CHAPTER FORTY-SEVEN

Summary: Sent to Volterra in order to negotiate terms of an alliance to end the war, Hermione's life is turned upside down as she is brought into the world of The Volturi, better known as The Vampire Kings. There she is made a part of a new kind of family and a most trusted member of the guard, whether she likes it or not, and surprisingly, she does.

Disclaimer: I do not own canon events and characters, they belong to J.K Rowling and Stephenie Myers. I am not making a profit from writing and posting this fanfic. As for the descriptions of appearances for the Twilight characters, all my research is based on the books and not the movies, but I may have changed a few things regarding Alec's height and age.

AN

Okay, so I lied and have since changed my mind about the time jump for this chapter, as it will also skip two years into the future. Whilst I was writing it just seemed to flow better with the content of this chapter.

Q&A

Guest – Yes, the Cullens will be a part of this plotline. In fact, they'll be making an appearance in the next couple of chapters. I'm in the stage of wrapping things up now as I have a few chapters to go, five at a max, until I complete this one, so I probably won't be giving Marcus a second mate. I'd like to think he'd be happy enough having a pseudo-daughter and grandchildren to keep his death bright and eventful. I'm going to try to stick to canon as much as possible as far as the Cullens are concerned though it will need a bit of tweaking with the addition of Hermione and the children.

LenaMiaH – I'm happy to write a Lucifer x Hermione pairing and if I'm honest, I've had several ideas flying about inside my head since I first saw your request so I'll be excited to finally get them written down. As for Aquaman, I imagine I'm a part of the small percentage that hasn't actually seen that movie yet, or read the comics. To be honest, I'm more of a Marvel girl than I am DC, so I don't have much to work with on that one.

Caughtinblackeyes – Welcome! I hope you enjoy the rest of the fic and the chapters to come as much as you have the previous ones.

Saturday 23rd November 2002

"I will not tell you again, Ellie, keep your cloak on or you will be going inside and straight to your room and you won't be visiting the market with Aunt Jane and Uncle Felix."

"But, Mama..." Her almost-four-year-old daughter cried. "It's not cold."

"Yes, it is," Hermione argued with the little madam as she stood atop the climbing frame, her chin jutted out and her hands on her hips. It was like looking at a smaller, younger version of herself and she hated it. Hermione only hoped her other children didn't develop her attitude as well. One was more than enough. "We're due snow any day now and whilst I know the cold doesn't bother you as much as it does me or Teddy, which you have your fathers to thank for, I know it's too cold even for you," she said, looking over to Erasmus and Teddy who were playing chases, one only wearing a cloak, the other a woolly jumper, a cloak and the matching hat and scarf.

"But, Mama..."

"No, Eleanor," she said, her lips pursing and the little girl pouted with a none too pleased scowl on her face as she crossed her arms in a huff.

More often than not her children were referred to by the shortened versions of their names, unless they were in trouble, and with Hermione speaking her birth name, she was warning her daughter that her patience wouldn't be tested for much longer and she'd keep her promise of sending her to her room and not allow her to go on the trip with Jane and Felix.

"I don't like it," Eleanor said, but she did pick up her cloak and pulled it over her head so she didn't have to unfasten it and then refasten it afterwards.

"Tell that to Grandpa, Aro and Caius, they're the ones that design and purchase all of your robes and cloaks," Hermione responded.

In response Eleanor stuck her tongue out before she turned her attention to moving over to the slide, sliding down the metal chute and running across the playground to join in with her brothers.

"Watch your sister!" Hermione called, her breath almost being knocked out of her in a panic when Erasmus nearly ploughed straight into his youngest sister as she happily pottered about the grassy area of the playground.

"Sorry, Mama!" He called back, not being the least bit out of breath considering all the running around he'd been doing and if Hermione were honest, she was a bit jealous. In the last few months, she got out of breath just walking to her library.

"It's not me you have to say sorry to," she replied.

A smile pulled at her mouth when her second eldest son briefly left his brother and twin to run over to his youngest sister, crouching down beside her and leaning over to press a kiss to her cheek and giving her a gentle hug. In response, she let out a giggle and pushed him away from her and he stood and ran back to his game of chases.

Hermione's eyes darted between each of her children, warmth and love pooling inside her as she gazed at each one in turn.

Teddy was now four years old and had grown quite quickly in the last few months and given his height now, she was sure he'd be just as tall as Remus had been, maybe even taller. His bright blue hair was windswept and far too long for her liking, it covering his ears, the back of his neck and his bright green eyes, but she knew there was no point in having it cut as he'd only grow it back as soon as he left the barbers. He'd done it before and she knew he'd do it again; it was just easier to let him do what he wanted.

Erasmus and Eleanor were turning four years old in just over a month and she couldn't actually believe how much they'd grown. Erasmus' hair was only cut a few weeks ago and already he was in need of another visit to the barbers, his raven black hair covering the tips of his ears and curling at the ends. Eleanor had also had her hair cut, her wild mane of raven curls had fallen to her waist but now they sat just above her shoulders in an almost bob-style cut.

Hermione had tasked her husbands with hair appointments as the children always gave them less trouble than they did her, and she'd been horrified when they'd returned with Eleanor's hair being so short. She knew from experience hair such as Eleanor's was easier to manage when it was longer as it could be braided, but now it could barely be pulled back into a bobble and it always hung about her face in a tangled mess. Of course, they both claimed Eleanor had picked the style herself and since she was such a daddy's girl and she had them both wrapped around her little finger, they hadn't refused despite knowing they'd face Hermione's wrath once they returned.

Hermione's eyes then darted to her youngest daughter, seeing her sitting on the grassy area of the playground, laughing to herself as she was surrounded by flowers of all colours, sizes and types, some Hermione didn't even recognise.

Calla had been born on May 9th the previous year and had been born weighing five pounds and seven ounces, and at 10:35 in the morning. Thankfully, Hermione hadn't been alone and the delivery had gone without issue and both Hermione and Calla had been completely healthy. Where the twins most looked like Alec, she thought that Calla actually held features of both her and Demetri. She had a head of thick mahogany curls that now fell to her shoulders, a heart shaped face and a little button nose that resembled Hermione's, but she had the biggest, brightest bluest eyes she'd ever seen and a beautiful olive complexion of which she knew she'd gotten from Demetri. The moment she'd been born she'd had every vampire in the coven all but kneeling before her, just like her siblings and whilst she knew her children were all but destined to be beautiful with their fathers' genetics, Calla was a different kind of beauty compared to her sister.

Where Eleanor almost had an angelic quality to her beauty –something Hermione found ironic given how mischievous she was and the attitude she'd inherited- Calla's beauty was more earthly, natural, and she understood why. It was only a few short months ago that Calla first showed signs of her gift and much like her siblings, it was not long after her first birthday. And now at the age of one and a half, Hermione was more than surprised that she seemed to have almost mastered her gift, of which was having power over nature. She couldn't control the weather –or at least, as far as she was aware at that moment in time, as it very well may be possible in the future- but what she could do was, cause flowers to suddenly spring no matter the time of year, so long as she had a patch of grass or a pot of soil. As a result of her power over nature, it was only natural that she loved being outdoors even more so than Eleanor. Whilst her gift was innocent now, Hermione was sure that as she aged it would only become more powerful and she'd have to always make sure to keep her attention on Aro and Caius lest they try to exploit that power.

"Mama!"

Hermione automatically flinched as she turned her eyes towards the shout, it having come from Teddy and she was surprised to see a football flying straight at her face. Before her instincts kicked in and she cast a shield, she let out a breath of relief and smiled when the football froze in place in mid-air.

"Thank you, Rassy," she smiled and he beamed at her before Eleanor grew bored of waiting and brought the ball back down to the ground and they continued with their game.

Hermione sat back on the uncomfortable bench, making a note that she'd have to cast a Cushioning Charm at some point so it wouldn't be so harsh or cold on her bum, but the hard wood of the backrest did help to alleviate some of her back pain. As she watched her children fondly, she pulled her cloak more firmly around herself when the wind kicked up and she shivered against the cold before she startled when she felt a sharp kick against her stomach. Chuckling to herself, she brought her hand up to press against her heavily pregnant stomach, feeling another kick in response.

Having four children, both her and her husbands had been completely happy in their lives and they'd never thought to discuss having any more as they more than had their hands full with three magical-vampire hybrids and one partial wizard-werewolf, so when they found out she was pregnant, they'd almost been as surprised as the time they'd discovered her first pregnancy with the twins.

If Hermione was being honest, her current pregnancy had been a complete accident, an error on her part but it couldn't have been helped. At the time she'd had a recently turned four-year-old, two three-year-olds and a recently turned one-year-old, all with chicken pox, of which, Teddy had contracted from a group of children he'd played with when he'd gone out for the day with Felix.

In turn he passed it onto his siblings –of course, they were surprised the twins and Calla had been able to catch such an illness given their immune systems- and with having four young and ill children to tend to and even with the help of her husbands, Hermione had been exhausted and as such, she'd misread the labels of her potions and rather than ingesting her Contraception Potions like she'd intended, she'd actually taken some Vitamin Boosters instead.

Within barely a month after Calla's first birthday, she'd discovered she was pregnant with their fifth child and whilst they were surprised with the news and although it hadn't been planned, it didn't mean they didn't love their baby any less than they did their other children. Snape hadn't been impressed upon learning of her pregnancy and he'd complained throughout the entirety of the health check he'd performed on her and he continued to do so during each one he did, too.

The Lords, of course, had been beside themselves to learn they were getting another addition to the coven and Demetri had been overjoyed to discover he'd fathered another child, as Snape had cast the charm because Hermione hadn't been sure who the father had been with it being a fifty-fifty chance, but unlike her previous pregnancies, for this one they'd chosen not to learn the gender of the baby, wanting it to be a surprise and the only person that actually knew was Snape.

Giving her head a light shake, she felt them approaching rather than heard them and she looked up to see Felix and Jane making their way towards her, them both giving her a smile –though one was clearly more willing to show their emotions in public than the other- when she looked to them.

"Alright children," Hermione called. "It's time for your trip to the market."

The eldest three cheered at her words and immediately stopped what they were doing, running over to Jane and Felix, crowding around them and talking over each other excitedly. Calla, however, took a bit more convincing as she didn't want to leave her little flower garden.

"Calla," Felix started, the large vampire crouching down in front of the young child on the small patch of flower coated grass. "There's a flower stall, we can get some pretty flowers for your bedroom," he promised.

Calla seemed to think about it before nodding slowly, pulling herself up onto her feet and holding her arms up as a signal she wanted picking up. Given his unnatural size, when he sat Calla on his hip she almost looked like a doll as she was so tiny compared to him.

"Be good for your Aunt and Uncle," Hermione warned. "Do not take your cloaks off and you most absolutely will not run away from them or you'll get lost in the crowd and the bad men will take you away. Teddy, Sweetheart, you need to change your hair," she said, and he frowned slightly but otherwise changed his hair to a sandy-blonde that reminded her of his father.

"Okay, have fun and don't eat too many sweets or you'll spoil your dinner," she said, pushing herself up off the bench and accepting Felix's hand when he held it out to her to help her to her feet.

Once they left the garden was suddenly quiet, not even the sound of birds disturbed the peace and she took a moment to revel in the silence until she was disturbed by a swift kick to her stomach and she let out a sigh, bringing her hand up to rest against her bump.

"Was I ignoring you?" She asked, looking down to her stomach and she chuckled when she felt another kick. "I'm sorry," she replied, before making her way out of the garden and heading straight for her library, looking ridiculous as she waddled her way to her destination. She was just glad she only had a month of her pregnancy left.

~000~000~000~

"Urgh!" Hermione made a noise of frustration. "I need food," she sighed to herself.

After spending a little over an hour in her library trying to put the finishing touches on the final project for her ancient runes masters, she was no longer able to concentrate due to her rumbling stomach.

It took some effort but she was able to stand from the armchair and she left out of her library with her sole intention being to return to her rooms and to search through the fridge, seeing what treats her husbands had stashed away on the top shelves where their children couldn't see or reach.

She wasn't surprised that she only saw two other coven members on her journey through the castle, more often than not it was quiet with the coven and The Guard having their own tasks and duties to attend to. And given the expectance of the castle almost seeming to be deserted –despite her knowing otherwise-, she was surprised when she rounded the corner only a few minutes from her rooms, and she realised she wasn't alone.

She automatically pulled her cloak around herself a little tighter and despite her heavily pregnant form, the maroon fabric covered her stomach well. If you didn't already know she was pregnant you would've never known.

There were three of them -all of who she didn't recognise- leaning against the walls of the corridor as they conversed with each other, it being so fast to Hermione it sounded as though someone had cast a Muffliato.

She knew they knew she was there, it was impossible with their hearing, but her instincts immediately screamed, Danger! Danger! She had to get away from them and fast.

They weren't members of the coven, they didn't wear the robes, the cloaks or even a badge or pin with the Volturi crest embossed on the metal. That meant they were prisoners, prisoners who most certainly weren't allowed on that side of the castle, it being for coven members only. If they were there, waiting for her she assumed, it wasn't for any reason she felt comfortable with.

They were young when they were turned, that was easy to see, she'd say they were between sixteen and twenty-one, each of them looking as though they hadn't yet finished growing into their bodies and they still had boyish features about them. But if their appearance wasn't enough to give away their age, their clothing most certainly did. They wore clothes she knew to have only come into fashion within the last decade, which led her to believe they'd been turned within the last few years. While most vampires she'd met or knew did wear current fashion and kept up with the times, they only did so to blend in if they had to leave Volterra, otherwise, they usually wore clothing that was acceptable during the time period or era of their change. Some of the dresses she'd seen some of the female vampires of the coven sporting only proved that.

She couldn't tell by looking at them where they may have hailed from beforehand, there were no distinctive features that you would associate with any ethnicities and with their speech being so fast, she couldn't pick up on an accent for either of them. They had the blood-red eyes and the pale, cold complexion that was expected of a vampire, though they did have different heights and coloured hair, one being a blonde, one a brunette and one a redhead.

It was as if they were deliberately ignoring her, toying with her maybe? She didn't like it and slowly took several steps backwards, making sure to keep her eyes forward and her fingers twitched, wishing to reach for her wand.

She stilled instantly when her back collided with a solid chest, her breath hitched and her eyes closed briefly before they fluttered open and she slowly turned to look over her shoulder, not being surprised when there was a fourth vampire, another that she didn't recognise but to her it was clear he was older than the others when he'd been changed. Maybe late twenties, or early thirties and the clothing he wore suggested he'd been changed sometime around the fifties, possibly sixties. His dark hair was gelled back in a way that almost seemed to be a cross between Elvis Presley and Danny Zuko from Grease. His blood-red eyes caught her gaze and she felt her stomach flutter when he gave her a toothy grin that showed off his sharp, venomous fangs.

She turned around and walked backwards, keeping her eyes locked on his and then they fluttered closed and she silently cursed when she hit a second solid chest and she became aware of the no longer buzzing sound of vampires speaking. She was trapped, three vampires behind her and one in front of her. It was an ambush, only she wasn't sure why.

She had to remain calm. If she screamed for help, she'd be dead before anyone could get to her. She just hoped someone would be close enough to pick up on her voice and arrive with help.

"Can I help you?" She asked, doing her very best to detach herself from her fear, but it wasn't herself she was fearful for, it was the child growing inside of her and she clenched her hands into fists to stop them from coming to rest over her stomach protectively.

"You are Miss. Granger, I presume," the older vampire in front of her said.

She narrowed her eyes the tiniest bit and pursed her lips. "I am, yes, but I'm sorry to say, I don't know your name."

His eyes flashed with hunger and promises of pain. "Robert," he answered.

"What can I do for you, Robert? I only assume it's something highly important that you risk the wrath of The Lords by roaming this side of the castle without their permission or knowledge. You do not wear the robes or cloak, or a badge or pin, so I know you to be serving out punishment here at Volterra."

"Why do you assume they are not aware of my presence?" He asked with a raised eyebrow and his mouth twitched.

"They would've told me if a non-coven member would be walking the hallways, especially if there's to be more than one," she answered, briefly looking behind her to the three vampires. "So unless there's something you wish from me, either get to the point or leave before you're spotted. The Lords don't like to be defied and I certainly wouldn't want to be the one to face their punishment."

"Jane does not frighten me," he said arrogantly.

"Lady Jane," Hermione corrected without thought. "She is a highly respected and regarded member of the coven and Guard and you need to be very careful with what you say and how you refer to her. Only a fool would willingly draw her ire. Now, seeing as you haven't yet answered my question about your purpose here, I'm going to assume it's not of importance, so if you would please excuse me, I have other matters that need attending to."

She took a step forward only for her to have a sudden head rush and her vision briefly blurred, and when it cleared she was surprised to find herself being pinned against the wall, the blonde and redhead holding an arm each, the brunette looking as though he were standing watch and the older vampire stood in front of her, looking down at her with slowly darkening eyes. Whilst the movement hadn't hurt and she'd barely felt her back press against the cold stone wall, the grip on her arms was tight, unrelenting and biting into her skin even through the fabric of her clothing as it acted as a barrier.

She took a breath and shook her head.

"I hate it when I'm manhandled," she said, glaring at the vampire furiously, no longer bothering to keep her calm facade. Her fear was slowly being replaced by her anger. That didn't bode well for anyone, especially when she was pregnant.

"I don't particularly like when my friends are executed," he fired back.

She frowned in confusion. "The Lords have not carried out an execution in years, long before I arrived."

"I am not referring to The Lords but to you."

"Me?" She said, looking at him with an expression that all but called him an idiot.

He snarled in warning, getting in her face. She didn't flinch, she didn't cry, her breath didn't hitch or her heart skip a beat. Rather, she blinked slowly, which only seemed to annoy him further.

"Lucian!"

She blinked once more before it dawned on her. Lucian. The vampire that had tried to harm Teddy, the vampire that had threatened the lives of her family and her husbands. The vampire she'd punished and later burned to ash.

"Oh, him? I remember, that was what...Four years ago? If I remember rightly, his punishment was well deserved, his execution, I admit, was a bit of an accident."

"Deserved?" He snarled at.

"Deserved," she nodded. "He not only tried to the harm my innocent child, a child only but a few months old, and twice, but he threatened the lives of my family members and he threatened the lives of my mates, Alec and Demetri. I assure you, execution was the least he deserved and I did him a favour. If my husbands had gotten their hands on him, they'd have done so much worse, they'd have put Lady Jane to shame. It was a mercy killing," she spoke without remorse. It was justified. Her magic had wanted him punished, dead, and it'd happened. There was nothing she could've done to stop it from happening.

"I assure you, I won't give you the same courtesy," he growled out, his eyes flashing dangerously and his features twisting in a way that he no longer looked beautiful but manic, the look in his eyes almost reminded her of Bellatrix Lestrange and that witch was bat-shit crazy.

"It is really worth it? The moment you lay a finger on me you've earned punishment. And do you know how he died? Only members of the Guard and coven were witness to it, so I doubt you do. But think about it for a moment, I'm human, how did I, of all people, kill a vampire? What makes me so special? Why have I been made a member of the Guard?"

"I don't care, I'll deal with the consequences later. I've waited four years for the security to be lacking at the entrance doors. As the religious humans say, an eye for an eye..."

Panic surged throughout her entire body, her stomach ached with the relentless kicking of the child inside her, her magic burned through her veins and when the vampires tightened their hold on her and the other leaned back with the intentions of surging forward, she slammed her eyes shut.

She felt the graze of sharp teeth against the skin of her neck, her body shook violently and stars and bright light burst before her closed eyes. A surge of magic had her body lurching forward, stumbling in her steps, her breath came out in pants, sweat-slicked her skin and her whole being seemed to vibrate, an almost numb feeling settling over her.

She fell back into the wall behind her, it helping her to catch herself and no longer feeling the tight grip on her arms, she slowly opened her eyes, scanning the corridor for her would-be attackers, only she was alone and the corridor was completely empty. Her eyes fell to the ground, widening slightly when she saw three piles of ash, one in front of her and one on either side of her where the two vampires had been stood. Letting her eyes dart over towards the place where the corridor turned a corner, she saw a fourth and final pile of ash. None of them had been spared. But how had it happened?

Her magic had acted out of instinct to protect her like it always did, it wasn't the first time, but how had it happened without her feeling the heat of the flames and without them screaming in agony, and it had all happened within a matter of seconds, it usually took longer.

Shaking her head, she let out a sigh of relief before her head flopped back, realising she'd have to report the incident to The Lords and that meant having to calm the fury her husbands would surely feel. The only peace of mind she got was that her children were out of the castle and had been nowhere near her at the time as she was sure they wouldn't have hesitated to kill them no matter how surprised they may have been with their existence.

She brought her hand up to her stomach, smoothing over the fabric of her clothing and making shushing sounds to calm the kicking child inside of her, being grateful when they settled down.

She could feel the numbness that flooded through her starting to withdraw, an almost tingling sensation replacing it. She frowned. Something didn't feel right. She wasn't quite sure what, but she knew something wasn't right, and it all became clear soon enough.

A terrible crippling pain shot through her, it being so painful she slumped further back into the wall and she couldn't find her voice, her mouth opening but no sound leaving her. When the pain passed she looked down to her stomach, her eyes widening upon realisation. She'd done this twice before, she knew exactly what a contraction felt like, but it was too soon. She wasn't due for another month. That's four whole weeks of development her baby still needed.

She slipped her hand beneath her cloak and did her best to lift her jumper dress, feeling her knickers being soaked, only when she pulled her hand back, she wasn't expecting to see it coated with blood. She tore her cloak open, being horrified to see that only was she bleeding, it was so bad it had trailed down her legs and congregated into a puddle on the floor.

A scream left her. Not from the pain of a contraction, but from the absolute terror that spiked through her. She'd never been more afraid in her life. When women bled during labour she knew it was a sign of something being terribly wrong, and she knew the cause. It was her magic. The attempt on her life had provoked her magic into protecting her and given that it had been four vampires rather than the usual one, her magic had overcompensated. The stress, the fear, her magic, it had ripped through her body and as a result, sent her into premature labour.

She was barely aware of the footsteps that echoed in the corridor as they approached, barely aware of a group of vampires taking in the sight of four piles of ash and connecting the dots, barely aware of Alec and Demetri being beside her in an instant, helping to steady her when a contraction hit and she fell forward, being caught by Demetri.

Only when she heard their frantic calls of her name and questions, only when she felt their comforting touch, only when she smelt their familiar scents, was she aware of her sobs, of the tears streaming down her face and falling to the ground, mixing with the slowly increasing pool of blood.

"The baby," she spoke through her sobs, catching Demetri's gaze. "Something's wrong," she sobbed, lifting her hand to show the blood that coated her fingers.

They stared horrified before their eyes darted to the ground, seeing the pool of blood between her legs on the floor. Demetri let out a sound that almost sounded like a sob, too, and before she knew it, Alec was gone from beside her, she was lifted off the ground and she soon found herself in their rooms, being gently laid out on the bed and pillows were used to prop up her back.

"Everything's going to be alright," he muttered softly, half sitting behind her and beside her, taking her hand in his and peppering it with gentle kisses when she let out a cry of pain. "I promise," he muttered, his eyes darting to the once white bedding which had now soaked through with blood.

The door to their rooms barged open and Demetri's eyes instantly moved to it when Lord Marcus strode in, looking just as horrified as he felt and he crossed over to the bed, standing beside it and starting at Hermione in sadness and terror.

Lord Aro and Caius, for their part, look worried, too as they stood in the doorway, being unable to enter due to Hermione's wards that surrounded the room.

"What happened?" Lord Aro demanded.

"I don't know," he breathed out, knowing very well that if he were human, he'd most certainly be crying, too. "We heard her screaming and we found her along with four piles of ash," he answered.

Their eyes hardened at the obvious meaning behind his words; there was only one reason that would be found and why it would have occurred and they all knew it. Hermione had been forced to defend herself.

Hermione cried out and he felt her squeezing at his hand though it didn't hurt in the slightest, it did remind him that she needed him and his attention needed to be on her and not his Lords and Masters.

He felt useless. With all of his abilities, his strength, speed, senses, none of it was of any use to him. There was nothing he could do to ease her pain, and no matter what he said, he knew his words wouldn't ease her worries or fears either. He wasn't sure who he'd been trying to comfort with his previous words to her, but he knew they sure as hell hadn't worked for either of them.

"Move!" Snape snapped, not the least bit afraid of the consequences for speaking to The Lords in such a manner.

He barged past them, throwing off his robes and dropping them to the ground carelessly, pulling up the sleeves of his shirt and his wand already moving in intricate patterns as he all but ran over to Hermione. It was the fastest Demetri had seen him move.

Alec soon appeared in the room, too, Demetri having known he'd left to retrieve Snape from the potions shop he ran for The Volturi. Usually, he didn't work Saturdays but with Hermione being pregnant, Snape was a pair of hands down when it came to keeping up with the stocking of potions so he'd been putting in the extra hours to compensate for the fact.

Despite it being clear Lord Marcus didn't want to leave Hermione's side, he did so to allow Alec the room he needed, being ready to help Snape with anything he required. The expression on his face was filled with worry and horror, something he knew to be mirrored on his own. Alec may not have been the biological father, but he loved Hermione and the children whether they were his blood or not, just as Demetri did.

"What happened?" Snape asked her, sounding surprisingly gentle.

Gentle in a way they hadn't heard from him before. That alone alerted Demetri to the fact that whatever was wrong, it had the grumpy, snarky Potioneer on edge, so much so he didn't want to upset anyone and he looked as though he wasn't quite sure how to process the turn of events either.

"Vampires, four of them," Hermione spoke through her cries. "They wanted to kill me because of what I did to Lucian. My magic protected me. The stress, the situation, my magic, it..."

"Forced you into premature labour," he finished for her softly and she nodded violently, her hand tightening around Demetri's.

"Something's wrong, I know it. I can feel it."

Snape let out a sigh and ran a slightly bloodied hand through his less than usual greasy hair.

"Please, tell me," she begged.

His eyes darted between Alec, Demetri, The Three Lords who all stood in the doorway, Hermione and then her stomach.

"Placenta abruption," he answered. "The placenta's been torn from your uterus, the baby's being starved of the oxygen and nutrients it needs, we don't have a lot of time."

"Then do something... Please! I can't lose my baby," she cried.

Snape sighed. "Hermione," he spoke softly, definitely holding the attention of everyone nearby as he never called her by her given name. "You can't deliver the baby naturally, it's too dangerous. I'll have to cut it out of you."

"Then do it!"

"You don't understand, there's already too much bleeding, if I deliver the baby through a c-section, we risk more blood loss."

Silence rang out, the only sound being Hermione's sobs of terror at losing the baby and her cries of agony as contractions continued to plague her.

"It's Hermione or the baby..." Alec breathed out; his already terrified and horrified expression turning more so as his eyes darted between her stomach and the blood that had soaked through the bedsheets.

"Save my baby," she pleaded.

"Hermione..." Snape started.

"No, it's time."

Demetri shared a slightly surprised look with Alec before they both nodded in understanding. Save the baby and if Hermione was to die, change her.

"The baby first," Demetri confirmed.

"The baby first," Alec agreed.

Everything seemed to happen so quickly, but at the same time in slow motion. It was hard to find the words to describe everything that happened within the next ten minutes. The door was closed to give them privacy, Hermione was laid flat on her back, her head propped up by Demetri's thighs, her dress was shifted to reveal her stomach, Alec darted about the room and following Snape's orders and directions so quickly that in his distracted state, he found it difficult to keep up.

And then Alec was using his gift on Hermione, taking away her senses, taking away her pain and her terror and Snape was cutting into Hermione's too pale and too clammy flesh, slicing open her stomach. He didn't want to watch but he couldn't tear his eyes away either, and before he knew it, a baby, their baby, was pulled free from Hermione's stomach, the umbilical cord was cut and Snape turned away with the baby in his arms.

A silent baby that wasn't crying.

Demetri didn't believe in God, and no longer did he believe in the Greek Gods that he'd once worshipped in his human life, but that didn't stop him from praying to every deity there was to save their baby.

He tried to see what Snape was doing, but at the angle he stood at it was impossible, but what he could see were the remnants of glowing beams of lights. The seconds ticked by until the wait became unbearable and then a sudden loud cry from a strong set of lungs sounded and he and Alec both let out noises of relief, both of them knowing that if it were possible, they'd be crying.

Snape turned around after a moment of cleaning the newborn and wrapping it in a soft blanket, and as he slowly approached Alec released Hermione from his gift, a chocked gasp sounding from her and though her sobs and cries didn't stop when she saw Snape approaching, they were no longer fuelled by terror or worry, they were fuelled by relief and joy.

Snape came to a stop beside the bed, giving Hermione an uncharacteristic twitch of the lips which he supposed was the closest he'd get to smiling.

"You've got a healthy daughter," he spoke.

Demetri breathed deeply, honestly not feeling the least bit bothered about having another girl; a daughter or son, it didn't matter to him. All that mattered was their child was healthy and regardless of gender, he'd love her more than thought possible. Alec and Demetri both smiled when Snape gentle placed their daughter to rest against Hermione's chest, her arms coming up to cradle the little bundle.

"She's beautiful," she whispered, her tears not letting up and falling down her cheeks.

"With a mother like you, of course, she is," Demetri muttered softly, bringing his hand up to push the blanket aside a little so he could better see the face of his youngest daughter.

For obvious reasons, Teddy didn't look like any of them unless he changed his appearance, Erasmus and Eleanor looked most like Alec, Calla was a mixture between himself and Hermione, but their youngest daughter, he thought she looked most like him. A head of thick, dark hair peeked out from beneath the blanket, it being similar to his own dark locks, and she had an olive complexion and even his nose, too. But when she opened her eyes for the first time, they were Hermione's. Big, beautiful and chocolate brown. He knew all she had to do was look at him and he'd give her the world. Her eyes would be his downfall.

"Damara?" Hermione said quietly and Demetri nodded in agreement.

They'd shortlisted several names for both a boy and a girl, and decided to hold off on choosing a name until they had their baby in their arms. Looking down at her, Demetri thought the name most suited her out of the others they'd chosen and was in full agreement with Hermione's suggestion.

"Damara," he agreed.

"A beautiful name for a beautiful little lady," Alec spoke, now being on Hermione's other side and leaning over so he could better see her, a smile pulling at his face when she let out a yawn which soon turned into a loud cry. "She's got a set of lungs on her," he chuckled. "I've a feeling she's going to put Ellie to shame."

"I hope not," Hermione said, sounding sleepy. "She's already a handful; don't want to give her someone that's able to compete with her, it'll only make things worse."

"Hermione?" Alec questioned, the joy on his face morphing into worry as he looked down at her. She was pale...Almost deathly pale. And her eyes started drooping. "Snape, her heart rate's slowing," he said.

Snape let out a word they'd never heard him use before and though he didn't want to, he took their baby from Hermione's barely conscious form and stepped back from the bed, cradling the bundle in his arms as he watched both Snape and Alec working in overtime to save her.

Demetri knew it was no use. She was dying and if they wanted her to be with them for the rest of their existence, she'd have to be changed.

"I can't stop the bleeding," Snape spoke, sounding frustrated and he roughly brushed his hair back from his face, smudging blood across his cheek.

"Bite her," Demetri's voice penetrated their frazzled states and they both looked to him. "This is what she wanted. If she couldn't be saved, change her. We knew this was going to happen at some point."

"Yes, but not until she'd had the chance to live first," Alec spoke, looking torn between trying to save her and possibly losing her forever, or biting her and having her forever as a vampire.

"We've given her as good a life as we could. She's experienced most things humans do, love, marriage, children, adventure... She spent her life with us, now it's time for us to be together in death, forever. You and I both know we won't function without her, the children will keep us sane but we won't be whole, they'd be a part of us missing, and do you really want to take Hermione away from our children? They need their mother as much as we need our wife, our mate. She knew she'd be changed someday, we both did, we just didn't know when that would occur."

Alec's decision was already made and he moved over to Hermione's side, picking up her wrist in his hand, feeling the clamminess of her skin, the cold sweat slick against his palm and he brought his mouth down, placing a gentle kiss against her almost nonexistent pulse point. He opened his mouth, bearing his fangs and prepared to bite into her flesh, when Snape muttered something beneath his breath, pushed Alec aside and within the blink of an eye, he raised his hand before quickly bringing it down, plunging a large syringe straight into Hermione's heart.

Withdrawing the syringe, he stepped back and kept his eyes focused on Hermione's face. If it weren't for all the blood and mess, they'd have mistaken her for sleeping peacefully.

"Inject the venom straight into the heart and it should spread through the body a lot quicker than a bite," Snape explained. "How long until the transformation is complete?"

Alec blinked before shaking his head and retaking Hermione's hand in his and Demetri approached, coming to a stop beside him with the little bundle still cradled in his arms gently, her cries having stopped.

"Usually five days, but it has been known to take up to seven. The stronger the human, the longer it takes the venom to take effect."

Snape rolled his eyes. "Then we shall be here forever, she's the most stubborn person I know."

Alec and Demetri shared a slight smile before they eyes went back to their wife, and soon, she would be just like them and they'd be together for eternity.

Now, the waiting began.

AN

Calla – This is a traditional Greek name that means to be beautiful, delicate and unique.

Damara – This is also a traditional Greek name and it means to be gentle, kind and caring.

Mother Gaia – I originally had Calla's name as Gaia but changed my mind at the last minute thinking it was too obvious giving the gift I've given her.