Not So Fresh Start

4. The Letters

Dear Harry, Hermione, and Ron,

I'm glad everything's okay there. Stick with Harry, you two. And for the love of Merlin, stop arguing. I don't care who said what and who did what. The only way you guys will get anything done is together. Especially with all this You-Know-Who stuff. You must be able to trust and rely on each other. I don't know what's going to happen, but I know it's something big. A storm is coming. And you three are smack in the middle of it.

And don't try name-dropping Angela at me like that. I know you're still smitten with Cho Chang. But yes. Possibly a love interest. It's just...I told her. About Cedric and my suspicions of Edward. Basically everything. Excluding magic, of course. And she's agreed to help me. She came over last night, actually. And I kissed her. I know. When it was over, she told me we couldn't pursue this. Pursue each other. Because if Cedric is alive, she wants me to be with him. Which, of course, made me fall for her even harder. I don't know. This is just a weird situation. I like her. A lot. But what if it is Ced? Will the feelings for her just go away? I don't know.

And about your inferi theory. That could be it, but...I don't know. It's not like he looks exactly like he did before, and inferis are supposed to look exactly the same. He's pale now. And he's got these eyes. They're gold. Like, Galleon gold. And his hair, it's got this reddish tint now. It's so odd. And I feel metal just speaking about it.

Anyway, I'm glad you lot wrote back. I've missed you guys. And, yes, Christmas sounds amazing.

Love you all,
Carmen

P.S. Hermione, if you have any theories based on the info I gave you, please let me know. No mater how crazy they sound.

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Dear Carmen,

We realize the stakes of this. And we're trying to prepare ourselves. Hermione wants you to know that of course they're going to stick with me. And Ron wants you to know he's offended you'd assume otherwise. To that, I of course reminded him of last year which caused a ruckus. But everything's fine with our friendship. Other things aren't so good. I've been having these horrible nightmares. We're think You-Know-Who is connecting to my brain. Which is great. Percy, Ron's older brother, is wanting us to split ways. I believe the exact words were, "you do not want to be tarred with the same brush as Potter," so...yeah.

I can't believe you'd bring Cho up. That wasn't very fair. Nevertheless, we are all supportive of you and whatever you choose. This Angela seems amazing, though. It shows she truly cares for you if she's willing give you up so you'll be happy. But, when it comes down to it, it's your choice. And you have to what you want.

Regarding the Cedric/Edward thing-- Hermione's found some interesting info. She has a few theories and decided to write you anther letter. It'll be in the envelope with this one.

Also, we'll write the Weasleys and Grangers, see if it'd be okay to come to the states for Christmas.

I hope we can get to the bottom of this,
Harry, Ron, and Hermione

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Dear Carmen,

It's been great to hear from you lately. We've all missed you so much, and I'm hoping to see you for Christmas holiday.

But that's not what I'm writing to you about. After getting your last letter, the boys and I poured over books. I have a few theories. Starting with, there's no way this is an inferi. If it was, he wouldn't be beautiful like you said. And, he wouldn't have changed any. He would have been the carbon copy of what he was before.

Now comes my theories. I'll start with the least absurd one. I read in "More On the Unforgivable Curses" by Bathilda Bagshot, that there could possibly be a small window of time after being cursed that the victim is still alive. Not very, but can still be saved. It's a long, tedious process to save the victim, but she thought it could be done. Now, of course, this has never been proven and has been challenged multiple times. But I couldn't find anything that said this process would alter physical characteristics. My only guess on that would be that he had his looks altered so he could live as Edward Cullen now. And not Cedric Diggory.

This brings me to my next theory. Which is backed up by more evidence, but quite outlandish. So, a couple of Christmases ago, my parents sent me this Native American book. It was mostly tribal legends and a couple firsthand accounts. The volume they gave me was on the Quiletue Tribes. And, if I'm not mistaken, there's a Quiletue Reservation in Forks.

Anyway, the legend that I immediately thought of after reading your letter was written by a Quiletue Chief, Ephraim Black. He was writing about vampires. I know what you're thinking, but just listen. He started by explaining what they looked like. He said they had skin pale as snow and cold as it too. They also had eyes that changed color depending on how long it's been since their last meal. They were also incredibly beautiful, incredibly strong, and incredibly fast.

He went on to write about a coven of these creatures coming to live on the Quiletue land. He explained they were differently than others of their kind. They only fed on animal blood and their eyes were gold instead of the red eyes human blood drinkers had. As chief of the Quiletue Tribe, Ephraim formed a peace treaty with the leader of the vampire coven. That the vampires could live there, but must promise not to hurt the tribe or any other humans.

So, what I'm thinking is maybe Cedric was turned into a vampire. That would explain the differences in his looks. Maybe if you could do some more digging about the Quiletues? Even maybe the Cullens? The book describes the appearances on the coven he made the treaty with. Maybe we could compare and contrast? Just...do be careful. I hate I'm not their to help.

And Carmen? I know Harry's probably told you this in every letter he's sent, but you have my full support if you choose to pursue this Angela over Edward. You moved for a fresh start. It might be good to begin that. But, please remember, either way I--and the boys for that matter--fully support your choice. I know this must be horribly difficult already. Not even thinking about what could lie ahead. Just be safe.

Lots of love and support,
H.G.

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I set both letters down onto the kitchen table and rubbed my fingertips against my temples. Vampirism. Definitely not what I thought I'd find in moving to a small town in the Olympic Peninsula. Oh well.

"Hey, Emily?" I called as I ran down the stairs.

"Yes?" She responded from the kitchen.

"Do you think there's anyway you or Sam could get a hold of Jacob Black for me? I had fun the other night when we drove around. I'd like to do it again. I just didn't think to ask for his contact information."

"Of course, dear. I'm glad you're making friends!"

"Me too." I muttered as I thought of the best way to get information on Jacob's ancestors out of him.