Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, Twilight, or The Southern Vampire Series...I wish I did, I'd be unbelievably rich. Alas, this is just for fun, and no money is being made.

AN: And the plot thickens! Please leave a review!

~~{0}~~

The next morning, Hermione steeled herself for the battle that would inevitably take place at the breakfast table. Harry, being over-protective, had taken it upon himself to sleep over on the couch to be sure that Viktor would not return to their house while they were sleeping and finish off Hermione and Gran. No matter what Hermione had said, and no matter how gracious Viktor had been, Harry was not having any of it. Hermione sighed and rolled out of bed, slipping her feet into her slippers and making her way downstairs to face her brother. When she walked into the kitchen, he was already seated at the table, glaring at her.

"How could you do that, Hermione, Don't you have any sense? What if he tried to attack you? Or Gran? What would you have done?" Harry spat before she was even fully seated.

"Harry, we've been over this. Viktor is trying to make a life here. If he goes around indiscriminately killing people, the police would notice and it would very much bring unwanted attention down on him. Why would he do that?" Hermione argued.

"Why do you trust him so much? You've only known him for what…two days? What the hell, Hermione? I know you can't be this stupid." He said angrily.

She had been able to dismiss his anger knowing he hadn't fully understood the situation, but as soon as the comment about her being stupid left his mouth, her eyes narrowed.

"Harry, you have no idea what you are talking about." She shouted at him

"Oh yeah? Then why don't you enlighten me?" he challenged.

Hermione sighed, her anger deflating somewhat. The only way he would even remotely understand her reason for trusting Viktor would be to tell him about the incident in the parking lot with the Weasley's.

"I was almost killed the other night." Hermione answered softly.

"What?"

"The first night that Viktor showed up at Black's. I saw him leave that night with the Weasley's, and I was the last one to leave, since I had to do the ordering for Sirius. When I went out into the parking lot, I knew something was wrong. I saw the Weasley's truck parked down at the far end with the lights off, and someone was crouched down in the bed of the truck, struggling. At first I thought that maybe Viktor had attacked them, and against my better judgement, I crept over to see if there was anything I could do to help. I had my phone ready to dial 9-1-1, but as I approached, it wasn't Ron Weasley in the bed of the truck, it was Viktor. He had been restrained, and they were draining his blood…Harvesting it for some reason. Ron and Lavender were in the cab of the truck arguing about something, so I removed the chain that had been restraining Viktor. He leapt to his feet in a flash, and when he went after the Weasley's, they fled. Ron threw the truck in reverse and backed right into me. I don't remember anything after that, but when I awoke, Viktor had me in his arms, and he had given me some of his blood to heal me. He saved my life, Harry. If he wanted me dead, he had the chance to do it, yet he didn't. And before you ask, he didn't bite me either, I checked. There were no puncture wounds anywhere on me." Hermione said, looking down into her cup of coffee.

Harry didn't say anything at first, but eventually let out a sigh.

"I still don't like it, Hermione. It isn't natural."

"Well, we'll agree to disagree then. I owe Viktor my life, and he's treated me with nothing but respect. Regardless of how you feel about it, it's not for you to decide who I spend my time with." Hermione said firmly.

"You're right, it's not, but that doesn't mean I have to give you my blessing." Harry said making it clear that he no longer wanted to discuss it.

Hermione felt a little bit of relief knowing that she at least wouldn't need to sneak around with Viktor anymore, even if Harry wasn't happy about it, he wasn't going to stop her.

Thankfully, the tension was broken when the telephone suddenly rang, making Hermione jump. Effy swept into the kitchen and motioned for Harry and Hermione to stay seated as she picked up the phone.

Hermione was nibbling on a piece of toast when she heard her grandmother gasp and hurry the other person off the line.

"Gran? What is it?" she asked a look of concern spreading over her face

"Hermione, honey, I have some bad news." Effy said looking grim.

Her mind began to move quickly and her thoughts immediately spread to Viktor; was he hurt? Did something happen to him?

"What happened?" Hermione said standing and moving quickly over to her grandmother.

"It's Jessica. She was found dead in her apartment this morning." Effy told her pulling her into a hug

"Jess? But I just saw her the other day…no, she can't be. It has to be a mistake…" Hermione protested trying to choke back a sob. Harry was on his feet in a moment and she wrapped her arms around his neck and sobbed against his shoulder.

Harry looked up at Effy as Hermione clung to him, "What happened?" he asked

"Mrs. Thomas didn't say, other than it looks like she was murdered." Effy said sitting down in a chair.

Harry's jaw clenched, "I knew this would happen. It was a vampire, wasn't it?" he said venomously.

Hermione pulled away from him sharply, "Don't" Hermione warned before she stepped away from him and ran upstairs.

Hermione took a quick shower and dressed before heading straight over to Black's. Jessica had been working the night before, so she wanted to see if Sirius had witnessed her talking to anyone.

She pulled into her parking space and banged on Sirius' door. He lived just behind the Diner in one of the trailers.

"Sirius! Please open up, it's Hermione." She pleaded

The door yanked open, and he gestured for her to come inside.

"I just heard; Chief Swan just called to see if I could come by the station later to answer some questions." He told her.

"How could this happen?" Hermione said and the tears began again before she could stop them. Sirius shifted close to her and pulled her against his chest, trying to comfort her.

"She was fine last night. I didn't notice her talking to anyone out of the ordinary, and she left at the end of her shift. I have no idea where she might have gone or done after that." He told her honestly.

"I can't believe it." She said still trying to come to terms with her death.

"Hermione, Jessica wasn't seeing any vampires, was she?" he asked gently

"What? No…I mean, not that I know of, why?" she asked

"Well, the Chief had asked me about whether or not there had been any vampires at Black's since the announcement. I told them about Viktor."

"Viktor didn't do this…besides he was...with me last night." Hermione said sheepishly.

Sirius raised an eyebrow and his jaw clenched, "All night?" he asked

Hermione blushed, "Well, no, not all night. Gran invited him over for dinner, because she wanted to meet him since he is our new neighbor, and well, he had asked me out." Hermione admitted.

"What time did he leave your house?" Sirius asked

"I don't know, probably around midnight? I know he didn't do it. He's not-" she began before he cut her off

"A killer? Yes he is. You may not want to see it, Hermione, but that's what he is." Sirius said trying to make her look at him.

She stood angrily, pushing away from him, "You know, I expected to hear something like this from Harry, but not from you." She snapped before she turned on her heels and stormed out of his house.

"Hermione!" he called trying to stop her.

"I have nothing to say to you right now, I'll be in when it's time for my shift to start." She said coldly.

~~{0}~~

Hermione had been feeling sick to her stomach all afternoon when her cell phone rang. It was Chief Swan.

"Miss Potter? This is Chief Swan. I'm investigating the death of Miss Stanley, and I'd like for you to come by the station as soon as possible to answer a few questions." He told her

"Of course, I'll head over now." She said politely and hung up.

She pulled into the police station a few minutes later, and climbed out of her car. She had never been asked to do anything like this, since no one she knew had ever been killed before, and she was quite nervous. Once she was inside, and seated in a private room with a table and two chairs, Chief Swan entered the room holding two cups of coffee, and he set one down in front of her.

"I wasn't sure if you wanted Coffee, so I thought I would bring it just in case. First, let me say, I am sorry about the loss of your friend. Bella told me that you two had been close." He said with a kind look in his eye.

"Yes, Jessica and I went to high school together, and she worked at Black's with me ever since. She was supposed to be heading to college next fall over in Washington." At this, Hermione's voice quivered, as she tried to suppress the tears.

He nodded and made a few notes, "In the time that you knew Miss Stanley, has she ever mentioned that she was seeing anyone?" he asked

"No, well, I knew she had a crush on Mike Newton, but as far as I know, they've never even spoke. Aside from that, she wasn't dating anyone to my knowledge." Hermione answered honestly, and watched as he wrote Mike's name down on his note pad.

"Did Miss Stanley ever have any interactions with a vampire to your knowledge?" He asked looking at her critically.

"Not as far as I know, no." Hermione answered.

"I've been told that you have recently been spending time with a vampire, and that he has visited Black's diner on two separate occasions. Do you have any reason to believe that he and Miss Stanley may have been involved?" he asked.

"What? No…Viktor hadn't even spoke to Jessica. I'm sure he had nothing to do with this." Hermione protested, feeling herself becoming angry again.

"Let me be the judge of that, Miss Potter. Now, is there anything else you can tell me that might be relevant to this case?" he asked looking at her with narrowed eyes.

"No, nothing that comes to mind." Hermione said flatly.

"Well, that's all that I have then. Thank you for your time, Miss Potter." He said dismissively

Hermione grasped his arm before he could turn to leave, "Chief Swan? May I ask how she died?" Hermione asked, steeling herself for what he would tell her.

"I am not at liberty to provide details on an ongoing investigation, other than to say, it appears that a vampire may have been involved. Now, if you'll excuse me." He said gruffly and heading out of the room.

Hermione stood, feeling like she needed to catch her breath. Viktor couldn't have done it, could he? She desperately wanted to believe he wasn't capable of something like that, but she knew that he was. Whether he was capable or not though, was not the question; would he do it? She honestly didn't think he would.

She forced her feet to move one in front of the other, and get into her car, driving back home so she could change and get ready for her shift. Jessica was supposed to have been working with her, she wondered what Sirius would do about that.

~~{0}~~

Hermione pulled into Black's and headed in through the back entrance, feeling a bit of relief that at least being at work would keep her busy, and that it would help keep her mind off what happened to Jessica.

"Hermione, I'm so sorry about Jess." Luna said pulling her into a hug as soon as she saw her.

"Thanks Luna. I still can't believe it." Hermione said wiping her eyes as the tears threatened to start again.

"Well, Sirius had called me this morning just after he found out to see if I could come in and help out tonight, I told him I'd take care of whatever he needed." Luna said

"Well, I better go, I have two tables already." She said quietly as she squeezed Luna's hand.

Part of her hoped that Viktor would come in tonight, because she desperately wanted to ask him if he knew anything about what had happened. She still didn't believe he had anything to do with it, but maybe he knew who did? The other part of her hoped that he stayed away, at least until all of this blew over, since she knew everyone seemed to be on a vampire witch hunt right now, and she didn't want him or herself to receive that kind of unwanted attention.

"Hermione, I'm so sorry" Bella said as she walked over to stand next to her by the kitchen.

"Thanks, Bella." Hermione said quietly really not wanting to talk about it.

"You must be worried about Viktor." Bella said glancing up at her hesitantly.

"He didn't do it." Hermione said firmly

"No, no, I didn't mean that…I meant that well, they are looking for a vampire, and Viktor is the only one around, you know?" Bella said cautiously.

"They think a vampire really did it?" Hermione asked uncertainly.

"Well, my dad said that there were bite marks…They thought it seemed pretty obvious." she trailed off looking uncomfortable.

Hermione felt her blood run cold. If Jessica had bite marks on her, it had to be a vampire. The thought that maybe it had been Viktor made her feel sick to her stomach. He had kissed her, and she had almost had sex with him. She had almost let him bite her.

Hermione went through the rest of her shift on autopilot, thankful that there was no sign of Viktor. On the one hand, his absence could be taken as a sign of his guilt…but, on the other, he had been in to the diner two nights already that week, surely he had better things to do than sit in a diner watching her work. She sighed, the more she thought about it, the more confused she was. Even if she asked him and he denied it, would she believe him? How would she know if he was being truthful with her? Finally, after the last customer left, she finished cleaning up and headed out to her car. She nearly jumped out of her skin when she heard Viktor's voice in her ear behind her

"May I drive you home? I vant to make sure you are safe." He said seriously.

She looked at him, studying his expression, debating with herself until she finally asked him what had been on her mind all night, "Viktor, I'm only going to ask you this one time, and I hope that you will be honest with me. Did you have anything to do with Jessica's death?" she asked.

He looked pained for a moment, but nodded in understanding, "No, Hermoninny, I did not."

She nodded, feeling in her gut that he was telling the truth. She had no reason to believe that he would lie to her, after the time they had spent together.

"I believe you, Viktor." She said giving him a small smile.

"I'm sorry about your friend." He said taking her hand in his.

"Thank you. She was a good person, and she didn't deserve this." She said as a sob caught in her throat and Viktor pulled her close against him, rubbing her back soothingly.

"It vas not vampire who killed her." He said and she stiffened. How could he know that?

"What do you mean, Viktor?" she asked pulling back from him so she could look up into his face

"She vas bitten, yes?" he asked

Hermione nodded, "Yeah, I was told she had bite marks on her body."

"But she vas not drained." Viktor said evenly.

"How do you know that?" she asked

"The Police called to ask questions vhen I avoke this evening. I asked if the body was drained of blood, and he said it vas not, only that she had appeared to have been bitten." He answered.

"What does that mean?" Hermione asked wanting to understand.

"It means that she vas bitten by vampire, probably during sex, but that vas all. Someone else killed her. If it vas a vampire, she vould have been drained completely. No vampire could kill and leave the blood." He explained.

Hermione shivered. It made sense, except that she wasn't aware that Jessica had been with any vampires or even knew any. As far as she knew, Jessica hadn't even met Viktor officially.

"Where would she have met a vampire? As far as I know, you're the only one in town, and I know it wasn't you." She asked

"There is possibility, but I vould like to look into it first." He said cryptically.

"What possibility?" she asked curious at what he could be talking about.

"She may have gone to Fangtasia last night." He said running his hand through his hair.

"Fangtasia? Do I even want to know what that is?" Hermione asked crossing her arms over her chest.

"It is vampire bar. It vas underground, known only to only vampires before the announcement, but now they allow humans inside. They believe it is good for business." Viktor said with a look of disapproval on his face.

Vampire bar…hadn't Harry mentioned something about this when he had a fight with Cho?

"I see." Was all she said

He seemed to change the subject then, and he reached for her keys, "May I?" Hermione gave him her car keys and climbed inside the passenger seat as he was getting into the driver's seat. The ride home was silent, but not uncomfortable, and when he pulled into her driveway and turned off the headlights, Hermione turned towards him

"Viktor? Thank you for driving me home." She said smiling at him.

He leaned towards her, and kissed her gently, though she took the opportunity to deepen the kiss. He sighed into her mouth as she climbed onto his lap, resting her back against the steering wheel. His hands moved down to her ass as he pulled her against him and she moaned when she felt his hardness pressing against her through the thin fabric of her shorts.

"…Viktor…" she moaned as he thrust against her, wanting to bring her pleasure without actually penetrating her. She kissed him hungrily, running her tongue over his fangs and tangling her fingers in his hair as she writhed against him in his lap. She felt something building up within her, and she pleaded with him not to stop. At the sound of her small moans, he groaned and thrust against her one last time and was rewarded as she cried out his name and shuddered against him in his lap. He was still aroused but he would take care of himself later. She had looked so beautiful as she came apart in his lap, and he couldn't wait until he could bury himself inside of her and make her come over and over again.

He placed soft kisses on her face, and whispered something in Bulgarian to her that she didn't understand, and she breathed in his scent as she nuzzled her face into his neck. He smelled masculine, and clean, with a touch of cologne.

"You should go inside, love, I vill vatch house to make sure you are safe tonight." He said kissing her temple as he opened the driver's side door and helped her to climb off of him and get out of the car. He handed her the keys, and gave her one last lingering kiss before she stepped away and went into the house.