CHAPTER NINETEEN
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: 6
When Parrish woke it was to a fuzzy head and an empty bed. Looking out the window and seeing it dark, it either meant it was really late or really early, he couldn't be sure. He scrubbed a hand over his face and stretched out his body, muscles that he hadn't had to use in a while aching as his body worked to ease the pain.
His mind felt strange and he had come to realise it was memories coming back to him, memories that belonged to the hellhound. He closed his eyes and didn't put up a fight, having learned that it was much less painful and far easier when he did so. He felt a frown of confusion pull at his brow when images of Hermione began to flutter through his mind, memories of them speaking; only he didn't remember those conversations. He pressed a hand to his head and winced at the dull throbbing pain, and several minutes later, the pain faded and the pieces suddenly slotted into place.
"That's strange," he muttered to himself, but he climbed out of bed and decided to go in search of Hermione.
He found his underwear on the floor and quickly slipped them on as he left the room and made his way down the corridor, his mouth twitching when he caught sight of the clothing they'd discarded on the floor in their haste to get to the bedroom.
He found her in the kitchen sitting on the kitchen island counter with her feet swinging back and forth, wearing nothing but a navy blue silk robe which sat at her mid-thigh, her hair a bushy mess since he'd had his hands in it, and with a pint of ice-cream in one hand as she pulled a spoon out of her mouth with the other.
"What are you doing?"
She physically jumped in surprise and almost dropped her ice-cream, which earned him a glare.
"Taking a shower, what does it look like I'm doing?" She rolled her eyes at him.
"Why are you awake?" He asked, moving to stand beside her, his hip brushing her leg.
"I was hungry, we missed dinner," she shrugged.
"You told Teddy you can't have ice-cream for dinner," he said amused.
"No, I think you'll find I said he couldn't have it for lunch, I'm having it for dinner. And anyway, he's six, I'm a full grown witch, if I want ice-cream in the middle of the night, then I'll have ice-cream in the middle of the night."
He snorted at her and raised an eyebrow when she held the spoon out to him in offering.
"What? I've had my mouth and tongue on every inch of your body, there's no point in being squeamish about catching my cooties."
He shrugged before opening his mouth and accepting her offering of ice-cream, his tongue darting out to catch the drop that fell from the spoon.
"What is that? It's really sweet."
"Caramel fudge," she shrugged and he rolled her eyes; she had the biggest sweet tooth of anyone he had ever met.
Once she'd put another spoonful into her mouth, he took the ice-cream tub and the spoon from her and put them both off to the side, before moving so he stood between her parted legs and his hands pressed against the counter on either side of her body. He chuckled when she scowled at him and to appease her, he picked up the spoon, scooped up some ice-cream and fed it to her, before putting the spoon back into the tub.
"I remember," he said suddenly.
"Remember what?" She mumbled around the ice-cream still in her mouth.
"You. I remember everything that happened between you and him."
Her eyes widened and a guilty looked crossed her face. "Are you mad at me?"
"Why would I be mad at you?" He questioned.
"Because I didn't tell you about our interactions. I just, I didn't want you to panic or to feel as though I was putting pressure on you because of the way your hellhound felt at the time. And to be perfectly honest with you, I didn't quite understand it myself. I knew that you'd remember eventually but I wanted it to come from the hellhound, not me."
"I'm not mad at you," he told her and her entire body sagged in relief. "I understand why you didn't tell me and you did what you thought was best for me at the time, I can't be mad for you wishing to protect me, though everything makes sense now."
"Meaning?"
"Your behaviour changed after your first talk with the hellhound and I couldn't understand why. You were more attentive towards me, you sat next to me more often than not and you stopped flirting with Norton."
She bit her lip. "He told me it made him angry, that it hurt the both of you when I flirted with him, which is why I made sure to get rid of him for good."
"Well whatever you did worked. What did you do?"
"I snogged him."
"Excuse me?" He said in confusiond.
"Right, sorry, I forgot you wouldn't know the term. I kissed him."
"What?"
She winced at the slight growl that wrapped around the word and his eyes flashed amber.
"I kissed him, there's no reason for you to be jealous or worried, I kept my tongue far away from him, I promise. I just kissed him and burned him a little to prove he couldn't handle my fire. I didn't actually hurt him, it would've just stung for a little while. Like when you touch a teaspoon that you've just stirred your coffee with, it's stings but it doesn't leave a mark. And it worked; he's stopped flirting with me."
"You do realise he's claimed you as his, as ours, right?"
She bit her lip and nodded. "I realise that, yes. How do you feel about that? You didn't really have a choice."
"I did have a choice, he wouldn't have taken to you in the way he has if we hadn't been of the same mind." Her eyes widened at the meaning. "If we're being honest with each other, I've wanted you from the moment I first laid eyes on you. I was drawn to you, I was curious about you, I wanted to know you."
"Okay, well since we're being honest, my phoenix kind of likes you, too." He raised an eyebrow. "I think it's the same as your hellhound. They recognised each other for who and what they are, I'm the first of my kind and you're the last of yours. I guess you could say they're kindred spirits. I don't like the thought of you being harmed or injured, which is why I'm so protective of you, and it's why I reacted the way I did after your fight with Prodigium. I just wanted to take care of you and make sure you were safe and protected and cared for."
He pushed her hair out of her face and she leaned into his touch.
"We're strange, aren't we?"
"Yes," he said instantly, pulling a smile from her. "But our lives would be boring if we weren't."
"I suppose. Now that we've gotten that out the way, can I have my ice-cream back now?"
He laughed at her before picking up the tub and giving it back to her and she wasted no time in shoving a spoonful into her mouth.
"So, I was wondering if you'd like to accompany me to a ball," she spoke around the ice-cream still in her mouth.
"Not if you're going to eat like that in public," he replied. She licked the spoon clean before gently smacking at his arm with it and he laughed at her. "So, this ball?"
She groaned. "I hate balls, like truly hate them, but once a year The Ministry has a celebration ball to commemorate the end of the war and all those that we lost. This will be the sixth year so far, and unfortunately it's mandatory that I attend."
"Why?" He asked, amused by her clear dislike at having to attend.
"I'm a Department Head for a start, second of all I'm a well known war heroine and lastly, I'm an Order of Merlin: First Class recipient, I have to go."
"And what is that exactly?"
"Oh, I forgot you wouldn't know. It's basically like the magical equivalent to the medal of honour."
His eyes widened and his mouth dropped open. "You have a medal of honour?"
"Unfortunately," she sighed and he blinked at her dumbly. "You have no idea the responsibility that comes with such an honour, or of the fact that people treat you differently because of it. I didn't fight in the war to win a bloody medal; I fought because it was the right thing to do. I fought for those that couldn't do it themselves, for those that had died and for those that would lose their futures and lives should Voldemort have won and gotten his way. I fought for myself and for my family and for my friends. I fought for Harry because I believed in him."
"You continue to surprise me," he muttered softly, once more pushing her hair back from her face before she got it caught in the ice-cream she was stuffing in her mouth. "I'll go with you," he said. "When is it?"
"This Saturday, but I need you to know, if you accompany me people will talk. There are traditions in the Wizarding World that you may not have heard of in the Muggle World. If a single witch that is not promised to another attends a ball such as this one, with anyone but a brother, uncle or father, you are to be seen as being in a relationship, and should a man dance with a woman a total of three times, it means that you are officially expressing your interest and that you wish to court her."
"You're kidding," he said, surprised.
"I wish, these traditions and ideals aren't as strong as they once were and should you accompany me, most won't even batter an eyelash, they'll just assume that you're my boyfriend, but the older generations will see it as I've explained."
"So, if I go with you, some will see us as being in a relationship and others will see it as us practically being engaged for marriage?"
"Right in one," she chirped, slipping the spoon into her mouth once more.
"That's fine with me," he shrugged and he pattered her on the back when she choked on her ice-cream in shock.
"What? Have you thought this through?"
"Yes, if you think about it, we're pretty much a couple anyway." She stared at him, telling him to continue. "Well, I buy you coffee, you buy me coffee. I buy you lunch, you buy me lunch. I cook you dinner. You could me dinner. We spend time together at your office and at your apartment. We take walks together and go for ice-cream. And, we've travelled through Europe together looking for a murderous creature. If that doesn't make us a couple, then I don't know what does."
"You want to put a label on us?" She questioned, swivelling her spoon between them, gesturing to them both in question.
"Do you?" He raised an eyebrow.
She bit her lip. "I wasn't sure where things between us where heading, I didn't want to assume anything and so I didn't."
"My hellhound has claimed you as ours with my unwitting knowledge."
"And phoenix has claimed you as ours with my knowledge."
"For the time being, they've basically staked a claim on each other, so we're going to be together no matter what, how long a relationship lasts between us, well, only time will tell. It could be months, years, until we die, if we die," he shrugged.
She huffed, trying to push a piece of hair out her face and he chuckled when she scowled as it fell back into place, and he moved it aside for her.
"Look at me, I go to America to retrieve someone to help me catch a murderous monster, and in only a few weeks I land myself a hellhound for a boyfriend, who's too handsome for his own good."
He smirked at her. "Well, look at me, I come to Britain to help someone catch a murderous monster and in only a few weeks I land myself a witch that has the soul of a phoenix for a girlfriend, who's too beautiful for her own good."
"Keep saying things like that and I might actually start to believe you."
"You are beautiful," he said seriously. "Well, you are when you're not devouring ice-cream."
She kicked at his leg and he laughed at her before wrapping his arms around her and pulling her closer to the edge of the counter so she was pressed against him.
"So, you wanna go for round three?"
"Can I finish my ice-cream first?"
He snorted at her and shook his head. "Why don't you bring it with you?"
A smirk pulled at her mouth. "My-my, Deputy, you're kinkier than I thought," she teased.
He lightly slapped her on the arse and she laughed as he pulled her off the counter and with her arms and legs wrapped around him, he left the kitchen.
"I'm still hungry, you know?"
"I'll make you something after."
"And if you fall asleep?" She said amused, bringing the spoon between them and he opened his mouth so she could feed him some ice-cream.
"I won't,"
"You did last time. You're supposed to have better stamina than me and you fell asleep before I did."
"I was tired," he defended.
"Wore you out, did I?"
"Shut up," he muttered, crashing his mouth against hers. They barely made it to the bedroom.