Chapter 9
"Will someone please tell me what's going on here?" Hermione said to the seated group as she paced with her arms crossed. Harry, Ron, Ginny, Luna, and Draco all looked at each other awkwardly before Harry decided to take the initiative.
Harry cleared his throat, causing Hermione to look at him with a raised eyebrow. "Well, um, you see Hermione. We just, uh-." Ginny rolled her eyes at her boyfriend's actions and turned to Hermione.
"We just missed you, Hermione! You can't blame us for missing you, can you?" Ginny batted her eyelashes at her annoyed friend who was now rolling her own eyes.
"Obviously I don't mind that you all visited and I'm flattered that you missed me but, really? Would it kill any of you to tell me your plans to visit? I'm already on edge from Dolohov and you should have known that." The group, except for Draco, looked down embarrassedly. Having just noticed Draco, Hermione frowned. "What are you doing here, Malfoy? I hardly believe that you came to visit because you 'missed me'." She stated curiously.
Draco smirked. "As if, Granger. Kingsley sent me over with them-," Draco said while looking at the others. "Because he knew they would be too distracted to do their job. He wanted us over here to make sure you were alright and don't worry, no one can track down our floo travels." Hermione nodded. "Also, might I remind you that you were the one to hug me that day at the Hospital Wing? Perhaps I came to proclaim the love that I found for you that day." Draco stated seriously while everyone in the room looked at him incredulously. Hermione's eyes grew to the size of saucers and she began to slowly back away from Draco. Draco's serious expression changed into an amused one as he began laughing. "You wish, Granger. I mean, it's really you who wants me. That's obviously why you hugged me, right?" Draco stated jokingly.
Hermione straightened herself and glared at Draco. "For your information, that hug was a spur of the moment thing because I was feeling, grateful." She cleared her throat and looked away, ignoring the group's entertained expressions.
"Hermione, it seems as though you're absolutely surrounded by Loppies. Either you really do love Draco or you have found someone else to love." Luna said with her usual faraway looking face. Everyone turned to look at Luna as if she was crazy, well, crazier than before, before turning to a surprised Hermione.
"What? Is that true, Hermione?" Harry inquired incredulously. Everyone stared at Hermione, waiting for her answer. She looked at Ginny with pleading eyes. Ginny's eyebrows rose before she shot Hermione a look stating that they would speak of this later.
"Oh stop it, Harry. Don't put Hermione on the spot like that. Anyways, it's 1 AM. We should be sleeping already." Ginny said while looking sternly at the group.
"But we just came from London and its 9 AM over there so I doubt anyone's tir-," Ron stopped suddenly as he was trapped under Ginny's glare. "Uh, I mean, yeah. It's really late, Hermione, and I'm about to pass out. Could you show us to our rooms?"
Hermione frowned. "Wait, you guys are staying here? But, I thought your job was done. You know now that I'm alright. Not that I don't want you all here, it's just that-," Hermione looked to the group and sighed. "Never mind. How long are you lot staying here for?"
Ginny smiled. "We're only staying for the rest of the week so don't worry, we won't bother you for long. It's already Wednesday so only four days."
Hermione laughed. "It's fine. I only have three bedrooms so Ginny, Luna, you can sleep in my bedroom as I don't sleep and you boys decide who gets a room to themselves." Draco, Harry, and Ron looked at each other before Draco smirked.
"I'm sleeping alone." Harry and Ron opened their mouths to retort but Draco interrupted before they could. "Are you two really going to disagree? Fine then, which one of you actually wants to stay in the same room as me for eight hours, alone?" Draco quirked an eyebrow and smirked. Harry and Ron looked at each other in shock before succumbing.
"Well then, now that that's settled, go on up and sleep. Ginny, Luna, you'll know my room when you see it." With that, everyone nodded to each other and headed upstairs except for Ginny and Hermione.
"Now, Hermione, are you going to tell me who this man you love is?" Hermione raised her eyebrows at Ginny's comment. "Oh, don't do that." Ginny stated while rolling her eyes. "It's obvious that it's not brother. Now spill, who is it?"
Hermione cleared her throat and looked away before returning her gaze back to Ginny. "I don't know if this thing is love exactly."
Ginny looked at Hermione as though she was crazy. "Oh, this is love alright. I haven't seen you act anything like this before other than when you were madly in love with Ron and even this is different, stronger than that. Who is it?"
Hermione hesitated before whispering. "Jacob."
"I'm sorry, what? You forget that not everyone has vampire hearing, Hermione. You're going to have to speak up." Hermione rolled her eyes at her female best friend.
"His name is Jacob." Ginny stood still for a moment before jumping in place enthusiastically.
"Oh, his name is hot! I bet he's hot. Am I right?" Hermione couldn't help but smile at Ginny's shenanigans. "I'll take that as a yes! Oh, you're going to have to introduce me! Does he have any cute friends?"
Hermione mock glared at her. "Ginny!"
Ginny raised her hands in surrender. "Kidding! I'm all Harry's." Hermione rolled her eyes and grabbed a couch pillow before chucking it at Ginny. Of course, Hermione may have miscalculated the strength and speed she put into the throw as it accurately hit Ginny in the chest and sent her flying across the room.
Hermione looked at a dazed Ginny on the ground in surprise before going to help her up. "Ginny! Oh, I'm so sorry." Instead of reacting in anger as Hermione expected, Ginny began laughing loudly. Unknowingly, Hermione joined and soon enough, the two were rolling around on the floor, clenching their stomachs. Suddenly, a thought occurred to Hermione and she abruptly stopped laughing. Ginny, realizing that she was the only one laughing now, looked inquisitively to her frowning friend beside her.
"Hermione? Hermione, what's wrong?"
Hermione looked at Ginny worriedly. "Oh, Ginny, I forgot all about Ron! What will Ron do when he finds out about Jacob? This will break his heart." Hermione quickly stood up and began pacing. "How could I do this to him? My own best friend!" Ginny arose and grabbed Hermione by the shoulders, shaking her.
"Hermione, there is nothing to worry about. Trust me, Ron will be fine." Hermione frowned at her friend.
"How do you know that? You can't guarantee it."
Ginny let go of Hermione and looked down awkwardly as she cleared her throat. "Well, um, I sort of can guarantee it. You see-," Hermione slapped a hand against Ginny's mouth to silence her. Ginny looked on curiously as Hermione closed her eyes and leaned her head towards the staircase. Both stood in silence for a few seconds before Ginny removed Hermione's hand and interrupted. "Um, Hermione, what's going on?" Without replying, Hermione opened her eyes and frowned.
"Do you hear that?" Before Ginny could answer, however, Hermione ran upstairs at vampire speed, leaving a confused Ginny in the living room. Hermione cautiously followed the strange noises she was hearing and found that the sound was emitting from her bedroom. "What the hell." She whispered to herself before opening the door. Hermione gasped at the sight in front of her. On her grand bed were Ron and Luna in a rather compromised position, kissing as if there were no tomorrow. Hermione's gasp parted the two and they looked to see who was at the door. Upon seeing Hermione, Ron's jaw dropped to the ground and Luna remained her dreamy self.
"Oh, Hermione, your bed is quite comfortable. Would you like to join us on here? We really weren't doing anything important." Hermione stared speechlessly at Luna, not knowing to say. Silence filled the room for what seemed like an eternity until a concerned looking Luna spoke. "Oh no, Hermione, you're growing Beattyplums."
"Hermione, I can explain!" Ron exclaimed in a panicked tone. "You see, after you left, I-I was so lonely and Luna was always there for me! I'm so sorry, Hermione, I really am. I didn't want to hurt you but, Luna and I really love each other. Please forgive me." Before Hermione could answer, someone yelled her name from across the hall and soon enough, Ginny barged into the room out of breath. Noticing Ron and Luna's compromising position, she turned to Hermione and cautiously spoke.
"I told you that I could guarantee it." That seemed to be the trigger as Hermione burst out laughing. The three others in the room all looked at each other curiously.
"Has she gone mad?" Ron asked Ginny. She only shrugged in response to her brother's question as Hermione's hysterical laughing began to die.
"Well, that greatly uncomplicates things." Hermione whispered to herself before looking to Ron. "Ron, don't worry. I completely and absolutely support you and Luna as long as the both of you are happy." Luna smiled at Hermione before looking into space. On the other hand, Ron quirked an eyebrow at Hermione.
"How are you so okay with this, 'Mione?" Ron inquired. Ginny and Hermione smirked at each other.
"I'll tell you how, big brother." Ginny said while grinning and wrapping an arm around Hermione's shoulders. "It's because our Hermione here is in love."
"What!" A voice yelled from another room. A second later, a crash sounded from the same room. "Oh, bollocks!" Looking out the door, the four individuals could see a disheveled looking Harry standing at the entrance of the room, staring in shock at Hermione. "You're in love? How could this have happened? You can't be in love! This guy could hurt you! He could be a murderer, or a psychopath, or-." Before he could continue, Hermione quickly ran to the bed and threw a pillow at his face only more lightly than she had at Ginny.
"Would you shut up, Harry? I can take care of myself. Anyways, he is a nice boy, Jacob." Hermione answered genuinely.
Harry scowled. "We'll see about that."
Hermione rolled her eyes at Harry's response. "Oh, I forgot to mention something." Ignoring the group's curious looks, Hermione turned to the direction of Draco's guest room. "Malfoy, get in here! I know you were listening to our conversation." Not a moment later, Draco walked into the room with his signature scowl adorning his face.
"God damn, woman. There's no need to yell."
Hermione raised an eyebrow at him before gesturing at the group to sit down. She became serious once again and prepared herself to relay her message. "I have to tell you all that my stay here has been anything but uneventful." Hermione paused, not knowing how to continue which was a first. "You see, I met some, interesting people here." All signs of playfulness exited the room as the group listened intently. "That is, if you consider vampires and shape shifters to be interesting people."
At that moment, every seated individual jumped up from their position. "What!" Soon, everyone was babbling nonsensically to themselves but Hermione, being the vampire that she was, was able to hear every word.
"What! Oh, this cannot be happening. This cannot be happening!"
"Maybe she has gone mad. Maybe she's just imagining things! Yeah, that's probably it."
"I saw a woodpecker shape shifter once. Had quite a lot of snargle sprouts surrounding him though so I couldn't talk to him."
"Alright, stop it!" Hermione exclaimed authoritatively. All talking stopped, leaving Hermione the center of attention. "Look, I know this is shocking but you must hear me out first."
"Why should we, Hermione?" Ron inquired angrily. "You know how vampires and shape shifters are. They could be killing innocent muggles at this very moment. How could you let this happen without trying to stop them?" Hermione glared coldly at Ron.
"Ronald Weasley. First of all, you are defining and degrading every vampire and shape shifter by their stereotype which you of all people should know I do not appreciate as I am a vampire myself and a proud founder of SPEW." Ron looked to the ground in shame as Hermione continued to speak. "Secondly, if there were ever, ever, any innocents in danger, I would do everything in my power to save them. Do you understand?" Everyone stared at Ron until he nodded in response. Hermione sighed. "Anyways, I've met them and they're my… friends. At least the wolves are. I'm not so sure about the vampires though."
"What!" Hermione rolled her eyes at their somehow perfectly synchronized exclamation.
"The shifters are wolves? Why couldn't they be hamster shifters or something? Are you trying to get yourself killed, Granger?" Draco yelled while scowling at Hermione. "You find a group of wolf shifters and the first thing you do is befriend them? How is it that you haven't killed each other yet?"
Hermione rolled her eyes. Ever since her punch to Draco in third year, she came to learn just how dramatic he could be. "Well, not everyone tries to eliminate something they dislike. Also, for your information, the shifters aren't horrible at all." At this, Hermione smiled shyly to herself. Jacob. No, he is not horrible at all, she thought to herself.
"Wait a minute!" Ginny exclaimed while pointing a finger at Hermione. "I know that look. It's your 'Oh, I'm so in love with Jacob' look. Why are you thinking of Jacob when we were talking about the wol-," Ginny stopped her talking before gasping loudly, causing everyone to stare at her curiously.
"Ginny, what is it?" Harry inquired worriedly. Without acknowledging her boyfriend, Ginny slowly began approaching Hermione with the same look of shock on her face.
Upon reaching Hermione, Ginny stopped and spoke. "No way." Hermione couldn't seem to meet her eyes. "Jacob. Is he… a shifter?" Hermione's silence was the only answer anyone needed.
"So it's true?" Luna stated in the silence. "But, how?"
Everyone turned to Harry as he stated, "Hermione, explain everything." Hermione met everyone's eyes before sighing in defeat and seating herself at her desk chair.
"My first day in Forks, I went for a walk, an unknowingly treacherous one. I came upon this one house and I saw a female muggle and a vampire together through the window." At this, a few in the group gasped. "Don't worry, the vampire was an animal feeder. That was when I first saw it, or smelled it: A wolf. I knew he had caught my scent too because he was approaching quickly, so I apparated. Once he caught my scent, I knew I had no choice but to cast a smell concealment charm or he would find me and kill me." Hermione paused to make sure everyone understood before continuing. "When I went to school the next day, I found that the animal-feeding vampire was actually part of an animal-feeding clan, the Cullen clan. The first vampire that I met, Edward, has a muggle girlfriend, the one I mentioned before, who most likely knows all about the vampires and shape shifters. Now, I know this part may sound strange but bear with me." She paused once again to confirm with the others who all nodded in response. "It was later when I found the Cullen clan and the shifters have some sort of pact or alliance against a vampire named Victoria. She's-," Hermione sighed, not knowing how to relay this message without having the others freak out.
"Spit it out, Granger. What is it?" Draco asked impatiently.
"She's created a newborn army. Why? I don't know. That's what I'm going to find out." Chaos reigned in the room once again. Harry and Ron began shouting and attempting to leave the home in an effort to find this Victoria. Draco was holding Harry back and Luna worked to calm Ron down while Ginny was reprimanding the both of them. Sighing once again, Hermione continued loudly. "I began to befriend the wolves to get more information but they proved to be worthwhile and loyal friends." There was silence in the bedroom once again. "Apparently, they are part of the Quileute tribe of La Push. Some of Quileute descent change for the first time if vampires are in the area. The shifters existing now have changed because their natural instinct told them to defeat the Cullens. However, the clan and the pack have settled on an agreement as they both only want peace. Now, since someone has threatened to disturb their peace, they've created an alliance."
Hermione stopped talking, indicating the end of her story. "Wait, Hermione. What about the vampires? If they're peaceful and animal-feeders, why didn't you befriend them instead of the wolves?" Ron asked curiously.
Hermione sighed. "I'm civil with them. I probably should get closer to them if I want more information but Bella, Edward's muggle girlfriend, can be quite a nuisance at times."
Harry, who seemed to have a question in mind, spoke. "I'm guessing none of them know what you are. They think you are a simple muggle, am I correct?"
"Yes, Harry," Hermione replied. "You are. Because of my non-existent scent, blue eyes, and the beating of my magic, which apparently sounds like my heartbeat, they think I am human." Everyone nodded. "Look, you all are probably tired so get some rest and let's talk about this in the morning." The group nodded goodnight to each other before going to their separate rooms. However, they were stopped at the last second by Ginny.
"Wait a minute. It seems like you aren't telling us something, Hermione. Spill it." Hermione cursed Ginny's investigative skills before sighing in defeat.
"Fine. According to a Cullen vampire, Alice, who can tell the future, the newborn army is coming in three weeks." All groaned loudly.
"Are you serious?" Harry exclaimed. "Well, we have to fight. We should reveal ourselves to the pack and the Cullen clan so that we can offer as much protection as possible for the muggles." Ginny walked over to Harry and slapped him across the back of his head.
"Thank you, Ginny." Hermione stated as she nodded to Ginny. "This is not our fight, Harry, or at least not your guys' fight. I will not have any of you in danger, no matter what. I will try to help as much as possible without revealing myself but all of you have no part in this." Everyone, even Ginny, attempted to retort but one glare from Hermione silenced them. "Once the end of the week comes, I will send all of you back to England. Do you hear me?" Hermione waited for everyone to nod reluctantly. "Good. Don't worry, I will inform all of you if there is too much trouble here. I am also going to introduce you to the pack and the Cullens tomorrow, or today since it's already 2:30 in the morning, so be ready." Everyone murmured what they hoped to be a final goodnight before attempting to reach their respective rooms. However, Harry interrupted.
"Wait just one last minute!" Everyone groaned in aggravation, Draco even throwing a pen at him. "Ow, Malfoy!" The two glared at each other immaturely before Ginny slapped them both in the back of their heads. Turning back to Hermione, Harry continued. "Anyways, you said that this fight was none of our business but really, how is it yours?"
Hermione smiled. "This is my fight because the man that I may, no, do love, will be out on that battlefield." Inside, Hermione feared this strong emotion that was growing for Jacob, wondering if this was forming too quickly. However, deep within her, possibly at the core of her entire being, she knew that genuine love for a deserving other can never be too strong or too soon. It can only be.
It was 9 o'clock in the morning and Hermione sat on the living room sofa, reading a book and waiting for the others to awaken so that she could take them to visit the pack. She arose from her spot and walked over to the kitchen to grab another blood pop. Suddenly, Hermione felt a breach in her protective wards. What? Who could've possibly broken into my wards, Hermione questioned herself. She ran to a nearby window and peeked through before smiling. Through the window pane she could see the pack approaching her home quickly with Jacob leading eagerly at the front. How could I forget that the pack was supposed to come today? Without any hesitation, Hermione neared the front door and swung it open revealing the pack before they could ring the doorbell. Hermione smiled before saying, "Hey guys and girl." At the last part she looked to Leah who rolled her eyes before smiling back at her.
"Hey, Hermione. Can we come in?" Leah inquired. Hermione nodded in response and the pack quickly ran in. Quil and Embry shuffled to the kitchen; Jared, Paul, Leah, and Seth flopped onto the couch, turning on the TV at the same time; and Sam and Jacob remained with Hermione near the door.
"Hermione, how are you? We didn't leave too much of a mess yesterday, did we?" Sam said before scratching the back of his neck and grinning sheepishly. Hermione mock glared at him.
"Oh, I'm fine, Sam but my dining room sure wasn't yesterday. Really, I nearly fainted from exhaustion when cleaning up your messes." Hermione fought the urge to laugh as she told this white lie because the guilt portrayed on Sam's face was good to ruin.
Jacob grabbed onto Hermione's shoulders and looked her up and down with panicked eyes. "What? We did that to you? Are you alright? How can we make it up to you?" Hermione rolled her eyes at Jacob's foolishness.
"I'm only joking, Jacob." With those words, all worry left Jake and he visibly sagged in relief.
"Oh, well, good. I promise that I will make it up to you, no matter what I have to do."
Hermione waved him off before grinning. "Yeah, yeah, sure. Whatever."
Jacob smiled back at her before turning to Sam. "Hey, Sam, can I talk to Hermione?"
"Yeah, sure." Sam replied in a relaxed tone while still looking at the two. Hermione and Jacob stared back, waiting for him to leave. However, Sam stood still, oblivious to what they wanted him to do.
"Um, Sam. I think Jacob wants to talk to me alone." Hermione stated. Sam looked at Hermione blankly for a minute before his face brightened.
"Oh, right. Sorry. I'll just be leaving then." With that, Sam sent an obvious wink to Jacob before heading to the sofa where the rest of the pack had now gathered. Jacob rolled his eyes.
"So, Hermione, you ready for our date on Friday?" Hermione could tell that the pack was listening in on the conversation.
"Yes, I am. I've been meaning to ask you though, how should I dress? Is casual fine?" Jacob smiled and nodded.
"Yeah, that's fine. Anything's fine really. You can wear anything and still look amazing." Hermione chuckled at Jacob's compliment. "You can even wear nothing and it'll be fine." Jacob said while wiggling his eyebrows suggestively. Hermione gasped before smacking his chest lightly. Suddenly, the pack stiffened. Everyone in the room could hear it. Everyone could hear the sink faucet turning on upstairs. Hermione resisted the urge to freeze in shock as well. How could she have been so stupid? The pack will probably think the person upstairs is some intruder. The television was turned off now, leaving an even thicker silence than before. Wishing to prevent all trouble, Hermione interrupted the silence.
"Is everything alright?" Hermione asked the group. The tense pack turned to look at Hermione before smiling awkwardly and nodding. At that moment, a large noise began approaching the group. Thump, thump, thump. It was the sound of someone briskly walking down the stairs. Everyone now turned to the stairs to see who the person was. However, they all heard the person speak before seeing the face.
"Hey, Granger! Don't you have some manlier smelling soap?" The owner of the voice then appeared from the stairs, causing Hermione to groan. Approaching the group was an oblivious Draco reading the label of a soap box, shirtless. The only pieces of clothing he wore were a pair of sweatpants and a pair of socks. Beside her, Jacob growled loudly causing Draco to look up into his burning eyes. Draco raised an eyebrow. "What are you, a dog?" Upon hearing those words, Jacob charged at Malfoy but was luckily stopped by the pack who was now trying to calm him down. However, the group had a hard time trying to hold Jacob back. This seemed to have thrown off Draco slightly as his smirk slightly faltered.
"Malfoy, what the bloody hell are you doing? Go put on a shirt! No one wants to be blinded by your paleness." Hermione exclaimed in an annoyed tone with her arms crossed.
"Oh, look who's talking. You're so pale that you'll probably sparkle in the sun sooner or later." Draco retorted with a smirk. Hermione fumed and attempted to hold in her anger at Draco's remark about her vampirism in front of the pack. The pack, even including Jacob, was dead silent as they watched the exchange.
"Well, at least I don't go around shirtless and parade my paleness to the world!" Hermione yelled. Draco's smirk grew at her comment.
"Well, no one's stopping you. If you wish to go around shirtless then, by all means, I wouldn't mind at all." Draco quirked an eyebrow suggestively at Hermione. His comment once again triggered Jacob's rage and the pack, almost futilely, attempted to hold him back.
"Just go back upstairs and stop bothering me! If you don't like my soap then buy your own. Can't you see that I have guests?" Draco eyed the pack with an annoyed expression before rolling his eyes.
"Yeah, yeah. Whatever." With that, Draco turned around and walked back up the stairs. Once Hermione was sure that he was gone, she turned to Jacob. Upon meeting his hurt and angry expression, she winced.
"Who is he? Why is he here? Make him leave!" Jacob exclaimed. Hermione's apologetic look disappeared with his words and was replaced with a cold stare.
"He is Draco Malfoy and he is a friend." Hermione couldn't help but lie at the last part but right now, she did not care that she lied. "He, as well as many of my other friends, is visiting for the week and no, I will not make him leave! Who are you to tell me what to do! This is my home and if I want to lend it for my friends to visit, I will let my friends visit!" Jacob winced slightly before his body and cold stare hardened once again.
"You sure you both are friends? Who knows? Maybe the two of you are doing more than just friendly bonding while he's here." Jacob replied. The pack and Hermione stared at him, shocked.
"What did you say?" Hermione spoke as she clenched her hands. She was breathing deeply now even though she had no need to.
"I said, you two may be more than just friendly with each other. That's obviously why he came down shirtless, right?" Hermione's eyes narrowed and her jaw clenched. Without saying a word, Hermione walked over to Jacob and slapped him across the face. The entire pack looked on in shock. Hermione did not care at the moment if they questioned her strength because all that flooded her mind was the desire to slap Jacob.
"Leave." Hermione whispered. Jacob stared coldly into Hermione's hurt eyes and faltered for half a second before quickly walking past her and out of the door. The pack briskly followed behind him, looking apologetically to Hermione before exiting. Hermione did not know how long she stood before collapsing onto the ground. Without speaking or breathing, she continued to stare at the floor for a while. She felt a presence approaching her and soon, two arms wrapped around her protectively. Hermione closed her eyes. "How much did you hear?"
Ginny sighed. "Everything."
"Jacob, are you crazy? Why did you do that?" Jared yelled as Jacob entered Sam's house and slammed the door. The slam of the door led Emily to enter the living room, frightened.
"What's going on?" Emily questioned, already sensing the tense atmosphere. Everyone looked away, not wanting to describe the dramatic scene they had witnessed before. Sam walked over and hugged Emily before kissing the top of her head, causing Leah to look away.
"Jacob had a fight with Hermione." Sam replied. Emily's eyes widened and she looked to Jacob who was glaring at the ground.
"What? Why?" Emily asked Jacob. He looked away and crossed his arms, indicating that he didn't want to answer. However, Emily will not take no for an answer. "Jacob." She said more sternly. "Why did you fight with her? She's your imprint for goodness sakes. How is it that you had the will to actually fight with your imprint?"
Jacob looked up into the questioning eyes of everyone in the room. "I-I was jealous and angry and hurt and… I don't know. I just don't know, okay! I just know that I feel like crap now for treating her that way." With that, Jacob placed his head in his hands and groaned.
"Jealous? Jealous of what?" Emily inquired to Sam.
Sam shook his head in response. "I'll explain later." Emily nodded. "Look, Jacob. I understand if you were jealous but that was no way to treat Hermione, your imprint. You have to find a way to fix this before it's too late." Everyone nodded in agreement before separating, leaving Jacob alone to ponder his mistake.
"Ugh, I'm such an idiot."
Hermione and Ginny had been sitting in the living room in silence for what seemed like a lifetime when Ginny spoke. "So, what are you going to do?" Hermione turned to look at her friend before sighing.
"Do you know what I'm going to do?" Hermione stated. Ginny furrowed her eyebrows in confusion. "I'm going to get over Jacob. If he doesn't even like me enough to trust me then I won't waste my time."
"I don't know, Hermione." Ginny replied, eyebrows still furrowed. Hermione looked at her curiously. "It's obvious that you're already in love with him and I don't know if you see it, but I think he might be in love with you too. Now, you know me, I'm all for girl power and all that but would forgetting him because he wounded your pride really be best? This love of yours seems to be much larger than we first imagined it to be."
Hermione looked intently at Ginny as if the solution to all of her problems was written on her face. She sighed. "I don't know, Ginny. I feel like I don't know anything anymore." Ginny mock gasped dramatically.
"What? The Hermione Granger knows nothing? What has the world come to?" Hermione rolled her eyes before grabbing a nearby pillow and threatening to throw it at Ginny.
At that moment, four pairs of footsteps sounded from the staircase and out came Harry, Draco, Ron, and Luna in Ron's arms. "Finally! How long does it take for you to get ready?"
Harry scratched the back of his head and smiled sheepishly. "Sorry, Hermione. Ron and I were fighting over the bathroom."
"Yeah, and it takes time to look this good, you know." Draco said as he ran his hand through his hair and winked at Hermione.
With an expert poker face, Hermione replied, "Yeah, right. Anyways, we're going to meet the Cullens."
Ron groaned. "Do we have to, Hermione? Can't we just stay in here?" Hermione rolled her eyes. Not even bothering to answer, she grabbed her car keys from the hook beside the front door and exited, knowing the others will eventually follow her. Hermione quickly climbed into her Bentley and started the engine. From the windshield, she could see that the group was nearing the car with mixed reactions. Harry remained indifferent to the car, Ron had a panicked look, Draco seemed annoyed, Ginny was looking curiously at the car, and Luna was Luna.
"Oh no. I was hoping that I would never have to look at another one of these things ever again." Ron said as he hesitantly approached the Bentley.
Draco raised an eyebrow. "And what exactly is this thing?"
"It's a car, Malfoy. Now get in." Without consent, Harry pushed Draco into the first backseat before climbing in as well, Ginny following after.
"Wait, Hermione. There aren't enough seats for all of us." Ron croaked. Hermione, realizing Ron was right, smiled wickedly at him.
"Well then. Ronald, you're going to have to sit on the ground." Ron's eyes nearly bugged out of his head. He looked as though he was about to debate her decision but Hermione interrupted. "Unless you want Luna, your girlfriend, to sit on the ground." Ron looked to his right at Luna who staring back innocently.
Ron sighed. "Fine." With that, he climbed into the back and shoved himself next to Draco's feet. The two exchanged glares in a silent challenge.
"Oh, quit it you two. Let's go, Hermione." Ginny stated, breaking apart the glaring boys. And they were off.
"Ugh, I swear that's some medieval torture device. I think I'm going to throw up. It's even worse when you're on the ground." Ron said as he exited the car while clenching his stomach. Everyone else left the car, being welcomed by the sight of the Cullens watching Ron amusedly.
"Hermione, it's nice to see you again! Who are your friends?" Alice asked while hugging Hermione tightly.
Hermione smiled. "Hi Alice. These are my friends who are visiting from England for a week. I just felt as though I should introduce you all to them. Although, I'm not really sure why. I don't really know what our relationship with each other is so I'm not even sure if introducing you to each other is appropriate." Alice laughed.
"Don't be silly, Hermione. We're all friends. Now, why don't you introduce your friends to us?" Hermione nodded.
"Everyone," Hermione said to the Cullen family. "These are my friends. Harry, Ron, Ginny, Luna, and Draco." Now facing her own group of friends, she began introducing the Cullens. "And this is Alice, Jasper, Rosalie, Emmet, Edward, Esme, and Carlisle." Everyone nodded to one another in recognition.
"Well, why don't you all come in? We were just about to make lunch." Carlisle said as he smiled warmly. Hermione looked to her wrist at the watch that sat there. 11:45.
Hermione internally groaned. "Thank you, Carlisle, but we wouldn't want to intrude." Hermione really did not want to eat only to regurgitate it later. Esme only shook her head in response.
"Nonsense. Come in, come in." She replied in her motherly tone. With that, everyone entered the Cullen home. "I'll begin cooking and you all can get to know each other in the living room. Everyone, except for Hermione, nodded and followed one another to the living room.
Hermione, instead, went to Esme. "Let me help you Esme. You can't cook for thirteen people all by yourself." Esme smiled and shook her head.
"No, no, I'm fine. Now, how awkward do you think it will be for them if you're not there?" Hermione and Esme shared a secret look before chuckling.
"Alright, but only to spare the awkwardness. If you need any help, you can call for me." Hermione stated to Esme before exiting the kitchen and entering the living room. Upon entering, she realized that it was not awkward at all as the group began discussing the topic of snakes.
"But snakes are so adorable when they're not trying to kill you. How could you possibly hate them?" Emmett exclaimed heatedly while standing up from his seat.
Harry was now standing as well. "Well, I'm not talking about the safe, obeying ones one would see caged up in a zoo. I'm talking about the wild, evil ones that chase after their prey with no remorse. The ones who follow the rule of the devil himself. The ones who would stand by the side of a disgusting excuse for a human being." Harry was now talking to himself while staring intensely into space. It was as if no one else was near him and he was alone. Everyone in the room had their eyes wide open in shock, staring at scene before them. "I'm speaking of the ones who would do anything for the red eyes monster who so easily kills others for their benefit."
"Harry!" Hermione yelled, causing Harry to awaken from his reverie. Hermione caught his eye and glared at him in warning.
"I'm sorry," Carlisle interrupted. "But did you say red eyed monsters?" The Cullens, although still shocked from Harry's rant, all listened intently for his reply. Hermione quickly shot Harry a look, telling him to be quiet.
"Oh, it's nothing. Harry just has a very large fear of snakes-," Hermione paused in a moment of hesitation that she hoped the Cullens did not notice. Of course, she knew that they did. "And zoo keepers." Everyone quirked an eyebrow and looked at Hermione strangely. "Uh, yes. Ever since the incident he sees all zoo keepers as red eyed monsters." The group all looked to Harry who was now feigning fear. Hermione rolled her eyes at his mediocre acting but decided that that would have to do. "Um, I believe Esme told me to retrieve the ladies to help cook." Hermione lied before hurrying to Esme to tell her that they will assist with lunch.
"What, are we just supposed to surrender to the sexist definition of females by cooking while the men simply bond in the living room?" Rosalie complained before crossing her arms. She glared at the men who were now squirming under her gaze.
"That's what I'm always saying but my brother and boyfriend seem to think that there's nothing wrong with it." Ginny said while rolling her eyes at the two who smiled abashedly. Rosalie and Ginny both chuckled with one another.
"Oh, I have nothing against cooking although I'm no good at it." Luna replied dreamily to the two. "It reminds me of my mother when she used to cook." The wizards and witches in the room, as well as Hermione who heard from the kitchen, who knew of Luna's mother stopped their smiling and sulked, remembering those they have lost. Ginny comfortingly patted Luna in the back before the two walked off into the kitchen. The Cullens all looked confusedly at each other before separating.
"So," Alice said as she walked into the kitchen. Luna was helping Esme at the stove while Hermione and Ginny were slicing vegetables on the island. "How is Forks so far for you two? Do you have any plans while you're here?"
Ginny smiled at the two. "Everything has been fine so far except for Hermione's little quarrel with Jacob and as for my plans, I'm most likely going to try to get the two back together." Hermione froze and Alice and Rosalie furrowed their eyebrows at her.
"What? I didn't know the two of you were a thing in the first place. How did the two of you get together and why'd you two fight?" Rosalie inquired. Hermione sighed, hesitant to respond.
"He simply asked me out on a date at the graduation party. Then, he visited me today and saw Draco so he became jealous. It's no big deal. There was nothing serious between us anyway." Hermione replied while chopping celery all the while. Rosalie, Esme, and Alice all looked to each other wide eyed.
"No big deal? No, this is a big deal, Hermione. We're going to make him regret ever fighting with you." Alice stated, nearly bouncing in place in excitement. Hermione looked questioningly at them. "We're going to make you hot, Hermione; so hot that Jacob faints from the beauty." Hermione stared wide eyed at Alice before bursting into laughter.
"Nice try, Alice, but I don't really think that would work. I don't want to try either. I don't need Jacob back."
Rosalie rolled her eyes. "You may not think you need him back but it's obvious that you want him back. Just come back tomorrow. You can all come." Rosalie said while looking to Ginny and Luna. "Just us girls. We can all try to make you hot. Well, hotter than right now anyways." Hermione shook her head before laughing at the craziness of the idea. All of the girls got back to their cooking while Rosalie and Alice began setting the dining table.
"Ow!" Ginny screamed while clenching her left thumb in her other hand. The vampires in the house all froze, tensing even more as a drop of blood fell onto the floor. Hermione snapped out of her daze and turned to Ginny with panicked eyes which the latter girl returned.
"Are you okay?" Hermione asked worriedly. Ginny nodded in response. Hermione turned to Alice and Rosalie who were staring at Ginny's cut while holding their breaths. "Do you have a bandage?" However, the two still remained frozen.
"I'll get it." Esme said before eyeing her two daughters and leaving the room. Hermione listened intently to the living room. She could hear the oblivious Harry and Ron arguing with Draco. On the other hand, Emmett, Edward, Jasper and Carlisle sat still, not uttering a word. Suddenly, she heard an arm silently move to grab another's. Confused, Hermione casted a transparency spell to see through the wall guarding the living room from her view in the kitchen. By observing the scene, she could see that Edward's hand was latched onto Jasper's arm. Jasper seemed as though he was having a hard time restraining himself unlike the others. Maybe he's new, Hermione suspected to herself.
"Here you go, Ginny." Esme said as she handed Ginny the bandage, making sure that she does not get too close to the blood. Ginny smiled kindly at her in thanks. "Lunch is ready now so let's just bring the food to the dining room and eat." Everyone nodded in response and worked to set the table. "Lunch is ready." Esme called loudly to the men in the living room. Ron was the first to burst into the dining room and seat himself, eager to dig in. Hermione rolled her eyes at his silly actions before seating herself as well as the rest of the group. The moment everyone was seated, Ron grabbed the bowls nearest to him and began piling up his plate. This triggered everyone and each took turns placing food on their plate.
"Thank you so much for this meal, Esme." Hermione thanked as Esme smiled at her.
"Oh, it's no problem. Eat up, Hermione." Hermione internally sighed. Here we go, she said to herself as she brought a spoonful of wretched smelling potatoes to her mouth.
"That was amazing! Ginny, can you learn to cook like that?" Ron said as he closed his eyes and leaned back in his chair in content. Ginny glared at Ron without bothering to reply. Hermione was glad that she was unable to go green because if she were, she would look like a piece of lettuce. She was dreading having to go home and barf the meal. The Cullens still had nearly full plates with only a spoonful of mashed potatoes and a pea or two missing. Suddenly, Hermione caught Draco tensing up across from her before quickly calming down and bringing his usual smirk to his face. Hermione looked at him in confusion before turning to her right as Harry tensed up beside her as well. Harry's head shot up and he began looking around before stopping and returning to his conversation with Ginny. Realization dawned on Hermione and she looked to Edward who was now clenching his head in both of his hands. Everyone now brought their attention to him.
"Edward, are you alright? What's wrong?" Carlisle questioned curiously. Only Harry and Draco seemed to have a knowing look in their eyes.
Edward looked up and met the eyes of everyone before breathing in and out deeply. "I'm fine. I just had a minor headache for a second there."
Draco smirked. "I wonder how that could've happened." Hermione glared at Draco as he feigned innocence and drank his water.
"Edward, what happened back there?" Jasper inquired as he shut the door after watching Hermione's car leave. The Cullens were now gathered in the living room discussing today's occurrences.
"I was trying to read Draco and Harry's thoughts." Edward said as he looked down at the ground with eyebrows furrowed.
"And?" Emmett asked impatiently.
"And nothing. I couldn't hear anything, just like when I tried to read Hermione's mind." Everyone looked at him in shock. "It was exactly like Hermione's mind. It was that same indestructible brick wall and the more I pushed in, the more it felt like I was being pushed out. That's why it was painful for me. The weird thing is though, when I tried to read their mind, they acted as if they knew I was there." The room became silent as they digested the new information that they were given.
"Now that I think about it," Jasper interrupted, garnering everyone's attention. "I couldn't feel their emotions either."
"And I didn't see any of them coming to visit today." Alice added to the already accumulating issues.
Carlisle scratched his chin. "When Harry was speaking of snakes, he mentioned a red eyed monster that kills others. Do you think he knows about vampires?"
"I don't know about that," Emmett replied. "But I doubt he has a fear of snakes and zoo keepers." Everyone became silent once again as they tried to put together the puzzle pieces of this impossible puzzle.
"Something is going on here and we're going to have to find out what." Carlisle said to the group before they all nodded back.
"Hermione, I think you forgot to mention one tiny piece of information about the Cullens." Harry stated as everyone plopped onto the living room couch. Hermione raised an eyebrow.
"What is that?" Hermione inquired as the other witches and wizards listened in.
"Oh, I don't know; maybe the fact that that Edward bloke is a bloody mind reader!" Draco exclaimed as he loosened his collar and scowled.
Hermione sighed in exasperation. "Yeah, sorry; I forgot about that."
Harry sighed as well, even louder than Hermione. "Hermione, this isn't something you can just easily leave out. I nearly let my thoughts escape but luckily I didn't. I'm just glad his skills aren't strong at all or I would've been sweating buckets."
"Well, you never really have been a strong Occlumens, Potter. I, on the other hand, am." Draco spat at Harry as he placed his feet on the coffee table and smirked. Everyone in the room rolled their eyes at his remark.
"Well, we all just have to be careful and make sure to notreveal our secrets. Understand?" Hermione said while staring pointedly at Draco who raised his hands in mock surrender. Hermione sighed loudly. "Today has been a very long day. Let's just rest now, alright?" Everyone nodded in response before parting in their separate ways. Hermione remained seated on the sofa before turning to lie down. She placed an arm over her eyes to block out the light. However, before she could fully relax, a crash sounded from upstairs.
"Oops." Ron's voice sounded.
"Ron!" Harry whispered in a futile attempt to keep anyone else from listening. "Hermione can't find out about this. She'll kill us!" Hermione heard Harry mutter a repairing incantation before sighing in relief.
Hermione shook her head before chuckling to herself in silence. "This is going to be one long week."