"The greatest sacrifice is when you sacrifice your own happiness for the sake of someone else." ~Unknown

Chapter 4- Options Alice's POV

I felt myself being pulled off the ground. Whatever it was, was hard as stone, and as cold as ice. Then suddenly, I was flying. Whoever had been with me before had surely killed me. There was no other reason to explain this. No other way to explain how or why I was flying.

My eyes opened a bit, and through my blurry vision, I could see that I was being held by somebody very beautiful. If I was dead, then this had to be God. I didn't even know whether or not I had believed in God.

It upset me that I had died before I had the chance to write my goodbye letter. But I guess this was a better way to go out.

Suddenly I stopped flying, and I was in a warm place. I couldn't open my eyes though, but I could hear everything around me.

"Tobias!" a woman exclaimed. She had a slight accent too that showed through the American accent, but it wasn't the same French accent as the man had. I couldn't place it though. "What did you do?"

"She fainted!" said the same deep voice from the alley. "Humans faint from fear, Helen."

"Come on, let's put her on the bed. I'm sure she'll wake up before too long. Where's her wand?"

"Right here. She dropped it when she fell, so I grabbed it."

Whoever these people were, they knew who I was, and they knew I was a witch. I realized now that I wasn't dead. The man, Tobias, had said that I simply fainted. So the man who carried me here wasn't God, and I still had the chance to say goodbye.

"How are we supposed to convince her to become a vampire?"

"I don't know, but we will."

I felt my body tense up.

"Did you find James and Victoria?"

I wondered if James and Victoria were working with these two, but the way that the man called Tobias said their name, they sounded like enemies.

"I found them in an ally. They're trying to figure out how to lure her to them."

My eyes opened then. I scooted up on the bed beneath me, looking around for my wand.

A man and a woman stood at the edge of the bed. The man was tall, with ash brown hair. He was tall and was thin, but muscular. The woman was shorter than the man and had deep red hair. They both turned to look at me. Both were incredibly beautiful, but their eyes were dark red. Almost black.

I put my hands close together and thought of a knockback spell.

I looked around the room for my wand. I finally found it on the bedside table and eyed them.

"Alice, you can get your wand. We won't hurt you," the woman said.

I raised my hands to my chest, and pressed the ball of energy into it, where after a couple of seconds, it disappeared. I scooted to the edge of the bed and grabbed my wand before turning it onto them.

"Who are you, how do you know who I am, and what do you want from me?"

Tobias stepped towards me, with a hand raised.

"Alice, please. Put your wand down and we'll explain everything."

"How do I know the second I put my wand down you won't attack me?"

"You don't. But you want answers. So take a chance and trust us."

It was something about the way the woman spoke that made me lower my wand.

"That's very good," she said, smiling at me.

"Who are you?" I asked the woman.

"My name is Helen, and this is my husband Tobias."

She gestured to the man, and I followed her hand.

"What do you want from me?"

"We want to help you. You and your family are in danger."

"From who?" I demanded. "The Dark Lord is gone."

"Not from a witch or wizard, Alice. From one of our kind. A vampire by the name of James."

"Why does he want me?"

"Because he picked up on your scent. Now he wants you. He'll do anything to try and lure you out. Including harming your family."

"How do you know I'm who you're looking for?"

"Alice, have you heard that vampires have special abilities?" Tobias asked, watching me cautiously.

I nodded.

"They taught us about it," I said. "In our third year, Defence Against the Dark Arts class."

"Only a selected few have special gifts. Both Tobias and I do. My gift is time travel. I can go to any time that I want to, and any place in that time. In the future, and in the past, you and I are friends."

"In the past?" I asked, bewildered. "I've never seen you before in my life."

"We'll explain that in a moment. But I'm sure that you have other questions."

He was right. I have several more. I ran through them in my head and settled on the easiest one.

"You said this James person would come after my family to get to me?"

They both nodded in unison.

"How do I stop him?"

"By changing into a vampire yourself."

"You're barking mad," I said, my eyes widening. "How does that stop him?"

"That's where my gift comes in," Tobias said.

"What can you do?"

"I was gifted with memory manipulation. I can alter, replace, or destroy memories. We change James's memory to something different. We take you back in time to fit the story, and he will be steered away from you and your family."

"He won't remember anything?"

Helen shook her head.

"What happens if I die and his memory isn't altered?"

"Then he'll take out his anger on your family."

"Why can't you just change his memory?"

They both smiled.

"Because you've already made the decision to be changed. Like I said, we're friends in the future and in the past."

"How the hell are we friends in the past? I'm still not understanding that bit. Why do I have to go back into the past?"

"Because we first met you in 1949. You told us how we came here and talked you into becoming a vampire to save your family."

"How do I know you're not just saying that?" I pressed.

Helen laughed.

"We figured you might ask something like that. How can I prove it to you?"

"What have I told you about myself?"

Helen and Tobias lost their smile.

"The Second Wizarding War ended ten days ago. Today was Remus's funeral, and when I found you, you were on your way to kill yourself."

My eyes widened.

"How did you know that? The last part."

"Because you told us," Helen said, sitting on the bed next to me. "When we met you in 1949, you told us."

"So you waited for forty-nine years to find me?"

Helen's smile returned.

"No. We just left 1949. You are still at our house. You're staying there for a little while longer to straighten up."

I looked between the two of them.

"So if I do this, I can save my family?"

They nodded.

"Alice, Harry just got a chance at a normal life. Do this for him. You were going away anyways."

"I can't see them again? Once I get back to this timeline?"

Helen and Tobias looked at each other.

"Not while James and Victoria are alive. It's just too dangerous to risk."

I looked at them sadly. I guess it wasn't so bad if it would keep them safe. I still had pictures. I looked around the bed, and my bag was nowhere to be seen.

"Where's my bag?"

Tobias was gone, and then back in a flash with my bag in his hands.

"We took it off when we put you down."

"I didn't feel anything."

"That's the thing about being a vampire. You can do things swiftly."

I chuckled a bit as I pulled the bag into my lap. I opened it up and pulled out my new photo album.

"Have I ever showed you pictures of my family?"

They nodded. As I opened the box, Helen grinned.

"You showed us photos from that album."

I smiled and opened it up.

The two of them smiled down at the moving picture of my mother and father.

"You seem pretty relaxed about magic."

"Vampires exist. So do werewolves. Why shouldn't witches and wizards exist."

"You know about werewolves? Is it because of Remus?"

"Not quite. See werewolves are the natural enemy of vampires. That was even more enforced when one of the kings of our kind was nearly killed by a werewolf. He hunted them to near extinction."
"Kings?"

"Well not technically. But the Volturi are the closest thing to royalty our kind has. They make the rules after all."

"Rules? There are rules to being a vampire?"

"There are rules to being a witch or wizard, is there not?"

"What are they?"

Helen and Tobias hesitated.

"Alice, we need to make sure that you are going to be changed first."

"But you already know that I will be. You've met me in the past."

"This is true. But we would still rather hear it from you."

I looked between the two. They both looked at me with kind eyes. Helen and Tobias seemed nice. Helen reminded me of my mother. What I could remember of her anyways. Tobias, I hadn't heard talk long enough.

"Can I ask one question, before I decide on anything?"

"Of course."

"In this new life, am I happy?"

They both grinned at me and looked at each other. When they turned back to look at me, Tobias placed a cold hand on my shoulder.

"When we meet you, in 1949, which is one year after we bring you to America, you are very happy. You still have some issues, but you are very happy."

"Issues?" I asked.

"Alice, you were in a war. Memories are not going to go away in one year. Your memory as a vampire is a lot stronger than the others. You see your human life more clearly than we do."

I looked between the two of them.
"Will I still have my powers?"

They nodded.

"You can still take on your animagus form, but you could only Apparate one more time after your transformation. Your ability to perform wandless magic increased and your wand magic became more powerful. Your visions also became a lot clearer. Also from the time of 1948 to 1976, you could see any point of your families present."

I thought about it some more. Being a vampire didn't sound like a bad thing. It was already a decision that would be made.

"Okay," I said. "I'll do it."

"We'll give you some time to prepare yourself," Tobias said. He took Helen's hand and pulled her off the bed. They disappeared into a bright room through a doorway.

I looked back down at the photo album, where my mother and father were smiling back up at me.

"I'm sorry," I said, quietly. "I love you guys. Tell Re I love him too."

I closed the photo album and slid off the bed, returning my wand to the holster that was still tightly on my left arm.

I followed the light to the room that Helen and Tobias had disappeared into before.

They were on a couch. I looked around and realized we were in a hotel room. There was the same small box that Harry had in his home at his aunt and uncle's house. He had called it a television.

"Is everything okay?" Helen asked as I sat on the end of the couch.

"What did I tell my family? How do I explain why I don't write, or come back again."

"You faked your death."

"Faked my death?"

"You made a replica of your body and put it in the Great Lake at Hogwarts. You had Rubeus Hagrid take your suicide note to Minerva McGonagall, and it was waterproofed. They believe you intentionally drowned. You told us that you never swam well."

"How did I give Hagrid the letter when as far as they know, I'm in Italy."

"You said you forgot something at the house. You told Hagrid that the letter was for your mailing address, and something for Harry."

I nodded.

"They'll be okay though, right?"

Helen placed a hand on my knee.

"Alice I do want you to consider that George lost his best friend, and Harry lost his sister. They take it pretty rough, but after some time, they do get better."

Now that I got an answer to how Harry and George reacted to my death, I didn't want to die. But I knew that I couldn't go back to them.

"You said that I was happy, right?" I asked, looking between the two. "When you saw me again?"

Helen smiled warmly.

"You were very happy."

"How did I get so happy?"

They looked at each other.
"We don't want to give away everything, but let's say that you make a friend. You meet them not long after we get to America."

"When do we go there?"

I had always wanted to see America. Remus and I didn't travel a whole lot. The furthest I had gone was to Scotland, but only because that's where Hogwarts was.

"Right after we leave Hogwarts."

"When will we do that?"

"After your changed."

"Before you ask, that will be whenever you're ready," Tobias said with a goofy grin.

His grin caused me to smile a bit.

I stood up again.

"I'll be ready soon."

I returned to the room that I had started in and laid down on the bed.

Helen and Tobias seemed nice. Now that I knew they weren't here to harm me. I found it sweet that they were working so hard to protect my family.

I thought more about the friend they mentioned. The way they spoke about this friend, made it seem almost like I had developed some kind of feelings for this person. I couldn't see me being with anyone other than Remus, but maybe that was the upside to me having a chance at a new life.

I didn't understand why it was I was given this opportunity. I certainly didn't deserve it. I'd taken more lives in the past year than I could have ever imagined. I had taken the lives of innocent Muggles. They died afraid, despite my countless apologies.

But then again, vampires killed more than I did. That was the downside to being a vampire. I didn't want to kill anymore. Once the change was complete, I'd talk to Helen and Tobias to see if there was an alternative.

As I sat, pondering the ups and downs, the more I came around to the idea.

At one o'clock in the morning, I slid off the bed, and into the living room.

"Alice," Helen said, looking up at me. "Are you hungry? We've had some food sent up."

The pointed to the coffee table, where a plate sat with chicken strips and macaroni and cheese.

"We got it from the adult menu, I swear," Tobias said with his goofy grin.

"It may be a little cold."

I smiled as I sat down in front of the plate.

"Nothing I can't handle."

The plus to wandless magic is when doing the Fire-Making Spell, I didn't make a flame until I released the energy ball, so I could easily heat up cold things without setting fire to it.

I thought of the fire making charm as I put my hands side by side over the plate. When the macaroni began steaming, I pressed the rest of the energy into my chest. The warmth of the spell warmed my chest, and then it faded.

I picked apart one of the chicken strips with my fingers.

"Everything okay, Alice?"

"I think I'm almost ready," I said quietly. "To be changed."

I looked up at Helen and Tobias's smiling faces.

"That's good."

"How long will it take?"

"That depends on how close we get the venom to your heart. If we get it close enough, then it shouldn't take as long compared to the average vampire."

"Why will it take less time?"

"Well because of your magic, and your size, you shouldn't take as long."

"When are we going to do it?"

"Is when you're finished eating okay?"

I nodded.

I ate slowly, and Helen, Tobias, and I talked more about my work as a Death Eater. I showed them the mark, that seemed to be fading into a scar but was currently a dark grey.

"I remember when I first got it, I tried so hard to claw it off. I ended up with a bloody arm, but Dumbledore came and healed everything before taking me to the Order meeting. That night, I had started to forgive Re."

"You mentioned that you guys were okay for a while. That changed when he married your cousin, right?"

"Well technically, Tonks is my third cousin. But yes."

"Do you regret not going to the wedding?"

I shook my head.

"No. I do regret not telling Remus that I love him. The last thing he ever heard me say is that I hated him."

I looked down at the last chicken strip on my plate.

"That will always be one of my biggest regrets."

Helen and Tobias didn't answer. They just looked at me with sad eyes.

I smiled weakly and began eating the last little bit of food.

"Are you ready?" Tobias asked as I finished my food.

I looked down at the plate and nodded.

"As ready as I'll ever be."

Okay, here is chapter four! This chapter was about half the length of a normal chapter, but I think so far, I am pretty happy with how this story is turning out. The next chapter is based more on Alice's transformation. We'll also learn more about Helen and Tobias.

I hope you enjoyed the chapter!

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