HERMIONE
There's a loud pop, and suddenly, I'm on the ground.
Walking on air is significantly harder when you're expecting vampires.
Draco laughs halfheartedly. The idiot- he whirled gracefully and landed on both feet, silent as a cat. Despite his smug elegance, though, his fear is palpable.
Luna appears next to me, offering a hand. I breathe and let her pull me off the ground. She hastily dusts me off, and then both of us look forward, at the nearly invisible figures just yards away,
Dishevelled, unclean, with tattered and ripped clothing- we must be quite the spectacle. Yet no one seems to have any reaction to our sudden appearance.
"Lumos," I whisper.
When the tip of my wand lights up, I think I hear a faint gasp- but it's so quiet, I might have imagined it.
Even as my eyes adjust to the wand light, I realise I can't see any of them but one- the leader, I assume. The others are just shadows in the trees, dangerous.
Draco steps over to me and puts a hand on my shoulder. "Now or never, right?"
I nod as enthusiastically as I can.
He then looks towards the figures and says, in some annunciated voice that I don't recognize as his own, "Hello. Thank you for agreeing to meet us."
The leader nods at him. "It's our pleasure," he says pleasantly. "I'm Carlisle Cullen, and this is my family."
Draco steps forward and says, "I'm Draco, this is Luna and-"
"I'd prefer not to say," I interrupt his hasty introductions.
Carlisle's brow furrows. "May I ask you why?"
Despite the hostility, the unfamiliarity of the circumstances- a peaceful haze seems to waft over me. Though my hand is ready to reach for my wand at any moment, I can feel my tension slowly start to fade away. "Names can be dangerous, Mr. Cullen."
"But taboos aren't known to work this far," Draco counters. "Don't mind her- I'm Draco, Draco Malfoy."
Carlisle glances at another figure, one still not close enough to be seen by the light of my wand. It's fleeting, but I notice.
"Who are you with?" I say, and though I want to sound confident and frightening, my tone is almost...casual. As much as I try, I can no longer find an ounce of fear or hostility in me.
He nods his head towards us, and then three other people emerge from the darkness. The first one I notice is even more beautiful than Carlisle- a female with smooth, pale skin and perfect blonde hair, and a fantastic beauty unmatched even by her companions. She doesn't seem like a fighter, at first glance, but perhaps it's the way she holds herself, like she fears nothing, that makes my blood run cold.
Two males stand next to them, though none of them look any older than me. One of them, tall and bronze haired, studies us carefully.
The other, I can barely look at without shuddering- he has such a fearsome aura- though I can't pinpoint exactly what it is about him that makes my skin crawl. He's no taller than the other male, and though his beauty is indeed supernatural, doesn't stand a chance against the female's. But still, I feel the hairs on my neck stand up any time I dare to look at him.
"I am Edward Cullen," says the bronze male smoothly. "Pleased to meet you."
I nod at him robotically, still shaken.
"Rosalie Hale," the female says.
"Jasper Hale." The terrifying male nods at us.
I see Draco flinch, and Luna looks away. But, against all of my instincts, I stare straight at him, right into his golden eyes. He quirks an eyebrow at that, but his otherwise stoic face remains.
"There are more," Luna says in her odd, musical voice. "Aren't there?"
Edward tenses immediately, and my hand tightens on my wand. I hear a faint, rushed whisper, and he reluctantly nods his head, though his eyes remain trained on Luna.
"Yes, there are," Carlisle says calmly, ignoring Edward's sudden outburst. "We didn't want to intimidate you at first, but we have quite a large group."
My heart skips a beat at the thought.
"How many?" Luna asks serenely. "I'd love to meet them."
"Three vampires, one human, and-"
"After," Jasper interrupts. Unlike Carlisle's, his voice comes out in a low growl, something which just scares me further. "Let them talk first."
I glance at Draco.
"Can we have an unbreakable vow that what we say will not be repeated?" he asks.
"I… I'm not sure I know what that is," Carlisle admits, "but you do have our word."
"That's not enough." I shake my head. "What we're going to tell you is sensitive information, Mr Cullen. In the wrong hands, it could cause a lot of trouble."
"Then spell the air or whatever," Jasper says in an exasperated tone, his voice startling me.
"How do you- never mind." It doesn't particularly matter if he's seen spells before- or if all of them have. "Yes, I'll spell the air."
Salvio Hexia… Muggletum Repello… Protego Totalum… It's almost instinctual now.
The vampires watch in wonder, and I can't help but feel smug.
When we're finally warded, I take a breath and begin the story.
JASPER
"The wizarding world," begins the girl, "is in danger.
"For the past few years, we've been at war- with the most feared Dark Lord in centuries." Her eyes turn away from us, and a wave of sadness permeates the air. Then, it somehow vanishes, and she continues. "We don't say his name, even here. If you decide to help us, then I'll show it to you in writing."
Carlisle looks at Edward, who nods. "Continue."
"He's obsessed with purifying the bloodlines." Her hand clenches into a fist. "He believes only pure-blooded wizards- that is, wizards who don't have an ounce of non-magical blood in them- are worthy of learning magic. The others, he says, are worthless. Some twenty years ago," she continues, "we thought we'd met our salvation." Her face twists into a bitter smile. "It's a bitter truth, though, that stuff like that happens only in fairytales. Harry stopped V- the dark lord, sure, but only temporarily. In the final battle, he was killed- and we could've had the Dark Lord that day, we could've killed him, but no. A prophecy said 'one would kill the other' or some shit, and we believed it, and the stupid thing fulfilled itself."
I read her emotions, and her words, carefully. There's so much one can learn by hearing what others don't say.
"So our salvation was killed. And, since then, we've been scrimmaging." She looks up, her mouth set in a defiant line. "We haven't lost yet, but we will, and soon. We really do need your help."
I glance at Edward. He nods slightly.
"All right," I say, crossing my arms. "The thing is, even if we trust you- which I'm not saying we do- what's in it for us? Why should we risk our lives, and at the very least, our hard-earned peace, to help a losing cause win a war an ocean across?"
She looks at me, and for an instant, there's something akin to respect on her face. Then it's gone, and the mask is back- unfeeling and safe. But before she can answer, Edward projects panic so potent that I'm sure everyone can feel it, empath or not.
"Keep a fucking lid on it," I manage to get out. "Edward, I-"
"The Volturi," he says, some semblance of calm returned to his voice. "They know about all of this, they...they're working with this guy."
At that, the emotions in the clearing intensify tenfold- fear and panic and worry and shock, so much that I have to clench my fists together to keep from releasing my own fear. Alice finds my eyes, and the look on her face nearly breaks me right then and there.
"You have experience with them?" Draco asks, providing a very convenient distraction from the emotions trying to overwhelm me.
"You could say that," Carlisle says, his usual solemnity suddenly threatened. "We fought them in a violent battle just a year ago."
The brunette raises her eyebrows, probably oblivious to the emotions all around her. "Aren't they supposed to be unbeatable? Isn't that the whole point of their royalty status?"
"They get their status from fear and manipulation," I tell her, trying to collect my thoughts through the atmospheric haze. "We're their biggest threat, mostly because of the size of our coven. And Alice and Edward, of course."
"And the fact that we destroyed two of their most powerful members." Rose glances at me, her emotions controlled carefully. "If they're not lying, then the best course of action would be to ally with them." She looks at the girl- I'm getting really tired of calling her that, I realize- and nods. "I can't speak for the rest of the family, but I can assure you that you have my help."
She sends me a jab of impatience.
"I guess so," I say, still doubtful. The last battle's memories are still fresh in my mind. "Yeah, it is seeming like our only hope now… if you are telling the truth. I don't detect any deception, but there must be magical ways of obscuring-"
"Can you stop for a second, please?" Malfoy says, clutching his wand. "HOw the fuck do you know… everything? How are you sure? How-"
"We don't come without gifts, either," Edward tells him hesitantly. "I read minds. Jasper controls emotions. Alice can see the future."
The brunette glances at Malfoy, then at the other girl- Luna- whom I'd almost forgotten existed. "Well," she says, in a voice of forced calm, "apparently vampires aren't as transparent as we thought, either. Who's Alice?"
"What's your name?" I counter.
She frowns, but, after some consideration, answers, "Hermione."
"I'm Alice," Alice flits forward, and suddenly she stands right next to me. Her previous horror seems to be dampened by the excitement of new company. "Lovely to meet you."
Though both Draco and Hermione eye her with apprehension, Luna smiles, and I feel a surprisingly unfamiliar aura of happiness. Through all of the chaos, I'd barely noticed her numbed emotions- she's consciously shutting herself down, blocking whatever feelings she has from surfacing.
I know the feeling.
Esme and Emmett come out of the shadows as well, both of them smiling.
"Hello, my name is Esme. I'm Carlisle's wife," Esme says brightly, hiding her worry well.
Emmett reaches his hand out, much to the surprise of vampires and wizards alike. "I'm Emmett." When his handshake isn't returned, he awkwardly returns his arm to his side. "Sorry, is that not a wizard thing?"
Hermione glances sideways at me. "Did you purposefully keep the friendly ones hidden before?"
I shake my head, holding in suppressed laughter.
"So," Draco says, sounding weirdly bewildered, "Anything else you're hiding?"
"Yeah, about that…" Emmett laughs. "Should we bring out the wolves?"
"Wolves?"
Carlisle sighs. "Well, I suppose it's no use keeping them hidden much longer." He turns to the darkness surrounding us and calls out, "May the pack please come forward? No violence will be necessary."
The wolves slowly emerge into the light, some disappointed, others relieved at the lack of confrontation. Draco curses under his breath, Hermione gasps and puts a hand over her mouth, but Luna just seems awed by the sight.
"I promise you that they will not hurt you," Carlisle assures, but Draco just scoffs, and Hermione's horrified expression doesn't change. "Can one of you please phase, to make them more comfortable?" he asks the pack.
I see the biggest one- Sam, I think- reluctantly return to the darkness, and an especially giddy member follows him. That kind of enthusiasm can only come from one wolf.
It's barely a minute before they return- Seth looking excited, and Sam determined.
"Shifters," breathes Luna. "I've always wanted to see one in real life."
"Oh, animagi," Draco says. "We have them in the wizarding world as well."
Seth raises an eyebrow. "What?"
"They have their own shapeshifters," Edward explains. "But the Quileute pack isn't quite like that."
"We're werewolves," Seth says with pride, but his smile fades when he meets Sam's stoic gaze.
"I am Sam, the pack leader. The people of the Quileute tribe have been phasing from human to wolf for centuries," he nods solemnly. "We have decided to ally with the Cullen family for this particular conflict, though we must reconsider now that the terms have changed."
I know it seconds before it happens. One of the phased wolves projects such an aura of shock that it almost gets me, too, and then he howls- and it's not just him.
Next to me, Alice's emotions go blank. For a moment, I'm afraid it's whatever it was that made her blank out last time, but then I realize she's just seeing a vision- one she doesn't enjoy. Her eyes snap open again and there's hatred in them, pure, unadulterated hatred matched by the sudden overwhelming emotions she projects.
With a growl, she charges at the wizards.
DRACO
Whatever expectations I had tonight, a tiny dead pixie coming to kill me at full speed wasn't one them.
WIth a yell of alarm- not a scream, never a scream- I wave my wand and apparate to the end of the clearing, the vampire end. And in my haste, I leave half a finger.
Bleeding, in a group of vampires. Hermione would be disappointed.
I back away slowly, my finger- or the lack thereof- killing me. I've had worse, though… just not surrounded by vampires.
Then Edward turns towards me, slowly, murderously. Ready to attack.
"What did I do?" I blurt. Best to play dumb when surrounded by enemies. "I'm sorry, I didn't, I-"
"Edward, what the fuck?" says the scary one- Jasper. "Alice, what-"
"It's a trap," he snarls. "It's a fake, everything- they attacked Bella!"
For a moment, there's silence. Shock, fear, insanity- denial- and I'm sure of my oncoming death.
"This is bullshit," Hermione mutters, poised for a strategic retreat. "Utter bullshit. Who's this Bella anyway?"
Edward exchanges a glance with Jasper, who nods. Emmett cracks his knuckles.
"What in the name of-"
"Then go!" Alice yells. "Emmett and I stay- Seth and Embry and Paul- go, Edward!"
Too fast for my eyes to follow, the clearing empties. Two of the wolves- guys- turn back into wolves, but I'm not sure. It happens too fast for me to see. I sag down to the ground in relief.
"Can someone please tell us-"
"Drop your wands." Alice slips into a crouch, positioned to attack both Luna and I easily. "Now!"
I don't. You never leave a weapon in war.
Then a wolf knocks me to the ground, and my wand slips out of my hand. I look up.
And see both Hermione and Luna standing, wandless, with a wolf behind them each.
We're fucked.
BELLA
My eyes open blearily to see two vampires staring at me, eerily still.
"Hello," says one of them, her red eyes bright. "Isabella, is it?"
"Bella," I correct automatically. Then I sit up, rubbing my eyes. "Who-?"
"I'm Charlotte," she says. "This is Peter."
Piecing together my clouded thoughts, I remember who they are- and why they're here. "Edward," I whisper.
"He's safe, for now," Peter answers with a strangely sinister grin on his face. "We haven't gotten the signal yet."
Both of them possess the same supernatural beauty as any vampire, though their perfection is still striking. Maybe it's just the crimson eyes… or maybe it's the scars etched into his skin that makes me wary of Peter.
"Signal?" I ask.
He rolls his eyes. "They didn't tell you anything, did they?"
Charlotte elbows him in the waist. "DOn't torture her, Peter." She turns towards me, smiling. "Don't mind him."
I smile awkwardly and run my fingers through my hair, suddenly self conscious in front of them. "Where's Leah? Edward said that she'd be stuck with me too."
"Oh, the wolf. She's awfully bitter, isn't she? I can't imagine why Edward would want her to watch over you."
"Thanks," Leah's voice says from the hallway. "But I don't find either of you all that pleasant either."
"She left because of the smell," Peter explains.
A chilling breeze suddenly sends shivers down my spine, though the large window to my right isn't open. I look back at Peter and Charlotte, who've already shifted into crouches.
"God, it's cold. You guys need to close this window," Leah complains and briskly walks into the room, covering her nose.
I want to warn her it's already closed, but before I can, a hooded figure shatters the glass with a loud crash and jumps into the room.
Another day, I would've noticed the hideous mask. The black robes. The menace radiating off of it.
Today, fearful of witches, all I see is the wand- clutched tight in its left hand.
I scream.
HERMIONE
"That's better," Alice says, satisfied. She stands up and picks up our wands, tossing them to Emmett. "Now, why did you attack Bella?"
Draco stands up, too. The wolf behind him growls, but lets him. "We didn't," he says.
I glance at him, almost desperate. We're outnumbered, and surrounded by creatures twice our strength, and without our magic to help. Are we really going to die like this?
Emmett leans against his tree. "Not that I'm not enjoying this, but can you please think of us poor un-psychic guys and fill us in, Alice?"
For a moment, I almost believe he's on our side- us guys?- but then my captor howls in agreement, and I realize he just means the wolves.
Alice glances at me with hatred. "They attacked Bella," she growls. It's almost funny how much scarier she seems than her bigger, more dangerous counterpart. "Well, their friends did. It was all a distraction… but we're winning now, I think- aren't we, Seth?"
Luna's captor nods his fluffy head.
"Don't even think about teleporting, or whatever it is you do," Alice says, to me in particular.
I look at her as stoically as possible, though it's quite hard with an enormous dog looming behind you. I want to scream that I've done nothing wrong, but no one would listen. I want to yell that we've got no friends left to attack them. I want to do nothing more than to get far, far away from here, but my wand is seconds away from being crushed by a vampire, and I don't think I can muster enough energy to apparate by myself anyways.
"Wait- you can see this friend of ours, right?" Draco asks from a few feet away, captured by a different wolf, sounding almost desperate.
Alice scowls. "Yes, I can. Why?"
"What do they look like?"
She looks at Emmett, who shrugs. "Ominous figures, cloaked in black. They're...faceless." Her eyes look off into the distance, though her brows crease in worry and fear as she sees an image of what can only be described as the stuff of nightmares.
Death eaters.
EDWARD
The group of hooded figures surrounding the hotel window come into view, and I swear under my breath.
Peter is perched on the wall, clearly defensive- and he's doing a great job, even outnumbered ten to one. He dodges the blasts of light almost easily, and there are six broken bodies lying on the ground- wizard bodies.
"Where the fuck is Charlotte?" I hear Jasper hiss, but I don't listen- I silently scale the wall and jump, landing perfectly on the windowsill.
"Oh, good," Peter says, ducking some spell. "Your girlfriend's somewhere in there."
I nod, but instead of immediately tending to Bella, I lurch out at the figure closest to me. It turns to me, surprised, right before I use all of my strength to rip it's head off.
"Anger management?" asks Peter almost casually, despite hanging off some room's balcony. He thinks it's going to be easy, with all of us here. I hope he's right.
"Exactly," I say. I look down, waiting for the others.
I pause, for a second- Jasper's leaving, I notice. Whizzing out towards the side and into the hotel, Rose at his heels.
"Watch out!" Peter yells. I duck, a spell missing me by centimeters- and it clears the long, broken window, and there's a scream somewhere inside. My head snaps up in alarm as the smell of blood hits my nose; it's not the burning, acrid smell of a wolf's blood.
"Bella," I whisper, vaulting backwards into the room.
My brain barely registers the fire licking at my throat- or the intense crackling coming out of the room- when I see Bella's broken body on the floor. Blood steadily drips from the cuts covering her, and a puddle around her gradually expands as I watch.
I scream, too, hysterical.
"No, no, no." I kneel down beside her. "No, Bella, no. You're okay. You'll be okay, oh, god, please be okay."
Her eyes are darting back and forth, unfocused and confused. After a moment, though, they find mine. Tears spill over as soon as she sees me.
"No, fuck, don't cry. You're going to be fine-" I'm breathing, hard and fast, and if they could, tears would be running down my face again. "Don't- it's going to be fine."
Bella nods weakly.
"Edward!" Rosalie's voice is panicked, fearful- she's inside the hotel, I realize. There's unbearable heat- oh, fuck, no. "Edward, get her out of there!"
Fire. Fucking fire. It's almost at us now, almost at the door. Bella groans as I pick her up and blood seeps into my clothes.
I look down. It's a fifty foot drop- not that it'd have any affect on me. But still, I clutch Bella closer to me and take a deep, shaky breath.
"It'll be okay," I mutter, not sure who I'm reassuring. "I think."
