Chapter 4
Rosalie's POV
We—Alice and I—followed Bella up to the room. She practically collapsed on her bed, literally unconscious before her head hit the pillow.
So it was just Alice and I.
Vaguely, I heard the redheaded sixth year girl—Ginny Weasley—mutter something in her sleep about Harry.
Alice quietly told me, "Ya know, Bella's right. They definitely like each other…hm, they'd make a cute couple."
I chuckled. It's Alice. What more did I expect?
Edward's POV
I followed my brothers up to the room we shared with Harry Potter and Ronald Weasley. I was filled with pain, shame, and guilt because of Bella—seeing Bella again, I should say.
When she'd caught us in the Common Room, she'd avoided looking at me. Did she hate me? I wouldn't blame her. Ever. I hated me too.
I thought…I thought leaving her that…she'd be safe. Safe from vampires and danger…but of course not. She was a witch.
She looked paler than normal, almost, if it was possible, like the pallor of a vampire. She was thinner, not in a slender figure way, but like she wasn't eating and you could clearly see her ribs. She had a worried aura around her, too. That wasn't a good sign. I was worried about her health.
And Dumbledore wanted us to protect her, so…there had to be a reason. And, I couldn't think of any… I had a headache trying to think about it, and I didn't think vampires got headaches.
Bella's POV
The Next Morning…
When I woke the next morning, Hermione and Ginny were still asleep. The two Cullens were gone, but Rosalie had left a note:
Bella,
We left to go get Carlisle and Esme. We'll all meet you and your friends in the Room of Requirement right after breakfast.
By the way, glad to see you haven't changed too much—you still talk about Edward in your sleep. :-)
Alice says to tell you that you were right—Ginny does talk in her sleep about Harry. You should get them to go out.
See ya soon,
Rosalie
I rolled my eyes. Of course Alice would decide to do something like that.
I glanced at the clock. Breakfast started in ten minutes. I woke Hermione and Ginny, got dressed, and together the three of us left the Dormitory.
The guys (Harry and Ron) were already there. As the five of us headed to the Great Hall, I told them, "We need to go to the Room of Requirement after breakfast, okay?"
"Why?" Ron asked, curious.
"It…has to do with my disappearance." I explained hesitantly.
"Oh, so…you'll finally explain to us what the hell that was about?" Ron asked. I rolled my eyes, but nodded.
Hermione cautiously asked, "Why the Room of Requirement?"
"Because it keeps people from eavesdropping and because it is accessible easily. And because who else will be coming will be able to access it."
I refused to explain it further, and, soon enough, we were entering the Room of Requirement.
Today, it was a smaller room filled with comfy chairs and pillows. A fireplace was lit opposite of the door. The Cullens, including Carlisle and Esme, were already there.
"The Cullens!" Ginny quietly exclaimed, shocked. "They're who're supposed to be meeting us?"
I hid a smile, knowing they could hear her. But I nodded.
I smiled to the Cullens knowingly, aware they heard her. Carlisle and Esme smiled brilliantly to me. Esme looked…delighted. As if she'd found one of her lost children. Which, in her eyes, must have been pretty accurate.
Esme embraced me in a motherly hug. "We missed you, Bella."
"I missed you too, Esme…or should it be Professor Cullen?"
She chuckled, and we all settled into chairs.
I sighed. "I guess I owe you all quite a bit of explaining. I'll start at the beginning."
I looked to the Cullens and said, "You all know of the Order of the Phoenix, correct?" They all nodded. "Well, last year, Dumbledore needed someone trustworthy to go to the States and convince certain people to come to Hogwarts to protect its students from Voldemort." My friends flinched, but I ignored it. "I was aware of the Order. I knew the members, and what was going on. So, I volunteered to go. I was ahead of everyone in our year, except Hermione, of course." Hermione flushed a bit.
She began to protest, when Ron blurted, "Don't argue, 'mione. 'specially when you know its true."
She reddened. Harry, Ginny, and I chuckled at the two. They'd be a cute couple too. By the look on Alice's face, she thought so too. Always a matchmaker, that one…
"And I needed to go somewhere safe..." I paused, then explained, "Hogwarts was no longer safe for me at the time.
"So anyways, I was allowed to join the Order. Plus, the Death Eaters were trying to capture or kill me. They succeeded in getting into Hogwarts shortly before I met all of you, too, and nearly succeeded in killing me. I missed death by an inch--quite literally. They, for a time, all thought I was dead. I was gone by the time they heard I was still alive. Several in the Order were against me going, as I was a child…and because of my parentage." I said the last part quietly.
"Your parentage?" Carlisle asked, confused.
I sighed. "How much do you know about Voldemort?"
"Not much." Rosalie said. "Only that he is a very evil, very dangerous wizard."
Again, I heaved a heavy sigh. "There's more. Voldemort was once a normal student, but after he graduated, he disappeared and came back…changed. He'd planned what he'd done for years. He went…bad. As bad you could go. Worse. Worse than worse, to quote a friend. You could hardly trust anyone back then. Voldemort was a menace. He killed hundreds of wizards and Muggles alike. He particularly targeted Muggles and Muggleborns.
"Dumbledore formed the Order of the Phoenix to fight Voldemort and his followers—who called themselves Death Eaters."
I paused. I hated talking of my true family. Quickly, I went to the outside wall, staring out the window, at the rising sun, to avoid heir gazes.
"The Death Eaters were vicious, bloodthirsty, ruthless, and cruel. Some of the most infamous are the Lestranges. More specifically, Bellatrix Lestrange: murderer, torturer, and the most devoted of all the Death Eaters.
"But…what few know…" I took in a breath, still staring out the window, pointedly avoided their curious, questioning looks. "…is that she is also a mother." I gulped. "My mother."
There was dead silence, until Carlisle quietly asked, "You mean to say your parents tried to kill you before you met us?"
I nodded. "Actually, it was my mother herself that fired the Killing Curse that I barely managed to dodge. Most believe I am simply a Muggle born…" I sighed. "Don't I wish that were the case…
"Anyways. Upon hearing the prophecy years ago--a prophecy about two with the power to defeat Voldemort--, Dumbledore realized that I was one of the two children of the prophecy. He and the Order successfully rescued me before Voldemort or the Death Eaters could realize that.
"They changed my last name, and Harry's parents offered to care for me.
"Voldemort, upon learning of the Order, targeted members. I was a little over a year old when it happened. The Potters—Harry's parents—took me in. But then, Voldemort was after them. Peter Pettigrew, who was thought to have been the Potters' friend, betrayed them, giving away their hiding spot..."
Surprisingly, Harry continued for me. "Voldemort killed my Dad, while my Mum protected Bella and me upstairs. He'd come because he'd heard Professor Trelawney's prophecy….about him and us. He'd come to get rid of us. My mum refused to get of his way and allow him to kill us. So…he killed her."
"And he tried to kill us." I said. "But…something happened. No one really knows. He tried to kill us at the same time with one spell, apparently. But he didn't kill us. He was destroyed because the spell rebounded, but…he came back. Twice before he came back to full power in our fourth year. The Ministry only finally realized it a year later..." Idiots.
"And now it's up to us to defeat Voldemort." Harry said grimly. A bleak silence followed until Emmett spoke up.
"But no pressure."
