Chapter 1- Memories

As I stood in the forest clearing, I breathed the scent of pine into my oversensitive nose. There was no prey for me here, so I moved on. A few seconds later, I stopped in the dense forest; green trees surrounded me, and moss covered the earthy floor. It reminded me of another forest, in another place. Except that one was far less friendly than the forests and terrain of Washington.

I took in a whiff of hair again. Then it hit me; the smell of a deer to my left, only a mile away.

This would be easy prey. Not much fun, but I was thirsty.

I let my instincts take hold. I moved my legs with delicate speed, barely letting them touch the ground. As I was running, I felt as if nothing could stop me; I was a dancer, jumping over logs as graceful as a ballerina, swinging my legs back and forth between the trees; a quality I never would have described myself, if I was still human.

At last, my prey stood in front of me, hunched over eating. I hunched behind a tree trunk while I decided my next move. It didn't sense my presence, and as I inched closer, my eyes told me this was no deer, it was a buck. The buck had huge antlers, and its eyes were dark as night…

"Expecto Patronum!" my brother yelled with all his might. A second later, the shape of a buck came out of his wand, glowing a misty blue. The Buck took off, running with all it's might to the opposite side of the lake, where the shape of my brother and Godfather lay. The dementors began to be driven away by the force of the patronus. When they were all gone, my brother lowered his wand, and looked back to me and Hermione. "Bella, it wasn't dad, it was me!" he exclaimed. I just smiled back at him.

I gasped. Not realizing what had happened, I opened my eyes. I was lying face down on the forest floor. With vampire speed, I stood up, and wiped some dirt that had gotten on my jeans.

What just happened? Was that a flashback?

No, it couldn't have been a flashback! Do vampires even have those?

Whatever it was, it reminded me that my brother's patronus was about to become my meal. And I couldn't do that. I also realized how long it had been since I had thought about my other life. The one big secret I had kept hidden while I lived in Forks. Not even Alice, the one who could see the future. Obviously, she hadn't seen me coming from the Wizarding world, nor leaving the muggle one here behind.

It has been a year and a half since I left Hogwarts. In that time, I have been in more danger than back home. How ironic.

Forks was supposed to give me protection from the dangers of the Wizarding world. From the dangers of him: He-who-must-not-be-named. Otherwise known as Voldemort.

He tried to kill my twin brother and me when we were only a year old, but the curse rebounded. Ever since then, he has been trying to regain power and seek his revenge. In our first year, he almost succeeded, but Harry defeated him, or so we thought. In our second year, he saved Ginny from Tom Riddle's Diary and defeated the Basilisk, while Hermione and I had been petrified (consequently, I had been with Hermione when the snake tried to attack her). In our third year, we thought Sirius Black was out to kill us and that he had betrayed our parents to Lord Voldemort, but he turned out to be innocent, and our Godfather. Then, Harry was picked for the Tri-wizard Tournament in our fourth year; in the second task, the Champions had to save someone they cared about most (for Harry, it was me) and save them from the lake. In the third task, Harry and Cedric had been sent to the graveyard with a port key; Cedric was killed, and Lord Voldemort had risen again. That night in the graveyard, Voldemort had planned to kill Harry first, and then with him out of the way, he would kill me. But his plan didn't work; Harry survived, and in our fifth year, had to bear through a series of accusations that he was a liar. During that time, I supported him whole-heartedly. So did many others: Hermione, Ron, the rest of the Weasley family, the Order, not to mention Luna and Neville.

Thinking about them made me want to cry. But vampires can't cry.

Our fifth year had been very rebellious, with us trying to stand up against Toad-face Umbridge (I giggled at the thought) and the ministry. But it was also a year of nightmares, for Harry at least. Voldemort had found the connection between their minds. Still to this day, I don't know if I have a connection or not, and honestly I would rather not find out. The connection had led to us risking our lives, trying to save our godfather, and finding the prophecy. I still remember the exact words: Neither two can live while the other one survives. Those words had prophesized that one day, the final battle between the potter twins and Lord Voldemort would end in one dying. There was no way in hell that it was going to be me or Harry. Especially since I was now a vampire, I would make sure of it.

The prophecy had something right; shortly after my fifth year ended, I was sent here. Harry had said it would be better this way. Voldemort would never find me here. And he was right. At first, I thought my life was over because I had lost the connection to the only people and place I had ever known, but while I had been here, I met the Cullen's, and the werewolf pack (very different from what I expected, after seeing Lupin transform!), and a few months ago, had Renesme. I also had not used my wand since I arrived, even though I was already seventeen (thank God I turned seventeen before I became a vampire!) Neither Edward nor Jacob know anything, and I was hoping to keep it that way for the time being.

Or at least until I had to go back.

I came back to reality. The buck was long gone, and even though there was a faint scent, I let it go. I wasn't in the mood.

"I need to go home. But which one?" I thought.