This is just a short, mismatched chapter to bring me back. I've read all of your lovely comments, and chose to take a break from the website. I'm feeling so much better and I'm ready to return to this website and its lovely people. I'll be replying to your comments once this is posted. Thank you all so much for sticking by me.
"She's going to be so mad," Fred pointed out, smiling thankfully at the Ministry worker who had just finished with their portkey, before turning to face his twin. "She's going to hex us so bad."
"We live for adventure," George replied, though even he looked slightly worried at the possible outcome of their imminent arrival. "Although, I don't know if we live for the amount of adventure that comes with Hermione."
"Of course we do," Fred scoffed. "Vampires and shifters? Sounds dangerous."
"We'll love it!" George grinned.
"After we've received the hexing of a lifetime," Fred added with a slight gulp. George would deny it, but even he had sweat beading on his forehead from the idea of Hermione hexing them.
"So, the Twins," Jacob started, sitting next to her in the garden, their eyes firmly on the Cullen's home. "What are they like?"
"Like Quil but worse," she answered. "Quil loves jokes but these two own a joke shop. They win."
"Two wizards who specialise in pranks are coming here? How will that help us?"
"Honestly Jake?" Hermione said. "I don't know how anything can help us at the moment. There is no wizarding knowledge of wizard-human hybrid children, our army is a bunch of vegetarian vampires and a pack of wolves who are homeless and have instincts that make us want to kill nearly everyone in that home despite us knowing them and we have no idea what is going to happen when the Volturi find out."
"I take it they're just coming along for the ride, then?"
"Not really. They're loyal and overprotective and I guess they're coming to make sure I don't die. They are fierce fighters and know many different ways to make your life miserable. If something does go wrong, I'll be glad that we've got them on our side."
"Esme, would you please calm down?" Emmett asked, his attention barely being dragged away from the television that he was watching with Bella. "They're still human."
"Yes, I know that," she snapped, showing a temper that was so very unlike Esme. "But do wizards still eat like humans?"
Emmett snorted loudly and even Bella grinned broadly, something which looked extremely alien on her. "I mean, they could eat upside down..."
"Don't start with me, Emmett," Esme warned before tutting and looking around the room. "Oh, are you sure they'll eat what we have?"
"Hermione's a witch, Esme," Bella said. "And unless you've forgotten, she's eaten everything that you've dished to her."
"She has, hasn't she?" Esme replied, calming down instantly. "So they don't have any food or drink that is different from humans?"
"Of course we do," Hermione snorted, walking through the door and rubbing her hand on Bella's head, disturbing her neatly set hair. "We have cauldron cakes and chocolate frogs and sugar quills and liquorice wands and butterbeer and firewhiskey and ooh... I really fancy a pumpkin pasty."
Esme blinked at her before her face instantly transformed into worry again.
"But don't worry! Anything magical, they'd have already brought with them or they can buy it easily from the small place in Seattle."
Esme seemed to calm down after that, though she'd argue that she still bustled around the kitchen in a worrying state later on.
"Paul is the fastest wolf, as much as I hate to admit it," Leah commented. "And it helps that he has such anger for leeches. Even though we all hate them, he seems to hold more hate."
"He is fast," Embry agreed. "Seth has the best hearing out of all of us."
"Pardon?" Seth called, a hand cupping his ear. Embry rolled his eyes and threw a rock at the young shifter. "You have the best sight. You can see things further away and clearer than any of us."
"What about me?" Quil asked eagerly, bouncing in his seat. "What am I the best at?"
"Being a moron?" Leah drawled.
"Shut up," he pouted. "It's unfair that everyone is good at something. Even you, Leah, are the best at hand to hand fighting out of all of us."
"Won't do me much good in a fight with a leech now though, will it?"
"What? Hold up. Leah is not the best hand to hand fighter," Jared argued. "Hermione is better, by far."
"Hermione?" Seth said. "No, I don't see it."
"Have you ever seen her fight?" Embry checked. Seth shook his head in the negative. "Then you can't say she isn't. Before she was a shifter, she was good, now, she's probably better."
"Let's see who is best once and for all," Quil cried. "Have them fight. To the death." The Pack shot him looks and he smiled sheepishly. "Or till the first person cries mercy!"
"I'm game," Leah shrugged. "Where's Hermione?"
"Talking with Paul," Jared answered. "They're discussing spells or something magical. I don't understand any of that lingo."
"Shouldn't we let Jake know?" Seth asked, looking slightly concerned.
"Nah," Quil snorted. "He'd only try to stop it, just so he could protect Hermione."
"We'll wait for her to finish her magic talk and then we'll do it."
"-But I'm still missing a key component to the spell," Hermione complained as she walked round the side of the house. "I can repair the clothes, easily but making them disappear onto the body whilst shifted is hard."
"Can't you just zap it into a pocket?" Paul asked, swinging their joined hands.
"Where's the pocket?" she countered. "If we were to carry a bag for the clothes to go in all the time then we might as well stay with how we're doing things now."
"And there's nothing in your books?"
"No," she groaned, thumping her head against his shoulder. "I need help." She gasped and pulled her head back sharply. "I've never asked for help before. How do you do it? Oh Merlin, my reputation is doomed."
"Hermione, love, calm down," he reassured her, stopping their walk to grab her shoulders. "We'll just have to contact some spell inventing experts to give you a hand. Some that actually enjoy a challenge."
She nibbled her bottom lip and he bent forward to nibble it for her.
"We've got some already coming," she said once they broke apart. "Fred and George have invented so many things for their joke shop; spells, potions, spells and potions in one. They'll love the idea of this."
"Then we just have to wait till they arrive." They resumed their walk to where the rest of the Pack were sitting. "You know, I think I'd feel more comfortable having those two helping you than some strangers. At least they understand the way you work and why we need it. Family work better."
"Yeah," she mused, only half listening as the other half of her hearing was spent trying to make out the words that the Pack were saying as they drew nearer.
"Shouldn't we let Jake know?" Seth asked, looking slightly concerned.
"Nah," Quil snorted. "He'd only try to stop it, just so he could protect Hermione."
"We'll wait for her to finish her magic talk and then we'll do it."
"Do what?" Hermione shouted, gaining their attention.
"Have a fight," Jared replied.
"Who?"
"Us," Leah said. "The boys are split on who is the better fighter in human form."
"Hermione," Paul interjected, "is better by far." The girls rolled her eyes.
"When are we doing this?" she asked instead.
"Now, if you want to." Leah shrugged, not too bothered.
"Rules?"
"No magic, no shifting," Embry suggested. "First one to cry mercy loses and the other must release and step back immediately."
"You don't think Quil is going to get a boner over this, do you?" Hermione asked, curious. Leah chuckled and shot her a wink, before bouncing back on her feet and bending her fingers to indicate that she got first swing. "Not even a bow to show good etiquette?"
"Where did you learn to fight?" she asked, shocked.
"England," Hermione answered. "We have manners over there." The smile on her face took any bite of her words away.
"Manners? What are they?" Leah questioned, smirking at her Pack mate, and dare she say it, friend.
"Don't worry, I'll teach them to you, just after I finish teaching you how to fight."
"Fighting words," Leah laughed, "I love it. Can you back it up?"
"Let's just say my bark isn't worse than my bite."
I'd like to contribute more to this particular fandom, and for you all as an apology. So I'll be doing a collection of ten chapters, all one hundred words, but a different pairing each chapter. Please, submit the pairings you want to see and the top ten will be used.