Rewrite: Kind but Scary

Chapter 11: Panic in Volterra and Laughter in Forks

Chapter 11: Panic in Volterra and Laughter in Forks

The grand, ancient stone walls of Volterra loomed ahead, casting cold, imposing shadows over the cobblestone streets. Felix and Demetri moved through the dark, winding corridors of the castle in absolute silence. The familiar, oppressive weight of the vampire authority usually settled easily on their shoulders, but today, their minds were entirely elsewhere.

When they finally reached the massive, ornate double doors of the throne room, Demetri abruptly stopped. His hand hovered just inches from the heavy brass handle, his jaw tight.

"We should have brought them with us, Fe," Demetri said, his voice laced with a sudden, quiet desperation.

Felix stopped, turning to look at his coven mate. "You know we can't, Demetri."

"Why not?" Demetri pushed, stepping closer. "With their magic, they could easily protect themselves. They would be entirely safe here."

"Not now, Dem," Felix said sternly, trying to brush past him to open the door.

"No, tell me why!" Demetri demanded, shifting his weight to block the door completely.

Frustrated and feeling the protective instinct flare deep in his chest, Felix grabbed Demetri by the shoulders. With his massive strength, he physically shoved Demetri back from the throne room door, stepping directly in front of him.

"BECAUSE!" Felix snapped, his voice rising in an angry, protective burst. "Because she is literally still in school for seniors until she graduates, Demetri! Not to mention she is a witch—a kind, caring witch who would immediately become a target for every single power-hungry vampire in this world. And if we bring her here, the entire family would be placed in danger because of the politics in our world. We work differently!"

Demetri opened his mouth to argue, but Felix cut him off, gesturing wildly with his massive hands.

"Oh, don't get me started! What are we supposed to do, just walk up to the Masters and say—and I quote—'Hello, Masters! We brought back a teenage witch who saved our lives, along with her entire magical family who also saved us. They go to a human high school to graduate, and we feel a special family bond with them. Let's not mention they could be a target, so they should live with us, even though they hate violence. Oh, and they are from a wizarding world that actually exists, where Jasmine had to prepare for a war at the age of eleven, facing crucial challenges where she could have died, until she was sixteen or seventeen and had to face a damn snake-like wizard to either die or live if she didn't fight—not to mention watching her family die in front of her.' So yeah, Demetri! Let's tell them all of that and see how that feels!"

Demetri's argument completely died in his throat. His amber eyes suddenly widened, staring past Felix's shoulder.

"Oh—" Demetri started.

"What?" Felix grumbled, crossing his arms.

"Felix... look behind you," Demetri whispered, his voice entirely devoid of color.

Felix let out a low, irritated rumble and slowly turned around. The moment his eyes swept over the doorway, he froze completely on the spot.

The heavy, double doors of the throne room were wide open. Standing in the grand entrance was the entire elite guard—Jane, Alec, and Chelsea—alongside the three Kings of the Volturi. Aro, Marcus, and Caius stood perfectly still, their dark, ancient eyes locked onto the two executioners. Aro had a look of profound, terrifying curiosity etched across his pale face, while Caius looked thoroughly displeased.

Felix's brain completely short-circuited. "Shit," he muttered.

In a state of absolute, blind panic, Felix did the only logical thing his mind could register. He snatched his mobile phone out of his pocket and frantically pressed the speed dial for Jasmine.

"You idiot, why on earth are you calling her?!" Demetri hissed in a frantic, stage whisper, swatting desperately at Felix's arm.

"I DON'T KNOW! IT WAS THE FIRST THING THAT CAME TO MY MIND!" Felix shouted back, completely losing his composure.

Before Demetri could snatch the phone away, the line connected. Jasmine's soft, melodic voice echoed clearly through the speaker, filling the silent, tense Italian corridor.

"Hello? Felix? Is everything okay? You guys aren't in trouble, right?" she asked, her tone instantly filling with sisterly concern.

"Yes! I mean, no! No, absolutely not! What, us? In trouble? No way!" Demetri stammered loudly, leaning over Felix's shoulder to yell into the speaker.

Felix physically smacked his own forehead with his palm, closing his eyes in sheer embarrassment. 'You stupid motherfucking idiot,' Felix mouthed silently to his partner.

'I'm sorry!' Demetri mouthed back, his eyes darting warily toward the silent, watching Kings.

"Okay... that does not sound convincing at all, Demetri," Jasmine's voice came through the line, suspicious and sharp. "Should I come—"

"NO!" Felix and Demetri shouted in unison, their voices echoing loudly off the ancient stone walls.

"I mean, no, Little Flower," Felix corrected quickly, trying to smooth his tone. "Everything is perfectly okay and completely under control. We promise."

There was a long, hesitant pause on the other end of the line. "I don't know..." Jasmine sighed softly. "But if you guys are so sure, please be really okay. I love you, big brothers."

"Love you too, Little Flower," Demetri and Felix said together, their voices instantly softening.

The moment the words left his mouth, Felix hung up the phone. Instantly, Demetri smacked him hard on the back of the head.

"You absolute idiot!" Demetri hissed. "You could have thought of running, or just changing the subject, but no! You had to call Jas! She could have actually used her magic to come to Volterra for real! How much dumber can you get?!"

"Look, I panicked!" Felix defended himself, rubbing the back of his head. "Yes, me! Felix, the High Executioner of the Volturi, panicked and called our little sister!"

Demetri just shook his head in sheer disbelief, turning on his heel and walking quickly down the corridor away from the throne room.

"Hey—wait! Dem, wait up!" Felix called out, scrambling to follow him.

The two guards hurried down the hall, completely abandoning their post and leaving the three Kings of the Volturi, the Queens, and the entire elite guard standing at the throne room doors, utterly stunned and entirely speechless.

Potter Manor

Back in the cozy, warm living room in Forks, the phone call finally ended. Jasmine set her mobile phone down on the wooden coffee table, a massive, bright smile lighting up her face.

Beside her, Hermione, Ron, Severus, Lucius, Narcissa, Draco, Neville, Luna, and the Weasley twins were practically falling off their chairs. The entire family erupted into loud, howling laughter, the sheer joy of the moment echoing through the halls of their new home.

"I cannot believe—" Hermione gasped, clutching her stomach as tears of laughter ran down her face. "The most feared executioners in the vampire world just panicked and called a teenager because they got caught!"

"And they yelled 'NO!' in perfect unison!" Ron roared, wiping his eyes. "Bloody brilliant!"

Even Severus, who usually maintained a strict mask of indifference, was chuckling softly, a rare and genuine warmth in his dark eyes. Lucius and Narcissa shared an amused, loving look, while Fred and George began plotting how they could send Felix a prototype joke-shop item to "help" him with his next panic attack.

Under the soft lights of their home, the shadows of the past felt lighter than ever, woven together by the laughter of a family that had finally found their peace.