CHAPTER SIX

Summary: Hermione Granger, an accomplished witch is working a particularly trying case and is in need of help. Deputy Sheriff Jordan Parrish is a hellhound and just the one she needs. When a fiery witch and a fire-proof supernatural being work together, sparks are sure to fly and Hermione and the Deputy find that they need each other for more than one reason. Rated M for a reason.

Disclaimer: I do not own canon events and characters, they belong to J.K Rowling and the creators of Teen Wolf and MTV. This is purely for entertainment purposes and I am not making a profit from the posting of this. This is set after The Wild Hunt but disregards everything afterwards, so there was no war between the supernatural and humans, there is no Monroe or Gerard and there are no hunters. At least for now! Also, Parrish is 23 and Hermione is 24. Oh, and I'm fudging the time line a bit, too. This will be written mostly in Parrish's POV.

Page count: 8

It had been a very long flight and after several naps, three meals, three trips to the bathroom and countless hours of Parrish asking Hermione questions and her answering them as honestly as she could, they'd finally touched down at Heathrow airport.

They'd both been a little sluggish after exiting the plane and as soon as they were able to, they both leaned against a wall in order to better stretch out their aching muscles. Hermione groaned when her back seemed to 'crack' and her neck did the same.

"That's better," she commented, rolling her shoulders and neck and then standing straight.

"What now?" He asked, following her towards their luggage, his eyes scanning the moving conveyer belt for his duffle bag and quickly snatching it up, as well as hers seeing as she couldn't reach with it being so far back.

"Thanks," she said, taking the bag from him. "Well, given that it's Sunday and we both need some actual sleep, we'll head straight to my apartment to do so and we'll go into the office early tomorrow morning, where you'll get the full story on Prodigium and you can see the evidence and reports for yourself, you may be able to pick up on something we've missed."

"Your apartment?" He questioned with a raised eyebrow and following her towards the exit point.

She looked at him over her shoulder, an amused look in her eyes and a smirk pulling at the corner of her mouth.

"Yes, Deputy, my apartment. Are you scared to be alone with me?" She teased and he felt goose bumps cover his arms at the way her eyes flashed amber for all but a second.

"No," he replied honestly. "Just wanted to make sure I'd heard you correctly."

"The Wizarding World is a dangerous place for someone such as yourself and we need to ensure your safety, and not only that, but accommodations are bloody expensive. You can actually buy a property cheaper than you can rent one and don't even get me started on hotel prices."

He snorted at her and the cold air of the early evening filled his lungs. He had assumed that people exaggerated about the weather regarding Britain, but upon seeing the grey clouded sky as an indication that rain would soon be falling, he understood they'd been right.

"I'll apparate us to my apartment seeing as it's in the Wizarding World. It's too far to drive given how tired I am and it'll cost quite a bit to get a taxi. With apparition I can have us there in a matter of minutes. So, I need you to prepare yourself."

"For what?" He asked, as she slipped into an alley way and out of sight.

"This will feel very strange. It won't hurt you, but it will make you feel dizzy and nauseous. I want you to close your eyes, relax your body and bend your knees ready for the landing."

Once he shut his eyes at her instruction to do so, he felt her step into him and her arm curl around his own, before a strange sensation took over him.

~000~000~000~

He landed on his feet and stumbled slightly and with her hold on him, Hermione steadied him.

"You alright?" She asked, concern in her voice.

He nodded and immediately regretted it as a dizzy spell hit him and he swayed slightly.

"Keep your eyes closed until it passes," she instructed and he allowed her to guide him until he felt something brush against his legs and she gently pushed him down until he was sitting on a soft leather cushion.

He heard her footsteps echoing and despite his curiosity to his surroundings, he kept his eyes closed and took steadying breaths, trying to fight off the nausea. Her footsteps alerted him to her return and he felt a glass of cold liquid being pressed into his hand. He took it from her slowly, not wanting to drop it and he took slow sips. The water helped to fight off the nausea and once the dizzy spell had finally passed, he slowly opened his eyes, immediately getting caught in the worried gaze that belonged to Hermione as she crouched down in front of hm.

"I'm alright," he told her.

A relieved smile pulled at her mouth and she nodded slightly. "Well done," she praised. "Most that apparate for the first time either throw up or pass out, especially when you side-along, I blacked out for nearly twenty minutes my first time."

She stood and stepped back, allowing him chance to finally take in his surroundings. The apartment was a lot bigger than he was expecting, and it was certainly bigger than his own, almost triple the size.

The room was opened planned with the kitchen, dining area and living room being rolled into one. The room was decorated in light calming colours, the walls a pale blue with accents of silver and white and the flooring being white marble throughout. A dark wooden coffee table sat in front of him with a black leather arm chair off to the side, and he was currently perched on the matching couch. A fire place dominated the back wall with a large mirror settled above it. To the left he noticed pale blue flowy curtains which were open and showed doors that led to a balcony. He turned to look behind him, seeing a large dining table that matched the coffee table and six padded chairs sat around it. On the wall he saw photo frames of different sizes and photos of people he assumed were her family, and much to his surprise, most of the photos were actually moving!

He shook his head and turned towards the kitchen, seeing the dark marble countertop and the kitchen island with three black padded stools sat in front of it. The cupboard doors were a light colour, and a black double oven sat in the middle of the countertops.

He noticed that there was a distinct lack of electronic and technological items, there were no lights that he could see, or a TV, or a refrigerator and freezer.

"I should tell you, I realise that you've noticed that I don't have any electronic or technological items, and that is due to the fact they won't work, including your mobile phone." He felt his eyebrows rise slightly. "Magic will render it useless, as it does with anything that runs on electricity or radio waves. Should you use your mobile phone in here and when around magic, you risk the chance of it exploding."

"No electronic devices, got it," he nodded.

"Alright, seeing as it's early evening, we may as well have dinner and then head straight to bed, we're going to need sleep and I'm sorry to say, you're probably not going to get a lot of it in the coming days. Since this case crossed my desk, I've found that I spend more time at my office than I do here, and I've pulled more all-nighters than should be possible."

She made her way into the kitchen and he stood and followed after her, taking a seat on one of the stools and watching as she dug through the cupboards, removing various food items.

"We don't need appliances such as fridges, freezers and kettles. With a few spells, we are able to place the correct Cooling and Freezing Charms over our food items to prevent them from spoiling or defrosting," she explained.

His eyes never strayed from her, watching as she waved her wand this way and that, watching as pots and pans and knives and food items swirled about the room and were directed to where she wanted them to be.

"Are you allergic to anything?" She asked him, flicking her wand and a knife set to work cutting up some peppers.

He shook his head slightly. "Not that I'm aware of," he responded and she nodded her head without looking at him.

"Any foods that you're not particularly fond of?"

"I don't like olives or mushrooms," he answered.

"They're awful," she nodded in agreement.

They fell silent and he continued to watch her magically preparing dinner, fascinated by the way she barely looked up from her task as she flicked her wand and muttered under her breath and ingredients that had been prepared would levitate over to her and add themselves into the food she was preparing, as a wooden spoon stirred it without her instructing it to. It wasn't a long wait for the food to be cooked so he assumed the magic had also sped up the cooking process.

She placed a plate in front of him and refilled his glass with water, before taking the stool beside him and they ate in comfortable silence. Once they'd finished, she flicked her wand and the dishes took themselves to the sink, which filled with water and washing up liquid.

"Come on then, let's get you comfortable," she said, hopping off the stool and making her way down a corridor which held four closed doors and she stopped at the first door on the left. "This is your room," she spoke, opening the door and then stepping back to allow him to step inside and survey his surroundings.

The room was much bigger than his own and it was decorated in black and cream. The two side walls being the smallest were black with cream accents and the front and back wall were cream with a few black and silver accents, and there was a large landscape portrait of an old castle in the centre of the back wall. The floor was dark wood with a soft looking cream rug being placed on either side of the bed. There was a queen-sized bed in the centre of the room, the black leather headboard being pushed up against the wall and the bedding was a cream colour. Two cream bedside tables sat either side of the bed with large candles placed on the surface; he presumed they were used for lighting when it grew darker. Behind the door he noticed there to be a cream coloured chest of drawers and a matching double door wardrobe beside it, whilst on the right wall there was a door which was left ajar and he could see it led to a bathroom.

"What's that?" He asked, gesturing to the painting of the old castle.

A fond but sad smile crossed her face when her eyes drifted over it.

"Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry," she answered. "A friend of mine, someone who I went to school with painted it for me for my twentieth birthday. As you can see, he's a brilliant artist."

"How old are you?" He asked curiously.

She raised an eyebrow but answered anyway. "Twenty-four, I'll be twenty-five in September."

So his assumptions were right, she was around his age, barely a year older than him as his birthday was in August.

"Okay, I'll leave you to it, if you find yourself hungry or in need of a drink, just help yourself to whatever you wish to in the kitchen. If you wish to use the shower, there's a switch behind the door which you need to turn on in order to activate the water. There should be towels in the cabinet below the sink. If there's anything that you require that you didn't bring with you, just make a list and I'll see that everything is taken care of. You'll find a note book and pen in the draw of the right bedside table. Alright?" He nodded. "Well then, good night, Deputy."

As she stepped out the door her called her name. "Hermione?"

She turned slightly to face him. "Yes?"

"Do you think I can have that book back?" He asked, a little nervous she would tell him no and he'd be bored out of his mind having nothing to occupy his attention until he felt he could sleep.

A smile appeared on her face and he felt himself relax at the expression.

"Of course," she responded, digging into her blazer pocket and pulling out Hogwarts, a History, before stepping closer to him and handing him the large tome. "I confess, growing up that was my favourite book and it still is to this day, I must've read it hundreds of times by this point," she chuckled with a shake of her head. "If you need me, my room's at the end of the corridor."

"Thank you,"

"Get some sleep, Deputy, you're going to need it," she replied, walking out of the room and closing the door after her.

He placed his duffle bag on the floor before perching himself on the end of the comfortable bed, his eyes slowly taking in his surroundings as it all began to sink in.

Magic really did exist. He really had been recruited by a witch to help take down a murderous creature that had already killed hundreds of people. He really had accepted her offer. He really had gotten on a twelve hour flight with the beautiful woman. He really was in Britain, and staying in her apartment in the hidden Wizarding World.

He flopped back onto the bed and sighed, running his hands over his face. Despite what he had faced in the past, despite helping to destroy The Beast, he got the feeling that even with his hellhound side, this was going to be a lot more difficult.

With his thoughts running through his mind, his body still aching from the flight and his stomach being full of the delicious meal the little witch had cooked for him, he felt himself beginning to tire. Maybe sleep would come easy to him tonight, God knows he needed it.

~000~000~000~

He woke to the smell of bacon and a dark sky the following morning. He had no idea what time it was, but he could hear footsteps echoing from outside of his room, and knowing they only belonged to one person and feeling better rested than he had in a long time, he decided to get up no matter the time.

He'd fallen asleep reading Hogwarts, a History before he'd gotten chance to shower, so he climbed out of bed and made his way to the bathroom. After retrieving a towel from the cabinet beneath the sink and quickly showering, he dried off and dressed in a plain black t-shirt with a bit of a v-neck, a pair of dark jeans and white trainers.

He left the room and followed the smell of bacon to the kitchen and when Hermione came into view, he could smell that she had recently showered and see that she was dressed and ready for the day.

The scent of strawberries and honey lingered in the air and he knew it to be coming from her, he'd noticed her scent when she'd fallen asleep against his shoulder on the flight, and with her head being close to his he'd been able to smell the sweet fruity scent in her hair.

Her hair still looked to be damp and it was left to hang down her back in a tangle of unruly curls. She wore dark skinny jeans with a black blouse tucked into the waist band and the first couple of buttons left unfastened. He noticed that this blouse had sleeves and covered the horrendous scar he knew her to have. Over the top of her clothing she wore a burgundy blazer and on her feet she wore black heeled ankle boots. He thought she looked rather lovely.

He sat himself down on a stool and upon hearing him do so, she turned to look over her shoulder, giving him a small smile in greeting.

"Morning," she said softly.

"Morning," he replied back.

"How was your first night's sleep in Britain?"

"Peaceful," he answered honestly. "I don't remember the last time I slept so well."

"I'm glad to hear that, though it may just be due to the fact we hardly slept the day before and we spent twelve hours on a plane and crossed time zones," she shrugged. "So, what's your poison? Tea or coffee?"

"Coffee, please," he answered, taking the mug from her once she'd prepared it and declining her offer of milk and sugar.

Although it was nowhere near as good as the coffee you'd get from a coffee shop or a machine, it wasn't half bad, and it was definitely better than the God awful stuff they had at the station.

He noticed that she prepared herself a coffee, too, and he took note that she added a single sugar and a third milk, before sipping at the liquid as she turned over the sausages in the frying pan.

"What time is it?" He asked.

"A little after six, I think," she said.

He felt his eyebrows rise, he knew she said that she wanted to go into her office early, but he assumed that to mean around eight, at this rate they'd likely get there for seven, and judging by the sky outside, the sun would just be beginning to rise at that time.

He shook his head and turned his attention to sipping at his coffee, until a large plate was set in front of him and he blinked several times at the various foods items before him; sausages, bacon, scrambled eggs, lightly buttered toast, hash browns, baked beans and what looked to be tomatoes.

"You're in Britain now, you may be here to help me with a case, but that doesn't mean I'm not going to make sure you have the chance to experience some of our culture and traditions, hence, a traditional English breakfast. Usually it would contain mushrooms but seeing as you mentioned you don't like them, I substituted them for hash browns, and I don't think you'd like black pudding either, it's an acquired taste," she finished with a grimace and he found himself touched by her thoughtfulness and amused by her words.

They ate through breakfast fairly quickly and he left to retrieve his dark brown leather jacket, slipping it on and grabbing the short list he'd made of items he needed so he could give it to Hermione.

When he returned to the living room, Hermione was by the fireplace and he stopped in his steps to observe her behaviour. She was crouched down in front of the burning flames, her body angled slightly so he was able to see the way her eyes were shining amber in colour, and he realised, it was very much the same as when he was near an open flame. He'd often been told his eyes changed to amber when he was staring at a flame or when his hellhound side was free.

She lifted her hand closer to the flames as if to touch them and a thought crossed his mind that he should stop her before she hurt herself, yet she didn't move her hand any closer. She just held it in place, the glow of the fire illuminating her beautiful features as she stared, entranced by the dancing flames.

As soon as she noticed his presence she cleared her throat and stood up, straightening out her blazer and turning her eyes to him.

"Ready?"

"All set," he confirmed, moving over to her and not mentioning what he'd witnessed.

"Alright, I know you're technically fire-proof but I'm going to tell you anyway, what we're about to do isn't going to hurt you, once we step into the fireplace the flames are magical and they are unable to harm us. We're going to use a form of magical travel which we call flooing. This is similar to teleportation except we are only able to floo to a destination that has a fireplace that is connected to the floo network. We will be flooing to The British Ministry of Magic, which is our government headquarters and it is based in London. You might feel a little dizzy but it will soon pass."

He nodded, a slight crease in his forehead.

She summoned a pair of black robes and slipped them on and he didn't bother looking surprised, since she'd mentioned it was the norm for wizarding folk and it was a part of their culture and traditions.

There was a dish sat on top of the fireplace and she took a handful of the powder inside before holding her hand out to him. Not needing her to explain, he fit his much larger hand around her smaller one and when she stepped into the flames he followed after her, surprised to see that the flames turned green in colour and there was no heat coming off them.

"Ministry of Magic," Hermione called clearly, throwing the powder down into the grate and a cloud of smoke surrounded them as he felt himself being pulled backwards.