Here's the next one!
And Hey! The Vortex breached 100 Followers! A big thank you to all of you, and I hope you'll enjoy the chapter 3
1) English is my SECOND language, furthermore: my dad is Canadian, in school we used British English, and a good part of the books I've read are in American English.
2) I don't have a Beta currently, however if you'd like to take the job on or want to recommend someone, I'll be all eyes.
3) I don't mind criticism, I'd probably enjoy constructive criticism. However, if you don't like the story, don't read it. Nobody forces you to keep on reading. If I notice that someone is bashing my story or me repeatedly, I'll announce them as a tsundere – what else is somebody supposed to be if they keep on complaining but don't stop reading the story?
4) Pairings are as of right now still open – if you have an idea, I'd love to hear them – especially with an explanation. I'm also open to multiple partners. Hermione's final pairing will not be fem!slash. NOT because I've got something against it, but because I can't personally identify with it and wouldn't know how to write it. Maybe she'll date another girl for a while but nothing that will last. That doesn't mean that I won't try my best to include same gender relationships.
5) If you'd like something to happen or have an idea for a situation, just post it or write to me and I'll take a look. I can't promise that it'll show up, but if it does I'll give credit where it's due.
6) The Vortex will include the khr plot, even if I don't know how far along it will be when Hermione shows up.
7) I will try my best to update regularly, but I won't make any promises. What I can promise, is that I'll do my best to update the chapters of their Arcs within a few days. The Arcs being: Before Hogwarts, Year 1, Year 2, etc.
8) I might, at some point, maybe, post the story on AO3 and/or Wattpad. If that happens or if I decide to start posting anything else there, I will, of course, inform you and tell you my username.
9) Finally, neither ´Harry Potter´ or ´Katekyō Hitman Reborn!´ are owned by me. They belong respectively to J. K. Rowling and Akira Amano. I claim only possible Oc's, anything that does not happen in the stories, and the idea of The Vortex.
Blossomdemonfox12: Well, here it is ;) I hope it won't disappoint!
Hitsugaya Ren: Wow, you're pairings for Hermione seem to get a lot more bloodthirsty. I should feel sorry for the rest of them, but for some reason I really don't… I will probably disappoint you with the whole 'Dumbels-is-a-bad-guy' thing, but I'm thinking about a 'Reading-the-Books' where the students pretty much say "Fuck you" to both, Dumbledore and Voldemort. I don't think I've told you before, but I really appreciate that you review constantly =)
shadewatcher: I aim to please =D (muahahaha)
Rubles the Amazing Cookie Mom: It's a work in progress, but they are slowly getting longer. I'm only now slowly getting more people whose pov I can take, and I'm still trying to find a good balance.
Kain Vixenheim: Ah, I was wondering when the first person would comment on that one! Thank you so much for Reviewing constantly, it means a lot =)
.13: I'm sure Fon will come up with some interesting methods, though more might show up in Flashbacks in later chapters. He will be aware of it, but I doubt he'll be involved. He might have a few contacts, but a real Network will only develop over the course of the years, and even that only for Hermione.
polarsky: Thank you! Hermione is one of my favorite characters, and she has so much potential! She'll be a bit different from the book, obviously, but she's one of those characters that a writer can adapt easily to different situations.
Penny is wise: Harry is Hermione's soul-brother, if you ask me, so he'll definitely show up a lot, but he's also a teenager that does his own things, so there will be times when he might fade more into the background. He does seem like a Cloud, but what would be his territory, his friends (that he always tries to push away because he thinks they'll be safer) or Hogwarts, his home that he has to leave regularly? Maybe a Clouded Lightning?
5. Setting things into Motion
Hermione stared at the martial artist in awe as he took care her scrapes and bruises. Most of them weren't actually bad since she was wearing a long-sleeved pullover and jeans (okay, so she should have worn a jacket but she wasn't really paying attention this morning), so only her hands got a bit scratched up.
Contrary to what he might believe, it wasn't his height that had her silenced, but the fact that she had heard of him before. Growing up she was repeatedly told that he was the fastest person in the world and that he was the master of around 107 different martial arts. And he wanted to teach her! Hermione Granger! Hermione could jump around in joy (yes, she was slightly fangirling. So what?). Not only that, it was also mentioned that he was an honorable man and that should they ever cross, that she could trust him with her life.
Hermione refocused on the man in front of her. She had a phone-call to make, but that could wait until later.
"Has the monkey been following me around?" Hermione blurted out suddenly. She turned red and wanted to cringe, that was not how she planned on opening a conversation. Fon just hummed with a soft smile and finished up on her hand. He stepped back looking satisfied and repositioned himself on the table, now comfortably sitting across from her.
"His name is Lichi, he is my… companion and partner that I trust with my life. I asked him to keep an eye on you while I got some things organised", Fon explained patently with a knowing smile (So she was nervous, sue her).
"Now, I believe I have mentioned it before, but I plan on making you my student, Miss Granger."
"But why?" Hermione couldn't help herself. She just didn't understand why such a renowned man would want to spend time training her. Why help her that day in the alley, why stay, and why spend time to not only keep an eye on her but also interfere when she got cornered today? She didn't have to say anything, Fon seemed to understand perfectly well what she wanted to say. He took a sip of his tea (when did he make that?) and contemplated on how he should explain it to her.
"Because I saw the look in your eyes," he stated clearly. Hermione tilted her head to the side with wide, curious eyes and something tingled in the back of his mind but he shook it off.
"To begin with, the whole situation caught my attention. You were aware that they were going to approach you, and you knew that there was no way for you to get away. Only, you did have one, did you not?" Hermione blushed slightly. "Getting cornered at that alley was a strategic move. You were already aware of the container beforehand, I assume you made note of it beforehand should you ever be in need of an escape-route, even if it was a bit of a risk." Fon shot her a knowing look at her which she answered with a sheepish smile, shrugging her shoulders.
He shook his head in silent amusement, before he went on. "You planned on getting out of this situation, no matter what." His tone grew more serious now. "When a seven year old gets cornered like that, they normally either take on a defeated stance or become aggressive. But you, you kept a calm head. You ignored their words, shot a few quips back and then managed to get away. And that was impressive."
"But not what made you want to teach me?" Hermione questioned.
"No, that would have been your eyes. There was that look in them, that anger, that will, unyielding and untameable. A storm. And I wish to fan its flames and see how far it can go, see what it can achieve."
Hermione's eyes widened at that. A storm? Hmm, she had heard this term before… Oh well, she promised to not look into it unless there wasn't any other way.
"That is why I will make you my student."
Fon leaned back, taking a sip of the black-tea that he had made earlier and observed as Miss Granger mulled over his words.
"You don't really plan on giving me a choice, do you?" she questioned him with narrow eyes. Ah, what a delightfully bright girl he found. "I'm afraid that I might have taken up one or two traits of a… colleague of mine. So no, I do not really plan on leaving you much choice, though your willing cooperation would make the whole ordeal a lot easier." He sent her a winning smile, curious on what she would do with that.
Hermione shot him a judging look (and was that not something unexpected? To not have his height but intentions scrutinised by a civilian?). She pursed her lips and then, slowly, they stretched into a wide, slightly manic, smile. "You get to explain it to my parents," she stated with twinkling eyes.
Fon blinked slowly before his smile started to match hers. He would have a lot of fun with her.
Dan Granger wasn't sure what to think. Oh, yes, he and Emma haven't found anything alarming on that Fon, in fact, he seemed to have a perfectly clear record. And they did check him thoroughly over the last few days. In fact, they went as far as to call every contact that they had over the last three days. And still, nothing suspicious came up (which was alarming in its own right, if you asked him).
Three days ago, they did not expect someone to knock on their door just before noon. Hermione hadn't seemed any different, besides a few scraps but him and Emma weren't really alarmed by it. That was, until they invited a toddler like man into their house for some tea.
Dan had met many straight forward people, but Fon threw him off. Howoften did you hear the words: "I plan on teaching your daughter martial arts"?
There was no request, no explanation, just… someone being considerate enough to informing the other of their future plans for their daughter.
Dan remembered not being able to form any words, and just as he was about to blow up, his little Bug came down the stairs, looked at the situation, and exclaimed happily (as if practiced, the whole thing went far too smooth to be natural, right?) "Master Fon! I wasn't aware that you would come by so early!"
(In a few years, Dan would swear up and down that there was a twinkle in their eyes, but that he was too preoccupied to notice anything).
After a cup of tea (to calm their nerves), He and Emma invited this Fon into the living room, with Hermione following them, and, after a good twenty minutes, wrangled out the story of how the two met.
By the end of it, Emma went to make herself another cup of tea, her hands shaking in rage at what their daughter had to endure. Dan had heard of the Smerti blood, of course, and the double edged blade that it presented, but this went too far. They were forced to accept the bullying (not that Hermione would outright tell them about it, she was too proud for that), but cornering her in such a manner… Dan needed something stronger to drink.
Hearing how Fon dealt with the offense made him respect the other man more, but he was still suspicious.
Which was why, when everything was explained, Dan and Emma asked for a few days to think it over (look into him), before they'd give their answer.
But still, something just seemed off about this situation, and it had nothing to do with the lack of height. Fon reminded Dan of some of the men and women he had met in Third-World countries, and not the poor, innocent ones. He had an aura, a dangerous one at that, and it made Dan wary of the type of person he was.
At the same time there was the awareness that he and Emma would sooner rather than later be gone for longer than just an evening. In no time at all it would turn into a weekend, a week, and then maybe even longer. If their daughter could learn how to defend herself it would be good, and even better if she found a mentor that she could trust and who would live close by.
And yet, it still seemed almost too convenient. But did they have another choice? Exchanging looks with his wife made it clear: No, there was nothing they could do but keep an eye on her, their daughter possessed enough stubbornness to outlast half of their family. Defeated he sighted slightly and turned to Hermione.
"If this is really what you want, Bug, then we won't stop you." "But only," Emma jumped in, her eyes narrow "if you are doing this because you want it, and not because someone talked you into it, or because you think you need to do it, and you won't let it influence your school marks, then I've got no problem with you learning how to defend yourself."
Hermione beamed at them, and Dan decided that the presence of this Fon might not be too bad, if he could get her to smile like that.
Later that evening found Hermione shifting through the secret compartment of the wooden chair standing in her corner (apparently, desks were a bit too cliché, so she got a chair where you could lift the seat up and get some extra space…) to find her cellphone. Making a grab for it, Hermione closed the seat and sat down on her bed. Chewing on her lower lip, she contemplated whether she should call or send a text. Hermione's preferred way of communication was calling, but what if she was interrupting something important? Decisions, decisions… She heaved a sigh, there was a chance that Master Fon was close by, and she really didn't want to spoil any sort of surprise, so text it was.
In Spain, a figure standing in the shadows looked down on their cellphone as it vibrated silently.
"Oh, Hermione texted me? I wonder what she wants… shouldn't she be in bed by now?"
The person unlocked it and opened the text, before smiling softley.
Hi!
Just thought that you should be aware that I got a new teacher today.
He's about your height and has a monkey. I haven't had the time to tell him about you, but I'm sure the two of you would get along great ;)
Do you want me to give him your number? Or will you come by in a surprise visit soon? You know how I hate that you're alone.
Love you!
Wildfire
So, she met Fon, and apparently he wanted to teach her. That was… good? Fon was a great person, he was honorable and polite. He would be a brilliant mentor for her. Furthermore, Fon wasn't aware of their connection and Hermione wanted to know if she should tell him or if she should expect a visit soon. Well, it was Hermione, so of course it would be a visit. She didn't have to try and explain it all to Fon (the last part was overlooked, she worried too much).
An answer was quickly sent back, and the person smirked, before leaving.
Don't worry, Wildfire, I'll be by before valentine.
Love you!
Fon took a sip of his tea. Spending the last few weeks making sure there was no hole in his identity might have taken time (and money), but it was well worth it. Especially considering the amount of people Mr. and Mrs. Granger contacted just to find something on him. But between having a clean record (at least for show), and Hermione entering the way she did, all surprised to see him and efficiently defusing the situation (and wasn't that fascinating, the way she pulled that act. It seemed familiar), there was no doubt that they would let their daughter do what she wanted. Though, to be honest, their approval did not really change the outcome, it just made things less complicated. They must have been quite aware that once his student had a goal, she'd go for it, and they found agreeing to her easier.
Well, Fon wouldn't complain about it, in fact, he looked forwards to the mischief she brought into his life (having to do the same thing over and over again did get dull after some time).
(No, Reborn, I will not allow you to poach her just because she's interesting. She is mine)
Look forwards to the next Chapter! The first related Arcobaleno will get introduced to Fon (I've been waiting for that scene =D).
Furthermore, we might get a look into either her family situation or Fon's training. Maybe some accidental magic… Ah, choices, choices…
Quick question, what do you think is Fon going to make her do?
PS: Trying to not reveal the gender of said relative was a pain...
