469I don't own anything in the world of Harry Potter or Twilight. They belong to JK Rowling and Stephanie Meyer, respectably. Lyrics are owned by Kendrick Lamar.
Chapter 15 - Loyalty
It's a secret society
All we got is trust
All we got is love
I politely pulled myself from Jaspers arms. I felt a slight pang in my non-beating heart as I did so.
"Is everything okay, Jasper?" I asked, in confusion
"Hermione," Carlisle's voice called from the back door, "why don't you and Harry come inside? Jasper, you too." He finished, motioning for the three of us to come inside
As we entered the house, we saw that it was in complete disarray. Vases were shattered on the floor, a table was torn to bits, and the rest of the family was standing off to the side unsure of how to proceed.
And Rosalie. Rosalie looked murderous as she glanced Jaspers' way. I couldn't tell exactly what happened while Harry and I were gone, but I knew it wasn't good.
"Harry," Esme's soft voice broke the silence, "you must be hungry. We don't have much food, but I'm sure we could make a decent meal for you."
"Uhm, I suppose I could eat." He answered slowly, following Esme into the kitchen
"What happened here?" I asked once I knew Harry was out of earshot
They all looked guilty, not wanting to answer. After a few beats on silence, Alice responded. "Well, when we got back to the house, Rose wasn't too happy we left you in the clearing. She thought the best thing to do was to go back and bring you back to the house and I told her, your future with us completely disappears. I told her that I was having flickers of you now, but she wasn't satisfied."
I looked at Rose who didn't look the least bit sorry.
"And the shattered glass and destroyed table?" I replied, motioning towards the mess
It was Bella who answered this time. "Rosalie thought that Jasper would be on her side, considering how close you two are. But once he found out that your future with the family disappears, he got really defensive."
Emmett snorted, "More like aggressive. He basically threatened Rose that he would tear her apart if she stepped foot outside. And you know Rose. She doesn't back down." Rose shot him a look. "What, babe?! You don't! I'm just trying to be honest here. So there was a little… tussle between them."
"Little? It looks like someone was thrown into the table!" I exclaimed quietly so Harry wouldn't hear
"Yeah, that was Rose." Jasper answered, standing by my side, "I wanted you to stay with the family. And if coming to get you threatened your future with us, I didn't want to risk it."
"Also," He started, "I trust you and your judgement. I wanted you to know that."
A small smile appeared on my face out of habit. I wasn't yet quite used to the men in my life being so open about their feelings.
I sighed, "Thanks, Jasper."
But then I turned to Rose, "Rosalie," I began, unsure of where to start, "I'm not leaving. I wouldn't leave you. I never even considered it. But when I ask for your trust, I need it. When I left London, Harry was in a magical coma and no one knew when or even if he would wake up. And seeing his Animagus, I was shocked and unsure if what I was seeing was real. Harry is my best friend. I needed time to explain my life since I left. If it was a shock for me to see him, imagine the shock and confusion he must have been feeling seeing me for the first time… as a vampire."
Something in her face flickered. A sense of remorse maybe?
"Ok." She relented, "I'm sorry. I just didn't like the thought of you being alone without one of us with you. I just thought if you had enough alone time with your friend that you haven't been able to speak to in months, it would change your mind about staying with us. I just… wasn't thinking straight."
"Just trust me, Rose. I know Harry. He would never expect me to leave with him. I actually convinced him to stay here for a few days to get to know you guys. I hope that's ok." I replied, looking to Carlisle
"Of course, Hermione. Any friend of yours is welcome to stay with us as long as they'd like."
I smiled. "Thank you, Carlisle." I told him before walking into the kitchen
I faintly heard Carlisle tell my brothers and sisters to clean up the mess before Harry was done with his meal. I saw Esme busying herself around the kitchen before asking her if she needed help.
"I'm fine, go sit with Harry." She smiled at me
"I'm so sorry about earlier." I told Harry as I sat down at the table with him, "Jasper and Rose had a little disagreement before we got here."
"It was about me wasn't it? They don't want me here?"
"Not really, no. But one of them was afraid I was going to leave them, even with Alice's reassurance they weren't convinced so they got in a little fight."
"'Little fight'? If that's a little fight, I don't want to know what happens when they really come to blows with each other."
"Oh, we never let it get that far." Esme answered as she placed a rather large sandwich in front of him, "I'm sorry it's not much. We already donated most of our food to the shelters in the area."
"This is fine, Mrs. Cullen. Thank you." Harry smiled up at her
"Please, call me Esme." She replied, "I better check on your siblings. I hope they're almost done cleaning up their mess."
As she left the kitchen, I found myself fascinated watching Harry eat. I almost forgot what it was like to have human food and Harry made that sandwich look absolutely delectable.
"You're being weird, Hermione." Harry said, "Stop staring at me!"
"I haven't eaten human food in so long, I forgot what it's like. You make the sandwich look delicious, but it smells absolutely disgusting!"
"Well, it's not. For not eating real food, Esme made a very good sandwich."
I smiled as I heard quiet thank you coming from the other room.
"What?"
"Esme heard you. She said thanks."
"They can hear me?! But they're in the other room!"
"Did you not listen in Defense Against the Dark Arts? Vampires have very good hearing. They probably could have heard us coming from a mile away earlier."
"I did not know that. So, they can hear me. And Edward can hear my thoughts, and Alice can see my future, and Jasper can control my emotions, and you can control thirst." He began stating our extra abilities as if just hearing them for the first time. "I think I'm beginning to understand the life of a vampire is much more complex than I thought."
"Nothing about being a vampire is easy. It just makes doing every day, human things easy."
"I'm so sorry, Hermione." He told me
"Sorry for what?" Rosalie asked, walking into the room. "Sorry she was turned into a vampire or sorry that you insulted her family for being vampires?"
"Both? You know, I saw Hermione and I went into protective mode. If you should know anything about me, I have this hero complex. And for the most part, it's not a great thing for me to have."
"Hero complex? Is that what you call it?" I smirked, "More like he has no self-preservation."
"Sounds like someone I know." Bella replied, also walking into the room with Edward by her side
"I hope you aren't talking about me, because I think it's you who has no self-preservation. Remember that time you went cliff diving during high tide and nearly killed yourself? Or how about that time you met a tracker alone, in a ballet studio?" Edward retorted sitting by Harry
"Says the man who went to the Volturi when he thought I died." I heard her mutter
"Bella!" I exclaimed, "Why haven't you told me these stories?"
She shrugged, "Never came up, I guess."
"We're just a family of screw ups, aren't we?" Emmett chuckled, jumping onto the counter and taking a seat
"Maybe," Jasper added, "but we all learn from our mistakes, right twin sister?"
"Shut up, Jasper." Rosalie told him, giving out a little laugh at the same time before hugging him, "Yes, a dysfunctional family of vampires who have no sense of self-preservation, who fight each other on numerous occasions, but still happen to be a happy family at the end of the day."
"Who knew Rosalie could be such a softie!" Alice added, hopping onto the counter with Emmett
"All done with the mess?" I asked looking at my siblings
"Didn't take too long to clean." Emmett answered, "You know… with our vampire speed and all." He added, winking at Harry
"We do owe Esme a new table and vases, though." Jasper added, "Sorry for throwing you into the table. You understand."
Rosalie rolled her eyes, "Just don't expect to me to back down so fast next time."
"Wouldn't dream of it."
We all smirked. Harry, however, was confused. "Next time?"
"Jasper throwing Rosalie into a table is nothing. There was this one-time Emmett and Edward rearranged the trees outside over a game of Call of Duty." Alice told him, "It was wild."
Loyalty, loyalty, loyalty
AN: Wow. Ok. Breathe. I will never forgive myself for abandoning this story for as long as I did. I promise I won't make you guys wait another 9 years for the next chapter. I have no excuse other than... life just got in the way. Now that we're quarantined and I (thankfully) remembered my password, I thought I'd add another chapter. I know it's not much, but it's something. And I hoping the next chapter will move the story along further.
