AN: I've wanted to read fanfiction of this crossover for a while. The ones I found were great but short and not the kind of plot I was wishing to read. This is just the first chapter and I plan to write another one soon. Please leave a review and share your thoughts. Every review would be greatly appreciated.
DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN OR HAVE ANY RIGHTS TO THESE FRANCHISES
Hermione
She thought - no, she had hoped that a fresh start in a place where the sun doesn't stop shining would help her achieve some form of peace but she had been sorely mistaken. Los Angeles was a bloody nightmare! She had underestimated how scathingly hot it was. Perhaps it was her English upbringing speaking but she was convinced that she was breathing in hot soup for air.
The sun was unforgiving and had shown it so upon her skin. Angry, red, irritated skin had become a common annoyance in her day to day life. She had developed the habit of slathering several layers of sunscreen on just to avoid burning but the effort worked against her patience far too much and she has opted to stay indoors during the day and only venturing outside after sunset. Perhaps, it was a good thing that she was such a recluse.
The nightlife wasn't quite better though. There was always someone with questionable intent lurking about but that could just be her paranoia whispering in her ear. Its voice has seemed louder now that she didn't have anyone to curb its manipulations. She wasn't sure when that little voice had started to burrow its way into her psyche. Was it during the war or after? When they were on the run - scared and starving, not knowing when she would have her next meal or if she'll ever see everyone again? When she was being tortured? When the dust had settled and showed the devastation that has become of her world - her life? She suspects that it began when she had decided that a green-eyed boy with messy dark hair and a lightning bolt scar was worth loving and protecting. In this case, it started far before she truly understood what paranoia was.
Without Harry and Ron occupying her thoughts, she's had far too much time and mental capacity to overthink but she takes refuge in the noises at night and it was the only reason why she couldn't bring herself to leave the city. For all of its faults, it had been the only place she could find any comfort in.
It's far too loud for her tastes but it helps distract her. The residents of the sunny city had an unhealthy love for loud and dangerously fast vehicles. When night rolls around and the streets become eerily quiet is when the racers come out to play. The sounds of roaring engines, tires screeching, and party music could be heard for miles. After the racers had a bit of fun, the sounds of the night would be filled with sirens of every police vehicle nearby. No doubt trying to arrest people who were experts at driving and not getting caught.
Her usual nights started with her making a quick run to the grocery store to restock her fridge and cupboards. Once she hauled everything back to her seemingly crappy home, she would take a stroll to an equally crappy looking 7-Eleven two blocks away. Sadly, they never fixed their slushy machine, though the hormonal teen that worked there insisted that it will be fixed soon. Of course, she didn't believe him since he preferred to speak to her breasts and legs every time they made conversation.
There she would enjoy an unhealthy love of hers, cup ramen. As a person who appreciates efficiency, she adored the simplicity of cup ramen. It was a meal in a portable little cup. Once her little bowl of happiness was cooked, she would leave with it, ignoring the hormonal teen's eyes on her ass as she walked away.
She would usually climb a blank and rusted billboard to the top where she can look out at a beautifully glowing city on the horizon but if she was feeling lonely, she would go visit this grouchy stray white cat that claimed an area under the bench at the bus stop. When she would visit her, she made sure to buy some terrible canned tuna that she seemed to enjoy. Being with the disgruntled feline had made her feel less alone. She called her Q-Tip. It was rude but she thought it was funny at the time. A cute little dirty Q-Tip.
She's been living here for a year and yet she never ventured further than her perch on the billboard or the lair of Q-Tip. Everything she needed was a short walk away and she didn't need to work with all the money she had received after the war, so the need to go further was unnecessary. Tonight was different though, she was feeling oddly explorative tonight or is it that her curiosity is getting the best of her. She couldn't exactly call that a first. Unbidden memories of three inseparable friends sneaking through the dark halls of a castle, standing proud amongst Scotland's lush rolling fields, sneaking around and doing things they clearly weren't supposed to be doing. Memories of a young girl who's an insatiable thirst for knowledge has led her to go down dark and ethically challenged roads. She was so young and naive then and was not immune to the call of curiosity. Still not, apparently.
Instead of her usual, she headed in the direction of police sirens, echoing nearby. Looks like the racer's party was cut short. The sound of their scatter was louder than she had ever heard it before. The sirens seem to be approaching closer to where she was and a not so small worry began to make her skin crawl. It has been years since she has felt the warnings of her magic. After the war, without anything and anyone holding her back, she went to Australia to look for her parents, well away from the broken remains of a world that used to fill her with wonder. There she had made the heartbreaking discovery that her parents had died tragically in a robbery gone wrong. They were mugged and shot like animals in their own homes.
Grief and devastation had destroyed any illusions of normalcy and security that she had allowed herself to conjure up. She had lost everything to war and magic. She blamed magic. Magic led her to a world infested with prejudice, bigotry, and racism. A world that has made it known that she was not wanted. Magic led her to people that she had come to love and care so deeply for that she would do anything to protect them, only to have them snatched away and taken from her. Magic had broken her and she swore to never give in to its sirens call again and so she went back to her muggle roots and hid in plain sight.
Though she was done with magic, it wasn't done with her. The feeling of its warnings crawled over her skin and a chill trickled down her spine and the fine hairs on her arm and neck stood on end. Her fate was already spoken for and magic was giving her a warning to a life-changing event, ready to take place.
A sudden bright light pierced its way through the darkness and momentarily blinded her. She threw her hands up to shield her eyes and give her time to blink away the white spots flashing through her vision. "Freeze! LAPD! Put your hands behind your head and lower yourself to the ground!" The sound of a loud PA system had startled her in place. Surely, he wasn't talking to her. She hadn't done anything wrong. He must be talking to someone else. "Lady, get down on the ground, now!" was the loud answer to her thoughts. What the hell! He was talking to her!
"Sir, I think you have me mistaken with someone else," she called out, taking a single minute step forward. She hoped the accent at least threw him off and he will give her the benefit of the doubt. Americans loved a foreign accent and she wasn't beneath flirting her way out of a mess.
"I said freeze! Don't move!" he yelled even louder and she froze again. Looks like the accent didn't work. "Now put your hands behind your head and get down on the ground!" He wasn't even willing to listen to her. All her brilliance had suddenly boiled down to this one moment… and she turned and took off down the alley, ignoring the surprised call after her. Wow! So fucking brilliant! At least before she took off like a bat out of hell, she could've cleared things up but now she was actively resisting arrest! Why did she run?!
"The brightest witch of the age everyone." she huffed and puffed down the narrow alleyway. It has been far too long since she has had to run like this, with all this adrenaline. She wasn't by any means, unfit. After going incognito from the wizarding world she had taken up exercising to fill up her unproductive time. Books hadn't appealed to her like they used to. She had spent a good year of her life on the run, constantly having to look over her shoulders. Physical training had satisfied the need for constant movement in her. She took up all kinds of physical activities and classes: swimming, jogging, yoga, Zumba, pilates, gymnastics, boxing, kickboxing, and a variety of dance classes. If they didn't serve to settle her then they exhausted her enough for a night of dreamless sleep. It also had the added bonus of giving her a fantastic body.
She twisted and turned down the dark maze of narrow spaces. Taking such sharp turns, she nearly slipped and slammed into several corners and walls. These stupid ballet flats were not made for running nor was this blue floral sundress. Cute but not practical. Why did she dress up today?! She only ever went out at night! Who the hell was she trying to impress?!
Her curly hair, which she made the mistake of keeping down today, was flying into her face and mouth, blocking her vision. Before she can remove her cursed hair, she slammed into something firm and promptly fell flat on her ass. Uncomfortable vibrations rippled up her buttocks and spine and she let out the most unladylike groan. "Bloody hell, did I run into a wall?" she moaned, as she removed her hair out of her face.
"Shit. Are you okay?" a deep baritone voice asked her. With her vision now clear of bushy curls, she can see the strong and large hand of a man held out to assist her. Without thinking, she grasped the offered hand firmly and allowed the man to pull her up. How odd. That whispering paranoia was suspiciously quiet tonight.
She slowly took in the rest of the man. He wasn't a wall but he was close to one! Even with the darkness of the night and his equally dark clothing, she can see that he was very built under the layers and not to mention tall. She then looked up to his face and blatantly observed his features. War has jaded her and left her uncaring of others' thoughts and opinions, especially if those thoughts and opinions concerned her. She did her part in saving the world. She was pretty sure that earned her some kind of 'do - whatever - the - hell - she - wanted' kind of pass.
He had a rugged jaw with a light shadow of a recently shaved beard. His lips were plump and soft looking and they were currently quirked up on one side, revealing his amusement. She ignored it. His nose was a little wide but it was proportionate to his face and looked good for him. He had almond-shaped eyes with dark piercing irises that shone with an intensity that most would not be able to handle but she was a war heroine. Not much frightened her, so she continued with her perusal of him. He had beautiful lashes. She didn't think that a man as intimidating as this one could have such pretty lashes but he did and it added onto his naturally smoldering look. His eyebrows were clean and one was arched, showing his curiosity of her. His head was also devoid of any hair. As if his large frame wasn't already daunting enough but the bald look worked for him.
To summarize, she found him handsome in a rugged way but his attractiveness didn't appeal to her. Nobody has managed to appeal to her in a long time. She found that other things in her life had a higher priority than a relationship. Like hiding and staying hidden. She didn't want the wizarding world finding her and building her up on a pedestal, just for being the sole survivor of the golden trio, like they tried to do before she disappeared.
During her study of his face, he was also taking her in. She was sure she looked like a hot mess as of right now but with her current circumstances, she excused it. She wasn't sure what to make if his expression. He was just one of those people who were difficult to read. She decided to spare herself the headache and ignore his wandering eyes. A little voice reminded her that she shouldn't be so cavalier with her self preservation. This stranger has been staring at her just as long as she had been staring at him and yet, she ignored the voice too.
She must've zoned out because she startled a bit when she felt his thumb brush against her cheek. Her eyes flew up to his and she was not expecting to see worry. It was subtle but it was there in the way his lips were slightly pursed and the small frown that darkened his demeanor. That's when she felt something warm and wet trailing down her cheek. He then pulled his hand back and his thumb was smeared with something that shined ruby red.
Blood. Her blood. After her not so pleasant time with Bellatrix she had been too thankful for her sanity that she didn't think about the possible after-effects of the crucio. Instead of losing her mind, she had lost the feeling of pain. It was a blessing and a curse. On one hand, she will never have to feel that pain or any other pain again, on the other hand, she wouldn't know if she ever got injured nor would she know how severe her wounds were.
Looking at his coat, she saw a bit of blood on his zipper, where she must've cut her face when she barreled into him. The stranger looked down at where she was staring and then he looked back up at her. Though he didn't outwardly show it, she sensed that he felt guilty for the cut, though it was clearly her fault for having a demon mane. Perhaps, he wasn't as difficult to read after all.
He opened his mouth to say something but the sound of a police siren interrupted him. "Toretto! Stop right there!" With that, he took off down the street and she wasn't too far behind him. In fact, she had gained her stride and was now running beside him and still gaining speed. She chanced a glance at him and saw his eyes widen, stunned. He reached out and caught her hand in his and it was suddenly her turn to gawk at him, nearly tripping in her surprise.
The police cruiser was just behind them when he pulled a sudden and sharp turn down an alleyway, nearly yanking her arm out of its socket. It didn't hurt but she felt one of the laws of physics at its finest. She couldn't think too much about it and she certainly didn't question his judgment when it comes to directions. She wouldn't know these streets even if someone smacked her in the face with a map, an atlas, and a globe.
The sound of an engine behind them had her ready to take off ahead of him and drag his ass behind her but a bright green car with blue fire designs abruptly cut them off with a loud screech. "Get in!", the faceless driver called out. He didn't question it and simply hopped in and before she could seriously wonder about her lack of paranoia, she was pulled into the car and bundled onto his lap.
Once the door was closed after them, the car jerked into motion and her head nearly collided into her new companions. Though he narrowly avoided getting a concussion, he couldn't avoid the cruel clutches of her demonic hair. It covered his face, tangled around his neck, and was attempting to crawl its way into his mouth. When he sputtered out an odd sound that was a combination of a startled squawk and a strangled cough, she burst out in uncontrollable laughter. The timing was inappropriate but for the life of her, she couldn't control herself.
He somehow managed to save himself from a terrible death and was now glaring at her but his exasperated look had only served to make her laugh harder. She wasn't quite sure if her sanity had survived, after all. Her cackle was cut short when the car drifted a sharp hairpin turn, forcing her body heavily against the car door. To avoid the slim possibility of tumbling out of the car she clutched onto the man who was currently a very comfortable passenger seat.
The deafening sound of the police cruiser crashing into a civilian car rang in her ears and she hoped whoever they were, was not seriously injured. When two more police cruisers showed up and came at them at full speed, she started to hope that they don't end up severely injured. She didn't survive a genocidal megalomaniac just to die on some random blokes lap! Their savior knew what he was doing though and did a weaving motion to fake the cops out and thread through a narrow gap. Only then did she release a breath she hadn't realized she was holding.
She hadn't felt a rush like this in a long time. This part of her was thought to be long dead. So, when the car went flying over a small incline, she didn't hold in her whoop of excitement nor her delighted giggles afterward. That tiny moment of being airborne had finally allowed her to understand Harry's love of the sky.