Chloe Cullen 4 - A Harry Potter and Twilight Crossover

Chapter 18: Back to Normal

My head snaps up automatically. Standing in the door is Hermione, and the rest of my roommates are behind her. Hermione's changed since I left. She's an eleventh of an inch taller, and her frizzy hair is a sixteenth of an inch closer to her head. Her two front teeth are also straighter. That's the only difference that would be obvious to humans. "Chloe?!" she asks in shock. I giggle and wave. She's attracted the attention of the other fourth year girls, and they're staring at me as if they've never seen me before. They're looking me up and down, observing the changes that have occurred since they last saw me. "H-how long have you been here?" Hermione asks, walking to her bed all while still looking at me. The other girls inch their way slower into the room. It's obvious to them that I'm a vampire. They're just being cautious. I try my hardest to ignore them.

"Half an hour. We can talk about me later. I need to know everything that's happened since I left," I insist. In hushed voices - so the other girls can sleep - she tells me about the first two tasks. Things that she couldn't fit in the letters. After an hour, she wraps it up and goes to bed. I wait until I hear their breathing get even. Once I've determined that they're asleep, I take off into the forest to hunt. Not in the forbidden forest, though. I go to a smaller town to the west that has a lot of woodland. It feels great to be out hunting. I get to use all of my abilities without having to worry about being careful - as long as I'm away from humans. I can swing from the trees better than any acrobat without having to downplay my abilities, I can wrestle with animals before I kill them, and the best part is, my mom taught me how to do all this without messing up my hair.

I'm able to kill a deer, but that's it. Anything more, and I might gain the ability to gain weight again. I take my time on the way back to Hogwarts. I try to get back without touching the ground. That means, jumping from the top of the trees. It's really fun, and the best parts are the views I can see from the tops of the trees. When I get back to Hogwarts, the sun is just starting to come up and it's beautiful. From the top of one of the tallest trees, I can see the pink tint of a sunrise behind the castle, and I can hear the chirps of birds in the distance, and I can see their outlines in the cloudless sky. I'd love to stare at it, but I've got to get ready for class.

After a minute of debate, I decide it's best to try and blend in as much as I can. That means no excessive makeup or extravagant hairdos. Not that I need it. Even though I just spent hours in the forest, I look like a supermodel. With just a couple brush strokes, I would win the Miss Universe pageant in a minute. Once I'm ready, I decide to wait in the common room for my friends. What if Fred comes down first? Thinking of him, it hits me just how fragile humans are. Is this what Edward felt like when he was dating Bella? The smell whenever I'm near him will be spectacular, but that's not my biggest problem. I can handle the smell. If we hold hands and I squeeze a little too tight, I could break the bones in his hand! If I touch his face, I could break his neck!

It's thirty minutes later when I hear footsteps coming from the boys' dormitory. Instinctively, I sniff to see who it is. I've smelled it before - last night when everyone was coming back in - but I can't put a name to the smell. Almost three seconds later, I see him. Fred, I'm sure of it. The way he holds himself is extraordinarily familiar, and I see that familiar gleam of mischief in his eyes. His skin is a bit more translucent than I previously thought. I can also count the freckles on his face. That's not what I notice first though. His smell is what I notice first. His blood reminds me of the Christmas dinner I would have as a human. Ham, mashed potatoes, corn... oh my god. Smelling him makes my throat burn intensely. He must sense me looking at him, because as I'm trying to get myself under control, he turns around and looks at me.

"Hey," I say, purposefully trying to make my voice sound more alluring. We're alone, so there's no harm in that. He looks at me, starting with my face. His eyes get a fraction of a millimeter wider when he first looks at me, and they only get bigger the farther down he looks. I don't say anything because I don't want to ruin the look on his face. "Chloe?" he asks. I grin and nod. I can't resist anymore. A bit slower than normal, I stand up and walk over to him. Without thinking about it, it seems, he takes my hands in his. I'm delighted when he doesn't cringe away at my cold touch. "W-when did you get here," he asks, still shocked that I'm actually here. "Last night. I wanted to surprise you," I say. Just as I'm about to say more, I hear more footsteps.