A/N: New chapter! A few of you guessed who I was planning on using as a vampire, Sanguini. Meldz! Can I just say that I really enjoy your reviews. You are awesome! Dorienn you got 3 out of 3! You win! Everyone else got 1 out of 3: bad hbm6092, RainbowJH and gossgal33! Not bad! :D Thank you all for being great reviewers!
PS: Sorry for spelling and typos!
Disclaimer: Not mine.
"Line up you two, we have no time to waste," Hermione ordered, turning into buisness mode.
"I still don't understand why I can't come," Ginny complained, glaring at the other three in the room
Hermione aimed her wand at Ron turning him into a black haired, brown eyed tan man. Harry was transformed into a blond, blue eyed pale boy. Hermione ended up casting the glamour charm on herself to make herself appear as a red headed, blue eyed woman. She stood beside the two boys and watched her friend expectantly.
"So... How do we look? Could you recognize us?" She inquired.
Ginny frowned as she looked them over, standing from the armchair she was perched on, she walked up to her boyfriend. She re-arranged his hair so that it hid his scar, that no glamour charm could conceal, and made sure his fringe stayed in place with a muttered sticking charm. After quickly looking over the other two she crossed her arms and nodded.
"You're good to go," she admitted.
"Alright, we're flooing to the MOM of America and traveling from there."
"Why don't we travel from here?" Ron questioned.
"Because we don't have his adress, which we'll get from the American Ministry of Magic." Hermione explained, patiently.
"Can I at least know who you're going to see?" Ginny tried again.
They shook their heads and Ginny roughly sat back down on her chair. Harry carefully approched her, taking her hand. "This is for your safety. We're not a hundred percent sure we can trust him," Harry reassured her.
As it was a warm day, they had opened all the house windows, forgetting about the surrounding vampires. Distantly hearing those last few words, one of those vampires, who had been hunting near their house decided to come closer in order to hear them more clearly.
"Last time you left me for my safety to go on a wild goose hunt around Britain, I almost ended up killed and restored a rebel group in Hogwarts against a mass murderer trying to rule the world," she stated, coldly trying to show him that leaving her alone only made her cause more trouble.
"This time is different." The same voice from before said. "You'll find out soon enough who he is. In fact we even promise to tell you his name as soon as we come back but not yet. Please, for once I finally know you're safe, I don't want to go through the worry again," he whispered to her, desperately trying to make her understand.
Ginny's voice was softer when she spoke back. "Fine, just this once, next time, I'm coming with."
Harry grinned. "I wouldn't expect anything else." He kissed her. "I love you Ginny."
The vampire left once those words left the man's mouth and raced back home, forgetting about his lunch. Leaving the four wizards and witches none the wiser that he had been there for a small amount of time. Had he stayed a few seconds longer he would have noticed that no one left the house through the front door, or any door for that matter.
"I do hope he's home." Hermione said, nervously when the three of them arrived in front of the large home.
"We'll know soon enough." Harry answered.
They hesitantly walked up to the intimidating black gates and paused in front of it. "So who wants to take a leap of faith?" Ron joked motioning at the gates.
The wizard had said he'd be sure to make sure his wards always allowed the trio entrance in case they needed to contact him urgently but none were very willing to be the first one to check that he hadn't forgotten to do so. Harry realized that he was going to have to be first and held out a hand holding his breath until his hand harmlessly passed through the gate as if it was just smoke. When the unbareable pain never came he smiled and stepped through, his friends following.
"Looks like he kept good on his promise." Harry said to his two companions, as they turned around to look back at it.
"A Malfoy never goes back on his word, Potter." A voice snapped from behind him.
Ginny paced in the living room impatiently as she waited for the others to get home. Everytime she glanced at the clock she noticed only a minute had gone by. Frustrated she decided to go visit someone, she needed a distraction. Problem was, she didn't know anyone around here, except Charlie. In all honesty she wasn't even sure he counted, since she had only met him once when he came to welcome them into town.
Ginny grinned when she came up with an idea and quickly set to work. She baked up a batch of cookies, speeding up the process with her magic. Soon fifteen warm cookies or so sat on the counter in a tupperware box, ready to be brought to Charlie's house. After all there was nothing wrong with being neighbourly.
She hurriedly crossed the street and knocked on his door. He opened the door in less than a minute, his smile as warm as the cookies in her hands.
"Hello, can I help you?" He wondered, politely.
"I just wanted to drop off some cookies I baked. To say thank you for welcoming us so kindly," she lifted the biscuits to her face so that he could see them.
"Oh, then please, do come in..." He trailed off, not remembering her name.
"Ginny," she supplied. "Ginny Weasley."
He opened the door widely, allowing her entrance and leading her into the living room. They sat down on opposite couches and talked over hot cups of coffee, well, tea in Ginny's case, and nibbling on a few cookies she had brought over. He asked her about her life in London, Ginny answering everything as honestly as possible, recounting tales from her Hogwarts and home life, without the magic in them. She asked about his life before Forks, how it was being a police officer and the upcoming wedding.
He was a very nice, very American fellow if that made any sense. Bella joined them in the living room for a while, explaining a few things about her dad's life and hers. Ginny listened interested, picking up on a few of the lies Bella was telling and knowing it most likely had to do with the fact that she was dating a vampire.
In the end she announced that she was going over to the Cullens and Charlie encouraged her to bring Ginny along. After a few minutes of trying to convince the both of them that it was a good idea, the two girls found themselves in Bella's old red pick up truck and on their way to the Cullens. Ginny quickly realized that Bella did not have much to talk about apart from Edward and the Cullens. She started to wonder how the girl's life would be if she hadn't met Edward. What would she talk about then? Nothing at all probably since she only seemed to have a one track mind that could revolve around nothing else.
Bella parked into the drive of the Cullens house and beckoned Ginny over to the front door. It opened before she could knock and there stood a very muscular, dark haired man.
"Bellaaa," he said, drawing out the 'a'. "We've been expecting you. Alice told us you were coming, though she didn't tell us you were bringing a friend," he grinned at the slim redhead.
Bella hadn't called to say she was on her way over, so Alice must have seen it but why then had she not seen her bringing over Ginny? Alice couldn't see anything when Jacob or the other shape shifters were involved, but Ginny was not a shape shifter that was for sure, or the Cullens would have smelt her animal form on her.
"Emmett, this is Ginny, she's my father's new neighbour."
"Ginnyyy," he said, in the same manner he had said Bella's. "Pleasure to meet you." He claimed, hugging her with the same grin as before.
"Pleasure's all mine," Ginny replied, smiling back. She couldn't help but immediately like this man.
Ginny was introduced to the whole Cullen family who were in full wedding prepartions. Ginny talked with all of them, getting to know all of them even Rosalie who had a cold exterior but obviously cared deeply for all the coven members. At one point Ginny found herself alone with Bella outside in the back, folding up a long sheet of white silk. They sat, working in silence until Ginny decided to break it.
"So how many people are coming?" She inquired.
"I don't even know anymore." Bella giggled.
"Do you at least know who is coming?" Ginny asked, grimacing slightly.
"I know that most of the important people are coming." She stopped the task at hand and looked out into the forest, a distant look in her eyes. "All except the most important one," she murmured to herself.
"Who's that?"
Bella started. "You heard that, did you?" She chuckled, tucking her hair behind her ears. "I'm just being dramatic," she said with a wave of her hand. "My best friend doesn't approve of the union so he's decided not to come."
"Who is he?" Ginny asked, she wondered if perhaps she was asking too many private questions but she was very curious, especially since Bella was finally speaking of something other than Edward. As long as it keeps her off of that topic, Ginny thought.
"Jacob."
"Jacob Black?" Ginny said, eyebrows raised.
Bella looked at the British girl in shock. "You know him?"
"My friend Hermione's been hanging out with him recently, they get along surprisingly well." Ginny answered.
She wasn't surprised that Jacob disapproved of the wedding, it was against his nature to accept such a thing, in fact it was in his nature to make sure no such thing happened.
"I wasn't aware that he was back in town." Bella said, somewhat sadly.
"Why doesn't he like the idea of the wedding?" Ginny questioned, just to make sure Bella did know what her best friend was.
"Old grudges die hard. It's in his blood, I guess." Bella replied with a one shouldered shrug. Ginny nodded, seemed this girl attracted supernatural beings like flies.
"How did you know it was me?" Harry asked aloud.
"A select few of my friends can cross through my wards and the only other people who can is the Golden Trio. Since my friends all come by floo, you are the only possible option."
"You have friends?" Ron snorted.
Hermione elbowed him in the guts. "Be nice, Ronald," she reprimanded.
"Yes, be nice," Draco sneered. "Or I might not help you."
"I thought a Malfoy always kept his word." Harry retorqued.
Draco nodded. "He does, but life debts are of less consequence to him."
"We're here to take you up on the favor you owe us." Harry stated.
"Ah yes, I knew you would come sooner rather than later. Come inside." Malfoy walked away from them, obviously expecting them to follow him without question.
He lead them to a large, ostentatiously decorated tea room and told them to sit. "Would you like something to drink?"
He was trying to be somewhat polite to them but it only served to make the trio shift uncomfortably.
"Yes," Hermione blurted, suddenly. "Please," she added, as an after thought.
Draco called out an elf's name and Hermione watched as he spoke to the little creature with relative kindness. An awkward silence overcame the room when the elf left to fetch her drink. She thanked him, carefully taking the cup from him, trying not to spill any. Hermione took a small sip, making sure it wasn't too hot and was quite pleased to find it the perfect temperature. When she placed the cup on it's saucer on the table, she looked up at Draco to see him laying back on his couch, arms crossed and a knowing smirk on his face.
"So, what can I do you for?" He asked, looking from one of the trio to the other, his gaze finally settling on Hermione's.
Her friends turned to her as well, waiting for her to do the talking. "We need to get in contact with someone and since you're a Malfoy, we thought you would know how." She slid to the edge of her seat.
"Malfoy's have many 'friends', I can't be sure that the one you wish to contact is one of them," he stated. "Who is it?"
"A vampire Harry and I met during a Slug Club party in Hogwarts." Hermione said.
He eyed the three sitting opposite him thoughtfully, as if trying to understand what they wanted from him. "His name?"
Hermione sighed but answered as calmly as she could, knowing he knew fully well who she was talking about. "He goes by the name Sanguini."
Draco nodded and placed his elbows on his knees. "Indeed, I've heard of him, however I wouldn't presume to have the right to talk to him."
Hermione snorted. "You're a Malfoy: you presume to have the right to talk to anyone."
"True," he agreed, leaning forward. "Say that I can be of assistance. What would you need me to do?"
"Just pass along a message and contact us as soon as he can deliver us some pertinent information," she said, with a half shake of her head.
"Alright, what is it you want to say to him." He stretched his legs under the coffee table, his eyes twinkling. "Might I suggest you write it down, so as to avoid any mistakes?"
He summoned a piece of parchement and quill into the room then levitated them towards Hermione. She plucked them out of the air and handed them to Harry. "Okay... Let's be short and precise," she thought for a moment before gesturing for Harry to start writing. "Sanguini, we would like you to gather information from the Volturi, if you could find anything relating to the Volturi's plans regarding the Cullen Coven, we would be most grateful. Signed Harry Potter."
Harry stopped. "Why just me?"
"It's obvious, isn't it?" Ron started. "You're The One, mate. He knows you and about you. He'd be mad to refuse to help you. You know very well that your name is a one way ticket for everything."
Harry rolled his eyes. "'Yeah, yeah I know." He smiled. He finally signed and handed it to Hermione. "How does this look?"
"It'll have to do," she said. "Here you go, Malfoy."
Draco took the paper, folded it up and threw floo powder into his majestic fireplace, shouting for the Zabini Residence. In five seconds the fire had died down and there stood a very tall, extremely handsome, dark skinned man. He brushed dirt off his clothes and smirked.
"You called Malfoy?"
"Blaise, I need you to give this to Sanguini." Draco said, thrusting the note at his closest friend.
Blaise read it over quickly, raised his eyebrows and finally noticed the occupants of the room. "Interesting request," he murmured.
"How so?" Harry asked.
Zabini shrugged. "I've heard the Cullen name recently. In fact, the Volturi, Aro especially, seem to have a growing obsession with them."
"And how do you know this?" Ron demanded.
"I happen to live in Italy, not that far from Volterra and talk to the Volturi on a regular basis."
"How do you know them?" Hermione wanted to know.
"An old arrangement between them and Zabini wizards. Not the most pleasant folk," he observed.
"So you could get us the information we need?" Ron questioned. "We don't need to go through Sanguini to get it?"
Blaise snorted. "Not likely," he rested against the wall. "It doesn't matter that I'm friendly with them, they're not about to tell an outsider about their battle plans."
"Then how come you knew the Cullen's name?"
"The Volturi may be smart," he paused, looking each of them in the eyes. "But I'm smarter. I hear many things." He smirked again. "However, for the type of information you need, you'll need some one they trust. Sanguini is exactly the man you want. He's quite a prominent figure in the Vampire World."
"And you can contact him?" Ron checked.
"Of course," he stated. "I know him quite well."
"What do you want in exchange?" Harry asked, warily.
Blaise acted surprised. "Should I expect something? Is Draco getting anything?"
"No, but he owes us." Hermione explained.
"Then I'll get the satisfaction of helping my best friend out," he said carelessly.
"You truly want nothing?" Hermione inquired, disbelieving.
He pursed his lips. "I suppose I could ask that you don't forget that I helped you as well."
"Done," Harry moved forward to shake his hand.
Blaise shook Harry's with a content smile. "Think this means you owe me now."
"Looks like it," Harry agreed.
"You girls want to come in for a drink?" Esme called to Bella and Ginny from the back terrace.
They finished folding the material and headed inside. The both of them went to sit around the dining room table, Esme and Carlisle sitting side by side and Edward waiting for Bella, an empty seat by his side. He wrapped an arm around her as soon as Bella was close enough and tugged her into a chair. Ginny opted to take the seat near the door and took a gulp from the glass of water placed on the table for her. She, like Hermione felt the nudging on the edges of her mind. You'd think after failing the first time, he'd get the message, she growled privately in her mind. Although, she, unlike Hermione, was much less discreet in kicking him out of her head. He almost flew back in his chair by the sheer force of her action.
Her eyes widened in shock when she realized that it had been because of her. She hadn't meant to push him out that strongly but she was getting really pissed off by his snooping. He was just so very infuriating and rude. He studied her in undisguised confusion and she pretended not to notice his stare. Jasper studied his brother, feeling true confusion emanating off Edward for the first time in all the years they had known each other. Edward returned to the redhead's mind, using his full force. She winced as he got close to breaking her barrier, still trying to participate in the conversation occuring around her. Jasper frowned when he realized her emotions flying; they were going from anger, to annoyance, to fear and back again.
Ginny clenched her fists, starting to get afraid of letting free her magic and doing something she would regret if he kept pushing her to her limit. She was still a young witch and did not have full control over her magic. Jasper could feel she was close to exploding, her emotions mixing into an incomprehensible swirl of colours. He called out to Edward mentally, fearing that something dangerous might happen to the girl if the vampire continued, but Edward could not hear anything, he was entirely focused on getting into her mind. Jasper watched Ginny take a sip of water with a trembling hand, her knuckles turning white and knew he couldn't wait any longer to put a stop to this situation.
"Edward," he said, much louder than necessary as he stood from his seat. "Give me a hand with the snacks." He ordered, leaving no room for argument.
Edward sighed but followed him out, not seeing Ginny sag in her seat, exhausted. He'd never truly know just how close he had been to getting seriously hurt. Messing with a witches mind the way he had been was a very bad thing to do.
"Why did you stop me? I was almost in." Edward snapped, in a low voice.
Jasper shook his head. " You should have seen her emotions... I've never seen anything like it," he raked a hand through his hair. "You might have been almost in but she was almost going to burst and I have a feeling that wouldn't have been good for any of us."
A/N: That's it for now! The next two chapters or so will be more slow moving, concentrating a bit more on Hermione and Jacob and the wedding! Please please tell me what you thought!