Blood and Chocolate

Hello!

I know, I know. I still haven’t updated my other stories. But this one I just have to do! It is based off one of my favorite books… actually it basically is my favorite book, just with different characters! If anyone has read the book please let me know!

One more thing, they live in the states because I don’t know anything in England! :]

My first Harry and Hermione fic. Never thought that it would like this!

I really hope that you read and review!

Thanks again!

Flames shot high, turning the night lurid with carnival lights. Sparks took the place of stars. The century old inn was a silhouette fronting hell, as everything Hermione knew was consumed by fire.

Two figures broke from the smashed front door and ran towards the woods where she stood, their nightclothes smeared with soot, their faces white with terror. The person who pushed them out disappeared once more inside. Another window exploded.

Three of the cottages were in flames, too, and the barn. Horses screamed in terror as they were chased from the stables by a handful of teenage boys.

In the West Virginia hills, miles from the nearest town, they didn’t expect a fire engine to arrive.

Somewhere behind her a woman wailed and wailed. “They did it on purpose. They burned us out.”

“Get her into one of the trucks,” a male voice yelled. “I’m bringing the car around.”

“Watch out for snipers,” a female voice called back. “They might be waiting to pick us off as we leave.”

“Head for Maryland,” Hermione heard her mother say. “We’ll meet at Dumbledore’s.”

Hermione felt a tug on her arm. Her mother, Diane, stood panting beside her. “ I put Aunt Trelawney in my car. Where’s your father?” Now that she stood alone with her daughter, her voice rose high in panic.

“He went back in,” Vivian answered, her words roughened by smoke and tears. “With Harry and Oliver.”

“John!” Diane started toward the building and Hermione grabbed her and held on tight. “No! You both can’t be in there. I can’t stand it.”

Diane fought to get away, but at sixteen, Hermione was her match. “You can’s stop him,” Hermione said. “He swore to protect the pack.”

“But I need to be beside him,” Diane begged. “They are my people, too.”

What have I done? Hermione thought. If only she had stopped the boys this might not have happened. If only she had told her father they were out of control.

Figures came around the side of the house. Oliver led a slight young woman not much older than Hermione. Harry held a shrieking bundle in his arms.

The fire roared its victory; then, with a crack as if a giant’s spine had snapped, a central beam gave way, and the roof collapsed in a peacock tail of sparks and flame.

“Daddy!” Hermione screamed.

But it was too late.

This is just the epilogue.

What do you think??

Please review!

:]

I decided that I am going to update this story once a week, lucky for you guys; I gave you two this week! I will try to make it at the beginning of the week, but I can’t promise anything. It is so much easier to type when you have a book to go by.

I would also like to say that for all of you that noticed my little epilogue error in the last chapter, I am really sorry. I freaked out once I got the first review about it!

Anyway on with the story.

Disclaimer: I own nothing. I read a wonderful book by Annette Curtis Klause and a series of books from J. K. Rowling. Put them together and you get this!!

“Mom, you have been fighting again.” Hermione glared at her mother.

Diane Granger lolled in an easy chair, one long slim leg thrown over the armrest. She refused to stop grinning. A gash in her cheek still bled slightly.

“You look awful,” Hermione said.

“Yeah, but you should see the other bitch,” Diane answered. She scratched her scalp luxuriously with her hands, tousling her dark brown hair.

Hermione sighed and came over to dab at her mother’s cheek with a tissue grabbed from the box on the coffee table. She would ruin her beautiful face. “Can’t you and Alice leave each other alone?” It had been like this ever since they’d moved here from West Virginia, over a year ago now. She hardly knew her mother anymore. “Can’t you?” she repeated.

“Draco called for you,” Diane said, ignoring the question.

Hermione rolled her eyes. That was all she needed. Couldn’t he take a hint?

Diane sat up and looked directly at her daughter. “I thought that’s where you were, with Draco and the others.”

“No, I wasn’t.” She bristled at the thought. The five young males who were her only age-mates were likely to get the rest of the pack killed if they kept going the way they were.

“So where were you?”

Hermione turned to leave the room. Since when was her mother so worried about where she was? “Down by the river, at the rocks,” she said over her shoulder.

“What were you doing there?”

“Nothing.”

As she left Hermione heard her mother growl softly in frustration.

Why did Diane always have to bring up the Five? Couldn’t she get it through her head that Hermione didn’t want to be with them?

The familiar knot in her gut formed hard and tight. The fire last year had been the Five’s fault… and Dean’s. She slammed the door to her room. The inside face of the door channeled her claw marks. She grew her nails and ripped another row.

Dean had to go and lose it and kill that girl.

Dean had been acting wilder and wilder last spring, and talking crazy stuff. She heard him and the Five boasts about midnight visits to the town where they stalked humans in the shadows and scared them silly. What they did sounded funny. Hermione made them take her, too. But rumors started going around school. People were getting nervous. When Hermione said maybe they should cool it, Dean and the Five only laughed at her.

Then Dean began to go off by himself, and something seemed wrong to her. He didn’t talk to her as much. It drove her crazy.

I was half in love with him, Hermione thought as she took off her stockings. Draco thought that I was his girl but I would have dropped him in a second for Dean. She sniffed in disgust. Caring for Dean made me stupid.

She had seen their behavior spinning out of control, and she hadn’t done a thing. She should have told her father what they’d been up to, even if that meant she would be in trouble herself. But you didn’t squeal on your friends, did you?

Then on the night of the Valentine’s dance Dean went to town alone and killed a girl in back of the school.

Hermione still felt the heat of anger when she thought of what he had done. She couldn’t help thinking he killed for some petty reason, like t he girl turned him down. He could have had me, she though bitterly.

He must have been changing back when a classmate saw him crouched over the body. Before Dean knew he was there, the boy took off and named him to the police.

The Five decided to help. They killed another girl while Dean was in jail. They didn’t let Hermione know their plans; they must have thought she’s object. And I would have.

“How could a boy be covered in fur? How could a human inflict such wounds?” the family lawyer pleaded for Dean. The new killing while Dean was locked up proved that there was a wild animal on the loose. Dean had merely discovered the body, then had panicked and run. The case was dismissed.

But someone from the town believed the boy’s tale of a wolf that turned into a boy, and lat one night the inn and outbuildings burst into flame in six different spots, and black acrid smoke hid the moon.

Since the 1600’s her ancestors have been on the move. They fled from France to the New World and landed into Louisiana. In the nineteenth century, they blew their cover and ran to West Virginia, where they joined a German pack. Last year, the curst of their appetite stuck again, and the pack to flight from the hills that had been its home for one hundred years and arrived refugees in the Maryland suburbs. Five families plus assorted others crammed into Dumbledore’s run-down Victorian house. With luck no one would follow them here; they could mark new trails.

The house on Sion Road had emptied out gradually as the others found jobs and places to stay, until it held only Hermione, Diane, and Dumbledore. Hermione had thought by this time they would have made plans for the future, but now the whole pack seemed to crazy, herm other included. With more than half of them dead, no one knew his or her place anymore. There was constant squabbling. Survival depended on their blending in while they organized and decide where they would move and settle for good, but at any moment the pack was likely to explode in a ball of flying fur. They needed a leader badly, but no one could agree whom.

Last summer she had hid in her room and slept, not bothering to eat anything. Most nights Hermione would hear her mother crying inconsolably by her open bedroom window for someone who would never come home again.

By the time her last year of school started, however, Hermione begun eating almost regularly, and Diane found herself a job at the Hogs Head, a local bar. She began to make it through the day.

She started to look longingly at the groups of kids laughing together around the flagpole after school.

As first she though, Why would I make friends with people who would kill me if they knew what I was? What if I give myself away? But the yearning continued. It was then she realized that she didn’t know how to make friends.

She had always had the pack around her, the pack that now had separate dens. There were always pack kids. She had never had to reach out for company, company was always there. The Five were still around, of course, but now she couldn’t bear to be with them, and they could never be just her friends. They all saw her as a mate, be nice to one and the others would sulk and snap. Fight, fight, fight, that’s what paying attention to them meant.

I want other friends, she thought. But no one seemed to want her.

She stood in front of her closet mirror in her shirt and twisted around. What’s wrong with me?

There was nothing the matter that she could see. She was tall and leggy, like her mother, with full breast, small waist, and slim hips that curved enough to show that she was female. Her skin was golden; but it was golden sun or not, and her brown hair was thick and long and wild.

So why was it that groups of girls stopped talking when she approached them at school and answered her openings with terse words that killed the conversations she tried to start? Was she too good looking? Was that possible? Was that the threat they say? She was a beautiful loup-garou, she knew, the Five howled for her, but what did human eyes perceive?

The boys nudged each other when she passed; she’d seen them out of the corner of her eye. They noticed her. And she could understand why one or two might blush and stammer if she talked to them. There were always shy boys who would die if any girl noticed them. But where were the bold ones?

Male or female, they resisted her. Could they see the forest in her eyes, the shadow of her pelt? Were her teeth too sharp? It’s hard not to be a wolf.

I don’t care, she though twirling around. I don’t need human, I still have the pack, and we’ll be moving on soon. But she did care. The pack was in shreds, and in the midst of these humans she was wolf-kind, loup-garou, this made her an outsider and unwanted. But they would like me if they got to know me. They just don’t know me.

“I am strong,” she whispered. “I can run with the night and catch the dawn. I can kick a hole in the sky.” And she struck a foot out as if to prove it. Then curled into a ball.

She missed her father; his advice, his comfort. She bared her teeth at the familiar pain.

From where she lay, she could see the unbroken wall she’d cleared and the mural she had started to console herself with and to make this room hers.

Her wall was painted with wolves in the moonlight. In the center of mural was where she would become part of the night, where she would run with the pack. But now, whenever she picked up a brush, she couldn’t go on.

She became obsessed, she created dozens of smaller paintings and sketches of the pack she knew so well. They lined her closet, were stacked in piles on the floor. They helped her hold on to the past. They kept her from going crazy.

The art teacher thought that she was a punk artsy type, but that didn’t stop him from pushing her into letting him enter her drawings to the school magazine. She grabbed the magazine from her bag and started going through it. She found her print and devoured the sheen of it, crisp and stark.

She hadn’t even bothered to see whom she shared a space with. A poem was on the page opposite hers. She looked at it suspiciously. A crappy poem would lessen what she’d done, make it cheap.

The title startled her, “Wolf Change.”

Corsair of the wood

Discard your skin

Your pallid, wormlike

Vulnerability.

Corsair of the wood

Exchange your skin

For the pelt of dun

And bindle luxury.

A pentagram is burning

In your eyes

And soft, pale twists

Of wolfbane

Squeeze your heart.

A grinding pain

Is writhing in your thighs

The crunch of bones

Proclaims the change’s start.

Pirate of the flesh

Throw back your head

And part your jowls

To sing a lunar song.

The forest paths are dark

The night is long.

She shivered in delicious shock.

He knows! He knows what is in the picture! Anger edged out the excitement and her eyes narrowed. Who was this Ronald Weasley? Why should he know forest paths?

But she was intrigued. Maybe she should seek him out and have a look at this person who wrote of the crunch of bones, see if she approved of him.

And what if she didn’t? Set the Five on him? She laughed softly, baring her sharp white teeth.

Those of you that read the book know that this is basically exactly how the first chapter went. And the next one might be the same way. I need to give everyone the details before I switch it up a little bit.

Have any of you figured out who all of the characters are? Let’s see, Hermione is Vivian, Harry is ? Ron is ? Draco is ? So many questions!! Don’t worry answers will be in the next chapter!

Please leave a review!

It was warm out, and it would get hot later. She could smell the roses from the neighbor’s yard. Not much school left now, Hermione thought as she walked down the street. What will I do during the summer? Move, she hoped. Get out of this place.

“Hey, Mione.”

A lean, muscular figure peeled out from behind a stone post, and her eyes widened briefly. “Draco,” she said but kept walking. If she was paying attention she would have been able to avoid him.

Draco fell in beside. She noticed that he was trying to grow facial hair. To be completely honest, it made him look foolish. He ran a hand through his long blond hair and shifted his grip on a package under his arm. “Going to school?”

“Some of us do.”

The Five were more likely to be found hanging out if front of the Hogs Head.

“Hip-hip!”

“Hooray!”

Two boys dropped down from a tree. This time she did jump slightly, and cursed herself. She should have known the others were near. They were never separated. The twins, Fred and George, looked pleased with themselves. George slipped an arm around her waist and gave her a friendly squeeze. “Didn’t scare you, did we?” he asked.

“You are such a puppy,” Hermione said, removing his arm. He had been her favorite of the twins as they were growing up. He was sweeter and more predictable than his brother, but his gestures have lost a great deal of their innocence in the last year or so.

Fred, the mysterious twin, just smiled sardonically.

She was expecting the others now, so it came as no surprise when Lee Jordan, the twins best friend, stepped out from behind a tree. Neville hopped over a white picket fence to dance his jittery way backwards up the sidewalk, laughing wildly, until Draco hit him on the head.

They wore the same clothes, like uniforms. Black jeans, white T-shirts, and boots. Draco had his sleeves rolled up to show off his biceps. My bodyguards, Hermione thought.

“Saw your mother go into the Hog’s Head with Harry last night,” Fred said. “She was all over him.” His lips were in a sneer and his eyes were narrowed as he said it.

Hermione bristled, but she wasn’t going to say anything.

“Yeah, Alice wasn’t far behind,” Draco said. “And she looked pissed.” He laughed.

“Hey, leave my mum out of it,” Neville piped up.

So that was whom they were fighting over, Hermione thought. Harry. That was disgusting. He was only twenty. She could date him. Not that she would. Sure he was cute, handsome and really smart. He just seemed full of himself.

“She isn’t your mum.”

“Fine, leave my step-mum out of this,” Neville cried. His real mother died during childbirth. His dad was lonely; he married the first single wolf he could find. No one expected Alice to stick around, but she did. She treated Neville like her own son. They grew close, but ever since Frank died in the fire last year, she barely talks to him.

Draco took the parcel out from underneath his arm, Hermione heard Neville giggle. Draco pulled at the strings. His eyes turned red when he looked at her, a wicked grin spread across his face. Hermione knew he was up to something.

“Hermione, I’d like to give you my heart,” he said suddenly. Then his grin returned. “But since it is still intact, I have brought you someone else’s”

He dumped the contents of the package onto the sidewalk. Looking down she saw a brown slimy glob.

“Draco! What the hell did you do?”

The Five were helpless with laughter.

Hermione grabbed the box and cleaned up the mess.

“Give you my heart…,” he gasped, and collapsed with laughter again.

Where could she put this? Where was the body? She looked down at the disgusting trophy. “Who was it?”

The Five howled with laughter again.

“It’s a … It was a sheep’s heart!” Lee said between breaths.

“You jerks! I can’t believe you would this! Especially after last year. Grow up,” she spat. She turned and left, but they followed her at a distant pace, she heard their laughter all the way to school.

Mum thinks the Five have learned their lesson, fat chance.

When Dean had come home from jail, her father had passed judgment swiftly. The punishment for endangering the pack was death.

Hermione couldn’t save Dean, but she pleaded with her father for the Five. They were just kids like her. They only killed to prove the witness wrong and to protect the identity of the pack. They wouldn’t do it again. So John Granger made them beg forgiveness and let anyone who wanted to, to take a snap at them for punishment. In the end, most said they let the Five off to easily, although they licked their wounds for weeks. Hermione hadn’t quite trusted the Five ever since.

It was almost lunchtime when Hermione remember Ronald Weasley. Yeah, why don’t I have a look at this poet. See if I like him writing about things he shouldn’t know about. Where should she look? She decided to ask her art teacher, he knew everyone in the school.

“Do you know where I could find him?” she had asked.

“Well, if you hang around till after lunch, all you have to do is look out that window. He hangs out with his friends over by the statues.”

“What does he look like?”

“I dunno. He’s tall, redheaded. You can’t miss him. Listen I got to go, close the door when you leave.”

“Sure.”

Luckily she had brought her lunch with her. She relaxed against the warm windowsill and chewed on a piece of steak as she waited. Groups of kids were scattered across the lawn, eating, talking, and just goofing off.

At the next bell the schedule changed. Kids reluctantly scooped up their stuff and headed to class, while others took their recently vacated spots.

I’ll be late for class. Hermione thought. It didn’t matter, if someone found out about the pack, it would ruin everything. She had to know what this Ronald guy knew.

Two young men walked into her view. One had dark hair and the other had red. That must be him. Another boy joined them, and then a girl.

So that’s you, Poet Boy. Why am I bothering? Because I am a pirate of the night and I want to know ho is trespassing in my territory. But maybe it was one of her kind from a different pack. Or maybe he just knows too much. She laughed at her thoughts as she crossed the grass to the statues.

Should I only look, or should I say something? Immediately she felt like playing wicked games. She put sway in her walk. Maybe I will make him look.

The boy to Ronald’s right noticed her first. He had curly dark hair with a straight nose and gray eyes. Hermione couldn’t resist she winked, and his cheeks turned pink. It was so easy. The other boy just kept on talking, but the girl looked over and wrinkled her nose. She was small, with long blond hair.

Then Ronald Weasley turned around to see who had captured his friends’ attention. His slow easy smile sent a shock through her.

She was staring, she knew, but his face was a mystery. His eyes were amused and dreamy, as if finding everything they saw as funny. He seemed intense but not like the Five. She noticed his tall and muscular frame. A frame that spoke volumes. In human form, he could take her. But in her form, he didn’t stand a chance.

“Do I know you?” he asked. He waited expectantly, a bemused smile on his face.

Okay, I got completely frustrated writing this chapter. I needed more characters, so I had a few in mind but I didn’t know how to portray them. I looked in most of the books to find out how Lavender and Cedric looked. I gave up on Lavender and just based her off of other people’s fics. Is she really a blond? If you know a page that she is on and it describes her please tell me!

So I told you some new characters name. Do they surprise you??

I have to keep little parts of the book in with the chapters. I’m sorry, but I’ll only try to use the important stuff. See, the heart thing was in the book and I needed it in there so you could find out what happened to Dean.

I also want to let you know that I am upping the book rating to the book seven spoiler. Nothing huge is going to happen, there is just a couple of minor details that are going to happen in later chapters. I just wanted to let you know in case some of you don’t read the spoiler fics.

Oh, and do any of you know what Molly’s maiden name was? I know I read it somewhere I just can’t remember! I am making that Fred and George’s last name!! Weird, huh.

I am really happy about the response I am getting from this fic! It makes me giddy with all the reviews!!

Thank you!

Sorry for the short chapter last time. Hopefully this one is a little longer.

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Hermione said the first thing that came into her head. “Umm, I liked your poem.” I can’t believe I just said that.

“Hey, thanks,” Ronald said. He still looked puzzled.

He’s not a werewolf, she thought in dismay. How can I react this way when he isn’t one of us? His smell of perspiration and soap was purely human. She didn’t like that off-balanced feeling that he was giving her. “Your poem was facing a print of mine. I was glad it wasn’t next to some trash.”

The dark haired kid erupted with laughter.

“Shut up, Cedric,” Ronald said, but he grinned.

“That was like some forest scene, wasn’t it?” The kid with the sandy hair said. “Spooky man.”

The blond girl put a hand on Ronald’s arm. “Loony’s waiting for us.

“Hold on Lav.” Ronald gently disengaged his arm, and the girl frowned sulkily. “Cool picture. It’s like you read my mind.”

“That is what I though about your poem.” Hermione answered. Her response to him was disturbing but she wanted to explore it. She took his hand and turned it up, then ran her nails down his fingers.

“What are you doing? Reading my fortune?” Ronald asked.

“Yes,” she answered. She slid a pen from her bag. Then, while he watched mesmerized, she wrote her phone number in his palm. On a whim she outlined it with a five-pointed star.

“What’s that?” Cedric asked. “You Jewish or something?”

“Nah,” said Ronald softly. “That’s a pentagram.”

“So she is a witch,” Lavender snapped.

No my dear. You don’t watch enough late night movies. The person who sees a pentagram in his palm becomes a werewolf’s victim.

“Are you a witch?” Ronald asked his eyes twinkling.

Her voice was husky. “Why don’t you find out?” She folded his hand around the sign that made him hers. Her heart was thumping wildly due to her charade, but she refused to lose her nerve.

As she walked away, she heard Lavenders shrill voice rise, but she didn’t bother listening. That girl got on her nerves. If she stayed around to long, there wouldn’t be anything left of her.

***

As she reached home the front door opened. Harry, the inspiration for her mother’s latest fight, was leaving. He filled the door frame, blocking her way. His shirt clung to his wide chest.

“Hi, Mione,” he said. “Looking good.” His voice was low and husky, a rumble in his throat. It made her dizzy.

The teasing in his green eyes made her squirm. She hated it, his eyes were mesmerizing. How could just looking at him affect her this way? She had to stay strong. She had to show him that she didn’t care, no matter how much she did. “Save it for someone who cares,” she said through clenched teeth.

Harry rubbed his chin and grinned. She noticed the puckered white scar tissue on the back of his right hand. The tip of another scar showed at this throat. And barely visible was the one hidden under his hair; it was a shape of a lightening bolt.

“I believe you do care. Don’t hide it, I can see right through you,” he said with an easy smile. “We don’t see you at the Hog’s Head”

She glared at him, “I’m too young to drink and so are you.”

He looked her over taking his time. Before she could help it she tugged at the hemline of her shorts. Her shirt felt to tight. As much as she loved his eyes, she didn’t like the way they were looking at her right now. “Who says that I drink? Maybe I just sit there waiting for you to come visit your mother.” He finally said.

She stared him in the eye, challenging him; she was out of her depth, but defiant anyway, willing her lips not to tremble and her hands not to shake. There was silence for a moment and she couldn’t read his strong, chiseled face. He reached for her. She stumbled back, tripping over a rug on the porch. He grabbed her around the waist to stop her from falling. Their bodies were touching, their faces inches apart. Hermione could feel his warm breath on her face. She pushed him away and straightened her clothes. Harry then laughed like a giant and moved aside. She slid past him into the house, angry that she let him see how he affected her. She slammed the door upon his arrogant face.

“Mum!” she yelled.

Diane poked her head out from the dining room

“How long has he been here?” Hermione demanded.

“Only for a few minutes,” Diane answered. She looked disappointed. “He dropped by to invite both of us for dinner.” Her mother stressed the both; clearly pointing out how she hoped Hermione wouldn’t come.

“Damn it, Mum. He’s twenty.”

“So?”

“You’re almost forty.”

“Well, rub it in.” But nothing was wiping the smile off her face.

“Don’t you think it is a bit disgusting?”

Diane flung her hands in the air. “Well, for goodness sake, I’m not serious about him.”

“Oh great. Now he’s your boy toy.”

Diane smirked. “He’s not a boy.” Horrified, Hermione ran up the stairs and slammed her door.

Dumbledore had gone to the Hog’s Head, so there were just Hermione and Diane at the dinner table. Hermione was still brooding about Harry’s visit. He acted like he wanted her. But then he thought that she wouldn’t care that he fooled around with her mother? That disgusted her more than ever. How could her mother do that? Act like her father didn’t even matter. Her father, the aching emptiness still gnawed at her. Her parents seemed so happy together. She’d thought he mother shared that ache, but now Diane was acting like stupid fourteen-year-old.

“Didn’t you love Dad?” she finally asked.

Diane looked started at this question. “Yes, I loved him.”

“Then why are you running around?”

“A year is a long time, Hermione. I’m tired of crying. I’m lonely. Sometimes I want a man in my bed. But with a daughter like you, the one I want won’t pay attention to me.”

Hermione gave her mother a questioning glance. “The only reason Harry comes here is to get information about you. He wont even look at me, let alone touch me.”

Hermione grabbed her plate abruptly and headed for the kitchen. Couldn’t her mother talk to her as if she was daughter? Like she really wanted to know that Harry hasn’t touched her mother. Well, of course she wanted to know, but not like that. It relieved her that he wouldn’t do such a thing but he was using her mother to get to her.

An hour later Hermione was on her bed doing halfhearted studying when the phone rang. She picked up the phone, expecting to hear one of the pack, but it was Ronald.

“There is a concert at the university this weekend,” he said. “Sunday afternoon. You want to go?”

“Maybe, who’s playing?”

He mentioned a band that she had never heard of before. His tone suggested that it was well known and one of his favorites. He was sharing a special treat with her. “I’ll have to see if my family has anything planned. I’ll let you know tomorrow.”

Hermione hung up and stretched her arms to the ceiling. Should she go, or was having him rise to the bait good enough?

But a shadow slid across her face. If they went on a date he would want to kiss her. Would he be safe if he came close enough to fill her nostrils with his scent?

Diane walked out of her bedroom. She was wearing the tight black dress she used for waitressing. “Who was that?” she asked casually.

“A boy from school.”

Diane paused, “Oh?”

“He asked me to a concert.

“One of them asked you out?” Her mother’s expression combined repulsion and surprise. “I wont allow it.”

Hermione bristled, “You can’t tell me who to date.”

Diane put her hands on her hips. “Don’t date if you can’t mate.” Human and wolf kind were biologically incapable of breeding.

“I’m going to a concert, not having his baby,” Hermione snapped. “And don’t tell me wolf kind only start relationships when they want children. I know better.”

“You’ve got a smart mouth, girl,” Diane said as she walked off.

Now Hermione was sure she was going.

He had phoned, and she wasn’t an outsider anymore - untouchable and strange, perhaps invisible. But why should she care so much? He was human after all: a meat boy, an incomplete creature who had only one form.

How sad she though, and suddenly she craved the change.

Like all her people, at the full moon she had to change whether she wanted to or not, the urge was too strong to refuse. Other times she could change at will either partway or fully. Right now the moon swelled like a seven-month belly, and she wanted to change because it was possible. She wanted to run for the joy of it.

She stalked through the backyard dusk, across the bat-grazed clearing in the narrow ribbon of woods out back, over the stream up the embankment, and down into the wide grassy valley that held the river.

Down by the river was giant tumble of rocks that screened the riverbank. Behind the rocks, amid the shoulder high weeds, she slowly slid off her clothes. Already her skin prickled with the sprouting pelt.

She moaned at the first ripple in her bones. She tensed her thighs and abdomen to will the change on, and clutched the night air like a lover as her fingers lengthened and her nails sprouted. Her blood churned with heat like desire. The night, the sweet night The exciting smells of rabbits, and damp earth drenched the air.

The flesh on her arms bubbled and her legs buckled to a new shape. She doubled over as the muscled of her abdomen went into a brief spasm, then grimaces as her teeth sharpened and her jaw extended. She felt the momentary pain of the spine’s crunch and then the sweet release.

She was a creature much larger and stronger than any natural wolf. Her toes and legs were too long, her ears too big, and her eyes held fire. Wolf was only a convenient term they had adopted.

Hermione stretched and pawed at the ground, she sniffed the glorious air. She felt as if her tail could sweep the stars from the sky. She ran the length of the river to the edge of the city slums and back, under the hopeful early summer moon.

Ha! This chapter is like 400 word more than the last one! I’m sorry to say that this was not my writing. Except for the Harry parts, I wrote those. I hope they weren’t too bad. This chapter and the next one are going to be from the book. Sorry, but I don’t think you want me to replace them. You would get so confused and I don’t want that.

As you can tell Harry is twenty and Hermione is seventeen. That is a three-year difference. It may seem like a lot, but compared to the book, not really. See Harry would originally be twenty-four and Hermione would be sixteen! I would love to have them the same age but the thing with Diane would be a little weird, even though it already is…

Hermione and Ron, :] I hope that this chapter helped a couple of you understand. Hermione was just going after him as a challenge because she wanted to know what he knows about her kind. Then when he asked her on the date, it was to get back at her mother. She wasn’t really going to go with him until her mother made her mad!

I really hope you liked it and leave any comments in that little box below!

You are so lucky I got this up today! This week is going to be crazy! I have three new baby cousins! Two of them are twins! They are so cute. So I am typing this before I leave to go see them!

I really like all the responses I am getting from this story. Hopefully this chapter doesn’t disappoint.

By eight o’ clock the living room of Hermione’s home was full. The pack spread around the room on couches, chairs, and even on the floor, except Alice, who lounged against the window at the front of the house, and the Five, who loitered in the kitchen, bantering and exchanging playful blows.

Among the crowd were strays who had gravitated to the pack when it came to the suburbs, and others Hermione didn’t know. Many of those who had gone to join relatives when the trouble started hadn’t come back.

Hermione felt a pang of loneliness. This is all that is left of us, she thought. And no one I feel close to. Not even Mum anymore. She curled up smaller in her armchair.

Alice laughed at the boys’ antics. When she tossed her head, her hair flamed against the curtains. With her sharp features and plump rear, she reminded Hermione more of fox than a wolf.

Harry paced restlessly in front of the fireplace. Alice glanced over at him repeatedly until she caught his eye; then she winked. His eyes turned cold as he looked at her, shaking his head before returned to his pacing.

Hermione’s mother saw the exchange, too. “Slut,” she muttered. She leaned across Hermione to complain to Minerva McGonagall; “Can’t she tell that he isn’t interested in her? He already has his eye set on someone,” she said as she looked over at Harry and licked her lips pointedly.

Minerva shook her head. “Stop it, Diane.”

Hermione turned her head, embarrassed. Minerva had been one of Dumbledore’s friends. Diane had met her when they moved. Hermione could tell that Minerva did not approve of her mothers actions.

Feeling her mother pull on her sleeve, she finally looked at her. Her mother wouldn’t even talk to her; she was just staring at someone. Following her gaze she saw Harry staring right at her with such intensity that she couldn’t breathe. For that moment, every noise in the house disappeared. Every person in the house vanished. She only saw Harry and those glorious eyes of his.

“Can we have quiet, please,” Dumbledore shouted, which caused Hermione and Tonks Lupin to jump.

Tonks Lupin was a small delicate figure, any loud noise made her flinch and clutch her baby as if her life depended on it. She had never been that way before, but after losing her husband in the fire, she had been as raw as a trapped rabbit. Dumbledore reached out from his perch on the overstuffed couch to pat he shoulder reassuringly.

Everyone looked his way expectantly. Well, almost everyone.

Fred and George cackled and batted at each other to either side of Neville, who dodged between them, a panicked look on his small, pale face. Draco was telling the awestruck Lee how big some girls breast were.

Draco’s father, Lucius, twisted around in the easy chair he slouched in. “Quit it,” he growled, and raised a fist. Draco glared at his father, but waited until Lucius turned around before he gave him the finger.

“My sources have checked out some viable properties,” Dumbledore said. “It’s time to choose were the pack will go.”

“And who’ll lead us,” Harry said. Hermione was irritated to see Diane smiling. There was no mystery about whom she supported, even if Hermione supported him herself.

On the floor in front of her, Harry’s cousins, disturbingly similar eight-year-olds twins, were intent on finding out who could hold their breath the longest. Hermione itched to smack them till they yelped. Before she gave into the itch, Harry leaned over so that he was face to face with her “Sometimes I wish they hold their breath a little to long,” he whispered. His breath was hot on her face, having him this close made her cheeks flush. He smirked when he realized what he was doing to her. With a laugh her pulled away, but not before bopping his cousin on the head to settle them down.

Old Flitwick spoke in a quavering voice. “Dumbledore, you’re the one who’s pulled it all together. You took us in when we were homeless, helped us settle in an unfamiliar place. You’ve been a good leader while we have been here. I vote you leader for the move.

“I appreciate your support,” Dumbledore said. “But I’m not going with you.”

“Dumbledore!” Diane exclaimed.

Dumbledore ran his fingers through his badger-gray hair. “My life is here. I was willing to help while I could and get things going again, but now it’s time for you to move on, and for that you need a different type of leader than I have the strength or the will to be.”

“ You’re assuming a lot,” Alice said from her window perch.

Dumbledore’s brow creased, “ What do you mean?”

“What if we don’t want to go?”

Hermione was amazed when Alice’s idea wasn’t immediately shut down.

“You have got to go. This isn’t the place for the pack. There are too many humans, too close together. With this many of us, sooner or later someone’s going to make a mistake, and this time it might mean the end of us. Look at those boys. “ He pointed to the Five. “Don’t tell me they’ve got the common sense to stay out of trouble.”

“They’re only being boys, “Alice said, smiling at the Five.

“And maybe they got a point,” Lucius Malfoy said. “Maybe it’s time to change the rules. Maybe its time to hunt instead of be hunted. That’s my opinion.”

“We know your opinion,” snapped Aunt Trelawney, the elderly healer.

Lucius hadn’t handled his losses very well. If anyone was a menace, he was. What if he lost control in a bar one night and revealed himself. Dumbledore was right, they needed to get out of the city.

“But we have finally settled in. We have jobs. And we finally have a decent home.” A member of the pack said.

“And look what is happening to our kids while we are busting our asses trying to earn a living. We need to live somewhere where we can do what we please, whenever we please.” Another member argued.

“Mum,” Hermione whispered. “What do you want?”

Diane shook her head. “I like it here.”

I always took it for granted that everyone agreed. That when the time came we would go, Hermione thought.

The two members were now arguing amongst themselves, as if no one else existed; the twins were wrestling and squealing again; Mr. Flitwick was trying to raise his voice above the noise. Tonks burst into tears and the baby did the same.

Dumbledore jumped up. “Shut up, all of you!”

His words didn’t do any good. The racket just got louder. Hermione put her hands over her ears and wished they’d go away. She saw the Five edging toward the door.

Then Harry strode across the room and leaped onto the table. “Quiet!”

The five froze. The room fell silent. Almost.

Dumbledore knelt down beside Tonks to comfort her; slowly mother and child stopped sobbing.

“A strong leader has control, Dumbledore,” Alice said. “Maybe the reason the boys are running wild is you, not the city. I think with the right leader we can make a good life here.” She studied Harry with pleasure. “I know a strong man when I see him.”

“You’ve known a lot of them.” Diane said loudly.

Alice’s lips twitched but she suppressed the snarl. “What do you say, Harry? Want to stay in town and lead the pack?”

Harry looked from one of the women to the other with amusement. Then his eyes caught hers. Harry’s eyes gleamed, and his smile got bigger. Hermione thought she would die of embarrassment. Was she that bad at hiding what she is feeling?

“Yes, Harry,” Diane said sweetly. “You’ve been very quiet. What do you say?”

“I vote we go,” Harry said as her jumped off the table right in front of Hermione. His eyes not leaving hers for one second.

Alice stared at him in amazement.

“Hah, I vote we go, too,” cried Diane, “with Harry as our leader.”

Gilderoy Lockhart stepped forward to face Harry across the table. “What makes you leader, puppy? I’ve got years on you.”

Several other males stood up to argue their cases.

“Come on, let’s vote on this,” Gilderoy said. “Let’s be fair.”

“Who said this was a democracy?” cried Lucius.

“It’s not,” said Aunt Trelawney, in a voice that rang across the others, startling them all. The keeper of ancient magic raised her hands slowly, her rings glittering. “It is time,” she said, “to choose a leader in the Old Way.”

“But that is like stepping back into the Dark Ages,” Diane cried into the shocked outrage.

Hermione was stunned. The Old Way? When was the last time they had done that? Yes, her father could have taken on any male leader because of his management skills, and no one challenged that. He was respected and well loved.

“Not completely the Old Way,” Alice said. “Times are different.

Aunt Trelawney eyed her coldly. “Males only.”

“No!” Alice pounded the wall with a fist.

“You want to get us all arrested?” Minerva asked.

“There are several state parks in driving distance,” Harry answered. “Places that are deserted at night.”

“We’ve lost so many of us,” Dumbledore said. “Do we want to cause death and injury to those who remain?”

“A leader must have the support of all the pack,” said Aunt Trelawney. “If there is no agreement, then the right must be won by combat.”

“The Old Way, the Old Way, the Old Way,” the Five began to chant. Draco grinned gleefully; Fred’s eyes sparkled as bright as ever.

Mr. Flitwick rose and walked to the center of the room. “As an older member of the pack, I preside in matters of the Ordeal.” He pointed at the Five. “You are not of age. We do not wipe out our young.”

“We can fight, “Draco snarled.

Whatever the boys had to say was drowned out by the crowd. Everyone had an opinion. Everyone expressed it.

Hermione got up quietly and slipped out the door. No one noticed. No one stopped her, not even her mother. It was a relief to leave the house.

Outside, she sat on the bench under the tree. The backyard was quiet except for the chirpings of tiny nightlife.

She had never witnessed the Ordeal. All she knew was that every adult male fought in his wolf-shape until one was left standing; the strongest, the smartest, sometimes the most devious.

She felt a surge of exciting heat, thinking of them in a tangle of fur and limbs. She pictured Harry, half changed, his scarred chest glistening with sweat. She shrugged off the image as soon as it came. Why couldn’t she stop thinking about him? Would he win in battle? And would her mother offer to be his mate? Or would Hermione offer herself? With a look of shock on her face, she banged her head against the tree behind her. She shouldn’t be thinking about him like that. Maybe he was arrogant, but that was just what he had gone through. He did seem shy, sometime. He had a beautiful smile, and his eyes. Those wonderful eyes made her knees go weak.

The screen door slammed making her jump.

The Five came out into the back, mumbling and growling.

“That worn out old dog,” Draco said. “He can’t tell us we can’t fight.”

“Damn right,” agreed Lee. “We deserve a chance.”

Hermione laughed.

The Five turned on her. They peered through the leaves like angry satyrs.

Draco tore aside the branches and his claws grew. “What’s so funny, Mione?”

“You,” she said. “You honestly think you’d have a chance in the Ordeal? The pack would follow you? Grow up.”

Draco bared his teeth. His new beard gave him a demonic look. “The fight’s the thing,” he said tightly, but she knew his fantasy was to win.

“I don’t want to get dragged back to the sticks again,” George said, almost pouting. His twin gave him a glance of disgust.

“Why not?” Hermione asked. “Life was good there. The hunting in the hills, long runs with no one around, no one to cry wolf, no hiding, no skulking, no worrying.”

“No fun,” ended Draco.

“I don’t like your kind of fun,” she said. “It doesn’t amuse me to rouse lovers out of the long grass by snapping at their heels, or to creep up on children at dusk with my fur on to hear them scream.”

“It’s a laugh, Hermione,” Lee said. “Just a laugh.”

“You used to think it was funny,” George said, looking hurt.

“And how funny will it be when you scare the wrong person and get a bullet in the face?” she asked. “You might be stronger than other werewolves, you might heal faster, but you are not immortal. You can die if your head’s blown off. It’s not only silver bullets or fire that kills us; anything that severs the spine will do.”

“Come one, Mione. Don’t worry,” George said gently. “We’d get them first, honest.”

Hermione groaned and a cold thread of fear ran through her. “That’s exactly what I am worried about. This is the same shit that got our home burned and my father killed.”

Draco swung himself from one of the branches. Moonlight lent a brief sheen to his sleek muscled arms. “But it’s different in the city. Better. Lots of people. Lots of suspects. Easy to hide.”

“Anonymous,” Lee agreed.

“Don’t act so prissy, Mione,” said Fred. “You’ve got a taste of boy flesh, they tell me.” He ran a tongue over teeth that were pointier than they had ever been.

“Who told you that?” she snapped.

“Mum said you have a date tomorrow,” Lee answered with a sly smile.

“So what?” Hermione said. “I’m going to a concert, not disemboweling him. I don’t think that’s going to get anyone in trouble.”

Draco stepped closer. “We don’t like our women hanging out with meat boys. It’s unnatural.” His breath was hot on her face, but it didn’t have the same effect on her as Harry. “You better not choose some meat boy over one of us.”

“Piss off,” Hermione spat, and got up. “No one tells me what to do.” She shoved Draco away so she could pass, catching him off guard.

“You’re not Princess Wolf anymore,” Draco growled behind her. “Wait too long and we’ll take what we want.”

“Don’t give that human anything we cant have,” Fred called after her, “or we will give him something too.”

As she stalked into the house, Hermione heard Neville’s high-pitched giggle.

Damn them, she thought.

Once again. It is going to be a crazy week. I don’t know when I will be able to type the next chapter but I will have it up sometime next week.

I am sorry if there are any mistakes in this update. I tried to look it over but I was in a hurry.

I guess you all noticed that Alice is not the person that you would have expected. If you don’t like it I suggest you stop now.

You are probably getting tired of me saying this but once again I did not write this chapter. It goes to the amazing Annette Curtis Klause, who wrote Blood and Chocolate. I know, I know, but the Harry parts were mine again! You will see my own writing in later chapters, I promise.

I thought that Flitwick’s name was Filius Flitwick… is that right? I somehow misplaced my books. (Stupid brother!) I tired looking it up on the Internet but all I found was Professor Flitwick. It didn’t help at all!

Oh, it is a pretty long chapter, I hope you guys liked it!

I am so sorry PJ! :[

Please review!

Wow. What a week! I am so glad that I found time to squeeze this in. I hope that there aren’t to many mistakes.

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

“You are not wearing that dress, are you?” Diane demanded.

Hermione looked down at the slinky yellow sundress that sheathed her. “Yeah. Why not?”

“Don’t you think that it is a bit small?”

“It’s supposed to fit like this. Plus it is hot out.” The soft cotton dress clung to every curve as she crossed the dining room.

“It damn well will be, with you wearing that,” Diane said. “I don’t want you to give that boy ideas, not a meat boy.”

“And you never give anyone ideas?” Hermione answered.

Diane looked as if she was about to grow claws. “Where did you get that ridiculous dress?” she asked.

“Your closet, Mum.” Hermione grabbed her purse and headed for the door. She imagined with pleasure her mother inside, fuming. Diane wouldn’t follow her, Hermione knew. She would pretend that Hermione didn’t bother her at all.

She began walking into town, completely lost in her thoughts. What if I can’t act normal with one of them? What if he gets to close and I bite him? She debated going back, but she couldn’t face Diane’s smug look.

A loud horn blared behind her. She jumped out of the way just a blue sports car came speeding down the road. The driver yelled an obscene sentence out the window. With a snarl Hermione gave him the finger.

Two other cars came down the road in the next eleven minutes. Each time she held her breath waiting to jump the next person that screamed at her. A moment later a small beep came from an old turquoise car. It came to a stop beside her and the figure took off his sunglasses. Ronald stared back at her.

“I though I was picking you up at your house?”

Shit! What if he talked to Diane? What would she have told him? Did he run into the Five or anyone else from the pack?

“Sorry. My Mum was jumping down my throat. I had to get out of there.”

Why was it so easy to lie to him? She wondered. Not that I would actually tell him the truth. But I never lied to someone so much in my life.

A smile was spread across his face. “Don’t just stand there, hop in.”

She smiled slowly and walked to the passenger side. The car smelled of bananas and plastic. On the floor was a book titled Witchcraft for Tomorrow. The seat groaned as it swallowed her, and her dress rode high. She wondered how she would ever get out gracefully. The look on Ronald’s face as he gazed dreamily at her legs made her realize that he hoped she didn’t figure out how.

“Are we leaving?” she croaked. Her throat was suddenly dry, her breath was shallow. With a start she realized that she was scared.

He blinked and paid attention to the wheel. “We have to pick up Cedric,” he said. She swallowed a sigh of relief and relaxed into the seat.

Cedric lived in a brick house near the school. Hermione had to get out so he could jam himself in the back seat. She hid her smile when he blushed at her leggy exit. She listened to Ronald and Cedric yelling back and forth above the roar of the engine. She tried to imagine what was in store for her this afternoon.

The parking lots to the university were full. Ronald finally found a spot on a field. He took her hand, pretending to be casual, although she could smell that he was anything but calm. They wound their way threw the group of people.

“There’s Lav,” Cedric yelled over the music to their left. “Lav-en-DER!” he boomed, waving his arms above his head.

The small, blonde-haired girl waved back, and the two girls with her cheered. Hermione and the boys picked their way across the field, trying not to knock over any bottles or step on hands.

“Women!” Cedric yelled, and flung himself upon the two nameless girls.

“You remember Hermione, don’t you?” Ronald asked Lavender.

“Yeah,” she answered, not even bothering to look at Hermione.

Another girl, a blonde with outrageous earrings, arrived with the guy Hermione recognized as Seamus.

“Give me a beer,” she demanded as she got close enough to kiss Ronald on the forehead.

“Merlin, Loony, you are going to get us thrown out of here,” Seamus complained. Hermione didn’t know if Loony was the girl or the person that handed her the beer

“Loony!” Ronald yelled as she gulped down the drink.

Loony smirked and finally noticed Hermione. “Hey, new girl. I’m Luna Lovegood but my friends call me Loony.”

Hermione raised a hand and said “Hi.”

“Do you go to school here?” one of the giggling girls asked.

“Yeah, she does,” answered the boy behind her. Hermione was surprised that he even knew her.

“Who do you hang with?” the girl asked.

“No one really,” Hermione answered.

“I’ve seen you with those hard core types down by the park.” Lavender sneered.

“You mean the Five,” Hermione answered, unwilling to disown them, no matter how she felt about them right now.

“Is that what they call themselves?” Kelly laughed.

“It is what my family calls them. They grew up together.”

“You’re related to them?” Lavender asked shocked.

“They’re cousins, sort of.”

“Oh, they are so cute,” said the other giggler. “I like the one with the beard.”

“Stay away from him; he bites.”

The girls giggled louder and then Lavender stood up. “We’re going to the bathroom.” All of the meat-girls followed her obediently; she was head bitch.

“Coming?” Loony called over her shoulder.

Hermione shook her head. I piss when I please.

The music began to play, the tunes were light, and full of love and dreams, totally different from the music the Five played. But this music was good. There was a sweet yearning about it. She let the music take her, so she could be one with something of a while, instead of an outsider looking in.

The sun was warm on her back and she sucked the warmth up like light. Ronald’s hand slid across her neck. She turned to him and met his eyes.

“What red lips you have,” he said in her ear.

Did she dare say it? With a small smile she turned back to the music.

With a chuckle he said, “Your are suppose to say: all the better to kiss you with.” He tilted her head and kissed her.

He was gentle. She hadn’t expected that. When his tongue flicked her lips she pulled back.

His eyes were shy beneath his lashes, his lips curved with delight and desire, desire she didn’t necessarily want.

She looked around at the excited faces. They were different. He was different. She realized she didn’t know their rules.

Ronald began to sway. He pulled Hermione against him, not noticing her tense. She didn’t want this, not now. Maybe this was a bad idea.

This is the last time. No more dates. I can’t do it.

The crowed was cheering and his lips somehow found hers again. His eyes were closed. He enjoyed her taste. That would be good if she felt the same. But as she looked around she saw familiar figures on the hill above- the Five.

This wasn’t their music, far from it; they were spying on her. A surge of anger went through her body. And for the second time that day, her finger made that unmistakable gesture. Then her fingers curled in Ronald’s hair as she kissed him back.

This chapter was hell to write. That is why it is so short. I absolutely hate it. I just hope that you guys don’t…

Anything you don’t like just tell me and I can try to fix it.

Sorry if there are any mistakes.

Thanks to all who have reviewed and to who soon will.

Angel 737

Hello again.

I hope that you all had a good Easter Holiday. Mine was…bad. I wont even start to explain it otherwise that will be the whole chapter!

Anyway on with the story.

Disclaimer: I don’t own anything. It belongs to Rowling and Annette Curtis Klause.

That week Hermione was on one of her highs. She couldn’t tell if it was from her new friends or the upcoming Midsummer Moon. Each night she would run for joy, excited for what the new day would bring.

She came to school earlier than normal so she would have more time to spend with them.

Ron had a job after school so she couldn’t hang out with him, but he would call her in the evenings, and it turned out they had a lot to talk about.

Hermione was reluctant to answer his questions about her family at first, but before long she revealed that her father had died in a horrible fire, and that she never got along with her mother. He seemed sweet, but he made fun of the things that she cared about. Although he wanted to know about her interest, he zoned out whenever she started talking about them. She was still grateful that she had someone to talk to. At least he pretended to listen, unlike the pack. However, she was sure that there was one person in the pack that would actually listen. Harry.

Flashback

With a laugh Hermione had jumped out of Ron’s car and made her way to the front door. Leaning against it and digging into her purse for the key, she felt someone come up behind her. Two hands began to make slow circles on her lower back, causing her breath to hitch. Turning slowly, with her eyes closes, she grabbed his hands.

“What are you doing here?”

“Waiting for you,” Harry said with a husky voice. Hermione shivered. Harry raised his hands and rubbed them up and down her arms, assuming that she was cold from the chilly night. “I heard that you were with the human.”

She sighed, “You heard correct.”

Harry stepped closer to her. “Mione, I know how you feel. I was with a human once myself. They don’t understand what we are. They may seem fascinated with things unknown, but once they know of them, it freaks them out. You need to be careful.”

“I am careful, plus I am just getting back at the Five.”

“Are you getting back at me, too?” he asked quietly.

Hermione looked away. How was he always able to read her thoughts? Sure, she hoped he would get jealous but she didn’t want him to find out about it.

He gently cupped her cheek and turned her face back to him. “I thought so.” His thumb softly moved across her lips. His head bent down and he gave her a quick peck. “Just be careful,” Harry said as he walked away.

She leaned back against the door, putting her fingers to her lips. Her whole body hummed with pleasure by just a simple kiss. She had never seen him act that way before. She expected him to rip off her head for even talking to a meat-boy. But he didn’t, he understood. He would listen.

Hermione smiled, remembering how when she opened the door, her mother had a fit. Diane knew that someone was on the deck with her daughter; assuming that it was the human she blew a gasket. Forbidding Hermione to ever see him again. Hermione had smirked then, and headed up to her room.

The gigglers walked by, breaking her out of her thoughts. Lavender stopped showing up at lunch, and took the gigglers wherever it was that she went.

“There is going to be a party at Loony’s house on Saturday,” Ron said as he came up beside her. “Her parents are away. It will be wild.”

“I like wild.”

But that night, when she flung herself on her bed and looked out at the sky, she realized that the moon would be full on Saturday. There was no way she could go to that party with Ron. The hair prickled on her arms. She climbed out onto the porch roof, leaped to the yard, changing in midair.

The nearer the moon the quicker the change, the less control. A loup-garou must change no matter what. Saturday, Hermione thought in dismay. She loved hanging out with her new friends. Cedric was a blast, Seamus was hilarious. Loony was her best female friend. And Ron was her best male friend, even if he thought that they were more.

Before dawn, Hermione stretched into her human form amid the weeds. She yawned. It was time for a nap before school.

The tall grass rustled, but there was no wind. Hermione’s eyes narrowed. She sniffed the air, the musky smell of her kind made her hair go flat.

“Hermione,” a harsh voice whispered. Draco crawled from his hidden nest. “I’ve been waiting for you. I miss you.”

“You see me.”

“Not like before.”

“We grew apart. You know.” They had been through this a million times already.

“I don’t understand you, Hermione.”

“You sound like my mother.”

Draco stuck his face in hers. “You broke up with me because of the girl I killed to get Dean out of jail,” he snarled. “But I bet if you got a sniff of human blood you’d get your muzzle wet.”

She jerked away. “We should stay as far away from humans as possible when we change.”

“They are ours to hunt,” Draco said. “Dean knew. He couldn’t hold back any longer. We were losing our balls in West Virginia, Hermione.”

“You can hold tight to your balls and twist,” she sneered. How many of the pack yearned to hunt like the Five? How long do we have until we are destroyed?

***

“I’m grounded,” Hermione told Ron at lunchtime. The idea that someone could limit her freedom was mortifying, but the excuse was something Ron could understand.

“Grounded?” He looked at her in amazement. “What did you do?”

“Stayed out all night with my cousins smoking dope.” she said smirking.

He chuckled, “Your not going to tell me the real reason, are you?”

“Nope.”

“How long?”

“Until I can talk my mother out of it, usually takes a week.”

Ron’s eyes lowered. “I guess the party tomorrow night is off?”

“Never mind,” Ron said pulling her close. “When you’re sprung, we’ll have our own party.”

He was gullible. That irked her. But she gave him no reason not to trust her.

Ronald drove her home, talking the whole way. Diane wasn’t home so they went into the backyard and sat on the bench.

“Which is your room?” Ron asked.

Hermione pointed to her window and he sighed loudly.

“I’ll miss you tomorrow,” he said. There were wrinkles at the corners of his eyes when he smiled.

“What made you write about werewolves?

Ron shrugged. “I like that stuff. Witches, vampires, werewolves. It’s exciting.”

“Why’s that?”

“I don’t know. I never thought about it. Because I want to be like them? I don’t want to be like everybody else.” He carefully let an ant crawl onto his wrist.

Hermione laughed. Any one of the Five would have crushed the bug. “I don’t think you would make a good werewolf.”

“Sure I would.” He grabbed her hand and bit her fingers. She tried to pull away but he bit harder.

Hoots filled the woods behind them.

“What is that?” Ron asked, letting go of her hand.

“My cousins. I have to go in now. I promised I wouldn’t talk to them while I’m grounded. They’ve only come to screw around and piss off my mother.”

“Some family,” he said, and tried to kiss her.

She pushed him away. “Go, go, go. They’ll get you in trouble.

***

Saturday evening took forever.

“Come with us,” Diane begged. Most of the pack were going up to the park to run.

“Not this time,” Hermione said. She wanted to be alone. There would be fights. They would call if playing but they would be testing each other, seeing who had what it took for the Ordeal. She didn’t like fights.

Fireflies flickered outside her window; the voices of the dusk grew loud. The fine hairs on her neck rose, eager for the change.

There was muffled laughter in the yard below. What now? A chorus of ragged voices split the air, drowning the insect’s song. “Ahwoo! Ahwoo!”

She stuck her head out the window. “Stop howling.”

The howling dissolved into more laughter.

“Come out and run with us, Hermione,” George called.

“No way,” she called back. She climbed onto the roof and looked down. Fred appeared disgusted as George wrung his hands dramatically. Ulf was fidgeting as usual, hopping from foot to foot as if he wanted to pee. Lee grinned brightly; his teeth already pointed. “Come on, Mione. We are going to have a great time.”

Draco beckoned with a claw. “The moon feels good on your back, Mione.”

Hermione could feel the wolf inside her uncurling, but she laughed derisively. “It’s not the moon you picture on my back. Go visit your sluts and see what they think of you with your fur on. They probably wont notice the difference.”

George looked up with huge, disappointed eyes. “Aw, Mione. You never come anymore. The rabbits are getting sassy. One poked its tongue out at me the other day.”

She softened slightly. She and George used to have the best time rabbit hunting. “Anther time, okay, George?”

Draco put his arm around Lee’s shoulders. “Come on then. That bitch is too stuck up to hang with us. She prefers meat-boys. Didn’t your mother tell your not to play with your food?” he yelled at her.

George shot her an apologetic look, and lee blew her a kiss. Fred nudged Neville in the rear with a boot, making him squeak.

She sat down on the porch roof, allowing them plenty of time to leave. A pleasant hum coursed through her. The night began to look different. She lay back to enjoy the stars.

She already felt the beginning creak of bones reforming. She would have to leave soon. She couldn’t change on the roof. What would the neighbors think?

As if on cue, she smelled the odor of a human. There was noise down were the drainpipe emptied. She rose to a crouch. Someone was climbing the pipe.

Burglar? The lights were off, the truck was gone. Possible.

Hermione crept to the edge of the roof, keeping low. Her eyes narrowed, her claws grew, and her smile was thin and vicious. Burglar Bill would take some stripes home.

She lifted her hand to strike as a head rose over the top.

“You!” she snatched her hand back.

“Bloody hell! Hermione, you scared the piss out of me.”

Ron pulled himself over the gutter and onto the roof.

Ha! It just wouldn’t be Ron without the ‘Bloody Hell.’ That is my favorite line that he says.

I’m sorry if there are any mistakes. I typed this really fast because I am not sure when I will have more time.

Some of this is from the book. But can you guess what I wrote??

I plan on reading the book again in the next week and think of more ideas that I can fit in.

I really appreciate all the reviews I am getting from this story. It really makes my day.

Thanks again!

Angel 737

Sorry, it’s a little late. I went to Fanfiction.net for the first time. I’m already hooked there. But don’t worry, Portkey will always come first!

There was not a lot that I could fit into this chapter that actually made sense. So this is mostly what that book says. Sorry.

Disclaimer: None of this is mine.

“Surprise!” Ron said.

Hermione swallowed a growl. No shit.

“What are you doing here?” she managed to choke out as she sat back on her haunches. She trembled with the strain of holding back the change.

“I thought you would be happy to see me,” Ron said.

“You startled me,” she muttered.

He smiled at her. “I thought if you couldn’t go to the party, then I would bring the party to you. He shrugged off his backpack. “I wasn’t expecting you to be on the roof. I was going to knock on your window.” He unbuckled the backpack and pulled out a bottle of wine.

After the wine came two glasses wrapped in a blanket, then a chunk of cheese. “Classy, huh?” Ron’s eyes glittered with delight.

She licked her lips nervously. “Lovely. You brought dinner,” she heard herself say. She wanted to bolt for the woods. You fool. You shouldn’t have come.

She glanced at he moon. It was still behind the trees, its light hidden behind the foliage. Could he see any change in her? Ron was cutting slices of cheese, babbling away. He didn’t seem to notice anything.

She experienced a dizzying surge of pain and pleasure. And her face twitched. Her hands flew to her ears and she felt them push past her fingers. She hastily pulled her hair around her face.

How do I make him go?

“Here you go.” He held a slice of cheese to her mouth and it was all she could do not to take his fingers off. The cheese was clung to her tongue. She gulped it down with the glass of wine.

“Hey, silly, you’re suppose to sip,” he said. “I don’t want you doing something you’ll regret later.” His eyes suggested otherwise.

Her lip raised in what she hoped was a smile; then she turned away swiftly with a grimace.

He moved closer to her and put an arm around her. “You picked a funny time to go shy on me.”

Her shoulders shook with silent laughter at her stupidity. How could she think she could be best friends with a human? She detected an undeniable rippling up her spine, and a hardness came to her eyes and the corners of her mouth. She tested a new idea. So what if I hurt him?

“Hermione?” Ronald whispered.

It was a stupid thought. She doubled over in pain and moaned. “I’m sorry, I’m so sorry.”

“What’s wrong?” Ron asked, surprise and concern in his voice.

“I think I’m coming down with the flu,” she said. What a brainstorm. “Maybe you should go. I don’t want you to catch it.”

“But someone should look after you.”

“I would rather be alone,” she insisted through clenched teeth.

Still he didn’t move to go.

“What’s wrong with you, boy?” she cried. “Do you like watching people throw up?”

His eyes widened.

She felt like a jerk. She changed her tone. “Please. I’ll be embarrassed if you stay,”

“But-”

A spasm ripped through her and the bones in her knees crunched. “Go! Please go!” she yelled, and scrambled for the window like a drunk, her legs refusing to obey. “I’m going to be sick.”

She dove onto her bed, rolled to the floor, and crawled to the bathroom at the end of the hall.

Outside the swollen moon leered at her over the tops of the trees.

She shuddered with pain, and tears outlined her face. She had never known a time when she hadn’t wanted to change, hadn’t enjoyed the change, but now she was nauseated from holding it back. He couldn’t see her like this. She couldn’t betray her people.

There was a gentle tapping on the bathroom door. “Are you alright?”

She tried to say yes but her jaw was wrong for speaking and the words came out a muffled growl. Why was he making this beautiful gift seem dirty?

“Well, if you are sure you’ll be okay…”

“Hhhhmmmmm!” she moaned, hoping it sounded like an affirmative. Her arms lengthened, her muscles bulged, and she tore at her clothes as her pelt rippled over her flesh. She had never had to hide away before. What a crime to trap her beautiful body. It was his entire fault.

“Look, give me a call tomorrow and let me know how you are. Hope you feel better.”

When she was sure that he was gone she reached for the doorknob, but pulled back.

What if I’m like Dean? What if I smell him as prey when I’m in fur?

She clenched her had, withdrew her shaking fist, and curled into a tight ball on the floor. I won’t go out. I won’t go out.

She shuddered into her final shape, raised her muzzle, and howled frustration at the porcelain tile. Her voice echoed about her like a curse.

***

Hermione blinked her eyes open in the early morning sun. The sound of a truck door slamming had awakened her. Diane and Dumbledore were back. She was drained and aching from clenching her body tight against its needs.

I’ll have to tell him I can’t talk to him anymore. I can’t hide from him every full moon.

Hermione reached for her robe, and dragged a brush through her tangled hair. But they are so much fun to talk to. They don’t know everything, which is perfect. No, I have to leave the poor boy alone. How long before the Five bothered him because of her? How long before the pack stepped in? They wouldn’t be leaderless forever. Soon there would be someone to answer to. That last thought annoyed her. Maybe she didn’t want to answer to someone.

“Perhaps Alice is right,” Diane said as Hermione walked into the kitchen.

“What do you mean?” asked Dumbledore from the counter, where he was pouring coffee.

“Why aren’t females allowed to compete in the Ordeal?” Diane said. She sat at the table. There was a leaf in her hair, and Hermione was jealous of their night out in the open.

“Give me a break!” exclaimed Dumbledore. “Isn’t it obvious? It’s purely physical. Females are in a different weight category. Their muscles don’t develop to the same degree. Why risk injury or death with no chance to win?”

Hermione took the cup of coffee meant for her mother from Dumbledore’s hands and leaned back against the counter to drink it.

“But some females are smarter than some males, craftier fighters,” Diane argued, winking at Hermione.

Dumbledore set another cup of coffee in front of her and sat down. “It’s only a way of matching fairly and protecting our own. You females get your chance. It’s only the top female who mates with the victor. She has to be the strongest and the smartest to ensure our survival.”

“Yeah, great, some chance. It is a male’s world, isn’t it? A female may be queen bitch but she doesn’t get to choose her king.”

“You loved John, didn’t you? You didn’t beat the crap out of every new girl who came along with a challenge just for the status.”

Hermione watched her mother’s face closely.

Diane glanced down, but not before Hermione saw her eyes soften. “Yeah,” Diane said.

“And he loved you, too. You had his tail between your teeth. Who’s to say the queen bitch isn’t the real pack leader?”

Yes, Mum always got her way with Dad. But what if she had wanted the power and not him? She couldn’t have done it.

“So you had options,” Dumbledore continued. “You didn’t have to fight for the leader. A female can choose any other mate as long as he will have her.”

“That’s a mockery,” Hermione said, startling them. “The match still has to be pack approved, and she isn’t even allowed to whelp without the permission of the leader. What kind of choice is that?”

“Well,” Dumbledore said, amusement twinkling in his eyes. “I didn’t know we had another rebel in the house.”

Diane laughed. “She’s a teenager, for Moon’s sake. She is supposed to rebel.”

Hermione bristled. How easily they dismissed her feelings as a stage she was going through. Her mouth closed to a thin line.

Diane grinned and winked at Hermione. “Never mind, babe. I’m sure we won’t dare deny you when you make your choice. You would make our lives to miserable.”

Yeah? I might surprise you. You want Harry to yourself? You might just have a little competition, Mother Dearest.

In her room, relaxed after a shower, Hermione stood in the breeze of her fan. There must be a way to cope with Ronald. There has to be.

But was Ron angry with her after last night? She had ruined his surprise. The boys she had known would have been pissed. What made him any different?

She walked down the hall to the phone.

Once again, sorry for any mistakes. Thanks for all that are reviewing, it means a lot.

Also I am sorry for the short chapter. Not my fault. Well, maybe it is. Sorry.

But I got to go; my brother is about to flip out…

Angel 737

Ha! I am so happy right now! I am currently sick but I just had a really good day! Hopefully this will make yours a good one too!

Disclaimer: I do not own this. As much I would like to say that I do, I can't.

They were always at parties, or at the movies, or hanging out with their friends. But a week ago, Ronald had taken her to meet his parents. They didn't seem to like her much.

“I need to use the bathroom,” Hermione explained.

“Ronald, show Hermione the rest room in the basement, will you, so she doesn't get lost upstairs,” Mrs. Weasley said.

To keep me away from his bedroom, you mean.

Ronald took Hermione through a door into a workroom. Guns hung on the walsl and a workbench was scattered with parts and tools.

“Dads hobby,” Ron explained. “He collects and repairs antique guns. He makes his own bullets for some of them.”

“Isn't that hard?”

Ron shook his head. “No. He taught me.”

Hermione looked surprised. “I didn't think you were into guns.”

“I'm not. That was a long time ago. He used to take me out hunting,” Ron said. “You know, like a `real American' father and son are supposed to do. I hated it. There should be more to being with your father than going out and killing something together.”

Hermione didn't speak. She would give anything o be able to go out and kill something with her father again. This made her feel sadly distant from Ronald. She removed her hand from his. “I'll meet you back outside.”

“Oh, yeah. The bathroom. Over there.” He pointed to a door near the stairs.

Coming out of the bathroom, Hermione heard voices upstairs from the direction of the kitchen.

“She seems rather sophisticated for Ronald, don't you think?” said Mrs. Weasley.

“She does seem mature.”

“You better have a talk with that boy.”

Hermione heard the sound of a screen door closing. Have a talk with him about what? What had she done wrong? Why did Mrs. Weasley not want a girl for her son?

The rest of the visit was ruined for Hermione.

“Your parents don't like me,” she said on the way home.

“That's a good sign. They don't like any of the people I care about.”

But it wasn't only his parents.

Hermione took a deep breath. “People weren't friendly at school, either. Is there something wrong with me?”

“God, no!”

Ronald didn't say anything else for a while, but just when she though he had nothing to add to the topic he spoke. “You're, like, so beautiful and cool and sure of yourself, I think the kids at school were frightened of you.”

“Frightened of me?” Hermione laughed with surprise. These people didn't have enough sense to know what to be frightened of. She could show them frightening.

“Well, you know,” Ronald continued. “Afraid that maybe you wouldn't tolerate lesser mortals, so why bother.”

“So are you afraid of me?

“Terrified,” he said as he reached for her.

Hermione stopped him with a gentle touch. “Why weren't you like the others? Why didn't you freeze me out when I talked to you the first time?”

“Curiosity, I suppose.”

“Curiosity?”

“Yeah. Listen, I have to go on vacation with my parents. I thought I could get out of it. I'll miss you.”

“And my birthday.” His face turned pale and he reached for her again, only this time in a sign of apology. “Never mind, bring me back a shell or something.”

“I'll be back just in time for the Fourth of July. We'll go see the fireworks at the park. I bet someone's having a party.”

Someone was always having a party.

Apparently there wasn't to be a birthday fuss this year. Hermione found presents from Dumbledore on the kitchen table with a note explaining he would be out late and, after tossing her own contribution down, Diane went off humming to talk on the phone for hours. Once her birthday had been celebrated by all the pack.

At eight that evening the doorbell rang. “Go answer it. It's my date.” Diane called from upstairs.

Great, she is leaving me alone on my birthday.

But when she opened the door the Five surged in. They swept her back to the living room with hugs and licks and love bites and cries of “Happy birthday!” Lee was carrying a big paper back stuffed with packages.

Diane ran down the stairs, giggling. “A woman should have plenty of men around on her birthday.”

The doorbell rang again and Diane went to answer it this time. She came back with Harry.

Oh, I get it. Bring your own babe. Flirt with him all you like, I don't care. I am not going to get flustered around him. Go have your fun, Mum.

But Diane looked surprised. She swept her hair back. “Harry.” Her voice was suddenly husky. “Come to take me somewhere good?”

“Actually I came to wish Hermione a happy birthday.”

“How nice,” Diane said, dropping the purr.

Hermione smirked, “Kissing babies?”

“I'd hardly call you a baby,” he replied, looking her over with a grin.

Diane ran to the kitchen and came back with a six pack of Coke and two bags of chips, which she dumped on the coffee table. That was her idea of being a good hostess.

Draco rolled his eyes when Hermione passed him a Coke. He took a big gulp; then, as soon as he thought Diane and Harry weren't looking, he took a small flask from his back pocket and added it to the can. Lee dumped the contents of the bag onto the table.

While Diane exclaimed over the tumbled pile of gift, Neville fidgeted and nudged till Draco handed him the flask. Harry saw this time. He didn't say anything but his lips rose in a snarl. Draco glowered back, but put the flask away

“Aren't you going to open your presents?” Fred asked.

Hermione gave in and picked up a parcel. Inside she found a lacy slip. “Don't tell me you went shoplifting at Victoria's Secret.” Diane and the boys howled with laughter as Hermione opened box after box of gauzy underwear.

“Try them on,” George urged.

“Yeah, we want to make sure they fit,” Fred said, grabbing them from his twin.

“In your dreams wolf boy.”

The smirk on Harry's face at her words made her sigh. He had an amazing smile. But why was he here? He made an appearance. Why didn't he leave?

As much as she wanted him to stay she couldn't stand watching her mother throw herself at him. So she deliberately tried to make him feel he didn't belong by ignoring him and kissing the Five thank you. She danced with all of them except Harry.

Diane glowed with contentment. She didn't even seem to be disappointed when Harry only danced with her once.

Later, Hermione was washing some glassed in the sink when she felt someone behind her. Arms snaked around her. Hands came to rest right below her breasts. She recognized the small skull and snake tattoo on his left arm.

“Get off, Draco.”

“Come on. You love it.”

“Like hell.”

“I don't see you running,” he said, and she felt his hot breath on her neck and his teeth testing her flesh.

Hermione put the glass down. She twisted slowly around into his accommodating arms, face to face with his arrogant leer.

His grin widened. “I knew it.”

She smiled back at him. Her hand traveled up his thigh and his eyes grew dark with lust.

That was when she grabbed his crotch and squeezed.

“Ahwoooo!” he yanked at her wrist with both hands.

“Ah, come on. You love it,” she said, gripping tighter.

“Let me go!”

Diane called from the living room. “What's going on?”

Hermione glanced at the door. She was startled to see Harry standing there. His eyes sparkled with laughter and his teeth gleamed white.

Hermione released Draco. “Nothing, Mum. Just fooling around. Right, Draco?”

Draco didn't say anything. He turned and sucked in a whimper of embarrassed rage when he saw Harry. He stalked out of the kitchen, his face clenched in anger.

“You can take care of yourself,” Harry said, nodding in appreciation.

Hermione stood on her tip toes and whispered into his ear, “Don't you forget it.”

The Fives continual bickering and jostling for rank got on her nerves. It was a relief to pick up the phone one day and hear Ronald's voice

“Ready for fireworks?” he asked.

It was still light when Ron arrived the next evening.

“I missed you,” he said, and handed her a small package.

Hermione turned it over and over in her hands. How exquisite and full of promise it was.

“You're supposed to open it.”

She peeled off the paper, then opened the box and found a sparkling silver pentagram on a silver chain.

Hermione was speechless for a moment; then she burst into laughter. He had given her silver.

When paired with wolf-kind blood, silver burned through flesh like acid, doing more damage than even her people's amazing powers of healing could stop. That was why silver bullets were often fatal no matter where or how slight the wound. Silver was safe enough to wear as long as it didn't tough an open wound, but among her kind fights were common. Wolf-kind preferred to wear gold, just in case.

Ronald had given her a double-edged gift: the sign of her people made out of poison.

Ron looked mystified by her laughter, then hurt.

“You don't like it.”

I could wear it when I am around him. That seemed safe enough. “Yes, I do like it. It is more perfect than I could ever tell you.”

Because I, too, have a double edge. And you should run from me as fast as your legs can carry you.

Yup, that's it. I hope you liked it. The flashback at the beginning was a whole chapter in the book. Way to short and I didn't want to bore you with Ron…

I hope that it was okay.

Sorry for any mistakes. I checked it over to the best of my ability!

I am currently on a Draco/Hermione fix. Fanfiction.net has amazing Draco and Hermione fics. If you haven't gone there, you should really check it out!

Please leave your thoughts in a review.

Angel 737

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Disclaimer: I do not own any of this. J.K. Rowling and Annette Curtis Klause get all the credit.

She was running, running with all the power built up inside of her. The wind whipped her hair around her face. The waxing moon peeking through the trees. Her heart was pounding. This was pure bliss. Nothing could bring her down. Except the puffing that she heard behind her.

“Ron, hurry up. We're going to be late,” Hermione called behind her.

“How can… you run… so fast?” Ronald panted.

Hermione just laughed and stopped to wait for him. They had decided to take the back roads to the field were the fireworks were going to be lit. The parade had gone on for hours and the streets were still filled with families.

He had finally made his way to her side.

“You need to exercise more,” she huffed.

“Yeah, right,”

Hermione rolled her eyes and started to run again. Ronald groaned but followed behind her. “I never knew you went to boot camp.”

She laughed, “Running is my life. A way to let everything go. No more loneliness, misery, regret. It keeps me sane.”

“Sorry to break it to you sweetheart, but you are insane. Nothing could bring your right mind back.”

I must be insane if I am with you. Her eyes swiveled to him and narrowed. She picked up her pace and didn't even bother to stop when he hollered after her. How could I be so stupid? He can never understand what I feel when I run. He is nothing, but why am I drawn to him? How does he always drag me back in?

Lost in her thoughts, she didn't realize that she made it to the fence around the field. Hermione decided to wait for him; she sat on the ground and went back to her thoughts.

I need someone who understands all of me, not someone that only knows half of my life. Harry knows everything. He risked his life in the fire, just like my father. He can help me understand. He can help me forget about it. What if he doesn't want to talk to me? I haven't seen him since my birthday. Why was I so rude to him? Right, Mum, she threw herself at him. How can everyone have a thing for him? Mum, Alice…me? I just wanted to prove to him that he is not god's gift to earth. But now he probably hates me! Man, girl, you are one insane werewolf. No, I am not insane.

“Mione, you okay?” Ronald asked timidly as he came up beside her.

“Fine,” she said curtly.

“I'm sorry. It was meant as a joke. I didn't think that it would offend you that much,” Ron said rambling.

“Whatever, lets just go. We are going to miss it.”

Their friends were by the edge of the forest. Some of them called greetings to them. One of the guys handed Ron a coke. He took a large gulp, grimaced, and gave it to Hermione. “It's yours. I have to drive home later.” Hermione took a sip to find out that it was laced with rum. She drank more and gripped the bottle tightly.

Cedric Diggory showed up a couple of minute's later and started pounding on Ronald's back. Many of the gigglers fawned over him. Everyone wanted to touch him.

Then Loony and Seamus arrived, bringing there own drinks with them. They soon got into an argument over whose beverages were better.

“I'm going to take a leak,” Ron whispered to her.

Fireflies were everywhere. A sign that night had arrived and the fireworks would soon start. Everyone must have realized that all at once, for the crowd grew silent.

Ronald had been gone a long time.

In the sudden quiet, a chorus of howls echoed like a distant song in the trees beyond the toilets.

Loony smirked, “Someone's having fun.”

The fine hair on Hermione's back prickled. Ron was out there alone. Her blood turned cold. “I think I need to pee.”

She could smell the toilets before she even came close. She pinched her nose in distaste as she made her way around the Port-o-let, looking for signs of Ron or the Five.

She heard faint movement in the woods. Hermione slunk silently into the trees, her eyes wide. He better be safe. Her nails lengthened and her teeth grew.

The woods were deep with shadows. There was a rustling off to her right. Someone was pushing between the bushes. He hummed cheerfully. She almost breathed a sigh of relief, but the she recognized the voice.

“Draco.”

He froze in the shadows. Something almost as big as him flung over his shoulders.

Hermione placed the song he had been humming. It was Oingo Boingo. The words went walking with a dead man over my shoulder.

“What do you have there?” she demanded.

“Nothing. It's mine,” he growled. He slid the kill from his shoulders and it crashed to the ground.

It's a body! Not Ronald. She would kill Draco if it was.

“I'll share if you're nice.”

“Show me.”

“You want to see if it is your meat-boy, Mione?”

The asshole was toying with her. She took another quick step forward but he blocked her, laughing.

“Does Mione want her plaything?” he taunted.

She moved to the left and knocked him down. She stepped over Draco and saw the brown eyes of a furred face. A large dog with his throat cut lay on the ground.

Draco got to his feet, laughing, “Had you going, didn't I”

His laughter was echoed from the trees, and the rest of the Five came into the clearing. Had they all been out there laughing at her?

“Smell yummy, Mione?” Draco mocked. “Think you might like a taste since it isn't your boyfriend?”

She spat a curse at him and began walking away. He grabbed her hand and snarled, “You think you're different from us, but you're not. We know who we are, Hermione. And we know what we want. We don't run away from it. You are sick, Hermione, if you think that you can play human.”

I know who I am. How dare he say I don't? I love being a loup-garou. I adore the sweet change. When I hunt I hunt wild prey. I don't kill pets for the fun of it.

A whistle came shooting into the sky and a fountain of fire dripped red. I'm missing it.

She raced back to her friends and found Ronald waiting.

“Where were you?” Ron asked as he hugged her

“I could ask you the same thing.” She didn't hug him back. She could be angry with him, at least for a moment. The bright lights made her ooh and aah with pleasure.

But danger lurked for the crowd out in the woods. The Five had killed a human before. Did they still have the taste?

The night was full of smoke and lights. When she saw the sparks falling she remembered another nigh more than a year before. The fire was my fault, too. I should have told my father that Dean and the Five were running wild.

She buried her face in the human's shoulder and tried to suffocate her pain. He was full of rushing blood and smiles and dreams-things her father would never have again.

I am so sorry for the wait. I had this all typed up and then my computer froze and the only way to fix it was to turn it off! I didn't get to save it! I was pissed.

As many of you probably know, I am concerned about the plagiarism thing. I do not want to get kicked off because of this story.

I know some of you that have read the book have pointed out that this story is way to close to it. There was also this short news clip about J.K. suing someone for a book he had written. That got me even more concerned.

I don't know if I have anything to worry about but just in case I am going to be taking a couple of weeks off so that I can come up with some more ideas that will work with this story. Hopefully, I will get half of the story typed!

I really am sorry, but I don't know what else to do.

I will talk to you all soon.

Angel 737

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Hermione sat on a rock by the river later that night. Thoughts were roaming through her head, making it impossible for her to sleep. The wind was blowing her hair in every direction. The moon was reflecting off the water. He asked me to come back to his house… I'm not ready for that, not with him. He seem so sad when I said no, I really should distance myself from him. I could tell him I'm not normal, that I have some kind of disease. Being a loup-garou is not a disease! What is wrong wit-

A howl echoed through the trees followed by more. The smaller rocks beside her began to tremble with vibrations. The sound of paws hitting the ground made Hermione shiver. Their smell filled the air. Alice was in the lead followed by Lucius, Draco's father. Draco and the rest of the Five were there, along with so many others.

Someone could get hurt. We could get exposed. What the hell are they thinking?

Hermione jumped off the rock and ran back to her home.

-_-

“I can't tell Harry!” Hermione screamed.

Hermione just finished telling Dumbledore and Diane what she had seen. She needed to tell someone but didn't expect to break the news to the forbidding man. If Harry found out that someone was threatening the pack, he would snap. She just happened to be the poor unfortunate soul that had to give him that dreadful information.

Dumbledore paced the room. He ran a hand through his thinning white hair. “What do you want me to do?”

“Kick Alice out of the pack! She's going to ruin everything that we've worked so hard to achieve!”

“I am not the leader, I cannot do anything.”

“Harry isn't the leader either.”

“But he is going to be.”

“How can you be so sure of that? The Ordeal hasn't even started. Why does everyone think that he will be our leader?” Hermione cried bitterly.

“He's strong; he'll be able to protect the pack. He may be young but he has seen things that even I haven't.” Dumbledore said with a sad twinkle in his eyes.

“I don't care if he's brawny, burly, or made if iron; we need a leader with a mind! Like my father.”

A wistful smile grew on the old man's face. “He may not be as smart as John, but with you as his mate that might just change.”

Diane, who had been quiet through the whole exchange, jumped up and bellowed, “Mate? Why would he want her as his mate?”

Dumbledore rolled his eyes and gave a soft chuckle.

-_-

Aunt Trelawney called the next morning and said that Harry would be at the Hog's Head later that night. Maybe the lady wasn't on crack after all.

Hermione stood outside the bar, tapping her foot to the music coming from a nearby car. The door swung open and a lumpish man stepped out. He was wearing all black, tattoos going up and down both his arms.

He stopped when he saw her, grinned, and walked up beside her. His skull earring glittering precariously. “What's a pretty girl like you doing out here all by yourself? Come on, I'll by you a drink.”

“No thanks.”

“Fine by me. We can skip the small talk and you could just kiss me.” He leered.

Hermione glared at him, “I'd rather kiss a giant squid.”

The man stepped closer so he was hovering over her. His fist was clench so hard it was turning white. Hermione could feel the first stage of the change coming. Fight it. Just throw a few punches, knock him off his feet.

“I see you've met Mione.” Harry's angry growl came out of nowhere.

The potbellied man froze; a stricken look appeared upon his face. “Hey Harry. You know her? I was just going to get her a drink.”

“Yeah, she's my…” Harry shot a glance at Hermione. His smoldering green eyes were dark. “She's my cousin. Talk to you later, Goyle.” He grabbed Hermione's are and wheeled her away from the man named Goyle.

“I could have handled it,” Hermione growled.

Harry laughed, “I know, honey. But Dumbledore said you have something to tell me. So what's up cuz?” Her head shot up and she scowled, but the glint in his eyes quickly turned to a smile.

“Alice led a run last night.”

His cheek twitched. “Who was on this run?”

She listed them and when she finished there was silence. Finally Harry spoke. “Miss Longbottom might just get a little visit.” He looked up and caught Hermione's eye. His beautiful green eyes glowed red.

What have I done?

-_- -_- -_- -_-

Disclaimer: I own absolutely positively nothing! Isn't that great!

* Runs behind a huge rock and peeks head out* Hey guys, I'm back! :] Miss me?

I am so sorry for this. Almost four months since I last updated and it is so short!

I had this chapter written and everything a long time ago, but I sent it to my friend's computer so she could upload it for me and well her computer is really old and apparently doesn't have the same software so she couldn't even open it. She didn't tell me it didn't work until I deleted it. I've been working on this for the past two hours.

There may be many spelling mistakes and I'm sorry.

Wow it feels good to finally be posting this! Please review guys, it would make my day!

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The days passed and no one heard from Alice. It was like she mysteriously disappeared from the pack. She stayed locked in her house and wouldn't open the door for anyone. Neville didn't even like to go home. Every night he would show up on someone else's doorstep.

Hermione felt awful, it was her fault that Neville was currently sleeping on their couch. If I would have just kept my mouth shut none of this would have happened. On the other hand they could have gone on another run. Who knows what could have happened then.

A loud bang echoed throughout the house. Hermione ran from her room and down the stairs. She peeked into the living room; Neville was still asleep. Figures. She opened the door and the pack barged in. A chorus of `Did you see her?' and `She looks horrible!' went around the room.

“Who are you talking about?” Hermione whispered.

“Alice,” Lucius sneered. He had a cut running from his mouth to his ear. It appeared a few hours after Hermione had talked to Harry. However, it was never confirmed where he had gotten it.

“Can we do this tomorrow? My mum is working late; she'd be heartbroken if she missed this.” The packed looked at Hermione as if she was crazy. Fine. She won't be heartbroken, but I'm tired!

“Hermione, the Ordeal is taking place tomorrow. There will not be time.” Oliver announced. The Ordeal is tomorrow? It's not possible!

“If the Ordeal is tomorrow, then we all need our sleep.” Hermione's head whipped around. When did Neville wake up? He began to usher them out and with Hermione's help, they succeeded. Once everyone was in the yard she turned around and gasped at what she saw.

Harry was leaning against the porch railing. His mouth was set in a grimace. His voice was slow and deliberate. “Running with Alice is not in your best interest right now.” His eyes darted to everyone that ran with her before. With a slight smirk, he turned and walked into Hermione's house. The pack scattered.

*~*

Hermione walked into the kitchen to get something to drink. She stopped at the chair that Harry was sitting at. She let her fingers run through his hair. “Do you want some hot chocolate?” He moaned an affirmative.

After taking a mug out to Neville, she sat Harry's down in front of him. His head was in his hands and he wasn't moving a muscle. He looked tense. She began to play with his hair again. “Harry?” No answer. “Harry?” Still no answer.

She kneeled down beside him and grabbed his arm. “Harry, look at me.”

He brought his head out of his hands and stared at her, not speaking, not blinking. She stared right back. After a couple of minutes of silence, she huffed in annoyance. She made a move to leave the room, when Harry grabbed her by the shoulders and pushed her back against the table. A low growl escaped his mouth as it descended upon hers.

The kiss was soft and slow but their hunger was building. His hand moved to her hair as the other moved to her waist. Her hands wrapped around his neck, pulling them closer together. Harry's tongue stroked her bottom lip, making her moan.

A crash made them jump apart. Standing in the doorway was Neville. His mug of hot chocolate lay broken at his feet. “I just wanted some marshmallows,” He squeaked

*~*

Harry was sitting on the arm of an overstuffed armchair, a smirk playing on his lips. Neville was lying on the couch, a confused look on his face. “So let me get this straight,” he began, “you've liked Mione for awhile now but you were to scared to do anything about it-”

“I was not scared!”

“You said that you teased her a couple of times, why didn't you say anything then? You were so scared!”

“I was not scared; she just didn't give me the response that I was looking for.”

“What was that? Did you want her to jump you?” Neville cried. Harry turned his head and looked out the window; a slight blush was creeping up his neck and settling on his cheeks. “You did, you wanted her to jump you! Ha, wait until I tell her! Oh, let me guess, she gave some kind of response tonight so you decided to jump her! Am I right? Tell me I'm right!”

Harry stood up and began pacing around the room. “You are…completely ridiculous! I cannot believe I told you all this. Why did I tell you this?”

“I'm a good listener?” Neville suggested. Harry stopped pacing and raised an eyebrow at him. “Fine, I don't know why you are telling me this but if it helps I won't tell anyone. Not even Mione.”

Harry plopped down into the chair, “Thanks.”

“Are you going to tell me why you jumped her?”

“I didn't jump her!” Harry cried hysterically.

Neville let out a low chuckle, “Then what happened?”

Harry sighed, “I'm… I'm nervous about tomorrow. I know I shouldn't be but I am. How many people in the pack hate me? How many of those people will deliberately take me out? I wanted to kiss her before I die.”

“You are not going to die. You're strong and smart, you'll pull through.”

“I hope you're right,” Harry said as he made his way to the door.

*~*

The hot chocolate finally made it through his system and he had to go, bad. Neville ran up the stairs, almost tripping over a big bundle of blankets at the top. Peering inside the blankets he saw a sleeping messy haired girl with a smile on her face.

*~* *~* *~*

Disclaimer: Nope, none of it is mine.

Hey all! How's life treating you? Mine is getting better, hooray!

Sorry if there are any mistakes! I tried my best! It might also be a little blah, but I'm tired!

I know it is extremely short but you got major Harry/Hermione! Next chapter will hopefully be the Ordeal… exciting right?

Just to clear up the ending. Hermione was sitting at the top of the steps listening to everything that the boys said. :]

I just finished watching the movie, Blood and Chocolate. I hated it. Maybe if I would have watched it before I read the book I might feel different but I don't think so. It was horrible! Both of her parents dying in the fire? Astrid is her aunt? Rafe is Astrid and Gabriel's son? Horrible I tell you! And did anybody else notice how Vivian's tattoo was there in one scene and it never appeared again? I cringed when Aiden pulled the necklace off of Rafe… Ewww! I could keep going but I think I'll stop.

You can thank the horrible movie for this update. I needed to prove to my readers that this story will never turn out like that!

I can't believe that this story is already at 99 reviews! I think I might cry!

Quick question, for those of you that have read the book, was this chapter better? It didn't follow the book too much, did it?

I'm hoping to update again soon!

Angel 737

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