My face felt heavy as my eyes fluttered open to see a crisp, white ceiling above me. I try to sit up, but before I can, a hand gently places itself against one of my arms.
"I wouldn't do that, honey. Your body is still tired and my husband suggests bed rest whilst you're recovering." Esme smiles kindly at me, tucking some of my now dry brunette hair away from my face.
"What happened?" I croak, my bright peridot coloured eyes shining in concern.
"You fainted. It was a good thing I found you when I did; I can only imagine what a nasty injury you might have sustained had you kept walking on in the rain."
Suddenly, the door creeps open and a tall man with equally as pale skin as Esme's walks in. He had a welcoming smile on his face, though his liquid honey eyes matched the expression on my own.
"Hello there, I see Esme's been taking good care of you."
I nodded slowly, eying him with slight caution.
"There's no need to be scared," he said with a slight chuckle. "My name is Carlisle Cullen, I can assure you that you're in the best hands whilst you recover. You're very lucky that my wife found you, I fear things may have been worse if she hadn't."
"Well, I hadn't exactly planned for it to rain." I replied slowly, pulling the warm covers up closer to my neck as I laid in what had to be the softest bed I had ever been in. Hogwarts' couldn't compare, even with its magic.
"Could you tell us your name, lovely?" asked Esme, a mothering expression on her face.
"Harriet, my name is Harriet."
"Well, Harriet. Is there anybody we could call? Perhaps, your parents? They must be extremely worried and the last thing we need is for them to warrant a search party."
"With all due respect sir, I know for certain that nobody is looking for me." At least, not in Forks that is. I had no doubt that the Daily Prophet was already spewing out articles about my disappearance. Perhaps, they already knew that I had gifted Mrs Malfoy the ladyship to the House of Black as well.
"I see," Carlisle frowned and I could tell he was not happy with my response.
"Are you certain that there's nobody we could contact?"
"I am." I answered quietly, gripping the bed covers tightly. "I recently moved to Forks by myself, and I'm afraid I have no caring relatives that are alive and concerned about where I am."
A gasp released itself from Esme's lips and I briefly looked towards her to see her eyes filled with unshed tears.
"Oh, my dear girl…" she whimpered, no doubt feeling pity towards me.
"It's okay," I tried to reassure her, only for a tickle in my throat to follow afterwards which led me into a series of coughs.
Carlisle quickly strided closer towards me and soon enough, I could feel a freezing cold hand rest against my forehead.
"You feel slightly warmer than I like. I fear you may be coming down with either a fever or the common cold."
"Then, I hope it's the common cold." I mumbled, closing my eyes as I enjoyed the cool feeling on my forehead. A shiver wracks itself up my spine, but I did not feel cold in the slightest despite Carlisle's freezing hand.
"Yes, a common cold seems likely. Harriet, do you think you could answer a few questions of mine?" he asked, taking his hand away which caused my face to fall. He smiled knowingly, before asking his wife if she could prepare me a cold compress.
"Sure, what do you want to know?" I watched as Esme directed a kind smile towards me before she shut the door to the large, yet warm and cosy bedroom I was in.
Carlisle takes a seat on the grey armchair situated beside the bed and laces his fingers together.
"When was the last time you had something to eat and drink?"
"How long have I been asleep for?" I asked him in return and Carlisle shot me a small smile, showing off his perfectly straight white teeth before answering my question.
"About two hours, Esme called me as soon as she arrived at the house."
I hummed in acknowledgement, wracking my brain before telling him that I had stopped for a pastry and some coffee before departing to Forks.
I watched as his eyebrows furrow and a troubled expression dawns on his face.
"And can I ask how long you've been in Forks, Harriet?"
"A couple of hours, if you exclude the time I've been asleep."
"Forgive me if I'm wrong, but you have a British accent. Please, don't tell me you travelled all this way and haven't had anything to eat during your flight?"
I frowned, wondering how to explain to him that I hadn't actually used an airport to get here. I had taken an international portkey Sharpclaw had given me after getting something to eat at a bakery in muggle London.
So, technically, I had probably last eaten around three hours ago.
"I'll have Esme bring you something to eat. Doctor's orders."
"Oh, you don't have to do that. Really, Carlisle I'm fine."
"You're under my family's care, Harriet. Besides, Esme has a habit of spoiling her guests. Please, it wouldn't hurt you to have some tea and a biscuit, would it?"
I sigh tiredly as I rake my shaking hands through my fluffy brunette hair. It probably looked awful now, thanks to having resembled a drowned rat not so long ago.
"Please, I am thankful for you and Esme's help, but I don't think I could eat anything for a long while. I have a very small appetite and quite honestly, despite being out cold for the last two hours, I'm really tired."
Carlisle eyed me with dissatisfaction for a moment or two before sighing himself.
"Alright… I am not a pushy doctor, but please if you find yourself wanting anything at all, just let us know. Myself or Esme will be checking in on you every so often."
"Thank you, I appreciate it." I answered quietly and watched as the blonde-haired doctor left the room, only for his wife to return several seconds later with a damp cloth in her manicured hands.
"Here you go, love." I sent Esme a small, grateful smile as she placed the cold compress on my forehead.
"If you need anything–"
"I'll make sure to let you or Carlisle know. Thank you, Esme."
"It's not a bother. Please, rest as much as you want and when you're feeling better I'll be happy to introduce you to the rest of the family. I'm sure they'll be ecstatic to meet our new neighbour."
I nodded in understanding before closing my eyes and leaning deeper into the comfortable pillow behind me.
"Thank you again, Esme. You're a very kind person, just like your husband." I didn't have to open my eyes to know that the dark-haired woman was smiling happily at me.
"I'll see you later, Harriet. Rest well." Esme told me before I heard the door to the room open and close, signalling that I was now alone in the room. Shortly after, my breathing slowed and I was dragged back into dreamland.
"Carlisle, I'm worried. The poor girl practically told us she has no family and here she is, living by herself when she barely looks like she's graduated from school." Esme frowned at her husband as she entered his study.
Carlisle paused from his search in finding some medication for their sick guest and turned to his wife, who had unshed tears in her golden eyes again.
"I know, my love. You did the right thing though, bringing her here. I know exactly what you meant on the phone, she doesn't smell like an ordinary human."
"What are we going to tell the children?" Esme asked, a troubled tone in her voice.
Carlisle sighed, running a hand through his light blonde, slicked-back hair.
"I'm not sure, but the more important question is why didn't Alice warn us of this happening?"
"Is it possible that she didn't see Harriet coming?" Esme asked her husband, going to sit down on the spare office chair.
"Why don't we ask her?" Carlisle smiled as his supernatural hearing picked up the sound of his children's cars returning to the residence.
"Why is Carlisle's car here?" Edward Cullen, the family's first adopted son asked as he got out of the silver Volvo gifted to him by his father for Christmas last year.
"Because there has been an emergency." The blonde doctor answered as he suddenly appeared on the stairway to the house, his wife standing behind him.
Edward's chiselled jaw tightened as he furrowed his eyebrows in disapproval.
"Please tell me that Emmett's been rubbing off on you. Surely, you haven't brought a human here?" he asked, being joined by his sister and her husband shortly after the words left his mouth.
"What on earth is Edward going on about?" Rosalie Hale, a beautiful woman with lavish blonde curls, asked with an edge to her voice as she came to a stop beside Edward, one of her husband's arms wrapped around her thin waist.
"I'm afraid it's true," Carlisle frowned. "Esme found a young girl completely drenched in the rain. I'm fearful that if she hadn't offered Harriet shelter when she did, the poor girl would have died."
A snarl escaped Rosalie's throat.
"Then why didn't this girl get taken to the hospital like every other human? Why here!?"
"Because she's not human." Edward stated, a look of shock on his face as he voiced his father's inner thoughts.
"So, what is she? A witch?" Emmett jokes, only to get hit in the chest by his wife, who was not amused by his comment.
Finally, the family's remaining children pulled up on the driveway and stepping out of the red Mercedes convertible borrowed from Rosalie, was Alice Cullen and Jasper Hale.
"Why is everybody looking so tense?" Alice asked, a frown on her pink lips as she dragged Jasper towards stairs.
However, before anyone could answer Alice, the dark blonde beside her suddenly let go of her cold hand and quickly breathed in the odd scent which belonged to the girl resting in one of their spare bedrooms.
His eyes darkened and before anyone could stop him, Jasper disappeared from their sight with the intent of finding out who the scent belonged to.
A/N: I'd like to thank everyone who's following this story, I hope that you're enjoying the chapters I've wrote and that you're looking forward to more! :)