~ It's been quite a while since I've posted any stories or chapters on here, but recently I've been getting a lot of ideas and decided to go with them. This story would be one of them. I'm a huge Harry Potter fan. Twilight...seen the movie a few times, that's it, which is why I'm pretty sure Edward's character won't be accurate, but humor me. But I got an idea for this story using a character I created for a new HP story of mine (yet to be posted, should be soon) and thought it was acceptable, so here it is.
I appreciate reviews and constructive criticism. I abhor flames. To those who leave them, it makes you seem very childish. I appreciate when readers know how to be mature.
I know characters may not be accurate in this story, but I write for fun. I'm not a professional and that is not my future career. Writing is stress relief for me, so I invite you all to just sit back, relax, and hopefully enjoy my work.
She knew better than to walk around alone. The slightest slip-up and she'd be exposed and hunted down and probably even killed. Wizards still hadn't even begun to understand what she was. Muggles would see her as a freak and something out of one of their horror movies and nightmares.
Sydney was half human, half werewolf, but full witch. She and her brother, Teddy, had inherited their late mother's ability to instantly change their appearances. Sydney, however, had also inherited her late father's curse of being a werewolf. Although she was only half, Sydney still changed during the full moon, but maintained her human mind and voice. The most puzzling part of her condition was the fact that she always had a wolves' ears and tail, which she was able to hide except during the daytime of the full moon.
Even though her plight seemed as though she would be an outcast in society, she was the star Seeker of the Gryffindor Quidditch team at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Her friends, as well as a vast majority of students at the school, ignored the fact that she was "a freak" and were quite fond of her.
Sometimes though, she just enjoyed going out into the Muggle world to explore and blend in with their mundane society. Hardly anyone knew who she was, but certainly no one knew she was a witch, and a good one at that.
Sydney walked along the semi-empty sidewalks of London, the torrential rain keeping most people inside, or at least the intelligent ones. She liked it though. Less people to run into her. The rain also had a calm, peaceful effect on her.
She had no particular destination today. Unlike her brother, she just enjoyed the Muggle culture. They weren't completely dull, considering they had no magic to help them with everything. Sydney rather enjoyed their music, books, and the moving picture shows known as "movies."
Even though it was early summer, the rain had brought a slight chill down on the city, just enough to bring out long jackets. Sydney pulled her jacket closer around her as the wind threatened to throw the rain under her umbrella and soak her.
"I really need to master every spell that could keep the damn rain from soaking me," Sydney muttered to herself as she continued her aimless path.
Sydney had altered her usual looks to make herself less conspicuous to the Muggles. She had given up her signature long, midnight blue hair for dark brown that just reached past her shoulder blades. Under her long raincoat, she was sporting dark blue jeans and a pale blue t-shirt.
The young witch was considering a stop in the local soccer store or bookshop, whichever was closest, when she heard something very pleasing to her ears. Her keen wolf-like hearing and sight was a gift, which gave her a great advantage in Quidditch, though she did try to ignore it to at least attempt a fair game for the other team. This time, however, she heard a hauntingly beautiful song emanating from a piano off in the distance.
She couldn't figure out why, but somehow she felt drawn to the music, as though it were a tune created distinctly for her. Sydney made her way across town to the source of the music, a small café that featured local musicians on occasion. The witch made her way inside and instantly felt as though the music was becoming one with her. She felt suddenly warm and content as she took a seat at a small vacant table in the back of the café after ordering a drink.
Sydney had to fight hard to keep her composure during the brief second when the pianist had looked up from the smooth ivory keys of the grand and made eye contact with her. She knew that she could not let her appearance change in public around Muggles. An explanation for that would be near impossible without the word "magic."
After the song had stopped, the crowd thinned as Muggles left the café since the rain had finally chosen to stop, though the sky remained ominously dark and threatening. Sydney was so engrossed with her drink that she was nearly finished with it before noticing that someone had sat across from her.
"Oh, hello. I um…sorry. I just haven't had this in ages and…" Sydney stopped her babbling and poor attempts at excuses for bad manners when she realized who was in front of her. "You're the wonderful pianist that was just performing. Really, your music was beautiful."
The pianist just smiled at her, his warm brown eyes making Sydney feel as though she would melt at any second. The stranger was very handsome, even with his deathly pale skin. He had messy brown hair and addictive brown eyes. Sydney had to bite down on her lip to remind herself not to get carried away and let her appearance change. She could, however, still feel her cheeks getting red with warmth.
"I'm sorry about my inability to form sentences, you just surprised me. I swear I'm not always this incomprehensible. I just…you…Hi, I'm Sydney Lupin," the young witch finally stammered, embarrassed at her sudden failure of speech.
The stranger grinned now, clearly amused at the girl's unintentional antics.
"I'm Edward Cullen. I'm glad you enjoyed it. I write my own music, but I don't usually perform any of my pieces in public. I like to keep things to myself," the young man said, a grin still tugging at the corner of his mouth.
"So, um, you're not from around here, are you?" Sydney asked, unable to take her eyes off of the young man in front of her.
"Is it that obvious?" he asked her.
"What? Oh, no. I was just curious because you sound like an American. Not that there is anything wrong with that!" Sydney blurted, afraid that she may have offended him.
Edward just sat there, a slight grin still on his face, his eyes never breaking contact with Sydney's. She was suddenly aware of the dirty thoughts that had crept into her mind about him.
Sydney jumped to her feet, nearly knocking the table over. She had to get to the bathroom and calm herself down before Edward – or anyone else for that matter – saw her true form.
"I um…back in just a moment," Sydney said before rushing to the women's room.
The young witch pulled her wand out from her jacket and locked the door. She thanked the fact that she was 17 and no longer an underage witch, thus allowing her to use magic outside of school. Looking in the mirror, Sydney could see pink and red showing through the brown hair she had started with.
"What the hell is going on with me?" Sydney asked her reflection. "Why is some guy I've only just met causing me to lose control so badly? What if he already saw my hair changing colors? I haven't mastered Memory charms yet. Maybe I should just leave so I don't risk it anymore. It's too bad though, he's really attractive and I don't care if he's Muggle or not. I'd really like to get to know him better, but I can't risk my secret anymore."
Sydney took a few deep breaths to calm herself down, watching as the pink and red faded back into brown, her eyes getting lighter again as she cleared her mind. Now looking like a Muggle again, Sydney unlocked the door and put her wand away, acting as though nothing had happened as she walked back to the table. Edward was standing next to it, jacket in hand as he looked at her.
"Let's take a walk," he said to her, flashing a quick smile.
"What? In this weather?"
"Yes."
"Um, ok. Sure. A little rain won't hurt me."
Sydney finished her drink, grabbed her umbrella, and walked out with Edward. She was glad she had used an Enlargement charm on the umbrella before she had left home, otherwise they'd be soaked since the rain had picked up again. The two walked along in the rain, neither saying a word.
"You're not like everyone else," Edward said, breaking the silence and startling Sydney.
"No, I'm not. Oh, wait, I mean…what makes you say that? I meant to say that there's nothing special about me," Sydney stuttered, dropping the umbrella as she realized her own stupidity.
The two teens stood there getting soaked. Sydney's urge to run and Disapparate home was almost as strong as her attraction to the young man. As logical as she was, Sydney still could not rationalize why she had fallen for Edward at first glance. She was still trying to figure out what she should do when Edward spoke up again.
"You don't need to be afraid of me finding out. We're not too different," he said, looking at Sydney again.
Sydney's mouth hung open, but she was unable to speak. He was like her? She couldn't believe that she was with an American wizard! The young witch now had so many questions to ask him about his school and what wizarding life was like for them.
"I'm so glad he's not a Muggle," Sydney thought to herself.
"What's a Muggle?" Edward asked, snapping the girl out of her dream world.
"What do you mean…how did you –"
"I'm sorry if I mislead you. I'm not a wizard. I can read minds, that's how I knew what you were thinking," the young man said, his face serious for the first time.
"You're not a…Well it's too late now. You better see this before you spend another second around me."
Sydney knew that her family, especially her brother, would kill her for what she was about to do, but something inside her said that Edward was worth the risk. She grabbed his arm and quickly pulled him down the nearest alley.
"I'm breaking all kinds of rules and laws doing this, "Sydney started, "and I honestly don't know why, but something just feels right about this."
The young witch looked Edward as she let her usual blue hair take over the current brown and her eyes darken from grey to blue. She let her hair lighten to an electric blue to show the change more clearly in its dampened state. Edward continued to look at Sydney, showing only the slightest sign of surprise on his face. Sydney slid her wand out of her jacket and pointed it at a nearby trashcan.
"Avifors!" the young witch said, putting her wand away as the newly transformed bird flew off.
"You're a witch," Edward said, his eyes looking deep into Sydney's.
"I…I am. I don't know what exactly you noticed we had in common, but for someone who can read minds, you didn't pick up on that small detail about me too well," Sydney replied, her tone slightly hinting her disappointment.
"I can only read what you're thinking of at the present time, and even then I can't read all of it. There's something about you that's unreadable. I noticed this and thought that maybe, in some way, you were like me," Edward said, his voice also showing some disappointment.
"I still don't understand. You're not a wizard, you're definitely not a Muggle, there's no way you could be a Squib – non-magical person who knows all about our world and may have a hint of magic in them – but I really can't understand where you fit in," Sydney said, looking up as the rain slowed.
"I shouldn't tell you."
"You're a bit late for that."
"You'd be better off not knowing and walking away from me. I'll keep your secret."
"I'm not worried about anyone finding out I'm a witch. I can just erase their memories. But I want to know what you are and…why…never mind."
"What?"
"It's nothing, really," Sydney said, wringing the water out of her hair and pulling it up into a ponytail. "I'm just being ridiculous and feeling…What's wrong with your eyes?"
Sydney had looked back up at Edward and noticed that his golden-brown eyes had gone black. He had his hands balled tightly into fists as though he was trying to keep himself from doing something bad.
"Are you ok? Edward? Can you hear me? Do you –"
Sydney found herself pinned to the wall by Edward before she could finish speaking. As fast as he had been, she wasn't exactly slow either, having pulled her wand on him, keeping it pointed at his chest. She looked up at the young man with eyes not full of fear, but instead full of ferocity.
"You might be pretty damn fast, but I sure as hell am not slow. You try anything and I could kill you before you could hurt me," Sydney threatened.
"You wouldn't kill me and we both know it," Edward growled, still fighting his demanding urges to act.
"I know I wouldn't! I also don't want to hurt you, and I know you don't want to hurt me either, but I can easily defend myself if I need to," Sydney growled back in response, her hair now a flaming red and orange.
Edward seemed to have gained control of himself, as he pushed himself off the wall and backed away from Sydney. He turned his back to her and lowered his head. Sydney just stared at him, now knowing that her last thoughts about what he could be were true. Still keeping her wand within easy reach, Sydney walked up to Edward and put a hand on his back.
"You have to leave. Now. Before that happens again."
"No. I'm not afraid of you."
"You should be. You need to be."
"I know what I should be afraid of, and it's not you," Sydney said, stepping in front of him.
"You should be afraid of what I am!" Edward shouted, staring down at her.
"Just because you're a vampire does not mean that I should be terrified and run away in fear!" Sydney shouted back, her hair now a mix of red and pink as her frustration finally surfaced.
The two teens stood there staring at each other, neither of them sure what to say or do. Sydney slowly calmed herself down, letting her appearance return to normal, though a tinge of red still remained in her cheeks. She watched as Edward un-balled his fists and slowed his breathing, his eyes now downcast.
"How did you know?" he asked quietly, still not looking at Sydney.
"I go to a wizarding school. I actually pay attention in class and have a strong interest in dark and dangerous creatures in our world. I knew a vampire was the only thing left that you could be, but I just didn't think that it could be true."
"Why?"
"Um, well, in our books, vampires are dark, evil creatures that can't be trusted and kill not just for food, but for pleasure. You just didn't, and don't, strike me as being like that."
"Most of us are just as you said. I'm not, neither is my family. But that doesn't mean that I don't still get urges, as you've already seen."
"There are things about me that almost nobody knows about and could lead to my death if the wrong people found out," Sydney said.
Edward finally raised his eyes to look at her. His eyes were brown again and had lost the wild look that had been present moments earlier.
"The fact you're a witch?" he asked.
"Um, not quite. And burning us at the stake is so old fashioned, and it would be harmless anyway," Sydney replied with a laugh, managing to pull a slight smile from Edward. "So what about you and garlic?"
"A myth. Same with all the others techniques. It's all so storybook," Edward said, smiling more now. "We do have to stay out of the sun though, but not because it will hurt us."
"Then why?"
"Maybe I'll show you sometime."
"So this isn't a 'Hi, nice to meet you, here's my secret, I'll keep yours because I'll never see you again, goodbye' kind of deal?"
"No. I've liked being around you this afternoon. I can't explain it, but something about you just makes me feel –"
"– like you never want to leave," Sydney finished.
The two looked at each other and smiled. Sydney looked down at her watch and realized it was nearly time for dinner and her grandmother would be ragging on her if she was late.
"Do you have plans tomorrow?" the witch asked.
"No, not that I'm aware of."
"Then meet me outside of a small pub called The Leaky Cauldron tomorrow morning. It's on Charing Cross Road here in London. I want to show you our world, of which you are a part of and should get to know," Sydney said, excited at the thought of what tomorrow would bring.
"I'll be there," Edward replied, smiling at her.
"I really hate to go, but my grandmother will have my head if I'm late," Sydney said to him, sighing.
"It's alright. I understand. But I will see you tomorrow?"
"Oh you better believe you will."
"Then this is goodbye for now."
"For now. It was really quite nice meeting you," the young witch said, pulling out her wand.
"And you," Edward grinned back at her.
With a slight CRACK, Sydney was gone, having Disapparated home. Edward grinned to himself as he made his way home for the evening. There was something about her that he was drawn to but couldn't explain. Maybe his waiting was over.
Sydney Apparated into her room with enough time left to change into dry clothes and dry her still soaked hair. Her stomach growling loudly now, she swung her door open and nearly ran into her brother.
"Watch it Syd, you're not the only one who live here," he said, quickly moving out of her way.
"Sorry Teddy, didn't see you there. I'm a bit hungry and wasn't thinking," Sydney apologized.
Her twin just laughed.
"You not thinking? That's a first."
"I'm just a little distracted right now."
"What was so interesting about the Muggles this time?" Teddy asked his twin.
"I um…nothing. Just had a nice day…in the rain," Sydney said, her face beginning to gain a pink tinge.
Teddy grinned at her and mimicked her hair color with his.
"Nice day huh? I'm sure some cute Muggle boy had nothing to do with it," Teddy smirked.
"He's not a Muggle," Sydney muttered, strongly considering Disapparating downstairs to get away from him.
"Well, if you ever feel like telling your dear old brother about your mystery man, you know where to find me. I do happen to know a thing or two about guys," Teddy laughed, changing his hair back to its normal bright turquoise.
"I'm not an idiot. I know about guys too. Keep teasing me and I might just have to tell Victoire what you do with your pillows at night," Sydney replied, grinning back at her twin.
"I'll hex you!"
"I'll do worse."
Teddy pretended to pout as he looked as his sister, but couldn't keep a straight face. He wasn't really trying to ruin her moment, he was just being a typical brother.
"Really Syd, that's great you finally met a wizard who suits your fancy. Now hurry up and get downstairs before the yelling starts."
Sydney stood at the top of the stairs for a moment, watching her brother run down ahead of her. If he found out that Edward wasn't actually a wizard, but a vampire, she could just imagine the trouble she'd be in.
Then again, with her being a werewolf, how bad could it be for her to have fallen for a vampire?
