Chapter Four
She sighed in relief. She raised her wand and opened her mouth, about to cast the spell that would seal a wand-oath, when he continued.
"Your wand-oath will not be necessary. I have heard about you, Miss Granger, and your compassion for the oppressed, particularly oppressed magical creatures. I can scarce believe I am about to say this about a human, but I trust you to keep your word without being bound by an oath, cara.
"The truth is, unfortunately, I know little more about half-vampire children than you do. It is a rare enough occurrence in itself that a vampire male will engage in relations with a woman and not kill her, and rarer still that if he does not kill her, his seed takes root. And while I have met a human once or twice who carried the offspring of a vampire, the infant always killed its mother as it tore its way from her womb. And on top of that, they are far easier to kill than their vampire sires, and so are more vulnerable to being hunted by humans wishing to avenge the mothers. So I have never encountered a half-vampire that lived past infancy.
"However, I do have a friend here in Britain who has encountered a half-vampire child who not only lived past infancy but also did not kill its mother. I can give you his name and tell you where he may be found, for if I tell him to seek you out he will not come. His name is Alistair, and he is predictable in that he will always seek high places away from humans. You will most likely find him high in the remotest northern cliffs of the Scottish highlands as he originated there. He is a creature of habit and so he does not leave his home much. If he does travel he returns quickly." He fell silent, waiting for her response.
She considered all this with a frown. "The northernmost cliffs of the highlands are hard to access even at this time of year, and even with magic it could take a while to find him. How can I find him if magic takes too long?"
He raised an eyebrow. "Sometimes such a complicated problem has a simple solution. I heard what happened at the Final Battle, you know. How Signor Potter's magic entered you even as you were bitten by an untransformed werewolf and turned you into a giant wolf that killed Voldemort. The wolf's nose is a remarkable organ. If you have not lost the ability to make the transformation, then I suggest you use your nose. It is well-known among magical creatures that we vampires have a very distinct scent that canines find unpleasant. Werewolf acquaintances have told me many times I smell of bleach and sugar. You will most likely find Alistair where that scent is strongest. And if you should find that scent, you will know it is him for he is extremely territorial and does not welcome other vampires intruding upon his solitude. I would caution you, however, to go alone. He will be even less forthcoming with information than I was, and if you have others with you he won't tell you anything except by force."
Hermione considered this information, the wheels in her head turning and her quick mind immediately formulating plans of action. She would do as Sanguini suggested and use her wolf's nose to search for Alistair, and then, when she had pinpointed his location, she would use her wand to erect wards so that he could not get away. Then she would approach him in her human form so as to make herself less threatening. Likely he would be extremely wary regardless, since the erection of the wards to prevent his escape would most probably prove counterproductive to making herself seem harmless, but the wards were necessary. She had to talk to him, and if she had to magically bind him to do so, she would.
Finally, she thanked Sanguini, and told him to seek Professor Snape for help hiding from the Volturi. She said that he, of all wizards, would be the one best able to help him, for not only was he an incredibly powerful wizard, but he also felt he owed Hermione for saving his life in the Shrieking Shack. If she spoke to Professor Snape in advance and explained the situation, he would be sure to help. Reluctantly, the vampire agreed to await her answer in the Forbidden Forest, unwilling to linger in Hogsmeade where his kind were unwelcome in much of the town.
Hermione left the Hogshead, ignoring the vampire's eyes lingering on her as she walked out, once again glad she'd gone disguised.
Halfway back to the castle, she sensed a presence behind her. Narrowing her eyes, she whirled, brandishing her wand and silently Summoning Harry's Invisibility Cloak. As she'd expected, the fabric materialized as it flew off the crouched forms of Harry and Ron, who straightened with identical sheepish expressions that quickly transformed into ones of anger.
Before she could take them to task for following her, Ron seized her shoulders. "Are you mad?" he demanded. "Why the fuck would you go to meet a vampire by yourself?!"
Furious, she shook him off. "Why would you follow me?!" she demanded in return.
"Because obviously you can't be trusted to stay out of trouble!" Harry exclaimed.
"Oh, that's rich, coming from two boys who would sneak out on a day they're not allowed to leave the school!" she cried, angrily as she stomped back toward the school.
Harry shook his head. "No, Hermione, this time you don't get to play that card. Yeah, we snuck out when we weren't supposed to, but you're the one who lied about who you'd be meeting and where. We only followed you to keep you safe," he told her seriously.
Knowing she was being hypocritical but still angry, she retorted, "Well, you didn't have to, I sent Aberforth an owl ahead of time. He knew I would be there."
"Yeah, and the vampire completely ignored him. We saw the look on that leech's face. He saw us, Hermione," Ron said. "That's why he didn't try anything. Too many people who might attack him. Trust me, if we hadn't been there he would have tried something."
"You think I would have gone to meet a vampire alone without taking precautions? I had my wand ready the whole time, and I cast a protective spell. Anything that came closer to me than the other side of that table would have been blasted away," she replied hotly.
Those last words were what caused the boys to concede defeat. "Just, don't do that again, yeah?" Harry said gently, bumping her shoulder. "Ron nearly went spare when we realized what you were doing. You can trust us."
She sighed. When she answered, her voice was softer. "Be honest. If you knew I was going to meet a vampire alone you would have stopped me, or insisted on coming with me. He told me in his letter that 'the fewer people he was exposed to, the easier he would rest with sharing what he knew.' If he'd known you were coming with me he'd never have agreed to meet with me."
It was Ron who shook his head this time. "He saw us before he even told you anything. He still gave you information. Chances are he expected someone to be with you anyway, whether he expected you to break your word or he knows more about us than we'd have expected him to and knew we wouldn't be able to let you go alone even if you didn't know we were there. Either that or he didn't find us a threat, in which case he still would have tried something on you."
She sighed again. "Well, whatever. So you heard what he said about that other vampire. You heard that Alistair will be even harder to get anything out of if I have other people with me. Look, I can take care of myself. I killed the vampire who attacked Luna. I also know what protective spells will work against a vampire and which ones won't. And if nothing else I can get myself out of there before he can get me."
The boys were silent most of the rest of the way back to the castle, and she worried what that meant. She had to speak to Alistair, and she had to go alone, but it didn't look like the boys were about to let her. But finally, they conceded defeat, though they made her promise to keep them updated on her progress and let them know exactly where she was.
The boys went off to check on Luna while Hermione went to speak to Severus, as she now had leave to call him. She explained how she'd gotten in contact with Sanguini, a friend of Professor Slughorn's and an acquaintance of Severus's, and how he'd helped her by providing her with another contact who would have information that would save Luna's life. It was that last bit that swayed Severus into helping; he would never admit it aloud to anyone but her, but he'd become nearly as fond of Luna as he was Hermione.
Hermione felt horrible about the fact that it seemed as if the list of people who knew about Luna's condition just kept getting longer. But in this instance, she knew she was not to blame: she had said nothing to Severus about Luna's pregnancy. It was only due to his unparalleled skill at observation and gathering information that he found out.
It seemed that Luna was using extreme caution when it came to brewing in Potions class, keeping as far away from the fumes as she could and using a charm that kept fresh air circulating about her head. Since the charm only moved the air within two inches of her face, it had no negative effect on the potion, and so he said nothing. Her classmates still considered her odd, so they didn't question it, either. It didn't take him long to deduce why she was acting this way, however, and so he confronted her about it after class.
Oddly, it seemed Luna had even less problem with Professor Snape knowing than she'd had with Harry and Ron knowing. Luna told her once that it was because, out of everyone who'd fought for the Light, Professor Snape was the one who had the most experience dealing with the trauma of things that happened to people in war, on account of him being witness to the widest range of depravities as a spy.
He'd also confronted Hermione, shortly after confronting Luna. "I know what's wrong with Luna," he told her as she visited with him one afternoon while Luna had an appointment with Madam Pomfrey.
She blinked. She opened her mouth to play ignorant, but he spoke before she could.
"Don't play me for a fool, girl," he snapped. "There are very few reasons a young woman would need to be so cautious during Potions class, and one of them is pregnancy. It doesn't take a genius to also see how you hover and worry over her. So the only conclusion to draw from there would be that she is pregnant with the spawn of the vampire who attacked her. I spoke to her yesterday and she told me everything. She told me how she found out, and she told me everything you, Potter, Weasley, and Weasley's sister are doing for her." His eyes slid away from her and focused on an invisible point across the room as he added, "Tell me if there is anything I can do to help. I would consider it a pleasure."
He'd confessed once during his time healing in the hospital wing in a once-in-a-lifetime moment of openness brought on by exhaustion and pain-killing potions – which had similar inhibition-suppressing properties to Muggle pain-killers and alcohol – that he had come to view Hermione and Luna almost as the daughters he'd never had. The reminder that he'd never had children, having lost his only love to another man, on top of the reminder that her own parents were probably as lost to her as if they were dead themselves, proved to be too much for Hermione. She managed to keep from tearing up until after he'd fallen asleep, but had to leave the room so as not to wake him with her sniffling.
After Professor Snape had agreed to help, Hermione went to the Forbidden Forest, knowing that Sanguini would come to her when she arrived. Sure enough, he was waiting in a clearing.
She told him of Professor Snape's agreement, and when Sanguini seemed doubtful, she stressed that the Professor was more powerful than she and would be still more able to hide him effectively. In addition, he trusted Hermione, and if she asked him to help Sanguini, he would not hesitate.
Finally she'd managed to convince Sanguini to contact Professor Snape, and that allowed her to begin making arrangements to search for Alistair. The next day found her notifying those most important to her of her plans: Luna, Harry, Ron, Ginny, Professors McGonagall and Snape, and Madam Pomfrey. Professor McGonagall in turn would notify the rest of the Hogwarts staff, saying only that Hermione would be traveling to gather information for her apprenticeship. Hermione gave the same reason to the rest of the Weasleys, knowing Molly would be extremely upset to hear it from Professor McGonagall. As it was, the Weasley matron was still upset that the Headmistress was letting her travel alone.
Before she left, Professor Snape taught her a series of warding spells that were sort of the antithesis to the ones she'd used during her year on the run with the boys. Instead of keeping other people away from an area, these would keep anyone from leaving an area.
The day after she had notified everyone she needed to of her plans, she Apparated to the remotest part of the highlands she could find on the maps, then took on her wolf form and put her nose to work. It took some time, but she finally managed to pick up a faint trail of bleach-and-sugar scent, moving north. It was old, indicating that it had probably been a couple of days since the vampire had been in this area, but she continued to follow it, hoping that as she moved further north the scent would strengthen.
Her hunch turned out to be correct; the further she went, the stronger the scent became, and when it reached the point where it was burning her nostrils, she returned to her natural form and took out her wand. Immediately she began to cast spells, erecting the wards that would keep the vampire from escaping.
"If you are Alistair," she spoke clearly, once her wards were erected. "My name is Hermione Granger and I swear that I mean you no harm. I give you my word, for what it's worth, that I simply want to talk to you. An acquaintance of yours tells me you have information I desperately need. If you will give it to me, I swear to leave you in peace and never pass on any information regarding your whereabouts to anyone, witch, wizard, or vampire. My friend is pregnant with a half-vampire child, the result of a brutal rape, and the Italian vampire Sanguini tells me you have information that will help save her life."
Only silence answered. Beginning to grow desperate, she decided that it was no longer the time to play nice. "Please come out. I would rather not summon you by magic, but there are very few depths to which I will not go to help my friend. If I have to bind you and take you to have your mind plundered by a Legillimens in order to get the information I seek, I will. You will save the both of us a lot of time and stress by coming to me now and helping me," she declared, raising her wand. If he did not appear in the next fifteen seconds, she would Summon him.
She fell silent, waiting, the exaggeratedly loud sound of her heartbeat the only thing she could hear. One beat. Two beats. Three beats.
She blinked, and then he was there. He was rather wild and rangy-looking, his long hair scraggly and his lean pale body covered in tattered, patchy clothing, with no shoes.
"Alistair?" she asked, lowering her wand so that she still held it at the ready, just out of the way.
He inclined his head with a scowl. "Aye."
"Please, I'm sorry for the need to be so forceful, but I'm desperate," she told him without giving him the chance to say more. "My friend was raped by a vampire and is pregnant. I killed him before he could bite and turn her, but we have no idea how to care for her during her pregnancy. I'm not even sure I know how to keep her alive until and through the birth. Sanguini from Italy told me you have information that could help me."
His eyes narrowed. "Sanguini told ye, did he? Aye, he always was one to be taken in by a pretty face, curse the bluidy fop," he grunted, his brogue thick. His scarlet eyes met hers in a glare. "What's in it fer me?" he demanded.
With trepidation, she replied, "What is it you want?" She forced herself not to tighten her grip on her wand.
Seeming to realize the path of her thoughts, he barked out a laugh. "No' tha'. Sanguini might have an eye for human quim, but not me. I prefer my women unbreakable. Ye've no reason to be fearin' that from me, lassie. Nay, what I want is anonymity. I've worked verra hard to avoid company and I'd prefer to keep it that way. So if ye're thinkin' I'll be takin' ye hither and yon in yer search fer information, ye'd best think again."
"No, of course not," she agreed briskly. "I just need to know what you know about half-vampire children. Is it possible for the mother to survive the pregnancy without being turned? Is the child a threat to the safety of other people the way the immortal children were centuries ago? Those are the two most important questions. I have others as well, but they can wait until I see how much you know. And once you've told me what you know, I'll leave you alone, I swear. I can make a wand-oath if you like, swearing that no one will be coming to bother you as a result of me revealing any of our interaction here, because I won't be."
He seemed to consider for a long moment, but finally he seemed to agree. "Verra well. If it gets ye oot of here, I'll give ye what ye seek. Aye, I've met a half-vampire, half-human child before. Name o' Renesmee, lives in Forks, Washington, in the States with her vampire family. Including her mother. The mother was human when her vampire husband got her with child. She survived the pregnancy of course, though not without illness and injury from what I understand. Ye'll have to speak to them yerself for details on how they kept her alive. But she gave birth and nearly died bringin' the wee one into the world, and they turned her then. As fer whether or not the babe's a threat, it seems she can control herself. She can survive on either human food or blood, though she prefers blood, but does not lose control o' herself at the first scent of blood. And she grows quickly. It takes only days for her to age months. The growth rate seems to slow the older she gets, but she'll be fully mature by the time she turns seven years o' age. What I don't know is how long she'll live. I don't know if she's truly immortal so long as she is not killed, or if she'll simply have a verra long life." He fell silent after his explanation.
Hermione nearly trembled with relief. "Thank you, sir. You have no idea what this means. You said Renesmee lives in Forks, Washington?"
"Aye, with the Cullen family in a large house in the woods just outside the town. Ye'll want to approach carefully, o' course, being that there are eight vampires in the family. Oh, and one last bit ye'll want to know. They're allied with a large group o' shape-shifters, youths that turn into giant wolves. Not unlike yer own form at that," he remarked, tilting his head. "Ye'll want to be extra careful when ye go. If the Cullens don't smell ye first, the wolves will. Verra territorial, they are. And there's even more o' them."
She nodded her understanding. "Right. Thank you." Without further ado, she raised her wand, pointing it straight up, and opened her mouth. "I, Hermione Granger, do hereby swear upon my wand that I will speak to no-one but the Cullens of my meeting with the vampire Alistair of the Scottish Highlands and that by extension, he shall not be disturbed by anyone, human or vampire, even the Cullens, as a direct result of this meeting." The tip of her wand began to glow, and the glow moved steadily along the length of her wand and then her arm before settling for a brief moment on her chest over her heart and then dissolving.
"Now if anyone comes to disturb you, it won't have anything to do with our meeting. I'm also magically bound not to say anything to anyone other than the Cullens about meeting you to ask you about half-vampire children."
He nodded his acceptance of her oath, and answered. "Good. Now then. If there's nothin' else?" he inquired.
She shook her head. "No, that's it. I can't thank you enough, sir. Your information has been invaluable. Enjoy your peace and quiet." With that, she waved her wand again to lower the wards and Disapparated.
She returned to Howarts immediately and found Luna, saying she'd struck gold in the search to get her help. She explained about the Cullens and Renesmee, and said that she would be spending tomorrow making arrangements. She needed to arrange an International Portkey to the Ministry of Magic in the United States and find a place for them to stay.
Luna promptly burst into tears of relief, hugging her swollen belly. The brunette took one look at her friend, and immediately scrapped her plans for arranging a Portkey. Just trying to get hold of the American Ministry would take longer than she liked, and then there would be the whole kerfuffle revolving around either finding one already scheduled or creating and scheduling one, which would take even more time. No, they'd have to do this the Muggle way. The travel itself would take longer than the Portkey, but the arrangements would be made much more quickly.
As luck would have it, Hermione managed to get two seats together on a flight scheduled for six in the evening tomorrow, which meant that it would be approximately eleven in the morning in Washington. They would be arriving in Seattle some nine hours later, around three in the morning here and eight in the evening there. Lovely. That would give them time to rest before beginning the search for the Cullens the next day.
In regards to finding a place to stay, Hermione had booked rooms at a bed-and-breakfast in the only Wizarding community anywhere near Forks, a large neighborhood in Port Angeles. Said town was much larger than Forks, located perhaps an hour away. That would do quite nicely for the first night or two, and then, if their search took longer than Hermione was expecting, they could decide what to do next.
Once the arrangements were made, Hermione took some time to explain Muggle travel to Luna so as to avoid both stressing Luna out and causing a scene should Luna react to Muggle airports in the same way Hagrid or Mr. Weasley might.
With all their plans and arrangements made, Hermione informed everyone who knew of Luna's affliction of their plans, and gave the rest of the Weasleys the same excuse as before, that she was traveling to gather information on how American magical schools taught Muggle Studies and Wizarding Culture.