0. . .oO•.o. Travelling Home .o.•Oo. . .0

Warning: This story might contain mild content, themes, and language which some may find offensive.

Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners, JK Rowling and Stephenie Meyer. The original characters and plot are the property of me - the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement intended.

A/N: Hello everyone! So, I've written another chapter for you guys - longest one to date - and I must say this one seemed to just flow through my fingertips and I'm really pleased with how this chapter has turned out. That's my opinion anyway, I would like to know what all you think.

On a different note, I haven't been receiving many reviews as of recently, which is a little disappointing as I do love to hear your thoughts about each chapter. They same goes for my other fanfic A Promise Unknowingly Kept, as that one and this one are my main priority at the moment and my most work. So if you could each spend the time to write at least a few words that would me amazing, thank you!

Thank you to you guys who did drop me a review, loved them, and also thanks to everyone with followed/favorited this story.

Anyway, here is Chapter Ten! Please review/follow/favourite!

0. . .oO•.o. Travelling Home .o.•Oo. . .0

CHAPTER 10

•~Annie~•

Timeline for this chapter: July 1994

Eva and I have not long settled within the family room when the fireplace suddenly comes to life, turning the flames a bright green, which grants our friends access through the floo network.

Niklas and Arla are the first to exit the floo, quickly moving aside before the next to come through crash into them. They both share the same platinum blonde hair, but where Arla's has a slight wave and reaches down to her waist, Niklas' has a short, side-swept look going on. One feature that I love about them, that they both share, is their Jade green eyes because they are so vibrant and full of life all the time.

As predicted, not even a second later, Eysha, Adalynn, and then Javonn, all stumble out of the fireplace, crashing on to each other with a soft thump as they go. Eysha I can see at the bottom of the human pile-on, her long, dark blonde hair spread out all over the floor. As I look over to her, she peers up awkwardly from the position she's flattened in, her greyish silver eyes connect with mine, giving a small smirk that only increases my amusement.

Adalynn, bless her, is trying her best to shift the dead weight, which goes by the name Javonn, off her, but is having little success - her chocolate brown, natural curled hair flying endless and aimlessly as her body flails underneath our friend. Her head instantly snaps up, glaring at Eva with her ice blue eyes - who cannot seem to hold in her undying amusement at the three of them as she rolls over the floor with laughter. If looks could kill, we'd all be dead ten times over the amount of those glares all of us have received.

"Welcome home everyone," I say to the human pile-on, as well as Niklas and Arla. "Javonn, would you mind getting up?" I ask kindly. "Eysha can't breathe," I say more seriously as he isn't moving fast enough. 'That got him moving more quickly,' I muse to myself. His dark blonde hair managed to stay untouched during the whole kafuffle, I notice as he darts his greyish silver eyes around the room after taking a few drunken steps. He has gotten up too fast and is now suffering the dizzy aftermath from it.

After a few moments, everyone is off the floor and has now taken to the available seating around the fireplace. Eva has taken her place again next to me, while all three girls took up the three-seated sofa and the boys, the love seat sofa.

"How was Forks, Annie?" asks Adalynn, the last to take a seat as the rest. I visibly sigh, having heard that for the second time today. 'I'll have to tell them about my time in Forks, won't I?'

"That bad, huh?" Javonn responds with a frown.

Taking a deep breath, I begin to relay what has happened over the past few months. "It has been good for the most part, and I know I haven't been the best communicator in the last couple of months but I've had my reasons," I state.

"Sure you had your reasons," Niklas chuckles.

"You always have your reasons, Annie," Arla adds chuckling too.

"'For the most part', you said," Javonn quotes, catching onto my words. I glance up briefly at him and then look past him to gaze at the dancing flames in the fireplace.

"The reason that I didn't communicate was because I had discovered that a new family had moved into the area not long after we returned for sixth year. Of course, Charlie and Renée went away for Christmas break last year, and I was here, so I didn't find out until I came home a few months ago," I begin. Glancing around, everyone is listening carefully to my every word.

"After being introduced to them, we all became really close, more so with the youngest son," I continue. "I fell in love with him, well...at least I thought I had," I confess to them all.

A collective gasps escapes everyone; their eyes are wide, and mouths slightly ajar.

"Back up a moment please, Annie," Adalynn starts, shaking her head clear. "Who is this guy, and what do you mean by 'at least I thought I had'?" she demands lightly.

"They are the Cullen's, and his name was Edward," I answer calmly, surprising myself for not angering at the mention of his name. "And the second half to your question would be that he wasn't the person I believed him to be,"

"Are they all Muggles?" Eva asks quietly from her seat beside me.

"No," I sigh, looking back to the fireplace. "They're vampires," I admit. Silence fills the room, obviously from the shock of my revelation.

"But surely that's dangerous, right? All of them - however many there are - all living in a town full of people," Adalynn says dumbfound.

I shake my head, disagreeing with her statement. "They only hunt and drink the blood of animals. They value human life too much to harm one," I say firmly.

"Well, that's unexpected of them," Adalynn muttered, and everyone else agrees with her statement. She isn't used to viewing vampires other than human-blood drinkers.

"Tell us more about the Cullen's?" Arla asks, tucking her legs underneath her, getting more comfortable.

Contemplating how to present this information to them, I settle for showing them memories of them all. Taking out my wand, I press it lightly to my temple, closing my eyes to concentrate. I decide to show each one like a slideshow showing animated versions of each of the Cullen's, from which I them extract the memory combination and drop the silvery, life-like strands into a vial that Arla suddenly hands to me. I flash a grateful smile to her that she returns, before flicking my wand into the air, summoning a crystal sphere-like object carefully over and place it upon a French antique flower stand that Niklas thoughtfully levitates over from the far corner of the room.

"This is a memory projector," I explain seeing all but Eva's questioning expressions. "There are seven of them in all; all mated couples, not including Edward," I say, beginning the tale as I tap the tip of my wand on the top of the sphere. "Carlisle Cullen is the head and father-figure of the family and would say he is probably the most compassionate man that I've met. His wife, Esmé Platt-Cullen, is the mother figure and is happy and proud of the title. She loves selflessly, welcomes practically anyone into her life, and never fails to make him or her feel at home with her affectionate nature.

"Next, is Emmett McCarty and is just a big teddy bear with a wicked sense of humour who loves to prank and cause mayhem. His wife, Rosalie Hale-McCarty, is the most beautiful woman I've seen – she makes a Veela appear plain, and is fiery natured like one too. She is very protective of her family so appears cold-hearted at first but then she warms up to you, if she finds a quality that she likes within you. I think she admired my love for my family and always keeping an eye out for anything amiss.

"Anyway, moving on is Jasper Whitlock. He has had it the worst out of all the family, I believe, as he is an empath, so all in all he can sense others bloodlust in addition to his own. Thinking about it, you'll see and understand that having a gift like his amplifies the sensation for him, which also makes him more reserved to human contact than the rest. His wife, Alice Brendon-Whitlock, is a natural seer and sees the future based on people's decisions – your choice changes, the vision changes. Be warned though, she has an obsessive streak for everything fashion and design and is a hyperactive little pixie.

"Lastly, Edward Mason," I scowl at the sheer mention of his name. "He's a natural mind reader – he hears everyone's thoughts around him unless, of course, they have defences," I say tapping my head, which sparks a few chuckles. "I thought he would be the one, you know. But turns out he's an arsehole, making his own decisions and forcing his family to follow through with them..." I trail off as the memory protector fades away, knowing I could say much more about him.

"Sounds to me that he likes to be in control," Eysha voices suggestively.

I sit back in my chair, contemplating my friend's thought. "You know Eysha, I'm afraid you're right on that one," I admit. "I mean, he always lightly demanded that I visit him all the time so not as much time with Charlie and Renée. He always had to be in the same room with me if I wanted to talk to another family member, as if not trusting me to be alone with them. He sent his family away from me, not allowing them to say goodbye - that hurt, I must admit, but also made me even angrier. The things I wore weren't good unless he said so, not saying anything directly, but the way he looked...disapprovingly, was enough to have me go and change. He never even let me drive my own car!" I exclaim, realisation suddenly dawning on me the more I thought of Edward's ways. 'Charlie even restored that beautiful old Chevy for me that it looked brand new,' I thought to myself, feeling guilty that I had been so easily manipulated by him. It's all my fa-

"It's not your fault, Annie," Javonn states firmly, knowing me well enough to know what is running through my head.

I turn and give a weak smile, "I just can't help but feel that it is," I admit quietly.

"Well it's not," I turn to Eva as she rests her hand on my arm to find her smiling warmly. I sigh and nod, deciding to trust everyone's judgement, as they all seem to agree with my cousin. 'Sometimes it's hard to believe that she's only thirteen. She's too mature for her age for her own good...I blame Uncle Reg,'

"What did Edward say to you exactly?" Niklas asks sounding...protective?

I throw him a questioning look but still cast my mind back to a week ago when this whole thing started. I tell them all about his abrupt decision to leave me, snatching his family that I have grown close to over the months away from me, and not permitting them to say their farewells. How he has the nerve to 'promise' that I'll never see him or the rest of the Cullen's again and jokes that I'm only 'human' and I'll forget all about them with time. 'If only he knew, that bastard will think twice before saying anything again,' I hiss mentally.

"He just better pray that he doesn't cross paths with any of us. He'll then find out not to mess with a witch or a wizard," Arla promise, a glint of fury flashing in her eyes.

"Well I'm just glad to have great friends and family like all you guys," I say gratefully.

•~Regulus~•

Once I finish telling my entire life story to Charlie and Renée, their reactions are threatening my break calm composure. After getting into the flow of explaining everything I could remember to them, I could feel myself physically and mentally relax - all nervousness gone from the air around me.

Charlie is the first to snap out of his frozen state. "So let me just get a couple of things clear in my head," he begins. "You were hired as an Auror under the American Ministry because of your experience as a spy?"

"That is correct," I confirm without any pause.

"The explanation to you being able to own a house and land like this is, you say, due to being provided an advance payment in your wages," Charlie continues, checking the list on his hand as he goes.

"Yes, including the needed documentation to open up a vault at Gringotts and a trust vault for Eva," I agree, adding a little more detail.

"They've given you a second identity," he fires off next, disbelief in his voice.

"Lucas Theodore Prince," I state, 'Again' I thought with light sarcasm.

"Wouldn't that cause suspicion if you were to ever travel to Europe?" Renée jumps in.

"It would, but they would not suspect me to be 'Regulus Black', let alone that he has a daughter," I stress carefully. "He's believed to be dead across the whole of Europe, but I'm still him in private," Renée just nods her head, understanding my reasoning.

"But you'd still look like you," Charlie points out, rather obviously too.

I smirk slightly at the man across from me. Lifting my left hand, I silently remove the disillusion charm cast over my ring finger to reveal my promise ring. "This ring has been contains heavy glamours and a charm to change my magical signature slightly," I explain.

Renée leans forward in her seat to get a closer look at the ring. "That's a promise ring, isn't it? Did..." she begins to ask but stops herself.

I smile slightly at her, hoping to say that she hasn't made an offence. "Sev gave this to me on my seventeenth birthday - I've never taken it off," I recall quietly.

"Who knows about your double identity?" Charlie asks, curiosity lacing his voice.

"The Ministry department leaders, the entire Auror force team, the Minister himself, Annie, Eva, their Headmaster and their Head of House, their five closest friends, and you two," I finish listing through everyone in my head.

"Right, two questions now," Renée informs me. "One, why doesn't Eva have any friends her own age, may I ask? Two, the school knows as well?"

I breathe steadily, a little apprehensive about answering her first question. "The answer to your second question is that as soon as Deputy Head Mistress, Amelia Williamson, also their Head of House, delivered the letter to Annie that I wrote to her, she knew who it was from. When Eva enrolled in the school, the Head Master knew who I was due to his associations with the Ministry, and therefore naturally informed Professor William, confirming her suspicions.

"Now your first question may sound a little harsh but these are, near enough, Eva's own words. Naturally, I've questioned the same topic with her when she was in her first year, but she says every time that Annie is family, and her friends - that are now hers too - are intelligent to talk to as well as trustworthy, and she's mature for her age. She told me that her fellow classmates don't fall under that category, but she does still talk to them - they're just not close," I finish explaining the best I could, in Eva's defence.

Renée slowly nods her head with understanding. "Trust is her number one trait she likes to see in people, and that's why she keeps to this circle of friends," she sums up. "I think she also does it to protect her family as well, Regulus, wouldn't you agree?" she comments lightly.

"Yes absolutely," I agree strongly. "Those two girls would do anything to protect their family, as would I, with everything that's gone on in our lives,"

"That's true without a doubt," Charlie chuckles.

"May I ask why Annie brought you here in the first place?" I ask one of my questions that have been on my mind since they've arrived.

After some reluctance, they both sigh and launch into their tale of what happened before the three of them came here. Of course, the news about my brother's release and charges dropped against him is no news to me since I read the entire article twice in this morning's paper, so instead of feeling surprised, it brought back the happiness I felt afterwards. They move on to tell me of their plans to move to England for Annie's final year, and I feel a pang in my chest from the news, but only for a short while. The thought of moving back with them enters my mind as Charlie and Renée are talking about the cause behind that decision. My anger peaks and I growl slightly when they tell me the delicate subject of Annie's relationship with this pathetic excuse for a vampire, Edward Cullen. 'How dare he treat his baby girl in such a way. Throwing her aside when he's bored of playing with her emotions, and then to snatch his family away from her too. He's a manipulative, twisted bastard!' I finish my internal rampage.

"What would you two say if I were to suggest, Eva and I, moving to England with you all?" I ask carefully a few moments after they finish their tale.

For a while, they both sit in their chairs just staring at me as if I've grown a second head. Renée is the one to snap out of it first though. "Annie would be thrilled just thinking about it now, but would you sell up here and relocate, or buy another property?" she questions with interest.

"I've got enough money saved to buy a second property in England and still live comfortably," I say after a quick mental calculation. "Before you ask as well, the American Ministry would be able to find me a suitable transfer to the British Ministry without any hassle," I add, knowing that is what Renée would ask next.

Charlie speaks up next, reminding me of a sensitive topic that I'm not sure how I forgot. "Moving to England would mean Eva will attend Hogwarts with Annie. Last we heard, Severus Snape was the Potions professor and Head of House for Slytherin," he informs me hesitantly.

I close my eyes to hide the raw pain I feel every time I think of Sev, the father of our child. 'Is Eva ready for this? Am I ready for this?' I ask myself shakily.

Please review...