"Char - Dad?" Bella called for her father as they entered the house. "Your favorite niece is here!"
Charlie came out of the living room where the TV was on showing a baseball game; it was the Washington Nationals versus the Philadelphia Phillies.
"Who is it?" Charlie asked Bella who stood at the entrance of the house with her company.
"Surely you remember the name of your favorite niece, Uncle Charlie." Hermione joked, smiling at him.
"Hermione?" Charlie was surprised to see her and he hugged his niece. "Feels like I haven't seen you in forever, kid. You look beautiful and a lot like your mother. How is she, by the way? I should call her."
"Mum is fine and so is Dad. It'll be nice of you to call. She'll appreciate it."
"Okay," He nodded in agreement and looked at the pet that's in her arms. "You brought your cat, I see. What's his name again? Something with Hank in it, right?"
"It's Crookshanks, Uncle Charlie," Hermione giggled. "You remember him, don't you?"
"I remember when he ate my fish that I got one time," Charlie grumbled at the memory, his eyes narrowed down at the cat then he looked up at his niece. "Well, I bet you're already done with your fancy Scottish boarding school. Is this your boyfriend?" Charlie asked protectively, seizing Harry up. "I don't need to get my shotgun loaded, do I?"
Harry got a little nervous and scared. He couldn't believe Hermione and Bella laughed so easily at that.
"No, Uncle Charlie. His name is Harry Potter and he's not my boyfriend, he's my best friend and a plus one for the wedding." Hermione cleared up.
"Oh, good," Charlie replied with approval. His hand was out for the boy to shake. "Nice to meet you, Harry."
"Nice to meet you, too, sir." Harry pleasantly shook Hermione's uncle's hand.
"We both went to the same boarding school together. That's how we became friends." Hermione answered, giving her uncle a short version in a Muggle way that he'll understand.
"I see," Charlie understood. "Would either of you like anything to drink? You must've had a long flight to get here so I'm sure the two of you would like to relax."
"That would be lovely. Water is nice." Hermione smiled.
"Same," Harry agreed.
"I can get you two water and, Dad, do you want anything?" Bella asked her father.
"Just beer for me, Bells."
"I can make dinner for everyone," She offered. "It is late in the evening."
"That sounds great, Bells." Charlie approved.
"You guys can go ahead and eat," Edward said as Bella went to the kitchen to get drinks. "I'll go back home for a while."
"You're not much of an eater, are you, Edward?" Charlie asked him.
"No, I am not. My mother is making dinner and it's always an abundance of food to feed an army." Edward lied so smoothly that Hermione and Harry were impressed and even believed him.
"Alright. I'll guess I see you again on your big day?" He assumed.
"Yes, sir. Bye, Bella," Edward gave his fiancé a chaste kiss on her lips when she returned with the drinks to give to the three. He looked at his fiancé's cousin and best friend. "It was a pleasure to meet you, Hermione and Harry."
"The pleasure is all mine." Hermione cordially replied.
"Likewise." Harry agreed with a respectful nod.
Edward left and Bella went to the kitchen to make dinner. She knew her fiancé would hunt at this time. Charlie let Hermione and Harry go to the living room where they could talk to each other before Bella was finished with making dinner.
Hermione and Charlie talked to each other to catch up while Crookshanks laid comfortably onto her lap as she petted him. They fondly shared some memories of Hermione's childhood when she visited him and Bella to Harry. The times when Bella and Hermione went fishing with Charlie and sometimes with the Clearwaters who she barely remembered Leah and Seth. They told Harry stories about what Hermione and Bella did together as little girls and he liked hearing about a different side of Hermione that he never knew.
"Dinner is ready, everybody!" Bella announced so the three of them gathered to the kitchen and sat at the table. Hermione let Crookshanks onto the floor so he could freely explore the house.
"It's spaghetti with garlic bread and salad," Bella said with a shrug. "Something quick and easy."
"Harry is quite the chef, too, Bella," Hermione told her as she served herself a plate, and then so did everyone else.
"Oh, really?" That had surprised and impressed her. "Most of the guys I know don't know how to cook. Who taught you?"
"I was self taught," Harry gave a safe answer and didn't want to mention how he was pretty much a slave to the Dursleys. "I made food for my aunt and uncle who raised me and my cousin."
"You live with your aunt and uncle, Harry?" Charlie asked and ate a forkful of spaghetti.
"Yeah, but not anymore now that I'm old enough to live on my own." Harry answered and he was very happy to not have Aunt Petunia or Uncle Vernon in his life anymore.
"Do you visit them?"
"No, er, we didn't have a...good relationship." Harry didn't know how else to describe it so he just went with that.
"What about your parents?"
"They died when I was baby." It was still hard for Harry to say and he didn't want to use the Muggle version that they died in a car crash for Hermione's uncle's sake. That would leave his parents' deaths and sacrifices in vain.
"Oh, I'm so sorry-" Charlie consoled, but Harry waved it off.
"It's okay."
"So, Dad, did you tell Harry about the time when Hermione and I were eight and got lost at a bookstore?" Bella changed the sore subject for Harry's sake.
"No, and I don't think you two were lost. I think neither of you wanted to come out of there. I found both of you reading. You were reading some romantic novel and, Hermione, you were reading...what was it again? Ah, War and Peace. That's it."
"That's rather advanced for an eight-year-old, Mione," Harry smirked.
"I was intrigued by how thick it was and really wanted to read it," Hermione replied. "I bought the book and finished reading it. It's now on my bookshelf at home."
The four of them were having a pleasant conversation with each other while they ate. Harry helped Bella wash and dry dishes while Hermione bonded with Charlie more.
Around nine, Harry thought it would be best for them to return to the hotel. Charlie offered to drive them back, but Bella did instead. Hermione, Harry, and Bella said their goodbyes to Charlie and left with her.
"Do you still have your truck?" Hermione asked as they left the house. Crookshanks was in her arms again.
"No, I got a Mercedes Guardian that Edward loaned," Bella answered and used her keys to unlock the car doors for them.
The stunning black vehicle was sleek and shiny. Hermione and Harry were very impressed.
"That's an improvement from your truck. It was so slow that I always thought a turtle passed us." Hermione laughed as they got into the car. She sat in the passenger's seat to be next to Bella. Harry sat in the back.
"But we had great times in that truck, didn't we?" Bella made her remember as she roared the engine to life and backed out of the driveway to go to the hotel.
"Yeah, we did."
Later, they arrived at the hotel. Bella bid them goodnight and went to Edward's. Hermione and Harry got changed separately in a bathroom and got ready for the night so they could go to sleep.
"Your family seems nice," Harry commented. "At least you get along better with your uncle and cousin than I do with mine."
"Doesn't Dudley give you cards for the holidays? I thought Ginny mentioned that once." Hermione recalled.
"Yeah, we do give each other cards on holidays, but that's about it. What about your aunt? Where is she?"
"Aunt Renee is living with her husband, Phil, in Florida. You'll see them at the wedding. Maybe you'll even see Jacob Black." Her eyes beamed at the memory of him.
"Jacob Black?" He repeated the name curiously. Hermione knew what he thought.
"I don't believe he has any relation to Sirius Black, Harry. Black is a common Muggle surname. But you'll like him. He's really fun and so is his friends, Quil and Embry. They almost remind me of Fred and George."
"I'm definitely looking forward to meeting them then."
The next day, Edward drove Bella, Hermione, and Harry to his place. Crookshanks stayed in the hotel and Hermione put charms on the cat to have him stay in the hotel room and not roam around. Hermione didn't want him to get lost. When they arrived deep into the woods, the sight of the opulent Cullen house astounded Hermione and Harry. It was a beautiful sleek glass house.
They approached the front door and Edward was the first to it for his guests and fiancé.
"Hello, Edward and Bella," Greeted Edward's extraordinarily beautiful mother, Esme. She stood next to her blonde husband's side who was Dr. Carlisle Cullen. "This must be your cousin you were talking about, Bella?" Esme warmly stared at Hermione and she reminded Hermione of Molly Weasley with her motherly presence.
"Yes, it is, Esme. This is my cousin, Hermione Granger, and her friend, Harry Potter." Bella introduced.
"Hello." Hermione and Harry friendly greeted together to Edward's parents.
"It's very nice to meet the both of you. Bella told us all about you, Hermione."
"Something good, I hope." Bella's cousin playfully smirked at her and Bella wrapped her arm around the witch's shoulders. Hermione wrapped her own arm around her cousin's shoulders.
"There's nothing bad about you, Hermy." Bella smiled in assurance.
"Then I have a few stories to share for all of you." Harry teased, remembering the times whenever the studious Hermione Granger broke the rules just as much as he and Ron had in their Hogwarts days.
"Don't you dare, Harry!" Hermione scolded with a laugh.
"I have to listen to these stories," Bella was amused. "Here I thought Hermione was always a perfect bookworm."
"I filled them in that you two are a witch and wizard, by the way," Edward pointed out. "So, it's safe to tell my family anything."
"You can trust us." Carlisle guaranteed.
Edward's gorgeous siblings entered the living room. He had introduced his siblings to Hermione and Harry and Bella introduced her cousin and best friend to the rest of Edward's family. All of them got to know each other and started to bond.
Bella loved the gathering that Hermione was able to meet the other half of her family she was going to marry into.
"Neither of you look like you are related." Harry noticed, seeing the differences between the siblings.
Emmett was obviously the strongest one judging by his muscular build, Jasper had honey blonde hair and a southern accent, Alice was the shortest one with the pixie-like haircut, and Rosalie had long, wavy blonde hair and was even more beautiful than any Veela that Harry had met. He assumed their vampirism had something to do to enhance their abnormal beauty.
"We're related through adoption," Edward clarified. "It's just all semantics to pass as a normal, human family."
"You see, Jasper and Rosalie pretend to be related for the appearance and they share the same last name because they look the most alike," Alice explained.
"Blondies," Emmett smirked at the two.
"Edward, Emmett, and I have the same Cullen last name because we look alike. It's simple."
"How do you say your name again?" Emmett asked Bella's cousin, half-serious, half-joking. "Her-may-oh-nee?"
"Or is it Her-menny?" Jasper guessed in amusement.
The others were amused and laughed at their mispronunciation except for a Hermione. Just a little.
"It's Hermione," The witch slowly pronounced her name. "Her-my-oh-nee."
"Harmony, I got it!" Emmett realized as if a lightbulb went off above his head.
"Don't listen to him," Rosalie rolled her beautiful topaz eyes. The same color as her family. "He's saying it wrong on purpose."
"But I like it, so it'll stick. It's a lot easier to say."
"I like Harmony better, too." Jasper agreed thoughtfully, smirking.
"Oh, Merlin..." Hermione groaned that they'll tease her with it. Even Harry was trying not to laugh at how Emmett and Jasper were going to call her Harmony.
"If it's any consolation, I really like your name, Hermione," Rosalie complimented and pronounced her name correctly. "It's very unique. I never heard anything like it."
"Thank you, Rosalie." Hermione appreciated.
"So, Harry, how did you get that awesome scar that's like a lightning bolt?" Emmett eagerly asked him. "Did you get it with your cool sorcery? Do you witches and wizards worship Satan, too?"
"Emmett!" Bella scolded.
"No, Emmett, our magic is not for that!" Hermione said.
"Only an evil wizard from our world cursed the scar on me when I was a baby," Harry summarized. "But he's been gone for a few years now because I defeated him."
"Woah, seriously? You did defeat an evil wizard? Do you guys have a wand or something?"
"We do as a matter of fact," Hermione answered. She and Harry showed off their wands to the Cullens and Bella.
Emmett and Jasper's eyes beamed that they have a magical wand.
"Do magic." They excitedly said simultaneously like little kids. In a way, they reminded Hermione and Harry of Fred and George.
Hermione and Harry exchanged unsure glances at each other.
"I don't know if that's such a good idea..." Harry said uncertainly, his eyes flickered over to the adult vampires in the room.
"Oh, come on Harry and Harmony." Emmett pouted and Hermione gave him a look for mispronouncing her name.
"I would like to see some magic," Carlisle said being intrigued.
"As long as it's not too destructive to the house," Esme added for safety.
"Are you two at the legal age to do magic yet?" Bella asked because she didn't want them to get into trouble with the authorities.
"Yes, at seventeen, that's the legal adult age to perform magic outside of school," Hermione answered.
"What happens if you perform magic underage?" Carlisle wondered.
"Well, from my firsthand experience, you'll go to the Ministry of Magic's courtroom for your hearing," Harry explained. It was an unpleasant time of his life to go to court. Back to a time where there was hardly anyone who believed him that Voldemort was back.
"Why on earth were you in court?" Esme asked.
"I was fifteen and there were two dementors that came after me and my cousin while we were going home. Basically, dementors are dark soul-sucking creatures," Harry had briefly described them. "I used magic to defend myself, but the court saw it as using underage magic so they got me expelled. However, my Headmaster at the time prevented me from getting expelled and managed to retract it. Eventually, I found out there was someone who ordered the dementors to attack me."
"Why would someone want to attack you?" Alice asked.
"I didn't give them the full detail of your life," Edward mentioned to Harry. "I wasn't sure how much you wanted to reveal."
"I can let them know, but it'll take a while."
"How about we can discuss yours and Hermione's lives over lunch?" Esme brightly suggested because she had an excuse to cook for three humans under her household.
"I'm assuming neither of you will be eating anything?" Hermione asked the vampire family.
"No, we won't, but we made sure to hunt before the three of you arrived," Alice answered.
"Jasper is trying to hold himself back from having you three as dessert," Emmett smirked at his brother.
"Shut up, Emmett!" Jasper shot back at him.
"Don't start, boys, we have company." Esme chided them as she went to the kitchen.
"Do you need any help with the food, Esme?" Hermione offered.
"That's very sweet of you, Hermione. You and Bella can help me prepare some things," Esme looked at her two adopted daughters. "Would either of you like to help?"
"Sounds like you got all the help you need," Rosalie quipped. "I'll be with the guys."
"Me, too. Have to keep a watch on Jasper." Alice followed Rosalie where the others were lounging on the furniture.
Esme, Hermione, and Bella got along well together while they were preparing and making food in the kitchen. Harry was with the other vampires of the family. He wasn't scared or had anxiety at all about them; they really did look like humans so that could be why he was able to be in their presence.
"Do any of you have powers?" Harry wondered.
"You know I can read minds." Edward reminded.
"I can see the future, but I couldn't see yours and Hermione's," Alice frowned being disappointed. "I don't know why that is because you two are humans and I can usually have the foresight of seeing a human's future because I was one myself," Then she added thoughtfully. "Maybe it's because you and Hermione are magical being a witch and wizard because I know I wasn't a witch. I also know I can't see any werewolves' futures for that reason."
"That sounds plausible, Alice," Carlisle mused on her theory. "May just be the case."
"Mine is the best one," Emmett bragged making his wife, Rosalie, roll her eyes. "I have super strength like the Hulk."
"I can change a person's emotions," Jasper said.
"Really, you can? How?" Harry wondered.
Jasper sensed Harry's doubt and confusion. He put him at ease when he sent over a wave of peace and calm. Harry had easily felt that as if it was his own.
"Oh, woah..." Harry let the new emotions possess him.
"I have your average vampire abilities," Rosalie said about herself.
"Yeah, like to make yourself look like a runway model from Victoria's Secret," Emmett smoothly complimented her and she rolled her eyes. "That's a cool vampire power."
"But I can be handy with the mechanics so if you ever have car trouble, I'm your girl."
"Harry and Harmony are a wizard and wizard, Rose. They don't use cars, I'm sure they ride on their broomsticks."
"Emmett." Edward gently chided because of his brother using a stereotype.
"It's true, actually," Harry said, surprising Edward. "But we don't just use a broomstick for transportation. We have a sport of our own called Quidditch and use them to fly in the games. There are other ways for transportation, too. Enchanted cars are one of them and they can fly."
"Flying cars?" Jasper sounded impressed. "That's sci-fi and futuristic stuff over here. Hasn't even been invented yet."
"Anyway, why don't you show us some magic?" Emmett excitedly asked like a little kid.
"Erm...alright," Harry said and took his wand out of his jeans pocket. He decided to use an easy and simple spell for his audience. His wand pointed at the bookshelf so he could retrieve one of them. "Wingardium Laviosa."
He levitated one of Carlisle's medical books out of the shelves and it had floated into the air right into Harry's other wand free hand.
The vampires watched in amazement.
"Wow. Cool magic show." Emmett commented being impressed.
"Outstanding." Carlisle praised and everyone else agreed.
After a while Harry showed off some more magic, Jasper had offered him. "Would you like anything to drink, Harry?"
"Water is fine." The wizard answered and Jasper went to the kitchen.
Meanwhile, Hermione was getting along with Esme and Bella.
"So, Hermione, are you seeing anyone?" Esme asked. "Is Harry your boyfriend?"
"No, he's not. We're just friends. And I'm not seeing anyone right now." Hermione answered.
"Would you like to? You might even find a handsome American man." Esme playfully tempted.
Her comment made Hermione feel nonplussed.
"To be honest, I always thought you might get together with Jake someday," Bella said to her cousin. "You two always bickered at each other. But you two live in different countries so the long distance might get tricky to work with-"
"Jake and I would never get together, Bella," Hermione interrupted her at the preposterous thought about herself and Jacob Black. "He always made fun of me and I think of him like a little brother."
"Little?" Esme said.
"I'm three years older than him." Hermione bragged.
While Hermione was chopping vegetables, the zucchini slipped a little from her hand and she accidentally cut herself with the knife.
"Ouch!" She cried out in pain at her mistake. Blood oozed out from her finger.
There was one vampire in the Cullen household who enjoyed inhaling the delicious metallic scent and wanted nothing more than to get a taste.
Author's Note: What do you guys think about Alice being unable to use her gifts to Harry and Hermione? It was something I thought about and wondered if it was possible. So, I just decided for Alice to not see Harry and Hermione's futures because even though they're still human, it's not like they're "normal" humans, they're still a witch and a wizard so they're kind of different. Do you guys like it, hate it, or had something else different in mind? Let me know in a review because I would love to hear your guys thoughts about it. Stay tuned for the next chapter because I think you'll really like it. I'm still leading up to the main event which is the wedding so just try to be more patient for when that time comes. :)