A/N: Hi, I'm sorry it's taken me longer to update but I'm afraid I won't have that much time in future. Also this chapter took me longer to write and I have no idea when the next chapter will be finished. I haven't even started writing it. I'll do what I can so it wouldn't take long.
And again, thank you so much for reading and reviewing!
Enjoy!
EDIT: 08/29/2018 Minor editing made.
Chapter twelve
After about twenty minutes the road ended, constricting to a thin foot trail with a small wooden marker. Edward parked on the narrow shoulder and stepped out. I followed, slinging my backpack over my shoulder. I automatically started for the trail but Edward caught my arm.
"Where are you going?" he asked, amused, directing me into the unbroken forest on the other side.
I squinted into the thick forest before me but I couldn't see anything but dark trees. I was sure that muggle forests are pretty safe and Edward was with me so I had nothing to worry about except fallen trees and roots. I sighed and let him lead the way.
The way was mostly flat and he held the damp ferns and webs of moss aside for me. We mostly walked in silence so I had time to think about what I would tell him when we got there. Should I tell him about the danger I was in or just talk about my world in general? I didn't know if he was interested in me or just wanted to know more about magic. Maybe when I told him everything he would want to know, he would lose interest in me. The thought depressed me.
"Are you alright?" he said, noticing my expression.
I just nodded and continued walking. I heard his frustrated sigh but didn't look at him. I decided to tell him what he'd want to know and not to think about what would happen next.
"Are we there yet?" I asked after what seemed like at least five miles.
"Nearly." He smiled. "Do you see the brightness ahead?"
I peered ahead but could see nothing except more trees. "Um, should I?"
"Maybe it's a bit soon for your eyes." He smirked.
"Time to visit the optometrist," I muttered. His smirk grew more pronounced.
But then, after another hundred yards, I could definitely see a lightening in the trees ahead, a glow that was yellow instead of green. I picked up the pace, my eageress growing with every step. He let me lead now, following noiselessly.
I reached the edge of the pool of light and stepped through the last fringe of ferns into one of the loveliest places I had ever seen. The meadow was small, perfectly round and filled with white wildflowers. Somewhere nearby, I could hear the bubbling music of a stream. The sun was directly overhead, filling the circle with a haze of buttery sunshine.
I took a few more steps but then I remembered what else I was about the see. I turned to Edward but he was still standing under the shadows of the trees.
"You know what happens when we walk into sun," he said, looking embarrassed.
"I heard but never seen it," I admitted. I wondered if I would manage not to laugh.
He took a deep breath and slowly stepped into the sun. The moment the sun touched his bare skin, it started to sparkle like thousands of diamonds. I took a few steps back to have a better view. I'd thought I would laugh but all I could do was stare at him with my mouth open.
He slowly walked past me into the middle of the meadow and sat down on the grass. Then he looked up and beckoned to me to join him. I took off my sweatshirt, folded it and placed it on the ground so I could sit on it. I sat down, resting my chin on my knees.
"I should have brought sunglasses. You're blinding me," I teased.
"Sorry. Remember it next time." He smiled, obviously relieved that I didn't laugh at him. The promise of a next time pleased me but I didn't want to get my hopes high.
"So you've never met another vampire?" he asked, curious.
"Well, I have. Once. He was an animal eater, like you. But I never really talked to him."
"There are more animal eating vampires?" He was surprised. "I thought it was just us and the Denali."
"There is at least one more then. I don't know why he feeds on animals but he wasn't as well-controlled as your family is. There had to be a wizard with him to keep an eye on him."
He was quiet then, lost in thoughts. I watched his face, trying not to think about anything.
"Why are you here, Bella? Why are you in Forks? Did you get tired of magic so you decided to live like norm – I mean other people?" he asked after a while. I smiled slightly at his correction of the word „normal", but then I rested my forehead on my knees, closing my eyes. I'd hoped this question would come up much later.
"Bella?" He sounded alarmed.
"I had to leave," I whispered, my face still covered in my knees. "Britain is not safe for me anymore."
"Why?" he said softly, gently touching my arm.
I shivered slightly at his touch but it had nothing to do with the coldness. I lifted my head but didn't look at him. When I spoke, I stared at the trees in front of me instead.
"There is a certain wizard – a dark wizard – who is after people like me. People who were born to non-magical parents. He values pureblood wizards above all and considers us thieves of magic. Two months ago he and his followers took over the Ministry of Magic and I had to leave immediately, otherwise I would have been arrested." There was no need to tell him that I would have been probably killed.
I slowly turned my head to look at him. He was staring at me in disbelief, probably trying to find any trace of humor on my face.
"You're not joking," he realised after a minute.
"No."
"But you are safe here, right?" he asked anxiously.
"I hope so," I muttered, trying to convince myself as well as him.
"You said you went to a school there. Is it true?" He changed the topic and I was relieved.
"Yes, but I haven't finished my education. That't why I left. I couldn't use magic then because I was still underage at the time. But even though I'm of age now, I'm not fully trained yet."
"I thought you were seventeen." He frowned, confused.
"I am. But we come of age at seventeen. Before my seventeenth birthday I couldn't do magic outside of school," I explained.
"But why did you go to Britain in the first place? Is it the only school of magic in the world? How many wizards are there?"
"Hogwarts is not the only school of magic. I was offered a place in an American school but since I was born in Britain and therefore enrolled at Hogwarts, I could choose between those two schools. I chose Hogwarts because I always felt more British than American."
He listened eagerly, his eyes sparkling with excitement.
"I didn't know your parents are British," he said, surprised.
"Only Charlie. He comes from York and met my mum when she was travelling across England with her friends. They fell in love and she then moved in York. They got married and then had me." I smiled. "But soon – I was two - my mum got depressed by the weather and she missed Phoenix, her hometown, so she talked Charlie into moving to America. He agreed with a condition that they would go to a less populated place. He hated big cities. He then got a job offer from the police department in Forks so they moved here."
I relaxed my position when I spoke. It was now easier talking about the short marriage of my parents.
"But my mum hated Forks, for her, it was even worse than England." I grimaced. "Charlie refused to leave, he loved his new job and the peace and quiet of Forks. After one especially big fight she took me and left. We went to Phoenix and I could only see Charlie one month in summer and one week in winter. And we all spent my birthdays together in Phoenix." I closed my eyes, remembering how I had always looked forward to my birthday, knowing that it was the only day in a year, when we were a real family.
"And how does magic fit into all this?" he asked. I had to smile at his attempt to hide his impatience.
"While I was growing up, weird things would sometimes happen to me. Often when I was angry or scared. For example, when I was six, I was at Charlie's in the summer. He took me fishing with him and I slipped on the mud and was about to fall in the water. Except I didn't. I hovered in the air for a few seconds and then landed safely on the ground next to Charlie. Neither of us understood what had happened. Or when I was at school and a girl from the year above tried to bully me. She ended up with big red pimples all over her face." I smirked. This memory was still strangely satisfying.
Edward laughed out loud at that. "But what did you think it was?"
"I didn't know." I shrugged. "I couldn't tell my mum, she would have freaked out. She hated inexplicable things. So I and Charlie kept it in secret, thinking it was just a coincidence."
I paused, collecting my thoughts. I was getting to the point that had changed my life.
"On the day of my eleventh birthday Charlie was visiting as every year," I went on, staring at Edward's sparkling hand. "We were just having dinner when the doorbell rang. We weren't expecting any visitors. There was a young woman standing at the door. She looked… unusual. The weather was very hot but she wore a long black dress and a cloak. She said she was a representative of the Magical Congres of the United States of America and that she wanted to talk about my magical education."
"That must have been quite a shock." Edward chuckled.
"Yeah." I grinned. "My parents didn't believe her. I remember mum bursting in laughter and dad wanting to kick her out. But I somehow knew she wasn't joking. Then I reminded Charlie of the strange things that had happened to me. Mum totally freaked out then. At that moment the woman pulled out a wand and summoned a chair from our kitchen so mum could collapse in it. She then gave my mum a calming potion so she would calm down. She had to be assured first that it wasn't a poison." I chuckled. "It worked and my mum listened to what the woman had to say."
"What about your father?" asked Edward.
"Well, he was sceptical at first but accepted it a lot easier than mum. He supported my choice of Hogwarts. Mum wouldn't hear of it. She didn't want me to go that far from her. She didn't speak to me for several days after I told her about my choice." I sighed, still feeling frustrated with Renee's stubbornness and inability to accept what I was.
"But how did you become a witch when your parents are not magical?" he asked, frowning.
"There must have been someone magical in my family. It could have been many generations ago and the person could have been a squib. Anyway the magical gene skipped those generations and resurfaced in me," I explained. "I think it came from Charlie's side of the family, considering you can't read his mind properly. And it would explain his easy acceptance of the magical world."
"A squib?" He chuckled.
"A squib is a non-magical child born to magical parents. It's the opposite of me," I explained patiently.
We were both quiet for a while. I tried to enjoy the weather so I closed my eyes and let the sun warm my face.
"So, what now?" he said suddenly. I opened my eyes and looked up at him in confusion. "I mean, you're here, safe. What are you going to do?"
"I don't know," I admitted. "For now, I'll try to get some muggle education, mostly because I don't know any witch or wizard here who could teach me more advanced magic. I don't know for how long I'm going to be stuck here and I don't know what's really going on in Britain. I tried to listen to the radio for some news but it's all taken over by You-Know-Who so I can't get any real news."
A hint of emotion I couldn't quite describe appeared on his face but he quickly composed his expression.
"Is there any hope of defeating this… dark wizard? What is his name, anyway?"
"We don't say his name," I said firmly. "And yes, there is a hope. There is someone who, we believe, can beat him. But I have no idea where he is now. All I know is that he has to do something to destroy You-Know-Who." I didn't feel like telling him the whole and complicated story about Harry Potter and Voldemort so I tried to be very vague.
"He has to do what?" He frowned.
"I don't know," I admitted.
"And if he… succeeds, you want to go back?" Did I imagine the sadness in his voice?
I didn't have to think about my answer. "Yes." Then I thought about it and added, "But it may take years." I didn't tell him that I didn't want to wait until Harry succeeds.
We sat there in silence for a while. I got hungry so I ate my sandwiches, while Edward lay down on his back and stared at the blue sky. I was wondering what he could be thinking. I suddenly wondered if his skin was as hard as I'd heard. I hesitated and then slowly stroked his cold shimmering forearm. It was hard and smooth at the same time. He looked at me, his eyebrows raised, but then his lips slowly spread into a smile.
"Do you mind?" I asked.
"No, it feels… nice," he murmured, still smiling. I began slowly tracing his forearm with my finger.
"Tell me about your family," I said to keep him talking. I liked the sound of his silky voice. "Is Rosalie still angry with me?"
"Angry with you?" He frowned. "She's not angry with you, Bella. She thinks I told you about us."
"And the others? What do they think?"
He sighed. "Emmett doesn't have a problem with you. He's trying to reason with Rosalie. Jasper and Esme trust their mates. Alice and Carlisle assured them that you would keep our secret and they accepted it."
"So it's just Rosalie," I said.
"Yes. I think that maybe if she knew about you…" he said slowly, looking into my eyes now. I stopped stroking his forearm.
"I thought about it," I said with a sigh, "and I decided it would be better if I told them the truth."
"Yes, Alice has seen it," he said. "And she asked me to ask you to do it soon. She hates lying to Jasper and he already knows she keeps things from him."
"Okay."
He lifted himself into a sitting position so fast that I froze, staring at him with wide eyes.
"Sorry." He smiled apologetically and gently took my hand into his. He hesitated for a moment and then he pressed my palm against his face, inhaling deeply. I stared at him, unable to think coherently or move. He remained in this position, inhaling my scent, eyes closed, for what seemed like hours, although it must have been only minutes.
"It's much easier now," he finally whispered, opening his eyes.
"I'm glad," I said faintly, my voice suddenly hoarse.
"So, are you going to show me some magic now?" he asked, suddenly excited, still holding my hand. I blinked several times to process the sudden change of mood.
"Um… sure," I stuttered and cleared my throat. I pulled my wand out of my secret pocket, aware that he was watching me closely. I frowned, trying to think of a spell I could show him.
I was looking around when I spotted a small round stone lying a few feet from me. I placed it on my palm and, pointing my wand at it, and said, "Engorgio." The stone grew three times its original size. It was quite heavy now so I did a short movement with my wand and with the words "Wingardium leviosa," made it levitate in front of me. Then I sent the stone toward the edge of the forest, quickly swished my wand and, saying "Reducto!", broke it into thousands of pieces only slightly bigger than dust.
I turned to look at Edward and giggled childishly. He was staring at my wand with wide eyes and a huge smile on his face.
"That. Was. Amazing." He pronounced every word separately.
"A first year can do this," I said, rolling my eyes, but I was pleased with my little performance.
"Tell me about your school," he said, eager for more information, "what can you learn in a school of magic?"
So I spent another hour or so talking about magical school subjects. I described the diference between Transfiguration and Charms, the creatures we learned about in DADA and Care of Magical Creatures, or magical plants from Herbology lessons. For the whole while he was unceasingly in awe though I didn't go into much details because describing everything about my school would have taken me at least a week.
The sun was getting lower when I finished describing Divination classes, which he found deeply amusing. "I have to tell Alice," he said, laughing. He was completely relaxed now, half sitting, half laying, supporting his weight on one elbow.
It was getting colder so I put my sweatshirt on. Edward looked at his watch and sighed.
"We should go back so Charlie wouldn't worry," I said, not very happy about it.
"Yes." He didn't look enthusiastic either but suddenly his face lit up with a smile.
"Can I show you something?" He was on his feet before I could blink.
"Show me what?" I narrowed my eyes suspiciously.
"How I travel in the forest."
"I suppose you run," I said slowly. He looked a bit disappointed like I'd just ruined a big surprise.
"Well, yes," he said and his face lit up again. "So do you want a ride? I promise you'll be very safe."
"A ride?" I was getting excited, too. His smile grew even wider when he saw my expression.
"Climb on my back." He ordered but his tone was playful.
I did as he asked, knowing that for him I was as heavy as a feather. I clamped my legs and arms tightly around him. It was like clinging to a stone. He suddenly grabbed my hand and pressed my palm to his face again.
"Easier all the time," he muttered.
And then he was running. He streaked through the dark, thick underbrush of the forest like a bullet, like a ghost. There was no sound, no evidence that his feet touched the earth. His breathing never changed, never indicated any effort. But the trees flew by at deadly speeds, always missing us by inches. It reminded me of flying on my broomstick so I let out a few giggles. It really was like flying, except we weren't in the air.
And then it was over, too quickly for my liking. He stopped by his car and I slowly climbed down.
"Exhilarating, isn't it?" His face was radiant.
"Yeah, it was almost as good as flying." I smiled happily at him.
"You like flying?" he asked, curious, as we were getting in the car.
"I love it. There's nothing better than that. I miss it so much." I sighed, resting my head against the headrest. "The wind in my hair, the freedom, the speed, the height. Everything."
"Um, how can you have wind in your hair on a plane?" He frowned in confusion. He'd started the car so we were already moving.
"I wasn't talking about planes." I rolled my eyes.
"So you like what… gliding? Or parachuting?" He looked at me sceptically.
"Really, Edward? You're forgetting what I am." I was watching him, waiting for him to finally get it.
"Don't tell me you fly on a broomstick." He laughed.
"Of course I do."
He looked at me with raised eyebrows. He clearly thought I was joking.
"One day I'll show you," I said, regretting that I'd left my broom at the Weasleys.
"Can't wait." He grinned.
I just shook my head and let this subject go. He would have to see it with his own eyes. I just wondered if I'd ever get the chance to show him.
We fell quiet again so he turned on the radio to an oldies station. Then he surprised me when he took my hand without thinking and started singing along with a song I'd never heard. I looked at our interwoven hands and smiled, then looked up at him.
"How old are you anyway? You never told me," I asked.
"You never asked." He winked at me, smiling.
"Well, I'm asking now."
"I was born in Chicago in 1901." He paused and glanced at me from the corner of his eyes. "Carlisle found me in a hospital in the summer of 1918. I was seventeen and dying of the Spanish influenza."
I stared at him with wide eyes. I just couldn't imagine Edward dying. He looked down into my eyes and continued.
"I don't remember it well – it was a very long time ago and human memories fade." He was lost in his thoughts for a short time before he went on. "I do remember how it felt, when Carlisle saved me. It's not an easy thing, not something you could forget."
"Your parents?"
"They had already died from the disease. I was alone. That was why he chose me. In all the chaos of the epidemic, no one would ever realize I was gone."
"Why did he do it?" I wondered. "Why didn't he let you… die? I mean, I'm glad he didn't but still. I heard it's very painful."
He looked at me again with a speculative expression before he answered. It made me wonder what he was thinking.
"He acted from loneliness. That's usually the reason behind the choice. And yes, it was very, very painful."
"What about the others?"
"I was the first in Carlisle's family, though he found Esme soon after," he said, now looking ahead. "She fell from a cliff. They brought her straight to the hospital morgue, though, somehow, her heart was still beating.
"He brought Rosalie next. I didn't realize till much later that he was hoping she would be to me what Esme was to him – he was careful with his thoughts around me." He rolled his eyes. "But she was never more than a sister. It was only two years later that she found Emmett. She was hunting – we were in Appalachia at the time – and found a bear about to finish him off. She carried him back to Carlisle, more than a hundred miles, afraid she wouldn't be able to do it herself."
He fell quiet then and I realised we were parked in front of Charlie's house now. I wanted to ask about Alice and Jasper but he was staring at an unfamiliar car that was parked in our driveway.