Moonspell (Harry Potter/Twilight Crossover)

Chapter Thirty-Two:

CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO:

"I haven't spent time in Phoenix for a while," I muse, looking out the window. I'd dozed off for a few hours, then woken back up to the wonderful sight of Edward on the couches beside my bed.

"Only during the school holidays, huh?" Edward asked, and I tried shaking my head then grimaced in discomfort. Ouch. Not a good idea.

"No, I spent most of my holidays with Luna." I tell him.

"Why?" he asks.

"Renee didn't cope well with the fact I am what I am," I admit, "I stopped going home over all the holidays after my second year at Hogwarts, and stayed with Luna and sometimes Charlie for a week or two, though I did spend the odd week with her each summer holidays up until last year, when she met Phil. She didn't want to tell him what I was, and that caused... am even larger rift between us." I sigh. "I would have stayed with Charlie anyway, but when You-Know-Who took over, it just hurried up the process."

"Is it wrong to say I'm glad?" Edward wondered out loud, "not about, er, 'You-Know-Who', but that you came to live with Charlie, instead of her?"

"No. I'm glad too." I smile, "meeting you, loving you... it makes all of the Renée drama worth it."

"I love you." Edward states, his gaze smoldering.

"You really must," I say, my mind drifting back slightly, "I didn't even know that was possible. Pulling away after tasting my blood. It's not like Turning, where all a vampire does is bite. You literally had to suck out about a pint of my blood to get the venom out of my system. And then you pulled away. How the bloody hell did you do that?"

Edward shakes his head, slowly. "I honestly don't know. It was impossible. But I did." He smiles at me, "you're right- I must love you."

"Is it incredibly morbid of me to ask how I tasted?" I ask, genuinely curious, before hurrying to explain myself. "I know I smell different then muggles, but do I taste different?"

"'Muggles'?" Edward frowns.

"Non-magical people," I remind him, and he nods.

"Right. And to answer your question, your blood was the most exquisite I have ever tasted." He then pauses. "I'm trying to think of a way where that came out as romantic, not... creepy."

"There really isn't a way, but it's the thought that counts." I assure him. He chuckles. "So what happened?" I ask him, genuinely curious, "after we got away from the studio. Where did you, you know, go all Dracula on my arm?"

"We broke into someone's house," Edward admitted, "they weren't home, and Emmett and Jasper cleaned up afterwards." I frown, confused.

"I didn't see Emmett or Jasper there."

"They couldn't be in there with you... there was a lot of blood." Edward explains, "your scent being so soothing only goes so far."

"But you stayed."

"Yes, I stayed."

"And Alice and Carlisle...?" I said in wonder.

"They love you, too, you know."

I couldn't help it- I blushed, prompting Edward to laugh softly. A nurse chose this moment to come bustling in to check all my tubes and wires. "How are you feeling sweetie?" She asked.

"Like I can't wait to get out of here." I answer, honestly, and she laughs.

"Well I'll tell your RN that you're awake. She'll be in to see you in a minute."

"Okay." I nod, and then grimace at the pain. Shit- I had to stop doing that.

"Are you okay, sweetie?" she asked, kindly, "time for more pain meds?" I thought about it for a second, taking in the pain that was every-freaking-where, trying to decide whether or not to accept the offer. Reading my hesitance, Edward rolls his eyes at me.

"Yes, she would." He says, and I scowl at him, before sighing.

"Fine. It really does hurt like buggery." I admit. The nurse laughed, before walking over to inject the medicine into my tube.

"You'll feel all better now, honey." She said.

"Thanks," I yawned. It didn't take long for the drowsiness to trickle through my bloodstream. She must have left the room, because something cold and smooth touched my face. "Stay." The word was slurred.

"I will," he promised. His voice was beautiful, my drug-addled mind mused, like a lullaby. "I'll stay as long as it makes you happy... as long as it's what's best for you."

"'M not stupid. 'S not the same thing," I mumbled and he laughed.

"Don't worry about that now, Bella. You can argue with me when you wake up." I think I smiled. I wanted to anyway.

"'kay."

-

-

When I woke up, the first thing I realized was that the bulky form on the plastic chair beside my bed was most definitely not Edward. "Dad!" I gasped, my voice full of love and relief.

"Bella!" he leaped to his feet, bending down to hug me. I could feel warm tears dripping down my cheeks, and I sniffed, loudly, doing my best to hug him with my one good arm.

"Sweet Rowena, I'm so glad to see you!" I half exclaim, half sob.

"Not half as glad as me, Bells," Charlie says, pulling away so he can wipe at his suspiciously red looking eyes, before sitting down heavily on the seat. "I'm so glad to finally see your eyes open." I suddenly realized I didn't have any idea when it was.

"How long have they been closed?" I asked him.

"It's Friday," he informed me, "you've been out for a while."

"Friday?" I was shocked. I tried to remember what day it had been when... but I didn't want to think about that.

"They had to keep you sedated, Bells- you've got a lot of injuries."

"I know." I sighed. I could feel them.

"Bella, what happened? Did... did they get you?" his voice dropped to a whisper. I took a deep breath, and prepare to bullshit my way out of this.

"The problem that came up, the reason I had to leave? It's sorted, Dad. I can come home." His eyes widened, almost comically.

"Wha- how?" he demanded, eyes shining with relief.

"A... a vampire tracking down muggleborns came across me," I tell him- the best lies, after all, are the ones containing a grain of truth (or some fancy saying like that). Charlie pales.

"V-vampires exist?" he stutters.

"Oh, right. Yeah, they do." I tell him. He pales further, and I plow forwards before he can ask anything else. "He cornered me, a few hours before I was admitted into the hospital. I couldn't use magic to fight him off. I thought I was going to die." Charlie's face is even paler now, white as a ghost.

"What happened?" he asks, voice hoarse.

"Remember when I was younger, how weird things would happen around me?"

"Yeah, accidental magic Renée said that Ministry woman called it." Charlie nods.

"Well, I had a burst of accidental magic. It destroyed the vampire, and set fire to the room I was in. I don't know if Snatchers came or not, but the whole building was in flames, and they must have assumed I was dead. My magic kept me safe though."

There are a huge amount of holes in my story, and I cross my fingers (on the hand that isn't auditioning for a role in Curse of the Ancient Mummy, that is) that Charlie doesn't start poking around at those holes.

Thankfully, he just seems grateful that I'm alive and in one piece, and instead stands up and hugs me again.

"We'll get you home as soon as possible Bells," he assures me, and I smile up at him, glad.

"I'd love that."

I really, really would.