CHAPTER SEVEN
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
He kept a tight hold of Hermione's hand and didn't let go until after they'd arrived at their destination and he followed her out of the fireplace. She brushed the soot off herself and he did the same.
He took in his surroundings, the large atrium they were in had dozens of fireplaces lining the walls, it had a glass dome ceiling, stone walls and dark marble flooring with stone statues of creatures he didn't recognise dotted about. In the centre of the large room sat a large and beautiful fountain with a stone carved centaur and mermaid sat on a podium in the centre. The entire building was silent with the exception of the running water from the fountain and their footsteps, which echoed as he followed her to an elevator.
"Quick warning, our elevators are able to move in more than one direction, rather than the standard movement of up and down."
He raised an eyebrow but found himself stumbling slightly and he was forced to grip onto the railing to stop him from falling over when the elevator suddenly took off.
"The Ministry is much like your own government, only our departments are specifically suited to our people and our needs. We have the Family Affairs Department, the Magical Sports and Games Department, the Magical Transportation Department, the Department of Mysteries, the Auror and Law Enforcement Department which is essentially magical policemen, and there's also my Department, which is the Regulations and Control of Magical Creatures Department. There are other departments I've not mentioned, but each department also has sub-divisions and offices. The RCMC Department has a total of eight sub-divisions and whilst each division has its own head, I am the overall Department of Head, meaning I have seniority over all decisions and sub-divisions."
"You're the big boss," he commented.
He had been impressed by her before, but after learning this new piece of information, that had only sky rocketed. She was in charge of eight different sub-divisions and she was only twenty-four!
Her mouth twitched into a smile. "Essentially, yes, I'm the big boss."
She stepped out of the elevator and he quickly followed, all too happy to get far away from it and he followed her down a large room that was filled with hundreds of cubicles and every so often he'd see an office, but she continued on right to the end of the room, where there sat what looked to be a reception desk without all the electrical equipment and a much larger office took up the entirety of what should've been the back wall.
She took her wand and touched it to the door and it glowed blue before swinging open and he followed in after her.
A large oak desk sat in the centre of the room and it was the first thing you saw when you walked through the door. The desk had stacks and stacks of files sat on the surface at the right end of the desk. To the left end of the desk sat stacks upon stacks of what looked to be reports, and next to them sat newspaper articles. Behind the desk sat a large office chair, and behind that were several filing cabinets. Towards the right of the room he saw there to be more filing cabinets only they were labelled by what he guessed to be the sub-divisions she'd mentioned, since there were eight of them. To the left of the room he saw there to be a comfortable looking white couch and a matching arm chair and in front of that sat a small coffee table which matched her desk. He noticed there to be a few photo frames that were positioned about the room, and the entirety of the left wall looked to be a makeshift crime board and he assumed it was for the case she was currently working on.
She removed both her robes and blazer and hung them up on the coat rack that was in the corner of the room and hidden by the door. She held her hand out expectantly and he quickly removed his own leather jacket and handed it to her to be hung up, before she made her way around her desk and took her seat and she gestured to the chair opposite her, which he took.
She was going to speak when she looked down at her desk with a slight frown, apparently not recognising the paperwork that sat directly in front of her. She picked it up and skimmed through it before a sad look crossed her face and she placed the papers off to the side.
"It seems in my absence to recruit you, a further seven bodies have been found," she sighed, bringing her hand up to pinch the bridge of her nose. "They were found over three separate towns in Wales, and their times of death appear to be five weeks ago."
She swivelled her chair to face towards the crime board and in the centre of it sat a large map of Europe. She muttered under her breath and flicked her wand and several differently coloured dots appeared to mark the map and add to the collection that was already there.
"The blue dots indicate the countries where Prodigium has left victims, the yellow dots indicate the exact location the bodies were found, the green dots indicate the time of deaths and the red dots are the amount of bodies that have been found," she explained.
He felt his breath leave him as he stared at the map in horror, there were so many colours and dots marked that it was hard to even begin to see a pattern forming, so he could see why it would be difficult for them to track it or predict its next attack.
He turned back to her to see her rubbing at her temples with a frustrated look on her face, and he realised she'd been dealing with this for months without any help. He didn't know how she hadn't yet had a breakdown, if it were him he'd have done so long ago.
"Right, so let's get started."
~000~000~000~
Parrish had gotten himself more comfortable on the couch and had spent the last couple of hours familiarising himself with the case by reading through the official reports, witness accounts and looking over the little evidence they had and just when he thought he'd finished, Hermione would flick her wand and another stack of files would fly out of one of the filing cabinets from behind her and gently settle themselves down on the coffee table.
He must've read through hundreds of reports, hoping to find anything that Hermione may have missed but there was nothing. There was no indication that the creature was supernatural but from Hermione's notes, there was none that it was magical either. They'd tried tracking it but ultimately failed, they'd tried stopping it when they'd managed to arrive at its location before it left, and they failed at that, too, several of their people getting severely injured in the process. It seemed no witness account was the exact same either, and in order to get a general profile, Hermione had taken the over lapping factors in order to hopefully give them a general description, but it wasn't concrete.
He sighed and tore his eyes away from the report in front him, needing a break from reading about a thirteen year old witch that had been walking her dog only to end up being torn limb from limb when the creature stumbled upon her.
"I don't know how you've done this for so long," he spoke, drawing her attention away from the reports in front of her. "I feel I'm about to lose my mind and I've only been doing this a couple of hours."
She leaned back in her chair and swivelled it around to better face him.
"I can't give up; if I do people will continue to die until there's nothing left to fight for. There's too many people counting on me, on us, to just give in. Now that you're here, I'm hoping things will start picking up and we'll make progress."
"I wouldn't get your hopes up, Hermione, I'm only looking over everything that you already have and I can't find anything that you haven't."
"Give it some time, Deputy, like you said, you've only been at this a couple of hours, and there's still hundreds more files that I need you to look over, including the new ones I'll be receiving shortly for the victims that were found in Wales."
He nodded and sighed softly before turning his attention back to the reports before him.
~000~000~000~
The sun had long since made an appearance and he could hear the faint chatter and footsteps of those that sat at the cubicles outside of Hermione's office. He wasn't sure on the time, but he'd assume it was nearing lunch given how long they'd been at their tasks.
He pushed the reports away from him and sat back on the couch, allowing his head to tilt back to rest against the cushion and he rubbed a hand over his face.
"Nothing?" Hermione spoke distractedly, and he knew she hadn't taken her eyes away from her own desk even if he wasn't looking at her.
"Nothing," he confirmed with a sigh. "Remind me again what this creature looks like."
He heard her shuffling the papers on her desk before she stood and pushed her office chair away from her desk and stopping opposite him, the coffee table separating them. She sat down and rested her arms on her legs before leaning closer to him and he found himself sitting up and leaning closer to her, too.
"The witness accounts are inconsistent. Some say the creature had red eyes, some say amber but the majority said glowing blue. Some said it had fur as black as night, others said it was brown, some say it had long fur and others short, and therefore, we can't be sure on either. Almost all of the witnesses said it was fast, large and strong and that it had sharp teeth and claws, so we're at least fairly certain about these particular traits. Some said it growled like a wolf, others said it didn't make any sound at all."
He bit his lip in thought and she'd be lying if she said her eyes didn't zero in on the action before she shook her head.
"We're certain this creature is part werewolf based on some of the characteristics, but others don't fit with what we know regarding the species. Not only are the characteristics not completely compatible, there's also the fact that this creature is killing on nights where there isn't a full moon."
"I don't see how that matters, I've seen Scott and Liam go full blown werewolf during the day, eyes, fangs, claws, hair, the whole lot. They don't seem to need the full moon, and I've seen them being able to control themselves during the full moon and they haven't changed at all," Parrish said with a frown.
"That's because they're not true werewolves."
"What'd you mean?" He asked confused.
"Scott and Liam, they're not true werewolves. They're what we refer to as Class C Lupines." He tilted his head slightly and Hermione thought it adorable that he looked like a confused puppy. "A true werewolf is only able to shift on the night of the full moon and at no other time in their lives. A true werewolf can only become so by being bitten or deeply scratched on the night of a full moon, were we know Class C Lupines can be born from werewolves and inherit their abilities. A true werewolf will still possess their accelerated healing, speed, strength and superior senses, and their eyes may change if they lose their temper, but they are unable to shift. And on the night of the full moon, the transformation is so painful werewolves have actually been known to die mid-transformation. And when they transform, it's not in the way Scott and Liam do, they transform into an actual wolf and are stuck in their forms until the following morning."
Hermione summoned a photograph of a true werewolf and handed it to him and his eyes widened at the sight.
"Okay, I wasn't expecting that," he muttered and she laughed softly. "How many types of werewolves are there?" He asked, handing the photograph back to her.
"At the moment we've four classes. Class A is what I've just shown you, a werewolf that transforms with the full moon and only the full moon. Class B is a werewolf that has been bitten by a Class A werewolf and they were Muggles, a non-magical human being. Class A werewolves will still have their magic, they are still wizarding folk whereas Class B werewolves aren't. Class C are werewolves such as Scott and Liam, they're able to transform at will and they tend to be non-magicals. And finally, Class D are werewolves that are born to a werewolf parent, usually a male as females are generally infertile, and they do not possess lycanthropy, but their senses do tend to be sharper and they may be aware of when other werewolves are nearby."
"Who would've thought there were so many types of werewolves?" He mumbled and she laughed at him.
"I know, it's a lot to take in, but you're doing remarkably well and I'm actually quite impressed." He felt himself sit up taller at her words, all but preening under her complement. "Anyway, due to the killings happening on nights that are not a full moon, this is why we're sure the creature is only part werewolf and part something else, but we're not sure what yet. We've got no identifiable characteristics to work with. Our magic allows for us to look into a person's mind and see their memories, and we're able to remove our own memories and store them away so we may watch them at a later date." He blinked at that. "But the witnesses are so traumatised by what they've seen, their memories are unreliable. What we need is an actual photo or some video footage of the creature but it's too fast."
He opened his mouth to reply but was interrupted before he could.
"GRANGER! GRANGER!"
"Oh fantastic, here we go again," she sighed, bringing her hands up to her temples.
"Who is that?" He questioned, staring at the door warily.
"Where the bloody hell are you!"
"Don't worry about it, it's just Camden," she answered.
"Who?"
"Camden, my predecessor. He retired three years ago and I took over as Department Head. He's got a wizarding illness which is similar to dementia, but with him being a wizard and having access to his magic, it makes him dangerous."
"GRANGER!"
"Is this a regular occurrence?" He asked, seeing the way she didn't look the least bit worried, if anything she looked annoyed.
"Unfortunately, everyday for the last three years he's turned up here, and he harasses me and my staff before security arrives and escorts him off the premises. Don't worry, they'll be here soon and they'll get rid of him."
"Granger! What are you doing in my office!" An angry voice demanded.
He saw the way her eyes flashed amber and her hands clenched into tight fists.
"You can't hex him, Hermione, you can't hex him," she muttered to herself, before she sat up in her chair and then with her feet she pushed her chair across the room and back behind the desk.
She leaned back casually and clasped her hands gently in front of her as her elbows rested on the arm rests of the chair. Parrish felt the hellhound in him becoming restless and he shifted uncomfortably while his eyes remained on the older man.
"Philip, how are you felling, much better I hope?" Hermione spoke politely.
"That's none of your business, get out of my office!"
"Unfortunately this is my office, Philip, you retired three years ago and I was promoted," she replied.
"How dare you steal my position!"
Parrish felt his eyes narrowing when the old man seemed to fumble for something in his pocket.
"I didn't steal your position, I was promoted."
"And who'd you sleep with to get that!" He replied coldly with a sneer.
A growl was rumbling in his chest and Parrish wasn't sure if it was the hellhound's doing or his own. He didn't like seeing her being spoken to in such a manner, but Hermione seemed un-phased.
"Philip, I assure you, despite your reference to me as being a strumpet, I am not one. Please leave, Norton and Ferry are on their way as we speak, if they have to arrest you, Norton's going to be a foul mood as he'll have to fill out the arrest papers," she said.
"You... You job stealing harpy!"
"I'm not sure if that's better than being called a trollop or not," she mused, tipping her head slightly.
"I'd say not, at least as a trollop someone would actually want to sleep with you," a second voice spoke up.
Parrish briefly turned his eyes to the two men that were stood in the door way. The younger one leaning against the door frame with such a casual manner that he didn't like it, and he certainly didn't like the way he sent a wink to Hermione and she raised an eyebrow in response.
"Good, you're here, it's about time, remove this trespassing sex witch at once. She's dirtying up my work space."
"Charming," Hermione scoffed.
"Come on, Philip, let's leave the pretty witch alone, yeah? She's done nothing to you and she's very busy changing the world." The blonde spoke.
"If you won't remove her, I will!"
Parrish stood from the couch so fast he made himself dizzy and he barely restrained himself from running over to Hermione and jumping in front of the strange orange light, but her calmness had prevented him from doing so. Much to his awe, a blue shield appeared in front of her and the orange beam ricocheted and slammed into the wall, leaving behind a scorch mark.
"I'm billing you for that," she rolled her eyes as the old man was hit with two beams of light before his entire body seemed to stiffen as if he'd turned into stone and before he fell to the floor, he was levitated and led out of the room by the older of the two men, whilst the blonde stayed behind, once more leaning against the door frame.
"Well, Granger, I'd be happy to pay double the asking price for your services," he spoke, a flirty smile on his face.
Parrish clenched his hands into fists in order to stop himself from moving over to the blonde and knocking him unconscious for his comment. He hadn't known the meaning of 'strumpet' or 'trollop' but once 'sex witch' had been brought up, he got the idea fairly quickly and his fury was building inside of him like a raging fire.
"Only double, Norton?" She asked. "I expected more from you," she said.
Much to Parrish's surprise, Hermione wasn't outraged like he expected her to be, she was amused. The twinkle in her eye and the smile on her mouth was unmistakable. He wasn't sure what he hated more; Hermione being insulted and harassed or her flirting with another man, and right in front of him, too!
"Who's that?" The blonde gestured to him by tilting his head in his direction.
"None of your business," she replied, her eyes not moving from the blonde.
"Fair enough, anyway, I'd give my last sickle for you to agree to a date with me."
Parrish felt something inside of him freeze.
"Norton, you'll get hurt," she warned, she still looked amused but the flirty smile was gone from her face.
"Maybe, but it'll be worth it," he responded, pushing away from the door frame and stalking towards her desk, resting his hands on the surface and leaning over it so he was closer to her. "It'll be worth it to see if I'm the one that's able to tame the untameable Hermione Granger."
"You'll get burned, Norton. You and I both know you can't handle my fire."
"There's only one way to find out," he shrugged his shoulders.
Parrish was rooted to the spot when he saw Hermione push her chair away from her desk and stand, before slowly walking around her desk until she was standing before the taller wizard.
"No, there isn't," she spoke, the amusement gone from her voice. "I've told you, I can handle your flirting but you need to forget about me and find yourself a witch that isn't going to burn you."
"I can handle it," he said stubbornly.
Hermione cocked her head to the side and Parrish held his breath when Hermione lifted her hand and slowly trailed her fingers down the blonde's face. He winced and flinched back from her slightly.
"You can't handle my fire and you'll get hurt, Norton. I value our friendship too much to risk harming you." She turned and made her way back to her chair, pulling herself back to her desk once she'd sat down.
"I'm not giving up," the blonde said.
"I didn't think you would," she replied.
"I'll convince you to go out with me eventually, but until then, I'll see you tomorrow, Granger."
"See you later, Norton," she said, her voice distracted as she had her attention on the reports in front of her.
Only when the blonde left did Parrish take a deep breath and he felt his hellhound once more settle down, feeling much calmer that Hermione was once again safe from harm.