Chapter 14: Time for personal space

After a nice shower Carlisle spend a while in his study. There was some work piled that his colleagues from the hospital sent over while he was gone. Mostly cases that weren't that urgent, but where his opinion was requested. So he decided to ignore it for now. Instead he took one of the books he got during his first visit in London and wanted to read more about Hogwarts, there had to be something about it or maybe about the other school Hermione would be attending. He wanted to know what was going on there. He knew exactly well what his other children learned in school…..well they did not really learn anymore but still. In Hermione's case everything was new to him. A ironic smile appeared on his face. This must be how normal parents felt. Not knowing what their nearly teenage children learn at school, what fashion was a thing in their social environment or what hobbies they had. He felt hopelessly clueless for the first time in his parent-life.

He spend quite some time with a ton of books and his frustration grew as he barely found any relevant information. Close to sunrise a few noises from the kitchen caught his attention and he decided to give up on his research mission for now.

As he joined Esme in the kitchen he found the source of the noise. She was cooking…..a lot! There was one Casserole in the oven, one unbaked pizza on the counter and she was working on pancakes at the same time. Confused he approached the workspace in human pace "Esme?" he asked cautious, not sure if she was too distracted to notice hi presence. As she looked up with shining eyes and humming one of the hits she liked from the 50s, he continued "What are you doing?" He gestured with his arms, framing all the food. Esme smiled sweetly and danced around to lift one finished pancake out of the pan and pour a new one in. She placed the finished ones under a Food-Cap to keep them warm.

"I am preparing some more food for Charlie, he can simply freeze and heat up later and…." She turned around again to clean something up while waiting for the next pancake to finish "breakfast for Hermione" Hummin again.

Carlisle smiled happily. It has been a while since he last saw his wife that content. He sat down on one of the bar stools at the kitchen counter and enjoyed to simply watch her work for a while, listening to her humming, that perfectly matched the song he remembered.

When she was finished and started cleaning up, birds were chirping outside despite a few raindrops knocking on their windows. "So." Esme started and he could already hear that she had a request for him. "This spare room we kept for Bella." She hinted. He knew what she wanted he was thinking about it too. "It will still be a few years until Bella actually joins us and maybe she and Edward want to move somewhere on their own for a while then." She was absolutely right, he thought. That was pretty much the same thinking path he went down as well, earlier.

He interrupted her "I know. I agree with you. First I thought of Jaspers study, he could use mine. But that wouldn't be fair." He frowned a little. "if Bella decides to join us sooner rather than later we have to move anyway and the house in Alaska is bigger. And if she just decides to live here, they surely wouldn't mind sharing Edwards room."

Esme's smile turned bigger and brighter with each word. "So that means we are going to do some interior design planning today"

Carlisle held his hands up in defense. "Surely a good way to get to know each other….without me around" No way he would meddle with Esme's reign of the interior decorations.

Esme was about to try and convince him to join them, but the sound of someone moving around distracted them. Esme clapped her hands soundlessly. "She's awake" she exclaimed excited.

….

Hermione woke up early. Still in her Hogwarts routine and it felt really strange to her, that she didn't have to get up and get ready to join the great hall for breakfast with her friends. She looked around the beautiful, unfamiliar room, took in the still strange scent. What now?

She didn't feel as if she had the right to walk around here on her own. And she didn't know what her vampiric caretakers were doing usually around this time, she didn't want to interrupt or annoy them.

She sat up in her bed, flung the blankets away and sat cross-legged on the bed. Then she took the little stack of books from the night stand. It were 4 titles. She wondered what they considered interesting for her. There was "A short story of everything" and "The things nobody knows". Okay those were titles that nearly anyone would read if nothing else was around. "The book thief" Was something that peaked her interest so she laid it aside. And there was the last title "Dracula" Hermione blinked. Seriously? Dracula? She giggled. This clearly was a nice attempt of showing her that vampires too have some sense of humor.

She put all books back except of the Book thief. She would read that one. The introduction already sounded super interesting. She leaned back and let herself get lost in the book for a little while. She was already a few good pages in when a knock on the door pulled her out of this new world.

"good morning." Carlisle greeted her from the door. Hermione smiled happily and wasn't sure why she reacted that way, she still barely knew the man. "Good Morning" She greeted back and closed her book, she would remember the page she was on.

"If you care to get up, there is some breakfast ready for you." He hinted and she felt a little bad. She didn't want to come off lazy!

She jumped out of bed and checked the time. It was only 7:38 am, so it wasn't that late yet. "Yes! I am sorry, I just didn't want to wander around on my own" she explained. Better share the truth rather than give a wrong impression.

Carlisle face took over a rather serious expression as he walked over and sat on the bed. He padded next to himself, asking her to join him. "This is your home now, Hermione. You need to understand that."

She let her head hang low. She felt as if she messed up again and she really didn't want to.

"You can walk around whenever and wherever you want. Understood?" He asked now less serious and with a hint of joke in his voice. She nodded uncertain.

"Maybe it's our fault, we actually should discuss a few house rules so you know the does and don'ts around here." He sighted.

This was a great idea. Hermione liked rules they made things easier. "This would be very helpfully, to be honest" she admitted, knowing perfectly well that she was probably the only 12 year old that wanted rules.

Carlisle laughed at that. This girl was really interesting. This certainly wasn't the reaction he expected.

A protesting noise from Hermione's belly ended the conversation.

"Seems like it's time for breakfast!" Carlisle stated as he jumped up and pulled the girl with him. When this made her giggle, he felt so much stratification. This child was entirely to shy and quiet around them. This needed to change. Maybe with edward around things would get a little clearer.

"Okay okay! Breakfast. I just rush through the bathroom and then I am down." Hermione offered while trying to stop her face from all the smiling.

….

When Hermione arrived in the kitchen she was punched in the face by the wonderful smell of pancakes. Esme wished her a good morning with a hug and a kiss on her head. Hermione would have lied if she said that she was comfortable with this affection, from a woman she barely knew. But it also felt somehow nice and she didn't want to fight it off.

When she had the first view bites of her breakfast she was delighted. They tasted heavenly good. Hermione didn't know where Carlisle went but Esme sat next to her reading the newspaper while Hermione ate.

"So…you don't eat food at all?" Hermione asked carefully. She actually knew they didn't. She already did read about that, but she wanted something to start off a conversation.

Esme shook her head. "No dear. We can but it just gives us nothing"

Hermione chewed. "Well for someone who doesn't eat you cook really great. Even for someone who does eat this would be awesome" She praised.

Esme chuckled. She knew she was good. She had every cooking show and book memorized that was available since the 70s. "What did you eat when you were at school?" She was curious how the kids previous life was.

Hermione was thinking for a moment. "This is actually hard to explain." She couldn't really put into words how the great hall was. "Houseelfes cook the food at Hogwarts and they make a lot of it, since we are…we were….there are a great amount of students and teachers and staff." She took another bite. "So there is nearly every thing for breakfast one can imagine, no need to select."

Esme couldn't really imagine that and Hermione knew, but there was just no way of describing the meals at Hogwarts, one would have to see it.

"And at home?" She asked, hoping this wouldn't hurt the girl.

Hermione was actually thankful that she could talk about her home life. She noticed it got easier every time she thought or spoke about her parents. "Very traditional. Toast, Egg and fruits usually." Boring, perfectly boring, great breakfast, Hermione thought.

Esme took a mental note to have such things ready for her in the future. "How did you sleep? I know Alice room is not really the ordinary. She has a thing for fashion in all its forms.""

Hermione could hear the affection the woman held for this mysterious Alice, when she spoke about her. This was nice. If she would get as included? Probably not, since she will be in boarding school. A little sadness mixed into her cheerful morning mood. "I slept great. That was the softest bed I ever slept in. Hogwarts isn't exactly known for that."

"Oh" Esme let out and caused a confused stare from Hermione. "I hope then you won't mind sleeping in a different bed soon." Still a confused look and Esme had to remind her to keep eating.

"We have a spare room, that is supposed to be yours. And I thought it would be nice if we go and get it filled together. I don't know what you like and it would be a great thing to do to get to know each other better, right?" Esme told her and got increasingly excited.

Hermione's mouth stood open, and Esme feared that food would drop out. "Hermione?" She asked worried.

Shocked Hermione closed her mouth and swelled her food was too fast. "No no no no!" she whined.

"What's wrong dear?" Esme was at a loss, what was wrong? Did she say something wrong?

"You cant spend so much money on me again!" Hermione protested.

Esme's worried expression turned into a softer, warmer version. "Oh dear. Of course we can! You are part of our family and our responsibility now." She cupped Hermione's face in one hand. "And as you already saw, money is not an issue of this family."

Hermione tried to shake her head but was blocked by Esme's cold hand. "But what if this doesn't work out, then u have a room full of expensive things."

The vampires face turned more serious. "Nonsense. This will work out, else Alice would have said something! And you need a place for yourself!" her voice sounded like she was giving an order now. "Don't be silly. This will be fun!"

Hermione gave up. What was it with this family and throwing money around?

When Hermione was done eating, she stood up to clean her dishes and Esme went to help her, humming a nice melody she never heard before.

After that Hermione got ready for a day of shopping. She was truly not feeling comfortable with this, but she also couldn't deny that she was equally excited to create a whole new room for herself.

…

She put on a pair of jeans and a pink sweater. She also picked a pair of comfortable shoes since she expected a lot of walking for today. She also had her own mission to accomplish. She had no clue where the next access to the wizarding world was around here, so she would use the trip to look for any signs of this. If she wouldn't find anything she had to ask Carlisle to contact Dumbledore for her and find something out. She realized that she was too isolated from her own world to ignore it. She had no way of getting her hands on Potions, books or a way to contact her friends.

She picked on of her favorite bags…..not like she had many but out of the two she had it was her favorite. Threw in her moneybag and noticed satisfied that a pack of chewing gum was already in there. She would pick up a small bottle of water somewhere on the way.

As she walked down the stairs Esme was already waiting for her. She had a devilish smile on her lips. "Are you ready?" She asked and Hermione got infected by her excitement as well. Hermione gave a determined nod. "Read to rumble!" she said and wondered about herself. That was something she would say to Ron and Harry not to adults.

Esme opened a door and let Hermione in before joining. The witch stared into thick darkness and waited for some lights to turn on. She could hear how the vampiric woman switched it on and was sure she did so only for her sake. She probably could see perfectly fine without the lights.

Hermione sucked in her breath when she caught eye on the size of the Garage they were in and more important, the amount of cars in here.

The woman put her hands on Hermione's shoulders as she stood behind her and spoke with some mischief in her voice. "Since the children aren't in town, we have free access to everyone's car. You pick!" Esme chuckled.

"No way!" Hermione turned her head as far as she could to shoot the woman a disturbed look "Those cars are your kid's?" disbelief was all she could express.

Esme put on her most innocent housewife look "Well two of them are mine and Carlise's"

There were just no words in Hermione's world for that. She honestly did not expect to end up in such a rich family. Sure she knew as a doctor Carlisle's family would have money, and she always assumed vampires would have some kind of long term finance management, but this was so beyond anything she imagined.

Hermione looked around, trying to sort out the cars. She pointed on a silver Aston Martin, not that she knew what it was, but it looked shiny and futuristic and made her eyes go bling bling.

Esme picked the fitting key from a board and pushed Hermione through the cars "Ohhh Edward's special occasion car" she cheered. "God things he's not here to know."

This was an awesome side of Esme, that Hermione got to know and this made her worry about her sanity. She hated people who were out for trouble or breaking rules and Esme obviously had a super devilish side to her. But instead of disliking it Hermione suddenly felt like it was very easy to get attached to the woman. While she came off as the perfect mother-figure and housewife before, there was something different about her now. It somehow reminded her of Harry and Ron, when they were trying to figure out the secrets of Hogwarts last year.

As they got into the car and buckled their seat belts the witch couldn't contain a happy laugher herself. "I never was in such an expensive car before!" she exclaimed excited and Esme shot her a wink "I won't go telltale!" she promised.

But Esme just waved it off "No worries, he will find out anyway, but then it will be too late to stop us" As to bring her point across with special effect she let the engine howl. And then they left the garage.

The ride through Fork was calm and Hermione took the chance to watch out of the window and get a imagined map of the town. When they were out on the open road, was when the adventure just started. Slowly Hermione noticed that the landscape went faster and faster around them. When it seemed unusual fast she turned to look at the Speedo. She swallowed. "I…is it safe to go that fast?"

Esme turned her head to the girl and put a hand on hers. "No worries! Vampire reflexes and all. This is the reason why we have those cars, we just love driving them!" She laughed and this time the witch wasn't sure if she still liked evil Esme, she wanted back the kind Esme. Now she felt as if someone forced her on a roller-coaster. She griped on the door handle and hold onto it for dear life.

When the hell trip was over after what felt like an eternity they were in Seattle at a giant market for interior-décor.

While she adored the room she stayed in right now, she wanted something less extravagant for herself. She needed to be able to study, sleep and read in this room after all.

Esme had all important numbers like room height in her head and they got hold of one employee to stay with them and note everything they take as well as give advice. At least in theory. Practically Esme knew exactly what was okay and what not and didn't let the poor boy sell them anything unnecessary. After nearly 4 hours of shopping, Hermione picked lavender wall paint for two walls and white wood paneling for the other two. A fancy bed, that was on top of a dresser and had its own little stairs. Esme told her that the room had a big roof window and the bed could fit right below it. This would be great, she could look at the stars when she fell asleep. She also picked white cupboard and a long dresser. Esme also allowed her, her own TV in the room, and she could put it on the dresser. A modern white desk that went over a corner of the room. And a fake furr carpet along with a violet comfy big chair she could read on for hours. The room already had a light grey wooden floor in it according to Esme.

Hermione's room at her parents home was in the colors of Gryffindor, but she didn't want that now. She wouldn't know what house she would get sorted in in Ilvermorny and getting reminded of Gryffindor was a little painful. So she went for completely different coloring, and she thought that the soft lavender and white was a calming atmosphere to stay in. Esme picked out a few Décor items that just suited the furniture perfectly and even though she would have never admitted it to anyone, Hermione always wanted a lot of light strings in her room.

When they were done Esme ordered the employee to have send everything to them until Friday, and the poor boy was completely overwhelmed, while his coworkers obviously were jealous for the huge deal he got.

They went to eat at a fast food place afterwards, well Hermione was eating Esme just sat with her and pulled all attention of strangers to them. But it was still nice.

Since they had a long drive ahead, Esme wanted to use their Seattle trip for more than just getting the room equipped. They went through a few clothing stores, and the woman got Hermione at least 8 new sets of outfits. Which wasn't much in Esme's eyes but way too much for Hermione's. They ended the day with a visit in the cinema. There was a movie about a young boy, that met a wizard and became his unwilling scholar. Hermione found the movie incredible funny, while it was supposed to be an action-fantasy movie.

When they left the place and got back to the car, Hermione was tired, but happy deep down to her core. She was laughing a lot that day and didn't waste a single thought to doubts or sad memories. Esme was obviously happy with the end result of the day.

When they hit the road she wanted to have a little talk with the girl, before she would fall asleep. She could see it wouldn't take long until she was in dreamland.

"So is this how it works with magic? Like in the movie? You have a teacher and some magic rings and then you just have to imagine what you want to do?" she asked curiously

Hermione laughed and rolled her eyes in played annoyance. "Not at all. No magic rings required. We have wands. Everyone has a personal wand, which certain attributes. Mine for example is made of Vine Wood and has a core of dragon heartstring." She smiled proudly. "Vine means it's very sensitive for it's owners presence and according to the crafter, is meant for people with hidden character depth. And dragon-heart means it can create very powerful, flamboyant spells and it's owner learns fast." She would never forget the explanation Ollivander gave her, when she got her wand. For the first time it made her feel, like she can be the main character of her own story, not only a side figure.

Esme listened very interested. She had no idea of any of those magic things but she really wanted to know everything, especially when it was the world of one of her children. And just then she realized herself, how easy it was for her to get attached to the girl.

"And you don't just imagine what you want to do and it happens." Hermione continued to explain. "For each spell there is a spell you need to know, and a certain pattern you have to draw with you wand. Sometimes you also need special tools or equipment for more complicated spells." A yawn. "And that's only for charms. There is a lot more to magic than just wand waving. There is potions, Herbology is very attached to it as well. Then there is care of magical creatures, though I didn't have that class yet. Transfiguration is a big field and also things like Astronomy, Flying, Defense against Dark arts. And a lot more you can pick later on during study." Another yawn.

Esme was shocked that there were so many subjects but in a positive way. She was worried that Hermione may had a loose education, since she had no clue what was involved in the whole wizarding thing, but this sounded very impressive. "this sounds fascinating! Can you show me a few things tomorrow?" She asked excited, but Hermione shook her head immediately.

"I am not allowed to do magic, when not in school until I will be 17 years old. If it wasn't for a special license I wouldn't even be allowed to have my wand with me, now that I am enrolled in Ilvermorny. They are very strict with Wand-law over here." Another yawn followed.

Esme smiled proudly, that the child was so law-proofed in a field where she couldn't watch out, due to a lack of knowledge. "Sleep a little, dear" she said smoothly and patted her hand.

Hermione laid her Head on the window and closed her eyes, enjoying the soft hum of the car and falling asleep faster than she was able to notice.