A/N: Sorry for the wait! My laptop decided to crash and I'm in the middle of trying to get it fixed. So I'm relying on Word on my phone in the meantime, which isn't great as I don't have a proper flow of writing on here compared to my laptop. I've decided to stop giving dates of when I'll upload, I seem to be too busy these days to stick to it. Unfortunately that means that updates are going to be a lot slower as most of my notes were on there and weren't backed up to the right Cloud account.

Also, I've taken some liberties with the lore of Twilight, mostly (for now) the reasons behind the Shapeshifter's starting their change. It's AU for a reason, guys.

Enjoy!

Chapter 5: Confrontations

Approximately 4,822 miles away in a townhouse in the middle of Islington, London, Harry Potter was beside himself.

Since he received Hermione's second, and extremely brief, letter the night before, he had been in a panic.

We're talking pacing the hallways, pulling his hair, talking to himself sort of panic.

He hadn't slept.

He hadn't eaten.

He wasn't even sure if he had been to the toilet.

The words in the letter haunted Harry. He felt like he was living a nightmare.

Hermione was supposed to go to America to find her parents and finally be safe after all these years.

But now…

Another hysterical, strangle-sounding noise made its way out of Harry's mouth as he pulled particularly hard on the hair on the back of his neck.

Harry,

They are Vampires.

Vegetarian, so I should be safe.

Love you,

Hermione

P.s. here's my new mobile number. I realised I didn't give you it in the last letter. Call me any time!

Hermione was going to be the death of him one day.

Should be safe. Should be safe. All Harry could think about was Hermione's corpse turning up on the doorstep of Grimmauld Place in about a week's time from MACUSA. Or maybe they won't find her body, and she's reported missing until she's eventually reported as dead. Or perhaps they turn her into a vampire and keep her as a 'proper' member of the family, even though her Great-whatever Grandfather was the head of the clan.

Merlin's saggy ball sack.

Harry stopped short when he realised he was the only one with this news. He hadn't even told Ron yet, and they were currently roommates while they completed their Auror training. It was Friday, though, which meant that Ron stayed with his parents for the night and caught up with his family and what he had missed over the last week.

Ron was going to kill him for not letting him know straight away.

Harry didn't know whether to go to the nearest International Portkey Office, demand a Portkey to wherever Hermione was, and take her home, or if he should just wait and see what happened because Hermione wasn't the Brightest Witch of her Age for nothing.

But she was also his best friend and he was very, extremely, insanely worried about her safety.

He remembered, vaguely mind you, a clan of vampires at the Final Battle. He couldn't remember what side they were on, but they were fighting other Vampires and succeeded. Considering those vampires were the ones that Voldemort had recruited, Harry could only assume that this new clan was on their side. Vampires tended to go into business for themselves, so he wasn't exactly sure.

Harry remembered how ruthless and violent they were though, and could only hope that these Vegetarian Vampires that Hermione had somehow found herself related to weren't going to tear her limb from limb and drain her of her bloody, magical life force.

He could only hope.

The grandfather clock in the drawing room chimed three in the morning, causing Harry to sigh and stop his worried pacing. No matter how worried about Hermione he was, there wasn't anything he could do. Not really. They were on different continents, in different countries, under different Magical Enclave Jurisdictions. Hermione even said that she was safe, so Harry would have to begrudgingly take her word for it.

Besides, he knew that if there was even the slightest problem, he would be in that International Portkey Office in a flash and on the first Portkey to Washington. Harry would just have to trust that Hermione knew what she was doing and that she would keep out of trouble.

If only Harry knew about the Quileute tribe and their Shapeshifting tendencies.

oOoOoOo

Hermione fidgeted nervously as she stared up at the Cullen Residence. She had been stood outside for about 15 minutes, gathering her courage to knock on the door and demand answers. Answers that would also result in her exposing her magic and the magical world in which they all belonged. She'd not long apparated back from Seattle, after sending Harry a short note telling him of what she discovered so he wouldn't have to keep researching for her. As it was a ridiculous time in the UK, Hermione wasn't expecting a response from him anytime soon.

Which was why Hermione decided to just rip the plaster off and confront Carlisle about her discovery. She was his granddaughter after all. He deserved to know who and what she was, as she deserved to hear the same from him.

Don't get her wrong, she's expecting a long night with arguments and accusations, and potentially a history lesson on both the Cullen Clan and the Wizarding World, but there should be plenty of time for that. Hermione was in America for about a month anyway, so there was time to tell each other of their backgrounds and what their lives are like now.

If only she could summon that infamous Gryffindor Courage to knock on the bloody door.

Luckily for her, someone came to her rescue.

"Hermione!" Alice's cheerful voice mirrored the smile on the petite woman's face as the front door was thrown open. She skipped down the steps, arms wide to bring Hermione into a hug. Alice didn't seem to mind that she didn't return it, choosing instead to hold her out at arms length and taking a good look at her. "You look tired, have you been sleeping well?"

"Uh, I don't… no, I don't really sleep that well anymore," Hermione said to her, embarrassed that the woman in front of her was able to suss out something that not even Harry or Ron was aware of. Her nightmares from the war still plagued her dreams, and she slept less and less these days. She thought she'd applied a glamour charm to her eyes to hide the dark puffy bags that seemed to take permanent residence beneath her eyes, but she clearly hadn't if Alice was worried about her sleep.

"I'm sure we can figure something out to help you sleep," Alice told her with a smile, taking Hermione's hand and leading her up to the beautiful home. She took her straight into the kitchen and all but forced her to sit in a chair at the island. "I'm sorry you were waiting so long, we took a morning stroll into the woods and came back just now."

Hermione watched with a critical eye as Alice began to swiftly prepare a cup of tea for her. If she hadn't have known any better, she would have believed Alice's lie and thought nothing of it.

However, this was Hermione Jean Granger we were talking about, and of course she knew better. She wondered to herself how long Alice had been telling these lies for. It seemed like a second nature to her.

Alice turned on her heel as she waited for the kettle to boil. She gave Hermione a wide smile, her hands resting on the marble counter top behind her.

"So, what brings you here, Hermione?" The slight woman asked, the twinkling in her voice mesmerising Hermione ever so slightly.

"Oh, you know… I was getting bored in La Push so I thought I'd come and see what you guys have been up to," Hermione gave her a smile and a small shrug of her shoulders. She noticed Alice's smile falter when she mentioned the place where she was staying, but decided to make a note of that for later. Didn't they like La Push?

"It's only been a couple of days since you last saw us," Alice said to her, an amused grin taking up her face. "Mostly we've been busy with school. That's why we decided to have a walk in the forest today. It was beautiful weather for it."

A frown started to pull at Hermione's eyebrows, but she managed to stop herself from executing the move in time. Until half an hour ago, it had been absolutely pissing it down with rain. There was no way the Cullens thought it was perfect weather to take a walk in the forest.

"Is that where the others are? Getting dry from being caught in the rain?"

"Oh, they decided to go out somewhere for lunch," Alice tried to wave off her curious probing with a flippant wave of her hand. "I wasn't feeling hungry and decided to come home early. Good job I did, or you'd have been waiting out here for ages."

"Yeah, good job." Hermione continued to give Alice a curious look even as a mug of tea was placed in front of her. Her hands automatically went to cradle the cup protectively.

"What do you think of Forks then, Hermione?" Alice moved around the island to sit next to the witch. She gave her a big smile, one that Hermione couldn't help but return even if it wasn't as blinding.

"Well, aesthetically it's not that much different to Scotland, where I went to boarding school for the last seven years," Hermione paused to take a deep sip of her tea. She just abut managed to hold back her sigh of content for the hot beverage. "The weather's the same and there's a lot of woodland areas where I used to live. The culture is definitely different, and I can see there's even more of a difference between Forks and La Push. It's fascinating to see."

"You'll have to tell me all about Scotland one day. I've always wanted to go to Europe, but we don't seem to vacation much. Too much moving around and trying to settle, I think." Alice gave Hermione a suspiciously tight smile then, which Hermione locked away for later examination. "Carlisle talks about England a lot, though. I think he misses it."

This was it, Hermione's chance to ask more about Carlisle and his history and to subtly acknowledge the fact she knew that they were all vampires.

She was, however, a Gryffindor, and they weren't exactly known for their tact or subtlety.

"How long has it been since he was last in England? He doesn't seem old enough to have children your age, let alone being away from his motherland long enough to miss it." Hermione kept one eye on Alice as she took another sip of her tea.

Heaven forbid she let it go cold and waste it. It was blasphemy.

"Oh, he's about 40," Alice shrugged nonchalantly, suddenly finding a small crease in her shirt more interesting than this conversation. It was clear to Hermione that she wasn't usually asked these many questions about herself and her family. "Give or take."

"Give or take?" Hermione tried to hold back a disbelieving laugh. "You don't know how old your adoptive father is?"

"Not… to an exact year, no. Is that bad?" Alice asked, trying to blush. She was definitely embarrassed by the line of questioning but if she wasn't, you know, undead and everything, there would definitely be a blush on her cheeks.

"I suppose not. My friend Ron wasn't that great about remembering adults' ages either." Hermione admitted, giving her a small smile. The thought of Ron pulled at something within her. She still hasn't heard from him, and it worried her a bit. It was typical Ron behaviour after all, but the way he acted when she announced her departure for America, she would have thought he'd try to keep communications with her.

Especially after the news she shared with Harry that she assumed he would also share with Ron.

"Anyway. Less talk about parents ages." Hermione said with a sudden pep in her voice. "How come you move a lot?"

"Carlisle is one of the best doctors in the country. He keeps being asked by different hospitals for his help, so we move with him until he's moved onto the next." The answer fell from Alice's lips as easily as breathing. That was definitely a practiced answer, presumably one they all have to give every time they move to a new town.

"That makes sense." Hermione nodded, her eyes suddenly focused intensely on her half-drunk tea. "I just assumed it was because you're all vampires, and it raises a lot of questions about why you all don't age, so you figure it makes sense to keep moving every few years to keep the questions at bay."

You could hear a pin drop from a mile away from Alice's shocked silence.

It was all the confirmation Hermione needed, really.

oOoOoOo

"I'm telling you, something is wrong."

"Nothing is wrong, Jacob. Leave it be."

"But all the Elders are on alert. I haven't seen them this wound up in… ever!"

"I said leave it be!" Billy Black shouted at his son. He looked over from his place at the kitchen table to see the devastated look on Jacob's face. He sighed, folding his hands into his lap. "It is business that doesn't concern you."

"And it concerns Sam, Jared and Paul?" Jacob asked indignantly, walking around his father's wheelchair to sit in the creaky seat next to him. "They're not Elders, and yet they know about this? They're involved, and I want to be involved."

Jacob paused, looking at the wary look on his father's face that seemed to age him by at least twenty more years.

"Has it got something to do with Hermione?" He asked quietly, his eyes never leaving his father's face. Jacob liked to think that he knew his father better than anyone, and could tell when he was lying or at least withholding information from him.

"I…" Billy sighed, running a hand down his face. He was exhausted from sudden council meetings about this new visitor the tribe had. Far too many questions had been flung around about the English beauty, and far too many had no answers. Especially since Quil decided to open his mouth and decided to question everyone about the pop noises that were coming from the forest.

"I think there's a lot to this woman that has gotten a few people concerned about her intentions here. I know you care about her," Billy quickly interrupts Jacob before he could defend her, "But I believe there is more than one reason why Sam, Paul, and Jared have phased."

"What, you think she's a bloodsucker too? She can't be, I would know. I've been around her enough times!"

"We don't think she's a bloodsucker," Billy paused, noticing the way Jacob was suddenly tense at the thought of Hermione being anything evil. He certainly wasn't going to be happy at Billy's next sentence.

"We think she's something a lot worse."