CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE:

Hermione's POV:

I saw Bella's face pale as she realized where Jasper's story had been going. I was pretty sure my own face was a similar shade. "An army," Carlisle said, his eyes meeting Jasper's, "why didn't you tell us?"

"I thought I was interpreting the signs incorrectly." Jasper answered, "Because where is the motive? Why would someone create an army in Seattle? There is no history there, no vendetta. It makes no sense from a conquest standpoint, either, no one claims it. Nomads pass through, but there's no one to fight for it. No one to defend it from. But I've seen this before, and there's no other explanation. There is an army of newborn vampires in Seattle. Fewer then twenty, I'd guess. They are completely untrained, whoever made them just set them loose. It will only get worse."

A realization struck me, and I was surprised none of the others had thought of it yet. What threat was there in or near Seattle... except for the Cullens? I was about to speak up, voice my idea, when the others started speaking again, so I bit my tongue, waiting to see if someone else would come to the same conclusion as I had.

"What can we do?" Esme asked the others, looking distressed.

"If we want to avoid the Volturi's involvement, we will have to destroy the newborns and we will have to do it very soon." Carlisle spoke up, his face hard. Knowing how much he hated violence, I knew how much this evaluation must disturb him.

"I can teach you how," Jasper murmured, "It won't be easy in the city. The young ones aren't concerned about secrecy, but we will have to be. It will limit us in ways that they are not. Maybe we can lure them out."

I watched them deliberate, amazed that no one had voiced it yet. "I'm sorry," I said, directing all attention to me, "but I'm fairly certain you won't have to lure the newborns here." Eight sets of golden eyes turned to face me, as well as a set of chocolate brown ones, identical to my own.

"What do you mean?" Edward frowned.

"I mean, hasn't it occurred to any of you that the only possible threat in this area that could possibly call for the creation of a newborn army is this coven?" I explain, voice gentle but firm. Jasper narrows their eyes in deliberation, while Carlisle's and Esme's widened in surprise and shock.

"Tanya's family is also near," Esme said, her voice trembling, unwilling to accept my words.

"The newborns aren't ravaging Anchorage, Esme," Jasper told his adoptive 'mother' gently. "I think... I think Hermione is right. I think we have to consider the idea that we are the targets."

"They're not coming after us!" Alice insisted, and then she froze. "Or... they don't know they are. Not yet."

"Indecision." I whispered, turning to face my girlfriend. Her face was shocked, as she reached the same conclusion as I had.

"Someone who knows I can't see anything until the decision is made. Someone who is hiding from me, playing with the holes in my visions." She explained to the others, distressed. I wrapped my arms around her, pulling her towards me. She rested her head against my chest, snuggling into the embrace.

"Who would know how to do that?" Esme asked, distressed. Edward turned to her, eyes hard as ice.

"Aro. He knows Alice as well as she knows herself." Aro... a member of the Volturi. I did an essay on the Volturi in History of Magic, once. Aro is one of the three founding parties, a 2000 year old vampire with a 'Gift' where with a single touch he can know someone's mind- every memory, every thought they ever had. And Aro had read Alice.

"That's why they haven't come yet," Rosalie spoke up, for the first time, "Someone in the South, someone who already had trouble with the rules. Someone who should have been destroyed and offered a second chance."

"No," Jasper disagreed, "this is too sloppy. This... person, this threat- they have no idea what they're doing. A first-timer, I'd swear to it. The Volturi... they're not involved, not yet anyway. But they will be."

"Then what are we waiting for?" Emmett almost roared, "let's go!" The vampires all exchanged looks, worry clear on their perfect faces.

"We.... We will need you to teach us, Jasper," Carlisle spoke up, finally, the pain in his eyes clearing expressing how much he hated this idea.

My legs were getting tired from standing up for so long, and I moved over the couch, Alice moving with me. Time seemed to speed by as Carlisle rang the Denalis asking for help, but was then denied because the Alaskan coven wanted to destroy the wolves because it turned out Laurent had been one of their coven member's mates.

"This isn't good," Jasper said, his face creased with worry, as he looked around the room. I agreed with him. I knew War, I knew battles, I knew strategy. It was a too even fight. The Cullens might have the upper hand in skill, but not numbers.

And then there was me; I could help, but not much. One or two vampires at a time I could face, but vampires were quicker then me, stronger. My wards would only hold them in place for so long, and I could only destroy them so quickly. And with the speed of this sort of fight, chances were I'd hit one of the Cullens instead.

We'd likely win the fight, but at what price?

Bella's face was white as snow as she looked around the room at the faces of the vampires she loved, and I'd grown rather fond of already. Not all of us would survive this.

The question was which ones of us would die?

-

Basically the second Bella and I had driven far enough from the Cullen mansion, away from the vampires so we wouldn't be heard, she turned to me, her face frantic. "You need to tell them!" She all but screamed at me, "you can help! You can use your magic to help!

"Bella, I swear to Merlin I will tell them!" I shout, grabbing her by the shoulders, "I will help fight. But Bella... my magic is good for one-on-one with a vampire, maybe two-on-one, with a vampire. But a bloody army? I'm not sure how useful I can really be."

Tears welled up in her eyes and began splashing down her cheeks. "You... you can get your friends to come help us!" Bella begged me, desperately. I was already shaking my head.

"I can't do that, Bella!" I tell her, my voice cracking slightly. "I can't do that anymore then you could ask for Angela or Jess to be Turned so they could help fight. I can't- I won't ask them to risk their lives again, not after they've already sacrificed so much. They're just beginning to heal... and Bella, not everyone in the Wizarding world likes vampires. I don't know how many would actually be willing to help a coven of vampires, anyway."

"It's not fair!" Bella wailed, breaking down into hysterical sobbing. I crawled out of my seat, over into hers, and pulled her onto my lap, hugging her, letting her tears soak into my shirt. "It's just not fair! Why can't everyone just leave us alone!" she demanded, mid-sob.

"I just don't know, Bella, I just don't know." I whispered.

Why did life have to be so bloody complicated?

-

"We're still going to the wedding?" Bella asked, her face shocked, a few hours later, "but the first training session is tonight! We... we were going to go watch! You were going to tell everyone that you're a witch!"

I sighed, running a hand through my hair as I looked over at my distressed twin. "Bella, it's one night. The army isn't coming yet, and if they are then a single phone call and we're back, ready to fight."

Bella huffed, crossing her arms. "I don't want to go!" She complained, upset.

"You already promised." I reminded her, and she groaned, flopping back on her seat. "We're apparating tonight, so make sure you tell Edward that we're going to England, otherwise he'll probably go nuts trying to figure out where you are."

I'd only remembered Percy and Audrey's Friday afternoon wedding at the last minute, which was very unlike me, but I'd been so wrapped up in the whole 'sweet mother of Merlin, I'm dating a vampire and I'm her soul mate' thing and then the army revelation, everything else had paled in importance.

I could hear Bella on the phone reassuring Edward that everything was going to be okay, etcetera, etcetera, and I wondered if I should ring Alice. It would probably be the right thing to do, I decided, after all... we were dating now.

I summoned the cell phone she gave me, from wherever it was, ignoring Bella's slightly bug-eyed look as she watched it soar across the room into my hand. I'd put Alice on speed dial #3 and I held down the digit and waited for her to answer. "Hi Hermione!" She chirped up, excitedly, "what's up?"

"Hey sweetheart," I can't help but smile hearing her voice, "I know this is a really last minute notification, but Bella and I have to cancel attending tonight's training session. I completely forgot about my friend's wedding in all the drama and stuff that's been going on, but Bella and I need to go now if we're going to get to the airport in time to catch the plane."

"Oh, okay then." Alice says, her voice tinged with disappointment.

"When we get back, I'll ring you. I've got a surprise for you." I tell her, wanting to cheer her up. I was pretty sure I knew what she was disappointed about- me not inviting her to be my date to the wedding. "I'm sorry I couldn't invite you as my plus one," I tell her, genuinly, "but it's a small family wedding, and I'd already asked Bella to come with me as my plus one, before we had our first date."

"That's okay," Alice reassures me, her voice brightening a touch, reassured, "I want photos. And I'm looking forward to my surprise." I can basically hear her grinning over the phone.

"Goodbye Miss Alice." I laugh.

"Bye Hermione."

-

I helped Bella dress in the dress robes we bought at Diagon Alley. She was obviously weirded out by them, and she keeps staring at herself in the mirror. She looks beautiful, though, her chestnut hair pulled into a loose chignon and the pale blue dress robes draped over her subtle curves.

I wore the same dress-robes I'd worn to Bill and Fleur's wedding, slinky red with short butterfly sleeves. My wild curls, with the aid of sleekeazy and magic, were tightly braided, with the braid coiled and pinned at the base of my neck.

"This is just bizarre." Bella said, for the thousandth time.

"I agree." I told her, checking my own reflection to make sure I didn't have any lipstick on my teeth. "And yet here we are. Are you ready to go?" It was nearly nine o'clock pm here, which meant with the time difference, we would be arriving at around one in the afternoon in England, just in time for the wedding at half past.

Bella swallowed, obviously not pleased with the idea of side-along apparation.

"I'm gonna be sick all over my fancy outfit." She sighed. I made a face, and cast a quick repelling charm on her robes and mine to make sure if she did hurl, none of it would land on our dresses.

I hold her hand tightly and spin. We arrive in the Weasley's back garden, and I'm hit with a strong sense of déjà vu. I'd only ever seen the Burrow this tidy once before, with all the rusty cauldrons and boots gone and replaced by flutterby bushes, the chickens were shut away, and the garden fully pruned and degnomed, and that was for Fleur and Bill's wedding.

Harry, dressed in bottle-green robes that looked incredibly similar to the ones he'd worn to the Yule Ball, hurried over to greet us. "Hi Bella, hi Hermione, love!"

"Hey Harry," I greeted him. "Er, is Ron here?" Harry shakes his head, a shadow crossing his face.

"He couldn't make it. There was a lead on one of the wanted." He says, quietly. I bite my lip, looking down at my hands, briefly, before looking back up and changing the subject.

"So how's Molly?" Harry rolls his eyes.

"Fred was right, back at Bill and Fleur's wedding. Someone should have put a full body-bind on her. She's freaking out." He says, and I laugh, softly, despite the pain of loss that clenches my heart. Harry's smile wavers, and we share a look of understanding, before he escorts Bella and I over towards the giant white marquee where the wedding's been held. The entrance to the marquee revealed rows and rows of fragile golden chairs set on either side of a long purple carpet. The supporting poles were entwined with white and gold flowers.

"This is unbelievable!" Bella whispered, as we were directed to our seats. I chatted with Harry about his Healer training while Bella kind of gaped at everything, until the guests quieted and the music started.

Percy was looking surprisingly handsome at the end of the aisle, and next to him George was looking thin but presentable, and more alive then I'd seen him in months.

Ginny was stunning as a bridesmaid, dressed in silver, and holding a bouquet of red roses as she walked down the aisle, followed by a woman I didn't recognize, and then Audrey. Audrey looked radiant, dressed in white silk dress-robes, her face glowing. A pang of sadness hit me as I realized she had no one to escort her down the aisle and give her away, and I had to blink away tears.

The vows started, and the guests, Bella in particular, all watched entranced as the wizard presiding over the ceremony declared them bonded for life. He then waved his wand and a shower of stars surrounded the couple.

After the vows the chairs all vanished and a dance floor was formed. Bella sidled over to me, as couples spun around the floor, and champagne bottles floated through the crowd.

"What was with the whole bonded for life thing?" she whispered.

"Magical weddings are quite different from muggle weddings," I explain to her, "it's a very permanent ceremony, a promise of forever. When the couple says I do, then the 'minister' for want of a better word casts the binding spell, and the couple is literally bond in magic, mind and soul."

I read all about Wizarding marriage ceremonies before Bill and Fleur's wedding, and was very surprised by the permanency of the ceremony.

"What about arranged marriages?" Bella frowns, "Aren't there a lot of them in the pureblood circles?"

"They use a different type of binding ritual," I explain to her, "it's more about tying the couple together to insure loyalty and service, then love."

"And do the bride and groom have to be magical?" Bella presses, and I shake my head.

"Only one of them has to be a witch or wizard, the other can be a veela, a muggle, a squib," I shrug, "you get my drift." Bella suddenly shoots me a sly smile.

"Or a vampire." She says, and my cheeks flush red, my mind immediately turning to Alice. I can't help but picture her in a white dress, and the image almost has me melting where I stand. She'd look so beautiful.

"They're about to cut the cake!" Harry says, appearing at our side, "Bella definitely doesn't want to miss this!" He then pauses as he takes in my bright red cheeks, and an evil looking smirk crossed his face. "Oh dear, what happened?"

"Nothing." I snap, grabbing Bella's hand and tugging her over to where everyone is gathered. The wedding cake was simple, yet elegant, a three tiered cake topped with two model phoenixes, as was custom. As Percy and Audrey cut the cake together Bella gasped as the two phoenixes took flight.

"Oh my god!" She whispered, watching them wide-eyed, as they flew up into the sky. "That's just... wow!"

-

I think I'm cursed never to be able to stay till the end of a wedding, because as Harry walked over to find Ginny and grab some cake and Bella went to investigate some of the stranger looking finger-foods, my magic started buzzing, wildly, warning me that someone had set off the wards I'd put into place weeks ago- there was a vampire trying to get into our house.

I instantly made my way over to Bella and closed my fingers around her arm like a vice, dragging her away from the festivities. "Hey! What are you... Hermione, what is it?" she asked, eyes wide.

"There's a vampire trying to get into our house." I tell her, and her voice goes white.

"Charlie!" She gasps, and I pull out my wand and, holding Bella tightly, apparate back to Forks. The trip is nauseating, and Bella vomits as we arrive, but I manage to stay on my feet, sprinting towards the front door.

A growling vampire was crouched there, his blood red eyes regarding me and the house he couldn't get into with a mixture of confusion, apprehension and anger. Like all vampires, he was extremely attractive; tall and blond and perfect in every feature. He lunged at me at the same time as I shouted, "Incarcerous!" Apparating away at the same time.

I appeared at the opposite side of the yard as thick ropes of shining light flew out of the end of my wand, wrapping around the vampire's limbs, binding them tightly to his sides. He fell from midair, his body hitting the ground with a dull booming noise.

He thrashed around, trying to use his enormous strength to free himself, but the magical restraints kept him bound in place. I swept my gaze around, making sure that nobody had seen anything- thankfully, the street was blissfully clear.

"You bitch!" The vampire snarled at me, and I glared at him and growled,

"Silencio!" effectively gagging him.

Bella peeked out the front door, her eyes wide in shock and fear. "Ch-Charlie's at work, I rang the station and checked- he's doing the nightshift. Ca-can he get free?" she asked, her voice nervous as she took in the bound vampire.

"No," I assured her, as I levitated the vampire into the air, and into the house. The wards tingled as he passed through, making me shiver. Bella was staring at the vampire with something akin to a horrified fascination.

"So this is a newborn." She said, her voice a touch on the breathless side.

"Actually, I'd say he's nearly a year old," I correct her, lowering the vampire onto the ground and examining his eyes. "A newborn's irises are an extremely vivid red, his are more diluted." Bella shudders, wrapping her arms around herself.

"What... what are you going to do with him?" She asked, in a soft voice.

"We need to ask him some questions." I tell her, somewhat reluctantly. I cast a few silencing charms around so that nobody will hear his screams. What I'm about to do already sickens me, but I need answers.

I lift the silencing charm, and the vampire immediately starts screaming obscenities at me. "Shut up!" I yell, over his screams. When he doesn't listen, I point at the floor beside him and shout, "Incendio!" Brilliant flames explode beside him, and the vampire screams in true fear. I let him squirm for a few seconds, his terrified eyes fixed on the flames, before letting them die out. "I've got some questions, and I want you to answer them truthfully." I say, in the coldest, iciest voice I can muster.

The vampire bares his teeth at me, but doesn't say anything. "Well, that's a start," I mutter, dryly, "let's start with the easy one first- what's your name?"

"Riley." Spits the vampire. "Riley Biers."

"Okay, Riley Biers, well what were you doing here?" I ask. He snarls at me, but doesn't say anything, and I sigh. "You made me do this." I tell him. "Crucio!" Riley's screams are ear-splitting, and he thrashes wildly in his constraints. Out of the corner of my eye, I can see Bella cringing, and backing into the corner of the room. I wonder what she's more scared of- the vampire, or the cold monster I've become.

I hold the curse for little more then thirty seconds, enough to make an impression, but that half a minute feels like an eternity, to Riley and I both. As I lift the curse, the vampire moans and curls up on the ground. "Let's try again," I tell him, coldly, "what were you doing here?"

"I was told to get some clothes with her scent on them." Riley croaked, twitching his head in Bella's direction.

"Why?" I demand, "Tell me why!" He hesitated, but I raised my wand and he cringed away, and began blabbering.

"Because sh-she wanted something for the army to track!" he gasps, "please! Please don't hurt me!" he begged.

"Who is 'she'?" I demand, even as my stomach sinks. I can tell from Bella's sharp inhale, she has a pretty good idea who this 'she' is too.

"Her name is V-Victoria!" Riley wails, and Bella lets out a sharp cry, tears beginning to stream down her face as she slumps down.

"Oh god!" she sobs, on the verge of hyperventilation, "oh god!" I want to go comfort her, but I need more answers first.

"What is the purpose of the army?" I demand Riley, and he shudders.

"To destroy the yellow-eyes! Please!" He pleads, "Please let me go!" I sigh and run a hand through my once-neatly done-up hair, which is now in a state of disarray.

"How many newborns?" I ask, wearily.

"Sixteen, maybe seventeen!" Riley begs, "they keep killing each other, so we keep having to replace them! Please!"

"Where are they been kept?"

"We keep moving them around, I'm not sure right now," he answers, still cringing on the floor. "Please! Please let me go now! Please!"

"No, I can't Riley. I'm sorry." I tell him, feeling my heart sink.

"No! NOO!" He screams as I point my wand at him.

"Incendio!" I cast, and the vampire is turned into a screaming pillar of flame. Thick, violet smoke fills the living room, and Bella makes a choking noise, beating a hasty retreat from the room. I wait until Riley is reverted to nothing but ashes, making sure that the fire stays concentrated on the vampire, not spreading through the room. Once the flames finally flicker out, I collect the ashes in a jar, scourgify the floor and vanish the thick, heavy incense like smell in the room.

Shrinking and pocketing the jar of ashes, I begin looking for Bella. I find her up in her room, curled up on her bed, a steady stream of tears rolling down her cheeks. I sigh and sit next to her, threading my fingers through hers. "I'm sorry you had to see that." I told her, my voice heavy with regret. She sniffs, and shakes her head.

"I'm not upset about that. You did what you had to. I'm upset because so many lives have been ruined and it's all my fault! And now there's a newborn army after me, putting everyone I love in danger!" She says tearfully.

I run my free hand through her hair, trying to make my movements soothing, and methodical. "It's not your fault, Bella, it's James' fault and Victoria's fault. I won't let anyone get hurt, Isabella Marie Swan, I swear!" I promise, and she sniffs, wiping her eyes with her sleeve.

"Shall-shall we go back to the wedding?" She asks, in a voice still thick with tears. I shake my head.

"No, let's... let's just stay here. You can ring Edward once you've calmed down a bit. Ask for him to come over, tell him our flight was delayed and we didn't end up going, because we would have missed the wedding. With the time difference, that should work. And maybe tell him that some of your shirts are missing. He'll be able to smell Riley outside, and from there you can let slip your idea that maybe Victoria is the creator of the newborn army."

"I thought... I thought you were going to tell them what you are?" Bella said, softly, "so you can help defeat the newborns." I sigh, looking down at our entwined hands, and shaking my head.

"I will but it's not... it's not the right time." I tell her.

"When will it be, Hermione? When will it suddenly be the right time?" She demands, her voice suddenly hard.

"Bella, just... just drop it." I tell her, my chest panging in an uncomfortable way.

"No, I'm not dropping it! You keep putting this off, and I don't understand why!" Bella's voice is raised in frustration, traces of anger mixed with her fear and upset. "It's not like any of them are going to give a damn! They're vampires, Hermione!"

"I'll tell you why!" I shout back at her, all the chaotic emotions swirling inside me, knocked loose by my fight and then torture of Riley, finding an outlet. "Because I want to be normal! I'm sick of what magic has done to me! I'm terrified that I'll end up having to erase their memories of me to protect them too, or I'll have to cut off all contact, and then I'll be alone again!"

Bella's eyes are bloodshot, and she's crying again. "I'm sorry!" she pleads, grabbing my hands, "I shouldn't have yelled at you, I'm just scared!"

I can't deal with this, not right now, and I pull our hands apart and stand up. "I'll be in my room." I tell her, my face carefully wiped clean of emotion.

I stride out of her room, and into my own, barely resisting the urge to slam my door, instead managing to close it gently. I manage to cast a quick silencing charm, before dissolving into a mess of tears. I scream in rage, blasting curses at random objects in my room, before collapsing in a huddle.

My taint has spread, just like I knew it would. It's staining my new life, the one I'm trying to carve out for myself, and I just can't cope. This wasn't the first time I'd cast the Cruciatus curse, but I'd prayed to a god that I didn't even believe in that I'd never have to cast the foul spell again. But I had. And I could justify what I had done, easily so. I didn't have a choice- I needed to find the answers to keep my sister, my birth father, my girlfriend and her family safe. I had to loosen the vampire's tongue.

But that didn't make it any easier to stomach. It didn't make my heart hurt any less. It didn't make the tears gushing down my cheeks slow or stop.

I'm not sure how long I remain huddled on the ground. I just remember crying and crying. The pain in my chest grew and grew, and memories filled my head, while Riley's screams echoed around my skull, mixing with my own.

I'm not sure when Bella enters my room. All I know is that at some point warm hands pull me to my feet, tug me over to my bed and wrap around me, holding me tight. I bury my face in Bella's shoulder, in her mahogany hair, knocked loose from its chignon, soaking the dark tresses with my tears. And she just holds me tighter.