AN: I love you guys!! I got up to 101 reviews and nearly a whole quarter of you reviewed! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!
As promised, here is the next chapter. I would dedicate this to my friend who is eagerly awaiting this chapter, but the other ideas that I have planned she will like better. :D
You guys might be surprised by the chapter. Enjoy!
Chapter Eight
This was not happening.
I was not sitting between Jessica and Mike, watching bludgers swarm in front of me at painful speed. Didn't anyone tell them that I was accident prone? That there was more of a chance that those bloody bludgers would hit me than anyone else in this whole stadium?
But I had to admit, despite the danger factor, the game was pretty cool to watch. Everything Mike had said about Gryffindor/Slytherin games was right: they were intense. The players were swarming around the field, a blur of red and green. Three-quarters of the stadium was rooting passionately for Gryffindor while the other quarter in green and silver, tried to boo them down.
Jessica and I were constantly cheering for Katie Bell, who was a Chaser. She was really good, and she, Angelina, and Alicia made a lot of scores together. We all started booing as Alicia took a bludger to the arm, effectively breaking it. I cringed: not because we were a player down but because of Alicia's painful arm.
Fred and George, our team's beaters, were flying around the stadium, loudly vowing that they would 'avenge their fallen comrade'. They stepped their game up a level, whacking the bludgers around at the Slytherins like crazy. A wicked little smile came to my face as Montague, the Slytherin captain and one of the death-eaters in training that had molested me, took a bludger to side. He was out of the game.
Gryffindor was ahead by a mere ten points when the excitement in the stands picked up. Mike was on his feet, jumping up and down.
"Potter's seen the snitch! Look at him!"
I did look at the skinny scarlet-clad boy who was currently doing a head-dive with his broom. Malfoy, the Slytherin seeker, was hot on his tail, but more than an arm's length behind Potter. There was no way that Malfoy could gain those few inches…
The stands erupted into cheers as Potter grasped something tightly in his hand and pulled it to his chest. Mike was so excited that it looked like he was going to have a heart attack. Jess and I had to grab his arms to keep him from doing a free dive down to the quidditch pitch where a celebration party was gathering. I had never seen him so enthusiastic about something – and that was saying a lot.
"My beautiful Bella."
Oh no…
Fred and George halt their brooms in front of us and proceeded to place their hands over their hearts. I crossed my arms over my chest and waited.
"We wish to proclaim to you…" began George, trying to maintain a very serious, devoted face.
"And the whole world…" continued Fred.
"That our hearts belong solely to you…"
"And that we have played this bloody, dangerous game..."
"In your lovely name…"
"And for your honor."
"So we ask, fair maiden…"
"For you to bestow upon your champions…"
"A kiss to warm the hearts of our weary spirits."
I just stared at them, shaking my head back and forth really slowly. The only kiss they would get from me would be covered in their own prank lipstick. And unfortunately, I did not have that on me.
"Fred? George?"
"Yes, my lady?" they responded together, their eyes filled with mirth and brotherly teasing. They were going to be the death of me, honestly.
"No."
Fred and George pretended to look heartbroken: George even started to turn on the tears. I just rolled my eyes at them and waited for them to go away.
Mike seemed rather pleased with that little display. He had sobered up quickly when Fred and George had started talking about kissing and jealously had been plainly evident on his face. He must have known that the twins had been joking, but he didn't like it anyways. He was overjoyed when I sent them away.
I sighed, not looking forward to the day where I would have to spell it out to Mike that I didn't like him that way. He would probably be heartbroken about it, but only for a few days. Maybe then he could finally start taking a look at Jessica.
"Come on! Let's go down to the field!" exclaimed Jessica, still in giggles over Fred and George. She would have probably loved for me to kiss them and ease her worries about me liking Mike. I wished I could tell her that she didn't need to worry about it…that I had no interest in Mike. But the chances that she would believe me were slim, so I didn't waste my time.
We made our way down the spiraling wooden staircase and down to the field. Our classmates started to jump around us excitedly, holding up some of the quidditch players in victory. Jessica spotted Katie from a distance, and ran to congratulate her. Mike went off with his Hufflepuff friends to begin discussing quidditch techniques.
And me? I was left alone. I could have gone with Jess and celebrated or I could have gone over to Eric Yorkie and Angela who were chatting with some fifth year Gryffindors. But, strangely enough, neither option appealed much to me.
My eyes instinctively began to scan the crowd for one of the Cullens. They had to be here right? It was a nice, sunny day, no kind of day to stay indoors. Besides, the big Cullen, Emmett, seemed like the type of guy to be into the sport.
After searching for them for a few minutes, I gave up and started to walk out of the stadium and away from the cheering crowds. Maybe I would find the Cullens if I acted like them: reserved and mysterious.
I couldn't bring myself to go back into the castle just yet. From what I heard, Hogwarts winters could be very rough and cold, and I was going to enjoy every bit of sunshine I could get. My feet took me down toward the path near the Forbidden Forest. I walked in the direction of the lake, planning to take a stroll around a quarter of it. I had yet to explore that area of the Hogwarts grounds and I would like to do so before a blanket of snow covered it.
Snow: that icky, cold white stuff that belonged only on a TV screen. I shuddered at the thought of it taking over Hogwarts and holding me captive inside. I was not looking forward to it.
I was trailing dangerously close to the forest now, occasionally sending it a curious glance. It was quite natural to desire to go into it, having been forbidden to enter. But it looked so dark in there, almost like nighttime.
I smiled. It was like I was standing on the borderline between two worlds. One full of light and the other full of darkness. And the darkness was just so alluring…
"I wouldn't go in there, if I were you."
The deep voice startled me, causing me to let out a little shriek. The voice merely laughed as I turned around, whipping my wand out. I wasn't going to have a repeat of Wednesday.
But instead of finding a snake-like Slytherin, I found myself facing a tall, muscular man with a silly grin on his face, making him look younger than the rest of his body suggested. He was leaning casually against a tree with his arms crossed over his chest, looking as if he owned the place.
"I didn't mean to scare you," teased the man, the grin not fading from his face.
I nodded, feeling my breath catch up to me again. I didn't put my wand away though: he didn't look like he went to Hogwarts. He was just so…tall; I would have surely recognized him.
"My name's Jacob," the man said, taking a couple of giant strides toward me. He extended his hand out to mine. I took it cautiously, surprised at how warm it was.
"Bella."
"Bella…" he repeated my name as though testing it out. "You go to Hogwarts, Bella?"
I nodded, but gave him a cautious look. "But you don't?"
Jacob laughed, placing his hands in his pockets, casually. I took that moment to study Jacob: he was lanky but really muscular, rivaling even Emmett Cullen. But his skin was very tan, a thousands shades darker than my own. That was unusual in this area: most people were fair.
"No. Me and my friends come up for the Quidditch games."
That sounded reasonable enough: I saw a lot of foreigners in the stands during the games. It didn't seem unusual for friends and family to literally pop in for the match. I started to relax.
"Where are your friends?" I asked, glancing behind him for people I wouldn't know. I didn't see anyone but a bunch of third year Ravenclaws.
"Probably back at the pitch," said Jacob, shrugging. He suddenly grinned at me. "I saw you walking by yourself and came to warn you. It's dangerous to be so close to the forest."
That was pretty odd: you would think that a big, tough looking guy like him would be all over danger, not warning people against it.
"What's in there that's so bad?" I asked, glancing over at the dark, forlorn trees. "Besides the normal man-eating spiders and stuff?"
Jacob laughed, stepping closer to me. He lowered his voice to a whisper, his eyes reassuring me that he meant no harm.
"I hear there are vampires in there."
I wanted to laugh, but the serious glint in his youthful eyes stopped me. He wasn't joking?
"That's a weird place for them to be," I said, looking back into the forest. Vampires typically stayed away from magical areas where wizards would try to put them under regulation. They usually fooled around near muggle towns in Eastern Europe and northern Canada.
The smile faded from Jacob's face. "Why do you say that?"
I told him my reasons and watched as humor appeared in his eyes. It kind of annoyed me to see him mocking my reasoning. What did he know anyways?
"They aren't even that dangerous," I said, wanting to stick my tongue out at him. I had even met a vampire at one of Phil's parties, and all he did was give me a few hungry glances while his wizard companion stuffed his face with donuts to keep his mind of off blood. He was a rather amusing guy once you talked to him.
Jacob didn't seem to find my comment appropriate at all. His face twisted into horror, and he gave me an odd look. "Are you kidding me, Bella? They have to be one of the most dangerous things out there."
"Not really. They don't target wizards and witches and when they do they politely ask to take a bit of blood. And if they are being nasty, you can just pull out the garlic."
Jacob was staring at me like I had just grown two heads. I returned the look.
"Well, what kind of vampires are you talking about?" I asked, crossing my arms across my chest.
"Definitely not the kind you are," responded Jacob, deeply. He took a cautious, almost protective glance into the Forest. I wanted to ask him what he meant, but he cut me off.
"Stay away from the forest, alright?" asked Jacob. "I don't want to be picking up your bloodless body in there any time soon."
What in the world was he talking about? Vampires knew how much trouble with the Ministry they would cause for themselves if they killed anyone. Not to mention, I had the advantage of having magic. I was pretty safe from them.
"Bella!"
I turned around at the call of my name to see Angela running down the path. She stopped a few feet from us, not surprised to see Jacob there. Maybe he really did come to Hogwarts a lot.
"Hey, Jake," greeted Angela, pleasantly. Apparently, they even knew each other. But by the look on Jacob's face, they weren't close friends. He gave her a short 'hey', never taking his wary eyes off of me.
Angela didn't seem to mind Jacob's odd behavior. She was too preoccupied with giving me a weird sort of grin: as if she knew a special little secret that I didn't.
"Edward's looking for you. Something about potions homework."
My heart leaped in delight at the same time Jacob's face dropped in shock. I would have normally sent him a look for his odd behavior, but I was far too busy doing flips.
"Cullen?" asked Jacob, his voice sounding more like a dark growl. Angela and I sent him questioning looks, but his face didn't lighten up. If looks could kill, the whole of Hogwarts would be dead.
"See you, Jacob," I said, eager to get away from his strange behavior. He had seemed like a nice guy, though. Maybe he had something against Edward?
"I'm coming with you," said Jacob, quickly. He grabbed my arm and began to pull me up towards the castle. I tried to pull out of his grip, but his hand wouldn't budge. Boy, he was strong!
"I'll see you later, Angela!" I called behind my shoulder at the girl who was still standing on the lane in shock. She seemed to be debating whether or not to follow us, but I sent her a smile to assure her that I was all right.
"Um…you can let me go now," I urged Jacob as we neared the castle. People were starting to give us stares.
But Jacob just wouldn't let go, and I was starting to get mad. The only one who was allowed to mysteriously drag me around the place was Edward.
"Why are you doing this?" I hissed at him, trying not to gather too much attention to myself. Jacob seemed to realize how ridiculous he was being for he let me go. But instead of stepping back, he came in closer to me, his eyes flashing dangerously.
"Remember how I was telling you how the forest was dangerous?"
I nodded, not seeing how this was relevant at all.
"Yeah, well, Hogwarts can be too."
Big surprise there: I had already been attacked by three Slytherins after all. Not to mention, I was currently at Hogwarts: you might as well stamp a sticker onto my forehead that said: 'Caution: Will Attract Danger'.
Jacob continued to follow me up to the castle, but didn't attempt to grab me again. I really didn't know what to make of him: he had seemed like a nice guy until Edward's name was mentioned. Then he had turned into big, bad, and dangerous.
What was with guys and mood swings?
I spotted Edward pacing back and forth in the main entrance of the castle. He stiffened when we came into view, turning his eyes to glare furiously at us. Great: it was one of those days.
From besides me I heard Jacob let out a small noise that sounded like a repressed snarl.
"You know him?"
There was such hatred in his voice that it made me fear a bit for Edward's safety. I glanced nervously between Edward and Jacob to find that they were each glaring at each other with the most disgusted expressions on their faces that I had ever seen.
"Yeah."
"What is he to you?"
I didn't know how to respond. What was Edward to me? We weren't friends, exactly: we didn't hang out, do homework together, and laugh about Umbridge with each other. We were something…different.
"I don't know," I responded, truthfully. "He looks out for me, I guess."
"What!?" Jacob's voice roared with rage. I cringed and took an involuntary step away from him. From the entrance, Edward looked as if he was trying to restrain himself from leaping at Jacob. From what I could see, his eyes were filled with enough rage to rival Jacob's.
"Bella!" Edward called. The tone of his voice was surprising: it was a mixture of anger and desperation.
Anger at Jacob.
Desperation for me.
I started to walk toward him again, still more than willing to be near him.
"Don't go to him, Bella," protested Jacob, stepping in front of me. "He's dangerous."
I had heard that plenty of times from Edward himself, so the news did not shock me in the slightest. But this was the first time I had heard about his danger from a second-hand source. Looks likes Edward had convinced someone that he was a threat.
"Why?" I asked, bitterly.
"Because…" Jacob stopped there quickly, as if he wanted to say something that he wasn't allowed to. His looked panicked. "Because he's a Cullen."
Anger filled me.
"So?" I demanded, storming around him. Honestly, people and their prejudices.
I marched straight up to Edward, who was standing in the shadows in front of the line between sunlight and darkness. I dared to look into his eyes to see the bands of color around his irises a deep golden. They were swimming in a mixture of rage and worry, with me receiving the bulk of the latter. As soon as I had stepped out of the sunlight, he wrapped his arm around me and guided me into the castle. From behind us, I heard Jacob let out an angry growl. He said must have said something that I couldn't hear, because Edward suddenly stopped cold and his eyes blazed with fury.
"Wait here," he said, leaving my side and returning to the entrance. He said something to Jacob, something so very low and menacing that I didn't have a prayer of hearing. He returned to me quickly.
"Are you OK?" Edward asked, looking me over with a critical eye for the slightest bruise. I nodded.
"Yeah. He didn't hurt me or anything. He even seemed nice before…" I let my voice trail off.
"He is dangerous," Edward said, quickly. "His whole pack is dangerous. You shouldn't be around them."
Why did it seem that everyone at Hogwarts but me was dangerous? Heck, the next thing I was probably going to find out was that Angela became a Death Eater over the summer!
"Why is he dangerous?" I asked, not really expecting an answer. I had asked 'why' too many times today to count and no one had given me a decent answer yet.
Edward only proved my theory. "He and his gang are pretty violent."
He was hiding something. In fact, I'd bet a galleon that both Edward and Jacob were hiding something. And I'd bet they were both hiding the same exact thing.
I sent a scowl over at Edward and started to march off in front of him. Now it was my turn to ignore him. I hated this whole secret thing. Didn't he know that he could trust me by now? I hadn't let a word out about Urquhart and his pals or Edward's changing eyes. Didn't that count for something?
Edward stayed at my side, matching my fast pace with long strides. I could feel a mixture of worry and agitation radiating from him.
"Where are you going?"
"To my dorm," I answered, not even thinking. I really hadn't had any destination in mind, so my dorm was as good as a place as any.
"You know that Gryffindor will be packed," said Edward. "Everyone will be celebrating."
"Good, I hope they have cake."
From besides me, Edward groaned.
"Are you mad at me, Bella?"
He sounded so innocent and hurt that any trace of anger I had vanished from my heart. I wanted to reassure him that it was nearly impossible for me to hold any ill feelings towards him for more than five seconds. I stopped my march and groaned up to the ceiling.
"No, Edward. I'm not."
Edward smiled brightly, the color of his eyes dropping to a light golden color.
"Good."
I just rolled my eyes at him and leaned casually against the wall in a pretend mope. Edward joined me, placing his right hand on the wall and gazing down at me.
"What do you want to do then?"
I gave him a confused look. Did he mean me, by myself, or us, together? Was he really willing to spend more time with me? My body grew hot at the thought.
"Um…" I struggled, as a fog descended upon my mind. His eyes were so memorizing. What did he call me away from Jacob for?
"Potions homework?" I suggested, weakly. A part of my daze lifted when I saw Edward's look of distaste.
"Potions?" repeated Edward, a frown forming on his face. I seemed to be released from the spell of his eyes and everything clicked.
"That's what you called me up for?" I reminded him, gazing at him oddly. His face spoke realization, but all he did was mumble a soft 'Ah'. I sighed.
"Edward?"
"Yes, Bella?"
"You never needed help with potions, did you?"
Edward placed his hands in his pockets, as if he was a kid caught with his hand covered in a chocolate cake that was not allowed to him. He smiled sheepishly at me, and I didn't need a verbal answer.
It confused me more than it angered me. There were just so many things I didn't understand. Why was Jacob dangerous? Why had Edward called me away from him? Did Edward know that I was with Jacob and didn't like the idea? And the strangest question of them all…
"Why didn't you just come and get me yourself if you were worried about Jacob?" I asked, eyeing him critically. I watched as he grew uncomfortable, signaling me that this was part of the secret as well.
"I can't tell you, Bella."
I expected that answer, but he didn't expect my response. I turned on my heels, almost tripped, and began to walk away from him again. I heard him cry out to me in desperation, pleading at me not to be angry. I turned around to face him, my mind made up.
"The next time we talk, Edward, I will know what you are," I vowed. "Until then I'm remaining silent." Take that, mysterious boy. I can be secretive too.
Edward looked like he had just been told that a Voldemort's mark had been found over his house. I was shocked when he closed most of the distance between us and wrapped his arms around my waist. My heart started to pound loudly in my chest, and I blushed scarlet. I couldn't be locked in Edward's arms. No, there was some mistake. He was fooling around! He…
"I can't allow you to do that, Bella," he said, softly, gazing down at me with those wonderful eyes. But I couldn't fall under their spell this time. I was going to be firm about this.
"Why not?"
"Because…" started Edward, his voice trailing off. After a moment, he looked at me and sighed. "Because you won't ever want to talk to me again when you find out."
I seriously doubted that. He could be Voldemort in disguise, and I would still talk to him. I smiled.
"We'll see about that," I replied, fully aware that he was holding me closer now. We were almost touching... "But I'm staying away until I figure it out." Oh, what was I saying? What was the point of me staying away? Damn pride.
My chest literally hurt when his arms released me. It looked like it pained him too, for he winced and looked away.
"Just know I would never hurt you," whispered Edward. "I'm dangerous, but I won't hurt you."
My pride was about crumple and, if given one more second, I would have recalled my silly promise and ran back to his arms. But he was gone after those words left his lips, and had vanished behind the corner while his words still lingered in the air.
I stood there in shock for a few moments. I knew that Edward was going to take my promise more seriously than I would. My insides seemed to twist in discomfort and cry out to the boy who had just left with my heart in his hands.
I turned around and began to walk quickly to the library.
I was going to have to figure out what he was and fast…
AN: Honesty, how many of you expected Jacob Black to show up in this story? I got big plans involving his character and in the end you'll like them, so don't worry.
IMPORTANT: If you look in the middle of the chapter, Jacob and Edward have a private conversation. That conversation is to die for. I plan to write this scene in Edward's point of view and post it under another story, but I won't do that till later. Tell me if you're interested in me doing it.
Chapter Trivia!
1) The discussion on vampires: Bella and Jacob had a bit of a miscommunication, didn't they? It will get explained later.
2) That whole donut-eating vampire idea was taken from Harry Potter (Book 6).
3) The first quidditch match is usually played in November, but I moved it up a whole month. :D
Please review!!
