Chapter 20:
The week seemed too long after those confrontations, for Edward. And yet they had nothing on the weekend. The week after had been downright brutal.
Andromeda had finished her first dosage of chemo and was out of the hospital to recuperate. And things had turned difficult for Hermione to say the least. She was swamped with work from her muggle school and her NEWTs, both of which she had firmly pushed to the back of her mind. What with caring for an infant and an ailing witch.
Rosalie had taken over Teddy's care and only left his side when she had to hunt, when she was replaced by some other family member.
Hermione had hooked the entire house to a few handy magic spells to get menial household chores done by themselves. But even she had to admit that wasn't enough. During the weekend, her friends had popped over at regular intervals to help with Andromeda who unfortunately needed help for the smallest of tasks, including her life processes.
While most things were done with a flourish of the wand, Andromeda was too weak to yield her own magic, the debilitating disease handicapping her at that innate a level. And Hermione was exhausted with keeping all the charms and protective shields in place while helping Andromeda through with her needs.
Whenever her friends popped over, they took over for a bit, but life called them back too soon and Hermione found herself rattling around her big house tending to both the ill and the babe all by herself most through the two days.
Not that she complained but her fatigue was evident in her eyes when Edward went to relieve Rosalie and Emmett for their hunt. She barely sat down, much less slept and he got worried.
"Can't we just hire a nurse for Andromeda?" he finally said, unable to keep his eyes away from the teabags forming under her eyes. "This is just the first dose, she will need a few more before she can bounce back and things will deteriorate before they jump back up," he warned.
"That would've been ideal, Edward, but I can't keep a muggle in the house, even if I do a strong confundus, it's too dangerous – what with the active floo, apparitions and most of all Teddy's uncontrolled magic, none of which can be predicted. Harry is looking around for some magical help but the kind we need is hard to come by."
"And what is it that you need? I'm sure there are nurses in the magical world."
"There are but they are far and few good ones and I can barely entrust a stranger with them both, especially when I'm not around, more so when he or she can yield the wand better than either. We are looking for someone who can be trusted with all of this. And with the war just over a few months back, trusted persons are difficult to come by. Not to mention, we need one who is good at both medical and defensive magic, just to be prepared."
Edward nodded in understanding.
"I'm thinking of quitting school."
"What?! Why?"
"I'm the only one available who fits the description I just gave you. My first priority will always be Teddy and by extension Andromeda, so.."
"You just started a few weeks back!"
"That's better, isn't it? I haven't invested much time into it anyway. And I have to study for my NEWTs whenever I catch a spare minute, so it's not like I'm giving up education altogether. If need be, I can just re-admit myself to school whenever things settle around at home."
"But you can't do that!"
"Why?"
"Because.. then.. we'll all pass out this year. You'll be left alone." "Not new to me," she shrugged.
"Nevertheless, you aren't quitting school. You don't have to anyway, things are going to sort themselves out quickly enough. Just give this one more, okay?" Alice said patiently, as she barged into the room on Jasper's arm.
Edward quickly turned to look at his sister to scan her thoughts, but she pointedly looked away and began thinking of her very recent shag with her mate. A tumble they had apparently taken before getting there, if their mixed scents were anything to go by. Edward recoiled from her thoughts in disgust, trying to flush the images out of his mind.
"If I'm not telling her, I'm definitely not telling you," Alice whispered softly and quickly only for the vampire's ears. Then turning to Hermione, she continued, "Give me one more day, okay? Everything will sort itself out tomorrow, only if you give it a chance. Don't be rash! Carlisle has a day off work tomorrow so Esme and him will swing by here and keep Andromeda company till you're in school and Rose as usual will take Teddy's charge. Be ready in the morning, we'll come over and pick you up for school."
"And I promise that if it doesn't work out by tomorrow, I will not stop you from dropping out," Alice solemnly looked into Hermione's eyes and promised while her right arm snaked behind her back and wickedly crossed her forefinger with the middle one.
"Now, have you had dinner?" -0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-
That was how next day morning, Hermione found herself dressed for school, for the first time in her life her homework undone in her bag while she cradled a sleepy baby in her arms.
"Hop in," Alice chirped from the back of Edward's car as Rosalie jumped out of Emmett's jeep and took the baby off Hermione and kissed it a very good morning, making the child wake up and gurgle in happiness. They were followed immediately by Carlisle and Esme, who had travelled out in their own car.
Greetings exchanged, and with a heavy heart, Hermione gave one last baleful look at the vampires in front of her house and got into the car.
"Just.."
"Call you when we need anything. We know, now go or you're gonna be late on top of everything else." Rosalie smiled and pushed a little at Hermione's back urging her into her car.
"You're looking better," Edward noted, giving her face a thorough scan from the rearview mirror. "Glamor charms," Hermione rubbed her tired eyes, and Edward noted the fatigue in them.
"You want to skip school and go back to sleep for a bit?" he offered, turning the steering wheel to take a u turn.
"No!" Alice said before Hermione could reply. "She'll be fine. We need to go to school."
Edward again tried to skim through her and Jasper's minds and in unison they both started thinking of their passion filled night. "Ugh!" he screamed in frustration.
Hermione quirked a brow at Edward's sudden burst of emotion but she did not have much strength to probe further. But when she realized where they were she hastily started, "Edward," she put her hand on his shoulder to bring his attention on herself and he braked the car hard in response to sudden burst of electricity he felt shooting through him.
Wide eyed, he caught her eyes and Hermione schooled down her own blush. "We didn't pick Bella."
Whatever fire he felt within him, doused immediately and he brought his attention back to driving, picking his pace again. "She won't be joining us from now on."
"Why?" Hermione furrowed her brows. She had a bad feeling about it all.
"They've hit a.. rough patch in their relationship and.. want some time away to gather their thoughts?" Jasper offered with a shrug.
Hermione just realized that Jasper was seated in the front of the car instead of the seat being vacant like it always was, "Right.." she refrained from rolling her eyes. Again, she was just too tired for this shit right now.
Even after Edward had parked the car and the vampires had gotten off, Hermione took her time to get down and then to walk to her class. Her usual exuberance lost to the lethargy that had set in bone deep.
It was during Math though, that Edward stiffened his posture and during the break that he held back his urge to snarl and throw his mate over his shoulder and run away from all.
Hermione was barely able to pay attention to whatever the teacher was ranting about permutations and combinations when she felt a distinct shift in the wards she had placed around the school's perimeter.
Since it was too big an area to shield by herself, Hermione had only put on alerting wards around the school. Though she felt every magical being in her vicinity with her magic core within, her wards were specific to Death Eaters. She hadn't really thought a stray death eater would stumble across her on a whole new continent in a tiny little town, but one could never be careful. With 'constant vigilance' stamped into her brain for all of posterity, she had erected the alerting wards only as a precautionary measure in the parameters.
With the shift in her wards, Hermione's magic immediately alerted her to an unwanted and dangerous presence and of it's own accord her wand hand flew to her other arm to feel for her wand, it being the only thing that helped her in times of distress.
Her fatigue forgotten, muscles taut with tension, back ramrod straight and hands clenching and unclenching constantly, she barely managed to sit still in her class instead of flying out of it to look for the unwanted guest. It was only Alice's cold hand arresting her wrist that made her sit through the last ten minutes of the class.
Edward saw Hermione's shift and instinctively his protective side came out, readying him for a fight should one ensue. But nothing happened.
The trio left the class and Hermione's eyes swept over ever column and passageway but they fell on nothing awry. Too worked to eat, she made a beeline for their table, turning her chair to face the door, hand still moving almost reverently over her hidden wand.
She didn't have to wait long. Her nemesis stood poised at the door tall, proud and stormy eyed as ever.