Disclaimer: I own nothing but I DO own the plot...

A/N: Thank you all so much for the support you showed after I posted the last author's note. I took it down after I was notified Moon Pixie took down the story. I have to say I was highly amused by the response I received from her after I pm-ed her demanding for her to take down the story she stole from me.

Apparently being upset at someone for plagiarizing my story is considered 'bitchy attitude'. Oh well I guess I'm a bitch!

And a little tip from her. Just because the scenes were the same didn't mean she had stolen my story. Oh no! After all the words were not the same. So of course that means it wasn't plagiarized!

And to the readers who pm'ed or reviewed asking if I had decided to drop the story... Don't worry! I will never stop writing just because a lazy brat decided creating her own plot was too much of a trouble.

About the last chapter... I hope I made it abundantly clear Aro was not afraid of just Hermione but her kind in general. I assumed the war was a big deal, if I recall correctly Voldemort was a name many knew even outside of England so it's safe to assume the war heroes were at least heard of in other countries as well. It is one of the reasons I chose to include Faris Spavin; to show Aro and Caius' fear for the wizarding community.

About this chapters' competition... Since the previous question was HP related here's one for the twilight fans.

Q: Why the infamous twist in Breaking Dawn Part II should never have existed and is in reality destroying the whole of the Twilight saga pre-existing 'mythology' and renders the final two books unnecessary?

Everyone who gets it right will get an extra sneak peak from the next chapter, beside the one you'll all find in my blog.

Revelations...

Charlie moaned.

His head felt like he had crushed to a brick wall; his mouth dry and body sore. He tried to blink open his eyes but his lids felt like cement.

"Argh."

"Oh lookie. The mudbllod's kin decided to join the living."

Brown, panicked eyes flew open at the unfamiliar mocking voice.

The slowly burning panic in his gut spread all over his body when he realised he was tied to a chair with what he could only assumed were iron ropes. His wrists hurt and he felt warm liquid ran down his hands and drop to the floor from where he unconsciously chaffed them whilst unconscious. His legs were tightly tied as well and he could feel an insistent throbbing in the back of his skull.

He shut his eyes and took deep breathes; he was the chief of the police after all! He may never have to deal with a similar situation but he was familiar with the standard procedure for abductions. And acting like a simpering teenage girl was not helpful!

Opening his now sharp eyes he evaluated the situation.

He was attacked -the memory of a black haired woman the last thing he remembered- and taken to what he could only assume was a hunting cabin. The wooden building was bereft from any weaponry, probably abandoned from what he could see but the door was surprisingly still standing, the hinges shining in the soft shafts of light streaming through the barricaded windows. Someone had restored them... He was tied to a chair, the ropes too tight and strong for him to break so he had no option but try and talk some sense into his kidnappers.

He couldn't see the woman anywhere.

But he had heard a voice. A male voice.

An accomplice, his tired mind whispered and he fought down his rising panic.

"Where am I?" He rasped, wincing as his wrists moved and the raw skin bled some more. Charlie's eyes widen when a low growl, an animal's hungry growl at that, reverberated in the small cabin. Jesus Christ had they put him in a room with some kind of a beast?

"Who are you? Where am I? What do you want?" He demanded, his professional tone breaking in the end as the pounding in his head continued. Gritting his teeth he forced himself to continue. "You are making a grave mistake. I'm not rich. You can't expect any form of compensation from my family. Not to mention I'm the police chief of Forks! What you are doing is against the law-

"Shut up you simpering, muddy piece of filth!"

Charlie cried out when a meaty fist banged his already hurt head, a flash of white making his eyes burn.

"I can see where the mudblood bitch took after. You people just can't keep quiet can you?"

Charlie Swan was no fool. He had his suspicions about something fishy going on around Forks -the appearance on gigantic wolves for one and all the missing people- but he had never encountered something like... that man if you could call him that.

He was enormous, rivalling Emmett Cullen and Jacob in size. His shovel like hands ended in what he could only call claws; the yellowish, sharp nails curved slightly and he could see remains of flesh and blood. Charlie fought down bile.

The man's face was covered in scars, running down it like lighting bolts, giving him a terrifying look. His hair was filthy, matted and messily pulled into a ponytail.

What terrified Charlie the most though was his mouth... Or more precisely his teeth.

Yellow, pointy; they were an animal's teeth, made to bite through flesh and bone, devour and kill. In combination with his amber eyes he was the perfect mix of man and beast.

He was covered in leather pieces of clothing; he gave the impression he could care less for covering himself up.

"W-w-what... What are you?" Charlie stuttered as he attempted to break free from his bonds, his heart hammering in his ribcage.

A slow, predatory sneer.

"That doesn't concern you." Came a cultured, almost pleasant voice and a second man stepped out of the shadows. Unlike his companion he was dressed to the nines, in a crisp black suit and shining black dress shoes. His dark hair was slicked to the side, leaving his scarred face and crooked sadistic smile clear. His dark eyes were shining with what Charlie easily recognised as madness.

"Who are you people?"

"It doesn't concern you either." He conversationally added, inspecting his nails and smiling pleasantly. "You are nothing but bait. Who needs to remain alive," he hissed when the beastly man tried to move closer, his nostrils flaring as his beady eyes focused on the dripping blood. "If it's too hard for you wolf, then step outside!"

The man whined and balled his fists.

"It smells delicious-

"More so than your precious little mudblood?"

Yellow eyes narrowed and chapped lips stretched into a leer.

"The pretty girly. She smelt delicious. I can't wait to devour her-

"Patience! You'll have your turn when she comes for him."

"Who are you talking about?" Charlie demanded horrified. He was bait. Bait for whom!? Dear Lord above they were using him to capture a girl! An innocent girl! His heart froze when he came to the startle conclusion that there were only two girls connected to him; his daughter (he almost retched when he heard the man call the woman Bella. It made him shiver when he realised his innocent daughter shared a name with that crazed woman) and his niece. And the way the two talked about the girl...

Loosing all semblance of control Charlie started fighting against his bonds. "Who are you after?" He shouted, hoping someone would hear his desperate yells. Anyone.

"I said" the second man muttered quietly as he lifted a wooden stick and pointed it at him, "it doesn't concern you Muggle. But apparently you share the mudblood's need for disobedience. No matter, you need to be taught a lesson of when to obey your superiors. Crucio."

Charlie screamed.

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Hermione stumbled and clutched her chest. A hollow ache had taken residence in her ribcage; throbbing, pulsing as she took rapid deep breathes.

"What is it? Hermione?"

Draco had caught her around the waist as she fought to calm her erratic heart.

The trio was on its way to Hermione's car to drive to the Cullen house. Blaise had made some quite valid points about Hermione keeping her magical abilities a secret and after presenting her with logical, unshakeable arguments Hermione had accepted the Cullens and Bella needed to learn the truth about her.

They were supernatural creatures after all and Bella was her family; the International Statute of Secrecy recognised Bella as not a threat of exposure. She was already familiar with the vampire and shape shifting communities so learning of witches and wizards wasn't as a giant leap as Hermione originally thought.

Blaise had done his homework quite thoroughly it seemed.

Hermione's usual strong façade had crumbled into pieces the previous night when she came to realise she had to come clean with Bella.

Hermione had to admit to her she had lied for almost half of their life. Of course Bella was not innocent. The younger girl had kept her fair share of secrets, including her wish to become a vampire.

Despite her brain reminding her those small facts all her courage and bravado had fled.

When she had arrived at Forks, she knew close to nothing about what she was going to face.

Thanks to Blaise's quick work, she had managed to acclimate herself to the truth of her future in laws nature within a few minutes and in a heartbeat she had decided they couldn't know about her.

It gave her an advantage, knowing their secret and them being in the dark about her.

The whole 'nothing can harm me, I'm unbeatable and perfect persona' she had projected when with the Cullen family with a few exceptions -that bonding moment with Rose for example- came easily. They needed to learn she was not afraid of them; they should be the ones to worry.

After the war she learned the hard way that showing weakness in public could come and bite you in the arse later on. So she kept to herself and allowed only a select few to see her at her most vulnerable. Like Harry, the Weasleys and Draco.

And only Draco knew she still had nightmares about his aunt and often had to take Calming Draughts before going to bed to keep the memories at bay.

Hermione couldn't afford others to see her weak. Her strong façade was just as much as pretence as the Cullens' human charade.

And now Blaise and Draco wanted her to reveal a part of her to them. Because if she was going to tell them and Isabella the truth, she had to give full disclosure. Everything needed to be said; her adventurous years at Hogwarts', the prejudice she faced as a Muggle Born and the war she fought into. Being her, she tried to weasel her way out of telling what happened in Malfoy Manor, but Draco had insisted at least Bella needed to know about it.

She was her cousin; she deserved to know what Hermione had gone through.

Very optimistically Blaise had comforted her with the fact Jasper would be able to calm her down if she became too upset. One of the vamps would at least be useful...

It took another hour before she allowed them to lead her to her car.

For the first time since her arrival she had foregone dressing up. Dressed in a ripped pair of jeans and a white tee, her hair pulled into a pony tail she looked like the teenager she still was. Due to her friends' insistence she had forgone casting her customary glamour charm on her left forearm where Bellatrix had carved that atrocious word more than a year ago. It gave her chills to look at the jagged skin and recall the sharp, hot pain of the knife plunging in her flesh.

"It's nothing." She straitened frowning.

"It didn't look like nothing, cara." Blaise gently touched her face, staring at her with brotherly love.

"My heart... I felt a sharp pain in my heart but now it's gone." She revealed confused.

"You do know they have no right to be upset right?" Draco murmured as he half carried her to the back seat of her car. "It's not like they were forthcoming with you. If they give you trouble for keeping a secret then they are hypocrites."

"Too true bella. Even your baby cousin lied to you."

"I know. I'm not worried about their reaction." She lied. At their identical disbelieving stares she huffed. "Oh all right! I'm worried about Bells' reaction. I know she has no right to be upset about me keeping a secret but it doesn't comfort me as much as it should."

"That's because you are still the goody two shoes you always were and feel guilty for misguiding her deliberately. You can pretend all you want you changed but deep down you are still the rule abiding freak you were at school that thought lying was the eleventh commandment or something." Draco ruffled her hair and walked to the driver's seat.

"Oh bite me."

"Careful not to repeat that where we are going. They might take it literally." Blaise snickered; neither one of the two young men noticed how Hermione had stiffened on the back seat.

"Bite me," she spat at him, instantly regretting her words. His eyes darkened, hunger flashing in them, but a different hunger than the one she expected. Her stomach clenched as her mouth fell open.

"Maybe next time," he murmured his voice low and husky; she felt a shiver of awareness ran down her spine.

"I'll try," she petulantly muttered, fighting down a furious blush as she recalled her encounter with Edward and his dark eyes. Her stomach coiled and she shut her eyes as if in pain.

Stop! You are not attracted to that egotistical prick!

He does seem to be your type though... His personality is quite similar to Draco's have you notice?

Sometimes she really hated her inner voice, which sounded suspiciously like Ginny Weasleys'.

Of course the red haired girl found her preference to athletic, slightly darker brooding males quite hilarious. And Hermione had to admit -albeit grudgingly- she did, with the exception of Ron, seemed to be attracted to the darker men; darker in personality that is.

Draco's possessive words the night he kissed her had her practically melting to his arms.

And despite how much she tried to deny it to her self, her traitorous body always responded to Edward's dark, hungry looks.

Face flaming she turned her head to watch the forest pass by them.

The incident in her living room with Edward was a clear indication the bronze haired vampire was feeling something for her. If according to him, he was jealous of her relationship with Harry and Draco, then that meant he had feelings surpassing friendship or familial fondness.

Although why he would be fond of her, she had no idea.

It wasn't like she had tried to endear her self to him; in the contrary she had behaved like an utter bitch. How could he have developed feelings for her when she constantly insulted and snapped at him?

Maybe he's a masochist, her inner Ginny sniggered.

Rolling her eyes, Hermione had to admit his behaviour did appear to be quite... masochistic. For Merlin's sake the man was in a relationship with a human!

And not just any human; his singer!

If her readings were correct, Edward must have been in a great deal of pain when near Isabella. His throat must have been burning, his instincts screaming at him to just bite and drink from the helpless fragile girl.

Although she really disliked him Hermione had to at least give it to him. He had gone against all his instincts, his very nature to be with her baby cousin, subjecting himself to extreme pain and suffering; all to be with Bells.

Light brown eyes travelled to the fair haired driver, his mouth quirk into a smile as he chatted with his dark friend.

Could it be that she had stopped loving him in such a short period of time?

Not even two months ago they were madly in love, desperate for each other and yearning for their reunion.

And now...

Now her heart still warmed when she saw him. Her body still tingled when he touched her... But the intensity of her reactions had receded.

When previously all he needed to do was simple touch her skin and she would be rendered a quivering mess, now she just felt a shiver. A small at that.

Maybe the time they had spent apart had done what was supposed to do.

Maybe she had come to love him, but not in the same way a woman should love her partner.

Edward's stunning face flashed behind her eyelids and she sighed.

No it wasn't love what she felt for the vampire.

She knew love.

The stirring in her lower belly was attraction, lust.

Purely physical.

But it was the beginning, was it not?

That was how she started falling for the sneaky Slytherin who was currently driving.

His good looks were what attracted and held her attention in the beginning. And when she got to know him more intimately it was his personality that made her fall for him and made her yearn for his touch and caresses.

Could it be the same with him?

"Hermione."

The urgency in Draco's voice made her look at them. Both Slytherins sat rigidly on their seats as they approached the beautiful white mansion. The Cullens, the pack and Bella were in the front lawn. Many pack members were in their wolf form, one sandy coloured one was laying in front of Carlisle, the vampire doctor working on a heavily bleeding wound on his ribs. Bella had tear tracks on her cheeks and was ashen.

"We have a problem."

Hermione followed their narrowed gazes and her heart stopped.

There above the house hovered an emerald green skull, a serpent snaking out of its hanging mouth; its empty eyes sockets eerily dark as it seemed to mock her with just its appearance.

The Dark Mark.

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Complete silence followed Carlisle's tale.

Immediately after his return from the unexpected visit to the hospital he had called for a family meeting. He had also asked Edward to bring Bella; she needed to be present for what he had to tell them.

And she was the one who broke the deafening silence.

"So according to Aro Hermione knows you are vampires?" She asked meekly, dread making her throat clench. Alice and Esme sitting on either side of her on the sofa softly rubbed her bare arms.

"Yes." Came the curt reply.

"And she knows that because, still according to that megalomaniac, she is part of the supernatural world." Edward repeated stunned.

"That's what Aro told me."

"Well he's obviously lying!" Rosalie snapped angrily. "Hermione is 100% human, we all can attest to that!"

"Is she?" Jasper murmured as he stood by the glass wall.

"Yes!"

"How can you be so sure? Weren't you the one who was thrown to a tree when you tried to attack her house? What kind of human do you know that has this kind of protection around their houses? Certainly no one I know of!"

Bella sat straighter when she heard that. Neither Edward nor Alice had mentioned this! Rose had attacked Hermione's house? When?

Narrowing her eyes she decided she and her fiancé needed to have a serious conversation when all this mess was cleared. His need to always keep her in the dark always annoyed her. Just because she was clumsy didn't mean she would break if he told her bad news!

"And Alice's visions..." Emmett shook his head when everyone turned to look at him. "What? Don't you tell me none of you have thought about it? It's obvious isn't it? Alice can see our futures because she's one of us! A vampire! And she can see Bella's and the humans' because she once was human! And yet she has trouble seeing Hermione and her friend's? Doesn't that concern you?"

"That's-

"Quite ingenious Emmett." Carlisle smiled at his son who winked back.

"Hey I can be smart when I want to! Its not just looks that I'm blessed with, you know!"

"Not the time dear." Rosalie interjected.

"But it's not possible. I grew up with Mya. I know her since she was a child. I saw her cry and laugh. I saw her bleed. How can she not be... Human?"

"Don't be rush." Esme soothingly mumbled. "No one said she is not human. Jacob and his friends are supernatural creatures but still humans."

"So what you say is that Hermione's a dog?" Rosalie snapped loosing her patience. When Esme's eyes flashed to her, hurt shining in the golden orbs, she soften. "Sorry. But I just can't stop thinking this is all a farce. A joke Aro played on you."

"Well you can't say you didn't doubt her humanity at one point or another." Edward surprisingly was the one to point out coldly. His darkening eyes held anger and betrayal in them. "From the first night we met her we knew she was not normal. What normal human has contact with the Volturi? What normal human can block a mind reader, an empath and a Seer? Or send a thought to me? Just because she outwardly appears normal doesn't mean she is. We look like humans too."

The silence that followed his words was pensive and filled with more unvoiced questions.

Edward fought his growing desire to march to Hermione's home and demand answers. What was she hiding? What was so important she had to lie about to Bella, to him?

Somewhere in his mind he knew he had no rational reason to feel betrayed; it wasn't like he was forthcoming with the girl or he had a reason to demand answers. He was nothing to her.

But he was not feeling rational at the minute.

We need to talk.

His head snapped up when he heard the thought, laced with accusation and suspicion.

"What is it?" Alice asked alarmed.

"The wolves... All of them are coming. Something's wrong." He said quietly, trying to hide his anxiety when he caught the reason of Sam's anger in Seth's thoughts.

Barely moving his lips so Bella wouldn't hear he murmured: "Charlie is missing."

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"Are you sure Sam?" Jacob was panicking.

"Yes. Billy said Charlie was supposed to arrive two hours ago. When he called his house no one answered and Jacobs at the station said Charlie left around noon. But his cruise is still there. I checked it out. His scent lingers; meaning he was experiencing a high emotion if it still smells like him after that much time has passed. Probably fear. I also caught the scent of another, but I can't identify the smell. It's not from one of the officers or any one I know. But it's human... Or at least I think it is."

"What does that mean?" Seth asked fearful. In the months following his father's death he had come close to the older man who treated him like a young son.

"It means we need to talk to the Cullens." Sam answered stonily.

"Why? Do you think they have something to do with this? You just said the scent was human." Paul demanded as they started towards the forest.

Sam didn't answer verbally.

They phased without hesitation and started running, their minds connecting.

I don't know if they have something to do with it. But it's the only lead we've got.

And let's be honest here... Charlie mysteriously 'disappearing' suits them just fine. Leah thought malevolently.

Leah! That's not true! Her brother hissed but he couldn't hide his doubts as well.

Isn't it? Think about it. With Charlie gone they'll have nothing to worry about after Bella's transformation. They knew he wouldn't let anything happen to his only child go away easily. He's a police officer, he has connections. It wouldn't suit them to have the FBI for example searching, would it?

The pack remained silent.

No matter how much it pained Seth to admit it, Leah had a point. Charlie posed a great threat to their way of life. What was to say that one of them took the situation in their own hands and dealt with Charlie permanently?

There's no need to speculate and get suspicious. If one of them did anything we'll know it. Jared confidently thought.

And how are you so sure? I doubt they'll just come out and accept responsibility. Especially If Bella is there. Jacob added.

It's fairly logical really. I think we all can eliminate Carlisle from our list of suspects. God knows it pains me to admit this but the doc is a good sort. I doubt he could hurt a fly. Same goes for his wifey. The woman reminds me of my mum. It's freaky but again I doubt she has it in her to kill in cold blood.

Jared bared his teeth as he heard the agreement in his friends' minds.

That leaves us with five suspects. And I count Eddikiens as well. Charlie had made it clear many times he disliked him.

And how many of them you think have the strength to resist sucking a human dry if his blood is spilled?

You think the guilty one will have red eyes?

Definitely. If one of them hurt Charlie we'll be able to tell by the colour of his eyes. Simple.

But what if they didn't drink him?

Stop talking like Charlie is already dead! They might have nothing to do with it! And Charlie is still alive dammit!

Seth...

SILENCE!

Their Alpha's command made them shut up as he focused his thoughts on four words.

We need to talk.

They could hear the seven vampires moving in the distance as they approached the house and a heart beat, which they assumed belonged to Bella.

Being too worried for Charlie's safety Jacob failed to feel the usual hollowness that always slipped past his defences when Bella was close to him.

Jacob and Jared. Phase back. We need to talk with them.

All right man.

And what are we supposed to do, Sam?

Spread and keep watch. We need to be on high alert until we sort this mess out.

He, Jacob and Jared phased back, slipping their ripped jeans on their muscular legs and running the rest of the way to the front lawn of the Cullen house.

The family and Bella were gathered outside; Edward was in the front with a worried looking Carlisle. The shorter female was holding Bella in a tight embrace as the motherly one stood beside the beautiful blonde female. The bigger vampire and the one who could manipulate their feelings were standing on either side of the two women, like guards.

The only clueless amongst them was obviously Bella who was watching them all with curious eyes.

Jacob felt his heart clench. She wouldn't take the news well.

"Sam. It is good to see you again. Although the circumstances are far from pleasant." Carlisle murmured genially. He took a step towards them, making sure not to overstep his boundaries.

"What is going on?" Edward demanded. "Is it true?"

"Yes." Sam replied, not bothering to scowl at the mind reader. "We are positive he never reached his house. And his car is still at the station. Something happened to him."

"The station?" Bella repeated alarmed before any one could inquire further. "What do you mean? What happened to whom?"

"Bella-

"Don't Bella me!" She snapped as she pulled herself away from Alice's arms. "What's going on?"

She paled.

"Is it... Is it Charlie? Something happened to him? Is he okay?"

"Do something." Alice hissed to her husband; waves of calmness reached the panicky brunette.

Realising what was going on she turned and glared at Jasper.

"Stop that! This is my father we are talking about! I want to know what's going on!"

"Bella calm down." Edward pleaded, reaching out to touch her but she shook her head.

"Tell me." She directed the plea to Jacob who was watching her with sad eyes.

The shape shifter looked at his Alpha.

Sam shook his head.

"Charlie is missing Bella. We think someone took him earlier today. We don't know who."

Bella's already pale face turned ashen. Her knees buckled and Edward managed to catch her before she hit the ground. She was breathing harshly, her heart hammering as tears burnt her eyes.

"We'll find him. I promise you Charlie will be fine." Her fiancé soothed and she felt wetness on her cheeks.

"Isn't this just heart retching?"

The high pitched, female voice sounded from somewhere behind the three wolves and they jumped, turning their backs to the house and the vampires to face the unknown woman.

"Watch out!" Esme shouted when a jet of bright green light flashed from the trees and Jacob barely managed to avoid being hit. The patch of ground it hit was scorched, black smoke spiralling upwards. All eyes stared at it with fear and bewilderment.

"What the hell?" Sam breathed as another flash of light, this time purple flew to Carlisle. "Move!"

A crazed laughter followed a barrage of lights as Bella was engulfed in strong arms and the mix of vampires and wolves danced around, desperately trying getting hit by jets of light. They heard howls coming from the forest but no wolf appeared.

The three shape shifters stared horrified as a large silver wolf attempted to come to their aid; only to hit a barrier and send flying to a tree, whining softly as they heard him collide with the bark.

"What the hell is going on? Who are you!?" Edward screamed as the woman kept cackling.

"Edward look out!" Alice yelled and pushed him out of the way of a red light. Unfortunately it hit her and Alice's small body was thrown to the glass wall, breaking through it and sending glass flying everywhere.

"ALICE!"

Jasper's scream was the louder as he ran to his fallen mate. Alice's eyes were open but she was frozen. Her mate's pale hands hastily searched her for any kind of injury, trembling as they find none.

"Alice! Alice answer me!"

"She's okay." Edward murmured as he nodded to Emmett to stand beside him in case they needed to fight. "I can hear her. She's just unable to move."

"How's that possible?" Esme sounded terrified as she looked at her petite daughter.

"I don't know." Edward answered and swore. Another jet of light came from the trees, this time almost hitting Rosalie.

"Oh fuck no!" Emmett growled and bared his teeth. "Come out whoever you are you cowardly bitch! Stop playing hide and seek and face us!"

"Oh the vampire is mad!" The invisible woman chortled. "Now I'm scared!"

"You certainly appear to be! Hiding in the trees, attacking us without allowing us to see your ugly face!" Emmett snarled as he took a defensive stance.

"Want me to come out and play, is that it beast? Because I think you need to be taught your place. That's no way to talk to your superiors animal."

"Come out and say that to my face." He spat.

Without warning a swirl of black smoke came from the forest, travelling in patterns smoke wasn't supposed to be.

"Emmett look out!" Rosalie cried as the smoke crashed into him and he was sent flying to the side, the smoke swirling in the place Emmett was previously standing.

A woman materialised above him a smirk on her lips.

Her long, wiry hair was black and left to hang in tangled curls down her back. Her skin was unnaturally pale, like she had spent a lot of time in the dark and her eyes, dark grey, were hollow and shining with crazed intent.

At some point in her life she was a great beauty. But now she was the embodiment of insanity as she waved a wooden stick and laughed.

"Hello blood sucker." She coo'ed as she pointed the stick to Emmett and smiled almost pleasantly. "This is lesson number one. When you disrespect your betters, you will be punished. Crucio."

Emmett screamed.

Never in her short life had Bella heard such a bone chilling scream of pain. Without doubt she knew Jane's gift had nothing on what that woman was using on poor Emmett.

Rosalie cried out as her husband writhed on the ground and advanced on the woman.

With a sneer she threw her hand out and a shimmering, shivering bubble of energy surrounded her preventing them from reaching her.

"You don't really expect to best me are you?" She threw her head back and laughed again. "You, filthy beasts that you are think you can defeat a witch?"

"A what?" Carlisle repeated astonished. An emotion the rest of them shared. Their shocked expressions seemed to amuse the woman. With a flourish she lifted her stick and stepped back; Emmett lay motionless and breathless on the ground, soft whimpering sounds leaving his lips.

With a cracked sob Rosalie threw herself at his side, gingerly touching his face and pushing his hair off of his agony tinged face.

"It's okay, you are okay." They could hear her muttering, her voice cracking.

"Didn't the little mudblood say anything to you?" The woman murmured eyes alight with glee as they focused on Bella's hidden form.

Noticing her sudden interest Jacob growled and moved to stand in front of the human girl, his bigger body covering her. Edward nodded in acknowledgement as he pushed her behind him.

"Oh so she didn't! I would expect better from her, she does have a certain reputation after all. But I guess no matter what everyone says about her, she's still a useless mudblood. But leaving her family completely unprotected... Tsk tsk. So irresponsible of her!"

Bella felt her whole body freezing.

Family?

"Who are you talking about?"

A mocking smile stretched pale chapped lips.

"Oh I think you know Muggle."

"Miss." Carlisle interjected using his soothing, doctor voice. After all these years watching him practise medicine and control Edward was still astounded how well his sire handed intense situations; not only in the hospital but in real life too. He could diffuse any emotionally or otherwise charged atmosphere with just a few choice words, uttered in sweet, understanding tones. "Please calm down and we can talk like civilised people-

"People?" She screeched aiming that wooden stick at the blond doctor. "You dare compare your self to me? Me who is descended of the ancient and most pure House of Black? You dare think yourself a human?"

Another wolf, Leah, whined softly and tried to cross the line but the field stopped her.

But her soft sound earned her the attention of the obviously unstable witch.

Grey eyes shone malevolently as her face formed a terrifying mask of revulsion and hatred.

"You all deserve to die. You are no worthy of breathing the same air as I."

The wolves barked.

"Tut tut. Dogs mustn't disobey their master."

A flick of her wrist and a dark purple, almost blue light flew towards Leah. Before she could move a sandy coloured wolf jumped in front of her and took the hit.

"SETH!"

Jacob, Sam, Jared and Edward screamed as one as the small wolf howled as long, deep gashes appeared on his body.

Leah screeched as she nudged her fallen brother.

"What the fuck is wrong with you?" Jacob screamed at the witch. "Seth is just a child!"

"He's no more than an ant." She brushed him off as she directed her gaze on the only Muggle present.

Bella's eyes locked with hers and she fought down a shiver.

The witch tilted her head to the side.

"You look like your cousin girl. Same mud coloured eyes and hair. Show her true heritage. Not that I give much thought to filths like you but I do have a special spot in my heart for your beloved cousin."

"Smells like her too." Came an eerily grave voice and they all looked as a huge animalistic man popped next to her. "Delicious and tasty. I wonder... Will you taste as good?"

Bella almost threw up but recovered when she noticed how every single vampire froze and focused suddenly black eyes on the newly arrived man. His smirk could only be described as sadistic as he leered at her ignoring the immortal beings.

"Beast." Jasper snarled as he debated on leaving his wife's still immobile side and attacking their enemy or stay by her in case there were more wolves coming.

"A werewolf. A true lycan." Carlisle breathed as he fought his natural instincts to attack.

"What do you mean a werewolf? We are werewolves as well!" Jared whispered as a subconscious need to cower made him swallow. For some inane reason the man caused the hair in his neck to stand on end.

With a stutter he realised Sam was fighting the same urge.

"Puppies." The man crooned. "Lookie Bella! They have puppies!"

"Ignorant fools." The woman, apparently named Bella something that caused her Muggle namesake to decided that maybe being called Isabella was preferable, completely ignored his words. "You don't even know your very nature! Idiotic muggles! You are no werewolves' boy! You are shape shifters!"

"What?" Sam bunched his eyebrows in thought.

"This is the company the mudblood keeps when away from home... But what can you expect from someone borne in such a society? Oh if only our Lord was alive! He would have put you in your rightful place; where you deserve! She helped kill him... And now I'll make her pay."

"Don't break her!" The man suddenly whined as he turned to the witch. "You promised I could play with her before you finish her!"

"Oh no worries." She smiled as she saw realisation hitting their audience faces. "You will have your turn with the mudblood. Her end will not be slow... She will suffer and die like the filth she is."

"How can you talk like that when discussing someone's torture?" Rosalie was shaking as Emmett held her hand in his now steady grip. She knew, as well as everyone present, who was the girl they were talking about. "What Hermione has ever done to you to hate her so much?"

"She was borne!" Bella spat. "And she dared to think she was better than purebloods! She dared think she was equal to us! She and her useless friends caused my Lord's fall! And they will pay, oh they will. But their time is not up yet. First I want them to suffer! I want them to see her mangled broken body and realise they failed to protect someone they loved! I want the entire world to see she's just a mudblood nothing more. I want them to live in agony, wondering when I'll come for them. And when I do, they'll wish for death!"

"Does Hermione know you are here?" This time it was Sam who spoke, anger colouring his controlled tone.

"Oh she knows I've been looking for her for some time. I believe this is the reason they sent her here. To keep her away from me. Those fools forget who I am. I was taught the dark arts by our Lord himself. They foolishly believed I was working alone. But let's just say little Miss mudblood has her fair share of enemies. And trust me we will make sure she screams every single second until her death."

She spat on the ground, furious once more.

"NO!"

"Bella!"

Jacob wrapped his arms around the girl when she lunched at the woman.

It only caused Bellatrix to laugh as the Muggle girl fought futilely.

"Stay away from my cousin you crazy bitch!" Jacob almost let her go. He had never heard Bella sound so vicious and use such language but the girl paid him no hint; she kept fighting to be released as she spew insults. "You won't touch her; I'll kill you if you come near her!"

"Oh the little Muggle wants to play! Can I have a go?" The werewolf eyed the struggling girl with interest. He loved it when his victims fought. It made it far more interesting.

"No. We won't bother with them. We only want the mudblood. Let her know her family is still alive. She'll suffer more if she thinks we'll go after them later, when she won't be able to protect them."

The man whined softly but stayed rooted to the spot beside her as she waved her wand towards the sky.

"Morsmordre!"

A green jet of light shot to the sky and they watched the horrific image form. It was strangely beautiful in its horrific glory.

"When the mudblood comes tell her we'll expect her at midnight. Alone. If she doesn't come... Well. Fenrir?"

The werewolf now identified as Fenrir pulled something from the pocket of his dirty trousers.

Bella stifled a sob when she saw what it was.

A small patch of dark brown hair matted with mud and caked blood. The vampires and shape shifters caught the strong scent of Charlie Swan with their super sensitive noses.

"If you don't... Then he'll have to deal with the consequences."

"And where will Hermione find you if she choose to meet up with you?" Carlisle asked calmly. Inwardly he was trying to find a solution out of this horrible mess but he was coming empty handed. These people were obviously who Aro had warned him about. In a way it made sense. They were obviously superior to them. If only one woman could take a whole coven of vampires and a pack of shape shifters on her own then what a whole army of them could do to their species. A small part of his mind was rapidly connecting the dots.

From the woman's words and overall context he had a strong suspicion on exactly what kind of supernatural being Hermione was.

Fenrir sneered.

"Despite her unfortunate parentage the girl is quite capable to finding us. Just tell her we have her precious uncle. She'll do the rest."

"And warn my blood traitor of a nephew to stay away. I would loathe exterminating the last heir to the Malfoy name."

"Draco's your nephew?" Jacob exclaimed shocked, his eyes fleetingly travelled to Leah's wolf form.

A disgusted sneer covered her face.

"He's no more than a blood traitor, cavorting with mudbloods and blood traitors. But he still remains as the heir to one of the oldest and purest wizarding families in Europe. It would be a shame to spill his blood. He'll be dealt with accordingly when the girl is indisposed."

"Magical? Draco's a wizard?"

The witch rolled her eyes.

"Honestly your ignorance is annoying. Be happy I'd like to keep my energy for your cousin. Or else I would have been delighted to show you exactly what I did to the mudblood when we first met. Remember. Midnight or your father dies."

With a pop the two disappear.

The barrier dissolved and the rest of the pack trotted to them but Alice remained frozen, eyes looking anxiously at her distraught husband.

"Doc a little help?"

Carlisle broke out of his stupor to see Jacob and Jared trying to stop the extensive bleeding on Seth's ribs.

"Shouldn't he be healed by now?" Bella asked worried.

"He should." Sam answered gritting his teeth. "But the wound doesn't close."

"Esme, bring me my kit. Quick!"

Carlisle moved to Seth's side touching gingerly the wound. Seth pathetically whimpered as fat tears rolled down his hairy cheek.

"Edward I need you to tell me how he feels!"

"Burning." He immediately answered, face drawn and eyes scared as he looked at his friend. "He feels like his whole body is on fire and his insides are melting."

"Don't worry chap." Carlisle tried to sound encouraging but he failed. "I promise to fix you up. You'll be as good as new soon."

I don't know what's wrong with this wound! It bleeds worse now! Edward I don't think he'll make it!

"Well Hermione's here. She surely knows what the hell was going on."

"She has some explaining to do all right. After we make sure Seth is okay." Sam gritted as he looked at the car.

He loved Myabee. She was his most dear friend.

But if she had anything to do with this...

He wasn't sure he could forgive her.

88888

Hermione felt frozen on her seat; her heart was hammering in her ribcage and her eyes were glued to the glowing skull.

She felt Draco and Blaise getting out of the car and when Draco opened her door and gently pulled her out but she couldn't bring herself to care.

Bellatrix is here... How could she arrive without anyone the wiser? God what if she hurt someone? Bella!

"Hermione."

Blaise's voice was soft but firm.

"Wake up Granger, there's no time for you to have a break down now!" Draco as always chose bluntness.

And yet she couldn't break out her befuddlement.

"Mya? Mya can you hear me?"

"Carlisle? Is there something wrong with her?"

"I think she's going into shock."

"Stop staring at the damn Mark! Snap out of it or Merlin help me I'll hit you!"

"Hey! Don't threaten her!"

"Keep out of it girly."

"Who the hell are you?"

"Blaise Zabini. Lovely to meet you all. Now do us a favour and keep your mouths shut, okay? Malfoy knows what he's doing."

"I warned you."

Slap.

Hermione's head snapped to the right from the force of his slap; her cheek flashed red as she gained back her senses.

Wow she hadn't lost it like that since her first visit to Malfoy Manor after she started seeing Draco. According to her Mind Healer she was dealing with the stress and memories of the war in a rather peculiar way. Not so uncommon but weird nevertheless.

She subconsciously buried her memories in the deepest recesses of her mind and with them went all her feelings and emotions.

Having see how short and unexpected life truly is, Hermione chose to forget all the things war related and just live her life to the fullest.

Although that kept her happy and somewhat content, her break downs were worse than the rest.

All it needed was a shove big enough to push through her carefully built barriers.

Knowing Bellatrix had escape and after her was one thing.

Knowing she was there, possibly watching her and she would have to deal with her soon was completely another. Especially knowing the crazed witch was working with Dolohov. A wizard who had developed an unhealthy obsession with her after the Ministry battle and who loved using dark and forgotten curses to torture his victims.

Apparently she wasn't as over the whole war débâcle as she chose to believe and let other think.

And that realisation was enough to send her head first into a panic attack.

"How can it be? We are across the globe! Surely someone would have seen her!"

"Calm down woman!" Draco hissed and shook her. "We have other things to worry about."

Locking gazes with her he nodded towards the fallen, bleeding wolf and the clearly petrified vampire.

"Dear Merlin." She whispered and without delay she flicked her wrist and her wand slid to her waiting hand. Ignoring the stunned faces around her she moved to the wolf. "Deal with Alice."

A smaller grey wolf snarled at her and she coolly look at who she knew to be Leah Clearwater.

"There's no time for explanations if you wish your little brother to live. He has clearly been hit with a dark curse and if it's the one I think it is he won't stop bleeding. I need to check him and then cast the counter curse before his natural healing system takes over. He has maybe a few minutes before it spreads to the rest of his body and reaches his internal organs. When it does there'll be nothing we can do to help him."

She unflinchingly stared at the wolf who contemplated her with cold eyes. With a derisive snort the wolf stepped back and allowed her to run to Seth who whined softly.

"It's good to see you too Sethy." She murmured smiling as she pointed her wand to the wound. "Magica Revelio."

Seth whimpered as a soft purplish glow surrounded his wound. The nature of the spell allowed only the caster to see the results so Hermione was the only one who saw a shadow form of a hand moving and that particular colour of the curse and its results only left one option.

"Sectusempra. That bitch used Sectusempra!" She hissed and Draco was beside her in a flash.

"Can you fix him?"

"Of course. After Harry cursed you in sixth year I did extensive research. It will be painful." She told the simpering wolf. "And I need you to turn back to your human form. All my research was for human wounds and I don't know if the results will be the same whilst you are in your wolf form. Can you do that for me Sethy?"

"He says he will be naked," came Edward's voice. "He's in extreme pain."

"I can imagine. It doesn't matter if you are naked Seth. I promise I won't look and Blaise here was always very talented in clothes transfiguration. He'll charm some clothes on you all right?"

"Okay." Edward replied, clearly playing messenger. For the time being they had only rained in their tempers and questions. Carlisle watched closely as Hermione worked on Seth.

With a soft whine Seth's form shimmered and grew smaller, the hair retreating to his body and clear mocha skin appearing.

Despite the blood loss Seth's face was blushing. Hermione true to her word averted her eyes.

"Blaise."

"Right-on darling." He produced a stick of his own and waved it over the boy, muttering another string of Latin words. A simple pair of jeans materialized on him. "Ready."

Without waiting Hermione pushed Seth on his back and bit her lip when she saw the long deep gashes on her chest; debris and dirt coating the outer part of the flesh, thick blood oozing on the grass.

"Draco there's a kit in my car. Bring it to me." She smiled reassuringly at her friend. "This is going to be extremely painful Seth. I can't put a numbing charm on it. It will react with the counter curse and you'll get worse. I can give you some mind pain relieving potions though. I have to wait to give you more until after I'm done. I need you awake to drink blood replenishing potions so putting you to sleep is out of the question as well. Can you take it?"

"I can help with the pain." Jasper smoothly said as he walked to them. Blaise had released Alice from the curse and after checking to make sure she was all right he started paying attention to the scene on the lawn.

"Good that's good." She muttered and nodded. "I suggest you start now. We wasted enough time."

With a deep breathe she started chanting, her wand steadily pointing at the gushes, a soft blue glow emanating from the stick of wood.

Startled the vampires and wolves watched as the flesh knitted back together, leaving scar tissue that glowed as well and turned into smooth skin again. Seth's breathing elevated and Jasper's eyebrows bunched up as he increased the waves of his power on the pained boy.

"Draco," a whisper and the blond man sat next to her, carefully lifting Seth's head and tipping a vial of red liquid in his mouth.

"Drink buddy. I know it tastes horrible but you need to drink it all."

"T-tastes l-li-like L-Le-Leah's co-cooking." Seth gasped. The grey wolf beside him nudged him playfully. "S-s-so-sorry sis b-ut its t-tr-true."

Hermione's lips quirk into a smile.

"We are almost done honey. Soon you'll be as good as new." She consoled as she focused her magic on the last gash. The split flesh was slightly charred. Seth let out a pained moan when she jabbed her wand and sent a jolt of magic straight to it. It was the place where the curse had hit and obviously still effected with dark magic.

Seth's cries escalated and Jasper looked at his wife with wide eyes. No matter how strongly he tried to affect the young boy, the pain grew.

"Its okay, mate. It's almost over see? Only a small scratch."

Come on, come on. Hermione was exhausted. Silently she thanked her lucky stars for her decision to take an advanced healing course in her last year at Hogwarts'. It was a selective course, only offered to seventh -and in her case eighth- years with Outstanding OWLs in five subjects including Potions, Herbology and Charms. If not for Madam Pomfrey's excellent tutelage Seth would have been doomed.

"Thank God." She whispered when the final gash knitted itself. Unlike the rest though a faint scar remained. A line from his navel to the middle of his chest, a touch darker in colour than Seth's mocha skin. She motioned to Draco and he passed her a small glass vial with an orange paste. Delicately she applied a generous amount of it on the scarred skin and smiled at the young man. "If you make sure to put this on the scar twice a day for a week, the scar will faint and disappear altogether."

Seth nodded and Jacob took the salve, looking at it weirdly as he read the curved letters: Nimue's Salve for Scars and Burns, and put in in his pocket.

Draco helped her to her feet as Jared and Sam helped Seth to stand. He stumbled but his sister nudged his side. He smiled and leaned on her.

Now that Seth was not dying Hermione realised she was the centre of everyone's attention as she looked around. All pair of eyes were solely focused on her and the two Slytherins beside her.

Chancing a look in the sky she noted the mark was no longer there. Blaise or Draco had dealt with it thankfully. But that only made her more uncomfortable.

Yes she was coming here today with the intention to tell everyone the truth about her but she hoped it would be at her terms!

Now she was out of her element.

Everyone probably knew already and was pissed off at her.

She locked eyes with her baby cousin and almost stumbled back.

Bella was looking at her with sad, betrayed eyes. But it wasn't that that shocked her. It was the quite obvious fear in her posture.

Is she... afraid of me?

"Bella-

"I think we need to talk." Edward cut in and her eyes snapped to his. Cold furious eyes glared at her.

"Better stay out of it mate." Draco cautioned as he glared back at the vampire. "This is between them."

"Oh really? Because I think we all deserve to know why she has been lying to us from the moment we met!" Edward snapped and Hermione averted her stare to Bella.

Blaise laughed.

"Really? You all feel what? Betrayed? Indignant for Mione keeping secrets? Seriously?"

"We are, or at least I thought we were, friends." Sam interjected looking at her. "Why did you feel the need to lie? Why not come clean?"

"It wasn't so simple Sam-

"Bullshit. You could have told us from the moment you arrived. Instead you chose to lie to our faces, deceive us and-

"Oh shut the fuck up!" She growled cutting Edward off, finally loosing her patience. "You want to talk about deceit? About betrayal and lies? Okay then. Let's talk about you and your family being vampires. I don't recall anyone mentioning this in our little dinner or at any point afterwards! Or you being a shape shifter with a pack!" She round on Sam who looked taken back at her abrupt change of demeanour. She turned to her cousin with accusing eyes. "What about you? Do you dare contempt me from keeping secrets from you? For lying to you? Or you admit to being a hypocrite Bells? Because trust me I know everything. About what really happened in Phoenix; about Volterra and the fight with the new bornes. And strangely I don't remember you saying anything to me about all of that! Or your deep desire to become a vampire! You all act like I betrayed you for keeping secrets but you did the same! Unlike you though I'm not allowed to start telling people I'm a witch! You see I'm bound by law to keep my mouth shut or spend a fair amount of time in prison."

Closing her eyes she took a deep breathe.

"I won't, I refuse! to apologise for doing what I thought best. I had my reasons, reasons I don't feel particularly inclined to share at the moment, and acted on my instincts. They kept me alive so far and I learn the hard way not to ignore them. We can have a deep conversation later. For now I want to know what the fuck happened, who did this to Seth and cast the Dark Mark. It's very important to tell me everything."

"They have dad, Mya."

Hermione felt bile rise in her throat as her tired brain registered Bella's words. She stumbled back and Draco caught her around the waist.

"What?" Her voice sounded choked as she looked at her cousin. Bella's eyes were full of fear and she now knew it wasn't directed at her.

"The man, the woman called him Fenrir, had a piece of his hair. It was covered in blood Mya!"

"Oh God."

Pushing away from Draco she fell on her knees and violently puked.

A/N: Here's the end. Of the chapter that is. Next one will have more of the trio from hell!

Magica Revelio: Latin for reveal hidden magic. A spell created by RZZMG for her fics, specifically EROS AND PSYCHE. I pm'ed her and asked permission to use it. Very kindly she allowed me and I thank her for it. If you haven't checked her stories out yet; go now! They are amazing!

Title for next time:

Realisation...

For all your questions if you review anonymously please check my blog. There you'll find replies, snippets of the upcoming chapters as well as clarifications for previous chapters which need to be address.

Thank you for reading!

And since it's my birthday today how about a review?

A/N 2: As of 09/03/13 Fate is under revision. Just filling in some plot holes and correcting some inaccuracies. Nothing major will change and if it does I'll let you know.

Don't worry I won't stop updating. As I said I don't plan to change much.