let it take you, you're pack now and we take care of each other. We won't let anything happen to you. Look, your pack's waiting for you," she said softly, gesturing to the group of differently coloured wolves, all laying on the ground on their stomachs with their heads resting on their front paws and watching Seth carefully. "We're your family."
His jaw ticked and he took a steady breath and nodded and then before her eyes, his clothes ripped from his body and he phased. Sam immediately stepped in front of her as a barrier of protection. Hermione gasped loudly when a fiery pain shot through her, searing at her back and she collapsed to the ground, Sam quickly catching both her and Teddy and holding her up. She didn't need to look to know Seth's name would be on her back along with the others and she did her best to control her breathing whilst the pain faded. Sam was watching her worriedly, as were her wolves and when she heard the patters against the floor, she moved away from Sam's hold and stepped around him, where a smile found its way onto her face.
She handed the angry toddler to Sam and moved over to Seth, stopping in front of him. He lowered his head so their eyes could meet and she lifted her hand to rest against his face. A whine tore from him and he collapsed onto the floor and Hermione followed him, moving to sit beside him and leaning against him as she wrapped her arms around the large wolf's neck and pressed her face into his soft fur.
"Welcome home, Seth," she said quietly.
The rest of the pack shuffled closer to him, almost creating a circle around him and encasing him and Hermione in the centre of them. Hermione lifted her head and caught Sam's gaze and he sent her a soft, proud look before finally putting Teddy down on the ground.
The toddler squealed in delight and his hair changed back to his usual blonde, and he did his best to clamber over the wolves and get to the centre of the circle, the wolves letting out wheezes and barks of amusement.
Seth lifted his head when he felt the tugging on his fur and he was immediately caught in the gaze of grass green eyes. Teddy grinned at him widely and titled his head back to look up at him.
"Seth, you remember Teddy," Hermione told him. "Teddy is going to help you, trust me, he's very good at this. And all the wolves adore him." Hermione turned to Teddy and gently tugged him over to her. "Teddy, this is Seth."
Teddy's grin widened. "S..SEF!" He squealed excitedly before he jumped at him, burrowing himself under Seth's head and against his chest, wrapping himself around his leg. Hermione smiled at the sight; she would never not love how much he adored the pack.
"We're going to sit here and stay with you until you're able to change back. It may take hours, it could take days. It doesn't matter, but we're not leaving you. I've warned you about the mind link and now the boys will take over."
Hermione saw the large wolf visibly startle and a smile pulled at her mouth when she heard the wheezing of the pack, unsuccessfully hiding their amusement at scaring their new pack member as they communicated with him for the first time as wolves.
"By the way," she spoke, and he turned his large head to look at her. "Sandy." He tilted his head to the side in confusion and she smiled at him. "Your fur, it's a sandy colour."
It had barely taken a few hours for Seth to change back to his human form which had surprised everyone. Given his circumstances, they'd expected for it be difficult for him but he'd proved them wrong.
Once Hermione had summoned him some clothing and he pulled them on in embarrassment, he pulled her into a tight hug. She didn't have to tell him about his father, he already knew. She didn't know how, but he did.
He didn't cry, he didn't show anger or grief, he just smiled at her sadly, having accepted it and he'd already said his goodbyes. She supposed he must've known it was coming; Harry had had heart problems for a while so they must've been prepared for the worse, and whilst that didn't make things any easier, it did allow him the chance to come to terms with it.
The rest of the pack phased back, too, and after dressing, they all left to give her and Seth some privacy to talk.
"How are you feeling?" She asked him, pulling back and her eyes sweeping his face.
"I'm not sure, I feel different but the same," he frowned slightly. "I feel like me, but not. I can't explain it." He shook his head, and a small smile appeared on his face. "I'm a wolf."
She smiled at him. "You're a wolf," she confirmed. "Until you learn to control your abilities you won't be attending school along with Jacob and Quil. Your phasing is very easy to trigger, you need to learn to control not only that, but you're emotions, too, to stop you from accidentally phasing. Embry returned to school not too long ago and we think Jacob will be safe to do so in a week or so."
They both looked down when they heard a laugh and Seth felt a tugging on his clothing, and it was to see Teddy grinning up at him and wrapping himself around his leg tightly. Hermione chuckled and bent down to pry the small child off his leg and she settled him on her hip.
"Before we do anything else, let's have lunch. What do you say, Teddy, are you hungry?" He nodded furiously and Hermione laughed at him and Seth's mouth twitched in amusement. "Alright, we'll have lunch and then it's nap time."
"No," the toddler scowled, stubbornly crossing his arms over his chest. "Me no tired, me wanna play with S-Sef!"
Hermione raised an eyebrow and then turned to look at Seth, who looked to be trying to hide his laughter, but his shoulders shook making him unsuccessful.
"Alright, but you still need nap time today," Hermione told the toddler. "Come on then, let's make lunch and you can help me," she said, handing Teddy over to Seth when he reached out for him, and Seth followed Hermione to the kitchen.
"Er, Hermione?" Seth said, his voice distracted and surprised whilst she sent the furniture back to the living room and resized it.
"Yes?" She questioned, turning to look over her shoulder as she moved to busy herself with digging through the cupboards, deciding on what to make for lunch.
She laughed when she saw the wide eyed look on Seth's face, the reason being that Teddy had changed his appearance to match his own. Hearing her laughter, Seth tore his eyes away from the toddler perched on his hip and to her.
"I know you said he could change his appearance but..."
"But it's surprising to see him actually do it," she finished for him, the amusement still in her tone when he nodded silently, once more staring at Teddy. "You'll get used to it."
"I don't think I will," he said distractedly.
They heard snorts of amusement and turned to look behind them, seeing the entire pack entering the room and they swarmed around the breakfast bar whilst Sam came to stand beside her, wrapping his arm around her shoulders and pulling her into his side. Hermione watched with a smile on her face as the pack immediately pulled Seth into conversation, laughing and poking fun at him.
Hermione was a little worried that it would upset him, but he took it all without complaint, a large smile pulling at his mouth when Paul shoved Embry for insulting him and Jared slapped Paul over the back of the head, as Embry fell into him.
"Don't get used to it, Pup," Paul said, putting his hands in his pockets and leaning back against the breakfast bar.
"What?" Seth frowned slightly, and seeing the smirk on Paul's face, Hermione got the feeling she knew where the conversation was about to go, and she was right, both she and Sam watching the pack in amusement.
"Teddy," he nodded to the child that was perched on his lap now that Seth had taken a seat on a stool. "I'm his favourite," he said smugly and the rest of the pack rolled their eyes and snorted at him. "Once he's worked his magic and you're settled in, he'll come back to me."
"Ignore him," Embry spoke. "He's just jealous."
"I'm not, watch," Paul replied.
Paul removed his hands from his pockets and held them out to Teddy. The child looked up from amusing himself by clapping Seth's hands together and a wide smile appeared on his face.
"Ball," he squealed happily, lifting his arms up in request to be picked up.
Paul reached over and scooped Teddy up from Seth's lap and he sent a smug look to the others when Teddy wrapped his arms around Paul's neck and pressed a sloppy kiss to his cheek, only for the others to start laughing when Teddy reached out to Seth, wanting to be with him again.
Hermione chuckled at shook her head, pulling away from Sam and turning back to the cupboards, rummaging through her food stores whilst she listened to the pack's laughing and teasing of each other. She snuck a look over her shoulder, seeing Seth smiling and laughing, too.
"He's going to be fine," Sam said softly from beside her. She turned her head to look at him. "He's going to be fine," he repeated after seeing the worried look on her face.
She took a breath and nodded. "He's going to be fine," she parroted, her eyes briefly moving to the laughing teen. "Right, let's get started on lunch."
"Is there brownies?" Paul piped up.
She turned to look at him with an amused look on her face. "Do you want brownies?"
"I always want brownies," he shrugged.
She snorted at him. "If you don't make any wolf-pup training jokes for the rest of the day, I'll make brownies for after dinner."
"I guess no one's getting brownies," Jacob spoke. "He can't go five minutes without doing so."
"I can," Paul protested.
"You can't," Quil said.
"Yes, I can, I just choose not to."
"If you say so," Embry shrugged.
Paul scowled. "I'm going to prove you all wrong and when I do, I'm going to eat every single brownie so none of you can have one."
"Good luck, you're going to need it," Jacob said.
"Shut it, puppy pads!"
"And you've failed," Jared said amused.
"Damn it!" Paul cursed.
"Language!" Hermione scolded, throwing a cloth and it smacking Paul at the side of the head.
Tuesday 21st March 2006
Hermione had just emerged from her potions lab after spending the last three hours completing a large potions order for the hospital. She made her way through the house and up to her bedroom where she quickly showered and dried and changed into some clean clothing, before she went down to the kitchen to prepare dinner.
The house was empty of everyone but her; Embry was at school, Sam and Paul were both at the office since they had a few meetings that day with potential clients, and Jared was off in the woods with Jacob, Quil, Seth and Teddy, helping them with their phasing. It was mainly for the two newer wolves since Jacob had all but mastered his phasing and abilities by this point, but a little more practice couldn't hurt.
In the two days that had passed Seth had settled into his new role as a wolf a lot quicker than anyone else had, and although it was clear that the death of his father had affected him, the spark within him hadn't dimmed once. He took everything in stride, the comments and teasing, his abilities and him being a wolf and living in a house with several others that were just like him. Whatever his father had said to him before they'd left the hospital had helped him.
In the last two days, Seth had only had two accidental phases and not only was Hermione impressed by his quick grasp of control over his phasing, so was the rest of the pack. No one had gained control of themselves as quick as Seth seemed to have. With the way he was going, Hermione estimated he'd be back as school within a matter of a few weeks, probably less. He was doing better than Quil and he'd been a wolf longer and even he was still struggling.
Hermione shook her head of her thoughts and with a flick of her wand, she had the pots and pans levitating about the room and moving to where she wanted them, and she did the same with the ingredients, intending to make a beef stew with dumplings and for desert chocolate chips muffins, which Seth had shyly asked for, and she was all too happy to do so for him.
As she spelled the knives to cut the vegetables for her whilst she got started on the dumplings, her eyes looked upwards and a smile pulled at her mouth. Earlier that morning, not long after the pack had left the house, the newly added floor had finally been finished and Hermione had spent a little time unshrinking the newly bough furniture and placing them in each room.
The new third floor now held another bathroom and four new bedrooms, two of which now belonged to Quil and Seth, so Jacob and Jared could have their bedrooms back to themselves. They hadn't been decorated as Hermione would do so at a later date, but they had the essentials of a large bed that would accommodate their large frames, a bedside table, a chest of drawers and a wardrobe, and finally a study desk and comfortable chair. None of the pack knew that the floor was ready and she was going to surprise them with the news when they had all returned to the house. She couldn't keep the smile off her face, thinking of how the pack had grown and she just knew it would continue to do so.
Hearing a knock on the door, Hermione stepped away from the counter and washed her hands in the sink before leaving the kitchen and moving to the open the door, her eyes widening in surprise when she saw who was on the other side.
Someone she never thought she'd see on her door step.