Linspace

Chapter 14

The day was starting out good. The sky was surprisingly clear and the weather was slightly windy, which was a nice change. Hermione had managed to get a full night sleep for the first time after the death of her parents and was ready for her first day of training with both the Cullens and the pack.

After the eventful days they had all been through last week they had decided to take some time to rest before getting to work, knowing that what was awaiting them was going to be hard on everyone. So Hermione had planned to split her time between the library, which she had neglected lately, and finally setting up the potions lab in the other spare room in the left wing. Dragging a reluctant Harry to help for the latter. Even if they were constantly interrupted by Paul or Jacob, that could always be found in their kitchen when they weren't on patrol or at Emily's.

The doorbell ringing brought her back to earth.

"Five dollars that is Paul." said Harry descending the stairs and joining her in the hallway. She looked at him and arched an eyebrow while holding back a laugh. It was Jake, she had been warned the moment he crossed the wards around the house. But Harry didn't need to know that.

"Deal." said the witch making her way to the door, opening it and letting the younger boy in.

"Good morning, Jake." She greeted cheerfully and then turned to Harry smirking and holding her hand out, palm up. He grumbled but searched his pockets to give her the money.

"Are you ready to go?" Asked Jacob looking between the two of them amused.

"Yep. Paul's arrived too." replied Hermione and a moment later Paul appeared on the threshold.

"How did you know?" Asked both Harry and Jacob at the same time.

Hermione blinked. That was weird.

She shook her head and chuckled before approaching Paul to greet him with a hug but he surprised her with a brief kiss on the lips. Well, that works too. She thought with a smile and a slight blush. She then remembered the other boys in the room.

"The wards, Harry." She said looking at the wizard over her shoulder before getting out of the house and heading for the woods. She knew they were all following when she heard laughter behind her and and a shout of "Hey, you cheated! I want my money back!" from Harry.

They were going to train in a clearing that took a bit longer to reach than the ones they usually used. Hermione hadn't seen it yet but she knew it was bigger and consequently more suitable for the pack and coven combined plus a witch, a wizard and a human. Not many knew of its existence, which gave them the privacy they needed, even though Hermione and Harry were going to put up some wards just to be sure.

The rest of the pack was already there when the four of them arrived and the Cullens were not far behind, appearing only a minute later with Bella.

Hermione watched as the wolves and vampires scrutinized each other distrustfully, the former with their teeth slightly bared and the latter on their guard, ready to attack if necessary. She sighed.

Let the fun begin.

"Good morning everyone!" she spoke up, her voice laced with forced cheerfulness and a bit louder than necessary. It served to break their staring contest though. "Now that we are all here, I say we can begin. Jasper?" she continued, addressing the blond vampire. He nodded in response and took a few steps forward.

"Today I'm going to show you what kind of threat we are up against." He started, his voice clear and his face stoic. "Newborns are not like the average vampire. They are stronger, faster and driven by their bloodlust, which make them unpredictable and far more dangerous. For these reasons taking down one is going to be more difficult, you'll have to learn how to take them by surprise." He paused, letting them take in his words before continuing. "They are, however, new to this life and therefore without the same knowledge as we do. Shape-shifters are a foreign concept for them, as is magic, which gives us a slight advantage. But still not enough to take down an army easily, so we need to be prepared." He then turned to look at his family.