JPOV
I watch her and Alice wandering through shops together. Hermione, it transpires, will not fit in any clothing we already have in the house. Despite her protests and arguments, Alice insists upon taking her shopping. She can't wear robes all the time. It did transpire that she had shirt and jeans on underneath, but no coat or jumper. Tonight, we leave for Italy.
On the plane, we talk- first class has it's advantages of being a little more private. Not to mention the fact that she and I can both speak Romany, and the chances of us being understood are negligible, especially as Edward confirmed at the airport that no other passengers or staff understood the Romany conversation we had about passports. She didn't seem worried when I tell her the story of the Volturi. She barely batted an eyelid when I told her about Maria.
"I've killed more people that I care to remember, and I remember every single one of them."
"That's what killing does to good people. It gets inside them, it roots and it hurts. And you never forget them."
"You speak like you know."
"I do. I've killed men, Jasper, killed people. And I did it for good, I did it to save the people I loved. But it doesn't make it any easier to live with."
"Hermione, who did you fight, back in your world? Who do you keep fighting?"
"I fought a man named Voldemort, at first. And that war lasted seven years. From the moment I met Harry, I knew that I would one day fight a battle. My first true fight came when I was fifteen. I didn't kill - but I certainly tried. And then the final battle came, and my entire seventeenth year was spent on the run, quite literally. I spent six months in a tent with my best friends, looking for the pieces of Voldemort's soul, so we could destroy them all, so Harry could kill Voldemort once and for all. I killed three men. I was tortured, cursed, and I lost people that I loved. But I was still fighting. There were still Death Eaters - followers of Voldemort - roaming around, killing Muggles - people who were not magical - Muggleborns - people who were born to Muggle parents. I was trying to stop them, have them arrested and locked up."
"How old are you, Hermione?"
"Eighteen. Just last September. I already feel a hundred."
"You haven't had an easy ride."
"No, no I have not. Once, during our mission to destroy the Horcruxes, we were captured. We were taken to a woman named Bellatrix Lestrange, and a family called the Malfoys. Harry and Ron were taken to the dungeon to be locked up. Bellatrix kept me back. And she tortured me, tortured me for information, the Cruciatus Curse over and over again."
"The Cruciatus Curse?" Her mouth twists.
"Yes. It causes pain, agonising pain. It's like being set on fire, it's like having hot knives shoved through your flesh. It's so painful, all you can do is scream. But it's very effective. It's pain that you would do anything, anything in the world to stop. I thought I would go crazy, or die. I told her nothing. But it cost me dearly." She pushes the sleeve of her sweater back. A word carved into her skin reads "Mudblood".
"What does it mean?"
"It means dirty blood. Mudblood is the derogatory term for someone who is Muggleborn - someone whose parents are not magical -, someone like me. When I refused to tell her what she wanted to know, she marked me forever. If she had thrown me to the Death Eaters with that carved into me, I would have been a plaything for death. But we got out, an Elf named Dobby saved our lives - at the expense of his own."
"What happened to Bellatrix?"
"She was killed by Molly Weasley during the Final Battle. I watched her go down, and I felt such pleasure." Her smile is positively feral. For a moment, I feel a twinge where my heart ought be, and realise that it is fear. "People always try and say that they felt nothing when somebody they hated dies. That's nonsense, and I don't believe in denying feelings. I would have cheerfully danced on her grave."
"Can I get either of you a drink?" The hostess is pleasant and smiling, and Hermione answers it with an equally sunny smile.
"I will have an orange juice and lemonade please, without the bits."
"Certainly, Ma'am. Sir?"
"Nothing, thank you." The hostess leaves again, and Hermione turns back to me.
"So Jasper - tell me what to expect from the Volturi. Oh no," she says, as I open my mouth, "telling me who they are is not the same. Do I defend, fight or flight?"
"Keep your abilities hidden at first. Although, from Aro that will be hard. Can you stop people from entering your mind?"
"Yes, if I so wish. But only if they try and enter by magical means, I don't know how good I'll be against telepathy."
"If you can, do so. It will give us an advantage, and they're more likely to listen if Aro cannot immediately discover what he wants. Be careful of Caius, he will be wary of you, and he will try and antagonise you. He'll use any excuse to remove you. Marcus is the third, and he is most dangerous. We know nothing about him, so therefore he is the one you always watch out of the corner of your eye."
"I understand, Jasper." The hostess brings her drink, which she sips slowly. While I watch her, wondering how something that smells so vile can possible be enjoyed, something she said earlier springs suddenly to mind.
"Hermione, can I ask you something?"
"Yes."
"Earlier, when we were talking about killing and you said it influenced good people -"
"You are good, Jasper. You got out, found the strength to break away, found a way to live, and you and only you made those decisions. You and I have both done some terrible, terrible things, and there is no denying it. But you have turned away from it, and I have had the need to do those terrible things negated. I would do them again, if I had to. And so would you - if today, it suddenly became impossible to avoid human blood, if it stopped being an option to do what you do now, you would turn back to it, no matter how much your heart would scream against it. Basic instinct is a very difficult thing to overcome." I stare at her, pretty much speechless. It's the straightest speech anyone has ever given me, and for the very first time since leaving Maria, I feel less like I'm bursting at the seams, and more like I'm in control. She's right - everything was my choice.
And then it hits me like a speeding train.
"Edward," I say, switching back to English. "Edward, come over here, now."
HPOV
Both boys are silent, but I can tell that some kind of mental communication is happening. Ah, yes, Edward's mind reading. I coolly enter in, using silent Leglimency, choosing Edward's mind. Well, this is fascinating. Everything Jasper thinks, I hear, as well as what Edward, Emmett, Rose, Carlisle, Alice and Esme are thinking, as well as learning what the hostess is planning for dinner. However, I tune out the background, and listen to Jasper, watching Edward answering his questions by shaking his head either yes or no.
-Can you read her mind?
-No.
-Have you ever been able to?
-Yes.
-When we met her in the woods?
-Yes.
-But you can't now?
-No.
-Aro.
-Yes.
I choose when to interrupt.
"The skill I am using to block out Edward is called Occlumency. The skill I just used to infiltrate your mind, Edward, and listen in to your conversation, is called Leglimency. Now we know that I can defend against Aro. Is his power the same as yours?"
"Aro has to be touching you, but -"
"Physical contact can be repelled if it must be, but that would reveal me. How long do we hide my magic?"
"How fast can you use that wand?"
"Pretty damn quick."
"But I'm assuming not vampire speed?" She and I have slipped back into Romany, Edward following in my head.
"No, I doubt that."
"Then we wait until we're losing them, as we probably will. I doubt Aro will believe us, Caius certainly won't. If or when Aro tires of us, we will need you to prove that you are magical. What can you do that won't be harmful?"
"Produce water, sparks, bunches of flowers, turn a chair into a mouse - plenty of things. Shall I pick the most impressive?"
"Yes, but I wouldn't do anything involving fire. They'll only feel threatened and hostility would be too much to control."
"Is that how to destroy your people?"
"Tear us into pieces, then set the pieces on fire." I look at him, vaguely amused by the look of challenge in his eyes.
"Believe me, Jasper, I have no plans to kill you. I was merely curious. I will avoid fire. Of course, I suppose it could also be a means of control, but I will not use it, unless you advise it."
"What else can you do?" Jasper asks, sounding curious
"Plenty. I can be invisible if I wish. I can be unnoticed. I can move from place to place with a snap of my fingers - they call it Apparation, in my world. And plenty of tricks, make a pocket watch sing, summon something that is far away from me, breathe underwater if I have the right equipment, make Potions to treat almost anything imaginable, make Potions to cause things to happen. I can do a great many things." A troubling thought crosses my mind. "And if I don't get back to my world - many of those things will become impossible." He's clearly bursting to ask me something, and Edward turns away and goes to sit back down. His question is private.
"If you wanted to, Hermione - if someone asked you to - could you make a specific Potion?"
"That would depend on the Potion." He takes a deep breath and his eyes, those beautiful golden eyes are burning with intensity that almost makes me want to coil back and take up a defensive. Whatever this Potion is, it will mean a great deal to him.
"Could you make me human?"