CHAPTER NINE
Summary: Sent to Volterra in order to negotiate terms of an alliance to end the war, Hermione's life is turned upside down as she is brought into the world of the Volturi, better known as the Vampire Kings. There she is made a part of a new kind of family and a most trusted member of the guard, whether she likes it or not, and surprisingly, she does. Rated M for language, violence and sexual content.
Disclaimer: I do not own canon events and characters, they belong to J.K Rowling and Stepenie Myers. I am not making a profit from writing and posting this fanfic. As for the descriptions of appearances for the Twilight characters, all my research is based on the books and not the movies, but I may have changed a few things regarding Alec's height and age.
Page count: 5
Saturday 25th April 1998
Snarls ripped from the two vampires, surrounding her and startling her jump in surprise.
"More than once," she whispered, thinking of the bite mark on her left hip and the one on the inside of her right thigh. "In just two days the full moon was due and Greyback was going to change me, force lycanthropy upon me so he could force my loyalty and submission to him and his pack. I wouldn't be able to disobey an order. Luckily, I was rescued; Greyback had been distracted just long enough for me to be taken to our safe house."
"Are you a werewolf?" Demetri asked, his voice remaining strangely neutral.
"No," she shook her head. "I'm not a werewolf, but at the time I had a large amount of werewolf venom in my system, and to make it worse, an Alpha's venom. Remus, having being bitten by Greyback himself as a child, was furious and they had to stop him from trying to leave so he could track down and kill Greyback, especially since he now has a son. Remus is technically an Alpha himself, he once had a pack that consisted of humans who were Animagi, and he was able to extract the venom quickly enough that it wouldn't cause any long term damage or problems."
She looked up from her lap.
"He's looking for me, an informant told me before I left to come here. He's furious that I was rescued before he could change me, and if he sees me, obsession or not, he'll kill me and it won't be a quick or painless death. He'll torture and rape me before he mauls me to death," she whispered.
She felt the two bodies on either side of her stiffen, they were sat so close she could feel it.
"If we catch scent of him, we kill him," Demetri said to Alec, so quickly Hermione wouldn't be able to hear.
"If we don't, we'll find him and we'll kill him, and we make him suffer," Alec replied and Demetri nodded in agreement.
Hermione sighed and rubbed her hands over her face before standing from the couch and crossing to the bed. She placed the backpacks into her beaded bag and then pulled on a zip up jacket, her bag disappearing from view.
"Dawn's approaching; I want to leave as soon as possible."
They shared a look before they both stood from the couch.
"We are ready to go now," Alec replied.
"Don't you wish to take anything with you?" She frowned.
"We're vampires, Hermione," Demetri reminded her.
"I suppose you'll have to borrow some of the boys' clothing so you can blend in during the battle, the longer you're kept a secret, the better." She gave the room a quick once over, ensuring she hadn't left anything important behind. "We'll be travelling by apparition. It isn't meant for long-distance travel and it requires a lot of magical energy so I'll have to take regular breaks every so often in order to recharge my battery, so to speak. If we don't run into any trouble, I can easily get us there within two days."
"Is there a faster form of transport we may use?" Alec asked.
"There's port-keying which is used for long-distance travel, but the use of one has to be approved by the government, and if I were to use an illegal port-key, they're very easily traceable. Apparition gives off a smaller magical aura, therefore it's harder to trace and follow. All magical beings and creatures have a particular aura about them and since I have the both of you with me, hopefully, you'll dampen my magical signature, masking it and making it more difficult for them to track me. And apparition is the best option when leaving a false trail. As I said, our destination is the Order's headquarters, we can't risk being followed." With one final glance around the room, she nodded to herself. She stepped closer to them and held out her hands expectantly. "We have to be in close physical contact for me to transport the both of you."
They took her hands in theirs and Hermione took a steadying breath, both to prepare for transportation and to fight off the shudder that ran through her at their touch.
"I'm unsure of how this may affect you as I've never side-alonged a vampire before. For humans, it feels as though you're being squeezed through a too-tight tube. For those experiencing it for the first time, they tend to either throw up or faint, luckily, you can't do either of those which mean my shoes are safe."
They both chuckled at her, the rich deep sounds making her eyes glaze over before she shook her head and the fog cleared.
~000~000~000~
They landed at their destination and Hermione watched as the two vampires accompanying her remained still, not moving. She giggled at their stony expressions before they both blinked and looked down at her.
"That was a strange experience," Alec commented, a frown marring his angelic features.
"You get used to it," she assured him.
"Where are we?" Demetri asked, his eyes scanning the rocky terrain and the snow that covered the ground.
"We're in the Swiss Alps," she answered, "I can only make small jumps between bordering countries, so we're going to be going back and forth, I'm afraid. I will next be taking us to Austria, then to Slovakia, Hungry, Croatia, Slovenia and back to Italy, before making our way to Monaco, Andorra, Luxembourg, then to Belgium, followed by England, over to Ireland and finally back to England." They blinked slowly, sharing a glance. "The bigger the trail I leave, the harder it is for them to get a lock on my true location. I need to buy us as much time as possible."
~000~000~000~
It was now late evening and Hermione had stopped for the night in Croatia, hidden in the rainforest. She'd erected her wards around the area before pitching up her tent with a single spell and she stepped inside, Alec and Demetri followed her and took in their surroundings.
That had been five minutes ago, and they were still stood in place, looking awestruck whilst she'd busied herself with preparing dinner; some buttered bread and a tin of soup which she heated with a spell.
She took a seat on the wooden steps that lead to her bedroom at the back of the tent and she sniggered at them, their eyes following the sound to her.
"Magic truly is an amazing thing," she commented softly. "Is it not?"
They both nodded their heads slowly in reply before taking seats on the makeshift stools in the tent, their eyes continuing to flicker between her and their surroundings.
It was the same tent they'd used on the run, it was a little bit tattered and banged up but it did its job for temporary accommodations, and Hermione was used to living in the tent after almost a year of it being the only roof over her head, the only protection from the cold, weather and the wild animals that roamed at night. It was somewhat home to her.
"Is that your parents?"
Her eyes flickered up to meet Demetri's before moving to the right, were on the small table sat a framed photograph of Hermione's parents.
"Yes," she answered softly. "Dr. Jean and Richard Granger."
"How do they feel about your role in this war?"
"I wouldn't know; they're dead."
The room plummeted into silence.
"I'm sorry," he spoke softly.
She shrugged her shoulders uselessly, looking as though it wasn't the first time she'd heard those words of condolence before.
"It's not your fault; you're not the cause of their deaths."
"When did they pass?" Alec asked, his voice softening in a way that made her feel calm and relaxed.
"Almost a year ago, they died in June, a few days after Dumbledore's death."
"How did they die?"
"They were murdered," she spat before she sighed and the anger suddenly faded from her face and her tense body relaxed, almost as though it hadn't happened at all. "I returned home for the summer and I found them, or I should say, I found what was left of them."
"Meaning?" Demetri prompted.
"They were tortured before they were killed, their bodies had been burned until I couldn't recognise them. I just pray to every deity there is that they were dead before they were set alight. They were targeted because I was their daughter. I knew of my coming mission to find and destroy these objects giving the Dark Lord immortality, and I had a plan to keep my parents safe. I was going to wipe their memories of my existence, give them new identities and relocate them to Australia; they'd always wanted to visit. I had planned on doing this a week after I was to return home, yet the other side got to my parents before I could protect them. Since I was of age and legally allowed to do magic outside of Hogwarts, I contacted the Order when I found them and they came and made their deaths appear to be accidental by burning down the house so the Muggle authorities wouldn't be suspicious." A tear leaked from the corner of her eye and ran down her face. "I was placed in a safe house and the Order stayed with me whilst I grieved and until I was needed for my next mission, which was to retrieve Harry from his muggle guardians safely and without the Dark Lord knowing. Unfortunately, we were betrayed and he was waiting for us. We lost a member of the Order, Alistar Moody, Harry's familiar, Hedwig, and my brother, George, lost his left ear."
"Do you know who is responsible?" Alec asked, his voice lowering dangerously.
She looked to see his eyes darkening to black and at that moment, she was reminded that the two men in front of her were vampires. They were one of nature's most efficient killers and hunters. They were predators.
"Yes, for two weeks they sent me letters, describing in detail every horrific act they'd committed against my parents. They sent photos, too," she wiped away her tears and looked up from her empty bowl when two snarls sounded in the room.
"Who is responsible, Hermione?" Demetri demanded, his face contorted in rage.
"The Lestranges," she sighed quietly, leaning her head to the side to rest against the support beam. "Bellatrix, her husband Rodolphus and his brother, Rabastan. Bellatrix is the right hand of the Dark Lord and she has a talent for torture, her husband and brother-in-law aren't far behind her. They were my main tormentors and interrogators during my capture, Bellatrix is the one that carved 'Mudblood' into my forearm." Her eyes fluttered closed. "I'm calling it a night, I'll see you in the morning," she said, standing and disappearing into her bedroom.
Demetri and Alec turned to each other, words weren't needed. They knew exactly what the other was thinking and they agreed wholeheartedly.