CHAPTER EIGHTEEN:

Bella's POV:

We were all shaken by Hermione's news, and I couldn't help curling into Edward's side the best I could, wanting his protection.

"That poor girl," whispered Esme, looking at the spot where Hermione had disappeared. "That poor, poor girl."

"I knew she'd had it bad, that much was obvious... I just didn't realize this bad." Maggie looked troubled. Leah sighed, and exchanged a short glance with me.

"I did. Most of it, anyway."

"Me too." I say, softly. "Most of it. Not many of the finer details, though. And I didn't know about Lucius Malfoy."

"That son-of-a-bitch," Leah snarled, eyes flashing dangerously. "If he so much as looks at her I'm going to tear him limb from limb from limb!"

"You'll have to wait until I've finished with him," Esme said, darkly. I blinked at the gentle, motherly vampire, shocked. Leah's lips curled into a smile.

"I didn't know you had it in you, mama-bear," she said, and Esme, sweet, sweet, curled back her lips and let out a truly frightening snarl that raised the hairs up on my arms and the back of my neck.

"Nobody touches my children," she growled.
"No one dares to, mom." Emmett smiled over at her, though his smile was strained.

It was annoying, I decided, as all the vampires and the shifters turned to look left, out the window, suddenly, when you were the only one in the room without supernatural hearing and vision.

"What is it?" I ask, well, demand would probably be a better word.

"Howling," Edward tells me, his eyes, now a buttery gold once more, narrowed, "about three miles out."

"I told you Sam wanted to speak to Jake." Leah says with a shrug. Jacob lets out a sigh, and hauls himself to his feet. He looks better rested after his sleep, and more sad then angry, though I'm not sure if that's really an improvement.

"We should go," he states. I frown, worried.
"Are you sure it's safe?"
"They won't attack us," Jacob assures me, with another tired smile. "Are you sure?" I ask, doubtfully, and he nods.

"I wouldn't go if I wasn't." Seeing my dubious look, he sighs, and a small bit of humor crosses his face as he strides over to me and holds out his pinky. "I pinky promise." I can't help my own smile as I reach up and hook my pinky with his.

"Good."

"Should we come?" Seth asks, looking worried. Jacob looks like he's deliberating for a few moments, before he nods.

"You and Leah being there won't hurt," he decides. Seth looks relieved, and he basically trots after Jacob as my best friend heads out the door. Leah lopes out after them, slower and unenthusiastic.

"Are you comfortable, love?" Edward asks me, suddenly, distracting me from peering out the door after them worriedly, gnawing anxiously on my lip.

"Yes," I say, a little too quickly. He gives me a look, as does about half the room, and I sigh, sheepishly. "Um... I could do with another blanket."

"That wasn't that hard now, was it?" he teases me, gently, brushing my hair away from my face as Esme darts upstairs, returning with several heavy quilts. I gratefully accept them, not realizing just how cold I really was until the heavy wool was swaddled around me.

"It must have been very hard for you," Maggie speaks up, a sympathetic expression on her face. "What?" I ask, frowning.

"When Hermione told you she couldn't contact you. That she was probably going to..." Maggie trails off, not seeming to want to finish her sentence, so I finish it for her.

"Die? It was one of the worst days of my life." I half-whisper.

"When exactly was it?" Edward's face is creased in his upset.

"I was fifteen."

"She mentioned something about her adoptive parents," Carlisle suddenly speaks up. I'm not sure if he's honestly curious, or just trying to provide a distraction, but either way I'm relieved.

"I didn't know this until around a month ago, but she wiped herself from their memories," I tell him. His eyes gleam.

"Why? With magic? How does that work?" he rapid-fired questions, and I couldn't help a slight smile.

"Yes, she used magic, no I don't know how it works and she did it to keep them safe from Voldemort," I explain. "They think they're Wendell and Monica Wilkins. They have no memory of being Mr. and Mrs. Granger and no memory of Hermione. They're not dead, but Hermione's parents are gone."

"Oh, the poor dear," Esme says, face creased in sorrow, "and there's no way for Hermione to undo the enchantment?"

"No," I tell her. "But... they weren't amazing parents. I mean, I think they did love her, in their own way, but they... they treated her like fine china; that is, they avoided too much physical or emotional contact."

"That can't have been easy for Hermione," Rosalie said, her beautiful face both solemn and angry.

"No," I sighed, "it certainly... shaped her. She's not as trusting. She doesn't open up easily, but when she does, she gives everything she has."

"She's a wonderful girl." Esme agrees. I open my mouth to agree when the sound of the front door startles me. Edward lays a calming hand over my own and gives me an assuring look.

"It's just Jacob, Seth and Leah." He says, and I let out a quick sigh of relief, and I can't help the smile that stretches over my face as Jacob walks into the room. I survey him quickly- he looks sad still, and strained, but otherwise uninjured.

"How did it go?" I ask.
"They just wanted to talk," he mumbles, "no attack on the horizon." "Yes," Edward agrees. "I heard most of it." Jacob frowns.
"How?" he demands.

"I'm hearing you more clearly now- it's a matter of familiarity and concentration. Also, your thoughts are slightly easier to pick up when you're in your human form. So I caught most of what passed out there." He explains. Jacob looks a bit put out, but he covers it the best he can.

"Good. I hate repeating myself." He grumbles. It's at that moment that his stomach lets out a truly enormous growl, and I can't help my giggle as two red spots appear high up on his cheekbones. "Shut it, Bells," he scowls. I just laugh harder.

"There's some left over pasta from last night in the kitchen," Esme offers, "I can go get it, if you'd like?"

"Nah," Jacob shakes his head, "I can go get it. Thanks." He tacks on at the end, slightly uncomfortably, before heading out of the room.

"Do you believe her?" Leah asks, suddenly, and I turn to face her, confused.

"Huh?"

"Hermione. Do you believe her when she says it's nothing to worry about?" Leah expands, looking slightly annoyed that she has to do so. I refuse to let her abrasive personality annoy me, and instead worry about what she's just said.

"Not really," I finally decide. "She's very good at understating things, but... when I told her about Victoria, she was fine. Wasn't worried in the slightest. But she was worried, before. Maybe even scared."

"She hid her feelings well," Jasper agrees, in his deep voice, "She always does. But strong emotions leak through, and," he pauses, looking uncomfortable, "she was scared."

"Crap," I whisper. And then all the vampires and shape shifters are turning again, this time to face the doorway. "What is it?" I ask, confused, but they don't have to answer, because the car peeling down the driveway is suddenly in my hearing range, and then the engine cuts. "Who is it?" I amend my previous question.

"Alice," Edward murmurs quietly, as the front door flies open. "And she's... upset." "Did something happen to Hermione?" I gasp, horrified.

"I'm going to kill her, that's what!" Alice just about shouts as she storms into the living room, in a blur of white and black. "Of all the stupid, idiotic- why the hell would she go there now?"

"What happened?" I demand, voice verging on shrill.

"Hermione went to England, that's what happened!" Alice seethed, "Harry and Ginny came over and told her that Narcissa and Draco Malfoy are dead, and she made Harry take her to the crime scene!"

"What?" I gasp, "Draco's dead?" Images flash through my mind of the pale, weary young man I saw outside Flourish and Blotts, that time Hermione took me to Diagon Alley. Hermione had refused to talk to him, and the last I remember is the defeated expression on his face as he watched us walk away. And now he was dead.

"Lucius' children?" Carlisle guesses, face grave.
"Wife and child," I mumble, feeling dazed. Leah's sharp voice cuts through my thoughts.

"Hermione went to England? Right when that psychopath's hunting her?" she asks, incredulously. "I thought she was supposed to be the fucking brightest witch of her age!" I gasp in horror, that idea having not struck me until now.

"Language," Esme scolds Leah, half-heartedly. Leah gives her an apologetic look- out of all the Cullens, Esme is easily the one Leah's most fond of. Especially after the time she spent recuperating here, after almost been disemboweled by a newborn vampire.

"Sorry Mrs. C," she says, before turning back to Alice, expression worried. "What else do you know?"

"She didn't give me much time to act," Alice admits, still pacing back and forth. "She asked Harry to

take her- well, ordered him more like, apologized to me, and then they disappeared. Ginny stayed for a few minutes to apologize for the both of them, before disappearing too."

"How bad is it?" Leah demands, "and don't fu-freaking sugar coat it," she quickly amends, shooting Esme another apologetic look, "I want the truth."

"Bad. She's had two panic attacks." "Shit," Leah mutters, "that's not good."

I wondered if I looked as horrified as I felt. The last time I remembered Hermione having a panic attack was the night she told me about Bellatrix torturing her, though she'd probably had some since that she hadn't told me about.

I opened my mouth to ask Alice for more information, when a horribly familiar sharp pain had me gasping. It didn't hurt as much this time, I noted, as I curled up over the bulge in the center of my body. Whatever potions I'd been given definitely helped, but they didn't change the fact that my little nudger had just broken another of my ribs.

"Bella?" Someone was asking, frantically.
"Give me a second, guys," I panted.
"Bella, I heard something crack," Carlisle said, his voice sounding anxious, "I need to take a look."

"Pretty sure" – pant –"it was a rib. Ow. Yep. Right here." I grimace as I uncurl slightly, pointing to my left side, careful not to touch. I chanced a quick look up at the faces around me, and tried not to cringe at the varying expressions of sympathy, horror and anger.

"Do we have any way to contact one of Hermione's friends?" Edward asked, hovering anxiously.

"The Wizarding World is old-fashioned," Alice answers for me, her face grimmer then before. "Hermione's the only person I know who has a phone, and hers is turned off."

"Then I need to take an X-ray," Carlisle said, his voice calm now, "there might be splinters. We don't want it to puncture anything." I took a deep breath, then winced- big mistake.

"Okay." I agreed. Edward lifted me gently, and carried me swiftly up the staircase to Carlisle's office.

I was right, it was one of my left ribs that my little nudger had broken, but there were no splinters, so Carlisle taped my rib up nice and tight and left it at that.

Alice was still pacing downstairs when we returned, conversing with Leah in low, terse whispers, and I eyed them suspiciously as Edward gently placed me on the couch, back where I was sitting before. "Are you hungry? Or Thirsty?" he asked. I hesitated, taking my attention off the two for a second, before replying.

"A bit... Thirsty." I admit.

"I'll go get something," he murmurs, dropping a kiss on my forehead, before vanishing into the kitchen.

"Any updates?" I ask Alice and Leah, hopefully. Alice shakes her head and Leah shoots me a look that clearly states 'does it look like we've had any updates?' and I had to concede with her there.

I bite my lip, and try to convince myself that no news is good news. Needless to say, I fail. Edward returns and places the plastic cup with the lid and the bendy straw in my hands, and I drink quickly, unable to enjoy the wondrous flavor when I'm so anxious.

"She'll be fine, love. She's Hermione." Edward murmurs.

"She's been through way more dangerous situations," Leah adds, though more for herself, then for me.

"I don't know if that really helps, Lee," Seth notes, seeing both Alice and I stiffen.

"What? It's true. She has and she's still alive and kicking so this'll be a piece of fucking cake." Leah snaps.

"That's... equal parts horrifying and oddly comforting." Alice says, after a short pause.

And then there's a loud crack, and Hermione appears, face drawn, eyes red-rimmed and swollen. I open my mouth to say something, maybe to yell or maybe to just demand she come over so I can hug her, but then Alice grabs her arm and drags her away, upstairs.

There's a short pause, and Leah breaks the silence. "Well, they won't be leaving the bedroom for hours. Gotta love make-up sex."

I go bright red.