CHAPTER THREE:

Bella's POV:

I hugged Hermione, tight, and she rests her head against my shoulder. I can feel how tense she is, and I rub soothing circles on her back. She looks so different, since the last time I saw her. I mean, she looked worried, but her cheeks were rosy, and her eyes sparkled. This Hermione... this Hermione is haunted. Her eyes, they're so blank, and her body looks so much more... Thin. Unhealthy. Pale. And she keeps touching her left forearm, rubbing her fingers against the hidden skin.

Edward and Hermione seem very wary of each other, and I can tell Hermione is doing everything she can to not come across as hostile. And I'm proud of her, but I'm also upset- I want her to know that she can talk to me! She's doing an okay job of hiding it, but she's a mess. What happened in the War that's changed her so much!

Hermione speaks up. "I think I might have a quick nap. I'm kinda jet-lagged." She says quietly, clearly dismissing us. Requesting that we leave. I hug her, gently, then grasp Edward's hand and pull him away.

"See you later 'Mione." I smile, and I tug my boyfriend out of her room. Edward is massaging his temples, a pained expression on his face. "Are you alright?" I ask him, softly.

"Yeah. I think she gave me a headache." He says, mouth twitching into a crooked smile. I laugh.

"She's got much more control of her mental shield then I do." I smile. He raises an eyebrow, ruefully.

"Tell me about it."

I lead him into my bedroom and lay back on the bed, tugging him on top of me. His cool, marble skin brushes against my flushed skin, and our lips join. Passion, sweet passion, ignites fires of desire inside me. His cool, sweet breath makes me hunger for more. He breaks away all too soon, as usual, and I pout. He laughs, softly, and kisses my nose.

"I'll see you later, 'kay?" I say and he sighs, clearly unhappy about me going to visit the wolves.

"Be safe, Bella. Promise me." He says, voice serious. I peck his nose, and tousle his hair, rolling my eyes.

"Of course I'm going to be safe." I sigh, before accompanying him downstairs, to let him out the door, while Charlie pretends not to be watching us like a hawk. "I love you."

"I love you too."

At a quarter to seven, I go knock on Hermione's bedroom door, and she opens it, rubbing her eyes. "Dinner time?" She yawns.

"Yep, we're going over to the rez." I tell her, a bounce in my step. I haven't seen Jake for a few days, thanks to Edward's over protectiveness, and I'm excited to see my best friend.

"Off to feast with the shifters." Hermione says, rolling her eyes.

My lips twitch in amusement- I wonder how the Pack would react if they knew they weren't actually werewolves. Hermione told me what a real werewolf looked like, and the La Push wolves definitely were not.

Hermione pulls on her coat, laces up her shoes, and follows me down to where Charlie is waiting, looking even more excited then me. "Let's go!" He says, rubbing his stomach in anticipation. I can't help but laugh as we follow him out to his cruiser. Hermione is quiet, next to me, and I reach across and grab her hand, squeezing it.

The drive to the rez consists of Charlie singing along to the radio, and 'Mi and I wincing every time he hit a note off-key. When the cruiser pulled up outside Jake's house, I just about tripped out of the car in my eagerness. Jake bounded out of the house and met me halfway, scooping me up into his arms and spinning me around. I laugh, and soak in his searing heat, resting my cheek against his chest. "I missed you." I tell him.

He smiles, and wrinkles his nose slightly. "I miss you too, even though you stink." He teases. I roll my eyes, and then he freezes, seeing Hermione step out of the car. "Who... who is that?" He gasps, shocked.

"Right," I mumble, "er Jake, this is my twin sister. Hermione."

Hermione's smile for Jake is warmer then the one she gave Edward, and she holds out her hand. Jake is frozen, gaping at her, and she rolls her eyes. "Maybe you should explain before he has a heart attack." She tells me, dryly, her thick British accent rolling over us.

"Right," I say, sheepishly. "Um Jake, I was actually a twin when I was born, but Renee gave Hermione up for adoption." I explain, "her adoptive parents... well they...

I pause, not sure how to explain- Hermione erased their memories of her to protect them from an evil mass-murdering wizard who wanted her dead, and temporarily took over Wizarding Britain... well, I can't exactly see that explanation going down too well. Hermione cuts in, smoothly. "They passed away." She says, voice soft, looking down at her hands. I can see the tears sparkling in her eyes, and a surge of upset goes through me. I may not have liked the Grangers, but...they were her parents, and she loved them. And now, to her, they were as good as dead. Yes, they were breathing, but they didn't know her. She was a stranger to them.

"Yes, they were in an accident." I say, when Hermione doesn't say anything else, just stares at her hands, fighting back tears- she doesn't like showing what she perceives as 'weakness' in public. "Before Hermione moved to Britain, we were quite close." I continue the story, "so after the accident, the courts decided to award custody to Charlie."

Jake finally manages to close his jaw, even as he stares wide-eyed at Hermione. "Okay, wow. Just... wow." He mumbles, shaking his head, as if clearing water out of his ears. I laugh, and he finally reaches out a hand to shake Hermione's. Hermione doesn't even startle at the warm temperature, like most people. "Oh, yeah, she kinda knows." I add. Jake goes wide-eyed, and stares at Hermione anxiously.

"She knows... everything?" he asks, carefully. Hermione snorts.

"How do you think Bella figured it out?" she asked, dryly. "She's terrible at riddles and puzzles of any kind." I pout, and they both laugh at my face.

"You're not freaked out?" he asks, cautiously. Hermione just shrugs.

"I've seen stranger things." She says, dryly. Jake relaxes, even as his eyes light up in curiosity at her words- what's stranger then a guy exploding into a wolf? I can basically hear him think.

"Shall get going?" Charlie asks, meandering back over to us, Billy by his side in the wheelchair. Billy stares at Hermione, I don't think he can help it, but Charlie must have given him the fake-story, because he just smiles at Hermione.

"I'm Billy." He introduces himself. She smiles back.

"Hermione, though I'm guessing you know that now." He chuckles.

"So where are we going?" Hermione asks me, as I follow Jake over to his Rabbit.

"Emily's house." I tell her, "there's a bonfire." I add. Hermione's eyes light up with memories, and I'm glad I managed to cheer her up.

Hermione and I squish up next to each other on the passenger seat, Hermione mostly on my lap, much to both of our amusement, and Charlie groans and closes his eyes. "I saw nothing, I saw nothing, you definitely aren't breaking the law." He mutters, turning away. I laugh at my cop father's antics.

Jake starts the engine, and drives a few miles over the speed limit through the rez. Hermione stares out the window, even as the fingers on her right hand find her left forearm, absently rubbing the skin underneath. It reminds me of the way I rub my bite-mark from James when I'm stressed.

"So, you lived in England?" Jake asks Hermione, eying her in the rearview mirror. Hermione tears herself out of her memories, and turns to face him.

"Yes, but I went to boarding school in Scotland." She tells him.

"Really? What school?" He asks, and she grins.

"The Maccallion Academy." she lies, smoothly, as we pull up outside Emily's house.

I've always liked Emily's house- it's a tiny place, with a wall that had once been gray. There was only one narrow window beside the weathered blue door, but the window box under it was filled with bright orange and yellow marigolds, giving the whole place a cheerful look. It screamed Emily.

An extremely beautiful young woman, with exotic good looks, glossy black hair and satiny copper skin stepped out and waved at the car, a bright smile on her face, permanently scarred from hairline to chin by three thick, red lines, vivid in color though they were long healed. Hermione didn't even flinch as she stepped out of the car and walked.

"Hi Bel..." Emily went to greet her, before I stepped out of the car too, and her eyes widened comically. "Oh." She said, staring at Hermione, wide-eyed. "Oh."

"I'm Hermione," Hermione introduced herself, holding out her hand. Emily was startled into motion, and a light blush covered her cheeks.

"Um, I'm Emily." She said, almost shyly.

"Hey Em!" Jake greeted her, bounding over to greet her.

"Um... can I... ask... how?" Emily half-stammered, still gazing wide-eyed at Hermione.

"Of course, but is it okay if we tell you when everyone's here? You know, so we only have to say it once?" Hermione asked, and Emily nodded.

"O-of course!" She said, before she opened her front door, ushering us inside, as the cruiser pulled up with Charlie and Billy.

Hermione walked with a quiet confidence next to me, not seeming bothered by the wide-eyed stares she received as we walked into the backyard, were all the La Push shifters were crammed around a bon fire. Her fingers drifted near her pocket, I noticed, and I held back a grin, confident that her wand was hidden in her pocket.

Sam stood up, and stepped towards us, curiosity and a slight hostility clear on his face. "I'm Sam Uley," he introduced himself, in his deep voice. "Who are you?"

"Hermione Granger-Swan." Hermione introduced herself, smoothly, and my heart skipped a bit as she added a hyphened 'Swan' to the end of her name.

"She's my twin sister." I explain to Sam, awkwardly, knowing all the wolves are listening. "It's a long story, but she was given up for adoption when we were born, and we didn't meet each other until we were eight. And then eight years ago, Hermione and her adoptive parents moved to England, but... well, her parents just died." I lowered my voice, as I say the last bit, and I can basically feel Hermione bristling at the sympathy in everyone's gaze. "Charlie was awarded custody," I finish the story.

Sam looks less hostile now, and a lot more relaxed- wonder how relaxed he's going to be when he figures out Hermione knows the secret... "It's nice to meet you Hermione." He says, a small smile on his face. Hermione smiles back.

"Yes, it's nice to meet everyone Bella's told me so much about." She says, her thick British accent causing the teenage boys in the room to swoon.

The wolves line up to introduce themselves, and then we all settle down in front of the bonfire, Hermione on one side of me, Jake on the other, ready for what the night brings.