CHAPTER FOUR
Summary: Hermione Granger, one of the brightest minds of her generation, makes a decision that will ultimately change her future plans. At twenty-three, she finds herself moving to a strange town that's a hell-mouth for supernatural beings, pregnant, and in way over her head. And the father of her unborn child? The tall, dark and handsome werewolf, Derek Hale. Rated M for a reason.
Disclaimer: I do not own canon events and characters, they belong to J.K Rowling and the creators of Teen Wolf and MTV. This is purely for entertainment purposes and I am not making a profit from the posting of this. This is set after Season 3, and everything from season 4 onwards doesn't happen; so no deadpool, Beast, Dread Doctors, Wild Hunt or Hunters. Allison still died, Liam will still be appearing, and there is no Kira or Malia. Derek is 22 and Hermione is 23. I'm fudging the time line a bit, too.
Page count: 11
Monday morning came by a lot quicker than Hermione realised, and as soon as she'd readied for the day, she headed to the animal clinic to visit Dr. Deaton and the little owl she'd rescued. The doctor explained that he was going to make a full recovery, they just had to wait for him to gain enough movement and strength in his wing so he could fly again; he just need someone with specialist training to look after him until that point.
Hermione had wasted no time in convincing the doctor that she could easily care for the little owl, and after witnessing her interactions with the wild bird and it's apparent fondness of her, he'd agreed to let her take him, so long as she brought him back every few days so he could check on his progress.
Once Hermione returned to the cottage, she'd managed to find an old jewellery box which she transfigured into an owl cage, where her new friend would be safe from Magic, and allow him a place to rest and heal. Giving the snowy white of his feathers and his crystal blue eyes, she'd named him Snowball, and the little bird was all too happy to stay with her, especially when she kept feeding him bits of cheese and meat.
After lunch, she and Magic had gone for a walk through the woods, exploring more of the territory and allowing him the chance to work off some of his energy, Hermione hoping that it would tire him out and he'd be a lot calmer for the rest of the day. It didn't work and she'd spent the rest of the day trying to get some reading done, but Magic had distracted her and she barely managed a chapter by the time it grew later.
As the sun set and the moon was high in the sky, she readied for bed, dressing in a cotton pair of shorts and a tank top and she slipped her dressing gown on over the top. She was ready to relax in bed and do some reading before she fell asleep, but first she had to let Magic out for the night.
She slipped on some shoes and placed a Warming Charm over herself before putting the lead on Magic and heading out into the dark night. She walked a little ways from the cottage, and before she could let Magic off his lead, he suddenly started barking and he darted away from her, the lead falling from her fingers as he ran off into the distance.
"MAGIC!" She called, but he didn't come back. "Damn it," she cursed, before pulling her wand and casting a Lumos, and she chased after him, her wand lighting the way.
She'd been chasing after him for ten minutes when she had to stop, her lungs burning with the need for oxygen and her limbs aching. She took a moment to rest, before she continued at a slower pace, only to stop when she heard a noise. She spun in a circle before extinguishing the light on her wand, plunging the area into darkness. She gripped her wand tightly and she had an incantation on the tip of her tongue, ready for whatever was lurking in the darkness.
Suddenly, a figure stepped out from behind a tree and approached her, and without thought she cast the spell.
"Bombarda!" She called, and before the spell left her wand, she quickly caught the feel of his presence. She wasn't able to stop the spell, but she was able to alter the direction of the intended target and rather than hitting him, it slammed into the tree beside him, sending it shattering to pieces.
She gasped loudly, horrified as he let out a noise of surprise and he darted behind a second tree, just in time for him to be shielded from the raining wooden shrapnel and she was forced to cast a shield over herself, too.
When the woods fell quiet once more, he stepped out from behind the tree and she dropped the shield and lit her wand, creating a small source of light. His eyes locked onto hers and it was clear she had surprised him.
"I'm really sorry," she said sheepishly. "You startled me and I still have my war reflexes."
He turned to look at the remains of the tree and then back to her. "I can see that; you'd be handy in a fight," he said, gaining a surprised laugh from her.
"Well, you haven't seen me duel, and hopefully you won't."
"Why's that?"
"If I'm duelling it's for my life and I have a bit of a temper," she shrugged.
An amused smile pulled at him mouth. "A temper? I can't see that."
"Don't piss me off and you won't. A lot of people are terrified of me, especially when I'm in a bit of a mood. My temper's famous all on its own." He snorted at her. "What are you doing in the middle of the woods at this time of night?"
He turned to look over his shoulder before he let out a loud whistle and moments later, she heard barking and Magic soon appeared, running over to her and she quickly picked him up so he couldn't run off again.
"I found your dog."
"I think you'll find that he found you, you're the reason he ran off in the first place and had me chasing him for the last ten minutes. You never answered my question."
He shrugged his shoulders and stuffed his hands into his pockets. "I was looking for you, your scent's all over these woods and I've been trying to follow it to you for the last few hours."
She narrowed her eyes at him and she noticed that he looked exhausted, as if he hadn't slept since he last saw her.
"You were worried about me, weren't you? You haven't been sleeping." She said knowingly.
He shrugged his shoulders once more. "When you're not in my line of sight I'm going to worry about you, and I haven't been sleeping since I've been reading that book you gave me. I've finished it."
"Already?" She said, surprised and impressed.
He nodded. "It was...Surprising, unbelievable and interesting. You've been through a lot, haven't you?"
"You have no idea, what's in that book is the PG version, a lot has been left out as things happened during the war that I don't want anyone to know about."
"You're strong," he said confidently.
"That's what people tell me, but sometimes I don't feel it," she sighed, pushing a curl back from her face as it had fallen out of her pony tail. "Well, come on then, I'm tired and you need sleep, too."
She turned on her heel and headed back to the cottage, hearing his footsteps behind her as he followed after her in silence. They reached their destination quickly, and he looked up at the one-story cottage in surprise.
"You live here?" He questioned.
"Yes, I bought it and had it renovated, why?"
"When I was a kid it was abandoned and I used to play here, it's just strange that this is where you now live."
"Maybe, but everything about us is turning out to be strange."
"Why do you live in the woods?"
"I need to keep magic a secret and here I can safely practice my magic without risk of there being any witnesses. And it's quiet; I like the solitary and peace it gives me. I've had a chaotic life over the last decade, here I can relax," she answered him as she pressed her wand to the door and it swung open and they stepped into the warmth of her cottage.
She removed the lead from Magic's collar and put him on the ground, and he bounded out of the room and down the corridor, whilst she closed the door behind Derek and watched him as he took in his surroundings.
They were currently stood in her living room. The flooring was the same through the entire cottage, it all being a light wood design and the walls were pale blue with white and silver accents. She had a black couch sat in the centre of the room with a dark wooden coffee table in front of it. To the left sat the matching arm chair, and in front of that was the large fireplace that dominated the wall, and above it sat a large TV which was mounted on the wall. There was a black rug sat in front of the fireplace, and hot, dancing flames heated the cottage. Snowball's cage sat in the corner of the room by the window and the white curtains were drawn closed.
She moved over to the kitchen, slipping through the door that separated it from the living room and he followed after her, whilst she filled Magic's bowl with fresh water and placed it on the ground. The kitchen held the same colour scheme as the living room, and it had light wooden cupboards and drawers and dark counter tops, and it was filled with muggle appliances; a large fridge-freezer, a microwave, kettle and an oven. A light wooden table sat in the centre of the room and was surrounded by four chairs. A room off to the side was the laundry room, holding a washing machine and a tumble dryer.
She left the kitchen and headed down the corridor, seeing Derek's eyes curiously taking in the photos that littered the walls, and he looked intrigued when she walked past her library and potions lab, flicking her wand at them to lock the doors to stop him from getting in and hurting himself.
"That's the bathroom," she pointed to the door that was on the left and left ajar. "And this you can claim as yours if you wish to stay with me," she said, opening the door beside the bathroom and letting him step inside.
It was similar to her own room, only hers was bigger. The colour scheme was chocolate brown and cream. The large bed sat in the centre of the room with the wooden headboard being up against the back wall, opposite the door. There were two dark wooden bedside tables on either side of the bed and a lamp sat on each one. A desk and chair were on the left wall, close to the window and there was no wardrobe or chest of drawers as there was a walk in closet instead.
"I know it's early but I'm knackered so I'm going to head to bed. If you need anything, my room's at the end of the corridor. Feel free to help yourself to whatever you wish to in the kitchen, and if you wish to watch the TV, the remote's in the drawer of the coffee table. And watch out for Crookshanks, he's not a people person, and be sure to stay away from Snowball, too. He'll freak out and I can't have him injuring himself further whilst he's supposed to be healing."
"And who's Snowball?" He asked with a raised eyebrow.
"The owl you saw the other day at the animal clinic. Dr. Deaton's released him into my care as he's comfortable around me due to my being a witch."
"You use owls to deliver mail, right?"
She smiled at him; he really had read the book. "Yes, we do, all owls are able to sense when a witch or wizard is nearby. They are drawn to us, which is why he's so comfortable around me. When he's fully healed and healthy I'll be surprised if he actually wants to leave," she shrugged. "Anyway, we can talk more in the morning, night, Derek," she spoke, turning and leaving him to his own devices as she headed to her own room.
She removed her shoes and dressing gown and climbed into bed. She pulled Magic up onto the mattress and he moved to lay at the end of the bed with Crookshanks, and she settled down under the covers, forgoing her plans of reading and falling asleep instantly.
~000~000~000~
When Hermione woke the next morning, it was to rain thudding against the roof and running down her bedroom window, grey skies, and the sound of something smashing against the floor.
Wide awake, she bolted from the bed with her wand in her hand and she darted out the room, down the corridor and into the kitchen, sighing in relief when she saw that it wasn't an intruder, but Derek, who was crouched down and picking up the pieces of a broken mug.
"Bloody hell, Derek, you scared the hell out of me!" She snapped.
He turned to look over his shoulder in surprise, apparently not hearing her enter the room in his distraction. He eyed her wand in her hand carefully, before they moved back to her face.
She sighed. "I thought someone had broken in," she explained. "Like I said, my war reflexes have yet to leave me."
She walked further into the room and over to the fridge, flicking her wand at the broken mug and he looked impressed when the pieces lifted from the ground and put themselves back together, as if it had never been broken. He rose to full height and moved out of the way when she reached for the kettle, filled it with water and then switched it on, waiting for the water to boil, whilst she pulled her favourite mug from the cupboard.
She felt his eyes on her and when she looked over her shoulder, his eyes were trailing over her figure, reminding her of the fact she was wearing nothing but cotton shorts and a tank top that had ridden up slightly during her sleep. She couldn't be bothered by it, after all, he'd seen her naked, well, without her scars at least and remembering that fact, she quickly cast a glamour over herself before he noticed any of them.
"So, why are you breaking my things?" She asked him, turning back to the fridge and pulling out the fixings for breakfast.
"I was startled," he replied.
"By what exactly?" She asked with a raised eyebrow.
"That thing," he gestured with his head and she turned around, her eyes falling to the ground and on the ginger fur-ball that was hidden under a kitchen chair, and he looked to be eyeing Derek up, deciding whether or not he was friend or foe.
"That is not a thing, that's my cat," she scowled at him.
"That thing is not a cat," he scoffed.
Her eyes narrowed and she put her hands on her hips. "Yes, it is. And not only is my Crookshanks a cat, but he's half kneazle which is a magical cat-like creature. He's far smarter than any normal cat and he's an excellent judge of character, he's never steered me wrong yet."
Derek's eyes moved to Crookshanks, looking at him with a slight grimace due to his messy, almost feral appearance.
"I think he wants to bite me."
"Probably," she agreed, seeing no point in lying to him, Crookshanks bit everyone. "You're a werewolf, just bite him back." He sent her a withering look as she tried to hide her sniggers but failed.
She turned her attention back to breakfast and after making herself a cup of tea, she allowed Derek to make himself a coffee, whilst she made a start on their breakfast and that morning she was in the mood for pancakes.
With a little magic, the cooking process was sped up and she placed the plates on the table and they took their seats, eating their breakfast in silence. When finished she flicked her wand and the dishes went to the sink to wash themselves while she fed Crookshanks and Magic, who appeared in the kitchen soon after.
Hermione moved to the living room and sat herself on the arm chair, curling up and getting herself comfortable and seeing as it was cold that morning, she summoned a blanket she'd knitted herself and draped it over her form, before lighting the fire in the fireplace.
Derek followed after her, sitting himself down on the couch and they watched each other in silence, neither one of them not knowing what to say. Magic broke the silence when he bounded into the room, jumped up onto the arm chair and laid across Hermione and she absentmindedly ran her hands through his fur. With the silence becoming uncomfortable she was the first to speak.
"Did you sleep well?" She asked.
He nodded. "Yes, thanks, given that I knew you were in the same building as me, I had no reason to worry and I could sleep easily."
"I take it you want to make your staying here an occurring event," she said.
"If you wouldn't mind,"
"I don't, I get it, really I do. Your wolf instincts to protect your pack are strong and hard to ignore. So, we're probably going to be spending a lot of time together in the coming months and we need to be able to get along. I need a stress free environment, and us arguing and fighting isn't going to help."
"What do you have in mind?" He asked, leaning forward with his hands clasped and his arms resting on his knees.
"To make this easier on the both of us, we need to adjust to each other. In order to better understand each other, we need to get to know each other. So, I'm sure you have plenty of questions. You can ask anything you wish to and I'll do my best to answer as honestly as possible."
A thoughtful frown crossed his face and he titled his head to the side slightly. "How long have you known you're pregnant?"
She blinked in surprise not expecting that question; she'd expected him to ask questions regarding magic.
"I haven't known long, it's been almost four weeks. I think I was six weeks along at the time. As I've mentioned before, my morning sickness started really early on in the pregnancy, when I cast the charm the result was positive. I did it several times after just to be sure."
"And your morning sickness, it's bad?" A worried look crossed his face and she couldn't help be touched by his worry for her.
"Some days it's not so bad, other days I have to lay down for a while. I haven't felt nauseous this morning and I was actually able to eat something, so today might be a good day."
"What triggers it?"
"It could be anything really, and it happens at all times of the day. Sometimes it's a certain food, sometimes it's smells, like that cologne you wear, and I've noticed you haven't worn it the last few times I've seen you, so thank you for that."
He shrugged his shoulders and her mouth twitched at the way his eyes moved from her face and down to the floor.
"And there's something you should know, too," she said and he raised an eyebrow. "If you ever ask me if I'm hungry and I say no, I'm lying. The chances are that whatever you're eating, I'm going to want it, too." He snorted at her. "I'm being serious, if you go out and get a burger and don't bring me one back, despite the fact I said I didn't want anything, I'll probably cry and complain for the next few hours. My friend Harry learned that the hard way, the day before I left London."
"Does anyone else know you're pregnant?"
"No, I didn't want to tell anyone until after I'd told you, you deserved to know before anyone else. And also, the Wizarding World is a lot more judgemental than this world. It's frowned upon to have a child out of wedlock, and if I'd have told anyone but Harry, I would've had the media on my back, the public sending me fan mail and hate mail, and I'd have to deal with the screeching of Molly Weasley, who's a very judgemental person. She already dislikes me because I broke up with her son, I didn't want to give her reason to actually hex me and she probably would. She can be kind and caring, but she can be equally as cruel, and it hurts all the more because she practically raised me in the Wizarding World."
She let her head fall back against the back of the arm chair and she stared up at the ceiling, willing away the tears that threatened to fall, remembering the treatment she'd suffered under Molly Weasley throughout her life. She shook her head and turned her eyes back to him, seeing him frowning and a protective look settled on his face.
"Anyway, I'm not really experiencing any other symptoms of pregnancy, not yet at least. It's just the morning sickness at the moment, but I'm sure the others will make an appearance soon, after all, I'm not even showing yet." His eyes fell down to her stomach and then moved back to her face. "Anymore questions?"
"What exactly is your job?"
"Back in Britain, I worked to protect the supernatural beings of Britain and Europe from hunters and keeping them a secret from regular humans. As well as helping to ensure that magical creatures were being treated fairly and that the barbaric laws regarding their species were abolished and newer, fairer laws were put into place, ensuring that all magical creatures had basic human rights. It took me nearly three years of campaigning before the government finally got sick of me." He chuckled at her, shaking his head lightly. "My job here is a little different. There seems to be an unusual amount of supernatural beings that reside in Beacon Hills or that come to Beacon Hills. My job is to monitor that activity and ensure that the supernatural beings here don't harm a human. Also, if there are any suspicious deaths, I'm to investigate, identify the one responsible and alert my government. If I can, I'm to capture the culprit and turn them in, if not, then I must ensure that they can't hurt anyone else, but killing is and will be my last option. I've got a lot of freedom. As long as I comply with the laws of my people and I turn in my reports of any incidences on time, they'll leave me alone. Technically I'm a magical policeman that deals with magical creatures and supernatural beings."
"If you think I'm going to let you anywhere near a dangerous situation, then you're insane," he said.
"I'm not stupid, Derek. I would never put the baby at risk. I owled The Ministry yesterday and informed them of my pregnancy. I doubt they're going to be happy with the news considering I've been here less than two weeks and I've only just started my job, but they have no option. I'm good at what I do, very good, it's the reason I was offered the position. They specifically asked for me. I can still do my job but another agent may have to come out and do all the duelling if it's required. Hopefully nothing will happen until after the baby's born."
"Don't get your hopes up, it's been quiet recently so that's probably going to change soon," he spoke.
"I knew you were going to say that," she sighed.
He shrugged, before leaning back into the couch and getting more comfortable. "How old are you?"
She frowned slightly, realising that she didn't know his age either. It hadn't been in his file. She'd only had his name, status and last known address.
"Twenty-three, September 19th, you?"
"Twenty-two, July 23rd," he answered.
"You look a lot older," she commented.
"And you look a lot younger." She snorted at him. "Where are your parents? What do they do?"
A sad look crossed her face. "They both died when I was eighteen. I used a form of Mind Magic on them, altering their memories so they'd forget they had a daughter. I packed up their things, gave them new identities and sent them to live in Australia to keep them safe. They were found by the followers of Voldemort a month after leaving. They died not even knowing I existed."
He kept his eyes locked on hers, and there was something comforting about his dark gaze, that she felt safe and protected. That she felt he understood.
"I'm sorry to hear that," he said, his voice softening in a way she didn't expect from him.
She nodded in response. "They were both dentists, growing up I spent a lot of time by myself since they worked all the time. I found my solace in books and knowledge. When we discovered I was a witch, they were proud of me, but I know it was hard for them. I'd go away to school and return three times a year, and when I'd speak about my friends and my classes and my grades, they never understood, they couldn't. Despite knowing they loved me and they were proud, our relationship became strained and they tended to avoid the subject of magic, they didn't like to hear me talk about it or see me casting spells once I became of age and I could legally practice magic out of school."
"They kept you from being who you were?" He questioned, an angry frown on his face.
"It wasn't their fault, they didn't understand. How could they? They couldn't even come shopping with me as they were muggles and couldn't cross between the barriers separating our worlds. They couldn't see me off to school like the other parents could; they couldn't understand any of my school books or the traditions of the Wizarding World. For them it was just easier to not talk about it," she shrugged and then she shuffled to get more comfortable. "What about your parents?"
"Both dead. My dad died when I was a baby, my mom said he was killed by a hunter when he went to visit a friend in Chicago. My mom died when I was fifteen in a house fire, the house you found. It was set by a hunter. They discovered my family were werewolves and despite the fact we'd never hurt anyone, they came after us."
A horrified look crossed her face and she brought a hand up to cover her mouth, sitting up straight and waking Magic. He jumped down to the ground and moved over to the rug, curling up next to Crookshanks and falling asleep in front of the fire.
"My mom died, as did my Aunt and cousins, and my younger sister, Cora. Laura, my older sister, she pulled me out of the house and she took custody of me until I graduated and I left Beacon Hills, before coming back here a year ago when I learned she'd died. It turns out, my Uncle who was also in the fire, had gotten out and spent years in hospital in a cationic state. There was nothing wrong with him, it was all a ruse and he killed my sister so he could become an Alpha. I killed him and became an Alpha myself and I later discovered that Cora was alive. We've had a lot of trouble lately with the supernatural and she was attacked and to save her, I gave up my power as Alpha and she left, and I don't blame her."
Hermione shifted on the arm chair until her feet touched the ground and she bent over with her head in her hands and her elbows resting on her knees, taking slow, deep breaths, feeling dizzy and nauseous over what she'd just learned. Bloody hell, his past was just as traumatising as her own!
"You okay?"
"Just give me a minute," she muttered, fighting off the need to be sick, and once it passed, she removed her head from her hands and looked to him. "We're both so fucked up by our pasts that this poor baby doesn't even stand a chance with parents like us."
A sudden laugh tore from him, confusing her.
"What are you laughing at?"
He didn't answer, in fact, it made him laugh harder and after realising she wasn't going to get any answers from him, she stood with a huff and walked out of the room, deciding to change for the day. She quickly changed into some jeans and a t-shirt and made her way to the kitchen to pour herself some pumpkin juice and then she returned to living room, taking her seat on the arm chair, seeing that Derek had calmed down but he still had an amused look on his face.
"Now that you've pulled yourself together, would you care to explain what you found so funny?" She questioned, folding her arms over her chest and narrowing her eyes at him.
His mouth twitched into a smile "You've just voiced the exact same thoughts I've been having since I read that book about you and your war."
"I feel sorry for this baby. It's got two emotionally and mentally damaged parents, no Grandparents, no Uncles and one runaway Aunt who they may or not meet in their life time. We're all this baby is going to have."
"I know, which means we can't mess things up. We really have to do this together if we want to try and give the baby the best life possible," Derek said.
"Well, we seem to be getting along so far, but that might just be because we're still in the early stages and I've not started having mood swings that will rival yours when the full moon hits." He gave her a look of disbelief. "What?" She asked innocently. "You'll have to get used to me cracking werewolf related jokes, I can't help myself; I've been doing it for years, it's habit now."
He snorted at her, shaking his head. "I take it you don't have any siblings either, given what you said about the baby having a lack of family members."
"No, I was an only child. My parents had a lot of trouble conceiving and I was their miracle baby. Knowing what I did and after seeing the way it affected them as I grew up, it's the reason I never even considered an abortion. When I discovered I was pregnant, I was surprised and terrified, but I knew I had to keep it."
"I'm glad you did."
"You are?" Even she heard the surprise in her voice.
"Yes, I am. Because of you, I'm going to have a family again, a pack. That's all I've ever wanted."
"Yeah, me too," she said softly, her hand coming up to rest against her flat stomach and she looked down at the ground shyly, when she felt his intense gaze on her.
"I protect my pack," he muttered.
"And so do I," she replied. "So do I."