Jasper fell out of bed.
"What where?" He struggled against a sleepy fog. The delicious scent of waffles, muffins, toast and milk quickly brought him to his senses
"I'm late for classes!" Jasper quickly stood up, knowing Hermione would kill him if he messed up his second chance to teach.
Jasper attempted to put on a grey dress shirt while pulling socks over his feet and tying a black tie. He promptly fell to the ground with a loud thud. Hermione held back an amused giggle. Jasper Hale managed to strangle himself in his own clothing. Apparently humans couldn't move fast enough to dress themselves simultaneously.
Hermione finally laughed as he rolled around flopping like a fish out of water. Jasper stilled, reassessing his situation. He looked up to find the witch politely sitting next to a white table with a healthy portion of that thing called food.
"It's Sunday, Jasper. There are no classes and the students have gone to Hogsmeade." Hermione cleared her throat and bit back her smile.
"Hogs Mead..why does everything start with a hog around here.." Jasper muttered, taking his seat next to a very amused Hermione. She'd taken the precaution to bring breakfast to their room. Hermione made the right choice. She spent the next hour watching Jasper devour her share of the meal without using a napkin or silverware.
"We're going to the library." Hermione stood as Jasper finished the last of their combined breakfast. His earthy voice followed her as she walked away.
"Hermione. You can't always run to books to get an answer." Jasper decided to use a napkin last minute. Hermione froze at the unintentional insult. She shut the open door and snapped her head to glare at the handsome know it all.
"Then what do you suggest we do?" Her dangerous voice emerged.
"I don't know." Jasper responded.
Wrong answer.
He was quickly learning "I don't know" was never the right response. Ever. He rose from his own seat as Hermione gripped her wand, white at the knuckles.
Before Hermione could cast a hex Jasper walked over and swiftly carried her off the ground. He placed Hermione on top of their bed and knelt in front of her. She was frozen at his forwardness. Hermione didn't estimate 'Jasper the Gentleman' to suddenly be so aggressive.
"Let me see your ankle." Jasper knelt down and gently held her feet. He ran a smooth finger around the bite marks. Jasper bit the corner of his lip in concentration. Hermione erupted with goosebumps that led to fountain red cheeks. Hermione avidly looked away and closed her legs. He continued to run his warm hand over her ankle.
"I'm only 'researching" Jasper's lopsided smile reassured the young lady (and himself). He refocused on the details of her ankle. The bite marks on Hermione were different from the ones he used to Turn soldiers for Maria. He caused a faded silver scar rather than the scarred red of Newborns. Hermione was different.
"What can you tell me about your blood?" Jasper sat back. This must be due to a mixture of his venom and her magical blood.
Wrong question.
Hermione tensed, forgot about his appeal, and glared down at him. This time her cheeks burned in anger. "I can tell you that our world has suffered, perished, and fought for decades over such a thing as 'blood'."
Pure blood, half blood, mud blood..
"What makes wizarding blood so special? You ever thought to wonder if there's a difference?" Jasper pushed forward. He was too lost in his own thoughts to notice Hermione's fuming rage.
What makes 'muggles' so magical if blood didn't really matter? Jasper silently reviewed centuries of high school genetics. He was surprised Hermione didn't know about the human field of Biology.
He continued to review genes and mutations until he suddenly froze. He sensed it. She was about to cast an angry hex when he firmly stood over her.
"Stop being emotional and look at the facts, Hermione." Jasper found himself saying.
Emotional? Facts?! Hermione's wand agilely caught his hand before he could move away. Lacero she whispered as paper cuts formed on both their fingers. She took his hand as a droplet fell on an empty plate. Their blood was an identical shade of red. Hermione proceeded to cast over 20 spells that caused both blood drops to react the same way. Facts, indeed.
"You were a Cold One. Now you're a muggle of sorts. I remain a witch." She never broke her gaze against the crimson droplets. Her wand quickly spun the plate around until it levitated back to the table.
"Tell me the difference. Which drop of blood is yours?" She whispered. When Jasper couldn't answer, Hermione stood up. She walked toward the door without looking back
"I'm going to the library. Our blood is completely the same." Hermione whispered as the door to their room shut.
Jasper didn't know if that was true. It's not like he had the chance to bite two magical folks. It's not like he would take up the offer if he had a choice. There weren't any books to answer life's hard questions. Jasper wouldn't be able to figure out the blood question, and Hermione wouldn't be able to find a book about his venom. The gray area is one of life's most fought-against characteristics.
A few hours later Jasper quietly sat next to Hermione as she dove back into her many books. Her temper had cooled off by then, as he correctly estimated. Together they silently read. She continued her search for an answer. Jasper read about the 'War Against Voldemort', and Hogwarts: A History.
When the Library closed, they silently headed back to their quarters. They silently returned to the subtly shrinking bed. Jasper found himself unable to sleep that night. Hermione wasn't just any soldier. She held her honorary titles for a reason. She'd been fighting since she was eleven. She fought against more than just blood.
Jasper couldn't sleep. He silently covered Hermione with his own blanket. She was so small. Hermione was so strong. Jasper watched her breaths for the rest of the night.
The next day would be a different lesson. Hermione was still asleep when Jasper rose out of bed. He stole a rock from Hermione's ill prepared lesson. He retrieved her copy of Hogwarts: A History, and went to the Forbidden Forest to cut four branches from a tree.
By mid morning Hermione and the rest of the students watched Jasper emerge from the depths of the Forbidden Forest. He clumsily balanced all of his 'teachin materials' before shyly approaching Hermione.
"I promise on my honor that you can dismember me at any time of this lesson." Jasper mumbled. Hermione knew he skipped breakfast. She didn't stop him. This was obviously serious.
During the lesson Jasper commanded the same straight stance and the same prowling back and forth. He went on to tell the students about Cold Ones, their dark history, and the differences between those who give into their nature and those who chose alternatives.
"Differences really matter the most. Like the difference between a Cold One that hunts down people, and a Cold One that chooses beasts." He continued to hold the attention of every student. Hermione looked on, slightly aggravated that he was segregating her students even further.
Jasper called over a Hufflepuff, Slytherin, Gryffindor, and Ravenclaw. They were two well known pure bloods and two popular half bloods. He drew a perfect square on the ground, mesmerizing the witches as he moved.
"These are your wands." Jasper handed each of them a tree stick. Find a point on this square and stick your 'wand' on where you think it should be."
The four students shuffled to get the 'best spot', to find the right answer. Vigilance, bravery, speed, and wit. There must be a difference. So they each found a spot on the dirt square, and stuck their fake wands on the ground.
Jasper set the large book, Hogwarts: A History, on top of the makeshift wands.
"Each of you are students of Hogwarts. You're all magical beings. Every House might be different, but everybody uses a wand and every one of you sleep under the same roof. So I encourage you to rely on one another." Jasper walked ten feet away from the book. He gripped the very stone Hermione collected that night they met at the Forest.
"Snakes, lions, birds, and hog-puffs. There's a whole lot of differences. But it's the similarities that matter most." Jasper aimed his rock toward the book. Jasper threw his stone. The stone struck down just one 'wand', causing Hogwarts: A History to fall on the ground.
"That's the end of our lesson."