Previously:
The scene then blurred and changed into a busy street with muggles milling about. My dad was storming through the streets like a man possessed. He looked as crazy as the book claimed him to be. He was storming up to…Uncle Peter? Dad suddenly started screaming at him, asking him why. "Why did you do it, Peter? They were your friends!" Peter just looked nervous and shifty. "I didn't mean to," he squeaked. "He made me do it." That was not the right answer. Dad's face became enraged and he screamed, "I'll kill you!" However, Peter already had his wand ready, and with an evil smirk he sent out a curse that obliterated the dozen muggles around him, as well as severing his own finger. He then transformed into his rat form and scurried down the sewer while my Dad was surrounded by a dozen wizards with their wands drawn.
I woke with a start, breathing erratically while my heart beat out of my chest.
In a cell thousands of miles away, Sirius Black awoke in a similar fashion after experiencing a dream that seemed more a memory of his lost little girl's before morphing into his own memory of the day he confronted that traitorous rat, Pettigrew.
Chapter Six:
I couldn't get back to sleep that night. My mind kept analyzing the dream over and over. I didn't know what to believe. Was my mind offering alternatives to documented history in order feed a delusion of the father in my dreams, or was I somehow seeing what actually happened that horrible day so many years ago? I was confused, and emotionally exhausted. It was just that even though the dream scenario seemed outlandish, everything inside of me was telling me it was the truth.
If Peter was really the one who betrayed Lily and Jamie, he had also intentionally framed my dad. He'd probably helped that asshole, Voldemort (now that I knew his name, I refused to call him anything else) capture me. I mean, I had to be hidden, too, right? How do people think the Death Eaters knew where to find me?
The more I thought about the way everything happened, the stronger I believed in my father's innocence. The memories were coming back in hazy flashes, but my knowledge of his heart, what made him Sirius Black, was coming back strong. He was a good man. He'd turned his back on his family because he didn't believe in the blood purity nonsense. He left behind the wealth and prestige of the House of Black, and Jamie's parents took him in. He'd never been a part of a real loving family until he met Jamie. Jamie was his brother, in the same way Jake was mine. No. My dad would not betray him after my "death". If anything, he'd become reckless in his attempts to keep Jamie and his family safe.
This revelation brought on even greater emotional anguish. My Daddy was an innocent man wasting away under the worst possible conditions. The book chronicling the war also described Azkaban, Britain's wizard prison. This prison was guarded by Dementors. Apparently they are dark creatures who feed off happiness and leave the victim drowning in a pit of despair. This is where my father was? I couldn't hold back the tears at the thought. My playful loving Padfoot was stuck in a cell all by himself, believing that his daughter and best friend were dead while the rest of his friends and loved ones believed him to be a raving murderous traitor.
The worst part was that there was nothing I could do about it. I had no proof that Peter was the real traitor. He could be anywhere. He could be dead. It had been seven years; there was just no telling. As I packed my trunk and prepared to leave for school, I mentally resigned myself to this fact. I was an eleven year old kid, and dozens of people believed they witnessed my father murder thirteen people. Well, twelve people and a one rat.
I considered telling Sandy my thoughts on the matter and seeing if there was any way that I could visit him. I wanted him to know that I wasn't dead. I wanted him to know that I loved him, and believed in his innocence. After considering this option, I realized that I would be doing more harm than good. If I told him I was alive, it would make him happy. This would give the Dementors something to feed on. As it stood, he didn't really have any happiness to spare for them. This lack of hope may actually help him keep his sanity while he's there. The only way I could truly help my father was to prove his innocence. Anything less than that, I would only be hurting him.
This realization left me standing in front of my full length mirror observing myself in my new school uniform. I was wearing a gray pleated skirt with stockings and black Mary Jane's on the lower half of my body. On the top half I had a white button up shirt with a red tie and jumper over top. The emblem on the left breast of the jumper showed a combination of a cauldron, witches hat and broom. Under the emblem it read "Salem Institute for Witches." The outfit was completed with a standard black robe.
At first I was skeptical about the ensemble, but it really wasn't so bad. It wasn't uncomfortably warm like I'd originally expected. I actually quite enjoyed it, as it made me feel like a real witch. I then took in the rest of my features trying to find any similarities that might make me feel closer to my dad. The most obvious was my eyes. They were a piercing grey, just like his. I assumed that my hair was my mom's. Dad had dark black hair, whereas my hair was more mahogany with streaks of red in the right light. I had high aristocratic cheek bones like him, but our faces were shaped a bit different. Mine was more heart shaped where his was more oval. I had no idea what my mom looked like, but judging by the similarities versus differences with my dad, I'd say I was a pretty even mix between the two.
As I stared into the grey eyes that were so similar to my dad's, my resolve solidified. I would enjoy my time in Salem for the next seven years. I would learn everything I could and become the strongest witch I was capable of being. I vowed to be top of my class, while also researching various methods of magical tracking.
I would also have fun. My father was a big kid, and he loved to play pranks on people whenever he could. He was mischievous and would be highly disappointed if I didn't do my share of rule breaking while attending school. I knew he would not appreciate me throwing away my years at school wallowing in depression over something outside my power to change. He'd want me to have fun. I daresay he'd demand it.
After completing my schooling, I would go back to Britain to find out what happened to Peter Pettigrew. If the little rat was still alive, I would stop at nothing to find him. I would bring the little traitor to the British Ministry and prove to them that the muggles didn't understand what they were seeing. If they were wrong about Peter being killed, they could have been wrong about who cast the curse. By Merlin, I was getting my father out of that hell hole if it was the last thing I ever did.
Nodding to myself in the mirror, I gathered my belongings and made my way downstairs to say goodbye to an emotional Renee, stoic Charlie and ecstatic Jacob. They all made me promise to write, and I assured them that they would be seeing a lot of Caelen. I then released him and told him to meet me at the school, before stepping in the fireplace and stating clearly, "Salem Institute Entrance Hall." Stepping out into the school, I took a deep breath and continued on to the Dining Hall anxious to start this exciting journey.
At Salem, each year has its own floor in the dormitory building. There is a common room on each level, as well as a large congregational area on the entire ground floor. Each bedroom houses four students that will be roommates for their entire tenure at Salem. It was in my dorm room that I met the three girls that would become my sisters for life. It almost seemed predestined that we found each other. We were similar in some ways and different in others, but our personalities fit together so perfectly.
Nicole was the typical California girl. She had blonde hair, blue eyes, and a free spirit. She loves being outdoors and was fiercely competitive. She'd kick your ass at Quidditch (She plays beater. The girl can be brutal, I'm telling you) then hustle the hell out of you in Exploding Snap. Her favorite subject is DADA. You do not want to duel Nic when she's pissed, trust me on this one. She wasn't a tom boy, though. She still wore perfect make up and fashionable clothes, always looking her best.
Harley was from Kentucky. She is tall with curly brown hair and brown eyes. Her parents own a farm, and she'd been helping them with the crops and animals for as long as she could remember. She also enjoys the outdoors, and plays Chaser for her Quidditch team. She's obsessed with Herbology and Care of Magical Creatures. It's insane. The girl is like a frickin Hippogriff whisperer. She could probably stop a werewolf from attacking by looking into its eyes, firmly saying "No," while lightly rapping its nose.
Samantha was from New York. She is short with straight dark hair and brown eyes. She's the artsy type. Her parents sent her to a performing arts school before she found out she was a witch. She is a really talented singer and loves creating music. She didn't play Quidditch, but she was always there to cheer the rest of us on when we played, while we were always there to cheer on her concerts and plays. Her favorite subject is Charms. It's really amazing what a skilled witch with an ear for music can create.
As for me, I was a Chaser. Unfortunately none of us had made the same team. At Salem, there are four Quidditch teams. At the beginning of the year, the returning players from each team choose a captain. After the tryouts, the captains get together and hold a draft to fill their remaining spots. The three of us were all chosen by different teams in our second year. If you think that Nicole goes easy on me and Harley because we're like her sisters, you'd be sadly mistaken. Like I said, the girl is competitive. At the end of the day, though, we're friends first. We do what we have to on the field, but that's where we leave it. As far as classes, I am the biggest nerd of them all. I enjoy pretty much all subjects. My favorites, however, are Transfiguration and Potions, which is taught by Sandy.
Over the course of my first through fifth years, the girls and I had become a bit infamous around the school. We were all undeniably intelligent, leading the pack in all of our classes. We were also known for creating a bit of havoc. Honestly, it's just that we were too curious for own good. We especially liked giving the caretaker a hard time. He was a mean old prick who was always trying to get us in trouble. Because of this we gave him more trouble than he could handle.
We also took it upon ourselves do deal with those bully types I mentioned earlier in my tale. You see, while there weren't any students at Salem that bullied people because of their blood status, there were still those overly privileged kids that bullied people simply because they could. Mostly it was the girls from less affluent families, or "nerdy" girls who only cared about their education that got bullied. I think that some of the girls who spent all their time studying would have resented us because of our grades if we weren't always pranking their tormentors.
By our second year, the other students started calling us the Scheming Skirts. We thought it was pretty funny, so we kept the name. Also during our second year I'd decided to tell the girls about my true identity. They were always asking me why I was so intrested tracking methods and scrying. We had become so close that I couldn't stand to lie to them. Nic was the only one who already knew the stories about Sirius Black and the war against Voldemort. She was a pureblood, so she'd grown up knowing about the evil bastard. Harley and Sammie are both muggle borns, and they had never heard of Voldemort or my dad.
I told them that my father's name was Sirius Black and everything he was accused of. I also told them that I believed him to be innocent. Nic was surprised that I believed him to be innocent. I could tell she was skeptical. However, after explaining my reasoning and that in my heart I KNEW my father was incapable of committing the horrid crimes for which he was accused, she supported me. The three of them told me that I was no longer the only person to believe that Sirius Black was innocent. They also told me that they'd help me research tracking methods, and join me on my journey to search for Peter. We then had a terribly girly moment where we shared a teary group hug.
Over the rest of that year, I told them everything I knew about my dad. I told them that he was an illegal animagus, as were James Potter and Peter Pettigrew. They thought it was a brilliant idea, and our project for our third year was to follow in the Marauder's footsteps by becoming animagi. We spent all of our third year, and the first quarter of our fourth year studying the transformation process and preparing for our attempts to complete it.
By the middle of our fourth year, we had all managed the transformation. Sammie became a white fox, Nic became a mountain lion, Harley became a hummingbird, and I became a chocolate lab. We were all immensely happy with our transformations. The variety was also great for the dynamic of our group. Harley being the hummingbird made it easy for her spy on our nemesis. Sammie was small and quick enough to not to draw attention, but large enough that she could sneak around and take things, or drop things off as needed. While she did that, I could distract the humans by being an adorable chocolate lab that they just had to play with. When we needed protection or to scare someone, Nic was there as a mountain lion to get the job done. By the time we could all transform, we were unstoppable.
By our fifth year, we unquestionably ruled the school. We had also made a lot of progress in our research of ways to locate Peter. The end of that year was very stressful, as we had to sit for our OWLs. We wanted to make sure that we were well prepared for the exams, and that we had learned everything we could. We approached our studying from the stand point that we didn't know what we'd face on our search for Peter. We might have to fight for our lives, and we wanted to be fully armed. After all our careful preparations, the tests were almost embarrassingly easy. We left school that year with promises to owl and well wishes for a kick ass summer.
The four of us didn't spend that much time together over the summers. We were all very close with our families, and used the summer months to renew the bonds that are weakened by nine months of separation throughout the year. Renee and Phil had gotten married the summer after my first year, so he was allowed to be told of my magic. He was very supportive, and I was able to spend my summers going back and forth between Forks and Phoenix. It was a tradition every summer for Charlie and Jake to floo to Phoenix the day I returned home. The four of them would then sit in rapt attention while I'd demonstrate all the spells and charms I'd learned that year.
We would also go to a lot of Quidditch games every summer. Charlie, Phil and Jake were all fanatics. They subscribed to wizard sporting magazines and kept up with the sport year round. Once or twice a summer the Skirts and some of our other friends from school would meet at Harley's house in the country and have a match so our families could see us play. The summer before my sixth year was one of the best I'd had so far. On my birthday, my friends met me and my family at Harley's house, and we had a barbecue, played muggle kickball, and then some of my friends presented me with the most brilliant magical fireworks I'd ever seen.
When I got back to school to start my sixth year, everyone seemed a bit off. All the little cliques had their heads together and were whispering back and forth. The Skirts and I had no idea what was going on. None of us had really paid attention to the news on our vacation. We approached some of our other friends to see what was going on. They just shoved a newspaper in my hands. On the front page was my father's mug shot. I couldn't tear my eyes from the picture to find out what the article was saying. I just kept seeing my father in agony, holding up his prison number while screaming to the people around him.
My friends quickly steered me away from the crowds, as my reaction was drawing attention. I was so afraid that the paper was going to say that my father was dead. He couldn't be dead! Please, Merlin let him be alive! I looked to Nic who was reading the article and when her eyes met mine they were alight with glee. She turned the paper back around so that I could see his face again and said the words that made my heart fill with joy and relief, "Sirius Black has escaped from Azkaban."
You'd think we just caught sight of Robert Pattinson by the way we all squealed like little fan girls. We were jumping up and down as I snatched the paper and skimmed the article, while questioning, "Do they know how he did it?"
"Nope," Nicole said. "Your dad is bad ass. No one has ever escaped from there before. The man put the slip on hundreds of Dementors, Bella. And without a wand! He's totally my new hero." After Nic's declaration, we heard a throat clear behind us. The four of us immediately froze and let out mental curses that would make a sailor blush.
How could we have been so indiscreet? They'd all known how much it hurt me to know that my dad was locked in that horrible place. The news that he'd broken free got us so excited that we forgot we weren't supposed to be happy that a mass murderer was on the loose. It was a rookie mistake, and we were all ashamed of ourselves. We knew the school knew the truth about me. Of course they'd be watching for my reaction. I imagine they thought that if I had figured out Sirius was my father that I'd be scared witless right now. I doubt they thought they'd see their four brightest students jumping up and down at the news. Now we'd shown our whole hand.
Luckily for us, Sandy was he only one who saw it. I would have laughed out loud at the look on her face if I weren't frozen in place and unable to move a single muscle. I didn't know how she would take what she'd witnessed. She told us we needed to talk, and we followed her to her office. After she closed the door she placed a silencing spell around the room so no one would be able to hear our conversation. For a few agonizingly long minutes she just stared at us. Then she looked at me and said, "What the hell was that about?"
I fidgeted in my seat and thought about how much I wanted to tell her. I finally decided that I could tell her everything as she already knew that I was the presumed dead Isabella Black, and hadn't told anyone. I pulled out the money pouch she'd given me so long ago. I had long figured out how to send things to my vault through the pouch. I sent the letter that Regulus left me to my vault for safe keeping after I showed it to the Skirts in my second year. I put my hand in the pouch while thinking that I needed the letter, and it materialized in my hands. I unfolded it and passed it to Sandy telling her that I'd received it a week before coming to Salem.
Her face betrayed her emotions as she read, starting with shock and ending in horror. After finishing the letter, she brought her head back up and her wide eyes met mine. "You've known about this for the last five years," she'd asked. I admitted that I had, and that I knew that the scholarship was bogus. She looked a little guilty at that, but I told her I appreciated her attempt to protect me. I told her about everything that happened after I found out the truth. I explained that Peter was an illegal animagus, and that I had seen him transform with my own two eyes. I left out the fact that my dad was also an animagus, as the secret will help him while he's on the run.
Sandy had a very difficult time believing there was even a small chance that Sirius could be innocent. In the end, she conceded that my version was just as plausible as the one widely believed to be true. I knew she still remained unconvinced. It didn't really bother me. I honestly never thought anyone would believe me until I could produce Peter. It was a testament to our friendship that the Skirts believed me with little fuss.
However, Sandy was adamant that I continue to keep my identity concealed. She didn't want to give Sirius Black any reason to show up in Salem. She needn't worry, as I had no intention of blabbing my secret just yet. Truth be told, the girls and I didn't think that Voldemort was really dead. We have done a ton of research on the psycho over the last few years, and the man was obsessed with the Dark Arts. I have no doubt that there are Dark rituals that could tie a person to this realm, and the details of the night he was vanquished are sketchy at best. There wasn't even a body, not even a finger. They only found his robes.
If there is a way for him to return to power, I want him to continue thinking I'm dead. I'm not sure that he'd still have the same obsession with me that Regulus claimed he'd had before, but it's not really a risk I'm keen on taking. I told Sandy as much, and the girls all nodded in agreement. I think that Sandy was vacillating between being frightened that we were right or worried that we needed to be committed. In the end she let us leave with a warning about cheering Sirius on in the middle of the hallways.
The next few months were indescribably difficult. My dad's escape remained a hot conversation topic as he'd been sighted near Hogwarts a few times. Everyone seemed to think he was going after Harry. I would laugh out loud if their accusations didn't enrage me to the point of near stroke. My dad would NEVER hurt Harry. There's got be something else that he's after. Something specific. I could only think of one thing that he could possibly be after, and that was Peter.
When the story broke that Dad had actually broken into the school, the wizarding world was in an uproar. Hogwarts was supposed to be one of the most secure magical buildings in the entire world. The Skirts and I figured that he probably broke in as Padfoot. They agreed that it was likely that he had found Peter. I hope that he has the presence of mind to make sure Peter is seen before he kills him, if that's what he's after. If he was proven innocent of those crimes all those years ago, I could contact him. Tell him I'm alive. Oh, I hope he gets the little rat.
However, the gossip about the drama over in Britain started getting to a point that was pushing me over the edge. People were talking about how he was being reckless, and that he would eventually be caught. It scared me. If the Dementors got their disgusting fleshy hands on him they wouldn't hesitate to administer the kiss. The worry was making me go insane, and everyone opining on how no one has ever deserved the kiss more than Sirius Black was about to turn me into a raving murderous psycho.
As the Christmas holidays approached, I realized that it wasn't healthy for me to be at Salem anymore. I was slowly unraveling, and my friends were following my lead. Of course they were worried about my dad, but they were even more worried about me. I wasn't eating, and barely sleeping. I needed to get away from this place. If I didn't, I would surely end up snapping and telling everyone to shut the fuck up about my father.
That wouldn't help him right now. If he found out I was alive he would come to me. I know he would. He truly would get reckless, making himself easy prey for the Dementors. I needed to have faith in him. I needed to believe that he would accomplish whatever he was trying to do, and that he would clear his name. I had to believe that, and I couldn't do it in the wizarding world. I had to go back to the muggle world, at least for a little while.
Sandy had understood how hard it was for me to listen to all the negative talk about my dad, so she allowed me to study the remaining curriculum of my sixth year from home. I planned to return to Salem for my seventh year, hoping that Sirius would either be free or old news by then. The Skirts were going to keep a close eye on the situation and alert me if there was anything I needed to know.
I decided to move in with Charlie and enroll at Forks High School. Phil got signed to the Jacksonville Suns, a double A minor league baseball team based in Jacksonville, FL, and he and Renee had just moved there. I knew Renee was looking forward to traveling with him, so I didn't want to disturb their plans. I also knew that Charlie wouldn't pester me to death about my decision to take the last half of the school year off.
So, those are the events that led me to this point, where at sixteen years old I've temporarily left the wizarding world to attend muggle high school. I'm a bit nervous, as I have been pretty out of touch with muggle goings on in the last five and a half years. Not only that, but I'm going from a school where I was well known and liked to a place where I am an outsider. Who knows, maybe this will be the start of a great new adventure. If not, I'll just have to make my own fun along the way. Forks High, I hope you're ready.
A/N:
Thank you to Writers Of The Gods, Rituxa, symmasters, MoreRandomThanYouWouldBelieve, Sweetie7smiled, and vivx-chan for your reviews. I really appreciate them!
Okay, so there you have a synopsis of Bella's school years, and the events that led her to Forks High and Edward. I will probably only spend one chapter on Bella's time with the Cullens before Edward leaves, because I'm sure you all know what happens in Twilight and New Moon. There will be tweaks because Bella is a witch, of course, and that will be what I focus on. I really like they original romance of the story, though, so I don't want to change too much. They will then be returning to the story a few chapters later.
I hope everyone enjoyed the chapter. Please let me know what you think! I love hearing from you! Thanks!