A/N: I'M BACK! Sorry for disappearing again for a long time. I was too busy to announce a break due to my uni. The workload was crazy, as expected since I'm doing a course on Nursing. But anyway, forgive me! For disappearing and for the short chapter! I will announce now that I'll update every fortnight until further notice.


Anchorage, Alaska, United States

In the Forest

Year 2000

"Edward, we're sorry." they called to him from behind. "We didn't know."

He clenched his jaws, blaming only himself for what happened. He should have acted sooner the moment he realised something was not right. It was no one's fault, not his brothers', not Garret. But his.

On the ground where he was on his knees, Kaylee lay still unconscious and looking so vulnerable in his arms. Her eyebrows were furrowed, lips downturned. He cradled her closer to him.

"Just bring Dad, Em. I can't move her as her leg is completely broken in half." he said.

They did not react outwardly, knowing already that there would definitely be some injury. They had inhuman strength after all. Plus, it was Emmett that had landed on her, and he was even more stronger than the average vampire. All needed to see was his size and the muscles to know it was the truth. So, a human up against that, and the outcome would be nothing but critical.

Edward did not even need Jasper's empath, or his pathokinesis, ability to feel their guilt. He can feel it; so thick that if a human were to pass by they would have been affected all the same, could even choke on it. He can also read their thoughts; they were reprimanding themselves, beating their self within, and apologising numerous times. And Emmett… he was the worst out of them as he was the one who hurt her.

Emmett took a shaky breath even though as a vampire, he did not need any. "You go it, bro." he said before he sped out, his guilt weighing him down and fueling him to run faster.

When he was gone, he heard his other brother move first before he saw him kneeling beside him from the corner of his eyes.

"Is there anything I can do?" Jasper asked softly.

"No, if we move her, we risk injuring her further," he replied. "All we can do is wait."

Not even five minutes later, Emmett was back and towing along their Dad and Eleazar, the latter carrying a stretcher. As soon as he saw the young girl that was in his son's arms, Carlisle rushed towards them and examined the girl that his children adored.

He winced when he spotted the angle her ankle was at, bent and out of shape.

"It's definitely broken," he announced grimly. "Let's get her on the stretcher, and take her back home."

A voiced coated in thick English accent suddenly called out, halting any sudden moves.

"Do not dare and move, or I will kill you all on the spot."

Shocked that someone was able to creep up on them without them hearing their footsteps, they turned towards the direction of the voice. And found themselves in the receiving end of a stick.

~O~

She was in a mission.

Hermione trudged forward, muttering to herself in her head as she followed her compass. That girl! If it was not Harry in trouble, it was that girl she called her best friend. She may as well be the female version of Harry, with all the things she gets up to.

She should no longer be surprised as she was always the one who followed Harry with his mischief and troublemaking schemes. Always the first one to agree to his plans. Albeit, she could not fault her. They were both each other's only family left, connected through their fathers who were brothers by heart. Therefore, it was to be expected that they would stick together.

She sighed. She would rather be relaxing by a fireplace while reading than be traipsing deep into a forest at night, and being caught unaware should things turn for the worse. Fortunately, she was a witch and able to defend herself and Kaylee if needed. As a bonus, her animagus, being an otter, allowed her to see in the dark, making looking for her best friend easier.

A sense of foreboding took over her. Something was wrong. Her steps faltered as she made sense of whatever her gut instincts are trying to warn her of, in the midst of her heart racing. However, as much as she wanted to stay in this spot to think about it, she needed to get Kaylee first.

She ran faster, eyes wide open and ears on the alert for a sound. It was only a few minutes when she stopped after hearing fallen branches cracking behind her, and without much thought she quickly hid behind a tree.

Her mouth opened in a silent gasp when she saw the blurs. Vampires.

If she had not trained to see the movement of vampires, she would have not been able to see there had been a group of them. It only happened a mere second but she undoubtedly noticed the blur of the pale bodies rushing as they passed her tree. Moving by as something akin to the spirits of the deceased.

With dread, she realised they were going in the same direction as where her compass is directing her to. Where Kaylee's location is.

Since these are vampires and have the ability to move fast and hit hard, she needed backup especially since they are in a group. It would have been okay if there was only one. She can handle one vampire but if they were a coven of three, she was at a disadvantage. They would easily outmaneuver her, and the most likely to happen is that they would snatch her wand from her. And she would be left defenseless.

She quickly sent a patronus to Harry and Ron, letting them know that Kaylee had taken down the barrier that prevented them from entering this town and they were now able to use the floo or apparate straight to her house. When that was done, she followed right after the vampires as she feared the worse was already happening.

If they could survive after this unscathed, Hermione knew Kaylee would definitely be chastised by Mrs. Weasley, Nymphadora and Remus. And then, of course, herself.

Glancing down at her compass, she noticed it return to its normal state before the locator spell was cast. It only meant she had reached her destination. She glanced up, her eyes widening. There were five of them! One of them were kneeling and the rest standing back, yet all were in a circle. Crowding around something.

Her eyes moved down, and then they narrowed to slits. At their feet lay her best friend in the arms of another vampire, making them six in total. She was unconscious. Alone. Defenseless. She would know that pair of sneakers anywhere, as it was her who gave it to her.

She moved quietly, ever so slowly towards them. Hermione was not sure if she was just that good at sneaking without making any sounds or if the vampires, for the very first time, was just distracted for them to pay her any attention, but Hermione moved successfully without being detected.

"Do not dare and move, or I will kill you all on the spot." Hermione bellowed, her wand pointed at them. As loathed as she is to use the Killing Curse, she would not hesitate to dirty her hands just to save Kaylee. If using that Unforgivable was the only way, then so be it.

All at once, six pairs of golden eyes looked up at her.

Hermione gasped. Golden eyes.

These were not the kind of vampires she was ready for. She knew of them, but she had never once dealt with the kind that stood before her. The Living Stone, was what the wizards and witches called them. Unlike The Living Dead, vampires like Sanguini, they were not skinny and gaunt nor did they have visible fangs but instead they were flawless and beautiful. Like picture perfect, magazine model beautiful.

Her heart skipped a beat when she realised she was doomed, silently panicking. The Killing Curse is useless to them. And then she calmed when she remembered that fire can destroy them. Even just one tiny spark of fire can become an uncontrollable blaze.

"Or I could always just set you all on fire."

She smirked when they winced at the mention of fire. Until one of them with the shoulder length wavy hair snickered.

"Where's your fire, girly?"

She glared at him. Great, she thought, this is just what she needed. A clueless bunch of vampires who have no idea that magic exists, if their lack of expression at the wand pointed towards them was anything to go by. No matter, she can show them what exactly she meant.

Quickly, she pointed at the ground, close enough that the guy can feel the heat. "Incendio!" A range and red flame flickered to life, scorching and hot. "There's my fire. Don't test me, vampire. I can easily cast it on you and you'll be nothing but ashes afterwards."

They stiffened, backs straightening. What they thought was just a stick was actually a weapon.

"Dude, that was awesome!"

Hermione's eyes snapped to the vampire who was the most buff of the coven.

"Emmett," the honey blonde vampire hissed at his brother.

"What?" He asked him. "You have to admit, that was great. It just came in existence out of nowhere." Emmett knew he should be terrified but he was not. They have the numbers, and can easily overpower her any time.

Hermione ignored him. "You," she pointed at the younger looking vampire beside the blonde one. "Release her. And both of you move away."

The man with the blonde hair stood slowly, hands up to pacify her. But the one holding her best friend snarled at her rather than doing what she demanded of him. "No."

"I'm only going to say this one more time. Release. Her. And. Move." She snapped.

"And I said NO." He seethed, his eyes turning black from anger.

Hermione's hair sparked, her temper rising at the dismissal. She was just about to cast a spell that would blast him back from Kaylee when a small, tinkling voice called out.

"Wait, Hermione! Stop!"

Hermione recognised the newcomer. Alice. She suddenly felt stupid for not knowing what she was when she first met her and her mother. Yet, they blended right in because at the time, she thought they were only wearing eye contacts.

Alice was followed by another girl, with blonde curly hair. A vampire too. Her odds were not in her favor now that there were eight of them. Backtrack, the favor was never hers to begin with as she was the only one on her side back when she faced the six of them.

She was just about to do something reckless and stupid when she felt people standing beside her.

"We've got you, 'Mione." She almost cried in relief as she heard Ron's voice on her right. As she glanced quickly at him, she saw Harry and Ginny beside him, and looking to her left, she found Bill and the twins. The twins winked at her simultaneously whereas Bill was glaring at the one who held his sister.

Aid had come, Kaylee's other brother figures included. She knew everything will be all right.

Off to the other side, a whole other conversation with the vampires were occurring, one that the humans were not able to hear.

"We came as soon as I saw a vision of you and these people in a standoff," Alice told them, eyes glancing down at Edward. I saw you die, Edward, she told him silently in her mind, tears that would never be able to shed filling her eyes. And Jasper.

Edward's lips thinned.

"Alice," she heard Hermione call to her. "Tell him to give Kaylee to us,"

"I don't know who you are but we know you are all vampires, and you're dangerous," the red-haired female added.

Rosalie shifted beside her. "We will never hurt her."

"Well, sorry if we don't believe that," the guy with the only dark hair amongst them said. "All we know about your kind is that you hurt and feed off from unwilling people."

At this, Hermione could not help but roll her eyes. Clearly, Harry did not read the full details of their species in the Magical Creatures book, which if he had he would understand there are two types of vampires. That he would be able to learn their differences and similarities.

"Please, my son will not hurt her," The blond vampire that had once been kneeling started. "She's too important. To hurt her is like hurting himself."

"It's true," Alice confirmed.

"My name is Carlisle. This is Edward," he motioned at the guy holding Kaylee. "Jasper," honey blonde dude that was in a defensive stance in front of Edward and Kaylee. "Emmett," the buff vampire. "Garrett." Hermione glared at the one who thought she was a joke. "Eleazar." Carlisle mentioned to the vampire beside him, who studied them in awe. "And you know Alice," Alice tried to smile but it turned out more of a grimace. No doubt this whole situation unsettled her. "But the other is Rosalie." Carlisle finished.

Rosalie was devoid of any emotion as she met Hermione's eyes.

Hermione lowered her wand to her side, but that did not lessen her defenses. One wrong move and she will whip up her wand faster than their survival instinct can detect danger. She only did this, however, because Kaylee had mentioned Edward and his family to all of them in her letters. Besides they were animal drinkers so they were safe.

One by one, the others too put down theirs for the same reasons until only Bill remained, his gaze zeroed in on Edward. Naturally, although he was not a full werewolf, he can still feel the animosity shared between werewolf and vampires, making him less likely to trust them.

"Why is she unconscious?" Bill asked.

The younger males looked at one another in guilt until Emmett said, "It was my fault. We were hunting when we came across her."

Carlisle, Eleazar, Alice and Rosalie gaped in horror.

Bill growled. "You attacked her?!" at the same time Rosalie hissed, "You idiots, you could have killed her!"

Bill wanted nothing more than to destroy these vampires, take his sister and leave with the others, but then he spoke again. And it finally made sense.

"Babe, we didn't know it was Kaylee. Trust me. It was weird, actually." Emmett explained, starting to panic in the face of his mate's anger. "We were hunting a black panther but as soon as I grabbed her, it turned into Kaylee. We'd never hurt her if we knew it was her," he turned towards them. "You have an explanation for this thing, right?"

Hermione rolled her eyes again as Ginny sighed. "I guess it's a good thing you're all magical creatures and not muggles."

"Muggles?" Eleazer spoke up, intrigued.

"It's what we call people who can't do magic in England." Hermione answered. "The magical society here would call it No-Maj. Have you never heard of it?"

The twins grinned. "Or heard of our kind?"

Before anything else could be done, Hermione stepped forward. "I apologise but you see, Kaylee is family to all of us and we were all concerned."

"No harm done," Carlisle smiled. "Although we are wondering how you know what we are, and wondering what you are." he eyed Bill's wand, who was only just relaxing his stance after the vampires have already done so.

"Excuse me for interrupting but is Kaylee hurt?" Ginny asked. "And is it okay if we come closer?"

Edward nodded at the last which irked Hermione that her other best friend had to ask first before they can do so. They should not have had to.

All at once, the vampires moved to give them space and they crowded around Edward and Kaylee to check, finding her ankle in an unfavorable angle.

"We were just going to move her back to our home and treat her there when Hermione arrived." Carlisle explained.

Hermione nodded. "Thank you, but it's okay now. We can treat her ourselves."

"Even so, I'll only settle after I had a look over her as well." Carlisle said. "You see, I'm a doctor."

She smiled, totally understanding. "Ah, no wonder."

"You can come with us," Eleazar said. "I imagine both sides have questions for the other."

They all nodded in confirmation.

"This is her first broken bone. She'll be upset." Harry stated as they watched Edward, his father and Eleazar move Kaylee on the stretcher without touching her ankle.

Ron chuckled. "Harry, you do remember we do have a medicinal spell that will heal broken bones immediately? Brackium Emendo, you should be familiar with it. Lockhart did demonstrate it once for you during our second year."

The twins snickered as Harry shoved Ron.

The vampires watched them closely, Carlisle and Eleazar mentally adding more to their list of questions as they set off home.