CHAPTER 2

"Oh Elizabeth, that looks so good on you, you have to get that!" Hermione restrained herself from grimacing and forced a smile on her face. This had been going on all afternoon.

"I don't think I will, thanks. I think I've reached my limit." She replied to the extremely perky girl in front of her. If she hadn't known better, she would have thought Alice was simply another teenage muggle who lived to shop; but no, she was far from that. She was a vampire, after all.

"Oh but Bella said you're going over to La Push tomorrow evening, right? That outfit would be perfect!" Shrugging, Hermione returned to the dressing room. "Nevertheless, I think I've bought enough for today." She said, smiling at Alice's disappointed face before swing the curtains shut.

This was not entirely true, but when you spent the last few months living in forests where being able to buy fresh food, much less new clothes, was a special treat, two shopping bags was more than enough. Besides, Hermione was never one for shopping for clothes. Books, yes, but not clothes. Leave that to Lavender.

That day was not going entirely to Hermione's plan. She was immediately singled out by the students for being the new girl and the new "teacher's pet" (as some rude girls from Spanish class put it.) It seemed that knowing the answers and raising her hand in class was a deeply ingrained habit she could not stop; a habit she missed, she quickly found out. There had been no school for her for the past year and she missed just being able to study and to answer. As it was, almost all the teachers had heard of her by lunchtime and some of them were clamoring for her to take their class. Students who actually paid attention was something they had all dreamed about, but had yet to find.

And now this. It wasn't that she disliked shopping; in fact, she missed being able to shop like this, remembering the summer afternoons she would spend with her mother at the mall.

It was the fact that she had spent one whole day in the presence of vampires and the more she learned about them, the less sense they made. They were well known throughout the school, and yet nobody seemed to notice that they were different in the dangerous way. They attended classes and got good grades. Hell, just the very fact that they were in a school full of defenseless humans was enough to blow just about everything Hermione knew about vampires out the window! It was mind-boggling, but she knew she couldn't very well ask just what exactly they were doing here.

After all, hey-you're-a-vampire-so-why-aren't-you-drinking-my-blood isn't exactly a good conversation starter. She wouldn't live long enough to hear the next word said.

Later that evening, as she was lying in bed replaying the day in her mind, she would smile at the way Alice called her a friend, and at the afternoon spent in the company of girls her age. Goodness knows how long she had spent her days with two boys that attracted trouble like a magnet, living in whatever forest they could find. She felt another pang in her heart; she really did miss those two. The idiots. She thought fondly.

She missed them, and yes, a war was being waged and all their lives were in danger, but for now, she would take whatever normalcy she could get. Even if normalcy meant being friends with an overly perky vampire.

...

The next afternoon showed a determined Hermione ready to hunt down the next group she was sent to investigate: the Animagi. She wasn't any closer to finding anything more out of the vampires (though Alice invited them over for the next day; that was progress) but she was determined to find something out of these shapeshifters.

Somehow, though, she sensed no magic anywhere; just a faint trace, left, she was sure, by the Death Eaters. She glanced at the girl in the truck beside her as they made their way over to La Push, wondering once more what it was with her attracted so much power. Bella was human, she was sure of it. She was a muggle as well. But something (Hermione was not sure what) about her caused magic to flock around her, though she seemed totally oblivious of it all.

But perhaps she wasn't so oblivious after all. Who knows? Thought the witch. Maybe she is aware... which makes it all the more dangerous.

...

The bonfire roared, flames licking up towards the darkening sky, causing the shadows to dance. It was simply another gathering for everyone in the tribe, a short reprieve from all their duties. For some, it was a time for the family. For others, it was a time to be with the ones they loved romantically.

He looked expectantly at the approaching truck, his heart beating much faster than usual with anticipation that even he gave a small frown in confusion. He had never been this excited to see Bella before; perhaps his love for her just became greater? He hadn't seen her in three days at least. Perhaps he just missed her more than usual. Shaking his head, he looked back up at the now parked truck, waiting for the occupants to get down. The slam of a car door was heard and Bella appeared, smiling at the whole lot of them. Jacob grinned and motioned for her to sit next to him, but for no apparent reason, he seemed to be expecting someone else, looking behind Bella for another person. Now he really was confused; just who was he waiting for? Perhaps he was tired. But no, that wasn't it. He looked up in surprise, though, as a second, softer slam was heard - there was another person in the truck.

And then he felt it - he was floating away, away from everyone, away from the world, floating out to space and beyond; but then he felt himself yanked back, tied to her, to her who had just appeared; his whole self, his whole world anchored itself to her, the only reason for him to remain in this world, the only reason for him to live...

No. This was wrong. This was dead wrong.

He stood abruptly, a tornado of conflicting thoughts raging inside of him. He didn't know her, had never seen her before in his entire life, and yet... and yet he felt like he loved her.

No. No. This was a mistake, this was wrong, who the hell was she anyway?

Without a word, he walked hurriedly inside, up to his room, his whole world turning upside down right before his very eyes.

Bella. Think of Bella. Think of the girl you love - Isabella Swan.

He tried to picture the long, brown hair of Bella that he had always dreamed of raking his hands through, but all that came to mind was the bushy curls of the newcomer.

No no no Bella, Bella, think of Bella!

With a growing sense of panic, he tried thinking of the girl whom he had loved for so long - her doe brown eyes, her full lips, her whole face that he had grown so familiar with... But all he could see was the devastatingly pretty face of the stranger whom he did not even know the name of.

I love Bella. Bella. Not that girl...

But even as he thought it, he felt that the words sounded so wrong. With a shock that sent him reeling, he realized that in a single split second, everything had changed - he did not love Bella anymore.

"Jacob? What's wrong?"

He spun around, seeing the concerned face of Sam at his door.

"You've got everyone worried. Come on down when you're ready, everybody's here."

Jacob just grunted in response, looking around at his room and noting with surprise that he had somehow punched a small hole on his wall in his blind panic. Shifting slightly to try and conceal the hole from the leader of the pack, he nodded.

"Yeah, I'll be down soon. You guys start ahead of me."

Sam nodded and headed back down, concern and confusion still etched clearly in his face. He shook his head, thinking that perhaps Jacob's rebellion phase had reached its peak.

Jacob stood in the middle of his room, taking deep, calming breaths.

Okay. Just...just don't think of her. Don't ruin her evening... NO! I mean, don't ruin everyone's evening. She... I mean they went through the trouble of coming over...Shit I think I'm going crazy!

Sucking up his gut, though, and forcing all his thoughts out his head, he went back out, feeling a bit embarrassed at how he acted once he saw the concerned faces turned towards him. He gave a halfhearted grin to everybody, sitting in his previous spot beside Bella.

"Jacob, you okay? You look like you've seen a ghost."

He turned to her, desperate to remember her face, but all he saw was a gray outline, a faint reminder of the girl he had been obsessing over the past year. With a sinking feeling in his stomach, he nodded.

His eyes started moving of their own accord, drawn to the girl sitting quietly beside Bella. She alone stood out in full color, and he instantly calmed down at the sight of her; but then he remembered that this was all wrong, he didn't even know her.

"Jacob, this is Elizabeth Puckle, the exchange student I told you about last week. Elizabeth, this is Jacob Black, my best friend."

Bronze met dark brown, and in that instant they both knew that this was the person they had been looking for all along.

Hermione smiled in triumph - she had found two out of the three groups she had been looking for. The vampires she had met, now these rogue shapeshifters... all that was left were the elusive death eaters. She smirked. She knew this was going to be easy.

Jacob smiled in pure admiration - he was entranced by her beauty, heightened in his eyes by his current condition. He was lost in her eyes, vaguely registering the words coming out of his friend's mouth and had to be hit in the head to shake him from his reverie.

"Jacob! Sam's calling for you, didn't you hear him?"

Jumping up with a start, Jacob smiled at Bella apologetically before making his way over to the watching alpha. As he approached the other side of the bonfire, Sam's face broke into a huge, knowing grin, catching Jacob off-guard. Confused, Jacob stood awkwardly in front of him, looking at him curiously.

"Sam... you alright?" He simply laughed in response, further confusing the younger wolf.

"I've been watching you, Jake, and I think I know what's wrong with you."

He waited, quiet for the first time in his life.

"Jake... you've imprinted."

And that was it. A variety of emotions welled up in him - relief that he wasn't going mental, amazement and shock at the fact that he was experiencing a phenomenon, but most of all anger at the suddenness of it all. He had loved the same girl for a whole year, then suddenly a glitch in his wolf genes was forcing him to love another? He hadn't felt it for a long time, but it came back as strong as ever now, the feeling of being cursed with his genes. Being a wolf suddenly seemed like the most terrible thing that could happen to him.

He looked around, his world spinning once more. Everything was stifling him, suffocating him; the knowing smiles of Sam, the heat of the bonfire, the flames dancing up to the sky, the laughter of the oblivious girl as Quil and Embry entertained the guests... He had to get out of here. Fast.

"Sam, please make an excuse for me, I need to go for a run."

Understanding, Sam nodded and watched as Jacob all but ran to the back of the house and, he knew, into the forest.

Sending a mental message to Seth and Leah that he was taking over their patrol shift for them and making sure he alone was in wolf form, Jacob started running as fast as he could, trying unsuccessfully to drown his thoughts in the wind. Stopping for a while in his anguish, he could do nothing more than sit under a tree and stare at the cold forest floor as thoughts of Elizabeth filled him. While he was happy that he would finally be able to let go of the impossible love he felt for Bella, he did not much relish the idea of imprinting with a complete stranger.

So lost was he in his thoughts that he did not notice the approaching presence until he was right in front of him. And by then, it was too late; a mutter, and he felt like his brain had been opened, like someone was going through his mind, sifting through his thoughts, reading them like an open book... images of the past days filled his brain, flashing by in rapid succession and he could do nothing to stop them... Forks, his family, his pack, the night patrols, the redheaded bloodsucker with her comrades, Carlisle's coven...and then her image burst clearly into his mind's eye and it all stopped.

"Imprinting, huh?"

A cold, low drawl that made him growl. He jumped up to face the hooded figure in front of him, lowering his haunches, ready to spring.

"Hostile, are we? You're no match for me, wolf." The contempt was heard clearly in his voice and Jacob, insulted, charged. It happened so fast; one moment he jumped, ready to bite the stranger to death, and the next he was lying down, rigid, unable to move a muscle save for the eyes. The figure moved to stand in Jacob's line of vision, smirking at the prostrate form of the young wolf on the ground.

"Violence won't get you anywhere with me. Now, I normally wouldn't be talking to scum like you, especially since the Dark Lord deemed you lot... unworthy of his army, but it seems you have crossed a line." He spoke slowly, as though Jacob would not understand otherwise. Anger boiled from deep within Jacob and he started struggling violently, but try as hard as he might, it did him no good. He glared at the stranger, projecting all the venom and hate he could muster through his eyes. The stranger merely laughed.

"This is simply a warning. I know of your movements, of your plans, and we have been sparing you... but do not touch what is mine." His voice had lowered into a dangerous hiss, not merely insulting now. "Do not touch Hermione Granger. The mudblood is mine."

Jacob's confusion showed in his eyes, replaced almost immediately by hard defiance, though he did not know what the man meant. He did not like his tone and he took orders from nobody, especially not from an arrogant stranger.

"Oh? You don't take orders from... arrogant strangers like myself, I see." Jacob's eyes grew wide. He was reading his mind. Fuck you, what are you doing? He thought, glaring daggers at the man. Could this be another bloodsucker friend of Edward's? A string of curse words ran through his mind, all directed at him.

"No. Though admittedly human, I much more dangerous than vampires." He leaned in closer, his voice now icy cold, hard and angry. "I am much more dangerous than anyone you have ever known. Crucio."

Pain like no other. His very bones were on fire, every inch of him searing in white hot pain as a thousand knives stabbed his whole body repeatedly, never letting up, the fire increasing in heat and strength. He could not even cry out, could not even writhe in agony as his muscles refused to move. He was going to die here, he was going to die, alone under the pitiless gray orbs of the maniac regarding him cooly, as though he was some circus sideshow... and as sudden as it all started, it stopped.

With one last smirk at the furry mass at his feet, Draco Malfoy turned on the spot and disappeared with a loud crack.

It took but a few more seconds before Jacob could move once more, and even then his muscles were extremely sore. Limping back, he caught sight of Sam standing behind the house, looking for him worriedly; apparently, the leader had sensed something was wrong with his charge.

"Jacob! What happened?"

"Someone... hooded... There's someone out there, Sam, he overpowered me like it was nothing..."

"Vampire?"

"No... a human..."

As he proceeded to relate everything that had transpired, the older man could only growl in alarm and disbelief. Humans overpowering wolves... it was just not possible. He had to be something more than a human; perhaps he wasn't even mortal. But if he wasn't a vampire, what was he? None of the tribal stories mentioned creatures like these, and he was worried for the town. How do you fight hostile people you knew nothing about and who could take down a full-grown wolf without even touching him? He shook his head. The whole pack would have to be warned, and the elders consulted. None of this made any sense at all.

Around the corner stood Hermione Granger, hidden from sight as she listened with growing fear to the two males behind the house. With the excuse of needing some fresh air, she had come to investigate what sounded suspiciously like someone apparating and had watched as Jacob approached, limping. There was no doubt about it; there were Death Eaters in town, though they did not seem to be wanting the help of these shapeshifters. She turned, rejoining the party, lost in thought. The Death Eaters were closer than she had estimated. With grim determination, she hid her fears behind her smiles.

Her real work starts now.

Because I'm actually a Dramione fan. : Oh, crack pairings. Why do I love you so much~

I'm really really sorry for the extremely late update! I could give a thousand excuses, starting with the fact that internet now means an hour and a half ride into town, and my license but a distant dream into the distant future, but still... that's no excuse. And so, I'm sorry.

And so I'm thinking of putting more JacobHermione moments in the next chap. The Death Eaters are so near, there's not enough time for their relationship to develop...but it will, I promise, I've got it all planned out.

Sorry if the chapter's a bit awkward, I kinda hurried it a bit and it hasn't been beta-ed. I had a lot of fun writing Jacob's reaction to Hermione though. Poor guy. ^^

Oh, just something I forgot to say before, Puckle was Hermione's original last name before JKR changed it to Granger. Which leads us to the disclaimer... I own nothing. Not even Puckle. Elizabeth maybe. But not Puckle. xD

So yeah, thanks for all the reviews I got last time! Until next time, which I promise to try putting up sooner... I've found a hidden internet cafe that isn't always full of people, so hooray for that! :D Ja~