A/N As an apology gift for not updating in so long, there is a lime, but not a lemon, in this chapter. Enjoy :)
Reminders
The silence was thick as Carlisle read. I felt like I had suddenly gone deaf the moment Edward brought the book to our attention. Centered in the couch was Carlisle, flanked at either side by Alice and Esme, both reading from either side of him. Emmett and Japer stood behind the couch, reading over his shoulder.
I curled myself deeper into Edward's embrace as we sat at the love seat. Edward didn't need to see the words of the book to know exactly what it said. He was most likely reading it through someone's mind.
I didn't want to know what the book said. That little binded stack of papers thoroughly slaughtered the hope I'd allowed myself to build. I was excited at the possibility that I could get out of the house and skip the multiple years of confinement from humans. The prospect of continuing to be a part of a community was comforting. Through the change, I had lost a lot. My family, friends and place in a community were all forfeited for a chance at eternal love with Edward. I still believe it was a fair trade, but I could see how happy it made Edward that some of it could be returned… it crushed me to see him disappointed.
I kept my eyes on Carlisle, trying to decipher every minimal change of expression he made as the read Mr. Lockheart's book. His face remained blank for the most part, but the corners of his mouth would slightly turn up as his eyes crinkled with humor every few pages.
Being the very swift reader he is he soon came to the last few pages. The family resettled themselves in their original positions about the living room. Everyone seemed calm and relaxed. Perhaps they have good news? I really hope it wasn't the work of Jasper. Was he calming them down before they inform me that they know everything and that it wouldn't be safe for Edward and me to attend Hogwarts? No. He would be calming me, not them, and I knew full and well he wasn't spiking my emotion at the moment. My nerves made me feel nauseous, and disappointment weighed heavily on my chest, pulling my shoulders down into a remorseful slouch.
Carlisle's next move completely removed that weight and left my soaring with hope once again. He turned to me and smiled.
"Bella. This Mr. Lockheart knows little-to-nothing about vampires. Most of the stuff in here is the well known stereotypes. Although I can't make much sense of the spells in here, I can positively infer that this book was a simple marketing ploy to gain money. I wouldn't trust many of his other non-fictions." He winked. "Enjoy your stay at Hogwarts."
A wide grin of relief spread across my face.
"Oh, thank God." I praised, closing my eyes and taking a deep breath.
"So what other cool magical stuff did you guys get?" Emmett asked. Alice perked up and recounted our trip to Diagon Alley, then shooed Edward and I upstairs to change into our robes to show off to the family. I swooped up my bag of clothes and zipped up the stairs to our room with Edward close behind. I
just barely beat him there. Setting the bag down, I turned around to see Edward shutting the bedroom door, his eyes meeting mine with a mischievous glint.
"Will you need a hand undressing?" Edward asked me as one corner of his mouth raised into the heart-stopping grin that left me dazed.
"Perhaps." I replied breathily. We will always have this affect on me, I realized soon after my change. It was a wonderful feeling. I loved the Edward educed butterflies. "But maybe we shouldn't torture Alice with such visions." I teased.
He quietly laughed. "She has seen much worse. I'm sure she could handle a minuscule amount of nudity."
His breath was suddenly at my neck. Although it no longer chilled me, the intoxicating smell was magnified, further disarranging my thoughts as he pulled me to him. One arm lay curved around the small of my back while his fingers weaved their way through my hair on the back of my head. Gently, he pulled my head back, exposing my neck to his lips.
His usually chaste pecks were now lust filled. Were my skin still human, blood would have pooled under his sucking lips, leaving angry purple hickeys. A soft 'mmm' escaped my lips as I exhaled. I could feel Edward smiling against my skin.
The hand he had placed at the small of my back grasped the fabric there. He ran his pinky up my spine and he pulled my shirt up my torso. I arched my back where his pinky touched, further pressing myself to him. Once he reached my shoulder, he continued to lift it over my head; leaving me standing in nothing but my bra and panties….Where did my pants go?!
My head snapped up to see Edward swinging them around his index finger with an expression challenged what my next move would be. Although I could see him move in at him inhuman pace, he had me dazed enough to not notice when he had removed them. Seeing the challenge in his eyes, I pounced. He let out a playful growl as he found himself on his back on the bed as I straddled his hips. I swiftly tore off his shirt, and when I say tore, I mean the seam busting, fabric ripping, thread breaking kind of tearing that left his shirt in ruins as I tossed the remains out of my way.
My eyes explored the pale contours of his chest. Every muscle was well defined and unmistakably prominent. I traced my finger tips along his collar bones until they met at the center of his upper chest, but I didn't stop my decent downward, which left him gasping.
I lowered my body so that I was kneeling in between his legs and my hands followed down his abs, and eventually resting on his dark-wash jeans that rested lowly on his hipbones. After undoing his belt buckle, I quickly whipped it out of its loops and discarded of it, as well, to the floor. His breaths were shallow with anticipation. I laughed in memory of all the times le left me in this state, but refused to go any further. I shook my head to rid myself of the memory; I'm not one for revenge so I wouldn't drag this out much further.
I continued his stripping by sliding his pants down his legs, leaving him wearing nothing but his emerald-green boxers. I placed my mouth to him through his boxers and left light kisses trailing back up to his chest and up his chin, pausing at his lips to admire his ragged breaths. I smiled and pressed my lips to his. His mouth eagerly met mine with unrelenting passion as he moved his lips with mine.
I pulled away after a few seconds to speak.
"Let's get dressed, our family is waiting." I didn't want to go any further with sharp ears awaiting our return downstairs. He replied with a reluctant nod that hinted at his disappointment.
"Yes, but we will continue later?" As if he needed to ask! But Edward will always be a gentleman, so he did.
"Of course." I replied coyly with a light purr as I rose from my position to redress myself.
..
The school uniform consisted of a monotone grey sweater with a white collar and a matching grey tie. He wore grey slack pants while my grey skirt rested just below my knees. I looked like a school girl, but not even the hot kind. Just a plain Jane school girl. Even vampire venom could change the fact that I would always be average. Edward, on the other hand looked as godly as ever. He made the homely grey look beautiful, as if it shined like silver. Maybe Edward has two powers, one being reading minds, the other to look amazing in anything. I sighed in slight jealousy. He heard and nearly rolled his eyes.
"You will never see you self clearly, will you? You have always been the most beautiful creature to ever walk this world, or any." He told me. I didn't answer. We have had this conversation millions of times. It gets tiresome. I know I'm not ugly, but I'm the goddess he portrays me to be. He is thoroughly convinced that I have a self-image disorder, like those girls who see themselves as fat, even though they are on the brink of death by starvation.
Maybe I do… because I'm defiantly not seeing the same Bella as he is. I decided to try a change of topic of avoid the argument.
"We still have to put on our cloaks." I cringed. "I hate these things." Edward nodded.
"Aro would approve."
"That is why they are so horrendous."
Edward chuckled. "At least we won't have to deal with the Volturi at Hogwarts. I never heard them think anything of witches or wizards and Alice hasn't seen anything to connect them to each other. I don't believe they know."
I smiled at that. "Good, I never want to see any of them again."
The terror filled screams of those innocent people replayed in my mind, along with the image of the frightened old woman who clung to her cross as she was lead down the dark hallway. I would be happy
if they dropped dead. I hate them enough to not care if they died. I never hated someone this much, I'm not a spiteful person, but the things they do cannot be forgiven.
Edward snapped be out of my memories by handing me my cloak. It was long and black with a hood that hung heavily on my shoulders. I slipped my arms into it. The sleeves tapered outwards into a bellbottom sleeve. There were a few buttons that snapped in the middle of my chest, but other than that, it hung freely off my frame. I looked to ate mirror and instantly despised the reflection. I swore to myself that night in Italy that I would never wear a cloak such as this. I turned my head away, only to see Edward clad in the same cloak. I cringed away from that sight also.
"Bella." Edward said my name, but I didn't look up. I didn't want to see him in that. He pulled my chin up to see his face.
"Bella, this is in no way a symbol of our loyalty to those monsters. We are simply students who must abide by the school uniform. I promise you that we will never serve the Volturi. They don't deserve you."
I smiled a little. I wish he wouldn't make promises he couldn't keep though. If they wanted us, then they could probably take us by force. They have more people and we don't even know all of their powers. I merely nodded. Edward doesn't need to know about my insecurities.
"Let's go show off our uniforms." I prompted. He nodded and took my arm.
"Let's go." His warm half smile was comforting as he pulled me towards the door leading to the hallway.
..
Each step down the stairs felt as if it were dragged out in to slow motion despite our unnaturally hurried movements. My cloak flew behind me like a super hero's cape, but I didn't feel super. I felt dirty wearing anything related with the Volturi. In the split second it took for Edward and I to descend the stairs, I felt more nervous about my family accepting me that when I first met them the day played their thunderous game of baseball.
A/N I'M SORRY I'M SORRY I'M SORRY I'M SORRY I'M SORRY I'M SORRY I'M SORRY I'M SORRY!! I feel so rotten for not updating for so long! I HATE when authors do that! I also realize I hate when authors attempt to squeeze out more reviews by withholding chapters until they get more reviews. If you reviewed, then thank you, but please don't feel obligated to anymore. I won't torture you any more by going on those random hiatus! So if you really do like my story, please review. That would make my reviews mean much more to me. Anyway, please review. They really do make me happy and keep me motivated. I would like to thank the last few reviewers; you guys really inspired me to continue this story. Thank you for sticking with me here.
P.S. If you like this story, check out my others. I'm really enjoying writing Fire and Ice. I think it's good so far. Everyone who has alerted has also favorited, so it must be enjoyable!