AUGURY ACADEMY
by seeminglymeaningless
/Cross-over/ All rights and respects to JK Rowling and Stephenie Meyer for their works. I own nothing of this story beyond the plot and original characters.
/Rating/ "M" for graphic violence and some adult scenes.
/Background/ The events in Augury Academy occur 20-30 years after Voldemort is defeated in the last Harry Potter book, and a few years after the last Twilight book (on Renesmee's 11th birthday), so 2017. This story is set in an amalgamation of the Harry Potter and Twilight universe. Renesmee is the biological daughter of Edward and Bella Cullen; she is half vampire, has inherited the opposite of her parents abilities and Jacob has imprinted upon her (this is canon). However, as this is set a good 8-10 years after the last book, Renesmee's actions and character are works of my artistic license. This story is set in America, and in my made-up wizarding school, so will not deal with the British wizarding society (read: there will be no canon Harry Potter characters in this story).
CHAPTER ONE: Auspicious Start
Renesmee Cullen frowned at her reflection in the mirror. The yellow bow nestled in her hair, the bubble-gum pink lipstick, the faux pearl necklace wrapped tight around her neck like a choker. The way her hair fell in tangled waves of messy curls, the freckles across her nose, her golden eyes. Her irises had never been red, the colour of a vampire that fed on human blood. Her eyes travelled down her skin, unflawed by blemishes and her mouth twisted into a scowl. And then there were the breasts. She poked out her tongue, her mirror twin cheekily blowing a raspberry back. With a resigned sigh, Rene pressed her too-perky breasts flat and quickly wound a surgical bandage around her chest in well practised movements. She threw on her favourite sun-dress - a bright yellow slip with lace accents - and stood sideways.
Noticeable, if one looked. Sooner or later she was going to have to steal a bra or somehow work up the courage to ask her mother to buy her one. But their relationship was strained. Rene was the only person who could read Bella's thoughts with the slightest touch or brush of skin. Rene wasn't sure how or why her ability to speak telepathically had developed into full mind-reading, but her ability to break through mind-barriers attributed to allowing her to delve into the secrets of the minds around her. Often she uncovered things that should have remained buried. Once she had gained an understanding of some of the thoughts that flittered at the edge of Bella's conscious, Rene was disgusted and wary of her birth mother. Unbidden, images and sensations rose; the slick feeling of cold, smooth skin on skin, the scratch of short stubble against an alabaster thigh; nails raking, creating furrows. The girl shuddered and sent her mother's memories flying into darkness.
Unfortunately, her father knew. His own ability to read minds was superior to Rene's fumbling mind-reading, and he often scanned her thoughts on a whim. He chose to ignore visions of himself, bare-chested, unclothed, images he knew Rene never would have glimpsed naturally. This power, this ability to scan the thoughts of others was a side effect of Edward's vampirism. Rene was well versed in vampire lore, she knew what her parents were, how special and unique they were compared to other vampires with no other latent abilities beyond the super-human strength and senses. Most of all, Rene knew what she was; a freak. Half vampire, half human, an inconceivable being, something just as rare as Alice's glimpses of future or Edward's mind reading ability.
Sometimes Rene wondered what normal parents would be like. Someone who wasn't over a hundred years old, someone who had waited instead of having a teenage pregnancy. Sometimes Rene wished she had never been born; she kept these particular thoughts buried deep within her mind, in fear of accidentally telling a family member during a hug. Often Rene would "leak", for want of a better word. Too easily, the girl's mental barriers would crack and cave, unleashing a wave of emotion and memories to whoever she had the misfortune of touching, skin to skin. Of course the easiest solution to her mind reading problems, or the leaks, would have been to approach Bella and ask for mind-shielding lessons, to keep her own mind reading in check and hide her thoughts from Edward. But eleven year old children often don't think too far ahead.
And the girl in front of the mirror was no girl. Rene tried to avoid staring too long at her over-developed body and ignore any odd, stomach-flipping urges. When hairs appeared under her arms and between her legs, she plucked them with tweezers and never told anyone, not even Jacob. Rene brightened at the thought of the tall, dark skinned man and she allowed her eyes to sweep to where the man was resting, his arms behind his head, his eyes closed shut. Jacob was always there for her, the only person who understood what she felt, and respected her wishes to remain silent on matters that disturbed her. Especially comforting was his wolf-form; it was so easy for Rene to nestle herself against his warm fur, rest her cheek on his furry ribcage, and fall into a deep and content sleep.
Rene smiled and tip-toed to the edge of the bed. If Jacob was in his wolf form, Rene knew his tail would be wagging. No matter how quiet Rene tried to be, or how often she attempted to sneak up on her friend, Jacob's superior hearing and sense of smell would detect her. Giving up on the stealth, Rene pounced on the bed in one lithe leap.
"Gotcha!" she crowed as she attacked his sides with fingers, digging and pinching.
Jacob squirmed and laughed on the bed, trying to evade Rene's dancing hands. His mouth was wide and beaming, a slash of white against his dark face. When Jacob laughed, his eyes crinkled around the corners. His shirt rode up his side, revealing a well-muscled stomach. He finally managed to drag the girl against his chest and pin her arms by her side. She giggled in his embrace and didn't struggle hard to get free. She was completely safe with Jacob, he would never hurt her.
After a moment of allowing herself to enjoy the cuddle, and when she started to sense that the cuddle was becoming something she wasn't ready for, Rene shook out of his grasp and sat up. Wisps of hair had escaped from her bow and hung around her face.
"Happy birthday, Nessie," Jacob said softly.
The girl scowled, "I'm too old now for that baby name."
"Not too old for presents though, I hope," the man said, a grin playing across his face.
"Never too old for that!" Rene agreed, "What did you get me?"
"It's a secret," he teased and booped her on the nose with his thumb, "But it's downstairs..."
Rene didn't even let him finish the sentence before she bounded out of her room, and down the wooden oak stairs, two at a time, completely unaware of how her childish actions looked completely unnatural in her teenaged body. Before her glitter nail polished toes touched the soft down of the lounge room carpet, the door bell rang.
The sound was foreign to Rene. Grandpa Charlie never rang the door bell, and no one else ever visited them. She froze and dug her toes into the carpet, her heart pounding in fear. The door bell sounded again and a small cry escaped the girl's throat. It seemed like forever, the time Rene waited for the person at the door to leave, but when the door bell rang for the third time, Rene swallowed heavily. What was she to do? On one hand, she could ignore the bell, pretend no one had tried to visit them. Bella and Edward hadn't hunted for nearly a month; Rene knew that today they would be out hunting so that her birthday would run smoothly. The other Cullens were either holidaying or working. Ever since she could remember, Rene had been shuttered from the world, raised in secrecy. Sometimes she had fleeting memories of meeting vampires with crimson eyes and black cloaks.
Could this be a chance to catch a glimpse of the outside world? Did she have the courage to break her family's rules, never to answer the door, never leave the protection of the forest, never be seen? But then Jacob was there in his wolf form, his hackles raised with fur. A snarl gathered the folds of his muzzle and his eyes were narrowed.
With unnatural quickness, Rene appeared at the front door and opened it up a crack. From the slit she could see a woman dressed in scarlet robes of velvet, with crimson lace trim. At a jaunty angle atop her head was a black and somewhat tattered witch's hat. Already somewhat panicky, the woman's strange appearance only heightened Rene's jumpy emotions.
"Hello dear," said the woman, "May I speak with your parents?"
A voice came from behind Rene, from the piano room, "Renesmee?" A millisecond later, Bella appeared at her daughter's shoulder, her hand hovering near the door knob, as if she was going to push the door shut. Her mother, forever frozen as an eighteen year old, shot a furious glance at Rene, motioning with her head to back away from the door. Her nostrils were widened and her pupils dilated. Sometimes Rene thought of her mother as the Cold One; she rarely showed any emotion. Her startled expression revealed how unsettled she actually was. Being so close to a human after not feeding for a few weeks was hardly a trial for Bella after so many years of practice. However, this was an unexpected situation; there was literally food on her doorstep. Jacob whined from his position on the staircase, his large head swivelling between Bella, Rene and the door.
Resolutely, rebelliously, wanting to get back at her mother for the snippets of memory she had been forced to relive, wanting freedom from this life of secrecy, the girl adopted a straight-backed pose. She blinked her eyes a couple of times and opened the door all the way. She found that her height allowed her to stare the strange woman straight in the eyes. Deliberately ignoring her mother's posture slowly stiffening in rage, she said sweetly, "Would you like to come in?"
At these words, Jacob bounded across the room by her side. He snapped his jaws when Rene looked at him, and she knew she had not only betrayed her mother's trust, but his as well.
"Thank you," the strange woman's robes swished over the threshold of the door frame. The woman froze with shock when she saw the huge wolf pacing furiously behind Rene.
"Don't mind him," Rene said, testing her voice, marvelling how easy it was to speak to a stranger, how nothing had gone wrong.
The cloaked woman pressed a hand to her throat, mumbled something ("quite large") and then walked to the kitchen table and sat down, her booted high-heels loud against the wooden floorboards. Bella's expression became guarded as she regained control over her facial features. Her lips remained a thin and unforgiving slash across her unblemished skin as she eyed the woman up and down.
"I'm Professor Brightwater, Deputy Mistress of Augury Academy of Warcraft and Sorcery."
When the silence in the room became awkward, Rene finally said, "Excuse me?" when her manners wouldn't allow her to exclaim 'what!' in a loud voice at a stranger. A ripple of a frown raced across Bella's face as she closed the door. It was clear to Rene that her mother was as confused as she was. Not only did the woman have the audacity to seat herself at the table, but the current topic of conversation was forbidden on some levels. The Volturi worked tirelessly enforcing the rule that vampires' existence remain a secret from humans; yet this woman walked around talking about magic as if it was allowed. Was this woman part of some other secret and hidden organisation coming to study or take away Rene? Had word of her half-cast nature reached levels of authority beyond the Volturi?
"I realise it may come to a shock to both of you, let me try to explain..." Three cups of steaming tea appeared, "Milk, sugar?"
Again silence reigned. The saucers, cups and liquid had come from absolutely nowhere, as if by magic.
Rene swallowed her astonishment and said hesitantly, "Yes please, two sugars?" She hadn't intended it to come out as a question. The girl took a seat opposite the woman. Jacob growled menacingly and followed her. He attempted to fit his huge frame under the kitchen table. Rene dug her bare feet into his fur.
A teaspoon stirred Rene's tea for her, working to dissolve the sugar that had sprinkled in from an unknown source.
"No thanks," Bella finally said, the words flat as she watched her daughter's tea stir by itself.
"Drink up dear," Professor Brightwater sipped encouragingly from her own cup, as if to show that the drink was safe to ingest, "That's it. Now, the American Alliance of Authority keeps tabs on underage magic use in muggle areas; Augury Academy was notified that there was a young witch living in this very house performing wandless magic. Normally children receive letters of acceptance for Augury Academy, but when a muggle-born child is involved, a representative of the wizarding world - that'd be me - is sent to smooth out any problems." A flick of her twig and the woman popped a plate of cookies on to the table. With great relish, she nibbled on one.
Rene tried to absorb everything that was happening. The names thrown at her, the delicious tea, the woman's clothing, magic, the cookies, Jacob's anger travelling through his mind. Of course there was magic in the world, but not this sort of magic. Not good magic. The only magic that existed were monsters that drank blood to sustain themselves, or people that were forced to transform into creatures in order to keep the balance for humans that had no insight into their world.
She said the first thing that came to her mind, "Muggle?"
"Non-magic folk, like your mother. That's what muggle-born means, born to a family of non-magical citizens."
Bella bit her lip.
"But mom's a vampire." As soon as the word left her mouth, Rene knew she had made a mistake. From the beginning, letting in an unknown human was punishable. Talking to her, revealing herself to the woman, more punishment. But mentioning the secret, telling someone about her family's condition that they desperately kept hidden. It was a mistake.
To Rene, the next few seconds occurred in a sort of slow motion, a sort of blur of action, a kaleidoscope of colour and scent.
Professor Leona Brightwater admired the dark wooden elegance of the Cullen house. There was not the usual clutter she was accustomed to in muggle houses; on the contrary, the house almost appeared unlived in. There were no kitchen appliances on the marble-top benches and the stainless steel pots and pans hanging from the ceiling rack looked brand new. Mainly though, she couldn't take her eyes off Bella as she sipped her tea.
She had never seen such a beautiful woman. It wasn't that the Cullen mother had long and luxurious hair, or her deeply golden eyes, or even her bow-like mouth. It was the way Bella held herself; such grace, such effortlessness. Brightwater felt a confusing stir of attraction. As soon as she broke eye contact, the spell seemed to snap broken. She almost immediately forgot her intense desire for the woman and answered Renesmee's question:
"Non-magic folk, like your mother. That's what muggle-born means, born to a family of non-magical citizens."
Renesmee, in her own way, was just as alluring as her mother. Brightwater shook her head to remove the nasty thought; My what is wrong with me? It was hard for her to keep her concentration whenever she met eyes with either female in the room. Something about this family wasn't right. They didn't act too shocked about magic, the way other muggle families did. They didn't really act like normal people at all. And all this desire nonsense. It was as if it was a family of Veelas. But the Headmaster would have warned me to prepare against Veela charm, she thought, and besides, Veela's are magical, they know all about magic.
"But mom's a vampire."
The word "vampire" registered in Professor Brightwater's mind. Vampire. That was the desire, the allure. That was the flawless, ageless look of the mother who looked under the age of twenty when she should have looked like she was in her early thirties. Vampire. Danger. Kill or subdue on sight.
The professor was on her feet in an instant, a thick stick grasped tightly in her hand. She spat, "Confringo!"
A plume of red light sprayed from the tip of the stick and a huge wave of flame erupted out in a blast of heat upon impact. From the corner of Brightwater's eyes, she saw Rene move with lightning quick reflexes; the girl couldn't know that the spell was single-target. Brightwater squinted as Bella remained stationary and allowed the fire to consume her. Rene screamed in fright. The professor shielded her face from the incredible heat.
From Brightwater's left came a bark; it was the only warning before she was knocked down to the ground by the wolf. Her head hit the floor with a small bounce, causing a jolt of pain. The weight of the wolf was extreme and the press of his fur against her was terrifying - coupled with the dull ache in her head, the witch was left feeling nauseous. She sensed, rather than saw, when the fire from the spell winked out of existence. Turning her head to see past the wolf, and through the shimmering haze of heat, Brightwater tensed and spasmed to see Bella's clothes hung around her body in burnt tatters. The smell of burning cloth and plastic hung in the air. Her skin beneath the melted shirt was not blistered or broken from the fire. Somehow the spell had only hit the Cullen woman's clothes.
Thinking quickly, Brightwater shouted, "Confundo!" and pointed her wand at the wolf. It shook it's shaggy head, whined and rolled off her, setting her free.
Professor Brightwater was on her feet within seconds. The sudden movement made her head spin with vertigo, the back of her head throbbing with pain. She swished her wand in the air, her eyes staring wide at Bella, and said, "Expulso!" A jet of blue light shot out at the vampire. It splashed against the vampire's chest harmlessly, sending tendrils of blue smoke to the ceiling where they coiled into strange shapes. There was no time for incredulity. The next word out of the witch's mouth was, "Reducto!" A red plume of gushing, glowing liquid erupted out of the tip of her wand; before it connected with Bella, the wolf lunged across the open space and knocked Brightwater to the ground.
All the spells fired off in quick succession had left Brightwater's magical core straining with stretching to accommodate the power at her finger tips. She now knew that there was no choice - this vampire shrugged off spells that would otherwise leave opponents withering on the ground. The witch cast her mind back to the unhappiest moment of her life. She drew on the feeling of betrayal and hatred. She bundled it into her chest, her heart beating a tattoo that pounded in her head.
"Avada Kedavra!" The green arc of light that erupted from Professor Brightwater's wand hit Bella's outstretched hand. The vampire was propelled backwards with the force, flying across the empty space until she hit a wall and crumpled to the floor. Brightwater distantly heard the cry of shock that escaped the child's mouth. The child! The professor knew she had to save her, lest more vampires descend the property. The witch renewed her struggle against the wolf's snapping jaws, but stilled when from the corner of her eye she saw the vampire twitch and cough back into life.
It couldn't be. The vampire should be dead. Dead? Vampires were already dead. Professor Brightwater's mind revolted with terror, the whites of her eyes swallowing the darks. Thoughts raced through her brain and she finally, desperately settled on a spell that would repel evil, "Expecto Patronum..." The professor's voice shook and the last word poured out of her mouth as a whisper. She couldn't summon one happy thought. A pale white wisp curled out from what Rene had now deduced as a wand. It swirled weakly in the air before dissipating. The wolf howled. Brightwater's muscles tensed and the hairs on her arms pricked up at the soulful sound.
"Are you quite done?" The vampire asked, her voice dripping with venom, already standing, rolling on the balls of her feet.
"How..." Professor Brightwater struggled under the wolf's heavy frame, her mouth hanging open wide in a soundless scream. She stilled when he snapped his jaws near her face.
Suddenly Bella teleported across the room. The vampire's eyes were completely dilated, her nostrils flaring with continuous sniffs. Golden irises, not red like the books said. But the look on the vampire's face was irrefutable; she was hungry. Bella leant forward and Brightwater shrieked in surprise when the wolf was hauled off her and sent flying and skidded across the wooden floor with a pained yelp. Bella pinned the witch to the floor, and Brightwater could feel a cold tongue running across the pulse point at her throat. The woman couldn't contain the horrified shrieks of denial that escaped her. The woman felt as drops of saliva gathered in pools at the hollow of her throat.
A male voice cut across the room, "Bella. Stop."
/Author's Note/ I have spent a considerable amount of time reading up on the lore and what's cannon for both universes (Potter & Twilight), but if you notice anything wrong with my story, or if there is a blinding error/inconsistency, please don't hesitate to point it out! Originally this was going to actually involve the Potters (Albus as a love interest), but the time differences between the ending of the Potter and Twilight series are too far apart to really allow a correct pairing. Additionally, why on earth would Renesmee attend Hogwarts when she lives in America? o.o
- Jey