"My name is Edward Cullen, and you know Rosalie," the bronze-haired one, Edward, said, gesturing to the gorgeous blonde. The trio politely nodded, each of them feeling quite awkward. Edward still had a pained look to him, as if he was trying to read their expressions, but failing. "So," Hermione said, breaking the silence. "If you could just get us directions to town, we'd greatly appreciate it," she looked nervously over at Ron, who rested his hand on her knee. Harry greatly wished that he could have Ginny by his side at this moment, but she was thousands of miles away.
Edward stood up quickly, smoothly, like a dancer. "Of course, I'll be right back," he said, and then walked away, his steps light as air. Harry found himself mesmerized, and had to remind himself that he was in the presence of very dangerous creatures. He placed his hand on his hidden wand, just in case. Even if these creatures are unaware of magic, Harry can be sure that the Wizarding community knows of their existence, and what can a few memory charms not fix? Hermione, Harry noticed, was very alert, her eyes scanning the room constantly, and her muscles tensed, as if she knew something was off. The blonde, Rosalie, sat quietly by, very quietly. If Harry closed his eyes he wouldn't have even felt another presence to his left. He couldn't even hear her breathing.
He realized only then that the vampire probably wasn't breathing. The three were human after all, with warm, thick blood running through their veins. But Hermione had called this clan 'vegetarian'. Harry wrapped his fingers around his wand, and glanced at Ron, who looked just as worried as he did. Edward returned silently, a map in his hand. "Here we are," he said, smiling softly. He handed the map to Hermione, who took it slowly. "I have highlighted the route back to town, so it'll be easy for you to find your way,"
Hermione did not respond, instead looked up at Edward, her eyes narrowed. Harry swallowed, and took initiative, standing up. Ron followed his lead. "Thank you very much for your hospitality," he said, pulling Hermione up. She did not take her eyes off of the vampire, and Harry saw her begin to lift her wand out of her pocket. Ron noticed too. He placed both of his hands on Hermione's shoulders, and tried to steer her towards the door. "We'll just be leaving now," he said, his voice shaking. Edward and Rosalie, both of whose faces remained smooth and blank, nodded, smiling.
They were very good at hiding their emotions, Harry mused, and then he felt it. The hairs on the back of his neck stood up, prickling. He felt his palms break out in a cold sweat, and he looked to Ron. Ron looked back at him, Harry's own confusion mirrored in his eyes. What was going on? It was as if someone was manipulating his emotions. The three were facing Edward and Rosalie, each one of them tensed and fearful. The vampires were watching them, with a hint of intrigue. Then it all happened very fast.
One second, their were only two vampires, and then Harry saw a dash of color almost indistinguishable, almost invisible one could say. And then there was another vampire, walking quite calmly toward the group. She was just as beautiful as the blonde-haired one, but she had dark hair, and a softer face. She stopped next to Edward, taking his hand. Her butterscotch eyes locked on Harry's, and she grinned at him. But it was too late. The trio had exposed themselves. All three of them had pulled out their wands and aimed them at the vampires. Ron was standing slightly in front of Hermione, to protect her, and Harry was the closest.
The vampires, dumbfounded, crouched low, not expecting the trio to react the way they did. Harry heard air whistling through their mouths, but it reminded him of Parseltongue, of hissing. Were they hissing at them? Suddenly, as if appearing out of thin air, five more vampires were suddenly by Edward and Rosalie and the brunette's side, crouching low, snarling at the trio. Harry didn't know what to do. He sideways glanced at Hermione, who's eyes flicked back to Harry. Harry saw her step forward slightly, and he knew she was going to either speak or curse.
She chose the latter. With a fancy wave of her wand, all eight vampires were frozen where they were, only their eyes and mouths moving. Hermione lowered her wand, but kept it ready. Harry copied her, and so did Ron. Harry hesitated a bit, but then stepped forward. "We're sorry, but we couldn't take any risks, what with you being so strong and fast," he said. Edward looked at him, his face twisted in confusion. "Do you know what we are?" he asked through gritted teeth. The other vampires hissed louder, struggling against the magical restraints. Harry looked at all of them, and his rested on a young male, with messy blonde hair. He seemed to be focusing very hard on Harry.
As Harry gazed, he felt his insides grow cold. His stomach seemed to fall, and his skin became prickly. He felt very terrified, and he reacted by pointing his wand at the vampire's neck. "No!" Hermione cried, jumping in front of him. "He's manipulating your emotions!" She looked at Harry, her eyes formidable. Harry quickly lowered his wand, backing away from Hermione. She turned suddenly and then did the exact same thing that she had just told Harry not to do. She aimed her wand at the vampire. "Imperio," she whispered, and the vampire melted, the curse breaking. His eyes wandered aimlessly, under Hermione's control.
"That should stop him from attacking our emotions," she murmured. The other vampires were visibly struggling, obviously full of confusion and frustration. "Now," Hermione said, keeping her wand pointed at the blonde-haired vampire, who followed her around like a lost puppy. "We're not here to hurt you, but seeing as we've exposed who we really are, I feel as if we need to explain ourselves before leaving," she began, stopping next to Ron, who entwined his hand with hers. Harry felt strangely alone, but he crossed his arms just the same. Hermione continued.
"My name is Hermione, this is Ron, and that's Harry. We're from the United Kingdom, and we're part of a secret magical community that resides in London. I'm a witch, and these two are wizards. You are not alone in the supernatural world. There is a magical community here in America, but unlike the British community, the sub-genres of magical folk are kept strictly apart, with no contact between each branch. We know about you, but you don't know about us. We are not your enemy, and that is crucial for you to understand. We are equally powerful, each of us able to defeat the other, but that is not the goal. The goal is to unite as one and fight against anyone who threatens our peace or our people. We have the same goal, really," she finished, and then with a wave of her wand, she unbound the vampires.
Harry half-expected them to lunge at the three of them and tear their faces off, but they do nothing of the sort, though the big one seems open to the idea. Edward ran a hand through his hair, and looked at Hermione. "So you must have some sort of shield protecting your thoughts, then?" he asked. Hermione nodded. Edward nodded too, though he did not seem to feel any better. Another vampire, with slicked back white-blonde hair that reminded Harry vaguely of Draco Malfoy, stepped forward. He held out his hand, which Harry shook hesitantly. "My name is Carlisle Cullen, and this is my wife, Esme," A maternal, brown-haired woman smiled warmly at Harry. Carlisle proceeded to introduce the rest of the clan. The emotion-manipulating one's name was Jasper, who Hermione had relinquished control of. The sprightly one with spiky black hair was Jasper's mate, Alice, and then there was Emmett, and Bella.
Harry nodded politely to all of them, and thought it safe to put away his wand. But he kept it close. "Well," Ron said awkwardly. "What now?" Hermione looked at him, wringing her hands. "Erm, I suppose I should contact the American Ministry of Magic, and inform them of what has happened. And they'll probably ship us back to Britain," she trailed off. However, Carlisle stepped forward, holding up his hands. "This is all very hard for us to wrap our heads around, which is saying something, but you three have extensive abilities beyond our comprehension, correct?" he asked. Harry faltered. He wasn't sure he'd use those words, but Carlisle wasn't technically wrong. "Yeah, you could say that," Ron said slowly. Carlisle glanced at Edward briefly, who gave him a stiff nod.
Carlisle looked back at the trio. "Hermione, you did say that your goal was to maintain peace and security for all peoples, right?" he asked. Hermione nodded slowly. Carlisle swallowed, his smooth resolve shaky. "Well, we actually have a little problem we're dealing with. An injustice really, and to have you on our side could be exponentially helpful to us. I completely understand if you'd rather not become involved, but if you could perhaps just hear us out, it would be greatly appreciated," Carlisle finished, staring at Hermione, Harry and Ron, with a look of pleading. Harry did not want to get involved in a couple American vampires' shenanigans, but Hermione overruled him.
"What problem, exactly?" she asked. Carlisle's face relaxed, and he turned slightly. "Jacob," he called to an unseen entity. "Can you please bring out Renesmee?"