CHAPTER FIFTEEN
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: 8
After Hermione had left The Ministry she returned to Andromeda's and immediately packed up her things, and after saying goodbye to a surprised Andromeda and a disappointed Teddy, she left the cottage and activated the port key earlier than she planned, just wanting to get home.
She'd arrived at The American Ministry, signed the appropriate paperwork and then apparated to her cottage. As she stepped inside there were no lights on and it was cold, so she quickly lit the fireplace with her wand, understanding the cottage was empty.
Given the fact it was a little after ten o'clock at night, she wasn't being greeted by an over excited puppy and she couldn't feel Derek's presence, she'd guessed Derek had taken Magic for his night time walk before bed.
Hermione kicked off her shoes and stripped off her coat before she collapsed onto the couch, pulling a cushion to her chest and wrapping her arms around it, and then the damn burst. The tears she'd been holding back since leaving Harry's office flowed freely and she sobbed, unable to stop.
She didn't know how long she'd been curled up on the couch sobbing her heart out, but the door opening drew her attention.
"Hermione?"
Through her bleary eyesight she saw Derek quickly approaching her after he growled out a command to Magic, preventing him from bounding over to her and he sat down in front of the fire obediently. Meanwhile, Hermione stood and met him halfway, throwing herself into his arms and holding onto him tightly as she sobbed into his chest.
"Hermione? What happened?" He muttered, the worry in his voice clear even as his nose brushed against her hair and he breathed in her scent, his head going dizzy after going so long without it.
She tried to answer him but couldn't through her sobs, so he scooped her up into his arms, moved over to the couch and sat down with her cradled against him, rumbling sounds leaving his chest, his wolf's attempt at calming her and it worked as soon her sobs had died down to sniffles.
He pulled her back from her to look at her face and what he saw broke his heart. Her face and eyes red from her cries, her cheeks showing signs of the path her tears had taken down her face and her eyes being puffy and bloodshot. She looked distraught, even more so than when he'd been injured and she'd healed him.
Uncaring for his t-shirt –it was already wet from her tears anyway- he removed his jacket and then reached down to grip the hem of his t-shirt, pulling it up and stretching it out so he could gently dab at her face, the fabric being soft against her sore eyes and cheeks. He then let his t-shirt fall back down and gently he cupped her face in his hands, locking gazes with her.
"Alright, can you tell me what happened?" He asked softly.
She gave another sniffle and took a deep breath. "I told Andy about the baby, she's happy for me and I actually think she wants to meet you, and I saw Teddy, Merlin, it was only a few weeks ago that I last saw him but I swear he's grown another three inches or so," she said and he chuckled at her. She gave another sniffle. "I went to see Harry at his office. He'd been avoiding me and making up excuses when I owled him, so Andy told me to just go to his office and then he had no choice but to talk to me. I told him about the baby and he didn't take it well. He said some hurtful things, and he took my ex's side, like he's always done, even when we were children. Since I've been gone he's been filling Harry's head with lies about me and now he hates me," she spoke, tears once more gathering in her eyes. "He's done it; he's finally succeeded in taking Harry from me."
She buried her face back against his chest and he wrapped his arms around her, rubbing circles on her back and making comforting rumbling sounds in his chest.
"I think it's time you tell me about this ex of yours," he said.
She reluctantly nodded and pulled back to look at him. "Can you..."
"What? What do you need?" He asked, reaching up to brush a fallen curl back from her face.
"Can you change your eyes?" She asked.
"Why?"
"I...I just want to see them, I think it'll help me, it'll calm me."
It was clear he was confused but he closed his eyes, took a breath and when they reopened Hermione was an observer to the bright blue orbs. She kept her gaze on his, feeling as though she could easily drown in his eyes.
"Thank you," she said. "My ex, his name's Ron Weasley."
"Wait, the Ron Weasley from the book?" He said.
"The one and only," she nodded. "Being friends throughout our childhood it was expected of us to one day marry and have a horde of children, and when the war ended things between us shifted. We both admitted we had feelings for each other and we became more than friends, and it got serious rather quickly. After the things we'd witnessed and been forced to do, we both knew that life was too short and we had to take the opportunity presented to us. At first things we great, I mean, he was the usual clueless, insensitive person he'd always been, but I overlooked it all. A year later I discovered he'd cheated on me."
An angry look crossed his face but his blue eyes never wavered from her and his hand came up to cup her face, she leaned into his touch and took comfort and strength from it.
"He said it was my fault, that I'd been neglecting him for my job and I could understand where he was coming from. I spent more time at work than I did home and I was so focused on helping others that I didn't give Ronald the attention I should've, and so I forgave him. How could I not? It was my fault."
"No, it wasn't," he spoke resolutely. "It wasn't your fault, you were doing important work helping to protect and preserve the lives of those that were hated and being hunted. He just used your compassion against you; he used your passion for helping others as an excuse."
"I know, I couldn't see it before, but I can now," she said quietly. "Not that it matters anymore," she sighed. "Anyway, after I forgave him I made sure to work hard to get a good work-life balance and I could give him what he needed. But it soon wasn't enough and he wanted more from me, and I couldn't fault him for it. After nearly two years of being together, we got engaged."
The arm around her back tightened against her; he hadn't known they'd been engaged.
"It appeased his mother somewhat, she's a very traditional woman, you know, the kind were cohabitation and sex before marriage is a sin? I imagine she'd have a thing or two to say about me right now," she said and he snorted at her. "We'd been living together for almost a year before we got engaged, luckily it was my flat and it was in my name. Anyway, I wasn't ready to get married and I had too much to do at work before I could even attempt to plan a wedding, so we waited two years until Ronald's whining and complaints and criticism became too hard to ignore and I gave in. If I hadn't broken up with him I would've been married to him this time last week."
"Why did you break up with him?"
"He did something I could never forgive him for doing. Ronald was pestering me about children. His mother had seven children and he wanted a big family, too, but I didn't. I don't think I can deal with so many kids and have a career at the same time, but that was one of the things we argued most about. I wanted to wait, he didn't. He wanted us to get married and have our first child by the time our anniversary rolled around, but I wasn't ready to give up my career. That was another point, he wanted me to quit my job and be a house-wife like his mother, he wanted me to cook and clean and raise the children. I can't be that person."
"No, you can't, even I know that," he agreed.
"Another reason is that Ronald hasn't always been kind to me. Even as children he tormented me and it continued into adulthood. He wasn't physically abusive, it was mostly psychological and emotional abuse I had to deal with." A growl left him and he tugged her forward, pulling her further into him. "You wanted to know why I think of myself so negatively, it's because of him. It wasn't often he complimented me. He never called me beautiful or pretty, he never appreciated anything I did for him, the things I sacrificed for him. He said I was bossy and stuck up and a cold hearted frigid bitch. He wasn't protective like you are, he was possessive. He didn't like it when I dressed up and went out with some of my work colleagues, he didn't like it when I spoke to other men; he didn't like it when I was tasked with going out of the country. He'd even accused me of cheating a few times," she said quietly. "But when the job came up for me to transfer here, he was very much against me taking it. I was so excited, I'd been specifically asked for and not because of who I was, but because they'd recognised my achievements and my hard work. I wanted to have new experiences and meet new people, but Ron all but said I wasn't allowed to take it."
"And then I discovered the biggest betrayal of all. He wanted children, I didn't yet, remember?" He nodded. "Well, it seems he took matters into his own hands. I caught him messing with my contraceptives, making sure they would fail. He'd been doing it for an entire year and I never even knew." His eyes widened and his mouth actually fell open in surprise and horror. "And that's when I broke up with him. I kicked him out of my flat five minutes later and warded it against him. I ignored his every attempt to contact me and I made it clear to everyone that I was definitely not marrying him. The next day I accepted the job offer and started making plans for my transfer here, and you know the rest."
"What did you ever see in him?" He asked.
"I honestly don't know, he was familiar I guess," she sighed. "It doesn't matter anymore, he's out of my life now and I don't ever plan and seeing him again."
"I hope we do," he said, and the way his face hardened and his jaw ticked let her know exactly why he wanted to meet him.
"Throughout our years at school we had many disagreements and Harry always took Ron's side no matter how many times he betrayed us and I was loyal to him. I'm the reason he actually passed his classes each year and he lived to survive another day. Harry was still my friend before I moved here, but Ron and Ginny have manipulated him into hating me and it's not hard to do, Harry's very impressionable, always has been, and it's why I was so protective of him growing up. I kept the witches away from him, the ones that only wanted him for his fame and wealth, and it's why Ginny hates me so much."
"She's his wife?" He guessed.
"Yes, she's a year younger than us and she had a massive crush on him, she used to follow him around and fawn over him. She once embarrassed him in front of the entire school when she sent him this Valentine's Day poem, and he's hated Valentine's Day since. I saw right through her, I knew why she wanted him so I kept her away from him for as long as I could, but she got her claws into him when he was sixteen and there was nothing I could do. She hated me because I was the only witch he paid attention to, he was clueless when it came to the opposite sex; he didn't see me as a girl until I was bloody eightteen. She resents me for that fact, so when she has the chance to assassinate my character she takes the opportunity with both hands. Between her and Ron, they've turned him against me. He was like my little brother, and I've lost him to them."
He brought both hands up to her cheeks and his blue eyes bore into her. "You don't need him," he told her. "You don't need him because you have me and the baby, whether or not we work as a couple, you'll always have me."
She titled her head forward and pressed a soft kiss to his mouth. "I've really missed you," she sighed, moving to hug him tightly and a smile pulled at her mouth when she felt his nose nuzzling at her neck.
"How'd you sleep?" She asked him.
"Terrible, you?"
"Terrible," she echoed. "But every morning I'd wake up to a little bundle snuggled against me."
He pushed her back from him so he could look at her face. "Meaning?" He questioned, jealously and protectiveness flashing in his blue orbs.
"Teddy, the little pup kept sneaking out of his room and climbing into my bed when I was sleeping. I suppose he wasn't too bad a replacement for you, but he snores and for such a little thing, it's bloody loud."
He chuckled at her and shook his head and he lifted his hand to her cheek, seeing the redness had faded from her face and the puffiness was gone from her eyes but they still looked a little red.
"Is Teddy a werewolf, too?"
"No," she shook her head. "Magical werewolves are unable to pass lycanthropy to their offspring, it's not hereditary like supernatural werewolves. It's only possible on the night of the full moon by a bite or deep scratch. And while Teddy is human, he does have the few traits of slightly better senses and he can tell when other werewolves are nearby, but he's different because of his mother, Tonks."
"Why?" He raised an eyebrow.
"She had the rare ability of being able to change her appearance at will, and Teddy has it too. Even at the young age of five, he's able to control his shifting, but his hair colour is dependent on his mood, which is always blue, a sign of him being happy. Tonk's was bubblegum pink."
"That's actually kind of cool," he commented and she chuckled at him.
"Yeah, my Teddy Bear's one of a kind," she sighed, before shaking her head. "So, what've you been doing since I've been gone?" She questioned. "Please tell me you stayed out of trouble."
"The weather here's been terrible the last few days so I haven't left the cottage much, only when I had to get groceries. But for the first few days Magic and I spent a bit of time in the woods, and I met up with another friend from an allied pack."
"Was this a meeting or a meeting, meeting?" She questioned.
"The former," he chuckled.
"Thank Merlin, if I'd come home to you having chunks missing, I would've flipped."
"Probably," he agreed.
"There's something I want to show you," she said.
He raised an eyebrow when she pulled herself free from his hold and climbed off his lap to stand in front of him. She smiled at him as she removed her robes, dropping them onto the couch and then she lifted her t-shirt and turned to the side, and even in the darkness of the room he could see perfectly. Her baby bump, his first time seeing it.
He stared at it, refusing to turn his eyes away in case it was a mind trick. The first outward sign of their baby growing inside of her, and it was a lot bigger than he was expecting.
"I know, I was surprised, too. It just seemed to come out of nowhere. When I left for Britain I had the slightest bump that wasn't even noticeable and now," she gestured down to her stomach. "I have a bloody mountain," she said. "I'm only thirteen weeks along and I can't understand why it's so bloody big, I've had to alter my jeans so they'd fit."
He was still staring at her stomach, in fact, she was sure he had yet to blink. She moved closer until she was stood in front of him and with one hand she held her t-shirt up and the other she reached down to pick up his hand and she placed it against her stomach. The moment she did so he seemed to snap back to attention and he raised his beautiful blue eyes to look at her, seeing her smiling at him, and then he lowered his gaze back to her stomach.
He brought his other hand up to her hip and he gently tugged her forward so she stepped in-between his parted legs and he leaned forward, pressing his nose against her stomach and inhaling deeply, a wolf-like whine leaving his lips and he pressed his nose against her more firmly, nuzzling at her baby bump and his facial hair tickled her and made her giggle and squirm.
"Stop that, it tickles," she said, removing her hand that had been holding his to her stomach and smacking at his shoulder gently.
"It strange, I knew you were pregnant, I could smell it, but now it just seems..."
"Real?" She finished for him. "I know, and I also know this means you're going to be more protective of me." She said, before a yawn escaped her.
"Tired?" He asked, still staring at her stomach and she nodded in reply. "Come on, then, it's getting late anyway."
He was reluctant to remove his hand from her stomach but he allowed her to step away from him and she put out the fire before heading to her bedroom, where she changed into a t-shirt and a pair of shorts and she slipped into bed and she was soon joined by Derek who stripped down to his boxers. Since that night they'd slept together and admitted their attraction for the other, he'd slept beside her every night since and she couldn't tell him to sleep in his own bed as she slept better when he was with her and she liked being held by him, feeling his presence even in her sleep, feeling safe and cared for.
He pulled her over to him and she went willingly, moving to cushion her head on his chest, his heart beat calming her and she hooked her arm over him, her hand resting between the junction of his neck and shoulder. His arm wrapped around her and his hand found its way under her t-shirt, pressing against her stomach and feeling her baby bump beneath his fingers, while the other he slipped behind his head.
"There's something I want to tell you," he said.
"Okay, what is it?" She said sleepily.
"I want to tell you about Paige."
She lifted her head from his chest to look up at him and she noted that his eyes were now his usual brown. She kind of missed the beautiful blue.
"You don't have to if you don't want to," she told him softly.
"If you can tell me about your asshole ex, then I can tell you about Paige," he replied, but he didn't look at her, rather his eyes were locked on the ceiling. She remained quiet and laid back down against him, allowing her fingers to trace his skin in what she hoped was comforting to him.
"I met Paige when I was fifteen. I was with my friends and playing basketball in the corridors of the school, she'd been in the band room practicing her cello and we'd disturbed her so she came out to ask us to move. I'd never seen her before, but she was beautiful and caught my attention straight away. Back then I was arrogant and so I teased her, but later I felt bad about it so I went to apologise to her. She didn't seem to like me at first and I didn't blame her for it either, but before I knew it, we were dating, and I visited her every day while she was practicing her cello and I made it a point to distract her so she'd get frustrated with me. We used to sneak out to the edge of town and spend time together. Peter, my Uncle, he was a manipulative bastard even when he was younger and I didn't see it until it was too late."
She shifted closer to him and remained silent.
"I loved her, she was my first love and I was convinced we'd be together forever. Peter convinced me that Paige would hate me once she knew the truth about me. He said the only way for us to be together was to have her changed. I resisted at first but he was relentless and I didn't want to lose her, so I eventually gave in. Peter arranged for another Alpha to bite her and she was lured to the school where he was waiting for her. At the last moment I changed my mind and I went to stop it from happening but when I got there I could hear her screaming and I despite my size, I did my best to fight off the fully grown Alpha, but it was too late, she'd already been bitten. Her body rejected the bite and it was slowly killing her and I took her to our little hideout. I tried to save her but there was nothing I could do and I dulled the pain the best I could, but she was still dying. In the end she begged me to kill her, and I never could deny her anything, so I did. She died in my arms and by my hand. She's the reason my eyes are blue, I took an innocent life and my eyes are a reflection of that."
He fell silent and Hermione noted that throughout his explanation his voice had been emotionless, detached.
When she felt his eyes on her she looked up at him, seeing him watching her intently.
"Still think my eyes are beautiful?" He questioned.
She pushed herself up onto her elbow so she could look down at him. "Yes, I do," she said honestly. "You are not to blame for what happened, Derek. You were young and in love and you didn't want to lose her. I can relate; I was the same with Harry only it was more familial than it was romantic. You won't believe some of the things I did to protect him and keep him safe. It wasn't your fault that you were manipulated by someone you thought you could trust, at that age you were impressionable and he played on your emotions and fears. You did what you thought was best and unfortunately it didn't work. It's awful what happened to Paige, but you are not to blame. And you didn't take an innocent life. You relieved her from her pain and suffering, you gave her a peaceful death. You're not a killer, and it wasn't your fault," she assured him. "I promise you, Derek, you're a good man, and I'm glad that you're the father of my baby."
She huffed out a breath when he pulled her down to him, shifting her so that she lay on top of him, their chests pressed together, his arms wrapped around her holding her to him and his nose burying against her neck.
"Thank you," he muttered against her skin. "I think I needed to hear that."
"Well it's the truth, you know I don't lie to you, it's practically impossible." He snorted at her. "Now, please don't hate me," she said.
He pulled his face back to lock his eyes with hers. "Why?"
She gave him a sheepish look. "I really want a chocolate milkshake. Like really badly."
He stared at her before he chuckled and shook his head. "Well, I've planned for this. When I went for groceries I not only picked up more vanilla ice-cream, but I got some chocolate ice-cream too, and some chocolate milkshake powder, so your craving will be catered to no matter the time of day or night."
"Oh thank Merlin," she sighed, "Make me one please?" She all but begged.
"When have I ever refused you a chocolate milkshake?" He chuckled.
She beamed at him and peppered his face with little kisses. "You are now my most favourite person in the entire world, well, except for my little Teddy Bear, of course."
He snorted at her and buried his nose back against her neck.
"Oi!" She smacked at his shoulder. "Why aren't you making me a milkshake?"