Chapter Twenty One
I vaguely remember cold arms carry me up the stairs in seconds before I lose consciousness.
"Where is she?" asks a cold voice I immediately recognize as Uncle Sev's.
"She's in critical condition, Severus. We must get her to Saint-"
"Are you daft Molly? She bears his mark on her arm! She'll be sent straight to Azkaban!"
"What are you doing here vampire? Leave this room instantly!"
"I can't."
"And why is that you bloodsucking leech?"
"She's my mate. I love her."
"Why is she healing so fast? Is it normal?"
"Not exactly. Part of it does have to do with the potions and spells. A normal witch would take much longer to be healing at this rate. A major component though has to do with her body."
"Her body?"
"She will tell you, I'm sure. If she loves you as much as you claim you love her."
When I fully gain consciousness, it's dark. My head is pounding, and everything is hurting. I'm in more pain than I have ever been in.
I look around, waiting for my eyes to adjust to the darkness. It seems like no one is in the room with me as far as I can tell.
I groan in agony as I attempt to get out of bed. As soon as I manage to rise about an inch, a severe cough overcomes me. Someone pulls my hair back as I begin to vomit into a basin the person is holding.
"Shhh. It's alright." A familiar voice soothes. I shut my eyes in embarrassment. It is not possible that when I'm reunited with my mate, I'm puking my guts out.
I quickly do a nonverbal spell to make the basin disappear, and to cleanse my mouth from the taste of vomit and blood.
It doesn't take but a minute before I pass out again. It's like this for a couple of days, in which I come in and out of consciousness. Each time I hear different voices, but the cool hand inside mine never leaves.
When I fully wake up next, I feel a tad better. I wince as I try to move my stiff muscles. I get up about half way with great difficulty, and then someone helps me sit up on the bed. My stomach, sides, and left shoulder throb with pain.
A hand immediately hands me a boiling green potion. It looks and smells revolting. But at this point I'm willing to take anything to lessen this excruciating pain.
I gag as the first drop is introduced to my tongue, but drink the whole thing. Almost instantly the pain dulls and fades away.
Edward is looking at me with pure adoration and concern that it makes my heart melt. He looks different though. Almost, defeated. His eyes are sunken in and black as midnight from hunger.
I turn around in his arms, and silently observe this new Edward that I hope I never have to see again. When I reach a trembling hand towards him, he leans back instinctively. Almost as if he's afraid of me. Or rejection... Since I have absolutely no doubt about his feelings toward me.
I cup his face in my hands, The look he gives me is that of a scared little boy.
"What have you done to yourself?" I whisper mostly to myself. He looks away from me.
"Nothing less than I deserve for causing you so much pain." He whispers, voice hoarse. As if he hasn't used it in a while. I'm shaking my hear even before he raises his head to looks at me.
"Don't ever say that. You had no choice."
"Of course I did. I just chose the path that would-"
"Keep me safe." He looks at me in surprise, and I just smile softly back in response.
"I know a lot of things. It doesn't make it any less painful though." He opens his mouth to apologize again most likely. I put my finger to his lips, silencing him.
"Let's just forget about it okay? Just don't leave me again." He reluctantly nods.
I lean my forehead against his, looking into his beautiful eyes that I have been deprived of for so long.
"I love you." I whisper. His eyes light up, and he smiles brilliantly back at me.
"I adore you, so so much. Nothing is as important to me as you are." I smile brilliantly back at him, pressing my lips firmly to his. He resists a bit, but finally gives in with a small groan.
"I missed this." I hum in agreement a couple minutes later. I cuddle back into his chest.
"I thought I wouldn't get a chance to experience something like this after what I did." I huff in annoyance, turning my head to look at him.
"I thought we weren't going to talk about this."
"As much as I wish I could pretend that I didn't cause both of us incredible pain. I cannot."
"Fine." I say pulling away from him so that I could look at him while I say this. I cross my arms around my chest, and glare slightly at him. "You left to protect me in an idiotic heroic act. We were both miserable. We're back together. You promised never to leave me again. The end." He looks at me with a little frown between his eyebrows.
"Bella, what I did caused you harm. I hurt you, and because I left I wasn't able to protect you from this." He looks down at my injured body, and tightly closes his eyes.
"Edward. What happened to me isn't your fault. I would have come whether you had left or not. It was only a matter of time." He looks up at me.
"Then why did you come?" I sigh deeply. I guess it was time to tell him about me. The real me.
"To understand what happened to me and why I willingly do what I am doing, you have to know the whole truth about me." He pulls himself up to lean against the headboard so that he can listen better. I curl up as tight as I can to his side, and he pulls me closer. Mindful of my injuries.
"You know I live to know everything about you, love."
"How much do you know about the real me?" Albus must have told them something in case they ran into me.
"Albus told us that your real name is not Isabella Marie Swan and that you're a witch. Your real family turned traitor to Lord Voldemort, and sent you into hiding." I nod, that was a good start. I knew that I could trust him with everything that I worked to keep a secret for most of my life.
"Is anyone listening?"
"No, everyone is sleeping. And my family is away recruiting allies for this war." Good. I don't think I'm strong enough to face the rest of his family just yet.
"Do you think the other vampires will help?"
"We are hoping. The Volturi has joined Voldemort." My eyebrows fly up in surprise. I wasn't aware of that. "Many of us will help just for the chance to overthrow them."
I nod in understanding, and begin my story.
"My real name is Celestia Arabella Malfoy." I smile when he kisses my forehead.
"Beautiful." he whispers into my hair.
"I was born into two very powerful and old pureblood families, the Malfoys and Blacks. The Malfoys are one of the most powerful and ancient families. We have always been feared by others and respected by other pureblood families. I was born alongside my brother to Lucius Malfoy and Narcissa Malfoy nee Black."
"You have a brother?"
"Yes. Two actually. My twin brother's name is Scorpious Alexandre Malfoy. I also have a little brother that is fifteen named Draco Lucius Malfoy. The Malfoy and Black families, like many pureblood families, believe strongly in blood purity. Both families know a lot of old magic,
white and black. You know the story of the Dark Lord, and the old pureblood families saw an opportunity to rid those with dirty blood as they called it. Tom Marvelo Riddle became their savior. The purebloods began to join him, and called themselves Death Eaters. As soon as my parents graduated Hogwarts they joined him." Edward gives me a reassuring squeeze. "My mother did not take the Dark Mark as my father did, but supported what they did and what they believed in wholeheartedly. My father quickly became one of his most trusted supporters. My mother was already straying from the dark when she found out she was pregnant with my brother and I. She had doubts about what the Dark Lord was trying to accomplish. By the time Score and I were born, my father also had his doubts. They both realized that all the killing was not justified."
"Did your parents leave his rank?" I frown. Wondering how different it might have been if they had left before we were born. Would my brother and I still bear his mark? Or would my parents be dead?
"Not yet. Our date of birth was not a happy celebration. The Dark Lord came to to visit the heirs of two of his most valued supporters. He saw two powerful children bred from two of the most powerful families to ever live, and decided to claim us. He wanted us to follow him when we grew of age, and marked us at that time as a promise to our future path. He branded both of us with a new mark, a unique sign for two promising children. He branded me with the mark of an animated snake, his favorite animal. He also gave me the gift of Parseltongue."
"Parseltongue?"
"The ability to talk to snakes. It is said to be a very dark ability. Salazar Slytherine himself is one of the only wizard to have ever had this gift." I grin up at him. "Snakes are my absolute favorite creature."
"Of course." He says rolling his eyes, but he's smiling so I know he's just teasing.
"I'm a Slytherine. What do you expect?" I say grinning. "Anyway my brother received a Dragon mark along with the natural ability of legimnus along with the sense of foresight. It's not exactly like Alice's ability. Last time I saw him, he didn't exactly get visions. It's more like a really strong feeling about what is going to happen. He just knows."
"Interesting. I'm sure Alice will have a field day talking to him." I laugh just imagining both of my best friends having a conversation when they know what the other is gonna say. When I calm down, I continue with my explanation. I explain how my dad went to Dumbledore asking for help, how we were supposed to act like old traditional dark purebloods for our safety, and how life was for us after the Dark Lord was defeated and before we were sent to safety.
"Who knows that you're alive."
"Well Daddy, Dumbledore, Charlie and Renee, Uncle Sev-"
"Severus Snape? The man that was here before?" Uncle Sev was here?
"The very same. He is an old family friend. He's a spy for the order himself." I smile sadly. "I know he comes off as hard and uncaring, but he's a great man. He doesn't trust many people as he has lived a very hard life."
"He cares about you. He looked worried sick about you when you first came." I nod.
"He's like a second father to me, aside from Charlie that is."
"How do you know Charlie? Does he know you're a witch?" I bite my lip wondering how I can explain this.
" You see when my father decided to send us into hiding, we came back to Hogwarts. There I say my aunt Andromeda and her mud-muggleborn husband, Ted." My cheeks flare up in shame. It was hard to get rid of the word "mudblood" when that was what muggleborns were referred to my whole life. I guess old habits are hard to break. Thankfully, Edward didn't seem to notice. "My aunt had been kicked out of the black family for marrying someone that wasn't of pureblood. They were named our godparents before she was shunned though. Charlie is Uncle Ted's muggle half-brother. Charlie and his young wife agreed to keep me safe until the time was right."
"What happened to you brothers and your family?"
"My twin was sent into hiding as well. I'm not sure where. Draco continues to go to Hogwarts. Father is still in the Dark Lord's ranks. Mother and Draco remain unaware that we are still alive."
"I'm sorry, Love."
"It's okay. I'm doing everything for them. So that we can walk down the street without the fear that something will happen to one of us." He pulls away from me sharply, and looks at me.
"What do you mean?"
"A couple of months ago Albus showed up with Kingsley at Charlie's home. They offered me something I couldn't turn down. If I became a double agent for the order they will do everything they can to keep my family out of Azkaban when the war is over.
"You are pretending to be one of them?" I can hear the panicked edge that his voice holds.
"Yes. But I know a lot of magic to protect myself. Probably more than Dumbledore and Voldemort themselves. My family knows a lot of old powerful magic than has been lost to the magical world over time."
"What did you do to make him angry?"
"I'm not ready to talk about it." I whisper. He looks down at me with understanding, and nods.
"Whenever you're ready love." He looks at me apologetically when I yawn.
"I'm sorry. I've kept you up. You should rest." He gets up and tucks me in, and then makes his way over to a chair by my beside that I hadn't noticed until now.
I lift the edge of the covers, inviting him to get in beside me. I couldn't bear to be apart from him just after I got him back.
"You'll get sick." He argues, but gives me a relieved smile.
"Witch remember? I'll put a warming spell on the bed. I missed sleeping by you."He grins sheepishly at me, but gets under the covers only after making sure the spell is in place.
I lean over to kiss him goodnight, but it turns into more as neither of us are willing to let the other go. I run my fingers through his hair as he pulls me closer. He rolls us over until he's on top of me, arms on either side supporting his weight.
He plants soft sweet kisses on my neck before making his way to my forehead.
"Sleep, Love. I'll be here in the morning."
"G'night. Love you." My speech slurs as sleep over comes me.
"Me to more than anything." He puts his arms around me before dreams overtake me.