3: November
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November 15th
Crack!
The sound, reminiscent of a bone breaking (she knew from personal experience what that sounded like), caught her attention in a way little had in six weeks, ever since- she stopped that thought before the shattered glass in her head could hurt her further.
Jacob had been talking about… something. He'd come over with Billy (who was somewhere in the house with Charlie) and immediately gravitated to her.
It was nothing against him - she was sure that it would have been an interesting topic had she bothered to listen. She just hadn't been paying attention to anyone the last few weeks.
When she'd dragged some concentration to the present moment, she realised they were sitting on the porch overlooking the back garden. Two male strangers, having appeared in midair, crashed to the ground in the middle of the garden. One seemed to be… biting the other.
Bella froze (she may not fear the Cullens, but that didn't extend to other vampires), hoping Jacob would have the sense not to talk.
They both appeared young, with the victim seeming to be the younger of the pair. Amazingly, he was putting up a fight, trying to jab a stick into his attacker.
She could have told him shoving a stake through a vampire's heart wouldn't kill them, but the vampire removed his mouth from his victim's neck, blood dripping from his fangs and the other's throat.
Bella only had a second to be envious of a vampire who could teleport before Jacob moved, causing one of the planks to creak and drawing its attention to them.
The vampire (who appeared slightly anaemic compared to the Cullens' corpse-pale skin) didn't run at vampiric speed towards them. He didn't even run at human speed. Instead, he staggered towards them like a drunk man she'd seen in Phoenix.
The foam around the vampire's mouth was even more concerning; it made her wonder if he was a vampire, or a man gone mad from rabies.
Jacob, bless him, moved to place himself in front of her, unintentionally blocking her view of the proceedings. After some manoeuvring on her part, she could see from around his waist.
Fwoosh!
Well, that answered that question, she thought; people afflicted with rabies don't spontaneously combust.
After a few seconds of waiting for something to happen, her new bodyguard crept forward until he was within reach of the pile of ashes, which were all that remained of the vampire. He poked it with his shoe, then poked again a few more times when nothing happened.
Only after confirming the vampire's death did he turn to her, confusion evident.
"What the hell WAS THAT?!" he half-shouted, half-whispered.
The victim, whom Bella had thought had fallen unconscious (or already died from lack of blood) in the garden, moved his hand until he had the stick pointed at Jacob. Hand wavering but managing to keep it pointed in the direction he wanted, he said something beginning with an "o" that caused a jet of light (1) to emerge from the stick!
It traversed the distance in a second, hitting Jacob before she had time to yell at him to move.
He blinked, shaking his head as he seemed to get lost in thought for a second. When his gaze fell on her, she was relieved that he didn't seem to suffer any harm. He hadn't fallen over, got sick or acted differently.
"Why are you looking at me like that?" His inquiry brought her attention back to the present.
"Like what?"
"Like… I don't know. Like you're expecting me to die. Why are we standing outside?"
She heard Charlie walk towards the door before she could ask if he was alright (the victim was still lying in the middle of the garden).
He stopped two steps out the door, gaze fixed on the unconscious stranger in the garden.
"Who is that?"
"I-"
"He staggered out of the forest a minute ago, then collapsed where he is now. He was clutching his neck. I think he's injured - there appeared to be blood on his hand. He could be a hiker who got lost," Jacob, usually a terrible liar, said without any sign indicating he wasn't telling the truth.
Bella turned, gawking. What was he saying!? He'd been less than a foot away from her when the two people appeared midair before them.
Then she considered that she'd never told Charlie that the Cullens were vampires.
In that case, it was probably best that Jacob had lied - Charlie would believe the Cullens were vampires and the man in the garden had appeared from thin air when everyone in Forks declared their collective wish to move to Antarctica.
They stepped off the porch and walked over to the (now) unconscious man. Up close, he looked startlingly young - she'd say he was twenty-one at most. He had messy black hair, glasses and was wearing a Christmas jumper. There was also a slight smell of alcohol off him.
The bite wound from the vampire had stopped bleeding, and, apart from his slow breaths, the young man was still.
Deathly still.
"Jacob, run inside and call the Doctor. Explain the situation to him, and ask him to come here as soon as possible. I'll bring him inside," Charlie ordered, lifting him up in a fireman's carry.
The stick, which had been clutched firmly in the stranger's hand, was dislodged when he was being lifted. It fell on the ground before them, and Charlie, who didn't see it fall, accidentally stepped on it, breaking it into splinters.
"Oh," he said, turning around when he heard the snap! and looking down, "I hope that wasn't of any sentimental value to him."
He brought the stranger inside, Bella following behind. She had a feeling that, if he survived the turn, he would be sad (at least) that it was broken.
"What's this now?" Billy asked, wheeling himself over as Charlie lay the man on the sofa.
"Currently, he's an injured John Doe who wandered out of the forest and collapsed in the garden," Charlie responded, looking down at the boy.
Billy leaned in closer, seeming to be particularly interested in the place where the vampire had bitten the boy.
"What's this? It looks like a bite of some sort."
"Maybe a snake?" she blurted out, silently cursing herself when everyone turned to her. "I mean, what else is in the area that could bite him?"
Billy looked at her suspiciously, his mouth opening to say something, but was interrupted.
"I called him," Jacob blurted as he entered the room, "He said he'll be here in less than half an hour and to wash the bite with soap and water. He also said to keep the area still, remove any jewellery and watch his breathing."
"There's nothing to do for the third step," Charlie muttered, still gazing down at the stranger, "Bella, get some soap and water to clean it. Jacob, sit by his head in case he moves his neck. I'll make everyone a drink while we wait - or, in some cases, another drink."
He went into the kitchen, and they could hear the sound of cups. The kettle boiled, the sound of liquid pouring, and, a short while later, Charlie returned holding two cups. He offloaded them to Jacob and her before retrieving another two for himself and Billy.
They sat around, slowly drinking from their cups. Every so often, they would look around the room, at each other, the stranger on the couch, each other again, and their cups before repeating the cycle.
It was a relief when there was a knock on the door. Jacob leapt up with a cry of "I'll get it!" (accidentally jostling the soon-to-be patient's neck in the process), returning seconds later with the Doctor in tow. Bella flinched slightly at the thought of Carlisle no longer filling the role.
"Chief," the doctor said, greeting Charlie before his attention turned to the stranger (whose breathing, now that she was listening carefully, had slowed).
She ignored the succession of questions asked and answers given, watching his face as he gently probed the bite, trying to identify the venom (not that he had a hope, of course. Still, he tried), and making noises of encouragement whenever someone stopped to collect their thoughts.
"Any medical history? Insurance number? Any form of identification?" the doctor (he'd introduced himself, but Bella had forgotten a minute later) pressed.
"Nothing - a regular John Doe wandering in from the forest," Charlie replied.
A minute later, he finished his examination, refused the offer of a drink, and sat back, thinking for a bit.
"Any ideas, Doc?" Billy inquired, gaze fixed avidly on the stranger - she had a horrible feeling that he may have known what had bitten the young man.
"If I had to guess, I'd say he was bit by a breed of snake I haven't seen before - though the unconsciousness is worrying me. With the state he's currently in, he'd receive better care if someone - you, perhaps? - was willing to watch over him, and call me if there are any changes. I know it's horrible, but," the doctor shrugged, "I'm afraid that's life."
"Is there anything that can be done for him?" Bella surprised herself by asking.
"Honestly - what you've been doing up until I came. Keep the bite clean and still, monitor his breathing, and wait for any changes. You have my number, Charlie, if he takes a turn for the better or worse, but I won't administer an antidote for a venom I can't identify. It might kill him as surely as a GSW."
"Wait until he dies or wakes up," Jacob summarised bitterly. The doctor nodded and shrugged, as if to say what else can I do?
Shortly after, Charlie saw the doctor out, murmuring thanks and goodbye.
Less than an hour later, when the door shut behind Billy and Jacob as they went home, Bella realised what she'd done.
She had become too used to being around the Cullens, still (despite Jasper's slip) considering them harmless.
It hit her then that not all vampires were like that - newborn vampires especially.
She'd just sentenced herself and her father (and possibly all of Forks) to die at the hands of a newborn vampire's bloodlust.
The stranger woke up three days later, still as a corpse and not making a sound for the entire duration. Thankfully for her curiosity, Bella was in the room at the time - Jacob was in the kitchen with Charlie, curious about the new person. He also seemed to have noticed she was out of the fugue-like state she had been in since…
She stopped that thought before the pain could rip her apart.
She expected to see a pair of gold, or even red, eyes when they opened. Instead, a pair of gorgeous, emerald green eyes blinked open.
"The vampire that bit you spontaneously combusted," she murmured quietly, thankful she had a few moments alone with the new vampire. Hopefully, he'd be able to answer her questions.
Before she could ask what he seemed to have done with Jacob's memories (she hadn't been able to find the word he'd muttered in her Spanish or English dictionaries and wondered what he'd done), the stranger spoke.
"Sorry for attempting to wipe your memories - I assumed you were a Muggle, so I only put that amount of magic into the spell. Would you mind telling me what happened after I Apparated here? Or even where "here" is?"
Charlie walked in before she could answer (or even form the words to ask what he meant), Jacob trailing behind.
"What's your name?" he asked.
The teen's attention switched from her to Charlie. He sighed, then moved his bangs, revealing… nothing.
She glanced confusedly over at Jacob, who also seemed perplexed.
"Congratulations - you have a forehead. Now, your name, please."
The stranger blinked.
"Harry - doesn't the scar answer your question?"
She leaned forward, wondering if the scar was bad enough to have survived his turning. It… almost had.
"You mean the faint zigzag?"
"F-faint!? What are… is there a mirror nearby?"
Charlie gestured behind him, towards the kitchen. Harry disappeared between one blink and the next, but a voice yelling "Merlin!" from the kitchen told them where he had gone.
"How did he do that?" Jacob asked, shocked at the speed at which the boy had moved: Charlie also looked confused. That exclamation reminded Bella that they were in the same house as a newborn vampire. She blinked - from the stories she'd heard from the Cullens, he should have already drank their blood and all of the townspeople's.
Instead, he was concerned about a scar that was now barely visible.
The teen walked back in, examining them. Bella scanned him in turn, spotting a few differences from the Cullens.
Apart from the eye colour, one significant difference was the effect of standing in direct sunlight. He wasn't lighting the room from the light refracting off his body.
He also looked slightly pale, rather than the almost corpse-white skin tone of the Cullens.
The biggest difference, however, was the apparent lack of bloodthirst.
"Where's my wand?"
"Erm… you dropped a stick when Charlie was carrying you inside, and he accidentally stepped on it, if that's what you meant."
He looked like he was going to cry at that news. Charlie looked apologetic - it seemed the stick had had sentimental value.
"I'm not in London," Harry stated after a minute.
Charlie slowly shook his head, still sorry for breaking something so important to him.
"You're in Forks, Washington. The western side of America?" he continued when the teen seemed confused.
"How in Merlin's beard did I get to America?" he muttered.
Jacob got that expression on his face when he was trying to figure something out.
"What date do you think it is?"
Harry blinked.
"December 24th? Or 25th?"
"It's November 18th," Charlie said, concerned. No one was surprised when the other cursed: he'd lost almost an entire year of his life.
"How's 1999 been so far?"
They blinked, but it was Bella who understood first.
"Today is November 18th, 2005."
(A.N:
(1) I know in the books, Obliviate has no colour (in the movies, it changes from director to director), but I'm keeping it as a jet of light to make it obvious to Bella that something has happened. I don't plan to use the spell again (though that may change), so this should be a once-off.