An: monkgirl you should probably have hexed me for starting a story with so many others to finish. But thanks for the affection :P. This is the first time I've had Jade and Fleur competing so seriously over Hermione so I'm excited with where this could go :D. As always ignore my typos I will get to them eventually.

Chapter 1: Awake

Jade stopped after she had reached the rendezvous point where a few of her pack mates had stayed behind in case the mission had gone south. A young blonde woman met her with curious emerald eyes as she slowed to a stop and looked around for the others.

"Where's Dante and Jaxyn?" She asked as the unconscious body of Hermione Granger slumped against her chest. Before anyone could answer, there were two howls that floated into the air and the raven haired woman immediately responded with a call of her own.

"They didn't put up much of a fight." The blonde said as she rested her hands on her hips and waited for the two stragglers to join them. "You guys were gone barely half an hour."

"They literally had no idea we'd been hunting surveying the manor since the elf got Potter and his friends out." Jade answered as two young boys jogged toward them." They didn't expect another rescue so soon." Glowing cobalt orbs glanced down as the girl in her arms whimpered and stirred slightly.

"We should get back to the pack." The blonde girl added as she whistled and an owl answered softly. "You weren't followed, so let's get moving. Your mother wanted us back before dawn." Everyone nodded as she slung Hermione over her shoulder before hunching over. Her bones cracked and reformed smoothly as white fur burst through her skin. A growl vibrated deep in her chest as she fell on all fours and stretched her changed body.

The others shifted along with her, save for the blonde who waited patiently to adjust Hermione on the white wolf's back.

"Wrap the chain around her waist and my neck so she won't fall, Rayna." Jade murmured as green eyes glanced at the brunette before doing what she was told. "Bring up the rear, I want Dante at the front while the others flank me."

Rayna nodded silently, after securing Hermione to her friend's back before letting her own wolf take over. Jade glanced around at the four other wolves that surrounded her before growling and Dante's black wolf launched forward as they dashed through the forest and away from Malfoy Manor.

x-x

The first thing Hermione noticed when she woke up, was the flood of sunlight that was filtering into the room she was in. The second thing, was that she was in a very comfy, plush mattress.

"Well, look who's awake." The voice wasn't the same, but regardless, Hermione's eyes shot open and she moved swiftly against the wall, shielding her face with her hands. "Woah, hey, it's ok!" The scraping of a chair against the floor filled the room and creaked as the figure sat down. "You're safe here, I promise."

The brunette peeked out from behind her arm and saw a young girl, maybe a little older than her, with long black hair and bright blue eyes. Her mind snapped back to the night when she was taken from the manor and glowing azure orbs was all she recognized. Now those eyes were watching her gently, equally as bright, but lacking the glow from before. She was dressed in grey jeans with a form fitting, dark brown leather jacket that looked like it had seen its fair share of time.

"My name is Jade." The girl said calmly as Hermione lowered her ams and got a good look around the room. It was large, and modestly decorated with dark blues and greys. A large bureau being the only thing that accompanied the king sized mattress she was currently lying in. "Are you hungry, Hermione?"

"H-how do you know me?" The brunette's voice was hoarse and broken as she spoke while blue eyes blinked a few times before answering.

"The brightest witch of her age. How could I not know you." The answer was vague and Jade hoped it would be enough until she could tell the girl the whole story, but now she was worried about her health. Hermione stayed silent as her heart beat began to resume a normal pace before glancing at Jade and pulling the deep blue comforter up to her chin.

"What side are you on?" She asked shakily as the girl's eyes widened slightly before a grin grew on her lips. "Light or dark?"

"I can't really say I've affiliated myself to a side." Jade leaned forward to rest her elbows on her knees as Hermione tried to meld into the wall. "But I promise, I won't hurt you. I want to help you. Here." The raven haired girl offered Hermione a glass of water that the teen eyed cautiously. "It's not poisoned, see?" The girl brought the glass to her lips and took a sip before holding it towards the brunette again.

Very hesitantly, Hermione reached out and took the glass, almost dropping it until Jade's hand found her own and helped steady her grip. She hasn't noticed how weak she had gotten with so little to eat or drink while she'd been held captive and the water was the most soothing feeling as it flowed down her parched throat.

"You've been asleep for a couple days now." Jade said softly, careful not to startle the young witch in her anxious state. "I'm glad to set you've woken up. It's hard to feed someone when they're sleep."

"A couple days?" Hermione whispered as her brow furrowed and she suddenly remembered her friends. "Harry... Ron... what-"

"They got away." The blue eyed girl leaned back after taking empty glass from Hermione's trembling hands. "My pack and I have been trailing you since you got captured. With orders to get you out, but it seems a little elf beat us to it."

"But they left me." Hermione was suddenly filled with an overwhelming wave of loneliness as she sunk back down into the blankets. "They didn't come for me." Jade leaned forward slowly and rested a hand on the brunette's knee. Hermione jumped and with tear filled eyes, looked into bright blues.

"They wanted to stay for you." She said as the young witch begin to shake. "Harry fought to stay while you were...well, while Bellatrix had you, but the elf was persistent. He didn't want to leave without you." There was a heavy silence as the brunette contemplated Jade's words. "Lucky enough for you, we stuck around to make sure everyone got out."

A loud grmble broke the two from their conversation as Hermione blushed and the raven haired girl chuckled softly. She stood, walked to the bureau and pulled out a pair of sweat pants and a white T-shirt before laying them on the foot of Hermione's bed.

"There's a bathroom through that door." She pointed to a wooden door that was ajar on the left of the bureau. "You're welcome to use it to bathe and change, but you need to eat so when you're ready, go out that door and the hallway will lead you to a staircase. Take it down and the first room on your right will be the kitchen. I'll wait for you there."

The brunette nodded silently as Jade offered a small smile, then slipped out the door and clicking it shut. Hermione was beside herself on what to do. She was in an unfamiliar place with unfamiliar people, but Jade seemed kind enough and she was hungry. So, slowly, she pushed the blankets and sheets back and moves her legs so she was sitting on the edge of the mattress.

Her muscles screamed in reluctance to move as she hoisted herself up and wobbled a bit when she felt the room begin to spin. She brought a hand to her head and squeezed her eyes shut, waiting for the spell of dizziness to pass. When it did, she bundled the offered clothes in her arms and slowly made her way to the bathroom.

x-x

"Do you think she'll come down?" Rayna asked as she bit into an apple and rested her elbows on the marvble counter. "I mean, three days of torture and being starved, then being abducted by people she doesn't know? I'll be surprised if she doesn't try and flee out the window."

"Well, she will come around on her own." Jade answered her friend as she prepared some breakfast for herself. "She's like an injured animal. She probably feels cornered an scared. So we can't make sudden movements or speak too loud or it will spook her. She has a lot of recovering to do."

"Hopefully Aberforth knew what he was doing sending us there when we're unaligned." The wolf smirked at her blonde friend's comment as she buttered some bread. "He's a shifty old man, I'll say that much."

"He knew enough to send us after them." A heavy sigh escaped the wolf's throat as she shook her head. "Unaligned or not, we know right from wrong, and Aberforth has never sent me on a quest for his own gain. So I trust him."

It had been almost an hour since Jade had left Hermione in her bedroom and she was sitting patiently in the kitchen, rolling an orange around on the table to entertain herself. She had heard the water running, so she knew the girl had at least showered, but she had yet to come down.

"You seem bored." Blue eyes glanced up to see a woman who very much resembled the young wolf. Dark brown hair cascaded in elegant waves around an aged, yet youthful face and icy blue eyes smiled down at the young woman. Jade stood and bowed her head as the woman approached. "My daughter doesn't need to bow.A hand gently patted the raven locks as Jade smiled and sat back down as her mother took a seat next to her.

"I'm worried about her health, mother." Jade muttered as she ran a hand through her locks. "This girl has been through so much in such a short amount of time. I fear it has permanently scarred her."

"She'll need time, Jade." The elder smiled as she took the orange on the table and began to peel it. "There are stages to healing. She's going to go through a rough spell here were her dreams will betray her and she will need you through that."

"Me?" The blue eyed wolf said curiously. "Why me?"

"You're the first kind person she saw after she woke up." Her mother continued as she began to pile the orange skin on a plate. "I wouldn't be surprised if she imprints on you in her state. You need to be her constant as she recovers. Something tangible to keep her from slipping back into her nightmares."

"But I barely know her." Jade's mother smiled as she offered her daughter a slice of fruit and placed her hand over hers.

"You'll learn." With that said, the elder left her presence and receded to the library across the foyer.

"That's very vague, mother." The younger woman called after her before sighing. "Maybe I should check in her." Jade lifted herself from the chair and made her way back upstairs towards her bedroom where Hermione was staying. The door was still closed and Jade knocked politely, being answered with silence. "Hermione?" No answer again.

Against her better, and polite nature, Jade slowly opened the door, giving warning that she was doing so. The room seemed empty until she heard the labored breathing and shower still running, her eyes darted to the bathroom where she saw the brunette wrapped in a towel, cowering in the corner by the toilet.

"Hermione?" Jade ventured again as she shut the door and slowly, quietly, made her way into the bathroom. The water was still running in the shower, and the woman reached in to shut it off. The screech that it made caused Hermione to whimper and flinch, hugging her knees tighter to her chest. "Hermione, it's okay, you're safe here, what happened."

"I-I don't know." The girl's voice was small and frightened as she shook her head. "I got in the shower, but my back..."

"Is it all right if I touch you?" The blue eyed girl asked gently as wide brown orbs looked up. "I won't hurt you, I swear." Reluctantly, the witch nodded and Jade softly brushed damp hair over Hermione's shoulder. Blue eyes widened significantly as she saw the plethora of scars that marred the girl's back. Some still pink and raw, over lapping the ones that were already healed.

"The pain, I-I think the shock...I thought I was going to be tortured again. I thought I was back there, with her."

Jade bit back a growl as she saw the scarring and bruises that peppered the young girl's skin. She'd never understood cruelty for a any reason, and here Hermione had been tortured for information and because she was muggle born. It roused the wolf in her to see such damage to a defenseless girl for such senseless reasons. She gently placed her hand on Hermione's shoulders, feeling the girl flinch slightly before locking her eyes with Jade's.

"You are safe here, Hermione." Jade slowly began to remove her jacket before draping it over the shorter girl's shoulders. "You are not going back there and I swear I will get you back to your friends. You just have to trust me, ok?"

Hermione just stared as she pulled the worn leather tighter around her shoulders and Jade's scent filled her senses. The heavy pine was contradicted with the gentle aroma of rain and grass as she let her eyes flutter shut, her mind calming. She barely knew his girl. She knew she'd been rescued and the raven haired girl seemed trustworthy, but her guard was still up and at full strength.

"I'll try." Hermione squeaked as she leaned back against the wall with a sigh. Her body was exhausted and she could barely sit up straight after having fear coursing like acid in her veins. With her eyes still closed, she felt Jade slide her hands under new knees and back, in the same manner she had at the manor, and lifted the witch off the floor.

"That's good enough for me." The taller girl whispered as she walked back into the bedroom and gently laid Hermione down, tucking the sheets and duvet snugly around her. "I guess we will try eating again when you wake up."

x-x

Fleur Delacour was never one to lose her composure over anything. And here she was, in her own home with Bill Weasley, an anxious wreck.

"Fleur, love," Bill pleaded gently, accustomed to her fits of anger, but never like this. "Calm down, we will get her back."

"They left without her!" Fleur shouted. "They didn't even try to go back for her! What if they moved her? What if they killed her?! What sort of friends leave behind one of their 'best mates'?" Bill sighed and ran a hand over his face. True, his brother, Harry, Luna, Dean, a goblin, and Ollivander had shown up at his doorstep, but no Hermione.

The little elf that apparated them all had claimed he was to protect Harry Potter above all others, Ron was just lucky he and Harry were together in a cell. He closed his blue eyes before releasing a heavy sigh. Fleur's thrall was thick in their bedroom and he tried to brush it off as it closed in around him. It was angry and course as it itched at his skin. Unlike their thrall when seeking a mate, an angry Veela released pure emotion unto their enemies to intimidate them.

"She's a tough bird, Fleur." He said gently as he approached and put a hand on his wife's shoulder. He could feel every muscle fiber flexing as he pulled her into an embrace. "Hermione will find a way to survive and we will find her, but the boys need to recover before we do anything rash."

Fleur huffed, unable to return Bill's hug with her fists so tightly clenched at her sides. Her body trembled with rage as she took a few deep breaths to calm herself. Never before had she been so concerned for someone's life like she was about Hermione's.

But things were different now, they had been ever since her and Bill's faux union. Perhaps even before that. Bill knew, he was Fleur's best friend and she told him everything. He knew they weren't destined for one another, but loved the part-Veela all the same.

"I want her safe."

"I know love," He whispered against her forehead as she finally returned his affection. "And we will get her back to you, I promise."