Fight Little Witch

In a flash Damon was gone. The three girls rushed up the stairs back into Hermione’s room. There they spotted Hermione sitting up in bed, a stick pointed at Damon.

”You’re Damon, Remus’s friend.” Hermione said softly, wand still pointed towards the vampire.

”Yes I am. You’re Hermione, Teddy’s godmother. And that must be the little tik himself.” He said, a small smile on his lips. “I see he inherited his mother’s ability, but he still looks like his father.” As he spoke, Damon walked around the bed to kneel beside it. His hand gently brushed the bangs from the child’s eyes. He looked up at the woman, eyes squinting in concern. “You don’t look too well.”

”Been on the run for a while. Tried looking for you at some point in the last couple years, but you’re a hard man to track down.” Hermione said with a soft smile. 

“I’m sorry about that. I would have helped if I had known.” He said sadly.

Hermione shrugged, settling back down in the bed and curling around Teddy. “It’s alright. So, how do you know my sister and I’m assuming my little brother.”

Damon shrugged. “Let’s just says, we’re friends.”

Caroline scoffed, causing a smile to slip onto Hermione’s lips. “I see Remus’s stories of you aren’t lies.”

Damon scoffed at that. “Remus wasn’t as good as he claimed to be.”

”I know. He always told me what he was up to when you were involved, he wanted me and Harry to be prepared for how Teddy might act.” She laughed softly.

”How long have you been running?” He asked.

”Three Years.”

“From who?”

”Did Remus ever mention the battle we lost Sirius in? How I got injured?”

”Yeah, he said a wizard nearly killed you.”

”So, that Wizard, and the guy that turned Remus when he was little. Dohvlo and Grayback.” She answered.

"Damn it. I thought the dickhead was dead?"

"Yeah, he was. Until he and Dohvlo teamed up and came after Teddy and I a year after the war was over. We've been on the run since. Harry wanted to come with us, but we needed him at the ministry leading the charge to catch them."

"Have you guys seen him since?" Damon whispered, watching the young woman carefully. 

"It's been two years since it was safe for us to meet up. Now, we just send patronus's to update the others on what's going on and where we're at."

"How has Teddy been with all of this?" He asked.

"He's strong, and stubborn. With the full moon tonight he's not feeling the greatest, but he's alright. He doesn't turn like Remus used to, but he gets crabby and sick all the same. We're not entirely sure why this happens, but unless he's bitten he won't turn." 

"Maybe he just needs to make a kill to turn. That's how it works with the werewolves here. You have to make a first kill, whether on purpose or accident, it doesn't matter. A kill is a kill, and that's how you turn if you're a werewolf by genetics." Damon explained.

"Let's keep the killing to a minimum around Teddy, Damon. I don't need to expose him to death more than he already has been. It doesn't help that we've been on the run." She sighed.

Damon watched the young woman. "Why don't we go downstairs and grab some food. We'll let Teddy keep sleeping."

She rolled her eyes, but slowly extracted herself from under Teddy. Damon placed a hand on her back to stabilize her, as she swayed for a moment, before escorting her downstairs. Damon made her some food, and watched her until she took a few bites.

"How are you guys so close?" Caroline asked, pointing between Hermione and Damon.

"Damon stuck around for about a month after the funeral. He helped Andy, Harry, and I out with Teddy. He was also just there when I needed a friend." Hermione explained.

Damon shared a small smile, before turning to look at the other three girls. "So, what's the plan?"

Hermione shrugged. "Not sure. There's a lot going on, I don't even know where to start."

"Where were you before this?"

"Somewhere in Australia. We stayed with my aunt and uncle for a couple weeks, before moving on to Sydney."

"Well, we'll get them if they decide to pay a visit to good ol' Mystic Fall." Damon said with an evil grin. "I'll finally get to rip the head off the werewolf's body. We'll get rid of the evil wizard after you. You and Teddy will be safe once more, and everyone can sing koombiah around the campfire in peace." 

Hermione chuckled. "Sounds like an excellent plan." She said.

"Your condoning murder?" Elena asked, appalled by her sisters behavior.

Hermione looked at her sister, eyes void of emotion. "When you're in a war, Elena, you get two choices. You can either be the pray, the one killed off before you even get the chance to fight back; or you become the predator, where you fight until the other goes down. I've been the predator since I was thirteen. I killed people to survive when Harry, Ron, and I went on the run. When you're being hunted it's kill or be killed. So, yeah, I'll condone these murders. Especially Grayback."

It was then that Elena really looked at her sister for the first time. The sister that she knew, the one in her memories, was nothing like the woman sitting in her kitchen. It was a shock she didn't expect. "Hermione, it's murder. It's not ok."

"I don't think you understand, but I'll lay it out like this. If Alaric, this amazing hunter that I've heard so much about, who is also your guardian, murders a vampire, or a werewolf, or a witch, it's still murder. Yet, you're ok with those murders, and not the ones that I plan on making for those who tend to do me and the little boy upstairs, harm. Grow up, Elena. Mom and Dad aren't here to tell you otherwise, so I will. Grow up and face reality. You have to flexible when it comes to situations like these. If someone attacked you right now, and you accidently killed them, it's still murder. It's self-defense, but it's still murder. Stop acting like a naive twelve year old, and face reality like an adult." Hermione spoke in an even tone. So much so that it caused a shiver to race down each of the girls spines. 

"You can't show up again after all these years and tell me what to do, Hermione." Elena shot back petulantly. 

Hermione chuckled mirthlessly. "I'm not. All I'm saying is you need to wake up. I've been running for my life, and the life of my godson, for the past three years. I have not been able to rest properly since I started Hogwarts. It was Quirrl in first year, then being petrified in second year. I helped a wrongfully convicted prisoner escape prison in third year. Fourth year was the bloody tournament where a friend was killed and fucking Voldemort returned from the bloody dead. Fifth year was Umbridge, where she made us write lines in detention with our own blood. I still have the scars to prove it from that one. Also, Sirius died, and I was almost killed by the same man that's currently after me. Sixth year, Dumbledore died. Seventh year the bloody war. Was on the run for a year, camping out in the woods with Harry and Ron, and a magical necklace that fucked with my thoughts. I was tortured. I should be in the bloody hospital right now, drowning in my own drool, but I'm not. Still bloody alive. And Dobby died. Then the final battle. Harry, Remus, Tonks, Fred, Collin, Lavender, so many students died. Severus Bloody Snape died before I could wring his neck myself, but it was still a bloody tragedy. Just when things start to return to normal, after all the funerals, and trying to heal from all the wounds, Grayback and Dohvlo appear out of bloody nowhere and try to kill me and Teddy in the middle of Diagon Alley. It was luck that Andy was there, so she and Teddy to run to the floo and grab Harry, while I shieled and protected the bloody civilians. Then Teddy and I went on the run, and have been running for three years now. When I say, grow up, I mean stop thinking of everything as black and white, and find the bloody gray. If you can't, you'll never survive in this world." 

A silence echoed through the kitchen, only broken by the sound of the front door opening. "Hello? Elena?"

"Kitchen." Elena called back immediately, eyes still trained on Hermione in shock. Just then, two guys appeared, one was Jeremy. 

"Who are you?" The mystery guys asked.

"Hermione. And you?"

"Hermione?" Jeremy asked, eyes widening for a moment, before rushing forward and scooping the witch from her seat.

"Hi, Jeremy. It's so good to see you." She whispered, wrapping her arms around her brother, who was now taller than her.

"How are you? When did you get here? Why didn't you tell me you were coming?" Jeremy rattled off.

Hermione laughed, and smile softly at him. "I'm alright. I got here earlier. Sorry I didn't give you any notice, it was a last minute decision."

"I see you met Damon already." Jeremy said with a slight frown, and a small glare his way.

"Actually, I met Damon before. I actually went looking for him a couple years ago, only to stumble upon him here." Hermione chuckled.

"How do you know Damon?" The mystery guy asked.

"So, you must be Stefen. Damon told me a lot about you." Hermione stated, eyebrow raising in slight disapproval. 

"Funny, can't say the same about you." Stephen retorted.

She focused back on Jeremy. "Damon was friend with my godsons father. We met at his funeral four years ago. He stayed for about a month, and we got to know each other. Helped out a lot with Little Teddy."

"Damon? Being helpful?" Jeremy snarked.

Damon grinned evilly at him. "Easy there Pocahontas. I could always kill you, again."

"Damon, you've killed my brother before?" Hermione turned to face the vampire.

"In my defense, he deserved." Damon held his hands up in mock defense.

Hermione drew her wand and sent a stinging hex at him. Damon yelped. "Don't do it again. I have plenty of hexes that I would love to practice." 

Jeremy laughed, drawing his sister into his side. "I missed having you around."

"I missed you too, Jer."

"So, family reunion aside, what's the plan with Klaus?" Stefen asked.

"Klaus? As in Klaus Mikaelson?" Hermione asked, looking at everyone with wide eyes. "He's here too?"

"Yeah. How do you know Klaus?" Bonnie asked.

"I knew his family. Well, him, Elijah, Rebekah, and-and Kol." She swallowed at the last name. She tried not to think about him often. Their last interaction was him breaking up with her.

"Yeah, they're all here. So is mommy dearest." Damon snarked.

"Esther is alive?" Hermione gasped, fear spiking through her. 

"Yep."

"That evil, psychotic bitch, is actually still breathing? Michal too?" Hermione pressed, eyes narrowing at everyone.

"Nope, Klaus killed him about a month ago." Stefen answered, watching Hermione closely. "Hang on, how do you know them?"

"I-I-Kol and I used to date. It was right before the war. I ran into them, and we got along. Kol broke up with me just before Dumbledore died. I went looking for them around the time I went looking for Damon, only I couldn't find any of them." Hermione sighed, rubbing at her temples. She wasn't sure if she could handle them, on top of Dohvlo and Grayback. "I'm gonna go back upstairs. Don't tell them I'm here." She whispered, before excusing herself.