Chapter One
She had forgotten what it felt like to have a pocket full of cash. She longed for the hearty jangle of galleons, but the rustle of paper money was just as good. She was so happy she could skip, and almost did, until she realised the strange looks she was getting. A stranger, with luscious dark hair and a crazy expression- They were going to get suspicious. She ducked into a cinema just as three girls walked out. In the thankfully empty bathroom she pulled up her sleeve to examine her Dark Mark. It was black, the snake still twisting its way in and out of the skull like inky smoke, and she wondered if it would fade. She then pulled out her wand and tapped the top of her skull, the familiar sensation of a Disillusionment charm overtaking her. I am a chameleon, she thought, satisfied, as she slipped out into the cinema foyer.
Elsa stared into the chipped, cheap hotel mirror with mild contempt. She was no older than thirty, with dark hair and dark eyes, and the pale skin which appeared to be the norm here. She wasn't exceedingly beautiful, like most of the people here, but she decided to refrain from wild, Death-Eater-Style shenanigans lest the Ministry be looking for her. Even still, she had left Voldemort and the other Death Eaters. Granted, they were brutes, but she was a deserter. She sighed and returned to her cheap hotel bedroom, where the only decoration was a window and a bug-infested bed. She killed the bugs with a wave of her wand and crawled beneath the sheets, determined to fall asleep and explore the rest of the rainy, mopey town of Forks.
The next day was no different. It was still cloudy and depressing when she left the hotel and it was cloudy and depressing when she returned. She noted, with some distaste, that her cash was running out, so she confounded the hotel manager to try to save money. She was tired and had no interest in being pestered, having spent the day blending in and talking to residents, forging herself a place in town. She recalled one conversation which had alerted her attention,
"So, does anything unusual ever happen around here? No offence, but it seems kinda boring." She had asked an old woman as she waited in line at the grocery store.
"Oh, yes. People have seen giant bears in the woods, and vampires, they say."
"Really? Giant bears..."
"Yes! They've already killed a hiker. And people have been seeing beautiful, pale people in the woods running faster than a bullet train!"
"Gosh, I dunno if I'm safe here anymore." She had replied sarcastically, then said her farewells to the woman and walked away with her loaf of bread. She hoped she would see the old lady again. She made a mental note to research the local legends, and talk to the natives on the La Push reservation.
She didn't dream very well. She dreamt that the Death Eaters, now led by Lucius Malfoy, surrounded her bed, pointing their wands at her, their faces behind masks. There was a flash of green light, and she woke up, sweating and clutching the blankets to her chest. It was very early, and she was still tired, so she rolled over to sink into sleep again, glad that not one Seer was found in her family.
She inhaled the familiar library smell, standing in the door, remembering Madam Pince at Hogwarts. They had never gotten along. Before people began to stare, she shook the loose droplets of water out of her hair and strode to the history section. Selecting a few choice books, she then took a table and settled down to study, something she hadn't done since she was fifteen. There was a book on native legends which she particularly found useful, and after creating a library card, borrowed, and set out for the La Push reservation.
She was lucky for a second time; She found a group of teenagers laughing on a corner, most of them wearing nothing but denims cut-offs, which she veiwed in mild disgust. Muggles, she thought, missing the swish of a robe instead of the psh-psh sound of jeans. She felt their eyes crawling all over her as she approached them, smiling and asked, "Hey, I'm a journalist for a small-time newsletter in Seattle on animal rights. We investigate strange animal sightings, and there have been reports on bear attacks. Can you tell me about them?" She flashed what she hoped to be a toothy, winning smile. They looked at each other and the tallest one, who appeared to be their leader, stepped forward.
"I'm Sam," he said, offering her his hand. She shook it and dug through her bag for a notebook, murmuring her thanks.
"Okay," she started, her pen poised on a fresh sheet of lined paper. "Bear sightings. Go."
"Well," he whispered dramatically, "have you ever heard of the cold ones?" She shook her head and leant towards him so she could hear better.
Elsa found herself in the tree again, looking out over a clearing. The boy had told her much more than the books did, and she couldn't help but giggle. He had said that the bears were really werewolves, the things killing the deer were really vampires. She knew he was just teasing her, flirting, but there was some truth behind it, though he had gotten his magical creatures mixed up. His 'werewolves' seemed to be natural Animagi, able to turn into a wolf at will. She remembered the pictures in defence against the dark arts of a crouched, shaggy, human-like figure, and it looked nothing like a bear. As for the vampires... She was sure they weren't able to come out into daylight. Whether these were crazy humans or something entirely different, she wasn't sure.
As she sat in her tree, swinging her legs contently, she heard a voice, slightly nervous, but mostly just bleak and depressed, (it suited this town, she thought offhandedly) say, "Edward I want you to bite me," Definitely a vampire, she thought, wondering what romantic thoughts this girl had about vampirism. Human blood and eternal nights? No thanks. How was this vampire outside anyway? He should be a pile of ash by now. She fingered the wand inside her pocket, waiting. "No," a male voice replied, and Elsa decided she was sick of her invisible spot in the tree. She swung herself upside down, her head only just poking out of the lower branches, seeing nothing but two pairs of feet. "Please! I wanna be a vampire..." The girl was begging. Elsa quietly scrambled down the other side of the trunk and peeked out behind it. The boy looked around eighteen, as he must have been for a long time, and the girl must have been the same age. "No, Bella. Don't." He shook his head, stepping back from her and out of the shade and into the sunshine. The girl, Bella, gasped quietly, and Elsa smothered a snort of laughter. "I want you to be human." He murmured, and the girl almost yelled, "No, I wanna be a vampire! I don't wanna grow old!" Elsa descended into peals of laughter, clutching her sides.
"Who's there?" The boy sounded serious now.
"Hm?" Elsa stood up, wiping a tear from her eye. "Oh. Hah. Sorry, it's cute how you think you're a vampire."
The pale one growled, and Elsa stifled another fit of giggles.
"He isn't?" Bella looked confused, her eyes switching back and forth from Elsa to Edward.
"No, sweetheart, he isn't. He sparkles, is incredibly good looking, runs around in the forest, he's a fairy. There's a bit more to it than that, but he ain't a vampire." Bella looked crestfallen.
"I am so!" The fairy clenched his fists, simmering. "I drink blood! I'm immortal!" Elsa shook her head, and his eyebrows met in a V shape. "I'll show you!" He hissed, and gripped the girl, who squealed, and bit deeply into his neck. Elsa's wand knew exactly what to do, and she waved it in the pattern which was so familiar to her, and she said the words which meant the doom of both muggles and wizards alike. "Avada Kedavra!" She said sharply, and in a flash of green light the fairy boy fell to the floor, his eyes wide and glassy. The girl didn't really register what had happened, and toppled over as well, blood oozing from her neck, spittle glistening, it's poison coursing through her veins.
"Oh!" Bella gasped, her eyes flying open. "Oh, my God!" She began to scream, and Elsa quickly muttered, "silencio," to stop the howling. She was not, however, a healer, so she was unable to stop the pain, much less the poison. She just sat and waited, torn between her Death Eater side, the side of her which would kill the girl or run away, and her human side. Her human side was winning, and she sat herself comfortably in a pile of leaves, watching Bella gape noiselessly for air.