CHAPTER SIXTEEN
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
"Focus, Deputy," Hermione spoke.
"I am focusing," he said frustrated, his eyes closed tightly and his brows furrowed as he stood in the middle of her office and she was perched on her desk, her feet swinging back and forth as she watched him.
"No, you're not. You're getting annoyed," she replied, hopping off the desk and walking over to him.
When he felt her presence he opened his eyes and his annoyance at being unable to communicate with the hellhound was evident. It had been three days since they'd stumbled upon Prodigium, and he had spent most of his time trying to connect with his hellhound with Hermione helping him, though she would take a break and leave him to it when there was some paperwork that needed her attention.
"It's not working," he muttered.
"It will, you just have to have faith in yourself, I do. You're powerful and special, there's nothing you can't do."
She reached up and his eyes moved to hers when her hands gently cupped his face, keeping their gazes locked. She closed her eyes and breathed deeply and once she opened them, the chocolate brown had been replaced by fiery amber. He was mesmerised.
"Okay, hellhound," she said softly, and although the hellhound was locked away inside of him, he knew he would be able to hear her. "He's going to need your help. Speak to him. Help him. Tell him what to do. If we're to defeat this creature and stop it from hurting anyone else, you both need to be as one. He can't do that without you."
She took her hands from him and stepped back, her eyes returning to chocolate brown.
"Try again, remember what I told you. Block out all sounds except for my breathing, my voice and my heart beat. Listen to them, allow it to calm you. Mimic my breathing with your own. This will put you in a trance like state, and when that happens you just have to listen. Listen to your hellhound, and he will do the rest."
She moved back over to her desk, perching herself on the edge and she watched him closely. He sighed and closed his eyes, focusing on her steady heart beat and her controlled breathing and he slowed his own to match hers. His mind cleared of all thoughts except those of fire and flames and heat.
He could hear a voice in the back of his mind, it was deep but quiet, as if it was too far away.
"Listen to him, Jordan," Hermione spoke softly.
He could count on one hand the number of times she had used his name, and seeing as she didn't do it often, when she did it made it all the more special and it always seemed to make his insides squirm and soften.
'It is time, you must listen to me. We are stronger as one.'
~000~000~000~
Hermione heard a knock on her door and with a quick glance at Parrish, she slid off the desk and over to the door, opening it enough for her to pop her head around and so no one would be able to see inside.
"Yes, Kara?" Hermione questioned, seeing her favourite PA.
"Minister Shacklebolt has asked that I remind you of the ball this Saturday."
Hermione sighed. "I was hoping if I ignored it, it would go away," she muttered.
"Hermione, as an Order of Merlin: First Class recipient, a heroine of the war and a Department Head, you are expected to attend," she spoke, as if Hermione were a small child and she were her mother.
"Yes, Kara," she grumbled and Kara sniggered at her.
"I've spoken to the seamstress, she is almost finished with your gown and she wishes to know if there are any changes to the design before it is too late."
Hermione bit her lip in thought before nodding. "Actually, I think I would like to change the colour. I'm not too fussed on the purple, and I swear, if she adds a single ruffle..."
"She's afraid of you, she won't," she snorted, and after Hermione informed Kara of her new colour choice, she closed the door and turned back around, her eyes widening slightly.
"I wasn't expecting to see you today," she spoke, looking to the glowing amber eyes of the hellhound.
He smiled at her. "You took care of him, despite him being healed," he sounded amused.
"Well, I wasn't taking any chances, from what I could see you were healed, but there may have been internal damage that had yet to heal."
"He was healed," he repeated.
She scowled and crossed her arms over her chest. "Fine, I like taking care of you, I've grown quite fond of you both," she admitted.
He approached her until he stood in front of her. "It is time. When we are one, he will have my memories." She bit her lip nervously, and he seemed to understand. "He cares for you, he does not understand why but he will soon. My memories will come to him slowly as he needs time to process them. There is one last step before the process is complete and I need your help."
"Okay," she nodded.
He lifted both hands and held them out to her, one of them was human, the other belonged to the hellhound, the claws and flames unmistakable.
"I need for you to cut both my palms, he will do the rest."
She frowned but she pulled her wand and with it, she placed a cut the length of his palm on both hands, blood ran from one hand whilst lava and ash ran from the other. He then leaned down to kiss her lightly on the mouth, before walking back into the middle of the room, closing his eyes and pressing his palms together as he muttered words she didn't recognise under his breath.
She watched and waited for several minutes and when nothing happened, she made her way over to her desk and sat in her seat, putting her attention on the job application forms in front of her to keep her distracted.
It was almost thirty minutes later when a loud gasp sounded from him and he seemed to stumble backwards. Hermione darted from her seat and over to him, gently wrapping her small hands around his arms and keeping him steady.
"Are you alright?" She asked worriedly.
"Just a little dizzy," he mumbled in reply, with his eyes yet to open.
She carefully guided him over to the couch and once he sat down, she perched herself on the coffee table in front of him, before conjuring a glass, filling it with water and handing it to him.
"It'll pass," she said softly. "I'm not sure what you've been doing for so long, but I know it involved some sort of blood ritual." She looked down at his hands, seeing no sign of blood or the cuts on his palms, almost as if it hadn't even happened.
"How long have I been gone, so to speak?"
"Maybe forty minutes," she answered, taking his free hand in hers to comfort him.
"My head hurts."
"I can get you a Pain Relief Potion if you wish; it's very effective and works almost instantly."
"It's okay, it'll pass. I can hear him now, as if he was stood right next to me. I can feel him, too. I mean, I could feel him before, but now it's different," he frowned slightly. "I still feel like me, only different. I feel... Stronger, more sure of myself."
"That's good," she commented softly, giving his hand a gentle squeeze.
"The pain's going," he said, before his eyes slowly opened for the first time and Hermione was captivated.
His once light brown eyes were still that, only now he had fiery flecks of glowing amber, too. And when she looked at the rest of him, his hair was different, too. It was still dark brown but there was more of a fiery tint to it than there was before, and his skin, it was more tanned than before, too. There was a sort of glow about him, as if he were stood in front of a fire and it was reflecting the colours across his face.
"What is it?" He asked, after seeing her surprised reaction and a smile later pulled at her mouth.
In response she summoned the compact mirror she kept in the drawer of her desk and held it out to him. He took it curiously and flipped it open, staring at himself.
"Oh, that's different," he said.
She laughed lightly and shook her head. "It worked, not only mentally and emotionally, but physically, too. You are one with your hellhound and I'd bet my last sickle that from now on you'll find things a lot easier. You'll have control of your actions but you'll still have your hellhound instincts. You'll keep your memories and he told me that you'll start getting his memories of the nights he took over. Now you don't need fire, when you wish to swap to your hellhound form, all you have to do is think it and it will happen. It might take a little practice whilst you grow accustomed to everything but you've done it, and I don't think I've ever been prouder. I'm happy for you both."
~000~000~000~
"Hermione?"
"Yes, Deputy?" She replied, looking up and away from her desk.
Her eyes landed on him, he was lying on her couch with his arms behind his head and staring up at the ceiling. It had only been an hour since the ritual had been completed and he'd soon felt dizzy again, and so Hermione instructed him to lie down and not to move until he felt better. He'd been quiet until now.
"Do you know how to fire a gun?"
She blinked in surprise. Well, that was a random thing to ask someone.
"Not really, I was curious a few years back and I went to a local firing range. I didn't like it, the noise of the gunshots kept startling me. In theory I'd probably have good aim due to my spell casting, but I have no need for such a weapon, why?"
"I was thinking that maybe I should teach you the basics. We know that only certain spells will harm Prodigium but we don't have the time to test which ones they are. Between the both of us we managed to injure it, and now that I've gotten control over my hellhound, I'm confident that next time we'll be successful. Bullets may injure it and if you hit the right places, it may weaken it, especially with organs like the heart or lungs."
"We try not to kill those we're after, but this case has extenuating circumstances. Kingsley has order the creature to not only be killed, but for the body to be brought back to The Ministry so the Department of Mysteries may analyse it. We need to know if this is some sort of mutation, if it's due to crossbreeding or if this creature has been created by humans."
"Well, bullets might not kill it but they'll help to slow it down," he shrugged, turning his head to look at her.
She hated how handsome he was, it was very distracting, especially when he was stretched out on her couch with his muscles bunched tightly and his t-shirt showing a little of his stomach to her eyes.
"It can't hurt, I suppose," she decided.
"You'll have to do it, I won't be able to fire a gun when in hellhound mode, it'll just melt in my hands."
"I figured," she replied. "Prodigium won't be quiet for much longer, our best chance of success is to take it off guard, we need to find it before it finds another victim. I'm sick of seeing the dead bodies. It's been going on too long and I can't take it any longer."
"But we can't track it, I can tell when it's nearby but that's useless unless we have a starting point."
"I've been talking with Kingsley and there is something we can do."
"I'm listening," he responded, giving her a nod of encouragement.
"We're still waiting on the lab results, they're having trouble separating the markers in the venom and are not yet able to tell us what this creature is, but I kept a little of the trunk shavings with Prodigium's blood on it. There's a form of magic I can use, but it's actually illegal due to how dangerous it can be if used for the wrong purpose." He frowned. "Using its blood, I should be able to take us straight to it, no matter where it is in the world, even if it's under the protection of wards. I've brought the matter up with Kingsley and although he can't legally give me permission to use such magic, he's willing to turn a blind eye. But if I were to get caught, I'd not only lose my job, I'd face time in Azkaban for breaking the laws on ancient and deadly magics."
"That's settled it then, you're not doing it," he said, pushing himself up until he was sitting straight and his feet were planted firmly on the ground.
"If I don't we may never find this creature and it'll keep killing, for all we know, this creature may be immortal, too."
"You're not doing it."
"I have to."
"Over my dead body," he spoke with a glare.
"You're immortal, that'll be very difficult," she shot back, a glare of her own on her face.
His hellhound was in his head, telling him to stop talking before he got the both of them hexed. He wasn't sure whether to be amused or annoyed with that.
"Alright, we'll discuss this later," he said. "Everyone will be leaving soon, we should see if we can find a firing range."
"There's one about fifteen miles from The Leaky Cauldron, it's where I went last time. You need to be a member to be granted access but I can get us in easy enough."
"Let's head out."
~000~000~000~
Hermione had apparated them into the alley behind the firing range and with a few spells, they'd easily gotten into the building and past the reception area and into the firing range. Though it had taken a little longer than usual as Parrish had easily fallen into conversation with the man behind the desk. Hermione hadn't understood a single word of it and it all went straight over her head, and when he caught her confused look, he'd thankfully ended the conversation.
They were the only ones in the firing range given that it was a weekday and it would be closing for the day in less than an hour, so they didn't have long. Parrish had chosen a handgun that was the same style, make and model as his own so when it came to her using it, it would feel familiar and she wouldn't be thrown off by the weight or size of it.
Hermione had removed her blazer and her heels, leaving her barefoot and dressed in a black blouse and navy blue trousers, and Parrish thought she looked adorable with the ear protectors that were far too big for her and the safety glasses, and her hair pulled up into an untameable mess on top of her head. He instructed her on what to do and then stood off to the side, watching her closely.
His mouth twitched into a smile when she aimed the gun at the target, put her finger on the trigger and before she'd pulled the trigger, she would flinch, her face would scrunch up and she'd look away with her eyes closed. She'd been doing this for the last ten minutes and still hadn't fired a single shot.
"Okay, that's enough of that," he spoke, moving over to her so he stood behind her, her back to his chest.
"I don't like the noise, it startles me," she all but pouted and he struggled to contain his laughter.
"There's nothing to be scared of, and I'm going to prove it to you."
He brought both his hands up to cover her own and lifted the gun a little higher so it was pointed at the centre of the target.
"Alright, I want you to take a deep breath, aim at your chosen point on the target. Now, inhale and hold it, and when you're ready, pull the trigger as you exhale."
He stepped back to give her some room and when he thought she was going to give up and flinch again, she pulled the trigger, but she did still startle slightly at the noise. She hadn't hit the centre of the target, but she hadn't missed completely either which wasn't bad for a first time.
"Oh My God! I did it! I actually did it! I hit the target!" She said excitedly, jumping up a down before turning to look at him with a large grin. "Why didn't you tell me there's nothing scary about it? What were you thinking worrying me like that?"
He laughed at her as she smacked at his arm lightly, before turning back to the target and aiming the gun. When she pulled the trigger she wasn't as hesitant as before, and she laughed when she hit the target again. She fired the gun until she ran out of bullets, and he pressed the button that brought the target forward and he took it from the hanger. Each bullet had hit the target and with each shot she fired, she'd gotten closer and closer to the centre, but hadn't quite hit it.
"Let's go again, we have time before we get kicked out and I think I'll be able to actually hit the centre this time," she said excitedly.
He chuckled at her but took the gun from her hands so he could reload it and he handed it back to her. By the time they'd gotten kicked out, Hermione had managed to hit the centre of the target with the last four bullets and he couldn't help smiling at her proudly.
"I'm taking this home and framing it," she told him, taking the target sheet from him and rolling it up, putting it in her pocket after she'd slipped on her shoes and blazer once more.
By the time they left the building and headed towards the alley way so she could apparate them back, his head was spinning from her excited and rushed words, as she pulled him down the street by his hand.
"We have to do that again! I think I'll be able to hit the centre each time, after all, I'm rather good with my spells and taking into account the direction the wind is travelling so it doesn't throw off my trajectory. Now that I'm familiar with the weight of a gun I should be able to do the same! We should come back tomorrow! My God, if Harry ever finds out he'll be relentless with his teasing. Should we try with other models so I can understand the differences or just stick with the other one, as I'm now familiar with it? And should..."
He wasn't sure if it was his decision or the hellhound's, but unable to stop himself at how adorable she looked in her excited babbling that she kept bumping into people on the street, he stopped in his steps and she almost fell over, before she righted herself and turned around to look at him, the excitement still on her face and words still pouring out of her mouth.
"Maybe I should brush up on my knowledge of angles and trajectories in case I'm forced to..."
He cut off her words by ducking down and pressing his mouth against hers.