CHAPTER TEN:

Hermione's POV:

The enchanted diaries are so much more discrete then an owl- or a mobile phone, for that matter. It doesn't take much effort to scrawl out a quick note to Harry during Calculus, with an update and a request that will save me having to return to England so soon.

Harry,

The people in this town, the high school in particular, seem to have nothing better to do then gawp at the new girl! Honestly, it's like being back at Hogwarts!

Other then that, my first class has been quite enjoyable. I've kept fairly up to date with Calculus through my study by correspondence, as well as work I've done in Arithmancy, but it's still fascinating and informative learning in a classroom setting.

I know, I know, you most likely skimmed through that, but I admit this second part is a touch awkward to write.

I may not have exactly passed on some information I became aware of before leaving for Forks. My sister is mates with a vampire. And now it turns out she's got an angry vampire hunting her. It's a long story, but basically I was wondering whether you could send me all the books in the Black library at Grimauld Place on warding and vampires.

Don't panic and don't worry; I'm not in danger. I promise I'll tell you if I think I am- Gryffindor's honour.

I'm also thinking of visiting this weekend, and I think I'll bring Bella with me. She's begging to meet you all, after I've told her so much about everyone.

I love and miss you, all of you.

All my love,

Hermione

-

-

As I walked into the English classroom, every single eye in the room was immediately turned to me, and stunned expression son everyone's face, including the teacher's- I wasn't sure if it was because I was new, I looked similar to Bella, or because my arm was still linked around Alice's, one of the exclusive, unapproachable Cullens.

Resisting the urge to sigh, I nodded my thanks to Alice, and crossed over to the front of my room. I held my pink slip of paper out in front of the teacher and smiled at him, with as much warmth as I could muster. "Hi, I'm Hermione Granger-Swan," I introduced myself, "Ms. Cope requested I get all my teachers to sign this." The teacher shook away his shock, and smiled at me.

"Ah, yes... the newest Swan girl." He said, and he plucked the slip out of my hand, "I'll return this at the end of the lesson," he explained, before giving me a polite smile, "Welcome to Forks, Hermione. I'm Mr. Varner."

"Nice to meet you." I responded, automatically, unable to help my teacher's pet ways.

"Why don't you stand up the front and introduce yourself to the class." Mr. Varner suggested. Nodding, I walked to the front of the classroom and attempted a polite smile at the students all eyeing me with unabashed curiosity.

"Hello, I'm Hermione, Bella's sister." I introduced myself, "I've lived in London for most of my life, but I've transferred here to Forks for my last semester of high school."

"Why?" demanded one of the girls, a bleached blonde in the middle row. I bit back my annoyance- of course everyone was thinking that, but most people were courteous enough to not demand my life's story from me. There was always one, though, I supposed.

"Family matters." I tell the nosy girl, "private ones, I'm afraid." Turning my back on the class, in a clear dismissal of any follow-up questions, I face the teacher again. "May I sit down now, sir?" I ask, politely, and he nods.

"Of course. Why don't you sit next to Ms. Cullen, as you two seem to already be acquainted." He suggests. Alice is seated on the far left of the third row, and there are two free seats on her right, where nobody else has dared to sit.

She smiles at me as I take the seat, directly by her side, and whispers, "You did much better then Bella on her first day- she was as red as a tomato!" I hide my smile as Mr. Varner starts his lecture, pulling out a notebook and pen. It felt strange using all modern stationary, instead of parchment and a quill, I mused.

"That doesn't surprise me." I murmur, quietly, knowing that Alice can hear me just as well as if I was shouting at the top of my lungs. "I'm used to talking to crowds." I add.

"You become more and more mysterious every time we talk." Teases Alice softly, even as her eyes shine with curiosity. I hide another smile.

"How else am I supposed to keep you interested?" I return, playfully, and her eyes seem to glow for a second.

"Believe me, you don't need mystery to keep me interested." She says, in a low voice, and I resist the urge to swallow, as I stare into Alice's darkening eyes.

This... this was new.

"Ms. Granger-Swan, Ms. Cullen, something you want to share with the rest of the class?" Mr. Varner suddenly asks, sharply, and I spin my head to the front of the classroom, to see Mr. Varner frowning at me.

"I'm sorry, sir, Alice was just helping me with one of the theorems," I explain, "I haven't covered all of this at my old school." Beside me, Alice nods, her face the picture of innocence, nothing like the smoldering look she gave me before.

"Next time just raise your hand." Mr. Varner says, satisfied with the answer, before continuing with his lecture. I give her another smile, but I don't speak to Alice for the rest of the class, and just concentrate on my work.

Calculus was similar to Arithmancy, in many ways, and I found myself enjoying the work, much to my pleasure. When the bell rang, Alice smiled at me as we gathered up  our things.

"Ready for biology?" She chimes, and I give her a questioning look.

"Did you copy my schedule?" I ask, only half joking, and Alice winks.

"Oh, I'll never tell."

I bit back a grin as she glided across the room and hitched my bag over my shoulder to walk after her. After collecting the pink slip, I followed her out of the classroom. I didn't really need her as a tour guide- after six years of having to navigate my way around Hogwarts, a high school as small as Forks High is more then simple enough, but I'm finding myself enjoying her company too much to say so, and she scares away the overeager students who keep trying to approach me.

Mr. Banner, unlike Mr. Varner, doesn't try to get me to introduce myself at the start of the class, instead just quickly signing my form and shooting me a warm smile. "If you're anything like your sister, you'll be fine in this class." He told me, and, just like Mr. Varner, sent me to sit next to Alice.

"Are you partnerless in every class?" I ask her, as we set out our notes. She shrugs.

"Nobody wants to sit next to us scary Cullens." She says, and I laugh.

"If only they knew."

-

The class is a Practical, giving us plenty of time to chat. "Can I ask you a question?" Alice asks, as she sets up the microscope, while I collect the slides.

"You're determined to know all my secrets, aren't you?" I half-tease, smiling.

"And what sort of secrets does someone as proper and British as you have hidden in your closet?" Alice wiggles her eyebrows.

"Oh, you know, standard stuff; bank robbery, government infiltration, identity theft." I respond airily, and Alice giggles, the thought that everything I just said being true not even crossing her mind.

"So, assuming that's a yes and I can ask a question... what were your parents like?" she asks, somewhat shyly, peeking up at me from under her lashes. I stiffen slightly, and then sigh, relaxing my body.

"Well, if I'm spilling out my life to you, how about we make this more equal?" I suggest to her, and her eyes shine with curiosity.

"What do you mean?" she asks.

"For every question you ask, I get to ask you one." I tell her, and she smiles.

"Okay, deal. So what were your parents like?" she repeats.

"I miss them," I admit to her, "I mean, they weren't the best parents in the world, they were busy people, and were never around a lot, but they were my parents and I loved them. What about your parents?" Alice chewed on her bottom lip, which was adorable, I have to say.

"I don't remember anything from my human life," she says, "so I don't remember my parents. All I know is what I could find from birth records and death certificates. I know my mum's name was Emma, and my dad's name was David. I know that David had Emma killed, so I don't think I would have liked him very much, and I know that he had me admitted into an asylum. I was Turned by a vampire who worked there." Alice's face is heartbreakingly sad for half a second, before it clears as if it was never there. "Have you ever dated a guy?" she asks.

"Oh, yes, Viktor." I tell her, "I was fourteen at the time, and kind of... I guess you could call it 'experimenting'."

"Did you sleep with him?" Alice asks, curiously.

"No, we didn't go all the way," I admit, my cheeks flushing as I feel my face heat up slightly, "I mean, we did do some... exploration, but it felt wrong." The corners of my mouth turned down slightly at the memory, before curving back into a smile as I realize something, "That's two questions, Miss Cullen- I suppose I get to ask two questions now too." Alice laughs, her topaz eyes bright and merry.

"That certainly seems fair."

"Have you ever been intimate with someone?" I ask, and she shakes her head.

"I've never even kissed someone. Well, not that I'm aware of anyway- I don't remember any of my human life."

"Nobody ever?" I ask, genuinely surprised.

"I've been waiting for my soul-mate." Alice explains, "I want my first time to be with the person I'm going to spend forever with."

"That's... that's actually really sweet." I tell her, feeling a little emotional from her statement. "Okay, my second question... what's your favorite color?" Alice shoots me an amused look.

"Really?" I shrug, a smile playing on my lips.

"Too much seriousness in one go." I tell her, and Alice grins.

"Okay. Indigo. What about you?"

"Red." I say, "or gold." What can I say? I'm a Gryffindor, through and through.

Our traded questions continue through the rest of the class, and goes on through the next one. I learn that Alice loves to paint and to star gaze, that she loves squirrel blood best, even though there's only a mouthful, and that she loathes the game chess. In return she learns that my favorite food is practically anything French, my hobbies mostly include reading, reading and more reading, and that I'm also not a chess fan.

-

On our way to the cafeteria, I ask what her favorite pass time is. Her answer is enthusiastic.

"Definitely shopping!" She beams.

"I like shopping too," I smile at her. Alice actually squeals in excitement.

"I'll take you shopping!" She beams, bouncing up and down on her heels, "I'd love to! When can you go? When do you want to go? Where do you want to go? Which shops shall we go to first?" I laugh.

"Slow down! I'm busy over the weekend, but maybe Friday afternoon?" Alice's face shines.

"We can go up to Port Angeles, and afterwards we can catch a movie or something!" She says, enthusiastically, as we line up in the cafeteria. I end up purchasing a pasta salad and orange juice, while Alice just grabs an apple that will end up in the bin.

We find a table near the back, Alice's usual table I'm guessing, as the other students seem to have steered clear from it, and sit down. Bella enters the cafeteria a few seconds later, and makes a beeline straight over to us, sits down beside me, and helps herself to a mouthful of my pasta salad. I give her a half glare and she widens her eyes, innocently.

"What?" she asks, "I'm hungry!"

I give a resigned sigh, and turns back around so I'm facing Alice again. "As I was saying, before we were so rudely interrupted," I pause to give Bella a droll look, "that sounds like great fun."

"What does?" Bella asks, her eyes lighting up.

"Alice is taking me shopping in Port Angeles." I tell her, and Bella grimaces.

"Dear god," She mutters, a horrified expression on her face, "she'll be unstoppable now!"

"Are you a shopping enthusiast, Hermione?" Edwrd asks, as he slides into place, across from Bella. I give a sort of half shrug.

"A bit. I like looking for odds and ends, but after last year, it'll be nice to get a new wardrobe." Alice's face has lit up.

"Absolutely!" she agrees, enthusiastically, as Bella takes another mouthful of my potato salad.

"I'm not gonna lie, Alice," she says, after swallowing, "I'm psyched that you've found someone else to torture with playing 'Bella Barbie'." Alice immediately arranges her features into a heart-breakingly sad pout that melts my sister's heart in less then a second.

"You're saying you didn't like playing with me?" Alice asks, and an alarmed Bella quickly backtracks.

"Oh no, no, no!" she exclaims, "I love to, I just... I just..." as much fun as it is watching Bella stutter, I decide to intervene.

"She's teasing you Bella." I let my sister out of her misery, and beside me Alice lets out a peal of bell-like laughter. Bella glares at us both.

"I should have never introduced you both." She complains.

"But then I'd make you go shopping with me this Friday." Alice points out in a sugary tone and my sister visibly shudders.

"Fine, I'd rather take the mocking then the shopping." She tells us.

"Look! You're a poet and you don't know it." I gently rib her. She grins at me, and speaks in a saccharine voice.

"So, sister-mine, how's your day going?" It's my turn to grimace.

"It's downright sodding crazy. Whispers and staring everywhere I go- it's like I never even left!" I complain, and she laughs.

"Gotta love Forks." She says, "small towns really are the best."

"Best my arse." I mutter, causing her to snigger.

"What have you got next?" she asks, eating another mouthful of my potato salad. I look down to see it's more then half gone and scowl at it, before shoving my plate over in front of Bella, and stealing Alice's apple- she's not going to eat it, so someone may as well.

"Double Sport." Alice answers for me, "I've got it too. Is Hermione any better then you?" she teases my twin, and Bella laughs.

"Hermione's definitely much fitter then I am!" That's true- my reflexes are outstanding, from all my dueling, both practice and during battles, and I can move faster then most other people. And, unlike my sister, I suffer no problems with my equilibrium.

Maggie arrives soon after, and she and Bella engage in a chat about something or other, while Alice babbles on excitedly about our upcoming shopping trip. Lunch hour has finished before I know it, and Alice leads the way to the gym.

The P.E. teacher, Coach Clapp, gives me a cautious look as he hands over a P.E. uniform. "So... you anything like your sister?" He asks, in a fake-casual voice. I bite back my automatic urge to laugh.

"Don't worry, sir, I won't knock anyone out." I assure him, and he sighs in relief.

"Thank god, one Bella is enough." He says under his breath, and I'm fairly certain I wasn't actually supposed to hear it, before he sends me off to get changed. Alice is snickering beside me, and I let out my own laugh until I recognize a significant problem- the P.E. uniform has short sleeves.

My gaze is instantly dragged to my forearm and I stare at my left forearm, at the marked skin, hidden under my jumper. "Well great," I sigh, and Alice looks at me, curiously.

"What's the matter?" She asks, and my brain scrambles for an excuse.

"I'm not too fond of short sleeves." I settle with, not able to come up with anything better,

"You can borrow my jersey." Alice suggests, and I smile at her, gratefully.

"I'd like that." I tell her, and she digs around in her bag, before pulling out a school jersey. Sighing in relief, I turn away from her to get changed as quickly as I can, making sure that my forearm is out of her view, and everyone else in the changing room's, at all times.

With Alice seemingly glued to my side, the other students have yet to bother me- it really helps that Alice glares at them every time they try.

In sport Coach Clapp sets us some warm up drills, that consist mostly of tossing basket balls to each other, keeping a careful eye on me, until he's satisfied that I'm not a danger to the class. Alice, who's partnered up with me, of course, finds this amusing, and giggles every time his eyes stray over.

I enjoy the sport, letting my body relax, and the tension drain out of my body as I participate in some fun competition. I prove to be quite adept at basketball, my reflexes, agility, speed and endurance playing to my favor, and Coach Clapp is suitably impressed, giving me a warm smile and clap to my back at the end.

Changing back into my jeans and sweater, I return Alice her jersey with a thankful smile. We both make our way to our lockers then to the cars, where Bella and Edward are wrapped around each other. "See you tomorrow Alice." I tell the small, pixie-like vampire with a warm smile. She smiles back brightly.

"Definitely! Bye Hermione, bye Bella." I tap Bella on the shoulder, and when she doesn't even acknowledge my presence, I fish the keys out of her pocket and step up into the old Chevy.

"I'll leave without you!" I call out the warning, over the roar of the engine as I start the truck, and a reluctant Bella releases Edward, whispers something to him, and climbs up into the passenger seat, pouting at me. I just laugh and step on the accelerator, happy to drive out of the school in silence, reflecting over my first day.