Disclaimer: The Twilight Saga is the property of Stephenie Meyer, says so in the Copyright. Plainly speaking, I do not own the characters, situations and plot of Twilight nor did I make any money from writing this fanfiction. Harry Potter is the legal property of J.K Rowling. I do not own the characters, settings plots and so forth from the series nor do I profit monetarily from this fanfiction.

Warning: Bella-Centric. I know, I'm sorry; but she had to be introduced somewhere, eh?

Author's Note: This chapter is the most untouched of the bunch and has no changed content at all, actually. Bella's as canon as possible in this fic, but thankfully(!) she won't be the whiny, pathetic, personality-less, clingy, childish, selfish, vapid, boring female she was in canon; she'll actually grow up! And get a personality! And FRIENDS outside of the Cullens! Who's jumping for joy? I certainly am:D

Awakening

Bella

The pain of liquid fire eating my blood, devouring my insides, burning away the fragile skin of my human body raged for an eternity. It ate away at the light, throwing me into a perpetual, never-ending black and I feared I would never escape; never again taste the dew of morning or bask in the sun's light with eyes stung of its rays, never again feel the cool of Edward's skin or the succulent sweet of his lips, his tongue.

Edward.

Edward's skin shining in the sunlight; dazzling and blinding; Edward's crooked smile of lips, a mouth I feasted on greedily, never enough, always wanting more of those cold firm lips pressed against mine; that cool wet tongue thrusting against mine so hot that the two temperatures clashed and burned a new taste; a new song of desire.

Desire never ceased, never faltered in its hold over my fragile body, my wicked heart; never trickled but rushed like torrents through my body, undulating hips that wished to never stop the hot dance of excitement and pleasure and delicious sin of the flesh. The fire of the venom could not eclipse that first moment when I had truly experienced pleasure so intense; it ripped through my chest, tightened thighs that curled around his hard waist and hands that clenched at anything at all. So much, too much; that icy newness of his harshly cold body connecting with my heat, ripping away at the innocence that I had internally no longer held.

It was not innocence that had first led me to Edward, not innocence that entrapped me to him. It was something bigger; something dark and enthralling in its temptation. Temptation to succumb to baser pleasures and ride along its rough swell until all was drained and gone and nothing remained but the satisfaction of release until the next ride began. A lure to forget all that my life had been and settle into a new one; a life thrilling and full of excitement and danger; I did not want to be the seventeen year old who took care of her mother, her father; the seventeen year old who didn't live a life at all, rather drifting through it automatically – on autopilot, never tasting, never hearing, never seeing, feeling; until Edward.

In the Forks High School cafeteria lights of harsh quality failed to tarnish his beauty, beauty that struck me as odd; the first caresses of attractions needling my chest.

There were many who thought me drawn to his face, the alabaster face of an Adonis, but no. What had first called to me were those eyes. Obsidian and burning with raging hate and disgust; eyes that pierced me to the very core, trembling the flimsy platform that I had so far stood on and slamming me into a life that I could no longer see myself without.

Seated in the Biology room where the Temptation first licked the shy edges of my impressionable heart, the threat of something, thick and monstrous and alive, stretching its lithe tongue to lick the sensitive crevices of a soul unclean and awkward; a soul young and foolish and naïve in its own right. Encompassed with twenty-two others and yet so alone and wanting. The overwhelming fear and shock at such intense hate and the destruction of fragile wood underneath strong hands.

Veiled in the dark romantic of the restaurant's dimmed chandeliers, the shadows sharpening the planes of his hard cheekbones, darkening the threat of topaz to my senses, swallowing him in its softly whispering allure; where I had first recognized the Temptation for what it was, fingered it hesitantly with smooth fingertips, unsure but faltering along this new rocky path. The first time I was truly drawn under the rich music of his voice, drowning, drowning, until the little strength I had left fled and, resigned, my body floated along the gentle swells of Edward's tongue.

Surrounded by the unfettered beauty of the meadow; long strokes of lush greens and dark browns all around, the magnificence of this simple beautiful nature nothing against Edward's sparkling, otherworldly skin blinding me with its piercing glitters of the sun's luminous rays. Words of something deeper and an obsession that linked us together, spoken so intensely tender the world had stopped and all that remained was this meadow and us.

The first thrill of the run; tightly latched around Edward's chest with the cold radiating off of him so strongly, seeping into my fragile skin and bone, warming the part of my heart long forgotten and disused. The feeling of freedom and abandonment; of constrictions and a reality so far away, but shifting closer the faster he ran; gliding effortlessly through the trees, collages of browns, greens and gray rushing past my eyes in a whirlwind of movements; lingering in my tender chest and ending so quickly. Temptations tangling like thorns around me, trapping my heart in its relentless hunger.

Sitting in the cab of my Ford, so dizzy and breathless, body slack and softened from the run, heart speeding miles a minute, when his request came. How could I resist in such a moment? A moment of bliss and exhilaration and dizziness where his request was all that had preoccupied my mind all day, days more even, when thinking of him was the only thing that helped me survive the sunless, airless days without his presence. Submitting to the yearn deep inside myself, pressing soft lips against hard mouth, desperately fighting to keep him in my arms, in arms so weak they couldn't stop his retreat; arms that ached without his body to fill them. Longing, always longing for more, for deeper, for harder, forever.

So many more memories that I held with an iron grip close to my heart, never wanting to forget them, to forget him, he who made life worthwhile, worth living. I prayed to a being that I didn't believe in, prayed to the deities of civilizations long abandoned, faithfully reciting my devotion so that I could hold on and keep where we had begun, where we had grown together, past this transformation of body, of creature.

The blissful haze slowly retreated from the edges of an ambushed mind; awareness creeping in as the long, eternal seconds passed. Sounds, murky and dull, began to clear, sleepily at first but quicker and quicker, becoming sharp to my ears.

"…stopped…been…it… hours." Lightly whispered caresses of skin against skin and heavenly music.

"Coming…nicely…perfect. Ours."

"…gone…no way…knowing how…pain."

"…downstairs…blank… see anything. It's frustrating." A slam upon steel. Laughter drifting up the stairs.

"Edward's fear is ridiculous. Nessie understands; she knows." Melodious scoffing.

"Two minutes. Yes, I said so, didn't I? Jazz go fetch Edward." Impatience, fiery of the Fae.

Edward. Edward who had not been here throughout the many diluted conversations spoken for however long I heard. Edward, whose presence I had not once felt in this room; only the light rhythmic steps of Alice and the sleek movements of Jasper. Carlisle's soothing baritone had been here as well as Esme's flowery scent.

A rumbling of footsteps burrowed into the room, all defined noise to my ears.

And suddenly, finally he was here. With me.

I opened my eyes and for the first time, I saw.

Saw true light, its glittering sheen coating everything, still managing to cast shadows long and full, but transparently clear. Minute grains of the wood and the thin, unnoticeable lines that separated the strokes of paint visible. Minuscule balls of black floated all around, hitting my tongue with flavors unusual and interestingly so.

The air had a feel to my newborn skin, a soft pressure of comfort. I wiggled a toe and felt the push against the barely there pressure, my amazement prodding a gasp from my throat. The indifferent, somewhat queasy feeling of air leaving my lungs caught my absolute attention and for some time I found myself experimenting with this unfamiliar lack of air. I pulled it into my mouth, feeling it travel the path of my trachea, tickling the sensitive walls, the swirl of it in my lungs prodding laughter and with it the air from my body.

"I think Bella has lost a few of her brain cells during the change, Carlisle. You may want to check that. And quickly." The smug feminine voice jerked me to attention, my gaze roaming towards the sound of sweetly stroked harps. I wasn't surprised to see Rosalie's raised brow or the warm compassion in her ever blue eyes. The sudden wash of relief and pleasure overcame me; I had been worried that our bond had been broken with the ending of my pregnancy.

Other words were spoken, a chastisement from Carlisle I was sure, but none of that mattered more than Edward. Edward's face without the gauzy film masking its picture. This new seeing of him was nothing compared to the distant memories of my human life, pale and droll to these healed eyes. There were no words that could describe the planes of his face; no words to describe how much more they meant to me now that I could finally, truly take him in.

"Edward." His name rolling of my tongue with an unfamiliar voice, melodious and reverent of him.

I leapt off of the table in this encompassing need to be in his arms, to tightly meld myself to him in hopes of never being separated. It felt like I had only to think it and it was done; I moved so swiftly in my passion to get to him. My arms locked around him, the satin of the back of his neck warming the patch of forearm that pressed against it. My body molded to his as I intended; my breasts heavy against his chest, belly pressed to taut stomach, thighs rubbing together in movements that sent zings of desire racing through my body. I nuzzled my nose into his neck, basking in his scent of musk and sweet and heat.

It was when my lips grazed his cheek in the slightest of touches he flinched and I meekly remembered the strength that I now possessed. I pulled away quickly – albeit reluctantly – from Edward, giving him a self-conscious smile at his frozen body and pained face.

"Sorry. Forgot about the stronger than you part of it." I anxiously scratched the back of my head, starting to frown when the pained expression on his face didn't lesson and the others in the room started to take on the fidgeting of humans.

"Did I really hurt you badly, Edward?" That seemed to knock him out of whatever state he was in and he appeared to see me for the first time.

"No, you caught me off guard. I'm usually the one practicing self-restraint." His laugh sounded false, even to me.

I shrugged off the uneasiness at his actions, putting it on anxiety and relief at my well being. I focused on other things; the beating hearts for instance, coming from downstairs, strong and assured, the other faster than the flight of the hummingbird.

The flow of blood from the heart made my mouth water, throat growing dry in immediate thirst. Jasper sensed this, going into a crouch that the others followed. Rosalie escaped through the door, her footsteps heading downstairs. The lowering of Judge Judy's voice caught my ears. I paused for a moment, wondering if I really just heard the current case involving a middle aged man suing a thirteen year old over an iTunes account.

Carlisle was the only one who remained upright, a smile on his peaceful face. "You must be hungry, Bella. I had some questions to ask of you, but that can wait for later. Edward?" His gaze went to Edward's crouched form, obviously sharing some thoughts through Edward's mind reading ability.

Hesitantly, so slowly that my chest began hurt, he straightened from his crouch. His tense body betrayed his blank face; he was prepared to attack at a moment's notice. The pain deepened, becoming sharper knowing that Edward thought that I could be a threat to any human. Realistically, I agreed with their precautions. I, myself wasn't sure if I would be able to resist such an offer of blood, easy and accessible, but the heart that had stilled of its pumps ached.

The hurt was worse when one of those heartbeats had to belong to my daughter. Renesmee. Her name, the threading together of my two mothers created figural spurts of joy in my belly. I tried to recall her face from the sunken memories, pulling up an unclear, hazy image of her cherubic face and body, bloodied and smiling. Warm in my cooling arms. I wanted to see her; needed to see her.

I locked eyes on Edward and spoke her name, carefully wrapping my mouth around it, tasting the love I had for her.

I expected his face to light up with happiness at her name, with the ingrained love that I myself mirrored for our daughter. A daughter with beautiful baby curls of brown and tiny fingers and chubby limbs. I expected to see pride; I expected to share the love we had for her with our eyes.

All but the latter came as expected. The happiness was bright, tangible to us observers, so strong that we could feel it in our own hearts. It exploded with more tender feelings, of resilient love that was so strong it slammed into me. His pride for her glowed in topaz iris and as he still held my eyes, I saw that he wasn't connected with me. Wasn't connected with what I was feeling for her, for the two of them, but for something else. Something that in no way equaled what looks he had for me; this greater expansion was something otherworldly – and it didn't include me.

Some part of my distress must have showed on my face, for Jasper growled and I winced knowing that he could feel what I was. This sick, petty emotion that I was ashamed of feeling, but couldn't rid myself of. Jealousy.

Jasper's growl shook Edward out of his trance and he took on a sheepish face.

"Oh, right. Sorry Bella." His apology felt too sincere; like he was apologizing for something more than wandering off into his thoughts. This worried me greatly. I felt the huge acre of time that I must have missed more intricately than I had before this time. It was like I had been unconscious for years and a niche so wide that an ending couldn't be seen separated us.

It was this worry that escalated to fear and my blurted question.

"How long was I…incapacitated?" Edward blinked at me, delving into another trance. I was quickly becoming frustrated with whatever kept occupying his thoughts. It was Alice who answered me when the silence almost became too much for me.

"Not long. Two days and a few hours." From the look on her face, I knew that she had indeed counted it out to hours and this at least soothed me. Alice always had my back.

A soft cry redirected my attentions to the floor – or more accurately, downstairs. The hunger to see my daughter and calm her cries rose in me and I unconsciously shifted toward the door.

Instantly, Jasper and Emmett barricaded the door with their bodies, bodies tight in a defensive position.

A smooth warm hand took mine, surprising me and I began to crouch and tense before I realized that it was Edward. He smiled at me and everything righted itself in my belly. Of course I was overreacting. Of course I had no reason to worry. Worry about what was really nagging me but I impatiently pushed that aside, focusing on Edward.

"Let's hunt, Bella." He tugged on my hand leading me as if I was blind to the window. At first I could only stare out at the expanse of lush greens and forests. He must have thought that I was appreciating the scene with new eyes, but that couldn't be farther from the truth. It took a while, 1 minute actually, but to my new sense of time it was a long while, for me speak.

"Why are we looking out this window?" A low chuckle rumbled his chest and I immediately felt stupid.

"This is our exit." It took a minute longer for me to understand and then like lightning I did. He was telling me we'd leave the house via window. I frowned, not comprehending why we would when we could just use the door. I flicked my eyes toward said door at the thought and understood. The two blockheads were blocking it. Which led me to thoughts of the beating hearts and blood heated flesh. The thirst then flared in my throat. Needless to say, I felt like a right fool to remember that I had to avoid the living beings in the house, until this thirst was conquered.

All that came from my mouth was "Oh."

Emmett's louder than necessary laugh caused even more embarrassment. Edward, being an even bigger conclusion-jumper than me thought I was still hung on confusion.

"This is the only convenient exit, Bella. Jacob and Renesmee are downstairs." Those jeweled eyes of his lit up with passion that I had never seen before, leaving a longing inside me that I refused to comprehend. Jealousy was eating away at me again; noticing the favor Jacob and Renesmee's names had to mine; how they sounded more than the world's knowing of love, something celestial and everlasting. Next to theirs, my name sounded like an everyday object of no importance or specialty.

It was hard to quench this jealousy when Jacob, someone that Edward never particularly cared for as more than a protector to me, suddenly sounded like his most treasured being.

Out of spite I whispered, "Is Renesmee…okay…with Jacob there?" This question caused the opposite effect then I wanted in Edward. Instead of the slash in his confidence in Jacob – what else could it be? – A surge of loyalty darkened the color of his eyes, his lips tightened oddly and his fists clenched in obvious anger. For a second I wondered if he caught the undertone in my voice, but is next words squashed that thought.

"Jacob would never hurt Renesmee, as I thought you would never dare insult someone you hold dear to your heart. Renesmee is very precious to him, to us. She is the safest she could be with him as any of us and if there was any doubt of her safety, I know what he is thinking."

I abruptly felt very much the monster his furious eyes and cadence held me out to be. I flinched at the thoughts that spoke of Jacob in a manner that was dreadfully far from my best friend. The best friend that I had just bashed in a fit of jealousy. The satisfaction that Edward held at my understanding shamed me more than his words did. The feral look he gave me lowered my eyes.

"Do you need a demonstration Bella?" Jasper – glorious Jasper who had saved me many times since my awakening – interrupted the hostile atmosphere, calm smoothing the ripples of antagonistic emotion. I watched as Edward shot him a grateful smile, a smile that tinged with apology. Did the escalation of feeling pain Jasper?

I found that I couldn't speak when I tried to answer him, a great ball of tension in my throat; I nodded.

Edward leapt out of the window with the grace of the animal he loved, landing with the barest crunch of grass underfoot. I peered down after them, forgetting all of what just went on in favor of the tight craving that burned wickedly in my belly.
To say I was anxious would be an understatement. I was off the wall frightened. How the hell was I to make it all the way down there? The sliding of silk alerted me to the dress that covered me, constricted and revealing and not at all for the use of jumping. I shot a glare at Alice who's only reaction was a sly curve of luscious mouth. In answer to that, I kicked off the ridiculous strappy heels she must have put on my feet and threw them at her. She rebelliously caught them in her right hand, grumbling about my lost sense of fashion.

Playfully I stuck my tongue at her and leaped out of the window after Edward. Surprisingly the jump was slow and I easily settled unto the grass, imitating Edward's earlier bend of the knee to absorb the impact.

Edward was off as soon as I touched the ground and I figured he was as impatient as I to see our daughter.

It was simple to be unaffected by how quickly he taught me to hunt. We had a bit of shaky ground when I came upon some hiker, but to the despair of my burning throat I managed to turn away and pick up the scent of deer.

I savored every moment of the chase, relishing and rejoicing in the capture of the deer. Triumph made me giddy and in excitement I threw my arms around Edward and kissed him – except my lips never touched his and a second later my arms were empty and I was staring at a horrified Edward.

I winced at the knowledge that I had once again injured Edward and my hand moved to caress his cheek, but he was already gone; fleeing through the trees in a whirlwind of bronze and white.

Frustrated, I followed him back to the house. I understood that the need to see Renesmee was great, it had never failed to leave my mind the moment it entered, but this was getting ridiculous. It was almost like he was revolted every time my skin touched his.

I was faster than Edward and yet he made it back before me, due to his head start or my furiously working mind I didn't know.

I broke through the trees a minute or so after him and found my family lined in front of the back porch. To my immense displeasure Jacob was standing a little behind them, holding something in his arms. To my further enrage me, Edward was standing closely to him, so close they touched – neither seemed to mind.

Jacob shifted his body toward me and through an almost non-existent space between Emmett and Rosalie, I saw her; bigger than a two day old should be. In his arms. I watched as Jacob's thumb brushed against the toddler's cheeks and Edward's head leaned closer to his, murmuring words of comfort. Words that my sharpened ears caught.

"It is okay, Jake. She won't hurt her. She is Renesmee's mother after all." Unlike the loathing and loyalty Edward's voice held when defending Jacob, this reassurance held nothing but vague affection for me.

Blood clouded my vision and I lunged at the three, one instinct overriding all. They were mine!