Chapter 14
Trust
August 21st, 1973
Our girls were growing every day, even though they were only 3 years old, they appeared to look like 10-year-olds. The past few years passed like a blink of an eye. I couldn't believe how much they grew in that time, both physically and mentally. Little Nessie, a horrible nickname that her 'fun-uncle' Emmett gave her, now had long brown hair, and looked exactly like my human copy, except for her eyes, which were Edward's. I grew to like the nickname within a few months, and my baby girl seemed to prefer it to her full name. Little Savi, a nickname that her southern auntie Alice picked for her, now also had long curly hair, but they were a little lighter than her sister's. She was a mixture of both me and Edward. The nickname also suited her as she was incredibly smart and curious, asking us a million questions per hour. Her sister's intellectual abilities were as advanced, although she was definitely more of a sports kind of girl than books. They were my whole world and brought me happiness every day.
We now lived in a small town next to Calgary. The vast forest and mountain areas gave us a perfect terrain for hunting. It was especially necessary as we were teaching girls how to hunt for themselves. I admitted that I was terrified to see them hunt animals, some of which were so much bigger than them, but their skin was nearly as tough as ours, although it barely sparkled in the sunlight. Carlisle guessed that the humans wouldn't be able to see that, which gave me hope for a better life for them, a life without hiding.
All of us always stayed at home now, I couldn't bear being away from my girls, neither could Edward or Rose for that matter. The 'fun-uncle' Emmett had taught them to play board games and even practiced with them at baseball. He also tried to make me let him get two kid brooms for the girls to start practicing Quidditch, an idea I instantly shut down to both Emmett's and Edward's disappointment. They were just too young, too fragile…At least in my head.
While they grew, they started trying some human food, and both seemed to only like it when Esme cooked it for them. Apparently, my cooking skills haven't improved since my human times. Their diet made Esme very happy, she was finally able to use all the kitchen equipment that we owned. And although the smell stank the whole house, I still liked watching Nessie and Savi spend so much time with their grandma. It was something I could never do. With one of my grandmothers resenting my dad and me, and with the other being too afraid of our political affiliations. I loved that my kids could have such a great relationship with their grandmother, even though looking at their happy beautiful faces, I found myself upset that my dad will never get to see them.
Alice was also constantly on picture duties. Even though I knew that my memory of their short time of being kids will forever be with me, I still liked looking at some of the pictures she printed out, that I kept in a special photo album. All the pictures were taken on the camera that I got within the first few days of their birth, the magical one that made all the pictures move. Carlisle and Jasper had thoughts about putting it apart to see how it worked, but Edward quickly stopped them from doing that, explaining it was just a normal camera that was charmed to produce pictures like that.
"I can see two owls flying into the house tomorrow, are you expecting any mail?" Alice asked confused.
Edward shot his eyes at Alice and then smiled at me.
"Hogwarts letters." He chuckled.
"What?" I asked surprised. None of the girls have shown any magical skills yet. I was starting to doubt whether Alice's visions about them being hybrids were true. So many years have passed since I've met her, when will I ever learn to trust her visions? "But how? They grow so fast…They can't go without revealing themselves."
"I guess we'll see tomorrow." Edward beamed at me. I knew that look; it was one of the new ones. The 'proud-father' look, I called it.
Just like Alice said, early next morning while the girls were still sleeping in their bedroom, two large brown owls came flying into an open window of the living room. The water bowl and some seeds were already waiting for them. Flying from England to Canada must have been exhausting. I wondered why we have received Hogwarts letters and not Ilvermony ones since the girls were born in the US. Carlisle's best guess was the close history of Canada and the UK, but it was only just a theory.
I looked at Edward nervously, untying the two letters from the owls' legs and handing one of them to him. The whole family was sitting on the couches behind us. I knew they were anticipating this moment as much as we were. I opened the letter that was addressed to Savi.
Headmaster: Albus Dumbledore
(Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorcerer, Chf. Warlock, Supreme Mugwump, International Confederation of Wizards)
Dear Miss Black-Diggory,
We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment.
The term begins on 1 September. We would like to schedule a meeting with your parents no later than August 31st.
Yours sincerely,
Minerva McGonagall
Deputy headmistress
How did they know her real last name? We specifically changed both girls' last names to Cullen to avoid exactly that from happening. I was panicking, mine and Edward's families have never crossed paths before, and we were the first Black and Diggory to get married. Two famous enough families for a person as old as McGonagall to know that as well. Crap crap crap! They had to know something was wrong. Edward and I weren't even born yet, my own father just started Hogwarts himself! Edward's parents were about to graduate…
Did we just blow our cover? How do we go about it? A thousand scenarios of the future rushed through my head. We could toss the letters, surely, but I remembered how persistent the school was about Harry getting his.
The worst part was that McGonagall knew already...no one has arranged meetings with parents unless the child in question was from a muggle family, but that was also not the case. They sent us owls. If they thought we were muggles, they would just come in person...Crap. They knew something was wrong.
"What do we do?" I asked concerned. Edward appeared to be as shocked and lost in thought as I was just a few seconds ago.
"What's the problem?" Carlisle rose from his seat on the couch and came closer to us. I gave him the letter.
"What is it, dear?" Esme asked worriedly.
"They know the girls' real last names. They want to meet with Bella and Edward." Carlisle looked at us in thought.
"That can work," Edward spoke. He was reading Carlisle's mind.
"Please, speak out loud." I raised my voice a little. I felt sorry immediately, checking to see if the girls slept through it. It was still quiet upstairs, except for two steady heartbeats.
"Carlisle was thinking he could pretend to be their foster parent with Esme. Say he was confused when he saw the girls' actual last names on the letters as he adopted them when they were still babies." Edward shook his head. "He looked after them since he knew they were half-vampires."
"That way…" I started thinking. "…McGonagall can't question him about their last name, as Carlisle wouldn't know anything about their birth parents."
"This could work," Edward spoke, a slight smile appearing on his face. "
I wrote a letter, agreeing to the meeting in two days. I addressed the letter to Professor Dumbledore and made sure to ask them not to send any more owls until we've talked to them. I couldn't help but wonder if the invitation was true, maybe they didn't even know about my kids being half-vampires. Even though they still allowed Uncle Remus in Hogwarts and made arrangements for him, I wasn't sure if they would be as lenient to accept vampire kids to school, after all, we were dangerous every day of the year, not just the full moon. If they didn't know about that, I would rather the girls not know that they had to miss the chance of going to Hogwarts because of the way they were born.
I heard a pop coming from the forest area at exactly noon, two days after I wrote the letter to Dumbledore. He was very punctual. I nodded to Carlisle. He smiled at me reassuringly. Esme sat on the couch, while Carlisle walked to the front of the house to open the door. Edward and I retrieved upstairs where the rest of the family was sitting. Well, everyone except for Rose and Jasper who took the girls out to hunt.
"Good afternoon." I heard Carlisle speak from downstairs. "My name is Carlisle Cullen."
"Albus Dumbledore." A familiar voice spoke. I beamed at Edward, squeezing his hand. He chuckled at my enthusiasm.
"Hope you didn't have the same reaction when Newt Scamander introduced himself." He laughed at me for which I lightly punched his shoulder with my unoccupied hand.
The pleasantries were over, now Dumbledore was asking about the girls. I listened closely to what happened downstairs.
"I worked in the hospital at that time and took a night shift. The young couple came in with two babies, I have never seen them before, but could tell they were just like me. They asked me to take care of their babies as they couldn't do it. Their last names have been Cullen ever since."
"That sounds very believable." I heard Dumbledore's voice coming from downstairs. "But let's not do that, I can see you care deeply for the girls, but your story can simply not have happened. The potion wouldn't allow that."
"How can he know?" I whispered to Edward.
"He thinks there is a prophecy about them. From those born after the time they live in, two special kids will come to life. They will be the first of their kind. With the help of a special potion and an old friend of their parents who doesn't know them yet, the kids will strive and bring light to this world." Edward recited Dumbledore's minds.
"What does he mean 'the potion wouldn't allow that'?"
"The kids born because of that potion can never be abandoned by their parents, they become their world, their strongest love." Edward squinted his eyes. "Bella, it's kind of like an unbreakable vow. If we abandon them, we die."
"Thanks for letting us know that sis." I made a face at Alice.
It never crossed my mind, of course. I could never abandon my children; it was just impossible. Even thinking about that made me hate myself. And I knew, somehow, that my love for them wasn't created by the potion. It just wasn't true. I loved them because I was their mom, and they were my daughters, we had a special bond.
"I don't know if we should tell him the truth." Edward shook his head, getting me out of my thoughts.
"Alice?" I asked.
"If you tell him the truth, he will keep it a secret." My sister spoke. "But I can't see if the future will change if you tell him."
I looked at Edward, who grabbed my hand.
"Will the girls be safe?" He asked Alice.
"Yes." She replied after a few seconds. "I see a long future waiting for them. Ooh! Cute boys!"
"Alice!" A low growl escaped my husband's mouth. I shook my head. He would have to learn to get used to boys in our girls' lives. Not now, of course, but soon.
I nodded, my whole body shaking a little. We managed to keep this secret from entering the wizarding world for a long time. If I could think of one person who would definitely keep it a secret, it would have been Professor Dumbledore.
"Carlisle, we are coming out," I spoke in my normal voice so that Carlisle could hear me downstairs.
Edward and I came downstairs hand in hand. I saw Professor Dumbledore rose from his seat. When I caught the sight of his face, along with his long silver hair and beard, his shiny silver robes, and half-moon spectacles I used all my self-control to not come running to hug the man. I didn't realize how much I've missed this familiar face that I saw on a nearly daily basis for seven years. He looked a little younger, his eyes less cloudy and with fewer wrinkles on his forehead.
"Professor Dumbledore," Edward spoke for us, extending his hand. Dumbledore smiled slightly and placed his own hand around Edward's inner elbow. A typical handshake in the wizarding world. I saw him flinch a little at the touch of their hands. Our skin was a lot colder than normal.
"I guess I shouldn't be surprised you know who I am." Professor Dumbledore spoke. "Please, call me Albus."
"Sorry, Professor, I don't think either me or my wife could possibly call you by your first name." Edward chuckled a little, looking me in the eyes.
"You know about the prophecy then?" He sat back down, and we followed him. Both Edward and I nodded.
"We live in the time before we are supposed to," Edward spoke. "Nessie and Savi are also the first of our kind. These parts are true."
"What about the one about me being an old friend?"
"I wouldn't dare use such a simple word," I spoke for the first time. "We will start Hogwarts in 1989…Or I guess, our past…no future selves will."
"And sorry, who are you?" Dumbledore asked amused.
"Um…Bella Black-Diggory, born Isabella Swan-Black." I spoke carefully.
"Renee and Regulus are your parents?" He asked surprised. The mistake had a place to be. My mother was a year younger than my dad and was sorted in Slytherin, the same year as my uncle Regulus. My parents didn't get together yet, they haven't even met yet, as far as I could remember.
"Renee and Sirius." I corrected.
"Very unexpected." Dumbledore scratched his beard as he switched his eyes to Edward.
"Edward Diggory, born Cedrick Diggory. Vanessa Prewett and Amos Diggory." Edward spoke before Dumbledore could ask his next question.
"How did your time travel happen?" He asked.
"Edward died in our six-year, I was pushed through a veil with my fa...friend in the Department of Mystery a year after that," I spoke only those things that wouldn't affect the future. Who knows what would happen if the future suddenly changed, would we even be here now? What would happen to our family? To our girls? As hard as it was, I knew I had the responsibility to prioritize my babies' lives over mine and Edward's humanity, over others' deaths, over my own father's death. I was their mom and I needed to do whatever I had to do to protect them. "My frined screamed 'not you, not yet, please' when we fell down. I woke up in 1695, Carlisle had to change me into a vampire. Edward and I reunited in 1929 in Chicago a decade after he was also changed by Carlisle."
"Were you also pushed through the veil?" Dumbledore asked my husband curiously.
"No, sir. I was killed with a killing curse." Dumbledore's eyes shot open in surprise. Edward went on explaining about the King Cross station and his choice between the two doors. "We think because Bella was pushed through the veil while wearing a ring that I gave her, it brought me back, not as Cedrick Diggory, but as a 10-year-old Edward Masen Jr."
"Hmm." Dumbledore hummed and switched his eyes back to me.
"Our sister Alice can see the future; she saw the potion that is talked about in the prophecy. We didn't know what it would do, but we took it anyway and now we have two beautiful girls."
"And your friend?" Dumbledore asked.
"I don't know." I shook my head, feeling rays of calmness coming from upstairs.
"The life that you've lived is very interesting, young Bella and Edward. I'll need to remember to call you your given names when you come to school." A shy giggle escaped his lips.
"Is what Professor McGonagall wrote in the letters true?" I asked him shyly. "Can our girls actually go to Hogwarts?"
"Would you want them to?" Dumbledore asked.
Would we? I looked at my husband for support. I had mixed feelings about it. Their growth was slowing down, it would be harder to notice their difference from other kids. But will I be willing to send my kids so far away while they are still so young?
"I think it doesn't matter if we want it or not. I am willing to do it if that's what the girls want." He squeezed my hand. I knew he was right; it wasn't our decision to make. Hogwarts was the best time of my life, friends, and classes. Besides, they will have each other, and my dad would see them growing up, even if he doesn't know they are his flesh and blood. "Their last names would have to stay as their legal ones. Cullen."
"Of course. We don't want your fathers wondering who they are." Dumbledore spoke. "I assume, you know the way to Hogwarts Express?"
"Yes, sir." I nodded, still saddened to think about our girls leaving. We'll obviously have them back for the holidays and write to them every day, but still...
Dumbledore stood up to leave.
"Who was the friend that was pushed through the veil with you?" Professor Dumbledore turned around to ask. I opened my mouth to say that I couldn't tell him but saw him shaking his head. "I probably shouldn't know." He smiled a curious smile.
We said our goodbyes and Carlisle closed the door behind him.
"If the girls go to Hogwarts, we have to move somewhere close, just in case," I spoke to both Carlisle and Edward. If I was letting my kids go away from me, I had to be sure I could get to them as soon as possible.
"You want to move to England?" Edward asked.
"That's what we always wanted, isn't it?" I asked them both again. "We'll have to be careful, choose a place where our families had never gone to, but why not? It's a big country, I'm sure we can find something."
"We haven't even talked to girls yet." Edward reminded me.
"They will want to go." Alice sighed. I knew she got used to the craziness that Nessie and Savi brought into the house, all of us did. I couldn't imagine how it would feel to go back to what it used to be.
"What do you think, old man?" I asked Carlisle.
"I guess we'll have to start looking for houses in the UK." He smiled at Esme.
"I'm on it." Esme chuckled and left the room.
This isn't going where I planned lol. But I don't have a script and just write every chapter the way it comes to me, so I guess Nessie and Savi are going to Hogwarts now. Please don't hate me if the story took a complete turn and you weren't expecting the last 4 chapters to happen!
Please review!
