Chapter 9
Bella's POV
Trees were stretched out above me, their branches entwined with those nearby; the only patches of clouded sky I could see were through the leafless branches; I guess Spring had already come to an end.
Maybe I hit my head too hard on the way down, but this was not 12 Grimmauld place.
I groaned, "Where are we? And so help me your answer better be something better than a forest."
"I don't know." Harry's groaning voice appeared next to me, "Hermione, why are we here? I thought you were taking us back to Sirius's place?" His question was left unanswered as we were left with the gory sight of Ron lying almost unconscious on his back, his shirt pulled open off his shoulders to reveal a deep cut carved across his arm.
My eyes widened. What the hell had happened?
"We were there" She cried as she hovered above Ron," But-but he had hold of me and I knew I couldn't let him know where we were going, so I took us here."
"And what happened to Ron?" I whispered. The sight of the blood alone was making me seconds away from throwing back up my lunch, never mind the smell.
"He got splinched" She was a blubbering mess, "Harry, there's a bottle in my bag labelled 'Dittany.' Get it for me. Hurry!" She instructed through pauses of sobs.
Though I had never myself been splinched, the description alone (leaving behind a part of the body in its former location) was terrifying to think of. The pain most likely a hundred times worse. By some miracle of look Hermione had brought a long a healing herb. Without it, I hated to think what kind of Pain Ron would be forced to live through.
Harry scurried over to where the handbag sat, "Accio Dittany!" His voice rang me from my frozen state.
A small bottle of blue, light liquid flew from the bag which he caught easily before jogging back over to hand it to Hermione.
With bloodied hands she twisted the cap off the bottle and poured a few drops of it onto Ron's injured arm. He let out a small scream closely followed by a whimper.
"Shhh, it's okay." Hermione tired to calm him, "Bella, can you look after Ron please."
Leaving no hesitation, I made my way over to Ron and settled on the dirt beside him on his uninjured side; carefully stroking his arm up and down soothingly. The action helped distract my mind from the smell. No matter how many times Edward tried to dismiss the thought that I could smell the lingering copper of blood, I could.
The sight of Ron trembling, bloodily on the floor brought my mind back to a year ago when I was left knee shattered, practically unconscious on the floor with a vampire bite marked into my wrist. The pain was unimaginable but the thought of leaving Harry and Edward without an explanation on either side is what scared me more than dying.
After that Edward had tried to leave but I refused to let him go and I knew that despite my efforts I was in deep. Harry had freaked when Renee had called to say that I was in Hospital, he wanted to come to visit me but when I detailed how that wouldn't go over well he scolded me over the phone; for falling into a crowd of Vampires, for running towards danger instead of away from it, for almost dying and leaving him alone without a goodbye.
As much as I would like to say that the experience helped keep me a way from danger, it didn't. Though Harry should have known I'd never give in without one hell of a fight and what the Cullens' didn't know is that I wasn't quite as defenceless as I may have seemed.
"Hermione what are you doing?" I heard Harry asked from a few feet beyond me.
"Putting up a protective fence" She mumbled, moving her arms in circular motions and muttering spells under her breath I couldn't hear, "You can go put up the tent."
"Tent? Where am I supposed to find a tent?" He asked but then turned his gaze upon Hermione's small, but unending, black handbag.
"Accio tent!" He pointed his wand into the bag.
"How's Ron?" Hermione asked worried as she ran back over.
"All things considered, I think he's handling it okay. Whatever you put on it seems to really be helping." I replied as took my seated place next to him. Reaching back into her handbag she proceeded to take out a sling,
"He's going to have to wear this for a couple of days." She said to neither of us in particular as she carefully placed the sling around his neck.
"How long until it heals?"
"A few weeks. Maybe a month or so."
I had to wonder how much she had in that bag. Seemingly, up until this moment she had everything that we needed. Ron was right, we couldn't do this without her.
"Well you see to have everything under control here, I'll go help Harry." Because for some ungodly reason the boy was trying to out the tent up by hand.
"Harry. Did you really hit your head that hard that you forgot you have magic?" I spoke sarcastically as I walked up behind him, arms crossed over my chest.
He froze, "Maybe, I just wanted to do things normally. Enjoy nature." Seven years, you would think that seven years would be long enough to remember you could do things by magic.
"And I'm so glad that you wanted to showcase your manliness, but we have a patient needing rest who I don't think would appreciate sleeping on a pile of leaves." I took my wand, "Hurry along."
With a sigh he got up gingerly from the floor and together we put the tent out. Peaking my head in through the door the small thing was far bigger on the inside than it appeared. Enchanted, thankfully.
"Everything seems to be already inside." I stepped out, "That's far less work for us. Unless, you wanted to put everything in…by hand?" I smirked playfully.
"Haha, mock me all you want" He pouted back.
"I know you love me for it. It's my best attribute." I lightly hit him on the arm as I walked past. I missed these moments, quality time with my brother. Between me living across the ocean and running in between danger every two days, it was hard to come by of late.
Only then did I notice my lack of shoes. I had, after all, thrown mine in the Ministry.
Looking around me I saw Ron limp past me. He was back on his feet, that was good.
"I told him to go rest for a while, and then we'll try destroying the locket once he's rested. Do you have it?"
I pulled the long chain from around my neck and dangled it in front of her face.
She nodded and walked off into the tent behind Ron and Harry.
"Wait! Do you happen to have an extra pair of shoes in that bag of yours?" I pointed at my mud-covered feet.
"Do you even have to ask?" For the first time all day her mouth twitched into a small smile. Reaching into her bag she easily pulled out a pair of white trainers.
"You Hermione Granger are a life saver."
Following the others into the tent I was left alone in the silence for the first time all day. Looking hazily off into the distance my wind wandered back to the Cullens. What they were doing? How they were? Did the hate me for leaving? Did Edward resent me? Alice too?
My pixie, a force to be reckoned with, Alice. Emmett, who always had reminded me of Fred and George, earning to make me laugh. Esme and Carlisle who filled the nurturing gap of my Mum and Dad, Jasper and Rosalie though who both were distant I still deeply cared for them like family.
And Edward. My Edward.
I sighed, resting my crest fallen head into my hands, "I hope that they're okay" I whispered out into the open.
Edward's POV
Bella, where are you?
I knew that I promised to take care of myself for Bella but doing so was much harder than I had thought. Not when my motivation to do so was absent.
I had one of the shirts that Bella had last worn curled up next to me; it still smelt like her.
"Alice, have you managed to see her yet? Do you know where she is?" She was perched on the edge of the couch.
"If I knew where she was then I would have told you. I'm trying Edward but somehow she's managing to hide herself." Alice was soon getting tired of my persistent attitude, "I know you're hurting Edward but you're not the only one. I miss her too and I'm trying."
"I- I have to go find her." I stumbled onto my feet. I refused to go on like this, not knowing. For all any of us knew the reason Alice couldn't see her was because was dea-
"She said not to follow her and even if you did where would you plan to start?"
"I'll go talk to Charlie." I knew I was grasping at straws, but I refused to let it go.
"We already tried that route and he's acting like there's nothing wrong. I don't know what you're hoping to get out of him."
"I don't care Alice, she's my other half and I need her. How would you feel if it were Jasper?" I growled through clenched teeth. At the sudden commotion upstairs Jasper and Carlisle ran in. Jasper to ensure I wouldn't lose my control on Alice and Carlisle to try and calm me down. The moment Jasper entered the room I felt the anger start to leave my body and I fell back on the floor up against the wall.
One second, I was watching Alice leave the room and the next she stopped dead in her tracks and I was pulled into her mind;
"Alice? If by some miracle you can see me I wanted to show you that I'm safe, see." She gestured towards herself dressed in her pencil skirt and torn blazer, "See, I'm in the forest with some friends of mine and we're perfectly fine. I know, I know that I left abruptly and I'm sorry that none of this makes any sense but I will explain everything once I get back home. I don't know when exactly that will be but I'm trying to be done with all this as soon as I can so look after yourselves until I come home. I- I don't even know if you can hear me so I feel a little stupid talking to thin air but hopefully being outside the protective barrier Hermione put up might make it easier for you to find me…" She began to babble off track,
"I'm sorry and I'll see you all soon."
"Bella" I whispered, so relieved. I saw Bella and she was alive. She was safe.
"What was it? What did you see?" Carlisle asked.
"It was Bella!" Alice grinned, happy to finally hear news of her best friend, "She- she was in the forest and she was telling us how she was safe."
"You finally saw her, that's amazing." Jasper smiled, and I felt the happiness raid off him.
"You said she told you that she was safe? She purposely tried to seek you out?" Carlisle indulged.
"Yeah…she was speaking about 'being outside of the protective barrier' and someone called Hermione?" Alice's face fell, "Whatever that means? I've never heard her talk about a Hermione before."
"A friend from Phoenix maybe?" Jasper offered.
"A friend close enough for her to run off with with no explanation that she's never mentioned before?" Alice said.
"I don't know." Carlisle shrugged, "I guess the only way to know for sure is for her to tell when she comes back. Until then, relish in the fact that we know she's okay and planning on coming home."
"But what if she doesn't make it back." I whispered, my demeanour turning sour once more.
Alice moved back to my side, wrapping her tiny arms around my much larger frame, "Edward you know Bella. That girl is stubborn, and she won't be going anywhere, at least without a fight. You just need to trust her." She pulled away and I nodded, she had a point. Bella was more stubborn than I, once she got an idea in her head she refused to let it go without seeing it through. I trusted her to come home.
"So, now that we're all a little more enlightened. How about that hunting trip?"
