*amazing new trailer, created by _Brechje_ <3

CHAPTER THIRTY:

In the wake of Snape's life-changing visit, I called everyone to a family meeting which Esme had happily offered to host.

Seeing my family all gathered together was quite the sight; shortly after moving to Alaska, Esme had had to commission a table specially to fit us all. There were the Denalis— Tanya, Kate, Garret, Irina and Charlie Weasley; the Cullens— Edward and myself (EJ was currently with Leah, who'd offered to babysit and who I also considered family, along with her brother Seth), Alice, Jasper, Rosalie, Emmett, Esme, Carlisle, Bree and Fred; Luna and Draco; my dad and Qiang.

When Irina and Charlie (Weasley) married, we'd basically be officially related to the entire Weasley clan— including, when they got around to marrying their respective Weasleys, Hermione and Harry Potter— and when my dad and Qiang married, then Angela would officially be my relative too (and Katie, if she and Angela stayed together which I had no doubt they would).

As a single child (though from age eleven onwards, I'd always seen Luna as my "sib from another crib") it was honestly overwhelming to have such a huge immediate and extended family. But I loved it, I really, really did.

The whole family reunions were going to be spectacular.

"So why did you ask to meet us all?" Alice asked me curiously, twirling the end of her lilac silk scarf between her fingers. "I haven't Seen what this is about."

"Probably because I haven't exactly made any decisions about how to tell you all this yet." I admitted. "I, um... I don't really know where to even start."

"Oh shit, you're not pregnant again, are you?" Emmett asked, alarmed. "Edward! Seriously dude, it can't be that hard to use protection!"

"Oh shut up, Emmett," Edward groaned. "She's not pregnant..." He paused suddenly, glancing over at me with a sudden, dawning anxiety on his handsome face. "You're not, right?"

"No, I'm not," I said with a huff that came out weaker then I had intended it. "It's, um, well I had a visitor today, while Edward and EJ were out. Snape wanted to thank me—"

"Wait, that sentence doesn't make sense," Charlie Weasley interrupted, looking confused. "Snape doesn't thank people. He just glares at them a little less." He paused, then added, "Also, he's dead."

"Ah," I winced. "We, er, we'd better floo Hermione after this— she can explain it all, plus there's probably some confidentiality oaths you're going to have to make. But yeah, he's alive. Surprise?"

"Shit!" Charlie exclaimed, looking genuinely horrified. "He's like a cockroach, isn't he?"

"Or a really mean cat with too many lives left," I agreed fervently. "But anyway, he came to visit and say thank you— well, sort of; he didn't actually say it, but he... he definitely showed it through his actions. Here," I placed the pouch Snape had given me on the table, carefully pulling out one of the stoppered potion phials to place where everyone could see it.

Qiang leaned forwards curiously to get a closer look at the dark red liquid within the glass bottle. "I don't recognise that." She said, sounding surprised.

"You wouldn't— Snape said he created it," I explained. "Look, there's no easy way to say this, but... it's a cure."

"A cure?" Qiang asked, still examining the potion with a growing interest. "What for?"

I swallowed, not quite able to look at anyone.

"It's a cure for being a vampire."

There was a moment of dead silence and then everyone started talking at once in an explosion of noise so loud that I could barely make out any individual voices until Alice stood up on her chair. "Everybody SHUT UP!" She bellowed, her volume as impressive— and surprising— as ever, considering how tiny she was.

When everyone went silent, Alice nodded in satisfaction, sitting back down on her chair and folding her hands daintily across her lap. "Excellent." She said approvingly, before turning to me with an almost-amused expression on her face. "Bella, I think we need a more detailed explanation right now then 'it's a cure'."

"Fair enough," I agreed (though I had warned them I had no idea what to say), before attempting to do just that. I tried to remember as much of what Snape had told me about the cure as I could, considering the fact that most of it had gone straight over my head. Although most of what I was saying didn't really make any sense to me at all, a number of the vampires and Qiang all seemed to be able to follow along what I was saying and appeared to be fascinated and impressed.

After I finished explaining to the best of my abilities, there was a long moment of stunned silence that nobody seemed to know how to break. Eventually, I found myself speaking up almost without permission, twisting my hands together nervously in my lap. "I know immortality must be tempting—" I started to say, but was interrupted by Rosalie making a scornful noise.

"Only fools and cowards wish to live forever," she said fiercely, "I'm not afraid to be mortal— the sooner the better!"

"Perhaps we should all take some time to talk with our partners," Carlisle hastily suggested, before Rosalie could keep going on. Everyone agreed and though I first sought out my father, his nod and proud smile as he wrapped an arm around Qiang's shoulders convinced me he'd be fine without me and I turned to Edward, holding out my hand.

"Should we go to our house?" I asked him, speaking quietly despite knowing that every vampire in the room would be able to hear me— they were all probably too distracted to be paying us any attention anyway. "EJ's still with Leah, we'll have the privacy to talk."

"That sounds ideal," Edward agreed, slipping his icy hand in mine and I twisted on the spot, apparating us back to our living room. Edward immediately moved to sit down on one of the couches but I couldn't stay still and instead found myself pacing back and forth in front of him.

"I never wanted you to have to change for me!" I finally burst out when I couldn't hold it in any longer.

"Bella," my husband said gently, like he was the one comforting me— and maybe he was; I felt so choked up with emotion I was surprised I'd managed to speak at all. "You're not asking us to change for you, but to finally get to make the choice for ourselves— none of us chose to be vampires and a good number of us, in fact, would do anything to be human again."

Feeling slightly reassured, I sat down heavily beside him and reached out so I was clinging onto his icy marble-like hands with both my own soft, warm flesh and blood ones. "EJ," I whispered, not needing to elaborate any further, and Edward gently squeezed my hands, his face turning serious.

"Before we make any decisions, we'll ensure that the cure would be safe for him to use." He promised me and I nodded.

"I— I can get in touch with Hermione," I said, "she'll be able to contact Snape so he can tell us if it's safe."

"And if it is?" Edward asked softly and I leaned into him, letting him wrap the arm that I wasn't clinging onto like a limpet around my shoulders.

"I'll love you forever, no matter what you choose." I told him honestly and he chuckled, looking down at me with golden eyes filled with a love so strong it took my breath away.

"My silly Bella," he said, warm and fond, "I choose you. Always you."

I kissed him then; I couldn't help myself. Thankfully, Edward seemed to be on the same page as me because, in a move too fast for my brain to register until it was already over, he pulled me around so I was underneath him, stretched out along the couch as his lips consumed mine, our kiss evolving into something passionate, open-mouthed and heated, despite the coolness of his touch.

It didn't take us long to lose our clothes and the way we clung to each other with an edge of what was almost desperation in our movements reminded me of when we'd made love in the days leading up to the fight against Athenodora. There was that same edge of uncertainty, of vulnerability and fear for what the future held for us. But unlike then, as we rocked together there was also a sense of anticipation, of excitement and possibilities unfolding before us into something bright and beautiful and ours.

-

I reached out to Hermione who got back to me within a few days with both the supply of cure potions I'd ordered from Snape as well as the confirmation that the potion would work on EJ. Apparently, she explained, as the cure targeted the cells in a body that were 'vampiric' in nature, it would specifically target only the part-vampire half of EJ, turning them 'human'.

With that knowledge, there was no reason for us to wait any longer and nobody seemed inclined to put it off. Every single vampire member of my family, including my father, Garrett, Bree and Fred, had all decided to take the cure— and so had Peter and Charlotte, when Jasper reached out to them (I had the feeling there was going to have to be some sort of reconciliation between Peter, Charlotte and I in the future, considering their apparent closeness with Jasper and through him Alice, but I was firmly ignoring that right now and planned to continue to do so for as long as feasibly possible— despite popular opinion, I was very capable of holding grudges).

Despite the reassurances we'd been given, Edward still insisted on taking the cure before EJ did, just in case, and I agreed. We arranged for our son to stay with Leah for as long as it took for the cure to finish its work. Seth, with his new car licence (and brand new Audi, courtesy of Edward as a "gift" to his son's godfather— or that was his excuse anyway, but I knew Edward just liked buying horribly expensive cars), was planning on driving up to Alaska to spend the time with his sister and godson.

Curled up together in our bed, Edward leaned forwards to kiss me tenderly one final time with icy marble lips— and then he lifted the potion phial to his mouth and downed it with one swallow.

"Did it taste foul?" I asked, carefully aiming for casual despite the way my voice trembled slightly and I was unable stop myself from reaching out to grab hold of his hand, needing the touch to anchor myself.

Edward's eyelids were drooping slightly, almost like he was about to fall asleep, and it was very nearly terrifying to me, to see him doing something so unnatural for a vampire, but he still managed to reassure me, gently squeezing my hand with his as he sank down on our bed so he was laying horizontally instead of propped up against the headboard. "No," he murmured, "no, it didn't taste foul at all. It tasted like life."

-

The process of turning from vampire back to human was a gradual one that would stretch out over three days— fitting, I thought; it was almost poetic. The vampires became non-responsive within an hour, all of them falling into a coma-like state which Snape (through Hermione) assured us was completely normal and to be expected.

Apart from brief visits to EJ, who was enjoying spending time with "his Leah", I stayed with Edward, mostly sitting beside him in our bed with a book to pass the time and one of my hands wrapped tightly around his too-still one.

I could see the changes taking place, as gradual as they were, and as his skin softened under my touch, I could see his features start to soften too. He was still the most stunning man I'd ever laid eyes on, but his skin was naturally a light cream, not chalk-white, and his features weren't so sharply defined; less eye-catching, more human. My iced-over predator was melting; amber to sap, marble to clay, and I could only ever love him more for it, could only ever find him more beautiful. Even when he no longer resembled a god amongst mere mortals, he would still be one of the most glorious beings in the universe to me.

As three of the longest days of my life finally drew to a close, I curled up beside Edward, wrapping my arms around his warming form and resting my head against his chest, listening for a heartbeat.

And, for the first time in a hundred years, Edward's heart gave an unsteady but solid thump. 

A/N: Only the epilogue to go <3