Disclaimer: I do not own the Harry Potter series and/or the Twilight Saga.

Chapter Three

Chief Swan's Daughter and the New Vampire

"Home sweet home!" Alice Cullen exclaimed as she bounded inside the huge house and sat on the loveseat, her darling husband, Jasper Hale, immediately taking the spot beside her. "It's so good to be back again!"

Rosalie Hale flipped her long and silky honey blonde curls and examined her perfectly polished red nails. "I don't know why you're so happy to be back. It just means that we have to spend time with the humans again."

"Aww, babe." Emmett Cullen wove his arms around his wife's small waist and pulled her against his big chest. She looked so tiny compared to his massive frame. "A lot of them aren't so bad. At least, we only have a year left before we leave and go for our honeymoon." He wiggled his eyebrows and Rosalie couldn't help but laugh.

"Ooooh! You're going to Africa this time, right?" Alice questioned the couple.

"You already know the answer to that," Jasper pointed out, pulling her to his side. It was times like this, when his wife felt at ease and there were no threats, that made him feel relaxed in the company of his own family.

"Yes, but it's always polite to ask." Alice giggled and snuggled closer to him. She did know the answer to her own question. It was one of her 'seeing-the-future' perks. "Don't forget that you also have a year left while I have two. We won't be seeing each other for a year."

"I'm going to see Peter and Charlotte once this year's over," he told her. "Not that you don't know."

"I miss Denali already," Esme Cullen said as she came into the living room, where most of her surrogate children gathered. Carlisle Cullen, her husband, stood behind her.

"It was good to see our cousins again," said Carlisle, smiling fondly at his wife. "It's been so long since we've last seen Kate, Irina and Tanya."

"Tanya seems especially happy to see Edward again," Emmett commented, grinning broadly. "How long until you'd give in to her, Eddie?"

Edward Cullen walked into the room and scowled at him. "Tanya is a sweet girl. I just don't see her in that way. Besides, when I do establish a romantic relationship with her, we all know that she's not truly my real mate."

"Pfft. I'm not saying that you have to mate her or something. I'm just saying that she's hot." When Emmett saw Rosalie's deadly glare, he immediately added, "Don't worry, baby. You're hotter than her. Like, ten times hotter."

Rosalie looked pleased. "Good to know."

Edward snorted at them. "I never said that she wasn't beautiful. She is. I guess... She just doesn't have something that I'm looking for."

"And what's that? Bigger boobs?" Emmett said sarcastically.

"Language, Emmett!" Esme scolded, frowning at him.

Edward shook his head at him. "I don't care about those things, idiot. Just... I don't know. I just haven't found what I want yet."

"It's official," Emmett said flatly. "You're going to spend eternity as the virgin boy in this family."

Jasper, Alice, and Rosalie laughed. Esme looked sternly at Emmett although there was a small smile on her lips while Carlisle shook his head, trying not to laugh so he wouldn't offend his oldest and youngest son. Edward glared at Emmett while the bigger man smiled cheekily at him. Suddenly, amidst their laughter, Alice gasped and everyone stopped.

There was only one reason for Alice's reaction and it was because she was having another vision of the future. Without warning, Edward saw the visions flashing in her mind.

Golden eyes flashed, framed by thick brown lashes. The scene changed to the school cafeteria, which was full of humans, and everyone was talking about the new girl, Chief Swan's daughter. Edward was sitting with his siblings, as usual, and the new girl was staring at him. The scene changed again and the doors leading to the cafeteria opened and another unfamiliar girl walked into the room, attracting the whole room's attention. Golden eyes flickered and ruby lips smiled.

It was over and Alice blinked her eyes as her mind cleared. She immediately looked at Edward who looked as puzzled as she was. Everyone else was looking at them, waiting for one of them to share Alice's vision. They knew that Edward was the only person who could see Alice's vision because of the telepathic ability that he gained when he was turned.

"What did you see?" Jasper inquired, rubbing her shoulders affectionately. Being an empath, he could feel Alice's confusion and he wondered why.

"It was so vague," said Alice, who looked disturbed by her vision. "It was the shortest that I ever had. It didn't make any sense at all."

"It was like a flash of images," noted Edward and Alice nodded, agreeing with him. "She hadn't seen much. The only decent image that she saw was the school cafeteria. I think it's around lunchtime because it was full of humans. We were all there, the five of us. I saw an unfamiliar face and she was staring at me in the vision. I heard from the vision that she was Chief Swan's daughter."

"She looked curious," Alice added. "She was new to the town, so naturally she was curious about us. Everyone was talking about her. Then... Then she came."

"Who?" Rosalie demanded, sitting erectly beside Emmett. Apprehension was written across her lovely face.

"I don't know," Alice admitted reluctantly, her lips pinched. She hated not knowing something. "But I do know one thing."

Edward crossed his arms over his chest, frowning somberly. "She was a vampire."

Alice nodded in agreement.

"Chief Swan's daughter is a vampire?" Emmett earned a whack on the head by Rosalie because of his question. "What?" He whined to his wife, pouting petulantly. "What did I do now?"

"No, not Chief Swan's daughter. It was the other girl in the vision," explained Alice, a touch of impatience in her tone.

"There was another girl?"

"Honestly, Emmett, haven't you been listening?" Rosalie looked annoyed.

Everyone else ignored him.

"You have a vision of two girls. One girl was the Chief Swan's daughter and the other girl was a vampire. Is that it?" Carlisle summarized. When Alice and Edward nodded, he appeared contemplative. "Do any of us know her?"

"That's it," Alice said, appearing distressed. Jasper immediately tried to calm her down, which earned him a grateful smile. "None of us knew her. All I could make out were her eyes and they were gold. She's an animal feeder, just like us."

"The rest of her features were sort of blurred," Edward mused aloud. "A little distorted. But her eyes were clear. They were definitely gold."

The rest of the family exchanged alarmed glances. They were always mindful of the vampires who visited into their town. They had to be since they couldn't risk one of them breaking the treaty and the Quileute Tribe blaming them for it. Every vampire who came into town were warned before they even began to think about biting one or two residents in the area. As a seer, Alice was the first to know about the visitors. The problem, however, was that Alice's vision was vague this time. They didn't know what to expect and it brought them on edge.

"You said that she came into the school?" Carlisle asked after a long moment of silence.

"Yes," Edward drawled.

"Then this is no plain visitor." Carlisle met Edward's gaze. 'We have ourselves a new vampire neighbor.'

Edward's eyes flashed when he heard his thoughts. "You think that this vampire girl's going to live here in Forks?"

"What?" It was Rosalie who asked with a rather snappish voice as she whipped her head up after examining her nail polish. "You think that there will be a new vampire in town?"

"Alice said that this girl came into the school. It's either she's a new student or a new teacher," theorized Carlisle. "The problem is the treaty. The Quileute don't know if we're the ones who turned her."

"Are you saying that they would accuse us?" Everyone could not fault Rosalie's outrage. Other than perfection, she had always craved normality. Being a vampire prevented that and that was why she wouldn't let anyone, be it vampire or human, disrupt her little world of perfection.

"They could," calmly replied Carlisle. "Not many people know about the treaty aside from us and the Quileute tribe. If this vampire doesn't know about it, the chances are she might break it."

"We can't let that happen, Carlisle!" Rosalie exclaimed. "We have to find this vampire and tell her about the treaty. Or, better yet, make her leave!"

"I agree with Rosalie," Jasper piped in. He didn't like the way Alice was feeling regarding to their new visitor. "This vampire has to go. If she is a threat to our existence, I don't see why we'll let her stay." He was already thinking about eliminating her.

"Jasper, stop," Edward admonished when he heard his thoughts.

Jasper only looked away, not bothering to apologize for his thoughts. Edward furrowed his eyebrows. That was a bad sign. It meant that he was serious about killing her, and a serious Jasper was another thing entirely. Edward had to watch out before he could do anything.

"We can't just make her leave," Esme chided the two blondes in the family. "Everyone has a right to reside in Forks. We don't have any rights to drive her away."

"And what would that mean for us, huh?" Rosalie uttered darkly. "We were here first!"

"It doesn't matter," Carlisle said calmly to soothe Rosalie's nerves. It didn't have the same effect as Jasper's, who can manipulate emotions to his will, but Rosalie visibly relaxed. "We don't know anything about this girl. We don't even know if she's already in Forks. All we have to do is wait for Alice's vision to pass. If we see her, we'll talk to her. It's the only way." Carlisle looked pointedly at Jasper who looked as if he wanted to protest. "We have to be cautious. We don't know who we're dealing with."

Alice was oddly quiet throughout their whole exchange. Then she said, "I think she's harmless."

Jasper frowned. "How can you be sure?"

Alice peered at his eyes. They were almost close to charcoal black. They hadn't fed for a week to build Jasper's resistance. She loved looking at his eyes though, no matter what color they were. "Something is telling me that she won't harm us," she told him.

"That's reassuring," Rosalie said sarcastically. "Whatever. Is the family discussion done yet? I've got to check on my car." When Carlisle confirmed that it was, she left without looking at anyone. Obviously, she was still mad that they weren't going to do something about the new vampire.

"She's pissed," Emmett voiced out. "That's just great. That means we can have rough make up sex later."

"Emmett!" Esme admonished.

"We do not need to know that," Edward muttered as he went up to his room. Naturally, being vampires, they still heard it.

"That's just because you're a prude!" Emmett called out to him.

Edward only slammed the door.

•~O~•

The next week was the same as always. Carlisle was rarely seen in the house now that they were back from Denali as he was called away to the hospital. Esme was busy cleaning the whole place, since they had left it unattended for two weeks, Rosalie was in the garage, fixing and tinkering with the cars, Emmett was either watching TV or playing video games, Jasper was seen in the library, reading about civil wars, Alice was in her art studio, sketching another dress of her own design, and Edward was either composing a song or out in the forest for a run.

It was the day before school starts when Carlisle announced to them that Charlie Swan's daughter had just arrived in town and everyone was buzzing with anticipation, sans the vampires. They, especially Jasper and Rosalie, were immediately on guard. It meant that the new vampire was going to appear any minute now.

"Haven't you seen any more visions of her?" Edward questioned Alice the same night of Carlisle's announcement.

Alice shook her head, appearing as though she was upset. "I can't get anything aside from flashes, and those are completely useless because it doesn't make any sense. I saw a red coat one day and the other day, I glimpsed a small tent in the middle of the forest."

"A tent?" Emmett deadpanned.

"Yes," Alice replied, rolling her eyes at him.

"Do you think that the tent means that she's here?" Edward inquired.

"Can't it be just because she likes camping?" Emmett snorted before going up the couch and challenging Jasper into a wrestle. Jasper, after a quick grin, complied.

Edward shook his head when they both tumbled on the floor, knowing that Jasper would win and Emmett would complain about it later.

Alice's mouth was pursed. "I don't know if she's here. It just doesn't make sense. We just have to wait. After all, it's the first day of school tomorrow. With our luck, she's coming sooner than later."

"I'd rather she doesn't come at all," Rosalie grumbled under her breath from the garage as she was actively listening to their conversation. With their enhanced hearing, they still heard it. "It would do us every bit of good."

"It doesn't matter." Carlisle sighed at his daughter's apparent contempt. "We'll just have to prepare ourselves. Anything could happen."

Rosalie scoffed but remained silent. Esme was anxious about everyone in general. Emmett was most likely excited about the new vampire although he wouldn't dare voice it out when Rosalie was still pissed off. Jasper, thankfully, withheld his plans of killing the vampire as long as he wasn't risking Alice's safety. Edward turned to his father and Carlisle looked back at him. Everyone wondered if it was going to be their last day at Forks.

The rest of the night was spent with silence instead of the usual chatter until the sun rose up in the sky. It was the first day of school and the Cullen and Hale siblings traded guarded looks before they slid inside Edward's silver Volvo. The new vampire's arrival was momentarily shoved back into the back of their minds when they parked onto their usual spot because they had to prepare Jasper for the onslaught of the smell of blood as soon as he got out of the car.

"You're going to be fine!" Alice assured him when she saw the pained expression on Jasper's face as he stepped out of the car, the scent of the humans instantly fillig his predatory senses. She immediately went to his side. "Rosalie and Emmett will be with you in every class and I will see you at lunchtime."

Jasper nodded curtly and looked away, his lips pursed. His predatory eyes followed two girls who were walking across the parking lot, chatting amiably with each other about a new movie. 'It would be easy to act on the temptation.'

"Jasper, it isn't easy," Edward said before his brother could physically act on it. "You will have to be strong. Resist the temptation. Remember that it isn't the only option. We'll be with you every step of the way."

Alice nodded, smiling optimistically. Edward shook his head. Trust Alice to remain enthusiastic in a dire time. It might be because of her abilities to see the future, where she saw that her husband hadn't killed anybody yet, that had made her cheerful. Jasper sighed. Rosalie rolled her eyes and grabbed Jasper's arm.

"Don't worry, Alice," she said, looking quite unconcerned. 'This is really getting bothersome.' "We'll keep an eye out."

"I'm fine," Jasper seethed, hating the feeling of Alice's concern. "I'll hold my breath if I have to."

A strange sound captured their attentions and they spun around to find an old unfamiliar red Chevy truck passing them. They watched as it stopped onto a free parking space. The driver still hadn't stepped out.

'What kind of... of abomination is that?!' Rosalie sounded affronted, eyeing the old truck with disdain. 'That should be made illegal!'

Edward chuckled under his breath. Everyone of them watched when the girl from Alice's vision, Chief Swan's daughter, jumped down from her truck, her cheeks flushing at the attention she gained from the people in the parking lot. Edward winced in annoyance when the quiet voices magnetized ten fold as soon as they saw the new girl.

'Is that Chief Swan's daughter? Wow! She's hot!' Mike Newton exclaimed in his mind.

Edward sighed when the fantasies of sixteen and seventeen years olds filtered throughout their minds. He immediately tuned them out. Jasper looked at him when he sensed his irritation but Edward only shook his head. He didn't want to tell them what he heard. The rest of his siblings didn't care enough to ask trivial things such as human thoughts.

"I take it that she's the Swan girl, then?" Emmett asked, draping his arm on Rosalie's shoulder. If it was a human, they'd buckle under the weight of his arm. 'She doesn't look anything interesting. Dunno why you're making such a big fuss.'

"It's not her we're looking out for," Edward said to dismiss his assumption. "We're here for the vampire." His gaze roamed around the area. "Alice, see anything?"

Alice shook her head. "No. I don't think she's here. I think she's going to appear exactly where we saw her in the vision."

"We have to wait for her?" Rosalie sneered. "Great. Another reason to stay on guard."

"Let's just act as normally as possible," Edward suggested. "But more importantly, let's stay alert. It's just like what Carlisle had said: we don't know anything about her."

Everyone nodded curtly before they separated to their own ways. Rosalie, Emmett, and Jasper were playing as Seniors, so most of their classes were located at the farthest part of the school. Alice and Edward were Juniors though they rarely met given their different schedules. The teachers pointedly separated the youngest Cullens, suspecting that they cheated in their tests since they always had the same scores. Of course, it was futile since they still got better marks than most. The older Cullens were more tightly packed since nobody would even dare try to separate Emmett from Rosalie and Jasper's charisma prevented them.

Edward scanned the whole classroom before taking a seat at the front, having learned that the scent of human blood wasn't quite strong if a human wasn't in front of him. He hadn't seen the other girl that Alice saw in her vision throughout the whole morning but he remained on guard, waiting on edge and only relaxing as soon as class started. The sound of his classmate's thoughts were still filled with the image of Chief Swan's daughter, who he later found out that her name was Isabella Swan though she preferred Bella over her birth name. The new vampire hadn't made any appearance as far as he could tell.

It was around lunchtime when he met up with his brothers and sisters that he could feel the tension in the air. They weren't talking, as usual but their shoulders were stiff and they sat straighter, more alert despite the casual indifference on their faces. Bella Swan just came in with Jessica Stanley and Edward didn't miss the way her chocolate brown eyes lingered on their table as soon as she saw them. Jessica also hadn't missed it and began spouting things about them.

"Jessica is talking to the new girl about us," Edward spoke quietly, his lips barely moving.

"Figures." Rosalie snorted as she twirled a strand of curly blonde hair.

Emmett chuckled. "All good things, I hope." He grinned mischievously.

Edward looked at Jasper who was watching a girl who went past their table, and he kicked his chair when he began imagining on stalking the girl and leaning his mouth close to her neck. There was a flash of guilt on Jasper's face and he immediately looked down, looking remorseful. [1] Alice seemed worried and turned to Edward.

'Any sign of trouble?' She asked in her mind, knowing that Edward was listening. She was increasingly worried of Jasper this past few hours and only Edward could provide her the answer to lessen her worry.

Edward shook his head slowly, all the while sporting a bored look on his face. His other siblings could mistake it as a reaction from hearing the unpleasant thoughts of hormonal teenagers. They wouldn't know the question Alice asked of him. She and Edward could communicate through expressions and thoughts quite well compared to the others; something that Alice liked to take advantage of especially when Jasper was upset at being treated like a child.

The pixie-like vampire looked relieved at his answer. It was in that moment when the cafeteria doors opened, the buzzing chatter of the whole room dwindled into silence, and the five of them heard a faint click as shoes connected on the floor grew closer.

Then she came, just as what Alice had seen in her vision.

Golden eyes flashed, framed by thick brown lashes. When she stepped into the room, everyone was gaping, looking in daze, except for five people. The attention that Bella Swan attracted was forgotten as though it hadn't happened and Bella was suddenly just another ordinary face in the crowd. Because who would even remember much less think about a mere human when a vampire just walked into the room?

She swept her long wild brown hair back and her golden eyes flicked to the mass to which she gave a small smile at when she noticed their eyes on her. Everyone was quiet, too enthralled by the other new girl to speak. A normal person — a human, specifically — would not see the signs and would not spot what their superior eye sight could see. They knew that she was a vampire and could tell by one glance, but there was the distinct lack of wintry presence around her, like the barrier that warned humans to stay away didn't exist in the first place. Humans wouldn't know the predator in her until it was too late.

Humans usually stayed away from them because their survival instincts knew that they were different and dangerous. They mostly tended to stay away from the unknown, the uncertainty of something that they couldn't understand. But this vampire lack the warning sign, the edge of danger that vampires had. This was strange; he had never seen a vampire looking as approachable as her. Even Esme, for all of her compassion and big heart, could make a child feel suspicion and doubt. This new vampire neighbor that they had was not normal — even by vampire standards. She was likely the most lethal predator in the whole room, except for him and his siblings, as of the moment.

Edward and his siblings watched as she walked with grace and ease towards the counter where the lunch ladies immediately snapped out of daze as soon as she started speaking. She had an English accent to her husky yet melodic voice and Edward blocked another wave of teenage fantasies when they heard it. She was wearing a white crop top and a denim jacket. Her crimson skirt pooled out an inch above her knees and Edward didn't need to hear Alice's thoughts to know that she was appraising her black boots. His onyx eyes trailed down her hands and his eyebrows furrowed when he saw she was wearing black leather gloves.

She faced the crowd, carrying a red tray of soda and two oranges. All hell broke loose when someone tentatively offered her a space in their table and another one had a counter offer. Edward could see Rosalie rolling her eyes at the corner of his eyes then he focused his attention to the new vampire, who appeared as though she was embarrassed and annoyed at the unnecessary fight over her. Edward had to slightly grin at that. He found the entire thing amusing. The new vampire clearly didn't want or like the attention that was bestowed upon her.

"Is it just me or is there something weird about her," Emmett stated reluctantly, his voice hushed.

They all stiffened when her eyes landed on them and sighed inaudibly when she looked away. They turned their glares at Emmett, who smiled sheepishly. Rosalie slapped the back of his head, hissing at him to keep quiet. Alice caught Edward's eye.

'You know what to do.' Alice nodded at him.

Edward always served as the family's lookout, telling them if one or two humans suspected something about them [2]. Vampires, even with their superior hearing, could not detect human thoughts like he could. Unless they were either interested, bored, or hunting humans, vampires usually tune out human voices whenever it suited them. Otherwise, they would always hear what the humans were speaking about and majority of the vampires were arrogant enough to think that human lives were tedious at best. His siblings were the same, tuning out and ignoring human voices although Edward wasn't granted the same privilege because of his telepathic ability. He could tune them out if he wanted to and if the occasion called for it, but it wasn't as always as he liked.

Edward didn't need to verbally answer Alice. Instead, he only lifted his eyes to watch the new vampire choosing the table that Bella Swan was sitting in when Mike Newton offered a seat right next to him with a cocky smirk on his lips. Edward rolled his eyes when he saw this. He didn't like Mike one bit because of his belief that he was better than everyone else, the Cullen siblings included. Edward certainly liked to remind him how weak he was compared to the Cullens but didn't bother to act it out because, in the end, he was human

'Look at him,' Eric Yorkie thought irritably as the vampire sat next to Mike. There was a hint of envy in his eyes. 'Another new girl comes in and he's already panting like a rabbit in heat. Pathetic.'

'God. If only I met her first before Bella Swan,' Mike thought, not bothering to hide his interest for the vampire. 'This girl is way better than her! And the British accent! Fuuuuuck.' Cue a rather graphic fantasy that played in his mind that Edward shook out of his head. 'It's a good thing I haven't made any moves on Bella yet. Eric can have the Bella chick. I'm giving this a go!'

"So," Mike drawled, leaning closer to her. Edward caught her leaning back though it was subtle. "I'm Mike Newton, by the way. What's your name?"

The vampire smiled though Edward could see that it was forced and strained. Edward felt oddly please, although he didn't know why, that she wasn't falling for Mike's advances. "I'm Hermione Granger. Nice to meet you, Newton."

The accent instantly charmed the other boys occupying the table. However, it displeased the girls, except for Angela Weber, which wasn't unusual since she had always been kind, never spiteful like Lauren or envious like Jessica, and — Edward frowned as he looked at Bella Swan and tried to read her thoughts. All he could hear was silence. It baffled him. He tried again, this time focusing on her person and amplifying his abilities, only it still didn't work. It only brought forth a myriad of unpleasant and unwanted voices instead.

'Another one?!' Jessica shrieked in her mind. 'I bet she had plastic surgery. Everyone can see she's a trust fund girl. Nobody can be that pretty!'

'First, Bella Swan and then this Herm-whatever came? They aren't even that pretty!' Lauren Mallory narrowed her eyes on Hermione Granger.

'Oh, wow. I've never met a British person before!' Angela Weber's thoughts were filled with wonder. 'Her accent's amazing and cool!'

Bella Swan's thoughts, however, were nowhere to be found.

There was only complete silence, and it unnerved Edward.

"How does she do that?" Jasper murmured quietly to himself and Edward whipped his head towards him, thinking that he must be talking about Bella. Jasper met his gaze. "Are you okay? You're agitated."

"I'm fine." Edward tried to keep the irritation out from his voice. "What do you mean by your question?"

Jasper blinked. "I'm wondering how she interacts with humans like that. Doesn't she feel thirsty, being surrounded by them?"

His questions were like a wake up call to the oblivious ones. Edward wasn't the only one who's watching her anymore; all of them were. Every vampire knew that even though their thirst was satisfied, whether by human and animal blood, they still couldn't quell the hunger and need for human blood, especially for 'vegetarian vampires' like them. Edward instantly forgot about Bella Swan, returning his fixation on Hermione Granger. She wasn't smiling anymore as she regarded both Lauren and Jessica with narrowed eyes. He wondered if she knew what they were thinking about her but he quickly dismissed it.

"How come I've never seen you here before?" A flirtatious smile graced Mike's lips.

Edward's eyebrows knitted when he felt something in his chest that wanted to claw Mike's smile off his lips. He quickly waved it away as though it was nothing albeit his confusion and mild surprise stayed behind. Mike always considered him a rival from the moment he stepped onto Forks High School and although Edward indulged in the occasional rivalry to pass time, especially when he was bored, he had never felt as invested as Mike was. The violent thoughts for the human boy that suddenly ripped through him had caught him off guard. The fact that it was his reaction after seeing his smile at Hermione made it stranger.

"I just moved into Forks a week ago," the female vampire answered.

Edward realized with a start that Alice's vision of her was the same time she appeared in Forks. It mustn't have been a coincidence. Her arrival must've triggered Alice's vision. Though he did wonder how Alice never saw her coming, unlike a couple of visiting vampires a long time ago. She always knew who was coming before they arrived, but it seemed the same didn't apply to the new vampire.

"And this morning? Why haven't we seen you here before?" Mike inquired.

Hermione looked mildly annoyed at the interrogation although she kept it well hidden. The only indication for her growing annoyance was the tight lines on her mouth that couldn't be spotted unless someone was intently observing her reactions.

"I woke up late," she replied as casually as she could, "and missed my morning classes. I only just arrived for the afternoon ones."

"It's a shame that you missed your morning classes then," Mike remarked, leering at her.

"Yes." Her smile looked more like a grimace. "Anyway, I was told that I wasn't the only new student as well and I was hoping to meet her actually."

"Oh!" Angela exclaimed. "That would be Bella here."

Beside Angela, Bella's cheeks reddened. She lifted a limp hand to wave at her. "Hi," she muttered, ducking her head. "I'm Bella Swan. Nice to meet you."

This time Hermione's grin was wider compared to the one she gave to Mike. "Nice to meet you, Bella. I'm Hermione."

Bella only gave her an awkward smile back as she slumped her shoulders and tried to make herself as small as possible. Edward wondered what she was thinking but then again, there was a possibility that she was overwhelmed by the attention the female vampire had given to her. He slightly shook his head. He had known the minds of every seventeen year olds since he learned how to use his abilities. He had grown accustomed to becoming aware of the why's, how's, and what's in every human decision and action. It wouldn't be too hard to guess what was going on inside Bella Swan's mind. He couldn't access her mind, yes, but she was still human and still predictable.

"So, where are you from?" Lauren questioned, a pinched smile on her lips. 'Might as well get friendly. I might find some dirt to spread around.'

Edward suddenly felt a protective urge to pull Hermione aside and save her from Lauren's cruel thoughts. He shook it off, frowning at himself. It was unusual for him to feel that way for someone else, especially for someone that was outside of his family. Why was he feeling that way for a complete stranger anyway? He was now slightly alarmed but he quickly shove it down before he could alert Jasper. The more he was watching her, the more he was beginning to feel strangely about Hermione.

Hermione looked unimpressed at her. "And, you are?" She drawled.

Lauren sat straighter. "Lauren Mallory," she introduced herself with a note in her voice that suggested that she was someone important. "So, where are you from, again?"

"I came from London, Lauren Mallory," Hermione clipped, looking away as though Lauren's presence wasn't of import.

"What's with the gloves?" Lauren inquired, a flash of distaste in her eyes when Hermione didn't seem to acknowledge her presence.

"I have a thing with dirt," she answered curtly.

"Do you always wear them?" Mike Newton questioned. 'Geez. I can't even have a conversation with her without them interrupting.'

"Mostly," she answered monotonously.

"So, why did you move here?" Jessica jumped in, a shark-like smile on her lips. 'Gosh. She's such a snob. Not to mention, a freak. A thing with dirt? Seriously? The accent isn't even that cute.'

Edward stamped another wave of protective urge down and listened to Hermione's answer instead.

Her eyebrows rose. "Do you always ask questions without introducing yourselves?"

Jessica flushed before quickly composing herself. 'Who does she thinks she is?!' "My name's Jessica Stanley."

Hermione smirked, clearly entertained about something. "Well, Jessica, I moved here because my guardian wanted me to."

"Guardian?" It was Bella Swan this time who flushed in embarrassment when Hermione landed her gaze on her. She had a quiet clear voice that was slightly deep. She slumped more in her seat as if the act would make her invisible.

A slow wan smile curved Hermione's ruby lips. "Yes, guardian. My parents are dead."

This answer silenced the whole table. Bella looked horrified as well as Angela, Eric, and Mike, while both Lauren and Jessica regarded her with sympathy and a little bit close to shame. Hermione only leaned back on her chair as she opened one of the oranges in her tray. Edward noted that she didn't express any concerns about her parents death or their reactions. He wondered if they really died or if it was just a cover up story to make them shut up.

"What are they talking about?" Rosalie hissed at Edward, throwing him the uneaten apple that she bought for props.

If anyone was paying attention to them, they would've seen Edward's inhumane reflexes as he caught the apple without looking at it. Thankfully, they were too preoccupied by the presence of the new vampire to notice it. He casted an annoyed glance at Rosalie who only raised her eyebrow.

"Weren't you listening to them?" Edward queried irritably.

"I wasn't," Rosalie replied, sniffing haughtily. "Unlike you, I find no interest in listening to human conversations. It's a waste of my time. Now answer my first question."

"They're asking her why she moved here, baby," Emmett answered instead of Edward, playing with the locks of his wife's hair. Edward wasn't surprised that he was listening since Emmett had always been nosy. "She said her guardian, since her parents are dead, wanted her to moved in Forks."

"That's it?" Rosalie didn't look impressed and Emmett pouted.

Alice still had her eyes on the new vampire again. "Her name is Hermione Granger and she's from London. She moved here a week ago and she has a thing with dirt that's why she's wearing the gloves. I got to say though, her gloves are very fashionable."

"What about her thoughts, Edward?" Jasper chimed in, his eyes narrowing on Hermione. "What does she think about us?"

Edward's eyes squinted and he stifled a gasp when he realized that he couldn't read the vampire's thoughts too. He looked at Bella, then back at Hermione, before doubling the power of his abilities and blocking the other voices out. He concentrated on the vampire, barely noticing his surroundings, and then something strange happened.

An intense pain like no other erupted in his head and he hissed, whipping his gaze away and pressing a hand on the side of his head. He felt as though his brain had been zapped by lightning or an electric current. It wasn't the same burning feeling that he went through the turn but the force of the pain was just as the same.

"Edward! What's wrong?" Alice demanded, alarmed by his sudden reaction.

Beside her, Jasper gasped as he felt Edward's pain. He immediately caught his eye. "What was that?" There was an agitated note in his question.

He didn't answer them. He looked up and he was caught off guard when his onyx eyes met golden ones. Hermione Granger was staring at him straight in the eyes, her expression indecipherable. Apprehension dawned across his features but Hermione only tilted her head — it was such a natural human gesture as though she had practiced and perfected it for centuries. Her eyebrows slightly furrowed and her mouth pursed; she looked as though she was frustrated about something. Then she looked away, her expression blank. He wondered what she was thinking and winced when he remembered the pain he experienced.

Edward watched Bella Swan and Hermione Granger until the bell rang. Lunch was over and everyone stood up to catch up with their classes. Edward remained seated, contemplating the two new girls in town.

Bella Swan was fascinating. It seemed as though she was immune to his gift. She didn't like to be the center of attention based by the blushes and discomfort on her face. She intrigued him, yes, but it was mainly because of her mind's silence. He remembered that he could barely read Charlie Swan's thoughts and she might've inherited it from him. Physically, she wasn't anything special. She was human and the reason why every boy wanted her was just because she was shiny new toy that everyone wanted to play with.

Hermione Granger was a different story all together. While everyone knew that Bella was Chief Swan's prodigal daughter, Hermione just came out of the blue. They didn't know anything about her and it brought an edge of mystery to her presence. She was a vampire but Edward could tell that she was different. She looked far too welcoming, her warmth radiating off her like a second skin. He was reminded of Esme's love and compassion although the two weren't the same. It wasn't a vampire feature that was for sure. And then the stunt she pulled a while ago — the one where she caused him pain when he tried to prod into her mind.

He didn't know how she did it but if humans were to have telepathic abilities, they would be writhing on the floor if they felt the same amount of pain that he felt. She was something that was waiting to be discovered, and Edward wanted to be the one to peel the layers of her mystery off, one by one.

A/N: (Rewritten 6/14/2019)

[1] The scene was taken from the book, Midnight Sun, where Edward retold the story of how he met Bella. He said that they hadn't fed in two weeks to build Jasper's resistance. Also, the chair kicking scene really happened in the book.

[2] In the same book, Edward said that he served as his family's lookout. I don't know if it's mentioned in the other books or in the movies.

Let me tell you something: I only read Twilight and Midnight Sun in the Saga while I read all six HP books aside from Deathly Hallows. So, if the characters seem a bit (a lot) OOC, please bear with me. I'm trying to capture their characters but... well... Heh.

Reviews are welcomed!

~ NR xx