Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the intellectual property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of Stephenie Meyer and JK Rowling. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.

Beta'd by 2Shaes and Jcat5507 of the Project Team Beta.

Watching Emmett's Triumph

"So, let me get this straight," Emmett began later that night. "Edward and his new, lovely, witchy, wifey, Hermione, have now adopted a little boy who could potentially turn out as a new version of Hitler, although this one could wreak greater havoc because of his over-the-top hocus-pocus abilities? A Wizard-Hitler version 2K? Did I get everything right?" asked Emmett.

Edward hadn't moved from the cottage, and as always, the Cullens were holding a family meeting, but this time, they had convened in Edward's new house. She had shared a very strange story about Tom with Edward and as promised earlier, Hermione had called her parents back and had retired for the night.

Edward thought that she was probably exhausted from her busy day time-travelling. "Yes, just thinking about that didn't sound ridiculous at all," Edward mentally snorted.

"Yes, that's about it," Edward simply answered.

To acknowledge what he'd just heard as real made it even more true to Edward's ears. His newly adopted son, Tom, could basically turn out to be a megalomaniac mass-murderer, and his wife was a time-travelling witch. The little boy was still sleeping soundly in his arms, Esme and Rosalie hovering over his shoulder.

"And to think that we believed your love life with Bella to be complicated before, this—" Emmett waved his hand at the living room they were now gathered in, "—is clearly only the tip of the iceberg!"

Edward whole-heartedly agreed with Emmett's observation. After all, it wasn't a regular occurrence for vampires to fall in love with their singers and even rarer for vampires to consider marrying their singer. It was a safe bet—at least to Edward—that a witch with a vampire was an almost unknown occurrence. It was also a testament to how strange and eventful the afternoon had turned out to be since Edward hadn't thought of Bella even once.

What about her, then? Would she be like the rest of the world too? Would she believe that Edward and Hermione were a happy newlywed couple?

"Emmett is right," Carlisle remarked, interrupting Edward's thoughts.

"Well, that's the first time I've heard that one." Alice scratched her head.

"Hey!" exclaimed Emmett.

"Not now," interrupted Esme.

"And, please, be quiet." Rosalie gestured toward the sleeping baby in their midst.

"Yes, children," agreed Carlisle. "Now is not the time to argue. We need to understand."

"Well, she didn't tell us that much," said Rosalie. "She only told us the insane story of young Tom, and that is unbelievable."

"I do believe there's some big logic behind all of this, actually," interjected Jasper.

"You can't actually believe that a young boy could be born evil, Jasper?" asked Esme. At the empath's contemplative look, Esme shook her head vehemently in disagreement. "From the sound of it, it's as if Tom was born evil, and that's preposterous. It's our choices and experiences that shape our future selves. No child is ever born evil."

"So, if we follow Esme's logic," began Emmett, "that would mean that Edward wasn't born with a broomstick buried deep up his ass. That only happened later in life, and when he became a vampire it was stuck there forever."

"Absolutely hilarious, Emmett," growled Edward lowly while the rest of the family snickered or chuckled at his expense.

"Emmett!" scolded Carlisle. "Now is not the time for antagonising your brother."

"But, Edward just makes it so easy," Emmett grinned at the glare Edward addressed him.

"I agree," Rosalie said suddenly. At the family's blank look, she elaborated. "I'm not talking about Emmett's comment of Edward being deeply stuck-up. We all know that it's a universal truth."

Unsurprisingly, new snickers and chuckles followed.

"I was talking about Esme's remark. No one is born evil," continued Rosalie.

"Well, they would be evil if they were like the Antichrist. Just think of that terrifying Damien in The Omen or the creepy baby in Rosemary's Baby," supplied Emmett.

"Fiction, Emmett! That's fiction!" interjected Carlisle.

"Anyway," continued an exasperated Rosalie, "what I can gather from Hermione's story is that Tom being the fruit of an artificial love created by a love potion—whatever that is—might be one of the reasons why he would be unable to feel it."

"I agree," added Jasper, "I actually think that story is quite believable, and from my perspective, what I understand is that she wants to give Tom a chance. And even from what was left unsaid, we're still able to pick up some clues."

The Cullen matriarch had finally sat down next to Edward on the Chesterfield couch, and at Esme's unvoiced question, Edward gently handled her Tom. That was all it took for Rosalie and Alice to start gushing on the cuteness of their nephew as they crowded Esme and Edward, prompting the latter to leave the couch to the ladies.

"What clues are you talking about, Jasper?" asked Emmett.

"You're thinking of Hermione's strange reaction to hearing her parents' voices?" asked Carlisle.

"Yes, exactly," agreed Jasper. "To answer Emmett's question, I've noted an undercurrent of sadness mixed with overwhelming happiness felt by Hermione when she talked to her parents earlier. That was confusing. It was as if she wasn't expecting it."

"From what I've observed—" began Edward.

"Stared-transfixed at, is more like it," snidely coughed Emmett.

"—it really felt like it," continued Edward, ignoring Emmett. "Tears were falling down her cheeks while she talked to her parents. That little element is important to the whole story, but how it all fits into the bigger picture, I have no idea."

"Maybe her parents died when she was younger, and that's why she didn't expect to hear from them," suggested Emmett.

"It's a possibility," said Alice thoughtfully. "Erm, what was the ring she showed you when you asked her how it all started?"

"It was my mother's wedding ring. I was never able to recover it after her death, and I believed it to be lost," answered Edward.

"How can the ring be the catalyst to all this?" asked Rosalie.

"We already know that Hermione's birthday is the nineteenth of September, and Edward's disappearance happened on the same date in 1918. I thought that was why she was interested in your story, Edward," said Alice.

"It could not have been such a random thing. She probably found the ring first and wanted to discover the story behind that," added Jasper.

"That's a definite possibility," concluded Carlisle.

"It's really a big puzzle, but we still don't understand how it all fits together," said Rosalie.

"All shall be revealed in due time, Rosalie—"

"Said the Cullen patriarch in a cryptic voice," teasingly whispered Emmett, earning smiles from the family members.

"We only need to exercise patience," continued Carlisle, in an exasperated voice. "I'm curious as to how you've actually interacted with wizards before, Jasper."

"True, I'd like to know that also," said Edward.

"It was after the wars with Maria and the newborn covens. It was just after Peter and Char came for me. A couple of vampire hunters had been dispatched there due to the high numbers of vampires in the area. At one point, they were tailing us, but we gave them the slip. The nomads who'd thought they were easy prey were brutally brought back to reality. The three of us watched how quickly they were turned into piles of ashes after the wizards hit them with spells. What was even more remarkable and terrifying was that the vampires weren't able to approach the hunters. With only a few words and flicks of their wands, the newborns were burned on the spot."

Edward shared with his family how Hermione had lit a fire in the grate without uttering a single word. How it had been done with ease and grace by the witch.

"That's what would make Hermione even more dangerous. She has greater control over her magic than the ones I've met if she's able to do that as effortlessly as Edward says," warned Jasper.

"So, what do we do?" asked Rosalie.

"Like Carlisle said, we'll just be patient," replied Esme. With all the noise they were making, it was a wonder that Tom had not stirred in his sleep. Edward reasoned that since the vampires were only whispering and even if it might sound loud to Edward's ears, the baby boy wasn't bothered in his sleep.

Emmett, who'd been looking around, grinned suddenly. Edward read his mind and looked up, interested.

"A wedding video?" asked Edward.

"Yeah, and it's not just any wedding video. It's yours, Edward," answered Emmett.

"This might be helpful," interjected Jasper. "We'll be able to see the perception people have of your couple in this reality."

"Plus, it will be fun," added Emmett, grinning from ear to ear.

"Can't you be serious for five minutes, Emmett?" grumbled Rosalie.

"Oh, Rosie," started Emmett, in a patronising tone. "It's always better on the funny side.

He moved around the gathered family to the impressive television. The screen lit up and showed the date of the twenty-first of December 2006.

"Hold on!" exclaimed Emmett, as he pressed the pause button. "How come the wedding's in December when we're still in August?"

"Have you taken a look at the weather, Emmett?" asked Rosalie. "We're in winter!"

"But, how?" Emmett urged, in turn.

"Hermione did say something about the timeline adjusting itself, didn't she?" questioned Carlisle. "It's possible that for this adjustment we've also moved forward in time."

"It's plausible," agreed Edward. He glanced around the living room in search of a calendar and wasn't surprised by the date he read. "It's the fourth of January 2007."

"Okay, now that we've established what the date is, can we continue viewing this video?" asked Alice.

His curiosity satisfied for now, Emmett pressed the play button and sat down.

"Welcome to the event of the decade. The wedding of my darling little bother, oops... sorry, I meant the wedding of my darling little brother, Edward." Emmett's loud voice was heard before his grinning face was seen on-screen.

"Oh, this is gonna be epic," said the real Emmett, an identical grin on his face.

"So," drawled the television-Emmett, "my little brother Edward Cullen is finally tying the knot, and the lucky girl who's managed to hold his attention long enough is the sassy British witch, Hermione Granger. I'm Emmett Cullen, and I'll be your host for today."

"Really, Emmett!" Jasper's voice was heard then. "Don't you think you're overdoing it?"

"Don't mind the cameraman, folks," said Alternate-Emmett. "This is big-time news. Edward has finally decided to end his eighty-plus years of bachelorship."

"I've got other things to do right now, and this is where the cameraman is gonna quit," grumbled Alternate-Jasper, as the camera was dumped into Alternate-Emmett's arms.

"What? No!" uttered Alternate-Emmett, surprised. "You can't quit. Get back here, Jasper!"

"Well, I'm not wrong," defended Jasper.

"Never mind that, folks. You know how it is. Cheap labor!" said Alternate-Emmett.

Simultaneous slaps were heard: one in the living-room where the Cullens were congregated and the other on the television. The two Jaspers: the on-screen and off-screen had exacted vengeance on their Emmetts by slapping their latters' behind the head.

"Hey!" exclaimed the two Emmetts, in sync.

"You're the one who started it," said the two Jaspers, also in sync.

"Well, at least we know that the two of you haven't changed," deadpanned Alice, smirking.

"Okay, I shall do this myself," said Alternate-Emmett. "Anyway, today's the twenty-first of December 2007—"

"Do you give the time also?' asked an on-screen Alice as she waltzed by Emmett.

"Har, har, har. Very funny," muttered Alternate-Emmett. "Anyway, let's go see how the future bride is doing. For those who don't know the love story of how Edward and Hermione actually became Edward plus Hermione, I'll be glad to share the story with you."

"Well at least, you're being useful, Emmett," snipped Rosalie.

"Rosalie, not now!" warned Esme.

Esme was still admiring the little baby in her arms. From reading his mother figure's thoughts, Edward could still hear her marvelling at the novelty of having a grandson who was technically older than her.

"So," Alternate-Emmett's voice was heard again as the latter moved around the Cullen mansion. "It's a very strange story. An unexpected coincidence, actually. Hermione's ex-boyfriend—Cedric—was going out with Edward's ex-girlfriend—"

Edward's head snapped up, thinking of Bella, but he was completely disabused and surprised by what he heard after.

"—Leah," finished Alternate-Emmett.

"The She-dog?" snarled Rosalie.

"Now, that was unexpected," said Carlisle.

The family had turned to look at Edward as though expecting an explanation.

"This," Edward waved a hand at the paused video, "never happened," he reminded his family.

"Yet, as fucked-up as it is," started Emmett, ignoring Esme's chastising, "it would have made sense for Edward and Leah together. Opposites do attract," he wisely commented.

He was surprised by the collective nods of approval from his family, and Edward couldn't help himself from wondering if he'd really missed an opportunity with Leah.

"However, the two love-birds of the day weren't even aware of that fact until after they had begun dating. As a matter of fact, it was through our respective parents that the two met." Alternate-Emmett grinned ominously before saying, "Through a setup blind date."

Hilarity followed, logically.

"To our parents' delights," continued Alternate-Emmett, "Hermione and Edward hit it off quickly. Thus, after four long years of courtship—Edward insists on the courtship term, he's old fashioned like that—Edward finally decides to pop the question. So, here we are, one year later. It was inevitable, as we all knew the moment we first saw the two together that it was a match made in heaven. Well, of course, let's render unto Caesar that which is Caesar's and unto God that which is God's. A match made by our loving parents."

"So, five years before tying the knot," teased Alice. "That's a long time by your standards."

They watched the rest of the video, commenting here and there.

"This is really gonna be useful and helpful for future references. We'll know how people are gonna react around the two of you," said Jasper, as they watched Hermione dancing with her father.

"Yeah," admitted Edward. "It's just strange to watch this part of a life that I haven't lived."

"True," agreed Emmett. "But, technically, if Alice hadn't had this vision, all this would have been our reality. This—" He waved at the living room and the wedding video still playing, "—would have been your only reality. You wouldn't have known a thing if not for that. Unless, of course, Hermione told you later on."

"This must really be an alternate reality, because what Emmett's saying is really making sense," joked Rosalie.

"Come on, babe. I'm just sharing what I know and have seen on those science-fiction shows," defended Emmett.

Edward was, however, fascinated by the look of pure adoration and love on his alternate's face when he watched Hermione: when she walked towards his standing alternate under a white, flowered archway, when she said "Yes, I do," or when they danced together during their reception.

He was jealous of his alternate's insouciance. A big part of him actually wished Alice hadn't had that vision.

Later that the morning, when Hermione had woken up and was nursing a strong mug of coffee and his family had returned to the main house, she said that she wished there was something that could help her understand their new timeline.

"I have just the thing for that," said Edward, with a smirk. He guided her to the couch before walking to the television and turning on the video

"Welcome to the event of the decade. The wedding of my darling little bother, oops... sorry, I meant the wedding of my darling little brother, Edward. So, my little brother Edward Cullen is finally tying the knot, and the lucky girl who's managed to hold his attention long enough is the sassy British witch, Hermione Granger. I'm Emmett Cullen, and I'll be your host for today." Emmett's loud voice was again heard as he replayed the video.

"I'm definitely gonna like that one," uttered Hermione, fascinated by the video.

"Woohoo!" cheered Emmett. "She likes me better than you, Alice," he taunted at the seer.