CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

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: 10

Hermione had only been gone twenty minutes when she returned to the apartment, slipping in through the door to see the group of teens muttering between themselves on the couch. They eyed her curiously as she strode through the room and into the bedroom, walking in on her boyfriend fastening his uniform shirt.

She closed the door and leaned back against it, her eyes happily tracing his figure as she bit her lip. He really did look good in his uniform.

"Did they explain?" He asked, tucking his shirt into his trousers and then picking up his gun and putting it into its holster.

"Yes, and it's bad, if those kids out there are going to say what I think they are, they have reason to be worried."

"That bad?"

"That bad," she confirmed with a sigh.

He walked over to her and pressed a kiss to her forehead, before taking her hand in his and leading her out of the bedroom and back into the living room. Parrish took a seat on the arm chair and Hermione sat on the arm rest beside him.

"So, am I correct in saying you wish to speak about the sudden murders of supernatural beings in Beacon Hills, including werewolves, wendigos and werecoyotes?"

"What? Yes, how did you know?" Scott blinked in surprise.

She gave him a small sad smile. "Unfortunately, they are not only being murdered here in Beacon Hills, but across the continent. As far as I'm aware, nothing has occurred yet in Europe which is why I haven't been made aware of the situation until now, despite it falling under my jurisdiction. They should've contacted with this information so I could've put security measures in place to protect those that reside in Europe, and I promise, they'll learn of my displeasure soon enough." Parrish snorted at her and the others shuffled uncomfortably. "Anyway, when the American branch of my government heard I was in town, they contacted me immediately because they need my help. What can you tell me?"

Scott cleared his throat and shook his head, looking a little hopeful that she could help. She supposed he'd dealt with a lot over the years, and she could admire his strength and courage. A Gryffindor if she ever saw one.

"They're being killed by hunters; they're not even hunters really. They're recruiting more and more people by the day, by exposing us to the public and creating fear and panic, every day, regular people are going out of their way to hunt us down and kill us. We know several supernatural beings have gone missing, and we know some are being taken and tortured, being used to showcase our existence to the public. We don't know who they are or where they're being kept, so we can't break them out, if they're even still alive," he explained.

"They're building an army," Liam spoke up, looking down at the ground with a sad look on his face. "They've started to test suspected supernatural beings, if you pass you're free to leave and are expected to join the army, if you fail, they kill you. They murdered my friends in cold blood and exposed me."

"I'm sorry to hear that," Hermione said softly and he looked up at her, getting caught in her gaze. "I promise you, I'm going to make sure this is all taken care of. None of you should've been dragged into this, none of this should've been placed on your shoulders, but, now I'm taking over and I'll handle it."

"And what exactly are you going to do?" Stiles asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Gerard Argent, he's a part of this, isn't he?"

"How'd you know? How do you know him?"

"Oh, Gerard and I go way back. I met him a few years ago when I was still a teenager myself, he and I came to an understanding. And it seems he's gone back on his word, so I'm going to have to have a little chat with him. Can you set up a meeting for me?"

"We tried that and they almost killed us," Scott said. "If it weren't for Mason and Corey creating a distraction, we would've died. And he's not the one calling the shots, it's a woman called Monroe. She's got a real hatred for the supernatural; she blames us for The Beast."

"Idiot," Hermione muttered. "Very well, I assume you know his son, Chris."

"Yeah?"

"Call him for me, please, right now."

He frowned before pulling his phone from his pocket and dialling the number, it rang several times before a voice carried over the speaker phone.

"Scott?"

She hadn't heard that voice in years and she felt a smile pull at her mouth.

"Not quite, Chrissie," she chimed.

The line went silent before a huff of laughter was heard. "I'd know that British accent anywhere," he spoke, and the others looked surprised by how happy he sounded. "It's been a while, Fire-bird."

A smile formed on her face. "It has, too long, I haven't been called that in years. But enough with the pleasantries, we have time for that later, I'm letting you know I'm aware of the bloody mess we're in thanks to your psychotic father."

He snorted. "I figured it wouldn't be long until you were brought in. So, what's the plan?"

"I need you to set up a meeting with Gerard, but don't let him know about me. We'll surprise him."

"If he sees you, he'll flee. You're the only person I've ever seen him fear."

"And I'm still counting on that fear. We're ending this before it gets any worse, they're not stopping at Beacon Hills and if we let them continue this is going to spread worldwide. We need to nip it in the bud right now. If all goes to plan, tonight will mark the end of the killings, and I'll have my people work on damage control."

"I can't guarantee it'll work, but I'll try and set up a meeting. I'll let you know when I can."

"Thanks, Chrissie, I owe you."

"You saved my life and terrified my father, you don't owe me anything," he replied amused, before the line went dead, and they all looked to her.

"You don't have to worry about this anymore, I'll take over and hopefully, this will all be over by tonight. You should stay out of sight, if they're hunting you we can't risk any of you getting caught. Deputy, you go to the station and I'll head back to The American branch and oversee the investigation. We need to know how many people are a part of this. If any of them have killed a supernatural being they'll be arrested and put on trial. Those that haven't will be memory wiped and put back into society. This is going to be hours of planning," she sighed, bringing her hands up to her temples.

"Does he know about you?" Parrish asked.

"No, he doesn't."

"But he called you Fire-bird, why would he do that if he didn't know your secret?"

"That's more to do with my personality than my actual fire," she replied, seeing the curious looks of the teens. "And now, I better get back and inform the others of my plan."

~000~000~000~

Hermione had spent all day at The American Ministry, explaining the plan for the meeting, investigating those that were missing and sending a team of aurors out to search possible locations for the abducted supernatural beings, but so far they hadn't been successful. She'd barely had a moment to herself all day and when she finally found a moment of silence, it was time for her to leave to the meeting place.

Chris had been able to convince Gerard to attend a meeting, but she hadn't doubted him, Gerard had always been a curious man and she knew he wouldn't have been able to resist not knowing who wished to meet with him.

Beacon Hills High School had been chosen as the meeting place. Given the school had closed for the summer not a few days before, it was empty and there would be no one around. Before leaving for the school, Hermione had changed into a white t-shirt, black jeans and black ankle boots and a warm jacket over the top, so she would be more comfortable.

When Hermione apparated to school, she saw several cars in the car park and a group of people nearby consisting of the seven teens, the sheriff, her boyfriend and Chris Argent.

Hearing her approaching, they all turned towards her and a smile appeared on her face when her gaze locked with Chris'. When she was close enough, he pulled her into a fatherly hug.

"It's good to see you, Chris," she said, pulling back from him and smiling up at him.

"You too, Fire-bird. I can't believe how much you've grown. You were a kid when I last saw you," he replied, looking surprised by how much she'd actually changed.

"Well, it's been nearly six years," she chuckled, shaking her head.

"Still, you're all grown now, I don't like it."

She laughed at him, before a sad look crossed her face. "I heard about, Allison. I'm sorry that happened."

He gave her a sad smile. "It's alright, I know you would've helped if you could've."

She nodded. "I would've, if I'd have known sooner I would've come to the funeral, as it was, I wasn't alerted until three months after her death."

"I understand and I'm sure Allison would've too, she looked up to you."

She smiled sadly. "Well, I'm glad you've changed your ways, it would be very awkward if I had to arrest you."

He snorted at her and shook his head, before putting his arm around her shoulders and guiding her over to the group.

"You knew Allison?" Scott asked her.

"Yes, she was twelve when I first met her," she answered, but didn't elaborate further.

"So what's the plan?" Stiles asked her.

"Just stand there and look pretty, everything is sorted. Now we just have to wait."

Hermione stepped away from the group and moved closer to her boyfriend, who gave her a small smile and pulled her into a hug, holding her against him gently.

"How you feeling?"

She sighed. "Tired. So much for my holiday." He chuckled at her. "I think I'm cursed, no matter where I go trouble seems to find me. I'm blaming Harry, it's his fault, I spent so much time protecting him from harm and running after him when he dived head first into danger, that it's now transferred to me."

"If all goes to plan, you can start your exploring tomorrow."

"Hmm," she hummed, snuggling into his warmth. It wasn't exactly cold, but it was a little chilly for her given how sensitive she was to the cold.

"You cold?"

"A little," she shrugged. "Your body heat's helping though."

"You really are sensitive to the cold," he muttered, looking over to Lydia who was only wearing a dress and without a jacket, too, and she seemed fine.

"I know," she sighed. "I've been thinking."

"About?"

"Well, you have to work your three week's notice and I have four weeks off, so, how about we spend the last week together? We can visit Europe again, if you wish to. We can go to any country, town or city you wish. I know you were a little upset you didn't get chance to see all the sites whilst we were looking for Prodigium, so we can make up for it."

"That sounds perfect," he smiled, pressing a chaste kiss to her mouth.

"I don't like that either," Chris called.

"What?" Hermione questioned, pulling back from Parrish but remaining tucked into his side.

"You two together," he clarified.

She laughed at him. "Of course you don't, but I don't particularly care."

"Of course you don't," he repeated her words. "And if I shoot him?" He asked. She smiled sweetly. "Face your wrath, I know," he chuckled.

"The wait's over," Malia interrupted, spotting the headlights nearing their position.

"Time for me to disappear then," she spoke, stepping away from her boyfriend and moving to duck behind one of the police cars, lying in wait.

She heard the cars pulling up and the engines being shut off and doors opened and closed, and she snuck a look around the car, seeing the many people spread out and all carrying guns. She spotted Gerard and disgust and anger filled her and she had to fight back the urge to claw his eyes out. Her eyes squeezed shut tightly and when she felt a hand on her shoulder, she looked up to see the deputy staring down at her worriedly.

"You alright?" He asked softly.

"Fine," she muttered.

"You're not, your eyes have changed."

She let out a growl of annoyance before shutting her eyes tightly and focusing her magic, forcing her emotions down and to remain in control.

"Better," he nodded as she opened her eyes to reveal chocolate brown.

She breathed out deeply and once more snuck a look, only to see there were more people than before and a woman stood at the front with Gerard at her side, Hermione assumed it was Monroe. This wasn't a meeting; it was going to be a slaughter. They wouldn't bring that many people with them if they'd had no intention of killing.

"You made a mistake in asking for another meeting," Gerard spoke, his voice as cold and cruel as she remembered it being, and Hermione squeezed Parrish's hand tightly.

"We're not the ones that wish to speak with you," she heard Chris reply.

"Oh, then where is the one that will be cause of your deaths?"

Hermione took another breath before standing tall, her back straight, her head held high and she walked over to the group with Parrish by her side.

"Gerard, you have been very naughty, haven't you?" She spoke, her voice penetrating the silence.

She walked through the group that parted for her until she stood in front of them, all of them marvelling at the way Gerard took a small step backwards and they looked at Chris in surprise, seeing that he looked amused.

"I know you're an idiot, but I did have some hope that you weren't stupid enough to go back on our deal. You've let me down and I'm very disappointed in you. Now you've made an enemy of me and you and I both know, that is not something you want to be."

"And who the hell are you?" The woman demanded, holding a hand gun in her hand that was held down by her side, and narrowing her eyes slightly.

"I see he hasn't warned you about me then," Hermione replied. "Now I truly am disappointed, Gerard. This poor woman has no idea what you've put her up against, does she?" She sighed in disappointment and shook her head lightly. "Well, I assume you're Monroe, I'm Hermione Granger."

"You're one of them?" She asked, sending a disgusted look to the teens behind her.

"No, I'm not a supernatural being, I'm something much more..." She trailed off, trying to think of a word.

"Dangerous?" Parrish offered.

"Terrifying?" Chris spoke. "Isn't she, Gerard?" He said with a shit eating grin on his face. "After all, Monroe, she's the only person he's ever been afraid of and she's human, like you and me. So you should ask yourself, why is he afraid of her?"

Monroe turned to look at Gerard questioningly, but he refused to look at her.

"Well, seeing as Gerard's suddenly gone quiet, which is something I thought I'd never see," Hermione spoke. "I'm going to tell you how this meeting's going to go down. You're going to tell your idiot followers to put their weapons down on the ground and then walk away, to go home to their families and to never harm another supernatural being again."

"And if I don't?" She smirked.

A smile crept up onto Hermione's face and Gerard took another step back.

"If you don't, I'll burn you," she said softly.

"There's more of us than you, you'd be dead before you could do anything," she sneered.

Hermione laughed lightly. "Oh, Sweetie, you are so out of your depth and severely misinformed. So, I'll gladly show you. Scott, would you mind coming here for a moment?" She looked over her shoulder, and the teen looked nervous but made his way over to her. "Alright, here we have Scott McCall, a True Alpha werewolf and I know you want to kill him more than anything, so shoot him."

"What!" Several shouts came from behind her.

"Scott," Chris called and he turned to look at him. "Scott, trust her, she knows what she's doing," he told the teen. He took a deep breath and nodded.

"Go on, Monroe, shoot him. This is the only chance you're going to get."

"Monroe, don't," Gerard warned, but she didn't listen.

Monroe had a cruel smile on her face as she lifted her gun, took aim and fired. The gunshot was loud and echoed in the silence and before the bullet reached them, it smacked into an invisible barrier and fell to the ground, rattling as it rolled across the floor. Those behind her gasped in surprise, Scott looked down at himself in relief and disbelief, and Monroe slowly lowered her gun with a worried look on her face.

Hermione's sweet smile remained on her face and she titled her head to the side, impressed by the wards she'd instructed a curse breaker to place on the car park before the meeting was to take place.

"So you see, your weapons cannot hurt us."

"We'll see," she all but growled, before she raised her gun and on her command, every other person did the same, and Hermione winced as a parade of gunshots sounded and every single bullet slammed into the barrier and landed on the ground, and this seemed to sink in as the gunshots died down.

"You obviously wish to do this the hard way, but before we do, I have one question. Where are the supernatural beings you've abducted?" She didn't speak, rather she was glaring at her murderously. "No? Very well, I'm sure I'll have fun rooting through your memories, and because I'm feeling like a bit of a bitch this evening, I'm not going to be gentle about it either."

She heard Malia snort from behind her whilst Parrish slipped his larger hand around her smaller one.

"One last time, Monroe, tell them to lower their weapons and leave, or I will be forced to take action."

"You and what army?" She spat.

Hermione smiled. "My army, of course."

Suddenly Hermione removed a switch from her pocket, flicked it and a beeping sound was heard, and soon after, dozens upon dozens of aurors suddenly became visible and were surrounding them.

Before anyone had time to react, spells were being fired and every single person present collapsed to the ground, unmoving and tied up, all except for Monroe, who's gun was ripped from her hand and it flew over to Hermione and landed in her outstretched hand. Shouts and noises of surprise and disbelief were heard from behind her, but she ignored them as she released Parrish's hand, passed him the gun and then walked over to Monroe.

"This really could've been much easier, and far less embarrassing for you," Hermione said, before two aurors came up behind Monroe and grabbed her by the arms and pushed her onto the ground on her knees.

"Miss. Granger, all targets have been detained."

"Thank you, Auror Wells," she smiled. "Transport everyone to the holding cells, find out which of those are responsible for ending a life and book them. Those that are innocent, have the clean up team do a thorough memory alteration and drop them back off at their homes, please."

"Yes, Miss. Granger," he nodded and then turned and walked away.

"As for you Gerard," she turned towards the older man that was laid on the ground and tied up with ropes. She knew he wouldn't be able to reply due to the Stunner, but he'd be able to hear her just fine. "You're going away for a very long time. We have prisons for people such as you, but even the inmates don't care for those that harm defenceless, innocent children. They'll have a field day with you, I'm sure, and I should warn you, the guards tend to be a little lax at meal times."

She then turned back to Monroe and crouched down in front of her as she struggled against the hold of the two aurors. She was aware of the presence of the group of people that had moved closer to her, standing not far behind her.

"This is going to hurt, and I don't even feel bad about it." Hermione removed her wand from her sleeve and with her eyes locked onto Monroe's, she whispered, "Legilimens."

Hermione had barely been inside the woman's twisted mind, before she found what she needed and pulled back.

"You truly are a despicable human being," Hermione sighed. "Arrest her please, gentlemen, and make sure to give her the special treatment." They both smirked at her. "And have your best legilimens search her mind as well as Gerard Argent's for the names and identities of other wannabe hunters, this isn't just occurring here, and with that information we can shut down their entire operation." They both nodded before Monroe was hauled off her feet and dragged away, kicking and screaming.

"Jones, Hamilton!" Hermione called, standing up and attracting the attention of the two aurors, who quickly headed over to her. "I want you to get a rescue team together. There's twenty plus supernatural beings that are being held prisoner in an old warehouse about five miles north-west. You're going to need several healers and be on your guard, the building is being guarded by more men with weapons. Retrieve them as quickly and safely as you can and move them to the safe house. I'll expect a report on the rescue mission tomorrow morning."

"Miss. Granger," they both nodded and left.

"What just happened?" Stiles asked, and when she turned around, he was scratching at the back of his neck, looking as confused as everyone else, whilst Chris just smiled and Parrish didn't look the least bit surprised as he took her hand in his.

"I told you I would take care of it, and I have. You no longer have to worry. I'd give it about a week before everything goes back to normal, after all, they need to do a mind wipe on every single resident in the area in order to keep your secret from getting out again, and that's going to take time. I've sent a team to retrieve those that were abducted, they will be taken to a safe house where they will be well looked after until they are healed and we are sure they are no longer in danger. Monroe will definitely be sent to prison, and I'm confident she'll receive a life sentence for her crimes, as will Gerard."

"But I don't understand, where did they all come from?" He said.

"I can't tell you."

"Are they like me?" Corey spoke for the first time since she'd met him. She understood his thought process behind that question.

"No, but we do have the ability to camouflage ourselves into our surroundings should we wish to," she answered.

"Were they here this whole time?" The sheriff asked her.

"They arrived before you did," she confirmed.

"Why didn't those bullets kill us?" Malia asked.

"I can't tell you that either."

"But what about..." Liam started, but she shook her head and he sighed, before falling quiet.

"I can't believe it's over just like that," Scott said. "There wasn't even a fight," he frowned.

"Violence is not always the answer," she shrugged. "Besides, if it makes you feel any better, it was really hard for me to stop myself from punching both Monroe and Gerard, and trust me, I've got a good right hook."

Chris laughed at her. "I know you do," he replied, absentmindedly rubbing at his chin and being reminded of the time she'd smacked him across the face when she was nineteen.

"Well, everything's been taken care of and I'm exhausted, so I think we should all head home," she said.

Reluctantly they all left the car park, still confused about everything that had happened that night, but glad that it was all over. Chris gave her a hug and drove off in his car, whilst the sheriff shook her hand and gave her a thankful smile and he slapped Parrish on the shoulder, reminding him to be at work on time the next morning, and that left the two of them alone.

"I'm proud of you," Parrish spoke, giving her a smile and pushing her hair out of her face. "I know it must've been hard for you to control your phoenix, but you did, and you put an end to the intended genocide of supernatural beings in a single day. Not bad for a day's work."

She chuckled at him. "Well, it's my job to protect those that are different, and I really am going to give the American RCMC Department a bollocking for not informing me of this problem sooner. They know I have a background with Gerard, and they knew what they were planning. If they'd had managed to get their operation into Europe, there would've been a lot more killings, and it would've been harder to take them down."

"You never did say how you know the Argents," he commented.

"I met them when I nineteen. I hadn't been with the RCMC Department long but I was sent out on an assignment, tracking hunters that were harming innocent people. It was the Argents and they were in France for a short while. I scared the hell out of Gerard and Chris took a liking to me. We spent two weeks negotiating terms and they promised not to harm anyone else, and that's how I met Allison, too," she shrugged.

She turned to look over her shoulder, seeing the last of the detainees being transported away and leaving the car park silent.

"You know, I really do like you in that uniform," she spoke as she turned back to him.

"Is that so?" He smirked.

"Hmm," she hummed, her eyes trailing the sight he made, and she was sure she'd never get tired of it. He was keeping the uniform, even after they returned to England and she'd make sure of it. "I told you, Deputy, I quite like a man in uniform. Shall we get out of here?"

"Have plans do you?" He questioned amused.

"As a matter of fact, I do. So it's up to you, we can either go home now, or you'll have to arrest me for public indecency, at which point, I'll convince you to ravish me in the holding cells."

His mouth dropped open as she gave him an innocent smile and walked to his car, putting a deliberate sway in her hips.

"I may be fire-proof, but even I can't handle her fire," he muttered to himself.