CHAPTER ONE

Summary: Following the death of Voldemort, for her protection against the fugitive Death Eaters seeking revenge, Hermione is sent into hiding along with Sirius Black and Remus Lupin. Forks was said to be the safest place on earth for her, but they didn't plan for a family of vampires or a pack of shape-shifters worming their way into their lives. Or for three of them, in particular, being exactly what Hermione needed to heal and live. Rated M for bad language, violence and sexual content. Poly fic!

Disclaimer: I don't own any canon events or characters, only those that I create. All rights go to J.K Rowling and Stephanie Myers. I don't make a profit writing or posting this fanfic. As for the descriptions of appearances for the Twilight characters, all my research is based on the books and not the movies.

Just a quick note, I am a Northern Lass (for viewers that reside in England and understand what I mean) and although I try very hard to reign that side of me in, it does tend to show in my writing style and the slang, phrases and terms I use.

This does have Bella bashing.

AN

I do read and respond to reviews and comments but since I'm editing and this is coming to a close, I'll be removing my author's notes and responses to questions in other chapters. I promise, I'm not ignorant, I've just deleted my answers, just as I do when I edit all of my other fanfics.

Page count: 9

Hermione's life was a living hell. Well, that was putting it mildly, but there was no other way to better describe it. She'd lost everyone she cared for, whether it was them dying or going into hiding for their safety.

Her parents Richard and Jean Granger had been murdered Christmas her sixth year and from then on she was known as Hermione Black. Why? She had found a way to bring Sirius back from the veil and from that moment forward, they became close. When the Black heir had learned of her parent's deaths –murdered by Death Eaters- he'd barely thought twice before he officially adopted her and despite being of legal age at the time, she hadn't been safe. Sirius Black, regardless of being a well-known blood traitor, was still the heir of House Black and he still carried the name, a name that still offered much protection as well as many connections in the Wizarding World, making Hermione his daughter and heir to the House of Black.

As the war raged on, Hermione left for the hunt with Harry and Ron. Ron had left, she and Harry had walked into a trap and had been injured, very nearly killed. The Horcruxes were destroyed, Ron returned and they were captured, leading to Hermione's was tortured at the hands of one Bellatrix Lestrange, whilst the drawing-room of Malfoy Manor. After escaping with the help of Dobby and Hermione had been given as much medical attention as they were able given their lack of experience and resources, the trio broke into Gringotts and destroyed more Horcruxes before the Final Battle arrived.

Both Harry and Voldemort fell. The light got the upper hand and many Death Eaters were captured or killed. There was still a resistance from the Death Eaters that fled, pledging to continue their master's work, so the battle had given them a massive victory but the war was still not yet won, not completely, not until the remaining sympathises and fugitives had been captured and imprisoned. For that, people would always be on edge, some had fled, some had gone into hiding to protect their families, but for the most part, the Wizarding World was back under the control of the light. Aurors and law enforcement, Order members and volunteers continued to fight the rogue Death Eaters and until they were captured, the war would never truly be over.

Many had died at the Final Battle, many a friend, a mentor, a lover, a family member; Harry and Ron, Ginny, Percy and Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, Professors Flitwick, Snape and Sprout, Luna, Dean and Seamus. The remaining Weasleys – Charlie, Bill and Fleur, George and a severely injured Fred -likely dead- went into hiding, until they were healed and called for assistance. Neville, his girlfriend Hannah and his Grandmother went into hiding, too, along with many other Pureblood families from both sides of the war.

With Hermione being the only member of the Golden Trio left, she was now Undesirable Number One to the Death Eaters and War Heroine to the public. She'd received many a death threat –more than she could count-, she was in always danger, and she was stalked by the press.

As The Order slowly took control back of the Ministry, they had formed a plan without Hermione's consent, knowing she would refuse such a drastic measure. They'd wished to send her into hiding, somewhere no one would think to look for her, somewhere that she'd be able to low lay and without risk of being tracked, and although she'd hated the idea, Remus and Sirius would be sent along with her, acting as her friends, family and guardians.

They didn't know where their final destination was located; that was sealed in an envelope with wards protecting it, refusing to allow it to be opened before a specific time and date. Sirius had emptied not even an eighth of his vault at Gringotts, removing one million galleons, close to five million muggle pounds. She had no idea why he'd withdrawn so much money, actually fainting when he told her and Remus was just as surprised, having to sit down, neither of them having access of such amounts of money in their lives. When Sirius had informed them that there was still close to forty million in his vault, Hermione, who'd barely recovered from her first fainting spell, fainted once more.

When asked why he'd withdrawn so much money, he replied that just because they were going on the run, into hiding, didn't mean they couldn't do it in style, but still, Hermione could never spend that much money in twenty lifetimes, she had no idea what he planned to do with it all. And quite honestly, she wasn't sure she wanted to know.

Before leaving for their safe heaven, they needed to stock up on supplies. First, the purchased a wizarding tent, newly refurbished and upgraded and it wasn't due to be released for six months, but the name Black carried a lot of weight and so did the hefty bag of galleons Sirius 'gifted' the inventor. The tent was said to be more comfortable with better weather resistance and upgraded protective wards, as well as improved Heating Charms. Hermione thought she'd have to see it to believe it.

Next was to purchase a new wardrobe of muggle clothing for the three of them. Buying clothing suitable for both summer and winter since they didn't know where their final destination was located and they needed to be prepared for all weathers.

Sirius all but bought the entire stock of potions ingredients and brewing equipment from the apothecary, ensuring that Hermione would be well equipped to brew potions to help with illnesses, injuries and for Remus' Wolfsbane Potion. He'd also purchased a library worth of books so they could continue with their research, expanding their knowledge of defensive and offensive magic, including wandless and non-verbal.

They had many of Fred and George's defence items they'd invented, not to mention many of their joking products as a reminder that there was still good and laughter in the world. Hermione was sure they would never use them -or at least she wouldn't allow the two Marauders to use them- but they had them to keep up morale. And since they all had a strong suspicion they wouldn't t be in the Wizarding World, particularly London, –the reason they'd purchased muggle clothing over wizarding attire- Sirius had bought out the entire stock of Honeydukes for Remus and Hermione, and the entire stock of butterbeer and fire whisky for himself, from the Three Broomsticks, all to keep them anchored to their roots, and it was a good thing Wizarding alcohol and sweets had a very long expiry date given how much they had to pack.

Hermione had created a few more of her beaded bags for Sirius and Remus, using backpacks as a replacement with a Feather-light Charm, Undetectable Extension Charm and Privacy Charms. They stuffed all of their belongings into their own backpacks and they placed them inside Hermione's beaded bag, along with everything else. They each had their own bag filled with supplies in case they ever had to run and they were separated; it was better to be prepared.

They then left England.

That was two months ago.

They had travelled using apparition, knowing that someone would likely pick up on their trail and so they set a false one, visiting country to country, city to city and town to town. They had been all over the world, both muggle and wizarding, determined to leave a trail to be followed. They visited most of Europe with France, Germany, Russia, Italy, Portugal, then Asia with India, China, Japan, Switzerland, then Australia with New Zealand and Zimbabwe before heading to the Americas with Miami, Houston, New York, Washington, L.A, New Mexico and Arizona, before backtracking to a few of their previous stops. They didn't stay long, only a maximum of four days before they packed up and moved on, long enough to leave a trail and for them to enjoy playing tourists.

But, two weeks ago, they were finally able to open the envelope with the location of their final destination. And that's where they found themselves, in Forks, Washington.

~000~000~000~

Wednesday 4th October 2006

They used muggle transportation flying by aeroplane so they couldn't be tracked or followed with magical methods as they no magical trace. Luckily, The Order had thought to have identification and passports made up, even if they were fake, but magic was a beautiful thing and no one would be able to tell the difference. When they landed in Seattle, they glamoured themselves and headed into the Wizarding Community so they could change over some of their galleons into American currency. They didn't stay long, a maximum of ten minutes before they left and hailed a taxi. They made sure to arrive at night as they were less likely to be seen and they had pitched their tent in an area of woods in-between Forks and La Push. They'd been there for only three days but Hermione liked it, it was quiet; she, Sirius and Remus could do what they wished to without hassle or issue. They were left alone and in peace.

Hermione had just finished her walk, she was mapping out the grounds in her head before she applied them onto paper, they were technically in hiding and if they were ever found it would be best if they knew the layout of the land, a home-court advantage. She stopped when she reached the edge of the wards and she raised her wand, checking the wards were still in place before she pressed the tip of it against the invisible barrier and it allowed her to pass through effortlessly. Only Sirius, Remus and herself could get access through the wards and if you lost your wand, you were pretty much screwed.

She looked around and smiled at the sight that met her, the first smile that had graced her face in a long time, the sparkle in her eyes returning. Hermione had changed a lot during the last eight years. She'd grown to a height of five-foot-six and her once almost anorexic figure -from starving whilst on the hunt and after the war health problems- was on its way back to her shapely and petite frame as she no longer had to worry about food and with Sirius and Remus watching every bite she took at mealtimes. Despite the progress she'd made, she still had a long way to go before she was back to full health. Her once bushy hair now fell in soft mahogany ringlets down to her waist, her ivory skin marked in battle wounds and scars, but they could be covered. The biggest change about Hermione was her eyes.

The eyes that once held only warmth and kindness, now held pain, suffering and unshed tears. She had dark, permanent bruises under her eyes, a clear sign of sleep deprivation. Her nightmares plagued her every night without fail and to the point where Sirius and Remus would already be awake, ready for her outburst of terror filled screams. Every night they comforted her and she slept safely in-between them, her two fathers.

But for the first time in months, the first true smile played at her lips, some of the warmth returning to her eyes.

Sirius was well on his way to being drunk and, Remus, surprisingly was the same, although for a different reason. Sirius had opened up his stash of fire whiskey whilst he'd obviously swapped out Remus' chocolates for the twins' alcoholic ones. They were both singing loudly and laughing as they pranced around the glowing fire pit, the flames lighting up the darkened woods and the fire spitting ash into the air and it falling to the ground.

"Snowflake," Sirius greeted cheerfully.

He skipped over to her, his hand wrapping around her wrist and he dragged her over to the fire pit, proceeding to dance around with her as he and Remus continued singing and she laughed loudly, happy to see them having fun.

After half an hour, Hermione produced a Sobriety Potion and force-fed it to the drunken Marauders.

"Why did you do that?" Sirius asked, grimacing and gagging at the after taste.

"You're supposed to be the parent, not me, Padfoot," she replied.

Remus chuckled. "I suppose you're right. And, Sirius, don't think you're getting away with swapping my chocolates and I swear to Merlin himself, if you ate them I'll..."

"Whoa, calm the wolf," Sirius chuckled with his hands up in surrender. "I haven't touched your chocolate," he rolled his eyes. "He gets so testy when the full moon's upon us, two days away."

Remus growled at him in warning and stormed into the tent childishly as Hermione let out a snigger.

"You shouldn't wind him up," she scolded lightly.

"But it's so much fun and he's so cute when he's huffy," Sirius winked at her and Hermione rolled her eyes, but smiled.

Hermione was the only person who knew of Sirius and Remus' relationship; they had been together since his return from the veil, the summer before her sixth year. Of course, others had suspected but weren't certain. She didn't care, she loved them. Remus was her second father; he would've signed his name on the adoption papers and made it official but due to the Werewolves Act, Remus was prohibited from adopting a child, but Hermione still thought of him as her father, just as much as she did Sirius.

"Come on, I've mapped out more of the woods."

She grabbed his arm and pulled him up from the log he'd been perched on and they walked to the tent, the tent that had been home for the last two months and honestly, she had never felt more at home, not even at Hogwarts.

The tent was a lot more glamorous than the one they'd used for the World Cup four years prior. On the outside, it looked to be a simple one-man tent made of white fabric and black string holding the tent down to the floor, but the inside couldn't be further from the truth. The capabilities of magic still amazed her, even eight years later.

As she entered the tent with Sirius behind her closing the tent flap, she couldn't help but look around in wonder, no matter how many times she saw it, she still found it difficult to process.

The living room was the first room of the tent and it was open planned, showing the kitchen and dining area. It was a large circular room with dark wooden floors and soft, calming blue walls, white plush, comfortable couches and armchairs, dark glass tables and pastel-coloured cushions placed on the seating areas. To make the room feel homier, Hermione had dug out Harry's old photo album that she still carried in her beaded bag, copied the photos and enlarged them, before transfiguring some wooden frames out of some twigs and sticks and placing them on the empty walls.

There were many photos throughout the tent, reminding them all of what they were fighting for and why they had to be careful. Photos of Harry, Hermione and Ron together, of them in the Gryffindor common room with Neville, Dean and Seamus. Photos of Christmases spent at the Burrow, photos of Quidditch victories, photos from the time of the Marauders with James, Sirius, Remus, Lily and baby Harry. Photos taken at Christmas in sixth year when Sirius and Remus made Hermione smile for the first time after finding her parents murdered. There were even photos of The Order of the Phoenix, Marauder's time and her time. Photos of family and friends.

The walls were lined with bookcases that accommodated the curved walls. There were ten bookcases, each one containing approximately two, maybe three thousand books thanks to magic, and each bookcase held different categories of books; Muggle, Wizarding History, Charms, Transfiguration, Herbology and Potions, Arithmancy, Magical Law, Magical Creatures and Beings, Defence Against the Dark Arts, Healing, Ancient Runes, Astronomy and to her great displeasure, Divination. Hermione was sure Sirius purchased books on that topic just to annoy her. What shocked her the most was the one warded bookcase containing only books on the Dark Arts, but Sirius stressed the importance of knowing one's enemy and she'd soon conceded his point. If you knew a dark curse, you knew the counter. Therefore, they'd cleaned out the Black library and brought it with them, making sure to leave copies of the books for The Order should they require them.

There was a coal fireplace against the wall with a large and soft rug where Hermione liked to lay at night and read whilst her two fathers argued and teased each other over mundane things. Above the fireplace was the biggest photo they had, it was a family photo of everyone taken at the Weasley's, the day of Harry's 17th birthday. All of the Weasleys were present, along with Remus, Harry, Sirius and Hermione. They were all smiling and laughing and every time Hermione looked at the photo, they waved at her. The floating candles and jars of blue-bell flames provided light, warm and hospitality.

Off to the left was the dining area and it was on a raised platform with two steps that needed to be climbed. The flooring matched that of the living room with a large black wooden table in the centre of the room. Six black matching chairs with soft white cushions surrounded the table, white placemats already set out with the cutlery and a vase of wildflowers sat in the centre. More photos lined the back wall of the dining area, the wall the same shade of blue as the living room.

The dining area and kitchen were separated by a half kitchen counter, there was a black marble countertop with a built-in double sink. By the counter top sat a black double oven and under the counters were light wooden cupboards containing the cooking pans and dishes and above the counter were light wooden cupboards containing food with all the appropriate Cooling and Freezing Charms. There were drawers containing the cutlery and odd trinkets and a kitchen island sat in the centre of the kitchen along with a second sink and three stools that matched the dining room chairs.

A sense of calm filled her whenever she stepped into their home, and she remembered what she was planning to do before she got sidetracked.

"I'll just go and grab the map," she said as she walked to the right of the living room, where a corridor led to another set of rooms.

There had originally been four bedrooms but they'd converted one into a potions lab for Hermione to safely brew. She entered her lab and she let out a small chuckle. The stone walls and floor kept the room cool and reminded her of Snape's classroom, three workbenches sat cauldrons with comfortable stools. There were four cabinets against the walls, obviously enlarged inside and with the suitable charms for storing potions and ingredients. Two of the cabinets held completed potions and vials, all labelled appropriately and organised neatly, the other two cabinets held the potion ingredients, the most volatile ingredients being put into a separate cabinet from the others.

She grabbed the map from the workbench and walked back into the living room, taking a seat on the couch in-between Remus and Sirius and she placed the map on the table and grabbed a pen.

"Okay, so this is us," she pointed to the triangle in the centre of the map that symbolised the tent. "We've already learned that we're three miles from the boundary line of La Push, here," she pointed to the line that had been drawn to show the boundary line. "And we are twelve miles from the boundary line of Forks, here," she pointed to the other line and they nodded. "So that's fifteen miles in width of woods. What we don't know is how far these woods travel in length and that's the information we need. Now, this evening I learned that half a mile east from here there is a cave." She made a cross on the map and wrote 'cave' above it. "I had a quick look but didn't go further," she said quickly when she noticed their disapproving looks and she continued when they looked appeased. "From what I could see, the cave appears to be approximately five-feet wide, eight-feet in height and seven-feet in length, I cast a Lumos and it looked like there was a dip at the end of the cave, so it may go deeper underground." She wrote the measurements down in a differently coloured ink. "It may be worth a look around, see where it leads. It could be useful should the occasion call for it," she suggested and they nodded in agreement.

"Well, this morning I went half a mile in this direction," Remus spoke, taking the pen from her and pointing to the map. "Half a mile south from the tent I found a maple tree."

"You found a tree in the woods, Moony?" Sirius said sarcastically and Remus almost growled at him.

"Papa," Hermione sighed, his face softened as it always did when she called him that.

"Sorry, continue," he said to Remus.

"As I was saying, I found a maple tree, the peculiar thing about this was the tree had been shattered, shards of wood littering the floor and half the tree was still standing, but with serrated edges."

"It could've just rotted," Sirius shrugged.

"No, it looked like it had been smashed, like something had hit it."

"What would cause that kind of damage?" Hermione asked curiously.

"What indeed?" Remus said. "We'll have to be cautious, it could be nothing, but it could be something, too," he replied and they nodded.

"Now, Snowflake, are you ready for your first day of school tomorrow?" Sirius asked her.

"No," she sighed. "Why do I have to go to muggle school? And an American high school at that? Their curriculum and educational system is completely different from Britain's, let alone the Wizarding World's. I'm never going to be able to keep up."

"You have to go to school because people will start seeing us around these parts, especially when we venture out to get supplies. It would be suspicious for an eighteen-year-old not to attend school," Remus answered her. "And yes, the curriculum is different, but it seems The Order thought of that already." He stood from the couch and left the room, moments later walking back in with the envelope in hand and emptying the contents onto the table. "The Order has already taken care of everything, you're a transfer student from a British boarding school, your classes have been chosen based on classes similar at Hogwarts."

She sighed. "Okay, what are my classes?"

"You're taking Mathematics, Arithmancy is essentially advanced Mathematics without predicting several future outcomes, so you should do well with that." Hermione nodded. "Potions is essentially Chemistry and Herbology is essentially Biology, with human and animal counterparts." She nodded again. "There's History and you're doing English Literature."

"You'll likely get full marks for that one," Sirius nudged her and her lip quirked.

"You were required to take a language, but the languages the school offer are French, German and Latin," Remus said.

"You're fluent in all of them," Sirius said proudly. "Not to mention a few others. So the school has agreed to allow you to not take that class."

"And finally, you have to take PE, which isn't a bad thing as it'll coincide with your training." She looked at Remus dubiously and he chuckled. "Okay, maybe it won't, your training is a lot more advanced than a game of badminton," he admitted.

"Only six classes?" She questioned. He nodded. "That's half of what I was taking at Hogwarts," she said her voice rising and a scandalised look crossing her face. They chuckled.

"At least you won't have too much homework to do, you can focus on training and our research," Sirius pointed out.

"Do I have to go?" She all but pouted.

"Yes," Sirius and Remus said without hesitation.

"But everyone will stare at me, you know what small towns are like for gossip, I got enough of that in London. I don't want to draw attention to myself. Besides, it's October, already a month into the school term; everyone will be settled in and I'll be the awkward new girl that's struggling and socially inept."

"We'll be here for you, Snowflake," Sirius said, putting his arm around her shoulders and pulling her into his side. "If you want to make friends then do so, if you want to ignore everyone and isolate yourself then that's fine, too. We love you no matter the choices you make, we will support them."

"Fine," she pouted. "I'm going to bed,"

She kissed their cheeks and walked to her bedroom.

"Nice parenting," she heard Remus mutter and her lip quirked in amusement.

She had missed her old dorm room in Hogwarts and for that reason when she'd decorated her room, the large room had red walls with gold accents. She had charmed the Hogwarts crest onto her wall, along with the Gryffindor crest, much to the amusement of Sirius and Remus. Her queen-sized bed sat against the back wall facing the door with red and gold bedding. She had light laminate flooring and a soft red rug under her bed, along with a white bedside table and a white desk and chair against the left wall. She had a red couch in the corner of the room and there was a door on the left wall that took Hermione to her en-suite bathroom, fitted with a shower, sink and toilet. The entire right wall was made of mirrored doors that slid open to reveal a walk-in closet.

She was glad they had bought clothing for all weathers since Forks was very similar to Scotland, meaning that it was either raining or cloudy, but they had nothing on the temperature. Hogwarts was in the Scottish Mountains and the temperatures dropped far below zero, not to mention the castle was never truly warm, and she spent a year on the hunt. She could handle the weather of Forks easily. It didn't bother her; it actually reminded her of home.

She didn't understand why people didn't just live in wizarding tents rather than houses, particularly the one they were living in now. The one they used on the hunt was practically three hundred years old, tents having actually been invented in the Wizarding World long before a wizard took pity on the muggles and decided to introduce them to the invention, without the magic aspect, of course. The tent she was living in was better than any manor, house or hotel room.

She headed to her wardrobe and grabbed a pair of pyjamas, with it being autumn it was cold but the tent was always warm having continuous Warming Charms on it, so she didn't have to worry about the cold. She headed to her bathroom, brushed her teeth, put her hair in a bun and slipped on her sleep shorts and t-shirt, before slipping into her comfortable bed and waving her wand and extinguishing the candles.

She slipped into slumber, dreading what the next day would bring and her memories that were waiting to haunt her.