CHAPTER ELEVEN
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: 6
Sunday 26th April 1998
"Where are we?" Demetri asked, his blood-red irises searching the ransacked room and the dark and dingy decor, a barely concealed look of disgust on his face.
A sad expression filled her features as her own gaze looked around the room with fondness.
"Grimmauld Place, this is the previous location of our headquarters, it belonged to Harry's Godfather, Sirius. He was killed a couple of years ago at the Department of Mysteries battle. Technically, Grimmauld now belongs to Harry but we no longer use it as our headquarters as Dumbledore was the Secret Keeper, which kept the magic surrounding the house active and it allowed us to hide in plain sight without anyone being able to find us or enter the property. When Dumbledore was murdered, the protection died with him and we were forced to leave before Death Eaters came for us. As you can see, they've been. I just need to collect a few things and then we have one more apparition point before we arrive at headquarters. I'll be right back."
She disappeared out of the study and reappeared momentarily, a pile of folded clothes held in her hands.
"You'll have to change as we're heading into Muggle London, I'll give you a moment to do so whilst I just check on something." She handed over the magically altered clothing and disappeared from the room, once again returning a few minutes later to see them both dressed in jeans, t-shirts, trainers and jackets.
"It's strange to see you in clothes that aren't your robes or cloaks, which by the way, is a magical folk thing," she commented and they didn't respond, merely shrugged. If anything, the muggle clothing made Demetri look even more handsome -which she didn't think was possible- and Alec seemed to look more angelic.
Bloody vampire beauty, she thought when she felt her mind clouding over.
She lightly shook her head before taking their robes and cloaks from them and slipping them in her beaded bag, holding her hands out towards them before she apparated them away.
A sudden horn blaring filled her ears and she was tugged backwards, her back colliding with Demetri's chest as a bus drove past, missing her by millimetres. Oddly, the same thing had happened after she'd apparated Harry and Ron away after the wedding reception had been interrupted.
"Thanks, sorry about that," she breathed out, trying to calm her racing heartbeat. She shook her head once more and removed her hands from theirs. "We need to head into the London Underground," she told them, beginning to walk through the throng of people despite the late hour.
She was starving and tired and she just wanted to get back to headquarters, and so she'd taken breaks long enough to centre her magic but not long enough to eat dinner.
"Why?" Alec asked curiously.
She glanced at him over her shoulder. "It's where the entrance to our headquarters is found, no Death Eater would think to look in a crowded muggle area. It's hidden in plain sight," she shrugged, turning her attention back in front of her.
After a fifteen minute walk, she ushered them down into the station and ducked into an out of order toilet, walking straight to the last cubicle and she pushed open the door. Taking out her wand, she tapped it against the back wall in a patterned passcode. They blinked when the wall began to visibly shake before it suddenly disappeared along with the toilet, and a dark wooden door appeared.
She opened it and then held her hands out to them, they took them without hesitation but they did raise their eyebrows questioningly.
"There are wards surrounding headquarters, only those that are keyed into the wards can enter, and unless you're accompanied by someone that is, you can't get in," she answered.
She stepped forward, pulling them through the door with her and it automatically closed behind them, leaving only a dead-end behind them and pitch-black tunnel before them. There was only one way to travel. Hermione's eyes struggled to adjust to the darkness but Alec and Demetri had no issues.
The tunnel was suddenly lit up by a glowing figure as it quickly approached them and Alec and Demetri unintentionally gripped her hands tighter. It wasn't enough to hurt but enough to notice and she squeezed their hands in order to offer assurance and comfort.
"It's not going to harm us," she said softly, a smile playing at her lips as the figure grew close enough to see that it was a strange-looking wolf, a silver-blue wolf similar to Hermione's tigress.
The wolf nuzzled at her stomach affectionately before turning and leading the way down the passageway.
"It's Remus' Patronus, he knows we're here," she explained, following after the wolf that looked over its shoulder to check she was following it. "Remus was Sirius' best friend as well as the best friend of James Potter, those three were inseparable before the First War. When Sirius died, he left property to Remus in his will and we're currently using it as headquarters as not many know of its existence." They neared the exit of the tunnel and she looked over her shoulder. "I've already told you Remus is a werewolf and I know vampires and werewolves are natural enemies, but I don't care. I won't stand for any bullshit and if I have to, you're getting hexed," she told them bluntly.
Alec blinked in surprise and Demetri chuckled.
"Trust me, we should heed her warnings; you didn't see the damage to the training room," Demetri spoke so quietly and quickly, she didn't even know he'd spoken at all.
They wolf faded into mist as they stepped out of the tunnel, the vampires being surprised to see that they now stood in a field of wildflowers, the starry night sky was above them and a gentle spring's night breeze brushed against them. Demetri and Alec looked behind them to see the tunnel they'd stepped out of was no longer there, it had disappeared.
Hermione giggled at their wide-eyed expressions and they turned their attention back to her, expectantly waiting for an answer.
"I'll warn you, the property is similar to my tent, meaning it's bigger on the inside."
"I don't see any properties," Alec replied, his eyes flittering about his surroundings. They looked to be in the middle of nowhere, when not too long ago they were in a dark tunnel and before that, the city.
"We need to get closer, we'll be stepping through the property wards in a moment," she answered.
"Just how much protection is surrounding this property?" Demetri asked, thinking of the previous obstacles they had already passed.
"A lot," Hermione sighed. "Not only is this place our headquarters, but it's also Remus' home where his wife and newborn son reside. This is their safety. You have to know the patterned passcode in order for the door to appear and once you're in the tunnel, those in the property are made aware that someone is approaching, through a series of charms linking the tunnel and the property together. When you exit the tunnel, you need to be granted access through the land wards. Next is the property wards and finally we have the security question."
"But surely it's enough that you know the passcode back in the toilets," Alec frowned.
"Not necessarily," she shook her head lightly. "There are ways of getting information out of people besides using torture. We have Veritaserum, a Truth Potion. It forces a person to tell the truth, to spill their deepest, darkest secrets and there is no stopping it, as far as I'm aware, that is. So you have the passcode, next you may need a specific wand, which isn't hard to obtain, especially if that person's dead. Finally, we have a potion which is able to make you an exact clone of someone for an hour. You wouldn't be able to tell the difference between the real one and the fake one, even if they were standing in front of you. And since they're you, they have your genetic makeup and if they have your wand, it'll be linked into the wards, allowing access. It's why we're so cautious."
"Is there anything you aren't capable of?" Demetri asked amusedly.
"Of course there is, even magic has its limitations," she answered, coming to a sudden halt. "Here we are," she said and they blinked as a house suddenly appeared before them. It definitely hadn't been there before.
It was old-looking with murky white bricks and vines and plants winding up the walls. It looked to be three-stories, yet there were far too many windows than should've been possible. The door was dark brown and the paint looked to be flaking and two chimneys sat on the roof.
A smile pulled at Hermione's mouth and as she neared the house, the door opened and a tired-looking Remus Lupin stepped out of the house and approached them whilst clad in his pyjamas. She heard snarls and tugged her hands free of Demetri and Alec, whipping around and levelling them with a deadly glare and a pointer finger held threateningly in their direction.
They both blinked before clearing their throats.
"Sorry," Demetri apologised, having the grace to look sheepish. "It's not often we come across werewolves, they smell like wet dog and dirt, not pleasant," he wrinkled his nose. She narrowed her eyes before turning to face forward, her smile returning.
She approached Remus and before she knew it, his wand was pointed in her face and she heard more snarls, turning to glare over her shoulder until they quieted but they were far from pleased and she knew it.
"Boggart, third year?" Remus questioned with weary eyes.
She scoffed. "Failing, thank you for bringing that up, Moony," she answered with a mock glare. His mouth twitched in response.
"Where's my tattoo?" She asked, noises of surprise being heard from behind her but she ignored them.
"You don't have a tattoo, Padfoot went with you to the muggle tattoo parlour but you chickened out," he replied amusedly as she grumbled under her breath before closing the distance between them, being swept into a tight hug.
"I'm fine, Remus," she said softly.
"I can smell them all over you," he spoke, a growl coming wrapping around his words, his eyes locked on the vampires behind her.
"Well, that's expected; we've been travelling together in close quarters for almost two days, and I was there for two days after I arrived, too." She pulled back from him and turned to face the vampires, gesturing for them to come closer. They did so reluctantly. "Remus, this is Alec and Demetri, both highly respected members of the Volturi's Guard. Alec, Demetri this is Remus Lupin," Hermione introduced.
They tipped their heads in favour of speaking, she imagined they were worried they might say something that would upset her and result in her drawing her wand and aiming it in their direction.
"Thank you for agreeing to help," Remus said, but there was a slight chill to his voice and Hermione could visibly see him fighting with Moony for control.
"Hermione can be very convincing," Demetri replied, Hermione missing the way his eyes softened but Remus didn't.
"We need to be debriefed, the others are sleeping... And we have to finalise battle plans..."
"Remus," Hermione interrupted, "I'm hungry and I'm tired, I just want time to relax before I have to explain everything and I don't want to have to do it more than once. I'll debrief everyone in the morning, for now, all you need to know is they've agreed to help and they aren't a threat to anyone. They're over a millennia in age, they have remarkable control when it comes to humans."
His eyes softened when she told him of her tiredness and hunger and he nodded, wrapping his arm around her shoulders as he led the trio to the house.
"Did you have any trouble?"
"On the way there I did, they tracked me but I dealt with it. Whilst there Aro Volturi, accidentally said the Taboo, I took out four snatchers, including Scabior. The second time he said the Taboo, he did it on purpose to annoy me." Remus chuckled at her scowl. "I took out three snatchers and two Death Eaters."
"Which two?"
"Avery and McNair, it was too easy, they must've been drunk."
"Don't doubt yourself; you're a brilliant witch with a brilliant mind," he chastised. "Avery and McNair were nasty pieces of work and they've only grown worse over the years. Are they dead?"
"I assume so, I left them for the Volturi to deal with," she replied, her voice void of emotion.
They entered the house and Hermione didn't bother looking around, she'd spent more time there than most. It was an averagely sized living room with comfortable and worn furniture, a wooden coffee table, a large fireplace and it was decorated in blue and silver. The kitchen held the same colours, a large dining table sat in the centre and it held only an oven with the cupboards above and below the wooden countertops.
She silently took a seat at the dining table and Alec and Demetri hovered behind her as Remus heated up some leftovers for her. She ate in silence and quickly finished her meal, Remus taking her dishes and putting them in the sink once she'd finished and ushering her towards the stairs, his distrustful gaze observing the two vampires throughout. When the vampires followed behind her, Remus didn't comment, not wanting to be on the receiving end of the terrifying teenage witch.
Hermione continued towards her room on the second floor, climbing both flights of stairs and heading past the eight doors of makeshift rooms that had been added temporarily for Order members. Her bedroom was located at the end of the corridor and had been an original room in the house which meant it was bigger than the others. She opened the door and sighed happily as the familiar lavender and white colour scheme entered her view. The walk-in wardrobe was on the left and the en-suite bathroom was on the right as was the desk and chair. The queen-sized bed dominated the room and held a bedside table to the right of it.
She crossed over to the inviting bed and flopped down onto the mattress, sighing happily and groaning at her aching back. How she'd missed her bed over the months. She pushed herself into a sitting position when she heard footsteps and the door closing, her eyes locking on to Demetri and Alec.
She silently removed her jacket, drew her wand and removed her beaded bag from her pocket, setting them on the bedside table before she crossed to the bathroom, closing the door behind her.
She was in there barely fifteen minutes when she emerged with damp hair, the fresh scent of strawberries and vanilla surrounding her and dressed in a t-shirt and a pair of sleep shorts. She reached for her beaded bag and removed an armful of books to keep Demetri and Alec occupied for the night. She conjured a second chair and then cast a series of wards on the room to prevent anyone from trying to barge down the door in the morning when Remus eventually told them she was holed up with two vampires. That would not be well accepted.
It occurred to her that she should be worried that she wasn't worried about being locked inside a room with the two fatally handsome men, yet she couldn't find it in herself to care. She knew they wouldn't harm her, not only had they proved that to her, even protected her, but deep down inside, she knew she trusted them. She felt safe in their presence.
Shaking off the thought, she quickly consumed a Dreamless Sleep Potion that she removed from the drawer of the bedside table and then she climbed into bed, snuggling down for the night. It was the early hours of the morning and she was exhausted.
Alec and Demetri, seeming to understand her actions without her having to verbally confirm them, made themselves comfortable and settled down on the chairs, reading the magical books she had left out for them and they were content in watching her sleep, because, Lord knows what chaos the coming days would bring.