Chapter 1
New Beginnings
"Come to me, my child." A gentle voice called. "You don't have to be afraid; I promise nothing will hurt you here."
Around me was only darkness. I reached to the left with my hand, but couldn't feel anything. I reached to the right, still nothing. I felt the floor underneath my feet, but when I crouched, my hands touched nothing. I couldn't smell anything in the air, I couldn't see anything in the dark. My mind was blank, I didn't know I got to where I was, maybe it was all just a dream. The voice that called me was gentle and familiar, although I had no idea who it was.
"Come on, take a step further." The voice called once again.
I tried to speak, but my lips were closed and my tongue couldn't move. I couldn't feel my heartbeat, I was not breathing, I realized. I took a step. I was not afraid, somehow, I knew I wouldn't fall. The ground underneath my feet was soft, like sand, and yet I felt comfortable standing straight on it.
"Just a few more, my dear. You're nearly there."
The voice had a British accent, at least I was close to home. I hoped that was true. I took a few more steps towards the voice. Suddenly I started hearing something else. The whispers of what sounded like crickets, I turned my head to the right, there they were again. To the left, I could hear water running.
With another few steps, I saw a light far away from me. It was the only thing that shone in this dark place. This time I took a step back and warily listened again. The crickets disappeared, so did the water. The light ahead flickered and started getting smaller, like a closing door.
"You have to come forward, don't give up." The voice repeated.
I stepped forward again. The light became brighter, I could hear things again. With another few steps, the sounds became louder. The running water now sounded more clear. I could tell it was waves crashing into rocks.
With every step I took, the light became bigger and brighter. It was burning my eyes a little, I couldn't look straight ahead, and yet it was the only thing I wanted to do. Every step that I took brought me closer and closer, gave me more feelings. I could smell the salt in the air around me. I could hear the waves and crickets like they were surrounding me right at this moment. My lips were still shut, but I could hear myself making noises with my nose. I was humming the last song I heard, the new song by the Sorting Hat of Hogwarts.
When I was about to reach the light, I started feeling things around me. I felt like I was floating now, the ground was behind me. The sand was cool on my back, my fingers felt little sandstones, but I couldn't see them or shake them off. I felt soft hands on my cheeks.
"You're so close, don't give up now, my child." The voice called. The voice belonged to the person who was touching my cheeks, I guessed.
I took the final few steps and reached the light. When I stepped across it, my lungs opened and for the first time in what felt like forever, I took a deep breath, the seal on my lips shattered and I screamed.
Suddenly, the world had colors again. The sand underneath me was real, I shook off the sandstones off my fingers and checked my hands. I breathed out in relief, the ring was still sitting on my thumb. With one quick motion, I was standing on my feet again. I could not only hear the waves now, I saw them. Dark blue and green, they were hitting the rocks right beneath the cliff I was standing on. I smelled the salt and wood of the forest behind me. I was able to distinguish dozens of crickets' songs. My head was turning around in all the directions, I had no idea where I was or how I got here.
"You are alive." The voice behind me spoke.
I turned around to look at it. The man, no older than 25, with a gorgeous face and golden eyes was staring at me with amusement. But that was not what I found most curious about him. His clothes looked weird, even for the wizarding community that I grew up in. I was used to muggle clothes, I was used to fine cloaks and colorful hats, but what that man was wearing was something completely different. His black west was tight around his waist, his trousers barely reached the knees, underneath them he wore something that reminded me of leggings, however, they were pure white in color. Under his vest, his shirt had ruffled long-sleeves, which I have only seen when my mom showed me muggle paintings of old French and English kings.
"Where am I?" I spoke for the first time and couldn't recognize my own voice. My fingers reached my mouth in shock.
"Plymouth, my child." He said cautiously.
"Who are you?" I said quietly. The sound of my voice once again came as a shock to me.
"My name is Carlisle Cullen, what about yours?"
"Isabella Black-Swan. I prefer Bella" I said proudly. My family taught me to be proud of the family name, on both sides. "Why am I here?"
"I am afraid I don't possess that knowledge, my child. You don't remember what happened?"
I looked around and tried to think of things I remembered last. I was running, running away from people in the department of Mystery, along with my friends. I remembered the Death Eaters shooting spells left and right, trying to get any one of us. I remember screaming for Harry and for my father. I remember Harry's scream when my dad and I were pushed into the veil and my father's last words to me: "Not you, not yet, please," he whispered to me. And then nothing. The black came afterward.
My dad. What has happened to him? I wanted to cry, but nothing came out of my eyes. I sobbed without tears.
"My poor child. What has happened to you?" The stranger came closer warily.
"I don't know. Where did you find me?" I asked still sobbing.
"I found you in the water, I was nearby and saw you falling into the channel. Far away from the cliffside, tell me, child, how is that possible?"
"I fell? How did you get me out?" I asked surprised. The tides were strong and the man, even as strong as he looked to be, would have no chance in finding me far away from the shore.
"I need to tell you something, dear. I am not a common human, I have the strength of hundreds of men and the speed of thousand horses. I was able to get you from the bottom of the sea, but not in time, I'm afraid. The only thing I could do to save your life was to change you."
"Change me?" I whispered. Was that why my voice was so different. "Change me how?"
"My child, the thirst you are feeling right now…You are thirsty for blood, I am afraid." Carlisle looked down at his shoes. Blood. I didn't think about the burning in my throat until his words reached my ears.
"I am a vampire," I spoke in shock.
"A vampire?" he asked. "What is a vampire?"
"Dark creatures who drink human blood to survive. Afraid of garlic, crosses, and sunlight." I resighted my Defense Against the Dark Arts book.
"You call us that?" Carlisle asked curiously.
"Everyone calls us that." I insisted. How can he not know what vampires are?
"Everyone? You mean to say you know about us?"
"Of course, I am not a muggle."
"A muggle? You speak words I don't understand, my child." Carlisle looked at me. "And you are controlling your thirst exceptionally well."
"You don't know the term vampire, you don't know about muggles…I wake up on the cliff, kilometers away from London, with a man who dressed like he is from the 1600s with golden eyes who claims to be a vampire. Wow, I think I am going insane…Or maybe I am still in the vale, maybe I am still dreaming all of this." I mumbled.
"My child, what are you talking about?" Carlisle asked. "Are you not well?"
"Stop talking like we are in the Renaissance era!" I yelled at him.
"Renaissance era?"
"Are you going to get confused all the time? Yes, Renaissance era, 1300s to 1600s. Where did you go to school?" I noticed my anger was getting out of control, which was so unlike me. I was always calm; nothing could get me as fired up as I was right now.
"My child, the year is 1695, I am not certain why your speech is so different from mine."
"No, the year is 1996, old man." Carlisle raised his eyebrows. "Did you not notice how the time has changed while you were sleeping in your coffin?"
"I am afraid I don't sleep, and coming back to what you previously said, I am not afraid of garlic, crosses, or sunlight." Carlisle still looked at me with wary eyes. "Why don't we sit and talk? You can explain to me why you believe it's 1995."
Carlisle sat down on the sand. I stood for another moment but sat down as well. I couldn't do anything right now. I didn't know if Harry and others got out of the Ministry alive, I didn't know if Death Eaters were killed off or not, I didn't even know how to get back to London anymore. Whether I liked it or not, Carlisle was the only person who could tell me about vampires that I apparently knew nothing about. It was weird how the thought of being a dark creature didn't bother me. I was confused and warry of Carlisle, but I trusted what he told me. I just couldn't think of him lying to me.
"The thirst doesn't seem to bother you that much. I have never seen such self-control in new…um vampires." He started unsurely. "I am afraid you hit your head hard when you fell into the sea because the year is 1695, I was born 55 years ago, in 1940, and was changed in 1963 in London. Creatures like us don't sleep, we don't eat or drink, and we are definitely not afraid of the sun, can I ask you what were your reasons to believe in such a thing?"
"We learned about it in school, you were born a muggle, weren't you?"
"Ah, once again, child, I don't understand what you call a muggle."
"You are a dark creature, yet you know nothing about our community…" I looked at Carlisle. Maybe, he can't help me after all. "A muggle, person who doesn't have magical powers, like witches and wizards."
"Wizards? There are no wizards."
"Says a vampire. Did you think vampires were real before you became one?" I asked.
"That's a good point, so you are a witch then?" He asked.
"Yes, and at the age of 11 we go to a special school, it's called Hogwarts, a school of Witchcraft and Wizardry. That's where we learn about dark creatures, like werewolves, mermaids, boggarts, vampires and so many more." I explained. "I still don't believe you, that it's the 1600s" I shook my head. "It can't be. Time travel is not possible."
"And I don't believe that you have time traveled, but it's 1695, my child."
"Can we go into the city? Let me look at the newspapers, so I can at least believe you."
"That is not a good idea, you have to hunt first, and your eyes will scare the people. Even…some muggles believe in what you call vampires, it's not safe for you or them."
"My eyes? What about them?" I asked. I looked around again in hopes of finding something that could reflect my image, but there was nothing. "Are mine not the same color as yours?"
"Mine are gold because I have been hunting animals all my existence, never tried human blood. Yours, however, are still red from your own blood that is circulating in your body. It will take a few months if you decide to follow my special diet, for them to become golden."
"Red eyes?" I whispered and sat back on the ground. "Show me how to hunt animals," I asked him after a minute.
"As you wish, my child." Carlisle stood up and offered me his hand. I took it, even though my body felt so strong right now, I was sure I could jump up from the place where I was sitting.
Carlisle told me how important it is to control strength and speed, especially for a newborn like me. Our emotions are supposed to be hard to control, just like our thirst. He, however, repeated once again that he has never seen as much self-control as I was showing. I took it as a compliment, although I was not completely sure if it was praise. Maybe I was broken or maybe being a witch helped me in that.
I wondered if I was still able to do magic. Uncle Remus was after he was turned into a werewolf. Hagrid, who was born half-giant had magic powers too. I felt it inside me, but my wand was not with me when I checked my pockets. I was not sure if I could find the Diagon Alley or if I would be able to buy another one. I was a dark creature now, not even mentioning that I didn't have any money with me.
Carlisle asked me to follow him and he ran. I saw his silhouette in the trees and froze for a second. In less than a second, he ran from where we were standing to the trees that were about a hundred meters away. It's like he apparated there, that got me excited.
I took a deep breath, finding it interesting that it didn't feel like it was needed, and tried running towards Carlisle. When I stopped next to him, I found myself laughing. It definitely wasn't something that I was expecting. I could still see everything around me, it just felt like the time around me slowed down. The thrill of it made me want to try doing it more. I told Carlisle that I was ready to go further. My excitement made him smile and he ran again, stopping way further this time. I caught up to him in no time.
In the past, I used to be very clumsy, and it was unusual for me to be able to hike or even walk the hallways without tripping on something or if I'm being honest, nothing. Now, I was able to feel my weight on the ground and avoid every stone and branch while maintaining the speed of Nimbus 2000. It was fascinating, I finally felt what my classmates were feeling when they rode their brooms during Flying lessons. Due to my infamous clumsiness, I was only allowed to go 3 meters up and had to be accompanied by a volunteer.
Carlisle seemed to find my amusement charming, his smile grew every time he heard me laughing. I couldn't imagine he had a lot of friends before he saved me. This interaction seemed to be pure bliss for him. I always liked making people feel happy, and so I voiced all of my amusement as much as possible. Being a vampire was pretty nice.
"Carlisle." I stopped and looked ahead warily. "I can see sunlight ahead."
"I told you, Bella, we are not afraid of the sun, even though we cannot show ourselves to humans when the day is sunny." Carlisle took my hands and walked me towards the clearing, where I saw the rays. "Come now, don't be afraid, my child."
I took another deep breath. Even though I didn't need it anymore, it felt right and natural for me to breathe. I reached my hand into the sunlight and closed my eyes, preparing to feel the burn on my skin, but there was nothing. I carefully opened my eyes and saw what Carlisle meant. My hand now looked like there were thousands of little diamonds embraided into my skin. I turned my palm around, to see if it will still sparkle; it did. I took a step into the clearing and felt the sun on me, I could feel its warmth on my skin. My whole body was sparkling now. I couldn't help but laugh again, so fascinating. Carlisle's vampires were so much different than the ones we learned about in DADA.
Carlisle stepped into the clearing with me. He looked even more handsome now, definitely better looking than that liar Lockhart. In my mind, that's what the Greek Gods, that my mom told me about, could have looked like. His blond hair and golden eyes sparkled with the rest of his skin, if he wasn't a god, he was definitely an angel.
"Are you ready for your first hunt?" He asked softly.
"I think so." Every time Carlisle mentioned hunting, the burn in my throat intensified. "How do I begin?"
"Let your instincts do it for you. Stand still, clear your mind and listen." That was exactly what I did. "Do you hear anything?"
I wanted to say that I can hear everything. From the waves of the sea that we left behind to the tree branches hitting each other on the wind. From the birds flying far away in the sky to the buzzing of flying insects. But that was not the sound he was asking me about. I concentrated on the forest, the sound of something moving in there emerged. It was quiet, the animal was far away. I took a few steps forward; the sound increased a little. I opened my eyes and ran towards it.
With every step, the sound I was following became louder. I could hear the animal's breath escaping its mouth and the light steps that it took that shivered the grass. I could hear its heartbeat; it was beating so fast. I cam so close I could smell the blood flowing in the animal's body, my throat burned like nothing before like someone was pouring firewhisky in me. An animal growl escaped my throat and I launched forward not being able to control anything my body was doing; it was like something took over me. Without any hesitation, I jumped on the deer and sank my teeth into its neck. The deer tried running away, it tried pushing me with its hooves, but I was so much stronger. The thing that took over me roared in happiness when the warm liquid started running down my throat.
It didn't take long for me to drink it, and soon I found myself running again. I came across a whole herd of deer and jumped on the bigger one. The others ran away in different directions, but I didn't care. I was fast enough to catch them later if I needed to.
Carlisle found me when the sun was setting down deep into the forest, right in the river bank. After the hunt, my throat still burned, but it was more than tolerable. I washed the blood that stained my shirt as much I could in the river, noticing I could no longer feel the coldness of the water. It seemed like nothing on Earth can bother me now, I felt indestructible.
Indestructible…With sadness suddenly washing over me, I wondered if my father was able to survive just like I did. He wasn't here with me; Carlisle didn't see anyone else fall. I lost my mom a while ago when I was still a kid. Now I had lost my dad as well. I was the only Black left in this world unless what Carlisle was saying was true and I somehow time-traveled to 1695…No, that was absurd. Yet, some part of me was hopeful, maybe I can prevent it, save everyone somehow.
"Is it alright if I join you, my child?" Carlisle asked quietly. I gave him a small smile and nodded.
Carlisle sat down and looked at me worriedly.
"What happens next?" I asked.
"I don't know. It's your choice, you can leave and explore the world on your own or…" He stopped and looked at his feet.
"Or?" I asked impatiently.
"…or you can stay with me, only if you want to, of course." Carlisle's eyes met mine for just one second and then he turned his gaze away again.
I thought about my options once again. I can leave, find my way to London and figure out what I wanted to do next. It shouldn't be hard, I was strong enough, fast enough, and had incredible senses. I could find my friends, help them defeat Voldemort. On the other hand, I understood it will take me some time to figure out my new self and it would be nice to have a companion. Truth be told, I needed Carlisle's help and I fully understood that. Decisions, decisions.
"So, where do we go?" I asked Carlisle. I noticed his eyes squinted and a big smile appeared on his face. Maybe, I needed Carlisle just as much as he needed me. Being alone for decades must have been horrible.
"I'm predicting, you still want to see a newspaper?" He asked, still smiling.
"Oh, you bet I do. Don't think I will believe you we are actually living in the 1600s, old man." I stood up.
"Your speech definitely doesn't suit the times we are living in at the moment, my child." Carlisle appeared to be deep in thought when he stood up from the ground.
"Well, neither does yours." I chuckled and bumped my fist to his shoulder. Apparently, I underestimated my strength because Carlisle stumbled and had to take a step to not fall. "Oops, sorry."
"You still need to learn how to control your strength." He smiled at me. "It's twilight. We can start heading to London now. Hopefully, we get there before people wake up. If, during our travels, you feel like you are losing control, hold your breath and immediately tell me."
I thanked Carlisle and nodded. He took off and I followed him, keeping pace, even though I could run faster if I wanted to. While running, I was admiring the beauty of the night forest. Everything was quiet, only our feet touching the ground polluted the silence. I breathed in the cold winter air and smiled to myself. This life was beautiful.
We reached London before the sun came up. Carlisle made me hold my breath when we got into the living quarters and we followed the roads at a human pace. London looked completely different. Maybe, I was just in an old area of town. I thought to myself, still not accepting Carlisle's truth. We reached a circular-shaped opening at the end of the road, it looked like a regular town center, except there were no hotdog stands or pubs with their bright lights. Everything was quiet. The doubt was building up inside me, Carlisle's words started making more and more sense.
I noticed Carlisle pointing in the direction of a little building that appeared to look like a pub from the old movies. I nodded to him in understanding and walked towards it. The door was unlocked and I walked in, my eyes were running around in all directions. This pub looked like nothing I had ever seen before. It was old, the whole premises were built with wood, there were no bottles on display above the bar area, no napkin holders with simple condiments on the tables. I noticed something lying on top of the bar table and I grabbed it.
"June 15th, 1695.
King William III still in despair after the loss of Queen Mary II."
"No," I whispered. "This can't be true."
My eyes scanned the rest of the paper. I didn't know anyone's name who was mentioned in the paper. What Carlisle was saying was true.
"Bella, we'll need to leave soon. The sun will come out in an hour." Carlisle placed his hand on my shoulder.
I let Carlisle take me out of the city. I was paying no attention to the road ahead of me, never have I ever felt so lost. What am I supposed to do now? I don't know anyone, there is no Hermione who will come up with a plan, no father who will always be ready to help me, not even professor Dumbledore, who would give me advice and guidance. I only have Carlisle, and he doesn't know anything about me.
My only goal, for now, was to live and wait. For what? I was not sure. What I knew is I wasn't set back in time in vain, there should be a reason why I lived. I looked at Carlisle and was surprised to see he was looking at me worriedly. I could see he wanted to help me but didn't know-how. He was truly a good man, and maybe waiting three hundred years with him by my side till I'm back in my time, was not so bad.
We walked at a human pace until we reached the forest and then took off running. I was following Carlisle until we reached the seaside, different than the one he found me at.
"What are you thinking?" Carlisle asked.
"I need to get a wand. Not now, I still need to learn to control myself around humans and wait for my eyes to change color. But I can't do magic without it, and I can't live without it."
"Where does one get a wand?"
"That's the problem. Your London looks completely different than my London. Have you heard of the place Leaky Cauldron?"
"I am afraid I haven't."
"Then it wasn't built yet, so I can't get there." I looked at my feet and started thinking. "There is another secret passage in France, I am not sure that one is already there, but I know it's older than the Leaky Cauldron."
"France." Carlisle smiled. "Always wanted to visit."
I smiled back at Carlisle. I was glad he was ready to accompany me on my journey and didn't even protest.
"I hope you don't mind swimming, that's the safest way to get there since we can't board a ship," Carlisle said.
"I have a different idea," I smirked. "Would you like to experience one of the wizarding methods of traveling?"
Carlisle's brows shot up, and I noticed his mouth opened a little. I could see I intrigued him with my question. I had a feeling Carlisle was a curious lad and would want to know everything about my world. I giggled at his reaction and offered him my hand. He took it eagerly and I really hoped I could still apparate.
"Hold on tight."
I closed my eyes and imagined the shore side on the French side of the English Channel. My father took me there once to prove there were no mermaids living in the waters surrounding France. Dark creatures feared the local sorcerers because of their weird tastes. There were rumors floating around Hogwarts that Beauxbaton students ate fried caramelized grindylow tentacles as appetizers and mermaid tales for dinner, so I had to know if that was true.
I felt the earth spinning around me when I was apparating and opened my eyes once again when I felt my feet reach the ground. Apparating as a vampire was a hundred times better than when I was still human. I didn't feel sick or dizzy like I haven't moved at all. Well, this would make Carlisle's and my traveling so much easier. I looked to my right, where Carlisle was still holding my hand, even tighter than he was before. Maybe it was just me who didn't feel anything.
"That was horrible." He breathed out. I couldn't help but laugh, which I immediately felt guilty about. "I am very glad you are finding my struggle funny."
"I'm so sorry for laughing at you. You just look like you want to throw up but don't know how." I tried holding back my laughter, but some of it was still escaping my tight-pressed lips.
"I guess it is sort of funny if you think about it," Carlisle spoke and took a deep breath.
"Are you alright?"
"Yes, I believe so." Carlisle took his arm off of mine and looked at me surprised. "You are a witch."
I gave him a confused look. "I believe I told you that yesterday."
"Indeed, but hearing about it and actually experiencing it are two completely different things." He switched his gaze to the Channel that was in front of us. "Are we actually in France?"
"Oui! Bienvenue en France, Carlisle!" I spoke with the best French accent I was able to do.
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