"Happy Birthday dear Renesmee—happy birthday to you!" They finished singing in unison and cheered as they waited for me to blow out my candles. My third birthday was finally here, which meant I got a whole new wardrobe. I had grown out of almost everything two months ago and Dad wouldn't let Aunt Alice buy me anything until my birthday, even though I had grown two inches since then. She tried to sneak me a couple outfits two weeks ago but Dad stopped her the moment she thought about a good time to give them to me.

I closed my eyes and made my normal wish before blowing out my candles. Every shooting star, every birthday (though I had only had three now), and every eyelash, I always wished for the same thing: friends. I loved my parents, aunts, uncles, grandparents, and Jake, of course, but it was not the same. Jake was the closest I had to a friend, but he was here long before me, too.

Jake was the only one that had friends, though Dad sometimes mentioned people named Jessica, Angela, Ben, Mike, Tyler, and Eric to Mom, but she hardly remembered them. My family seemed happy with no friends besides each other, so it could not be terrible. Still, I wanted some friends of my own.

Of course, I knew this wish was no more likely to come true today than any other day. Nobody would want to be friends with a girl growing over three times as quickly as the other kids. "It's like leap year," I had heard Mom say to Dad earlier today. But the kids born on February 29th did not grow at a different rate than everyone else; they simply couldn't celebrate their actual birthday every year.

As soon as I finished my cake, Jake was at my side. "I'll race you to the playground."

"You know that's no fair!" I whined, but still lowered myself from the kitchen chair.

"You inherited your father's speed," he shrugged. "It's not my fault werewolves are just faster than vam—" before he could finish, I started running, hoping my head start would help me win. I was wrong. Jake was halfway up the slide by the time I reached the back door of the house.

"No fair," I sobbed, sitting on the swing, "you cheated."

"I cheated?" he laughed, sliding down the slide and landing right beside me. "You're the one who took off with no warning, while I was barely paying attention." He was behind me now, starting to push my swing.

"That's because you're faster than me!" I pumped my legs to match Jake's motion, not that he needed the help. It probably just made him be more careful. "But you weren't supposed to catch up."

"Sorry," he laughed again, "next time I'll let you win."

"You're not supposed to tell me that!" I cried, but Jake only laughed harder.

The doorbell rang. We could hear it from the back of the house. I barely even knew we had a doorbell on this house, because it was never used. But today, somebody—a stranger—was at the door.

"Nessie!" Aunt Alice's voice called from inside the house. Jake grabbed my swing to halt my motion and I hopped off quickly, headed straight to the house, with Jake right behind me.

I found Aunt Alice in the kitchen. She seemed confused, trying to see something in the future, so I approached slowly. Uncle Jasper stood next to her, rubbing her shoulders for support.

"Is it a werewolf?" Uncle Jasper asked. Aunt Alice couldn't see werewolves. Whenever she couldn't see any of our futures, it usually meant we would be we Jake at some point. She often couldn't see mine.

"No. I can see her; she's just very fuzzy. I'm getting a headache."

"Another half-mortal?" Uncle Jasper glanced at me as he spoke. Apparently, she had trouble seeing me when Mom was pregnant. The headaches stopped after a few months, but I was still blurrier than vampires and humans.

"Maybe." Now I was curious. Was Nahuel back for another visit? He hadn't stopped by in a few months. But Alice would recognize his blur by now. And didn't she say it was a woman?

Mom finally came down the stairs and walked toward the door muttering, "I don't know why none of you can answer the door. Interrupting my birthday celebration with Edward…"

"It's for you, Bella," Aunt Alice laughed.

Dad walked down the stairs and into the room where the rest of us stood, obviously confused by what his sister was seeing. Mom opened the door and greeted the woman on the other side, as we all listened from the next room.

"Hello, may I help you?"

"Yes." The woman sounded elderly but powerful. "My name is Minerva McGonagall. I would like to speak with you about your daughter: Renesmee Cullen?"

I could hear Mom gasp. Nobody knew about me. How did this woman know? "Please, come in." Dad made the face he makes when he's looking in somebody's mind for an answer, then walked into the room Mom was leading the woman into, telling my aunt and uncle to keep me in the other room. "This is my husband, Edward," Mom said when she saw him.

"Yes, both of us. How do you know?" What was Dad talking about? Why would he answer her thoughts? He was giving us away! I tried to look into the room to see the woman's expression, but Uncle Jasper held me back.

"Is Renesmee here? I would like to speak with her, too."

"Yes, she's here." Dad sounded worried. "But first tell me how you know that we are vampires." What?

"Very well," the woman began. "I am the headmistress at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. We have been watching Renesmee and would like her to attend. Normally, we would simply send a letter to inform the family of the acceptance, but—"

"School of what?" Mom shrieked.

"But circumstances are a bit different than with any student we've ever had," she finished, barely noticing Mom's interruption. "Usually, we accept children when they are eleven. But since your daughter's aging is quite different than with most children, I thought now might be more appropriate. I was hoping to meet the girl before making my final decision."

"Let Renesmee come in," Dad said to the room I stood in.

"Edward, I don't think—" Mom objected, pleading.

"It's fine, Bella." He was confident. He must know more from the woman's mind.

Uncle Jasper let go of my shoulders and I took slow steps forward—the way Dad had taught me to walk in front of humans. Jake followed close behind me.

"Amazing." The woman grinned. "And you are only three years old?"

I nodded and grabbed my mother's hand as I approached. "I just turned three today. Would you like some cake?"

Her smile widened but she shook her head. "No, thank you." She studied me for a few moments, as I looked between her and the other three people in the room. "Do you think you would fit in better with eleven-year-olds now or when you are actually eleven?"

I looked up at my mother, silently asking if I should use my power to let this woman answer that question for herself. "I think that is a wonderful idea," Mom responded. I glanced at Dad, who nodded. So I held my other hand out to the woman. All three would be able to see what I was showing her.

The woman looked at my father, who smiled. "She wants you to decide that on your own." She then took my hand, very curious about what was happening.

I showed her the day Mom woke up as a vampire and I knew who she was. I showed her how I convinced all those vampires to join our fight against the Vulturi. I showed her the love I felt for my parents, Jake, and the rest of my family. I showed her my first birthday, when Mom explained why I could not play with other children regularly. I showed her the first time I caught a fox, and why I decided to set it free. I showed her the decision to move to London and how I helped decorate the house to resemble our old one. I let her hear that I understood my power, along with everyone's in my family. Finally, I replayed my overhearing of her conversation with my parents and asked her what, exactly the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft the Wizardry was.

"Amazing." She grinned again as I pulled away and looked up at her. "Her understanding is far beyond anyone of her age—even her visual age. At three, she has the appearance of a child of nearly ten, and the mind closer to sixteen." She had been staring at me, but talking to my parents. Now, she finally turned to look at my parents. "We would be happy to have her now, if you would—Dear me, I got overexcited." She must have just realized that she never really explained anything to us, though I'm sure Dad already understood.

"Like I said," she began, taking a seat on the couch behind her. My parents and I sat on the opposite sofa. Jake stood next to the couch. "I am the headmistress at the school. We accept all sorts of young witches, but we've never had a part-vampire before. They are so rare, as I'm sure you know, and they typically don't have enough magic in them. You were all originally muggles, right?"

"Muggles?" Mom questioned.

"It's what we call people the are not magical. The vampires with special powers usually have some magical blood in them, but it tends not to be strong enough during their muggle life to be accepted to the school. But since Renesmee—I assume you both have these special gifts?" Mom just nodded. "That would explain how her powers are stronger.

"Usually, we would send a teacher from the school to the muggle-born children to explain our world. But since I was not even sure if she should be accepted yet, I felt it best that I come to see you myself. Now, I need to get back to the school to prepare for the new year, but I can have somebody else come here tomorrow to help her buy her things. That is," she finally paused with concern, "assuming she will be attending come September?"

We all sat, shocked. Jake was the first to speak, outraged. "You can't just expect her to—"

"You see," Dad interrupted him. "Jake has a very interesting relationship with Renesmee. It would be very difficult for him to be that far from her for so long."

"Ah," the woman seemed thoughtful. "I sensed that in her memories of him. Arrangements have been made for students with certain—conditions before. We can probably work something out."

Jake seem satisfied, but this just seemed to annoy Mom. "At three years old, my daughter can leave her parents and can't bear to part from her boyfriend.

"Bella…"

"If you want her to wait until she's eleven—I just think she will fit in better when she appears a similar age. Of course, it is up to your family, in the end. She will be a year or so younger, anyway, but will pass the others by her second year."

"This is a chance for her to make friends," Dad whispered into Mom's ear, speaking too quickly for humans to hear. They were always forgetting that I had vampire hearing, too. It seemed to have worked, though, because Mom sighed and nodded her approval.

"But we can stay with her until she has to leave?"

"Of course. And I will be sending another teacher to meet you here tomorrow. Professor Longbottom should be good, and I'm sure his friend, Miss Granger, would be thrilled to meet you all. She's always wondered about vegetarian vampires…" her voice trailed off as it became more and more evident she was talking more to herself than to us. "Farewell, then." She stood and headed to the door. "I will see you soon, Renesmee."

Dad reached the door before her, making her do a double-take. She must not have been used to the speed vampires have. "It was very nice to meet you." He opened the door."

"My pleasure." And she was gone.

"A witch!" Aunt Alice appeared from the next room.

"That explains why she was blurry," Uncle Jasper responded. "We're going to have quite a bit to explain to the rest when they return from their hunt." Aunt Alice and Jake chuckled, but Mom and Dad just stared at the door, now closed tightly.