CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT
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
I hadn't planned on posting this so soon, but seeing as it's ready and you guys have been so good with views and you've been very generous with reviews, I thought I'd post it early for you all. Let's see if your theories are correct regarding the identity of the mysterious visitor, and what do they want?
Q&A
Nanyin – You don't have long to wait, we're now moving into Eclipse so it will be happening soon. And we'll see how a werewolf Hermione handles The Cullens, if she hates Bella so much I can only imagine how was will react to the coven, especially since werewolves and vampires are natural enemies.
Pclauink - I'm working on it, I promise, but the muse doesn't wish to cooperate with Save Me My Wolf, despite there only being two chapters left until it is completed, but I haven't given up and I won't either. I will get it done as soon as I can.
Tuesday 21st March 2006
"Leah? What are you doing here?" Hermione asked, unable to hide the surprise in her voice.
Leah looked down at the ground and shuffled on her feet, her hands stuffed into the pockets of her jacket nervously.
"Mom said I needed to come here," she said quietly, refusing to meet her eyes.
"Why?"
Leah took a breath and finally looked at her. Hermione's eyes travelled her frame, seeing her dark hair being pulled back from her face messily, dark bruises under her eyes and her eyes a little blood shot. She also noticed the way that Leah seemed to be slightly taller than she remembered her being and she was hunched over slightly. Her magic immediately flared up in understanding.
"What do you know?" Hermione asked her.
"Everything," Leah spoke. "I know everything, and mom told me that I had to come here, to you, she said you would know what to do."
Hermione's eyes held her gaze, before she nodded and opened the door wider in invitation. Leah stepped into the house, her eyes taking in her surroundings curiously as she followed Hermione into the kitchen. Hermione gestured to the breakfast bar and Leah silently took a seat whilst Hermione checked on the large pot on the stove, and then switched on the kettle to make a cup of tea. Once done, she placed the mugs on the breakfast bar and stood opposite Leah.
"Mom said Seth's gone through the change already," Leah spoke, breaking the silence and holding the mug between both of her hands, staring down at the steam that left the hot liquid.
"He has, he had his first phase Sunday morning and since he's been doing remarkably well with learning to control his abilities. He's with some of the pack in the woods, despite how well he's doing, he still hasn't mastered his control and he needs to continue practicing before he can return to school."
"How's he doing?" She asked quietly.
"A lot better than I thought he would be. Before I brought him here he spoke with your father and whatever he said to Seth seems to have helped him accept the changes that were to come in his life. Over the last few days he's had his quiet moments where he seems to be withdrawn, but mostly he's laughing and smiling, joining in with the pack and becoming accustomed to being a wolf. He's taken to it better than anyone, which is probably why he's doing so well. He's accepted what's happened to him and he's excited about being a wolf, about having a pack and a family that understands him better than anyone." Leah shifted in her seat and brought the mug to her mouth, taking a sip of tea. "How are you doing?" Hermione asked.
"Fine," she muttered.
"Nice try, how are you doing, and this time, don't lie to me?"
Leah lifted her eyes to Hermione and she opened her mouth to respond before she frowned. "I can't lie to you," she said, sounding confused. "Why can't I lie to you?"
"It's the bond, you're going through the change like the others but you're different, as far as I'm aware, there's never been a female wolf before, but anyway, I'm technically the Alpha Female of the pack and as such, it's my responsibility to protect the pack and keep them safe, to love them and be anything they need, whether it be a mother, sister, or friend. Since you're going through the change and I know you are because I can not only see it, but feel it, too, that bond's carrying over to you. So, tell me the truth, how are you doing?"
"Not good," Leah admitted, a slight crack to her voice and Hermione could see that she was trying to hold back her tears. "We knew it was coming but still..."
"It doesn't make it any easier," Hermione finished for her softly. "I get it, I do."
Leah sniffled, wiping her nose with the sleeve of her jacket. "I guess you do," she replied. She looked down at the mug in her hands and then back to Hermione. "I'm sorry."
Hermione raised an eyebrow in question as she took a sip from her own mug. "About?"
"For everything. For the way I treated you at the bonfire all those months ago." Hermione felt surprise fill her and Leah gave a chuckle at the look on her face. "You didn't deserve the things I said, I was just angry and upset about Sam and I never should've taken it out on you." Hermione blinked dumbly, having no response. "If I'm being honest, things weren't good between us for a while even before Sam broke up with me. I didn't want to admit to myself that things between us weren't great so when I saw him with you, being so happy, I found it easier to take it out on you than to accept things. I've since come to realise that I was in the wrong and I'm really sorry. I was a bitch and I never should've said the things to you that I did. What you did for your Godson, taking custody of him and raising him despite your age, it shows a lot of courage and selflessness and I could never do what you've done. And what I said about you moving on, you were right, I had no right to be so judgemental."
Hermione blinked several times before she cleared her throat and pushed her hair back from her face and over her shoulder. "Well thank you, and I accept your apology." It looked as though a weight had been lifted off her as Leah's shoulders slumped forward and she breathed out deeply. "So you're not going to be a bitch then?"
Leah's mouth twitched in amusement. "I'm probably still going to be a bit of a bitch, it's hard to break habits, but it won't be aimed at you, probably the others, it's my understanding that I'm to stay here with you. And I don't think I can take you on, you all but destroyed me last time."
Hermione chuckled and nodded her head. "Yes, you'll have to stay here, and I'm glad I've finally got another female here, I'm surrounded so many boys I'm starting to lose my mind, unfortunately for you, you'll have to share a bathroom."
Leah shrugged. "I've shared a bathroom with Seth for years."
"Well, you arrived just in time. Construction on the third floor was completed this morning so you get first pick of the bedrooms, but you'll be on the same floor as Seth and Quil. Quil's been sharing with Jacob for the last week and Jared moved into Paul's room to give Seth some space," Hermione explained. "Let's go," she said.
She gestured for Leah to follow her through the house and up the stairs, with Hermione pointing out each room as a way of a tour before they finally reached the third floor, in which Leah chose the first room on the right, being closest to the stairs and almost exactly opposite the bathroom. They then made their way back down the stairs and took seats on the couches.
"Are you going to be alright being here, what with Sam and I?" Hermione asked.
Leah nodded. "I'll be fine. Like I said, things weren't good between us when we broke up and I've finally come to terms with it. I still care for Sam, but I have no problem with either of you."
Hermione bit her lip before making a decision. "Even if we're engaged?"
Leah blinked slowly, processing what Hermione had just said before she shook her head. "That was fast," she commented. "And no, I have no problem with it. You make him happy and you obviously love each other and it's easy to see, I saw you together once when you were grocery shopping, and despite my anger at the time, I could see you loved each other." Hermione breathed out a sigh of relief. "And I respect you."
"It's the bond," Hermione shrugged.
"It's not," Leah shook her head. "I respect you for the way you stood up to me and you didn't let me get to you, despite the fact I was being a massive bitch and you clearly didn't deserve my ire."
"You said your mother told you everything, what did she say exactly?"
"That the legends of The Tribe are true, that Seth was a wolf and it's why he wasn't at the house and here instead, and before he died, my dad told my mom that I was apparently going through the change, too. She wanted to wait and see for herself and she sent me here this morning. It took me a while to find the courage to actually come," she admitted.
"Let me guess, increase in appetite, fevers, trouble sleeping, mood swings?" Leah nodded. "You're going through the change, I can feel it in my magic."
"Magic?"
"This is going to be a long night," Hermione sighed. "Leah, I'm a witch."
Leah had taken the news a lot better than Hermione thought she would and after listening attentively and asking questions where appropriate, Leah had took a moment to sit in silence and digest everything.
"Well, shit, I'm actually glad I don't have a problem with you and Sam, I wouldn't want you hexing me," she said.
Hermione snorted at her, before she and Leah both moved to the kitchen, Leah helping Hermione to bake the muffins, whilst Hermione cast Stasis Charms over the completed stew and dumplings.
"You know there's a mind link, right?" Hermione said as she pre-heated the oven, before turning her attention to measuring out the ingredients to the correct amount needed.
"Mom said it's basically telepathy between the pack," Lead replied.
"Yes, it only occurs when you're in your wolf form, but it's impossible to keep any of the wolves from reading your mind. They'll see every thought, memory and feeling, the only way to prevent that from happening is to not think about anything you don't wish them to see. There's no privacy in the pack and it's impossible to keep secrets. They'll eventually come out if you are."
"Why are you telling me this?"
Hermione turned to better face Leah. "I'm just warning you in case you see something you don't wish to. Like I said, you'll see their memories."
"And?" Leah said, and when Hermione pointedly looked at her, it seemed to click in her mind what Hermione was referring to. "Right, I can imagine that being an uncomfortable thing to see, but I'll be fine," she grimaced.
"Hermione!"
They both looked up to see Jared, Quil, Jacob and Seth -who was carrying Teddy perched on his hip as he tugged at his hair- enter the house.
"Hermione! I did it, I actually did it, I phased back quicker than both Jacob and Quil!" Seth said excitedly and Jared snorted at him as they all stepped into the kitchen, their amusement quickly dying down when they saw Leah.
"Leah?" Seth said in surprise, before he handed Teddy over to Jared and he quickly crossed the room and over to his sister, pulling her into a tight hug. He hadn't seen her since she left La Push over a month ago.
"God, Seth, you're huge, what happened to my little brother?" Leah commented, pulling back from him and her eyes cataloguing all the changes in him. "I've only been gone a few weeks."
"Well...Er.. I'm... What I mean is..."
"Seth, she knows," Hermione said amused, seeing him slump his shoulders in relief and the surprise on the other three wolves' faces. "She's going through the change, too."
"What!" Hermione winced against the noise of the wolves' chorused surprise.
"You heard her, I'm becoming one of you, too," Leah smirked, taking the mixing bowl and whisk from Hermione and mixing the batter whilst Hermione put the empty muffin cases on a tray.
"Shit," Jared whispered, looking worried but he'd still managed to dodge the cloth Hermione threw at him and he looked apologetic at her glare. "Sorry," he said, looking down to Teddy who was perched on his hip. "That's a very bad word, don't say it," he told the toddler.
Teddy nodded and wrapped his arms around Jared's neck. "Kay, Jed, I be good."
Hermione snorted at the little boy, knowing that with his Marauders blood and having the boys as his role models, he was going to be a handful when he was older. Hell, he was a handful now!
"Does Sam know?" Jared asked, moving over to take a seat at the breakfast bar along with the others who had already done so.
"Not yet."
"I think..."
"It'll be fine, Jared, no need to worry."
"Hermione, he's very protective of you, you know what happened the last time someone insulted you," he said, eyeing Leah warily.
"Ronald deserved it and it's not as if Sam actually hurt him, he just made him wet himself in fear," she replied, thinking of the memory fondly.
"I've never seen him phase out of anger in the way he did that day, and I don't want to see it happen again either."
Hermione gave him a calming smile. "Trust me, Jared, it'll be fine. Leah has apologised for her behaviour at the bonfire and we have come to an understanding."
Jared turned to look at Leah and narrowed his eye at her, she rolled her eyes. "I'm not going to cause any trouble. I can feel the bond between us forming, the bond of wolf and Alpha, I have no desire to upset her or hurt her, nor do I for Sam. We broke up and I've come to terms with it, he's with Hermione and he's happy, and I'm happy that he's happy and he's found someone that loves him and is willing to put up with him, especially enough to get married to him." Jared blinked in surprise. "Yes, I know they're getting married, and I'm not bothered by it in the slightest. I'm happy for them."
"You've changed your tune," he commented, looking a little less suspicious, but still not trusting her entirely.
She shrugged in reply. "I've come to realise that Sam and I weren't meant to be, he was meant to be with Hermione. I saw that even before I knew what was happening to me and I learned about the legends."
Just then the door opened once more, Paul calling out, "Honey, I'm home."
The others snorted at the greeting as Paul walked into the kitchen with Embry behind him, both of them stopping in their steps immediately when they noticed Leah there, too, and they blinked in surprise, their eyes searching the others for an explanation. Soon after, Sam came into the kitchen with a large smile on his face and a letter in his hand, not noticing Leah or the strange atmosphere in the room.
"A letter arrived at the office today," he said, holding up the letter in his hand. "It's the adoption papers, I'm officially Teddy's guardian," he grinned widely.
Hermione let out a little squeal of happiness before she stepped out from behind the breakfast bar and all but ran over to him. He laughed as he caught her when she jumped at him, wrapping his arms around her and hugging her to him happily.
"It's official, we're a family," Hermione spoke, tears of joy in her eyes and Sam pressed a kiss to her forehead, then to her nose and finally one to her mouth.
"We're a family," he said softly, brushing her hair back from her face and she leaned into his touch, "Thank you,"
"For what?" She questioned.
He smiled down at her. "For giving me a family, for giving me a chance to be a better man. For pushing me to always do my best and to not give up."
"You were a good man before we met," she replied.
"Maybe, but because of you I've got things in my life I could only dream of having. A growing and successful business. A pack, a family I can be proud of. A son who I would turn this world upside down to protect and a woman I love with everything I have in me."
"Are you trying to make me cry?" She asked, her voice cracking slightly and she sniffled.
He chuckled at her. "Of course not, I just think it's important that you know how much I love you and how thankful I am that I have you. I may not tell you every day, but I do love you."
"I know and you don't need to tell me, your actions more than speak for you and I love you, too," she replied, pressing her face into his button down shirt and hugging him to her tightly.
"Shit, now I feel even worse about those things I said," Leah spoke, effectively breaking the silence in the room.
Sam sprang back from Hermione and had her pushed behind him protectively so fast she'd barely even blinked. The boys' eyes darted between Leah and Sam nervously, Jared passing Teddy over to Quil so he and Paul and could be ready to intervene with Sam if they had to.
"What are you doing here?" Sam asked with narrowed eyes, his voice calm and collected but Hermione could feel the tension in his body.
"Sammy, it's okay," Hermione spoke up, putting her hand on his arm, feeling him relaxing slightly under her touch. "Leah has apologised for her behaviour and has made it clear that she no longer has any ill feelings towards me."
"What is she doing here?" He asked, looking down at her with his dark eyes.
"Sue sent her; she's going through the change." Sam's eyes widened, moving over to an amused looking Leah and then back to Hermione. "I didn't sense it in her just as I didn't sense it in Seth, because there's been so many phasings over the last month my magic hasn't had time to properly settle back down, and there's also the case of my magic being on edge due to Alean's warning. But when she turned up, my magic flared up, she's going through the change. I reckon it'll happen in the next couple of days."
"So she's staying with us?" He questioned.
"She's staying with us," Hermione confirmed.
"We'll leave you alone to talk," Jared said, pointedly looking at the four younger wolves and gesturing for them to leave with a tilt of his head.
"Construction's finished on the third floor," Hermione informed them. "You'll find all the furniture in the rooms and I'll decorate them for you later, Quil and Seth, you can choose which ever room you wish to, but Leah's already claimed the first room on the right. Jared, I've moved your bed back into your room."
They all nodded before they left the room, Quil putting Teddy on the ground and allowing him to run ahead of them.
Hermione took Sam's hand and pulled him out of the kitchen and over to the living room, sitting beside him on the couch and Leah sat on the couch opposite them. Silence fell upon them with Sam watching Leah carefully. They were interrupted when Teddy ran into the room, apparently deciding that he wanted to be with them rather than the boys. He pulled himself up on the couch and moved until he was standing on Sam's lap, looking down at him with his grass green eyes, and Sam made sure to hold onto him so he couldn't fall.
"Daddy been work?" The toddler asked, and Hermione would swear her heart melted and tears sprang to her eyes at Teddy calling Sam that term so easily, and at the way Sam's face suddenly lit up like a Christmas tree.
"Yeah, I've been to work," Sam replied. "What's Teddy been doing today?" He asked.
A thoughtful look crossed Teddy's face and Hermione sat back against the cushions and shuffled closer to Sam, resting her head against his shoulder with a smile on her face.
"I be with woofs," he said, pulling a laugh from them both.
"And you've been a good boy?" Sam questioned.
Teddy nodded furiously, his blonde hair falling into his eyes, Hermione realised he was in need of a haircut, with the thick blonde strands being shaggy and brushing his ear lobes.
"I be good, Jed not be good, Jed say bad word an' Mummy be mad."
Sam burst out laughing, his shoulders shaking and his head thrown back. "Well, now we know who the snitch in the house is," he said and Hermione laughed along with him.
"I always knew you'd be a good father," Leah spoke, breaking them from their little bubble and reminding them of her presence.
Sam's amusement died down and he shifted Teddy so that he was sat on his lap and Hermione summoned his second favourite toy, a stuffed wolf that Paul had bought him, and she handed it to the toddler so he could amuse himself and it would keep him distracted.
"Look, I said I was sorry and I meant it. The things I said I did so out of hurt and anger. I didn't want to admit that things between us were bad even before we broke up, and I've since come to realise that I was wrong to behave the way I did. I'm over it all now. I can see how happy you are and I'm glad that you've found Hermione. You deserve each other, you really do, and I'm not upset about you getting married either."
"I'm not sure I believe you," Sam said honestly. "You've always been good at hiding your feelings from others, even me."
Leah shrugged. "When I phase and the mind link is formed, you can see for yourself that I'm telling the truth. Hermione said there's no privacy in the pack, so you'll be able to see my thoughts and feelings for yourself. I really am happy for you and I'm sorry for being a bitch."
Sam's body relaxed into the cushions of the couch. "I never wanted to hurt you, Leah," he spoke, his voice softening slightly.
"I know," Leah nodded. "Now that I know about the pack, I understand why you did what you did, you wanted to protect me and I get than now, but let's be honest, Sam, things between us were bad even before we broke up. We spent more time arguing than we did being together. Everything that happened was for the best. I was forced to grow up and to depend on myself, and you, you got a business, a girlfriend that gives you everything I couldn't, and a child that adores you and calls you his dad. I'm not going to cause any trouble, I promise."
Sam eyed her carefully before slowly nodding, accepting her words as the truth.
"Good, now let's properly introduce you to Teddy, once you phase he's going to be spending a lot of time with you," Hermione said. "Teddy, this is Leah, she's going to be a wolf, too, and she is Seth's big sister, just like I'm Harry's big sister," she explained.
Teddy nodded his head and turned his eyes to Leah, offering her a large grin and a little wave. Leah smiled in return and sent a little wave back.
"Excellent, now, dinner's ready, I'll just put the muffins in the oven and by the time we're finished eating, they should be ready."
A stampede of footsteps was heard before each member of the pack came barrelling into the living room, some of them coming from upstairs and the rest coming from the library and media room.
"We heard you say dinner's ready," Embry spoke.
Hermione and Sam shared an amused look, before she turned to look over the back of the couch at the gathered group of teens.
"As always, you heard correctly," she replied. "Seth requested beef stew and dumplings and chocolate chip muffins for afterwards."
"Good choice," Paul commented, clapping the youngest wolf on the shoulder before they all darted over to the dining table and took their seats, waiting impatiently for their dinner.
Hermione rolled her eyes as Sam put Teddy on the ground and the toddler ran over to the dining table, Paul lifting him onto his own chair in-between himself and Seth. Both she and Sam stood from the couch and walked into the kitchen, with Hermione turning to look at Leah and calling over her shoulder,
"Welcome to the madhouse."