Chapter 3
Arrival
It was a humid August night when a bright light emerged then quickly faded in a secluded portion of a forest. Three people could be seen lying on the ground, groaning as they took a moment to regain their equilibrium before standing. Brushing the dirt off their clothes as much as possible. Fenrir tilted his head to the sky and took a deep breath. He then turned to Hermione, scooped her up in a tight embrace, and spun her around, both of them laughing. He set her back on her feet, pressing his forehead against hers, "Thank you." Hermione smiles, "We're free." The two were lost in each other until a throat cleared, "We should get moving and find a place to stay."
Leilani pulled her new wand from her bag, set it in her palm, and whispered, "Point me." Her Ash wood with Phoenix Feather core started to spin. Leilani kept in mind their goal for lodging as she watched her wand slow to a stop in the direction they needed to walk. They had walked for almost an hour when a large gap in the trees came into view. "A road. And look, a sign." Leilani pointed at the sign coming into view. "Welcome to Mystic Falls, Virginia. So, we're in the states." Lei shrugged. Not only were they in a different dimension, but they were also in another country.
Hermione stopped walking, her head tilted to the side with a look of confusion on her face. Fenrir noticed and asked, "What is it, love?" Lei stopped next to her friend, curious about what was going on. Hermione looked around the area before answering, "I stretched out my magic to see if this world had any, and there is magic here but it's different." Fenrir's eyes scan the area, "Different, how?" "I'm not sure. However, it seems this town is situated near a crossroad of Ley Lines." Hermione focused ahead of her.
"So? We may bump into others who have magic but it won't be the same?" Lei asked. Hermione shrugged her shoulders, "Possibly. From what I felt, the three of us have more magic than anything around here besides the Ley Lines." They started walking towards the town again. With his keen eyesight and sense of smell, Fenrir kept a lookout for danger. He could feel what Hermione was talking about now, and something else felt off to him. Leilani stood on the other side of Hermione, also keeping an eye out for trouble. She laughs to herself, thinking, "Trouble really does follow me."
On the other side of town, Sheila Bennett and her granddaughter felt an immense wave of magic that was unlike anything they ever felt. Bonnie asked her grams, "Have you ever felt anything like that?" Sheila shook her head, "Never." Sheila shivered as she also felt like the Angel of Death entered their small town. She didn't know how close she was to the truth.
An additional twenty minutes of walking found the trio standing at the front door of a bed and breakfast. A quick cast of the Tempus charm said it was a little before 9 pm. Hermione rang the bell and they waited patiently. An older, kind-looking woman opens the door, smiles, and greets the trio. The woman escorted them inside the B&B, where the trio rented two rooms for a week-long stay. Their rooms were next to each other. They said their goodnights and made plans to explore the town in the morning.
Lei shot up in the strange bed, covered in sweat, a hoarse throat, and dried tear streaks from the most recent nightmare. The clock on the bedside table blinked bright red numbers, 10:35 am. Thankful she remembered to put a silencing spell on the room. She knew her screams and crying would have woken the whole B&B. Leilani got out of bed and went into the small ensuite to shower and get ready for the day. She dressed in black skinny jeans with rips in the knees, a Gryffindor red tee-shirt, black vans, and Sirius' leather jacket. After putting her hair up in a messy bun, she glamoured the few scars that were visible. Her magical tattoos were covered by her jacket. She had gotten them after the war to commemorate her fallen friends and family. Lei strapped her wand holster to her thigh and put her Mokeskin pouch in her jacket pocket. Her wand had a concealment charm on it, so nobody could see it.
Coming down the stairs, Lei could hear Fenrir and Hermione talking near the door. Hermione looks up at Lei, "Good morning. How did you sleep?" Hermione was dressed in black leggings, a light purple shirt, and a matching, knitted jumper. Lei sighed, "Besides the normal, not too bad. What about you guys?" Lei watched the other two cast glances at each other before Fenrir answered, "We slept pretty good. It was weird having an actual bed." He looked much healthier this morning wearing black slacks, a black button-up shirt, boots, and a leather jacket with his long hair tied at the nape of his neck. He looked like he belonged in a motorcycle club. Hermione just nodded her head then she cleared her throat, "So, ready to explore? I'd like to find us a place before the end of the week." They started walking out of the door towards the center of town. "And find someplace to eat," Leilani stated, her stomach growling loudly.
They were walking past several shops when Hermione saw a newsstand with the latest news so she bought the paper. She read the date out loud, "The date is August 26, 2009. So, we also time traveled." Fenrir and Lei just shrugged. "Ooh, look. The Mystic Grill," Lei pointed out the town's only bar and grill. They entered the Grill, and every set of eyes turned their way. One pair of eyes widened from her chair at a table towards the back, she felt that overwhelming feeling from the night before the moment the door opened, and it got stronger as three newcomers came into the place.
Leilani did her best to ignore the stares and pulled her two companions to a booth. Hermione and Fenrir sat together on one bench, Lei sat on their other side. From her seat, Lei could feel someone staring at their table. Hermione leaned forward and spoke quietly, "Did you feel a small bit of magic when you walked in?" Before Lei could answer, a waitress came up to the table, "Morning, what can I getcha?" Hermione reads from her menu, "I'll have a cheeseburger with fries and water, please." Lei read the waitress' name tag, "I'll have the same, Vicky. Thank you." Vicky bats her eyelashes at Fenrir but he wasn't paying attention, "Bacon cheeseburger, extra pink, and fries with water. Thanks." Vicky removed the menus from the table after writing down their orders and walked away.
The table where Bonnie and Caroline were sitting wasn't too far from the booth occupied by the newcomers. Both girls' eyes seemed to pop out of their heads when they heard their accents. Caroline nudged her head in the booth's direction, "Should we go introduce ourselves?" Bonnie looked over to the booth catching the gaze of a pair of eerily beautiful green eyes. She looks away quickly, "Might as well. I just have a bad feeling."
Bonnie and Caroline approached the booth as the group finished ordering their food and drinks. Caroline stood next to Hermione, "Hi, we couldn't help but notice that you're new to our small town and we wanted to introduce ourselves. I'm Caroline Forbes and this is Bonnie Bennett." "I'm Hermione Greyback. This is my husband, Fenrir," Hermione shook Caroline's hand and then waved at a silent Bonnie. Fenrir just waved, not wanting to be rude but not comfortable with physical contact from anyone else besides Hermione. Caroline turned to Leilani, "Hullo, I'm Leilani Evans. And it's a lovely town. We just got here last night."
Bonnie stayed quiet the whole time. She felt extremely uncomfortable being so close to that much raw power. Bonnie could only stand there and listen as Caroline spoke for her. She was thinking she needs to speak with her grams. Bonnie couldn't believe the feeling from last night was the people that were sitting in front of her. She came back to herself when Caroline grasped her elbow, "Bonnie? You okay?" She shook her head and looked around at the people at the booth then back to Caroline before going back to their table. Caroline sighed, "I'm sorry about Bonnie. She's not herself today. It was nice meeting you. Hope to see you around." Caroline didn't wait for a response before walking away to catch up with her best friend leaving the Grill.
Vicky came to their booth with their orders, "Alright, enjoy. Let me know if you need anything else." Setting the plates and drinks down then walks back to the kitchen. "Well, it seems we just met a witch," Lei said as she picked up her burger. Hermione agreed, "She probably could sense our magic." Hermione looked over to the man sitting next to her.
Fenrir was already tearing into his burger. Hermione placed a hand on his shoulder, "Slow down. It's not going anywhere. And we don't want you getting sick from eating something so heavy after being in that place for so long." Fenrir put his burger down and chewed slower. Lei did the same, not noticing she was eating just as fast, "I'm still not used to having so much food in one sitting. During our time on the run, we had to scavenge for food once the stock ran out. Which didn't take long when accompanied by the bottomless Weasel." The three of them chuckled, knowing the eating habits of one Ronald Billius Weasley.
Lei excuses herself to the restroom after finishing her meal. On her way back to the booth she overhears a man talking to himself, "I hate kids. Should've been a sports reporter, not a high school history teacher." Lei is reminded of a certain potions professor. She knew how it felt to have a professor who hated kids, she pitied the students. Lei knows what she is about to do is wrong but the idea of someone who hates kids teaching doesn't sit well with her. She moves to sit next to the guy at the bar, discreetly pulling out her wand, "Imperio." She watches as the man's face exchanges a scowl for a smile. Knowing the spell is active, Lei tells the man, "You are going to quit your job at the high school and move out of town, start a new life." The man puts his drink down, pulls out enough money to cover his drinks, and leaves.
Hermione and Fenrir came over to Lei after paying. "What did you just do?" Hermione asked her best friend/sister. Lei smiles, "I just got myself a job. Easy way to blend in and learn more about the residents of this town." "Doing what exactly?" The overly stuffed but happy werewolf asks. "History teacher. Hermione did say I was good at teaching." Lei stood from the barstool and walked to the door. Hermione just shook her head, "Sometimes I wonder what goes through her head." Lei sarcastically replies over her shoulder, "Hot air, and Do the Hippogriff on a loop." Only three people could be heard laughing, the rest of the Grill was confused.
Exploring more of the town center, Hermione stops them in front of the only realtor in town. Fenrir opens the door for the ladies then follows behind them. Hermione speaks with one of the realtors, "Hullo, we're new in town and looking to stay." The realtor looks the three of them over, noting how casual they were dressed. She was going to turn them away, but she wanted her commission. "Of course, my name is Janet. Is this your first time buying a home?" Hermione answered, "Yes, we recently moved from Surrey, England wanting a fresh start." Janet led the three of them into her office and asked several more questions before showing them a listing.
Hermione read the list with Lei reading over her shoulder. Lei pointed to a listing, an older home with plenty of rooms, a basement, an attic, and a beautiful landscape. Hermione read it over, leaned over to Fenrir, and showed him the listing. The three of them agreed that this would be perfect for them. Handing the listings back to the realtor, "We'll take this property here." Hermione points to it. The realtor smiled and nodded her head, "That is an excellent choice. Would you like to tour it?" Lei waved her suggestion off, "No. That's alright. We'd like to move in as soon as possible." Janet was a little offended but didn't show it, the home really was a beautiful example of Victorian architecture.
When it came time to fill out all the paperwork, Hermione may or may not have Confunded the realtor to speed up the process. They left with an appointment at ten in the morning the next day to retrieve their new house keys. They decided they were done for the day and returned to the B&B for more rest and to tell Winky and Pip about the house. The house-elves are currently caring for the creatures in Hermione's Sanctuary as they wait to see their new home.
AN: Alaric will replace the English teacher. The English teacher will be the one Damon attacks during the first football game.