CHAPTER TEN
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: 10
Hermione slowly and quietly made her way through the building and to the last known destination of the hunter since checking the occupants of the building. Her wand was gripped tightly in her hand, her mind listing off the appropriate Shielding Charms and her eyes carefully searching her surroundings should someone try to jump out at her and take her by surprise.
She moved through the corridor and came to a door on the right. When she opened it and shot a ball of light into the room, it was to see it looking like an office space and the room being unoccupied. She left the door cracked open so she would be able to hear if someone were to shut it or open it further to get inside.
She moved to the room on the left, opening the door and firing in lighting to see a filing room and it was also empty. The third room was on the left and looked to contain stacked office equipment of packaged desks and chairs, and it was empty. The fourth room was on the right wall and when she opened the door and shot a ball of light inside, it was to see another office, only this one looked to have been moved around.
The desk that had once been on the left wall as soon as you walked into the room, was now on the back wall and the table that had been on the right wall was now beside the desk and tipped on its side, looking like a shield of sorts. She felt her hairs stand up on end and her instincts were warning her to be careful. She cancelled all lighting in the room and silently crept inside, making sure to check behind the door for anyone hiding.
She slowly made her way towards the small barricade and as she was almost there and without being detected, growls and howls and snarls suddenly sounded in the building, echoing and the sound travelling to her on the opposite side of the storage facility.
The sounds told her that Derek and James had found their target and a fight had broken out and she sent a quick pray to Merlin and the Founder's that they'd be alright. The silence in the room was broken moments after, a shuffling being heard before a gunshot sounded and being unable to see in the dark room, she ducked to the ground in hopes of it missing her.
Not feeling any pain or injuries, she knew she hadn't been hit and while on the floor, she took a moment to calm herself, centre her magic and then she cast one of the strongest shields she had in her repertoire, knowing from experience that it would and could defend against bullets but not for long periods of time.
"Protego Totalum," she muttered, the shield covering the top half of her body as she slowly stood up, hearing gunshots continuing to go off but knowing they wouldn't hit her for the time being, but it reminded her she had to be quick.
She pushed more of her magic into the shield; making it so it covered the entirety of the front of her body so she was no longer at risk of taking a bullet to her legs. She moved forward towards the barricade before she ducked down in front of the table and she crawled around behind it.
"Expelliarmus," Hermione muttered, when she heard the sound of the clip being reloaded and the gun flew from the hunter's hand and into hers. "Stupefy," she said, the stunner hitting Dexter in the chest and she heard the thud as he fell to the floor.
Knowing he was detained for now, Hermione sent a ball of light up into the air, providing enough lighting in the room that she could see bullet holes in the wall and door and shell casings on the ground. She turned her eyes to the hunter who looked to have been sleeping behind the barricade, a sleeping bag being laid out on the ground and a back pack being used as a pillow.
Hermione levitated Dexter until he was sitting up against the wall and she cast an Incarcerous to ensure he couldn't escape. She then checked him for any more weapons and found a silver knife and two other hand guns, before she moved them far out of reach.
She then cast an Enervate, and Dexter slowly came to, his eyes blinking in the bright lights in the room before they landed on her.
"Hello, I presume you're Shaun Dexter," she spoke, crouched down in front of him with her head titled to the side, her wand hidden up her sleeve and her arms draped over her legs and dangling down towards the ground.
"You know my name, but I don't know yours," he replied, his green eyes taking in the features of her face with caution, and he huffed out a breath, blowing a stray piece of blonde hair out of his face.
"I imagine not. Do you know the name Hermione Granger?" She questioned.
His eyes narrowed and he frowned slightly. "I've heard it in passing," he admitted.
She blinked, having not expected that answer. After all, she was better known with the hunters in Europe, she hadn't expected her fame to have travelled to other continents.
"From what I've heard, she's a hunter that hunts other hunters."
She rolled her eyes. "Of course you people would make me out to be the bad guy," she sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose.
"You're her?"
"I am, what gave it away, my accent?" She raised an eyebrow, but he didn't answer her. "I'm not a hunter, I'm a protector and a liaison, or at least I was before I was transferred to the States, my current job's a little different," she shrugged. "Anyway, my job was to ensure that hunters such as yourself stayed far away from those that were on our protection list. You were free to hunt those that harmed a human, but if you harm an innocent, that's when problems arise and I'm brought in to clean up the mess. From our records, you've fifty-three confirmed kills and twenty-six suspected kills, and unfortunately for you, almost a third of those are of those that were on our protection list, so, you committed a crime and it's my job to take you in, and I must warn you, I'm in a very bad mood because of you. I'd rather be home in bed snuggling with my dog and drinking chocolate milkshakes, but instead I'm here in a creepy arse building with a rampaging werewolf on the loose. Don't worry though, my associates are taking care of him for me."
"Surely we can come to arrangement," he spoke, his eyes trailing her features and a spark of heat flickering in his eyes.
"Afraid not," she replied. "I've a job to do and if I let you go I could get in a lot of trouble. I admit, you're good at evading capture, the Americans have been after you for two years, but I'm the best at what I do, hence my finding you in less than eight hours. And you could look at me that way all you wish to, I'm not going to let you go free in exchange for sexual favours. I admit my hormones are all over the place at the moment, and that you're handsome..." He smirked at her. "But, you see, I'm pregnant." His smirk dropped from his face and his eyes fell to her stomach. "Exactly, if my partner finds out you shot at me, he'll kill you, so you see, I'm actually doing you a favour by arresting you. But first, it's my understanding you've got two known innocent werewolves held hostage and I want to know where they are. If you tell me it'll help your case and although you'll still get life imprisonment, you might be eligible for a few luxury items a few years into your sentence."
"I have no idea what you're talking about," he told her.
"Hmm," she hummed. "Very well, I was hoping to not have to do this because it's leaves my victim with a monstrous headache, but I suppose it's your fault since you refused the easy option."
She slipped her wand from her sleeve and muttered, "Legilimens," and she was instantly sucked into his mind. She felt sickened at some of the things she saw in his memories but she focused on finding Ronnie and Connor, and after a few minutes, she pulled back from his mind, leaving him panting and he slumped against the wall.
"What did you do to me?" He asked her, his face paling and he groaned as the monstrous headache she'd warned him about hit him.
"You'll never know, and even if I weren't pregnant, I wouldn't sleep with you. You're rotten to the core. The prettiest things usually are the deadliest, and thank you for giving me everything I needed. The next time you wake up, you'll be in a holding cell and waiting to be put on trial for your crimes."
She knocked him out and stood up, feeling herself going dizzy and she held onto the over turned table to steady herself and keep her upright. She hated having to go digging through someone's mind no matter the circumstances, but now she was pregnant it'd been a lot harder to concentrate on her end goal and remain in control of her magic. She'd pushed her magic to the limit that day, especially after several apparition jumps, using blood tracking magic, casting her shields, casting offensive magic and using Legilimency. It was a wonder she was still standing, and she knew she'd be getting a headache of her own soon.
She shook her head and strained her hearing, understanding that the fight between the three werewolves wasn't yet over; the one they were after was obviously putting up a fight. She sighed, before she bent down and gripped Dexter by the shoulder and she spun on her heel.
~000~000~000~
Hermione had been gone from the storage facility just over half an hour, and in that time frame, she'd transported Shaun Dexter to The Ministry, earning surprised responses from those that were on duty as she strolled into the offices with a man they'd been after for two years. She filled out the paperwork as quickly as she could before she apparated to an abandoned cottage about fifteen miles from the storage facility, where she found both werewolves held hostage in the basement.
It had taken her a little while to get the two werewolves to trust her, especially the terrified teenage girl, but after a little while, she was able to knock them both out, she freed them of their restraints and apparated them to the Maybelle Motel, where she'd already purchased two rooms for the night. She did a little altering of their memories to ensure they wouldn't suffer too greatly from what had happened to them, by removing the worst of the torture she knew they'd endured, and after tending to their wounds, she left them both sleeping in their rooms and apparated back to the storage facility.
She stepped out of the building and made her way back to the parked cars, feeling the exhaustion of using so much magic in one day beginning to set in. She knew she was going to sleep tonight.
She caught sight of James sitting in the driver's side of Derek's car with the door left open and he seemed unable to sit still, while Derek was pacing back and forth agitatedly, running his hand through his hair and growls emitting from him every so often.
"Where the hell have you been?" Derek demanded. He stopped in his pacing and he turned to face her, an angry looking scowl on his face and a growl wrapping around his words.
"Taking care of Dexter," she replied, watching Derek like he was a ticking time bomb that was about to explode and her steps towards him slowed.
He sighed at seeing her reaction to him and after running his hand through his hair once more, he quickly approached her, taking her in his arms and hugging her to him tightly. His nose bushed the skin of her neck and she heard him inhale deeply while he muttered words under his breath, she didn't know what, it sounded like another language, Spanish, she thought.
"I'm absolutely fine," she told him, her voice muffled as her face was pressed into his chest.
"We heard the gunshots," he said.
"And not a single one hit me, like I said they wouldn't. Now, you're squeezing and I can't breathe."
His hold on her loosened enough that she was able to step back from him but a growl of warning slipped from his mouth and she rolled her eyes when he tugged her back into him, this time with his chest to her back so she stood in front of him and his arm wrapped around her possessively to rest against her stomach.
"We searched the entire building, twice, we couldn't find you," James spoke, stepping out of the car.
"That's because I wasn't here," she shrugged her shoulders, her eyes searching him for injuries. He had a few nasty looking wounds on his torso and one on his face, but they didn't seem to be bothering him so she assumed he wasn't worried about them. He was talking to her and standing up perfectly fine, too.
"What do you mean? Where were you?" He frowned.
"I took Dexter to my offices, he's been detained and he's currently sitting in a cell unconscious."
"And Ronnie and Connor?"
She smiled at him and she felt Derek let out a sigh of relief. "Both fine," she assured him. "Once I dropped Dexter off, I retrieved them. It took me longer to convince them I was friendly than it did to take out Dexter." She dug into her pocket and pulled out two room keys, throwing them both to James and he caught them, looking down at them confused. "They're both currently asleep and healing in rooms nine and ten of the Maybelle Motel."
"How? How did you find them, rescue them, get them to safety and return here in less than an hour and all without help or a car?" She smiled at him innocently. "I know, you can't tell me," he spoke, looking at Hermione in awe.
"There's something else, too," she said, once more reaching into her pocket and pulling out a piece of paper, and seeing as Derek didn't want to release her from his hold, James walked over to her and took it from her.
His eyes widened and he spluttered. "Twenty-five grand? What's that for?"
Her smile widened. "Turns out there's a bounty on Shaun Dexter. I collected it and had them make it out to you. Once you cash the cheque the money should be in your bank within a few days."
"I can't take it, you're the one that did all the work," he told her, trying to push it back into her hands.
She shook her head and folded her arms over her chest. "No, it's yours; I don't need the money, do you?" She asked, looking up at Derek over her shoulder.
"Definitely not," Derek snorted, apparently being in a better mood now.
"See, it's yours. You're the one that lost a family member; you can use the money to give him a proper send off." He stared at her. "I assume the werewolf's dead."
Derek nodded. "That stuff you gave me did what you said it would. We've burned the body."
She bit her lip. "I should probably do a loop through the building, I'm sure your blood's all over the place and it'll lead back to you. I need to do a crime scene clean up."
"You can apparently travel to places quicker than humanly possibly, you can defend against bullets, you can track someone from miles away, you can speed up the healing process of the human body and you can do a crime scene clean up, too. Is there anything you can't do?" James asked, watching her with wide eyes.
Hermione bit her lip in thought. "Chess. I can't play chess, I suck at it."
James blinked and Derek snorted as Hermione wriggled her way free of his hold and she turned and headed for the building once more.
"Derek, what the hell is she?" James asked, watching Hermione's retreating back.
"You wouldn't believe me if I told you," Derek replied, slipping his hands into his jean pockets, also watching Hermione with a fond smile on his face.
"I actually believe you. She's a fucking miracle worker, that one."
"You don't have to tell me, I already know."
~000~000~000~
By the time they returned to the Maybelle Motel, it was after three o'clock in the morning, Hermione was dead on her feet and Derek had to carry her to the motel room as she was so tired she could barely walk. She'd told him what she'd done in the car, about her reading Dexter's mind and altering Ronnie's and Connor's memories –which more than surprised him that she could do that, James was right. What couldn't she do?- and how it was now taking its toll on her body and magic, and of course she was already tired from the pregnancy.
He'd been worried when she'd dropped off to sleep soon after, his eyes darting between watching the road and her, making sure there was nothing wrong with her. After saying a quick goodbye to James, Derek entered his motel room with a half asleep Hermione in his arms and he placed her on the bed, helping her to remove her shoes and jacket.
Not knowing if she had any clothing with her and she being too tired to answer his questions, he crossed the room to his duffle bag –being so glad that he always kept a go bag in the car for emergencies- and he removed a clean t-shirt and made his way back over to her.
Apparently not caring for being naked in front of him, after all, he'd already seen her naked, she tiredly stripped off her jeans and t-shirt, revealing her half naked form to him and only being clad in her cotton underwear. There was nothing sexy about it, but she hadn't intended for there to be.
Derek's eyes flickered down to her stomach seeing it lacking any evidence of her pregnancy, but for a brief moment, he caught sight of a small selection of scars gathered close to her right hip, before it was covered when Hermione pulled his t-shirt over her head. It was far too big for her but she didn't care, the fabric was comfortable and soft against her skin and his scent lingered on the fabric, invading her nose and helping her to fall asleep before her head had even hit the pillow.
Derek covered her with the blanket before he went into the bathroom, removing his bloody and torn t-shirt to see a few wounds on his chest but they were already healing. There weren't as bad as they were the night before and he knew they'd be healed by the morning. He threw the t-shirt in the bin and jumped in the shower, being careful of his injuries. When he dried himself off and dug through his medical supplies, he applied a few bandages to his wounds and then dressed in a clean t-shirt and underwear.
Without hesitation he climbed into bed behind Hermione, instinctively pulling her sleeping form over to him and he wrapped himself around her, pressing his hand to her stomach and his nose in the crook of her neck and shoulder, breathing in her scent which lulled him into a peaceful sleep.
~000~000~000~
Hermione woke to something heavy thrown over her waist and feeling warm, really warm. The sun flittered in through the gap in the curtains and bathed her face in the warm of its rays, and her eyes fluttered open when she felt something nuzzling at her neck. Adjusting to the light in the room, she looked down to see the heavy weight being an arm and she felt a rumble in the chest that was pressed up to her back.
"I don't think you realise how much like a wolf you really are," she muttered, her voice sounding groggy as she hadn't yet fully woke up.
She felt his deep chuckle. "No?" He said, and he sounded far more awake than she felt.
"No, stop sniffing at me, it's weird."
"Not to me," he replied with a shrug, his hand smoothing over her clothed stomach, back and forth.
"You didn't seriously sniff at every girl you came into contact with, did you? Because if you did, I might have to rethink this whole strange relationship we have."
He snorted at her. "No, only you."
"And you don't think that's weird?"
"No, it's a wolf thing. You're carrying my baby, you smell like me. It's comforting that my scent's all over you, it'll offer you protection, too. Any other wolf you come into contact with will smell another wolf over you and know that you're part of a pack, they'll know you're protected and should they harm you they'll bring war to themselves."
"Scott hasn't said anything," she replied.
"He might now be an Alpha, but he hasn't been a werewolf long, and he wasn't born one like me. It's instinctual for me to pick up on the scent of another werewolf, Scott's still learning. Your scent's different not only because of me, but the baby, too. Scott hadn't met you before you were pregnant so he won't notice the difference, but I do. I remember what you smiled like that night and although it's only a subtle change, I can still pick up on it."
"Whatever you say," she mumbled, closing her eyes and snuggling back into the pillow beneath her. "What time is it?"
"A little after eleven," he answered.
"I'm going back to sleep, I'm exhausted."
"Really? You got a full eight hours and you never once moved in your sleep."
"I didn't? Not even a little bit?" She asked, sounding surprised.
"No, not even when James came by a few hours ago to thank you and say goodbye. He left around nine this morning, wanting to get Ronnie and Connor back to their families."
"Have you been awake since?" She asked. He nodded and she felt the movement against her neck. "Why didn't you wake me?"
"You obviously needed your sleep or you would've woken when James was here, he wasn't exactly quiet; he woke up half the residents."
She snorted at him. "Well, like I said, I wore myself out yesterday. I haven't used that much magic in one day in a long time and the pregnancy doesn't help either."
"Well, you go back to sleep for a bit if you're tired."
"And what are you going to do whilst I'm sleeping?"
"I'm good here," he shrugged, pulling her closer to him and slipping his other arm under her to cushion her head.
"You're really strange," were her last words before she fell back to sleep.
~000~000~000~
The second time Hermione woke, it was to the feel of a hot hand being pressed against the bare skin of her stomach and finger tips tracing gentle patterns below her belly button where her baby was growing and developing.
Feeling too hot, she kicked the blanket off herself, sighing when the coolness of the room hit the bare skin of her legs like a summer's breeze.
A chuckle from behind her had her eyes opening. "What?" She grumbled. "It's like I'm cuddling a bloody volcano, you're hot."
"Thanks," he muttered against her neck. Seriously? He was still sniffing her?
"Shut up," she sighed. "What time is it?"
"A little after two-thirty," he answered.
"And what have you been doing for the last three hours?"
"This," he shrugged his shoulders, his nose continuing to run the length of her neck and she brought her hands up above her head to stretch out her body, he moved to nuzzle at the new skin available to him. A giggle left her and she reached over to slap at his shoulder.
"Stop that, it tickles," she complained and he chuckled at her. "I'm hungry," she sighed.
"You slept through breakfast and lunch. What do you want?"
"Ice-cream," she answered.
"You can't have ice-cream for lunch, it's got no nutritional value and it's not just you now. You need actual food."
"Sorry, Mum," she replied sarcastically.
"We'll get you ice-cream for dessert, but what do you want for an actual meal?"
"I don't know, something with mash potato, maybe a hamburger or even tomato soup. Oh, I know, all three."
"That sounds disgusting," his nose twitched.
"No, it sounds wonderful, disgusting is fish tacos."
"Can't argue with you on that one," he chuckled.
"We should probably get up, we have to get back to Beacon Hills, and I need to pick up Magic from Scott's, and Crookshanks and Snowball have been on their own since yesterday lunch time. They'll need feeding and tending to. I'd prefer to apparate but I don't think my magic's up to it."
"The Lord does have mercy," he said.
"It's a lot better than an hour and a half drive. I could have us home within minutes, the only side effect is feeling a little nauseous for a few minutes afterwards."
"It's not little, it's a genuine problem."
"Stop complaining, I'm nauseous every day and I actually do throw up. And it's your fault," she said.
"How's it my fault?"
"It's your baby that's doing it to me," she grouched.
"Hey, you were there, too, Witch. It takes two to make a baby."
"No, I'm blaming you. You and your bloody super sperm."
"Super sperm, really?"
"Really, how else would you explain me getting knocked up on the first go?"
He shrugged. "It's could've been the second, or the third, or even the fourth," he smirked against her skin and she lifted her hand to once more slap at his shoulder.
"I'm still blaming you."
"Well, there's only one way to find out," he muttered, his hand smoothing over her stomach but she brought her hand up to stop his from moving further.
"I want food," she sighed.
"But you said your hormones were acting up, what kind of person would I be if I let the mother of my child suffer?"
She snorted at him. "Well, right now my hormones are still asleep and I need feeding. You feed me, you feed the baby."
"Fine," he grumbled, reluctantly releasing her from his hold and pulling back from her.
He sat up with his back pressing against the headboard, watching as she climbed out of bed, stretched with her hands above her head and her t-shirt rode up her body and he titled his head to the side, watching the movement with his mouth twitching into a smile.
"Oi, stop staring, you need to feed me," she said, crossing her arms over her chest and narrowing her eyes at him.
He rolled his eyes. "Alright, let's see if we can get you your disgusting food."
She scoffed. "Well, I won't be sharing with you then, will I? More for me," she said, storming into the bathroom and shutting the door behind her in a huff, leaving behind his laughter.