CHAPTER THREE:
Bella's POV:
I hugged Hermione, tight, and she rests her head against my shoulder. I can feel how tense she is, and I rub soothing circles on her back. She looks so different, since the last time I saw her. I mean, she looked worried, drawn, but there was determination in her eyes, fiery passion and courage. This Hermione... this Hermione is haunted. Her eyes, they're so blank, and her body looks so much more... Thin. Unhealthy. Too pale. She holds herself hunched, like she's either making a smaller target or she's ready to spring forward into action- or both. And she keeps touching her left forearm, a habit I knew that she didn't have before.
Edward and Hermione seem very wary of each other, almost. Edward, after her reaction before, and Hermione because... well, I suppose because he's a vampire. I don't know what sort of experiences she's had with vampires before, but she seems tightly-wound with him so close to her.
Hermione is different. Something has happened to her, something big. I've studied wars, back in history, several years ago. I know how it affects the survivors, those who fought and those who feared. Hermione was involved in the war, I always knew that, but now I was wondering just how deep that involvement was, just what had happened to her since the last time I'd seen her, three long years ago.
"I think I need to sleep a bit," Hermione speaks up, pulling away from me. She's not meeting my eyes, and I chew my lip.
"Okay," I say, not pushing her while Edward's in the room. We will talk, but not now. I kiss her cheek, before stepping over to Edward, twining my fingers with his icy ones, and leaving her room, gently shutting the door behind me. Edward waits until we're in my room before massaging his temples, a pained look flashing across his face.
"Are you alright?" I ask him.
"I think she just gave me the first headache I've experienced since my heart stopped beating." He was, wryly. I give a weak sort of smile.
"She seems to share my Gift. Except hers seems... more controlled."
Edward gives a rueful smile. "Yes, you could say that." I flop down on my bed, and Edward lets himself be dragged down next to me by our still joined hands. I press my lips against his and passion, sweet passion, ignites fires of desire inside me. His cool, sweet breath makes me want more, and the usual disappointment flows through me when he breaks away all too soon, as usual. I pout at him, and he laughs softly, kissing my nose, before his expression turns all too serious.
"Be careful tonight Bella," he warns, "if anything happens," he grimaces, shutting his eyes briefly, as if the mere thought is too painful to comprehend. "Be careful." He repeats, and I lean forwards, giving him a chaste kiss.
"Of course I'll be safe," I tell him, before snuggling next to him, prepared to enjoy the time we have before 'visiting hours' are up.
-
At a quarter to seven, fifteen minutes after Edward was sent away by Charlie, I go knock on Hermione's bedroom door, and she opens it, rubbing her eyes. "Dinner time?" She yawns.
"Yep, we're going over to the reservation." I tell her, unable to help the excitement in my voice. I haven't seen Jake since the motorbike incident, thanks to Edward's over-protectiveness, and my annoyance and frustration with him is outweighed by how much I miss seeing my best friend.
"Off to feast with the shifters." Hermione says, thoughtfully, and I frown slightly.
"Shifters?"
"Well they're not werewolves," she says, amused. "Werewolves only turn under the full moon, and when they do, they lose their minds. Also, werewolves don't look like wolves- they look sort of like a mix between a human and one of those wargs, from the Lord of the Rings movies."
My lips twitch in amusement at her reference to the movie we'd watched together, after she'd made me read the entire book series, of course- 'The Hobbit' too, of course.
I thought about what she said, about the Pack not actually being werewolves. "So they're shifters, then?" I ask her, "what does that mean?"
"It's sort of like the animagus transformation," Hermione explains, "a latent gene that's passed through generations. Usually, it wouldn't amount to anything, as the descendants move away the chances of inheriting the gene from both parents, which is how the ability to shape-shift becomes a possibility, diminishes significantly, but in cases like the Quileute's, where there's a smaller population pool that's mostly stayed together, the chances of someone being passed along the gene from each parent is much higher. It's then the proximity to vampires that's activated the dormant ability, the brain's natural reaction to a perceived predator."
"That's... wow." I tell her, and she smiles. I snicker softly, thinking about how the Pack would react if they knew they weren't actually bona fide werewolves.
Hermione pulls on her coat and laces up her shoes before following me down to where Charlie is waiting, looking even more excited then me. "Let's go!" He says, rubbing his stomach in anticipation. I can't help but laugh as we follow him out to his cruiser. Hermione is quiet, next to me, and I reach across and grab her hand, squeezing it. Physical proximity to her is... amazing, and I can't get enough of it, not unlike how after the months apart, Edward and I barely left each other's sides.
The drive to the rez consists of Charlie singing along to the radio, with Hermione and I wincing every time he hit a note off-key. Which was frequent. When the cruiser pulled up outside Jake's house, I just about tripped out of the car in my eagerness to see my best friend and my excitement in introducing him to my other half.
Jake bounded out of the house and met me halfway, scooping me up into his arms and spinning me around. I laugh, and soak in his searing heat, resting my cheek against his chest. "I missed you." I tell him.
He smiles, and wrinkles his nose slightly. "I miss you too, even though you stink." He teases before freezing. I turn to see Hermione has just stepped out of the car, and I can't help but giggle slightly at the dumbfounded expression on Jacob's face. Like I said, Hermione and I aren't identical, but we are still very obviously related.
"Who... who is that?" Jacob asks, visibly shocked.
"Right," I say, wondering the best way to break the news, "er Jake, this is my twin sister. Hermione."
Hermione's smile for Jake is stiff but genuine enough, and she holds her hand out. Jacob is still frozen, though, gaping at her.
"Maybe you should explain before he has a heart attack," she says, amused, her thick British accent rolling over us, her hand dropping back to her side.
"Right," I say, sheepishly. "Well, like I said, Hermione is my twin, but when we were born Renée gave Hermione up for adoption." I explain. I hesitate slightly, before using the same story Hermione had given Charlie, back when she'd first had to cut all contact with us- after all, she couldn't exactly tell him that she had to protect us from an evil mass-murdering wizard who wanted her dead and to take over Wizarding Britain. It was also the story I'd given Edward, so it would be easier to stick with the same lie, even in the unlikely event he and Jake actually shared a conversation not to do with me or the treaty- or both. And it wasn't even a lie, not really. Just a highly edited, very shortened version of the truth. "She had to go into witness protection, three years ago." I tell him. "Before that, though, we were quite close, even though she lived in England."
Jacob finally manages to close his jaw, even as he stares wide-eyed at Hermione. "Okay, wow. Just... wow." He mumbles, shaking his head, as if clearing water out of his ears. I can't help my laughter, and he shoots me a look of mock-betrayal before reaching out to finally shake Hermione's hand. Hermione doesn't immediately startle at the warm temperature, like most people, and I realize there's something else I have to tell him.
"Um, Hermione sort of... knows. About everything." I say, resisting the urge to cringe. Jake goes wide-eyed, and stares at Hermione anxiously.
"She knows... everything?" he asks, carefully. Hermione gives a sort of half-shrug.
"Don't panic, your secret is safe with me."
"Hermione and I don't keep secrets." I tell him, firmly, even as my eyes flicker over to Hermione's. My message is as much for her as it is for Jacob. We don't keep secrets from each other, we never have.
Hermione doesn't meet my eye.
"So you're not freaked out?" Jacob asks, and Hermione just smiles.
"I've seen and heard stranger things." She says, dryly, and Jacob visibly relaxes, even as his eyes light up in curiosity at her words- what's stranger then a guy exploding into a wolf? I can practically hear him think.
"Time to get going?" Charlie asks, meandering over to us, Billy by his side in the wheelchair. Billy stares at Hermione- I don't think he can help it- but maybe Charlie has mentioned her before, or maybe he remembers seeing her before, years and years ago, so he's not as mind-blown as Jacob still appears to be.
"My name's Billy." He introduces himself to her, and Hermione smiles at him.
"Hermione, though I'm guessing you know that now." He chuckles.
"Believe me, it won't be long until everyone knows that." He tells her, "big news in a small town." Hermione pulls a face, even as Jacob excitedly leads Hermione and I over to his restored car.
"So where are we going?" Hermione asks me.
"Emily's house, I think." I tell her, "There's probably going to be a bonfire." I add, after a moment's thought.
Hermione and I squish up next to each other in the passenger seat, Hermione mostly on my lap, much to both of our amusement, and Charlie groans and closes his eyes. "I saw nothing, I saw nothing, you definitely aren't breaking multiple road and vehicular safety laws." He mutters, turning away. I laugh at my police-officer father's antics.
Jacob starts the engine and drives several miles over the speed limit through the rez. Hermione stares out the window at the passing scenery, only half visible as the world has started darkening around us, the sun sinking down to the horizon. I notice the way she's absently rubbing her left forearm, almost as if she doesn't even notice she's doing it. It reminds me of the way I rub my bite-mark from James when I'm stressed; a nervous habit I've picked up over the last year.
The last time I saw her, she would tug her fingers through her hair when she was stressed- we used to joke that's why it was always so messy. This is a new habit, and it makes me wonder what sort of memory, or worse, what sort of scar, could be hidden under the material.
"So, you lived in England?" Jacob asks Hermione.
"Yes, but I went to boarding school in Scotland." She tells him.
"Really? What school?" He asks.
"The Maccallion Academy." Hermione lies, smoothly, as we pull up outside Emily's house. I have no doubt that it's a real school Hermione's looked up just in case someone ever asks her about it.
"Cool." Jacob grins.
We pull up outside Emily's house, where there are already a handful of cars parked. I've always liked Emily's house- it's a tiny place, with a wall that probably had once been gray. There was only one narrow window beside the weathered blue door, but the window box under it was filled with bright orange and yellow marigolds, giving the whole place a cheerful look. It screamed Emily.
An extremely beautiful young woman, with exotic good looks, glossy black hair and satiny copper skin stepped out the front door and waved at the car, a bright smile on her face, permanently scarred from hairline to chin by three thick, red lines, vivid in color though they were long healed. Hermione didn't even flinch at the sight of them, didn't even blink even though I'd forgotten to warn her, as she stepped out of the car.
"Hello Bel-" Emily went to greet her, before I stepped out of the car too, and her eyes widened comically. "Oh." She said, staring at Hermione, wide-eyed. "Oh!"
"Hello, I'm Hermione," Hermione introduced herself, holding out her hand. Emily was startled into motion, and a light blush covered her cheeks.
"I'm Emily." She said, almost shyly.
"Hey Em!" Jake greeted her, bounding over to greet her.
"Um.... can I ask... how?" Emily half-stammered, still gazing wide-eyed at Hermione.
"Of course, Emily, but is it okay if we tell you when everyone's here? You know, so we only have to say it once?" I ask, and Emily nods at once.
"Of course!" She said, before she opened her front door, ushering us inside, as the cruiser pulled up with Charlie and Billy.
Hermione walked with a quiet confidence next to me, not seeming bothered by the wide-eyed stares she received as we walked into the backyard, where all the La Push shifters were crammed around a bonfire. Her fingers drifted near her pocket, I noticed, and I held back a grin, confident that her wand was hidden in her pocket. So maybe she wasn't as nonchalant to the stares as she looked.
Sam stood up, and stepped towards us, curiosity and a slight hostility clear on his face. "I'm Sam Uley," he introduced himself, in his deep voice. "Who are you?"
"Hermione Granger-Swan." Hermione introduced herself, smoothly, and my heart skipped a bit as she added a hyphened 'Swan' to the end of her name.
"She's my twin sister." I explain to Sam, awkwardly, knowing all the wolves are listening. "It's a long story, but she was given up for adoption when we were born, and we didn't meet each other until we were eight. She lives in England."
Sam looks less hostile now, and I can't help but morbidly wonder how quickly that hostility will return when he figures out Hermione knows The Secret...
"It's nice to meet you Hermione." He says, a small but genuine smile on his face. Hermione smiles back.
"Yes, it's nice to meet everyone Bella's told me so much about." She says, her thick British accent causing the currently unattached via imprinting teenage boys in the room to swoon.
The wolves basically line up to introduce themselves, and then we all settle down in front of the bonfire, Hermione on one side of me, Jake on the other, ready for what the night brings.