Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the intellectual property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of Stephenie Meyer and JK Rowling. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.

Of Regrets and Revelations

He'd messed up. He'd been stupid and he'd incredibly messed up. It was his entire fault and there wasn't a thing he could do to change that now. Edward regretted his recent actions and mostly his actions towards the beautiful and talented witch, Hermione Granger.

It was strange how he'd been able to resist so long to his attraction as well as his thirst for Bella Swan. Yet, in only one night, Hermione Granger had been able to undo every previous conviction he'd ever had about women. In that single night, Edward Cullen had totally fallen for the captivating witch. He hungered for her touch and her attention. He craved her caress and her love. He lusted for her body and her passion. In short, Edward Cullen had wanted Hermione Granger and the opportunity having presented itself to him that night, he took it. He took her.

That, he did not regret. He also did not regret their passionate lovemaking the morning after, on the bed, and later in the shower. However, what Edward really regretted was how he ended their story. They didn't actually end it; he just walked out of her hotel suite.

He was going to join her in the shower when his phone rang. Rosalie had called him. He was certain that his heart had shattered into a million pieces when he heard what his sister had to tell him when he called her back. It couldn't be true. It simply couldn't be. He left her so that she could be safe from the violence that plagued his world and yet, she died. He couldn't believe it, so he called her house.

When the Mutt told him that Charlie was away at a funeral, he couldn't deny it any longer. Bella had ended her life and it was only his fault. Well, at least, he believed it at the time. He'd promised her that it would be forever but he left her and she wasn't strong enough to overcome the pain he'd caused her. It was his fault and Edward believed he would not be able to 'live' through immortality with the guilt.

He had to end it. He would have to do it because, in his pained and grieving mind, a world without Bella Swan wouldn't be worth his immortality. He would go to the Volturi. He made to leave the room but then his eyes fell on Hermione's dress that he'd ripped in his haste the previous night.

What about her? She had said yes to him when he asked her to marry him. Edward had been very sincere when he'd asked her to be his wife. Maybe, in a way, he had found comfort in Hermione's arms but Edward felt that it had been much more than that. Still he couldn't knowingly wed the young witch when a large part of him grieved for another woman.

He made another mistake and this time again; he would be breaking the heart of another woman. However, Edward knew that Hermione, unlike Bella, was a strong woman. She was a strong-willed, determined, young, and powerful witch. He would most probably stifle such an independent spirit. Hermione would definitely not desire such a life with him, as least that was what he was convincing himself. It might be for the best.

However, a part of him felt as though he would be making a terrible mistake, that whatever there was between Hermione and him might lead to bigger and better things. Still, Edward left. Before he went, he left only a single red rose and a little piece of paper on her pillow. The little piece of paper was scribbled with only a few words to explain his flight.

I am sorry, Hermione.

I made a mistake.

Forget me.

Forever,

Edward.

Now, as he watched Hermione standing there at the door of his house, he knew that he was not mistaken. She was as strong as he knew her to be. He was the only one who had been weak. He was surprised to see her there though. He clearly remembered what she told Carlisle the day he flew off to Italy.

"I understand Carlisle. Sadly, I do understand what Edward felt. However, it won't change a thing if I let myself wallow in self-pity because of one guy." It hurt greatly to hear that he had only been 'one guy' who had walked in and out of her life. He did not even want to know how many men Hermione knew on an intimate level.

"I have an important mission to accomplish now and I'll commit myself to it. Yes, I've been hurt to see that Edward did not have the courage to tell me that he won't stay because he loved his girlfriend more. But, it doesn't matter. I am a stubborn, independent, know-it-all, bookworm and I'm very proud of it. I'll be all right, may be not today nor tomorrow but I'll be all right."

It pained him even more to know that Hermione would not have done anything and would not have come for him. A sick part of him was disappointed when he realised that Bella was the one who had stopped him from revealing himself to the humans in Volterra. Why did she not come after him? Did what they had mean so little to her?

It was mean coming from him considering the way he left her but Edward was past caring. He wanted Hermione to have jumped there in his arms instead of Bella. Whatever he'd want, it was only a dream on his part, and it wasn't doing him any good whatsoever. Moreover, he was a vampire and vampires weren't able to sleep and thus, had lost the capacity to dream. Overall, Hermione Granger had really messed up with his rationality.

Therefore, to see Hermione standing there after all this time, it was the last day of November Edward was more than a little surprised. However, he realised quickly that she had not come for him when she asked, Harry, the man who had accompanied her, where they were.

Carlisle's thoughts were a garbled mess but Edward was able to pick up a name that had flicked through Carlisle's mind a lot these past months, Tony. Who was this Tony? Additionally, how did this Tony connect to Hermione?

"Carlisle?" She sounded shocked to see him. "Yes, I came!" She answered with a large smile before the smile faded quickly. "What do you mean? Where did you take me to Harry Potter? I thought you said you'd be taking us to a safe house?" Hermione asked as she rounded on the black-haired young man.

"Why does she need a safe house?" He heard Jasper ask. He would have asking the same question himself but the sudden arrival of Hermione had somehow shutdown his curious nature.

"Well, this is your safe house, Hermione. As no one knows of your rather unusual circumstances, other than our most trusted friends and parents, they won't come looking for you here." Harry answered as he first noticed his family standing behind him. Edward understood that the 'rather unusual circumstances' the young wizard was referring to, meant him.

"Fair enough, but where are we, then?" Hermione asked turning to look at Carlisle and now seeing the rest of his family over his shoulders.

"In Forks, Washington. At my house." Carlisle answered but Edward already knew that Hermione had finally understood where she was as her eyes landed on him.

"Oh!" she exclaimed.

"Indeed," he thought.

"May we discuss this matter in a more private setting," The young man Edward knew was the infamous Harry Potter asked.

"Yes, we can talk in my office," Carlisle answered automatically.

It was strange to his family to see their normally calm father figure act so nervous and anxious. Edward frowned at the unusual behaviour of Carlisle. He knew that Carlisle had kept contact with Hermione. He understood the reason why Carlisle had wanted to keep contact with the young witch. She was genuinely one of the first true friends Carlisle had been able to make outside of their close-knit group, and she was a witch. Hermione was one of the rare members of the Wizarding World that had good-naturedly extended a hand to a member of the vampire community.

He was surprised however to note how close Carlisle was to Hermione's best friend. That was something that he'd managed to keep to himself. Thus, Edward could not help but wonder how many other secrets Carlisle had managed to hide from his family.

"This way," Carlisle said as he directed the witch and the wizard to his office, the latter pair nodding at them as they entered the house. He felt Hermione's eyes linger a little longer on him than on the rest of his family who simply waved at them as they passed.

Once the door of the office was closed, Edward heard Hermione say, "Muffliato," and it was as if someone had muted all sound coming from Carlisle's office. They weren't able to pick up a single sound from the other side of the room and even Edward was unable to hear Carlisle's mind. That was very strange and of course, it only fuelled Edward's natural curiosity. He wanted to know what was going on and what was being kept from them.

"Well, that was strange," said Jasper as he stared at the office door. "It would seem that Carlisle has some secrets that he wants to keep from us."

"That's ridiculous, Jasper!" Esme said not as confident as she wanted to be as she too stared at the office door. "They only want to talk about matters that concern only themselves with Carlisle. That's likely why they desire privacy."

"You know," Rosalie started. "Have you noticed that Carlisle has been acting strangely lately? And that's not counting the cold shoulder he's been giving to Bella ever since he returned from checking on Hermione when she tried to contact Edward."

"Yes, I did," replied Jasper. "It's like something changed after that."

True. Something changed after that. Like the rest of his family, Edward had also noticed it. He knew that Carlisle had been disappointed by his actions; he read that from his thoughts. He understood completely. He was disappointed in himself also.

However, it did not explain Carlisle's odd behaviour as of late. Every time that Bella was to stay at their place, Carlisle would find something to do so that he would not be near her. He avoided Bella like the plague. He would either stay in his office working or reading or he would work long hours at the hospital. It still did not explain why he acted that way. After all, Bella came to save him not Hermione.

Edward was unable to decipher this mystery. He knew that Carlisle was able to hide some of his thoughts from his ability. They'd lived through so much together that Carlisle had had enough time to practice. Edward still did not understand what Carlisle was trying to hide from him and what secrets he was keeping from the rest of the family. How he was able to do these things with the combined abilities of Jasper, Alice and of himself?

While his family speculated on the reasons for Hermione and her friend's visit, Edward got lost in his thoughts. Again, his thoughts meandered on that glorious night in March. It had been so perfect between them and yet again, he managed to fuck that up royally.

Whatever spell had been cast on Carlisle's office was lifted nearly three hours later. What was so important that they had to discuss it for three hours and under such stringent security?

"Thank you Carlisle for everything," Hermione said as she pushed the door open. "Get back to us as soon as you can for your decision. In the meantime, I'll be getting back to the Big Apple to continue with my packing."

"It's nothing, Hermione," Carlisle said, "I'll be giving you the answer as soon as possible."

"Whatever your answer may be, we thank you for actually considering it," Harry said as his eyes fixed on Edward.

"I understand," Carlisle said knowingly as he looked in the same direction as Harry.

Edward frowned in response at his 'father'. What was there to understand? Edward immediately understood that it was about him. He felt another pair of eyes turn to him and he knew it was Hermione. His eyes switched to her automatically but when he did, Hermione had turned away.

"We've got to get going," Hermione announced. "Thank you for your hospitality," she added as she turned to Esme and the rest of the family who had stayed silent watching the exchange.

"It was a pleasure, Hermione. It was a pleasure to see you again and I hope to see you soon." Esme said jovially, always the perfect host. She turned to the young man whom they already knew was named Harry Potter.

"Oh, let me introduce you to my best friend, Harry Potter." Hermione remembered as she pushed her friend towards Esme who awkwardly introduced himself and waved at the rest of the family.

"It's a pleasure meeting you everyone," Harry muttered. "But, like Hermione said, unfortunately, we've got to get going. We have some planning to do."

They walked off in direction of the door followed by Carlisle and the rest of the family. Edward was still trying to understand how whatever they've discussed could concern him. When he looked up, Hermione was already standing out of the door and saying her goodbyes.

Their eyes finally connected. He did not know what he expected but it was not that. There was no pain or anger in her eyes. Edward saw fear in Hermione's eyes and for a second, he wanted to cross the room and hold Hermione in arms and will her fear away. The second later, Hermione turned on the spot and disappeared with a pop. Harry just nodded at Carlisle before he too turned on the spot and disappeared with a pop.

Carlisle heaved a great sigh before he turned to everyone assembled at the door. "I've got a lot of explaining to do so we better all get inside."

"That shall have to wait as I've got to go see Bella," Edward said as he picked up his jacket on the couch where he'd left it.

"Bella can wait, Edward. Hermione and Tony can't," Carlisle said with authority and Edward stopped in his tracks.

"Who is Tony?" Esme asked.

A thought passed swiftly through Carlisle's mind but Edward wasn't able to grasp the full content of it. Yet again, the name of Tony had been omnipresent. Really, who was this Tony?

Carlisle sighed before he started. "You must understand that I've always been proud of every one of you. I consider every one of you as my children," he said as he hugged Esme. "Even though we are not related by blood, I have always been proud of every one of you. Whatever your achievements, failures or successes, I could not have wished for such a beautiful family. I am today a very proud father and …"

He was cut off when Alice had rushed to his side and hugged him. "And you are everything we could ever wish for, Carlisle. When we came to you, you did not just act as a mentor to us. You've been a father to us all." Alice said as she thought of how Jasper and she had come looking for them.

Jasper nodded as he thought of how his life had been before he met Alice and before the pair of them came to the Cullen house. "Thank you, Carlisle," his empath brother simply said.

"Our family could never be complete without the two of you," Esme said as she looked in turn to Jasper and Alice.

"But that's just it." Carlisle added when Alice stopped hugging him and went back to Jasper's side. "Our family is not yet complete."

"Carlisle, you know that Bella will be part of our family only when Edward finally decides on a date for the wedding!" Alice supplied as she looked at Edward.

"I'm not talking about Bella, Alice." Carlisle replied as he shook his head. "This doesn't concern Bella. I'm talking about Hermione and Tony."

"But, who is this Tony, Carlisle? You've yet to tell us that!" Emmett exclaimed with impatience.

The rest of the family nodded. Something however had struck Edward. It couldn't be. There was no possible way.

"Tony … he is –" Carlisle started but he was once again interrupted.

This time however Edward was the one who caused the interruption. The simple thought was just ridiculous but he could not stop himself from asking.

"Carlisle?" Edward started and his father turned his golden eyes on him giving him his full attention. "Tony … he is, he is …" He stumbled upon his words and he suddenly found his throat too tight to voice out his question. Yet, he had to know, "Tony, he is my son, isn't he?"

He heard the answer in Carlisle's mind before his father figure confirmed it. "Yes, Edward. Tony is your son."

"WHAT?" His family chorused in sync.

Author note:

Oddly enough, I am very satisfied with my work on this chapter. It turned out just the way I wanted it to be.

I wish to end this chapter by saying that the response following the posting of the last chapter has been above my highest expectations. I take the opportunity to thank everyone that have reviewed, listed it as one of his or her favourites, or have followed it.

On a side note, I'd like to add that the response to my new fanfiction has also been above my highest expectations for a first chapter and I thank everyone for that.

Thanks to all the reviewers: xDarklightx, HPfanficfan2, Amata0221, Chelsea2013, Astanley1991, NorthernLights25, Arabellagrace, LeonaMasha, Kirsty'xo, Cutipieeva, Yadyforever, Scarlette, Guest10/27, Pineapple.X, Sweets1111, LenOfMarch, The Crazy Wizard, Love Comes From Pain, Amjed, Sampdoria, Jeluem, IAimHigher, Flyingberry, ManuMilitari, Ines Marie Pattinson, SimUleyte, BigTimeGleekBTR, Quebie331, Kira48, Angel, India And Jovica, PikuPow, Arianna21, Ptit Con, Lauritch, Dores, The Belle Nabab and HermisLupim26.

Thus, I'll end this by wishing to every one of you a great day and as always, take care of yourselves.

Love,

Ludo.