JPOV
There is, as it turns out, little we can do. We have to wait for Hermione to work out the final stages of her plan. The visit to the Volturi was simply to warn them of what might come, that regardless of what may appear, they were not to attempt to fight it. But Aro can't resist testing Hermione further.
"You are able to resist me. I wonder if you can also resist some of our other talents."
"Aro, if I told you that this is a bad idea, would it stop you?" Carlisle says, with a tired sigh.
"Jane." Hermione and Jane face off, and I can feel the pain that Jane is pushing out. Hermione doesn't even flinch, but I see her hand tighten on her wand.
"Jane, I would stop now." I feel no flicker from Jane. "Jane, I advise you to stop your attack," Hermione repeats, raising her wand. "I will use this on you." Nothing. "Then you leave me little choice. Stupefy!" Jane flies backwards and crashes to the ground. "Test me again, Aro, I dare you. We'll see which of us comes off the better."
"What have you done to my sister?" Alec cries, kneeling by her side.
"Believe me friend, I could have done worse. She is fine, simply unconscious. If she tries that on me again, I will give her a much needed taste of her own medicine. I may even contemplate reviving her, if you're really nice to me. Now, to repeat: if you see anything suspicious, I deal with it, not you. Understood?"
"Fully. We thank you for your visit." She does revive Jane, before we leave, and leaves a hall in uproar.
Hermione slips me a note as we're packing up from the plane. She looks exhausted, but I suppose she did just fly to Italy and back in a day. She falls asleep on my shoulder on the way home, and I carry her into the house when we finally get back.
"Esme, where's she going to sleep?"
"Well, the only bed that's not going to disturb more than one person if used is yours. You won't mind, will you? I mean, we could put her on the couch -"
"No, I won't be using it." Alice steps forward, and takes Hermione from my arms.
"I'll get her changed and tucked in. It's easy to forget sometimes, that humans need rest." As Alice bears Hermione upstairs, I retire to the den, and open Hermione's note.
Jasper -
We can talk tomorrow about the Potion you requested. I have been thinking about it, and I believe that I will be able to make it in this world. I can remember the ingredients, and I think I have a book on Advanced Potions in my bag. I always over-pack on missions. However, we need to discuss a great deal before I even consider it - as the Potion is irreversible. Once it is made, and you have taken it, you will be mortal forever. If another vampire were to bite you, you would die instantly. You need to be certain before we do this.
Hermione.
HPOV
I wake up in a bed the next morning, in a clean nightdress that I don't remember putting on. I get up, go towards a door in the opposite wall. It's a bathroom, and that's all I care about right now. I shower, wash my hair, and then stand under the spray, thinking about the previous day. I don't even know what time it is. Where's my watch? I remember the Volturi, I remember the flight home, I remember getting into the car to drive here - I must be back at the Cullen's house. I wonder which bedroom I'm sleeping in. Or whose, if it comes to that. When I walk back out of the bathroom, having dried off, and sorted my hair with a quick charm, there's clothes on the bed, and a note.
Hermione -
Come on down whenever you're ready. Esme's making up some breakfast for you, so I hope you like sausage sandwiches.
Jasper
My watch has been placed on the nightstand, and I put it back onto my wrist - it's gone eleven. I feel a bit sheepish about that - they must think I'm terribly rude. I dress quickly, make the bed neatly, and fold the nightie onto the pillow. I make my way downstairs, but then stop. I can't remember actually seeing any more of the house apart from the den, and now the unidentified bedroom. I have no idea where to go from here. I muffle a shriek when Jasper appears out of nowhere, managing to turn it into a gasp.
"I'd rather you didn't use that on me," he says, lightly, gesturing at the wand which I automatically raised to defend myself with.
"Sorry, force of habit. Try not to creep up on me." But I don't lower it right away.
"I won't. You're pretty scary when you're holding that thing."
"I take that as a compliment." I put the wand away, and he smiles at me. How is it alright for just his smile to make my stomach jump?
"Breakfast is this way, if you want it."
"I'd love it." He leads me off a narrow corridor, into a big, spacious kitchen, which smells amazing right now. Esme offers me the sunniest smile I've ever seen, and turns from the stove with a big plate in her hands. She's made me up a sausage sandwich, a fried egg and beans. "Thank you," I say shyly, taking the plate. I perch at the table, and dig in enthusiastically. "This is lovely, thank you, Mrs Cullen." Esme laughs, and shakes her head at me.
"Oh, honey, call me Esme." Carlisle comes in, and smiles at me. They're all so friendly, these people who have taken me in, fed and clothed me, when all I've given them in return is bad news.
Emmett and Jasper take me through to the living room after I've eaten.
"So, what do we do now?"
"I need to run some spells. They'll reveal the extent of the damage to the universe, and then I can start fixing it."
"How will you fix it?"
"Complicated spells. Spells that have to go right, or I will cause more damage. It will take days, perhaps weeks, to fix the damage." I take a deep breath, and look up at Jasper. "I will not get back to my world," I say, slowly. "There has to be a magical presence in two of the worlds to fix it. I am never going to be able to go home. I need to start making plans. I need to say goodbye."
JPOV
I wonder when she realised this, realised that she was here forever. She'll never see her friends again. For the first time, I wonder how many sacrifices she will willingly make to ensure the safety of everyone else. How many sacrifices she's already made to save people.
"Hermione, if you'd acted the day you arrived - could you have gotten back?"
"Yes. I could have done. But then what? Was I just supposed to sit back and watch the universe rip itself apart knowing that I could have done something but didn't? I couldn't have lived with myself after that." Emmett goes off after that, presumably to do something for Rosalie. I think I remember her saying something about a broken drawer. She stands, and crosses to the windows. She's silent and still, and if I was outside the room and she didn't have a scent, she'd be invisible to me. "Jasper, I cannot start work on the spell until nightfall. Is there somewhere we can go to discuss the Potion?"
"Yes. I'll carry you, with your permission. The place I am thinking of is not accessible by car."
"Um. OK?"
When I put her down in the clearing, she takes a step before sitting down hard. She fans her face, and takes some steadying breaths.
"You alright down there?"
"I never did like flying."
"We weren't flying," I say, amused. "I was just running. You nearly throttled me."
"Well, it damn well felt like flying." She pushes back to her feet. "OK, I think I'm steadier now. I think I'll keep my eyes closed on the way back." She looks around the clearing, and a smile lights up her face. "This is beautiful," she murmurs.
I found it while out running one day, searching for an animal to hunt. It makes a perfect circle, and all the trees around it are exactly the same height, huge oaks that tower over us. Wildflowers are pretty much everywhere, surrounding a huge old log in the centre of the clearing itself. Hermione crosses to this log and swings her leg over it.
"So, lets talk about this. Sit with me, Jasper?" I cross over to her, and join her on the log. She pulls a book out of her pocket that's the size of a stamp, and taps it with her wand. It gets back to its proper size, and she opens it. "This is the Potion. Can all these ingredients be found in this world?" I scan the list, and nod.
"Yes, they can be. But one of them may be an issue. It asks for venom here - but whose venom?"
"I would need yours, but it would need to be done very specifically. And I need to know certain things. About how you were changed mostly."
"What do you need to know?"
"Who changed you?"
"A woman named Maria."
"Why?"
"So I could make her an army of new-borns to fight for hunting rights in the Southern States during the American Civil War."
"How were you?"
"I don't understand."
"Sorry, that wasn't very clear. Were you in good health when this Maria changed you?"
"Yes. I am the only person in the family, apart from Carlisle, who was not changed at death's door. And we aren't sure about Alice. She doesn't know her story."
"Then this is possible. If you change a person from vampire to human who was changed while near death their human form will be unable to control it, and the change would kill them. If you were in good health, then you'll wake up in that good health. Of course it being the American Civil War you might not be in brilliant health but you'll be strong enough to survive it."
"That's comforting."
"OK. Lets get down to the technicalities. Potions isn't about wands and spells, it relies on the magic of the world around us. When is the next full moon?"
"Next week, on Friday. Friday the thirteenth, coincidentally."
"Really? Well, that couldn't be any better. The Potion must be brewed beforehand, then I must add your venom to the mixture once it's cooled down, and then the Potion must spend the night in the open under a full moon. At midnight, it will need human blood to be added to it. We'll use mine, but then we come to the side effects of this Potion."
"Tell me."
"As I have mentioned to you, the Potion is permanent and irreversible. Once mortal, you will never be able to regain your immortality. Vampire venom would become deadly to you. You would also lose the power you have - the ability to manipulate and sense emotions stems from your immortality. I have to tell you that the transformation from vampire to human would be excruciatingly painful. I can probably numb the pain a little, but I'm afraid I don't have the ability here to keep you from feeling most of it. You have to be prepared for that. And the most major side-effect of this particular Potion comes from the fact that we would have to use my blood in the Potion. I would become your creator. You would have a bond to me for the rest of your life. Nothing intense, but it would mean that you'll share my blood type, and be exposed to all the illnesses I have the potential to contract. And of course, there could be other effects. This Potion, to the extent of our knowledge, has been used twice only in the past. Both times, there were - issues."
"What sort of issues?"
"The Potion failed to work fully. The first time it was used, it was documented that while the subject became human, he could only survive on blood. The Potion failed to change him enough. The second time - the drinker became emotionally and physically bonded to the maker. They were unable to be away from each other, and when the maker died an untimely death, the drinker died the same evening, unable to live without the heart that had kept him alive. It would be my blood in your veins, Jasper. There is a risk that when my heart stopped beating, you would die too. You have to understand that while this Potion can work - it may not. It's never worked perfectly before, and we would have to give all our time to brewing it. You have to decide if this what you truly want, and they all deserve to know about what we're planning. It wouldn't surprise me if Alice knows already. They're your family, and this will affect them too."
"I know. But Hermione, I'm already certain. If you're willing to do this for me, then I'm willing to take the risks. This is what I want, Hermione." She looks at me, her eyes sharp and bright. I look back, hardly daring to hope. Finally, she leans forwards, and puts her arms around me. I return her hug, reflecting how well she fits into my arms, how right her head feels on my shoulder. What the hell is this?
"I'll do it, Jasper. Talk to your family first, without me there. I can explain whatever they need me to, but you need to tell them what you have decided first. Can you get the ingredients for me?"
"Yes. Thank you, Hermione. With all my heart, thank you."