CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN
Summary: Hermione is running. She is running from rogue Death Eaters bent on revenge, the fame that surrounds her after the war and an overbearing ex-boyfriend and his mother, insisting that they marry, regardless of her ex being a cheating weasel. She finds a quiet town in the States and meets a handsome young man, one that gives her a new outlook on life and a new love. The kind of love she had craved.
Disclaimer: I do not own canon events and characters; they belong to J.K Rowling and Stepenie Myers. 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.
Q&A
Felicia2235 - I haven't wrote any "after wedding sexy time" as I have something else planned, but we will be having some more lemons in future chapters.
And of course, we have drama within the next couple of chapters. And as always, a snarky and downright fearless and terrifying Hermione.
AN
I've had a couple of PM's recently asking if I'd do a HP X Twilight crossover with either Hermione/ Alec or Hermione/ Demetri pairings. And once I put some though into it, I found that I quite liked the idea for a Hermione/ Alec/ Demetri pairing and I know there aren't many out there, so I hope I can bring a new appreciation to the pairing and put my own spin on their characters. When I worked out the plot, I couldn't stop writing chapters and I currently have ten written in the last week alone, since I kind of became obsessed with my new, shiny plot bunny. I have posted the first chapter, and although I love this new fanfic, I am unsure if I should continue posting it, or leave it as a possible one-shot. If the pairing interests you, please check out the first chapter and tell me if you would like for me to continue with the story.
Sunday 13th August 2006
Jasper had been sitting at the table with Edward, Alice, Esme and Carlisle, watching the guests dancing on the dance floor, and whilst Bella was being occupied by her father and friends from school, they were focusing their attention on one couple in particular, Seth and his girlfriend, Hermione, whilst Rosalie and Emmet hovered close by.
"Well I'm glad it's almost over, but I'm going to kill Jacob; I had to sit through the ceremony on an arse numbing chair without him. If I had to suffer through it, then so did he. I swear, Seth, if he forces me to track him down again in a week's time and I end up having to climb yet another mountain in Canada, I'm going to turn him bald for the rest of his life. I only gave him enough supplies for a few more days and I don't want him to think this is going to be a permanent thing. I'm giving him his space by keeping his location a secret, but the pack is worried about him, and I hate that I can't take away his pain," she sighed.
"I hadn't realised they were so close," Esme spoke softly, watching as she genuinely looked like she hated herself in that moment.
"Bella hasn't mentioned anything about Black having a new friend," Edward frowned in thought. Why would he keep a new friendship from Bella? What reason could he possibly have for keeping it a secret?
"Jake'll be fine, with you looking out for him, he can't be anything but," Seth said.
She spoke again, this time she sounded sad, as if she was pouting. "And there hasn't been any drama; no wedding is complete without drama. I was quite looking forward to Jacob insulting everyone and picking a fight. I suppose there's still a wedding tradition that can be fulfilled."
"And that is?" Seth asked with a raised eyebrow as he twirled her under his arm and pulled her back to him, making her laugh. They noticed that is was soft and musical, infectious and inviting. It was odd.
"A couple, two strangers or two exes sneaking off to have sex," she answered.
They felt themselves fighting off a smile at the look of complete surprise and embarrassment on Seth's face as she laughed at him, Rosalie and Emmet didn't bother trying to hide their amusement.
"...Charlie's asked me to visit for a few days. Do you want to come with me?"
"To visit your brother in Romania? Where would we stay?"
"The Reserve does have housing for its keepers and other personnel, I know Charlie has a spare room in his cottage but I don't want us to stay with him, you wouldn't even fit through the door, the spare room's so small, and there is no doubt he'd spend the majority of our time there following you around and glaring at you for even looking at me. I know his appearance makes him seem big and intimidating, particularly with his choice in career, but he's actually a big softie, a walking talking teddy bear if one were to exist. But when it comes to Ginny and I and the opposite sex, all bets are off and he's actually worse than the others on that front. The Reserve has guest houses, they're mainly used for visiting researchers and possible donors. The Reserve can't do all the good work they do in healing and releasing the... animals back into the without donations."
They looked at each other as it was clear to them she was choosing her words very carefully; she was hiding something.
"Treatments are expensive, and since it's difficult to breed them, a lot of money goes into that as they're trying to stop them from becoming extinct. Charlie's the head keeper, so basically, he's the boss. He'd easily be able to get us in a guest house, and The Reserve should be closed to visitors, since they've just got an injured Horntail, Welsh Green and Opaleye admitted."
"What?" they all muttered confused, sharing looks between each other as none of them could recall any animal of that name or breed, not even Alice who had gone through a ten year obsession on animals, and she knew every animal that was known to exist on the planet.
"Charlie wants to see if I can get Benji to eat."
"Benji's not eating?" Seth frowned.
"No, he's not, Charlie thinks it's because he misses me. What Bill said was true; I was the first female Benji saw after he hatched."
Hatched?
"He genuinely thinks I'm his mother, and I haven't seen him since we got the pack and my friends and family together, five weeks ago. Because Benji's not eating, he's not developing as he should be. Hopefully my presence alone will change that."
"You're going anyway aren't you?"
"I have to, I can't allow Benji to fall ill, but I want you to come with me. How many chances in life are you going to get to go to Romania and see a well guarded conservation reserve for endangered animals?"
"...Imagine that, my brother and your sister, possibly dating. It's a good thing I'm not blood related to my brothers, that'd just be weird."
"That's interesting," Edward muttered and the others nodded in agreement.
"... He's asked me if I'd go ring shopping with him."
"But they're only eighteen," he said in surprise.
"My kind tend to marry young."
"My kind?" Carlisle frowned, and they all latched onto those two words, focusing their hearing on only them.
"... Although my brothers and sister are from a pedigree background, their family has never believed in arranged marriage. Neville's grandmother tried to arrange a marriage for him, but after the war..."
"War," Jasper muttered and he sat up taller with his eyes locked on her back, since she was facing Seth.
"...he put his foot down and told her he loved Hannah Abbott and that they'd marry and have children when they wished to, I was so proud of him that day... Blaise's mother would never force him into an arranged marriage... Theo was disowned because he defected to our side during the war. His father was an abusive bastard, physically, emotionally and mentally, I don't know how Theo survived it, and his father killed his mother when he was five."
"What did you do to his father? Your friends and family seemed surprised by it, scared even."
"I made him mentally face his worst fears, hopefully the twisted bastard will go insane before it wears off; it's the least he deserves after what he did to Theo and the crimes he committed in the war."
Their eyes flickered between each other and then back to the dancing couple.
"...Will you do it again?" Seth asked.
"Do what again?"
"Show me."
"Are you ever going to get tired of this?"
"No, I know you love me. You tell me every day, but being able to feel that you love me, it's something I'm always going to cherish."
Their eyes flickered to a frowning Jasper at Seth's words.
"I love you," she said softly.
Jasper made a sound of surprise and his eyes widened, but were still locked on the couple, as he brought a hand up to rub over where his beating heart used to be.
"What is it?" Alice asked, placing a worried hand on his arm.
He turned to look at them and Edward made a noise of surprise when he caught Jasper's thoughts.
"She's an empath, like you," he whispered in disbelief.
They all stared at Jasper and Rosalie and Emmet quickly made their way over to the table.
"What?" Rosalie hissed.
"She..." Jasper started. "I don't think she has the same ability," his frown deepened. "But I can feel her love for Seth, and I can feel his love for her. And now, it's overwhelming as I can feel that Seth now feels her love too."
"What?" Emmet blinked in confusion.
"It's almost as if she's projecting her own love onto him, so he can feel it for himself, but in doing so, it's overwhelming as he's not only feeling his own love for her, but hers for him too."
"What is she?" Alice frowned. "I never saw her coming and I can't get a read on her."
"Jasper confirmed that she's Seth's imprint, she's blocked from your sight by him," Carlisle reasoned.
"Yes, but she's immune to Edward too. As is Seth," she argued.
They turned to him, but he was watching them with narrowed eyes, as they still stood close to each other, a look of wonder lit Seth's face.
"It's her, she's the one blocking me. Before we met her, I could hear every mind of the pack, and then suddenly I couldn't. And now, I can't hear Billy or Sue."
"But that's impossible," Esme frowned.
"I know," he muttered.
"She's human, she said so herself, and smells human too," Emmet shrugged, seemingly not as worried as the rest of them.
"But she's hiding something. There are several key words that stand out," Jasper said.
War. My kind. Forcing someone to mentally face their worst fears.
"Can everyone do this?" Seth asked, drawing their attention once more.
"No, it's not a common skill amongst us. As far as I'm aware, you have to be born with it, or born with some talent for it."
"Like how you're a cloaker?" He asked.
What the hell was a cloaker?
"Not exactly, I'm a cloaker because I learned and studied the art of it for years, I have a natural talent when it comes to staying off the radar. If I don't want you to find me, then you won't. But the ability or skill of being able to project my feelings onto someone else is something I was born with, but I didn't realise I had it until I turned seventeen."
"How did you find out?"
"Kingsley. We were at an Order meeting and everyone was arguing over the best course of action to take regarding the safe retrieval of Harry. This was after I implemented the safety precautions on my parents. So I was not only feeling sadness and despair at what I had been forced to do, but I was angry that the others were fighting with each other, when we had a war to win. Kingsley was the only member to remain quiet and calm, since he was promoted to the Head of The Order of the Phoenix after Dumbledore was murdered. He noticed that things had taken a turn for the worst when weapons were drawn and aimed at each other threateningly. I was just sat there, completely consumed in my own feelings that I didn't realise what was happening. When he touched me everything came back to me and The Order members suddenly sat back down and everyone was just staring at me. After the meeting Kingsley took me aside and explained what had happened and what I was capable of. After the war he worked with me, helping me to control my own emotions and abilities so I wouldn't accidently inflict them upon others."
"Is this why the pack was so calm when they first met you?"
"Yes, I didn't use my ability on them, but people have always been drawn to me. I can set people at ease with a look, word or touch, depending on who it is. For Harry I only have to be in his presence, which is why I never left his side during the war. He not only needed my support, friendship, love and knowledge, he genuinely needed my presence so he couldn't and wouldn't give up. I can't manipulate emotions as such, nor can I feel others, but I can project my own emotions onto others, which may affect theirs in turn. And I can't feel other's emotions but I can more or less sense them. What I have, it's a dying skill. It isn't seen much these days, but centuries ago it was fairly common. There are thousands of us hidden around the world and according to statistics, only three percent of the population share the same ability as me."
"The more I learn about you, the more powerful I understand you to be."
Their eyes flickered to each other and back to the couple with a frown.
"You may be small, delicate and loving, but you're powerful. I didn't understand it before but now I do. I understand why your friends and family refer to you as powerful. It's as if there's something surrounding you, warning people of your power, so they know not to mess with you."
"Never stopped them before," she shrugged and he chuckled. "People learned not to mess with me after they had already done so. I have a vengeful streak in me that scares even myself sometimes, but I didn't used to. My past experiences have turned me into the person I am today, and those memories and habits will always be engraved in me. They're too traumatic and dark to ever hope forgetting, no matter how much I wish to." She looked down at the ground and Jasper could no longer feel her projecting her emotions onto Seth, but he could feel her sadness and guilt.
"Has today made you reconsider your thoughts of marriage?" Seth asked with a curious tone to his voice.
They all had looks of surprise on their faces, since they knew Seth to be not yet seventeen, and they knew from their conversation that Hermione was at least seventeen, maybe older.
"I have never been opposed to the thought of marriage with you, just cautious."
"Understandable after your ex-boyfriend and his mother who's crazier than a box of cats."
She giggled at him. "I didn't want marriage with Ron, long before he proposed after I caught him cheating. Things between us didn't feel right, being with him felt almost like I was betraying not only myself, but someone else, and at that point in time I didn't know of you. Ron and his mother kept pushing marriage on me and they sort of ruined the idea of it. I never thought I'd survive the war, let alone survive it to get married, so I hadn't really thought of it, not even as a child as I was too busy trying to keep Harry and Ron from failing their classes, as well as keeping them alive. The last seven years have been very tiring and now the war's over and we've caught all of the remaining members of the dark side, which we couldn't have done without the pack. And now, I just want to live my life, day by day, without having to worry if the person I bump into in the street is going to kill me, or if the food I bought contains poison."
Seth twirled her out, pulling her back into him making her smile and laugh softly.
"I was opposed to marriage with Ron because I knew the type of person he wanted me to be, and what he would force me to become. I can't and won't be a housewife to an army of children."
"I know that, Hermione, there are too many people in the world that need your help. That need your compassion and kindness and I would never get in the way of that."
"And that is why I have never been opposed to marriage with you. You support me, rather than drag me down. You listen to me, rather than ignoring my concerns or wishes. You don't complain when I can't give all of my time to you. You don't scream to the world that life is unfair. You don't look at me in disgust when you see my scars."
Scars? As far as they could see -and they could see very well- there wasn't a blemish on her skin.
"You don't insult me for my intelligence or my interests and passions. You take an interest in learning more about me and my people. You've shown me that I can trust you, not only with my life, but with my secrets, my soul and my heart. And my family and friends more than approve of you. Despite the twins teasing and just being downright pains in the arse, they can see that you love me and they understand that you could and would never hurt me. Bill and Charlie approve since they have met you and they know Harry approves, and believe it or not, Harry is the most protective of me, even more so than the twins, he just isn't as obvious about it. Ginny and Fleur adore you and if Mr Weasley had been present, he would've talked your over sensitive ears off, and Percy, well, he's Percy, I don't think he likes anyone. Now Mrs Weasley and Ronald on the other hand..." she shivered, trailing off, giving them the impression that they wouldn't like Seth at all, but remembering the information they learned regarding her ex and his mother, they weren't all that surprised.
"My point is, my family and friends know how much you do for me, and your presence alone keeps my memories from the war away. And they would be happy if we were to marry."
"So, one day you want to be my wife?" he asked, a hopeful tone to his voice.
They couldn't see her smiling, but they could hear it in her voice.
"Sometime in the future, I would love to be Mrs Seth Harry Clearwater."
The biggest smile any of them had ever seen graced Seth's face, making him go from utterly adorable to breathtakingly handsome.
He pulled her into his arms in a tight hug, and seeing as the heels she wore brought them closer together in height, he wasn't hunched over as he buried his face into her neck and curls.
"Don't let my Mom hear you sat that, forget graduation, she'll take me ring shopping now."
She giggled softly and sighed when he a placed a kiss to her cheek and then her forehead.
"Jacob approves."
"What?" she spoke confused, asking the question they were all wondering.
"He's here," he replied, pulling back further and gesturing behind him.
"What!" she shrieked, pulling away from him entirely and surprising them with the speed she left the dance floor, rushing towards where Seth had gestured to, faster and more graceful than any human should be able to do in almost five inch heels.
Rosalie's respect for the girl rose slightly.