Chapter 9 everybody! Today has been stressful! I had to deal with coding errors on one of my other stories. So I had to delete the ENTIRE thing and re-upload it. Real pain in my ass. Enjoy this chapter.

Chapter 9

The start of the next week was eerily calm. There was little wind through out the first days of the week, making it scorching hot. It seemed as if the earth was preparing for something.

Hermione noticed it, Charlie noticed it, everyone noticed it. They went on high alert, doubling rounds.

"The sanctuary predicts things." Rhea said to the interns one day, "The wards are currently being tested and the sanctuary is letting us know. It's old magic at work, Dragon magic. At the end of the day, they are magical creatures, filled with magic that we don't fully understand. So I want you on high alert, wands at the ready at all times. Does anyone need help with dueling spellings? They might be crucial in the next few days."

A few interns raised their hands.

"I can help with that Rhea. I'm good at dueling." Hermione said sheepishly.

"We know you are. Yes, you can help."

Hermione nodded.

It was a Wednesday when Hermione happened to be on patrol with Rhea. They paired the interns up with the trainers for better protection. Two interns might panic, but one intern with an experienced trainer was good, two trainers was better, but they trusted Hermione.

Hermione heard a noise, on high alert because the sanctuary was on high alert. A few of the interns didn't take it as seriously, but Hermione had faced Death Eaters. She took everything seriously.

"Rhea, I heard something." Hermione whispered, looking at the padlocks.

Rhea nodded and put her finger against her lips, indicating it was time to keep quiet. She pulled her wand out and put it in a defensive position as she led the way to Khione's padlock.

Hermione heard the spell before she saw it.

"Protego!" she shouted before a red spell bounced off her shield.

Her assailant came out from behind a bush and fired off another spell. Hermione ducked and then hit him with a stunning spell.

He fell to the ground and Hermione quickly set off red sparks into the air, signifying that they were under attack.

Rhea stared at her, mouth agape, "I knew you were good, I didn't know you were that good."

"I'm Hermione fucking Granger," Hermione replied, "I'm good at everything."

Rhea laughed and they ran towards Khione's cage where they swung open the gate when they heard her roar in pain.

Hermione put her game face on and attacked the first poacher she saw with a leg locking spell.

Rhea proceeded to do the same thing with the next poacher.

"Incapacitate them, only kill if necessary." Rhea barked.

Hermione nodded and positioned her hands to her wand was perfectly straight, holding her wrist steady as she fired off offensive and defensive spells, one after another.

A few seconds later, they were joined by back up, a quarter of the sanctuary showing up to fight, the other three-quarters checking the other pens.

Hermione noticed Charlie from the corner of her eye, and she noticed the poacher sneaking up behind him.

She ran towards him, the words forming on the poacher's mouth, his intent on his face.

"Avada-" He started

Hermione pushed Charlie down as the poacher said the final word. Hermione stood faced the poacher.

First, they threaten her dragon, then they threaten her boyfriend.

"Avada Kedavra," Hermione said with zero remorse, killing the man on the spot.

Charlie stared at her wide eyed. Hermione turned towards him, "Kill or be killed, Charlie. Kill or be killed."

A few minutes later, the battle was over and Hermione conjured ropes to bind the poachers who had been captured. A few of the experienced trainers attended to Khione's minor injuries. They had gotten there just in time before she was seriously injured or killed.

Hermione went with the other trainers to check on the rest of the cages. Everything was fine and there was only one skirmish that was a lot smaller than the one at Khione's cage. It was right outside the baby's cage.

There were no casualties on the trainers side, only the poachers. Remorse almost flooded Hermione's body, but it was a necessary to kill him.

Charlie approached her a few minutes after the battle and hugged her, burying his face in her wild mane of hair.

"Thank you," he said softly.

"You're welcome, love," She replied, hugging him back, her grip tight. She had almost lost him.

A few minutes later, the Romanian Auroras showed up and took control of the situation, sorting through the captured poachers and taking them away for questioning.

They collected the captured wands and placed tracker spells on the surrounding area in the hope of tracking down the escaped poachers.

After the mess was sorted, one of the interns quit on the spot.

"I'm sorry, this is too much for me." Sofia said, "I don't think this is for me."

Rhea nodded and let her go pack her things.

Hermione returned to her patrol with Rhea, in case there was a second attack.

A few of the Auroras stuck around. One of them joined them on patrol.

"You Hermione Granger," He said in broken english as he lit a cigarette.

Hermione nodded, "Yes I am."

"You fight good. I am muggle-born. We watched England closely. Thanks for protecting us."

Hermione smiled, "It was necessary. Somebody had to stand up and do something, and that somebody had to be me."

They chatted idly for a few minutes before Charlie approached her, "Your round is over, you're coming back to my cabin."

The aurora smiled, "This boyfriend?"

Hermione nodded, "Yes, this is Charlie."

"Ahh, I know a woman in love when I see one. I shall say goodbye then." The aurora smiled, snuffing out his cigarette.

Hermione chuckled and waved goodbye as he made his leave.

She returned to Charlie's cabin where she finally cracked and broke down.

"You could have died," she wailed.

"But I didn't." He replied.

"Is it always this dangerous?"

"No, and I think that successful battle will ward them off for awhile. Now that the great Hermione Granger is here, and they know she knows how to duel, I don't think they'll be back for awhile."

Hermione sniffled, "Good."

So I don't know where I'm going to go next with this one, I'll have it figured out by next week when I get access to a computer again. Just a heads up, my life MIGHT become chaotic. I MIGHT be moving from Iowa to Alaska in a few weeks for work. IDK yet, we'll see! Wish me luck!