The Town

The vampire decided it was high time Hermione continued 'sightseeing' and started with downtown Forks. The pair drove through the town and parked on Main Street. Hermione smiled at the small quaint town with a very rural appeal. "Where do you shop, Esme?"

"Whatever do you mean, Hermione. Naturally we shop locally at-"

"Careful, Esme," Hermione grinned mischievously, "If you name a store, we're going straight there and you will have to purchase a new outfit to sport around town."

Esme's laughter tinkled musically. "Fine. I shop either in Port Angeles or Seattle; depending on what I'm shopping for." Esme shot the witch an amused look and mentioned, "I try to shop locally, but as you can see, there isn't much here to choose from. I do pick up groceries from the family owned market on occasion, but their selection leaves much to be desired."

"You want quality ingredients even though you don't eat," Hermione agreed. While the food was all for appearance's sake, the wife of a well renowned doctor would not settle for anything but the best.

"Exactly," Esme laughed softly, "While I feed Bella on occasion - and now you and the bottomless pits of the pack - the majority of the grocery shopping was done in order to appear as a normal family, doing normal everyday human things."

"What did you do with the food you made before you had us to feed?"

"Bella brought leftovers to her father. He thinks I take pity on him and make extra to ensure he's well fed." Hermione laughed softly as Esme continued, "When I'm in a baking mood, Carlisle brings it to work. The staff loves me for it."

"I'd imagine so!"

"When I don't manage to cook the food, the purchased items are donated to food banks in Seattle." Esme smiled warmly, "While I hate the idea of my family being in danger, cooking for you, Bella and the pack has been a fortuitous boon. I've really enjoyed cooking for those boys. They eat so heartily."

The two women stepped from the car and Hermione closed her eyes allowing for a moment of peaceful reflection in order to feel the small town atmosphere that surrounded her. The witch turned her attention to Esme with a surprised smile, "I find it amazing that even here, away from Ehwaz, there's such a distinct magical feeling to a Muggle town. There isn't much of a magical signature, but it is definitely here if one simply knows what to look for. I can only imagine how strong the magic must be near La Push."

"I don't follow," Esme asked for clarification or, at minimum, elaboration.

They stood together and spoke softly, to avoid any pedestrians from overhearing their conversation. It wasn't as if Hermione could erect a privacy ward in the middle of town; Forks was a Muggle area after all. Hermione chose her words carefully, "You live within a non-magical community, filled with non-magical beings. As I mentioned previously your family members are, for all intents and purposes, magical creatures. Then there are the shape shifters in the next town who have their own distinct magical signatures. I'd imagine your hunting grounds have a signature as well.

"That's why the area Jasper chose for the confrontation was ideal. Other than being far enough away from the town and its people, the magical signature there is favorable to you and your family stacking the odds in our favor. All thanks to your family's magic." Hermione quickly amended when she saw Esme become confused, "Not saying any of your family is magical like I am; just that all beings have a touch of magic in them. How else can you explain your children's gifts?"

Esme gave the witch a smile, "I had never thought of it that way. As for the location, we'll take any advantage given to us. We'd be foolish not to."

Hermione missed the last bit of what her friend was saying, her attention was drawn to a tall man with brown curly hair. The soft waves softened the man's strong square jawline, yet didn't take away from his masculinity. He had a friendly smile when he greeted a passerby and the uniform he wore did wonders for his physique. The witch bit her lip and leaned closer to Esme in order to ask, "Who is that?"

Esme tried not to laugh when she answered, "That is Charlie Swan, Chief of Police and Bella's father." Esme waited a beat before continuing, "He's also single."

"What?" Hermione blushed feeling like teenager again. "Why would that be important?"

"Come along, you must be starving. You didn't exactly allow me to cook for you this morning and don't try to convince me that a bit of toast and a cup of tea was enough to sustain you." Esme steered Hermione towards the diner that Charlie had just entered. "Besides, it's lunch time. You need something… more than I can provide."

"Very eloquently put, thank you." Hermione shook her head chuckling softly, "And you're not nearly as subtle as you may think you are."

"Yet you'll come with me to the diner."

It wasn't a question, but Hermione deemed to respond anyhow. "Naturally; what sort of person would I be if I merely dismissed such sound advice from a concerned friend? I need sustenance, ergo our going to the diner to ensure I get something… more… is simply logical."

They were giggling like old friends and the entire diner had come to a stop when the two women walked in. Nearly every head within sight was turned in their direction. Esme simply smiled beautifully, while Hermione swept her gaze at the customers.

The hostess asked, "Table for two?"

"That would be lovely, thank you." Esme agreed before gently tugging the young woman along with her. The patrons turned back to their meals or to huddle together in order to gossip about the two women that had just entered the establishment.

As they passed the police chief's table, Esme came to a stop with a faux surprised look on her beautiful features and greeted the man as if their running into each other was purely fortuitous happenstance, "Why, Charlie Swan, how delightful it is to see you. How are you today?"

The man's head snapped up from the newspaper he had been reading. Charlie gave a crooked smile to the vampire along with a polite nod as he stood from his table, "I'm fine, thanks. How's the family, Mrs. Cullen?"

His eyes looked pointedly at the stranger, but he didn't ask who she was. Not yet anyhow, for it was quite obvious by the question in his eyes that the man would ask if they weren't introduced… and soon.

"Now Charlie, we're practically family, I know I've asked you to call me Esme." Charlie didn't respond past a curt nod, still watching the unknown woman. Esme deemed to answer both questions: the verbal and the unasked. "The family is doing quite well, thank you for asking. You may have heard from Bella that Alice's cousin is visiting from London." Esme simply kept her easy smile plastered to her face and guided Hermione forward towards the officer, "Charlie, this is Hermione Granger. Hermione, this is our Chief of Police, Charlie Swan."

Hermione held her hand out to the man, "A pleasure to meet you, Mr. Swan. Or do you prefer being called Chief Swan?"

Charlie took the young woman's hand in his for a firm handshake. His smile was polite and curious, "Everyone just calls me Charlie, Mrs. Granger."

"It's Miss Granger, but I'd be honored if you'd call me Hermione." The witch had inadvertently stepped closer to the man as their hands touched and the pair stood staring at each other for a while longer than was probably polite.

"Would you two ladies like to join me for lunch?"

Hermione didn't bother looking at Esme - knowing that the woman's goal was to introduce the witch to the police chief - and gave a pleased smile, "We'd be delighted."

The chief cleared his throat and released Hermione's hand, before motioning the two to take a seat in the booth across from him. Esme slipped onto the bench allowing Hermione to sit across from Charlie and played her part to a 'T', "That's very kind of you, Charlie."

"It's nothing," Charlie took his seat once the two women were situated and the hostess, without missing a beat, set down the two menus before making herself scarce. "As you said, we're practically family."

The sentiment was practically forced, which caught Hermione's attention even if she didn't comment. The witch stowed that bit of information for later perusal if and when time permitted. "What's good here?"

"Depends on what you're hungry for," Charlie admitted as he pulled his silverware from his napkin. "It's a bit of 'home cooking away from home', really." He then glanced at the witch and gave a halted chuckle, "Well for an American family. I'm not sure I know what British people eat."

"Fish and chips are a common staple for most food stops and local pub fare, but we've been known to eat a good cheeseburger with crisps as well, naturally."

"Do you like meatloaf?" Charlie asked as he pointedly tapped the menu, "Today's special is meatloaf and mashed potatoes with gravy."

"Is that anything like shepherd's pie?" Hermione asked.

Charlie's eyebrows drew together in thought while Esme gave a small laugh and answered, "Not exactly, but it is similar in that there is potatoes, ground meat and a vegetable. Meatloaf is traditionally made with beef, whereas shepherd's pie is commonly made with lamb. It isn't cooked in the same manner either."

"Shame that; I simply adore shepherd's pie. Mum had the best recipe I've ever had, but her steak and kidney pie was horrific. Not that I ever admitted that to her, mind you."

"Give it a try, dear; you may enjoy it." Esme encouraged.

"Is that what you suggest, Charlie?" Hermione asked.

Charlie's head snapped up from the fork that he had been staring at quite intently, "What's that?"

Hermione smiled at the man and leaned forward across the table. "Do you suggest the meatloaf?"

"Yes," Charlie cleared his throat and set aside his fork. "I always get the special."

"The chef salad looks interesting, Esme." Hermione pointed the salad out to the vampire, who hadn't even bothered to look at her menu yet.

Esme gave a small nod, "Then that is what I'll have."

Once their order had been taken by the hovering waitress, Charlie finally asked, "I thought Alice was adopted; how exactly did you manage to find her?"

Esme explained that easily enough, "Alice was a young teen when she came to us, so there wasn't any point of hiding the adoption from her or anyone else for that matter."

Hermione took over seamlessly, "So finding her wasn't exactly difficult. You'd be amazed at what and who you can find via the internet these days. Once I found Great Aunt Mary, it was only a matter of hours to find her grandchildren. They were the ones that told me about Alice. I found her records in Mississippi and then eventually made my way here."

"Hermione is such a sweetheart that we immediately adored her and asked her to stay at our home with us." Esme smiled at the witch as they shared a knowing look.

"Let's not forget your desire for adult conversation considering you have all those teens at home," Hermione reminded her.

"How long will you be staying in Forks?" Charlie took a sip of his water and set it down, sitting back when the waitress brought their meals out. "Thanks, Betty."

"Welcome, Chief." The waitress said it with little to no inflection in her voice as if she had said it a dozen times a day. Which considering her job, wasn't too far-fetched of a notion.

"I'm not sure," Hermione smiled briefly at the waitress with a soft 'thanks' and turned her attention back to the man before her. "I promised Alice I'd stick around for her graduation. Edward mentioned the wedding, but I'm not sure how Bella would feel about a virtual stranger crashing her special day."

"You're family, Hermione. I'm sure Bella will not begrudge the maid of honor the opportunity to invite her long lost cousin. Besides, the wedding is months away which gives the two of you a chance to get to know each other better." Esme looked between Charlie and Hermione making it perfectly clear, at least to the witch, which 'two' the vampire meant.

"You look rather lost in thought, Charlie." Hermione noted, "Is having company too much of a distraction?"

Charlie blinked back to the here and now, giving Hermione a crooked grin. "Sorry."

"Is everything okay?"

"No," the police chief winced visibly, "Don't mean to be so blunt about things. It's just that the killings in Seattle are too close to home; even if they're over a hundred miles away."

"I heard very little about any killings. The news kept insisting they were only missing."

"It's both," Charlie sighed and toyed with his fork stabbing his meatloaf distractedly, "There are some missing; the younger folks: college and high school aged. Then there are the dead ones which defy age classifications."

"No leads, I take it." Hermione bit her bottom lip in thought.

"Not really, no." Charlie shot her an apologetic look, "Sorry. This isn't exactly proper mealtime conversation."

Hermione gave him a warm smile, "Nonsense, it was on your mind therefore open for topic. Besides, I asked, didn't I?"

Alice stilled and stared vacantly at the door at the end of the hall, a small grin spread across her dainty features. Edward forced his hand to release the door frame and ignored the splintered wood. Bella was biting her lip and as soon as Alice's trance was over asked quietly, "What's wrong?"

Edward's attention snapped in his sister's direction and if one wasn't looking closely enough, would have missed the small shake of his head. Bella stared at Alice and the small vampire gave her a warm smile, "Nothing's wrong."

"Alice," Bella started only to be cut off by Edward.

"Let it go, Bella." Edward turned his attention back to the door as he pushed it open, "Family matters are discussed at home."

Bella bit her lip again to keep from asking more questions. The last time the Cullen siblings reacted this strangely, Victoria was involved. Alice wasn't sure how the girl would take the new turn of events.

The trio slipped into the Volvo and Edward did his best not to tear out of the parking lot. He drove carefully through the town until they were on the open road towards the Cullen home. That was when Edward let go of his tight control and sped home.

As soon as the vehicle was parked, Edward was out and moving to open the car door for his mate. Alice was already through the door calling out to her cousin, "Hermione!"

The witch was in the living room with the rest of the family, sipping her tea and curled into an arm chair. Hermione smiled up at her cousin and laughed when she saw the tiny vampire bouncing excitedly. The witch chose to play coy, "Yes, Alice?"

"He's so right for you!"

"What?" Bella asked, looking from one cousin to the other, "Who is right for who?"

"Nothing?" Alice asked rather than answered and giggled as she skipped over to the witch.

Bella frowned and watched as her best friend whispered secretively with her new found cousin. "Wait, so the vision you had earlier had nothing to do with Victoria?"

Alice looked at Bella in confusion, "No. Why would you think it was about her?"

"Edward nearly tore the door frame to bits!" Bella spun on Edward and was taken aback when she noted the hard look he was giving to Hermione. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," Edward groused.

"You sure aren't behaving as if it was nothing." Bella sat on the couch near her friend and the witch, "If the vision you had was about some new boyfriend…" She looked utterly confused and was trying desperately to piece things together.

Hermione set her cup down and shrugged, "I met someone today. He's… well, he's…"

"Handsome?" Alice prompted.

"Sexy," Hermione clarified, "Sweet, sexy… clever, sexy, single, as Esme so kindly pointed out before introducing us," she paused and remembered another bit of information she had been told and thought she'd tease the young teenager a bit, "Did I mention how utterly divine he looks in uniform? I think I wouldn't mind a go with him while handcuffed to a bed."

"What?!" Bella shrieked.

Hermione winced at the volume and noted each vampire recoiled from the decibels. The witch didn't bat an eye as she deadpanned, "Charlie wears a uniform that he looks rather fit in, not to mention the convenient handcuffs that adorn his belt; he's the Chief of Police, you know."

"I know. He's my father!" Bella wrinkled her nose in distaste, "He's not sexy. He's… he's… he's Charlie!"

The witch shrugged dismissively, "He's a bit seasoned, but I prefer older men. They tend to be less immature than the men my age. Besides, it isn't as if I intend to marry the man. I'm only here on holiday."

"Ew!" Bella waved the woman off, "Just ew!"

Hermione laughed, "Relax, Bella. I'm just taking the mickey. Charlie's not my new boyfriend." Edward's hard looked turned bemused, but the witch focused on the girl, "I'm not going to get involved with a man while on holiday. Besides he isn't the sort to have a mindless one off. Although I do think he's quite the dish."

AN: I can't help it. I like Charlie. He's rather clueless and sweet. Hope you aren't too weirded out by the age difference, but I did the math. Hermione is born in 1979. Bella was changed in Sept 2006 at age 18 (barely, she was days away from 19). So she graduated June of 2006 which is when this story is happening making Hermione 26 years old whereas Charlie would be 42 with an age difference of 16 years. And really, that isn't much as far as a witch is concerned.

My favorite part about this Hermione / Charlie flirting thing is that it is fun to play with and it squicks Bella out. Fun times!

I seem to be posting these chapters every other day... ish. That isn't exactly intentional. Truth is, I'm posting when I remember to. This chapter pushes us past the 1/4 mark. It won't be long now and we'll be all done!