Linspace

Chapter 15

"Miss Granger."

Demetri couldn't help the smile that appeared on his face at the sight of the witch. She was as exquisite as he remembered with her beautiful brown and doe-like eyes, that clearly showed her surprise at seeing him, and her gorgeous curly mass of mahogany hair, slightly wilder than the last time he'd seen her. Her scent, though, was what made almost impossible for the vampire to concentrate and remember what he was doing there. That heavenly combination of cinnamon and vanilla drew him to her like nothing ever did before and he wondered, in the back of his mind, how could he have lived without it until now.

He was so entranced with her that it took him a moment to realise there were other smells present in the room, particularly the one he immediately recognised as belonging to a wolf. His eyes snapped up faster than humanly possible and they narrowed when they set on the man standing behind Miss Granger, closer to her than Demetri was comfortable with. That last thought confused him a bit but he didn't waste time to ponder on it when he saw the wolf taking a step towards him to stand in front of the witch protectively and letting out a growl in warning.

Demetri felt his hatred quickly mounting and taking over his control when Miss Granger's voice reached his ears, remembering him of her presence and tampering down his desire to kill the other man. The possibility of her getting hurt in the process then vanishing it completely.

"Paul. Stop that." She said, her voice hard.

The wolf stopped growling but didn't move, his anger and disdain for him clearly written on his face.

"I'm serious. Stand back or I'm going to stun you." She continued.

That did it, whatever it meant, as the shape-shifter took a deep breath and after giving the vampire a last warning look stepped back behind her.

Still too close. Thought Demetri, again fighting to maintain his composure. Thankfully Miss Granger spoke again, bringing his attention to her.

"This is certainly a surprise. What are you doing here Demetri? You didn't change your mind about killing me, did you?" She asked, with an eyebrow arched and the hint of a smile on her face.

Demetri chuckled, she was so amusing. There was another growl from behind her but they both ignored it.

"No, I still have no desire to kill you." he replied smirking a little. His face turned serious then.

"May I come in?" he asked politely.

"Absolutely not." came the immediate response from the wolf, which was followed by a weary "Paul, mate." coming from the other boy in the room, the wizard, Demetri guessed judging by the scent of his blood. Blood that he could actually smell, he belatedly noted. It was different, yes, but it was there.

The witch was clearly annoyed now, as she rounded on the man behind her and held up her right arm pointing a wooden stick at him. Her wand, Demetri realised. After a quick flick of her wrist and a whispered word that he didn't recognise, the vampire was amazed to see the wolf's mouth opening and closing to speak but with no sound coming out. Handy.

Miss Granger then turned her attention back to the vampire still standing on the threshold and motioned for him to follow her to what he supposed was the living room, the two other boys in tow.

Demetri took the seat on the couch that was offered to him before starting to speak.

"Miss Granger-"

"You can call me Hermione, Demetri." interrupted the witch with an amused smile, taking a seat on the armchair on the right side of the couch with the wolf, still silenced, remaining standing behind her and the other boy sitting on the armrest. It was more than a little irritating that they were hovering around her like guards, as if Demetri was waiting for the perfect moment to pounce on her. And if his intuition wasn't failing him, she was finding it irritating too.