Chapter 17: The Rabbit's Out of the Hat (My wizardy version of 'the cat's out of the bag', lol)

August 13th, 2007

A long line stretched ahead of Bella at the London Heathrow International Airport, but she couldn't find the will to step forward.

"It will be fine, Bella." Hermione stood beside her with a sympathetic smile. "You'll be there and back again in no time."

Bella nodded half-heartedly. It was nice of Hermione to accompany her to the airport. Their growing camaraderie was surprising to Bella, who had assumed she and the witch would only ever breach the line of formal acquaintanceship, but the witch had really reached out to Bella as of late. Still, Hermione was no Neville.

Neville. Bella sighed internally. He'd had to stay at Hogwarts, but a part of Bella selfishly wished that he would have been a little less dedicated to his work and gone with her. On the other hand, how would it look to everyone in Forks if Bella came back with a man seven years her senior? Charlie was sure to have a lot on his plate when she arrived back in Forks. It was probably best not to add anything else to the mix just yet.

"Bella, I want you to have something I've been working on." Bella's eyes widened with surprise, but she became uncertain as the witch placed an old shoelace in the palm of her hand.

"Is this some kind of sentimental wizard-thing?" She tried not to sound too put off, but a shoelace, really?

Hermione broke through Bella's stupor with a bright laugh. "Godric, no, I'd never give you manky, old laces just for sentiment!" Then her face took on a more serious expression. "Just, hold onto this, Bella. I've done some research about your hometown, and I know there's much more than meets the eye." Bella was stunned. How much did she know? "If you're in danger – if you need help for any reason – throw this on the ground as hard as you can."

"What will it do?" she queried with uncertainty.

"Let's hope you never have to find out." Hermione evaded the question, but Bella took the shoelace anyway, taking great care as she tucked it securely into her pocket.

She hugged the witch goodbye and finally proceeded through the security line, wondering how her father would react to everything she had to say.

"What the hell were you thinking, Bells?"

It was the the sixth time Charlie had shouted the phrase as he paced back and forth, back and forth, back and forth across the living room floor of his home in Forks.

"You said you needed to find yourself, and I let you go halfway across the world to do it, but I guess that wasn't good enough for you, was it? I mean, what the hell were you thinking?"

Apparently he actually expected an answer this time, because he stopped pacing and stared right down at Bella.

"Are you finished?" she said quietly.

"Well, I—" Her calm response clearly threw him for a loop, and he trailed off with a grunt of assent.

"I'm allowed to tell you exactly where I've been, because you're my dad...but you have to swear to keep this to yourself. I'm not even planning on telling Mom."

Charlie paused and considered her words.

"Are you in trouble?"

"No."

"You're not pregnant are you?" he said with a grimace.

Bella snorted at his complete and utter aversion to the possibility, "No, Dad, I swear. This is probably the greatest thing that has ever happened to me."

An alarmed look came over his face. "You're not with that Cullen boy again, are you?"

"What?" she burst out. "Dad, trust me on this. I am never getting back together with that self-righteous, manipulative...teenager again."

He seemed pacified by her outburst and nodded. "Alright, Bells, I swear I won't tell anyone your secret."

Bella took a deep breath and drew her wand from a hidden pocket of her jeans.

"Oh, Lord, is that what I think it is?" Charlie groaned.

"What, what's wrong?" She hadn't even cast any spells yet!

"Is that stick supposed to be a...magic wand? Look, I know David Copperfield and Penn and Teller make it look cool, but a magician...really?"

Bella's mouth fell open, surprised that he hit so close to the mark.

"It's not exactly what you think—"

"Well I can see why you don't want Renee to know," Charlie started to chuckle, "but I have to tell you, Bells, this is going to be hard to keep from Billy."

"You can't tell him. This is important!" Bella felt flustered that her dad was taking it all wrong.

"Alright, alright." He sat down in his chair, trying to look serious. "If it's that important to you—"

"Thank you," she exhaled with relief.

"So what kind of stuff can you do? Can you make stuff disappear?" The grin he'd failed to fully suppress came creeping back to the edge of his lips.

"Yes, I can," she answered hesitantly, "but Dad, you have to promise not to freak out."

"Scout's honor!" He lifted his hand for good measure.

Clearly he wasn't going to take this seriously, but Bella hoped his tune would change for the better after he saw what she could do.

She'd barely incanted the spell in her mind when Bella felt the familiar chill wash over her skin, and a sunny shimmer settled over the mysterious blue.

Her dad instantly jumped to his feet. "What in the name..." He squinted in her direction. "Bella?"

"You can see me?" To say she was shocked was an understatement.

Charlie blinked several times. "Is this some kind of trick of the light? I can almost see you, but then I blink and you're gone. It's like looking at a foggy reflection through one of those dark restaurant windows.

"Huh," was all Bella could reply. "I guess you're the one I get this from."

"Get what from, what are you talking about?"

Bella cast the countercharm and looked at Charlie nervously.

"I'm not a magician, Dad, but I do have magic."

For thirty minutes Bella stumbled through her haphazard explanation of finding Hogwarts and discovering that wizards and witches existed. She cast a small shield charm, and Charlie tapped at the glassy barrier with wonder. It wasn't much, but it was enough for him to believe.

"So you're a witch?"

"I think so...? My powers are kind of different than normal magic. Hermione's looking into it though."

"And she's the one at Hog-warts?" he guessed.

"Actually, she works at the Ministry of Magic."

"There's a Ministry!" Charlie let out a low whistle. "And to think there's an entire world of people out there, doing magic and wearing pointy hats."

She quirked her eyebrow. "They don't all wear pointed hats, Dad."

He shook his head thoughtfully. "Well, I can see why you were afraid to tell anyone about it, but hang it all, Bella, you can't just up and drop off the face of the earth like that. We're family."

"I won't disappear without telling you again. I promise. But...I can't stay here."

"Bella—"

"No, listen. It's not just because of magic." She choked up for a moment, thinking of Jacob's pack. "The animal that killed Seth Clearwater and Embry Call...it was actually after me, and...if they hadn't been there, I would have died." Tears were starting to well up in the corners of her eyes. "It's all my fault. If I hadn't been there...they'd still be alive."

Pain she'd buried deep beneath the surface lanced through her body like a ripped open scab.

"Jacob said it's not my fault, but they all resented me. And Leah," a new wave of anguish crashed against her consciousness, "Leah said I should have died in their place." She looked up at Charlie with the sting of despairing memories. "And she's right. I should have." Fresh sobs wracked her body, and her father's embrace did little to stop the onslaught of tears. "I can't stay here. I can't...live here, knowing that Seth and Embry would still be alive if I hadn't made so many stupid choices."

They pulled apart, and her father was silent for a several seconds. "Don't put all the blame on yourself, Bells," he finally said. "I know you don't think so, but there are a lot of people down at the reservation who miss you."

Bella sniffed, wiping the tears away with her left hand. "You think?"

"I know. At least give it a shot. It would be good to see some of your friends. After all it's been months since you saw them last."

She considered his request carefully. She and Jake had only dated a few months before tragedy struck, but Bella cared deeply about the pack. They'd bonded and shared each other's pains and worries. It would be good to see them.

"I guess a visit couldn't hurt," she half-smiled, but at the same time she was overwhelmed with anxiety. What if Charlie was wrong?

Somehow she had a feeling she'd be finding out soon.

Remember in the Twilight books when Edward said he could only hear the tenor of Charlie's thoughts? That is why Charlie can almost see through Bella's disillusionment charm. It's not going to affect the storyline at all (probably...), but I felt there could really be something there. Thanks again for reading! –V