AN: Dear all,
I hope you all had a very special Valentine's day, and with a slight delay due to an impromptu long weekend away from writing, here is the next chapter of Poisoned Heart. Enjoy! :)
25th December 2006, 2.18 am
Hermione took a sip from her cuppa and sighed contentedly, glad for the hot drink. It wasn't that she was particularly cold, another perk of being a vampire, but she still enjoyed the hot liquid sliding down her throat and warming her from the inside. As long as she kept up her two pints of blood a day, she was good to eat and drink whatever she wanted, her body processing it naturally. There was however a moment where she thought Roxy's curiosity could lead to a heartbreak but in the end she shouldn't have underestimated how smart her little girl was.
"What is that, Mimi?" Roxy asked curiously as she set a few blood bags into the fridge for her two nits of stay over Christmas. She was relieved the twins agreed on having her over from Christmas Eve to Boxing Day, but at the same time she felt torn between wanting to relax and be freely with her mates and little one, and battling her instinct to be affectionate with George who was still keeping distance between them. She knew this question was coming.
"These are two bags of blood, specifically O positive," she showed her when Roxy stepped closer to have a look.
George looked like he was about to snatch her away from the situation but Fred squeezed his shoulder and held him in place.
"And why do you have those? Isn't blood icky?" she asked curiously, her face scrunched up between curiosity and disgust.
"No, it's what you have in your body, and daddy, and uncle Freddie," she reassured.
"And you?" she of course had to ask.
"Yes, and me," she promised.
"So why do you have more?" of course, there was no escaping it now.
"Because I have to drink it to stay strong and healthy," she explained.
"Like a vampire?" she clapped her hands excitedly.
"Exactly like one, because I am one," she waited for her reaction.
"That's amazing! Are you like Dracula? Can you transform into a wolf? Can you fly? Can you sparkle like the Cullens?" she asked excitedly all at once.
The last one particularly made Hermione laugh, knowing she was the victim of her own reading material as she read Roxy the Twilight book that came out the previous year and the little girl loved it. Roxy loved tales about magical creatures, both from their work and from Muggle fiction, which made Hermione hopeful that she would be accepted. "Well let's see. I am like draggle but I don't have wings when I change into my vampire form, and I don't have to sleep in dirt," she promised, tickling her sides to make the little girl giggle. "I can't transform into a wolf, and I can't fly but I can run very fast, and I can jump very high," she promised.
"Like to the ceiling high?" Roxy asked completely thrilled.
"Even higher," Hermione grinned.
"Show me!" Roxy positively flutter clapped.
Hermione smiled and stood before she jumped up, light as a feather and lithe in the air as she turned around in the air, rolled over the ceiling before falling back down on the tips of her toes.
"Cool!" Roxy beamed.
"I can't sparkle though," Hermione said, putting on a sad but brave face. She could see Fred dying to laugh from the corner of her eye.
"That's okay! You're still amazing. Can I see your vampire face?" she asked excitedly.
Hermione hesitated but nodded and knelt down, shifting her features until her eyes filled with vermillion and her sharp canines lengthened. Roxy reached for them but Hermione took her hand gently, only letting her touch the length of them and kept her carefully away from cutting her skin on the sharp point. She gently took her hand away and shifted back to her human features.
"You're still very pretty," Roxy hugged her tightly, surprising Hermione.
"Do you mind that we are different?" She asked, remembering a conversation once when they talked about her their different skin colour.
Roxy shook her head vigorously against her shoulder. "I don't care that we are different. I still love you, Mimi," she nodded to herself.
Hermione rubbed her back gently. "I love you too, Roxy," she whispered, looking over her shoulder at the twins.
Fred looked proud at his niece and mate, happy to be matched with a woman of Hermione's qualities. She saw George had his reservations but he was warming up to the idea of her nature at the sight of his daughter accepting her so freely.
Hermione smiled fondly at the memory and realised she managed to finish her tea. She got up and headed for the kitchen to put the kettle on, surprised to hear movement in the twins' bedroom. Silent footsteps padded over to the living room where they paused, probably noticing the blanket and book left out by her, and then headed for the kitchen were the kettle was bubbling softly. "Tea?" she asked, using her senses and with surprise recognised the scent as George.
Before she had a chance to turn around, lean but strong arms wrapped around her and she felt the warm nude chest against her back as George looked over her shoulder. "Hey….would you like a cup of tea?" she asked, enjoying the first comforting touch from him since the day of her return.
"What kind of tea are you making?" he asked, resting his chin on her shoulder.
The thin tank top she was wearing was doing nothing to stop her skin from soaking up George's warmth as Hermione opened the tea and coffee cabinet. "I was going to have the lemon verbena. What would you like?" she asked, closing her eyes to savour the way his hands were caressing her belly and wrapping around her body to hold her closer.
"I'm good," he hummed against her ear.
She couldn't bear it and turned around in his arms to ask him what this sudden warmth meant, but she was silenced by a gentle kiss. She melted into the embrace and held him just a little tighter, wanting to convey how much she adored his change of heart.
Once they parted, she raised her eyes to him, whiskey and blood fighting for dominance in her irises. He got lost in her gaze or a moment before pulling her closer. "Yes," he said simply, knowing she would understanding the meaning of his consent.
"Are you sure?" she asked, not having expected him to be so quick to come around. Then again, it hasn't been that quick. He had three weeks since her abduction to contemplate the options, the past, and the possible future. She was just happy that he was finally agreeing to be her mate, something inside her chest loosening in happiness and making her shudder in pleasure.
He simply nodded and pressed a kiss to her forehead. "I am sure. When I saw you with Roxy, I realised that you could never hurt her, and I could never take you away from her. Most of all, I can't imagine our lives without you," he admitted, having taken the time to think about it. He hadn't even slept, just lay there, all these thoughts churning in his mind until he came to the conclusion that he could not live without this woman in his life.
"I love you…" she whispered the words that she had spoken before but as a friend, a confidante, a co-parent in all technicality. This time, she was saying the words as a lover.
George inhaled sharply and she could sense his heartbeat fasten, his pulse momentarily distracting her as she gazed at the thick vein underneath the pale skin on his neck. "I love you too," he whispered back and pulled her into another kiss, snapping her put of her reverie. "Come to bed…" he surprised her completely.
"Is Fred..?" she began asking, wondering what kind of invitation this was.
"Awake and waiting," George took her hand and hey let the kettle boil and switch off by itself as they headed for the twins' bedroom.
There was discomfort but mostly the sensation of fullness as they got into a comfortable rhythm, George beneath her and Fred behind her, his hands possessively squeezing her hips as they moved together to sate the need for closeness and becoming one.
Her back was painted in faint red rivulets as sweat and a few drops of blood from Fred's mating wound dripped onto her with his quickening thrusts. She was drawing closer to her release and the need to complete the circle and claim her other mate was becoming difficult to suppress. Her fangs lengthened and vermillion gaze turned towards George, searching for any hesitation, any sign of uncertainty. She found none as George reached up to pull her gently by the neck down to his neck.
The bite was unlike anything he'd ever experienced, a moment of searing pain before the sensation of being connected to his twin unlike ever before, and Hermione's pulsing burgundy aura drawing him in to connect with her as well. The moment their beings aligned completely, they all hurtled towards their release, Hermione pulling away from the mating mark to ride out her pleasure before they collapsed in a heap. They were mated, they were one, and despite being completely spent, they were still kissing and soaking each other's presence when the clock on the wall showed five in the morning…
Hermione stretched languidly, feeling wonder at the fact that she may not be sore she definitely felt their joining last night. Images of their twined bodies, being stretched out between the twins as they all joined together were making her care more of their touch. But their breathing was even and after claiming them both with a bite, her appetite was sated. Now that they were mated, she would only need to feed from her mates once a week, or smaller sips maybe twice a week, or so the books said. She was looking forward to finding out if it was the case.
She blinked her eyes open and her gaze fell on Fred who was laying on his side close to her, the two small puncture wounds left by her teeth slowly growing from a bruised purple to silver right before her eyes. They would forever be there, marked by her.
Her heart grew a bit heavier at the thought of ageing. She would forever remain 28 while the twins were nearing 30 fast. They would probably slow in ageing after that, being a vampire's mate had its perks, but there would come a time when they will have to make a decision to either age or let Hermione change them so they could all spend an eternity together. And what about Roxy? Would she ever want to be turned? Could they bear to watch her grow old and one day leave them? Her mind swirled with questions she wouldn't know answer to for a long time. The bite was both a blessing and a curse, and she now knew how Remus had felt about his own werewolf curse.
The sounds of little bare feet on the warm wooden floorboards were unmistakeable and Hermione had very little time but with her quick reflexes she slid out of the bed and in her sleeping shorts, just about hanging to pull on her scrappy top before the door inched open. Roxy was usually a great natural alarm clock, and sometimes liked to crawl into bed with the twins or with Hermione when she was staying over. This time though, she was going to let the boys have a lie in after last night, and would leave the clean up of the sheets to them.
Before the door could open she slipped out and picked Roxy up in her arms. "Good morning," she smiled, looking into her sleepy but beaming face.
"Mimi you're awake! Is daddy awake?" she asked as Hermione carried her in to the kitchen.
"Daddy and Uncle Freddie are still sleeping, so we best be quiet," she sat the little girl up on the counter next to the sink and put the kettle on.
"Miiiimiiii?" Roxy drew her name out as a question, and Hermione suppressed a laugh, knowing what was coming.
"Yeeeeeees?" she replied while taking some mugs down for tea.
"Why were you sleeping in daddy's room?" she asked curiously.
Hermione thought for a moment about how to answer that question and decided to stick to her usual policy, honesty. "Well, you see Mimi loves daddy and uncle Freddie, and they love me. So we share and express that love, and it's very comforting to snuggle under the blankets with them. You snuggle with daddy and Mimi sometimes, yes?" she asked.
Roxy nodded. "It makes me sleep well and then you wake me up with tickles," she grinned.
"Well guess what, tomorrow I'll wake daddy up with tickles, but you can't tell him or he won't let me," she said conspirationally to the little girl who was giggling happily at this point.
"Promise. Can I have Mimi tea?" she asked, always asking Hermione to make her the muggle fruit tea that she always bought for her in a muggle supermarket.
"Of course you can. How about some French toast before we wake daddy and uncle Freddie up to open presents?" she suggested. "Will you get the eggs and milk from the fridge for me, please?" She asked her best little helper.
They were nearly finished with the French toast, when George sneaked in behind Roxy and picked her squealing form up to blow raspberries on her belly. Hermione smiled when she felt Fred's arms wrap around her waist and a kiss drop to her shoulder. "Morning love…" he whispered.
"Morning," she turned to kiss his cheek, vowing to herself that no matter how many centuries she lived for, she would never forget the first morning in their lives as bonded mates and as a family.