I took out a bottle of water before closing the fridge door, turning around to face the family of vampires.
Esme had a look of guilt painted on her face, murmuring that she'll call Carlisle and Alice to come home quickly as she reaches for the landline phone near the doorway.
"Harriet, I promise none of us are going to hurt you. Please, don't run." said Jasper slowly, his hand raised to stop me.
"She's not going to run," Edward interrupted, looking at me with furrowed eyebrows. "She just wants to find her... wand? What are you on about, Harriet?"
I narrowed my eyes at the copper-haired vampire who stood beside Rosalie, who looked crestfallen for some reason, and quickly slammed my Occlumency walls up.
I must have let them slip from the shock, how silly of me.
"Stop reading my mind, Edward. Invading someone's privacy is incredibly rude, and in some cases, unforgivable."
Obviously some people in this family have gifts, and clearly, Edward's was the worst. Surely, he could turn the ability off?
"She's right about that mate," Emmett snorted as he came to join us in the kitchen, no doubt having heard the commotion from outside where he was doing who knows what.
Edward shot the burly vampire a glare, but it did little to affect Emmett, who wore a boyish grin on his face.
"So, let me guess, the vamps out of the bag?" he asked happily. Clearly, he had been waiting for me to find out for a while now.
"Well, unless Carlisle is planning to offer blood transfusions in his own home, I can only come to the conclusion that you're vampires." I answer sarcastically before I turn to Esme and ask her if she still has the bag I had been carrying when I fainted a couple of days ago.
"It's in your room, sweetheart. I believe I put it in the dresser." I smiled at her gratefully before turning to Rosalie, who had her arms crossed defensively.
"Rosalie, do you mind going and getting it for me? I want to show you guys something when Alice and Carlisle come back."
The blonde blinked her eyes in surprise, her arms faltering from their stiff position.
"Um, sure." she answered before quickly disappearing from my sight. Seconds later, she had returned with my drawstring bag.
"How are you not screaming for your life? Even Jasper's gift has its limits." Rosalie frowned as I chuckled in response, taking my bag from her with a thankful smile.
"I'm not freaked out because vampire's aren't the worst thing I've had to deal with." I said before turning to Jasper's stiff form, tilting my head in curiosity.
"You have a gift too? How interesting." I smiled kindly at him, watching as the honey-blonde vampire's eyes widened in surprise, as if he had been expecting an entirely different reaction from me.
I looked around the kitchen one last time before shuffling into the hallway with my beverage and dragon-skin bag in hand. Emmett took the water bottle from me as soon as I squeezed past him.
"I'll come with you, you can see my video game collection since you're not running for the hills!" he chirped, leaving his family in the kitchen and following me towards the room where the family spent most of their time, the lounge.
"Vampires aren't the worst thing she's had to deal with?" Edward mumbled shortly after we left the kitchen.
I grinned before shouting, "Nope! And you probably won't like my life-story either!"
Emmett snickered at my response as we walk into the lounge, no doubt leaving the rest of them with dumbfounded expressions on their faces.
"Thank you for joining us, you two." I smiled as Carlisle and Alice as they appeared in the doorway of the lounge. Carlisle had a concerned look on his face, something I had come to understand was a regular thing for him, whereas Alice looked confused.
"How did you find out before I saw it?" she asked, a frown spoiling the usual youthful, cheery look on her face.
My dark eyebrows furrowed in confusion. What exactly did she mean?
"I'm sorry, I don't quite understand what you're getting at..."
Alice quickly took the spot to my right on the L-shaped sofa, whereas Jasper sat on my left. Carlisle had joined Esme on the loveseat, wrapping his arms around his wife lovingly.
"What Alice means is that why didn't she have a vision of you finding us out?" Rosalie clarified, holding hands with Emmett as she sat next to her parents.
My mouth opens in realisation.
"Oh, she can see the future!" I grinned, feeling proud of myself for figuring that one out. At the back of my mind though, I was beginning to wonder about Jasper's gift once again. So far, it seems that only him, Edward and Alice have extra abilities amongst their usual vampiric traits.
"Well, there's a simple reason for everything, I can assure you." I told them as I pick up the drawstring bag that had been resting on my lap and quickly opened it up. I watched with a smirk on my lips as I got the arrangement of different reactions I was hoping for when my whole left arm disappeared inside the bag.
"I need to get one of those!" Alice commented with something akin to glee on her face, and I quickly remembered the shopping trip we had arranged together, which led me to deciding whether or not to tell her that I could make us another one for when we go.
Only, the new bag would have to have a different shape and size because trying to get a whole new wardrobe of clothes inside this tiny bag would no doubt baffle the muggles.
"It's like you're Mary Poppins!" Emmett cheered with a grin on his pale face.
"You know, I've never thought about it like that before." I hummed in reply, feeling around for the thin, long wooden stick that rested inside the bag customised with the feather-light and undetectable extension charms.
"Aha!" I smiled as my fingertips brushed against the new wand I had gotten previously before leaving England. The wood was Black Walnut, whereas the core was still a phoenix feather. Though thankfully, it wasn't the same phoenix who had bestowed a piece of its plumage to my previous wand.
Both Edward and Emmett's mouths fell to the floor as I yanked the wand out from inside the bag, whereas Jasper had reeled back to avoid being hit in the face by my hand.
However, the look of sudden understanding from Carlisle's was my favourite reaction. It felt nice to know that he wasn't going to dislike me or fear me because of my ability to cast spells and make potions.
"I knew it! I told you all that she was a witch!" Emmett shouted, a look of victory quickly replacing the shock that had been on his face.
"So, that's how you blocked my vision. You have magic, which means you can do things humans can't..." trailed Alice as she observed my new wand. I gave her a small smile, silently apologising to her as I twisted the magical stick in my hands. It felt nice to be able to hold it again, and even better, I didn't have to hide my true self from around the Cullens, because they were supernatural creatures themselves.
"I think we have much to discuss," said Carlisle as Esme leaned her head onto his shoulder. I returned the brunette's sheepish smile with one of my own.
"And I have lots to tell you all," I told the patriarch. "But, it won't be pretty. That I can assure you."
"I think we can handle it." Rosalie commented, a look of relief having chased off the crestfallen one she wore before.
I shot her a smile, now realising why she had seemed so sad before. She and I were just beginning to get to know each other better, developing a friendship with one another, but then she feared things would change after I discovered their secret.
Lucky for her, I came from a supernatural world too.
I won't push this family, who had supported me and shown me their kindness, away just because they were different. I wasn't like the people who I had once called my best friends.
The Cullens may be vampires, but why should that change anything?
"We'll be different together," I thought with a smile playing on my lips. Shortly after, I took a deep breath and began telling them about the day Hagrid introduced me to magic.
Hopefully, I can get through this without breaking into tears.
A/N: Wow, Fixing The Cracks has 4,500+ views (as of August 2023)!? That's amazing, everyone! Thank you for your support, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Don't forget to review, or add this book to your library if you want to find out what happens in the next update! I love reading all of the notifications I get from you guys, so thanks again!
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