Chapter Four- Back Again My Love
No. They couldn't be here. I was some... 6,000 miles away from Forks. More. Probably a lot more. But... It must be the jet lag, I thought to myself. Or maybe someone had slipped something in my food. It must be something. They couldn't be here. The Cullens didn't belong in my world of potions and transfiguration and quidditch. There must be a reason. Something that could explain why I was seeing my worst nightmare come to life. Wait. Maybe I was still asleep somehow. Yes, that must be it. I must be asleep.
The worst thing about it all was thatI couldn't even start to fool myself. They were really here. I knew it as soon as I looked around and found that people were staring at them. Some of the upperclassmen (mainly those in D.A) were up with their wands pointing at the intruders, and I realized that I must have done so too as a reflex while still going through my current status of sanity. I tightened my grip on my wand, and made sure to not shake. I thankfully wasn't shaking, but my breathing was coming out in short, shaky breaths. Nobody moved, nothing happened. Everything was quiet, aside from the random sound of a cloak shuffling or moving slightly. I shook my hair out of my face, and instantly, I regretted it.
The Cullens instantly scanned the room, their eyes a bit wider than before at the familiar scent of freesia and lavender. They finally saw me, and some of them immediately stiffened up. Most of them adverted their eyes away from my own, except for Rosalie and Emmett, who were looking at me with a curious stare. I could tell Emmett was a bit confused about my eye color, but ignored the look of confusion on his face (which I had to admit was a bit hilarious). I decided since I was already found out, I might as well see how well the people that had been so important to me were doing.
The Cullens looked right about the same. Rosalie looked much happier however, and Alice had a pinched look on her face. I couldn't tell if the use of magic and all the unpredictableness of it could possibly hinder her vision, or if it was the overlapping of so many people with others. Something was off for her though, and I knew it frustrated her. It pleased me to know that something was bugging the hell out of her. I knew she didn't regret leaving me, just by looking at her. Emmett looked happy (like always), but Jasper looked pained from all the feelings pounding into him at that moment. Carlisle was surveying the room quietly, and Esme just look intrigued. I looked to the left of her, and saw the person I had been trying to forget about.
Edward was standing there. His copper bronze hair stuck up in the same manner it always did, looking messy but still tasteful. His eyes were a light golden topaz, like the rest of his families, and they held nothing like mine had after he left me. They actually made it out to seem that he was happy, at peace with his life at that moment. He looked perfect, pristine. No bags under his eyes, no purple bruises, nothing to say that he had been suffering like I had. And that's when I realized. Regardless of the fact that I loved him, I knew I was slowly starting to hate him too. Hate him for toying with me. Hate him for even approaching me. Hate him for leaving me. Hate him for showing up right now.
They were a bit defensive about the wands, and I could tell from the slight shift in their stance from when they walked in to now. I didn't blame them. I knew I could be extremely dangerous, and so could a lot of the D.A members. And for all they knew, any curse could affect them. I wondered at that moment if the three unforgivable curses worked on vampires, when I heard clapping.
I snapped my head to the source of it while still pointing my wand at the Cullens. And there was Dumbledore, clapping his normal hand and his damaged hand together, looking a bit amused. I was fuming, but then realized something. The Cullens had gotten into a castle filled with aurors and Order members. They had gotten into a castle with countless spells and curses protecting it. They didn't know a damn thing about magic.
"Everyone, relax, sit. Please," Dumbledore said, and there was a lot of grumbling and adjusting. The sounds of swishing fabric, moving silverware, the occasional 'sorry mate' or 'oops' coming from each table, and the slipping of wands back into their place filled the Great Hall. You could hear some people grunting from being stepped on or their cloaks / clothes being sat on and stretched, and just the general discomfort of having to fit more people back to their original spots. Dumbledore watched as we all sat back down, and he motioned for the Cullens to move up to the staff table. I was glad that they were in between the Slytherin and Hufflepuff tables, meaning they were as far away as they could be from me.
"I would apologize for the response of my students, but they did react correctly to the situation, especially in these times," Dumbledore told Carlisle politely, and Carlisle just nodded and smiled softly as he walked up the to front. Once everyone was settled back in and the Cullens were standing up front in a line, Dumbledore cleared his throat.
"I had an announcement to make at the end of today's dinner, but it seems that the announcement came to us first. Over the years, we have been fortunate to have a wonderful staff that returned year after year, aside from our Defense Against the Dark Arts slot. Unfortunately, Professor Burbage stepped down at the end of term last school year, citing personal family issues that conflicted with her stay here. Also, Madam Pomfrey has been asking for additional help in the Hospital Wing, and we have introduced a new unit in Muggle Studies concerning medicine. I now present you with our new Muggle Studies professor, Professor Esme Cullen, and our new healer, Professor Carlisle Cullen. Their children are transfers from the Salem Institute in the United States, and I hope you will extend a warm welcome to them, as you were done so in your first year here at Hogwarts," Dumbledore explained, and soon a buzz of mumbles and whispers started up in the four tables full of students. I looked around the table, and everyone looked equally as stunned and surprised as I did. Dumbledore let us have our few moments, before tapping his wand on the table in front of him.
"The Cullens will be sorted by tomorrow morning, and do not be surprised if you find an extra bed in your room by even tonight. And now, to welcome our newest additions to the castle, we will sing the school song!" Dumbledore said with a grin, and I nearly choked from laughter. Nate looked over at me and winked, and I just smirked. With his wand pointing to the ceiling, a golden ribbon flew out of it, and neatly spread itself across the sky, and the first few lines of the song appeared.
"To the beat of your own drum now," Dumbledore barely got out before the entire school broke out in song. Me and Nate yelled at the top of our lungs at a slow and somber beat, something reserved for memorials. It was nothing near depressing as Fred and George's version, but many said it came in close second. While singing, I found that Rosalie was silently mouthing the words, and I raised an eyebrow at that.
Shrugging it off, I continued on, ending up with me and Nate both singing together, lowering our volume as more people finished, before we ended the final verse with the help of Dumbledore humming and waving his wand to conduct us. When we finished, he gave a polite applause that everyone else joined in on. With a flicker of his wand, a table and seven mismatched chairs joined the Cullens, and they all sat down when the furniture had finished moving.
"And now, I don't know about you, but I believe I will get back to my steak and kidney pie," Dumbledore said with a wink, and immediately everyone got back to eating their dinner. I wasn't even anywhere near halfway done with my own meal, but I knew I couldn't eat anymore. I fiddled with the food for a few more minutes, before finally leaving it be. It looked like I had eaten a bit more, but Nate looked at me with some concern.
I just made a silly face by sticking my tongue out, and he just smiled slightly before turning back to talk to Dean. I poured myself some more pumpkin juice, and drank it while talking to everyone else. I could feel several eyes boring holes into my skull, but I was not giving them the pleasure of them knowing the kind of effect they had on me. I was done playing their games. They were in my world, my playing grounds.
After drinking two more glasses of pumpkin juice, everyone finally finished eating. We all left as a group. Me, Nate, Hermione, Ron, and Harry. People joked that we were all like a circle of friendship, but it was kind of true. We were all equally close to each other. We all trusted each other with our lives. I listened as we walked aimlessly for a good five minutes, before Hermione piped up about needing to finish some Arithmancy homework, and Ron seconded the notion for a library night. Everyone else agreed quickly, knowing tonight Hermione would be willing to help them out with their own homework.
I, however, declined the offer. I could never work properly in the library. I always needed some type of noise when working, and Madam Pince would rip me a new one and then curse me to spend my life with my ears on my feet or something alike for making so much as a peep. Everyone knew this, and soon I was engulfed with hugs and hair ruffs. Harry stuck around while the others left, and he just sighed.
"Come on, maybe she won't be too quick to jinx your mouth off," Harry suggested, and I laughed.
"Oh no, remember our third year when I kept clicking that pen and she immediately asked me why I wasn't being a normal person and using a quill, and then immediately asked me why in the bloody hell my quill was making so much noise?" I laughed out, and Harry just shook his head.
"I can never imagine what made her hearing even better than a dogs," He mused, and I just rolled my eyes.
"She's trained to make sure students don't make any audio evidence that they're there. Remember she nearly yelled at Hannah Abott that time she had a slight cold and was breathing 'louder than a damned freight train"?" I reminded him, and Harry just laughed.
"Alright then. Don't die of boredom without us Bells," Harry said with a wink, before hugging me. I basically melted into him. The smell of his clothes, the way he was so warm... All of it was familiar, and made me feel better regardless of what could have been happening. It reminded me of all the years we knew each other, of just how much we trusted each other. He finally parted from me, and I wished he hadn't cut the hug so short (even though I'm pretty sure it had lasted a bit over three minutes).
"G'night Bells," He said softly with a smile before turning to walk towards the library. With a sigh, I walked back toward Gryffindor tower. I passed some first years that looked too stunned by the paintings that actually moved, and just smiled, remember how I was when I saw everything in the castle. I passed some more students a few ghosts, before finally making it to the entry way to Gryffindor Tower. The Fat Lady looked at me, and laughed.
"Smitten by a certain young man, Isabella?" She asked politely, and I just laughed. I wondered what in the world gave her that thought.
"Ah, ma'm, you know what I've said. Destined for a life of celibacy," I said with a wink, before telling her the new password, 'knicker snaps'. She just chuckled, before saying 'correct'. The painting and entrance swung open, and I stepped over the ledge into the common room. Everything was quiet. It was a Saturday night, meaning there must be some common room party happening somewhere, or people where in the library hanging out or even still in the Great Hall. Humming to myself, I debated coming back down with my homework and sitting by the fire, or staying in my room. Laziness prevailed, and I walked up the staircase to the seventh year girls rooms to do my homework in the comfort of my bed. I opened the door, by this point singing full on lyrics, before slamming it shut.
I opened it again, a bit more cautiously, and knew my eyes weren't imagining it. Rosalie Cullen was in my room, and a new bed sat in the corner. I walked in, and noticed immediately that the room was a lot bigger than it had been this morning. I guessed the head of houses made up for extra roommates with more spacious rooms, and immediately wondered just how much bigger the bathroom had gotten. Rosalie cleared her throat, and all thoughts of how a bigger bathroom was amazing left my mind.
"Hello Isabella," She said, and I normally would have automatically snapped and corrected her use of my full name, but... The tone of her voice made it seem like she wasn't being an intolerant, selfish bitch. She sounded sincere. I made my way over to my bed, and pretended to be studying some dust particles on the blanket.
"Er... Hello Rosalie. Fancy seeing you here," I said, keeping my tone of voice under control. Realizing the topic of the conversation, as well as volume, could get out of hand soon, I silently performed the muffliato spell. Just in time too, because soon Rosalie opened her mouth.
"Indeed. See, I was under the impression you were a simple minded Muggle girl who lived in Forks," Rosalie challenged, and I just smiled maliciously.
"And I was under the impression you were just a selfish blood sucking vampire who lived in fear of being discovered by simple minded Muggle girls. Looks like we both batted out on that one," I shot back, and Rosalie looked like she was deep in thought. I felt triumphant, until I realized how.. Tired she looked. Strange for a vampire. Very strange. I frowned slightly. She sighed.
"Look, I... I'm sorry, alright? I was terrible to you. Mean. Ugly. Nasty. And I apologize," Rose said, before pausing. "I know what we did to you wasn't right. It wasn't even polite. I won't deny that I was behind Edward leaving you, but I did not at all approve with the way he handled it."
I stared at her, this time studying her. I was surprised, to say the least. She actually apologized. Sure, it wasn't the apology I was looking for, but it was something. And I knew it was at that point my view of Rosalie was starting to change. I had held the Cullens at arms length in my mind for the last few weeks. Perhaps even farther. But Rosalie was getting closer. It scared me a little. It was strange too. I would have expected Alice to be the one burrowing herself back into my life, now Rosalie.
"Rosalie, what are you doing here," I said bluntly, and she smiled slightly at this. She smoothed down her shirt, before looking back up at me.
"Well... I'll tell you a bit about myself first, to start things out. I was born and raised in Tinworth, England. My mother was a muggle-born witch born in Bristol, and my father a pure-blood wizard from America. They stayed here until I graduated from Hogwarts, and we moved to the United States. My father set up a bank in New York. It was alike to Gringrotts, although it handled both Muggle and Wizard accounts, and exchanged money for local wizards. It was very stable through the Depression, and of course we shot up in Muggle and Wizard society because of it. I... I was changed by Carlisle for certain reasons, and kept my magical abilities even through the change. Because of my connection with Emmett, he too has the powers of a wizard somehow. Everyone else in the family is using special wands made just for them by Ollivander, who is a good friend of mine." Rosalie explained slowly, skimming over the probably tragic reasons of her change. Pushing that out of my head, I couldn't help but groan.
"You have yet to tell me why in the hell you're here now," I pointed out, and Rose just licked her lips.
"I was getting there. Patience is not your strongest suit," Rosalie said, before looking down at her hands.
"Albus asked for our assistance if... You-Know-Who strikes Hogwarts. I couldn't possibly have said no to him, none the less turn my back on my school," Rosalie said, and I just nodded. I understood what she meant by that. I wondered why you used Voldemorts accepted nickname, and realized. She was still scared of him. Even though he rose to power when she had already been a vampire. Biting my lip, I looked at her.
"How long," was all I said, and Rosalie looked at me with a sad smile.
"Oh, Isabella, I'm sorry to ruin your seventh year this way. But, Edward will probably be put in the sixth year courses," She said, as if the second would make me feel a bit more better. While I had to admit it did, I still knew this was going to suck. No. It didn't have to, I reminded myself. This was my last year at Hogwarts, dammit. This was my home. My safe place. If he wanted to come tread on it, if any of them wanted to, I wouldn't get all worked up about it. Although if any of them did provoke me, I couldn't say I wouldn't hex them.
"You know, I'm a bit curious about your past. I think we all know Renee and Charlie aren't exactly the real story," Rosalie said quietly, and I looked at her.
"Well.. I was born in London, but spent my first year on the outskirts of Tinworth. My parents... Died when I was a baby, so I ended up being adopted by the Weasleys, and have lived with them in Ottery St. Catchpole ever since," I said, keeping it nice and short. I didn't dare tell her about Lord Voldemort. She obviously knew of him, and was still frightened by him even as a vampire. She looked at me, knowing I wasn't telling her something, and I thought she was going to interrogate.
"I'm sorry. I'm just glad you were with a loving family..?" She said, leaving the last to be a question. I just smiled at the thought of my family full of redheads.
"The greatest family I could possibly ask for," I said softly, and she just nodded.
"I'm guessing the boy you sang with today was your brother then," She asked, and I just snorted.
"Ah yes, Nathaniel. My twin brother," I said, and she nodded.
"You both have the same eyes..." She mused, letting the sentence drift off. She shrugged whatever must have been in her thoughts off, and looked at me.
"Everyone was sorted earlier tonight. Edward and Alice are in Ravenclaw, Emmett is in Gryffindor, and Jasper is in Slytherin," Rosalie said, and I brightened up a bit. I had no courses at all involving Ravenclaw, and normally didn't see the much aside from quidditch matches and hogsmeade outings, and the occasional common room party. She looked at her dresser, before looking back at her bed, and then back at me.
"Well, I finished packing before you arrived. I had better go see Miner- McGonnagal for my schedule," Rose said, and I nodded. I was a bit amused at how she was on first name basis with everyone, but knew that was another story for another time (somehow I knew at that point Rosalie wasn't going anywhere). I also finally noticed the additional dresser and desk next to her bed. Pictures and memorabilia were laid out all over the drawer shelfs, and I imagined the drawers were filled with her clothing and new uniform. She got up and nodded, paused, and hugged me before leaving.
I stayed there, stunned. Maybe rooming with Rosalie wouldn't be too bad, I thought to myself, as I ignored the nagging feeling I got when I saw a photo of her and a little girl in one of the frames, the photo damaged from the years it had been around. Something about it seemed so familiar... Ignoring it, I decided to familiarize myself with my damn Herbology textbook.
Sorry about the more than a week wait guys, I had five pages (halfway done) for this story when my computer decided to basically freeze, and the document ended up corrupting because of it. I know this is shorter than the other ones (if you didn't notice than... It's not, it really isn't), but I promise I'll make up for it! Thanks for reading guys.
xoxo
Lori