So I wrote some Criminal Minds/Hermione drabbles the other day, and I'm debating whether to upload them. They've only spurred my imagination on to write more things but I suppose I should've expected that.
"You don't seem surprised," Hermione noticed as she pulled back from her hug with Quil when she greeted him. "Jared practically had a heart attack when he realised I was the Pup." She glared at said shifter when she hissed her new nickname. He grinned back at her.
"We'd already figured it out," he shrugged. He noticed the shocked looks from Jake and Embry and scowled. "I can be smart," he defended. "Just because I'm not book smart, doesn't mean I'm not wolf smart."
He said it as if it made perfect sense.
"Anyway," he stated, bringing attention back to the matter on hand. "We were waiting for Doc and Pixie to come back from their hunt but Sam was getting agitated and we don't know how long it takes to eat a bunch of deer when you're only draining them dry, but we knew something was wrong and then we pondered about other routes back to the house."
"They could've took a different route home," Hermoine pointed out.
"They did. Apparation." He smiled at her, chuckling gently. "We'd been running patrols anyway but we still knew and when we regrouped, Collin or Brady, I can't remember now, brought you up about your ways of travel and then we realised it was a diversion and Sam went all mental and I decided to leave the Pack."
He rounded it off quickly and the rest of his new Pack could sniff out his attempt at hiding something.
"It actually wasn't a diversion," Hermione admitted. "I wanted to see who was on patrol and how things were going down in case something went down."
"Wait," Paul called loudly, his hands raised as if he could quiet everyone with them. "You left the wards?" he asked Hermione, pointing at her. "And you knew just because some vampires didn't return home before curfew?" he questioned, his other hand pointing at Quil.
"I'm confused," Seth confessed.
"They were hungry and needed to eat eventually, so Carlisle and Alice left and I went with them so I could apparate them back and take the others there so they could have their turn at eating. I didn't tell you because you'd freak out and you're proving my point."
Paul glared at her but slouched in his seat and crossed his arms.
"And we figured it was a diversion and were discussing why it took so long for them to come back. Sam first thought they were waiting for a clear path, what with Pixie being a Seer but then we figured magic was at play and then Sam freaked out."
"Yes, Sam freaked out," Jacob commented, leaning back in his seat and crossing his outstretched legs thoughtfully. "What did he say?"
"He didn't say anything," Quil deflected.
The Pack stared at him for a beat, where he fidgeted silently, before Jared exhaled loudly.
"He threatened an imprint," he guessed. All eyes snapped to Quil who nodded, looking a mixture of angry and dejected. "He really is angry about all of this."
"He's used to control and power," Hermione commented, thinking about how Dumbledore hadn't really helped in the war because he was used to things his way. Secrecy really wasn't a good plan. "He's literally had his whole recent life turned up on its head. First he phases, his love life gets upturned and now he's got a bunch of wolves who he considers brothers, ranging from twenty one to twelve in age and then he has to deal with vampires, a vampire loving human and then a witch, as well as a human pregnant with a vampire's baby and half of his brothers leaving because they don't trust his judgement. I think I'd turn desperate too."
"No, you wouldn't," Leah argued. "But you hold a good point; Sam's feeling left out."
"That was not what I was getting at," Hermione frowned. "But I guess you could see it like that. I'm just saying that he's not thinking straight and I'm betting that he hasn't slept either which means his decisions are becoming even more wilder and soon he'll realise he's gone wrong."
"You think so?" Jacob checked. Hermione nodded.
"He's a Pack of three," Hermione said. "He used to be a Pack of ten. Even he can't see the odds being that great."
The stag appeared before her when she was coming out of the bathroom and she was quite surprised that this turned up instead of him, but she knew that he didn't jump into things blindly anymore. Not always.
"That's for me," Hermione shouted, running down the stairs and trying to snatch the phone from the table before it started ringing. She wasn't quick enough and Emmett picked up the silent contraption, looking at it before looking at her with a confused look.
It started ringing and he almost dropped it in shock.
"I thought Alice was the Seer," he muttered before pressing the answer button and holding it to his ear. "Hello?" He ignored Hermione's crossed arms and jutted hip and focused on the voice he was speaking to. "Hermione? Yeah, she's right here."
He passed the witch the phone which she snatched from him without a thank you.
"Harry," she greeted. "Is everything okay?"
"I think I should be asking you that," he muttered. Hermione could almost sense his glare. "You can't just send me a patronus, tell me you aren't coming home and then send another patronus to Remus and request a whole bunch of books on magical creatures, vampires and babies."
"Of course I can," she scoffed. "I did just that."
"I know you did," he practically shouted. "And then you don't even speak to us for a couple of days? Do you know the horrid images I've been thinking up?"
"No," she drawled, extending the vowel. "And I'm not quite sure I want to."
"Hermione," he sighed and she knew he was pinching the brigde of his nose. "What's going on?"
"I'll tell you," she acquiesed. "But you have to promise that you don't come rushing over, wand bared and your mind focused on a fight."
"Hermione!"
"Okay, okay," she chuckled, pulling a chair out at the table and sitting down. "My cousin got knocked up and now the Pack has split."
"You're giving me a really run down version and I hate it. Hang on. Your cousin married a vampire."
"She did," Hermione agreed, wincing for Harry's oncoming shout. She didn't expect his annoyed sigh.
"I trust you," he admitted. "I trust you so much and that is the only reason I'm over here and not there right now."
"You're staying in England?" she checked, eyes wide. She didn't believe it.
"Yeah," he muttered. "Merlin knows why but I am. I know there is more to the story but if you're telling me that you're not in danger and I'm not needed, then I'm staying here. It's a good thing we have your memories and a memory testimony for all these court trials that I'm going to."
"I'm sorry I couldn't come," she whispered, resting her head on her hand. "But I couldn't leave, not when this is happening." She paused. "I also couldn't leave when I'm being dragged out of my room by a large vampire."
"Hermione, you really aren't helping my decision to stay at home." She laughed loudly and could feel his answering grin. "I've got bad news though."
"What?" she answered, jerking up straight in her seat as her humour faded quickly. "Is everyone okay?"
"Oh yeah," he answered. "However, we're not all in England anymore."
"Well, Charlie probably has gone back to Romania and maybe Bill went back to Egypt but I don't see how that's bad." She was praying that he didn't say what she thought he was going to say.
"The twins aren't in England. They're heading to you."
"Fred and George?" she gasped. "I thought you were going to say Ron or worse, Molly, but the twins? What on Merlin's Earth are they doing coming over here?"
"You're their little sister, 'Mione," he chuckled. "You think that they're just going to sit back here when you're dealing with a fight? You know how they can't miss out."
"But I just said I was fine. Surely they only just left otherwise I'd have heard something sooner."
"You did, they did. They don't listen to you and they never did." Hermione growled and dropped her head to the table. "Hermione did you just-?" He sighed. "Nope. All my questions will be answered when you return to England with Paul after this is done and dusted. You hear me?"
"Yes, Harry," she muttered, her voice muffled. "I've got to go and prepare for Fred and George."
His laughter was all she heard before she hung up, almost breaking the phone.
"Ouch," Quil hissed, glaring at the knife that he'd been chopping some food with. He'd been helping Hermione prepare something for their Pack and he'd been distracted with their conversation to notice the knife getting too close to his finger. Even with supernatural sight, speed, healing, smell and skill, he was still a world class idiot.
"You're an idiot," Hermione confirmed, getting a paper towel to wipe the blood from his finger and they both watched the minute cut heal itself into a faint pink line before it returned to unblemished skin. "You should focus on what you're doing."
"You were telling me about Fred and George and what I have to do to be safe," he cried, trying to defend himself. "I can't focus on a knife and your words."
"Try," she told him, resting the bloody paper towel on the table, instead of throwing it in the bin. "You need to be able to focus on two things at once when those troublemakers turn up. Start now."
Emmett discreetly snatched the paper towel and left the room to Carlisle's office.
"Billy, what's she like?" Peter asked, drinking deeply from his beer and not turning to look at his old friend and tribe Elder. "She's got to be something for my Paul to imprint on her."
"She is," Billy Black agreed. "You'll meet her soon. The Gods couldn't have picked a better partner for your son."
"She's got to be able to hold her own against him, and I bet she has a temper all of her own to match Paul's."
"It's like you already know her."
A lot of ideas going around about Hermione's heritage, makes me smile at every one of them. I'm neither saying yes or no.