Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the intellectual property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of Stephenie Meyer and JK Rowling. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.
Chapter note:
The story For My Daughter already appeared as a clear winner of the poll since the beginning of the poll. The chapter was already uploaded on my account since the 15th December and as promised, here it is on Christmas Day. I hope you'll like it.
Have a Merry Little Christmas everyone!
Take care,
Ludo13
Congratulations, Doc. It's A Girl!
It was on the remarkable seventeenth of July 2004 that it happened, the day that changed everything. It was a remarkable day as it was one of those rare sunny days in Forks. The town was situated on the Olympic peninsula and one of the main characteristic of the area was the particular climate. It rained quite often and it was actually one of the wettest counties in the US.
The sunny weather meant that the Cullens were all confined to their own house due to a strange particularity that singled out their kind. The Cullens had been living in Forks for over eighteen months and the sunny day would blow up their cover. Nope, the Cullens were no mutants nor were they hiding under a witness protection program. They definitely weren't aliens either. None of those possibilities could apply to the Cullens.
The simple truth was that the Cullens were vampires. However, they were nothing like the vampires in fiction. Vampires are unharmed by garlic, holy items, or wooden stakes; they have reflections and shadows, and are able to walk freely in the sunlight without being physically damaged by it. Their skin was flawless and textured with a marble-like substance much harder and stronger than granite. Due to the crystalline properties of their cells, when they are exposed to sunlight, their bodies sparkled like diamonds. They also possessed superhuman powers, such as speed and strength as well as having incredibly keen senses and were able to hear for miles and see in total darkness.
However, there were two things that fiction got right about vampires. Firstly, they were indeed immortal but they could still be destroyed by their own kind and also by fire. Secondly, vampires needed blood to sustain themselves and the natural food source of vampires was humans. Vampires feeding on human blood have deep ruby red eyes but that wasn't the case for the Cullens. They fed exclusively on animal blood and thus, their eyes had a particular colouring. They were a rich gold colour. The Cullens humorously classified themselves as vegetarian vampires. They were an oddity in the vampire world as only another coven of vampires shared the same strange diet.
So, the Cullens have been staying in Forks for over eighteen months and would be moving in two or three years. They had to keep moving around to avoid suspicion from locals who'd probably guess that something was very wrong with the Cullens as they never aged.
The patriarch of the 'family' was Carlisle Cullen. He was a doctor and an extremely good one also. His self-control was exceptional. He had an unparalleled gift of compassion allowing him to perfect his lifestyle to the point of being able to work as a doctor and resist the temptation of blood even in large amounts.
Carlisle was born in 1640 and was changed into a vampire at the age of twenty-three. His unorthodox 'lifestyle' centred around his family and his profession was well-established through the years. There was nothing short of extraordinary that could surprise Carlisle Cullen but, on this sunny Saturday, he was indeed very surprised when three people appeared out of nowhere with a pop on his doorstep.
One of the primary reasons of the absolute surprise of the Cullen clan was due to the fact that Alice had no visions of that unannounced visit. Alice, a member of their family, had precognition as a special ability and her visions of the future were influenced by decisions. She, normally, had near-immediate visions of the future and its possibilities when a decision was made concerning their family.
However, this time judging from Alice's and Edward's shocked faces, the precog vampire hadn't seen that one coming. Edward, the first person Carlisle had changed, was a mind-reader and had obviously read from Alice's thoughts that she had had no visions of these three people popping up on the front step of their residence.
Carlisle opened the door cautiously after one of the visitors rang their doorbell. The first thing that came to Carlisle's mind with the first glimpse of his trio of visitors was that they were a very strange lot.
The one on the left wore a brown trench-coat and looked, at least to Carlisle, very self-assured and capable. He looked somewhat tough and had very short wiry blond hair. There was a metallic red A badge on his left collar. A woman in a pencil-grey business suit with a very amiable face stood on the right. Her brown hair was held in a tight bun and she was holding tightly onto a black suitcase.
However, it was the one in the middle of this heterogeneous trio who'd piqued Carlisle's curiosity. He wouldn't have been able to say if he was a man or some kind of creature. Either way, the middle 'man' was, although a bit rotund, quite small with pale skin and had very long fingers. He had a dome-shaped bald head with large pointy ears and a prominent nose. The middle 'man' was scowling fiercely as though unpleased by his voyage or his current surrounding. Overall, Carlisle couldn't say what it was that made him apprehensive of the third visitor but Emmett probably summed it after the visitors had left.
"That's because it was terrifyingly UGLA!" He'd loudly exclaimed.
The funny part in that exclamation was that Carlisle later learned that the goblin, it was a goblin, was actually called Ugl.
Remembering his manners, Carlisle smiled amiably. "Erm, how may I help you?" he asked.
The business-suit woman moved forward. "Carlisle Cullen?" she asked, in turn. At his nod, she smiled wider, "Fantastic. I'm Cassandra Moore from the Department of International Magical Cooperation –" Carlisle blinked at hearing that "– of the Magical Congress of the United States of America. I'm accompanied by Auror John Dawlish from the British Ministry of Magic and Ugl, the representative from Gringotts. May we come in?"
Carlisle was baffled and he was fairly certain that, on the confusion level, his family members weren't faring better but he still acquiesced and moved sideways to allow entry to the trio of guests. The three moved inside with the Auror John Dawlish bringing up the rear after he checked his surroundings.
"Is that really wise?" whispered Jasper, in a voice so low meant only for the vampires' ears.
"It would have been rude to do otherwise, Jasper," replied Esme, equally as low.
The invitees walked into the wide open space of the Cullens' living room.
"Please sit," invited Esme, always the perfect host.
"Thank you and I must say that you have a very beautiful house," said Mrs Moore. It was logical to exchange pleasantries. "You must be Mrs Cullen? Esme, isn't it?" questioned the woman.
"I can't read their minds," murmured Edward, agitated.
The tension level increased significantly after the Cullens heard the murmur of the mind-reader.
"Yes, I am," replied Esme, surprised. "Have we met before, Mrs Moore?"
"Oh, no. I've only read the memo the Being Division of the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures graciously provided beforehand," she answered, brightly.
The tension sky-rocketed after learning that they were being monitored by a division they never knew existed.
Ugl cleared his throat after that. It was apparent to Carlisle that the creature's patience was wearing thin.
"Yes, sorry," Mrs Moore apologised. "It's unfortunate but our unannounced calling today bears good and bad news."
"Erm, before we get to whatever news you came here for, Mrs Moore, we would actually like to know what are you and for whom you work for?" Carlisle questioned.
"My apologies," began Mrs Moore. "Like I said I'm from the Magical Congress of the United States of America and work as the principal advisor to the Head of the Department of International Magical Cooperation. I deal mostly with cases concerning foreign subjects and whatever issues may arise regarding guardianship of underage wizards and witches."
Carlisle blinked again. It was not a normal occurrence for the doctor as he was having difficulty following the train of the conversation.
"Nutters!" joked Emmett, in a slow voice.
"That is also the principal reason of my presence here as an issue was raised concerning the guardianship," continued Mrs Moore, in a cheerful tone, unaware of the agitated state of the Cullens.
"I'm sorry but the guardianship of whom?" asked Esme.
"We shall get to that later, Mrs Cullen," supplied Ugl, the goblin, in a deep raspy voice. "Like Mrs Moore said previously, my name is Ugl. I'm a notary working for Gringotts and judging from the shocked expressions I saw earlier, you must never have seen a goblin which is what I am."
"We never meant any disrespect, Mr Ugl," immediately apologised Carlisle.
"None taken. I believe that your exposure to the Wizarding World was very limited if none existent?" queried Ugl.
"We've never met wizards, witches or goblins before. To tell you the truth, we never even knew of your world," answered Carlisle.
"That's what I thought," uttered Ugl, satisfied. "Anyway, we are here for one reason in particular or as you might have guessed, for one person. I believe Auror Dawlish knows the particulars of this case better than me, so if you please."
"I'm sorry to interrupt," Carlisle said before Mr Dawlish began, "but what exactly is an Auror?"
"An Auror is the equivalent of what you call the police. We enforce the law, protect property and the general population. But, our primary work is to fight, capture and arrest dark wizards and witches," explained Dawlish.
"It sounds like an adventurous and dangerous job," said Emmett.
"It is, normally," shared Dawlish, he added the last bit as an afterthought. He shook himself from whatever he was thinking before continuing, "Anyway, the principal reason why I am here is for security issues that might arise. But," he peeked at the Cullens in front of him, "I reckon that won't be so much of an issue."
The Cullens shared a glance before turning again to the Auror as he continued explaining.
"So, on the first of July, the parents of a young witch were brutally murdered in Oxford," started the Auror.
"Oh my!" exclaimed Esme.
"We are fairly certain –" he continued, "– that a notorious mass murderer—named Sirius Black—who'd recently escaped from our highest security prison was involved. The witch is known to be one of the closest friends of a young famous wizard and she helped thwart an assassination attempt held in her school a week prior to the murder of her parents. It is evident that the murder of her parents was conducted in retribution for the foiled plan."
"The young witch barely managed to escape the brutal murder of her parents by seeking refuge in an isolated bathroom but she was disarmed in the process. Sirius Black wasn't deterred by that. Even though he could have easily blasted the door of the bathroom to get to our young witch, he chose another destructive way to kill her. He burned the whole house with the witch locking her inside with no means to escape," recounted Dawlish.
"If that is so, how did the witch escape? She did escape, didn't she?" asked a visibly perturbed Rosalie.
"Oh, yes. She did escape. or she rather managed to survive while her house was turned into a raging inferno. The clever girl filled the bathtub in there with cold water and immersed herself in it. She let the water overflow so that she was not boiled in there. When fire-fighters managed to break down the bathroom door, she had nearly been suffocated by the smoke."
"The fire-fighters told us when we arrived later on the scene that even though she was exhausted, she was near-hysterical when they tried to get her out of the water and to an ambulance. She had to be sedated before she could be moved from there," finished Dawlish.
"Where is she staying now?" asked Jasper, looking at the Auror for a reply but it was Mrs Moore who answered the empath.
"For the time being, she's actually staying with an ex-teacher of hers. She still remains a ward of the British Ministry of Magic as she's still underage. She'll be turning seventeen in a bit more than two years' time," explained the bureaucrat.
"I'm sorry to hear what has happened to that young girl but I fail to see why you've come from so far away to tell us that," said a perplexed Carlisle.
"Didn't you say something about a guardianship and something like an issue that might arise from that?" asked Edward, a look of dawning comprehension showing on his face.
Carlisle's eyes widened remembering that piece of information from earlier and at the implications of that for his family.
"Why," he simply asked, knowing that his hosts would understand what he was asking.
"That is the reason why I actually came from far away, Mr Cullen," said Ugl, the goblin. "A major discovery was made at the perusal of the girl's parents' will. It has come to our attention at Gringotts that the father of the girl was actually not her biological father."
Carlisle saw, in his peripheral vision, Edward and Emmett share a meaningful glance. He knew what they were thinking about. His two boys were the only ones who'd knew what he'd done and had kept the secret all those years. But, whatever they feared it was still impossible. Right?
"What did you find?" asked Esme, not knowing the drama that was bound to happen at the revelation.
The remaining three members of the family were all staring back at Carlisle, each wearing identical shocked expressions. In any other given circumstance, it might have been considered extremely funny but that wasn't the case at the moment.
"The mother actually had an affair with another man when she was already married. It was rather unfortunate and also a blessing in disguise for the couple as they had been unsuccessfully trying to conceive for a few years. When she learned of her incoming motherhood, she told her husband what had happened. Logically, the husband was rightfully upset but still forgave his wife. Like I said, they'd been trying to conceive a child for a few years, about five or six years from what we understood from the accompanying letter joined to the will."
"Anyway," Ugl soldiered on, "apart from the profession exercised by her one-night only lover and his first name, she knew next to nothing about him. It was a good start anyway. So, we took blood samples from the young witch and what we were able to work with from her deceased mother. The first conclusion that we came up with was that the father was a vampire making the witch a dhampyr. We, then, rang a full scan of the blood sample and compared it with a database that the Ministry of Magic has of the magical beings from the British Isles and we made another fascinating discovery."
Carlisle would have normally been fascinated by what he was hearing but he was still numb from the shock. A part of him understood the reason behind the presence of his guests but another part still refused to acknowledge what he knew was coming up as true. Another part actually thought it was a very elaborate joke. Might even have come from Aro. The millennium-old vampire was quite cracked up and that was an understatement.
"The vampire, in question, was or had been a British citizen and we had to contact the authorities in the country of residence to inform the unknowing father of his actual fatherhood. That is why we're here, Doctor Cullen," said Ugl, a smirk showing on his face. "Because you're the father, Doctor Cullen."
"There must be a mistake. I have no such daughter, Mister Ugl," denied Carlisle.
"Do you remember the New Year's Eve of 1988?" questioned Ugl, slyly.
"Yes I do... FUCK!" Carlisle exclaimed.
Temporarily diffusing the impending explosion by sending calming waves to the family, Jasper asked, "What's the girl's name anyway?"
"Her name is Hermione, Hermione Granger," Ugl informed the family.
Author note:
The poll is closed since the 15th December and here are the results of the poll (ranked in descending order):
1. For My Daughter (Hermione/Carlisle)
2. Bossy Little Chit (Hermione/Cedric)
3. And If? (Hermione/Edward)
4. The Therapy (Hermione/Emmett)
5. Beautiful in White (Hermione/Edward)
6. Welcome to the Family (Hermione/Carlisle)
7. We Shall Conquer (Hermione/Cedric)
8. What Happens in Vegas? (Hermione/Edward)
9. The Fear of the Unknown (Hermione/Cedric)
10. Walking on Thin Ice (Hermione/Edward)
11. Dawn of My Life (Hermione/Edward)
12. The Proposal (Hermione/Edward)
End note:
I've already started working on the first chapter of Bossy Little Chit. The ideas for all my stories are already there but I just need to prioritize the information and you've all given me the means to do that by your great response to the poll.
I've also got some reviews asking if I was still doing my other stories. I'm still working on them. Updates to The Flaw in the Best Laid Plan, A Fallen Angel and Let the Right One In should be done before the end of year. I solemnly promise.
Unfortunately, I'm experiencing a bit of writer's block where The Perfect Girl and The Safe Haven is concerned. I'm sorry to say that this story is on hold for the time being. I'll be back as soon as my creative imagination gets a kick where it's most needed.
Till next time, take care and thanks,
Ludo13
Author note:
Since, I've deleted the author notes from the stories, you'll find details on my projects below:
1. And If? (Hermione/Edward):
Wouldn't it be strange if out of the blue, you started hearing the voice of someone in your head. For a mind-reader like Edward, it shouldn't feel that strange. That, however, isn't really the case because not only is Edward able to hear her thoughts but she's able to hear his. The other problem Edward has is that the girl doesn't even seem to be in the area. Hell, she thinks she's dead.
2. Beautiful in White (Hermione/Edward):
Bella had been bitten by James and Edward was distraught. In his panicked state, Edward disappeared with a pop only to appear before her and she was beautiful in white. A white wedding dress. This story will be a twist on the classic Wedding Law plotline.
3. Bossy Little Chit (Hermione/Cedric):
"Diggory! We need to talk!" "Careful there, Cedric. She's a bossy little chit and it looks like you're in for one major heartbreak," teased one of his friends. "So, Diggory... you're the Head boy right?" "Yeah, I am. You should know since you're a prefect." "Your main job is to look after the welfare of the students, isn't it? To make sure that the students are feeling alright? That they are not hurt whether it was emotionally or physically?" "Yeah, it is but is there..." "You'd do anything to ensure that, won't you?" "Of course, Granger! But, I..." "Anything?" "Of course, I'd do. I take my responsibilities seriously. Look here, Granger! I still don't understand..." "I need you to go out with me!" "I... erm... WHAT?"
4. Dawn of My Life (Hermione/Edward):
It was because of her mistake and her stubbornness that Edward was killed sacrificing himself to save her. Condemned to life imprisonment in Azkaban, Hermione gets the shocking news that she's pregnant to boot. How can she raise up her daughter in such a hell? Won't anyone come to her aid?
5. For My Daughter (Hermione/Carlisle):
"I am pleased to inform you of the granting of the guardianship of your daughter by the British Ministry of Magic." "There must be a mistake? I have no such daughter." "Do you remember the New Year's Eve of 1990?" Yes, I do... FUCK!"
Hermione and Carlisle in a father/daughter relationship. An AU story with the vampires and wizards.
6. The Fear of the Unknown (Hermione/Cedric):
The sequel to my first multi-chaptered story; A Second Chance. The story will focus on Hermione and Cedric's family trials with a major story arc that will deal with a fight to repeal the Statute of Secrecy.
7. The Proposal (Hermione/Edward):
Edward is attracted to his colleague, Hermione and when her passport expires, she asked to leave the country. The only problem is that Hermione doesn't want to go back to England because of her ex-fiancé. So, Emmett has what he thinks is the brightest idea of all time. Edward disagrees. AU/AH
8. The Therapy (Hermione/Emmett):
When Emmett decides it is up to him to break the sheriff's niece from her PTSD using his own therapy method, it can lead to total chaos.
9. Walking on Thin Ice (Hermione/Edward):
It was Aro's idea to have a new partner for Edward after Bella suffers a terrible injury. What Edward's coach had not expected was all the drama that would have resulted from bringing in the British figure skater. Initial Bella/Edward.
10. We Shall Conquer (Hermione/Cedric):
When her father believes Hermione is drifting away from them, he decides that his wife and him need to be more involved in the going-ons of the Wizarding World. However, he was rather ill-inspired when he becomes the owner of a professional Quidditch team and of the worst of all teams: the Chuddley Cannons.
11. Welcome to the Family (Hermione/Carlisle):
AU. Emmett, Alice and Edward are Hermione's younger siblings. With then war raging around them, they have to send their parents away and when Voldemort takes control of the ministry, they seek refuge in their grandfather Marcus' house.
12. What Happens in Vegas? (Hermione/Edward):
A spin of mine on the classic 'wake up drunk and married' plotline. Hermione and Edward are roommates in their freshman year at Harvard. How do they end up drunk and married in Vegas? Well, it's mostly because of Jacob and Bella. And Vegas was Emmett's idea. See my one shot story 'In Apnea' which is actually an outtake from this story for more.