Hello my dear readers! Here is part two of Without Fault, and I will have to tell you, it was challenging. I hope I didn't keep you all waiting too long, and again, this became...a bit long. Same length as the previous chapter, I think, oh well. I hope this won't be too much of a blah for you all to read.
Hopefully you will all enjoy it.
Anyways, thank you for reading this story!
And thank you to all those who reviewed!
I appreciate it very much, and it helped me want to finish this even sooner!
Now on to the story along with a few warnings ahead:
Warning(s): Sexual Abuse (nothing explicit), death, and impolite language.
Disclaimer: I do not own either series, Harry Potter and The Vampire Diaries.
.:Part Two:.
To Defy
...September 2nd, New York City...
It was the fickle of her, the way she would be swooned by his advances and then be repulsed by him in the next moment. Perhaps that was made him stay and long for her, and if it was, then he was such a fool for doing so. She was one woman he could not have, and he wanted her so desperately but for what purpose?
She served no purpose except to be his weakness, and yet he doesn't feel like she would be.
If only Caroline would let him in.
"How fickle a woman's heart could be." Klaus whispered to no one but himself.
Here he was once more, alone in his makeshift art studio in this suite of his, drinking his thoughts away with anything and everything that he could get hands on. He had already burned his whole sketchbook of her along with the secret silly poetry he had planned to give her, but he became a coward and never did.
He closed his eyes, thoughts still circulating around those pretty blue eyes that he had come to love so much, and he could even smell her soft lavender scent. He didn't want anyone to tarnish her scent with their own, no; he needed his memories of her and that sweet smile to be untouched and perfect.
Klaus wanted her image to be immortalized in his mind.
Not ruined by some common woman with wild, nymph-like hair who made more horrible comments about him than Kol and the Salvatore brothers combined every day. Her potty mouth and scars did not interest him; in fact, it disgusted him at times with the way she just ran her mouth off.
She almost destroyed Caroline's scent by wearing it that night to dinner, and now she is back to wearing her usual overly-sweet vanilla scent.
It fitted her better than wearing another woman's image.
Hermione didn't sit well with him knowing that she would be in someone else's shadow. He inhaled his drink, letting it burn pleasantly in the back of his throat. All the thoughts of both women were washed away with the tequila, replacing it with a soft buzz and somehow that buzz kept growing louder and louder by the second.
Glassy blue eyes snapped opened, realizing that it wasn't the alcohol and his head buzzing.
Damn phone.
"What the hell do you want?" He snapped as soon as he pressed the green button.
"So I've heard that you've been abusing our little pet," Elijah's voice drawled on the side of the phone, his tone somewhat accusing.
"There is no in our when it comes to her, Elijah," he hissed, "She is mine and mine alone."
He could hear Kol's idiotic laughter in the background, and he knew that he had just made a big fool of himself in front of his family. He could imagine Rebekah displeased expression, pursed lips and all, reminding him of a puffer fish at times. Elijah simply snorted, half-aggravated and half-amused by his words.
"Bring her home in one piece, brother, I do get bored at times with this little town, and I've always wanted a pet as a child." Obviously Kol had stolen the phone right out of his brother's hand in order to make demands of his hybrid brother in that annoying tone of his.
"Shut up," Klaus snapped, sounding like a spoiled brat.
"Now, brother, sharing is caring, they sa-"
"And I personally don't care for you; therefore, I don't need to share." Klaus snapped his phone shut, his face painted with an irritated expression. Even the sun that was breaking over the horizon couldn't ease his annoyance now, a sad waste of a morning he would say when he had a perfect view of the new day from his suite's balcony.
The way the morning skies bled pink and orange into the usual blue hues and the city's forever flicking lights was always a favorite sight of his, and here he was letting one woman and his brother's words ruining it for him. A witch, he reminds himself silently as he continued to sip on his wine. It was never too early to enjoy a glass along with some more shots and whatnot.
Besides, he needed to calm down his nerves when he sees Hermione again.
The glass shattered in his tightening grip.
No, he doesn't need any calming to his nerves at all! He doesn't need to feel nervous around a woman like her, a plain human like her. She wasn't blonde, her hair was too wild, her eyes were too dark, she was too petite, and she was too snarky for her own damn good. It was even a miracle that he hadn't ripped her head off yet.
"Buggering hell."
~x~
...September 4th...
"Hello Nora," she greeted eagle owl with a smile, knowing that Harry had finally sent her a letter through his dear messenger. It was a good thing that Ginny had bought the owl for him because he would never bring himself to buy another one after Hedwig, his first pet as well as gift from anyone really.
It was a bit grand for Harry's usual taste since Nora was a rather large owl with inquisitive eyes. She was intelligent as well, if a bit temperamental, which was probably Ginny's influence and Hermione had an idea on what Harry's future child would be like. Nora hooted, softly pecked her fingers, demanding her payment in bacon.
"Oh, you," Hermione rolled her eyes, feeling the heavy owl perch on her outstretched hand, "Don't cause too much trouble now, or Niklaus will have you for a little afternoon snack."
Nora blinked at her, as if to say 'Quite frankly, dear, I don't care.'
"Here you go, you can rest here," she whispers, placing the bird a birdcage that she had just transfigured. Nora would need rest if she were to carry back the letter with her, and for some odd reason, Hermione was lonely and looking for company, even if it was from a bird.
"Well, let's see what Harry has to say," she mumbles, tearing into her envelope to read her message. And it was as if a dam had just broken, she felt the waves of homesickness and loneliness wash over her. Her vision became blurry with unshed tears at the sight of her friend's usual illegible scrawl.
Harry always had horrible handwriting.
Hermione,
It's been a few months now, well, three really if you want to be exact, and we already miss you terribly. Teddy keeps crying for you, and Ginny has been angry with me lately, which is probably because I didn't stop you from leaving. She doesn't understand through her hormonal haze, obviously, but she is upset so don't be surprised when you receive a howler sometime soon. We found out that we are going to have a son, and we want you to be his godmother. I don't know when you will be back, but hopefully soon enough so you can be part of his life. It will mean so much to us and even more to his when he grows up. I wonder where you are right now. Are you in Rome? Or are you in Russia? Or are you in the deep jungles of the Amazon? Are you happy? Hopefully you are because that is very important to us all. You haven't been happy in so long, so don't forget us in your pursuit of happiness. Write back, okay? And write a little letter to Ginny, too, she misses you. And send Teddy a picture, too. He needs your love.
We miss you.
Please be safe.
With lots of love,
Harry.
A tear had smudged the inked words a bit.
"I'm going to have a godson, and I'm not going to be there when he comes into this world." She whispered, dropping the letter onto the marble floors to cradle her head in between her shaking hands.
She never realized it would be so hard to abandon a life that even she thought to be cold and empty. Hermione finally knew what Sirius felt when he had missed all of those precious years that he could have spent with Harry if it had not been for his imprisonment. This aching in her heart of knowing she will never be able to hold that child in her arms, to coo his name a thousand times a day, this ache was becoming unbearable.
It was this ever-certain loneliness that made her realize that what she had though before to be emptiness was only a joke compared to what her life will become, of what her life really is. There was a gaping hole in her being that was suddenly making itself known, different the isolation she felt before. It was as if the edges were slowly burning away, eating what was left.
Ah, so this was what it felt to be truly isolated.
Was she a fool to take everything for granted?
When did happiness escape her?
Thump. Thump. Thump.
It was her heart beating, telling her to continue on.
Oh, Hermione thought sadly, pressing her hand against her chest to feel her heart's rhythm.
She had to go on.
She blinked her tears away, realizing that this hole will continue to grow, with or without these tears. This situation could not be solved, and perhaps it never will be. Crying wouldn't get her anywhere, only her own pond of salty water. Quickly brushing the remnants of her sadness away, she released a few calming breaths, trying to make the ache in her heart a bit more bearable.
This conflict between her old and new life will always be a consistent reminder.
These feelings of sadness and longing will come and go.
She desperately needed them to remind her that Klaus was every bit of a monster that he truly was.
~x~
He had ignored the owl that had stopped to the upper room's balcony of his suite, knowing that this was the only way she could connect with the people she cared about from her old life. He had ignored the gentle smell of vanilla that invaded his senses every time he passed by her room to get to his drawing area.
He even ignored the stupid smell of that owl and the faint smell of salt, which probably only meant one thing and one thing only: she was crying. Klaus didn't know what to think of that nor did he want to feel any sort of remorse for her tears, and yet he couldn't help but to feel slightly bothered by it. In the short few months she has traveled with him and his brother, never once did she shed a tear in front of them.
Or even a close range near them.
It was unsettling to him to know that a strong woman such as Hermione would be crying.
"Hermione," he knocked on her door, wanting to kick himself for not even second-guessing his actions, "You are testing my patience, witch."
There, that was much better, he thought, letting his voice go from soft and concerned to impatient and annoyed.
For a few seconds, he didn't hear anything behind her door, well, except the rapid beating of her heart. He liked to think that she was terrified of him rather than just pissed off, and Klaus knew that if she were to erupt in front of him, well, then this suite of their would be completely destroyed in their little spat. He toyed with the idea of just knocking down her door or even leaving her alone in her to enjoy her pity party, and before he could even decide what to do, the door opened.
All he saw was that horrible crazy hair of hers and her eye peering through the small crack.
Klaus kept his face as neutral as possible, especially at the sight of her slightly red and swollen eye. He wondered how long she was crying before he even walked by her door, but he quickly banished the thought from his head as quickly as it had appeared. With an annoyed sigh, he crossed his arms in front of his chest.
"What do you want, Mikaelson?" She spat, trying to look intimidating but only came out to him as more like a peeved cat.
"What the hell is your problem, Granger? I bring you to New York, let you spend my money to the point that card was declined, and here you are-" he motioned with his hand to her annoyed and rumpled state, "Being pissy and aggravating."
Again, he didn't expect the door to suddenly slam wide open, revealing an angry witch wearing an atrocious orange sweatshirt and itty bitty grey shorts. Chudley Cannons, it said boldly across her chest, and for some odd reason, he felt awkward for even reading the words. He turned his head before she could go and accuse him of being a pervert.
Klaus even saw the ugly yellow-blue bruises around her neck, and he forced the feelings of remorse out of his chest as quickly as he could. He knew that she would be able to heal her own bruises and perhaps she thought by showing him and the world of what he had done to her then he would feel guilt. Hermione wanted him to feel the guilt of being a damn monster.
"What the hell is my problem? My problem is that you almost killed me a few days ago!" Her voice raised an octave with every couple of words, her eyes bright with angry tears.
Klaus gave her an almost bored expression which only fed her rage.
"Sod off, you prat! You need to sort out your issues with this Caroline," she sneered, "And quit taking your feelings of unresolved sexual frustration on others! Actually, I'm glad she even broke that shriveled up heart of yours! She did a fan-fucking-tastic job of doing that!"
Klaus held his breath, counting to ten as his brother advised him to do once, trying to make sure that his anger would roll off of him rather than erupting in front of her. He didn't want to have another hole in the suite's walls; it was rather tiresome to keep compelling the staff members to forget about it.
"Hermione," he breathed, his nostrils flaring, "Go pack your fucking bags now. We are leaving tomorrow."
She opened her mouth to retort but the menacing look he gave her was enough to stop her snarky comments to slip through.
"Or should I just compel you?" He threatened, his lips pulled into a rather nasty scowl.
"Bite." She stomped his foot, enjoying the small amount of pain that flashed across his face. "My." She quickly grabbed a few vervain flowers from a nearby pot. "Arse." And she shoved the plant into her mouth before slamming the door on his face with a self-satisfied smirk.
His jaws clenched, knowing that if he were to rip the door off its hinges, Hermione wouldn't hesitate jinxing him with one of her ridiculous spells. So he weighed his options, to bust down the door or no? He would reassert himself and put her back in her place, but the other hand, she would just levitate him out the window again.
"I'm packing, Mikaelson, so stop standing outside my door. I'm not running away." He could hear her muffled words through the door, but with his heightened hearing, it sounded so clear and strangely loud. Klaus knew that she wasn't packing; he didn't hear the soft ruffle of clothes being packed or any of her stuff being thrown around in anger.
No, he knew she was sitting on the floor on the other side of this door, sad and alone.
He didn't like the smell of the bitter note in the air.
~x~
The anger Hermione felt towards him did not dissipate as he expected it her to, but then again, he keeps forgetting that this woman didn't have a forgiving soul as much as her. Instead, hour by hour, she grew more anxious and snappier, and after the third hour and simply asking her a question he simply gave up.
Why did females always feel the need to yell when someone just wanted to know if they were hungry?
But no matter, if she was going to act like a stubborn brat, he will let her go hungry during this drive. Klaus would not let her win, and he will ignore the soft rumblings of her stomach. All she needed to do was ask him nicely, and he would gladly stop by one of these stupid American fast-food joints.
He let this foolish game go on for an hour or so until her empty stomach made itself obviously known with a deep and loud growl. Klaus lips quirked into a small smirk at her reddening cheeks, and he even found her stubborn streak quite adorable. It reminded him a little bit of his sister when she was crossed with him.
Klaus stopped by a McDonalds, no longer waiting for Hermione to ask him for food.
He could not help himself, especially since Hermione was technically his pet.
Plus, he knew it would annoy the hell out of her.
~x~
They stopped in the middle of the country side at a nameless and forgettable gas station, and it was already deep into the night here. Hermione did not speak to him, though, she was more wary than furious now. It was bound to happen anyway. So when he went inside of the nameless gas station to find some snacks, she stayed outside, leaning against his ridiculously priced Audi coupe with her arms crossed.
She found that she liked to breathe the fresh air here, it was much better than the city, and somehow, it just reminded her a bit of home. This time Hermione didn't cry nor did she feel the unbearable swelling sadness, instead she just…felt nothing.
Hermione enjoyed moments like these, well, moments without a certain Original hovering around her all the time. She was just about fed up with his ability to be needy, angry, apologetic, and perhaps even a bit delightful to be around in only a matter of a few minutes. It was exhausting to keep up with his mood swings.
So she allowed herself to enjoy the stars and the moon.
Well, Hermione did until she heard a child screaming deep in the field somewhere.
With her old habits resurfacing, she retrieved her wand from her boot and without a second thought, she sprinted across the dirt road into the large field ahead of her. It was surprisingly difficult to find the child in this field of sunflowers, but it did not deter her from trying to find him. It was that idiotic hero-complex inside of her that made her do this, though, she couldn't bring herself to really care.
It must be mixed in with the idiotic Gryffindor pride as well.
And then Hermione heard it.
The sounds of chuckling mixed in with the cries of a….woman? Hermione suddenly felt the fear of being alone out here, but she instantly squashed it as she gripped her wand even tighter. She walked towards the sounds, and for a moment, she wondered why she was even out here.
To be the bloody hero, of course.
With a shuddered sigh, she shoved the sunflowers to the side, wand already at striking-point. Her heart pummeled against her chest, and she quickly knew that she was not ready to see what was in front of her. Hermione felt the sudden irrational rage swell inside her, and she knew that they were looking at her as if she was another treat for them.
She shook with fury.
They smirked and chuckled, ignoring the pained noises of the woman underneath them, and one of them climbed off of her, ready to approach Hermione with his pants already undone. Rage coursed through her veins, and she knew that there wasn't anything else she could witch did not blink nor did she even second-guess her actions when she slashed him with an almost quiet Sectumsempra.
He didn't even scream.
She did not dwell on her actions when she burned another one alive.
She did not feel guilty when she levitated a stick and with a quick flick of her wand, it flew across at an alarming rate, piercing the other in the throat.
Hermione certainly did not cry when she flicked her wand once more, sending the last man across the dirt, freeing the woman from his grasp, and without even questioning her own cruelty, she drowned the him a continuous and simple Aquamenti charm.
Hermione knew that there were other ways to kill and torture without the use of Dark magic.
This is what the war taught her.
It wasn't the spells that made you evil, no, it was the intention behind that entire wand flicking and swishing.
"Where is the child?" She asked softly, kneeling beside the curled up woman, brushing the dirt off of her face with a gentle hand.
She reminded Hermione of Luna with her wispy blonde hair and misty blue eyes. She flinched at her touch, but she did not cry. Hermione thought of her as a foolish brave woman if it weren't the fact she was fighting her tears back. Hermione could feel her shaking body, and for a moment, she wondered if it was best to make her forget.
Her doe eyes blinked, and with a shaky finger, she pointed to the crumpled body of what seemed like her son or perhaps a younger brother. Hermione felt her rage rekindle, wishing that she had more time to make those sick men suffer. Suddenly, Hermione decided that she no longer liked the country side air anymore.
It was filled with the stench of burnt flesh and the coppery scent of spilled blood.
The pain in her heart was becoming unbearable.
The little boy wasn't much older than Teddy.
"He's dead." And it was as if a dam had suddenly crumbled, the woman cried into the palm of her hands. Hermione cried as well, hugging her and trying to shield her from this pain and this loss. She sometimes forgot that people were also capable of evil and barbarity.
Hermione sometimes forget that humans can be monsters, too.
And at times, she forgets that she, too, was also capable of such cruelty.
~x~
...Mystic Falls, Virginia...
When they finally arrived to Mystic Falls, he allowed her to scurry to her room. He knew about the incident back in the field, but he did not question her. Klaus smelled death and tears cling to her, and he was thankful that it only took an hour or so to arrive home. His family was out, no doubt wrecking havoc among the locals, and he was glad that he did not have to explain what had happened that night to them.
Hermione wouldn't want him to.
Klaus walked into her room, and if it were any other night, she would have hexed him into oblivion for intruding her personal space and privacy. Though, tonight, he had a strong feeling that she was in the great need of company.
Or perhaps it was just him wanting to comfort her.
He did not see her, but he could hear and smell her fear and sadness. With each heavy step, he walked towards her messy bed, wondering why she was hiding. Did she not know that no harm will come to her while she is in his hands? Or was she afraid of him?
Of course she's afraid of him.
Though, it seems there are other things that she feared more than him.
And tonight it seems like she was afraid of herself.
He peeked underneath her bed, not surprised to see large honey-colored eyes staring back at him. Though, it was her tears and that small beacon of hope in those expressive eyes of hers that surprised him. She trembled as her shaking hand reached for him; it was as if she was begging him to bring her back from her darkness.
Did she not understand that he was nothing but a loathsome creature?
But Klaus did not deny her.
Not when she showed him her vulnerable side.
He allowed himself to wrap his fingers around her dainty hand, feeling the warmth radiating beneath her delicate skin. He allowed himself to stare back at her with a type of fascination that was neither from admiration or sympathy. It was from something different, something foreign and it ached.
It was neither pleasant nor painful.
It was just an ache that was there.
Hermione laced their fingers together, not feeling ashamed for her need for his company. Sometimes she needed to make due when she was alone in this nightmare, this demon that would resurface from within her once in awhile. She did not move from her spot, and he didn't make her.
They just laid there in silence, neither thinking nor feeling.
Why would they?
They were there already, deep in their own bitterness and loneliness.
They just shared it with each other.
~x~
...September 15th...
"I don't know what to think of her." Rebekah told Klaus one day after school. She was still dallying around with the older Salvatore brother, seeking thrills and what not, and not to mention, she got a kick from annoying the doppelganger. But that day she simply stayed home, attempting to cook something in the kitchen without burning down the whole estate.
Klaus gave her a soft hum, his eyes skimming the page in front of him.
"You mean our pet, Hermione?" He said with a half-amused smirk.
"She's too smart for her own good." She told him with an air of snobbery surrounding her. The blonde vampire was having trouble cutting the chicken, trying to not cut through the cutting board and perhaps the counter as well.
"Sister, you are just jealous that someone is better than you at something." Klaus chuckled, flipping to the next page.
Rebekah threw him a dirty look.
"Why would I be jealous of that gangly thing and her atrocious hair?"
"I find her hair quite unique."
"Your standards keep getting lower, and it's sort of sad, Klaus. Tatia, Caroline, and now a witch," she sighed, shaking her head, "Next thing I know, you will be panting after what? A bloody faerie."
"Oh quit your whining, I have not fallen for the girl and faeries are tiny little things, Rebekah," his words accompanied with an eye-roll, "She isn't my kind of beauty, and you know that. So give it a rest."
"I will when you realize you give her too much freedom in this household. She even defies you, doesn't that bother you, Nik?"
He simply gave her an amused grin.
"It makes her more amusing to keep, dear sister," he replied, his smirk widening at her look of disapproval, "You never had a pet before so you wouldn't know."
" Well, that's because you or Kol would always eat it. Plus, that's not a good excuse for her insolence, brother."
Klaus gave her an exasperated look. He knew that his sister has been watching over him ever since he had gotten back from his little 'business' trip, and he also knew that she was making the local baby vampire's life a living hell. At times, he simply wanted to tell her to stop her childish behavior but others times, well, he enjoyed knowing that Caroline was suffering a teensy bit.
"She is nothing but a pet and a tool for our survival."
"And how is she going to help us," Rebekah spat, scowling, "with our survival?"
He smirked.
"Our little pet has the power to blow that baby nature servant, Bennett, out of the water."
Rebekah let out an unlady-like snort, flipping her hair with her clean hand over her shoulder.
"Not if she is out in the rain all the time. She's human, Nik, and she can get sick, and heaven forbid," she sneered, "die on us!"
Klaus scoffed at her words.
"And I care why, well besides her being alive and all?"
"Surely you care enough that Kol's around her all the time, don't you?"
The Original vampire couldn't help but laugh at her brother's retreating back, no doubt fuming at the fact that their little brother was making moves on their pet. She may find Hermione's hair atrocious and her beauty was that of the quiet sort, but she did enjoy the few tantrums her older brother would throw when it came to the witch.
It was like seeing the human in him again, though, on a much childish and funnier level.
~x~
...September 25th...
Ever since they had arrived in Mystic Falls, Hermione has faced several situations where she held conflicting emotions. Being around a family of a bunch of thousand-year old vampires presented her with new experiences and taught her the value of patience. She even learned to read Klaus's mood shifts before it actually happened so she could flee.
Though, it was safe to say it was rather difficult to keep up with his moods swings, especially when he could be murderous one second and overly-charming in the next. The curly-haired witch did not know how to handle herself sometimes, and she used what Professor Snape used when he was faced with undesirable situations: a snarky attitude.
It was rather helpful, actually, as it not only amused the vampires but kept her safe from their nasty tempers. She was a commodity to them, a toy for them to play for pass the time and to avoid boredom. Apparently, she became a favorite of Kol's, especially in his grand schemes to annoy his brother.
Hermione tried to remind herself everyday that these people were not good people.
But her heart kept telling her different, especially when those dimples appeared on that idiot's handsome face. She would always squashed down these fluttering sensations in her heart, desperately hoping that none of them would hear her fast heartbeat whenever their hybrid brother flirted with her.
Hermione kept telling herself that she was only a toy to him.
She wasn't even second best to the woman he actually loved.
So why couldn't she help but to feel jealous whenever she would catch him doodling a picture of the pretty blonde by the fireplace, and why couldn't she stop the green monster from sprouting another head whenever he became upset because of her?
It was terrible of her to even feel this way.
She needed to find someone else.
"So our lovely little pet, since you have not contributed to this conversation of perfect mates, what is your ideal man?" Kol's amused voice tugged Hermione back to reality.
He wiggled his eyebrows at her, and she knew that she had to amuse him and his sister.
It was the only thing that would keep them from fighting and destroying the house nowadays.
"Curly hair," Hermione stated, making them both quirk a questioning eyebrow, "And eyes that just stand out. He has to leave me speechless every time he looks at me, especially with a fantastic smile that could just blind anyone."
She paused, unsure if she wanted to continue.
"A-and he has to accept me for who I am, witchy and all. He can't be afraid of anything because there are too many horrifying things out there," she glared at the snorting brunet, "And he has to be intelligent, charming, and patient. Oh! And doesn't mind to clean once in awhile. And he has to love Halloween."
"Good grief, no man like that exists," Kol joked, only to be shushed by his sister, who sat next to him with this odd fascinated expression on her flawless face.
"Go on," Rebekah said, encouraging the honey-eyed witch with a hand gesture that was akin to that of a princess's.
"A-and….And….He has to be kind," Hermione finishes lamely, biting the bottom of her lip as she waited for them to just laugh at her. They always did, finding not only her but her whole world and life entertaining. They even stole Klaus's reading collection of the Wizarding world in order to get some sense of what her life was like.
But they didn't think of her as a foolish hopeful girl nor did they laugh at her.
"That's nice."
Rebekah simply smiled at her.
~x~
...October 10th...
They tried cornering her once when she was out by herself in this small, quaint town, and they being the Justice League of young vampires, an untrained witch, and a muggle girl. Hermione wasn't intimidated by them, not even the ridiculous and sarcastic Salvatore brother, Damon. Though, she was surprised to learn that Caroline was the epitome of the American dream girl, perfectly blonde with long legs, and was also a baby vampire.
No wonder Klaus liked her so much, he liked them young.
She was simply sitting down in one of the diners that seemed to be oh-so-popular among the locals when they all decided to surround her. Hermione only had enough time to order and get her food before they surrounded her. It reminded her of hungry puppies, the way they looked at her.
Vicious puppies.
"So," the older Salvatore brother drawled, stealing a chip off her plate, "what's a pretty thing like you doing business with Klaus?"
Hermione wanted to just set him on fire for poking fun at her looks. She knew she wasn't tall, leggy, and possessed movie-star hair, but she didn't think of herself as horrible to look at. It wasn't her damn fault that there was something wrong with this town's water, making all these people beautifully-enhanced. These people didn't even seem their age.
"None of your business." She quipped, her face stoic.
"You do know that you are working for like, the one of the most horrible villain ever, right?"
Dark, intelligent eyes rested on the seething baby vampire, and with a small smirk on her lips, she leaned forward. Her gaze then jumped quickly, meeting every set of eyes there, wanting to make sure to have some sort of impression on these people.
"Caroline," Hermione in a manner very much like Malfoy's, "Business is business. And besides, everyone is capable for evil. Like Damon over here, with his abuse and all. You and your shallow thoughts and resenting your sweet best friend, Elena, and let's not forget Bonnie here. She hates you all deep down, but she fights it because she thinks you are still there."
Hermione points to the blonde's heart.
"You all are evil, too, in your own ways." She stated, flicking another cold chip in Damon's lap. Hermione was bored of out her mind, and it seemed that after spending some time with Draco at work back at home and spending her days with the Original hybrid, she became so aloof. Or at least, she wanted to appear that way in front of these strangers.
With a tired sigh, she stood up from her seat, throwing a few bills onto the table. These people were silly if they think they can scare her into going on their side. She swore her loyalty to a monster yes, but it was a monster that saved a very important person in her life. So it made this whole situation a slightly better.
"Oh, and Bonnie," Hermione stopped to look over her shoulder, "Try and mess with my head again, I will mess up your mind so bad that you won't even know who you are anymore. All of your minds are very open to read so I will be careful what you are thinking around people like me."
And with a satisfied smile, she left them all stunned.
She hoped she had done Draco justice with her snobby act.
~x~
...October 12th...
If Hermione were honest with herself, and she rarely was, she would have admitted that she had missed the older Original and his odd words coupled with that serious face of his. Out of the Original family, she liked him the best due to the fact he was the most level-headed unlike his moody, bi-polar, crazy siblings.
Though, he still had that same dangerous air surrounded him.
He was just better at being a social butterfly.
"So I've heard about your little run in with the Salvatores and the doppelganger," he drawled, spinning his wine in his glass in a lazy manner, giving her a few amused glances, "And your little mind trick on them."
Elijah did not question her and for that, she was grateful.
She already felt bad enough that she had used Legilimency on them, people that she hardly knew.
Here they were sitting across from one another, sipping on fine wine next to the sizzling flames of the hearth. The others were gone, no doubt threatening and breaking few things of the Salvatores, and it left them alone to their quite conversations. It was these kinds of nights that painfully reminded Hermione of her time with Harry.
"They are quite cocky, especially that American witch of theirs," Hermione's expression turns into a childish sour look, "She doesn't understand that she is killing herself with that amount of raw magic. Her magic is different from mine, I know my limits. She needs to know hers. Raw magic can kill anyone."
Elijah gave her a thoughtful hum.
"Some people do not know their limits."
"Like your brother."
He gave her one of those charming smiles, and oddly enough, it was similar to Fred's with the way it was mischievously alluring. If she were a lesser woman, she would have probably fall a bit in love with him at that moment, but no, all she felt was a strong sense of nostalgia.
"Yes, like my brother."
"He is too ambitious, and one day it will destroy him."
"Why do you say that?"
Hermione gave him a hopeless smile.
"Because all great and terrible ambitious men like him die a horrible death. None were honorable."
~x~
...October 18th...
As the days passed, it was easy to forget that she was serving one of the most dangerous families in history and that she was just a simple tool in their little games. Hermione even forgot how scared and angry she was with the hybrid brother, but she never let herself forget his moody nature.
It was days like these that reminded her of that fact.
Here he was ranting and raging, throwing the furniture over all because of that baby vampire who no doubt rejected his advances and insulted him and his family again.
"I don't see why you fell for the typical American girl who's about deep as kiddy pool. Hell, maybe even a standard size bath tub!" Hermione said sarcastically, flipping through one of their old rare copies of The Courtier.
"Shut up, shut up, shut up!" He raged, throwing a chair over her.
She gave him a bland look, obviously unimpressed by his attempts in scaring her. Hermione has seen him at a worse and angrier state, and he actually had threats to go along with his harassment. No, this childish Klaus and his idiotic throwing around things were getting tiresome and it was annoying the crap out of her.
"Klaus, do you not realize that this child," Hermione rolled her eyes, "will want and only want a boy at this moment in her newly dead life? She is a small-town girl who only knows the familiar things of her small-town life. Give her a decade or two, and then she will be running back to you, begging you to have vampire sex or whatever you bags of dead bones do these days."
Of course, Klaus being mature and all throws another chair over her head.
"Like you should be talking, Granger! You are the same as her, just six years older, but when it all comes down to it, you are both the same. You only know this small-town life that you have, so watch your tongue, witch.: He snapped, throwing a desk out of the window.
Elijah would reprimand him later for that.
Hermione stood up, fuming as she threw the book at his face. With red cheeks, she stomped towards him in her haze of fury, obviously wanting to at least hurt him in some way, be it through his heart or that dusty old thing between his legs. She opted for the second choice.
She kneed him right in the kisser.
And she loved the way he keeled over with his arms around his stomach, obviously both pained and breathless. Hermione was satisfied with herself when he saw his face redden as he fought back the urge to vomit on the expensive Persian rug, and she knew that Ron would probably be proud of her.
"Correction: I only knew the life that you stole from me."
They didn't speak to each other for the next three days after that.
She didn't like being compared to other girls, not with Ron and not certainly with some idiotic, infatuated hybrid.
~x~
...October 30th...
Klaus at was his end's wits!
His memories of Caroline's smile and soft laughter were beginning to deteriorate despite the fact they lived in the same town, and he longer seeked out her presence like before, knowing exactly where her loyalty lies. Instead, the lavender scent he had always loved was quickly replaced by the gentle smell of vanilla. Klaus no longer imagined running his fingers through soft waves of spun gold instead he imagined his fingers running through wild curls.
He found himself drawing a woman with unbridled sensuality rather than a woman of innocence and light on one boring afternoon, enjoying the silence that his home had to offer. Everyone was gone that day, which left him to have a little personal time that resulted in a little exploring of his own state of mind.
Klaus found himself slowly focusing on his pet, witch, and perhaps sometimes friend, Hermione.
He didn't know why. She was vengeful, bitter, and snarky when she was around him, and not to mention she was fond of pulling pranks that involved changing his hair color and the size of his nose. Though, when Hermione was with his sister or even, Heavens forbid, Kol, she was always joking, smiling, and actually nice. It baffled him really with this goody-two shoes side of her that would surface, and he wondered where he went wrong.
From the beginning apparently, according to his annoying younger brother.
There were days where he would spend several hours thinking about her, remembering the past few months with her. She was certainly not filled with light nor was she naïve with the way she viewed the world, so it was safe to say she was jaded, though, not quite like him. Hermione feared him, something he couldn't wrap his mind around when she acted so fearless around him with the way she verbally sparred with him.
Not to mention she was getting a bit a sarcastic mouth around him, and she never hesitated to do some nasty magic on him when his language got a bit too coarse.
Klaus wanted to get to know Hermione, but as Kol has stated before, all of his chances were shot down in hell even before he whisked the curly-haired witch away from her former life. However, Elijah gave him actual advice that was so simple that it made it so damn difficult for him to do much to his siblings' amusement.
Why not be a little nicer, Elijah told him with a small smile, it wouldn't kill you.
It might as well kill him!
Rebekah has already called him every synonym to idiot since he apparently has a thing for mean women.
Showing kindness to the fairer sex almost killed him last time, but with the way his older brother silently challenged him with that damn raised eyebrow of his, he grudgingly agreed to take his advice. It took awhile to become slightly less grumpy and sarcastic around the witch, and Kol would always chuckle at his feeble attempts to compliment Hermione's hair.
She would simply give him an odd look as if he had grown a second before nodding slowly, unsure of his intentions.
"Hey Hermione," Klaus looked a bit uncertain with the way he stood in front of her, staring at anything and everything except her, "You look…nice today."
"Ah, thanks, I guess," she gave him another 'Are you nutters?' look, "You look…normal today."
Klaus felt a bit silly for feeling a bit happier after hearing her words.
At least she didn't say he looked like a monster today like most days.
~x~
...November 5th...
"Is it just me or has Hermione been going out a bit too much lately?"
Both Kol and Rebekah tensed at his question, but luckily enough, he was distracted with drawing who knows what in that damn sketchbook of his.
"What do you mean?" Rebekah asked, letting out a sigh of relief.
"You know, Nik, maybe our pet likes to you know be away from you," Kol said teasingly, smirking at the way his brother sent him one of his dagger -threat glares. He simply shrugged him off, flipping through the channels once more.
Saturday TV was nothing but a load of trash.
"Shut up, Kol!" Rebekah snapped, punching him in the shoulder with a loud 'thud.'
Klaus gave them a suspicious look.
"Are you two hiding something from me?"
They shared a guilty-look but kept their mouths shut, and it was as if they made a secret pact that concerned Hermione without him. Klaus didn't really appreciate being out of the loop of anything especially when it concerned something of his. Eyes narrowed at the way his siblings shared another knowing look.
"Nothing of great importance," Rebekah said with a shrug, turning her attention to the flickering channels on their television screen.
"I will find out," Klaus growled obviously annoyed, "You better hope that this secret of yours doesn't affect my plans."
They both watched him stalk out of the room in with grumpy haste, half-amused and half-worried because of his idle threats. The blonde vampire glanced at her brother with a raised eyebrow, silently questioning him on what they should do. Kol simply shrugged, he didn't have a clue.
"For your sake, you better hope he doesn't find out what you did, little sister."
"You will be in trouble as I will be in, Kol, so if you don't shut your mouth, the next thing that will come out of it will be your teeth." Rebekah threatened, slapping her brother upside of his head.
"At least we are having fun."
~x~
...November 10th...
She came back to the Mikaelson estate in a state of tears. No, Hermione was tired being angry all time, this time she allowed her tears to flow freely down her cheeks. She needed this overwhelming sadness to leak out before she decides to do something incredibly stupid like off herself or something.
Klaus killed a man that she had taken interest in for the past month or so.
And he crushed his throat right in front of her when he caught them sharing a kiss.
Hermione actually liked Ben, especially with that one-dimpled smile and charming hazel eyes that would make any girl sigh. She liked the way he flirted with her, persistent in his pursuit of her after their accidental meeting in some park from the next town over on one day where she was fed up with the Originals.
Especially one that had a nasty temper and even a nastier bite.
He was attractive with his muscled body, sweet and funny with his humor, generous to those around him, and intelligent. Ben was a man from a humble background, hard-working and charming with that smile of his. He wasn't dishonest nor was he cocky, he was simply Ben.
And with him, she was just simply Hermione.
Furthermore, Hermione knew that kind of combination of ideal traits were hard to come by paired with good genes. She even kept him a secret from the Original family, not only wanting her privacy but also feared for his safety. Plus, Rebekah would no doubt and swoop in to steal the curly-haired stud away from her.
And she didn't even want to think what Klaus would do to him if he found out.
Hermione was careful to hide his scent on her.
"So good ol' brother found out about lover boy?" Kol's voice caught her attention.
With red and puffy eyes, she glanced up to only see him leaning against the door frame in a casual manner, though; to her surprise he wasn't smirking at her pathetic state. No, in fact, he almost looked like he pitied her. Hermione grimaced, obviously not in the mood to put up with the vampire's immature personality.
"I take your sniffling as a yes."
She wanted to scream at him, to tell him to leave her alone, but instead she just cried harder.
Because Ben was dead and she couldn't be happy.
"What do you want?" She sounded like such a petulant child, wiping endless stream of tears in vain. They just wouldn't stop.
"We knew about him, Hermione," he tells her, suddenly by her side, rubbing her back in soothing circles, "Rebekah was the one who compelled him to meet you and all."
His words threw her off guard, and she felt herself bristled rage.
"What?" She shouted, shoving her hands against his chest. Suddenly Hermione wasn't so sad anymore, no, she was practically livid at what they had done. Was it not enough that they basically owned her like some kind of pet?
"It's not enough for you all, is it? You just had to have fun with my heart," Hermione screamed, her vision clouded with not her tears but the color red as well, "So what? Play with the witch's heart and go off telling your brother about him? Is that it?"
Her voice was raised an octave and she became crazed with the way she flailed her arms around in anger.
Kol stayed silent, taking in all of her harsh words.
"Well, Kol," she spat, her voice becoming hoarse from all the screaming, "you and your bratty sister had your fun! Now leave me the hell alone!"
Hermione turned away from him, ready to make her hasty escape. She knew that she did not want to stick around when he finally blew up, not with that bloody bat obsession of his. Hermione knew that he wouldn't mind using it on a stupid girl like her. He didn't have a problem with hurting her emotionally so what's a few broken bones and bruises will do?
But she will not continue crying in front of him. Not because of this.
"You're wrong, Hermione," his quiet words stopped her in her tracks, " It was just a prank at first, you know, to get back at Nik, but in the end we just wanted you to be happy."
She wanted to spit in his face and perhaps lose her mind temporarily to rock her body back and forth in that corner over here in this stupid sitting room as Klaus would like to call it. Hermione wanted laugh her head off in order to keep herself from going completely insane. Hermione was going into hysterics now with all this Original vampire business and their twisted ways of showing they care.
"Oh by forcing a guy to like me for all this time?" Hermione sneered, her tears already gone and dry, "And by telling your brother to kill him?"
"At first, but then Rebekah removed it, and just compelled him to forget about her. The rest was on his own," Kol stated with a hint of embarrassment, "Klaus just happened to follow you out today. He's been complaining that you have been out a bit too much."
Hermione glared at him, wanting to at least stake him and kill him for a short period of time.
Right now she hated anything and everything that had to do with this family.
"And why the hell would he care?"
He gave her a sardonic grin.
"He has a twisted way of showing his love, Hermione." And Hermione gawked at him.
"What the bloody hell are you going on about, Kol? Have you gone mad with your pursuit of pretty little things with sharp tongues?" She snapped, feeling a renewed sense of anger coursing through her veins.
Kol sighed, signaling to wait a moment to stand up and pour a large drink for himself, indicating that what he had to say was probably something huge with the way he generously poured the wine into his glass. She plopped back down on the couch, crossing her arms in front of her, her heart still hurting from the loss. All Hermione wanted to do was leave.
"When my brother loves something," Kol struggled to find the right words to say, "he…He cannot help but to love too much. I take it that you know about the whole daggering us situation?"
Hermione nodded, both impatient and intrigued by what he had to say.
All she wanted to do right now was to lie down and sleep.
"That's just one of the cases where he simply loves something too much. To the point where he has to use force in order for that love to stay by his side," he sighed, drinking a bit more of his wine, "When we were human, one day Klaus brought home a small pup whose mother was killed by one of our village's hunters. Mind you, Klaus still didn't know how to love then either."
He takes another large drink of his wine.
"It was sick, and he wanted to take care of it. It was his first pet," he gave her a sad smile, and for a moment, Hermione saw how truly old he was and not some arrogant, cheeky teenager, "And so he wrapped it in a blanket. And then another and another and another. He just kept piling them on the little poor animal."
His dark eyes glanced up, his gaze meeting hers.
And with a hushed voice, he says, "And it died. Klaus smothered it with his love."
And he watched the way Hermione flinched at his words.
"That's what my brother's love does to everybody, Hermione. It smothers you until you can't breathe any longer. He means well, but he doesn't know how to do it properly. Everything he has ever loved has withered away, collecting dust," he paused to sigh as if he was going to tell her a dirty secret of his.
Kol gave her one of his heartbreaking smiles.
"Even us, Hermione, his family who is withering away because he simply loves us too much."
Suddenly Hermione realized what he was actually telling her. Alarmed, she looked up at him, her eyes wide with surprise and perhaps even fear. His admission echoed throughout her mind, taunting her with its truth. Her situation was inevitable and laughable really the way she was now the object of his brother's twisted affection.
"You will wither away as well, Hermione, because of his love."
His words scared her, even more than Klaus himself in all his violent glory.
Because she knew it was true.
~x~
"Why didn't you tell me?" Klaus barked, his eyes tinged with yellow.
And right when she was just about to scurry back into her safe haven that was her room, he had to show up upset at her door, blocking it with his intimidating size. It was as if she was the one that should be apologizing to him with the way his nostrils kept flaring, and all Hermione wanted to do was just spit in his face and tell him to sod off.
"Because you would have done what you did today earlier!" Hermione screeched, not caring if her throat would be unbearably sore later on.
She needed to yell at this idiotic Original.
"That's because you didn't ask me if you could date anyone else!" Klaus shouted back as he grabbed onto her arm roughly, and Hermione knew that there was going to be a bruise there later on. She knew that their fights would always leave her with bruises and him a few nasty cuts as well.
Great, now the tears were back in her eyes, staining her cheeks once more.
Bitterness and something akin to hatred swelled in her heart, and for a moment, Hermione felt herself become truly hideous with the way he looked at her. His glassy blue eyes told her everything that he felt, from his fury to his hurt, and that's not what she wanted to see. No, she wanted to see the true monster, not some lonely man who didn't know how to love.
"And who the hell are you? My father?" She spat, trying to shove him away with her feeble attempts.
"I am your Lord and master, witch! So you better hold that tongue of yours!"
Klaus tugged her arms, pulling her body towards him, and suddenly here they were screaming in each other's faces with their harsh words. He wasn't gentle with the way held her nor was his voice forgiving. No longer will someone cast him away, not her, not Hermione, not when she had her own darkness in her soul.
She could not throw his heart away, not for some human.
"You are no lord nor are you my master! You are my captor! You have imprisoned me in this little pretty cage of yours! Along with your family!" Hermione snarled, spitting into his face. "I am not yours to order around, especially on who I will spend my intimate time with."
"I will show you imprisonment, you ungrateful-" His grip tightened around her dainty wrists, making her flinch in pain. His temper was getting the better of him, he knew that, especially when he saw fear flicker across Hermione's lovely face. Klaus must have been changing into his true abominable self.
"Stop Klaus," she pleaded in a whisper, her wrists screaming to be released from his unforgiving grip, "Just stop."
And he did.
But he did not let her go even in his loosening grip and softening gaze.
"Why did you choose him?" His words sounded so desperate, and if Hermione was sane she would have laughed at his pathetic state. But Hermione wasn't sane, at least, not anymore since he came into her life. She couldn't laugh at him because then she would be laughing at herself as well.
They were both being pathetic creatures.
"I liked him."
She couldn't help but to look in those eyes of his.
It was such a shame that they covered what a terrible and tragic soul that was lying behind them.
"Why can't you like me?" The way he said those words sounded like a soft keen whine of a hurt animal, and it wasn't any better with that pained expression on that pretty face of his.
And for once, Hermione didn't have a sarcastic remark or a nasty comeback because in all honesty, Klaus had just rendered her speechless. Not because of his childish words or his horrifying almost brute behavior, but because of the way he was openly showing her his damn feelings. Why can't he just be some simple villain who wanted the world to suffer just because he was angry?
Why couldn't he just be emotionless and not show her this stupid, stupid, stupid human side of him?
"I don't know, Klaus," she whispered, licking her chapped lips, "Maybe it's because you ruined my life but that would be a lie since you saved my best friend. Maybe it's because you are a monster but that would be hypocritical of me….because there are other worse monsters out there. Maybe it's because you are vindictive, cruel, controlling, and vicious."
Hermione let out a shuddering sigh.
"And maybe because you keep smothering me. You don't know how to care for people. You say you care about them but you hurt them in order to stay by your side. I can't like you, Klaus, because you and I are-"
"-Not so different. We are both lonely. We have been hurt. We know we have our own demons but we deal with them every day. You and I have been abandoned and disappointed. And we are both emotionally handicapped. Why can't you like me Hermione?" Klaus whispered, bringing her small fingers to his lips.
"Because Klaus," Hermione smiled sadly, "You can't do these sort of things and expect people to forgive you so easily. I could have easily liked you, you know, if you and I were different people. If you and I were normal people, but this…this can never happen. You've simply done too much damage."
"Is there any hope for me?"
Hermione pressed her soft palm against his stubbled cheek.
"You have to change in order to have any sense of hope."
"Obey, obey, obey, then do what you want!"
-Lisa See, Snow Flower and the Secret Fan-
Phew! Well, Part Two is officially done. I had to use a lot of songs in order to strike up any inspiration, and plus, real life got to me! And my wrist was hurting...Is that a good enough excuse? Oh! And before anyone asks me why I don't like Caroline, don't get me wrong, I LOVE Caroline. She is one of the most developed characters, in my opinion, on the Vampire Diaries.
Oh, as for the quote, I felt like it was suitable for Hermione and for this chapter. Plus, it's also from a really great book, again, in my opinion.
So what did I songs did I use for inspiration?
Charlotte by Hope Sandoval and Warm Inventions
So Cold Ben Cocks.
And a bunch of sad songs as well as Florence and the Machine and Coldplay.
Anyways, do you have any interesting thoughts you would like to share?
Then please feel free to leave a review!
Until next time!
UPDATE:
For any of you who follow my other stories, especially A Sense of Awakening, I have created a tumblr for the sole purpose of my fanfiction and even a few sneak peeks of future stories and possible stories. For further information, just look on my profile for the link and such.
-The Red Strings-