Fic: Pepper Spray and Puppet Masters
Dec. 12th, 2010 01:01 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
starrikaTitle: Pepper Spray and Puppet Masters (3/?)
Author:![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
starrika
Rating: PG-13
Pairing: Bella Swan/George Weasley
Summary: AU Twilight/Harry Potter. Bella's abroad in London to recover from the divorce and stumbles into Weasley Wizard Wheezes. Georges discovers pepper spray. Bella makes a disturbing discovery about the Volturi. Bella/George. Jacob and Edward sympathetic.
Previous chapters here.
Hermione clapped her hands together, looking like a school teacher. “All right, then. Let’s get down to business,” she said officiously, trying to quiet the many conversations in the room. She pulled something out of her pocket, and with a wave of her wand, Bella saw the item expand into a notebook and pen. She was never going to get used to that. Hermione took a seat next to her on the sofa, balancing the notebook on her knee. “I’ll take notes for reference.”
Bella noted the amused look on everyone’s face and gathered this was normal behavior for her.
“Okay, so, as background, Bella saw the Leaky Cauldron and wandered in to Diagon Alley. Naturally, she was attracted to the best shoppe here, and couldn’t stop herself from talking to the most handsome man she had ever seen,” George said, giving a little half-bow from his perch on the desk. “She’s never been contacted by any magical authorities in America, so we’re unsure whether she’s magical, or if there are other factors at work.”
Bella couldn’t help but grin at George’s pronouncements. “I had no idea magic existed, but I saw the pub as clear as day,” she affirmed. “But that’s not really what I’m concerned about,” she added with a frown.
Hermione nodded. “It may still be relevant, though. Things that may seem unconnected to you may be incredibly important later. It’s important to have all the facts in front of us. We’ve learned the necessity of transparency,” she murmured. Bella took a peek at the notebook, amused to see she had divided it into columns and had even begun a Venn diagram at the top.
“So, anyway, Bella drops into conversation that the Volturi like to eat the innocents. Oh, and they have a mandate out for her death. I thought you good fellows – and lovely lady,” George said, with another cheeky bow in Hermione’s direction. “You were the best lot to figure out, if this is true, why the Ministry is colluding with them.”
“Colluding? Have you been spending time with Hermione, then? That’s a five galleon word, George.” Bella twisted in her seat, noting it was Neville who spoke. Everyone laughed, even Hermione, who seemed to be doing her best not to.
“All right, I have to ask. One, how do you know they eat innocents. And two, why do they have a mandate for your death?” Harry asked, looking at her soberly. The good cheer he had displayed before was gone. He had an intense look on his face. Bella realized he’d probably be quite intimidating in fight, even if he didn’t have the physical build she normally equated with strength. Who knew what they could do with those wands?
She looked down at her hands. “Well, it’s a bit of a long story. I’ll give you the abridged version.” Bella could see Hermione open her mouth, presumably to protest. “I’ll answer any questions, if you think you need more information. It’s really teenage melodrama. I doubt it will be relevant.”
“That sounds fair,” Arthur said, giving her an encouraging nod. “Go on then. Hermione will pepper you with questions regardless.”
Bella sighed. “I met my ex-husband when I was in high school. He lived with a small clan of vampires who all chose to abstain from drinking human blood. They posed as a family – Carlisle as the father, who worked as a doctor and Esme as his wife. There were five children, if you could call them that. Rosalie and Emmett, Jasper and Alice, and my – Edward,” Bella said, stumbling slightly. “They chose the town because the cloud cover let them live normal lives. Their routine was to live in various places until it became evident that they weren’t aging, and then move again. They kept to themselves and didn’t really associate much with the town, except for Carlisle – he really is a fantastic doctor.” Bella paused, realizing she was getting away from the story.
“They spent their time with school and getting degrees. They were all in relationships, except for Edward. We – developed a relationship, although he tried quite hard to avoid it. I was quite persistent,” she said with a wry twist to her lips. “It attracted the attention of some other vampires traveling through. The entire thing was like dominoes, one action leading to the next. I can at least say I’ve grown since then.” Bella took a deep breath. “Basically, I had to go to Volterra and convince Edward I was still alive, to prevent him from committing suicide by flouting the Volturi’s laws. We came to the attention of their leaders, and Alice, who has the ability to see some of the future, convinced the Volturi that I would be turned and join the Cullen clan.”
Bella shrugged her shoulders. “Well, it seemed like a great idea at the time,” she said with a sigh. “If they did not turn me, the Volturi would kill me. They have a prohibition that no one must know their existence.” She paused, not wanting to tell the last part. “While I was there, in Volterra….I saw what they did. They took tour groups to the catacombs. I heard the screams. There were children in that group,” she finished, forcing the words out. “From the comments made, it was a regular occurrence.”
She took another deep breath. “George told me you had a war and that much of the Volturi was wiped out. I’m not sure who is in power, but I could contact Alice to see what she’s seen. The last I spoke with them, they weren’t aware of any significant change in Volterra. So I don’t know – maybe these vampires aren’t so bad. But I doubt it,” Bella said firmly.
Everyone in the room looked sober; the only sound for the moment was the scratch of Hermione’s pen. “Well,” Hermione said, voice bright. She flipped to another page in the notebook. “I have just a few questions for you.”
Everyone groaned.
Author:
starrikaRating: PG-13
Pairing: Bella Swan/George Weasley
Summary: AU Twilight/Harry Potter. Bella's abroad in London to recover from the divorce and stumbles into Weasley Wizard Wheezes. Georges discovers pepper spray. Bella makes a disturbing discovery about the Volturi. Bella/George. Jacob and Edward sympathetic.
Previous chapters here.
Hermione clapped her hands together, looking like a school teacher. “All right, then. Let’s get down to business,” she said officiously, trying to quiet the many conversations in the room. She pulled something out of her pocket, and with a wave of her wand, Bella saw the item expand into a notebook and pen. She was never going to get used to that. Hermione took a seat next to her on the sofa, balancing the notebook on her knee. “I’ll take notes for reference.”
Bella noted the amused look on everyone’s face and gathered this was normal behavior for her.
“Okay, so, as background, Bella saw the Leaky Cauldron and wandered in to Diagon Alley. Naturally, she was attracted to the best shoppe here, and couldn’t stop herself from talking to the most handsome man she had ever seen,” George said, giving a little half-bow from his perch on the desk. “She’s never been contacted by any magical authorities in America, so we’re unsure whether she’s magical, or if there are other factors at work.”
Bella couldn’t help but grin at George’s pronouncements. “I had no idea magic existed, but I saw the pub as clear as day,” she affirmed. “But that’s not really what I’m concerned about,” she added with a frown.
Hermione nodded. “It may still be relevant, though. Things that may seem unconnected to you may be incredibly important later. It’s important to have all the facts in front of us. We’ve learned the necessity of transparency,” she murmured. Bella took a peek at the notebook, amused to see she had divided it into columns and had even begun a Venn diagram at the top.
“So, anyway, Bella drops into conversation that the Volturi like to eat the innocents. Oh, and they have a mandate out for her death. I thought you good fellows – and lovely lady,” George said, with another cheeky bow in Hermione’s direction. “You were the best lot to figure out, if this is true, why the Ministry is colluding with them.”
“Colluding? Have you been spending time with Hermione, then? That’s a five galleon word, George.” Bella twisted in her seat, noting it was Neville who spoke. Everyone laughed, even Hermione, who seemed to be doing her best not to.
“All right, I have to ask. One, how do you know they eat innocents. And two, why do they have a mandate for your death?” Harry asked, looking at her soberly. The good cheer he had displayed before was gone. He had an intense look on his face. Bella realized he’d probably be quite intimidating in fight, even if he didn’t have the physical build she normally equated with strength. Who knew what they could do with those wands?
She looked down at her hands. “Well, it’s a bit of a long story. I’ll give you the abridged version.” Bella could see Hermione open her mouth, presumably to protest. “I’ll answer any questions, if you think you need more information. It’s really teenage melodrama. I doubt it will be relevant.”
“That sounds fair,” Arthur said, giving her an encouraging nod. “Go on then. Hermione will pepper you with questions regardless.”
Bella sighed. “I met my ex-husband when I was in high school. He lived with a small clan of vampires who all chose to abstain from drinking human blood. They posed as a family – Carlisle as the father, who worked as a doctor and Esme as his wife. There were five children, if you could call them that. Rosalie and Emmett, Jasper and Alice, and my – Edward,” Bella said, stumbling slightly. “They chose the town because the cloud cover let them live normal lives. Their routine was to live in various places until it became evident that they weren’t aging, and then move again. They kept to themselves and didn’t really associate much with the town, except for Carlisle – he really is a fantastic doctor.” Bella paused, realizing she was getting away from the story.
“They spent their time with school and getting degrees. They were all in relationships, except for Edward. We – developed a relationship, although he tried quite hard to avoid it. I was quite persistent,” she said with a wry twist to her lips. “It attracted the attention of some other vampires traveling through. The entire thing was like dominoes, one action leading to the next. I can at least say I’ve grown since then.” Bella took a deep breath. “Basically, I had to go to Volterra and convince Edward I was still alive, to prevent him from committing suicide by flouting the Volturi’s laws. We came to the attention of their leaders, and Alice, who has the ability to see some of the future, convinced the Volturi that I would be turned and join the Cullen clan.”
Bella shrugged her shoulders. “Well, it seemed like a great idea at the time,” she said with a sigh. “If they did not turn me, the Volturi would kill me. They have a prohibition that no one must know their existence.” She paused, not wanting to tell the last part. “While I was there, in Volterra….I saw what they did. They took tour groups to the catacombs. I heard the screams. There were children in that group,” she finished, forcing the words out. “From the comments made, it was a regular occurrence.”
She took another deep breath. “George told me you had a war and that much of the Volturi was wiped out. I’m not sure who is in power, but I could contact Alice to see what she’s seen. The last I spoke with them, they weren’t aware of any significant change in Volterra. So I don’t know – maybe these vampires aren’t so bad. But I doubt it,” Bella said firmly.
Everyone in the room looked sober; the only sound for the moment was the scratch of Hermione’s pen. “Well,” Hermione said, voice bright. She flipped to another page in the notebook. “I have just a few questions for you.”
Everyone groaned.