The Witch and Her Vampire

Five

TIME SKIP: Carina's P.O.V.
Today was my eleventh birthday, not to mention the day the Cullens would be moving away. It saddened me, to know that I may never see them again as I stared at the Hogwarts letter with furrowed brows. Harry clutched his tightly as well, a similar expression on his face.

Neither of us really wanted to go to Hogwarts, at least, not after finding out about what would happen should we go. Dad had explained this to us a year ago, on the day we shared our birthday party (since mine was so close to Harry's, on July 30th), that when we got our letters we would be found out, and the professors would come to take us away. From there, we would more than likely be placed in the care of Harry's horrible relatives, and Dad....he would be drug off to the wizard prison, Azkaban, for a crime he didn't commit.

"Pups," said Dad softly, placing a hand on both our shoulders. "I know this is going to be hard, but remember what I told you, alright? You have to be strong. We'll all be together again, I can promise you that. They'll be here any day now, and I don't want you to panic when it happens, alright?"

Silently, I nodded, sinking into a chair and staring at my hands, frowning.

"We know," answered Harry quietly instead, plopping into the seat beside me and peering up at my father through his fringe. "We can do it, Uncle Siri."

Dad quirked a smile at the familiar term, and patted him on the shoulder. "Good man. But—" His face grew serious. "—I need you two to promise me something." I continued to stare at my hands, and felt a weight on my shoulders—Harry had put his arm around them—but ignored it, while Harry looked at him expectantly. "Promise me that no matter what happens, you'll always stick together."

"I promise."

"Carina?" Dad turned to me now.

"I promise," I repeated, and Harry pulled me in for a side hug.

"Good." Dad gestured toward the door, smile back in place. "The Cullens are here to say goodbye."

I quickly pulled away from Harry and, in that moment, we locked eyes and had one of those silent conversations we had often. We had mastered the art of reading each other's expressions fairly well, not to mention the fact that we knew each other so well we could predict what the other was thinking.

I'm worried.

I know. He nudged me lightly. But it'll be alright.

I frowned at him. How can you be sure?

Harry poked me in the cheek. You've got me, duh.

I shook my head at him and rolled my eyes, before we went outside to meet the Cullens.

I was almost instantly snatched up by Emmett, who tossed me in the air and caught me easily. I let out a shriek and grabbed his arms. "EMMETT!!"

"Aw, come on, Car!" laughed Emmett, spinning me around. Without meaning to, I laughed too, and was passed off to Jasper, who looked mildly surprised, and glanced down at me.

"Nice to see you again, darlin'," greeted Jasper. "This is it, huh?"

"Yeah," I replied, shoulders slumping as I glanced over at Harry, who was chattering to Edward, before back to Jasper. Without thinking, I reached out and messed up his hair; it was always so perfect, and just once, I wanted to see it not be. "Uh...hehe...sorry."

He merely smiled at me, and I tried to fix his hair. It didn't work. At all. "It's alright." He chuckled. "Alice will have a field day with this later."

He placed me lightly on my feet, and Alice pulled me in for a tight hug.

"I'll miss you, Carina," Alice told me a bit sadly, before pulling away. "But, we'll see each other again someday."

She sounded so sure of that, and I really hoped so.

I came face to face with Edward next, and he held out a hand. We weren't as close as I was with the others, or like he and Harry were, but that didn't mean I wouldn't miss him. He gave me a crooked smile, hearing my thoughts, and pushed me forward.

Last was Rosalie.

The minute I saw her, a smile worked it's way onto my face; she always made everything better, just being around her made me feel great, and I never knew why.

Still, I was happy to see her, and rushed into her waiting arms. She scooped me up effortlessly—something I had been puzzled about a few times before, before I found out she and her family were vampires—and I wrapped my arms around her neck, burying my face in her hair.

"I don't want to go," I muttered, and her grip tightened in me.

"I know," Rosalie murmured back. "I don't want to, either, but it seems like we've both got to go."

I didn't want her to leave, and I definitely didn't want to leave Forks, my home, to travel to a different country. "We shouldn't have to."

Somehow, she knew I was talking about myself and Harry, too, and I pulled back to look at her as she gently brushed aside a stray lock of hair from my face. "No, you shouldn't. But, it seems, that's how your world is." I'd known Rose for a long time, so I could hear the anger in her voice. "If I could do anything to help, I would, Rina."

I met her gaze for a moment and relaxed, knowing she meant what she said. Rosalie would never lie to me, ever.

"I know." She smiled slightly. "This is where we go." She sighed, before placing me back on the ground, and pulling something out of her pocket. "This is for you. To...to know that even when I'm not there, I'll still be with you." I studied the necklace. It had a pendant on it, like the one Rosalie always wore with what she'd told me was the symbol for the Cullens on it. "Here—" She slipped it over my hair, and smiled softly at me. "—beautiful as ever."

I stared at the pendant for a second, before looking up at her, eyes suddenly filling with tears as I tried to smile back. "N-Never as beautiful as you, Rosie."

She pulled me in for another hug, holding me tightly, and I breathed in the familiar vanilla scent of her, trying so hard to memorize it and cherish this moment.

We stayed there for a minute or so before Dad came out of the house, and cleared his throat.

"They're almost here. You have to go." called Dad.

Regretfully, Rosalie took a step back, and she and her family disappeared.

I wanted her back.

I felt an ache in my chest, and turned to the door as men in cloaks—Aurors—appeared, and swarmed Dad, who surrendered without a fight. Over their shoulders, he mouthed to Harry and I, 'Stay together. Be strong."

Harry came to stand beside me, grabbing my hand. It was comforting, and I loved my brother for it, because right now, we needed each other more than ever.