The Cullens
Hermione had very good advice. It was to study the Marauders Map very closely to see if anybody was acting strangely at night. Taking this advice, Harry studied the map closely all the time when he was lying in bed worrying about the First Task.
"Slytherins" Harry muttered to himself, looking at the map. However all the Slytherins and Snape were not doing anything they shouldn't be doing. Annoying. Harry really wanted to frame the Slytherins for something.
OK, moving on. The Durmstrang ship. Nothing interesting going on there. All the dots were staying still which suggested they were sleeping. This was so frustrating! Harry really wanted to know who put his name in the Goblet. As well as having that question solved, Ron might be his friend again. Beauxbatons horse carriage. Nothing...nothing...noth-whoa! Seven dots were moving in the Beauxbatons carriage. Harry looked at them. Somebody called Rosalie Hale was pacing up and down a small area of the carriage. The other six were sitting in a circle around each other, probably talking. Suspicious...
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"And these Cullen people...they were definitely moving, right?" Hermione asked.
"No, only someone called Rosalie" Harry told her, stabbing a piece of sausage absentmindedly with his fork.
"Well, if they were in the Beauxbatons carriage, they're either Beauxbatons students or guests. And those names don't sound very French to me. Beauxbatons is obviously in France. Rosalie Hale is not a French name."
"If you say so" said Ron. "I don't speak French." The good thing about this was that Ron was now his friend again.
"I'm telling you-what, Hermione?" Harry snapped as Hermione tugged on his arm.
"Look" she whispered, nodding her head in the direction of the door. Harry and Ron looked. The Beauxbatons students had just arrived for breakfast and their seven guests had come too.
"Hey, Rosalie-" one of the boys said to a blonde girl as they passed where Harry, Ron and Hermione were sitting. The three exchanged wide glances.
"What if one of those seven put your name in the Goblet Harry?" asked Ron, looking over at where the suspects had sat down. "I dunno why- maybe they wanted to?"
"The name was definitely Rosalie Hale? Rosalie? Just what that boy said?"Asked Hermione anxiously, like Ron looking over to where the seven people were sitting.
"Yes" said Harry. "What do we do?" Hermione was looking like two emotions were battling inside her. Finally, she spoke.
"Harry monitors them carefully using the Marauders Map" she said. "Then, if they go anywhere, we follow them."
"What do you mean, we?" asked Ron. "If you're in the girls' dormitory and we're in the boys, how is Harry going to tell you when to come?" Hermione had no answer for that, but Harry liked having Hermione's brain on any adventure.
"We'll pretend we have lots of homework" he began slowly.
"Pretend?" said Ron incredulously.
"Shut up Ron!" snapped Hermione.
"So we can study the Marauders Map in the Common Room. I'll put my Invisibility Cloak in my bag and we can sneak out. All right?" Ron and Hermione nodded.
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"I have no idea what the answer to question eighteen is Hermione" moaned Ron. "Come on, please tell me, I'm begging you!" Harry barley heard him. He was looking at the once again pacing figures of the six Cullens and a girl called Kate. Suddenly, the seven moving dots left the Beauxbatons carriage.
"Ron! Hermione! Let's go!" Harry said, yanking the Invisibility Cloak out of his bag. "They've left the carriage. Come on, what are you waiting for?" He covered Ron and Hermione with the Cloak too, and the three of them snuck outside and silently followed the seven shapes they could only just see.
It was spooky out in the castle grounds at night. Harry, Ron and Hermione were no novices at sneaking around under and Invisibility Cloak at night, but they had always either stayed in the castle or gone to Hagrid's Hut. Walking past Hagrid's hut was very strange, especially as there was an eerie silence. Clearly the seven figures they were following had no wish to be found either.
They walked for what seemed like an eternity. Really, it was only fifteen minutes before the seven pale figures stopped. Hermione gestured for them to crouch down behind a bus that gave them a clear view of the Cullens. However, the bronze haired boy turned to look at the bush they were hiding in as they knelt down. But he seemed to think he was just imagining it.
"Uhg!" he said suddenly, for no reason.
"What?"Asked someone else. The boy didn't say anything, but the person who had spoken seemed to understand what his silence meant. Harry, Ron and Hermione exchanged confused looks.
"Edward?" asked a pretty brunette girl. "Come on!" Harry, Ron and Hermione made to stand up from their crouch again, but as they did the bronze haired boy turned to look at the bush again and they froze. But then the girl tugged on his arm and he went with her. When Harry dared breathe again he turned silently to look in the direction of Ron and Hermione's dumbstruck eyes. When Harry saw what they were looking at, he didn't at all blame them for being amazed.
Just one look at what the seven people in the forest were doing now would leave you in no doubt that these people were not human. Normal human beings could not move so fast you could barely see them, no normal human being could jump so high they landed at the top of the tree like the dark haired girl had just done, no normal human sprang at an unfortunate animal they had spotted, but that Harry, Ron and Hermione could hardly see and drink it's blood. These seven people were not human.
It was only a minute later, although it seemed a lot longer when Hermione pulled on Harry's arm. It was quite scary watching them jump at animals, but they never watched what they did to them. They all closed their eyes. Hermione's eyes were full of fear and she yanked on him, trying to tell him to go. Feeling quite numb, Harry stumbled to his feet and ran with Ron and Hermione back up to the castle, leaving the seven things far behind them.
Once safe back in the Gryffindor Common Room, Hermione began to speak.
"Does Dumbledore know?" she panted.
"Why does that matter?" asked Ron. "You think we should tell him?"
"No" said Hermione. "It matter because if Dumbledore knows, we're safe. Dumbledore would never let anything dangerous enter the school unless he knew he could trust it. But if he doesn't know, we are all in danger."
"What are those people any way?" demanded Harry, looking at Hermione expectantly. After all, Hermione was the one who knew everything.
"Um" said Hermione who clearly didn't want to say it. "It's really awful" she said.
"What?" pressed Ron eagerly, looking at her face closely. Hermione gulped.
"They must be...vampires" she said eventually.
"Vampires?" scoffed Ron. "Vampires turn into bats and unless my eyes drastically need testing, those things were not bats!"
"No, you idiot, real vampires!" snapped Hermione. "Vampires who drink blood to stay alive, who are disguised as a pale skinned human and who-"
"Sparkle under light?" suggested Harry, remembering how he had seen that girl sparkle. "I told you about that girl sparkling, didn't I?" Hermione nodded.
"Vampire..." whispered Ron, looking very pale.
