Chapter 3 – Infusion

AN: I'm backkkkkk :D and I am updating this story, 'A Twist in Time' and 'Beauty and the Beast'. ENJOYYY and please review, thanks to everyone who has already, I truly appreciate it :D

Hunger, his stomach growled. He could smell the humans as he opened his eyes. Blackness, he was in the shipping coffin they used for his kind still. He reached for the latch and pushed it open, fluidly moving in one motion out of it and onto the ground of the airport. He was outside the airplane now, attendants flocking around him to and from, speaking to other human workers through their little microphones.

A female flight attendant walked by him, humming quietly to herself and his vampire hearing picked up on it.

Dinner.

Her gasp rang in his ears as he stood in front of her, he could sense her fear and his focused on her eyes as she tried finding her voice.

"You will not fear me, you will enjoy this, and you will forget about this when I am done."

She nodded, her eyes glazed over from his glamour as she followed him wordlessly to the side of the airport, in a dark corner.

He growled suddenly and she gasped once more as his fangs sunk into her flesh.

Tonight he would feast before his little witchy woman arrived.

Hermione let out a sigh as the plane arrived at the airport. She was so glad to be back in familiar territory, even if it was in the muggle world at the moment. Smiling to herself, she grabbed her luggage and followed the passengers off of the plane and into the airport.

Quickly she went through the checkpoints again to leave the airport and went took her luggage, hauling it towards the doors leading outside into the busy streets of London.

It was nighttime now and the smell of the London rainy air filled her nostrils and she smiled again, it was good to be home.

She headed towards an alleyway so she could apparate without any chance of muggles seeing her, straight outside of Hogwarts grounds when a man approached her. Every sense of danger went off and she reached for her wand but he proved to be faster.

He poked her from behind with what she could feel was a cold metal, a muggle gun, hissing in her ear to keep walking. Her eyes widened and she knew she was in great danger as he used his free hand to jerk her hand that held her wand and watched as the only thing she had to protect herself flew near a dumpster as he pushed her roughly down the alley road. "What do you want from me?" She growled, his foul breath invading her air space as he told her to shut up and keep walking.

She could feel her panic rising inside, she had no means of protection so she was defenseless and he had a gun to her. Her wand was way out of her reach near a dumpster and no one was around to help her.

She was broken out of her thoughts as he suddenly shoved her into the wall of the alleyway, her face colliding with the brick. She yelped in pain and struggled against him until she heard him let out a horrified scream.

Quickly she turned around to see the last person she expected to see especially in London of all places….There stood Eric Northman, Sherriff of Area 5 Louisiana; baring his fangs at the human as the guy dangled helplessly in the air before being thrown like a bag of potatoes into the ground.

She stood in shock, watching as he grabbed the thug again and threw him at an alarming rate of speed into the nearest wall. The man crumpled to the ground lifelessly.

The tall Viking vampire turned around swiftly and smirked at her, his fangs snapping out of sight as he moved closer, offering his hand which Hermione hesitantly took.

"Miss Granger."

"Mr. Northman….Eric, what in merlin's name are you doing here?" She blurted out, "Not that I'm not grateful for your assistance." She quickly added.

He merely raised an eyebrow, appearing slightly amused before responding, "I have come to offer my assistance to help you with your…how did you put it, your dark lord problem."

She laughed as she walked over to grab her wand which still lay beside the foul smelling dumpster, "My dark lord problem?"

Eric shrugged and fell in step with her as she walked further down the alley, wand now in hand. "You fascinate me witch, and so I decided to see if I could be of any assistance to your war, I have fought in many, and so perhaps I can help."

Hermione nodded, "Perhaps you can, that was actually very kind of you. You'll have to speak with the headmaster when we get there."

He grinned, "Of course, then perhaps I can get to know you better as well."

She felt her face heat up and turned to him to prepare to apparate out of the alley. "You should know I am taken Eric."

An eyebrow rose, "And?"

Her brows furrowed together, "And you can't be flirting with me!"

He laughed, "I consider this a challenge."

Now she was seriously beginning to wonder what she'd gotten herself into meeting the vampire in the first place in Louisiana. Ignoring his comment, she grabbed onto his arm, "We are going to apparate now, hold on to me and don't let go."

She began to think of Hogwarts when she felt him slip out of her grasp and wrap his arms around her body just as they began to disappear.

In a violent lurch, they appeared right outside of Hogwarts gates and she quickly maneuvered herself out of his grasp.

Albus Dumbledore sat at his desk, chewing on a lemon drop, contemplating when to have the next order meeting when both Harry Potter and Ronald Weasley burst into the room, trying to catch their breaths.

He peered over his half-moon glasses and gestured for them to have a seat, "Lemon drop?"

Both shook their heads before Harry spoke rapidly, "Hermione! It's Hermione sir! She's in trouble! Voldemort, he was in my head, he wanted me to see the prophecy and what he's got planned for her sir! He called her his future bride!"

Albus stood up and came around his desk to Harry's side. "Look at me." He did, "Legilimens."

She who is full of knowledge will grab hold

A power so bright

Shared with another

He will go from dark to light

Combining them shall break the evil

And if they should rise

Into the ashes shall the Dark Lord fall

As they claim victory

Once and for all

All of the images including the prophecy flashed through the headmasters mind before he gently pulled out of Harry's mind.

"You were right to come here boys. I will send an emergency owl straight to Miss Granger so she can get back here immediately. We must have a meeting with the order tomorrow."

Dumbledore sat down once more at his desk, pulling out a new quill and paper.

Eric blinked and stared in awe at the scenery and the castle that stood before them. To say he was impressed was an understatement. He was completely rendered speechless, he could feel the magical aura radiating from the castle itself and he shivered as he followed behind the young witch.

They walked together inside the school and Hermione smiled, glad to be back inside the familiar walls of the old castle she had come to recognize as home sweet home.

They came to stand in front of the gargoyle statue protecting the headmaster's office and Hermione began guessing the password, "Lemon drops," Nothing. "Twizzlers," Still nothing, Eric raised a brow, a look of amusement crossing his face as he watched the witch talking to the rather ugly statue, "Whoppers."

With a groan, the old statue moved to the side, revealing the staircase behind it.

Eric was surprised to say the least but followed wordlessly behind the Gryffindor witch.

"Who knows what he might do next! We should port key over to this American state and get her now! That's my bloody girlfriend over there!" Ron was ranting, unable to keep quiet as the headmaster wrote out a note to be delivered to the head girl's place of residency in the states.

Harry stood up and grasped his best mate by the shoulder, "She's my best friend Ron, and Professor Dumbledore will handle this, we wouldn't even know where to find her even if we did try port keying there."

The red head nodded and sighed loudly as he walked over to the window, trying to calm down when the door to the headmasters office swung open.

"Hermione!"

Both boys yelled out, running to their best friend and crushing her in a hug before she had a chance to speak.

Albus dropped his quill and watched the scene unfold, glancing at the man who walked in behind her, standing off to the side.

"Ron, Harry, what are you two doing here? Shouldn't you be at the burrow?" She finally managed to speak.

Harry nodded and proceeded explaining his dream to her and Hermione felt her breath hitch as she went over everything he'd just told her in her mind.

Eric moved towards her in a flash, his hand grasping her shoulder in a comforting manner, illciting a gasp from the two boys as Albus stood and walked towards the group.

"Blimey! What the bloody hell are you?" Ron yelled out, stepping in between Hermione and the Viking.

Eric smirked and stared down at the red haired boy, "Vampire."

Ron's eyes widened and Harry stood in shock as the headmaster came up to Eric, hand extended, "Albus Dumbledore, headmaster of Hogwarts."

Eric glanced down at the offered hand; normally he did not shake hands however he felt in this case he should make an exception. Slowly he reached out and shook the old man's hand.

The wizard smiled and gestured for everyone to have a seat, magically conjuring up two more chairs out of thin air for Eric and Hermione.

Everyone seemed to talk at once before Albus held a hand up, "One at a time. Mr. Northman?"

Eric looked at Hermione and smirked before beginning, "I am Eric Northman, Sherriff of Area 5 in Shreveport, Louisiana. I am a vampire, over 1,000yrs. One of the oldest of my kind, I met Hermione," He noticed the red heads face heating up at the use of her first name and stored that information to use later, "unofficially when she was eavesdropping on my conversation at a bar in Bon Temps then again when she came to the bar I own called Fangtasia, seeking me out. We got off to a heated start and she warmed up to me."

The witch blushed and rolled her eyes, "Yes well call it whatever you wish, he was a right arse at first but he saved me from Greyback and then he followed me here to England."

Eric interrupted, "Yes I did follow her, and I decided to offer my services to you with your dark lord problem."

"Bloke makes it sound like a pest control issue."

His keen hearing picked up on Ron's whispered sentence, "Is it not a 'pest control issue' as you just referred to it as?"

Ron turned beet red once more and remained silent.

Albus chose this moment to speak up, "Well we are glad to have you here Mr. Northman and as for your services, this could be very valuable to our cause as I am sure that the dark lord will be trying to gather your kind to his side."

"With my influence, I can see to it that the ones under my control will help your side."

"What does he know about war?" Again, the red head whispered to his friend.

Eric turned to him, eyes darkened, "A lot more than you could even imagine boy."

Harry elbowed Ron and he became silent once more.

"In the meantime, I will summon an order meeting to be held by tomorrow and we can discuss our next course of action. For now however we will need to get you integrated with the way we do things around here and perhaps you can contribute some of what you know of war…." The old mans eyes sparkled as he said this and he continued, "Misters Potter and Weasley here have started a class all their own…"

Both boys looked to the headmaster in shock and surprise.

Hermione's mouth dropped open.

"So perhaps you could be so kind as to instill this knowledge of yours and more basic muggle fighting techniques to the students while also supervising them?"

Eric nodded.

"It's settled then, tomorrow come to my office by 8pm and we will get you situated in your new class."

Hermione felt a rush of excitement at the idea of the ancient vampire taking she could take and the boys groaned, wishing the headmaster hadn't come up with the idea at all.

Albus snapped his fingers and an elf appeared suddenly beside Eric, causing the 1,000 yr. vampire to snarl, fangs popping out.

Gasps from the golden trio filled the silent room as Albus concealed his laughter and gestured to his house elf to come to him. "Mitzy I want you to get a room ready here for Mr. Northman, as you can see he is a very special guest so if you could make it light tight…."

The elf nodded in understanding, "Of course Master Dumbledore, Mitzy goes now," And disappeared with a pop.

Eric felt his fangs retract and looked on in sheer amusement at the shocked faces of the two boys and the look of both shock and fascination on the beautiful witch who sat next to him.

He smirked and stood up with everyone else.

The headmaster bid everyone a goodnight, looking up at Eric, "I shall see you tomorrow evening Professor Northman, it is an honor to have you aboard."

Professor Northman…..he could get used to that title, yes, yes he could.

"Miss Granger as your first act of being the new head girl, if you could show him to his rooms I would be grateful, he is right outside of the Slytherin dorms."

Eric could swear the old man's eyes were twinkling brightly as he said this.

"Of course Professor, goodnight."

And with that everyone walked out of the office and into the corridor.

"Oi 'Mione, we'll walk with you up there." The red head immediately spoke up as he slung his arm around the petite witch.

Eric could see her discomfort and noticed her face change at the weird nickname.

"I'll be fine Ron, you and Harry should get to bed and let your mum know what is going on since you both just took off without so much as a note."

She was a bossy one, and not one to be ordered around, oh yes he was beginning to like her even more. He watched in amusement as the two boys nodded, shoulders slumped in defeat and turned away.

She glanced in Eric's direction and began walking down the corridor clearly expecting him to follow. He fell in step with her walking at a steady pace when the ginger headed boy's voice filled his ears.

"Bloody vampire, did you see the way that he was looking at her mate? It was right bloody disgusting. I'll kick his sorry ass if he tries to lay a hand on my girlfriend."

Without a second thought, Eric turned and using his vampiric speed, nearly slammed into Ron, fangs out. This boy would learn respect or he would be dealt with accordingly.

"Perhaps Mr. Weasley, "As he spoke, the boy's eyes widened in fright, "You shouldn't talk about others so rudely when they are within hearing distance." He grabbed his robes, pulling him closer, glaring down at him, "You would do well to just hold your tongue and as for kicking my ass we both know you wouldn't win."

Ron turned ash white and stumbled out of the vampires grasp, the boy who lived tugging his arm and hauling him away, shaking his head at his friend for his stupidity.

Eric watched them disappear down the corridor and turned back to the young witch who stood with her mouth opened in shock.

"You can't just grab students by their robes you know." She finally found her voice as they walked down to the dungeons leading into Slytherin territory.

"I will if they do not learn to respect me."

She sighed, knowing she would not win this, she could see the stubborn glint in the Viking's eye, and they fell into a somewhat comfortable silence until reaching his new room.

"This is it," They stopped in front of a portrait of a mermaid sitting on a rock as the waves crashed over it.

Eric looked in confusion about to ask why the hell they stopped in front of a painting when the mermaid scooted closer to the frame, "Password sir?"

"She wants you to set your password and then she'll open the door for you each time you come here." Hermione explained. "I'll take my leave now so you can set it and get acquainted with your rooms."

"Godric."

The mermaid smiled, "Godric." And with that, the portrait swung open revealing the door beneath it which also opened up.

Eric turned to look at the petite witch, "Goodnight Hermione." He all but purred out as he walked inside his new rooms, door shutting behind him.

Hermione stood for a few moments, wondering what had just happened. Normally one did not give out their passwords out to anyone and granted he was new to the wizarding world she thought she had done a good enough job explaining all of this. Finally she began moving, heading to her own new rooms, looking forward to a good night's sleep finally.

The only question on her mind now thanks to her unending curiosity of all things, was what or who was Godric.

Eric stood inside his rooms, taking in the large living area in front of him. He smirked and sat down on the couch, noticing how the windows where completely covered with curtains, completely shutting out any light.

With a sigh he stretched out, his mind wandering to the little witch he'd come all this way for. She was cute, he'd give her that, there was something about her that fascinated him besides her witchy capabilities and most of all, seeing her made him forget all about the fairy who'd just about thrown him out to be with another.

He thought about the little ginger boy who seemed to definitely be head over heels for her and she seemed obviously annoyed by him. He smirked thinking about the class he was to teach come tomorrow. He was going to have some fun that was for sure, he'd set his sights on the bushy haired witch and he wasn't about to lose to another again.