CHAPTER FIVE

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: 13

Several days had passed since Derek had taken Hermione's spare bedroom for himself, and since then they'd been getting along rather well. The first morning of him staying with her, Hermione had apparated him back to his home –which he hated and swore to never do it again- and he packed himself some clean clothes and wash products, before they returned to the cottage.

In the days that came after, Hermione and Derek barely left the cottage due to the storm that held the residents of Beacon Hills hostage; the rain being harsh and loud, the wind biting and cold, and the sky dark and grey. Being confined in the cottage, they'd spent a lot of time getting to know each other, gaining a better understanding of one another, and when they weren't learning about each other, they read in silence.

Hermione had shown Derek her library and his surprised expression at just how many books she actually owned had made her laugh. Whilst she got the feeling he didn't enjoy reading as much as she did, she knew that he had an appreciation for learning and for knowledge. He'd been interested in some of her books on magical creatures, spell work and potions, but once he'd walked past her potions lab and gotten a smell of the potions that were being brewed behind the closed door, he swore to never go near it again.

And finally, after days of rain and storms, the weather had cleared up and the sun had made an appearance. As soon as Hermione woke that morning, the first thing she'd done was dress and ready for the day, excited that she could now leave the cottage without risk of her returning like a drowned rat and unable to feel her body parts. She'd decided to go hiking through the woods, wanting to do some more exploring, but before that she needed to take Snowball to see Dr. Deaton, as she promised she would every few days.

She left her room, Magic and Crookshanks following at her heels as she made her way to the kitchen. She quickly fed them both before moving to collect Snowball from his cage, and he perched on her shoulder as she made herself some breakfast, feeding him little bits of toast and cooked bacon whilst she waited for the eggs.

By the time she'd finished and sat at the table, Derek made an appearance, dressed for the day but still looking half asleep. He took the chair opposite her, gratefully picking up the mug of coffee she'd left beside his breakfast which was under a Stasis Charm to keep it warm. As he sipped at the hot liquid, he eyed the wild bird sat on her shoulder, rubbing its head against Hermione's cheek and nipping at her finger affectionately as she gave him some bacon.

He'd seen Hermione and the owl interact like this several times over the last few days and he still found it odd at how the wild animal trusted Hermione so much. Hermione had tried to get him to pet the owl a few times, but after seeing the way the owl had looked at him, as if it wanted to bite him, he'd refused each time.

He moved his eyes away from her shoulder and down her body, seeing that not only was she ready for the day, but that she looked as though she planned to leave the cottage.

"What are you up to?" He asked her.

She sat up straight in her chair after she'd been bent over slightly, scratching Magic behind the ears as he sat beside her chair.

"I need to take Snowball to the animal clinic for a check up, and then I thought I'd go for a walk in the woods, and I might take Magic with me. It's been a while since I've been able to take him for a proper walk and he's been too full of energy over the last few days."

He snorted at her, knowing that it was true. He'd be sat reading and suddenly he'd find himself being pounced on by the over excited puppy that just wanted to play and wouldn't leave him alone until he threw his ball, played tug of war with an old rag and then gave him a belly rub.

"Should you really be going out there today?"

She frowned and looked out the window, seeing the blue sky and the sun shining. "The weather looks perfectly fine to me."

"I don't mean the weather, if you're planning on hiking through the woods it's going to be dangerous. Storms like the one we've just had often knock down weak, rotting trees, branches breakaway from the trees and become dangerous as they may fall at any moment, and the ground is not only going to be uneven, but muddy and swampy, too. I don't want you getting hurt."

Her face softened at his concern. "I'll be fine, Derek; I survived a war, I'll survive the boggy woods. If you're so worried about me, you can come with me if you wish to. I've been cooped up in here too long and I need to get out, I need to have fresh air and to be surrounded by nature."

"Why?" He questioned, a crease appearing on his forehead, not at her words, but at the way she'd spoken them.

She sighed and pushed an escaped curl back from her face, it having already fallen out of the pony tail she'd put it in not even half an hour ago.

"You've learned a lot about me over the last few days, but there's still things I haven't told you."

"Such as?" He asked, leaning forward in his seat and resting his arms on the table.

"I haven't told you because I was wondering if you'd pick up on it given you're a werewolf, but we've been in close quarters for a few days now and you don't seem to have noticed anything."

A confused look crossed his face when she brought her hand up to the right sleeve of her cardigan and she pushed it up to her elbow, resting her arm on the table so her forearm was facing upwards. He let his eyes fall down, seeing nothing but perfectly unblemished skin, that was until she pulled her wand from out of her hair and waved it over her arm, revealing a long since healed scar. But it wasn't just any scar; it was in the shape of a bite mark.

Frowning, he lifted his eyes back up to hers, silently asking her to explain.

"In my line of work I had to interact with magical creatures on a regular basis, the most usual one being werewolves." His eyes darted down to her arm and then back to her face, a protective, worried look entering his eyes. "I went to visit a pack of thirteen members, I needed to inform them of the law changes and the new stipulations of the legislation, which were that werewolves had to take a particular potion that would help them to remain in control after their transformation on the night of the full moon, or, they had to ensure that they were as far away from human civilization as possible so they couldn't harm anyone. Given it was a long journey and I'd been hiking for miles in order to find them, the Alpha of the pack asked that I stay with them for the night and they would ensure that I would be safe from the other creatures that wandered the forest they resided in. The next day was the full moon and I left as soon as I could; I can deal with one temperamental werewolf, but thirteen is something else entirely," she shook her head, the fingers of her left hand tracing the bite mark gently.

"As I was making my way away from their camp I hadn't realised I was followed. One of the members of the pack didn't like the stipulations they had to follow and despite the fact that I was only the messenger, he decided he would take his anger out on me. Werewolves are generally stronger than magical folk, but even more so on the day of the full moon and he over powered me. He tried to kill me, but he'd only managed to bite me before the Alpha turned up and killed him for treason against the pack; he disobeyed orders."

"You're saying you're a werewolf, too?" He said slowly, trying to understand and process what she'd told him.

"No, a magical werewolf can only turn another during the night of the full moon, given that it was still early morning, the venom in my system wouldn't have changed me, but it still could've killed me. The Alpha sucked the venom out of the bite and took me to hospital. I'm not a werewolf, but I do have some lupine traits that are consistent with magical werewolves."

"Strength? Speed? Senses?" He asked curiously, his eyes trailing over her in a way they hadn't done before.

"Not quite," she shook her head. "It's more behavioural changes. For instance, on the day and night of the full moon, whilst I don't go through the transformation, I do get easily agitated or I have an influx of energy. Sometimes I prefer my meats to be a little on the raw side, and I eat a lot of chocolate which helps to calm me. But in general, I feel the need to be around nature as often as possible; I need to be free. It's one of the reasons why I bought this place. I've got my solitude, people are unlikely to stumble upon me using magic and I'm surrounded by nature. I hated living in my London City apartment."

She gave a sigh before pulling her sleeve back down to cover the scar and she pushed a curl back from her face and behind her ear, turning her eyes to him.

"I guess my lupine traits aren't quite strong enough for you to pick up on, and you might've seen my behaviour at the full moon as odd, but then again, you probably wouldn't notice being too focused on yourself," she shrugged.

"You've got other scars, haven't you?" He questioned, but there was a knowing tone to his voice. "That night, you covered them with magic so I wouldn't see them, didn't you?"

"Yes, I do and yes, I did," she confirmed.

"Why?"

She shrugged again, allowing her eyes to fall to the table. "First of all, if I'd allowed you to see them, you'd have had questions which I didn't wish to answer. And second of all, they're not exactly nice to look at. I've got more scars than I care to admit, some from my job but most of them are from the war."

"You think me that shallow that I would reject you because of a few scars? I might not have been able to see them, but I had felt a few raised marks on your skin and I didn't bring it up."

He actually sounded hurt and Hermione lifted her eyes back up to his, getting caught in the gaze of his dark eyes.

"I didn't say that, I can't rightly say whether you're a shallow person or not, but that doesn't matter, I didn't hide my scars for that fact, for fear or rejection. I hid them for my sake." He frowned at her confession. "Sometimes when I catch sight of them, they remind me of how I received them which pulls me into memories of the war. I'm reminded of the suffering and pain and the terror and death. And those feelings cripple me until I can't breathe or think clearly. A loud noise can startle me, sending me into flash backs of battles and duels. The smell of smoke reminds me of the fact I almost died, being trapped in a room with demon possessed magical fire. The sight of mismatched bricks and stone on houses and businesses reminds me of the rubble and dust it had been reverted to after battles and raids."

"PTSD," he muttered softly, the hurt look in his eyes disappearing and being replaced with understanding.

"Yes," she sighed in admittance. "A lot of us struggled after the war, particularly those that were on the front line and fought in the Final Battle. It's not as bad as it used to be, but it does still happen."

"I get it," he nodded. "I almost died in a house fire and witnessed my childhood home burn down with my family still inside. I don't like the smell of smoke or being too close to an open flame."

"As I said before, we're both so damaged this poor baby doesn't stand a chance," she muttered, earning a snort from him and breaking them away from the sad, pained atmosphere in the room. "Anyway, I'm still going to go hiking in the woods."

"You should give me your number so I can contact you if I need to," he said, before a frown settled on his face. "Actually, I've been meaning to ask you, why haven't I seen you with a cell phone and why doesn't mine work when I'm around you?"

"Well, I don't have a mobile phone so I can't give you my number." He blinked at that. "And your phone isn't working due to it being rendered useless by the magic in the cottage. All electronic and technological items that use electric or radio waves don't and can't function around magic, which is why there is no such thing as electricity and technology in the Wizarding World."

He blinked in surprise once more and then deliberately looked around the room, eyeing the kitchen appliances and the light above.

"Despite the fact I renovated the cottage with magic, its foundations are still non-magical, and also, there's a series of wards that can be used to protect electronic and technological items from magic and allow them to function correctly, which is why I have the TV in the living room and the kitchen appliances, but they're the only rooms to contain such items and even still, I have to recast the wards several times a week. The wards are designed for larger items and would not work for your mobile phone, if you wish to use it, it'll have to be outside of the cottage, approximately one hundred feet away should do it."

"So how am I supposed to contact you?" He questioned.

She shrugged her shoulders. "I don't know, but I'll figure something out. And I better get going," she said, lifting her hand to her shoulder and the little owl hobbled onto it as she stood from her chair. "I'm going to apparate to the animal clinic, I shouldn't be gone too long and I'll come back before I go for my walk. If you wish to come with me, you should be ready by then."

~000~000~000~

After Hermione had apparated to the animal clinic to get Snowball checked over, she quickly returned to the cottage after only being gone twenty minutes and Dr. Deaton telling her he was happy with the little owl's healing so far.

She stepped through the door, immediately being engulfed by the warmth inside the cottage and she caught sight of Derek sat on the couch, a book in hand and Magic sprawled across his lap as Derek absentmindedly gave the puppy a belly rub. She noticed that he'd changed clothing, too, he still wore jeans, a t-shirt and trainers, but they looked to be a little older so he probably wouldn't mind them getting filthy.

He looked up and gave her a small smile in greeting and she returned the gesture as she crossed the room to Snowball's cage and placed him on his perch. She'd have to see if she could find some mice for him whilst she was out, if not she'd have to make a trip to the pet shop later on.

"Everything alright?" He asked.

"Yes," she nodded. "His wounds are sealed and clear of infection and his wing's healing as it should be, a few weeks and he should be able to fly again," she replied, before turning to face him. "You're coming with me then?"

He shrugged. "I could do with the walk after being cooped up inside for so long, and I don't want you walking in the woods alone. You have no idea of the things that have happened here."

"I think I have a good idea and I can handle myself, it's not as if this place is the Forbidden Forest with centaurs and acromantulas wandering around and looking for their next meal."

"Centaurs are real?" He blinked. Whilst he'd been interested in magic and its history, he'd yet to ask her questions regarding magical creatures so she wasn't surprised that he seemed so shocked by the news.

"Yes, they are, and acromantulas are giant spiders that eat humans and also have the intelligence of being able to speak the human language. Thankfully I've never actually come face to face with one myself, I hate spiders no matter their size," she shivered. "Anyway, should we get going?"

He nodded and Hermione summoned Magic's lead and when he saw it, he jumped down off of Derek and bounded over to her, jumping up at her and barking excitedly as she clipped the lead to the collar. She then summoned her back pack filled with water and snacks and slipped it on, before heading to the door with Derek grabbing his leather jacket and following after her.

She made sure the door was locked and the protective wards around the cottage were strong, before they started their walk, Derek staying close to her side and Hermione allowing the exited puppy to lead the way.

They'd been walking for over an hour and admittedly, the ground was a little boggy given the previous storm so she'd cast Repellent Charms on the both of their shoes to prevent them from getting too dirty and to keep their feet dry, which Derek was impressed with. They'd only been out of the cottage ten minutes when Magic had found a particularly large muddy puddle and was rolling around in it before Hermione had the chance to stop him.

Derek had laughed at the look on her face before she sighed, removed the lead from Magic's collar and allowed him to have his fun. She'd just have to give him a bath later.

They followed Magic through the woods as he ran ahead of them but stayed in their sight, and during that time, they'd chatted comfortably, telling each other more about their pasts and Derek asking questions about magical creatures and Hermione being amused by his responses. She'd almost wet herself when he tripped over a fallen branch in his shock at discovering that dragons were real. He stumbled forward but managed to catch himself before falling to the ground and she leaned against a tree, laughing at him.

"You're lying to me, you have to be, they can't be real," he said, his eyes narrowed slightly.

She shook her head and forced herself to calm down so she could respond. "Honestly, they're real. My ex's older brother is a Dragon Tamer on a Dragon Reserve in Romania; he's been doing it for over a decade now. He helps to rehabilitate injured dragons, he raises dragons that are hatched in captivity or that are abandoned by their mothers, and he runs a breeding programme. The dragon population is dropping severely and they're trying to get their numbers back up, but dragon breeding isn't easy. In the last three years they've only had five successful breedings."

"No, I still don't believe you," he shook his head, crossing his arms over his chest.

"You're forgetting that I broke into a bank and escaped on the back of a dragon."

"Still don't believe they're real."

She snorted at him. "Someday I'll take you to a dragon reserve and you'll get the shock of your life," she said, pushing away from the tree she was leaning against and turning to move over to Magic, who had found another muddy puddle and was rolling in it.

By this point Hermione could barely see the features of her puppy, what with him being covered head to toe after having several mud baths. He really was filthy with twigs and leaves stuck in his muddy fur.

She heard Derek's steps behind her and she gave a sudden shriek of surprise when she didn't see the broken branch on the floor and she tripped, heading towards the ground. She felt his hands grip at her hips and before she hit the ground, she was tugged backwards until she was stood upright and her back hit his chest, being pressed against him tightly.

"That was a close one, thank you," she said, slightly breathless and she felt his hands grip her hips tighter and the heat of his body melted through their clothes and onto her skin. "I'm fine, nothing for you to worry about, I just didn't see it," she told him, turning her head slightly when she felt his nose brush her hair line.

She heard his intake of breath and his hands slipped from her hips and around to rest gently on her stomach over her clothing, before he came to his senses, dropped his hands to his sides and he stepped away from her, putting space between them.

"Sorry," he said, adjusting the strap of her back pack on his shoulder, since he'd taken it from her as soon as they'd left the cottage. It really wasn't heavy but he insisted and she saw no point in arguing over it.

"It's alright," she replied, still feeling the ghost of his heat against her. "Magic, seriously!" Hermione sighed, catching sight of her puppy from the corner of her eye and seeing that he was rolling around in what looked to be a pile of owl faeces that was on the ground.

Derek snorted and she sent him a withering look, he raised his hands in the air as a sign of surrender. "It's not my fault, you're the one that let him off his lead," he told her, still sounding amused and she glowered at him before turning and storming after her puppy as he ran off.

They followed after him at a leisurely pace for a little while longer before Magic suddenly started barking and much like he had the night Derek had been in the woods looking for her, he darted off and out of sight, his barking carrying through the wind.

"Damn it, Magic!" Hermione shouted in annoyance, before she took off after him with Derek following at her side, but given that he was a lot faster than her, he was the first to reach Magic who had stopped dead at the top of a hill and was barking loudly.

He clipped the lead onto the muddy dog's collar to prevent him from escaping and Hermione came to a stop by Derek, leaning over slightly as she tried to catch her breath.

"You know, I used to be a lot fitter than this, what with running for my life every five bloody minutes, but this pregnancy's taking a lot out of me."

"Are you alright?" He asked, looking down at her with a worried look on his face. He was completely fine, not a single pant leaving him which she found annoying.

"Fine," she waved him off, before standing up right and he noticed that her body language changed.

She stood tall, her body tense as though she were waiting for someone to jump out and attack her. He saw her eyes narrow and dart about her surroundings cautiously and her left hand came up towards her right sleeve where her wand was hidden. He felt himself stiffen and ready for an attack, too. If someone like her sensed something, then it was best to be prepared.

"Something's wrong," she muttered quietly, looking down to the still barking puppy.

Hermione frowned before moving forward, peaking over the edge of the hill and to the bottom and he wasn't blind to the way she took a breath and her eyes closed briefly, before she pulled her wand and gripped it in her hand.

"What is it?" He asked, also peaking over the edge of the hill and looking down to the bottom, but he couldn't see anything.

She didn't answer, instead she carefully climbed down the steep hill despite him telling her it was too dangerous and he sighed, before tying Magic's lead around a tree to keep him there and dropping the back pack to the ground so he could follow after her.

By the time he reached the bottom he felt dread fill him at the sight that met him. Hermione crouched on the ground beside the dead body of what looked to be a middle aged man. She was waving her wand and muttering to herself while flashes of light appeared momentarily.

"He's dead," she spoke.

It obviously wasn't her first time seeing or discovering a dead body. Whilst she seemed to be cautious and ready for a fight, she was calm, too calm about the whole situation. And he wasn't sure if that worried him or not. Just how many bodies had she come into contact with that she didn't batter an eyelash at finding one in the middle of the woods?

He approached and crouched down on the other side of the body, his eyes searching the body for any tell tale signs of it being a murder, and if so, if a supernatural being was responsible. She seemed to understand his intentions as she spoke.

"It's not supernatural," she said.

"Natural causes?" He said, but even he heard the disbelief in his tone.

The man wasn't dressed for hiking in the woods, especially considering the weather conditions they'd recently had, and judging by the lack of smell, the body hadn't been there long. There was no reason for him to be in the woods, so the only explanation was that it was a body dump.

"No," she sighed.

He watched as she reached up and turned the man's head towards him, bearing his neck where he saw two small puncture wounds.

"Magical," she answered.

He blinked in surprise, they'd never had a magical creature killing, but then again, they'd never know. If there had been it probably would've been blamed on a supernatural being as they wouldn't know the difference.

"Vampire," she said.

He stared at her completely surprised at what she'd revealed. He'd certainly never thought vampires were real before meeting her, and he'd never come across the victim of one either.

"According to the results of the tests I've just ran, this body's been here less than eight hours," she told him, her eyes darting about their surroundings and he felt himself mimicking her actions.

"Why do you seem worried by that?"

She turned her eyes back to him. "It means the vampire will be nearby," she muttered.

He felt himself stiffen at the news. Obviously he'd never met a vampire and he didn't really want to either.

"The body hasn't been drained so it still contains blood. The vampire will come back to finish the rest off, which means it's likely to end in a fight. The new laws stipulate that vampires are able to roam freely in the world so long as they refrain from harming a human. They need blood to survive, but it's been discovered that animal blood is a perfectly acceptable replacement for human blood. Should a vampire break the laws, they're to be taken into custody and they're imprisoned in a newly built prison that is specifically for magical creatures. Given that vampires are immortal they don't want to be imprisoned for the entirety of their immortal lives and would rather die than be captured, which always results in a fight to the death."

"Over my dead body," he said seriously, his body stiffening and his hands clenched into tight fists. "There's not a chance in hell I'm letting you anywhere near a vampire. I'm not letting you get hurt."

"Calm down, I didn't say I would be the one to fight it, now did I?" She said, sending him a less than pleased look for his outburst. She rose to her feet and pointed her wand, muttering, "Expecto Patromun," and the blue-silver otter burst from her wand in a mist of smoke, before she sent it off with a message to the American RCMC Department.

"I'll explain what that was later, but I've sent it to my government with news of what we've discovered. Someone should be here in less than an hour. They will track the vampire responsible and ensure the situation is dealt with."

He calmed at her words and rose to his full height, but worry still swam through his dark eyes as they moved between her and the dead body on the ground.

"Seriously, Derek, I've done my part and now we just have to..." Her voice trailed off and her eyes focused on a spot over his shoulder, widening slightly before a hardened and determined look crossed her face.

"Just have to what?" He questioned, bringing his arms up and crossing them over his chest.

"Derek?" She said, her voice soft, calm and quiet. "Derek, get behind me and don't do anything stupid."

"Excuse me?" He replied with a cocked eyebrow.

"Derek, get behind me and don't do anything stupid," she repeated, still not looking at him and he saw her grip her wand tighter.

"What? Why?" He frowned.

He felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end and a strange feeling washed over him, putting him on edge and unsettling the wolf in side of him. He felt his protective instincts towards Hermione and the baby flare up and his body tensed. Slowly, he twisted his body to look behind him and that's when he saw it, a man.

The first thing he noticed was the clothing he wore; it was strange and certainly not something he'd see anyone in Beacon Hills wearing. They almost looked old fashioned, as if he'd come from the past itself. He then noticed the deathly pale skin, the short, black hair slicked back and the fangs that were on show. The blood red eyes of the man were watching them both carefully, hungrily, like a predator. But what this vampire didn't realise was that he was a predator, too.

Even if he hadn't known what he was thanks to Hermione's explanation, it wouldn't have taken him long to figure it out.

"Get behind me," Hermione repeated once more but her voice a little louder this time.

Derek barely spared her a glance -not wanting to take his eyes off the vampire- as he turned his body to face the vampire and he stepped closer to Hermione, making sure she was stood behind him and protected by his larger, stronger frame. He clenched his hands into tight firsts, preparing to pull the wolf forward in order to protect Hermione and their baby.

He heard Hermione huff in annoyance but paid it no mind, his eyes locked in a gaze with the vampire who titled his head, watching him curiously.

"We know what you are, and you obviously know what I am," Hermione spoke from behind him, and he was glad that she was allowing him to protect her even if she was annoyed by it, but the baby came before her pride. "You have two options, you can come quietly and allow me to transport you to a holding cell, where your cooperation will help to reduce your sentence should you be proven guilty of harming a human, or, you decide you'd rather die than be captured."

"I prefer the third option," the vampire replied smoothly, a slight southern accent to his voice.

"There is no third option," Hermione said calmly.

"I kill you both and I gorge myself on your blood."

"Like I said, there is no third option."

Before Derek had the chance to blink Hermione darted out from behind him and to the side, a muttered word leaving her wand and catching the vampire around the ankles as he bolted towards them. Even he found it difficult to keep up with the super speed so he wasn't sure how Hermione had been able to.

The vampire crashed to the ground and he felt Hermione's hand wrap around his arm before she twisted on her heel and he found himself leaning against a tree for support at the top of the hill, whilst Hermione rummaged around inside her back pack, her eyes moving between the contents of the bag and the struggling vampire who appeared to be trying to rip off the invisible restraints from around his ankles.

Once the nausea had passed, he quickly moved to stand beside Hermione, keeping watch over the vampire and preparing to defend them both if he had to, but whatever Hermione had done was keeping him occupied for now.

Just as the vampire seemed to break free of whatever Hermione's spell had done and he snarled in anger and raced up the hill towards them, Hermione eyes lit up as she found what she was looking for. She removed three stone-like crystals from the bag and threw them in the air, a beam of light jetting out of her wand and hitting one of the crystals and ricocheting onto the other two.

Much to his surprise and awe, two of the crystals fell to the ground with a heavy thud and embedded themselves into the mud until they could no longer be seen. He clenched his fists tightly and held his breath as the vampire suddenly lunged for them, only for him to slam into an invisible barrier and the third and final crystal crashed to the ground. An electric buzzing sound could be heard and a blue-hued dome was visible around the vampire. He could see the vampire talking and snarling but it was as though the sound couldn't pass through the dome and neither could he.

He turned to look at Hermione, his eyes questioning and his guard still up.

"Vampire containment wards," she explained. "They won't last long as I was forced to cast the wards without enough time to properly set the magic into the crystals, hopefully an agent will arrive before the magic wears off." She leaned against a tree and he noticed that she both looked and sounded tired. "I'm fine," she told him after seeing his worried look and he took a step closer to her. "It's been a while since I've had to cast wards such as those and they're a complicated bit of magic, it takes quite a bit out of you and I'm already tired from the walking we've done and the pregnancy."

He opened his mouth to speak when a sharp 'crack' was heard and he startled at the noise, immediately taking a defensive position and his eyes darted about, looking for the one responsible.

"Relax, it's the agent," she told him. "They'll take care of the body and the vampire." She lifted her wand and shot off red sparks to show her location and minutes later, two agents, both male, appeared in their line of sight.

Hermione pushed away from the tree and made to climb back down the hill, shaking her head when Derek made to follow after her. It was clear he wasn't pleased for her to be with two men alone but he did respect her wishes, but that didn't mean he didn't listen to Hermione conversing with the two wizards, listening and watching for any signs of trouble or danger.

Barely ten minutes later she and the two wizards shook hands and she quickly climbed back up the hill, picked up her back pack and slung it over her shoulder before untying Magic from the tree and picking him up in her arms, uncaring for the way he covered her in mud. She then took a hold of Derek's arm and without warning, for the second time that day, she apparated them to just outside the cottage.

He leaned over with his hands on his knees, regaining his bearings and he heard Hermione casting spells over Magic to remove the majority of the mud and dirt from him, before she touched her wand to the door and it swung open. Silently she walked inside and with a flick of her wand removed both of their muddy shoes and she stalked through the cottage and to the bathroom.

She wasted no time in putting Magic in the bath, using a few charms to help with the removing of the mud and making him smell nice and when he was cleaner than thought possible, she dried him off and allowed him his freedom. She cleaned away the mess he'd left behind and then went to her bedroom where she removed her muddy clothes and not caring for the time of day, it only being around lunch, she put on some pyjamas and climbed into bed, needing some sleep.

Unfortunately, sleep wouldn't come to her and she tossed and turned to get herself more comfortable before sighing in defeat.

"I know you're there, Derek," she said aloud.

She heard the floorboards creak before her bedroom door was pushed open, revealing a worried looking Derek who had cleaned up and changed into other clothing.

"How'd you know I was there?" He questioned.

"I'm not stupid," she replied. "And I'm fine."

"We found a dead body that was killed by a vampire that wanted to and tried to kill us."

"Surprisingly, that's tame for what I'm used to dealing with." Her answer didn't placate him in the slightest and she knew it by the look on his face. "Honestly, I'm fine, just tired," she sighed, closing her eyes and trying to get comfortable again. She could feel his stare on her and she grumbled in annoyance before shifting in bed once more and lifting the duvet in invitation. "I want to sleep and it's obvious you're so worried about what happened that you don't want to leave me alone, even if we are in the same building. Just get in and stay quiet."

There was a few moments of silence before she heard his footsteps and he hesitantly climbed into bed, draping the blanket over his lap and sitting up with his back pressed against the headboard.

She did her best to ignore the feeling of his eyes watching her face, and having his steady breathing beside her, it helped to lull her into sleep.