CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN
Summary: Voldemort is dead but the war is not yet over, however, the light side is prevailing, even with the death of many major key players of the war. Hermione is forced to leave England and go into hiding, her fathers, Remus Lupin and Sirius Black leave with her. They leave for the States, a small town called Forks, which is said to be the safest place on Earth for her. But no one knew that the population of Forks included a family of Vampires and a pack of Shape-shifters.
Disclaimer: I don't own any canon events or characters, only those that I create. All rights go to J.K Rowling and Stephanie Myers. I don't make a profit writing or posting this fanfic.
Q&A
SereniteRose – I haven't revealed if Edward is staying or leaving yet, but we are getting closer to the chapter in which it will be revealed.
Tuesday 21st November 2006
"Did Alice just beat Jasper?" Hermione asked, blinking in surprise as she and Edward arrived at the clearing where the pack and The Cullens where currently learning how to defeat newborns, and Alice had effectively pinned Jasper to the ground.
The pack stood around, either leaning against trees or sat on the floor watching amused, as did The Cullens and her fathers.
"Yeah, she's not as fragile as she looks," he commented.
"Well obviously, she is a vampire no matter how small she is. It just means she's more agile than the rest of you."
"And terrifying, don't let that sweet demeanour fool you."
She snorted at him. "I've seen the look on her face when she sees new clothes, I am well aware of how terrifying she can be," she shivered and he chuckled at her. "How's training going?" she asked, walking towards the gathered group of magical beings.
"We've made some good headway since you've been gone," Jasper spoke standing up and brushing himself off and she nodded.
"Have you protected the Swan house with your magic?" Carlisle asked.
"Yes, it's all done, no vampire will be able to enter the property, include yourselves. Edward's spoken to her and told her of what's happening." Noises of surprise filled her ears as the wolves and Cullens, seemed to have disagreed with what they had done.
"Oh, honestly, think about it," she said, and the quieted down allowing her to explain. "Newborns will stop at nothing to get what they want, which is blood, Bella's in particular. And now, they have Swan's scent. They'll follow it straight to her house and although they can't enter, it doesn't mean that she's completely safe, especially if she leaves the house and they kill her the moment she does." Understanding lit their faces. "She needed to know so she can be careful, and Edward and I have come up with a plan."
"What plan?" Jasper asked, frowning slightly, but also looking intrigued.
"Think about it, they have her scent and it will lead them straight to her. She lives in the middle of small town which is filled with..."
"People," several voices whispered.
"Humans, yes. Forks is a small town, but even we can't protect the population, so we need to draw them to us, to here."
"And how do we do that?" Jacob frowned in thought.
"We need bait," Sirius spoke, catching on to Hermione's plan. "Brilliant, well done, Snowflake," he praised and she smiled at him.
"Bait?" Sam echoed.
"Bait," Hermione confirmed. "And in this case, the bait would be Bella."
"You want to bring a human into this?" he narrowed his eyes at her.
"Well, I want to use her as bait, I don't want her to actually be here at the time of the battle. Before the army arrives, Bella will be brought here, and to confuse the army and lure them to us and away from the town, we'll have to spread her scent around, meaning she's going to have to do a bit of hiking through the woods for at least a couple of miles. When that's done, she obviously can't return to her home as they'll just track her there, so she'll have to stay somewhere safe and with a guard because she is likely to be found given the numbers that are heading for us."
"In your vision, did you see the time of day?" Remus asked thoughtfully.
"No," Alice shook her head. "But given the lighting, it was either early morning or late afternoon."
"We'll have to camp out then," he said thoughtfully, "so we're prepared when they do arrive."
"I'm not moving the tent, it'll take too long to remove the wards and pack it up," Hermione said.
"All we need is a few sleeping bags, magic will keep us safe from the elements," Sirius shrugged and Hermione nodded in agreement.
"Alright then, is everyone in agreement with the plan?" she asked, and although some of them looked reluctant, everyone agreed.
Saturday 25th November 2006
"What's she doing here?" Bella glared as she stepped out of the car with a foul tempered Edward, since he had been nominated to pick up Bella and bring her to the clearing.
It had taken Hermione working a bit of her charm, but since Billy was in the know, he had convinced Charlie to go fishing with him for the weekend, leaving Bella alone for the next couple of days, so not only would there be no chance of him getting hurt should their plan fail, but he would never be the wiser about the situation his daughter had gotten herself into.
"Hello to you too, Swan, lovely to see your suspension hasn't changed you," Hermione commented, much to the amusement of the others, her fathers in particular. Bella glared in response, but Hermione didn't acknowledge her any further, instead she turned around to face the others.
"How do you want to do this?" she asked the group, ignoring Bella, but that didn't stop her from speaking.
"Why are you here, you're human and so are they?" she pointed to the pack, looking at Hermione as though she knew something Hermione didn't. Hermione rolled her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose, causing several sniggers.
"I know all about the pack of wolves the boys turn into and I know about The Cullens being vampires, and I figured it out myself, I didn't need spoon feeding like some people did." Again, more sniggers at her words and Bella looked outraged and shocked. "I know of the situation that is surrounding us and believe me, The Cullens are not the only vampires I've come into contact with. I may be human, but I assure you, I am so much more than that, which is why you should believe me when I say, you got off lightly with your petty behaviour. Now stop interrupting and let the adults speak," she glared at Bella and turned back to the others, who were watching her amused.
"As I was saying, before I was so rudely interrupted, how do you want to do this? We need to spread her scent around for at least a few miles and afterwards we need to get her somewhere safe and we need to make sure her scent can't be followed. Looking at her, there's not a chance in hell she can hike through the woods for half a mile, let alone several. Oh, do shut up," Hermione said, sensing that Bella was about to object, and she snapped her mouth shut to the smirks of the others present.
"I swear, I'm on the verge of knocking her out," Hermione muttered so that everyone but Bella would hear and their lips twitched in amusement.
"We don't want to give away your secret," Paul reminded softly.
"It doesn't matter anyway, I'm wiping her memories of The Cullens and the pack after this mess is sorted," she muttered, still their conversation was spoken quietly so Bella wouldn't hear, and she appeared to be confused with a frown on her face, since she could see their lips moving, but she couldn't hear them speaking to one another.
"The wolves' scent should mask Bella's, it'll confuse the newborns and they'll follow it here and not to the safe location. You'll have to be in physical contact, and seeing as she can't walk the woods, she'll have to be carried," Jasper said.
"So, which of you lovely wolves is going to carry Bella through the woods for several miles?" Hermione asked.
The wolves looked between each other before they all collectively looked at Jacob and he didn't look pleased by their decision.
"I don't want to," he muttered, crossing his arms.
"You're the strongest of the pack," Sam shrugged, "and she is your best friend."
"Was. She was my best friend, not anymore," he corrected with a scowl on his face.
Bella made a sound of horror at his words. Everyone ignored her, too amused by Jacob's petulance.
Hermione walked over to him and he automatically unfolded his arms and pulled her in to him when she was close enough. She stood on her tiptoes and he hunched over slightly.
"I know this is something that you don't want to do, but we all have to do things in life that are unfair and unwanted, but they are necessary. This is necessary for her survival, whether we like her as a person or not, she is still human and she needs protecting," she told him softly. "The pack seem to think you're the only one that is capable of this task, and so you take it with a pinch of salt and you do it. If you hurry, you'll back be back in a couple of hours. I'm heading home to make dinner and I'll return later with the food and supplies."
"I still don't like it," he muttered.
"Neither do I, but we must do everything we can in order to succeed in the battle that is to take place. We can learn everything we can and we can prepare, but that doesn't mean we're going to succeed. We need to be careful and we need to take every precaution we can. There are going to be injuries, of that I'm sure, but Bella won't survive if they find her. We get through this weekend and then I'll wipe her memories and she'll never bother you or us again. Okay?"
"Okay," he sighed.
"Thank you," she said softly, pressing a kiss to his cheek and she could practically feel the daggers Bella was throwing at her.
"Do you want me to go now?"
"Please, my fathers have purchased a Muggle tent, we're going to apparate to the chosen site and set it up, along with a few alert wards in case we get any surprise visitors. I'm then going home to make dinner whilst everyone stays here and continues to train. I'll return with the food and once we've eaten, I'll knock Bella out long enough to transport her to the tent, without her seeing my magic." He nodded, she stood up and kissed him on the cheek before pulling back from him.
"Let's go," he muttered, gesturing for Bella to follow him as he turned and headed towards the trees.
Bella sent Hermione a smug look and she looked bored in response.
"Jake, they said you have to carry me," Bella said.
Jacob stopped in his walking and turned around, his eyes locking on Hermione's and she nodded softly.
"Your scent will confuse them, but it shouldn't mask hers too much so they can't track it and let's be honest, she can't walk that far," Hermione confirmed. He growled in annoyance, before storming over to Bella, sweeping her up into his arms and then walking off, leaving the chuckles in the background.