The Meadow

They were deep in the woods, in a clearing surrounded by thick, tall trees, the Golden Trio and the vampires. The child, Renesmee, and her caretaker, Jacob, stayed behind. It was dusk, and it was getting darker by the second. Hermione conjured one of her famous flame-in-a-jar's, hovering it behind the group, casting a warm blue glow across the meadow. "Who wants to go first? How about you Emmett? You can also demonstrate your speed and other senses. I need to see everything firsthand to get an idea of what we're up against," Hermione explained, her demeanor one of seriousness and authority. She had her wand out. Harry and Ron did the same.

Emmett walked into the center of the circular meadow, and then, all Harry felt was a rush of air, followed by a hypnotizing sweet scent, and Emmett was clear on the other side of the large clearing. "That was speed," he echoed, barely raising his voice. Harry strained to hear him. "I guess I'll show you my strength now. Sight and hearing aren't really things I can show you, you just have to trust me in that they are really, really good. In fact, I'm pretty sure there is a high school choir concert going on right now, if I'm not mistaken," he stopped talking when he saw Hermione tapping her foot. Harry wasn't sure why she was so impatient and jumpy.

Perhaps she didn't like the idea of being overpowered. Emmett proceeded to grab ahold of a thick oak, and rip the thing clear from the ground, roots and all. He then hoisted it above his head as if it weighed no more than a baby, and threw it, where it went crashing through the trees on the other side with a deafening roar. Harry's hands flew to cover his ears. Was it such a good idea to be making this much noise? Harry still wasn't sure how far way the town was. "Wait," he said, holding his hands up and bounding into the middle of the field. The vampires all watched him.

"Harry, what're you doing?" Hermione asked, clearly irritated. Harry's eyes scanned his surroundings, before he lifted his wand. "I don't think it's a great idea to be making this much noise. Just let me cast this spell really quickly," he said, and he waved his wand around his head, casting the Muffliato charm. The vampires all crouched low, hissing, their instincts taking over. Ron waved his hands in a downward motion. "Guys, calm down, he's just enchanting the area so nobody can hear us! Geez, it's like you're Muggles," he whispered the last part, but the vampires, with their superb hearing, obviously heard him. Rosalie crossed her arms, offended.

"What is that word you keep dropping casually?" she asked, her voice cold. Ron's face turned red, and his shoulders slumped. "Oh, um, it's just a term that witches and wizards use for non-Magical beings," he murmured. Rosalie narrowed her eyes, but didn't push the issue. Esme, however, had a follow up question. Hermione was getting more noticeably annoyed.

"But we're not magical," Esme pointed out. Ron nodded, and made to explain, but Hermione stomped her foot. "Can we please talk about this later?! To answer your question, Esme, yes, you're right, you're not magical, but you're not a Muggle either. To start, Muggles are human, but you are also aware that this world is not what it seems. Satisfied?" Hermione finished, her eyes on fire. Esme calmly nodded, stepping back. Hermione turned back to Emmett.

"Thank you, Emmett. Edward, you're next," she instructed, gesturing him into the center. After giving Bella a squeeze, who faced Hermione. "Emmett has already demonstrated the abilities that are innate in every single American vampire. If you'd like to see what my special gift is, you'll have to remove whatever it is that's preventing me from reading your minds," he said smoothly. Hermione narrowed her eyes. "Don't do it, Hermione! I like having my thoughts to myself," Ron exclaimed, taking her arm. Harry didn't say anything.

While it wasn't the most comfortable thing, he knew what it was like. Hermione ignored Ron, and reluctantly disenchanted the trio's minds. Harry didn't feel any different at all, and he thought it best to just keep thinking the way he usually did. Edward, on the other hand, seemed more relaxed than Harry had ever seen him in the short while that he'd been in his presence. His face was smooth, as he read every single thought that went through each of their heads. Harry swore he saw Edward's face twitch as he came across a thought that wasn't typical of humans, and it made Harry smile, knowing that he had information that freaked out even a vampire.

Edward stayed standing like that for the next fifteen minutes, soaking in all he could about witches and wizards, or at least what was going through the trio's head at the moment. Hermione became impatient about halfway through, noticeably and audibly sighing and tapping her fingers. When Edward reopened his eyes, they were full of intuition and perplexity. "That was amazing. How could I not have noticed?" he said, and walked off, muttering to himself, his eyes still wide with amazement.

Hermione exhaled loudly. "Alright, now that that is over, who else has any special abilities that I haven't seen in action?" she asked. Harry wasn't sure he could add another special ability to emotion-manipulation and mind-reading, but sure enough, the small pixie-haired one stepped forward. Her movements were so fluid, as if she was floating, her feet barely touching the ground. Her grace made Harry want to reconsider the way he moved around. Judging by the way Ron was staring at his feet, he felt the same way.

"I have the ability to see the future," Alice said. Harry couldn't help it, his jaw dropped, and he fell about halfway to the ground, before Ron caught him, using magic. As Harry hovered in mid-air, Alice explained her gift. "But my visions are subjective, because the future isn't set in stone, one change of heart, and I see a whole different future. It's pretty useful in combat, though," she added as an afterthought. She stared at Hermione. Hermione seemed to be trying to figure out something. Her eyebrows were scrunched together, and she was tapping her foot in rhythm.

"So, according to that, you knew Harry, Ron, and I were coming, didn't you?" she asked. Alice nodded quite solemnly. "Yes, but there was no way for me to know that you were who you are," Hermione's eyes narrowed even more, as if she couldn't quite wrap her head around the idea. Harry placed his feet on the ground. "Okay, I think we've seen everything we need to see. We don't have time to show you all that we can do, because our abilities are so extensive, so I guess you'll just have to trust us. When I say that we are just as powerful as you, I mean it, okay?" Harry said, speaking to the entire group, sans the child and her protector. The vampires nodded.

"Harry is right," Edward said. "My mind cannot even begin to comprehend their powers, and that is saying something," Harry flushed, not being able to help the rush of pride that coursed through him. At the same time though, he felt the burn of guilt. He was not superior. They were equals. Harry caught Edward's eye, who smiled at him slightly, and gave him a nod. Harry half-heartedly returned it, but leaned into Hermione's ear. "Hermione," he whispered. Hermione whipped around, her hair hitting him in the face. "Harry, it's no use whispering. They could hear us even if we enchanted our voices to be at their quietest. What is it?" she said, quite loudly. Harry's face burned red with embarrassment, standing back up straight.

He ran a hand through his hair, and adjusted his glasses. "I, uh, was just wondering if you could enchant our minds again. I feel weird knowing that Edward is inside my head," he said, shame creeping into his voice. Hermione's face softened a bit, and she flicked her wand. Almost instantaneously, Edward groaned, rubbing his temples. "Why do you have to do that? How can you people live without knowing what others are thinking?" he complained. Bella patted his shoulder, and gave Hermione a wink, before guiding him back to the house.

Hermione giggled softly. The rest of the vampires followed Edward and Bella back to the house. Harry noticed that as soon as Jasper left his eyesight, Hermione became significantly kinder and more approachable. Harry narrowed his eyes and made a mental note to keep an eye on Jasper, and to find a spell that would protect emotions as well. Harry looked at Hermione and Ron, and remembered the old days, back when they were hunting Horcruxes and battling Voldemort. And now they were back together, fighting towards the same goal. Peace.

Except this time they had extremely powerful, supernatural vampire allies to help them.