The Trio - Watermelonsmellinfellon - Harry Potter (2024)

Chapter 1

Chapter Text

A/N: Hello, people!

I don't own Harry Potter or Twilight.

I have no beta.

ENJOY!

CHECK ME OUT ON TUMBLR.HELLY-WATERMELONSMELLINFELLON.

~.O.~

Moving to Forks had been a willing decision. She didn't necessarily want to, but Renee and Phil were still in that honeymoon phase and Bella didn't want to get in the way of that. Having to stay home while her new husband traveled the country had left Bella's mom in distress no matter how hard she tried to hide it.

So Bella decided that she would stay with her father Charlie until she graduated from high school. No plans beyond that had been ironed out yet since she wasn't sure of just what she wanted to do with her life. Forks was wet and dreary compared to the scorching heat of Phoenix, but it was tolerable.

Charlie was a good man. A bit awkward and not the best at expressing his concerns and feelings verbally, but he more than made up for it in actions. He was one of those people. Actions speaking for him far better than he could even hope to verbalize.

Even though they hadn't seen one another for so long, he'd gotten her a truck so she could drive around, set up her room in purples that he remembered she liked, and installed a far better bathroom cabinet to better store their things separately.

It was the small things that didn't seem important on the surface, but really mattered in the long run. He'd known she hated the old cabinet and the door on it. She had a feeling more things had been fixed around the house just to make things easier on her.

She blinked when Charlie pulled her aside after springing the whole truck on her that evening. "Listen, Bells, I wanted to ask a favor of you."

Since she knew that Charlie typically didn't like burdening people, she knew he wouldn't have come to her unless she was his last resort. It was something he'd passed on to her somehow, despite how that couldn't possibly be a genetic trait.

"What's wrong?"

He looked out the window of the kitchen, toward the house across the street. "That house was finally bought out r a few years ago. A young man from Britain, named Hadrian Potter just moved in, claiming his godfather had gotten it for him as a gift. He's seventeen and new to the US so he doesn't have a license to drive nor is he used to the way we drive here compared to there. He'll be starting at the high school like you and ended up testing into your year."

"And… you want me to be his ride?" she guessed. It wouldn't be a problem since they would both be going the same way to and back. Would save a lot of finite resources in the process.

"I can give you extra money for gas if you want."

"No! No, it's fine. There's no reason he should have to walk if we're both going in the same direction to and from," she assured him. "Should I… go and tell him?"

Charlie smiled, his eyes doing that little crinkle they did when he was happy. She remembered seeing it all the time when she was little. It was a small comfort.

"Thanks, Bells."

Harry blinked when his wards alerted him to the fact that he had a visitor. It wasn't Chief Swan either. The man's presence had already been registered just in case.

Seconds later, the doorbell rang and he put his bag down. Preparing for his first day of muggle school in years required a lot of concentration and preparation. He didn't really know what to do or bring and had been packing and unpacking obsessively for the past hour. There was just so much new stuff for him to get used to! Muggles advanced so quickly. He remembered when mobile phones were the size of bricks and could knock a man out. Now they looked like they would snap from a stiff breeze and operated through the lightest of touches.

There was a young brunette his height at the door. Her face was heart-shaped and she had a widow's peak. She looked incredibly awkward standing there, wringing her hands uncertainty. "Um… hi. I'm Bella Swan and I just moved in with my dad Charlie across the street."

"Ah, yes! Mr. Swan said you'd be moving in soon. He's been very excited about it."

Bella nodded, a dark flush spreading across her face. "Dad got me a truck and I wanted to know if you'd like to come to school with me? Until you can get your own car. If you want to of course."

Harry beamed. He found her to be amusing. It had been a while since someone had made him smile in such a way. Not after everything that had happened. "Thanks! I can pay you too!"

"Oh! N-no! That's fine, really. You don't have to pay me."

"But I-"

"I would very much prefer that you didn't, please?" she insisted.

Maybe he could sneak some money in her bag when she wasn't paying attention to him. "Are you sure?"

She nodded sharply.

"Thanks. I'm Harry, by the way. Would you… like to come in?"

Bella glanced back at her own home, before shrugging and stepping past him and into the hallway. Harry's house was a decent two-bedroom, one and a half bathroom. The outside was an off white with brown trimming, and the inside was all dark reds and browns. Sirius had bought it for him as a 'holiday home' or something. It had been in his Will once Harry had finally gotten around to seeing the bloody thing.

"I've been trying to pack but I don't really know what to bring," he told her as he lead her into the lounge. "I haven't had a first day at a new school in a very long time and this time no one knows who I am so I'm especially nervous and confused."

She frowned. "Did you go to the same middle school as the kids you went to elementary with?"

Harry shook his head with a frown of his own. "No, I started secondary when I was eleven and found out that my parents had set me up at their alma mater before they were murdered. And their murder and my subsequent survival of their murderer because of them, made our names pretty famous, so everyone knew who I was before I even got there. They'd already formed their own opinions and expectations of me even."

It was absolutely ridiculous. Magical people made no sense half of the time!

Bella looked even more awkward than before. Like she didn't know if she should apologize or not. He waved off her mounting concern. "It's fine," he assured her. "I've pretty much gotten over that part of it by now. Though I'm sure you can now understand just why I'm out of my depth with this."

She nodded and took a seat on the sofa he gestured to. The upholstery was red while the wood was brown. The house had come furnished in a very Gryffindor kind of way.

"Would you like some tea?"

"Um… hot or iced?"

Harry blinked as he thought about it. "I've never had iced tea actually. Is it actually better than having tea hot?" he'd heard the usual digs at Americans for 'ruining tea' but he was honestly curious. Harry never got to try many things growing up and he wanted to remedy that issue as soon as he could.

The other teen shrugged, wringing her hands still. "Depends, I guess. Iced tea is great in the summer, or especially in places like California, Texas, Arizona, Florida, Nevada, and New Mexico. Places like California, Texas, and Arizona have an abundance of buzzards and vultures and being too hot or dehydrated is dangerous because they pick up on it and will gather around you, waiting for you to drop.

"Hot tea is best for colder climates so I've rarely had reason to drink it much because I've typically been in warm places most of my life with that occasional vacation up north where hot tea and hot chocolate are served everywhere."

"Should I try iced tea up here since the temperature seems to be on the cooler side?"

She shrugged. "You can do whatever you want in your own house. I'd recommend trying various types of teas cold, but lemon, green, and oolong seem to have the best flavor when paired with coldness."

Harry smiled. "I'll take that into consideration. How about I get you some water for now until I figure this whole thing out? I still need to go shopping too."

"I could take you."

"If you take me anywhere but school, I'm paying you," he said in a no-nonsense tone.

He was certain he hadn't imagined her small huff.

The chances of him liking Forks had just gone up considerably.

Bella ended up taking Harry to the store, which was good because she had to go shopping too. Charlie's skills in the kitchen weren't that great. As in practically nonexistent. The man needed help and he did work every day and cooking on top of that would be stressful.

It was fascinating to learn that Harry could cook very well apparently and knew even more than she did. When she asked, he mumbled something about his aunt and uncle and chores and then frowned heavily, letting her know it wasn't a pleasant memory.

She let it drop since they'd reached the store at that point and had to familiarize themselves with everything. Some things had changed since she was younger. More technology was involved now.

It wasn't a very big store though. "A trip to Port Angeles might be better," she suggested. It was the nearest 'city' and was guaranteed to have a Walmart at the very least. They'd have to make a trip at least once a month, though. Either there or to Olympia though it was much farther away.

Harry wasn't much like Bella in terms of planning. He just grabbed things he knew would make a good meal of any combination. Bella planned ahead for the upcoming week of dinners methodically. It just made her feel better to do something she'd gotten used to over the years with Renee. Her mother wasn't the best at being maternal, which meant Bella often picked up the slack in many ways.

She didn't really mind since Renee had things she was good at that Bella couldn't hope to compete with. She could even do things her new husband Phil couldn't, so it wasn't as if having a man in the house changed anything or made life any better.

The cart was quickly filled with meats and veggies. Internally, Bella considered the price it would cost to make her own pasta homemade, versus the amount that would be spent on purchasing pre-cooked pasta. This was for things like lasagna which she very much was willing to make totally from scratch, but did Charlie have the tools necessary for her to do it that way? She'd have to check later.

"I'm going to go pay," Harry told her, gesturing to his cart. "The trolley is getting too full now and I think I've got enough for two weeks of meals."

His cart was just a mishmash of stuff, ranging from three different types of chocolate cereal and four gallons of chocolate milk, to bags upon bags of fresh fruits and vegetables that she could feel her wallet shying away from. Produce was so damn expensive and it wasn't fair. Bella could get behind a diet of asparagus and watermelon if only both weren't so expensive all the time!

"I'll join you in a minute," she told him. "Charlie fishes a lot so we have too much trout in the freezer and I'm trying to think of the various ways it can be used without it getting old." It was still winter and they were up north, so she didn't want to spend money on other meats when they had so much of one kind on hand already. Meat wasn't cheap in the winter.

"Good luck."

She liked Harry. He was… safe among all this new stuff. Bella felt better prepared for her first day at Forks High School tomorrow as a result.

Harry just had this calmness about him that made her feel less harried ironically.

Edward Cullen had spent the better part of nineteen hours playing the piano. He'd merely sat down on the bench and began playing, and had felt no need to stop ever since.

His emotions cycled through the more darker, less pleasant side of the emotional spectrum. Thankfully, Alice and Jasper hadn't been due back from their hunting trip when he'd began, because poor Jasper would have been exposed to Edward's roiling emotions and it wasn't fair to him.

Besides, when they finally returned and Jasper got full force of Edward's current range of emotions, he put all of his power into forcing a calm on Edward, making the music morph into something less depressing as a result.

And it was Esme's thoughts that made him feel a bit sad about his venting through music. She knew he was listless and it hurt her by extension because she was so caring as a person. Carlisle even more so.

One could only fake contentedness for so long before it became too much though.

Alice sank into one of the many sofa cushions in the room, her thoughts pleasant and full of hope.Things are going to get so much better! Just you wait!

~.O.~

A/N: The first is done!

How was it? Let me know!

Check out mymany other fics!

See ya! :D

CHECK ME OUT ON TUMBLR.HELLY-WATERMELONSMELLINFELLON.

Chapter 2

Chapter Text

A/N: Hello, people!

I don't own Harry Potter or Twilight.

I have no beta.

ENJOY!

CHECK ME OUT ON TUMBLR.HELLY-WATERMELONSMELLINFELLON.

~.O.~

She had gone over to Harry's house the moment Charlie left for work, and found him twisting back and forth in front of a long mirror in his living room. His hair, which she hadn't really taken not of before, was curly and messy atop his head, and his boxy glasses, which looked dorky on their own, actually looked good on him somehow. They also made his eyes look a bit bigger than they were, enhancing the green.

"Alright, I'm not the most fashion conscious person in the world. Never have been and never will be, so I need help."

Bella was shaking her head before Harry could even finish speaking. "I'm really not the person to come to about fashion. Have youseenwhat I'm wearing?" She gestured to her own body for reference. "The comments I've gotten on my wardrobe choices aren't the most kind, even from people like my mom who feel it's their duty to let me down gently."

That morning she'd thrown on a pair of skinny jeans and a light blue, long-sleeved shirt. Over it she'd tossed on a simple, short-sleeved, green shirt. It was a go-to for her in colder climates to layer on the shirts. Her shoes were a pair of black and white Chucks. Also, a brush had been hastily pulled through her brown hair which she then did nothing with. She wasn't exactly the person known for style. Sometimes she got called a failed lumberjack.

Not that anyone would trust Bella with an ax, of course. It was safer for everyone that things like that remained far away.

Harry looked her over with a critical eye that didn't make her feel weird oddly. It wasn't an ogle like she'd seen many men do when invited to look at a woman. It was just him honestly evaluating her choice of style and nothing more. "You look comfortable," he said frankly, "which should always be your choice. I just need to know if this seems like overkill for Washington weather."

He pulled open his coat to reveal what he'd thrown together. Dark jeans, smooth black boots, a skin-tight, black t-shirt, and over it was a charcoal blazer that he'd left unbuttoned. Over that he had a black, double breasted pea coat that gave him a sort of model look she often only saw in magazines or on fashion websites when she felt like browsing.

"I mean, you look fine for the weather, but aren't you going to be hot with all those layers?" That was three layers of not very thin clothing and Renee told her that men would sweat a lot more. "You kind of look like someone who'd be a poster boy for Burberry."

The flush that came over Harry's face made her smirk. "Is it Burberry?"

"Yeah," he admitted, buttoning his coat back up. "I look rich but nottoorich, right? Like I can support myself just fine but won't be rubbing it in your face every day? I hate people who do that."

She shrugged. "People will probably still talk anyway, so beware of that."

He sighed. "I am in fact very wealthy from money that I inherited from my parents once I turned seventeen, I just don't think it's that important. After having a best mate who was incredibly self-conscious over his family's poverty, I got used to staying in my cousin's hand-me-downs and not buying new clothes just so he wouldn't feel so threatened all the time."

There was so much to unpack from that and she wondered if she should say something. Typically this would be where normal people offered comfort, right?

Thankfully, he carried on with his business, meaning she wasn't expected to say a thing that she wouldn't even know to say anyway. His bag was more of a leather satchel unlike her heavy-duty, waterproof backpack. "I got used to using these," he explained when he saw where she was looking. "They're really strong and can hold a lot of weight."

Harry stopped in his kitchen quickly to grab an apple. "I'm too nervous for a big breakfast."

She could relate! Bella hadn't even eaten anything, too caught up in her anxiety on how the day would go. She'd been the new kid enough to have a basic idea of what would happen, but that didn't mean she wanted it or welcomed it. People would be staring, which meant attention. And from what Harry had said yesterday about Charlie being excited, it meant he'd talked about it. Which meant people would probably be expecting her. Meaning she'd have expectations to dash all day.

It was going to be her personal hell, she just knew it.

But there were two new kids at the moment, so she felt less alone in it all, since Harry had that calm thing about him that made her feel less like a spazz.

"I'm ready!"

Having to attend muggle school again wasn't something Harry had been looking forward to, but apparently seventeen year olds being out of school already wasn't normal in the States? It was bad enough that he was emancipated and an orphan. Just to get to Forks and get things set up, random adults he didn't even know, had accused him of truancy more times than he could count. Could they not mind their own business?

Cramming a bunch of knowledge he hadn't been aware of into his brain at the last moment had left him ill for days. Just so he could be with people his own age at the very least. And with how quickly things had progressed since he'd entered Hogwarts, he was shocked. There was so much he had to familiarise himself with now. Social media, and improved technology like computers and laptops, and mobile phones!

Thankfully Bella was there. He could tell that she would become a good friend, especially since they were equally awkward and unsure of what to do with themselves in public spaces filled with too many people. Harry hated crowds and attention. Being new was going to subject him to a lot of it and he hated that fact. But at least no one knew anything about him or about howmuchmoney he had. He wasn't the Boy-Who-Lived or the Man-Who-Conquered here. He was just Harry. All he'd ever wanted to be.

Forks High School was just a smattering of buildings that looked far too much like houses, off the side of the 101 going north. Enough for Bella to almost drive past the place entirely. She had sworn under her breath and then went pink when she realised he had heard her.

It was a very small place. He wondered if that was a small town thing, or an American thing.

"Not like your old school, huh?" she asked as she pulled in front of the building labeled FRONT OFFICE and the roaring of the great truck Chief Swan had gotten her, died off.

He snorted. "Yeah, that was a castle in the highlands of Scotland. It's been standing for a thousand years."

"Damn. Sounds pretty cool."

"It is."

They went in to get their schedules, because that was how it was done in the US apparently. Teachers didn't come up to you with you class schedule, you had to get it yourself? Or maybe it was just a transfer student thing?

Harry felt relieved when he learned that they had half of their classes together. And this school provided a map! Hogwarts could take lessons! Since the building only changed once at the beginning of every decade, making a map wouldn't be that difficult! He never got why the suggestion made people all confused.

English was their first class of the day. After Bella relocated the truck to the common side of the car park so she couldn't get in trouble for parking without permission, they met back up at Building 3 and went inside.

Both ended up seated beside one another in the back after getting their own copies of the syllabus. And it was just… hell, to put it lightly. Harry leaned closer to say, "I hate nearly every book on this list. I've read all of them and I hate all of them equally." He had read them under Hermione's direction and no, they just did not appeal at all.

He couldn't believe thatthiswas what English class was like in the States.

Bella shrugged. "I've also read all of 'em and done reports on 'em too. It's a bit dull having to redo them now. Forks doesn't have AP classes though so I'm not really shocked I have to do all of this again."

Class droned on. Mr. Mason bore a striking resemblance to Binns in his teaching style. Harry would not like his class, especially if most of the time was dedicated to 'classic literature'.

Bella had Government next, while Harry had Biology II, so they ended up being led in different directions by different helpful locals. Bella got an Asian boy named Eric Yorkie, and Harry got a bubbly brunette named Jessica Stanley She didn't shut up the entire time they walked and wanted to know everything about everything involving Britain.

After Biology, in which Harry realised that he didn't know as much as he should and that he was going to have to study more for that class, he and Bella met back up for Trigonometry with Mr. Varner, who was a dick. His subject was sh*te, as Harry had always hated maths of any sort, and he made them introduce themselves, which no one else had done!

After that, they made it to Spanish where he felt a lot more comfortable. European magic was heavily based in Latin, and Spanish was a derivative of Latin. Harry had begun learning Latin at the behest of, once again, Hermione, and could now see how useful it was to him in other ways. Spanish was probably the second most important language in the States because of their southern neighbors. So this was the one thing he had a bit of a head start in.

No, he did not speak Spanish in the least, but reading it was easy and if someone spoke it at him, he understood them just fine! His pronunciation didn't need too much work and he had to memorise new spellings, but considering how bad it could have been if it was German or something similar in sound, he'd say it was a good class period for him and probably his best thus far.

After that was lunch, where Jessica Stanley from before, led he and Bella to the cafeteria building, babbling the whole way there about classes, and food, and what they'd done in their former schools.

The lunch line was crowded and there was even a snack bar. Forks currently had about five thousand people in permanent residence, so he was shocked that such a thing was even available in their school. The prices were a bit high though, which made sense in a way. Small town still trying to make ends meet.

He got a fizzy drink and a banana while Bella simply got a lemonade, and followed Jessica to her table soon after.

"So Hadrian, where exactly are you from?" a girl named Angela Weber asked shyly, from behind large, wire-framed glasses. She was picking at a piece of bread, but hadn't eaten any of it.

"Surrey, England. It's not far outside London. You can call me Harry, by the way."

Vampires going to school with humans. It was more likely than one would think!

Alice dropped into her seat at their chosen lunch table, no lunch tray in sight for once. "Today's the day the new kids arrived! And it's been great already! You guys need to pay attention when they come in! Just trust me!"

Edward shook his head. The thoughts of his siblings weren't very favorable when it came to this idea, but typically when Alice insisted they do something, it was just best to follow along. Besides, they'd most likely end up doing it anyway if they tried to fight it. Alice always got what she wanted.

"So Hadrian, where exactly are you from?" Edward heard Angela Weber ask quietly. Mentally, she was running through the various English accents she knew of.London? I think it's a London one? But there are so many London ones that you can't really choose, can you? Maybe not London? What is the fancy one called? Queen's English?

"Surrey, England. It's not far outside London," the boy answered her calmly and with an easy smile Edward could see perfectly in Angela's mind. He had a very attractive voice for a human. "You can call me Harry." He was small, though not as small as Alice, with pitch black, messy hair in a halo around his head. His eyes were the most abnormal shade of green Edward had ever seen, and his bone structure was very attractive for a non-vampire. If he became a vampire, he could probably rival Rosalie with his looks.

It took him a few seconds to realize that he didn't hear anything from Potter's mind in response to Angela's question. Not a peep.

Confused, he looked over to where the new kids were sitting, and found himself staring at a heart-shaped face. Bella Swan. He'd seen her face in the minds of students all day. Her face flushed an attractive shade of pink as she looked away with haste. Edward was shocked to learn that he heard nothing from her either. Nothing at all from either of the new kids. And they weren't related either, so it couldn't be attributed to familial ties.

How?

"Is England really all foggy and dreary like I see people say online?" asked Jessica Stanley, who was sitting across from both marvels at their long lunch table.My Twitter friends say it is.

Harry shrugged. "Depends on the place. It rains a little more than I'd like. Though it does seem like I've traded one rainy place for another in moving here."

Still nothing was reaching out to Edward about either new student. It was so… strange for him. He'd been hearing people's thoughts for over a century, but now he couldn't?

Mike Newton dropped into a seat in front of Bella since Harry was seated in the only space to her right. On his other side was Angela and on her other side was Lauren Mallory. Across from them were Mike, Jessica, Eric Yorkie, and Tyler Crowley.

Mike held up his iPhone 7 for all of them to see, his mind relaying his excitement ahead of time. Through Angela's eyes, Edward saw a knife that was red hot, slicing through a piece of bread and toasting it on contact. It looked almost like the bread knife version of a lightsaber. "Imagine stabbing someone with this knife," Mike proposed in all seriousness but with enough good humor to not be seen as a lunatic. He even imagine a faceless man being stabbed with it!

In Mike's mind, the vision of Bella's frown was clear as day as she said quietly, revealing her voice to Edward's ears for the first time, "Mmm. It would instantly cauterize the wound so it isn't a very effective tool." She was correct of course.

Harry snickered then, coming into full focus in Mike's vision then and his smirk turned dark. "If you want information that someone doesn't feel like parting with then itispretty effective." He was also correct, though morbidly so.

And Angela, the innocent that she was, leaned over the table with all sincerity and bafflement and asked in minute horror, "Why would you stab apersonwhen you can have toast?!"

Mike laughed loud and long and chucked a grape from his tray at her, which she batted away like a pro who'd done it many times before. He then looked to the new students and asked, "You guys going to get some lunch?"

Bella shrugged and stood, leaving her bag on the table. "I suppose. I wasn't hungry before but I now am." Her head remained angled downward as she walked away, Mike leading her like a loyal puppy.

On the other hand, Harry held up a banana and a can of co*ke and shook his head at Jessica's curious look. "I don't really eat much of anything during lunch periods since I prefer to get homework done quickly so i can have free time later. And judging by what this school serves, I'm pretty certain I won't miss out. I'll bring something more filling tomorrow. I'm thinking of baking chocolate chip biscuits too."

Probably has anorexia,came the rude thoughts of Lauren.He's so skinny it's embarrassing. Try hard fa*g.As usual, Edward was reminded of why he didn't like the girl. Her shallow intolerance and superficial attitude were very unappealing.

Edward's attention was drawn back to his siblings, who were each expressing a level of shock over the conversation that had just occurred. Jasper was particularly mortified.

"Newton really just proposed the idea of stabbing someone and Swan and Potter were just fine with it!" Emmett said, looking like he wanted to laugh so hard. He was barely holding back because his laugh with like the roaring of a bear. Rosalie was shocked internally but stone-faced outwardly. Alice was smiling widestill.

For a moment, Edward considered informing them that he couldn't hear the thoughts of the new students, but decided against it. It wouldn't really matter anyway.

It wasn't as if they were a threat to him or his family. They were just... interesting.

"Who arethey?" asked Bella, gesturing to the table of very attractive people on the other side of the cafeteria. Her attention had suddenly caught them on her way back to the table and their collective beauty had literally stunned her for a moment. How was it possible for one person, let alone five, to be that attractive?

The blond girl was especially unlike anything Bella had ever seen before!

Harry looked over to where she was blatantly staring and whistled. "Hot!" he declared before returning to his Biology homework, which looked to be puzzling him somewhat. Harry had said science and math weren't his area of expertise and she supposed he was right. Maybe she should tutor him later on.

Jessica smiled and leaned over the table with a confiding smirk. "They're the Cullens. They moved down here from Alaska like two years ago and they keep to themselves."

Angela nodded. "In order from left to right is Jasper Hale and Alice Cullen. They're a thing. Then Rosalie Hale and Emmett Cullen,they'rea thing. And finally Edward Cullen. Dr. and Mrs. Cullen adopted all of them. From what we heard, Alice, Emmett, and Edward have been with her since they were eight or nine since she's technically their aunt."

Her heart practically warmed in a show of intense emotion and admiration for a couple she didn't even know. "That was sweet of them." Very sweet of them to do. So many people wouldn't be willing to take in children not physically their own.

Harry nodded along his agreement. "Not many young and new couples would take on that kind of responsibility. Even for a relative. And it's obvious they're all well-cared for. They're very fortunate and I sincerely hope they appreciate their adoptive parents." The dark look in his eyes made Bella wonder what had put it there. She didn't want to ask in front of anyone though. Didn't want to intrude on his privacy like that.

Oddly, after his words, Edward Cullen looked over at him for a moment, mouth working in a heart-stopping smile before looking away just as quickly. It was like he'd heard what Harry had said.

"Mrs. Cullen probably can't have kids," said Jessica in what had to be a minor fit of jealousy. As if that lessened the kindness of the couple's actions. "That's probably why they keep adopting instead of having their own."

"Well adoption means five less children trapped in the system of foster care," said Harry frankly. "Overpopulation is very much a thing and helping existing children in need is always a noble quest." Bella had to agree.

His words seemed to make Jessica settle down with how intensely he'd spoken them. And the entire Cullen table seemed to magically loosen up a bit, looking less stiff and bored. Like they'd heard him.

Lunch went on normally, with Bella only looking over a few times to get another look at the beautiful Cullen kids. The last one, the model-like one, Edward, never looked back in their direction again. Being the new kids really didn't interest the Cullens, but since they were the most recent new kids, it made sense in a way.

When the bell rang, they all stood and collected their things. "How was Biology?" Bella asked Harry as they were leaving.

He shrugged. "Not my thing, that's for sure, but the teacher was nice. Are you good at it?"

"I was in Advanced Placement in Arizona," she said quietly, so she didn't sound like a braggart and didn't want anyone else to know.

"Then you'll do fine. I've got Government now, so I'll see you in Gym." He'd walked her right up to the door of the building Biology II was held in and then took off at a run toward his next class.

She found Mike Newton beside her as she walked into class and handed her slip to the teacher who had been expecting her unlike all the others. When she turned to go to her seat, she found that she'd be seated next to Edward Cullen, who looked like he wanted todie, hand pressed to his mouth and eyes staring out the window with discomfort.

When she sat down, he leaned away from her as subtly as he could manage, and she took a second to discreetly sniff at her hair and found nothing offensive. Tohersenses at least. The dead silence coming from him was awkward though because everyone else had been staring at her all day and some were brave enough to draw her into conversation even. But he didn't do anything but push her copy of the classwork across the table in her direction, and stare.

The whole class period was spent with Edward leaning as far away as he possibly could with the limited space the table offered, while Bella curled in on herself, trying to think of what his problem could be.

Nothing came to mind. She'd never met him before. Had never spoken to him before. She couldn't think of anything she might have done to offend him.

When she peeked at him for the millionth time, right before the bell for the changeover rang, she regretted it, finding dark, almost black eyes glaring down at her. She hadn't done anything to deserve such a look! What was his problem?!

Bella wasn't confrontational by nature though, and wasn't brave enough to demand an explanation as a result.

Edward was out of his seat and out the door in a motion that was too fluid for how rushed it had been, when the bell rang. Bella blinked, wondering just what the hell was going on.

Harry frowned the moment he saw Bella in Gym. Her mood had taken a serious dive since Lunch and when he appeared at her side in concern, she shook her head at him and mouthed the word 'later'.

Gym was Physical Education. Hogwarts never had anything like that and the closest he got to it was Quidditch Practice with Oliver Wood. Bella was not happy about it obviously. She wasn't of the physically inclined sort it seemed.

As for Harry, he'd never played Volleyball in his life and Coach Clapp had to literally coach him through a mock game for him to understand just what was going on.

It was actually kind of fun. He had a good spike.

Once everything was finished, they made their way back to the office to hand in their papers for Mrs. Cope to mark down. They found Edward Cullen in the room already, trying to switch out of Biology II. And when they walked in, Harry saw him stiffen and then look over his shoulder, aiming a glare at Bella.

"There are no other open places. I'm afraid you'll have to stay in Biology, dear," Mrs. Cope was saying to him.

"Thank you for your help," he told her in a tight but respectful tone, and then he stormed past them and out the door. Harry could feel Bella shudder beside him.

Edward Cullen was now on his sh*te list. He didn't know what had happened, but he doubted the teen would ever manage to set things to rights.

"You can't go yet," said Alice the moment he made it to the Volvo. She was waiting with everyone else, all of them looking concerned and confused over what was happening. Jasper instantly tried calming him down, piling on the calm as much as he could.

"Why?" Edward demanded through gritted teeth. He was still reeling over how… appetizing Bella Swan smelled. He'd never been near a human who made him nearly break his control before. He'd seen it happen to Emmett and Jasper. Had seen the events in their minds even. But it had never happened to him and he'd assumed he was just used to their way of life like Carlisle was.

Animals were food, not humans.

The urge to just grab her and drain her dry in the middle of a class full of children was too much. His control had been pushed to the limit. And it was his loyalty to Carlisle and his desire to coexist with humanity, that kept him in line long enough to get away. He'd held his breath the entire hour.

Alice shook her head. "It's important that we stay and listen. I couldn't see why, but it will help us understand Harry at least and that's something that isnecessary."

"Why doeshematter?" Rosalie demanded rudely, only to get a quelling glare from the Seer among them.

With his siblings around him, ready to wrestle him away if necessary, they waited in the Volvo, listening and watching as Bella and Harry left the school office together.

"So what the bloody hell was Cullen's problem?" Harry demanded as they walked.

And Bella, poor Bella whom he wanted to hate so much but could only pity for being the unfortunate victim in all of this, shrugged and tightened her thin arms around her bag. "I guess he just doesn't like me. Mike said it was unusual behavior, even for him."

This obviously didn't not sit well with Harry, who glared up at the sky. It was frustrating not being able to hear his thoughts. Or Bella's. "Do you want me to kill that guy for you? 'Cause he sounds like an asshole and I will totally kill that guy for you." He said it so plainly and with a straight face even.

Emmett burst into surprised laughter.What the hell?!

Jasper's thoughts were relatively the same.

Both Rosalie and Alice were stock still in shock.

Bella's face betrayed her horror and confusion. "I… really can't tell if you're joking or not. You wouldn'tkillsomeone, right?"

There was silence between them as Harry's face split into a very charming smile that did not reach his eyes. The kind of grin that made Edward shiver a bit in discomfort, since he didn't know the thoughts accompanying it. "Did you hear about the string of gas leaks in Britain in the past few years that mirrored the ones from twenty years ago?"

All of them nodded subconsciously, even if only one person listening could actually be seen. They didn't know what that had to do with anything though.

"Those weren't gas leaks," said Harry. "They were the actions of cult faction trying to purify the world of what they deemed to be an inferior race of humans."

"You mean like- likeNazis?" was Bella's dumbstruck reply.

Harry shrugged. "I guess, but dressed like the KKK in black robes. I was the son of prominent leaders in the opposing cult faction. Both factions came from the same community of pagans and the main leader of the Nazi Cult decided that we as a community were superior to all other humans and got a considerable amount of the community on his side to begin exterminating everyone not sharing our levels of intelligence, talent, and blood history. Plus those in the community who didn't agree with his actions and beliefs."

The Cullens were as baffled as Bella was, all of them just blank, unsure of what to think or how to react. Edward's incredible thirst even died off as he pondered this strange information, understanding why Alice thought this was important to hear.

How did something like that go unnoticed by authorities? How could they be tricked by 'gas leaks' as an excuse?

"Wh-what happened?" asked Bella, voicing the question they all had in mind.

The two had made it to Bella's old truck now and were seated inside with the heat on. Harry shrugged again. "So he started his campaign but a stop was put to it when he and his followers f*cked up the night they targeted my family. My mum did something and the entire house blew up, taking out almost all of us. I was the only one found alive, but his robes were found without him in them. People hailed my name and decided that he must have died because the thought of him still living was something nobody wanted. I was then sent to live away from the community with my mum's Catholic sister in hopes of keeping me away from the fame.

"But then I learned my parents set up my entire secondary education at the school they'd attend with the majority of the community, and so I entered this new world of things I didn't understand, and I still don't understand everything yet. People knew my name and I was famous for not dying like my parents and it was awkward because they reasoned it out with their beliefs.

"Not everyone in the Nazi Cult were caught though. A lot of them lied about their allegiances to get out of going to prison, or were never open about their allegiances in the first place. One was my teacher. He tried to kill me when I was eleven, as revenge for the death of his master. I had to kill him."

It was horrifying. An eleven year old being indoctrinated into a cult was so unnerving. Being attacked by members of the opposing cult for things outside his control was another. What the hell was happening over in Britain?

"Harry, you do realize how messed up this all sounds, right?" Bella asked quietly, looking properly horrified. He nodded and shrugged.

"It took awhile for me to realize that it wasn't normal that his followers kept trying to kill me at school every year. And then he came back in my fourth year! He wasn't dead, he was hiding out and recuperating after being almost irreparably damaged in the explosion. And he started all that sh*te up again. And the leader of the not-Nazi faction, decided to take me on as an apprentice to finish off the bad guy should he get killed. And he got killed not long after. And all these people he encouraged to believe in me as some prophesied hero or whatever, looked to me to finish off the Nazi faction. So I had to.

"So long story short, I've killed people. Quite a few. And while my actions were in self defense and got me a commendation from The Crown - I can show you the gold award later, it's really cool and really heavy - and an offer to join MI5 as a special operative, I still have experience in killing. So if you do need me to handle someone, I can do it, and know how to make it never trace back to me," he finished with surety. "All you have to do is say the word."

And they all sat in silence, contemplating his story and the subsequent offer.

"Charlie is a cop, you remember? Should you be so open about these things?" asked Bella while Edward started his car and placed it in Reverse.

"You wouldn't tell him. Anyway, I was literally awarded. I got Knighted by the Queen. No one would see my actions as bad with that on my side. Besides, I left the cult entirely and decided to finish my education away from their madness. And I'm not going back unless it's to check on my godson. But I just thought you should be aware. If someone is a problem, I will my solve it, no matter the kind of problem they might be."

And Edward could feel the sincerity in his words. Something told him to take Harry Potter's claims seriously. Alice had been insistent that Potter was important for a reason, even if she couldn't See it yet.

Something was going on.

And as they were pulling out of the lot, the last thing they heard Bella say was a soft, "I'll keep that in mind, thanks."

That was when Edward decided that revealing what he'd learned that afternoon, was important to share with his family. "I can't hear their thoughts."

~.O.~

A/N: The first is done!

How was it? Let me know!

Check out mymany other fics!

See ya! :D

CHECK ME OUT ON TUMBLR.HELLY-WATERMELONSMELLINFELLON.

Chapter 3

Chapter Text

A/N: Hello, people!

I don't own Harry Potter or Twilight.

I have no beta.

ENJOY!

CHECK ME OUT ON TUMBLR.HELLY-WATERMELONSMELLINFELLON.

~.O.~

"What's wrong?" Esme asked the moment they got in the door in a very obvious rush. Jasper blocked the most obvious exit just in case, and Emmett hovered in case he needed to grab Edward.

Normally, Edward did a solid 100 mph because he liked going fast for the thrill of it. This time he pushed the Volvo as far as he could - a top speed of 130 mph - to get home faster and get away from the scent of Bella Swan. Since the Police Chief lived on the other side of Forks, the chances of her scent being anywhere near their home were nonexistent.

"Chief Swan's daughter is Edward's Singer," Alice said lightly, without any worries. "He managed to stop himself from doing anything rash during Biology though, so nothing happened." She made it sound as if it was an easy thing to do and didn't take every ounce of his concentration!

The woman immediately looked to him in concern.Is everything okay, Edward? Do you need something?

"I'm going to visit Eleazar and Carmen for a while. I need time to hunt and prepare myself. I can't stay here like this. Can you apologize to Carlisle for me?"

The woman pressed a hand to his cheek.Of course. Be careful. Come back when you're good and ready.

Edward borrowed Emmett's Jeep specifically for the trip, leaving his Volvo S90 with his siblings so they could continue to take it to school. Hardly anyone would notice the deviation that way.

As he drove away, he could hear Alice regaling Esme with the details of Harry Potter and Bella Swan's first day of school and shook his head.

It was a shame that this had to happen.

Harry actually had a medal. After the revelation of his former residence and what was involved, he'd invited her inside to see it in his spare room. And said medal rested in a glass case, on a royal blue cushion, in the center of the room that was filled with boxes and luggage that had yet to be emptied from the move. The medal would probably be bigger than her palm if she wanted to measure it. Then again, she had small hands.

"I even have the privilege of using the title of Sir," Harry told her. "It doesn't really come with anything else, but there is a list and my name is on it. And the offer for MI5 is open any time. I won't be taking it up any time soon since I really don't want to have to deal with danger at every end again."

"WhatisMI5 and what's the difference between it and MI6?" she asked, thinking about James Bond and Casino Royale and trying to make some kind of connection between them.

"Think of MI5 as dealing with the UK's domestic security and MI6 dealing with foreign intelligence."

Oh. Then it would make sense that he got the offer for MI5 instead of MI6. He'd stopped a domestic terrorist organization apparently. James Bond was always going to other countries. "Are there any articles about this?"

"Should be. The gas leaks were said to be the actions of a domestic terrorist organization run by a man named Tom Riddle Jr.. I was told they made a Wikipedia page about it. I should be listed in there but my page that it'll link to is pretty barren beyond the Knighthood and where I grew up."

She'd look it up later on to get a better understanding of what had happened. Hopefully there'd be photos to parse through too. "Is a real sword used when getting Knighted?"

"Yeah! It's pretty cool too! The Queen has her own and no one is allowed to use it but her. If someone was to do the Knighting in her place they still couldn't use it."

"Wow."

"Yeah."

"Your life sounds crazy."

"It was."

"What are those ones?" she asked, pointing to the display case beside the medal of Knighthood. This case had a red cushion and three medals, but those were the only differences.

Harry smiled. "Decorations that would also be pinned to a suit. From left to right: theVictoria Cross, for 'pre-eminent act of valor or self-sacrifice' and then theGeorge Crossfor, 'acts of the greatest heroism or of the most conspicuous courage in circ*mstances of extreme danger'. The last on the end is theEmrys Cross. I'm not allowed to divulge what that one is for though, sorry. Special or something."

"Emrys? As in Myrddin? Or more popularly known as Merlin?" She knew her legends pretty well. Bella liked Literature as a subject, very much, and it was often tied to mythology.

"Yeah." He didn't explain beyond that and she found it a bit strange but didn't pressure him for further answers.

Bella had a mental image of Harry, dressed in a military uniform - probably Marine since those ones were very sharp and always looked clean - and attaching all of his medals to his chest and standing at attention. The image was a nice one. Despite his eerie words that afternoon, he gave off a sort of air of a protector. That's why she felt so calm around him, even when he offered to 'take care of' Edward Cullen for her.

She really needed to get home a do a Google search!

"Is that the trophy?" she asked, pointing to what looked like a gold man holding up a gold carving of the UK, on a stand on the far side of the room. It was kind of gaudy and more out of the way than anything else. Beside it was a large, golden plaque in the shape of a shield, leaning against the wall with words that looked like they were in Latin, inscribed on the face.

"Yeah, the Commendation. I said it wasn't necessary but was pretty much told to suck it up and deal with it. The plaque is an award from my old school for saving it basically. The big fight was at the school. An attempt at terrifying the children into compliance, I think. Half the castle is gone, but nottoo manyminors died in the event, so I consider it a victory no matter how pyrrhic some would say it really was," he finished, voice dull.

Harry's life was messed up.

It was sad. It shouldn't be this easy for him to talk about tragedy, but if one had been faced with it for so long, they had to toughen up somehow, she supposed.

Edward Cullen was not at school the next day. Both Bella and Harry shared a look at that when they noticed the vacant spot at the Cullen's table. Bella refused to make a big deal of it though. She didn't care if he didn't come in to school. His business was none of her business and her life would move on whether he was in it or not.

But then he didn't come in the next day. Or the day after that. To the point where it seemed as if he transferred schools entirely. His family acted as if nothing was different though and no one else in the school seemed to notice this odd behavior.

When she and Charlie had dinner after her first day of school, she'd brought up the people who stood out and the Cullens came up. And how the students talked about them too. It was the first time she'd seen him get so heated over something in a long time.

Apparently, they'd been around for two years already, but still gained a lot of so-so attention. Half good and half bad. The kids never got in trouble though and were never anything but respectful to any adults they came across. Charlie was especially offended by the jealousy some people had for Dr. Cullen's wife and the lengths some would go to just to try and degrade her kind actions which involved making regular donations to the food drives the school held, and helping to raise money for the town's needs since the government wasn't helping much.

From what she'd gotten, Edward's attitude was especially uncommon, which made everything make even less sense! What the hell was his problem then? She'd never been this vexed by someone before!

Harry told her to just forget about him and that he wasn't her problem or worth her consideration. He also threatened to do something to him with a blunt spoon that she didn't like thinking about because the mental images were very… yeah. But she didn't doubt him.

And after reading the Wikipedia page about the 'gas leaks', she believed in his conviction without hesitation. While it didn't talk about a cult or anything, Tom Marvolo Riddle Jr. was definitely mentioned as the one spearheading the whole thing and how he did it all to draw out a man he hated, Albus Dumbledore, by killing people Albus knew, so he and his group of domestic terrorists could kill him for some old quarrel they'd had years ago.

It was all very hush-hush still, but the attacks had been described in great detail. One of the robes of the group had been recovered and true to Harry's word, looked like the costume of a KKK member, but in black, and with silver masks that apparently each bore a special design of its own.

There was an element of truth to everything. Half of what Harry had said was confirmed. And if it was even bigger than what was allowed to be shared with the public, then it made sense they didn't want to scare their citizens any more than they were already scared.

Harry's offer to help was accepted and she even viewed it as a kind of sweet offer. From what his life had been like in the past couple of years, that had to be a very common thing to say on his side. She doubted he'd fully realigned his life after only four months of the trauma being over. In his mind he probably extended a great offer of friendship and loyalty.

She could safely say that Harrywasdefinitely her friend because he was the fastest person to ever take her side in something and offer her aid without requiring something in return.

Mike Newton was like a loyal dog who followed her around because she was new, but he was a nice guy in his own way. Eric Yorkie and Mike seemed to be in a competition to see who could keep her attention the longest. On Harry's side, Lauren Mallory had already been denied her request for a date despite how she'd been nothing but frosty to him on their first day of school. And another girl that Bella didn't really know had asked him out too, which he had again refused.

It just seemed like Harry wasn't much interested in that kind of thing. His attention was always split in so many directions that he didn't ever focus on one topic for too long. He was trying to get better at Biology without much success, and his Trig was abysmal to put it nicely. He didn't have time for socializing the way people wanted him to, but he also didn't seem to be jumping at the chance to socialize in person.

Crowds seemed to bother him as much as they bothered her, but probably for different reasons, which was sad.

School the next week showed a change in temperature. In March.

It got even colder and started to snow. It was the last month of Winter technically so why was it snowingnow?! The air and ground should be getting warmer to welcome Spring!

"I thought this stuff was supposed to come down individually," she said when she and Harry met up at her truck on Monday morning. "The hell is this sh*t? It's all wet and gross."

"You've never seen snow before?" he asked, looking like he wanted to cackle and barely holding back for the sake of her embarrassment.

"On T.V.," she clarified.

"In the Scottish Highlands we got it up to our waists if it wasn't managed in time. The whole lake would freeze over even."

She took a moment to imagine Harry standing in waist high snow, and shuddered. "Ew," she decided.

He snickered as they got in the truck.

The day was filled with snowball fights that neither she nor Harry participated in. For him, it was as if the snow fell around him but not on him. His glasses didn't even fog up. His hair remained perfectly dry somehow when he wasn't rushing from place to place to stay dry. It was so unfair! As for Bella, she carried a binder in hand, ready to defend herself at a moment's notice the top of her head was wet and freezing!

"How are you doing it?" she demanded as they entered the cafeteria for Lunch period.

The other teen shrugged and sent her a smirk that held more meaning than she could understand. "Guess I'm just impervious to water or something."

They got in line, surveying their options which ended up being pizza that hadn't been warm in who knows how long, and salad that looked limp and not fit for human consumption. She got a carton of milk and an apple since the food was lackluster. Harry decided to spend money at the snack bar for pretzels and co*ke. He'd brought a baggy of 'mince pies' from home though. He said they were a guilty pleasure of his.

And they were good too! Harry's baking was supreme!

Harry tsked suddenly, drawing her attention. "Don't look now but the Grand Twat has returned from on high to mingle with us commoners."

And just when she had finally gotten used to his absence without feeling weird! Now Biology was going to be all awkward!

Edward's morning had been full of reassurances from Alice and Esme. They both had faith, one with literal concrete evidence, that he would make it through the day just fine. Esme had given him a tight hug and patted his cheek softly, and Alice punched his shoulder and winked at him as if she knew something that he didn't.

Hearing Harry Potter call him a 'twat' the moment he finally caught sight of Edward after a week, made him a cross between annoyed and amused. He'd love to say he did nothing wrong, but his attitude the former week had been terrible and he knew it. But it was at least better than killing someone in cold blood, so he didn't feelthatguilty over it.

It gave Alice a good laugh though. She was the most playful of his siblings. The rest were kind of on edge and waiting to pin him down if necessary. Jasper had already mentally mapped out the ways in which he could hold Edward down with as little resistance as possible.

"Is he looking this way?" Bella asked lowly, though it was as clear as a bell to Edward's advanced hearing. And he was specifically listening for her reaction above all the white noise in the room.

"No, but if he does I'll flip him off for you."

"I would much rather ignore his existence entirely."

"I suppose… sucks that he's such a prat though. He's so pleasing to look at. Look at his cheekbones! And his jaw! Fuuuuuck!"

"Harry!" was Bella's mortified wail of a whisper.

"What? He's hot. I can appreciate his face even if I don't like him."

If Edward was capable of blushing still, his face would be lit up because his siblings were all listening in and their thoughts immediately turned to teasing him over his 'hot face'.

Potter sighed almost longingly. "It's a face I could sit on."

"Harry!" came Bella's even more mortified wail the second time around. Edward echoed her reaction with his emotions. Jasper did nothing but laugh.

"What? I refuse to be ashamed of my sexual interests. I was shamed enough already for things outside of my control and I'm not letting this bring me down in the least."

"Not that," Bella murmured, "it's just awkward talking that way about another person. Out loud. Especially since we're all minors."

There was silence for a moment, which was frustrating since usually he'd be able to hear what both were thinking if they were anyone else! Then Harry said, "I kind of get where you're going but we're practically adults now already. Besides, I could've been more crass and simply chose not to be because we're in public and Ihavestandards for myself. They're not quite like what normal people would have but they're there."

Bella grumbled all the way to their table but said no more on the matter.

Somehow, Edward felt more relaxed at the prospect of speaking with Bella now. And he actually wanted to meet Harry too.

A human's interest in him was nothing new since he was a vampire and had the naturally alluring disposition that literally lured in what was supposed to be their prey. But the way Harry spoke didn't make Edward feel like an object, if that made any sense. Which was strange because he'd heard similar sentiments from the thoughts of humans for years.

Maybe his interest in Harry made him biased.

"So how was it?" Harry asked the moment they met up in Gym. As they were on the same team today, they stayed near one another. He basically guarded her the whole time and took up the duty of two people but it was fine since she was not an athlete.

"He talked to me."

"Really?"

"His voice is really nice."

"And what did you talk about?"

She shrugged. "He apologised for not getting to introduce himself last week, and then we were lab partners for labeling the phases of mitosis."

They'd had to do that in his class too. He'd hated it and his partner, whose name wasn't memorable, ended up saving his arse. Harry would probably buy them lunch as payment later on.

"Our hands touched while changing slides and he's really cold. Like, ice-pack kind of cold," she insisted quietly before diving for the floor to avoid getting hit with a dodgeball. In that moment, Harry managed to hit another oncoming ball away with the one in his hand.

"And then we talked about the weather."

Harry snorted. "Is he really that uninteresting?"

Bella shrugged. "But get this, last week I took very clear note of how black his eyes were because they were just so eerie and unnatural in shade. They made him look scary which was what put me on edge so much. Today his eyes were the color of butterscotch, but he denied wearing contacts when I asked."

Now thatwasindeed interesting. Cold, unnaturally handsome, and eyes that went from black to yellow? Could be a magical creature. He'd need to get a good look at the others, because all the Cullens were unnaturally attractive. Harry hadn't read his Defence Against the Dark Arts tome in a long time since he excelled in that class the most and felt he hadn't needed to.

"He also knew to call me Bella instead of Isabella like everyone else has been all week."

Yes, that was definitely weird.

"And is he as handsome up close as he is from far away?" Harry asked with a smirk.

Bella's face flushed an abhorrent shade of red, but she nodded shyly.

"And did he do anything arseholeish today?"

"Well... he still looked uncomfortable but there was no glaring or anything."

"Then I suppose he's off my sh*te list. For now." Anything could happen. He'd get a chance and Harry sincerely hoped he didn't f*ck this up.

After Gym they headed out to the truck, and Harry asked a question he'd been pondering for a week but wasn't sure of how to ask without sounding inept. Eventually he got so frustrated that he swallowed his pride and got it over with. "Can you help me set up my laptop and then teach me how to work it?"

Bella sent him a confused look. "You… don't know how to use a laptop?"

He flushed and nodded. "My aunt and uncle did the bare minimum the law required when I lived with them. I wasn't allowed to touch anything of my cousin's unless I was taking his things up to his bedroom or cleaning his bedroom. He had a computer but he put his fist through it in a fit, so they got him a laptop, but he sat on it and the battery leaked all over the screen, so they bought him another but he cracked it in half, and another which he threw at a wall during a tantrum, and another that ended up getting ice cream all over it and stopped working. And many more after that. But I never learned how to use them myself. And the cults I mentioned are very old-fashioned. Like, quills and parchment old-fashioned. Like, horse-drawn carriages old-fashioned. Like corsets and stays as part of the regular wardrobe kind of old-fashioned."

The young woman blinked as she processed all that information, and then shook her head. "You got a laptop?"

"Yeah."

"And you have an internet connection?"

"My neighbors on the right, the Smiths, will let me use their internet if I get something called Netflix and allow them access to it with at least three screens or something, and honestly, that's so much easier than me having to set things up because I don't understand half of this sh*te."

"How'd you get your TV set up then?"

"I don't have one of those."

She sent him one ofthoselooks again and he said, "I wasn't allowed to watch the telly so I've never gotten into it. I'm just doing the laptop thing because I've learned that school projects, especially in normal schools in 2020, require an internet connection. So I bought a bunch of things with names I'm familiar with and know go together for optimal performance, but I don't understand most of their uses. What is a hard drive?"

Bella unlocked the truck door for him and then went around to her side. "Do you know how to useanyelectronics?"

"Some," he admitted blithely. "I got a new iPhone that took weeks for me to learn how to use. And I have Spotify as a mobile application so I can listen to all sorts of music any time I want without advertisem*nts! And it is so much cooler than my old gramophone because I don't have to crank a lever. And it's easier to carry around because I don't have to lug this big arse, brass horn everywhere! Though I do have the gramophone set up anyway just in case. For aesthetic purposes mostly." Itlookedcool at least, which kind of made it worth the trouble.

"You have an honest to God phonograph?" asked Bella, jaw practically in her own lap. "As in a super old record player?"

"Yeah."

"And how big is the horn?"

He took a moment to think, before stretching out his right arm and gesturing from the tip of his middle finger to his shoulder, with his left index finger. "The mouth is about this much."

"I've never seen one in person before."

"I can show you it sometime! I have a lot of records!"

"Were things better this time around?" Esme asked that afternoon when they'd gotten home.

He was a bit iffy on that. "I was able to make light conversation with her and apologized for my behavior. We talked about the weather. But no, her scent was still as intense as before." It made his mouth fill with venom and his whole body ache!

"You'll get used to it," Alice told him confidently from the sofa. "After being around her every day it'll become quite a bit easier. Being gone for a week probably made it worse because it was like she was new all over again."

That was a good point.

Also, he felt compelled to ask, "Am I going to meet Harry Potter any time in the near future?" Just to satiate his interest of course. And hope fervently that the other teen didn't have blood as appealing as Bella's.

She merely grinned in her usual, all-knowing way and proceeded to mentally do runs of Bohemian Rhapsody in true Freddie Mercury fashion.

Esme patted his shoulder in passing and said, "Whatever you choose to do, we'll help. All you have to do is ask, you know."

Edward did not deserve such devotion.

Sometimes it hurt to think that someone like Esme or Carlisle could possibly be damned. They were too good, and not like Edward at all.Theynever strayed from their chosen path, not once.Theyhad both managed to control themselves. And yet they'd also never hated him forhisfaults and mistakes.

In personal belief, Edward deserved Hell.

And it was that stark fact that reminded him that being friends with any human was incredibly risky to all involved and that really, he should stay away no matter how much the new students intrigued him.

No need to damn them too.

"What's Spirit Week?" Harry asked the next day when he saw all the posters that suddenly appeared on the school walls overnight. The second week of April was to be Spirit Week. Forks' only high school sports team was a Basketball Team and they had to wait for the bigger schools in Washington to get past their Football season to begin their games.

She personally didn't think it was enough to have a Spirit Week, but maybe it was for morale or something like that.

"Typically it's a week of dressing up in accordance with certain themes, leading up to a Homecoming Football game and then a dance. Those usually happen in like October though. Since Forks doesn't have a Football team, and instead has a Basketball team, they have to wait for the other sports season to be over. So Forks celebrates in a lead up to Prom I think." Something she wasn't interested in.

The poster was pretty simple.

SPIRIT WEEK!
April 6th - April 10th 2020!

April 6th - Medieval Day
April 7th - Victorian Era Day
April 8th - Sci-Fi Day
April 9th - Anime Day
April 10th - Mythology Day

At the end of each day will be a voting ceremony. The final class period will
be replaced as the students gather in the gymnasium and vote for the most
impressive costume of the day. The winner will receive an automatic A+ as
a final grade in their class of choice. On Saturday night(Prom), there will be
a contest for the Best Dressed Student for the entire week, based on the five
winners, and they'll winexemption from taking two end-of-term exams of
their choice and receivean automatic A+ instead.

Prom: April 11th!
7:30 PM - 11 PM
Forks High School
Gymnasium
$5 Admission

For additional details contact Mrs. Cope at the FRONT OFFICE.

Harry looked excited. "We get to dress up and no one can say sh*te about it?"

"Basically. The clotheshaveto be appropriate though, so no nudity, but you get the idea."

"This is going to be perfect!"

She didn't see how, but the twinkle in Harry's eye let her know that he planned to take the event seriously.

Luna,

I'm settling in very well here in Forks. You were right of course, I should probably stop
doubting you when you always seem to be right about everything.

My newest friend is named Isabella Swan. I think she is the 'little swan'you mentioned
before I left? She is hilarious and oddly accepting of strange things. I told her about the
'terrorist attacks' and while she looked a bit concerned, she took it pretty well. She then
went home and looked into it herself to verify my words and has seemingly gotten over
it. Like it doesn't matter. And she doesn't look at me any different either.

Not sure if I've ever met a person so level-headed. She even makes Mione seem a little
mad!

Listen, there is something a little strange going on. There are five students who are all a
off in a way. They dolookhuman, but Bella and I have both noted some odd things about
them, and I'd hesitate to say they are totally human. Bella is a bit obsessed with finding
out the truth, which has affected me by association.

I wanted to ask if you could lend me your Diamond Edition of Newt'sFantastic Beings
& Where To Find Them. I only haveFantastic Beasts & Where To Find Themand
all the creatures in it are animal-like. I also can't seem to find the book I need in any of
the magical shops in America. British deliveries can't come this far apparently? I asked
if I could order something and it be shipped to NYC and then I'd Apparate over and pick
it up over there, but apparently that's just not on?

Anyway, how are things going over there with me gone? How many articles have called
me a betrayer for not sticking around and solving everyone's remaining problems? How
many people have bothered you lot to demand to know where I've gone? And do I need
to put someone in their place?

Say the word and I'm there to help if you need me.

When are you planning to go on your trip? Just after graduating or maybe waiting a bit?
Have you convinced Newt to take you on as an Apprentice yet?

Yours,
Harry.

P.S.Is it strange to be smitten with more than one person at a time? Even if you don't
know one of them at all?

P.P.S.I kind of want to tell Bella about magic. She seems like she'd be cool with it.

Luna smiled and folded up the letter. She looked toward her designated desk in her dorm, easily spotting the book Harry had requested.

The silvery words on the spine seemed to shine in the sunlight streaming in through the open window.

Her mind was filled with visions of a beautiful man with a face not unlike Cedric Diggory's, as he stood in a sunlit meadow. His golden eyes and exposed skin sparkling unnaturally like millions of diamonds, let her know he wasn't human. He stared down two real humans who watched him in awe. One was Harry, looking besotted, and the other was familiar only from a former vision. Bella Swan. Her expression mirrored Harry's perfectly.

Yes, Harry would needFantastic Beings & Where To Find Thempost haste.

~.O.~

A/N: The first is done!

How was it? Let me know!

Check out mymany other fics!

See ya! :D

CHECK ME OUT ON TUMBLR.HELLY-WATERMELONSMELLINFELLON.

Chapter 4

Chapter Text

A/N: Hello, people!

I don't own Harry Potter or Twilight.

I have no beta.

ENJOY!

CHECK ME OUT ON TUMBLR.HELLY-WATERMELONSMELLINFELLON.

~.O.~

"What are they doing and why do we have to be here for it?" Rosalie demanded as they all sat in the Volvo at the end of an unproductive school day, watching as Bella Swan followed Harry Potter toward the woods for some reason.

The vampires were of course, listening in on the conversation at Alice's order, and trying to puzzle out what was going on.

Edward once again lamented not being able to hear what was going on in the minds of the human anomalies. Since he couldn't hear anything at all, he had no context and it was annoying!

"Why exactly, are we going over here?" Bella asked as she stumbled after her friend, who seemed to not share her issues with balance on flatorbumpy surfaces. She managed to hit every rock Harry avoided and it was kind of funny and kind of sad at the same time.

"TechnicallyIwas just going to come over here, butyoufollowed me."

"'Cause I didn't want to leave you alone! I'm not exactly a fighter or anything but numbers tend to make potential assault less likely to happen. I have Charlie's number pulled up in case."

"I don't think anything's going to happen that will require Chief Swan's assistance when we're this close to the school and highway, Bella."

"With my sh*t luck, I'm not taking chances," Bella countered firmly. "Sowhyare we here?"

Harry laughed, the sound echoing off the trees that swallowed them up so the vampires could only listen to them now. "I think I saw Wormwood, and if I did, I have need of it."

There was a moment of silence where nothing was said and Bella continued stumbling alongside Harry's sure steps, before she asked, "Isn't that stuff toxic?"

"Indeed."

"And why would you need it?"

"Reasons that I might share with you later on if you prove that you can keep a secret."

Bella huffed and Edward swore he heard Harry murmur, too low for Bella's ears, 'Oculus'. What the Latin word for 'eye' had to do with anything, he didn't know. The only thing he was aware of that used that word was the Oculus Rift and that had to do with gaming.

There was the sound of scissors working, and then an 'ah-ha' sound from Harry.

"Is it Wormwood?" Bella asked.

"Yes! A lot of it too! I knew it could grow in the Northern US and Canada but I didn't think it would be all the way over here. Forks doesn't exactly have the kind of soil or climate it would grow in, I believe."

"Why do you know so much about... plants in general? I saw the small greenhouse connected to your back door and I wondered what you were planning to grow in there."

"So much stuff. When I get things situated and they actually look decent, I promise I'll show you."

And that was that.

The mystery surrounding Harry Potter continued to grow by the day.

"Hey, Hedwig! You didn't have to immediately come back, girl."

Said owl gave him a sharp hoot, her gold eyes narrowing in challenge as if he'd offered some grave insult.

"I'm sorry to have doubted you, but I worry about your wing ever since you got hit with that curse."

Harry had very well almost lost his first ever friend months ago, because she had taken out a few Death Eaters to stop them from pursuing him while he was on the run. She'd been very brave and had used her talons masterfully to blind them while they were chasing him on brooms, taking out four Death Eaters all on her own by plucking out their eyes and then causing them to fall about one hundred meters to their deaths.

One unfortunately managed to get a hit in, but not all the way. Harry had managed to catch her, and between Hagrid and Luna, she was healed up in no time. Still, he couldn't help being worried about her well-being all the time ever since.

She shouldn't have gotten hurt at all since he'd released her and told her to flee. Instead, she felt compelled to protect him and had gotten hurt in the process. Harry was like her overprotective dad now.

The package she'd delivered from Luna was bigger than just a simple book. It had been charmed to be light enough to carry, but it was still massive. Bigger than Hedwig even. And she'd made it across borders with it, under a Notice-Me-Not Charm.

Inside he found the book on magical Beings he'd asked to borrow, a tin full of biscuits from the Hogwarts Kitchens which Luna knew he loved, and a book on Magical Thread-Warding.

If Luna had seen fit to send him more than what he'd asked for, then it had to be important to him in the future. Thankfully he already knew how to sew, so that didn't seem like it would be too difficult to get into.

As for the special book, he was very careful in handling it, and proceeded to read it from start to finish, keeping his eyes peeled for the details he was specifically looking for, while letting his magic make him some tea to go with his new biscuits.

"Is that an owl?" Bella asked that afternoon once she took notice of the creature currently resting on what she realized was a perch and not a random statue of a bare tree, in Harry's living room. And her question was rhetorical since she knew it was an owl, she just didn't know why it was where it was so to speak.

"That's Hedwig! She was my first ever friend!" Harry said from in the kitchen where he was fixing up tea upon his own insistence. "I got her as my first gift when I was eleven and we've been inseparable ever since!"

"I've never heard of domesticated owls," Bella admitted from the sofa. Parrots, ducks, chickens, peafowl, falcons, and even pigeons, but not owls.

"A very common pet in the UK actually."

"Really?"

"Yeah. She's brilliant too." Said owl hooted in response, puffing her chest out, and Bella didn't doubt him as a result.

Harry returned with tea and an odd looking cookie that he held out to the owl. Her golden eyes glinted and she snapped it up in her beak, tilting her head back and breaking it into several pieces to inhale at once.

A bird was Harry's first friend. At age eleven. Every time she heard something about his childhood, she wanted to punch something, which was abnormal since she wasn't a violent person by nature. Yet she felt so protective over little-Harry that she wanted to defend him and save him from the problems he shouldn't have had to deal with.

"Want to meet her?" Harry asked while running his fingers carefully down the white plumage. "She's very nice, I promise. Always on her best behavior!"

Eventually, Bella was coaxed into touching the bird that had spent several minutes eerily staring at her when she had been let inside the house. Hedwig was indeed, nice. And Bella would swear she sent Harry a sly look once they made contact!

How smart could birds be?

"Where does her name come from? I've never heard it before."

"Hedwig, the Patron Saint of Silesia, was known for her work in helping Widowed, Impoverished, or Orphaned people. She started hospitals and dedicated her life to helping others in the 13th century," he revealed quietly. "I found the name in my history book and it has proven to be apt. Some thought she was a witch, others thought she was an angel sent by the Christian God. I simply think she was a hero."

A name of a woman in history who had been known for taking care of orphans, was bestowed upon his first friend.

She wondered what Hedwig had done to protect him, because with how he watched the bird and how the bird watched him back,somethinghad happened for such devotion to form between them.

Bella wondered if having a pet was always like that, or if perhaps Harry and Hedwig were special. As Bella had killed both fish she'd tried to raise when she was little, she knew nothing about having a pet.

"How are things going, Harry?"

He sighed into the receiver, "Fine, Mione. The house is pretty modest for Sirius' standards and has been nice. I've made a new friend and might possibly have a larger group of them by the end of term. And I think there are vampires among the students."

There was silence on the other end of the line, before his bookish friend sighed hard. "Only you would leave the magical world and somehow still run into magical beings."

"From what I've observed from Luna's loaned copy ofFantastic Beings, they fit the page on Type #4 Vampires, so they're not like the ones Voldemort used in the Battle of Hogwarts. They're apparently harder to find and I'm so glad he didn't have any of them because they would be so much scarier than the ones we faced who were so easy to keep up with and kill."

Yes, he was certain the Cullens were vampires.

The fascinating thing about vampires was the fact that they came in different kinds. Species perhaps. Newt Scamander had really done his best to discover everything he could about the different kinds out there.

Simply put:

Type #1:Dead. Cannot come into contact with silver. Cannot see their reflections in mirrors backed by silver. Can be staked with wood through the heart and will turn to dust. Frozen at the time of their change. A little faster and stronger than humans. Can turn into bats. Have fangs. Have slightly heightened senses. Obsessively need to count things in mass quantities. Burn to a crisp in sunlight. Must be invited in. Have venom that can change humans into vampires and kills werewolves. Can die by werewolf bites.

Type #2:Alive. Born as what they are typically. Weak to sun but don't burn from it. Can see their reflections in anything. Harder to kill. Cutting off their heads won't really work as they can be reattached in time and will heal. Usually have some kind of ability that runs in their families. Far faster and stronger than humans and have supernatural senses. The older ones can turn into an animal of their choice. Some have the power to turn humans into vampires and if the changed vampire does not drink the blood of the one who changed them, they'll go mad and have to be killed off before they expose their kind to muggles.

Type #3:A mix of 1 & 2. Frozen in their state forever, but can eat and drink normal food like humans. The only differences between them and the Type #2 Vampires were the fact that the human has to die with the blood of this type in their system in order to be changed at all, that they can wear enchanted jewelry that can stop them from burning in the sunlight, and that they're extremely weak to the vervain herb.

Type #4:Frozen in time. If changed too young, cannot mentally grow past where they'd been changed, which meant no changing children. The fastest and strongest of the Vampire Types, with the best senses. Few entered their immortal lives with quantifiable natural talents, but they were recorded with examples of Sight, Elements, and Shielding. Bodies like granite and with venom so light and a lack of pores that their skin gave a prismatic effect in the sunlight. Their feeding habits also determined the colour of their eyes. Black for hunger, red for human blood, gold for animal blood, and purple for blood from magical creatures. They were constantly cold because of lack of blood flow and granite-like skin and preferred living in dark places.

Obviously, the Cullens were the last kind of vampire. It was fascinating! If Hermione was there, she'd want to ask so many questions because they were the kind that magical people knew the least about because so few had been recorded in history. There was no further knowledge on them. Newt had done the best he could from the one he'd met personally but that vampire had been hesitant to reveal too much information.

All that was truly important was that they had their own leaders and laws to an extent. And that those leaders know a little about the Wixen World but had chosen to remain separated. And considering how wix went unaware of this type of vampire until the 1920s, they'd done a damn good job at keeping under the radar.

Newt's open attitude and kind disposition really benefited wix, whether they knew it or not. People should be more grateful to him and his work.

"You're being safe, right?" Hermione asked, drawing him back to the present.

"Yes, Mione. I'm even doing decently in school." If one ignored his Maths and Biology grades.

"Which you have to get to soon, so I'll let you go," the woman said softly. "Take care, Harry. Don't be a stranger."

"Bye, Mione."

A few minutes later, he was out the door and into the snow, watching as Bella painstakingly took her time getting to her truck. Ever since they'd met, he'd noticed her lack of coordination and on normal ground she was a hazard. Black ice was certainly not her friend.

He managed to make to her side in time to catch her during what would have been a rough fall and probably a twisted ankle.

"Thanks!" she gasped, gripping his arms tightly she was set on her feet again. They shuffled over to the truck together, her grip remaining strong on his arm.

Somehow, the drive to the school wasn't dangerous at all. He'd expected some bad roads because of the sh*te weather conditions and the fact that Forks lacked anything for plowing. But no, it had been pretty smooth the whole way. Bella hadn't even slid on any ice! It was as if there was no ice at all!

It was only upon arrival that they found out why.

"Charlie put chains on the tires," Bella murmured as she crouched down at the back of the truck to run a gloved hand over the rubber and metal.

As Harry knew nothing about cars, he asked, "Is that something youhaveto do?"

"In some places it's a law," she said, voice tight and eyes a bit misty. "Not in Forks though. But he did it anyway because he wanted us to be safe."

Chief Swan was awesome. He really tried his best to be a good father. Bella was very lucky to have him.

"Not to make things awkward deliberately," he started in warning, because itwasabout to become awkward, "but I wish I had parents. And I'd like them to be like him if I had 'em."

She gave him a sad look but didn't say anything, which he found he preferred. While he loved Ron and Hermione, sometimes they would coddle and it would get annoying very quickly. Harry didn't spend his days lamenting his orphan status or anything, but he was allowed to be envious of this one thing without being pitied all the time.

"I forgot my gloves in the truck," Bella murmured doing an about face to go and get them.

He stopped her. "I'll do it since I have better balance on the ice than you do. And I think I'm going to leave my copy of Macbeth in the truck anyway since I don't need it and don't want to even think about it." Nothing topped Flitwick's musical rendition of it and nothing ever would. For the most part, it was very boring and it wouldn't kill him to not have it in class, especially since he'd already read it before!

Harry hadn't even gotten Bella's door open, as he was too lazy to walk around his own side to deposit the book on his seat, when loud screeching sounded from nearby. Like tyres on the street kind of screeching.

He whipped around to see Bella frozen in place as a large, black van driven by one Tyler Crowley, spiraled on the black ice toward the bumper of her truck where she was stood. Without hesitation, he threw his arms out and yelled, "Accio Bella!"

Bella's entire body lifted off the ground, sailing in his direction seconds before the back half of the van made contact. He noticed several things at once. Bella weighed more than he thought since she hit him at an odd angle and knocked him right off his feet. Her truck was a monster since the van's back half practically curled around it, doing no damage at all to the truck itself, and Edward Cullen was practically laying on top of them a second later, giving Harry a very nice view of him up close for the first time.

He looked so much like Cedric that it kind of hurt, honestly.

But the danger wasn't over yet, because they found themselves rolled over, directly under the truck to avoid the rest of the crash. That was what basically confirmed that Edward was a vampire. Nothing else would make sense in the long run.

He was beautiful of course. And looked so much like Cedric, but without the dirty blond hair, grey eyes, and far less muscle tone. But beauty and being cold in a cold place didn't mean one was a vampire. Other things had to come into play. Like how he'd gotten over to them in the blink of an eye and how his foot was extended, planted firmly into the side of the van and leaving a very obvious dent in the passenger door. How his eyes could apparently shift between black(hunger) and gold(animal diet) in so little time.

And then Harry was made aware of the throbbing in his skull where it had impacted with the hard ground. Bella gave a groan of understanding, her face twisted up in a wince.

"Bella, Harry, are you both okay?" Edward asked, voice more angelic and nothing like Cedric's. Nothing beyond the standard American sounding accent either.

A high-pitched sound came out of Harry's mouth, though he couldn't quite describe it. Bella's was more of a grunt.

"I'm certain you hit your heads on the ground. You probably shouldn't move."

"But I'm cold!" Bella moaned, trying to roll over to no avail. They were squished under the truck. Edward was on top of them and his granite-like body had them pinned pretty good since there was no space above him. The cab wasn't that high and they were blocked in on both sides. And yes, the ground was cold, and Edward himself was also cold, so it wasn't a pleasant mix.

Edward shook his head at them, topaz eyes almost glittering with obvious amusem*nt.

The present came back to them then, and Harry was made aware of the screams. Students were calling his and Bella's names. Someone was calling an ambulance. Another person was screaming for a few teachers.

"Get Tyler out of the van!" an unfamiliar voice yelled in a panic.

"Well…thiswasn't how I thought today would go," Harry murmured into Bella's hair. They were both kind of on their backs but twisted enough to the side because of how she'd landed in his arms. Her hair smelled like strawberries and was a nice contrast to the scent of metal coming from the truck.

And in the middle of all the drama, was when Bella justhadto ask the one question Harry didn't want to deal with.

"How did I end up flying into your arms, Harry?"

He tried for some levity. "I'm irresistible."

She cut him an unamused look and then aimed her glare at Edward. "And how didyouget over to us when you were literally on the other side of the lot? I would know, I was trying and failing to be subtle while staring at your face through my hair, and saw your sister pat your head condescendingly and you glare at her for some reason. And Alice is not over here right now, so what the f*ck?"

Edward's countenance tightened and all friendliness melted away. "Leave it alone, Bella," he said tightly.

Harry snickered. "He doesn't want you to know that he fancies yo-"

A freezing hand pressed down on his mouth, stopping him from speaking clearly. There was enough pressure to muffle him but not enough to harm him at all or make it hard to breathe.

"Kinky," he managed to mumble, earning a wide-eyed look. If vampires could blush he was certain Edward's cheeks would be lit up, and for some reason that knowledge tickled him!

"Bella! Harry!" the frantic students continued to wail in the not so far distance. "Are you okay?!"

The next few minutes were spent with them in tense silence, Harry being forced to stay quiet and Bella glaring at both of them, her brown eyes demanding answers that wouldn't be coming any time soon.

Eventually they could crawl out once the van was pushed away. Bella parking against a wall was not the best choice it seemed. But the truck was perfectly fine in the long run and only one light in the back had suffered in the crash.

There was an ambulance awaiting them and Edward, the traitor that he was, said they'd hit their heads and could possibly be concussed. Meaning anything they said in accusation would be written off immediately as mad ramblings. Smart move on his part, Harry had to admit. But Bella was a very determined young woman and she would not be deterred for long, Harry could tell.

He looked upon the ambulance with dawning horror. He was going to the hospital. Never did like them much, and ever since the battle, he liked them even less now.

Edward stood out of the way, listening closely to the thoughts of the EMTs in case something especially concerning popped up. He steadily ignored Rosalie's rambling thoughts and Jasper's concerns over what this could mean. Alice was excited for reasons she refused to share mentally and Emmett was just worried about what this meant for the family as a whole.

But it wasn't as if Edward could just let Bella die! And notjustbecause her blood being spilled would have sent both himandJasper into a rage.

"I really don't want to go to the hospital," Harry insisted even as a neck brace was wrapped around his throat. His words were echoed by Bella, but she was far less frantic about her distaste. Bella seemed more annoyed and embarrassed while Harry looked borderline panicked.

They were shuffled onto a gurney. There was only one but both were so slight in frame that they fit on it easily. Bella wrapped a hand around Harry's and asked too low for any other human to hear, "Is there something wrong with hospitals for you?"

His stare was almost dead while it was aimed at the sky, and his voice was a low monotone filled with grief as he said, "The last time I was in the hospital mere months ago, I was surrounded by dead or dying children. I don't like hospitals."

The whole situation surrounding Harry Potter was so confusing for Edward. He'd already killed at age seventeen, and had seen the deaths of others. He'd been abused and neglected at the very least from what he'd gleaned by listening to he and Bella speak at a distance. And he was once a part of a cult. It was all very confusing.

Edward followed the ambulance to the hospital, finding himself concerned for the boy who intrigued him and the girl who annoyed and yet amused him.

Bella thought she'd take the trip to the hospital the worst, but it turned out that Harry hated them even more than her, and for reasons that made hers feel childish. Harry had actual traumatic experiences in a hospital, while Bella just hated getting special attention from people and didn't like worrying others unnecessarily.

This was what made her refrain from voicing her displeasure over and over like she had initially wanted to. Harry was silently bearing it so she would as well. He never let go of her hand either, and squeezed it every now and then.

The emergency room was their destination and they got separated for their x-rays despite insisting that they were fine. Half an hour later, they were proven right.

And getting the news came the same time Tyler Crowley was wheeled in on his own gurney, his head wrapped up severely.He'dactually been hurt the most, yet Bella and Harry got the most fussing from everyone?

And then Charlie showed up and began being a worried dad on both BellaandHarry while making certain to sternly tell Tyler that he was going to get to the bottom of what happened and if he was in the wrong, he could say goodbye to his license. It was all very embarrassing and dramatic.

Edward Cullen waltzed in not too long after Charlie was called out by a nurse, seating himself on Harry's bed and giving them all a small smile like he had some special secret and was considering whether or not he should share it.

"You were under there with us so why the bloody hell aren'tyouin the same predicament?" Harry demanded before Bella could say anything, but of course they were both wondering the same thing. It was like their minds were connected or something.

The impossibly beautiful teen aimed a charming, angelic smile Harry's way, that made Bella's stomach flutter and also really annoyed her at the same time. "It's all about who you know. But don't worry, I have it on good authority that you both won't be here for much longer."

And that was when a god walked into the room.

While some would say Bella had to be exaggerating, she wasn't. The incredibly attractive blond that walked in was more handsome than even Edward, if it was possible. He just kind ofglowedlike a real angel. Like a divine being. He made every air-brushed actor and Instagram model look dull in comparison.

He had to be Dr. Cullen because the similarities were too stark.

And she took momentary notice of how their skin was the same and they had the same dark circles under their eyes which were both goldish despite them not being related by blood at all! Strange. Just like Edward moving so fast across the parking lot and his foot leaving a dent in Tyler's van!

She noticed things! Things that weren't normal! And she wanted answers! And his lack of interest in giving them made her all the more curious!

"So," began Dr. Cullen with a ridiculously appealing voice and smile that could light up a whole town and yes, she just used a Taylor Swift reference, "How are you doing, Ms. Swan? Mr. Potter?"

"Fine," both answered together.

He checked over their x-rays and asked after their heads since Edward apparently narked about them hitting the ground a bit too hard!

"It's fine," said Bella while Harry just shrugged and looked away. That got the doctor's attention though, and he checked Harry over first, easily noting all the times Harry winced, which was often.

Bella, while still wanting answers, felt bad for her friend and hoped this wouldn't cause problems. Especially with his aversion to hospitals in general.

Carlisle Cullen didn't think he'd actually meet the town's newest residents any time soon. Nor at the same time. He could practically feel Edward's anxiety over both of them ending up in the ER, plus how they got there in the first place. His son had a minor obsession with both and he hadn't even met one of them properly.

Alice had said everything would be fine though, so they had all put their faith in her visions.

They'd already shared some words outside the door to the room and Carisle has made certain to tell his son that he was proud of Edward's desire to protect people, even if his siblings weren't as understanding of the fact that he'd most likely exposed them to an extent. But he'd been doing his best because he wanted to make Carlisle proud, so how could henotbe proud of Edward?

His son sent him a grateful smile after hearing his thoughts.

He approached Harry Potter first, since the boy looked more tired than Bella Swan did and that was concerning. His head was warmer than an acceptable, human temperature. He might have a fever for a few hours in response to the stress this whole ordeal had put him under.

"Your head will most likely hurt for several days, but you don't have any breaks, fractures, lacerations, or contusions to worry about. Your medical history is surprisingly empty though." He'd gone through what they'd been given and it had been very empty. Worryingly empty in fact. He'd heard that the boy was emancipated, but he had doubts over whether that was a good decision or not.

"Eh," Harry huffed with a shrug of the shoulder, "my relatives did the bare minimum since they only took me in under threat. I saw a doctor once when I was in primary school for all the things you typically have to get done in primary. And then my secondary school had a year-round doctor of sorts because it was a boarding school. Unfortunately it was the victim of a domestic terrorist bombing a few months ago and half the castle is gone, including the Hospital Wing and all student files held inside. They didn't trust electronics, so everything was manually recorded in ink. I filled out what I could understand on the paperwork but my history is pretty empty now and I don't remember where a lot of my scars come from beyond 'terrorist attacks'. Sorry."

Carlisle sent him a reassuring smile even though inside he was reeling over that little tidbit of information and how calm the boy was over discussing it. He held up his clipboard, looking it over. "If I may just ask you to do a few things for me?"

"Go for it."

"How's your vision?"

"sh*te."

"Harry!" Bella hissed.

"What? It is!" the teen said, a flush working its way over his face. "I'm wearing glasses to rectify that issue!"

"He meant as in, are you seeing doubles or weird lines or an abundance of sparkles to determine if you have any nerve issues."

"Oh. Well, no then."

"Can you squeeze my hand as hard as you can?" Carlisle offered his hand palm up for testing.

The boy demonstrated no issues in his grip or his strength. Motor functions were fine. He had a decent amount of strength for someone so small and human too.

"And finally, please stand and walk a straight line to the door and back."

The line was near perfect for a human, which was good. His assessment was that Harry was fine.

"Would you like a prescription for pain medication or would you prefer to just take acetaminophen?"

Harry waved off his concern with a tired smile. "I'll be fine, doc, don't worry. I have a high threshold for pain and this isnothingcompared to some of the things I've been through. You should check Bella now so Chief Swan doesn't go mad with worry."

And he did so, still reeling over the newest revelations about the boy.

Both ended up being fine and both were incredibly desperate to get out of the hospital. Tyler Crowley wasn't quite so fortunate as them however. He had actually broken skin during his part of the crash.

"Thanks, Dr. Cullen!" said Harry as they left the ER.

"Please try not to come back too soon!" he called after them, hearing Bella groan in embarrassment and Harry snicker.

Edward sent him a nod of appreciation and followed his future friends out.

It didn't need to be said aloud, that Carlisle was a proud father.

Edward wasn't sure what to do at this point, but he could tell that Bella had numerous questions and he wanted to get away before she had the chance to even ask them. He wasn't sure of what to tell her.

"Well," began Harry, "today has been something else. Bella nearly got hit by a van, a man I've never met laid on top of me after being far away seconds prior, and I got felt up by a hot doctor."

Bella snorted. "I nearly got hit by a van, somehow found my entire body leaving the ground to fly right into your arms from several feet away, got laid on by a guy who crossed the parking lot in a second and left a large dent in said van with his foot, and got felt up by a hot doctor."

Both turned to stare at him expectantly, and Edward groaned internally. Both of them were aware of what had happened and had seen the same thing essentially. If it had been one person, making them doubt their own senses would be easy, but with both, they could commiserate and then compare their notes on the situation.

"I had an adrenaline rush," Edward decided. "They're pretty common when in perilous situations. You can do a Google search for more info."

Harry snorted while Bella's face turned livid. Neither believed him, obviously, but that wasn't the point. No one would believe them if they tried to say something about it.

Whatever else Bella was planning to say was cut off by Harry touching her arm. "He's not going to talk, Bella."

"Andyou?" she demanded, tone frosty. "With the 'ackyo' or whatever word you yelled before I went flying into your arms?"

He fluttered his impossibly long lashes at her and said, "I panicked and said the first thing that came to mind." Though while he was saying it, his eyes went very wide for a split second, and then his face morphed into one of total innocence.

Charlie Swan stopped any further conversation as he came over to them, looking worried. "Are you both alright?"

Bella sighed quietly before turning to him and nodding. "Yeah, dad. Harry and I were just thanking Edward for helping us not get squished by the van." Harry backed her up with his insistent nodding, and Charlie aimed a grateful smile Edward's way.

"I'm taking you both home. I'll be dropping you off tomorrow too since the truck is still there. The school was understanding of the situation and won't make you make up your work missed today."

"We can't go back to school?" asked Bella, looking horrified.

"I wouldn't feel comfortable with either of you doing all of that after what happened this morning."They need rest!the man's mind shouted.

Bella was led away by both Charlie and Harry, and Edward felt the urge to sigh in relief. Though now what was going to happen? He doubted Bella would just let it go as it is. And he didn't know Harry well enough to know what he'd do about it.

But he couldn't let Bella just die.

Though… considering how she had flown into Harry's arms milliseconds before Edward arrived, Edward was certain she wouldn't have died. It seemed that they all had secrets and despite knowing how dangerous it was to involve humans in supernatural matters, he couldn't help but be curious.

Harry sighed as he went through his trunk, looking for his photo album. Since he knew that Bella had seen everything today and that she was unlikely to let anything go without having answers, he finally made the decision to let her in on the magical world.

Luna had assured him she'd understand.

It wasn't as if anyone from MACUSA would find out or anything. Harry's house had been registered with the American Congress. And he learned that the Congress couldn't actually tell if he performed magic in front of a muggle or not if it wasn't done with a magical focus. Still, he'd keep the wand behind the wards of his home unless he needed to act elsewhere.

Bella was at the door minutes later. She'd been putting on a pork roast which would take a few hours to cook. In that time frame, he would hopefully have explained everything relevant by then.

He plopped the photo album onto her lap once she was sat on his sofa. "Look through that first, and then I'll answer your questions."

Her eyes got progressively wider the further she went. The photos were all moving of course, as magical photos were wont to do. Some had people on flying broomsticks, other showed Hogwarts in the background. People were running in and out of frames.

When she eventually looked up, he gestured to the walls of his house, where the once stationary portraits began moving, looking down at her with interest and offering greetings.

"Harry, what the hell is all of this?"

He shrugged. "You wanted to know just why you flew into my arms today. And that's the answer. Magic."

To further prove his point, a tray bearing all the essentials for a good spot of tea floated in from the kitchen and settled on the table between them. The pot began to pour hot water into the cups on its own, and Harry smiled. "Would you like to have some biscuits with your tea?"

~.O.~

A/N: The first is done!

How was it? Let me know!

Check out mymany other fics!

See ya! :D

CHECK ME OUT ON TUMBLR.HELLY-WATERMELONSMELLINFELLON.

Chapter 5

Chapter Text

A/N: Hello, people!

I don't own Harry Potter or Twilight.

I have no beta.

ENJOY!

CHECK ME OUT ON TUMBLR.HELLY-WATERMELONSMELLINFELLON.

~.O.~

Magic existed. Magic was real. So many questions came to mind. So many pieces of fictions she'd absorbed at some point that she now wondered at the validity of.

"So… what are you?" she asked, trying to piece together what she knew about him.

"A wizard." Wizard. Magic. Wand-waving and spells and potions and flying on broomsticks and different religious beliefs.

"And when you said that back home they're a pagan community…?"

"I wasn't lying. Typically, the European Wixen World seems to put their faith in the Greek Pantheon or Norse Mythology. The Asian Wixen World has their own mythology they believe in. The American Wixen World tends to lean into the beliefs of the indigenous peoples who inhabited this land first. The Middle Eastern Wixen World is the most obscure to us still, but they take their beliefs as seriously. And I mean wix in general take thingsveryseriously. There are blood and sacrificial rituals on important holidays. And sometimes weird chants people have to do.'So mote it be'is a favored phrase among the lot of European wix."

Okay. So he literally had meant a cult when he was describing what had happened back in Britain. That part had not been an exaggeration. "And… are magical people only from Britain? Like, you know how the British conquered the whole world, did everyone come from there?"

Harry laughed and shook his head. "No, they're naturally from everywhere because magic is everywhere. Not as large in numbers of course. If we just count wix, which is the term used when referencing witches and wizards at once, then there would be eight billion humans living on Earth instead of seven billion."

Damn.

"If we included all magical beings thatlookhumanoid and could pass for humans easily into that number, we'd reach ten billion humanoid inhabitants entirely."

Holy sh*t.

"You know, I think you'll need this," said Harry, waving his hand and saying, "Accio,Fantastic Beings and Where to Find Them! Accio,Fantastic Beings and Where to Find Them!"

Two massive books, wider than her own body came sailing down the stairs and landed in Harry's hands. He looked like he had no trouble holding them up.

"That's the word you said today!" she realized, recognizing the sound he'd made. "The one that took me off my feet and had me flying into your arms!"

"Summoning Charm," he clarified, handing over the books which were oddly light and made of some kind of leathery material. "Those are about the currently known magical creatures underBeastandBeingstatus according to the International Confederation of Wizards."

Confederation… they had a government structure of their own if they managed to have a confederation.

She took a deep breath to calm herself down. "There's a lot to learn, isn't there?"

"Yeah, but you won't need to know everything. I'll teach you what I know in broad terms. As I'm currently avoiding the magical side right now because I deserve a break after all the sh*t I've been through, even I don't know everything. I'm just a teen. By their standards I'm an adult though. Seventeen is when you reach your magical majority and it usually comes with a power boost at midnight on your seventeenth birthday and full access to your inheritance if you have one."

Harry was a wizard. And he could do magic. And he was part of a hidden community of people who could do magic too and where magical creatures existed.

"Are dragons real?"

"Yes! I have a pygmy one! I'll be right back!"

He rushed up the stairs, leaving her to flip through the first book page by page. It was in alphabetical order and each page had a colored sketch of the creature in question, plus a description of them and their habits.

Abraxans were real. And huge if the average height and weight recorded were true. Bigger than normal horses could be.

Moments later, Harry returned, depositing a small, winged lizard with a spiky tail on her lap. "That is a pygmy Hungarian Horntail. I got it when I was fourteen. It can breathe fire but the flames are small. Still, they can cause pain so be careful."

It was a dragon. A real, dragon. It gave a gurgling purr when she scratched under its chin.

"That's considered the fiercest and nastiest of the breeds. The barbs and spines are dangerous and the real one can grow to have a body larger than this house."

"Okay," she said, taking another deep breath. "Is there anything else I need to know immediately?"

Harry smiled. "I think the Cullens are vampires."

Of course they were. The unnatural beauty they all seemed to have made sense that way. And how cold both Edward and Carlisle were made sense if there was no blood circulation. And how they all looked alike when they weren't all blood related.

She had a lot to learn it seemed, but she could take it.

Time was all she needed.

The whole week following the accident, things had been a little hectic. Bella's fanclub seemed to be even more insistent with their interest after she nearly got squished by a van in front of their eyes. Mike, Eric, and Tyler were now the most obvious people in vying for her attention, and she was aware of it but passed it off as 'shiny new toy syndrome' or something.

When Harry asked her to elaborate, she shrugged and said, "I'm new. They've all grown up with the girls here and watched them go through puberty. They don't know me from Eve, so they know next to nothing about me. The novelty will wear off eventually as I'm pretty boring as a person and not worth all this attention they keep shoving my way."

"Idon't think you're boring."

She sent him a small smile, though it was obvious she didn't believe him. "You're my best friend so you're biased."

Being declared someone's best friend was a nice feeling and put Harry's mood all the way into the clouds. It had been a while since he'd made a true friend. One who wasn't jealous of him in some way be it academically or financially or what have you. Luna was probably the last one and that was in his Fifth Year.

Like, Bella liked magic and thought it was cool and had so many scientific questions, but she didn't sit there bemoaning the fact that she was a no-maj/muggle. And she didn't ask for anything either. She merely read the books he offered, asked questions when she didn't understand something, and verified for her own sanity, that the Cullens were in fact vampires and she wasn't imagining how odd they were compared to everyone else. Her reaction to the Vampire Types had been hilarious!

It had been a taxing week for her as she'd been bombarded with new information so soon.

She got used to the new knowledge she had after another week passed, and was no longer obsessively preoccupied by Edward Cullen's fine self. Life continued on as it was and nothing seemed to be any different.

She and Harry were even planning a trip in their free time. More like she decided she wanted to see a bookstore that was useful and asked him to come to Seattle with her.

He'd agreed out of boredom and wonder at what the city was like, the date set.

"There's a Sadie Hawkins dance coming up," Bella hissed the moment they reached the cafeteria on Tuesday.

"A what?"

"That Spring Fling thing," she clarified. "It's one of those girls do the asking type of dances, AKA, Sadie Hawkins. Jessica wants to ask Mike, she called me about it last night."

"And why did she have to call you about it?" Was it a girl thing he just wasn't aware of?

"She thought I wanted to ask him and wanted to make sure I was okay with her taking the plunge," Bella confided lowly. "I told her to go for it. With gusto. All the gusto hopefully."

Harry's snort echoed through the cafeteria, attracting too much attention for either of their preferences. He waved everyone's attention away and leaned in closer as they stood in line, so no one would hear him say, "Last time I checked, you weren't into puppies."

Bella smacked his arm playfully and rolled her eyes. "Apparently heandshe haven't noticed that though. And she's been in a sour mood all day and Mike's been quiet and I just know what it means and I'm not ready for it! It's gonna happen and I just want to crawl under a rock and die so I can avoid it!"

They both got fizzy drinks and a block of pizza that could probably knock someone out if thrown hard enough, and went to join the group they'd assimilated into. And truth be told, Mike and Jessica were indeed off the moment they sat down.

"Good luck," Harry murmured to his friend. He then asked, "Can you explain to me why there's a dance so soon when prom is like a month away?"

She shrugged. "No clue. It makes no sense to me but maybe I'm just not up on these things like other teens are."

After that, Harry went on to Government, where he was asked by three girls he didn't know, to go to the dance. He cited his and Bella's plans for Seattle and apologised to them with a smile. "I just don't like dances." He was only going to prom because he wanted to win Spirit Week! "I wouldn't be much of a companion if I went to one."

When the duo met up in Gym, Bella's entire face was red in a mix of anger, embarrassment, and probably a bit of humiliation.

"What did Cullen do?" And did Harry need to commit murder? Because he would commit murder if it meant protecting his friend.

"Not just him. Mikehadto ask me out right before class even began. Edward was listening in since Mike planted his ass on our table and wouldn't move! He said he told Jessica he'd have to think about her offer to the dance and the reason he said it was because he wantedmeto ask him to go. And Edward was sitting there all broody and sh*t when he wasn't even the one being bothered!"

Yeah, that was pretty much what they'd expected. And Bella got so annoyed that she swore! He fought the urge to giggle.

"And then Edward and I got into an argument in the hall and then I dropped my books and he annoys me so much, that- that-Errruuuuuuuugh!"

She'd almost called him a vampire, but caught herself in time. The whole, Supernatural Senses thing had been drilled into her head very quickly above all else. She'd asked if they could hear her stomach growling and smell her menstrual cycle, to which Harry replied that it was very likely. The mortification from that revelation had lasted three whole days.

Even if there were no Cullens in their Gym class, the chances of them hearing her call them vampires were high, no matter where they were on the campus. It was a good thing she'd caught herself in time.

"Haveyoubeen asked out?" Bella asked as she hovered somewhat behind him while Coach Clapp began divvying up teams for basketball. She was obviously trying to get the attention off of herself so maybe she'd get forgotten and not have to play. Since they were the same height, she wasn't getting away in the least.

"Many times. I keep bringing up the Seattle trip to dissuade them. You should do it too," he told her. "It'd make things a lot less awkward if you want to let your many admirers down easy."

Basketball was an interesting game. Harry had to be taught the basics before they could even get into a game, but it had been fascinating. Harry had learned to be a fast runner growing up if he didn't want to get caught during his cousin's gang's game of Harry Hunting. It usually ended up badly for him, so he quickly got better than them and then outran them every time they tried to mess with him by the time they were nine.

Bella on the other hand… she just wasn't a sporty person, would be his diplomatic explanation.

She fell a lot. He felt bad for her knees and elbows and considered getting her some protective gear so she'd hurt herself a lot less.

"I need hot chocolate and then sleep," she grumbled on their way to their respective Locker Rooms.

Well, the school day had practically ended so nothing else could happen, right?

Edward was leaning against his Volvo, contemplating what his 'life' had become in recent weeks. Alice had warned everyone else to take their time and that they couldn't leave the school building until at least 2:59 and no sooner. It had been explained with grave insistence and everyone had reluctantly followed along.

He hadn't known what she'd meant by her words since she was busy mentally quoting Nietzsche in Japanese. Only Alice would go to such lengths to protect her thoughts from him.

As he waited, he saw Eric Yorkie stop by Bella's truck. The teen decided to lean on it, his thoughts a jumble of nervous questions and an attempt to discern just how he should ask Bella to the Spring Fling. And distantly, the thoughts of Tyler Crowley came into focus as well, just a few cars down, since he was thinking the same thing and needed an opening where neither Mike nor Eric were around to ruin 'his game'.

Now he knew why Alice said everyone else had to wait! The arrogance of youth clashing with Bella's awkward nature and introverted personality was going to be the best!

He could hear the humans who captivated his attention so much lately, the moment they left the school. Bella and Harry were in deep conversation about… treacle tart?

"All I'm saying is that it's one of the best sweets in this world. Butterbeer is also among the list of course," Harry murmured. "I could imbibe nine bottles of that without stopping and feel no side effects."

"What's Butterbeer?" asked Bella, voicing one of Edward's own questions.

"A drink that's good either warm or cold and has a light butterscotch flavor. Also 7% alcohol content from what I recall."

"And theyletyou drink that as a minor?!" She sounded appalled. "You can drink nine without getting hammered?"

"Britain doesn't really have a drinking age. There's an age to when you're allowed to buy alcohol but not one for consuming it on the normal side. So you just hand some money to an older individual, enough for both of you to have something, and life's good. I have some Butterbeer at home. And some of Ogden's Finest Firewhiskey if you're interested. It might make you cough up a ball of flame though so you'd probably need cold water with it."

"How did you get all of that through customs?" Bella asked quietly, sounding tired but not surprised in the least.

Honestly, if Edward could read either of their minds, he'd have more answers and wouldn't feel so left out! It wasn't normal for Edward to be left out of anything! He wanted answers but didn't know how to go about getting them!

"Magic," was the Brit's teasing response.

The young woman groaned.

Finally, the two rounded the corner so Edward could see them in full. Bella halted, a look of horror passing over her face as she held an arm out to stop Harry with her before dragging him back behind the wall as she made some odd, dying frog kind of croak while drawing out the word, "Noooooooo!"

And then she peeked around the corner and went, "Oh wait!Oh! Oh, okay!" She sighed deeply and shook her head, looking relieved all of a sudden.

"What?" Harry asked, leaning around her to stare at her truck too. He then smirked. "Did you think that was who I'm thinking of?"

"Shut up! Thankfully it's just Eric. Leaning on my truck. Waiting for us. Oh no!" she groaned. "End the miserynooooow! Can you just take away my memories of this day in a non-traumatic way?"

"Nope! Let's go face the music!" Harry said cheerfully, dragging her around the corner, a wide smile full of knowing on his handsome face.

"Noooooooooooo," she hissed before her entire demeanor did a 180, aiming a kind smile at the teen awaiting them at her truck. "Hey, Eric!" Her ability to flash through different emotions so quickly was impressive. And her acting was pretty decent as well.

What followed was the most awkward attempt at asking someone out, that Edward had heard that day. And poor Bella just wasn't up for it. Her patience had obviously reached max tolerance by now. What a shame. She still managed to be kind about her refusal though.

"I think you broke his heart," said Harry, which earned a not so quiet laugh from Edward, who was parked just a couple cars down.

The flaming color that appeared on Bella's cheeks, and the glare she aimed his way made his day so much better! For some reason he just really got a kick out of her being angry with him!

There's my chance!he heard Tyler Crowley say to himself.

Edward was in the Volvo and had pulled out quickly before putting the car in Park just in time to prevent Bella from going anywhere once she pulled out as well. And Tyler, in his newly rented car, was right behind her in the long line that began to form. It was the perfect opportunity!

Thank God Cullen has to wait for the fam!

He was getting out of the car!

This was better than any entertainment Edward had gotten in years!

Harry, who was listening to Taylor Swift's third album on his phone, merely leaned back in his seat so Tyler could ask Bella out through the passenger side window. He looked amused from what Edward could see in his rear-view mirror, even though music was blasting in his ears.

Bella's limit of patience had been reached it seemed. She'd lacked any kindness when she refused him. Tyler wasn't fazed in the least.

Though this trip to Seattle was interesting to learn about. What would she and Harry be doing there all day? And would it truly be safe for them when there were...othervampires who were far less tame, roaming the Pacific Northwest?

Tyler's declaration of wanting to ask Bella to prom was the icing on the cake! Just in time for the rest of Edward's siblings to reach the car and get in. Bella's aggravation was so high that she almost read-ended him while he was laughing at her expense!

"See?" Alice said jovially. "I knew you wouldn't want to miss it!"

As always, she was right. It was nice to laugh again.

"Since neither of us have been to Seattle, we should totally make a day of it," said Harry that evening. He was sitting cross-legged on Bella's purple bedspread, looking at Seattle-related happenings on his laptop, which he'd brought with him.

Charlie, who had gotten home an hour ago, had given them a very telling look at dinner. It wasn't hard to determine that he thought Bella and Harry were an item and that he thought they'd be up to…stuffwhile in her room together. He didn't say anything, but it was all in his face.

Harry wasn't sure if he should tell the man he had no interest in Bella that way. Yet. Anything could happen so it wasn't like he'd just assume he and Bella couldn't become a couple at some point in the future, but for now, she was a good friend. And honestly, he needed friendship first.

Between them, on the bed, was Scattergories. They'd been playing nonstop rounds for over an hour before they decided to finalise their plans for skipping out on the dance and avoiding the numerous amount of stalkers seeking their hands.

The last round had been with the letter M.

-Things that go well with chocolate:Marshmallows

-Things in a mystery novel:Murderers

-Websites:-

-Loud things:Mice

-Things you eat with a spoon:Mountain High Mudd Pie

-Famous sayings:Make me

-Underground things:Moles

-Things in the wild west:Money bags

-Things in an airport:Morons

-Words with double letters:Mollycoddling

-Found in New York City:MACUSA Headquarters

-Things in Fairy Tales:Manticores

He'd won by a point. It was a great victory.

Bella looked up from her own laptop to see what he was pointing at.

It was a page on the best attractions of the city and seemed to be the most promising thing to help them plan.

"Sounds cool. That's supposed to be a good library too."

He was excited! Actually exploring somewhere new without having to fear that he'd be followed by someone who recognised his face! Trying new things! On his own time! "And we can check out some craft shops because I need a few things for the costumes I'm making for Spirit Week!"

She sent him a dubious look and asked, "You'rereallyserious about that,?"

"Yeah. I need those good grades in my poor classes! Also, dressing up is really fun and getting to do it without being looked at like a creep is even better! I can totally acquire costumes for you too! I know where to get some stays if you'd like!"

In the end, Bella chose to not participate in Spirit Week, which was sad, but he wouldn't force her or anything.

Though that didn't mean he wouldn't try to get her interested in it!

School the next morning was as usual. It was wet outside and the truck was freezing cold when they got in but burning hot when they arrived. Bella looked frustrated already, remembering the previous day and how everything had gone.

"Mikedidtell Jessica yes though, so all's fine now," he reminded her. No more asking her out and making conversation bloody awkward at least.

"Yeah, but now I'm going to be reminded of that awkward conversation every time I see him or Jessica from now on."

Oh well! Such as life.

One moment the space beside Bella was absent once she got out of the truck, the next, Edward Cullen was there in time to catch her keys as they fell from her hand. Harry had literally watched it happen and everything. He was really doing very poorly to hide what he was, it seemed. Or he forgot that they were in public. Or just assumed all humans were oblivious and that no one would notice him since they hadn't noticed him move during the car accident.

"How do youdothat?" Bella demanded, looking annoyed but regretfully grateful as she accepted her keys back. She stuffed them in her coat pocket immediately so she wouldn't lose them again.

"Do what?" Was heflirtingwith Bella? Merlin! Only Bella would attract so many boys without trying.

When could that start happening for Harry? He would love to have men falling all over him. Where was the fairness? He swung for two teams, dammit! That should make it twice as easy to get agooddate!

"Know just when to appear out of thin air," Bella said in response to Edward's question.

Harry slid around the front of the truck to join them, a smirk on his face. "Perhaps he's got extra sensory perception and has been stalking you nonstop to know when you need help."

Bella flushed and sent him a glare practically screaming that he wasn't helping the situation at all, while Edward stiffened just a bit. Just enough for Harry to notice. Was hereallywatching Bella that much? Was he really paying that much attention to a human?

Damn. He had it bad.

In his shock, Harry managed to have his first ever real embarrassing moment since coming to Forks. His left foot slid in a puddle and he went flying back, only for a tall, handsome fellow with frigid skin to catch him around the waist like it was nothing. It was all very romantic and not atallas embarrassing as he said it was. Nope. Nada.

"Oh, Mr. Cullen, you need to buy me dinner before we even consider taking such actions!" he teased, feeling slightly overwhelmed in the presence of the Cedric-look-alike and trying to mask it quickly.

And, unlike many straight men that Harry had met in his lifetime, Edward did not suddenly wrench himself away from Harry nor did he look disgusted by Harry's joke. He merely returned Harry's smirk of amusem*nt and said, "Oh, is that all, Mr. Potter? Or is that simply formybenefit?"

He was set on his feet with ease and Harry tipped his head in gratitude. "So what'd you need that involved giving poor Bella an aneurysm?"

"Well… you know the Spring Dance is a week from this Saturday an-"

"Are youf*ckingserious?" Bella demanded, looking livid and mortified at the same time. Her face had turned a morbid shade of red in the process and her hands were digging into the hem of her coat.

Harry patted her shoulder. "Let him speak. He came all the way across the car park for it. At least hear him out in return for his bravery."

She glared at them both, not believing their innocent smiles for a second.

"Yes,Bella," Edward said, gold eyes twinkling with wicked amusem*nt, "please let me finish."

The breath she took was a long one, but she waited patiently. Even folded her hands behind her back to calm down for good measure. Or to prevent herself from trying to claw his face off in aggravation. Either reason would work.

"I heard you both are going to Seattle and wanted to know if you want a ride."

Harry's brows shot up sincethatwas unexpected.

"What?"

"Do you want a ride to Seattle?" Edward repeated, sending Bella a pitying look.

"With who?" she asked, still not on the train of thought.

"Myself, obviously," the vampire said carefully, giving her this look of concern.

Harry was already nodding for them both before she could say anything more. He kind of liked the idea of going with the both of them. And getting dirt on Edward would be useful. No way would the vampire be able to avoid talking about himself during a day-long outing. "That'd be cool. We could see the sights, eat dinner somewhere nice, the whole shebang. Wouldn't be my first threesome."

The silence between them was deafening, and then Bella turned and laid her head on the bonnet of her truck so they couldn't see her red face at all. "Harry,whyyyyyyy?!"

Even Edward seemed a little flustered by how brazen he'd been, but he couldn't help it! "That's how the first one went! How else am I supposed to take this from a man who's been nothing but short with us and rude, and is now acting all friendly without any obvious reason to?"

With that out there, Edward even looked a little ashamed of himself and quickly said, "That isn't what I'm aiming for, I promise you." And Harry believed him because Edward's whole person screamed 'blushing, repressed virgin'. "I said that it would be better if we weren't friends, not that I didn't want to be friends at all, Bella."

Bella looked up just enough for her to catch Harry's eyes. They shared a look of understanding between them because they both knew Edward had a point.

He was a vampire and they were humans. Technically it would be very unsafe for them to be friends.Technically. But Edward was also on the Bunny Foo Foo diet and Harry was a wizard so the chances of anything bad happening were nil. Not that Edward knew that. So by his own merit, he was trying to protect them in his own way. Which was sweet but unnecessary.

It also scored him a considerable amount of points in Harry's book. The fact that he wanted to get to know them to some extent but didn't want to risk harming them to find out anything new.

"I've gotten tired of trying to stay away from you both," Edward went on to add. "I wish to satiate my curiosity and the best way to do that is to be near to you."

How Harry wasn't supposed to take that as a declaration of interest beyond friendship, he didn't know. But it was a decent start for whatEdwardwas thinking.

Bella finally regained her composure from Harry embarrassing her second-hand, and stood tall once more. She even looked Edward dead in his golden eyes.

"Will you allow me to escort you both to Seattle, Bella?"

Escort. Wow. He wanted to escort them. It was so totally a threesome. Harry supported polyamory and polygamy! He didn't care!

She nodded silently, and he looked pleased. "Then I'll see you both later."

They both waited until he had disappeared around the corner of the nearest building, before turning to each other with raised brows.

"What the hell just happened?" she asked rhetorically.

He waited a moment, then said, "...We got an offer for a threesome."

Bella smacked him in the arm in return.

The whole day, Bella couldn't get her mind off of Edward Cullen nor Harry's words about his intentions with the offer to drive them to Seattle. While it was obvious that Edward wasn't aiming for… sex when it came to Bella and Harry, he was aiming for something. Something difficult to understand on the surface since they didn't know him all that well yet.

By lunch, she was on edge about it, trying to get through all her weird-ass theories about what was going on in Edward's head. He was a vampire, but had said it would better for them not to be friends. He'd said it out of some misplaced self-appointed duty to protect them. But now he was 'tired' of trying to stay away?

She wanted to grill him for information!

But Edward was not at lunch when they arrived. He wasn't seated with his family and Bella didn't have any clue as to where he'd be. Why would just him be gone? It made no sense!

"Aw," Harry cooed. "Missing our third piece already?"

"Harry, I will not hesitate to leave you here while I drive home," she threatened, though there was no heat in it. She wouldn't actually leave him behind.

"I have other ways of travel, Bella, and I'm sure you're aware of now. I could get home just fine," he countered, sticking his tongue out.

Yeah. He'd probably Apparate. She'd only just read about that a few days ago and found it terribly convenient. So long as Harry had been there before, he could basically teleport there. And since he was strong enough to do it trans-internationally, he could basically travel the whole world in a day if he ever wanted/needed to.

"Oh look," Harry said with sarcasm dripping from his tone, "we have slop for lunch." Though it technically was chicken soup on the board. It just wasn't very well made chicken soup. The containers keeping the soup hot looked too old to be safe for use anymore. And the soup itself wasn't of a color that looked safe to eat.

Both shared a look of disgust and opted for just getting drinks.

"I'm addicted to this tea," he muttered, grabbing a bottle of Pure Leaf off the snack counter as she shuffled along to the register. "It's not too sweet and is the best iced tea out of all those I've tried thus far."

It was nasty in her opinion, but to each their own. She got a lemonade. Like usual.

When they sat down, Jessica leaned over the table to conspiratorially say, "Edward Cullen is staring at you."

Both of their heads snapped up and together, they looked at where she was pointing. Edward was indeed there, just seated at a completely different table compared to his siblings. On the other side of the cafeteria even and looking far too good to put into words. When he noticed he had their attention, he crooked a finger in invitation.

"Does he meanyou?" came Jessica's baffled and slightly offensive disbelief.

Harry nodded and sent Bella a look. "He means you. You should go over there and see what he wants. Try to get some good info out of him in the process."

"Why can't he meanyou?" she demanded, feeling a bit offended by the surety in his tone. As if Edward Cullen couldn't actually be interested in talking with Harry Potter who was kind and fascinating and handsome and nice to everyone so long as they weren't rude to him or his friends.

"Because I've barely spoken to him whereas you not only have a class with him, but have had regular conversations with him."

"But you've still spoken with him," she pointed out.

"Yeah, but he knows nothing about me. He's only been sucking the information out of you so far, so it makes sense that he'd want to talk to you."

"That doesn't mean he can't want to talk toyou. I'm not quite so interesting." Bella could be described as a thirty-fiver year old stuck in a teen's body. In fact, her motherhadtold her that personally and said that she got more middle-aged every year.

"It's very doubtful thatIam the focus of his attention," Harry said plainly, face going worryingly blank. "Straight men don't act this way toward other men because they're typically incredibly fragile in the masculinity department and think being seen as anything but the typical straight male stereotype makes them gay. Which is world-destroying to them. And said insulting belief is based upon harmful stereotypes about gay men basically being girls. Which means they're based in misogyny because being compared to a woman must of course be theworstthingthey could possibly experience in life."

His answer blew her away for a moment as she tried to register just what he'd said while his voice got more and more mocking by the second. Jessica also looked completely baffled by the sudden turn of conversation.

While she was aware that Harry wasn't straight because he didn't really hide his interests, it had never seemed to be something he struggled with. She should have known that he would have problems being… not straight(she didn't know what he identified as)because of other people and their inability to respect people's personal space and life choices.

A cold hand touching her shoulder out of the blue made her jump and whip around to find Edward standing behind she and Harry, a hand on both of their shoulders. He was a vampire. He probably heard everything Harry had just said. How mortifying. She wanted to crawl under a rock and die just to get away from her embarrassment!

"I would very much like to take lunch withbothof you if you don't mind," Edward said, choosing not to address Harry's words in the least.

They ended up leaving Jessica there, mouth agape as she watched them go. Her eyes promised a phone call later on though, and Bella resigned herself to the Spanish Inquisition that would follow.

She could only wonder what Edward wanted. Was this a part of him not wanting to stay away anymore? And should she be this thrilled about it? Her stomach needed to stop doing somersaults and chill out already! She had to use her brain and think clearly about this!

Edward's table wasn't in the middle of the room, thank goodness, and she and Harry didn't have a view of the rest of the room that was no doubt watching them, which made her feel a bit better.

"So…" Harry began quietly, "what do you want?"

A shrug that should have in no way looked so elegant, damn his vampireness! "I decided that if I'm going to go to hell, I might as well do it thoroughly."

What had she and Harry gotten into?

~.O.~

A/N: The first is done!

How was it? Let me know!

Check out mymany other fics!

See ya! :D

CHECK ME OUT ON TUMBLR.HELLY-WATERMELONSMELLINFELLON.

Chapter 6

Chapter Text

A/N: Hello, people!

I don't own Harry Potter or Twilight.

I have no beta.

ENJOY!

CHECK ME OUT ON TUMBLR.HELLY-WATERMELONSMELLINFELLON.

~.O.~

Edward struggled not to let his displeasure over Harry's words show on his face. While he was aware that Harry was at the very least Bisexual, he'd never had a problem with it. And Edward, while having never truly considered sex with humans because their thoughts tended to put him off immediately, he wasn't a total virgin. One doesn't live a hundred years and donothing.

He'd had many offers from other vampires even. Tanya from their sister coven in Denali Alaska was one such offer that he still refused because he really just didn't feel anything beyond companionship toward her. Her thoughts made him very uncomfortable too and there was no reason for him to stay uncomfortable just to make her feel better. Anyone who tried to teach otherwise was a fool.

When the two humans he was attempting to… befriend, joined him at the table, he wasn't expecting Harry to slip his earbuds in and begin listening to Queen on his iPhone. It had been so smoothly done that it took a second for Edward's advanced recognition to understand just what he'd done.

It seemed he really didn't think Edward wanted to speak with him. That hurt, strangely. Did Edward just give off a vibe of insincerity? He was trying to be nice and considerate and it seemed like he was failing miserably when it came to this human in particular. Was he only good at reading people because he could hear their thoughts? Did he need to take more college courses on Human Psychology?

Resolved, Edward leaned across the table to lightly trail a finger over Harry's left earbud, making both him and Bella flush instantly at how suggestive the action was. Especially from someone who maintained his personal space very obviously and did not encroached upon the personal space of others for his and their benefit. "It'd be nice to actuallyspeakwith you, Harry," Edward said with what he hoped was a dazzling smile.

Once the earbuds were put away, and their blushing had died down enough to make their scents less potent, conversation was able to commence appropriately if a bit awkwardly.

Edward ignored the thoughts of his siblings since he wanted to focus solely on his humans and anything involving them.

"Your friends are angry with me for stealing you away," Edward noted, hoping to break the ice even as Jessica Stanley's jealous inner ramblings filled his mind. Lauren's thoughts were equally jealous but far more rude in nature. That was the biggest difference between them, Jessica was immature but not cruel.

"They'll live," Bella insisted with a nod from Harry.

"Besides, we all know they girls are jealous that you don't want to talk to them and the boys are jealous that Bella wants to talk toyouinstead," added Harry. "We're not daft, you know."

He wasn't wrong. The mental bile being spewed their way from all angles was a bit concerning. "I realize that I never got the chance to properly introduce myself to you," Edward chose to say instead.

Harry scoffed. "You've laid on top of me and practically felt me up. We're way beyond introductions at this point."

Again, if Edward was capable of blushing, he would be. Harry just had a way with words and a lack of shame in expressing them. And yet he still had a point which was the most frustrating thing!

Ooooh!Came Emmett's teasing thoughts.You laid on him, Eddie?

"This is different," Bella noted, fiddling with her bottle of lemonade. She had a nervous habit of sliding it back and forth between her hands while not actually looking down to watch herself.

While hehadbeen planning to tease her a bit, one of their many watchers decided to come over and harass Harry. For a terrible reason. Edward barely held back a growl of annoyance and had to stop himself from squishing his lunch tray into a plastic ball. While he could probably pass it off as hidden strength, he didn't want to have to.

"Hey, fa*g!"

And Harry knew that it was aimed at him before he even turned to see the boy, one Chadley Warner - who very much hated his name - coming their way. The look on his face said he was ready for combat and had already determined that he would destroy his opposition ruthlessly. It was a look that made Edward a bit hot under the collar, and made him feel slightly ashamed at the same time.

It was rude to think of Harry in such a way. He was not an object. And he was a fragile human on top of it all! He must be protected from monsters like Edward!

"I resemble neither a bundle of sticks or a lit cigarette," was Harry's calm response, a single eyebrow quirking upward at a sharp angle.

Chadley's attempts at embarrassing the onlyoutqueer kid in the school, seemed to fail as he tried to make sense of Harry's words. Of course he wouldn't know any of the meanings of the word 'fa*ggot'. Barely anyone did these days.

He was still walking toward their shared table though, and Edward envisioned ripping the boy's head off in a rare moment of violence for his typical demeanor. Carlisle would be disappointed in him if he found out.

Harry tsked and murmured too low for anyone but a vampire to hear, "All tongues that rise against me shall fall." He raked his fingers through his messy locks and then jerked them oddly to the side for no reason.

And Edward wasn't imagining it when a girl who had just risen from her seat, mess of a lunch tray in hand, lost her footing on the edge of her table which had moved over three feet to put her directly in Chadley's way. The tray went flying and all of its contents landed on the bully before he could even get close enough to be a physical threat. Chocolate milk and chicken soup drenched him from head to toe and the girl, one Chastity Sinclair, knocked him to the ground in an effort to catch herself before falling.

The room was quiet for a moment, before nearly everyone burst into laughter. Chadley's thoughts took on a mortified tone and he scrambled to his feet and then ran away, abandoning his plan in the face of such embarrassment.

"Well," Harry said with a sweet smile, "how unfortunate for him and yet perfect for me. Almost like magic."

Bella sent him an intense yet unreadable look and he did nothing but smile back at her. Being unable to hear what they were thinking was torture!

"It's 2020 and people like him still walk around with such abysmally outdated thinking. 'Tis a pity."

His words got a nod of understanding from Bella, who sent a glare in the direction Chadley had run off in, before taking a sip of her lemonade.

"What are you thinking?" Edwards asked curiously, wanting to get some kind of explanation behind how secretive the two were. How they got along so well after knowing each other for only a month. How they could understand each other so easily. "What is going through your mind right now?"

"I'm thinking about how Harry is a cheeky sh*t."

"WellI'mthinking about when we're getting on to that threeso-"

Bella slapped a hand over his mouth before he could finish what was probably the word 'threesome'. Her face was bright pink but her warm, brown eyes spelled 'murder'.

Emmett's thoughts entered Edward's head with a loud cackle at his expense.IS HE SUGGESTING A THREESOME, EDDIE BOY?!

"What if someone heard you?" Bella hissed, looking around frantically to see if anyone actually had. They hadn't. "And licking my hand won't gross me out enough to make me move it. I've been licked by giraffes, goats, and llamas, you've got nothing on those kinds of tongues."

Harry huffed and folded his arms petulantly.

"You two are an enigma," said Edward, making them both tilt their heads in confusion. They were remarkably alike despite being so different.

"Getting along so well after only knowing each other for a month and a few days. Understanding each other so well already. Having inside jokes. It's fascinating and confusing to not know what's going on in your heads. I'm at a loss here."

"That's howeveryonefeels, join the club, dude," Harry murmured as Bella pulled away finally.

After wishing things could be silent for years, he found himself wishing for the opposite. It was just unnatural for him tonotbe hearing thoughts.

Bella took a quick swig of her lemonade and then asked the one question that they all had probably thought at least once since early that morning. "Are we friends now? We're going to Seattle together in less than two weeks, so it seems appropriate that we iron this out now, otherwise things are going to be awkward."

Harry was nodding along. "Best to be on friendly terms at the very least before we get to our great threeso-"

Once again, Bella's hand was attached to his mouth, and Edward had to laugh. They were both so charming, strangely. They worked well together. He needed to get Harry alone to see if they were just as hilarious apart though.

He ignored Emmett's continuous stream of teasing thoughts, to focus more on Bella. "Yes," he answered. "Though as I've warned you before, I'm not really friend material."

She waved him off just as Harry snorted. "Trust me, that's for us to decide, not you. And I'd like to be your friend. And when Harry isn't busy being a perv, I'm sure he'd say the same."

The ringing of the warning bell let them know that their next period was starting soon. So much time had passed yet so little had actually been said. Damn. He needed more time!

Bella jumped to her feet in haste, "We're gonna be late!" Harry rose as well, though much more slowly and seemingly less worried.

"I won't be going to class today," Edward told them, stealing Bella's empty lemonade bottle so he could keep his hands busy with something other than his lunch tray and wasted food. "Sometimes ditching is healthy."

Harry's brows twitched in different directions simultaneously. "What? You scared of blood?" he asked with a smirk, his green eyes glinting playfully.

"Huh?" came a very dying goose-like sound from Bella, whose eyes went unnaturally wide and whose face blanched whiter than Edward had ever seen her before. Surely more than could be considered healthy.

"They're blood typing, so a lot of people pricking their fingers and bloodeverywhere," Harry said, strange enunciation on some of his words. "You're not looking very good, by the way."

And she wasn't. She looked haunted. "I know my blood type already," she said quietly. "Maybe ditchingishealthy."

Harry shrugged. "You do you, I suppose. I can't miss Government though since we have some kind of project we're starting. I'd love nothing more than to skive but literally can't. I swear the class is outdated and knows nothing about actual governmental stuff," he grumbled as ifheknew anything about how real governments worked.

The warning bell rang for a second time and Harry patted Bella's shoulder before giving Edward a telling look. He broke into a sprint toward the doors, which morphed into a run. He was across the room and outside in just a couple seconds. The fastest run Edward had ever seen from a human. Bella remained perfectly in place, looking haunted still.

From the windows in the room, Harry was visible, running at top speed toward his next class, breathing perfectly even the entire time as if it was exertion for him.

Edward turned a pitying eye on Bella and stood, taking the back of her coat and leading her toward the door. She followed, saying nothing and not even blinking when he threw out their garbage. He led her all the way out the door and through the rain, toward the office building. At the last second, he hefted Bella easily into his arms to make her situation look worse, and stepped inside. They found Mrs. Cope sipping on some tea at the front desk.

She looked horrified to see Bella's limp form in his arms.

"My goodness!" the old woman gasped. "Whathappened?!"

"They're blood typing in Biology," he told her. "Bella found out before class started and went catatonic. She has intense hemophobia." Judging by her reaction, he was certain he was correct in his assessment. She was paler than usual, a light sweat had broken out across her skin, and she was shaking a bit. Textbook symptoms of a fainting spell.

Mrs. Cope held the door to the office open for him, where the old nurse gaped upon seeing him and then Bella. He explained the situation again.

As Bella laid on an old cot, a cold compress placed on her unresponsive head, Edward worked on dazzling Mrs. Cope into excusing Bella from the rest of her classes for the day, plus giving him special permission to take her home. All he had to do was deliver the note to Mr. Banner before leaving and everything would be set. The school didn't have landlines in the classrooms. It couldn't afford those.

Once outside, he covered the distance in seconds, stopping just outside the door to hold his breath. When he stepped in, he refused to even look at at anyone but the teacher, moving only to hand over the note from Mrs. Cope. The man looked it over and sighed in pity.There's always one,he thought to himself. "There was no assigned homework. Tell Ms. Swan that I hope she gets better."

Edward sent him a smile and a nod, and was out of there without any hassle. The clean air was fresh and smelled of mist.

Bella had not moved an inch, he learned. He sighed in slight amusem*nt, lifting her into an easy hold and nodding to both women, whose minds took a turn for the romantic at his 'chivalry'.

In his car, Bella finally seemed to come awake in the warmth, blinking and looking around, her breath no longer shallow. "The hell?" she asked, looking around dazedly.

"I'm taking you home. You fainted over blood."

She shuddered. "What about Harry? And my truck?"

"I will bring him home and Alice will deliver your truck if you give me the keys."

Debussy filled the silence between them, and Bella half-heartedly hummed along to Claire de Lune. He was pleasantly surprised that she knew it since it wasn't a very popular piece. Many people found it disjointed for some reason, which was ridiculous to him.

"So you have hemophobia," he began, curious to get conversation going.

Bella hummed.

"Can I ask how that came about or is it too sensitive of a topic?" He didn't want to make her uncomfortable.

A shrug was her only response for several seconds as she seemed to internally debate over whether she should answer or not. Eventually, she chose the option to tell him.

"Typically through trauma, like most people with it. School shooting in a Glendale high school that students of the nearest Middle School were allowed to use the library of. Shooter shot my fifteen year old seatmate in the head while we were studying. I had been there because I was thinking about skipping a grade and wanted to get extra studying in so I'd graduate sooner. Since that was supposed to be my future school, I was going through the books in their curriculum.

"I got covered in the girl's blood and brain matter. Shooter then shot herself dead to escape any potential punishment for her crimes. I wasn't the same for months and had to repeat the year instead of skipping ahead a year like I had wanted," she explained, voice strangely monotone. "Switched schools too. That's why I'm older than almost everyone else in my grade."

That was… so dark. Of all the things he'd imagined, it wasn't that or anything like that. All he could think of was a much smaller Bella, just minding her own business and then having to be so thoroughly traumatized at a young age.

"I'm sorry you had to go through that, Bella." No child should ever have to go through that.

The rest of the ride was pretty silent after that. She handed over her keys when he dropped her off and made him swear to keep Harry safe. It was very sweet of her to be thinking of her friend even when she was so under the weather.

"You won't see me tomorrow," he warned her. "I'm going hiking with Jasper and Emmett and we're taking an early weekend to take advantage of the sun. But that means it'll be good for your trip to the beach with your friends, so stay safe and don't fall in the ocean."

She scowled but didn't even rise to his teasing.

He sped all the way back to the school and sat waiting, thinking about how the day had gone so far and wondering just what Harry would say to being driven home by him. They'd finally be alone for the first time.

Harry was worried when Bella didn't show up for Gym. He was more worried when she didn't meet him outside after Gym was over.

And then he realised she'd sent him a few texts.

Bella:Edward had to take me home because I fainted.

Bella:He remained nice the whole ride.

Bella:He said he's taking you home too.

Edward Cullen was leaning against Bella's truck and looking like a bloody model, more than a school student. "How's Bella doing?" he asked as he approached.

"She seemed to be a lot better after faiting. She has terrible haemophobia it turns out, so I got her excused from classes for the rest of the day and took her home. Alice will be taking her truck home whileItake you home."

His sister seemed to materialise beside him, hand already outstretched for the keys. She didn't even hesitate, getting in the big behemoth, starting the ignition, and pulling out smoothly before Harry could even suggest just going with her. So he actually had to go with Edward.

Not that he was complaining or anything!

He didn't want to walk because the rain was coming down harder and harder as the hours dragged on, and he couldn't Apparate when someone was paying this much attention to his whereabouts. So the offer for a ride was a nice gesture.

"I guess I should thank you for even considering my predicament." Even though he could have just Apparated home with none the wiser once he found a secluded spot to do it in.

Edward flashed him a crooked smile that made his heart skip a couple beats. He could get why Bella struggled to think when someone this attractive focused all of his attention on the person he was speaking to. Vampires and their enhanced beauty sucked! It gave them an unfair advantage.

Though Harry wasn't usually one arrested by beauty to be honest. Fleur hadn't ever had much of an effect on him even though he was Bi. Or maybe it was because the beauty of Veela was supposed to hypnotise their prey and Harry couldn't be hypnotised or mind-controlled. So their abilities were useless against him when they weren't hurling fireballs.

"The Volvo is already warmed up, come."

It was, and it was nice. And Edward didn't even care about how wet their both were making the seats.

Edward pulled out of the car park, not driving as fast as he usually did when behind the wheel. "I was wondering if we could play Twenty Questions?" he asked, turning the classical music down a bit so they could better hear each other.

So that was why he was so invested in taking Harry home alone. He was fishing. Somehow, Edward had managed to not cross the wards of Harry's home yet, but he'd definitely checked on Bella already. There was a reason why Harry believed he was interested in Bella only. He'd passed those wards that Harry had set up without hesitation. Though he'd yet to goinsideBella's house.

"Sure. I'm really not interesting, though."

"Somehow I doubt that. It's very difficult to get a read on you. Okay! Do you have any talents?"

He shrugged. "What would you define as a talent? Something I'm naturally good at that I didn't work toward, or something I had to work to be good at? Because I call those skills and I have many skills, but nothing I was really born good at."

"Then do you have any abnormal skills?"

"I'm quite good at Tasseomancy," he confessed. While Divination was certainly woolly and he didn't really like prophecy all that much, reading tea leaves was actually fascinating and one thing he picked up from his classes. And he was good at it once he learned all the proper signs too! He was never wrong as his magic willed the tea he served to arrange the leaves into some form or shape properly.

"Of all the things I considered you would say, that wasn't among them," Edward said, sounding amused. "Favorite colour?"

"Green."

"When is your birthday?"

"The last day of July."

"Favourite person in the world?"

That made him think for a moment. At present it was Bella. If he went back to Britain it would probably be Hermione or Luna. Harry's relationship with Ron would never be as strong as it used to be. Being left during the Horcrux Hunt would never quite heal over no matter how much Ron tried to make up for it. The same person abandoning him more than once made it hard for Harry to trust him the shame way again.

"I'm not sure. In America it'd be Bella. In Europe it'd be my best mate Hermione."

"How would you describe your friend Hermione?"

"Genius. Motivated. Bookish. Practical. Loyal. Honest. Ambitious. Audacious."

"Who would you say is your greatest rival and why?"

"Eh…" Harry shrugged. "I can think of someone who thought of me as some kind of rival but he was never that important in my eyes. He would seek me out nonstop and try to get a rise out of me. His obsession was annoying as hell. Personally though, Draco wasn't much of a rival. Not even during sports games where I trounced him. He was just a prat who whinged about tattling to his daddy all the time.

"Tom however," he paused, thinking of Voldemort, "was a twat who actually had an effect on my life. So I suppose Tom Riddle Jr. is the answer. He was a purist arsehole."

"Who do you look up to the most?"

That was hard to choose from. All the adults he knew and had built opinions on, had other facets of their personalities that he'd never come to expect from them. It was hard to come to grips with new information when you'd already formed your previous assumed unshakable opinion.

Snape's loyalty to his long-dead only friend. Even when it was obvious that siding with Dumbledore and helping him wasn't beneficial to Snape's well-being and he would most likely die, he stayed true.

Sirius and James and their days of bullying. And the lengths Sirius and Remus went to just to try and excuse it. Harry didn't care if they were teens when they did it. Not once in his life had he thought about pinning someone down, choking them out, and then stripping them without consent, because that was what sexual predators did. Being a teen did not excuse someone doing something terrible, otherwise Tom could be excused for setting the Basilisk on the students, killing Myrtle, and f*cking Hagrid over.

And Molly, who was perfectly willing to take up the role of a parental figure with him, was pretty xenophobic against non-Brits, racist against non-humans sans Remus, and he didn't forget how she treated Hermione because of Rita's slu*t-shaming articles in their Fourth Year.

Dumbledore was a f*cking let down entirely and Harry didn't even want to get into how betrayed the mere memory of the man made him feel.

Maybe he didn't have to choose an adult. Maybe someone around his own age.

He thought about the friends he'd made along the way, and all of their good and bad traits, and it came to him.

"My friend Luna Lovegood," he decided. "She's always been very different from everyone, but never dared to be pressured into changing who she was to appease others' comfort. She stares into vacant air a lot, seems to know things she shouldn't, and is always profound when she opens her mouth." Luna was amazing.

Edward hummed in thought. "Favourite quote?"

"I have two, actually.[Those who are neutral in situations of injustice have chosen the side of the oppressor.]That one is by Desmond Tutu and it hits me hard every time I think about it. And then,[Things we lose have a way of coming back to us in the end. If not always in the way we expect.]That one is from Luna, and I learned first hand how true it was." He thought about walking to his death in the Forbidden Forest and how the remnants of the souls of his parents and godparents appeared before him in the order they'd died in.

It was an eerie quote.

"Favourite class you've ever taken?"

"Defence," he said simply. "I'm good at learning defensive manoeuvres."

"Worst subject in school?"

"History!" He didn't even have to think about it. Binns sucked. "And then anything Maths related."

His insistence got him a chuckle. They still hadn't made it to his house. Edward was taking the very long way back to drag out the ride even further. He must really be desperate for answers. It was kind of flattering that he was this dedicated to learning about Harry.

"What do you think of Forks?"

"It's more wet than England, honestly. The air is crisp though and I feel somewhat reminded of Scotland's highlands as a result. Kind of boring if truth be told, but it's not worse than camping for months at a time so I can't complain that much." Regulated heating without spells was nice. Plumbing was great too.

"Most amazing place you've visited?"

"My old school. It was a literal castle complete with turrets, towers, and a viaduct set into a mountainside."

"What is the most dangerous thing you've done?"

He had so many things come to mind! "The list is seemingly endless. Continue playing a sport despite my arm being broken mid-way through. Fending off a massive snake that could kill me with the slightest exposure to its venom. Robbing a bank where the mafia owners would probably kill you at the slightest chance of you being up to no good. Face down my parents' murderer in combat and kill him. Those kind of things."

There was silence for a moment, before the questions started up again.

"Sexual orientation? I would say Bisexual but I thought it best I just get it straight from you so I don't make a mistake in the future and offend you by accident."

"You're right, I'm Bi. How'd you guess?" Harry was certain he wasn't obvious as others would be about their preferences.

"They way you watch the maleandfemale students pretty equally."

Was he really that obvious? Privately he'd been wondering if he was a failure of a Bisexual for not being quite like the others he'd met before. This was kind of a relief.

"What were the contents of the last dream you had?"

"A hot vampire asked me on a date and kept making poor vampire puns that were so bad they made me laugh." Yes, it had indeed happened. He neglected to mention that the vampire in the dream was Edward. Hearing Dream-Edward fake a Romanian accent was hilarious!

"Place you would never visit?"

"Anywhere below the equator, honestly. Too hot until you pass that one line and then it's too cold. No thanks. I grew up in England where we'd rarely get over 15 °C and I'm good for that."

"What were your parents' names?"

"Lily Rose Potter née Evans and James Charlus Potter."

"And what were the names of your grandparents, on both sides?"

He had to think more closely about that since he only learned that info recently after turning seventeen and reaching his majority.

"For mum, her parents were Rosalie Anne Evans née Milford and Edmund Evans. For dad, his parents were Dorea Ursa Potter née Black and Charlus Fleamont Potter."

"What is your biggest regret?"

"Being born on the last day of July. If I wasn't, then a creepy man with an obsession with Divination wouldn't have fooled himself into believing some hammy prophecy given by a drunkard, declaring I would be his future vanquisher." He hated having to think about it at all.

"How would you describe yourself?" Edwards asked softly, eyes almost distant as he drove.

"I'm just Harry." Nothing special. Nothing worth dying for. Nothing that anybody should feel the need to worship for Merlin's sake!

The Volvo pulled up right in front of his house, opposite Bella's. The orange-red behemoth was parked where it should be, and Alice Cullen was bouncing in place on the pavement. She had either driven really fast or Edward had taken even longer than Harry time on his mobile said if was already four!

"I didn't even get to askyouany questions," Harry pouted, feeling a bit cheated. "I don't think that's how Twenty Questions works, you know." He'd never gotten to play it of course, but he'd had a vague idea.

Edward smirked and leaned closer so he could stretch an arm over Harry and open his door for him. He smelled good, though it was damn near indescribable. "Perhaps you should take that as an invitation to come around me more often if you'd like to get to know me better." His breath even smelled good.

It wasn't fair!

Harry resisted the urge to flick Edward's perfect nose, and slid out of the car, holding the door open for Alice to slide in behind him.

"We're starting the weekend early with a little family trip, so you won't be able to grill me tomorrow unfortunately," Edward told him in what was obviously false regret. He seemed too smug to pull it off properly. "Have fun at the beach and get some sun while you can. Please make sure Bella doesn't fall in a tide pool."

Alice waved enthusiastically, and the Volvo made a perfect U-Turn in the middle of the street and zoomed away.

Bella's door opened the second they were gone and she beckoned him over with an insistent wave of the hand.

He sighed and went to join her.

Bella was relieved to see that Harry was okay. Not that she thought Edward would do anything to him or that he couldn't defend himself, but a good friend should always care about their friends no matter the situation.

She watched Harry wiggle his fingers a bit and felt an odd ripple streak across the house in response. It left her a little cold as a result and she went to turn on the space heater.

"We can talk now," he told her. "No one will hear us."

Magic was awesome!

"The forecast for tomorrow is sunny skies and a high of 65, and his family are going camping early or something. That basically confirmed it for me," she explained. "I didn't really doubt your friend's book, but the whole excuse of taking advantage of the good weather was blindingly obvious."

He nodded. "Seems so. Him avoiding the blood typing too."

Yeah.

"Edward drove you home," Bella said. "What happened?"

"We played Twenty Questions, but the prat managed to do all the asking and kept me preoccupied." Harry looked adorably annoyed by that fact too.

Then that meant that Edward had toreallylike Harry if he wanted to get to know him that much. "See? He totally wants to talk to you and get to know you. It isn't all about me." Thank goodness. While the thought was flattering it also made her extremely nervous. Bella hadn't ever been a popular person because she just didn't attract people. Her personality was either too bland and her interests considered too Old Lady, or she was too outspoken about injustices being committed every day and that put people off for some reason.

Bella wasn't one for excessive attention and didn't like being stared at either.

"He's too attractive for my own good," Harry said as he plopped into one of the kitchen chairs while Bella went to check on the enchiladas she'd put in the oven for dinner. She was trying to expand Charlie's palate a little at a time, while also introducing him to a marvelous discovery known as spices.

"I know what you mean. I find myself dazzled by him far too often and can't think clearly. I lose my train of thought. When you're there it's easier though."

Easier to remember herself and not be an embarrassment to women everywhere.

"No matter how many studies have been conducted, no one can appropriately determine just how they become so appealing compared to their human lives," explained Harry as he pulled out his Trig homework with a grimace. "I think wix aren't trying hard enough though, because it very well could be something pheromone-related for all we know. Typically, they never think to study things under a non-magical scope. Newt Scamander was the first Magizoologist who dared to, and it helped him understand creatures better than humans."

Magic was fascinating. Hearing about how prejudiced magical people could be though… even to other magical beings, was sad. According to Harry, even the most pro muggle/no-maj wix still retained a sort of condescending attitude toward people without magic. It just seemed as if there wasn't a place that racism and xenophobia didn't exist.

"You want to stay for dinner?" she asked him as she rotated the pan. Their oven was a bit crooked and everything had to be turned every ten minutes or so to make certain they cooked evenly.

"No, that's fine. I'm actually really tired and plan on turning in early. You're lucky you missed Gym because Clapp had us doing laps around the room."

She shuddered in disgust at the very thought of running. If she hadn't fainted, she would have come home with bruised knees and elbows. So maybe it wasn't all so bad no matter how embarrassing it was to be carried bridal style from the school by Edward Cullen and his frigid hands.

"Were you the best runner?" she asked, remembering how fast he moved during said class every day.

Harry beamed. "Yes! I finished all ten laps first! I even lapped everyone twice!"

How he could be so energetic and sporty, she'd never know.

~.O.~

A/N: The first is done!

How was it? Let me know!

Check out mymany other fics!

See ya! :D

CHECK ME OUT ON TUMBLR.HELLY-WATERMELONSMELLINFELLON.

Chapter 7

Chapter Text

A/N: Hello, people!

I don't own Harry Potter or Twilight.

I have no beta.

ENJOY!

CHECK ME OUT ON TUMBLR.HELLY-WATERMELONSMELLINFELLON.

~.O.~

Luna,

Recently, I have confirmed that the Cullens are in fact a coven of vampires.
Specifically,Type #4Vampires. They're really obsessed with passing off as
humans. Enough to skip school on sunny days with the excuse backpacking
as a family activity, and skipping classes that will have students bleeding to
get work done. From what I've witnessed, I'd say they are all pretty decent
people. With a man like Dr. Cullen as their father figure, of course they'd be.

I doubt any of them asked to be vampires though. It just doesn't seem like
a fun time. Few would ask for such a life.

Your book was very useful, so thanks for lending it to me. I've sent it back
with this letter as well as a collection of American sweets I think you'll like.
They really like confections over here. The school, despite being small, has
a 'snack bar' and there are no healthy options available for purchase.

Not sure if you Saw or not, but I told Bella about magic. She's so strangely
accepting of odd sh*te that I wonder just why she can see a man dent a car
with his foot and not be scared of him. Or how she watched a teapot levitate
right before her eyes and yet all she did was blink at it. Though if I'm being
perfectly honest, it's a bit of a relief that she'd so calm about these things.

Anyway, I'm going to be competing in this thing coming up at school called,
Spirit Week. Each day we can dress up as a different theme. One day is the
Victorian Era Day and I've already gotten the dress I'm going to wear, picked
out. It's one of the ones I stored from Grimmauld Place. I think it belonged
to Walburga at some point. Or even her mom maybe. It would be the fight
time period considering British wixen fashion choices.

How are things on your end? Did you finally convince Newt to make you his
Apprentice yet? I'll continue asking this until I get an answer. I wish that a
letter of recommendation would work, but Newt was never known to be a
person swayed by titles and fame. Those things mean absolutely nothing to
him. But he would be mad to refuse your request! You're even better with
creatures than Hagrid is!

I'll be calling up Hermione some time soon. She'll be able to give me some
more information that way. Don't feel pressured to write too much if you
don't have the time on your hands. Prepare for your N.E.W.T.s and if you
have to, kick the arses of your bullies.

Love,
Harry.

"So are they actually vampires?" Hermione asked over the phone.

"Yes," he said. "But Type #4, with a diet of animal blood that they seem to handle every two weeks or so."

"This could be a perfect chance to study them."

"I'm not going to treat them like some kind of experiment, Mione. They're people with feelings and the thought of doing that bothers me a lot. Especially since they don't know I'm a wizard so there would be no equal payback between us."

"Just a suggestion," she assured him softly. "Everyone's been asking after you. Are you sure you don't want to accept any of their letters?"

"Yeah. I want to be bothered as little as possible. Things are actually pretty good here and I like being able to just be normal without having murderers after my neck all the time. I'm just another teen in these parts and no one is really that invested in me." He neglected to mention Edward's interest of course. He didn't know how Mione would take it or if she'd get all protective. She wasn't prejudiced or anything, but she had grown even more concerned over Harry since the Horcrux Hunt.

Hermione hummed. "Teddy's a Metamorph."

"Woah,really?" Just like Tonks? He must be a sight to see.

"Yeah. He's been driving his parents up the wall. Tonks is out of her depth and Remus isn't much better off, but his experience with you as a baby prepared him enough for this. They're very happy though so it seems to be going well enough."

He'd probably have to go and visit some time soon. Transinternational Apparition was a bit tricky but he was powerful enough to pull it off unlike so many people. And he wasn't loud like Tonks. It was best that Harry go and visit them instead of any of them trying to visit him. He still wanted to selfishly hold his little sanctuary to himself for the time being. Too many wix coming around would leave traces and any magical creature powerful enough to sense them would become too curious for Harry's own good.

"Any plans for the future?" his first best mate asked.

"Going to the beach with some people at school and my newest friend, Bella. It's supposed to be nice out and it'll probably be the nicest in a while. I'm looking forward to it."

"I hope you have fun, Harry."

"Thanks, Mione. Don't kill Ron."

"No promises."

The beach ended up being a lot nicer than Harry had expected. Bella rode with Mike and Harry rode with Tyler, but when they met back up on the sand, the two were finally able to chill. There was a kind of weird air about everyone because there were the pairs who obviously liked each other but weren't getting around to doing anything about it because, as teens were wont to do, many had multiples crushes. So while Tyler and Lauren liked each other, Tyler also liked Bella and Angela. And Mike liked Bella and Jessica. And Lauren hated Bella because of it while Jessica was jealous by trying to be decent about it. And on Bella's end... she still wasn't interested in anyone.

Mike had apparently been as clingy as he could be while driving and Bella had to squeeze Jessica between them to distract him. How both of them didn't realise that Bella wasn't interested in Mike, he'd never know. She'd given no indication and had encouraged him to go out with Jessica even. She had given Edward and Harry more attention than anyone else to be precise!

Driftwood burned in various colours because of the salt that had long since soaked into the wood. It was pretty, and almost magical in a way. The sky was clear and the water was relatively still considering it was a beach. It was nice to be near a beach and be able to enjoy it instead of wondering if he was going to be ambushed at any moment.

Harry and Bella ended up joining a hiking group. More to get away from Mike, Tyler, and Eric who were very clingy toward Bella and seemed to view Harry as equal competition for her heart. And while Bella was great and all, he hadn't really considered dating her yet. It was more just teasing and bluster up until this point since he'd been more focused on other things.

All the jokes about threesomes were to break the awkwardness and get a laugh when tensions were high. He didn't think they'd actually do that. Neither Bella or Edward gave off that kind of vibe. Harry was the most sexually experienced among them and the most comfortable in his body to boot and even he had his own limits.

"You are going to break an ankle," he told her as she stumbled through the forest beside him, hand clutching at the back of his shirt so she didn't fall too much.

"I just don't get how you can dodge all the roots and stones," she grumbled, tripping again and avoiding the ground because he'd caught her arm. Again.

"I'm just that good," he smirked. "Also, my glasses are charmed out the arse so I can see better in the dark, plus spot potential dangers faster."

"Unfair."

"Magic," he countered.

They finally made it minutes later. The tide pools were beautiful as expected. Bella told him about all the times she'd fallen in as a child and how Charlie had to keep rescuing her because she was too adventurous despite her unfortunate personal war with equilibrium. Edward's fears weren't unfounded it seemed. She was so fearless she was almost reckless.

"It was just a lesson I refused to learn," she told him wistfully. "They were so pretty and I wanted to see everything up close. I think gravity took my desire too seriously."

She did not join him in jumping from rock to rock - no doubt having decided to let equilibrium have its victory in their war - and merely accepted his prizes when he returned.

"That's pure opal," he told her, handing over a smooth stone. "It's one of my favourites." He found the colours to be appealing. Some days he liked dark colours and some days he liked bright ones. Depended on his mood when he awoke.

"You should have it since you found it," she said, trying to pass it back to him.

He pushed the offered stone back into her palm and said, "And I'm giving it to you. Besides… I found an arse load." He revealed a pocket full of them, and smiled as Bella clutched hers with a little grin of her own. "I can make protective charms with them later."

There were starfish and eels in some of the pools. He'd been tempted to touch, but also didn't want to disturb them. They were already stranded in the pools until high tide after all. They wouldn't be going anywhere for awhile and they didn't ask to be bothered.

When they rejoined the group on the way back to the beach, they found some of the locals around. They were natives from the reservation nearby.

Bella reconnected with one boy in particular, who seemed very interested in talking about cars with her. Enough to make Mike and Eric jealous. Tyler was a bit too focused on getting Lauren's attention since her valued her opinion on music highly for some reason. And in his mind he was taking Bella to prom so he thought he had nothing to fear. Harry couldn't wait for his hopes to be dashed.

One of the boys from the reservation felt very different to Harry. He was bigger than the rest, muscular, and was dead serious to boot. Harry could feel magic coming off him, but not in the potential wizard way. More in as a magical creature kind of way. But not evil or anything.

He wondered what the boy was. And judging by his animosity toward the Cullens when Lauren mentioned how sad it was that they couldn't come, in some poor attempt to make Bella feel inferior and unwanted, he knew what they were.

Overall, it had been a nice day and it only started raining the moment they went to leave. Bella added a new admirer to her list and Harry planned to never stop teasing her about it! Jacob Black seemed like a decent kid though and out of everyone who fancied Bella by now, he was the least annoying about it.

"Is that an actual cauldron?" Bella asked, staring at the massive black thing in the center of Harry's living room. It was like those ones that could be found around September when the Hallowe'en decorations came out. Except this one was made of metal. If it was for sale in a store, it'd be like a hundred dollars at the very least!

"This is a pewter cauldron," Harry told her. "The stirring rod is made of silver. I am about to brew a potion and I thought you'd be interested in watching the process."

On the worktable he'd set up to the side, was a list of ingredients though they were few in number.

"First we have salt water in the cauldron. It should be heated to a boil like so." He then grabbed the first mason jar on the table and shook it three times. The green powder inside shifted around and seemed to spark like a firecracker for a second, before settling down. "We shake the powdered wormwood to give it some extra power, and then add it until the solution turns a bright green."

Wormwood?

"Is that the very same plant you went gallivanting in the forest for?" she asked, the memory of her tripping after him coming to mind instantly.

He beamed. "Indeed! Told you I needed it for something!"

The stirring rod began moving counterclockwise slowly. Methodically. Eventually, the green turned into a sort of heliotrope color.

"Once the solution turns purple, we add ground unicorn horn until it turns red." He added the second mason jar, which was filled with a white, sparkly substance that she would have taken for glitter if not for what he'd just said, to the potion. It turned ruby red as expected.

As the seconds passed, it began to lighten in color until it was yellow.

"Then add crystallized water until it turns turquoise. Then repeat the wormwood step until the solution turns light pink."

It wasn't a very strict recipe. There was no set amount that should be added. The 'potions book' open on the desk didn't specify times or amounts. She'd expected something more stern, to be honest.

"Stir until the potion is orange, then add the stewed mandrake until it turns green again."

On and on the previous steps were repeated in different orders until Harry finally stepped back, a fluorescent orange potion sitting in the cauldron. "And here I give you, the Oculus Potion!"

Bella frowned for a second. "Eyes?" she asked, hoping she got the meaning right. She knew her prefixes, roots, and suffixes at the very least.

Harry nodded and ladled some of the potion into a small vial. "The Oculus Potions can repair the effects of the Conjunctivitis Curse, and restore eyesight completely. No one informed me that I could have made or purchased this potion, because they wanted me to look more like my father. As I wore the same style of glasses that he had and had equally messy, dark hair, their nostalgia was apparently more important than my well being."

Every time she heard something about the people he formerly was around, she wanted to choke someone. It was a urge she was unfamiliar with, and distantly she wondered if it made her a bad person.

But then she'd think of the things Harry had gone through(that she knew of)and decided that being angry on his behalf and wanting to protect him were completely normal and she wouldn't ever let someone try and shame her for how she felt!

"I was rightly cross over that as you can imagine. Glasses are a liability in battle and poor vision is even worse. Now though, I can just enchant my existing glasses with spells to expand my field of vision and let me see things that are supposed to be invisible. And I can lie and say I got contacts or something whenever I choose not to wear them."

Magic was so cool.

"What are you going to do with the rest of that batch?" she asked, gesturing to the still full cauldron.

"Probably give it to the medi-witch of my old school. Merlin knows she'll have need of it and I do plan to visit sometime when I have the time to go."

They were just laying out in the grass behind Bella's house. Anything could happen and yet they were so carefree at present. If Edward's vampire body was capable of having a heart attack, he'd no doubt have had one by now.

Bella had a stack of books at her side while she laid on the quilt she'd brought out. Harry was sitting cross-legged beside her, looking like he was meditating. The forecast had been too sunny for Edward to come out of the woods, so he simply sat in a high tree, watching them without them even being aware.

"Why can't schools ever demand we read things like Twelfth Night?" Harry demanded after an hour of them soaking in the sunlight. "That one is great! Hamlet is dull. Romeo and Juliet should shake their inauspicious stars out of my life. Macbeth is boring on the page. No one appreciates Twelfth Night."

Edward smiled at the brunet's frustration. He happened to like most of Shakespeare's works so he didn't have a problem with re-reading them, but he did agree that the same books were always focused on and others weren't given a proper chance.

Bella rolled over, placing her copy of Macbeth down to ask, "Did you see Macbeth as a play?"

"No. One of my old teachers put it to music and it was fantastic! Made the book seem abysmal when I tried to sit down and read it. I even convinced him to at least get it pressed onto vinyl and I have a copy! Stay here, I'll be back!"

He was on his feet and rushing around the Swan abode and out of sight. Edward listened as his front door opened and he took the steps two at a time. There was the sound of metal moving and Harry mumbling to himself before he found what he wanted.

When he returned, it was with him carrying the body of a gramophone and wearing the biggest brass horn Edward had ever seen, as a hat that slipped down far enough to cover his entire head and shoulders. He hobbled along as fast as he could while being unable to see, and Edward could hear Bella gasp.

"It's beautiful," Bella breathed with wide eyes.

Harry laughed as he set everything down and proceeded to attach the horn. "It's been in my family for a long time apparently. You can touch the horn, it won't break, trust me."

She did so, stroking it carefully and peering inside. "It's amazing. And well-polished."

"You don't have something last over a century without taking care of it. Okay! So you are about to hear Filius Flitwick's rendition of Macbeth! It took forever for me to convince him to do this by I told him people would gladly buy it. It was the coolest thing he had the Frog Choir do at school."

Frog Choir? Before Edward could even wonder at what that was, Harry pulled out a massive vinyl record. The biggest Edward had ever seen.

"I've never seen a record that big before," Bella commented, voicing his thoughts aloud for the both of them.

"Yeah. Wix take things too far sometimes. He said he'd try to get them to come in smaller sizes though, so here's to hoping."

And then Harry did something strange. Something Edward had seen him do before in fact. Right before Chad got someone's lunch dumped on him.

He flicked his fingers in an odd pattern and suddenly, the lever on the gramophone began moving on its own, without any help from him. There was no wire or thread, it was just moving on its own. It wasn't electric and was obviously very old so it didn't possess a battery compartment. It was just moving as if by magic.

The needle was placed on the record and Harry moved back to sit with Bella as they waited.

A triangle and a few flutes filtered through the air from the horn followed by a chorus of people singing, "Double double, toil and trouble, fire burn and cauldron bubble. Double, double, toil and trouble. Something wicked this way comes!"

It was indeed the best rendition of Macbeth Edward had ever come across. It felt magical and whole. Better than any stage play of it he'd seen, and he'd seen many in various languages. Better than any audio recording of it he'd heard.

And yet part of his mind was still caught on the fact that the lever kept cranking without anyone or anything moving it. Just Harry wiggling his fingers. Like how an entire table moved three feet when Harry moved his fingers the other day.

There was always something drawing him to Harry. Could this strange ability be it?

Edward wanted answers.

Edward was not at school on Monday, much to her disappointment. He had mentioned a long weekend, but she didn't think he'd mean that long. In exchange for his presence, she got the sunlight for another day, but was it really worth it?

She'd become a bit too obsessed with him. Thankfully, Harry was there to keep things light and fun. He managed to make her feel less crazy over it too.

"The final third of our threesome is missing today!" he groaned with a knowing smirk. "Who am I supposed to ogle now?"

Since the rest of his siblings were also gone, there really was no one but Harry to ogle. She told him as such, and he scoffed. "I've never been considered conventionally attractive by anyone. No one was lining up to date me or ask me out. One was out of obsession with the famed Boy-Who-Lived that I was nothing like, another was because I was there when her bf died and she knew I had a thing for her and didn't know what to do with her emotions. And the last tried to drug me into dating her because of the whole Chosen One sh*te."

Bella frowned, not liking the sound of that at all. "What about the people you had your… you know, threesome with?"

"Fred and George are my friends and are a bit biased out of loyalty toward me. Also, they were doing me a favour by helping a bloke out so my first time wouldn't be all awkward and painful. But it was nothing beyond that since none of us wanted anything more."

Harry literally had friends with benefits. She'd never actually heard of it happening in real life and assumed it was one of those TV drama things. She'd always wondered how that could happen without romantic feelings getting in the way, but apparently it was entirely possible.

"You're very handsome, Harry. I've heard many students say you could be a long-lost Cullen. And you have a great personality on top of it all. You're literally the whole package."

And that was when Harry flushed out of pure bashfulness for the first time since she'd met him. Usually he was so carefree and fun-loving and sure of himself. And he never seemed to have any shame nor would he let others try to shame him for being himself.

He ducked his head, eyes to the ground. "You're being too dramatic. Of the two of us who could be like the Cullens, you'd fit better."

While the thought of being a vampire and being able to do all the cool stuff the books said they could do, was awesome, that wasn't enough to change her mind.

"Or we could both be like them," she suggested. "We're pale enough."

"I suppose so."

The day carried on. Jessica and Angela's plan to go to Port Angeles in order to shop for dresses from the Spring Fling was still on except this time Bella was invited since Lauren had bailed for whatever reason. She'd been hesitant to accept since Harry hadn't been invited as well, but he'd pushed her along saying she needed 'girl time'.

It had been awhile since she'd had a girls' night out too. Her last had been with Renee back in Phoenix. Which reminded her that she needed to send her mom an email later. Renee would honestly fly all the way to Washington if Bella didn't keep in touch in a timely manner. She was that intense with her affection.

"Go have fun and take advantage of the lack of Lauren's less than stellar presence."

They snickered together. It was obvious that Lauren felt that Bella was a threat in everything, which made no sense since Bella wasn't pretty or sporty or remotely talented like Lauren. But because Tyler liked her, that was enough for the other girl to be a bitch.

Also, she was hom*ophobic to Harry and while it was done on the sly and most didn't realize it, it had solidified both Bella and Harry's permanent dislike of her.

While Bella was out with the girls, Harry took that opportunity to Apparate to NYC, where he appeared in the Apparition Point of its very popular magical sector. From there, without even hesitating, he Apparated to Diagon Alley's Apparition Point.

He probably could have made the whole trip in a single go from Forks to London, but he wasn't feeling that adventurous. Just in case something did go wrong after all.

The first thing to do was to visit Molly. She would be the one to spread the news that he'd returned, even if for only a little bit. And his friends would be home for their Easter holiday coming up. About twenty days away from Hogwarts in the middle of the term was always a relief. They would be going back the day after Easter.

The Burrow was as it always was. It leaned no more than usual and looked no dirtier than usual. It was a welcome sight.

He knocked on the front door. While he was considered family, he still didn't feel comfortable walking in when he technically wasn't invited. It was someone else's house after all.

Molly opened the door and beamed the moment she noticed him. "Harry, dear!"

There were hugs and kisses on the cheek, and he was shuffled inside and told to sit at the table as Molly proceeded to pull out the egg basket in what was about to be a master-sized meal she wanted to shove down his throat.

"I decided to come and visit while I have some free time. My friend from school is busy having a night out with the other girls and I didn't want to intrude on their time so I figured it was a good time to visit."

"You're always welcomed here, dear."

The commotion attracted the attention of Ginny, who came bounding down the stairs, three steps at a time. And her loud steps prompted Ron and Hermione to come down as well.

It was good to see them again. They'd all been working really hard to finish their magical education. They had all gone back to Hogwarts unlike him, who switched countries entirely and decided that a muggle education was better for him.

He was pulled in various directions and squeezed to death multiple times. They were firing off questions that he couldn't keep up with and Hermione patted his arm consolingly. "How are you, Harry?"

"Fine. More than fine, really. Things have been going pretty well actually." If he thought about Bella and the Cullen family, and whatever was going on at the reservation, things were going great.

"We should call Remus and Tonks on over," Hermione suggested.

"And the twins," added Ginny.

"And Luna," said Harry. "Though I could just walk over and get her."

And then there was a knock at the door, revealing Luna Lovegood in all her dirigible plum earrings and Butterbeer bottle capped glory, smiling. "No need, I'm right here, Harry. The Flibbitygibbet let me know you were coming today so I came prepared." She proceeded to place a necklace of plaited twine around his neck and winked. "To catch yourself a sparkly someone," she said quietly.

He didn't know what was special about the necklace, but he didn't doubt her for a moment. And would keep it on no matter what, simply because it was nice to see her again and he cherished her time.

"So what's been happening?" asked Ginny as they all sat at the table.

And so Harry told them a bit about what had happened since he moved to Forks. Meeting Bella, and the fact that five students were vampires who fed on animals, and there was something magical in the native reservation nearby.

"Only you would leave magic to get away from it, and then find magic in the very place you settle down, Harry."

It was fun. The friends and the atmosphere without the pressing need to be a hero at all hours of the day. The teasing from the twins. Luna's airy comments every ten minutes. Teddy being absolutely adorable as he kept changing his hair colours every other minute.

He'd missed it dearly. But not enough to stay forever.

While Harry loved his friends very much and would treasure then to the end of time and beyond, he just wasn't capable of being happy in Great Britain anymore.

"Harry," Luna called, looking pleased with herself, "Newt accepted me as his Apprentice."

"That's fantastic!" Finally! Luna would get to pursue her dreams with someone who understood her zeal. "Do you need anything?"

She shook her head and just kept on smiling.

Bella couldn't believe everything that had happened in the last hour alone. Though she thanked whatever was out there for her odd sense of calm. Ever since that shooting in the library, Bella handled dangerous situations and trauma pretty mildly. She just kind of went cold and become grave. Like she zoned out and was overcome by a deathly serious individual. It allowed her to function in bad situations.

When she was being followed by those men who had followed her for several blocks while she tried to get herselfunlost with the GPS on her phone that she sucked at understanding and couldn't even use half the time because her signal kept dropping, Bella had felt the calm creeping in. One moment she was about to panic, and then the next she'd gone cold and resolved herself to Face-Timing Angela with what little service she had at the moment.

"Oh my God, Bella, we've been trying to get a hold of you!" Angela said once she picked up. Jessica could be seen leaning into the camera as well, looking concerned.

"I got lost, I'm sorry. I don't know where I am, my signal keeps failing, and I'm being followed by a group of men," she'd told the other teens in a rush, hoping to get everything out before the signal was lost again.

Their faces morphed into dual looks of horror as Bella angled the camera behind her so they both could see the men following. They hadn't stopped jeering either. She could hear their steps on the sidewalk getting closer no matter how quickly she walked.

Normally, people would be in full-blown panic mode, but Bella was mentally running through what little protective maneuvers she knew. Bella wouldn't go down without a fight and she'd give them the fight of her life. Charlie surely wouldn't be angry if she ended up murdering a rapist to save herself.

"Bella, you need to run," Jessica told her through the call.

"I fall when I run. I have bad balance." Running would be worse than walking fast. She'd already tripped over the sidewalk and her own shoes several times, receiving mocking chuckles from behind her.

"Get in the middle of the road at least," said Angela. "If a car comes by they won't be able to ignore you."

She did so.

"Angela, start recording the screen. Bella, try to get them to walk under a street light. We'll be able to see them better should the footage need to be used." On their end, Jessica and Angela were in Jessica's car and Bella could hear the strain of the gas pedal being pressured.

"Okay."

Bella then lead the group of men along the twisting roads, trying to avoid going near the port because there were less lights that way. "No, Bella, go near the port because we can go there too," said Jessica from the other end of the line. "I'm speeding as fast as I can while not getting us killed, just keep walking and keep recording!"

The men caught up really fast. Bella wasn't like Harry who had never-ending stamina. She'd been walking for three hours and had been relentlessly pursued for the past forty minutes. There were no shops open. No buildings with lights on. It was a f*cking ghost town now and it wasn't even eight! What the hell? The port should have been busy!

Closer and closer the scuffing of the shoes came. She didn't have her keys on her so they wouldn't help. She didn't carry a switchblade since she'd never seen a point in it. Not mace unfortunately. She'd only learned how to throw a punch but against four men that wouldn't do her any good. She wasn't a martial artist.

"BELLA!" Angela shouted in warning.

She was roughly grabbed from behind, the phone forcefully knocked out of her grasp. It clattered to the pavement, face up, Angela and Jessica's voices screaming their worries through the receiver.

And just as he was lifting her foot to kick the asshole in the nads, a familiar silver car came screeching around the corner down the road, headlights illuminating the men who all scattered when the car came to an abrupt stop, almost hitting the one furthest from Bella. She was released and immediately dove for her phone, turning it around to capture the faces of the men thanks to Edward Cullen's high-beams being so damn strong. They were perfectly clear and could no doubt be found.

"Get in the car," Edward ordered, stepping out and slamming his own door. He looked like someone you just didn't f*ck with.

She didn't even hesitate, keeping the phone trained on the men all the while hearing Jessica and Angela ask what was going on. When she was safe inside and buckled, she said, "Edward Cullen." She couldn't think of much else but that at the moment as her heart finally caught up with her, making her hands shake a little. She could feel her heartbeat in her fingertips.

Edward was back in the car with her a second later. He was inhumanly stiff and his eyes were dark. He looked ready to murder and she was shocked he managed to withhold the urge so well. The car was reversed and it peeled out seconds later.

"I'm okay now," Bella told her friends, feeling that truth deep in her bones. She was safe. She didn't have to fight at all. Edward had saved her. Edward had known where she was?

Angela's face was wet from what Bella could see. She'd begun to cry at some point. "Oh, thank God," she said. "Where should we meet you?"

"Bella Italia," Edward answered immediately. "It's on 118 E 1st St."

"We went there for dinner already, we'll see you there."

In the end, Angela and Jessica agreed to let Edward take her to eat and then take her home. Angela was charged with texting her every fifteen minutes though and she did nothing to hide the fact that she took an obvious picture of Edward's license plate. Edward didn't even look offended either. He was still stiff over what had happened and was trying to be polite.

"We'll talk about what to do with the video later, Bella. Stay safe."

And then Bella had the most odd dinner of her life. Harry was in for one hell of a discussion later on.

Being alone with Bella, in an enclosed space, was a true test of Edward's self-control, but he thought he was doing well.

Revealing that he'd been watching after her and Harry all weekend hadn't been in the plan, but then she came out with, 'I know what you are and I don't care' over dinner and his whole plan was tossed out the window.

How? She was so sure of herself and didn't in the least hesitate to ask him jokingly if he preferred mountain lion or elk.

Edward hadn't been having a good afternoon. Bella went to Port Angeles with Jessica Stanley and Angela Weber, to help the other two shop for dresses for the Spring Fling on Saturday. Harry had not gone with them and had stayed home. And in a panic, Edward had followed at a distance, keeping track of Jessica's thoughts because they were far more loud than Angela's were.

After some time, Bella split off from the group to find a bookstore but never made it. Her scent hadn't even been anywhere near it! She'd gotten lost in little Port Angeles. He shuddered to think how she and Harry would have done in Seattle before he offered to take them.

No one's thoughts held even a smidgen of a glimpse of Bella's face. He'd driven in circles for what felt like forever, trying to find her!

And then she appeared in Jessica's mind, headed for the port, but it wasn't good. The one situation young women everywhere dreaded more than anything, had to be something poor Bella found herself in the middle of at night on a desolate street in a foreign town.

He very well almost killed four humans in cold blood. If she hadn't been with him and recording what was happening with two human witnesses, he would have. His control had been tested to the maximum so many times in a single day and he wasn't sure of how much he could take.

Bella getting lost, the attempted assault, Bella revealing she knew his secret. Too much.

When they were in the Volvo again, on the way back to Forks, he asked a simple, "How do you know?"

And that was when she said the most unexpected thing of the evening. "Harry told me."

How long had Harry known? How long had Bella known? When did he tell her? Why wasn't she scared? What had given them away? How did Harry even know in the first place? And was this tied into the fact that Harry could probably move things with his mind?

So many questions. So little time to get answers since he was already half-way back to Forks.

"And you just don't care?" he asked, incredulous at her declaration. She was so strange. She should be running for the hills or begging for her life or something sane at the very least! She was alone in a car with a monster and she was fine with it!

She shook her head. "No. Harry doesn't either."

"WhatisHarry?" He'd noticed how strange the boy was with the way he acted and how he spoke. His answers on Thursday had been riveting as well, but also confusing.

Bella said nothing and pursed her lips, looking hesitant. "I… don't think that's my job to tell you. It isn't my secret to tell."

"He told you aboutusthough," Edward pointed out.

"Well technically he gave me a book and vampires were one of the many magical creatures/beings mentioned and you happened to fit the description of the fourth type. And when I asked, he confirmed his own beliefs based on what we knew. And then you skipping school over sunlight and skipping blood typing made it even more obvious."

Fourth type? As in there were other kinds of vampires? Or that Harry believed there were other kinds?

"You can ask Harry tomorrow. If… you're coming to school tomorrow?"

"I'll be there," he assured her. "I have a paper due as well you know."

She smiled and looked away, focusing on the passing trees.

When he pulled up outside her house, he said, "Can you do me a favor?"

"Yeah?" She then frowned, looking annoyed for some reason.

"Don't go into the woods anymore."

"Why?"

Leaning in, using his 'dazzling' ability that she'd spoken of to its full effect, he said, "Because I'm not the only dangerous thing out there right now." He was of course thinking of the nomad vampires that had killed a Forks resident not too far outside the town. Alice hadn't seen much of them, but had determined that they were just passing through.

"Okay," Bella breathed, eyes going a little unfocused at his proximity.

"Good night, Bella."

"Good night, Edward. Thanks for everything."

He made it back to the house in record time, ignoring Rosalie's insulting thoughts as he walked in the door. The entire family was seated in the living room and were all tense. They looked at him as one body, awaiting the fall of the blade.

"She knows."

Their reactions were all different. Esme remained unbothered, and Carlisle right beside her. Rosalie was ranting about putting the family in danger. Alice was very excited, visions dancing through her mind at a rapid pace as she looked into the future. Emmett didn't want to take any sides and sat awkwardly in front of the TV, and Jasper… Poor Jasper was trying to keep everything calm while also wondering if he'd have to act to protect the family some time soon.

And because of this, Edward decided to drop the next bomb on them as well. "Harry is the one who led her toward the information and then they watched us to see if we fit the description."

That shut everyone up, in more ways than one. It was the bit no one expected.

"What?" Alice asked, voicing all of their concerns in a single word. If Alice was confused then they were all well and truly f*cked.

He shrugged. "I don't know, but I intend to find out tomorrow. I just hope she won't be traumatized by all of this."

Everyone instantly went silent externally and internally as well. The varying looks of worry made him feel only slightly better.

"I fund Bella... on a dark, lonely street, surrounded by four men."

Rosalie's thoughts turned a cross between murderous and horrified, her teeth grinding loudly throughout the room.

"And while she seems to have accepted the situation and was calm, I am not. I had to hear their thoughts. Hear their plans. See what they wanted to do to her. And I'm very not okay right now." He and Rosalie's interests aligned in this moment.

While Esme pressed a hand to her chest, Jasper threw every bit of calm he could scrape together at Edward, hoping to help him out.

It didn't work.

Moments like this made him hate his ability even more.

~.O.~

A/N: Another is done!

How was it? Let me know!

Check out mymany other fics!

See ya! :D

CHECK ME OUT ON TUMBLR.HELLY-WATERMELONSMELLINFELLON.

Chapter 8

Chapter Text

A/N: Hello, people!

I don't own Harry Potter or Twilight.

I have no beta.

ENJOY!

CHECK ME OUT ON TUMBLR.HELLY-WATERMELONSMELLINFELLON.

~.O.~

Bella sighed and wrung her hands a few times. Angela had sent her the video by the time she'd made it home, and she'd uploaded it into a flashdrive to give to Charlie. Now she just had to actually hand it to him and explain.

It was a bit embarrassing. Bella wasn't really a prideful person but having to admit how helpless she'd been felt degrading in a sense. No one wanted to admit to their own weakness because it's seen as a flaw. Being flawed is 'wrong' and 'shameful' etc...

"Hey, dad?"

Charlie looked up from his favorite recliner, where he had a beer in one hand and a piece of greasy three-meat pizza in the other. He picked up on her demeanor immediately and set both items down. "What's wrong, Bells?"

She held out the flashdrive, glaring at her own hand for how it shook. "I got lost tonight," she told him, refusing to meet his eyes. One thing they shared was the ability to manipulate through their doey brown eyes. She couldn't bear to see his disappointment. "No lights were on. My signal kept failing me. I got followed by these guys for like an hour so I FaceTimed Angela when my signal was strong and Jessica had her screen-record the whole thing while they tried finding me. We got their faces in clear view and felt it'd be best for you to have them on file in case something happens in the future."

He didn't even hesitate to pull her into a tight hug. Bella wasn't big in any way so she folded right into the space easily. Charlie was warm and safe. He was okay. Trustworthy.

Crying also wasn't something she did often because she didn't really have reasons to. Awkward and antisocial leanings aside, Bella lived a very privileged life and wanted for nothing that was needed for a safe existence.

And yet…

"I'm getting you one of those knives disguised as lipstick or a pen. You can't conceal carry in this state but knives disguised tolooklike something else are acceptable. And I'm getting you some mace and a taser. You'll have to leave the taser in your truck since it legally can't be brought into the school building, but having it there would be useful," he murmured into her hair.

Already he was working out on how to limit the chances of her being left so helpless again. With Charlie it was always the actions that mattered most.

"I'm going to teach you how to throw a solid punch too. And how to redirect incoming attacks. I'll show you how to fight dirty. When your life's on the line, nothing is too 'cheap' to use."

He proceeded to squeeze her even tighter.

Charlie Swan was a good father.

Harry's mobile rang the moment he Apparated home. Right on time it seemed. It was already dark outside and the night had fully set in around Forks. And yet he was getting a phone call so late in the evening already.

It was Bella of course. There would be no one else calling his mobile at such a time since he didn't go around sharing his number with everyone. "Get over here!" she hissed into the receiver, sounding just a tad hysterical. "sh*ta happened!"

"Bella, it's like nine in the evening. I don't think your dad will want me coming over so late."

"Apparate or something. It's best we talk face to face for this sh*te."

He sighed. "Let me get some food quickly. I'll be there in a minute."

He proceeded to grab a box of[Cookies and Cream Pop-Tarts]- which had become a guilty pleasure in recent weeks - from his cupboards and did as requested, finding himself standing in Bella's room with the smallest ofpopsto announce his arrival.

She rushed over and locked her door for good measure, eyes wide. "I nearly got raped in Port Angeles."

And the box of food was forgotten instantly in his sudden bout of panic. Bella placed a hand on his mouth to halt the flow of questions that would have sprung forth otherwise. "Edward Cullen saved me."

That did serve to calm him a little bit, but he had so many questions.

"He followed us out there. They'd gotten back on Sunday and he was watching us because he was worried over what could happen with my horrid luck. I've learned that he and his familyarevampires and that he specifically can read minds."

Distantly the words of Snape came to mind. About how the mind wasn't some book that could be easily read and it was far more complex than anyone could ever truly hope to understand. Still, the idea and understanding that came with it were appropriate for the situation so it wasn't really wrong per se. Besides, he didn't know the specifics of Edward's ability. There were so many version of telepathy out there and he'd wait for more information before judging.

"Edward can read minds?" he repeated, just to make certain he heard correctly.

She nodded. "Except ours."

"How?" Harry's Occlumency wasn't that good. He hadn't improved that much since the failed lessons with Snape and hadn't really tried to if he was being honest. Voldemort had still been able to get in whenever either was too emotional to block each other out.

"I don't know. I'm basically dead quiet as if I'm not there, while you have some sort of wall, I guess. Your mind makes its presence known but he can't see anything you envision or hear what you're thinking. And his ability is involuntary. He described it as existing in a room filled with thousands of people all talking at once, creating this din of noise he can't escape. And some people, being louder than others, have louder thoughts that others. And he can only somewhat dim the thoughts of others, if focusing on one person at a time. It's how his family knows when to move before people become too suspicious apparently."

Unfortunate. Perpetual Legilimency sounded like a pain in the arse to deal with. But also it explained a lot. Harry's go-to form of protection for his mind was a wall. Basically. Or like a dome of invisible bricks protecting the nucleus of his mind. It was the best he could do since he wasn't very good at shielding his mind with magic. Harry hadn't ever been a genius. He wasn't like Tom Riddle, mastering wandless and nonverbal magic before starting at school, or Snape, who was creating spells and counter-spells and revising existing Potions texts while in school.

He was just Harry.

"He knows you technically told me about vampires, but I didn't tell him about you being a wizard because I figured that was your secret to tell and I'm technically not supposed to know either secret," she went on to explain.

Okay. He took a deep breath. Okay. This was fine. It at least meant they didn't have to curb their tongues as much while at school. Keeping secrets was so much work so it was kind of a relief. Remembering not to give their knowledge away to listening ears had been a bit of a struggle. Bella had almost slipped up several times.

"And how doyoufeel about all of this?" he asked her. She was the one new to the magical world as a whole. She was at the bottom of the power tier so to speak. In basic terms, she was the most vulnerable person involved.

"I feel kind of calm and kind of nervous?"

"Then would it be the wrong time to mention that there's something magical about the people down in La Push? Specifically that Sam boy?"

A look of understanding filled her expression and she proceeded to excitedly smack his arm multiple times as she reached an epiphany. "The Cullens aren't allowed on their land! Remember those stories Jacob told us about the tribe's connection to wolves and Sam's comment about the Cullen's not going there ever! They must know!"

Harry nodded. He hadn't thought those stories were very important so he hadn't focused too much on them. He'd seen it as a teen boy trying to impress/scare a girl he liked. Thank Merlin Bella cared enough to listen though. "I don't know what's going on there yet, but it seems this is a hotspot for the supernatural." Weird how that happened.

"Damn. Who knew a tiny town in the middle of nowhere Washington would be more exciting than Phoenix?"

He shrugged. Vampires, Wizards, and Whatevers, oh my!

"So… the chances for that threesome are going up, right?"

She threw a pillow at him in response and he couldn't help but snort.

Edward Cullen was right in front of Bella's house the next morning, seconds after Charlie Swan left for work. Alice had been a great help in providing exact times for when to be ready.

He leaned on the hood of his Volvo, waiting for either of his obsessions to leave their houses. He could hear both going about their morning routines, though they had different methods.

Bella was rushing it seemed, opening and slamming doors of all sorts and tripping over herself every three seconds. She muttered a swear and gave a punishing kick to a chair she'd tripped over, making him smile at the imagined scene.

Harry though, was very calmly going about his morning and was humming something familiar though Edward's vast memory didn't help him place a name. It was something that was originally in French though, that much he could remember.

Finally, it was Harry who came out first, loudly slinging his bag over his shoulder as he put on his playlist called,[Up & At 'Em], which he listened to every morning to get himself to wake up fully. It was his extended 'Uh…' that made Edward turn to look at him.

Today he'd chosen to wear a white button-up shirt, and over it was a bright green sweater that matched his eyes, with a sparkling silver H stitched on the front. His jeans and boots were black, and his hair was artfully messy. His glasses were gone and he looked shocked to see Edward there. His green eyes seemed ever bigger without the wire frames in the way.

"So you're really taking the whole not staying away thing seriously, huh?" Harry asked once he crossed the street. He smelled divine as always, and wore no cologne thankfully. The chemicals always agitated his sense of smell.

The vampire inclined his head. "I don't want to anymore and it seems there's no longer a secret to hide, so why even bother?"

Harry nodded along with his reasoning. "Point."

Bella's door opened, interrupting any further conversation. She froze much like Harry did when she noticed them standing there. Her ensemble was a light brown coat and purple mittens, over a long-sleeved green shirt and blue jeans.

"Why don't you ride with me today," Edward suggested with an easy grin, making the young woman flush delightfully. That little bit of warmth on her cheeks was appealing considering how abnormally pale she usually was. For a human at least.

She looked at Harry for direction, and he simply shrugged.

Edward's phone vibrated and he looked down quickly to find multiple texts from Alice.

[Alice:WTF?!]
[Alice:OMG!]
[Alice:HOW?!]
[Alice:I NEED ANSWERS!]

"I'll meet you at school," said Harry.

Before Edward could assure him that he'd meant that he would takebothof them to school and Harry wouldn't have to walk anywhere, Harry's entire body kind of twisted in on itself in a mass of colors and then vanished with a quietpop.

He'd never felt his stomach drop in such a way ever since he'd begun this new way of existing. He looked around frantically, but nothing of Harry's presence remained. It looked as if he hadn't even been there at all, save for the indentation of his small feet in the mud on the ground, and the scent he left behind. "Where did he go?"

Bella sighed. "He Apparated to school. It's like teleportation but more fancy than that. Harry thinks strange things about himself and his worth in the eyes of others. So he probably assumed you only meant me since we've had more time together and he can't seem to fathom the idea that you want to be his friend too."

That… wasn't good. Had he not made his interest startling enough? His family thought he was acting quite brazen considering his past behavior. He even swindled eighteen specific answers out of the teen the other day! And he had many more questions he wanted to ask and planned to ask them!

"We can talk to him at school." Harry wouldn't be able to avoid them very well, even if he and Edward didn't have any classes together.

Also, the 'teleporting' thing explained why Alice suddenly texted him in a panic. She'd seen a Vision no doubt and reacted accordingly. He didn't really have any answers for her though.

The ride to school was more quiet and awkward than the ride from the previous night. Both were concerned about Harry and whatever was going on with him. Especially Edward since he'd never heard of a human being capable of teleportation before - or even a vampire for that matter - and certainly never saw it happen either in person or in someone's mind!

"What exactlyisHarry, Bella?"

"Magic," she simply said, as if it would explain everything.

And it kind of did. As well as explaining nothing at the same time. It gave him answers and yet left him with more questions than anything else.

It explained how he could make a whole table move noticeably and how he had the lever of the gramophone moving on its own. How he could disappear from one place and presumably appear in another a second later. How he was so confident about himself. How he was a member of a former cult of pagans! How he did Tasseomancy as a hobby and had skill in it!

The pieces were coming together most surely, but there were still so many gaps.

They pulled into the school parking lot and found Harry waiting on the wall near the office. In his hands was a bag from[In Place]which was a restaurant with a breakfast menu that was considered a town favorite. He was finishing up what looked to be biscuits and gravy.

In the time he'd been waiting, he'd had enough time to stop for food across town. Just how fast could he… teleport?

Harry jumped off the wall and speed-walked on over to join them as he crumpled up his garbage. "Hey."

Bella didn't even hesitate to whack him in the arm with her backpack. "He wanted to drive usboth, you drama queen. You didn't stay long enough to hear him out and everything was awkward as a result."

A dark blush spread across Harry's pale face, looking just as fetching as the one adorning Bella's.

"I would never take away your only mode of transportation by offering a ride to the person givingyourides," Edward told him. "That would be incredibly rude not only to a friend but just to a person in general who had done nothing wrong to me." He was offended that Harry would even assume he'd do something like that.

"Sorry, guys," the Brit murmured, looking away awkwardly. "We should get to class."

Edward walked them all the way to English, just because he could, and warned Bella ahead of time, of what was awaiting her. "Jessica plans to grill you the moment she sees you, so be prepared for a long morning spent gossiping."

Bella looked panicked, switching between looking to Harry and then Edward for guidance. "What does she want to know?"

He smirked. "Now that isn't quite so fair, is it?"

"Younot sharing what we all know you know is what isn't fair here!" the young woman blustered, a look of deep embarrassment and adorable frustration on her face.

Harry nodded along in agreement. "She has a point, Spock."

Oh no. He could see the nickname sticking and he did not like it. Edward hadn't ever been into Star Trek. He preferred Star Wars personally, but he would admit to the music in both being spectacular.

Still, he knew enough about Spock as a character and did not want to have such a nickname following him around.

"Fine," he relented. "She wants to know if we're secretly dating and how you feel about me. And she'll go into details for the answers. Yes or No won't cut it."

Harry was looking back and forth between them, eyes wide. Edward would give anything to know just what he was thinking at that moment.

"What should I tell her?" Bella asked, looking worried.

Hmm… "I suppose you can just say yes to the first as it'd be easier on all of us. And for the second answer… I can't wait to hear what you say." He winked for good measure, and then turned to go to his own class. "See you at lunch!" he called over his shoulder as he went.

Eventually, the sound of the building's door opened, and he could hear Harry sigh. "So I guess the threesome is dead, huh?"

"Harry!"

The sound of a smack filled the air followed by a loud "Hah!" from Harry.

True to his word, Edward did keep an ear out the entire time, employing his superior senses and extra ability to hone in on Jessica. She, Bella, and Harry all had Trigonometry and then Spanish together before Lunch rolled around. It was very useful to have them all in one place in order to get good visuals on Bella and Harry.

Something minutely concerning was Jessica noting Harry's depressive mood when he walked into Trig. He'd just been in Biology II, away from Bella or anyone else in their usual friend group so Edward didn't know who to listen to to find out what had happened.

He wouldn't tell either Bella or Jessica what was wrong either.

As for Jessica, she put Bella through the longest and most teenage kind of game of Twenty Questions he'd ever witnessed.

The confirmation of Bella liking him far above what would be considered normal was nice. It made his obsession feel far less pathetic or creepy. Though yes, it was still creepy to an extent and he'd been made perfectly aware of that fact by Rosalie. Rosalie pulled no punches when speaking her mind.

He had to give her kudos. Bella managed to distract Jessica all throughout Spanish over what had to be the smallest interaction with Mike Newton that morning in English. It should be considered a talent of some sort. Jessica was far too easy to distract though.

Edward waited outside the Spanish classroom, leaning against the wall. Harry, Bella, and Jessica came out and noticed him immediately. Bella's eyes brightened. She looked thrilled to see him.

Both Harry and Jessica rolled their eyes. "See you later, Bella," Jessica said.You will dish even if I have to stalk you for information!

To Edward's astonishment, Harry walked away without even a backwards glance. This of course made both he and Bella frown and share a look of confusion.

And then Jessica ended up being useful for the second time in a day by quietly murmuring to Harry as they went, "Are you okay with that?"

He shrugged. "Why wouldn't I be?"

"'Cause you like him too. I know you do. And he seems to like you as well." She was a lot more observant than Edward had previously given her credit for.

Another shrug. "It's not like that. He really likes Bella and if you want to date someone, you have to make sure you get on with their mates otherwise it can cause some bad tension for everyone. I've seen it happen where no one got on, and it isn't pretty. So it's smart that he wants us to at least be friendly with one another since I've known Bella longer than anyone else here. Making her have to choose between her friends and her boyfriend wouldn't be fair. If we're all friends then it's fine."

It was like a slap in the face to hear how Harry perceived their growing relationship. Edward had been trying really hard to engage them equally, but it didn't seem like Harry saw it that way.

And Edward didn't know what to do about it. He'd never been in this sort of situation before.

Having no classes with Harry seemed to make it even more difficult. Perhaps he could get transferred into one of Harry's classes?

"I'll get the food, you get Harry," Edward told her the moment they stepped into the cafeteria. "He's not getting away without a fight."

That was a relief. She didn't want him to think he was getting left behind or anything. And being replaced was a horrible feeling. Bella had been replaced enough growing up because other kids realized how uninteresting she was as a person. She didn't want Harry to feel like that.

She went over to Mike's usual table and proceeded to take Harry's hand and give an insistent tug. "What?" he asked. "Where's the final third part of our now-dead thre-"

She slapped a hand over his mouth before anyone at the table could hear the rest of his question. "We want you to sit with us too, you know."

"Yeah but he'syourboyfriend, not mine. Third-wheeling isn't very fun, you know."

"Who said you'd be a third wheel?" she demanded, ignoring how her heart did little skips at his declaration.

He shrugged for what felt like the umpteenth time that day.

"Come sit with us," she insisted, tugging more openly now.

Eventually he sighed and stood. "Fine." He had only his satchel with him and no food in sight. With a wave to Jessica, who was entranced like she was watching some kind of soap opera, they headed toward where Edward was seated at the end of the same table he'd been at the last time they'd all spent Lunch together.

The tray on the table was filled with everything possibly offered up at the snack bar, and he pushed it toward them when they sat. "For you.Bothof you," he clarified with an intense look at Harry that merely elicited a flush of embarrassment but nothing more.

Unfortunately for them, Harry's mood didn't lighten up in the least. Even with his running gag about the threesome he didn't seem to be backed by happiness.

"What happened, Harry?" Bella asked softly. "You came back from Biology down in the dumps and I don't know how to make it better. I'm not good at these things."

Edward watched them intensely, he tended to do that a lot, but remained silent during their exchange.

Harry shrugged. "It's not that big of a deal. I was just hit with a lot at once."

"Would talking about it help?" She'd read that that was a thing people should do when they had problems. Personally she never wanted to tell others about her problems for fear of being a burden to them. Unload your grief enough times and people would get tired of you. But she wanted to help Harry since he rarely ever spoke about his problems.

"It was in Biology," the brunet revealed quietly. "Everything was fine as we waited for Mr. Banner to come in. The occupants of the table behind me were being a bit loud. The guy was whining about how his parents grounded him because they caught him drinking their beer. His seatmate was siding with him the whole time and he drew my seatmate into the conversation, which ended up with me getting involved by extension as he searched for a sympathetic ear.

"And while I was just prepared to wave off his words, he had the audacity to look an orphan directly in the eye and say,'God, you're so lucky you don't have parents to tell you what to do all the time'."

Bella gasped in horror. It was very public knowledge that Harry lived alone. That his parents had been dead his whole life and the house he lived in was the last gift to him from a dead godfather. To even think such a thing would be remotely funny or okay to say to him was disgusting. To think to make such a joke in general was f*cked up.

She felt an urge to wring someone's neck, which wasn't the first time her protective instincts came out in defense of Harry. This seemed like it was going to be a recurring thing.

"I'm sorry, Harry." She didn't really know how to go about making that better after all.

"Me too."

"Who said it?" Edward asked, face dangerously stoic. "Just for clarification purposes of course."

"No you don't!" Harry hissed, leaning over the table in the greatest show of emotion he'd managed that morning. "It's not that big of a deal in the long run. Besides, my seatmate made them feel guilty enough when they winced and then nodded toward me with wide eyes. I'm just not fully over this yet and it's my problem to deal with. I'm about to be eighteen and I'm still hung up on something that happened almost seventeen year ago."

Bella frowned. "But you remember the event perfectly," she said. "You even remember exactly what was said while it happened. There's no way you're going to let go of that on your own, Harry. And no one should just expect you to get over a traumatic event when it was constantly brought to mind every year for the past several years."

He was being far too hard on himself over something out of his control. Also, telling someone struggling with a mental illness or a traumatic event to just 'get over it, so-so time has passed' was terrible. Inconsiderate. Rude. And she had a feeling that someone had told him something like that before for him to be so hung up on it.

She'd hated it when people told her to get over the Glendale shooting. As if getting splattered in a girl's brain matter was so simple that she could close her eyes and forget about it. How dare someone trivialize what Harry had been through.

"I know that," Harry said shortly. "It just- people don't seem to understand. I am from probably one of the wealthiest families in Britain, whether people know it or not. My wealth extends enough that my line can continue through me for another thousand years, and all my descendants wouldn't have to work a day in their lives. And yet I would give all of that gold in my vaults to have my parents back. To know them."

It was tragic to think about.

"And even with all of my power beyond mortal imagining, there is no amount of money I can pay, or a ritual I can perform to bring them back to what I want them to be. My only method solely available to me is to selfishly recall their spirits to the mortal realm and if they remain in this world for too long, they languish and become despondent. And eventually try and convince me to die in some way to join them."

Bella's heart stopped at that. She didn't doubt that he could do what he said and just the thought of his parents actually wanting him dead? How? They died to keep him alive! That was what started the whole Boy-Who-Lived thing!

She could see Edward echoing her thoughts on his face. It couldn't be understood in plain terms.

"Don't be offended," Harry told them softly and with an age-old grace that seemed abnormal on his young face. "Once a soul crosses the Veil of Death, things change. When they go into the Afterlife it's fine. Death is no longer the fearful unknown to them. Everything is better there so why not want your loved ones to benefit too when Life is literally worse? The truly departed don't see things the same anymore as they start losing memories of their time Alive. Ghosts, which are like afterimages of spirits left behind because they can't bear to go yet, love regaling people of the tales of their deaths. They count their Deathdays like it's a game. They find their deaths to be amusing stories and will re-tell them as often as they can with relish.

"It's literally like,'I botched a spell on a lady of Henry VII's court in 1492 and my head was chopped off! But because I was trying to heal myself at the same time and the blade was blunted, it took longer than anyone expected. Eventually I emptied my core too much to continue moving by the 45th chop and I just gave up and died! Ha ha ha! They still didn't succeed since I have a centimetre of skin connecting my ghostly head to my ghostly neck! Ha ha ha! Too bad I can't join the Headless Hunt though! My request has been denied for the three-hundredth year!'."

It was too much of a revelation for a Lunch period. This was something that should be talked about in the privacy of a warm living room. Or a bedroom. And Edward was still being exposed to what Harry was in general, so all of this piled on at once had to be confusing for him to sort through. And his family be extension since they had to be listening in.

Bella placed what she hoped was a comforting hand on Harry's arm. "I'm sorry that you have to deal with these things, Harry."

He shrugged. "That's Life. Literally. Can we leave the depressing topic of my loneliness and talk about something actually interesting?"

They sat in awkward silence for a moment, before Edward sat up suddenly and said, "Do you actually need to go to Seattle on Saturday or was that an excuse to get your many admirers off your backs?"

Her face flamed at the reminder of just what he'd done to give Tyler a chance to ask her out that convinced him he was taking her to prom of all things! "We actually did plan the whole trip and everything, thank you very much."

"We made an itinerary," Harry added. "And calculated all of the costs for petrol and food and the parking meters we might face. We weren't joking."

"And do you have anything planned on Sunday?"

She and Harry shared a look and shook their heads at the same time.

"Would you mind spending the day with me here? I'd like to show you both something."

"Um… sure?"

He flashed them a beautiful smile that left her hearts doing crazy little flips in her chest. "Perfect."

The first warning bell rang, and Harry stood, adjusting the strap of his satchel. "See you in Gym, Bella. Bye, Spock."

Edward crooked a finger. "May I have your bag?"

He proceeded to dump all the snacks he'd purchased, that were still unopened, into it and said, "You both can have them later."

"What would you do if someone dared you to eat?" she asked, immediately thinking of that book she'd read.

He sent her a look, lifted the lone piece of pizza left on the tray, and took a bit of it. His face screwed up into a grimace. According to the book Harry had, he would have to force that up and out later. "If someone dared you to eat dirt, you could do it, right? No matter how unappealing it is."

"Dirt isn't that bad," she said defensively. Raspberries were literally worse.

He smiled. "Only you, Bella. Let's get to class."

Edward was hyper aware of everything. More so than usual. Harry had said so much and so little at lunch. Things Edward couldn't hope to keep up with since he didn't have all the information involved. Bella seemed to have more, but that made sense since the two were practically best friends and did everything together.

If he took what Harry said as the plain truth, then Harry had magic and had abilities people could only dream of. One was the ability to predict the future to an extent through tea leaves. Another was making things move with his mind. And possibly another was bringing the dead back to life, at least in soul form.

They didn't even get to address the issue of their friendship because someone had honestly told Harry, sweet, good Harry Potter, that he was lucky to be alone in the world. Because that's what saying he was lucky to not have parents, meant.

Harry had been neglected by his mother's sister and her husband, at the very least. At the most he was severely abused and was simply trying to ignore that fact. That was not the kind of life any child should have to grow in.

Bella was on edge the entire class period. Her face kept twisting with her thoughts. Sometimes she'd peek at him and smile sadly, and others she would glare out the window fiercely. She didn't take the talk at lunch any better than him, and she had more information! Her finger tapped an agitated rhythm on the table for the entire class period.

He walked her to the Gym afterward, finding Harry waiting outside for them. The brunet smirked, mood seemingly having improved while he was in Government. "Hello. Bella, we're doing laps today."

"OhGod!"

"Thankfully, I came prepared!" Harry proceeded to pull out a pair of sporty gloves and knee pads from his satchel. "It is inevitable that you will fall, so I wanted to minimize the damage as best as I can."

She flushed, but accepted them anyway. "Thanks, Harry."

The two humans then looked at Edward expectantly, and without hesitation, he took up a free hand from each of them and pressed them to his cold lips, enjoying the flood of color in their cheeks in response. For once he liked having such an affect on someone. "I will see you after class."

He spent the class period paying heavy attention to Mike Newton's thoughts and what he saw. As usual, his attention was on Bella the most, but occasionally it would swing over to Harry out of jealousy for Harry being such a good runner. And Harry looked very good in his shorts and t-shirt workout gear. Bella's comment the other day about everyone thinking he was a long-lost Cullen, really had some merit.

And itwasa thought many had. Harry was just so pale that he could pass for a vampire if he stood still enough. In the class though, he was anything but still, overlapping everyone easily as if he'd been born for running alone.

Eventually, he was free to wait for them outside the gymnasium, and smiled when he saw Harry holding Bella's elbow. She'd taken far too many tumbles the whole period. Those pads have saved her from even worse injuries.

"If I hadn't given you those pads and gloves, this would have been so much worse."

"No kidding," Bella grumbled as they walked.

Edward stepped into their view and smiled when they both blinked for several seconds. He was, apparently, 'dazzling' them and he wasn't even trying.

"Ready to go home?" he asked, making certain to stare at Harry while saying it so he'd get the picture.

The green-eyed beauty rolled his eyes. "Yeah, I get it. Let's go."

~.O.~

A/N: Another is done!

How was it? Let me know!

Check out mymany other fics!

See ya! :D

CHECK ME OUT ON TUMBLR.HELLY-WATERMELONSMELLINFELLON.

Chapter 9

Chapter Text

A/N: Hello, people!

I don't own Harry Potter or Twilight.

I have no beta.

ENJOY!

CHECK ME OUT ON TUMBLR.HELLY-WATERMELONSMELLINFELLON.

~.O.~

"Alright! Spill!" Emmett demanded the moment they were all in the house.

Esme was there to greet them and Carlisle hadn't had to go into work so everyone was very much accounted for that afternoon. Edward sighed internally, wondering how to get through this when he barely had any information himself.

Even he had questions that needed answers. Maybe not all of them no matter how much his curiosity was in overdrive, but at leastsomeanswers would be appreciated.

"Harry is magic," he said plainly, since that was basically what Bella had told him. "I don't really know what it means but he can make objects move with just a flick of the hand or a twitch of the head. I've watched him do it to a table and a gramophone. He disappeared on the spot and nothing of him remained but a bit of his scent and the indentation his shoes had made in the mud. He told me he likes reading tea leaves for fun, and we already knew he was from a cult in Britain. I'd say witchcraft but I'm not very sure."

"Witches?" Jasper said doubtfully, his thoughts going off on a tangent about potential dangers this could bring to the coven and how to neutralize them effectively. Some thoughts were rather morbid, so Edward tried to block them out since they still made him uncomfortable. And of course, feeling his response, Jasper endeavored to mute his thoughts somewhat, which was appreciated.

He shrugged, since barely a second of time had passed. "We're vampires. Some of us can read minds and see the future. There are werewolves out there still, despite Caius' efforts. Wolf shape-shifters live down in La Push. I wouldn't be so quick to deny the potential existence of other supernatural beings. Being vampires doesn't mean we're all-knowing, especially for such solitary creatures like us."

Even for a mind reader like him, he couldn't know everything there was to know about the world. he had time on his side to learn but even then he would never know everything.

They knew next to nothing about Harry's potential abilities and what he was capable of for example. Or what peoplelikehim were capable of.

"And Isabella knew?" as Carlisle as he gently held Esme's hand in an effort to keep her calm without the aid of Jasper's abilities. She was doing an admirable job since she wasn't necessarily terrified or anything.

"Yes. He decided to tell her because hiding it seemed pointless with how they seem to be closest to each other than anyone else in Forks. She called his disappearing act, 'Apparition'."

He still had so many questions about it.

"Both were very nice when I met them," said Carlisle thoughtfully. "Harry's list of injuries was concerning but them potentially being magic-related and therefore having no normal explanation would explain why he couldn't fill out his medical history very well."

That was something Edward hadn't considered before. He'd been so caught up in the fact that Harry wasn't human, or at least not a normal human, that he'd forgotten about that! Harry's medical history had been very empty. He'd explained that his school was essentially bombed by an extremist cult and that all the records, because electronics weren't looked highly upon, were gone. But that didn't mean he didn't rememberhowhe received his injuries.

And he had a very old gramophone that he was perfectly sure couldn't be broken by much of anything. He was only just learning how to use a cell phone after moving to America. And one time Edward had heard him call out to Merlin as an exclamation. Instead of God or some sort of variation on that, he'd said Merlin.

There was a whole mystery behind Harry Potter, and Edwards wanted to unravel it bit by bit.

"I like him," Alice said cheerfully. "And Bella is going to be my best friend so no one is going to ruin this for Edward and I."

And that was that.

"Hey, Bella, I need you to begin wearing this."

Harry held up a necklace he'd woven. All over it were charmed opal beads he'd personally enchanted. They had been integrated into the overlapping pieces of twine he'd been working with. The chances of it falling apart naturally were very slim.

"It's beautiful," she said, fingering the beads that no doubt had to look familiar to her. "What's it for?"

"Anyone so much as comes at you with the intent to do harm will find themselves repelled by a force-field of magic that will also scramble their minds a bit to confuse them. With any luck, most beings will end up going elsewhere and forget about you."

He'd been looking into it ever since he'd confirmed the existence of vampires in Forks. While he doubted any of the Cullens would pose a threat to either Bella or himself, he was aware that when vampires gathered in large numbers, it drew the attention ofothervampires. And not all vampires were 'vegetarians' nor did all of them respect such a way of existing.

As such, there were currently a few vampires dipping in and out of the Olympic peninsula who did not live there. There had already been seven murders that had been written off as animal attacks. Personally, he thought these wanderers were trying to draw out the Cullens by baiting them and seeing what they'd do in response, and this was the only method they could think of.

It was stupid though. Seven vampires were capable of coexisting in close quarters for decades. That showed powerful bonds and loyalty to one another. One of them could read minds, and he had a feeling one of the others had an extra ability as well. Nomads baiting an established Coven that possessed extra abilities to defend itself, was a stupid move.

Bella fastened his gift around her neck. "You have one too," she noted, touching his own beads which were tied around his wrist as a bracelet.

He nodded. "I'm a wizard and that means some extraordinary things on my part. Some I'm not even willing to acknowledge personally. But if I can't see my target, it becomes harder to fight them. So I'm doing my best to minimize any chances for an enemy to get in close quarters. Since you attract trouble like a magnet, I figured this was the best way I can keep you safe until I learn how to make better wards that can move with you instead of needing to be stationary."

"What are wards?"

"Think of a magical keystone. Instead of holding up an arch, it's buried into the ground somewhere on your property. A dome of magic proceeds to surround the property all the way around only on the parts you have control of. Magic recognises ownership if it's truly yours, and duty if you're just in charge of it. When someone comes near the wards, they let me know the status of the individual, such as if they're human or not, or a threat or not. And in doing so, I can enact further measures of protection such as dissolving someone on the spot or electrocuting them.

"I tied it to Charlie since he's the homeowner and his entire being has seeped into that building from living there for so long. In general though, I can strengthen and weaken the wards if necessary. So long as you call that place home, and you have to feel it deep inside, not just claim it aloud, magic will also grant you protection. It's a tricky bit of work but it's worth it."

Bella sighed and sent him a fond smile. "Thanks for the… you know, protection. You don't have to do any of this, you know?"

"I know. But I want to," he grinned. "Now, I wanted to ask if you'd be so kind as to drive me to Subway. I found out Forks has a Subway and I've never been to Subway."

"Theydo?" she asked. "I don't remembering seeing it anywhere."

"Yeah, it's past Tillicum Park if you keep following the 101 North. I was looking for a pizza shop, which there is one in fact, but then Subway came up in the search as well and that's more interesting to me."

He wanted to sample their food to see if it was a place that he should go to on the regular.

"I'll get my wallet."

"No, I'll pay. It'll be the least I can do as you're driving. But don't worry, once I know the area and have been there at least once, I will be able to go on my own without bothering you."

"It's no bother at all, Harry."

"Is this going to be a habit from now on?" Harry asked the next morning when Edward appeared as promised.

The vampire smiled charmingly, as he often did when trying to get his way, and nodded. "And you are riding to school with us today. Too many people thought we abandoned you to walking in the rain yesterday and it made me very uncomfortable as a hit to my personal code of honor."

He was pleased to see Harry's flush of shame. It still annoyed him that the human would ever think his friends would leave him out of something. Though he didn't know about Harry's past, so what had happened to make him this way? What experiences had he had with others to just assume he was being left behind without even a warning?

Before anyone else could say anything, Harry was sliding into the backseat without hesitation. When he registered them staring at him oddly he shrugged. "I figured Bella would sit up front with you. Since couples usually do that kind of thing."

"I wouldn't know," said Bella. "I've never dated anyone."

Edward hadn't either, but he'd seen enough couples and heard enough minds to know that what Harry said was the truth.

"I went on a date once," Harry said when they were all in the car. He was staring out the window almost forlornly. "It was terrible. I couldn't understand half of what Cho was talking about because she was constantly oscillating between blubbering about her feelings, to being jealous over stupid sh*te."

"Whywas she blubbering and jealous?" asked Edward, curious to know more about Harry's past. He'd grasp at literally anything if it meant getting to know the teen better.

"Cho Chang was dating Cedric Diggory. In my Fourth Year, this old tournament between international magical schools was reinstated. The other two schools sent delegations of potential champions all in their final school years, to compete. Cedric was our school's champion; he was a Seventh Year. I fancied himandCho and couldn't really decide who I was more jealous of in the long run and everyone seemed to know about it. Tom Riddle, the person I've mentioned to you both before, wanted to get me killed, so he had one of his followers enter me into the tournament under a school not involved, and the item therefore only had one name to pick for that school, and I ended up in the tourney as well despite not being of age.

"Cedric and I finished the final task together, but instead of being transported back to the school to celebrate, we were kidnapped and he was murdered for just being there. Cho and I didn't handle it well. As I was interested in herandhim, and I was the last person with him when he died, and was popular as well, Hermione said she was too emotionally distraught. Pulled in a million directions because she loved him but liked me, and hadn't gotten over him yet, but wanted to see if what she had with me could work, but felt guilty over insulting his memory so soon after his death. I didn't get what Hermione was talking about at the time, but I get it now."

It was a lot to take in at once, and it was tragic as well, but Edward could understand what kind of turmoil that would put someone in when piled together so soon after the tragedy. "Why was she jealous though?"

"I didn't really realize she intended for it to be a date when it was happening. So I was worried about a lot of things and kept getting distracted. Someone dared to tell me I was overreacting but as I was the one with madman in my mind trying to control me from a distance, while everything was falling to sh*te around me in more ways than one with a teacher physically torturing me at night and the government launching a smear campaign against me, I would say I had a right to my stress.

"And anyway, with the government, school, classes, the evil cult rising up again, big exams coming up, plus my friends having their own issues I didn't know how to help with, I kept not talking aboutherand kept talking about Hermione and Ron. And I guess she assumed I fancied Hermione and proceeded to be very rude about everything. It was a mess."

So much had happened in Harry's life that Edward didn't even know where to start.

It was a shame that a 14/15 year old had to witness the murder of the boy he liked. What were the adults doing in Harry's life at that time? Why was it so easy to kidnap two different children from the same school when they were all apparently magical and could even move things without touching them? And surely such a big, international competition would warrant officials and the protection of law enforcement to an extent, right?

The Volvo pulled into Edward's preferred spot at the school, right beside Rosalie's red BMW. It gleamed even in the overcast weather that was the usual for Forks. Rosalie took very good care of her cars and spent 20% of her time in the garage improving them. She'd already given it spinning rims.

Harry whistled, taking note of it for the first time. "That's hot. I kind of want a car but I know I'll probably never drive it. I don't really like driving all that much and I don't think I'll be very good at it."

Bella snorted. "When you can instantly be in one place and then another, I can't imagine how driving would appeal."

"Brooms are better," he stated with surety. "Mine can go 120 mph in 6.5 seconds and slow to a stop in 3 seconds."

Edward's interest was caught immediately. He was a vampire and with his enhanced senses, he was used to moving quickly. Speed was a need. Going that fast was an appealing thought. Though how a human could handle going such a speed by themselves was baffling.

Harry smiled suggestively and waggled his brows. "Perhaps I'll take you for a ride on my Thunderbolt some time. It can fit two people."

"I'll hold you to it," he told the teen, enjoying this more playful side of Harry.

Outside, the students still stared as openly as they had the day before. Harry seemed unfazed by it, but Bella looked uncomfortable since she very obviously hated having attention. The walk to their class was silent.

"I'll see youbothat Lunch," he clarified so Harry didn't get any wrong ideas.

"I get it, can you please stop teasing me over it?" the boy groaned, heading inside without even a backwards glance.

Bella frowned a bit. "I don't think his mood improved in the least."

"Neither do I."

"Are we making him a third wheel? He suggested that he was the third wheel. Is you suggesting that you're… dating me really helping anyone in the long run?"

He had to think about it. He hadn't considered that. And Jessica's words from yesterday came to mind. 'You like him, I know you do,' she had said to Harry while they had left Bella and Edward in the hall. And he hadn't denied it in the least.

Again, Edward's mind wasn't necessarily on the dating part yet. He wanted to get to know the two humans who befuddled him daily with their strange answers and beliefs. He wanted to know what made them so different. Dating was a good excuse to use for why he would be around so much though.

But people typically only dated one person at a time. So while Edward had been professing equal interest in them, it was Bella that he'd had spent more time with, Bella's room he lingered outside of at night while she slept, and Bella he suggested to be dating him. So of course Harry would believe that Edward liked Bella way more, making what he'd told Jessica yesterday, make more sense.

"I guess the threesome joke might not be such a joke after all," he said carefully, gauging Bella's reaction.

At first she flushed at the implications in those words, and then took on a more calculating look. "Polyamory is a thing. It's 2020 and people should mind their own business anyway."

"Then I suppose I'm courting the both of you. Do let him know for me, will you? I need to plan on what to do."

She flushed again and then gave a jerky nod and rushed inside before anything more could be done.

Never before would Edward have thought that he would enter into a relationship with more than one person at the same time. But it felt kind of exhilarating when he thought about it!

Oh, Edward, it's going to be great!gushed Alice from somewhere in the school. Her thoughts were louder than usual.You're going to be so happy with them! And contrary to popular belief, this isn't very rare among vampires.

He hadn't known that. Interesting. He also didn't ignore how she wouldn't actually show him anything she'd Seen.

He could only imagine what the rest of the family would have to say once Edward's intentions were made totally clear. Rosalie would surely fly off the handle, but he had a feeling everyone else would just go along with it.

He was looking forward to Saturday and Sunday.

"Boring human getting to date a hot vampire is the start to so many young adult novels," Harry commented once they were all sat at Lunch. "Vampire Kisses anyone?"

Edward's face twisted in a very not-attractive expression. "I'm not the most fond of that series if truth be told."

"I thought it was cute for what it is," he said with a shrug. "A muggle dreamed it up without any personal experience with the things that go bump in the night, so I say they did decently. Besides, it's for those who are about fifteen or sixteen, not over a hundred."

Bella looked totally lost. "I think we read completely different things."

"Yeah, you're attached to the classics which bore me to death. But don't go thinking the Wixen World has better fiction, because it doesn't." He was reminded of the Daylight Saga which was written by a Mormon muggleborn who had some very interesting views on the supernatural. Completely old-fashioned and annoying in some places, but it wasn't super terrible if one excluded the desecration of an indigenous people's history and existence.

It could have honestly been worse, and the derivative piece of fiction based on it was indeed worse ineveryaspect.

"I'll take your word for it."

Today he actually ate something, picking the pizza up off the tray Edward had gotten for them to split and eyeing it critically. "I've never had pizza before."

"If that's your first time having it, don't take it as an example of all pizza. There's no way school cafeteria pizza is ever going to be good," Bella told him, reaching for the bottle of lemonade. "We can get some real pizza in Seattle so you can try the good kind."

It ended up being really greasy underneath and the cheese was just kind of there. Like it was hot, but also completely solid so it just came off like a full slice of bumpy, hot cheese.

"I see what you mean."

He ended up setting it aside and grabbing the pack of apple slices that came with caramel. "Want some?" he asked Bella.

"You're going to think I'm odd for this, but I actually like to eat orange slices dipped in caramel and chocolate."

"That's not weird, that sounds great! Besides, you haven't had Pepper Imps or Every Flavour Beans.Thoseare weird. In fact..." Harry's satchel was spelled to be larger on the inside. He'd learned that little trick from Hermione.

He liked keeping some sweets on him for any time he was nervous and wanted to chew on something that wasn't gum.

The typical, red and white striped box of Bertie Botts Every Flavour Beans came out of the satchel that was far too thin to hold it, but muggles were usually unobservant so no one besides Bella and probably the vampires in the room noticed.

"Give it a go," he told her, placing the box on the table.

She eyed the box with obvious trepidation, the words 'every flavour' standing out all the more. "When it says 'every flavour'..."

"They mean it. We developed the Every Flavour Bean Challenge and it spiked the sales. You have to eat the whole bean, meaning it has to be swallowed. You don't get a full point unless you swallow. It's harder than it seems."

Bella's right brow rose high while the left brow dipped low. She untwisted the top of the box and dug her hand inside. A greenish/yellow one and a robins' egg blue one were in her palm when she pulled her hand out.

"They're very pretty."

Green ended up being the bean of choice and she hummed. "Freshly mowed grass."

"Lucky. That could have been vomit."

"No!"

"Yeah!" he laughed.

Edward was staring at the box of beans in unveiled horror. "Youlikethose?"

"Well it's every flavour, mate. So you'll have chocolate, cherry pie, treacle tart, s'mores, etc… But then you also have things like skunk spray, dirt, vomit, and cow manure."

The disgust that twisted Edward's face made both humans giggle.

"What is your best memory?" Edward asked a moment later, alternating between staring at them equally.

Harry looked to Bella first, awaiting her answer.

"Mom and I went on a cruise for my thirteenth birthday. It was to the Bahamas. The food was good, the sun was good, and I smuggled a conch shell I found in the sand when the waves knocked me over, back into the country. The sunburn I suffered from the week after was worth it, really."

Edward them looked to Harry, who shrugged. "Not sure what to say, really. There's a powerful spell that requires a very happy memory in order for you to power it properly. I used my first broom ride and me finding out the truth about myself, but they never worked. Yet I remember being very happy at those times. I ended up having to use my parents talking to me. Just talking. I don't remember what they were saying, but I remember their smiles and the sparkling of a mobile of dragons overhead. I'm not even sure it's real, but it's still the best I've got."

Bella patted his arm. "What about you, Edward?"

He was fiddling with the lid to Bella's lemonade, twisting it and turning in between his fingers without any real effort. "About a decade after my turning, I developed some resentment for Carlisle and him turning me and the life he wanted us to live. I felt that I knew better. So I left for a while and did some things I'm not proud of. One of which included murdering Esme's ex-husband, who was incredibly abusive."

Personally, Harry didn't see the issue with that. The arsehole deserved to die. Simple.

"When I came back, contrite and hopeless, Carlisle and Esme accepted me without hesitation. They didn't love me any less. They didn't make me jump through hoops to regain their respect or approval. They were genuinely happy to have me home, and as I knew the innermost thoughts of everyone and knew just what people really thought in the privacy of their own minds, I knew their sincerity was true."

Harry was not the only one tearing up from those words. A peek at Bella showed that she too was glassy-eyed. That kind of unconditional love was something very few would ever truly experience, and that was a sad fact.

"Carlisle sounds like a very pure soul," Harry said quietly.

"He is. It's an honour to share his thoughts."

"That is the sweetest sh*te I've heard in a very long time. Sensitivity is an attractive trait in a man."

He was certain that if vampires could blush, Edward would be doing it, and that was a good feeling.

Gym with Harry was both better and worse, in Bella's opinion. On one hand she always had a friend at her side, willing to partner up with her and take on the brunt of the work because she was just terrible at sports. On the other hand, he was constantly exposed to one of her biggest faults and it was embarrassing for someone so talented to see her mess up so much.

Harry's opinion mattered very much and she didn't know when or how it happened, but it did. It was a pressing concern of hers and she didn't know if this washerthing or a teenager thing. Bella had always been abnormal as a teenager, but average as a human being. She was born thirty-five and aged more and more each year basically, meaning she was nearing retirement already and as the kids would say, she was boooooo-ring.

And it wasn't as if Harry thought there was something wrong with her. He didn't mock her numerous flaws or anything. It was all in her head, and she knew that. But that didn't stop it from bothering her constantly. That's what living with anxiety was like.

"Are you okay?" he asked while they were walking back to the locker rooms.

"I wish I could be like all the girls back in Arizona. Sporty and fun and full of life and actuallylookthe part of a girl from Arizona and not be so… me."

Rarely did Bella indulge in self-loathing but when she did, it got intense. She could make a sport of it even.

"What's wrong with being you? You're great."

He looked genuinely confused and she placed a hand on his shoulder. It wasn't something easily explained. Anxiety rarely was. She didn't know how to tell him about it, but she appreciated his support anyway. At the same time, she was mortified that he'd taken note of her problems at all.

The ride home was filled with classical music in Edward's car. He seemed to pick up on mood and didn't try to get in his own version of Twenty Questions out of Bella. Harry sat in the front seat this time to give him and Edward more bonding time in what limited space and time they had.

She remembered how Edward had smiled at Harry and how Harry had seemed mystified by the attention.

"Do you both want to sleep in tomorrow or have you planned out when you're getting up?" Edward asked once he pulled up outside Charlie's house.

"We planned to leave at eight," Harry told him. "Is that okay for you?"

"I'll be here at seven-thirty then, if that's fine with you. The Volvo is better on gas and we'll get there faster since I drive incredibly fast and will know if a cop is around"

They nodded and got out.

"See you tomorrow. Do try to get some sleep."

"And you try to curb your anticipation to see Bella again," Harry said, a strange inflection in his tone that made Edward go wide-eyed a bit.

As the Volvo drove away, Bella shifted her bag onto her shoulder. "I think I'm just now coming to terms with the fact that Edward said he wants to court both of us at the same time."

"Eh, polygamous relationships are nothing new among wix. We even have weddings and bondings for such couples."

For a moment, she envisioned herself in the standard white ballgown of a wedding dress, and on either side of her were Edward and Harry, dressed in fine, black suits and looking far too good for her heart to handle.

She was shocked by just how much the image appealed since she'd never been one for marriage. As in how could a piece of paper really make someone's relationship more special?

The divorce rate in America was high as hell. Obviously marriage didn't make life any better.

Bella was dating a vampire... who was dating her wizard friend. Did this mean she was dating Harry too? She cast a look his way to find him staring at her evenly, expression pleasant and inviting like usual.

Yes, she decided. It meant she too was dating Harry.

The moment Edward was out of the Volvo, he was inside the house and seated at the piano. His mind had been replaying a certain sound over and over for a while now. It came around whenever he was near Harry. Like there was this current coming from the young man, that twisted and turned around over and over and became more dim the further away Harry was.

As for the melody… it was something he'd picked up from Bella while she slept. Her breathing pattern and the fact that she mumbled in her sleep had given him the idea. Sometimes she hummed and last night her voice went through a whole scale.

His fingers danced over the keys, the sounds coming together. The ostinato was Harry, sure and confident in his place. The melody was Bella, erratic and uncertain. And yet they both fit together so well. If he had an orchestra on hand, he could easily place where each section would come in and what contributions they would make to the music.

It took little time for everyone to realize that he was playing a new piece.

Esme's thoughts drifted from upstairs, a wistful, relieved tone to them.Edward's composing again.

She was downstairs and seated on the sofa near the piano a second later, smiling contentedly. The calm she radiated - that Jasper then decided to amplify - put him more at ease as he fiddled with the melody and where to take it. And maybe, someday soon, he could play it for the two humans who made his immortal life interesting again.

~.O.~

A/N: Another is done!

How was it? Let me know!

Check out mymany other fics!

See ya! :D

CHECK ME OUT ON TUMBLR.HELLY-WATERMELONSMELLINFELLON.

Chapter 10

Chapter Text

A/N: Hello, people!

I don't own Harry Potter or Twilight.

I have no beta.

ENJOY!

CHECK ME OUT ON TUMBLR.HELLY-WATERMELONSMELLINFELLON.

~.O.~

Harry's words from earlier in the afternoon were ringing in his head. As such, this was the night that Edward chose to check on Harry.

Distantly, Edward was aware of how creepy it was that he watched Bella sleep without her knowledge. It did not matter that his intentions weren't nefarious, and Rosalie, despite her intense dislike of Bella, had surprise-attacked him one morning in order to rip his arm off and hit him over the head with it. She'd told him to stay out of Bella's room until invited in and that an invitation in one event didn't extend to any other time. If she found out he didn't do as ordered, she'd castrate him and withhold her bounty until she deemed him worthy of having it back.

So Edward had remained outside the window every night he'd gone to watch her, just entranced by how she moved in her sleep and the things she said now and then.

She moved restlessly, and held full-blown conversations with the people in her dreams. Bella missed her mother, hated the rain, and said Edward and Harry's names a lot. As the time passed, she seemed less and less sad about being away from Arizona and more and more interested in her surroundings.

Harry was her exact opposite. He was dead quiet. He curled onto his left side in a fetal position and didn't move once the whole night. His breathing was calm and unlike Bella, who made little squeaky noises when breathing out, he was just quiet. His breathing was so silent that if it wasn't for his heartbeat, Edward could have mistaken his presence for wind or the slight rustle of leaves against the Autumn ground.

It was a bit strange.

Edward had not been inside Harry's house before. He hadn't even crossed into Harry's property until now.

From the bedroom window, he could see that Harry truly liked green, but also red. The colors were equally in abundance, the bedding was purely green and fluffy, burying Harry all the way up to his messy head of hair.

There was a floor-length mirror off to the side, and a black canopy above the bed itself, that twinkled like it was covered in moving stars.

No scents came from the room. Nothing slipped through the cracks in the windowsill. If he couldn't see and hear Harry, he would have thought no one was there at all.

And just like with Bella, nothing in Harry's mind came to the surface while he was sleeping. Both remained perfectly silent to his ability. It wasn't something conscious on either of their parts because it still happened even while asleep.

It was fascinating and aggravating.

He ended up watching until the sun came up, and had to leave quickly to go and get the Volvo. The tank was filled all the way and he even stopped at a local diner everyone seemed to like, and ordered a bunch of food to surprise both humans with.

Chief Swan left the house at exactly seven thirty every morning, so when he rounded the corner and was out of sight, Edward pulled right into his driveway behind Bella's behemoth of a truck.

Both humans were actually in Harry's house though, so he grabbed the food and went to knock on the door.

It was opened before he even made it to the stoop, with Harry smiling up at him. "Have fun watching me last night?"

Edward's face probably displayed the common 'caught with hand in the cookie jar' expression. It certainly made Harry laugh and he reached out and yanked Edward inside by the lapels of his pea coat. "At least you didn't break in, so I suppose I can let it slide. I've got something for you."

The food was placed on the kitchen table. The kitchen was a mix of garish reds and golds with brown furniture. Esme would be appalled by the color scheme, but charmed by the island counter. Bella was seated at the table already, sipping orange juice and looking a bit tired still, but also excited for the day's events. She smiled when she laid eyes on him.

"For you," Edward said, gesturing to the to-go boxes as he placed them on the table. "They're from Sally's in town."

Bella dove for the pancakes while Harry returned from upstairs with a white box that he handed to Edward. "To help you out today," he explained as he took the final seat at the table.

They were lollipops. Massive, individually wrapped lollipops. When he aimed a questioning look at the other teen, Harry laughed. "Blood Pops."

The haemophobe among them froze in her seat, eyes staring at the box in obvious horror as she blanched a concerning amount.

Harry waved her off. "I'll surround you with a muffling charm while I explain them to him, okay?"

A quiet buzzing filled the room and Bella looked around for a bit, before nodding to herself and continuing to eat the pancakes. Her color returned to normal pretty quickly as a result.

"So," Harry said as he pulled out the eggs and bacon Edward had purchased for them, "Blood Pops became pretty popular in the last half century or so, when wix began to realize that there is a whole community of people living alongside them that they can make money off of. Blood Pops are for species of Beings that like blood. They are all ethically sourced. You will find the type of blood used on the label of each individual baggy."

Edward pulled one out of the box and turned it over. In fancy, gold lettering it said[BLOOD POPS: Dragon Edition: Hungarian Horntail].

"Dragons are real?" was what he managed to get out of the name.

"Yes. All blood collected by the suppliers was taken either from willing donors or Beings/Creatures already dying and having no use for their blood. As I'm sure you know, all blood has different flavors in essence, so they come labeled very specifically. The Chinese Fireball's blood is very spicy, I'm told, but the Hungarian Horntail's is more tangy. Same with humans and animals. There are Human kinds, various animal kinds, kinds from other species like merfolk, selkies, naga, werewolves, etc… Since I had a feeling you wouldn't want the human blood ones and that animals had to be incredibly plain for you, I got an assortment of dragon blood ones. It's pure blood, there's nothing else in it, so you can have it. And your eyes might turn a shade of purple if you manage to have all of them today."

It was a very touching gift. Very considerate of him.

When he opened the bag, the scent of blood hit him instantly, but it was unlike any blood he'd ever smelled before. His mouth immediately filled with venom that he had to swallow it down.

Tentatively, he licked the pop and went wide-eyed. It was better than any blood he'd ever had. The venom began pooling even faster, something he'd experienced only a few times in the past one hundred years.

"Thank you, Harry," he said, feeling overcome with emotion. It was one of the most thoughtful gifts he'd received in the last few decades. Right up there with the Grand Piano Esme had gotten him for Christmas in 2000.

Harry smiled and snapped his fingers, making the buzzing sounds disappear and causing Bella to look up. "You done explaining?"

"Yep. Your ears are safe."

"Thank you."

The drive to Seattle was spent listening to their varying musical tastes. Edward had been generous enough to suggest they each go in order and pick a song, starting with Bella, then Harry, and then Edward. As Harry had the premium on the Spotify, he got the music without the ads and could just enter whatever song someone wanted.

The playlist was created at the kitchen table with them rotating their suggestions until there were over two hundred songs. It was doubtful they'd all get played during the day, but it was a nice system they'd set up.

B: Living On A Prayer - Bon Jovi
H: Long Live - Taylor Swift
E: Clair de Lune - Debussy
B: Hello - Evanescence
H: The River Lea - Adele
E: Don't Stop Me Now - Queen
B: That's The Way It Is - Celine Dion
H: Let It Be - The Beatles
E: Un-Break My Heart - Toni Braxton
B: I Have Nothing - Whitney Houston
H: KARATE - BABYMETAL
E: Rehab - Amy Whinehouse
B: Uprising - Muse
H: Footprints in the Sand - Leona Lewi
E: It's Only A Paper Moon - Ella Fitzgerald

And so on and so forth.

There was no chance of falling asleep with those sounds jumping all over the place in the car.

Edward also stopped at a drive thru an hour in to get them both co*ke. Something about blood sugar levels, though Harry didn't know what that meant but gladly accepted the drink since he liked them very much. Getting to have things he'd always wanted to have was nice.

It should be noted that Edward drove like a maniac!

Doing 100 nearly the entire way cut what would have been a 4 ½ hour drive in Bella's truck that could only do 50, since she wasn't brave enough to make it do more, down to two hours.

"You're sitting up front when we drive back," Bella told him. "His driving gives me anxiety and I'll be lying across the backseat later on."

Edward scoffed. "I have the best reflexes out of anyone here. I won't crash. Besides, driving slow is so boring!"

It was the closest Harry had ever seen the vampire act his physical age, and it was nice. The slightly whingey tone still sounded attractive to the ear, but the knowledge of it being a childish thing to do was what lifted the mood considerably.

"So what's first?" Edward asked, looking at Bella who had the list pulled up on her mobile.

"You been to Seattle before?"

"Of course."

"Museum of Pop Culture is first on the list, then the Seattle Aquarium. We brought money for parking."

He waved them off. "I will handle any fees for parking. It's my car and I offered to do the driving."

That meant more money could be put toward lunch.Yesssss!

While exploring, Harry confessed to only having been to a zoo once, and his relatives had to take him because the minder had gotten injured falling over one of her many cats. His excitement was adorable to say the least, and his fascination with jellyfish was unexpected.

Apparently, the last time he went to a place for viewing animals, he ended up releasing a boa constrictor in the Reptile House and caused a massive amount of panic. Harry could talk to snakes which was a thing apparently. Certain magical people, if they were lucky, were born with the ability to speak to certain animals. Bella wouldn't mind being able to understand birds, just so she'd know what the hell they were always tweeting about.

Bella's favorite part about the aquarium was visiting the seals. There was just something about how they moved that tickled her endlessly!

And halfway through the tour, Harry looked at Edward and asked, "Do any of these look like dinner according to your dietary choices?"

That got a snort from Bella, who could just imagine Edward trying to hold onto a seal while drinking its blood, and the excess of blubber just pushing him away!

"Har har, I forgot how to laugh. Honestly though, big animals are the best. So mountain lions, black bears, and moose are most preferable because they have the closest tasting blood to humans. Followed by regular bears, elk, and bobcats."

Wow.

Maybe it was just the fact that the sight and scent of blood made her violently ill, but she just couldn't wrap her head around the concept of different flavors of blood being more appealing than others. Like, she got the gist because some food was more appealing than others for her, but the blood bit was still a difficult thing to process.

Vampires couldn't find plasma interesting or something? Ithadto be blood?

"Where to now?" Edward asked as he held the door for them on their way out.

Bella pulled up the list. "It's lunch now, so we were going to find a Seattle-specific cafe and eat there. To try Seattle cuisine you could say."

Harry, who had a map pulled up on his phone, gestured to their right. "Google is leading us that way. Technically it's in front of us, but there aren't any streets capable of taking us right there. We make a few turns and we'll make it."

And so they did.

Edward did not eat with them, but he did order desserts for them to try. And by that, she meant he ordered a lot to-go so they could try them at their own pace. She almost felt bad, but the chocolate fudge was just too good to not appreciate.

After lunch, the next thing on their agenda was to explore the Pike Place Market since they were there anyway.

The coolest thing was when someone bought something, Harry took care of it so no one had to carry bags all over the place, or make trips back to the Volvo. Apparently, his satchel was spelled to hold more than it looked like it could. So their bags would discreetly be slipped inside and no proof of their existence remained. It was awesome when he did things like that.

Edward went through the collection of lollipops that Harry had given him and looked the most relaxed she'd ever seen him.

They even found a stall just full of items for hobbies! Harry, who had never been to a farmer's market before, had been impressed by everything and ended up buying homemade honey pops, and hard candy, and an ugly knitted sweater that made his eyes light up when he saw it.

His smile was enough to rival Edward's and made her heart skip a beat or two.

Harry was really handsome, whether he seemed to know it or not.

"I wanted to ask you both, if you'd be interested in going on a hike with me tomorrow?" Edward asked as they rode back to Forks. True to the agreement, Harry was in the passenger side this time while Bella laid across the backseat. "I want to show you both something I'm very fond of, and the weather is supposed to be nice for the first half of the day."

"Hiking?" Bella asked, sounding concerned. "On a trail or in a forest?"

"In a forest," he clarified, and then aimed a knee-weakening smile to the rearview mirror. "Don't worry, I'll protect you from all the rocks and roots."

"If you're so concerned over possibly falling, I can bring my Thunderbolt and fly us there while Edward runs," Harry suggested.

She sat up instantly, eyes curious. Edward mimicked the expression exactly, looking desperate for answers.

"Flying," Bella murmured, sounding the word out as the implications of it came to mind in frightening clarity. Harry had mentioned flying on a broomstick before and that it could go 120 mph. He'd also implied that he could keep up with that speed enough to control such a thing at such a speed. "I would like to see it."

"Great! I haven't gotten to fly in a long time! Is there a lot of uninhabited area where we're going? It'll be easier and more fun if I don't have to panic over non-magical people seeing."

"It's very secluded and high up the mountain. No hiking parties have every managed to get up that far on their own. Some places can only be traversed by someone with supernatural abilities, or someone who has specific training for that kind of undertaking."

Now she was even more curious as to where Edward wanted to go. "Do you really like nature?" she asked him.

He smiled. "Yes. Sometimes I like to watch as plants open for the sun and close for the moon. It's always fascinated me how naturally they lean toward sunlight as if trying to grasp it in the only way they can."

"What's your favorite flower?" Harry asked out of the blue.

"Marigolds," Edward said. "I love the shape. You?"

"Zinnias and Dahlias. Same reason, but also the colors they come in. Bella?"

"Dead red roses."

Both men looked back in question and she shrugged. "Renee would always take whatever roses she got and hang them upside down. The way they shriveled up and darkened was cool. I find it very appealing. My room back in Phoenix was just full of cacti and dead roses all over the place."

There was a moment of silence, before Harry said, "I've never seen a cactus before. Do they really hurt if you touch them?"

"Some cacti can be touched calmly."

And then, staring out the window almost in a daze, he said, "I should get one for my room."

"Would recommend."

When they finally reached Forks, it was five o'clock and time for dinner preparation. She'd made lasagna the day before so there were leftovers for that. The tray just had to be put in the oven and allowed to warm up.

When she reached the front door, she looked back and said, "Aren't you coming?"

Edward looked absurdly pleased with the offer, and Harry nodded, saying, "I've still got the stuff. You want me to leave your bags in your room?"

"Please and thank you."

In the meantime, Edward unwrapped the last of his special lollipops that Bella didn't like thinking about, and popped it in his mouth. His gray eyes looking bright under the fluorescent lighting of Charlie's old kitchen.

It was as she was turning the oven on, that she realized what was wrong with her observation, and she whirled around to get a second look. He was sitting the same as seconds ago, still as a statue with the pop in his mouth. His eyes however, instead of being the warm butterscotch they'd been that morning, were actually gray.

"Your eyes are gray," she told him. "Like a really light gray that's almost blue."

As his eyes widened, Harry returned and said, "That would be the pops. By tonight his eyes will be somewhere between lilac and mauve, because he had the box all day and dragon blood is powerful and has powerful effects, especially if from the strongest of the lot."

The fact that the blood from different living things could change the eye color of a vampire of Edward's type, was so weird, but also really interesting. And she wondered how it was possible. Like, she'd read about the red eyes, but red shouldn't be possible in a human body, and vampires like Edward were former humans according to the book she'd read. Meaning they had the whole human system inside them, just enhanced by venom. So how was the red a thing?

In fact, how was the black a thing? Did the iris really just get darker or perhaps the pupils just expanded because the desire for blood gets so strong? Nothing like this was mentioned in the section on vampires so she wasn't sure.

"Bella? You okay?"

She blinked and looked up, realizing that she'd been standing in the middle of the kitchen, staring at the floor for however long, lost in thought.

"Got lost in the science behind vampires," she explained.

"Did you at least come up with something?" Edward asked, head tilting to the side attractively. God, everything he did was attractive. For f*ck sake.

"Nothing but questions and observations not written in the book Harry has."

Edward turned his attention on Harry, who rolled his eyes and held out his hand. The kitchen window rose, just as the front window of Harry's house did the same across the street. Out that window flew the very book Bella was talking out, and it flew right into her own window and into Harry's outstretched hand.

He deposited the book into Edward's hands. "Have at it."

She'd never seen him move so fast before, eyes flicking back and forth from page to page, processing information faster than their human brains could ever hope to.

That was also another thing. If the human brain could only use 10% of its potential, did the vampire venom unlock additional potential? Were they working on 50% or something?

She wished there were studies about this!

Bella inhaled her slice of lasagna once it had been warmed enough. Harry had denied the offer of some, saying he was still full from lunch where he'd eaten far more than she ever thought he could pack away.

Edward shut the book suddenly and was on his feet. "Charlie's coming. I have to move the Volvo." And then he was gone, with no proof of him being there at all left in his wake.

While gone, Harry placed his book in his satchel to hide its presence.

The car was parked in front of Harry's house on the other side of the street moments later. Edward returned like he hadn't even left, moving seats entirely to leave Charlie's free for him when he walked in. Bella was already plating up a big slice of lasagna for him before he even got in the door.

To his credit, Charlie only paused a moment upon seeing how full his kitchen was, before he removed his gun and placed it tellingly on the kitchen table while hanging up his belt and coat.

Bella set the lasagna and a glass of milk on the table for him just as he sat, and smiled. "Dad, this is Edward Cullen, he's Harry's boyfriend."

Edward smiled the moment the general gist of Charlie's thoughts came through. While not exactly like his daughter, it was obvious her mental fortress came from him to an extent.

Is that why Bella's his only friend at school? Are the other kids being intolerant yahoos?

Charlie was born in a far less progressive and understanding time, but the genuine disappointment wafting off of him at the thought of people not accepting Harry for not being heterosexual and being out and proud about it, was a sweet thing.

He was a good man.

To cut the tension even further, Edward offered his hand and said, "It's a pleasure to meet you officially, sir. I wanted to meet you in person to ask for your permission to bring Bella along with Harry and I tomorrow. We're going on a hike and then meeting up with my family for baseball in the evening."

Alice had announced the thunderstorm with glee two days prior and they'd all had begun the preparations immediately. Even going so far as to get new gear specifically for the sport to get more into the game. They took these things seriously. Looking the part was important.

"You're gonna get Bella to play baseball?" was Charlie's amused reaction. "My Bella, who has two left hands for feet?"

"Thanks, dad," she said dryly.

"Just keepin' it real, Bells. Please don't break anything this time."

"It was once and it wasn't my fault!"

He was dead curious to know the story behind that little outburst. The blurry images that came to Charlie's mind involved a little Bella, probably seven or eight, bleeding from the head on a pitcher's mound.

While he had questions, he could wait until later in private to ask them. Besides, permission had been granted in a roundabout sort of way.

Edward stood and looked down at Harry. "Shall I walk you home?"

"It's right across the street," the younger teen pointed out.

"I'm nothing if not traditional."

Harry waved to Charlie and subtly high-fived Bella before they left. The moment they were across the street, they broke into light snickers. "Charlie is so emotional," Edward confided. "He thinks the kids are being hom*ophobic to you which is why you don't have any other friends. He's contemplating saying something on your behalf."

"Aw!"

At the doorstep, Edward moved in a little closer than he usually would, and placed a cold hand on Harry's incredibly warm cheek. Under his touch, it grew even more hot as it turned pink. The signs of his 'dazzling' were present in how unfocused Harry's impossibly green eyes went.

"I'll see you tomorrow," he promised.

"Okay," was his breathless reply.

It didn't escape either's notice that Charlie had watched everything from his kitchen window, concern present even as Edward drove away.

On the ride home, his cell buzzed. It was Alice. "Esme is shopping for food for tomorrow. You'll bring Harry and Bella over at four, they'll eat dinner here at five, and then we'll all go up to the field at six. The storm starts at 6:25 so we won't miss it."

That was good.

He needed to make certain his room neat by human standards. He wasn't messy or anything, but he needed space and he wanted to make a good first impression.

At home, he was welcomed back with a hug from Esme, who smelled like a dozen humans she'd no doubt bumped into while at the store. "I'm going to make them penne alla vodka tomorrow. I hope they'll like it."

Even if they didn't, they'd never tell her. Both were simply too kind to want to hurt someone's feelings. "Thanks, mom."

After that, he proceeded to sit at the piano and play the lullaby he'd composed for the two humans who were so very interesting. He'd learned so much today and needed time to sort through it all.

Harry was a wizard. There were other types of vampires out there in the world somewhere. Edward's eyes were indeed changing color because of him spending the whole day eating lollipops made of dragon blood.

They looked pretty cool actually.

"Nice eyes!" Alice said as she dropped into the sofa suddenly. "I'm going to ask Harry to get me some of those pops! I want purple eyes too!"

The entire family was in the living room a second later, thoughts of curiosity filling the rest of them.

"Harry bought Edward a box of Blood Pops. His people make lollipops out of blood for the non-human Beings that exist in the world. Edward ate twenty Blood Pops made of dragon blood today! And they're turning his eyes a light purple!"

He looked up to give them all a clear look. Bella had been right. They'd turned light gray, then light blue, and were now light purple. A lilac as Harry had suggested.

And, because he felt like shocking his family even further, he added, "We're the fourth and most dangerous type of vampire, did you know that?"

What?!

It was offensive that anyone had ever tried to tell him otherwise.

~.O.~

A/N: Another is done!

How was it? Let me know!

Check out mymany other fics!

See ya! :D

CHECK ME OUT ON TUMBLR.HELLY-WATERMELONSMELLINFELLON.

Chapter 11

Chapter Text

A/N: Hello, people!

I don't own Harry Potter or Twilight.

I have no beta.

ENJOY!

CHECK ME OUT ON TUMBLR.HELLY-WATERMELONSMELLINFELLON.

~.O.~

They chose to meet at Harry's house the next morning. Bella came over around seven and had a hearty English Breakfast for the first time in her life. Harry was very glad to expose her to it since the substance would be needed if they were to be hiking for the day.

"I have the broom ready," Harry said, holding up said piece of beautifully polished wood. "I spent last night polishing it to perfection so I can appropriately brag about it today."

He released it, allowing it to float in the air on its own. The striking appearance was very special and the make and model was priced upon request, not the other way around.

Bella took in the work done on it. As it was the next step after the Firebolt of the 90s, it had a similar make and model, but more improved. The shaft and twigs were pure white, made fromEucalyptus Mannifera. To better give the idea of a lightning bolt when it shot across the sky. It was something easily visible from great distances.

The Thunderbolt was a sort of partnership with Harry. It came out in 2018 because the company that created it wanted permission to use the shape of his famous scar, as the symbol on the shaft, but also in advertising. He'd granted permission in exchange for his own version of the broom. After that, he gave them a few quotes after assessing the value of the broom and its benefits so they could use his quotes to promote it better.

It was better than having to pay 1,500+ Galleons and he got a percentage of the sales too, so there wasn't much of a reason to complain.

"...Is it safe?" Bella eventually asked, looking doubtful.

"As safe as driving a car I suppose. Maybe more so because you don't have to rely on other people being good drivers so you all don't get hurt."

He then shoved the broom into his satchel, smiling as it disappeared at full length. "Can't wait to show you it later." he loved flying and he hoped that Bella ended up developing a taste for it too.

"Can't wait," she agreed uneasily.

And that was when Edward knocked on the door. He'd changed obviously. This time he chose a pair of simple jeans and a white shirt with the collar peeking over the tan jumper he'd chosen to wear.

In contrast, Harry was in black jeans and a black t-shirt with some black Vans to finish the look off. He'd also decided to leave his glasses behind since they were just charmed and not really necessary. Bella's outfit was similar to Edward's but less high fashion. Like comparing Gucci to Walmart perhaps? It was like one of those couple things where they plan to dress the same?

Edward looked excited and was practically bouncing on the balls of his feet. "You said your broom can go 120 mph in 6.5 seconds, which is fascinating, because the common vampire runs an average of 105 mph immediately. So I was thinking of having a race."

That wasn't in the book on vampires. "You said 'common vampire'. What about you isn't common?"

And that was when Edward appeared sheepish for the first time. "I guess I forgot to mention it. In a way, I came into this way of existence with another ability, though it isn't useful like hearing thoughts and seeing what goes on in someone's head. I was very fast as a human. I do remember being very good at foot races and Carlisle found newspapers about me winning local events. The common vampire can run about 154ft/47m in a second. I run 175ft/53m in a second."

Wow.

"The rest of my family all run at slightly different speeds, but all between 100 and 105 mph."

"Cool. That means… if I've done my mental maths correctly, you can go just shy of 120 mph, meaning a race would be very interesting between you and my Thunderbolt."

"I'm just amazed that your eyes can keep up with that kind of speed."

Harry smirked. "I was a Seeker, dear Edward. In the wixen sport of Quidditch, the Seeker has to track down a miniscule golden ball with silver wings, that moves in short bursts of incredible speed when not in a chase, and then gains momentum ifina chase. I'll show you that too."

Both of his friends looked interested.

"You ready?" Edward asked them, looking back and forth between them for confirmation.

"Impress us, oh broody one."

He scowled. "I haven't brooded since the week I came back from Alaska."

"...But that typically means you brood, right?" Harry asked, trying not to smile.

"Just get in the car, little human."

True to his word, Edward took them on a hike.

It was his special place. Edward wasn't like his family who each had someone to pass their days with. And the house being constantly filled with lovey-dovey thoughts was sometimes off-putting because he obviously had been alone the entire time. So Edward liked exploring nature and finding little things most people wouldn't get the privilege of seeing.

The meadow he'd found was something out of a fairytale, surrounded by massive trees with an open sky directly overhead. And on sunny days, the flowers would light up in a special way, and the heat of the sun would cause them to be more fragrant.

He'd never shown it to anyone in his family, though he was certain Alice had Seen at least a few Visions of him there.

But something in him wanted to share this with Harry and Bella. He wanted to impress them. Being a vampire wasn't impressive to Harry since he had magic and went to school in a castle. And Bella, who had gotten to learn about them because of Harry, was taking it all in stride. But she was less awestruck over supernatural skills and more interested in the science of vampirism and how it worked.

Reading minds was interesting, but not that much. Choosing to not drink the blood of humans was even more interesting, but again, not really by much.

So he had to rely on his knowledge of obscure subjects, his heightened senses, and his own personal charm. A daunting task if truth be told. It was the most effort he had to put into anything besides his thirst for blood in the past century.

It seemed he was succeeding so far though. Both humans were willing to be alone with him and enjoyed his company. They teased him in their own ways and made sure to involve him in their conversations.

Edward took many turns to get to the trail necessary for the hike.

Bella looked at it with interest, and frowned when Edward started moving toward the tree line and not following the decades old trail.

"But- the trail?" she said in defeat.

"I said therewasa trail, not that we're following it."

Harry patted her shoulder and reached into his bag to withdraw a bone white broomstick longer than he was tall. It floated in front of them at thigh level, and he motioned for Bella to mount it first. She sent him a dubious look, but gingerly did so. Harry then got on behind her and reached around her to hold the shaft. She stiffened a bit, face beginning to turn pink.

"Hook your feet onto the foot rests if you need to," Harry told her, before pulling up on the broom and ascending high into the air in the span of a second.

"EEEEEEEEEEEK!" was all Bella managed to get out, her eyes closed and face scrunched up.

Edward waited below them as Harry did lazy figure eights above the trees. Eventually, Bella seemed to loosen up and opened her eyes to get a good look at what they were seeing.

"Wow," he heard her say in awe. "It's such a nice view. You can't see this from a plane because it's too far down."

"Can you follow me to the meadow through the trees?" Edward yelled upward, gesturing in the direction he planned to go.

"Bring it!" Harry challenged.

He did so, and the broom zoomed off as well. Edward could hear the wind whipping past it and Bella's laughter as they moved.

The broom kept up easily with his speed. A trip that would have taken two hours or so on foot for a human, was shortened to a few minutes, with Harry exclaiming, "I see it!" And then he leaned forward and the Thunderbolt, which had matched pace with Edward easily, shot off, leaving him behind by several meters.

Indeed, Harry made it to the meadow faster, him dismounting by the time Edward reached the tree line.

"That was fun!" Harry said, hair a wild mess because of the wind, and cheeks wind-chafed. "And another point for the humans!"

Bella stumbled off and to the ground, her hair equally messy and her breathing heavy from laughter.

"I need a minute," she said. "My adrenaline skyrocketed during that hell of a ride. You said there's a sport forthat?!"

"Quidditch! It's a thrill."

"That was better than a rollercoaster."

"I'll take you to a match sometime. We'll get you a pair of Omnioculars and you'll really get to experience everything properly. I promise."

They turned to him still standing in the shade, and beckoned him into the sunlight, curious.

He went.

Edward glowed.

The book had described it and she'd gotten a mental image, but that just didn't live up to it. Her crappy human imagination couldn't ever hope to live up to such beauty!

Type #4 Vampires had skin that hardened and solidified with crystal-like properties. Their venom, which quickly took over all other bodily fluids but lost its potency everywhere but the mouth because it wasn't diluted there, was iridescent. Because most of the melanin was practically burned out by the venom, and the skin was like crystals, the shimmering, crystal-like cells were easy for the sun to reach through the pale skin. They then refracted UV lighting with a prismatic effect.

That was how Harry's book had described it. It had been a very scientific kind of observation and she'd gotten the mental image of little rainbows coming off Edward's face, like mini PRIDE flags, but this wasn't like that.

It was like how she used to find bits of broken, white granite as a child. How when held up to the light, they would shine and each individual granule would be a different color.

Edward glowed, as formerly stated, with little rays of light coming off his face in a very distracting way that provedwhyvampires didn't go out in the sun. Not necessarily a sparkle, but also not really a glimmer, or a shimmer. Maybe all at once?

It was enchanting. He was perfection walking all the time, but in that moment, Edward looked very much like something a renaissance artist would die to render into their preferred medium.

Beside her, Harry's breathing stuttered. He was just as dazzled by Edward as she was. When she peeked at him, she saw that his pupils were blown wide. She wondered if hers were doing the same. Pupils only did that when someone looked upon something they greatly desired. And she greatly desired Edward in that moment, mouth going dry.

"You're both just staring at me."

They nodded, still staring and still silent, lost in their own thoughts.

He came closer. She felt small. Like some no-name peasant in front of the Pope or something equally important or whatever.

She felt his cold hand take hold of her right one. Dimly she registered his other hand taking up Harry's left. He held both up to his perfect lips and smiled fetchingly.

"Won't you tell me what you're thinking? It's very frustrating not knowing."

He smelled good but in an impossible-to-describe way! He was too close.

"I… don't think you want me to answer that out loud," said Harry distantly.

That prompted Bella to look at him as well, wondering just what was going through his mind.

Harry's face went bright pink at their combined attention and smiled while giggling. "Trust me, you don't want the answer."

"Ido!" protested Edward. "Ialwayswant to know what you're thinking." Because he couldn't hear then at all.

"Fine." That was really quick of him to give in. Bella was immediately wary of his response based on what she knew of Harry as a person and how his mind seemed to operate.

"So I was thinking about how beautiful you are when you shimmer, and then remembered that you glitter all over technically. And then I remembered that all the venom-like fluids in your body are shimmery like you. And then I wondered if your ejacul*te would be opalescent or more glittery."

They stood in perfect silence for a moment as Bella tried to turn away in mortification - Edward was still holding her one hand though so she couldn't go anywhere - and Edward simply stared. Of course she'd been right to be wary! Harry was just so open about private topics that she wondered how he could function every day!

And then Edward did something that no one would ever expect!

He smirked in a devilish way that spoke volumes of an inner rascal that longed to be released, and said, "It's opalescent if you're so curious."

Both Bella and Harry's jaws dropped.

Prim and proper Edward Cullen had just said those words. Which meant that Edward masturbat*d in his free time! Was Bella the only one with absolutely no sexual experience atall?! What the hell?!

"Youreallydon't want to know what I'm thinkingnow."

"Harry!"

"What?!" the Brit asked defensively. "He confirmed my thoughts! It isn't my fault my brain immediately moved on to the next topic! It's the natural progression of the conversation!"

Edward took the chance and stepped even closer. The move pressed him against both of them. Harry and Bella were both 5'4", which was ten inches shorter than him. They had to crane their necks back to see his face in full, which exposed the pale lines of their throats.

The temptation of the burn was there. It always was, but he was in control. While his body wanted to try their blood, his mind was staunchly against such an idea. And Edward had better control than a newborn!

"Stay. Very. Still," he said carefully, leaning down slowly to give them time to understand.

It was the closest he'd ever been to either of them. His face settled perfectly between their necks, almost resting his chin on their touching shoulders. Here, he could smell everything more richly. Outside how mouth-venoming they were naturally, both had very pleasant scents.

Bella's was more freesia and strawberries, and Harry's was more fresh rain, lightning, and petrichor. If he had to guess, the lightning bit was from his magic since it wasn't a natural human scent.

The blood was the kicker in all of it though. Rich and thick and made him gulp his own venom down several times in the span of a few seconds.

Thankfully, they both remained as still as possible, allowing him to take it all in at his own pace.

He took a deep breath and then leaned back, feeling calm once more. "It's getting a bit easier." What a relief.

Apparently he neglected to notice that Bella had been holding her breath the entire time, too focused on trying to desensitize himself.

"Breathe, Bella."

"It's hard to think when you get close. You smell good and my head gets all fuzzy up top."

"Same," Harry added. "I kind of wanted to latch onto you and never let go, but I'm sure you wouldn't appreciate that."

"I'd appreciate it all too much," he confessed. "That's why we must be careful. We're all in the know about vampires and my intense interest in you both, but it is never just because of how different you are. Physically I want more than is safe for you to give."

But Harry's words brought to mind something that Edward had never done before. Something he'd wondered at but been dismissive of since he'd been alone for so long and did not return Tanya's interest no matter how hard she tried to win it.

And here and now, in the privacy of his meadow, he was considering it. This washisplace and he was sharing it. And perhaps it'd be okay to share another secret between them all before they left for Edward's home.

"I think I need a human moment to collect myself," said Bella, stepping away and taking a few deep breaths. "Give me a minute." She proceeded to do breathing exercises on repeat, in...two...three...four, out...two...three…four.

Apparently Edward's affect was even more potent than he'd assumed. Harry remained firmly planted where he was, allowing Edward to reach up with his now free hands, and lightly cup the smooth skin of Harry's now warm face. At once, Harry's green eyes dilated again. Edward wavered a bit, wondering if he was strong enough to do it, let alone do it gently.

He got a slight nod from Harry, and decided to just give it a try.

Compared to Edward, Harry's body was practically scorching. His lips were hot and pliant and as Edward tilted his head for a better angle, he could feel Harry's hands resting lightly on his chest. This close, Harry's scent was even stronger than before, and it warmed up immediately as his body's sexual response began rising.

Edward knew he inspired fantasies in people. He'd heard enough thoughts and smelled enough arousal to expect it basically. But this… He felt proud of the physical reaction he elicited from Harry. Proud that it was him doing it and that Harry very obviously enjoyed it. His hands slipped around the human's fragile throat and down his back to pull him closer.

Harry's entire body seemed to curve toward his own as if in offering.

Distantly, he could hear Bella's heart rate rising as she watched.

And then Harry opened his mouth and Edward had to wrench himself away, fleeing to the other side of the meadow just in case. He held his breath for good measure.

The wizard tasted far too good for Edward's sanity. How did that even make sense?! His kind drank blood, they didn't actually eat human flesh! How did Harry taste so... appealing even without blood?

Harry was still there, staring into space as his eyes came back into focus. "Not my first kiss, but certainly the best I've had," he said, voice shaking slightly.

While Edward was keeping distance for Harry's sake, that did stroke his ego a bit. Something he'd never even done before and he was apparently very good at it! His confidence rose quite a bit from that revelation.

As for Bella, she was watching wide-eyed, her face a delightful shade of pink.

"Would you like to be kissed too?" Harry asked, hand out in offering. His smile was naughty and suggestive.

Bella blinked and then looked away quickly before taking a deep breath making hard eye contact. "Teach me how to kiss, Harry."

It was like Harry had been overcome by the spirit of Rudolph Valentino. He took Bella into his arms and then dipped her very dramatically, not even going for the lips first. He instead placed a light kiss on the hollow of her extended throat, which made her swallow in reflex. He began a slow and careful trek upward, moving to her jawline, eliciting a shiver, and then her chin which earned him a groan, and finally her lips.

Edward hadn't seen someone kissed quite so thoroughly in a very long time.

On one hand it was because he avoided such open displays of affection because he preferred to give people their privacy as best as he could, and on the other hand, it was because that rarely happened anymore. That level of romancing wasn't something people turned to.

He could hear Bella's heartbeat take off like the wings of a hummingbird. She wrapped her arms around Harry and moaned obscenely into the kiss.

Finally, it came to and end, and Bella's lips were bright red, her eyes were glassy, and her breathing was ragged. She looked delightfully messy and titillated. Damn.

Harry's face spelled outS-U-C-C-E-S-Sin bold lettering.

As for Edward, he'd finally gotten control of himself and had rejoined the humans. Their combined arousal was still like a punch in the gut, but he felt more in control now. And since he knew what to expect now, he'd have less chances of being surprised by its sudden appearance in the future should he do anything deemed remotely attractive to them.

"You okay now?" Harry asked with a smirk.

"Yes. Thank you for giving me time. I'm trying to do this right, but I've never actually done this before and I really don't want to make a mistake." This kind of mistake literally had life or death hanging in the balance.

His concern earned him a soft smile. "The chances of you being able to hurt either of us are low. Not because you can't or anything, but because I've charmed items we're both wearing to prevent anyone from harming us, let alone getting close enough to do it."

That… was very useful. "When did you do that?"

"A couple of days ago. I was reminded that I could do that, so I did it."

"You… are just full of surprises."

Bella, on her end, was trying to catch her breath still. She'd asked Harry to teach her out to kiss and then he went and didthat!

She'd always wondered at the romantic things she'd seen in films and read in books. Always wondered why so much touching was involved when kissing. And now she knew. It excited the body and made the space between the couple feel more intense. More personal.

Other senses were involved in kissing.

Her first kiss was with a handsome man who was… her boyfriend? How many dates do people have to go on before they are considered to be dating? She'd actually done a lot more with Harry than she had Edward and they'd been using the boyfriend/girlfriend excuse for a few days already.

So yeah, Harry was her boyfriend.

And he could kiss really well too. Since meeting him, this was the first time Bella felt the need to jump his bones.

Deciding that she wanted to rest after everything that had just happened, Bella sank into the tall grass and flowers and laid back. The sun overhead was warm and it was the most exposure she'd gotten since coming to Forks. She was going to soak up as much of it as she could.

It took little time for Harry and Edward to join her, laying on either side with enough space for their arms to not be touching.

"I miss the sun," she said quietly.

"I know a spell to create light muchlikethe sun," said Harry. "I could summon some for you any time you want. I can even turn my guest bedroom into a mini beach if you'd like."

Of course he did. "Can magic do anything?"

He made a considering noise. "Can't create food. It's one Gamp's Laws. But I can multiply existing food supposedly unlimitedly."

"'Supposedly'?"

"Well, no one's ever bothered to see how long they can go, but my best mate Hermione did multiply a sugar biscuit one hundred and seventy-three times before she got bored. It was an experiment and the results were inconclusive because she stopped herself out of sheer annoyance, not because she couldn't actually continue."

She thought about it for a moment. "Can you only multiply the food, or will the packaging it comes in be multiplied too?"

"The packaging will be too. But that can just be Vanished."

Vanished? "Where does it Vanish to? Like, will the Vanished item(s) appear somewhere in the world and pollute things? We really don't need more pollution, you know."

Harry sat up then and frowned. "Give me a mo." His head tilted up toward the sky, so she couldn't see his face from where she laid. Eventually, he looked back down, eyes completely dilated black with no green or white remaining. The appearance made her shiver in barely withheld fear.

That was the most abnormal thing she'd seen him do. He looked borderline dangerous for the first time ever in her presence.

"Apparently they're banished in a sense, to another dimension."

"What?"

"Yeah. But it's fine because the dimension in particular is just a black void. Nothing lives in it."

"How did someone even find out to make a spell like that?"

"Experimentation, as usual."

Right. She could only imagine what kind of experimentation went into that. since it was magic is was probably even more insane and inhumane on that end.

"Wix are crazy," she decided.

"Madder than an aristocrat who was asked to sit beside a peasant to orientation," he agreed with a grin.

They stayed in the sunlit meadow well past noon. Harry had pulled out his own Snitch somewhere in the middle of it all, and let it go. The gold ball soared off into the sky and he gave chase on his broom, giving the two below a good show.

He scared the wits out of Bella when he dove and avoided a harsh impact with the ground at the very last second by pulling up and corkscrewing over her and Edward. He'd gotten close enough for his hair to touch Edward's chest in passing.

"You're f*cking crazy!" Bella yelled up at him. He merely laughed.

When it was over, Edward asked, "Is that what Quidditch is like?"

"Seven players on each team. Three Chasers to pass around the Quaffle and hopefully get it into one of three very high hoops. Then two Beaters who control the Bludgers. They're charmed balls that fly around on their own and the Beaters knock them toward the other team's players in hopes of getting them out of the game. The Keeper defends the hoops. The Seeker catches the Snitch. Catching it earns your team 150 points and ends the game immediately. Usually it means victory, but the more experienced teams are capable of scoring quickly and dragging a game on for quite some time."

"Sounds terrifying," Bella said.

"Sounds fun," Edward countered. "All of this is hundreds of feet in the air on brooms that goes as fast as yours?"

"Well… mine is top of the line and used by Professional Quidditch Teams. The school teams just have whatever the school has in the broom cupboard if the students don't have their own. So usually Shooting Stars and Cleansweeps. They're decent if they're less than twenty years old. Fifty years or older and they move no faster than a butterfly." Ron's Shooting Star came to mind and he winced at the memory.

"Are professional games very dangerous?"

"Yes! People can die in those. Most Quidditch deaths are because of Bludgers. One broke my arm once and I continued playing anyway and still managed to win! Others are because of falling from great heights. A few come from smashing into things while flying too fast."

Bella looked horrified while Edward looked intrigued.

Eventually though, it was time to leave. They had a busy day ahead of them of course.

"Would you like to meet my family now?" Edward asked them a bit shyly.

Typically, vampires were very solitary creatures, so it took a lot of compassion for large groups of them to form. Covens weren't as widespread as many wix believed because vampires didn't like their space being intruded on.

The fact that he called them his family and not his coven, was very sweet, and proved that compassion really did work wonders.

Bella took a deep and shaky breath. "What if they don't like us?"

That drew a snort from their vampire boyfriend. "So you're worried not because you're going to be in a house full of vampires, but because you think those vampires won't approve of you?" It did sound odd when he put it like that.

"Yeah."

"They're more baffled than anything, don't worry. After hearing Harry threaten to take care of me if I became a problem and you going along with it, they've been rather interested in meeting you both."

Both humans went red! That had happened back on their first day of school! They had all heard that!

Bloody hell!

"I think it'smyturn to show Bella howItravel," Edward said, making her whip around and stare at him wide-eyed.

"As in… you running while holding me?"

He aimed that damned charming smile at her and nodded.

"Are you sure you'll be able to? It won't be too much?" It won't get in the way of his control or anything?

"No. Just climb on my back and hold on tight."

"I'm heavier than the standard backpack," she warned, approaching him carefully.

He barked a laugh. "Bella, I can lift a car with one hand, you're fine."

She leapt onto his back without any further argument and locked her legs around his hips as tight as she could. His body was hard and cold as expected. "I'm not choking you, am I?" she asked, wrapping her arms around his neck in the process.

He laughed again and took off. Much like the broom, they were moving too fast for her to really take in any details. The wind whipped past her face and made her eyes water but also feel dry at the same time. She had to close her eyes just to regain her composure.

The run was over as quickly as the flight had been. They were beside the Volvo almost immediately, Harry waiting for them like he'd been there all along. He probably Apparated or something.

Bella, shaking like a leaf, stumbled off Edward's back and onto the trail they'd never bothered to use despite how appealing it had looked.

"You should put your head between your knees if you're nauseous," said Edward helpfully. "That's what Google says at least."

"Whyisthat?" asked Harry, a frown on his face. "I've heard the suggestion many times before but never really thought about why."

"It helps increase blood circulation to the brain."

Edward knelt down beside Bella, seemingly not caring his about high fashion pants in the process. He placed a cold hand on her forehead. "Any better?"

She nodded.

The hand on her forehead trailed across her brow and over her right ear. She looked up in shock and found him leaning in with an intense look on his face. Similar to the one he'd had on his face when he'd kissed Harry...

Kissing Edward was very different from kissing Harry, and yet it was just as good.

And also enough to completely steal the air from her body and leave her unable to move.

"Bella!"

"Did she faint?"

"I think so."

She could hear them of course, but the air was coming in very slowly - or not at all really - and she felt frozen in place and wondering how she was supposed to go on when beautiful men kept kissing her so wonderfully.

Edward's cold hands framed her face in concern as Harry patted her hair down.

"Breathe, Bella, or I'll have to put a Bubblehead Charm on you."

So it was either getting control of her lungs on her own, or Harry performing more magic on her.

The choice wasn't even made before her vision was slightly obstructed by the odd, rainbow-like effect of a bubble, and pure oxygen seemed to force its way into her lungs. It was the cleanest air she'd ever breathed and it felt fantastic!

Breathing without the bubble was going to feel so odd when it popped in an hour!

"Okay, I think she's fine now. Let's get her in the vehicle."

"What exactlyisthat?" Edward asked as he did a K-Turn to get the Volvo to face the right direction.

"The Bubblehead Charm produces pure oxygen for exactly one hour. It's useful underwater, in the middle of a burning building, and when fleeing from a murderer because the bubble mutes all sound from inside so no need to quiet your breathing."

It sounded fascinating.

"Do you think it would work in space like an astronaut's helmet? Or would it freeze?" he asked.

"No idea," Harry admitted. "Probably freeze though considering it's made of water for the most part."

Interesting.

"Are we going to meet your family now?"

"Yes. Esme has especially been looking forward to meeting you."

Harry's head snapped around, eyes narrowing. "What have you been saying?"

"Just the usual things. You vex me. You aren't a normal human. You've offered to kill me for being a 'grand twat'. The whole nine yards, really."

"Oh, Merlin! You told them about the death threat?!"

Well… "More like Emmett couldn't wait to talk about it, but it's difficult to keep secrets in a house full of vampires so it would have gotten out some way or another eventually."

"I'll never be able to look you mum in the eye!"

"Oh don't worry. She smacked me for being rude to Bella so badly that you felt the need to defend her honor, and thinks it's good that you're willing to put me in my place and not allow me to control everything. The only real concern that has been posed other than worry for the safety of the family, is the very obvious power dynamic in this relationship being geared abnormally in my favor since I'm the immortal and indestructible one and you're both frail humans."

There was a moment of pure silence, before Harry broke into loud guffaws and patted Edward's forearm. "Oh, if you only knew. The power imbalance is less than you think, don't worry."

Edward made a turn into the familiar road leading to his family's home, and wondered just what Harry meant by his words. Were they because he had magic and could basically teleport anywhere and do almost anything except make food out of nothing?

Eventually they came upon the house and it's magnificent glory. Esme's work was always impressive and he would regret when they'd eventually have to sell the house in a few years. His room was the nicest out of all the bedrooms Edward had ever gotten. The full wall of windows was a nice touch, but Esme never repeated a design twice so that hope was already long gone.

"It's so cool," came Harry's awed whisper when the car came to a stop. "Can't believe something like this was built anywhere near Forks. Seems too fancy for such a small town. A wrap-around balcony on the third floor?"

"Esme will be thrilled that you like it. She put us all to work for an entire week to get it done."

"Vampires build houses?" Harry asked when they all met up at the front door.

"When Esme has a new idea, yes."

The bubble surrounding Bella's head popped a second later and she looked sad.

"The fresh air was so nice," she said quietly. "Kinda miss it."

Harry proceeded to run his hand over Bella's head, and her severely windswept hair levitated around her head and proceeded to straighten out and then separate into two sections. The top section braided itself and then tied itself off, leaving her hair half up and out of her face, but just enough was left down to block her throat and lessen any temptation her scent might inspire.

A snap of the fingers, and all the grass stains on Bella's clothing vanished, and the wrinkles flattened out immediately. One final snap and she blew out a breath suddenly that smelled entirely of mint, which had not been in her mouth when he'd kissed her an hour ago.

Harry repeated the same process with himself until he too looked perfectly presentable. Any scent of their morning in the woods was completely gone. He did the same for Edward a second later. "We're ready."

Bella bumped his shoulder with hers and smiled in gratitude.

Edward smirked and opened the door for them, letting them take in the décor Esme had worked so hard on. This morning, he'd left while she was in the middle of cleaning an already clean house. She'd wanted to leave a good first impression on Edward's partners and had been mentally going over everything she thought needed fixing.

"It's so nice to see a house where everything isn't red and gold," Harry said with a relieved sigh.

"Or canary yellow," added Bella, probably thinking of her father's kitchen and its unfortunate color scheme.

"That too. It doesn't look cluttered or cramped either. Nice and open."

"Why don't you just redecorate your house?" Edward suggested while the humans spun in place to get the full effect. "It might take some time but it isn't too big of a house."

Harry waved him off. "I haven't a decorative bone in my body. I'll just end up making everything green and black if I do. At most it'll be less gaudy than what I have now, but then I'd feel bad because my dead godfather picked out the furniture."

Every now and then, Harry said things that made Edward's heart hurt. It was so difficult to deal with the fact that Harry was so alone growing up and that when he finally found family, it was taken away somehow. Did anything goodeverhappen to him?

Any further comment was halted when Harry's eyes finally landed on Carlisle and Esme, who were standing not too far off, waiting to give the humans some space to get used to their new environment. Neither wanted to scare them away or mentally overload them.

"Hi, Dr. Cullen!" Harry said with an easy grin and a wave, drawing Bella's attention as well. "You have a lovely home!"

"Hello again, Harry, Bella. It's good to have you here."

Esme stepped forward, extra conscious of her speed, so she could shake their hands. "It's so good to know you," she said honestly. "Edward has told us so much about you both."

Bella's face flushed. "That worries me. I can only imagine the embarrassing things he's said."

"Everyone already knows you lack equilibrium, Bella," said Harry. "There's nothing else that could even potentially be embarrassing, don't worry."

She glared at him, and stuck out her tongue. He smirked in response and wiggled his eyebrows.

"I'm making penne alla vodka for you," Esme told them, gesturing toward the kitchen. "I've finished the sauce and am just waiting for pasta to fully cook through."

"That'swhy Edward insisted on us coming here immediately instead of going back to my house," Harry said, sending him a look. "You could have just said something. We would have understood."

"It was supposed to be a surprise," Edward countered defensively.

"Thank you!" Bella exclaimed, interrupting a mini argument before it could truly begin. "You really didn't have to but we appreciate the effort very much."

Harry nodded. "I've never had penne alla vodka. The process has medium difficulty though so Icoulddo it again if I want," he finished thoughtfully. "I'll add it to my list of potential meals for next week. I'll have to go shopping though."

"You made it but you never actually ate it?" asked Bella, looking as confused as everyone else in the house, who were listening in, felt.

"My aunt and uncle never let me have whatever I cooked for them. It was an ongoing punishment."

What the f*ck?came Rosalie's thoughts from the garage. The direction of her thoughts was echoed by everyone else Edward could hear.

Alice appeared at the top of the stairs, beaming down at them all and pretending like she hadn't just heard something so depressing from Harry. "Hi, Bella! Hi, Harry!" She flitted down the stairs, ignoring the looks of shock from both Carlisle and Esme as she pulled the two humans into a quick group hug. Neither human gave the startled reaction that was expected.

Then again, neither really acted as they were expected to, to be honest.

"Wotcher, Alice!" Harry replied with a grin.

Bella settled on a simple, "Hey."

"You smell less edible than expected," Alice told them, not even bothering to censor herself or her opinion in the least.

"That would be my doing," Harry said, interrupting Esme's mounting mortification. "Did a bit of Magical Thread-Warding for Bella and I," he said, gesturing to the twine necklace she wore that had dozens of little opal beads on it. "I didn't want things to be too much for you lot, so I worked on diluting the scent of the wearer. Outside a meter of distance, our scents are virtually indistinguishable from our surroundings, in order to help us blend in if necessary."

That was incredibly intelligent, and brought Edward's attention back to magic and his wondering about whatexactlyHarry was fully capable of.

"Hi, Jasper," Bella said to the vampire standing several feet away for everyone's safety. And maybe also because Edward had been paranoid and asked him to remain at least ten feet away until everyone was comfortable with the humans in their presence.

"Hello, Bella, Harry," the Major replied with a firm nod and a small smile. Harry gave him a nod in return.

A small ringing sound came from the kitchen, and Esme beamed. "The pasta should be done now! Come!"

Things seemed to be going well for now. Good. He hoped it stayed that way. This was important to him and he wanted nothing ruining it.

~.O.~

A/N: Another is done!

How was it? Let me know!

Check out mymany other fics!

See ya! :D

CHECK ME OUT ON TUMBLR.HELLY-WATERMELONSMELLINFELLON.

Chapter 12

Chapter Text

Chapter 13

Chapter Text

A/N: Hello, people!

I don't own Harry Potter or Twilight.

I have no beta.

ENJOY!

CHECK ME OUT ON TUMBLR.HELLY-WATERMELONSMELLINFELLON.

~.O.~

Harry stared down at the uniform Alice Cullen had forced onto him, and wondered why Americans decided to make a sport that required such a dress code, so popular. "The American pastime," as she'd said with a wink. Too much white and not enough real colour. He wondered if official teams had more to them than this.

And then Bella stepped out of the bathroom, clad in the same uniform, and he was given reason to believe.

The top was loose-ish, much like his own, but that wasn't where the interest lay. The trousers were far too tight when they most certainly shouldn't be. He knew this because the fabric strained across the expanse of Bella's arse in a very pleasing way, highlighting her shape very nicely and making his mouth go dry in the process. He was weak.

On her end, she crossed her arms awkwardly and refused to look at anyone.

Alice's knowing smirk made him wonder if she'd done it deliberately.

"Oh, Bella! I must have accidentally given you my pants instead! These are more your size!" Alice gasped, shoving a different pair in Bella's arms. Bella was shoved back into the bathroom, looking more relieved than harry had ever seen her.

"You're devious," he chose to say.

"Exactly. If only to get Edward off his ass a little."

And then Edward was there, looking disapprovingly down at her. "Your machinations aren't appreciated."

"I don't mind," Harry murmured, "Iappreciated them."

"But Bella didn't."

True.

He sighed. No more fantasizing about Bella's shapely rear it seemed.

However... "I'll take a pair of tighter trousers if they'll make my arse look nice," he offered with a grin.

Alice beamed as Bella stepped out of the bathroom again. She tossed him the trousers that were meant for Alice and said, "Have at it. You deserve to be ogled like a piece of meat, not me."

Did Harry truly change all because he wanted his arse to look good?

Yes. Yes, he did.

And his arse looked fantastic in women's trousers!

All three of you are drowning,Jasper's thoughts came to him with ease.I haven't encountered a romantic relationship this intense in my entire time as a vampire. I don't know if it's because there are three of you compared to a usual duo, or if you all simply feel more strongly than usual people in relationships do. It's fascinating as well as tiring.

Edward winced in sympathy for his brother. If it was possible, he'd mute his feelings so Jasper didn't have to deal with them in the slightest. Unfortunately, that wasn't among his talents.

He wondered if Harry had some of kind of magic that could do that instead. To make it so that Jasper could get some kind of a break.

Bella and Harry were standing with Esme who was outfitting them with their own hats despite how much Bella tried to refuse. "You'll take some photos with us, won't you, dear? We love taking family photos when we play baseball. The before and afters are simply the best."

Faced with Esme's earnest regard, Bella ended up caving easily. "So long as you don't expect me to actually play. I can barely walk across a flat surface without falling on my face, I really can't run. Even if my life depended on it I would fail so utterly." The look on her face made Edward wondered she was remembering that night in Port Angeles.

Remembering it himself made him angry.

"I'll try for the both of us!" Harry volunteered. "You'll all have to go at my speed of course but I'm confident in myself. I've never played this kind of sport before though, so you'll have to go a little easy on me for a bit as I get used to the rules."

"Yeah, they fly on brooms so Harry's used to straddling a broom and having to control where it goes," Bella explained. "But he's still really good in Gym when we have to use our legs, which issounfair."

Harry beamed. "I'm the fastest runner in our class."

"He laps everyone," Bella specified with a forced glare. "Twice."

"It's all that training that Harry Hunting gave me. Many things can be said about my cousin and his parents, but at least I was prepared for such a life by them not stopping his gang from harassing me all those years."

Every single time Harry said something about his relatives, everyone seemed to all have the same idea in mind. And it wasn't a pleasant idea either. Edward was a bit shocked to see how violent even Emmett's thoughts had become.

Esme is feeling murderous,Jasper noted with surprise.I never would have thought she could feel this way about anything. She's so soft.

True enough, Esme's mind was awash with grief on Harry's behalf. From his expression in her mind, he was so nonchalant about the treatment he endured for years that it didn't seem to bother him anymore. And maybe it didn't. Maybe he'd managed to make peace with it or at least decided to try and find something positive in it, but that didn't mean everyone else could handle it.

To be so blasé about one's own suffering.

He'd just been a child. No one by age seventeen/eighteen should be so accepting of abuse.

Bella's violent wishes whenever those people were mentioned made sense.

"We'll try to make better memories for you, dear," Esme said sweetly, trying to rid her mind of those negative thoughts and emotions. She didn't want to him to realize just how badly she was affected by the smallest hints of his life she'd been given.

"You're a darling, Mrs. Cullen."

Such a sweet boy,she sighed to herself. "Young Bella, do you want me to put your hair up quickly? The hat looks so much better with a ponytail and you've got such lovely hair too."

"Um... okay. If you don't mind."

I always wanted more children,Esme smiled as she got to work.I wonder if we should just expand Edward's room to fit all three of them or maybe we can build them all new rooms. Decisions, decisions.

Edward sighed, happy that his mother at least liked his partners.

It was an unconventional relationship, but things seemed to be going so well and he hoped it stayed that way.

The field in which the Cullens used to play baseball was massive and had the benefit of a nice waterfall in the background to make it even nicer. Harry's let out a long whistle once he laid eyes on it, and proceeded to fumble around with his phone in an attempt to take some pics. "This thing is still so annoying to use. Why do I have to hit all these things first before I can get a clear photo?" he grumbled.

Bella's fondness for him warmed her center, taking away some of her nerves in the process.

He was like a child getting used to technology and it was always adorable how excited he got when he learned something new.

Alice was flitting around, placing all the bases down where they should be, because of course the Cullens would actually own all the fixings for a game of baseball. And it didn't escape Bella's notice that the bases werewayfurther apart than they'd be in an official game of baseball.

Of course the vampires would want more of a challenge.

She wondered how Harry would be able to handle the extended reach.

He was fiddling with his hat now, trying to find an angle in which it didn't fit weirdly. Finally, he settled for turning it all the way around like Emmett did, looking proud of himself for such a decision.

Edward chose not to go with a hat himself, nor did he have a mitt like Alice. In fact, Alice was the only Cullen wearing a mitt.

Bella looked to Edward and asked, "Why's Alice the only one with a mitt?"

"She's the pitcher."

Alice's bell-like laughter echoed across the field. "I've got the best aim!" she announced so the visiting humans could hear her. "I'm also the only person who can strike Edward out!"

Turning back to her boyfriend, Bella sent him an enquiring look. Was it true?

He sighed. "Alice has this habit of thinking in languages I don't know in order to better hide her thoughts from me. While I excel in chess, she excels in baseball."

"Why is that?" Harry asked, suddenly appearing at Bella's side and practically giving her a heart attack at the same time! "If she sees the future and you reads minds in the most simple wording of such an ability, shouldn't you come out on top all the time?"

Edward shrugged. "Alice can't reallychooseto have Visions of the future. The moment she focuses on something she'll get a Vision based on the decisions of those involved. She can even get random Visions based on the actions of people she's not focusing on, simply because they will affect our family, which is something she's always watching out for. The best way to avoid Visions is to not focus too much on one topic ever, but that's tiresome."

It sounded draining indeed. Bella didn't think she could ever live in such a way and wondered how Alice managed to stay in the present when the future was always flashing before her eyes.

Maybe her vampire senses made it easier for her to stay altogether or something.

Alice appeared as well, looking good-natured as always. "Chess is annoying because you need to focus even somewhat to keep up against a genius, let alone one who can see and hear everything going on in your mind. Edward effectively gains my power whenever I have a Vision within his radius, so it's like having a twin battling me in those moments. One decision will give me Visions of all possible outcomes of that move and because he can see it, he can play around it. Our minds work so quickly that I can filter through hundreds of Visions in a single minute."

Edward nodded. "Baseball isn't really a series of moves based around strategy. It covers a much more broad area of skill. All Alice has to do is throw a ball the right way, which requires little focus against everyone but me. She can essentially choose whether or not she wants to have Visions about what's going to happen when she throws the ball. With me, she cycles through Visions rapidly while making plans, committing to them, and then changing her mind suddenly, changing the Visions that come in. And then she'll do something unexpected because decisions that aren't carefully plotted out are difficult to predict."

While Bella tried to parse through all of that, Harry was humming. "So what you're saying that there's a blind spot in her power."

Huh? Where did he get that from?

Harry shrugged as everyone stared at him in utter bafflement. "All someone as to do is act on instinct and not commit to anything long term. So long as they avoid thinking about anything Alice is directly looking into, you'd never be notified until danger was on your doorstep. Be careful with whom you share the knowledge of your gifts because someone smarter than I will take advantage of that some day."

...Sometimes it was easy to believe that Harry had fought in a war when certain things came out of his mouth so easily.

That never would have occurred to Bella. At all.

Carlisle stepped forward with a smile. "Hopefully we'll never have to worry about that."

Beside him, Edward and Alice seemed to have come to some kind of silent agreement as they shared a nod and then beamed together.

"Ready?" Alice asked Harry.

"Bring it."

Harry was handed a metal bat to use and given a full rundown of how to play baseball, along with examples from Dr. Cullen who was ever so kind in instructing him. The good doctor showed him hand and hip placements, as well as proper stances to stay in form without getting too tense. He had an easy smile and a calming voice and it was nice listening to him.

There was a little flutter in Harry's stomach in response. How dare he be so fit! It wasn't fair for vampires to be this bloody attractive!

"Now the field is much larger than what would be used in an official match, so don't feel bad if it feels like it's taking forever, okay?" Esme told him, giving him a pat on the back.

"I'm a good runner, it'll be fine, Mrs. Cullen!"

Alice was bouncing in place, ready to test his reflexes and running ability. And he was actually excited to prove himself. Also, Bella and was watching from the sidelines and he wanted to impress her very much. After all, he didn't really have much about himself that was worthy of being proud of.

"We're lowering our skills to match those we use during Gym to make things more fair! So give it your all, okay?" Alice told him.

"Got it!"

Alice's left leg rose dramatically, her toe pointed toward the sky in a stance that she probably loved using often. She held that position for three whole seconds before whipping her arm in at a decent speed, letting the ball go with ease.

He was able to track the ball's movements with no issue. The Golden Snitch moved faster, though it only did so in short bursts of speed. Still, he was used to that and even faster speeds thanks to Quidditch, so it was easy to keep up with and easier to hit.

Running across grass was different than hardwood, but far more interesting of a challenge.

Distantly, as he passed first base, he was aware of the fact that the ball had flown out between Edward on second based and Emmett on third base, way into the distant treeline. Edward disappeared after it, no doubt because he could still watch Harry from someone else's point of view while doing so. Harry was already past third base by then and coming upon Dr. Cullen, who had his hands out and ready to receive Edward's upcoming throw.

Harry blew past him long before the ball reached his hands, and received a round of applause for his efforts.

Bella patted him on the back as he some took deep breaths to regain his standard heartbeat. "That was pretty cool."

Adrenaline pumped through his veins, demanding that he go again. It was so nice to run for a purpose and not just because they had to warm up for whatever thing they were doing for the day. It felt more rewarding like this and he wouldn't mind if they could do it in school. The gymnasium wasn't big enough unfortunately.

Edward appeared at his side, his cold hand ghosting over Harry's cheekbone gently. "You ran three hundred and five meters in thirty-one point fifty-eight seconds. That's about 34.77km/h(21.6 mph). That's an amazing speed for a regular human with no official training in such matters. The highest number currently recorded for a human to reach is 44.72 km/h(27.78 mph)and it's held by Usain Bolt during a 100 Meter Dash."

Cool. Harry didn't really understand all of that but it sounded important.

"Maybe we can test that out more later," Jasper offered with an easy smile. "It's impressive how much you were able to do, but a true way to verify your skills would be to test your sprinting ability as well. We can more easily determine just how fast you can get with the proper gear."

True. "I'm looking forward to it. For now, I'll settle for watching vampires play baseball as they deem it should be played, and then maybe we can brainstorm how to get you lot to a Quidditch match because if you think this is dangerous, wait until you see the madness happening in the air and as fast as Edward's own running speed."

Alice immediately began bouncing again. "I want to see it so bad! I want to fly on a broom!"

"We can have a go later," he promised he with a grin. "I've already given Bella an example."

Bella's nose scrunched up. "Never again."

"That's fair. Not everyone can get into it."

But did that mean they couldn't appreciate it? No.

"My broom is a top-of-the-line model though so maybe it'd be more realistic if we could get a more standard one. It's not cheap and was made specifically for me as a sort of advertisem*nt for the brand so it's a little special."

Fairness and all that rot.

Edward ruffled his hair before disappearing off to the far side of the field. He and Emmett did a little handshake and patted each other's backs, grinning broadly. Harry wondered what it was they were talking about.

Overhead, thunder boomed all around them as Dr. Cullen stepped up to plate with his fine and fit self.

Alice pitched the ball before Harry could even notice. What really notified him was the loud thunder-likecrackthat ball made when it made contact with the metal bat!

The storm overhead now made so much sense! No wonder they wanted to have this game today! Bella was clutching at his arm in alarm, processing things just a step behind him.

Dr. Cullen was a blur around the bases, but Harry could still see the blur which was fascinating. If he was on his broom, would his eyes be able to keep up better or not?

It was over before then could properly take it all in. One second Dr. Cullen was running and the next he's sliding into home plate with ease, just a second before his wife caught the ball thrown by Emmett.

"This might be the coolest thing I've ever seen," Bella muttered.

"Yeah," Harry agreed. If Quidditch could be played at such a speed though...

Edward noticed the problem the same moment Alice did, because as described earlier, he basically got her power whenever she had a Vision around him.

Recently, though it hadn't been anything to be too concerned about, a coven of nomadic vampires had entered Washington, but they'd managed to decently spread their hunting days out and weren't too obvious about it, so Carlisle had said to leave them alone. If they stepped out of line, then as the registered coven of the area, the Volturi would expect them to step in and handle it, and then report the incident. Until then, they were to keep to themselves but be watchful.

The coven in question was aware of the Cullen Coven to an extent. Enough that they successfully avoided coming within a twenty-five mile radius of Forks itself. Edward was of the belief that they possessed a tracker of some sort, since that was the only thing that could make perfect sense.

Alice didn't necessarily have a visual on them, but she did know their plans, which had been to move on to Canada.

They were intent on leaving... until they heard the baseball game.

It wasn't as if they were being quiet about it, and vampire hearing was so advanced that it was easy to tell the difference between real thunder and lightning, and something imitating such sounds.

Humans would be unable to tell the difference, but vampires weren't so easy to fool.

Their curiosity had been piqued.

And now they were coming.

Where two humans were watching a coven of vampires play baseball.

While Harry's spell for himself and Bella worked well. Their scents couldn't be perceived until one got right up on them, but their breathing was still obvious. Their heartbeats were also loud enough to telegraph their movements with ease.

If they panicked and tried to hide the proof of their existence, if would cause problems. The best they could hope for was to play it off and pretend things were okay.

"Stop!" Alice announced a moment later, already rush back to home plate, Edward fast on her heels.

"They were leaving but heard us playing and got curious," she told Carlisle.

Harry became alert instantly. "A problem?" he asked, eyes already scanning the treeline for any example of a threat for him to deal with. "Anything supernatural to worry about?"

"Nomadic vampires who have a standard vampire diet," Edward explained quickly. "A group of three. They've entered the radius of my ability now. Two males, one female. James is a tracker, Laurent has no power of his own and acts as the leader but James is the true leader. Victoria has a knack for avoiding danger. She can sense where it lies and is great at outrunning it. They're decently intentioned as of right now."

Rosalie stepped forward. "Is there time for them to get out?" she asked, gesturing to Harry and Bella.

"I can hide us completely," Harry said. "I'm curious to see what your kind of vampires act like when they follow the traditional diet though. If it gets bad I can Apparate us away if needed."

"James is a hunter," Edward said, mind already focused mostly on the true leader of this coven. "It won't work. Too many of us have touched you both, so even if you hide your scents, he'll be able to pick them up from any of us. Should he get interested he'll try to track you down anywhere. He's an obsessive individual." To an alarming degree.

Carlisle hummed, looking over all of them before giving a nod of understanding. "We go back to how we were playing before. Pretend everything is fine. Harry, are you capable of making you and Bella look less human?"

Harry beamed, his magic wand appearing with ease. "I'm only using this because it's a dual-effect spell and it's best to be safe than sorry." He then waved it around Bella for a few seconds and right before their eyes, Bella's dark eyes turned amber and the pores on her face seemed to vanish. The same happened for Harry, giving them both the 'vegetarian vampire' look with ease.

"I'll put on some music too, to make things more interesting," he added, already pulling his phone out to pull up his Spotify. "I have a workout playlist that we can enjoy."

The game resumed as it was, though the bases were quickly shortened to a more manageable distance, if only to make it so that their group could get closer together if it was needed.

No one was aiming for outside the field anymore though. No one wanted to chance getting too far away at any time when interlopers were near. Despite all the abilities their coven had amassed, Jasper had long since drilled it into them that they couldn't just rely on such things all the time. Edward's ability was a boon, but not infallible if the enemy realized what was going on.

They had to be sharp.

Harry's choice of music was significantly louder than his and Bella's heartbeats and somewhat capable of masking them with the rhythmic beats in the background. It was an unfamiliar sound but it did the job.

Still though... all the effort they went to... and it all seemed for naught. They could all hear their visitor's approaching with purpose and it was too late to implement any other sort of plan.

The moment the nomadic coven appeared on the field, James' attention landed on Alice first with recognition, mind flicking through how he seemed to know her. And then his eyes flashed over to Bella with interest as she was the furthest away which was an interesting placement in his mind. And his mind quite literally suggested that something was wrong with her appearance and that made him... curious.

Not good. If they're to confrontational that could rouse his hunter's instincts. But if they aren't strict enough he'll just do whatever he wants.

With him already focusing on Bella without her even doing anything but standing around, Edward wondered how they were going to avoid any kind of altercation at this rate. Alice's mind was rolling through Visions at an alarming rate because James could not make up what he wanted to do. Even as Laurent was friendly and didn't have any ulterior motives as the sheer size of the Cullen Coven was enough to make him wary(and he assumed Bella and Harry added to the numbers obviously)but not enough to make him hostile.

"Could you use a few more players?" Laurent asked with a bright and inviting smile.

Carlisle returned his smile. "If you're capable of keeping up with our very specific rules for this level of baseball."

The trio of nomads all grinned at the challenge. After all, as vampires, they wouldn't take too long to get used to something new. This served more as a way to get them to focus on baseball and nothing else too closely.

"These are the members of my family," Carlisle said, gesturing to their whole gathering. "My wife Esme, and my children Rosalie and Emmett, Jasper and Alice, and finally Edward with Hadrian and Isabella."

He didn't give a specific indication to each person leaving any mystery the names could possibly generate, up in the air. They weren't exactly common names after all, and suggested they were all from an older generation at the very least.

Family?

The word seemed to ring through the minds of their visitor, temporarily giving them pause. They'd never encountered a coven that seemed to consider each other as family. Even though it was obvious that Carlisle was their leader, the fact that he took on a fatherly role was enough of a shock to them. Vampires were territorial after all, and for such a large group to get together and consider each other family was insane.

Not to mention the color of the Cullen Coven's eyes. They were obviously vampires but somehow their eyes were so very different.

Massive covens tended to hold the monopoly on the hunting grounds of their territory. These vampires hadn't been challenged on that front. They'd avoided Forks until now, but there had been no reason to restrict their movements no matter how displeased that left Edward.

So how could a coven of... nine vampires all manage to handle their thirst as well? Surely Washington should have had a more noticeable death toll or something?

So many questions appeared but none of them were voiced.

Curious but not enough to voice anything aloud in case they accidentally offended anyone.

James' eyes trailed over each member of their coven, trying to find weaknesses in their united front. Emmett's sheer size was enough to make him think twice about attacking, but Jasper's numerous vampire bites from his time in the Southern Wars were an extra threat that made him hesitant to do anything. After all, to a human, Jasper was beautiful as any of them were, but to a vampire, his skin was a mottled mess of overlapping crescent glittering scars left behind by hundreds of other vampires and their own specific venom.

Seeing him attached to Alice as well was enough to temper James' curiosity on that front. She'd gotten herself a new protector this time it seemed.

Edward withheld the urge to sneer.

Speaking of Jasper, he was carefully layering levels of lethargy onto their visitors in an effort to make them less observant. After all, vampires couldn't get physically tired, but they did become mentally drained after a time. Simulating that feeling was necessary to keep them busy since vampire brains could function so much faster than human brains.

"We tend to have a permanent pitcher and catcher, but if either of you would like to take up a role, just mention it," Carlisle offered.

Victoria gave a mad grin. "I've got a wicked curve ball."

In response, Alice tossed her mitt on over and Victoria caught it with ease, looking baffled at the choice to even use one considering the fact that they were vampires and wouldn't need them.

Esme maintained her position as catcher, but the teams had to split up again.

Carlisle took the team with Alice, Laurent, and Jasper, leaving Edward, Rosalie, and Emmett with James in an effort to watch him more closely.

Harry and Bella remained pressed together far behind Esme, sharing Harry's earphones and a book he'd managed to pull out of nowhere. It wasn't anything Edward was familiar with.

There was a brief moment of wonder on why they hadn't joined the game, but since they hadn't been playing when the nomads arrived, and there wasn't a spec of dirt on either of them, it wasn't quite so odd.

The game began anew, with everyone keeping an extra amount of attention paid to their visitors.

Victoria did indeed have a good arm, and being older than a majority of the vampires around certainly helped in her favor when messing with everyone but Alice and Edward.

And just when things seemed to have calmed down and they might have weathered the storm... James got too close to Edward and instantly picked up on Harry's scent, followed soon after by Bella's.

In real time, Edward got to witness the profound effects of the human scenting on the unsuspecting vampire and how everything in one's mind could change in an instant. Alice, as well, had been similarly affected, mind filled with Visions starting and cutting themselves short as James tried to decide what to do with this new information.

His body demanded he find the source and devour it. His mind was a little more cautious, but was more excited at the prospect of a new hunt.

All that effort and it had gone to waste anyway.

Dammit!

The remainder of the game was spent watching James' every move as he tried to decide what to do.

He wanted to go into Forks and find the humans connected to Edward's scent. He wanted to begin a new hunt where the stakes were high and the danger was endless. And if he succeeded, he was the ultimate hunter.

But how to get away? How to continue playing nice until he could get what he wanted?

Disgusting.

James wouldn't be going anywhere near Bella or Harry. He'd make sure of it.

~.O.~

A/N: Another is done!

How was it? Let me know!

Check out mymany other fics!

See ya! :D

CHECK ME OUT ON TUMBLR.HELLY-WATERMELONSMELLINFELLON.

Chapter 14

Chapter Text

A/N: Hello, people!

I don't own Harry Potter or Twilight.

I have no beta.

ENJOY!

CHECK ME OUT ON TUMBLR.HELLY-WATERMELONSMELLINFELLON.

~.O.~

The only warning he had was a small chill down the spine. Harry hadn't managed to survive for so long by being unobservant when his life was on the line. Even the smallest of things could tick his danger meter with ease.

He knew the Nomadic vampires were dangerous. He knew that they specifically hunted humans, and personally he held no issue with that because they were a species that survived on blood and it literally wasn't their fault that they had venom they couldn't control. No matter what they hunted, the venom would cause unimaginable agony so literally draining their prey to death was much more merciful than letting them bleed out or change.

Many vampires probably didn't even see it that way, but that didn't take away from the truth of the matter.

The danger came from the Hunter. The one Alice and Edward were the most concerned about. The one who was obsessive and would never leave something alone once it caught his attention. Even if they managed to get this visiting coven of vampires to f*ck off to parts unknown, that one would always be a threat because he would come back. He would ignore rules and propriety and would do whatever he wanted when the backs of his comrades were turned.

People like him cared most about the thrill life presented them. Not even the threat of death would solve the problem. And if the redhead was his life mate, his death would royally f*ck her up inside and she wouldn't be stopped even with the threat of danger hanging over her head like a guillotine.

So if they were to kill the Hunter, they'd also have to kill his mate. Even if she didn't act out immediately, and it would be considered unfair to kill her for a crime she hadn't committed yet, it would be the best course of action. Harry didn't really like the idea of playing judge, jury, and executioner, but he had also been through a lot of sh*te in his life and he wasn't above keeping himself and his loved ones safe. Even if it meant making the preemptive strike unjustly.

Life wasn't a fair place. Besides, the moment he realised there were two humans among them, Harry doubted he would show any sort of reason. Madness manifested in many ways, but chronic obsession was a major factor almost every single time and wanting to have things others couldn't was a massive motivator for many mad people.

Case in point, Voldemort.

The baseball game continued as it should, but Harry could tell that the Cullens were noticeably on edge and making very good use of Jasper's abilities. Not just to keep themselves clear-headed, but to also lower the guards of their potential enemies. While vampires could not get sick or physically tired, it was possible to make them feel sluggish and mess with their minds and ability to perceive the world around them.

It was underhanded to some, but genius in Harry's opinion.

The game had progressed for several minutes more, with every minute making Alice look more and more frazzled.

Eventually, when it was time for the teams to switch, and James ended up closer to them than ever before, that was when it happened. The chill that made all of Harry's hair stand on end.

The wind blew, Bella's hair went flying directly into the nomad's direction, and he whipped around, eyes black with hunger and teeth bared.

"Asnack?"

Despite his great skill in manipulating magic, Harry Potter was still limited to what his human body could accomplish. His senses weren't as advanced as he'd like them to be, and no amount of girding potion could ever properly prepare him for vampire speed.

Thankfully, while he personally couldn't react in time, Edward's greater speed over other vampires, and Harry's past predictions, both came in handy.

Back when they'd gone to La Push beach together, Harry had come into possession of several opals from the tide pools. Opals could be incredibly useful in magical application, and he'd turned many of them into charmed jewelry for he and Bella to wear as added protection. Bella wore hers every single day, just like he did.

The barrier that would form from the enchantment, would depend on the kind of danger attempting to harm the wearer. And since vampires were incredibly fast and strong, having something with the force of a two tonne vehicle, coming at you in so little time, would cause the charm to explode, throwing the threat away with a massive force and possibly giving the wearer a chance to escape. Something very useful for a muggle incapable of protecting herself with magic against magical creatures.

So when James' red eyes dilated to an almost total black and his attention snapped toward Bella, Harry knew what would happen even though he personally couldn't react in time.

The vampire lunged and the resulting backlash caused a minor explosion, destroying part of the baseball field in the process and sending every vampire within radius flying backward. He felt a bit bad about that, but they wouldn't be hurt in the long run and Bella's safety took priority at present.

Jasper's reaction time was much better than everyone else in his family, flipping back to his feet with ease. The redhead, Victoria, seemed to also have a talent for escaping danger, as she managed to avoid the brunt of the blast itself, skidding back only slightly while everyone else was knocked over and some even rolled away like tumbleweeds.

Harry withdrew his broom from where he chose to store it when not in use, and placed Bella on the seat. It proceeded to raise itself up in the air, until she was too high for even a vampire's advanced biology to reach through jumping. Around her was a round shield, keeping her safe from all angles as well as preventing her from being able to fall off the broom itself.

"Not smart," Harry commented, staring James down like he was a roach that needed to be killed with fire. "I don't appreciate you attempting to harm my girlfriend."

And then he set James alight with a simple snap of the fingers. The sudden panic over the black flames that could not be put out, distracted the nomadic vampires completely, giving the Cullens a chance to take both Victoria and Laurent down. Jasper's influence over their emotions caused great lethargy and not even Victoria's skill at avoidance could save her in that moment.

It wasn't something he'd ever practised before but that didn't mean he couldn't try. And to be honest, he didn't really care if he lost control of the fire in the first place.

James attacked Bella with intent to do harm and as a result, he forfeited the right to live.

Never let it be said that being incapable of dying and trying to change that fact multiple times in a row, didn't result in Harry being just a little wonky in the head.

And he didn't give a damn.

"Death."

It wasn't justhowHarry said it that made a tingle of fear trickle down Edward's spine. It wasn't a feeling he was used to. Not since becoming a vampire. His body couldn't perform natural functions like those of humans, when exposed to terrifying situations, so one of the things it still could do, came very rarely. Enough to feel almost foreign to him.

The area around Harry changed the moment he said that one word. There was an odd rippling of the grass below his feet, moving outward in even pulses every second. The grass swayed in time with this odd power, and gradually began to freeze over, until an entire ring around Harry's body was covered in white frost. His breath came out in large, white puffs, and his skin paled even further, but those were the only physical change that Edward could personally see.

And despite not knowing much about magic, he could tell that the frost wasn't coming from Harry, but fromsomethingaround him. Something the rest of them could not see, even if they could sense it. Because it was obvious that there was something else there with them, but it was on another level of existence compared to them.

The baffled thoughts of his family battered him from all sides, and he tried to ignore them so this moment, as it was, could be preserved properly. Even with every angle he was currently watching it from.

Ominously, Harry raised a single hand, and James' burning body seized, bowing backward unnaturally in a way that caused his bones to snap and crack in response. He screamed in a way Edward had never heard someone scream before, let alone a vampire that should not be able to feel pain, and a small ball of white light erupted from his mouth, causing all internal and external sound to cease instantly.

James' body fell to the ground, still on fire but no longer showing any sign of movement. All was quiet.

The small ball of light floated into Harry's open hand and slowly fizzled away until nothing of it remained. Then, his head turned just enough for Edward to see his eyes clearly, and he said, "Thatis what being soulless is," Harry said, snapping his fingers and making the fire that was burning James alive, vanish. "He will never move again. No matter how much his body begins to hunger, it can never be anything but a glorified statue now. Because without the soul's natural energy to keep you anchored, your body cannot move without it."

While the venom in James' body began healing the severe burns he had experienced, there was no reaction at all from him. He stared blankly up at the overcast sky, but his mind was empty.

Not even a minor hint of presence. Edward had only ever encountered two people with silent minds, and they were Bella who was quiet naturally, and Harry, who was shielding his thoughts behind a wall of sorts. James' body was still… alive in the way vampires of their type would be, but he was no longer there. What made him James and a Hunter and a person overall, was totally gone.

It chilled Edward to the bone. To think that Harry could just take someone's soul and do whatever he wanted with it. That he truly had control over life and death itself and was probably capable of far more dangerous things than Edward had formerly contemplated upon learning of magic's existence.

Edward had spent a century hating himself and feeling guilt for something beyond his control. He'd been so sure that he was cursed and evil and unable to be saved for a lack of a soul, but getting a true glimpse of what it meant to be without a soul… terrified him.

And no amount of calm sent his way by Jasper could make it settle.

He had to deal with his own thoughts and feelings about this, plus the thoughts and feelings of everyone else at the same time. And the reactions were varied and all just a little bit scared of the formerly unassuming human in their midst. From above, Bella was gaping down at Harry's actions like she'd never seen him before, so it was safe to say she didn't know about that little skill either.

Then, Victoria's vision was filled with Harry's emotionless stare. The haunting shade of green in his eyes and the odd shadow of a skull seemingly superimposed over his face, made her feel sick in a way she couldn't understand. She just knew that her instincts to flee, but also to get revenge, were warring with her common sense. She wasn't sure of what she should do.

"Your mate attacked us," Harry said almost conversationally, "and he paid the price. I am willing to let you go as you have done no wrong yet, but know this, Iwilldo worse to you both, if either of you attempt to get revenge for his foolhardy behavior." The warning was punctuated with two black rings of fire surrounding the remaining nomads to better drive the point home, no doubt.

"You can take the body with you if it'll make you feel better. He'll never move again though," Harry went on to add callously. "This is his punishment for having no self-control and being incapable of remaining civil in polite company. Remember that."

Victoria snatched up James' body instantly and flitted away as fast as she could, her mind completely set on revenge despite the warning she'd just been given. As for Laurent… he simply stood there, staring at Harry like he was something new and exciting. And perhaps a little infatuated, which Edward didnotappreciate.

And absolutely no anger or hurt over what happened to a member of his own coven could be found anywhere inside Laurent's mind or body. He was scared, according to Jasper's senses, but he wasn't particularly bothered by what had happened to James. Victoria had taken note of that as well and was also planning to take him down for his betrayal of her and her mate.

"She will be back, you know?" Laurent chose to say, gazing at Harry almost imploringly. "While she won't come blindly charging at you, Victoria is a bitter and lonely individual, and taking the one thing that made her just slightly less self-absorbed and less lonely will unleash a monster."

Harry shrugged. "I considered killing her too but since she hasn't done anything yet it felt a bit unfair. When she does return, I will simply handle her then."

With a snap of his fingers, the broomstick holding Bella returned to ground level, and he helped her dismount, rubbing his hands along her shivering shoulders in the process. "Apologies," he murmured. "I could have taken us away instantly, but I felt the need to prove a point."

"Andyou're a bit overly dramatic," Bella added with a shaky nod.

"Yes."

Edward was as still as a statue, still looking off to where Victoria had disappeared with James' body. It was just so baffling to have everything you ever believed in, dismantled in so little time. First it was the fact that Harry had magic. Then it was him being immortal and incapable of dying. And then it was the truth behind life and death and how souls move on when someone dies. Now Harry can just take the souls of others and do whatever he wants to them without any consequence.

After a century of thinking of himself as a soulless monster, he couldn't even cling to that anymore.

It almost felt as if the one crutch for his self-destructive behavior was gone, and he had nothing else to fall back on now. Edward spent decades harming himself emotionally as punishment for his past sins and his own beliefs, and to think that he couldn't even get away with that realistically now was… hard to grasp.

Both Harry and Bella were such odd humans with different experiences. And they viewed the world differently. They'd see this as a good thing for him.

There was no hell. No suffering for those who did wrong once they died.

So the only way to be held accountable for your actions, was if someone else did it for you.

"You alright?" Harry asked, patting his forearm. "You've been very quiet."

"I witnessed the very moment his mind went silent forever," Edward found himself saying. "His panicked thoughts were full of fear and rage over what was happening. He envisioned dozens of ways to harm you for what you were doing to him. And then suddenly, amidst the flames, and the burning agony, and the fear, everything went dark and there was nothing left."

Harry gave a sagely nod. "Our bodies are just flesh suits that our souls are puppeteering. They can't do anything on their own without a soul. The mind and the mindscape as we know it, can only existbecauseof the soul. The soul is the nexus of the self, and if the self is gone, then the mind goes with it. Death has no favorites and does not care. Not even about me, regardless of my situation."

It was almost Eldritch in nature, if he considered what it meant in full. Something so difficult to comprehend and that would never stop to consider how beings like Edward would feel about it. It was just how things were and they were all outside of his control. Something he could never hope to control and that would never consider his feelings or input first.

Harry wrapped an arm around Bella's shivering shoulders. "I think it's time for us to go home now. Perhaps we can stop for pizza along the way," he suggested lightly, as if he did not just perform one of the most terrifying…thingsEdward had ever seen.

Edward still followed after them, leaving the rest of his family to handle whatever was going on with Laurent and his lack of desire to leave yet.

He could think of that later. For now, he had other things to address.

Bella settled into her bed that night, not feeling as nervous as she would normally be after having her life endangered. Being with Harry and knowing about magic made her a lot more content and aware that he'd done what was in his power to protect her.

And considering how he'd taken down an indestructible being with very few natural predators that could threaten it, she would say that he possessed alotof power.

Such that came with being immortal apparently, because none of that had to do with magic and was purely his control of souls. Harry was the Master of Death and that meant no dying. No moving on. And possibly controlling the souls of others and what happens to them.

Bella had full proof that Harry's magical prowess was impressive, as the opals he'd found and then charmed for her, protected her from danger she hadn't been fast enough to see coming or even understand until it was over. And long ago he'd told her that he warded her house and tied the wards to Charlie. So long as both she and Charlie considered this her home, no one with suspicious intent could enter the property.

Still, if she wasn't worried at all, why was she still awake and just staring up at the ceiling? There should technically be no reason for her to be up longer than necessary after all. Tomorrow was a school day, and she would need to be up bright and early for it. There was the potential for a pop quiz in Trig as well, and while she was good at it, that didn't mean she didn't want to not be in the best shape to handle it.

Unable to find any sort of rest, Bella sat up and considered the window. Harry was right across the street. She wished sleepovers between the opposite sexes weren't considered weird/sexual to people. It'd be nice to have someone else around for the time being. Even just to talk. Not everybody spent their lives thinking about sex after all.

Curious, Bella slipped on over to the window and went to open it, struggling as it caught on some dried over paint. She didn't exactly have the muscles for that apparently. Damn.

"Bella?"

She jumped upon hearing Edward's voice suddenly and shoved her head through the opening she'd managed to make, to see that he was indeed sitting in the tree beside Charlie's house. Not exactly next to her window, but close enough. "Why the hell are you outside my house so late at night?" she whisper-shouted at him.

Edward shrugged. "I have nothing to do at night, so I just like to stand guard. Compared to all the other times, I have a legitimate reason right now. Though I do alternate between your house and Harry's house though."

Right.

"And you do this all the time?"

"Whenever I'm here," he confessed with a shrug.

'Cause that wasn't weird or anything. "Does Harry know you do this?"

"I'm not sure. He seems to know a lot of things so maybe he does and just hasn't felt the urge to bring it up."

Well… she'd wanted some company and one of the guys she was supposed to be dating was literally outside her window now. "Want to come in?"

Edward leaned forward a bit, before leaning back again. He looked embarrassed. "Perhaps I shouldn't. We could just stay like this if that's fine with you," he said quietly.

Bella sighed. "Let me get the rocking chair."

"You have a rocking chair?"

"You didn't know that?"

"Rosalie said she'd castrate me if I went into either of your houses without permission."

Good on Rosalie.

"I like your sister a lot more now."

"Of course you would."

Luna,

It's been a while since I've written to you, and I'm sorry that it took so long.
A lot has been happening in my life as of late, and I think you'd be shocked
- or maybe not since it's you - that I am now dating a vampire AND a muggle.
Yes, Polyamory might as well be my middle name since this seems to be a
repeated theme in my life.

Don't tell the twins yet. I want to be the one to do that myself. Eventually.

So we found out that vampires like to play a sport called baseball. Basically,
think of the Beaters in Quidditch and their bats. It's like that but less intense.
When they use the metal bat to hit the ball, it sounds like lightning, which is
why they can only play on stormy days. It was amazing and I even got a shot
at it at their specific difficulty. 10/10 would try again.

You'll be interested to know that I purchased Blood Pops for the Cullens to test,
and Edward ended up eating all of his. The dragon blood turned his eyes purple.
I'm not sure if that was ever noted anywhere for their vampire type, but I thought
I should tell you about it anyway, just to be sure. So their eyes can be black, red,
golden, and purple. I'm curious about what other colours could be brought out by
the blood of different creatures. I'm also curious to see if they get any kind of
benefit from different blood types and creature blood. That could be an interesting
subject to look into at some point.

I wanted to ask a small favour. Just a spare moment of your time to tell me if there
will be any danger in my immediate future. We had an unfortunate run-in with a few
nomadic vampires and the 'leader' attacked Bella because she's apparently like a 3
course meal to vampires all around. I killed him of course, but his mate is going to
want revenge, so should I act now or just wait for her to show up? And if she shows
up, could you tell me the main goal for how she gets revenge? I don't need any more
details than that.

One of the Cullens is also a Seer, but her Visions are subjective and change when a
subject changes their mind. So while she is reliable, I'd much rather rely on you for
this. You are capable of giving more solid answers.

Before I head off to school, I just wanted to slip in a line about needing help perhaps?
I can easily make time if it's needed, you know. I'll pop on over and handle whatever
it is.

I hope things are going well on your journey to Mastery.

Yours,
Harry.

Going back to school after such an eventful weekend felt almost strange. After everything they'd learned and been through, they just had to go back to school and act as if nothing had changed. Harry found himself marveling over how fascinating it was to have to hold in all this personal information from people who had no idea about what was going on.

At Hogwarts it was hard to hide current events from the other students. Everyone knew everyone's business and there was no escaping it. It was both a miserable experience as well as kind of amusing. You know, when itwasn'tcentered around his life and experiences.

Harry hadn't ever been much interested in attention.

But now he couldn't even share tiny details or share a commiserating shake of the head with a total stranger as the magical gossip spread.

Bella met him outside, right in front of Edward's car that morning, because of course he would want to drive them to school again. This seemed to be a service he wanted to provide alone. No amount of hemming and hawing would get him to stop.

"I need to learn how to drive," Harry murmured. "I've just never been behind a wheel and honestly, the thought makes me very nervous."

"You literally ride a broomstick that can go faster than cars cantechnicallygo," Bella said, deadpan and totally not having it.

"Yeah, but the brakes on a broom are better than any automobile could manage. Can Edward's Volvo perfectly stop within three seconds of moving at its highest possible speed? No."

Edward looked to be seriously contemplating his words, and Harry shook his head. "I don't advise you trying that out by the way."

"There aren't any safe places to do it presently," Edward shrugged. "If I could guarantee a good location to test this out in, I'd do it in a heartbeat, but I would rather not incur Chief Swan's wrath any time soon."

A good plan.

Fork High was as it always was. Harry sighed as they parked, wishing that school didn't have to be so bloody boring. While he was glad to have Bella and Edward around, muggle school was just kind of lame. No moving portraits, or floating doorknobs, or random jumpscares from the local ghost population.

It was all very boring and average all around. No floating candles or the occasional trick star f*cking you over as you rushed to class.

"Either of you want to come over and watch me brew a potion tonight?" he offered, trying to think of a way to make things interesting.

Instantly, both Edward and Bella perked up at the mention of potions.

"I'll be working on a girding potion."

"Cool," Bella decided.

"Fascinating," Edward said.

And maybe he'd throw in a little Polyjuice just to get them talking.

~.O.~

A/N: Another is done!

How was it? Let me know!

Check out mymany other fics!

See ya! :D

CHECK ME OUT ON TUMBLR.HELLY-WATERMELONSMELLINFELLON.

Chapter 15

Chapter Text

A/N: Hello, people!

I don't own Harry Potter or Twilight.

I have no beta.

ENJOY!

CHECK ME OUT ON TUMBLR.HELLY-WATERMELONSMELLINFELLON.

~.O.~

"Are you sure this is okay? Aren't love potions really bad?" Bellas asked as she watched Harry prepare all the ingredients to what was considered the strongest love potion in the magical world. Like, there were tons of warnings about it in the book she was flipping through.

"Typically immoral,yes," he agreed, passing ingredients off to Edward for help. As Edward could not sweat and things like dirt did not stick to his skin, there was no chance of him contaminating any of the ingredients. Overall, he was just a better helper to have to things like potion brewing. "However, I'm not brewing it to use it on a person, but to use it on a magical plant. So, the Aphroditus is a plant obviously named for Aphrodite, that thrives off of love potions instead of water, when it comes to sustenance. The stamen of the flowering bud that grows in the center, is used in a potion meant to enhance virility."

"You're making a potion forsex?!"

Edward's diligent chopping halted in that moment and Harry snorted, hunching over to try and contain himself so he didn't accidentally cut himself. "It could certainly improve someone's stamina and the potency of their ejacul*te, but this is actually a sort of invigoration draught that is typically only used during massively exhausting undertakings. Such as, certain mixed couples where there is one human partner and one non-human partner that experiences something like an animal's Heat or Rut period. The human would take this so they can keep up without hurting themselves.

"Similarly, it can also be used for things like marathons, or strength training, or competitions. Any official International Competition with all the proper paperwork settled, may give every participant a dose of this potion if they feel the upcoming event will require people to have it."

Sounded a bit like drugging in her opinion. "Do they not worry about Performance-Enhancing Drugs or is that not a thing in magical competitions?" Surely there'd be rules about things like that so people couldn't cheat to win.

Harry shrugged. "Only one potion is recognized worldwide, as such a thing, and that is Felix Felicis. Liquid Luck to be specific. It is a dangerous luck potion to make, but is so powerful that if you follow every single urge it encourages, all of your efforts for the duration of that dose will succeed. Felix Felicis is banned in all competitions, both official and non, not only because of how unfair it is, but because it lowers the inhibitions of those who imbibe it and deadens the senses tremendously. And I meanallof the senses, including senses of touch, direction, and so on."

Every time he had some new information to share about magic, Bella was reminded that people were people whether magical or not, and that humans don't really change.

People sucked as a whole, huh?

"So, you've used it before," Edward suggested as he moved on to the next ingredient on the list while Harry deposited the newly cut pieces into the boiling cauldron. "You sound a bit too knowledgeable about how it makes one feel."

"Yeah, I think that would be the best way to describe the sensation of being high," Harry agreed with a smirk. "My new Potions Professor had information on Voldemort but refused to share the truth of it. I ended up using some of my Felix Felicis, which I won inhisclass from a challenge to brew a Draught of the Living Death by the way, and managed to get it out of him after months of failing to be persuasive enough to get him to tell me honestly."

Harry sighed. "The moment I drank it, everything felt all light and flurry and I just wanted to curl up and relax and just let whatever happened happen. Like, do I suddenly have the urge to trek across the school grounds to go see my friend instead of going to my teacher's office to get information? Yes. Should I follow that urge? Why not, it's giving me a good feeling and I like feeling good. And then on my way to see my friend, I happened to run into the very man I needed to see in the first place and catch him purloining potions ingredients from the greenhouses. To save his reputation, he follows me to see my friend under the pretense of being a chaperone after hours and ends up drunk enough that his lips loosen, and he finally reveals the truth we needed all along."

It was a wild ride of an explanation, but it did put some things into perspective for Bella. Namely, that Felix Felicis was a very powerful and dangerous potion.

In her opinion, it didn't sound like it was worth it to drink if it acted like that.

Edward, it seemed, had more thoughts on the matter. "So, if you ignored the urge to go for a walk to see your friend, how would it have influenced the order of events for you to meet your professor, since he was already down at the greenhouses without you even being aware. Because it sounds to me, like this potion is capable of affecting not only the drinker, but everyone and everything around them, which sounds much more concerning than someone using it to cheat in a sport or a game or something similar."

"You have a point," Harry murmured. "I do have some more on hand if we ever want to test it out just to see how things play out. We can get Alice involved and have her watch the future to see what it's likebeforetaking the potion and then what happensafterI take it, and what happens if I refuse to follow the urges it shoves my way. That could be a very interesting project, actually. I know a few people who would be fascinated by the results."

Bella wondered what magical reports and essays were like in magical schools. Like, they have to do Labs or something similar? Did brewing potions equal the Chemistry experiments done in non-magical schools? And what about things like Divination? Harry once mentioned a Dream Journal he'd had to do in his Routh Year of school.

Having magic just seemed so cool. It was kind of sad that Bella just ended up being some regular girl in the end.

It made her wonder how she managed to make friends with people like Harry and Edward when they were so much cooler than she was and had so much more to offer too.

Would Harry or Edward get bored of her? Or forget her when she was gone and they continued to live forever together?

Harry,

Your note about the dragon blood has been added to our archives. Newt really
appreciated it and sent along an entire case of different samples of blood from
different creatures. He humbly asks that you, if you can, get some results for
those as well. He also seems to be itching to contact you himself and perhaps
establish a connection of his own with the leader of your Cullens, so look out for
anything from him in the future.

As for your run-in with the nomadic vampires, I did See it as it was happening,
and I need you to know that summoning the actual incarnation of Death in that
moment was utterly terrifying and those vampires were so lucky that they are
incapable of witnessing Death's visage. I've never been more uneasy in my life,
even during the war. Death put the Death Eaters, Voldemort, and even Macnair
himself to shame. I never want to See Them ever again, thank you very much.

The woman, Victoria, is contemplating her options. She is currently swimming to
Europe as I write this letter, but she hasn't made up her mind on what she wants
to do. Based on our limited knowledge, the coven in charge of your lover's race of
vampires, resides in Italy. However, getting their attention for anything rarely ends
well for those involved. So, she is weighing what she knows versus what she wants.

I'd expect some kind of retaliation by mid-Autumn this year, however. She isn't that
patient and wouldn't wait ay longer than that. Either she will expose your Cullens for
violating vampire law, or she will come back herself. The more her mind changes, the
more the future will change, so I can't guarantee what she will do, but I do know that
it won't happen after December at the latest.

As for other things, Hermione and I are working on becoming Animagi. My father has
been a great help on that front, and I've included his notes on the subject in case you
want to learn the shortcut that we're now using. I already know what my animal form
is, as well as Hermione's, but she swore me to secrecy to keep things interesting. Ron
wasn't exactly interested in doing the extra work, and the twins are too busy to care
right now.

You'll visit again soon, right? There are loads of birthdays to catch up on after all. And
I know that Teddy had been asking for you recently. Tonks and Remus want to see you.

Glad to See you're doing well,
Luna.

P.S.Don't let Hedwig trick you, she got a lot of bacon that she stole from our Niffler.
They got into a bit of a tussle and her pride was wounded.

"Alright, I've decided to undergo a special form of training that, by the end, should allow me to find out my Animagus form and begin working on changing into an animal," Harry quietly announced as he placed his lunch tray down and casually summoned aMuffliatoto obscure their conversation. "I did all the necessary research and consulted my mates Hermione and Luna and their gathered notes, and both are already weeks into their own efforts so I'm a bit behind."

"God, wizards and witches can even turn into animals," Bella said with a shake of her head. "Does everyone learn to do it?"

He shook his head. "It's a very tiresome process and requires a lot of patience because the first step requires a Mandrake leaf to be kept in the mouth, surrounded by saliva, for exactly one month and the night you spit it out has to be a full moon with a clear sky, or you have to do it all over. If you swallow the leaf, you start over, if the dew of the potion touches human skin at any point, you'll have to restart. If you complete the ritual without a thunderstorm, you have to repeat all the steps again. Most magicals don't feel this is worth the effort, besides, you can't even choose your animal form to begin with."

"Is it actuallyworthit?" Edward asked, looking doubtful and his distractedly peeled an orange he definitely wasn't going to eat. "You're not like me. I can easily do that because I technically don't need food, or need to breathe, or need to speak for an entire month. How areyougoing to eat or not swallow the leaf?"

"I got it planned out," Harry murmured, slamming Luna's note down. "You see, Luna's father gave her a secret piece of information that he discovered. Back in his youth, he decided to test out a hypothesis about the ritual and chose to perform a step incorrectly on purpose. Typically, if you do something wrong and ingest the final product, you'll end up half-transfigured between human and animal and there is no reversing it. It would also mean you would have to avoid certain potions going forward because they cannot be used on animals and your chemical makeup would be too muddled to be safe enough to risk."

It was just an unfortunate truth about the risks involved when performing powerful magical rituals.

"So, Luna's father, Xenophilius, decided to test out the assumption that you don't actually have to put the leaf in your mouth. The idea was that the leaf must be submerged on all sides, by your saliva, because the saliva is the main factor powering the potion, not your mouth. For the past few centuries, people assumed you had to keep the leaf in your mouth the entire time, but he realised that you could just as easily fill a potion vial with your saliva, place the leaf inside it until it is completely covered on all sides, and then stopper it until the next full moon."

Harry had already prepared everything before coming to school, wanting to be ready to start by the next full moon. "He ended up being right, and successfully found out that he is a nightingale. So, Hermione and Luna have taken after him and are already on their way to finishing their potions. I will do the same come the next full moon, so I can better track time. I have to admit though, I do want to test a theory of my own."

"Please don't experiment if you know you can't get rid of the results should you mess up," Bella said quickly, eyes wide with panic. "Like, if you grow horns or something, how are you going to hide them?"

"We have charms for that, don't worry."

And horns wouldn't be quite so terrible, right? Harry would like to think he'd look dashing with horns.

"Basically, my idea is wondering if it is cycles of the sun and moon that affect the saliva-covered leaf, or if it is literally the span of a month, which, going by a thirty-day schedule, would be seven hundred and twenty hours."

Edward made a protesting noise. "You mentioned people doing this ritualcenturiesago.Wherewas the potion developed andwhenexactly was it developed, because they could be using an entirely different type of calendar to mark the passage of a month. Even if it was actually broken down to the amount of hours in a given month, not all months are equal across the world."

…Oh.

Right.

Not something Harry had ever had to consider before.

"Then it must just be from full moon to full moon," Bella pointed out with a frown. "You were probably thinking of time traveling backwards several times until you lived out the equivalent of thirty days, but if people all over the world have been using this for centuries in their individual cultures that have different beliefs and views on the passage of time, then they must not be using a linear timeline, but the position of the moon in the sky to determine what is the appropriate moment of action."

"Which begs the question, if you submerge your leaf in your saliva on a full moon night, why can't you just use it that same night if it is still a full moon and you have everything else that you need gathered?" Edward went on to add. "Does time really factor into this at all and has anyone ever been brave enough to test these concerns before?"

Harry was blindsided by how quickly both had taken to the topic of conversation. But they both raised valid points, and he just knew he had to send a couple letters. Or maybe just one but to make sure that the recipient brings it to the other so both can read it. Or perhaps just casting a charm to double the letter so he could save some time.

"I'm going to ask. Bella is right, I was considering the idea of a Time Turner. So far, we've only cracked time traveling into the past, and only for up to twelve hours. The Time Turners cannot handle more than that without overheating and potentially exploding. Also, once in the past, you cannot interact with yourself because it would cause a paradox. You would also have to carefully monitor where you go and who you meet, plus need to remember where it is you departed from so you can return there the moment that the version of you in the present, disappears into the past."

"Sounds like an infinite loop," Bella noted. "Like you've caught time in that small pocket of space, and it is now forever trapped to play out that way over and over."

"Andthatis why it is said that bad things happen to people who meddle with time… but as I'm not mortal it technically wouldn't hurt me or harm me in any way. I'd probably just be a little loopy from using the method of travel so many times in a row."

"We areactuallydiscussing time traveling," Edward murmured in awe. "I never thought this would be a conversation I'd be having in my lifetime. Like, it's not a theory for several centuries in the future, it is something feasible for a small number of people in the here and now. That is fascinating and terrifying to consider. Do these items work on everyone? Or only people with magic? Can you force someone else to time travel without their knowledge or consent? So many questions."

"With the method currently available you need to wear an hourglass necklace and then turn it properly, so I guess if you can get the chain around someone's neck and then turn it however many times you want before letting go, itshouldwork that way," Harry said, trying to think back to when he and Hermione time traveled in their Third Year. "I'm not sure if you'll be pulled along if you're still touching the time peace even if you aren't wearing the chain it's on."

Bella sighed. "Magic is so cool. Kinda wishing I could use magic 'cause between us all, I'm just the regular one. You both are immortal; one has super speed and super strength and can read minds, and the other can summon sh*t out of nothing, reanimate himself if he dies, and transform objects into other objects with a wave of the hand. And I'm just Bella. The Average Joe." She gave a low huff. "At least let me change shape at will so I can get free samples with different faces. I'd be cool with that."

A genius way to think of using such a power. Bad people would think if murder and crimes, and Bella just wanted to scam shops out of free food. An admirable desire.

Harry felt a bit bad though, realising that from Bella's perspective, she was at a severe disadvantage in this relationship.

The power imbalance wasn't exactly healthy, was it?

Perhaps... they could try and solve that problem?

"I mean… there's no way to give someone magic," Harry told her, just so she'd understand the reality of the situation. "Like werewolves. Those who were magical humans before being turned, retain their magic and can even still use their wands and perform rituals. Those who weren't magical all before being turned, do not gain magic. They gain resistance to a myriad of types of magical spells, and extra strength and speed overall, but not an overly noticeable amount. And some born werewolves who live long enough, eventually gain the ability to shift outside of moon times, but they'd have to be centuries old and finding them is nigh impossible these days."

"I read that book of yours and I wouldn't want to be a werewolf for any reason ever." She shivered a bit, having no doubt read the section about how painful the turning process was.

"There are four types of vampire, but finding any of the other types isn't as easy as you might think. And you'd be sacrificing a lot when it comes to shedding your humanity in the process. Like, you'd need to trade the pros and cons back and forth over this. Is chocolate or pizza or the occasional bottle of gin worth giving up for super strength and super speed and needing to avoid the sunlight for the rest of your days if you don't have specially charmed jewelry to wear to protect you? If so, we can find one of those other vampires and ask for help if it's that important to you."

Harry could probably track anyone down with enough effort these days.

"You know, I've been thinking for a while, but why can't the Cullens just wear foundation with some ultra-matte coverage and then set it with some primer? People contour the hell out of their faces these days and they even highlight certain parts of their faces to draw more attention. Why can't the Cullens just do that to blend in? Get rid of the bruised eyes and the glittering all at once. Eat some dragon blood pops to have normal eye colors. The whole works if the effort matters that much."

There was a moment of silence, and Edward stared down at his hands, pale at they were, flattened atop the table. "I've never thought about it like that," he admitted. "We don't have to wear makeup for obvious reasons, so I suppose it just never occurred to any of us to try that."

He then paused, head tilting back toward where his family resided. TheMuffliatoHarry had cast should keep their table in total silence to the outside viewers, but if he was thinking about purchasing makeup to test out if Bella's foundation idea worked on their skin despite the force of the venom when under ultraviolet radiation, then Alice Cullen had to have gotten a Vision about it. And she might be relaying the contents of said Vision to her siblings

"Alice is about to spend an astronomical amount of money in the coming days," Edward revealed. "Apparently, it will work as Bella suggested and she's excited to test out different brands to see which has a better matte finish?"

Bella smirked, looking pleased with herself. "And that was just a split-second thought on my part. If it works, it works."

"Just in time too," Harry agreed with a matching grin. "In this modern day, it's not uncommon for people to take photos or videos of total strangers and it won't be long before our dear Cullens end up in the background of a random person's selfie. Or hell, they might get photographed by a total stranger at the behest of their TikTok following. Anything for clicks, right?"

"You know about TikTok?" Bella asked, looking baffled.

"Uh… yeah. I got it. It takes up so much space on my mobile that I can't download any other apps right now."

Bella grumbled. "Damn, I need to get a better phone then." And then she glared at Edward. "As inIam gettingmyselfa better phone, and this isnotan invitation to dump a ridiculous amount of money on me."

"But I could get you a really nice one. Top of the line model if you're interested."

"No, I'm good. Thanks."

Bella really didn't like it when people spent money on her. She was adorable about it though.

Harry found himself a cute little nook in the states, and he was very pleased by that fact.

"Is all of this truly necessary?"

Alice beamed as she separated every brand of foundation and primer she'd purchased, so they could be tested out efficiently. There were also several bottles of makeup remover and wipes because she intended to be there for a while. "Yes. We have to test which ones will work the best and once we know, then we only have to buy one brand from here on out."

He sighed and sat down opposite her; arms extended into the sunlight streaming in from the window. He was to be the guinea pig this time around, and she'd waited specifically for a sort of sunny day in order to get it done. The sun being right there was the most useful it had ever been for them in this life.

"Turn your arm so the inner side is upright so I canswatchseveral at once."

He got the idea, but the word was a new one.

What followed was half an hour of Alice going bottle by bottle, which all looked almost exactly the same save for the different logos on each face. All in the palest color available, reminding him of just how unnaturally white their skin became in death.

Alice tsked now and then, either because the coverage wasn't as good as she liked, or because the color looked unnatural. The one brand wasn't as smooth as she wanted it to be and felt very gritty in his opinion. "That's the worst thing I've ever seen," she grumbled, tossing it behind herself and easily making the garbage without even having to look.

"Aw, Fenty has the best coverage so far but doesn't go pale enough for people like us so it just looks like we'd be trying to spray tan ourselves," she tsked.

Edward received the invasive mental image of a vampire attempting to look spray tanned and shivered in disgust. Too much orange. Reminiscent of another orange monstrosity out in the world that he'd rather not think of. "Nothing orange," he decided. "We can all do without the orange."

As Alice worked through lines upon lines of foundation, Edward lost himself in thought, wondering about the future. Summer vacation was coming up, and they were actually going to stay around until the Juniors made it to their graduation. But after that, then what?

And there was Victoria who was no doubt going to come back for revenge at some point. He hated to think about it, but should Harry have let her go? When he knew that she was going to come back to cause them trouble in the future?

It wasn't as if Edward had the right to cast judgment upon others, but he was rather protective of his family and now his… lovers. And while he had yet to fully come to terms with his own issues, he could at least admit that there were things he wouldn't tolerate in this life. And since he had to deal with the reality of being a vampire and still having a soul and there being no heaven or hell awaiting him… yeah.

Things really weren't quite so black and white in this existence.

"Rare Beauty's lightest option seems to work pretty well. Good coverage, smooth application, and like the other one, the venom barely manages to refract through it!" Alice declared, turning his arm back and forth to see the stripe of liquid foundation from all angles.

She used a few products and wipes to clean the stripes of color from his arm and then applied an entire cover of it from elbow to wrist to get a better idea of how well it worked over a wider area. The sunlight still had an effect, but it was nowhere near as intense as it'd usually be. In fact, like Bella had said, it was more of a small glow than an overwhelming assault of prisms and sparkles. At least his arm couldn't be compared to broken granite now.

Alive gave a low but mad giggle. "I think we've found it. If this works well, we can improve our wardrobes! There are so many cuts of fabric I've wanted to try on you and Rose and I'm finally going to be living the dream!"

Edward got a front row seat to the ideas that flitted through his sister's mind at Mach speed. "Maybe not the sleeveless things," he murmured worriedly. "I don't think we'll manage that easily."

"But we don't perspire so we don't have to worry about it coming off during the day."

A good point.

"Nothing sleeveless for me, then. I'm not comfortable enough for that."

"Yeah, yeah, your virgin arms are safe."

"...You're a real bucket of laughs."

"SPIRIT WEEK! I'M READY!"

"You really went for it," Bella murmured the moment she caught sight of Harry that morning. "You look good. Very knightly."

He flushed instantly, and Edward found it to be quite fetching on him. "Is that a real sword?" he asked, staring down at the elaborate crafted piece of metal hanging from his hip.

Harry placed a finger to his lips and winked. "I've made it so it looks fake to those not connected to me specifically. It is actually real and has refused to leave my possession. This is the Sword of Gryffindor and it has followed me around since the war ended."

"It's very pretty," Bella said. "That is the biggest ruby I've ever seen."

"Goblin-made and with a thousand years of history on its side. I'm going to win this today."

Harry did in fact, win it.

He actually won the entire thing.

See, this was how it went...

🏫✅ FORKS HIGH SCHOOL OFFICIAL FACEBOOK PAGE ✅🏫

*Pinned

In the spirit of our annual Spirit Week, let us see what our students have
prepared for us today! #SpiritWeek #ForksHigh #ForksWashington 👍

Day 1: Medieval Day 🗡🛡

[Photo 1:Students who participated, gathered in the gymnasium. Many
princely and knightly characters in the crowd, and a few anime characters
who passed the design.]

[Photo 2:Runner Up for Medieval Day, Ms. May Moran and her homemade
cosplay of her favorite anime character. She sewed the outfit herself!]

Winner: Harry Potter, who sewed his own costume by hand. 👌👏

Day 2: Victorian Era Day 🗝🕯

[Photo 1:The most teen girls in attendance compared to the entire week.
All with their own attempts to recreate traditional clothes from the Victorian
Era. A few teen boys showed some attempts of their own, but it is obvious
that the girls put in the most effort overall this time.]

[ Photo 2:Runner-up, Ms. Jessie James, for her recreation of her favorite
Crimson Peak character's nightgown.]

Winner:Harry Potter. Instead of finding something to cosplay or making a
costume, Mr. Potter just reached into his great-great aunt's grandmother's
wardrobe. Yes, this is a dress that was worn in 1880 while she mourned her
deceased husband for a few years. 👌👏

Day 3: Sci-Fi Day 📽🌌

[Photo 1:The collected students in the gymnasium, featuring several Star
Trek and Star Wars cosplays. Mr. Spock appears no less than 45 times.]

[Photo 2:Runner-up, Mr. Harry Potter and his elaborate cosplay of the 10th
Doctor as portrayed by David Tennant.]

Winner:Tyler Crowley and his elaborately recreated Darth Vader cosplay
complete with his own voice synthesizer that he modified himself! He is
looking to pursue engineering post-high school. 👌👏

Day 4: Anime Day 🍥🗾

[Photo 1:Nearly every student in the school is packed into the gymnasium
because, to some extent, everyone has dressed as an anime character they
love.]

[Photo 2:Runner-up, Mr. Mason Greer, who decided to make his entire
costume of Alphonse Elric's armor out of cardboard and then painted it
himself.]

Winner:Harry Potter. From ordering custom armor, to dyeing his wig and
actually sewing the kimono himself, Mr. Potter manages to once again take
the victory for himself after carefully recreating all of the small details of this
fictional character's elaborate design in a real-life medium. 👌👏

Day 5: Mythology Day 🦄🌺

[Photo 1:An assortment of Greek gods, comic book characters, and famous
paintings come to life have filled the gymnasium. On the final day, everyone
has tried their best.]

[Photo 2:Runner-up, Ms. Bella Swan and her Persephone cosplay which was
apparently created with assistance from Mr. Harry Potter.]

Winner:Harry Potter, who once again both ordered custom armor and sewed
the clothing himself. Though it was admitted that most voted for him as they
felt he resembled the MCU's Loki more than anything, and there was no small
number of admirers in response. 👌👏

On the final day, the students voted for Best Dressed Student of the Week!
Out of the Winners for each day, the students had to vote for their favorite.

Congratulations to Harry Potter for his victory! He has won exemption from
taking two end-of-term exams of his choice and will receive an automatic A+
instead. 🎊🎊🎊🎊🎊🎊🎊🎊🎊🎊🎊🎊🎊🎊🎊🎊🎊🎊

Check out the video below for the vote!

[Video]

~.O.~

A/N: Another is done!

How was it? Let me know!

Check out mymany other fics!

See ya! :D

CHECK ME OUT ON TUMBLR.HELLY-WATERMELONSMELLINFELLON.

Chapter 16

Chapter Text

A/N: Hello, people!

I don't own Harry Potter or Twilight.

I have no beta.

ENJOY!

CHECK ME OUT ON TUMBLR.HELLY-WATERMELONSMELLINFELLON.

~.O.~

"I know we did everything that always happens when you're leading up to prom, but I wasn't ready," Bella confessed as Alice helped her into the dress she'd chosen for the evening. "I did not realize just how today was going to go when the week began."

See, she didn't really want to go to the dance, but at the same time, Harry wanted to go since his only other dance experience ended up being terrible and he wanted to know what Americans did differently than Magical Britons. As a result, Edward offered to escort both Harry and Bella to prom, which resulted in Bella agreeing to go only a bit reluctantly by then.

Their friends were going, Harry wanting to go had gotten the Cullens interested in going, and Bella decided to just suck it up and go too. Get the full teen experience and stuff like that. It would be her first dance where it hadn't been mandatory for her to attend(meaning: she wouldn't be sitting in a corner the whole time, waiting for the teachers to let her go home).

Now, Alice and Harry had provided many examples of dresses to choose from. Alice was aiming more for designer clothes that Bella might want her to recreate, and Harry had offered a magazine of what was most popular among young witches in Britain. Alice then promised to take all the parts she wanted and make them into a single dress. She'd promised that it would be easy to do.

It turned out that Bella's interests were much simpler than they both had assumed they'd be. The dress was pretty average for a prom dress in her opinion and fit the theme according to Alice.

Alice had made the process out to be about a certain waist type, but then a certain sleeve type, but then also wanting a specific color that was a mix of Edward and Harry's favorite colors. Things thathadto go together no matter what. It was a lot of stress in the beginning but by the end Bella realized she didn't have to make it so dramatic.

Or maybe her lack of interest or knowledge in fashion was what made it all simple in the end.

"Are you sure you don't want to try a pair of kitten heels?" Alice asked as she fiddled with the skirt portion of the dress, trying to decide how she wanted the fabric to settle despite the fact that there really wasn't much fabric there to begin with. No pleats or ruffles to worry about. The dress was pretty straightforward.

"I'm really not big on the heels," Bella told her, thinking of all the times she tried to walk in heels and then hurt herself and her ankles. "I'm already sacrificing comfort by doing the ballet flats thing."

Alice sighed. "I suppose. I was going to bring several sets of jewelry but with such a high neckline, necklaces would look tacky. So, I settled for a simple pair of silver fangs to hang from your ears. They aren't too heavy, so you don't have to worry about the weight hurting your ears."

Thank goodness for that.

Bella found herself very excited to see what Harry was going to wear for the dance because Harry, being who he was, seemed to be the kind of person who wanted to explore outside of the normal requisite for any kind of event he attended. She wasn't so sure what Edward, and the rest of the Cullens were going to be doing, but she did have faith that because of Harry's existence, it was going to be interesting.

Charlie also seemed to be very excited in his own way because Bella had never given the impression that she would ever want to go to a school dance or dress up in any way. Perhaps, in his perspective, it looked more like she was settling down in Forks and making her own life there. She was pursuing the normal teenage experience that other teenagers would typically go for, and she was making plans to hang out with friends and get acquainted with the local area.

For a concerned parent, it was probably considered a blessing.

Alice finally stepped away in order to grab the curling iron/hair straightener. Bella didn't actually know what to call it since the damn thing did both jobs, as well as hair crimping, but Alice considered it to be very important. "Do you want a middle part or a side part?" she asked as she plugged the device in.

It had been many years since Bella had seen anybody part their hair off-center.

"Let's just go for a side part. Do whatever you want but don't put any kind of glitter anything in my hair. I do not want it, nor do I want to have to clean up after it for the next month. That stuff gets everywhere."

Her clear rule ended up making Alice slump over in dejection. "Fine!" she groaned. "We'll go with a normal style."

Yeah, Bella had managed to get a good look at the makeup bag that seemed almost bottomless, and there were definitely many items in there that had alotof glitter in them. Once you open up a thing of glitter, that stuff will be everywhere in places that it should not be in. Bella would be in the shower a month later and still find it somewhere on her body.

Dealing with glitter was like signing your life away. No thanks.

"Do you want any products in your hair?"

"Most of the things you'd put in your hair make you feel hard and crunchy."

"Surely not if you do it right."

"If we planned this out in advance, then we could have tested it out, but since the dance is only a couple hours away, I don't really feel like being a guinea pig now."

"Another time then." And considering how Alice seemed to behave, she was completely earnest in her declaration.

It took less time to do her hair than she expected it to, but that just meant Alice had more time to work on her makeup. So much more time.

"Liquid eyeliner?"

"Sure." Bella knew next to nothing about what was so different between the types of eyeliner.

"Mascara?"

"I guess." She'd once seen someone wearing bright green mascara. She hadn't even known it could come in other colors.

"Eye shadow?"

"No." It would already be hard enough to wash the stuff off later on and she didn't want more work.

"Lipstick or lip gloss?"

"I don't like how they feel." Years ago, Renee had liked painting Bella's face as practice for when she had randomly decided she wanted to be a beautician. Bella knew early on that she hated anything meant to go on the lips.

Also, Renee gave up on beauty school when she realized there was a lot more to it than she'd assumed. Beauticians were put through more training that was much stricter than what the standard law enforcement officer was required to go through to be allowed to wear an ugly uniform and hold a firearm.

Obviously, Renee had balked at the idea of so much extra schooling and training.

Alice was still focused on 'maximizing Bella's face' or whatever she'd said the other day. "This means that we won't have to do a lot of work and I might be able to paint your nails before we leave!" Alice squealed. "I have the perfect color, just trust me!"

Good Lord, the process was long.

Edward arrived properly at six in the evening. Since Alice said she was going to help Bella prepare for the prom, Harry and Edward weren't allowed to interfere. Both he and Edward had already talked and decided to wear just black and white so that no matter what happened, Bella wouldn't clash with either of them. Of course, Alice had a bit of a hand in that as well, picking out a cravat in an interesting shade of green/blue for Edward to wear. Harry then had to make sure the inner lining of his coat matched.

The assumption was that Bella was wearing a dress or jewelry that matched.

To better prepare him for the night ahead, Harry gave Edward an entire box of Blood Pops for him to work through for the night. That way he could handle his dietary urges and keep himself calm at the same time. This time they were made with selkie blood. Another opportunity for Harry to get information for Luna in the process.

"Alice isn't going to take much longer. In fact, they will be going downstairs in a few seconds," Edward stated just as Harry was getting bored of mobile phone games about matching fruit.

Both stood and adjusted their suits. It was time to impress Chief Swan.

He was practically waiting at the door for them. There was an unfamiliar stiffness to the set of his moustache, and Harry wondered how long he'd been stressing over whatever he had in mind.

"I just wanted to get this out of the way now since it'll just keep bugging me otherwise. Are you both dating my daughter?" the man asked as they stood in the middle of the kitchen.

"Yes," Harry nodded. "We're a single item despite there being three of us."

"I believe the term the internet is using these days ispolycule," Edward supplied helpfully.

"That just sounds painful," Harry grunted. "Too scientific for my liking." Science and Harry did not get on well.

"It's actually a portmanteau of the wordsPolyamoryandMolecule," Edward explained with a smile. "A molecule is a group of bonded atoms, and a polycule is a group of romantically bonded people."

That was nice and all, but it was still too much science.

Chief Swan slowly wiped a hand down his face, chest slumping with a heavy sigh. "Right. Realistically, I know I can't do much against the determination of teenagers. Objectively, I am also aware that neither of you have been disrespectful to Bella. Subjectively, my paternal instincts arescreamingat me…" He sighed once again. "Just promise me you're being safe?"

Harry snorted instantly as Edward ducked his head in embarrassment, no doubt hearing the full details from Charlie's mind. "Don't worry, Chief Swan. I'm the only one with any experience in relationships. Edward is a scared virgin and will need to be hand-held through everything. In fact," Harry murmured, casting a queer look at Edward, "he's the youngest so he needs to be patient anyway since Bella and I are technically adults already."

"It's only a few months difference," Edward protested, looking offended at the implication that he was too young to be engaging in sexual matters.

"That doesn't mean anything, you're still a minor!" Harry snorted, finding it to be hilarious. "Bella and I would be cancelled if people online knew we were dating you."

"Nah, they'd probably cancelhimsince he looks the oldest out of us," Bella said, finally walking into the kitchen with Alice not far behind. "They'd say stuff about his height making the power imbalance too much or whatever. Us being really short will have them infantilizing us as a result and we'd be treated like children who are incapable of thinking for themselves."

As if 162 cm wasn't a perfectly average height!

Harry gave a reluctant nod though, since she was right about how people would react. "Okay, so noteverypart of the internet is great."

"We've gotten away from the point," Chief Swan said, drawing them all back to what he originally intended to do with this conversation. "The point is, if you absolutelyhaveto do what teenagers do, please take all precautions before doing it. And don't shareanydetails with me."

Alice patted his arm, beaming and no doubt attempting to lessen his anxiety. "Don't worry, Charlie." Charlie? They were on a first name basis already? "Our father is a doctor and he's made certain we've had all the technical information for ages. You won't have to worry about pregnancy scares from anyone in our family."

Both Harry and Bella broke into low snickers as Edward looked out the kitchen window in an attempt to avoid his own embarrassment and no doubt Charlie's, plus Alice's amusem*nt. All of that piled on top of each other had to be doing him some real trauma.

"Great," Charlie decided. "I'm going to watch some football. Be home by midnight."

The whole encounter ended up being a lot less painful than Harry had expected it would be.

Also… with the chance to finally take it all in, he could say wholeheartedly that Bella looked amazing. "Despite the flats, your legs would deceive anyone into thinking you're very tall." He enjoyed Bella's legs very much.

Edward elbowed him a bit in the side and presented Bella with the corsage he bought. "You look lovely." It was a simple, white rose in a miniature bouquet of baby's breath. On Harry's end, he'd chosen a simple set of white Ever Roses which would never wither so long as there was a source of magic nearby. One corsage for each wrist to represent each date.

"You're both ridiculous," Bella murmured as they affixed their gifts to her thin wrists. "Thank you."

Alice clapped. "I can't wait to get to the dance!Oh! Jazz is outside! See you guys there!"

And then she was gone, leaving the three remaining teens to their own business with Chief Swan watching… American football reruns or something like that. He had that ESPN channel and definitely loved it since it was all he watched whenever Harry visited.

"Are you both ready to go?" Bella asked them as she fiddled with the trim of her teal dress.

Harry looked to Edward since he was the designated driver for the night.

"We're ready," the vampire decided. "Who is sitting where?"

"I'm in the back," both Harry and Bella said at once…

"...So you're both in the back?"

"Yeah." Make it fair or something.

It was obvious just by design that this was an event that was meant for teenagers.

The amount of internet references alone was astonishing.

Bella took in the decorations outside the school as she turned in a slow circle. "I am so glad that we convinced Jessica and Lauren to not go with the Monte Carlo theme. This is much more interesting if a bit tacky."

"From what you showed me, it looked rather boring before," Harry agreed. "This is definitely better, though I'm sure people decided to be uninteresting about it."

"Especially since what they had suggested did not actually have anything to do with the theme of Monte Carlo," Edward added because he could. "At least not the oneI'mfamiliar with."

As they took in the decor, it was very clear that none of them had any idea what the actual theme had become. There was an assortment of reds, blacks, and whites and even then, no particular theme idea seemed to stand out. Not a masquerade though, that was obvious.

As they headed for the doors of the gymnasium, Edward found himself under fire from a rapid mental assault by Alice of all people.

I cannot wait for you to see what the prom theme became. I've been holding this in for the past three weeks!

Edward managed to see the banner at the same time the words floated across his mind.

Things That Go Bite in the Night

They all stared up at the banner in various mixtures of shock, and perhaps a little bit of awe. Whoever had decided on the font of the banner had certainly done their best to make it as Gothic and spooky as possible. Including fake blood stains and everything.

"The blood spatters really give it that kind ofoomph," Bella said, reaching up to touch the earrings Alice had her wear. Fangs. Ridiculous.

"I can just tell that everybody's going to be a vampire at this thing," Harry murmured, looking around at all the people dressed in dramatic clothes. "Not an ounce of effort among any of them." And then he waved his hand over himself, making his hair lengthen a little more and tie itself loosely.

On Edward's end, he could finally understand why Alice had forced him to choose between what he was currently wearing and what the other choice had been. The teal-colored cravat had been a very specific kind of choice, but it made sense now. Harry's choice in coat tails managed to absolutely fit the new theme of the prom. Also, his use of magic to make the lining of his suit match the color of Bella's dress made them look more cohesive.

With Bella between them, arms linked on either side, they entered the gym in style, coming face to face with the rest of the Cullen family who were twirling out on the dancefloor. Alice had gone the extra mile to make sure that everyone fit the new theme as easily as possible. Jasper was even wearing a cape to be more on theme with a Dracula kind of vampire.

"Have you ever tried a three-person Waltz?" Harry asked suddenly, a grin on his face. "It's very fun."

Bella twitched. "I'm not- I don't reallydothe dancing thing. We've never even practiced before!"

"We won't let you fall," Edward promised. "I've never done such a thing either but I'm certain my reflexes and Harry's previous skill and experience can save you."

She looked between them, worrying her lip for a moment. "Fine," she decided. "Just don't let me fall."

"Never," they promised.

Alice, being the person she was, had managed to successfully get the dancefloor significantly emptied at the right moment, leaving her and Jasper on one end, and Rosalie and Emmett on the other end, so that Edward and Harry could have enough space with Bella between them.

"Do you know the basic timing of the Waltz?" Edward asked as they took their positions, Bella still in the middle.

"Yeah. Don't mind me as I just stare at our feet though."

Through use of his own talent, and then Alice's by proxy, Edward could easily tell how the dance would go, and allowed Harry to start it off, following along as he pulled Bella in a simple step by step circle around the dancefloor. It was a simple sequence to get her used to the pacing: one, two, three… one, two, three… one, two, three…

After a few rounds, Harry added in a simple side-to-side movement, left and then right while maintaining the circular pattern. Bella and Edward followed with ease.

The more complicated footwork came next, left crossing over right and vice versa. Bella had taken to resting her weight on the balls of her feet so that she could pivot better as they made minor turns back and forth.

And then Harry threw in the first twirl, raising Bella's hand and spinning her which in turn, had Edward twirling to maintain their momentum but also to not break the chain by putting Bella's other arm in an awkward position. They repeated this over and over, maintaining the same circular pattern they'd started with.

They had the attention of the entire room, but Bella seemed to be completely unaware, focusing more on her feet and less on the environment.

Finally, as the Vision Alice had shown, Harry turned suddenly, taking Bella's other hand the moment Edward released it, spinning her into a simple step sequence and then twirling her back into Edward's arms as he spun around them. This continued back and forth, them trading Bella between them over and over, allowing her to get comfortable with the spinning and the positions of their arms and hands.

Eventually, she stopped staring at her feet, and began making tentative eye contact, a small smile on her face.

Edward was distantly aware of several people recording with their cellphones, but he wasn't going to reveal that bit of information. She'd clam up instantly if he did that and might even hurt herself somehow.

"You're both ridiculous," Bella finally said with an eye roll. "This is so conspicuous."

"What's life without a little camp?" Harry asked with a flirtatious smirk. "Let's be daring while we still can."

"You can be daring together;I'mgetting a little tired."

And then Edward took a chance, sweeping Bella into his grasp so she could sit comfortably on his left forearm while he continued the step sequence with Harry, whose own arm came up to help brace their girlfriend. Bella rested between then, an arm around each of their necks to keep her balance and looking like she'd just suffered through the most embarrassing moment of her life.

"This wasn't what I had in mind," she grumbled, though her flush gave her away. "Though it's not so bad I suppose, even if there is no subtletyat all."

"We're here to have a good time," Harry replied. "So long as we aren't hurting anyone, then it shouldn't matter what we choose to do."

And to think… Edward hadn't been to a dance in over a century. And he never would have gone to another if he hadn't met Harry and Bella.

"When this song ends, can we go mingle a bit?" Bella asked. "I want some of the punch and the shrimp."

"I suppose you've suffered enough," Harry relented.

"We can dance without an audience later if you really want to," she offered, "but I'd like to get the full experience of this since I'm already here. Get some pictures and hang out with our friends. The usual teen stuff I like to avoid."

"Good point. Edward, are you going to pretend to eat or make up some excuse?"

"I ate before picking you both up," Edward grinned. "I couldn'tpossiblyeat anything else."

Four mountain lions to be exact. He'd wanted to be prepared just in case.

"Then it's time to mingle."

The moment they left the dancefloor, the rest of the students flooded it, leaving the food and beverages free to peruse.

Jessica Stanley was beaming as they approached. "So, are you alltogether-together now? Like, officially?"

Bella flushed prettily and nodded. "Yeah. They're charming, what can I say?"

Damn,Jessica thought.What I wouldn't give to have hot guys who are actually good, following me around."At least everything worked out in the end."

Angela and Lauren were dancing with their dates, and Jessica was waiting for Mike to come back with refreshments. Eric was the DJ and he had basically chosen a Hallowe'en themed playlist.

Bella did exactly as she said she would.

She filled up on shrimp.

"I'm surprised admission was only five dollars," she commented, holding up a shrimp. "You'd think it would be more if they're serving stuff like this."

"Perhaps they're spoiling us," Harry suggested. "The grades from that hard week of tests ended up pretty good, right?"

Edward nodded. "Perhaps they received a notice about more state funding and are using this event to celebrate." He wouldn't put it past the district.

Harry managed to coax Bella into dancing a again, and then Edward separately so she could have a break. Edward never thought he'd dance something ballroom to a song called Spooky Scary Skeletons, but there he was.

It was certainly an experience for the ages... and Alice got many pictures she planned to use as blackmail material later on.

Fortunately, the carefree time of school ended up eventually coming to an end as the school year concluded on the last day of May. Nothing else of interest had actually happened since the whole fallout with a foreign coven of vampires coming in to try and ruin the local wildlife. If wildlife was a synonym for humans of course.

There had been no news of any kind about Laurent and Victoria. The last thing Harry knew was Laurent deciding to go up north to meet the other vegan vampires that considered themselves distant cousins to Carlisle Cullen's coven. They were all much older than even Carlisle was, but they also seemed to be newer to his way of life, having decided that they wanted to try something less violent compared to their pasts.

It was an interesting concept. Carlisle seemed to have a talent for converting people to his philosophies. Even those much older than himself.

Since Harry had no doubt at all in mind that Victoria was going to return at some point to try and seek vengeance for what had happened to James; he decided that it would be a very lovely idea if perhaps Bella wasnotin Washington for a while. What better way to get somebody out of a dangerous - or potentially dangerous at least - situation than to take them across the pond?

Bella had a passport and Edward had a passport, and it was entirely possible for all three of them to travel internationally because they were all of age finally - Edward's fake birthday on his fake birth certificate being in May and therefore making him an 'adult' now - and it was literally nobody's damn business.

When he'd initially proposed the idea of going on a trip to Britain, Bella had exactly been interested since she'd wanted to get a job for the summer so she could have some extra money to spend, but then he mentioned taking her to see Diagon Alley, and she caved. They sat down and had a long conversation about all the things she wanted to see personally and learn about, and once they had decided what they wanted to do and where they wanted to go, they then informed Edward about it.

Of course, it had never occurred to Edward that going on a summer holiday in the middle of summer was actually a thing that he could do. All this time spent reliving human school over and over and over again and he had never actually gone on holiday himself. And according to Alice, the rest of them had totally done it before but for some reason he just decided that he wanted to be lame and be alone since he had no partner before now.

"You don'talwaysneed a companion to go and do things," Harry had told him. "Sometimes you can just go out by yourself and it doesn't have to be treated like some kind of loss."

Harry had learned that the hard way years ago. Sometimes it was just better to be alone, because it didn't always mean you were lonely.

The next thing they had to worry about was convincing Chief swan that it was totally okay for Bella to not only leave the state of Washington, but also the Continental US. It had been a very long conversation between him and Harry about Harry's townhouse in London. And it ended up being brought up that Harry also had houses in Wales and Scotland and Russia and France. The Black family had a lot of property and Harry had inherited all of it as the new Head of House and had since then taken to having all of it fixed up and purged of anything that could be harmful to living beings.

He gave the house in Scotland to Andromeda Black because he didn't really have a use for it and figured that it would be better for her while she was dealing with the loss of her husband. Remus and Tonks had decided to move in to help her and raise Teddy there. Last time he'd heard, she'd been a lot livelier as of late, interacting with her grandson and trying to teach him how to sing.

Grimmauld Place remained his main home, one could say. He was considering selling off all the other houses though, since he had no real use for them. Though, perhaps Luna might like the home in Wales since she was off exploring in that area? He would have to see.

Anyway, Chief Swan needed to be further convinced with somenormalphotos of Grimmauld Place. Thankfully, Harry had long since convinced Kreacher to move the heads of the old House Elves elsewhere so all the photos he had on hand(which he only had because he popped on over the night prior to the conversation and took the photos with his mobile)made it look like a Victorian Era home that was too fancy for a teenager to own.

He showed Charlie the foyer, the staircase, the kitchen, the first drawing room, and the first library. And then a photo of Harry's room. Kreacher had done a splendid job of cleaning the place up, so it no longer looked so filthy and gloomy. The paint and wallpaper were repaired some time last year. The rotted wood was replaced and re-stained to match the old wood left over. It looked like a habitable home.

After that, Charlie seemed a lot less worried than he was before. Also, Harry had promised that he was going to introduce Bella to his British friends and how they'd probably sleep over the Weasley's house a few times, in which case they would have Molly as a constant older adult presence to make sure they took care of themselves.

He even showed the man a photo of Mrs. Weasley. She hadn't known he'd taken the photo as she was too busy cooking, but it was a nice photo that showed the warmth of her massive kitchen and the effort she put in to keep her house running. Everything she wore was something she'd made by hand in her free time. A dress of mismatched patterns and knitted loops here and there. Rings of colours that did not match but somehow still came together nicely in the end. Her apron was bright blue though and was trimmed with numerous white ruffles.

"And she is okay with you all visiting out of the blue?" Charlie asked. "You aren't going to be giving her trouble, yeah?"

Harry beamed. "Mrs. Weasley loves having company and has been asking for a visit for a while. Also, so long as everyone helps out in some way, everyone is always welcome at The Burrow."

He then showed Charlie some photos of the Weasley's farm and their orchard so he'd understand what kind of family his daughter would be introduced to.

Charlie had stared for a while, before softly saying, "I'm glad you have some good people in your life, kid. You deserve it."

And then he patted Harry's back, and Harry was not ashamed to say that he teared up a little, because Chief Swan had been very kind to him ever since he'd moved to Forks. Enough to be worried that the reason Harry didn't have that many friends yet was because he was bisexual and that the other teens might be prejudiced because of it.

Bella was very lucky to have a father like Charlie Swan, and Harry was happy she understood that.

So, after convincing the chief and acquiring the tickets for an aeroplane - as they had to do things by the books this way since Charlie was in law enforcement and unaware of magic - they packed their bags and headed on over.

The flight was long but worth it, and the landing was a bit troublesome, but eventually they managed to make it to Grimmauld Place after getting through customs.

The customs agent who spoke to them instantly noticed that he was from Surrey the moment he spoke and was very flirtatious until she found out that he was with his girlfriend and boyfriend and was planning to introduce them to his family. She'd tapped the little Pride pin that she had clipped to her tie and gave a small wink.

Edward had been especially amused as they walked away, leaning down to whisper, "Her brother recently came out and she bought a bunch of rainbow stuff to show that she supports him."

Adorable.

Across the street from Grimmauld Place, Harry got to witness Bella and Edward taking in the scene in person, smirking as their eyes widened upon seeing the front of the house literally force its way into existence between houses #11 and #13 on the street.

"None of the humans are even aware of the fact that their homes were just shoved apart to make room for it," Edward said in awe. "Magic is fascinating. How many things have I witnessed that were the cause of magic and how many magical things have happened that I wasn't even aware of?"

Knowing there was a whole subsection of the human population out there who could potentially shield their minds from him and therefore keep him in the dark about things happening in the world, had to really be a shock.

The moment they stepped foot inside Grimmauld Place, Bella let out a loud whistle. "This is a lot more traditional than I had expected it to be considering how it looked on the outside."

"I have it on good authority that there was a hell of a lot of complaining about having to change the exterior to match the muggle neighbourhood when the changes were implemented so long ago."

"Considering how it looks outside, I don't exactly blame them for not liking it."

The uniform of muggle neighbourhoods was pretty annoying. Harry grew up on Privet Drive and all the houses looking exactly the same had always made him uncomfortable while growing up. Too uniform. No deviations save for the occasional greenhouse in someone's backyard. The normalcy of the grey bricks was just lame, which would explain why Vernon and Petunia had been so obsessed with it.

Can't be anything bright or cheerful or potentially related to magic in any way. Merlin, no!

"Master Harry is bringing strangers into House Black?"

Bella jumped as Kreacher popped into existence in front of them, looking a lot healthier than the last time Harry had seen him. His ears even dropped a lot less than before.

"Kreacher, this is Edward Cullen, he is a vampire, and this is Bella Swan, she is a muggle. They are my partners. Bella, Edward, this is Kreacher, the Head House Elf to the Black family."

The elf looked between the three of them, his bulbous eyes full of concern and maybe a bit of doubt.

"Edward does not drink human blood, Kreacher, we'll be safe. I have many packets of Blood Pops on hand just for him, and we can always buy more if you're truly so worried."

It made complete sense that he was on edge at the thought of having a vampire in the house because vampires, even the weakest version of them, were still incredibly dangerous and Kreacher would not have the natural speed necessary to properly combat such a foe. House Elves were incredibly powerful in their own specific ways, but Edward would be able to move faster than Kreacher. If Edward or his family were inclined toward a darker side of their nature, they would be very dangerous to be around.

Edward smiled down at the elf in what he obviously thought was a kind and innocent manner. "I apologise for intruding. I'll make sure to help out to make up for it though, don't worry."

Instead of reassuring him though, the words just managed to put Kreacher on edge even more because despite how things had improved and how he had definitely gotten better, ever since being under the care of the Black family, Kreacher was still a House Elf and he was still brought up in that specific environment. His kind really did not like it when humans or human-looking individuals did their jobs for them. It was treated like an insult to their honour or something.

"No! Kreacher will handle the estate, Master's partners simply must behave! Kreacher will go buy food for the kitchen!"

He was gone before Harry could say anything about it. Eventually, he just decided to escort both Edward and Bella up to their designated rooms and then go from there.

"There are a lot of things that we have to get through before September, and I am very excited to introduce you to my friends!" Harry said once they were settled in. He'd brought them back down to the kitchen so he could begin cooking dinner with whatever Kreacher had acquired. He also left a packet of Blood Pops on the table for Edward to make use of. These ones had hippogriff blood in them.

"So, the big question would you like to explore regular London or magical London? If the answer is regular London, which places do we visit first? If the answer is magical London, which places do we visit first?"

Bella looked like she was about to explode with excitement. This was probably the most excited he'd seen her get so far. "I just really want to see Diagon Alley. I want to see the joke shop your friends started, and I want to see the place selling all the Quidditch stuff, and the bookstore sounded really awesome."

And that reminded him! He could possibly get both Bella and Edward into collecting Wizards cards! Seeing them react to the moving characters would be hilarious! He wondered just how many times they'd end up with Uric the Oddball. Harry had lost count of how many of those ones he'd been forced to unwrap over the years.

Edward stared down at the maps Harry had provided, both of regular London and Diagon Alley. "I've been to London before, so I'd also like to see Diagon Alley first. I'm curious about the kinds of stores they have and what you can purchase in a single trip."

Since both of them wanted to go see Diagon Alley first, Harry was going to take them through the Leaky Cauldron to make it more dramatic. He had a feeling that Bella would be tickled by the brick wall opening up to reveal one of the most magical places Harry had ever been to.

Such a venture would probably take a few days so they could explore everything that was offered. And then he would take them to The Burrow and introduce them to everybody. By now, Kreacher had probably popped around to inform everybody of his return and his visitors.

Luna would not doubt appear, hoping to speak at length with Edward. Hermione would put everything on hold to make certain she was around to meet the new people in Harry's life. Ron and the twins would take time off of work. Remus and Tonks would probably bring Andromeda with Teddy. The rest of the Weasley clan would come home for the holiday since it was summer. Fleur would be among the group.

He was very excited for Bella to see Molly's self-cleaning kitchen! And it would be hilarious if Arthur cornered Edward and began asking him about American muggle appliances to see if there were any differences in those across the pond!

Yes, he was very excited indeed.

~.O.~

A/N: Another is done!

How was it? Let me know!

Check out mymany other fics!

See ya! :D

CHECK ME OUT ON TUMBLR.HELLY-WATERMELONSMELLINFELLON.

Chapter 17

Chapter Text

A/N: Hello, people!

I don't own Harry Potter or Twilight.

I have no beta.

ENJOY!

CHECK ME OUT ON TUMBLR.HELLY-WATERMELONSMELLINFELLON.

~.O.~

Bella took a moment to breathe, leaning over to give her poor head a chance to catch up with the rest of her body. She never wanted to experience the Knight Bus ever again. Once was enough and she hoped it stayed that way in the future. She had thought for a moment there, that her spleen was going to be left behind. It was worse than brooms and Edward's running. At least those didn't do jerky motions from side to side.

Harry had wanted them to get the full experience of Magical Britain, which was totally nice of him, but really unnecessary in that particular case. Of course, Edward had no problem with the speed, keeping up just fine and even staying on his feet with ease as they swerved through oncoming traffic. He even said that the enchanted bus moved just slightly faster than he could, and that he'd be curious to see how long it could go before the enchantments wore off, because technically, he would never tire out.

"That was fun!" Harry declared as they started walking down the dirt road. He was beaming and looking mighty proud of himself. "Welcome to The Burrow!" he said, starting off toward a trail on the side of the road.

"I can't hear a single mind in that building," Edward revealed as Harry led him and Bella up the path toward the misshapen building in the distance. "Not a single internal sound. So many people are crammed into such a small space and yet they are all basically silent."

Harry turned and began to walk backwards so they could see his face easily. It was all very smooth. "I warned everybody to have their Occlumency barriers up, or, if they still hadn't mastered the art of protecting their minds, to wear some jewelry that isenchantedto protect their minds from external penetration of any sort. This way you can just relax without having to fight through the added noise, and everyone is on equally terms."

That was very nice of him. Bella smiled, finding herself proud of Harry's considerate personality. He was always so sweet to others.

The front door to the house opened, and a short, red-haired woman came bustling out, face bright and arms wide open ready to receive a hug. "Harry!"

"Mrs. Weasley!"

It was nice to see with her own eyes, that even though his blood relatives were absolutely sh*t to him, Harry still managed to have a family of his own that cared. Every inch of the woman radiated excitement and warmth upon seeing him, and she embraced him like he was one of her own.

"I wanted to introduce you all to my partners, Bella Swan and Edward Cullen."

Bella flushed instantly upon hearing his introduction. Being described as someone's partner was surprisingly nice to hear. It made the relationship feel more concrete and grounded. More real and less of an excuse used to thwart the flirting attempts of their peers.

"We've been so excited to meet you!" the woman, Molly Weasley, said as she beckoned Bella and Edward closer. "Harry has told us so much about you both."

She could only imagine the kinds of things he was sharing!

Mrs. Weasley patted Edward's back and then gave Bella's face an intense look over and nodded to herself. "Bit peaky from the ride over. Not to worry, dear, dinner will be done soon. Come in! Come in!" She was then bodily dragged into the house behind the woman, with Harry and Edward watching on with amused smiles.

"Hello, Edward Cullen."

Edward found himself staring a young blonde woman in the eye. Her hair was even lighter in shade than Rosalie's, and her eyes gave her a sort of faraway look. They were a silvery blue color and appeared to be incapable of reflecting light. He felt a distinct sense of discomfort when meeting her gaze.

She smiled. "It's alright. Everyone has the same kind of reaction whenever they meet me for the first time. I'm odd."

Well… it was true, but he wouldn't ever say it out loud. He'd been raised better than that.

"I'm Luna Lovegood," she said, offering her hand. "Harry's told us all so much about you. You're a very exciting and dramatic individual from what his stories have led us to believe."

Ah! Harry had mentioned her before. According to him, both she and Hermione were his 'best mates'. He'd even likened her to Alice before. Said something about her also being able to See the future whenever she so decided.

"I've been very curious about your existence as a vampire we don't often find ourselves encountering, and was wondering if it'd be acceptable to interview you on your experiences?" she asked as a notepad and a quill floated beside her head, ready to take notes.

"Um… sure?"

She beamed and seated herself at the table, directly opposite his position. "Now, I felt it was only fair that if you were going to give me a look into your mind and your experiences, then letting you look into mine was reasonable payment."

Edward stopped her before she could begin removing the gold strands that made up a choker around her throat. "You don't have to do that. It's an incredibly invasive thing I can't control. It'll never stop and nothing in your mind is safe from me when within range."

Luna Lovegood smiled kindly. "I am aware of your powers as well as your sister's. Harry did not need to tell me about the details for me to know of them, for my Sight consists of both voluntary and involuntary abilities."

The necklace was removed, and instantly, Edward's power latched onto her mind, and as it was the only one he could hear within range of The Burrow, it was the only perspective he had to share.

It took a moment for him to understand what he was Seeing through Luna's own eyes, but eventually, he managed to make sense of everything. There was himself, in reality as he knew it. In the same colors and shades and appearances. And then, flickering in and out of that Vision, was another reality that took place in the same house, but it was dilapidated and rundown and somewhere in the far back of the living room, was what appeared to be a specter, with a perpetually haunted look on its frozen face, staring right at them!

To make things worse, layered overthatreality popped in a completely different one where colors he'd never even seen before, and couldn't even describe, existed! It was the same location still, but most of the house was gone this time, leaving only the shape of the overall structure behind, and there were these odd beings milling about with shells of vibrant colors and designs on their backs. Not hermit crabs or anything of the like, but entirely impossible to truly describe to one who could not see it. Their eyes were are dark and vast as the universe, bringing a sense of eerie knowing with their presence.

One of them crawled across the ground, approaching his position as if it could see him with ease.

It passed right through him moments later.

Edward sat there, viewing the world through Luna Lovegood's eyes as she stared at him serenely.

All of these things, worlds- all melding together and then melting apart right before her eyes. Every second was filled with at least two different scenes basically superimposed onto each other. He witnessed so many creatures and beings in those other realities, and wondered just what they were and how they weren't in the books Harry had let him read.

"This is what my Vision is like," Luna explained softly. "This is the part I cannot control. I am merely a human mortal, and I can't even grasp the same details with my own eyes, that you are at this very moment witnessing, but because the mind it not limited to what the eyes can accomplish, when I peer intoyourmind and watch as you perceive what my eyes can and cannot See themselves, I am awed by how much more grand things are around us." She sounded breathless with amazement.

It was a truly awe-inspiring power to have, and Edward was suddenly so very grateful that Alice's Visions did not work in this manner. If he had to deal with this on top of everything else he got from everyone around him all the time, he'd probably try to end his own existence again. It just seemed like so much mental and emotional work to carry around all the time.

Luna Lovegood's continued sanity was a blessing.

"It's a beautiful and terrifying ability," he confessed. "How have you managed to stay sane with all of...this?" He got only a few minutes of it and he was already mentally drained.

She snorted. "It's easy in places like this. My father and I had lived over the hill my whole life, and Ottery St. Catchpole is a relatively calm environment to grow up in. Hogwarts though, being the most haunted building in the combined lands of Magical Britain, was a real challenge in my first few years. And I couldn't tell anybody because of a specific limitation to Seers like me, wherein if we tell people by word of mouth that we are Seers, they do not believe us. Cassandra's Curse basically. However, we can give hints and eventually, people will catch on. Now, iftheygo and tell others, the curse's effects don't follow, and peoplecanbe convinced that way."

It sounded like hell to live with. Knowing that something beyond your control would make people never believe you if you told them the truth about why you seemed so different compared to them. It had to be a very othering experience, constantly reminding her of the fact that she wasn't like her contemporaries and that she'd never be able to be exactly like them. That there would be people who just never understood and wouldn't even try to.

How Harry had managed to be someone who defied the odds, was astonishing.

Luna Lovegood's eyes closed, cutting off his connection to the multiple realities she existed in at all times. There, she was left to the darkness of her own mind. Much like what Harry's gave him. He could sense their presence, but not their thoughts. Odd. But he was becoming used to it gradually.

"Give me a date in history that you'd be curious to see in person," she told him, eyes still closed. "The part Icancontrol allows me to look into the past, present, and future, so long as I have a location, date, and time to go from. If you have a person, it's even easier."

"Umm…" So many options. So many things he always wondered about. Not once did it occur to him to doubt her words, because he'd already Seen enough through her eyes to understand how things in her mind worked.

Still, he was just about to ask about Salieri… when something else came to mind. Something he'd always wanted to know, but knew it was not only impossible for his vampire memory, but even his human memory.

"Can you show me Edward Mason Sr. and Ellizabeth Mason in Chicago Illinois, on the twentieth of June in 1901, at 4:37 PM please?"

As the last word left his lips, Luna's mind was instantly filled with a scene he wasn't familiar with. It was a large room, full of polished wood and lavish furniture. On a large, fourposter bed lined with velveteen curtains, was a woman cradling a newborn baby. A man stood by her side.

It was ten minutes past Edward Anthony Mason Jr.'s birth, and there were still midwives milling about. Both parents stared down at the baby between them, each possessing some of his features.

The only memories he had of his parents came from Carlisle, who was the physician attending to them during the epidemic. His mind unfortunately only held images of them when on death's door, and he never knew them when in good health. And Edward couldn't even remember a time where he'd been with them.

The family home had been ransacked when it became known that the Masons had perished from the Spanish Flu. Edward had barely managed to rescue his mother's wedding ring, and a few personal effects.

Yet here, in this moment, with the help of Harry's close friend, Edward was able to commit to his eternal memory, his own parents in stunning clarity. They were healthy and whole and thrilled to have a baby. His father's cheeks were spread wide and his mother, despite the sweat dotting her brown and the lines of stress on her face, looked as if she'd attained some kind of nirvana.

Like everything was okay.

Even with all she'd just been through, her copper-toned hair was pulled back and curled in a way that was popular at the time. She even had an adorable bow clipped to the side of her head.

Baby Edward was already swaddled in linens and was being gently rocked back and forth. His eyes were closed as his cheek rested on his mother's bare shoulder.

It would seem that he possessed his father's jawline, but his mother's hair. And before he'd turned, his eyes had been the same shade of green as hers were. Both seemed to be tall judging by how high she sat and how long her legs appeared to be under the sheets.

It was nice to finally know them as they once were and not as casualties of an unfortunate disaster.

Slowly, the scene faded away, until Luna's mind went silent entirely, and they both returned to the present moment. She'd placed the choker back on, allowing Edward a moment to collect himself properly.

"Thank you," he murmured quietly. "It's nice to see them clearly for the first time. Our memories become dull and muddled when we turn, and as I was dying of the Spanish Flu when Carlisle turned me, my memory is just full of suffering and wanting to die to get it over with." Everything he knew was compiled from local newspapers and the photos from the all-boys' school he'd once attended. There hadn't been much left from the people scavenging for things to sell to help themselves.

The property itself was all he had left, and he re-sold it to himself every few decades or so because he couldn't bear to part with it just yet.

It was nice to know something new, and even nicer that she'd been willing to share it with him.

"I believe I owe you an interview of sorts?" he asked, hoping to draw attention away from his personal issues and past, and onto a topic far less interesting in his opinion.

The floating notepad and quill straightened up in alertness, ready to transcribe what he said.

"One question which you've pretty much answered already, but I wouldn't mind details on, is how the transition from human to vampire affects you as a person? You said that memories become increasingly foggy. Did you experience a drastic personality shift alongside your body's changes?"

He had to consider the question for a moment, but eventually nodded. "Our bodies become more advanced, which includes the brain and the ability to take in information and respond accordingly. There is a sort of inherent arrogance that comes with the change, because it becomes startlingly clear how much more advanced we are than humans, and it's easy to get lost in the superiority complex it gives you in those first few years of your new life."

She hummed in interest, the quill scratching madly across the paper. "And did that arrogance finally calm down after a time?"

"Eventually."

When she was pulled away from the boys, Bella found herself in the company of Hermione Granger and Bill Weasley. Two people in very different magical professions, and yet full of wisdom and knowledge that she had been curious to ask about for the past few weeks.

When around Harry, Bella got to witness some of the most mind-bending sh*t and would always trace back her wonder to curiosity. How did magical people realize certain things were possible and others weren't? Who was the person that finally sat up one day and decided to test out if they could turn into an animal? And what happened when they first tried?

There was so much work that had gone on behind the scenes. Nothing started out perfect, there was a process of trying and failing that led up to it, and Bella wanted to know about every single detail in the order they occurred in.

She also wanted to know about their government. How did they decide which was and wasn't illegal? Based on one of the books Harry had leant her, magical carpets were illegal, but brooms weren't. Yet both, in the wrong hands, could easily expose the Magical World to the non-magical people. So why was one acceptable and the other worth prison time in most countries?

When she posed that as her first question, Hermione's face broke out into a delighted grin. She looked back and forth between Bella and Bill, "This is a topic I've actually been looking into, because for all intents and purposes, they are far more comfortable to travel with and can fit many people. I have many plans for when I become Minister for Magic, and one of them includes allowing flying carpets to be a form of magical travel accepted in Magical Britain."

And Bill made a hissing noise through his teeth, then clicked his tongue twice. "Many people aren't going to like that."

Hermione nodded. "Surprisingly, it won't even be the Purebloods who will be the greatest opposition I'll end up facing over this too. Rather, racist and xenophobic preconceptions from muggle-raised students… typically the Caucasian ones." She rolled her eyes, her tanned face setting into a deep frown. "They'll simply have to get over it. If they don't want to be judged for their blood status because it is something outside their control, they have no business judging others for the color of their skin or where they were born."

"So, what about theothermagical communities?" Bella asked. "How do you manage to bridge the gap between cultural differences? 'Cause I noticed that the Parseltongue language is considered evil in Europe but in Southern Asia, the Middle East, and Africa, it's apparently a pretty big deal having someone with the ability to speak to serpents on hand."

"It's a pretty big problem," said Bill with a wince. "Over in Egypt, Parselmouths are especially useful for the Goblins who wish to hire groups of wizards to explore tombs. However, finding those either willing to associate with Goblins, or those who do not demonize the ability is damn near impossible for them."

Ah… Harry had mentioned before that the Goblin Nation were into doing things like that. Bella wasn't exactly sure what kind of opinion she was supposed to have about that, but the idea never did sit right with her. Tomb Raider and Indiana Jones had never been her particular cup of tea for obvious reasons.

"Harry's told me a bit about International Magical Cooperation. I wanted to ask about Magical Britain, specifically how Ireland is considered part of Magical Britain, but not part of the United Kingdom. How does that even work between magical and mundane laws?"

"The size of the community is basically what determined this," Hermione explained. "Magical people don't really consider muggle opinions when passing laws. They felt that since all these places were relatively in the same area, then they all fall under the same jurisdiction. Twenty-three percent of Magical Britain's population comes from there after all, and it'd be needlessly complicated to have a government for each country.

"So, despite Ireland gaining independence in the early 1900s, the magical side never changed their approach because muggle drama wasn't their business or something. Besides, while we do acknowledge the division of the nations in basic terms, for the sake of things like sports, we've just sort of rolled all of them into a single location, hence Magical Britain being the term over ones like Magical England or Magical Wales."

Sounded incredibly difficult to navigate for a person who was born in the non-magical world.

"And what about the kids from the muggle side, who are born in Ireland and are not British citizens, getting accepted into Hogwarts? What do they say to people outside of their families? What do they get to put on their permanent records? How does that even work out for them when they aren't British citizens themselves? Without a valid education on their papers can they even work in the non-magical side?"

Hermione sighed. "Another glaring issue between our worlds. Magical people are so stuck in the past, and refuse to move forward, that they just ignore the growth of technology and the improvements muggles have made. Our Muggle Studies course in school was abysmal and I wouldn't wish it on anyone. Their perception of non-magical people is backwards and out of date.

"I've been working on what my approach to these things is going to be, as I am from a muggle family and have all the relevant knowledge and experience that someone in my position should have. The legal situation surrounding how students from muggle families enter Hogwarts, is atrocious. Harry's family had to lie to their neighbors about him attending a school that doesn't even exist and were very lucky no one ever decided to look into it. Personally, I believe that we should at least have some kind of front for our magical school system so that if people get too curious, then there won't be any loose ends when they get nosy."

"So, like, a fake school for everyone to use as an example with actual non-magical connections," Bella said. "To avoid such a mix-up as times change. The internet's kinda a big thing these days and people will eventually begin reporting families of magical kids for potential neglect or truancy."

Bill tsked. "Hadn't thought ofthatbefore, I'll admit, but that is a big problem we'll have to look into sooner rather than later."

A bit surprising that no one but Hermione had thought to look into it yet.

Still, it was nice to get a closer look into the legal and governmental side of magic. That despite the supposedly unlimited options, people had chosen to inflict many rules and laws upon it to regulate it to their liking.

One would think that simply existing wasn't enough to be worthy of scorn or displeasure, but people were people no matter which culture they came from. They'd always suck no matter what.

"So, Harry told me that you deal with dragons..."

Meeting more and more of the Weasley brigade was almost like a rite of passage. The twins were especially tricky, finding any moment they could to try and play a prank on Edward, and only missing out on the payoff because his reflexes were so advanced. Bella had gotten a good scare or two already and looked around as if expecting either George or Fred topopalong with something else to shock her with.

There was Harry's godson Teddy and his parents. Arealwerewolf and a 'Metamorphmagus' had come together and had a child. Apparently, it wasn't a common union, so their child had extra abilities unlike other magical children.

He liked to change his shape a lot to resemble his current obsession.

The minds of babies and toddlers weren't easy to understand, mostly being filled with colors and emotions over anything else, but the moment they stepped onto the property, Edward had been struck with the young boy's surprisingly advanced understanding of the world around him. He had Harry's face in his mind all the way up until he saw him, and then his entire being morphed to resemble Harry exactly.

Teddy's werewolf father, Remus, was another standout character among the group. One, his name basically meant Wolf McWolf, which was ironic for someone who wasn't born a werewolf, and second, he had the standard physical characteristics of a werewolf. At least those that Caius of the Volturi had been willing to share with the outside world when he'd gone on his crusade against them all those years ago.

The golden eyes ringed in black were unnerving when staring at them head on. And they didn't seem capable of reflecting any sort of light, which Edward couldn't really understand as something being possible. The man had long, sharp nails, and incredibly hairy hands. Yet he also looked relatively sickly as well.

The book Harry lent him said that the transformation during the full moon was painful, and the bones had to shift around to accommodate the increase the nature of the new form. Some bones grew in size and others shrank. Some even had to grow in entirely, and then vanish by the time the transformation was over.

It honestly sounded rather terrible. Vampmires or werewolves. Neither was an existence that truly seemed worth it in the end, huh?

"I've been curious about you since Harry came back from the states the first time," the man said as he seated himself on the other end of the sofa Edward was resting on. "We were a little bit concerned because your kind of vampire is so rare that we know barely anything about what you're capable of. Harry insisted that he could handle it though, and he's blossomed into his independence so well since the war, that we didn't want to ruin anything for him."

Harry was a very capable person, and he'd demonstrated how unique he was in the limited time Edward had come to know him. To think he was possibly less open and less forward any time before now was hard to imagine. Then again, surviving a literal war would have to leave some kind of impression on a person.

"Being in his presence has been a learning experience," Edward admitted. "He likes to keep us on our toes."

"He tends to get like that, yes."

Edward could feel what he expected was a 'shovel talk' coming on. Bella was in the kitchen learning about the various uses for cleaning charms, and Harry was out playing Quidditch with a few of the Weasleys and Teddy's mother Tonks. It was just him and Lupin, the old family friend of Harry's father.

"Let's get to know each other, Edward."

Yeah, he was getting a shovel talk.

~.O.~

A/N: Another is done!

How was it? Let me know!

Check out mymany other fics!

See ya! :D

CHECK ME OUT ON TUMBLR.HELLY-WATERMELONSMELLINFELLON.

Chapter 18

Chapter Text

A/N: Hello, people!

I don't own Harry Potter or Twilight.

I have no beta.

ENJOY!

CHECK ME OUT ON TUMBLR.HELLY-WATERMELONSMELLINFELLON.

~.O.~

"So... that is a ghoul?"

Bella stared at the vaguely green figure holding up a considerable handful of chains in the far corner of the Weasley family's attic. It was shaking them back and forth, and refusing to make eye contact despite how intensely she was staring it down.

"I don't know why but I had expected ghouls to look more like ghosts and less like… that."

"Is it possible that you're confusing ghouls for ghosts based on American pop culture references?" Harry asked. "Though to be honest, I don't think I've ever actually seen a ghoul be brought up in any way on the non-magical side. And, in fact, that might be theonlymagical thing I've come across that has never been mentioned in my life outside of its ties to magic. We all hear about vampires and werewolves and mermaids and things like that, but nowhere have I ever encountered the word ghoul."

"The funniest thing about this is that I don't think I've actually encountered it much either when it comes to American pop culture. Like, I don't even know where I heard the word for the first time, but I just expected them to look more ghostly and not greenish. Nor covered in weird bumps and dripping with fluids."

Harry couldn't even begin to explain any of it himself.

"Why is it holding chains?" Bella went on to ask.

"You know, I never really thought to ask about that. Maybe it found them and just likes them or maybe all ghouls have chains."

It was moments like this where Harry wished they actually touched upon things like this in Care of Magical Creatures, but in a way, ghouls technically weren't considered magical creatures because they weren't really alive in a way that meant going without sustenance would eventually kill them, so why would they have to learn about them? He had no doubt in mind that Hermione would know the details about it though. And Luna would probably know as well.

As if summoned by magic or by the sheer force of knowing that Harry did not have an answer to a question, Hermione appeared at the doorway to the Weasley's attic. "For your information, ghouls are actually a type of magical beast according to British classification. They possess a certain level of intelligence - enough to know that they have to eat and then to seek food out - but they mostly only eat small insects and don't care enough to consider it further. They tend to be very humanoid in shape but are also incredibly malformed with varying skin tones that aren't found in hom*o sapiens. They have often been described as slimy, warty, or even pockmarked."

And yet not one thing in that description mentioned anything about them having chains, so where did the chains come from?

"Most likely he just found the chains in the attic and decided to keep them because he liked them," she explained simply.

Well, at least that madesomesense.

Bella sent him a questioning look. "Are there things like this in Grimmauld Place? Meaning, will something randomly start rattling chains at night on the second Tuesday of every month?"

At once, both Harry and Hermione snorted.

"Formerly there were creatures living in Grimmauld Place," Harry clarified. "We all put in extensive work to cleanse the place from top to bottom to make it safe. Nothing living there can harm you or would even want to. Believe me."

That sounded ominous as all hell when put so plainly. But now it was obvious that she was even more curious.

As for Edward, he merely stared at the being, that watched him with equally wide eyes. Harry couldn't begin to understand what was going on between them, and he wondered if ghouls were sentient enough to have a thought process that Edward could actually read.

He'd ask about it later.

"So,thisis what Diagon Alley looks like."

Bella looked around at the various shops lining the street, all of them just slightly tipping over into the center to help block out the light of the sun from above. In the distance, she could see the most twisted looking building of all. Harry had called it Gringotts, which was the magical bank with hundreds of locations all around the world. Further along the street were pet shops with animals resting in the windows or on perches outside. Shops specifically for quidditch supplies and other magical sports paraphernalia. And not too far away, she could see the magical sign for the bookstore Harry had mentioned many times before.

"Is that Flourish and Blotts? Can we please go in there first?" She had so many things that she wanted to research about magic, and a bookstore was definitely the best place to go.

Harry smiled and looked over to Edward to see if he was okay with this line of thought as he was standing very still and staring very widely out at the people in front of him.

It had to be especially hard for him to be in a new place, surrounded by a bunch of people from a community that he still wasn't very familiar with. He could probably hear most of the thoughts of the people around them, and Bella could only imagine what was going on in the minds of all these people. So many things he probably didn't even have the context for, hitting him from every possible angle all at once.

Harry had said that not everyone could guard their minds, nor could everyone afford to pay for the enchantments on the jewelry needed to protect their minds. It was probably hell to deal with after the relaxation he had experienced at The Burrow.

Edward turned and gave Bella a calming smile and said, "I'm all for doing whatever you want to do first. I think I need a minute to acquaint myself with this new place, so don't mind me if I'm a bit quiet for a time."

Of course, that made total sense. Every day she was given a good reason to be glad that she wasn't a mind reader. Or someone who could See the future.

Before they could even actually go to any of the stores though, they had to stop at the bank first because Bella wanted to figure out what the conversions were like between different types of money, and she actually had some money of her own and she wanted to be able to convert it appropriately.

The bank was everything she thought it would be, and then also nothing at all like what she thought it would be. The grand marble work and the absolute detail was astonishing and made her think of old museums. Inside, there were goblins lining the long, abnormally polished wooden tables on the floor, measuring gems of all kinds of sizes and writing things down with quills and parchment.

And the fact that they were doing it so blatantly and out in the open meant that they had to be incredibly sure of themselves and their ability to keep the bank safe. There was even a warning on the double doors as they were going in, and Bella had to wonder just how seriously they took that warning.

Enter stranger, but take heed,
Of what awaits the sin of greed.
For those who take but do not earn,
Must pay most dearly in their turn.
So, if you seek beneath our floors,
A treasure that was never yours.
Thief, you have been warned, beware,
Of finding more than treasure there.

She had to wonder what was lying beneath the floors of Gringotts Bank, and what exactly it was that made them so sure that their defenses were impregnable.

Also, she just felt that it was a bit suspicious to put a race of beings that human magicals had degraded for so long, in charge of their money. She didn't understand why the goblins would agree to be working with the money for the people that tried to enslave them and also remove them from existence later on. Maybe this was some kind of way of getting back at wizards for their terrible behavior centuries ago and she just couldn't see the filling of the plan.

Harry led her and Edward all the way down the long hall, toward the left side, where a surly looking goblin sat behind his side of a very long desk he shared with many others. There were several golden and brass scales weighing all sorts of precious gems and even bars of gold. A pair of half-moon spectacles graced the bridge of his sharply pointed nose, and he looked over them with such severity, that Bella could practicallyfeelhis distaste for Harry.

"We're looking to convert some muggle money into magical money if that's alright with you?" Harry said instead of a greeting.

"Mr.Potter," the goblin said rather unkindly, "it has been a while since you have stepped foot inside the Britain Branch of Gringotts. You come with a vampire and a muggle in tow. Quite the interesting kind of company you keep these days."

He just knew upon first glance what Bella and Edward were.

Awesome.

The goblin reached below his portion of the long desk and withdrew a long sheet of parchment and then slid it across the table alongside an inkwell and a quill, and said, "Fill this out. The expected amount that you intend to have exchanged. Choose the type of money you're using, and the type of money you intend to receive in return, and then you will give your signature as a witness. This will be added to your official account records."

Bella chose to step forward then, because technically,shewas the one who wanted to see how the conversion worked and wanted to convert her own money. It didn't sit right with her for her to have Harry just spending all of his money on them when he had already gone to the trouble of getting them plane tickets to get them all the way over here to begin with.

"Is there a way for me to do it myself, sir? I'm the one that technically wanted to convert my own money into whatever magical people use in transactions. Or is it not possible because I don't have magic myself?" That would suck if it was indeed the case.

The goblin stared her down for a solid minute, and she could feel Edward twitching and wondered what exactly was going through the goblin's head, and wondered if he realized that Edward was perfectly capable of hearing what he was thinking.

Also, she wished he had a name plate or something. Referring to him as just a goblin made her feel bad.

"As you are a muggle, and you are not blood related to a magical individual, as far as the wards are aware, it would mean that you technically do not fall under any present laws about this type of means, and that you would still require a magical person's signature and testimony as a witness to this conversion happening, so that it cannot be claimed that you were coerced into this."

Bella frowned, because in a way that didn't really make sense. "Are you saying that I would still need Harry's signature anyway? Why aren't you a good enough witness to this happening? You're the one overseeing everything already."

And then the goblin sneered a sneer that had to be one of the worst she had ever seen on anybody. "That would be because according to the British Ministry of Magic, Goblins are not considered People and are not allowed to act as sole witnesses to business arrangements."

Immediately, Bella's head snapped around to look at Harry, because she had not been expecting him to just say something likethatand she was mortified. What kind of racist behavior on behalf of the actual government was this that there were the people who were handling all of their money and wouldstillbe treated in such a way? It just sounded incredibly foolish to keep ostracizing an entire community of people within your already small community of people, just because they happened to not be human.

Harry did not look like he was any happier about this than she, and Edward looked to be severely uncomfortable by it. His eyes trailed around the room, stormy and lost in thought.

"Unfortunately, this is something that has persisted for an incredibly long time, and it is something that Hermione does intend to fix. We're still a little too young to be allowed important positions in the government as of right now, but within a decade or two, we will have a lot more power and a lot more political reach to be able to change things. And I have a lot of money to help out with that."

It did relieve her to an extent to know that there was at least a plan of some sort to make sure that something like this did not continue on in the future. Still, the fact that it was the twenty-first century, and this was still something that was happening to this day, did not sit right with her.

Bella huffed and folded her arms. "That's bullsh*t. This shouldn't even be a thing in the first place."

The goblin in question, cracked a sort-of smile and nodded. "This is simply the way things are as of right now. Regardless of who is the one applying for the conversions, Mr. Potter would still have to be the one to sign off and be the witness for both the muggle and the vampire, because of how Magical Britain's laws presently are."

Once that emotionally harrowing situation had finally passed them, Bella got to convert two hundred American dollars into what was considered magical galleons. Because magical currency was split into knuts, sickles, and galleons. Knuts were made of bronze, the sickles were made of silver, and the galleons were made of gold. And the numbers were crazy.

There were so many knuts to a sickle and so many sickles to a galleon, and then so very many knuts to a galleon, that she had to wonder how these people managed to do math quickly when they went out. How was any of this handled?

493 knuts to a galleon.
17 sickles to a galleon.
29 knuts to a sickle.
1 galleon = $6.60 as of today's current conversion rates.

Who was sitting there counting out all of those knuts?! Paying for anything with anything but galleons sounded like a bitch to deal with.

Thankfully, her confusion seemed to make the goblin take pity on her, because he decided to reveal, "Those who have vaults at Gringotts are gifted with the ability to sync their wand to their account. What happens is, when those with accounts here go to pay somewhere, they have the opportunity to place their wand tip against wherever the Gringotts symbol is located, and money will instantly be transferred between accounts A detailed receipt will be sent back with the amount lost in the transaction and will then be recorded in the account's files."

Harry nodded. "I used to have to do that in school, because I didn't have permission to travel out to Hogsmeade Village with everybody else on the weekends, so I would just hoard magical magazines, and then I would just press my wand against all of the things that I wanted so that they would eventually be mailed to me. Also, it made me feel less lame because I was the only student who never had anything coming in the mail for me."

And once again, Bello was back to absolutely hating Harry's non-magical family because of the way they treated him. It seemed like at least once a week she was destined to feel this way.

But back to the convenience of being able to just pay for things instantly, that was almost like credit cards but also, did this mean that the standard magical citizen did not bother to learn what their money was worth? Did they not sit there bothering to learn how much math they would have to do for basic things? It sounded annoying but it was still important.

Did magical people not have things like dollar stores? Or like, a convenience store? Things where everything was supposed to be like a dollar or under, or maybe like under five dollars. Much like a Five Below in fact. Was there actually anything that would be worth less than a sickle in the long run? Who would want to count out a hundred knuts or something?

It was like being in a penny candy store with only a pocketful of only pennies. No thanks.

Once Bella successfully managed to get her own money properly exchanged, Edward decided that he wanted to convert his own. He had an entire bag that Harry had magically extended the insides of, just filled with rolls upon rolls of cash. It was very obvious that the Cullen family was incredibly rich based on all of the fancy cars they had, and all of the nice clothes they wore, and the fact that none of them looked in any way like they knew what poverty would be like, but it was another thing to have it so blatantly obvious.

Edward flawlessly wrote down the number that he had and what he wanted it converted from and then too, and he signed his name and then Harry signed his own name, and then the goblin behind the long desk proceeded to magically count out all of that money right then and there just to be absolutely sure that it was the amount that Edward claimed it was.

It came out to ten thousand dollars. Edward Cullin just randomly dropped $10,000 in cash, to be converted into magical money, so that he could go around buying whatever the hell he wanted in Diagon Alley.

And the funny thing about it was that Harry was not in any way shocked at that. Despite the way he grew up and how he was treated his whole life, Harry actually was very rich now, he was used to having money, so such numbers did not faze him anymore.

Bella wondered at exactly what level of wealth did one have to be at for the numbers to no longer matter. Harry had admitted that his combined wealth made him one of the richest people in the Magical World. Not just because of his father's family or his godfather's family, but also because of so many people who had no heirs of their own, leaving him everything they had as gratitude for defeating the evil dark lord. People were actually leaving a one-year-old everything in their wills, all because they were grateful that he had supposedly saved the world.

So, there was a lot in Harry's name that was technically just given to him out of gratitude. He was actually using a majority of the money for good purposes such as a magical orphanage that was being set up in hopes that magical children would not have to be shipped off to their non-magical family members that they'd never met before should something happen to their parents. And even non-human children potentially suffering something because their non-human parent(s) got screwed over by the law.

It just seemed like Harry and his entire generation of friends and fellows ended up being the group of people that wanted to enact justice. And it just so happened that Harry had the money and the fame necessary to be able to back a lot of those plans up. It would be a lot harder for all of them if Harry was not so famous or not that rich, but because Harry had essentially saved the Magical World from the same tyrant multiple times, people felt indebted to him. They also ended up putting so much of their faith in him when he wasn't even old enough to have the experience necessary to honor that faith in the proper way, that there was no real point in doubting him now.

Like, he was right about not being able to get positions in the government that were, you know, really important off the bat. No matter how famous and how much of a hero he was, it was common sense for grown people to not put literal children in the government. Nor would it be smart to put them in high positions of power in said government when they hadn't proved themselves capable of handling the judicial side of magic. They hadn't even graduated yet!

Just because everyone dealt with the Magical World and their particular community, and all of their experiences within said community, did not mean that every single member of the Magical World had experienced fighting evil people and dueling them down and having to save the world.

Harry could probably be what the magical people called an Auror. Harry had enough experience with defensive magic and offensive magic, and magic that was neither defensiveoroffensive but because he was creative enough, he was able to make them dangerous. In a way, he could totally be the magical equivalent of a cop or an investigator because he had a lot of experience with things like that.

But Harry did not do well in his history class, so he was already behind on the knowledge required to be able to enter such a profession. And unfortunately, there were many other classes that were required before one could even have an entry level job at the British Ministry of Magic, and Harry did not take those classes at Hogwarts because he did not think that they would be interesting. This was why Hermione, who did take every single class offered, was the best option for this kind of thing.

Each and every person knew their part and knew how to play it well.

It was impressive, but she just wished time could go by a little faster so things could be fixed sooner rather than later.

When they finally left the bank, Bella could already feel that her head, which was filled with so much new information, was going to need an entire day of rest just to be able to process everything that had happened today. And they hadn't even gotten started. They still had a bookstore to go to, and then she had the ice cream place with all of the hundreds of different ice cream flavors she wanted to sample, and then she even wanted to go and check out the clothes. Yes, Bella Swan wanted to look at magical clothes and she wanted to ask questions about how they were made and what was done to them to preserve them.

She was very excited, but she could also feel a headache coming on.

She'd probably end up napping the moment they got bakc to Grimmauld Place.

It was obvious that Bella was trying very hard not to let her excitement be too much but neither Harry nor Edward minded all that much. It was nice to see her excited about something, especially if it was something she had only recently become aware of. Harry had recently learned of things called reaction channels on the YouTube, and how famous they were, and how people liked to watch other people react to the things that they liked.

And Harry could say that he understood very well why all of those people would do that and dedicate so much of their time watching complete strangers reacting to things of all sorts. He wanted to show Bella and Edward around his first ever home and teach them about magic as he had experienced it and as he knew it, and it made things feel all the more surreal.

So yes, they immediately headed to Flourish and Blotts first because Bella probably wanted to buy the entire shop and who was Harry to deny her?

The moment they stepped in, she gasped very audibly and proceeded to head directly to the left toward where all the books about the government of Magical Britain were. He wouldn't say that he wasn't surprised but considering that the next aisle over had to do with Potions and she had been just as interested in them as she was in magical law, it was a close enough thing.

Bella started flicking through the first book she grabbed, which had to do with the founding of the Ministry of Magic way back in the seventeenth or eighteenth century. Actually... it had been a while since he'd attended Hogwarts, and he might not have committed that particular bit of information to memory during History of Magic.OrProfessor Binns might not have ever actually gotten to teach them anything about that because he was so obsessed with the goblin wars. There were a lot of thing students didn't know about history because it was always limited to European history, and always boiled down to goblin conflicts.

In fact, anybody but Hermione knowing anything about the history of their community wasn't really surprising. He would like to think that in general it just wasn't his fault that his schoolteacher was not good at his job. So, if Harry got basic history facts wrong, it was Binns who deserved the blame.

In fact, he was going to raise his concerns to McGonagall once again about kicking Binns out and exorcising him at the very least because he was being very annoying.OrHarry could just take the initiative and force Binns to move on himself. It wasn't as if he didn't have the power to do it and, no offense intended, but he honestly did not care about Professor Binns. Not one bit of emotional attachment to him. He had no f*cks to give as the Americans would say.

When he looked around, Harry could see that Edward had managed to gravitate toward the section about household magic. The kind of spells Mrs. Weasley may have been using when they had visited for example. There were so many household spells to make life easier that he was certain she probably had a dozen or so going at the same time.

As Bella was going around grabbing books, Harry was following behind her, grabbing copies to add to the magically floating basket at his side. He probably wouldn't have to do the same for Edward since Edward had perfect recall and could read much faster than they could. In fact, Edward was already halfway through a book that hejustgrabbed. The chances of him asking for the book would be incredibly low, though Harry had no problem with buying it for him if he really wanted it.

The thing was, Harry didn't really have to offer to buy Edward anything because Edward had decided to bring like ten thousand US dollars with him to use on his own desires. He was pretty sure that Edward had been given a mission to acquire certain bits of information for Carlisle's personal library. If he ever got anything, it probably wouldn't be for himself personally unless it was something like music.

While Edward and Bella were busy, Harry took a moment to go over to the Potions section and acquire a few new books for himself to practice with. He'd recently taken up improving his potions skills, and he knew that Bella really liked watching him brew potions, so he decided that it wouldn't hurt to learn a few more things in regard to Potions.

If only Snape was around to see him now. The man would probably have a fit if he knewtheHarry Potter was actually taking Potions seriously for once, and that he was actually doing really well in it. If he ignored the whole year where he was using Snape's personal notebook and potentially crushing on the Half-Blood Prince - he couldn't even confirm nor deny that bit, and he didn't really want to either(theremayhave been emotions of a sort back in his Sixth Year)- then him improving through his own efforts would have the man spitting like a kettle no doubt.

It was still funny to think about in a way. Hermione never let him live the facts down though.

Eventually, after an hour of standing around, Bella had gotten hungry and decided that she absolutely had to eat and then have ice cream right afterward. Edward had managed to clear out several shelves of books and filled the bag that Harry had charmed for him. As much as he could with a low-powered Undetectable Extension Charm though. It was not an infinite one like the kind that Hermione often tended to use. It was more of a simple kind of enchantment, because Harry wasn't that good at such charms and did not want to risk ruining the bag by accidentally overpowering the spell.

Being the Master of Death was still a bit new to him and the access to so much power was still a bit overwhelming.

So, they paid for all of their books, and Harry decided to let Bella choose the place they would go to for lunch. He was not surprised that she had wanted to choose The Leaky Cauldron. Something about the atmosphere being the most magical when they'd passed through earlier.

Besides, there would be other days to try out other places in Diagon Alley.

There was a wizard in the one corner of The Leaky Cauldron, who, according to Edward, was reading a book by Stephen King who was a muggle writer. The next thing that tickled Bella was how the dining floor of the inn was basically cleaning itself. Seeing witches and Wizards magically stirring their coffee, seeing tables and chairs moving aside on their own and doing different things without prompting, and even seeing the entire bar area just filled with different glasses and bottles of alcohol all moving by themselves to pour drinks for people.

There was just something incredibly magical and sort ofhomeyabout The Leaky Cauldron.

Once they were done there, in which Bella had eaten Dragon Bites - which hadnotbeen made of dragons at all, they were just pieces of chicken shaped like Dragons - they decided to head to Florean Fortescue's for his millions of ice cream flavours. Harry had requested what was considered a sample platter for taste-testing. Bella was given a very large silver platter full of small cups, each filled with a mini scoop of a different kind of ice cream.

It cost ten galleons.

Now, prior to leaving for his Third Year at Hogwarts, Harry had spent the remainder of his summer holiday in Diagon Alley. That had been the perfect opportunity for him to test out all of the ice cream flavours without anybody breathing down his neck about how much money he was wasting. And he may have spent a day or two eating only ice cream and nothing else, and nobody could tell him not to. It had been a wonderful time, and he got to learn very quickly which kinds of ice cream he liked and which kinds he did not.

Like, Harry wouldn't exactly say that lychee-flavored ice cream was bad, but it wasn't exactly something that he would gravitate toward ever again. He, in fact, preferred the jujube ice cream way more.

Also, there were actual ice creams that were made with hot peppers, and despite being freezing cold, they burned the tongue. The burn could not be alleviated by the cold of the ice cream or the fat level of the milk it was made with. The hottest ice cream on Fortescue's menu had to do with something called Dragon's Breath hot peppers, and the only way to quell the burning of the Dragon's Breath hot pepper ice cream, was to actually eat Blood Pops made of Dragon's Blood. And the Blood Pops were provided with each purchase of said ice cream just to make sure that nobody was unnecessarily harming themselves.

Florean Fortescue had done many things, but he could probably say that he and his business had never sent anybody to Saint Mungo's before.

Also, much like with Ogden's Finest Firewhiskey, Dragon's Breath ice cream actually made you spit out a little ball of fire with each bite. It made it a little bit more interesting that way.

Thankfully, for today, none of the ice creams on the platter that Bella had been served were Dragon's Breath. That could be another surprise waiting for her on another day that they decided to come out to Diagon Alley, and boy, was he very excited forthat.

To make things more interesting, there was also a challenge posted up on the board behind the ice cream bar.

Basically, someone would have to eat thirty-nine servings of Dragon's Breath ice cream and in turn they would win a hundred galleons. A single serving of ice cream was two scoops, and it cost one sickle. To take part in the challenge, you would not be charged for any of the ice cream you ate until you managed to win. You would only have to pay for the ice cream if you lost, and the person who set the record presently was actually Ron.

Ron had gone in and eaten thirty-eight servings of Dragon's Breath ice cream without having a single Blood Pop. As such, in order to beat him the next person would have to eat thirty-nine servings without a Blood Pop. They all had to be consecutively eaten and no breaks could be taken in between. Sometimes, Harry wanted to take up the challenge just to see if he could do it, but then he would remember that his stomach was not that big, and he knew that he probably wouldn't make it through five servings.

His flesh was weak.

When Bella was finally incapable of eating any more ice cream, Harry finished off all the ones that he liked personally and then they set off again to explore. It was only just past lunchtime, and they had an entire day ahead of them, so there was no reason to drag their feet. Bella was so stuffed though, that Edward was actually giving her a piggyback ride.

And she had been so full that she didn't even argue with him when he made the offer. She was simply too adorable for words.

So, after Gringotts, Flourish and Blotts, The Leaky Cauldron, and Florean Fortescue's, they finally came to a place known as Twilfitt and Tattings. Harry would have gladly taken them to Madame Malkin's but she was closed for the day so they unfortunately couldn't go in there.

Now, he had been in this particular shop before, but he never had been particularly interested in what they considered to be top of the line fashion for magical humanoids.

However, maybe it was just better for Bella to get this kind of experience under her belt since the people who worked at such a high-end place, would have better answers for her than Harry could ever manage to.

Edward Cullen looked around, and wondered what exactly his life had come to, in just the past few weeks alone, that he found himself seated in the first drawing room of a London townhouse alongside his girlfriend and his boyfriend. So much had changed in so little time, and he found himself marveling over the fact that his world had expanded so much so quickly.

In his hands, was a book about the convenience of household charms, and how they could double as deadly weapons. Spells that summoned bubbles and soap to clean with could be used to choke somebody to death or poison them. Spells that were meant to help trim hair or things like fabric, could be used to behead a person if powered enough. All of these things were listed in a sort of matter-of-fact tone. And there was a mildly unnerving reality behind the knowledge that at some point in time, someone had thought to use these simple and helpful spells for nefarious purposes.

He was sitting in a magical house filled with giant portraits of people who all moved around and had things to say whether you invited their opinion or not. There was a little creature called a House Elf, who looked after the maintenance of the entire house all by himself. And Kreacher the House Elf did not like it when Bella or Edward offered to help clean or put things away. He wanted to do that all by himself, and he did not want people getting in the way of that.

Harry had long since explained what the deal was behind that, and how Kreacher had been in this house his entire life and it was all he had despite how he had formed relationships with other creatures like him at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Kreacher didn't feel comfortable anywhere but in the House of his former Masters. In particular, the last two he genuinely looked up to were actually nice to him. As he and Harry were all that were left of that family, in a sense, he just didn't feel like it was right to abandon the house, and therefore he chose to stay.

It all sounded incredibly depressing, and Edward didn't like to dwell on it too much.

The townhouse had two libraries, and the second one was much more difficult to reach than the first one. Only those of a relation to the family in question, could actually enter that particular room, but it did not mean that Harry could not take any of the books out of there and bring them to Edward. Harry could only give Edwardsomeof the books because a majority of them were cursed to not be handled by people who weren't a member of the House of Black. Not even by marriage would it be allowed.

There was a very specific reason why Harry had not given any of those books to Bella, because prior to coming into Harry's ownership, the House had been built specifically to be against non-magical people.

Just as short as five years ago, this house probably would have tried to kill Bella had she stepped foot inside. Harry had employed the efforts of his friend Bill Weasley, to thoroughly dismantle all of the curses and hexes and jinxes that covered every scale inch of the building, to make it less of a house and more of a home. Edward could not believe that a family had chosen to raise their children in such a house for generations. It had been incredibly unsafe to reside in for humans.

Bella was sleeping on one of the many sofas in the room. Harry was seated in an armchair off to the side in front of the fireplace which had been lit for hours. Edward was going back and forth between three different books and combating his desire to play the grand piano over not wanting to wake Bella up.

He wondered if Alice was getting Visions of their experiences. He wondered what his family would think if they were in his shoes and were experiencing all of the things that he had. It had only been four days and already he had seen and learned and heard of so many things. Even about his own past that he'd long since forgotten.

Being able to read the mind of another non-human being, who wasn't a shapeshifter or fellow vampire was a novel experience.

The goblins at Gringotts Bank had very specific ways of thinking. He had been rather offended on Harry's behalf, by how frank they had been, but after hearing the thoughts of the goblin - his name and title was Uhgrohk the Usurious - doing their exchanges, he had to come to understand what life was like for them and how they had come to be so brusque and opinionated.

The goblin in question had been absolutely shocked because Bella had considered him a person and had referred to him as Sir, and expressed a very obvious level of disgust over how the goblins were treated. The way she had comported herself in that moment had earned her a decent amount of respect from the goblin in question, and the surrounding goblins who all had an ear out because there was a non-magical person in the building, and they were curious enough to eavesdrop. They had all been influenced as well.

Not enough to where they would ever probably speak up on her behalf or personally do much to help her if there was no benefit to them, but it was just nice for them to know that there was another human who wasn't a total piece of garbage.

The goblins did not have a very favorable opinion of Harry, and Edward couldn't really fault them because apparently Harry had robbed the bank. It was all to save the world from an evil overlord who wanted to control everything and possibly get rid of the entire goblin race as a whole considering his beliefs about races other than humans in general, but it would have been possible for them to have come to a different kind of agreement. Edward couldn't really say that he didn't understand why they were very angry that Harry had broken in and stolen something.

And yes, while they were still angry, they did do business with him because he was incredibly wealthy, and he had paid back the debt for breaking into the bank. So, he settled his debts, and he maintained a level of respect for the Goblin Nation and his usual level of kindness toward non-humans, so it was mostly just ego and wounded pride that kept them bitter about what he did.

Unfortunately, Harry Potter and all the people he chose to keep in his life, ended up being of the decent stock of humans, so to an extent, there was really no point in being extra bitter and angry all the time against people who held no personal vendetta against them. There were actual people, currently in positions of power in their government, that wanted to do away with the Goblin Nation as a whole. They could remain annoyed by the presence of Harry Potter and his cohorts, but there were actual people out there that were problems that needed to be faced down.

It was such a novel experience. Edward had been capable of reading minds ever since he woke up in this new existence, and he had been at the forefront of a lot of things going on in the US. He'd been exposed to every kind of mind possible in the past century, and he knew a lot of things about a lot of things he wished he didn't have to.

It was impossible to exist as a mind reader during the Civil Rights Movement, and not come away with an in depth understanding of how messed up injustice and intolerance was.

There was just something particularly disheartening about how living, breathing beings who had perfect sentience and full consciousness, were still treated as if they weren't considered people because they weren't human. And Edward had to agree with Bella that it was utter sh*t.

It seemed that even in a fantastical universe such as the worldwide magical community, people were still people and intolerance was still intolerance.

Sometimes, Edward wondered if it was just impossible for people tonotbe horrible. Was it ever going to be possible that a day in the future would come where people would not be judgmental or intolerant of those different from them? Sometimes, when he looked around, and he truly considered all of the thoughts and opinions of the people that he was forced to be exposed to, Edward found himself falling into a hole of doom, consistently expecting for things to be bad and to never improve.

And he would love to say that he could give humanity the benefit of the doubt, but the fact of the matter was it now wasn'tjusthumans that could think and act for themselves. A living being was not considered a person if they weren't human, but Edward was considered a person despite not being alive. He simply looked human, so did he pass the test or not?

Edward still considered himself to be a person even though he was no longer human. And the people on the reservation down at La Push were still people even though they could turn into superpowered animals occasionally.

Every single race out there had those specific groups that were just terrible. And it seemed like it was going to be impossible to ever be able to coexist peacefully.

With a quiet sigh, so that he didn't wake Bella up or announce to Harry the fact that he was deeply unhappy at the moment, he decided to focus his attention on his books. This was supposed to be a summer vacation of sorts. To learn new things and have new experiences and get to know Harry and where he came from and all of the things that he had learned that helped make him who he was. Spending the entire vacation being depressed about the sad reality of the world, would do him no favors.

After another hour of sitting in silence, Harry finally closed the book he was reading and stood, stretching one way and then the other, making his back pop several times in the process. "I'm going to go start on dinner before Kreacher has the chance to do it first. I remembered that Bella mentioned something about wanting to eat ravioli so I'm going to take the time now to begin preparations. I should be able to have things mostly finished by the time she wakes up."

There was something so inherently romantic about Harry. The fact was he just listened to people. What they said and what they did and what they didn't even say too. He committed everything that he took into his memory because he considered all of it to be something important. Bella had made the comment about ravioli a week before they had even left America. Yet not only had Harry remembered, but he had actually made certain that he had everything he would need on hand so that he could make them by hand. It was little things like that that proved the sincerity of Harry's actions.

It reminded Edward a lot of how Carlisle and Esme didn't necessarily need to say a lot of things out loud to simply understand each other. After being together this long, Carlisle still found ways to surprise his wife and Esme always knew what she had to say or do in order to make him smile.

Edward had used to watch his parents and the way they behaved with a sort of envy. Because he got a front row seat to their thoughts and their feelings about each other, he could understand in theory what it was like to be in love. The problem was that he had never been in love in practice, and he didn't really know what it was like to be in love with somebody, nor was he familiar with the desire to make them happy whether that resulted in a benefit for you or not.

And while he couldn't directly say it was romantic love that he was feeling right now, thanks to his lack of any experience in the area, there was something about being with Bella and Harry at the same time that made him feel lighter. When they were happy, so was Edward. It made him feel less selfish in a way, to want to put their needs and happiness above his own.

And it was especially touching because despite all of his efforts to keep them happy and thriving, it wasn't as if they let him do it alone. This was very much the kind of relationship where all three of them were definitely involved and it wasn't just one person making sacrifices for the other. Harry or Bella would ever allow something like that to happen, and it was very clear that they were a lot better at this kind of thing than Edward was.

The proof was literally in how despite his best efforts, at the beginning of this whole interaction between them, Harry had felt left out. It was proof that Edward was not the best at this kind of thing, and that he had much to learn and to improve upon. Neither of them decided to hold it against him, which was very nice of them, otherwise embarrassment would dog his steps for decades as a result.

Edward looked over and watched as the shadows of the flames in the fireplace made little shapes on the paleness of Bella's turned cheek. Based upon the sound of her heart and the steadiness of her breath, this had to be one of the most peaceful sleeps that he had heard her have since meeting her. It was nice to know that she felt so relaxed in their company that she could just be herself and allow herself to wind down, and trusted that they would keep her safe and that everything would be okay.

There was just something incredibly touching about it. Maybe Edward was just being overly emotional since this was his first time ever experiencing these kinds of things, but it felt important. It felt like something worth taking note of and worth remembering.

Edward had been someone that people relied on for almost a century. Upon understanding that he was exposed to the thoughts of everyone around him, he became something like a sentinel for his family, warning them of what was to come if Alice somehow didn't have a Vision about it first.

His family trusted him to keep watch and to help keep their unit safe, but it was very different between familial connections and romantic ones. In romance it was more or a two-way street, and it was a very sacred and delicate thing. Edward was sort of like a bodyguard for his family, but when it came to Harry and Bella, there was a lot more to the trust between them than that.

It meant that this was something that he shouldn't take for granted and, because of his status, he couldn't afford to make any mistakes. At home, there were half a dozen other vampires there to make up for his failures, but in a romantic partnership, things were more fragile. And, as he was technically the top of the food chain among their little triumvirate, he needed to be even more careful compared to the other two.

If Alice had told him mere months ago that his life would be taking such a drastic turn for the better, he would have struggled to believe her even with her ability to See the future. Now though, he was incredibly grateful for how things seemed to be turning out. He hoped that things could continue on as they were and that things could stay this nice for as long as possible.

Perhaps, after so long, Edward was finally meant to be happy.

~.O.~

A/N: Another is done!

How was it? Let me know!

Check out mymany other fics!

See ya! :D

CHECK ME OUT ON TUMBLR.HELLY-WATERMELONSMELLINFELLON.

Chapter 19

Chapter Text

A/N: Hello, people!

I don't own Harry Potter or Twilight.

I have no beta.

ENJOY!

CHECK ME OUT ON TUMBLR.HELLY-WATERMELONSMELLINFELLON.

~.O.~

"So, you're telling me that you somehow got permission from your old schoolteacher to bring your boyfriend and your girlfriend to your magical school, despite the fact that they are not magical people themselves? And that we are going to spend the next few days exploring an ancient castle in the highlands of Scotland?"

"Yeah. Being a herodoeshave its perks now and then I will admit. Things like hero worship are completely useless to someone like me, but it can be good now and then when I want to skirt the rules a little bit or get away with something typically not done."

"Howare we going to get there?"

"We Floo, of course."

Bella was easily able to determine that she did not like flying, Flooing, Apparition or the Knight Bus. So far, every kind of magical transportation was horrible, and she wanted nothing to do with any of them. And as usual, Edward seemed perfectly fine. Being a vampire was such an unfair advantage in the most meaningless ways.

Harry told them that they were going to a place called Hogsmeade Village first, so that Bella could get a better understanding of a smaller magical village. Diagon Alley was like a cultural hub in a sense, and it was considered far more modern despite the outward presentation, than Hogsmeade Village was. He wanted her to get a feel for how old things were like in small towns on the magical side.

"We have joke shops and little cafes that students from Hogwarts like to have dates in. Everyone loves the Hog's Head, simply because they like to bother Aberforth, who is the bartender and owner. Oh! And there is a small radio station that's been set up recently. A muggleborn figured out how to use the wireless radio with magic and Britain has finally gotten with the program after decades. We can even have live radio now and there's a tower nearby."

Never would Bella have thought that radio would seem like a new concept at any point in her life, but she had to remember that these people avoided the modern day like the plague. Every little advancement was like some kind of personal victory. She had to wonder if they would ever master televisions, and eventually cell phones.

Or perhaps they'd finally be original and come up with things that could do the same exact thing as televisions and cell phones without ripping off the idea of a completely different person and passing it off as their own.

Still, at least at least it seemed like these advancements in magical technology were being well received by the populace. It could have been a lot worse.

Harry dragged them to Zonko's Joke Shop, and Bella was able to compare what she'd seen of the Weasley Twins' business, to this one. The one that had supposedly inspired them. It was very easy to say that whatever inspiration this brand had once upon a time had finally dried up. She had a feeling that the business was open due to nostalgia and being closer to the kids, not necessarily because the products were good or innovative anymore.

In fact, she wouldn't be surprised if the Weasleys ended up buying out the shop and just combining the two businesses anyway. It would at least be better than the brand falling into obscurity and the business closing down completely.

"Fred and George are considering opening a location down here, but it would also be a lot more effort than necessary when there's already a competitor in the area. I don't know why they can't just partner up and have Zonko's sell Weasley products. Both benefit in the end," Harry murmured.

Edward looked off toward the business in question, golden eyes narrowed. "Judging by their reaction to your presence in Hogsmeade, I can confidently tell you that they do not like having competition, because you're a close friend of the twins and you are the financial backer that got them started. They are not too pleased with you. Or your friends."

"So, at the end of the day, it's just injured pride. Bloody ridiculous."

Bella wasn't exactly feeling like going to Zonko's now. While she couldn't claim to know Fred and George from the womb or anything, she had found them to be very agreeable company. And the unique kind of pranks they pulled had gotten a laugh or two when they visited The Burrow. Sure, she could understand that it would suck to finally have competition in something that only you had a hand in in your small community, but one would think that would push them to improve and put out new products to stay ahead of the competition.

Apparently, owning the monopoly on a certain area of the market was just so much more important than anything else.

Whatever.

"What is that garishly pink place?" she asked the moment her eyes landed on the shop in question.

Harry's face twisted up, and then it went red. "Madam Puddifoot's Tea Shop. It's the haunt of happy couples. It's all pinks and hearts inside with lace and perfumes."

So, a place that a Barbie would feel right at home in.

"It's where the worst date of my life took place. Not only did it look like the office of the teacher who was actively torturing me in school at the time, but my date would not stop talking about her dead boyfriend and making herself cry about it. And then she threw a tantrum because I mentioned a friend of mine who happens to be female as well. And she stormed out in a huff much to the shock of the entire shop."

So what Bella was getting was that Harry had gone on a date, quite reluctantly, to this specific tea shop and was traumatized by the design because of current traumas a schoolteacher was inflicting upon him. And while trying to deal with that, his date was too emotional and worked up over her ex to really be a proper date. But then still had the gall to be offended when Harry mentioned Hermione.

And Bella knew that it was Hermione that Harry would talk about because she was his only real female companion for several years.

She knew that they were teenagers and teens have a whole range of emotions that they're trying to understand, but sometimes, Bella really could not tolerate other teenagers. She had unfair expectations of how people should behave based on how she herself behaved. And while she realized that she was being unfair, it was hard to not think this way and not be the way she was.

"We'll shop around, stop for some lunch, and then from there, we'll take a carriage up to the castle. You both might find it… interesting," Harry said as they walked. He looked especially giddy.

"What's that building in the distance?" Edward asked, gesturing to a rickety looking house on a hill afar off. It looked as if a stray bit of wind would knock it over.

"The Shrieking Shack. Literally, Hogwarts students try to claim that it's the most haunted building in Britain, but it's not haunted at all. And Hogwarts literally has hundreds of ghosts and a poltergeist lurking about, ready to cause mischief. The ghosts even throw Death Day parties to celebrate being dead."

His words got the desired reaction from both Bella and Edward.

Ghosts celebrated being dead… Did something like, get lost in translation after death? Were ghosts the full soul of a person or just what was left behind?

Did ghosts fear anything at all? Was there anything to even fear if you're dead-dead in the traditional way, and not in the vampire-like-Edward way where their hearts just stop but they keep on going?

"Oh! We have to stop at Honeydukes before leaving because I want to get an assortment of sour sugar quills."

"Are they actual quills or just candy made to look like quills?" Edward asked curiously.

"They have a small metal bit with a nib inside that holds actual ink that can be used, but the rest is just hard candy. They only recently came out with the sour versions and only Honeydukes sells them. We can get you and your family some Blood Pops too. Honeydukes has a huge variety of those despite not being popular with most humans."

The excitement on Edward's face made Bella smile. It had to be nice to discover a new kind of food you can eat that is ethically sourced and won't harm your morals. She had no doubt that he was going to buy the place out.

As for exploration... Hogsmeade certainly had a lot to offer.

Edward stared in shock at the ghosts that just floated past them… because they had minds that he could read.

A ghost was not a physical being. He had read the books that Harry had lent him, and he knew that they were more like after images of a person's soul that were left behind. However, Edward being able to still read the minds of ghosts implied that the mind was more of a spiritual thing and not a physical thing. And while it sounded kind of obvious now that he actually thought about it, especially after what happened to James, he had never read the mind of a non-corporeal being before.

Up until recently, he hadn't even been aware that such beings existed. But no, there was a ghost conversing with another ghost in the grand entrance hall of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, and he could hear not only what both were thinking but could also see through the eyes of both ghosts to perceive the world the way they did.

From a ghost's point of view, the world was very black and white. Quite literally, it felt like all of the color had been leached from the environment and living beings tended to glow with an extra sort of energy. A minty green kind of color to be specific. Bella had the green light around her person from their perspective, and Edward had a more sickly, yellow-tinted kind of green light that was barely there at all.

But Harry…

When the ghosts looked at Harry, they got very nervous. As with everything else, Harry's form was in black and white. Or maybe a better example would be to say that ghosts viewed the world in a negative space. Harry's form was composed of shades of grays and whites, save for his hair, but what set him apart from Bella and Edward… was the darkness.

There appeared to be a constantly pulsating dark aura around Harry at all times. It reminded Edward of the fire that Harry had used to destroy the vampire, James.

When the ghosts looked at Harry's former teacher, she too had a minty green aura around her, like Bella did. It was obvious through the few examples that he had been given, that Harry was the outlier here. That this darkness around him was not normal, and it was enough to scare those who had been long dead and could not die again.

It wasn't hard to put the pieces together. Harry had died, and Harry had become immortal. Harry also had a modicum of control over the concept of death, as well as the Being known as Death. Edward was quite certain that this darkness that surrounded Harry's form from the perspective of the dead, had to do with him being the Master of Death.

Perhaps because of his otherworldly powers, Harry was capable of doing some kind of harm to the deadandundead. It would explain why despite them greeting him with nervous smiles, they were internally begging him to move on and leave them alone.

At that moment, Edward was pretty certain that he shouldn't say anything about what the ghosts were really thinking. He didn't want to be the person that ruined this event for Harry.

"You don't have to be so down," Harry said suddenly, patting Edward's forearm. "I know the ghosts are scared of me. It's fine. I have the ability to exorcise them, and they don't want that. Nick is still fine with me being around though, so I'll introduce you to him later."

He then smiled, and leaned up on his tiptoes so he could place a kiss on Edward's cold cheek. "It's sweet of you to be so considerate of my feelings."

Bella was snickering beside them, and Edward sent her a half-hearted glare. He was just trying to be nice; he wasn't doing it for praise.

"Come on! I want to show you the Gryffindor Common Room!" And then he led them to 'the grand staircase' which was certainly grand, no doubt about it.

It took only a few minutes before Bella tapped Edward's shoulder and asked, "Could you please carry me? I don't want to walk up all these stairs."

Slinging her into his back was easy, and Harry's amused snort was met with a light kick from Bella's foot.

"I guess this is for the best," Harry relented. "There are over one hundred and forty staircases in Hogwarts and a majority of them change orientation."

And right before their eyes, the mass of staircases that stretched onward, up and up and up into the school, were moving. It was like watching Jasper doing cards tricks as they passed back and forth all the way up, becoming distracting and making it hard to focus on just one.

"Yeah, quick question. Has anybody ever fallen off the staircases when they suddenly moved? Because this seems like the school is trying to kill you," Bella murmured. Her heart thudded madly against Edward's back, letting him know how nervous she actually had become. "And I know the building is supposedly sentient, and it cares about the students or whatever, but that is not safe, and I wouldn't trust a damn thing in this place if I was alone."

Harry hummed for a moment, before turning andwalking right off the landing they'd just made it to! The staircase they'd formerly been on had moved away and there was nothing there to stop his descent!

Slowly, Harry began to float back up, hands in his pockets and looking totally unfazed. "So, there's nothing set up to protect people from falling to their deaths," he noted. "I can't believe the school has been around for a thousand years and no one thought that was a problem. I'll tell McGonagall about it," he promised.

Bella clutched a hand on her chest. "You are going to give me a heart attack and gray hairs before I'm even twenty! I'm gonna be an old hag too soon."

Harry flushed and leaned over to kiss her cheek. "I'm sorry for worrying you so much. Thanks for caring."

The fact that he always felt the need to thank them for being concerned about him… Edward wished things could have been better for Harry growing up.

"The Common Room is at the top of Gryffindor Tower, so we have a long way to go!"

It was indeed a very long trek of the many winding staircases. Every now and then they would pass a suit of armor and it would wave in greeting but had no mind with which to prove sentience. All of the portraits were capable of moving and speaking, but none of them possessed minds for Edward to read.

From what he had read in the books so far, portraits were impressions of magical people painted by other magical people with very special paint. The very essence of the person was captured at that moment in time, and they retained some of the Magic of the person so that they would have memories of the person up until the portrait's creation.

It was fascinating how there was technically a remnant of a person in both a ghost and a portrait, but only ghosts somehow had minds that Edward was able to read and eyes that he was able to see through from their own perspective. But he could not get a read on magical portraits. And to think, before meeting Harry, he never would have had cause to think in such a way.

When they finally reached the Seventh Floor, Harry gladly introduced them to 'The Fat Lady'. The portrait of a woman who seemed to be from around the mid-sixteen hundreds… She was obviously of high nobility judging by just how decorated she was.

"This is Jocasta, though she doesn't mind not being called by name. She's been guarding Gryffindor's Common Room for centuries."

The woman in the painting wore an old, pink gown with a rigidly shaped bodice. The voluminous sleeves flared out, and the various layers of the skirts made her look much larger than she probably had been. In her hand was a goblet of wine, and on her face was an exasperated expression. "Didn't you refuse to finish school here, Mr. Potter?" the woman asked.

"I did. But I moved away to finish schooling elsewhere and I came back for the summer because I wanted to show my partners around Hogwarts."

"Hm… Greetings to you both. I am the Fat Lady, or Jocasta if the title truly bothers you."

"I'm Bella Swan."

"And I am Edward Cullen. It's nice to meet you, madam."

Jocasta sent Harry a faux stern look and said, "They're more well-behaved than you are, Mr. Potter."

Harry flushed. "I wasn't that bad!"

Her blank stare had him blushing even more. "Okay, I was pretty unruly now and then, but I wasn't malicious about it! That's got to count for something!"

"Hm… Since it is the summer holiday, I suppose no password is needed. You may go in, however be aware that I am going to visit my friend Violet's portrait, so if you leave and want to get back in, you'll have to wait."

"Thanks for the warning."

The portrait then swung outward, revealing a gaping tunnel that appeared to lead into a large, circular room covered in various reds and golds. It reminded Edward of the decorations in Harry's house in Forks. Obviously, you could take the boy out of Gryffindor, but you couldn't take Gryffindor out of the boy.

It was easy to tell by the design of the wood and the upholstery of the furniture that everything came from the same time period, but not one piece of furniture actually matched each other. It seemed more like the designer was going for matching the colors rather than making a cohesive setup. Yet despite the mishmash of things, it all still came together in a very homey sort of way.

Like a house that was very much lived in and appreciated.

Hary threw himself down on the sofa in front of the fireplace. "The Common Room was one of my favorite places to be when things weren't going to hell."

"How many people would typically be in a Hogwarts House per year?" Bella asked as she inspected the trophies and awards on the mantle.

"About two hundred and fifty give or take a dozen here and there. That leaves a bit more than thirty students per year in each House. It's not as big as you'd think because sometimes there are more boys than girls so they might have to have multiple dorm rooms for the students of each year. Mine only had like six or seven for the longest time."

Boarding school sounded like it would be insane. Edward was so glad he would never have to attend one of those in the states.

Harry was still talking about the students and their housing situations. "All the Houses do something different too. I know Slytherins share dorms until Fifth Year and then each person gets an assigned room of their own. And that's because a lot of people don't stay around after O.W.L.s. They just want to make sure they can legally use their wands outside of school once they're of age. If they don't get their O.W.L.s their wands will be confiscated until they do, or snapped if they commit an egregious enough crime."

As if they couldn't just go somewhere and buy a new wand…

It seemed like a glaring oversight, in Edward's opinion. Because even if Ollivander's in Diagon Alley was not legally allowed to sell an underage person without the proper grades, another wand, that did not mean that there weren't other wand crafters in the world.

"To think that I wouldn't have been able to see any of this had you not held my hand through the barrier," Bella grumbled, hands on her hips. "Though I did see the Thestrals and… they were kind of cute, not gonna lie. I'd have one as a pet if I didn't think they should be with their families first."

Ah. Those. Edward had found them severely unnerving. They were mild-mannered and calm of course, but the dark leathery skin they had, coupled with the foggy white of their eyes, was something he wasn't used to seeing.

That didn't mean Edward agreed with people treating them as bad omens simply because of how they looked. It wasn't their fault that people had to witness the death of someone, and comprehend what it meant, before being able to see them.

Magical creatures that could only be seen if you personally had experienced a certain event in life, was a fascinating concept.

For example, unicorns supposedly only liked virgins, according to the books. But Harry had challenged that by saying unicorns loved him despite himnotbeing a virgin. In more traditional books, it was actually described as 'innocence of soul' and it was only taken to mean virginity by overly religious people around the early eighteen hundreds.

But it still meant that people had to do something or live up to some kind of standard before they could interact with unicorns.

Edward wondered if a unicorn would flee from him since he was the ultimate predator and animals tended to fear his kind. Or maybe they'd sense that he meant them no harm.

Like, sure, he tended to hunt animals to avoid harming humans, but the idea of hunting a unicorn didn't even cross his mind. They seemed far too special to endanger.

"Bella, I think you and Hagrid would get on well. He loves creatures and beasts and anything that tends to be overlooked by humans or discriminated against. We can visit him around lunch tomorrow since he lives in that big hut on the grounds."

"He's the half-giant, right? Does being half come with any perks?"

Harry hummed as he considered it. "Guess the best way to describe it is that Hagrid is two men high and four men wide. He is extremely magic resistant and is very safe against many types of beasts and creatures simply because he's strong enough to hold them back from either hurting him or someone else."

That had to be incredibly useful.

"If someone was to try and send a stunner at Hagrid, it would bounce off him. A lot of Transfiguration would not work on him at all because he isn't a full human and human-to-animal/object Transfiguration is difficult enough as it is. Many Charms would not work. Lesser curses and hexes wouldn't affect him at all. Technically, the things that pose the most danger to somebody like Hagrid would be the kinds of spells that require astronomical levels of skill, precision, and power."

Edward wondered if there were any spells that wouldn't work on his type of vampire.

Of the four types of vampires that Harry's people had recorded the existence of, Edward's type was the most dangerous. However, Harry had proved that he could use magic on vampires like him, so Edward had to wonder if, by technicality, a wizard was actually higher on the food chain than a vampire by way of capability.

After all, Harry was able to set fire to somebody without even having to speak. And he just demonstrated the ability of unsupported flight half an hour ago. He could literally steal souls!

Or perhaps Harry was able to affect a vampire in the way he did,becausehe was the Master of Death. His circ*mstances were particularly unique, so Edward had to wonder if other wizards were capable of doing the same thing. Could anyone else summon the black fire with ease without even having to speak it into existence? Would Edward burn to ash if such a thing happened to him?

The problem with things like this was that he desperately wanted to know the answers, but he also did not want to personally go through the experimentation necessary to actually find the answers. Not when existing had become much more bearable lately. Perhaps, a few years ago, he would have gladly been a test subject for a potentially lethal experiment, but now he valued his own life too much.

He had too much to live for these days.

"Want to see what the dorms look like?" Harry asked as he sat up suddenly. "My bed was by one of the windows because I liked to sit and look outside. And sometimes Hedwig would come up for a visit if I opened them."

They both followed him toward the staircase, which eventually split off into two separate directions.

As they walked, Harry acted as a tour guide. "In my first year, I found out that it had been a common thing for decades that boys were not allowed to go up the girl's staircase, but girls were allowed to go up the boy's staircase. Apparently, the teachers expected the girls to be more mature. Some point in the 90s, a bunch of the students complained about how unfair this was to put the pressure of maturation ononlythe girls. So now when the school year is active, those recognized as girls go to the girl's dorm, and those recognized as boys go to the boy's dorm and that is it. Hogwarts can always tell because your sense of self affects your magic and that is what Hogwarts reacts to."

"So, say a student knows they're trans when they get here, but it's not something they've told anyone yet," Bella suggested lightly.

"Hogwarts will put them in the place they most closely identify. That's just how it is. I found out about things like that for the first time in my Fifth Year. A Third Year Hufflepuff ended up being switched from the boy's dorm to the girl's dorm. It had been the talk of the school for a time, but none of the students outside some muggleborns really cared. It drew negative attention from certain folks in the government though. Bigots abound, basically."

"There are people who do identify as neither option on the gender binary," Edward pointed out. "Is it really not possible to just make a third dorm option for those who fall in between or outside those options?" It seemed pretty simple to him. "Also, if this is some attempt to stop sexual behavior... I feel like the teachers don't understand the concept of sexuality at all." Young people would do whatever they wanted.

Harry paused outside the door he'd lead them to, a look of concentration on his face. "I've never considered that before, but it's a good idea. Hey, Hogwarts! Did you get that?"

The walls around them seemed to buzz, vibrating with an energy they could not see, but could certainly feel deep in their bones.

"She heard," Harry noted. "She's already expanding herself to fit these new rooms for the future."

Hogwarts, the castle, was capable of just changing its interior? At will? Any time it wanted?

"And I know what you're thinking, and yes, Hogwarts does change now and then. The classrooms and clubrooms are known to hop around and leave everyone lost for days as people try to keep track of where everything went."

Edward wondered if there was ever a dull moment in this place.

The Seventh Year Boy's Dorm was spacious, and currently housed eight fourposters with large red curtains set for privacy. There were a few, very tall windows, each with their own potential window seats. Every bed got a matching wooden desk and chair. There was even a decent amount of space between the beds.

"So, if there ended up being more than eight students would the school just magically add more beds?" Bella asked as she sat on the nearest desk chair.

"Actually, the House Elves would just retrieve extra beds from the Come and Go Room and set them up here with a snap of the fingers."

"Do all the dorm rooms in Gryffindor look like this one?" Edward asked.

"Yeah. Even down to the lions engraved on the bedposts."

To think that Harry spent so much time in this school in places like this whether it was a good or bad year.

While Edward thought that everything they had seen thus far was fascinating and amazing and definitely appreciated how it all appeared, he could just tell that he was not the kind of person who would take boarding school very well. As a vampire, it was very easy to get sucked into the monotony of doing the same thing over and over. He had been attending high school for decades by now, and it did get a little old, but at least with how humans were, things could be different every day.

At least with access to a car and money, he could go anywhere he wanted and do anything he wanted in his spare time. Being stuck in a place like Hogwarts without the option to go wherever he wanted once school hours were over, would drive him crazy.

Harry had told them all about Hogsmeade Weekends and how they were not every weekend. Students of Hogwarts had to wait patiently for that one weekend a month where they were able to go down to the small village and buy new things. And that was only for students Third Year and above! The rest of them would have to deal with placing owl orders in magical magazines and circulars.

Yet, despite all the problems Edward could easily see cropping up in a place like this, it was still the place that Harry largely considered to be his home, because despite all the things that had happened, being at Hogwarts was still better than being with his relatives. A sad reality for a young person to have to come to grips with.

Edward wished that Harry could have had a normal life. That he didn't have to lose his real family, or have a maniac after his life, or have to give up his own life for the sake of the 'greater good' at some point. He should have been able to just be a teenager living life with his friends.

While he was glad to have met Harry and gotten to know all these things, Edward could feel the bitterness on Harry's behalf, building up inside.

When Bella thought about everything that Harry had been through, she tended to get very angry and very violent. When it was Edward, though, he just became very bitter and spiteful.

Not healthy mindsets to have, but they were a reaction to some truly terrible situations. If it was for the sake of a loved one, then surely it was at least borderline acceptable?

"You two get so easily distracted by your thoughts," Harry noted, watching them both in confusion. "I don't know what it is about the Gryffindor boy's dorm that's got you both feeling so down, but maybe a trip to the kitchens would lighten the mood?"

Yes. That could be a nice change of pace.

"Apologies," Edward coughed awkwardly. "My mind got the better of me."

Bella snorted and blatantly stated, "I was just thinking about how nice it would be to stab your aunt and uncle."

Harry placed a hand on his chest, his expression soft despite the words that had just come out of her mouth. "You'd do that for me?"

"If I was more capable as a person, I'd move heaven and earth for you, Harry."

Her confession was met will a sudden 'glomping' as Alice would call it. A very specific way of hugging that put all of Harry's emotions out in the open as he squeezed her for dear life.

"You're great as you are," Harry whispered into the dark strands of hair pushed against his face.

Edward realized that he should be disapproving of such behavior… but honestly… he felt much the same. So… "If you actually do it, I'm a master at clearing up crime scenes." He had a lot of experience after all.

"You lot are mad," Harry declared. "But that's what makes you both so sweet."

Edward, Bella, and Harry had only been gone for a couple weeks when the first Vision came. And it had to come about while Alice was in the middle of designing some clothes for their little trio of lovers to wear together.

One moment, she was comparing fabrics and what she thought Bella would think of them, and the next her eyes were filled with the red-haired woman from a couple months ago. The one who had been with James and Laurent. The nomads who had hunted in their territory without making an effort to be inconspicuous.

Harry had sworn up and down that Victoria was going to come back at some point. Her wrath had been kindled against Bella. Even her former companion had said she would. So, Harry had proposed the idea of going to Great Britain on vacation for the summer. That was why Edward had gone with them.

But it seemed that Harry was right because the Vision that Alice had been accosted by was full of Victoria pacing the outskirts of the Swan residence. Her ruby red eyes were manic as she realized that Bella hadn't been there in quite some time. But she chose the next best option… attacking Charlie. However, an invisible barrier around the house itself forbade her entrance.

She gnashed her teeth as she was repeatedly thrown back by it.

And Edward wasn't here to warn everyone faster, so Alice had to do it herself.

She was in the living room before she could even realize it. "Victoria is coming back tonight, and when she realizes Bella isn't here, she's going to try and change Charlie Swan into a vampire to get back at Bella."

They were all silent for a moment, before Rosalie of all people, spoke up. "So, is this her forfeiting her right to existence?"

"In Harry's terms, yeah."

Harry had already proved that he was perfectly capable of taking the souls of other people. Alice had no doubt in mind that he was capable of doing other things with those souls. When Harry found out about Victoria's plans, she could only imagine what would be in store for that woman.

"Should we text Edward about it?" Emmett asked. "He's on vacation and they're safe from her influence entirely where they're at. We can protect the Chief until they get back and there's no real need to interrupt them this early on."

The idea of keeping any information from Edward when it was pertinent to himself and his lovers, didn't sit well with Alice. At the same time, they had only been gone a couple of weeks and finding out about this would definitely ruin the mood. It might also encourage them to come back as soon as possible.

But it was Bella's father's safety on the line here.

"I'm going to text Bella about it," Alice decided. "Since it is her father who is actually the target right now, she has more right than anyone to know about what is going on and how to proceed." It just made the most sense. Since it was all to get back at Bella, that meant that Charlie Swan could become collateral in Victoria's war of revenge.

Alice was also a little miffed over the fact that Bella was the one getting blamed for Harry's actions. She understood why Victoria was choosing to target the fragile human instead of the ethereal being who was capable of stealing souls and burning people with black fire from who knows where without even having to move to do it. But that didn't mean she wasn't pissed off about it.

Even after Harry had been kind enough to let her go free, because he didn't believe in attacking someone for something they hadn't yet done, she still chose to be an idiot.

It was because of Victoria that they had to congregate outside of Bella's house every night in hopes of catching the intruder off guard. However, there was something just slightly off about her as if she was able to tell they were waiting for her and therefore stayed clear.

Her survival instincts had to be incredibly sharp for her to realize that the Cullen Coven had some way of determining where she was and what her plans were. The future that Alice had seen never came to pass, because Victoria somehow knew to avoid Forks despite putting all of her hopes into coming back and taking Bella out of the picture for good.

The biggest concern was that, even after a few days, Bella had not responded to Alice's text. Of course, she was aware that Harry intended to show Bella and Edward around magical places, and that magic and electronics did not mix well. But she'd rather have Bella's input in this moment, than just spending all their time focused on one thing.

Without Edward around, the coven wasn't as safe as it usually was. It was becoming readily apparent that they might have been taking advantage of Edward's ability too much if they were so reliant upon it when he was gone during a... disaster.

She hopedsomeonemessaged them back soon.

~.O.~

A/N: Another is done!

How was it? Let me know!

Check out mymany other fics!

See ya! :D

CHECK ME OUT ON TUMBLR.HELLY-WATERMELONSMELLINFELLON.

Chapter 20

Chapter Text

A/N: Hello, people!

I don't own Harry Potter or Twilight.

I have no beta.

ENJOY!

CHECK ME OUT ON TUMBLR.HELLY-WATERMELONSMELLINFELLON.

~.O.~

"Bella."

She jumped the moment Luna Lovegood's voice entered her left ear. She hadn't heard anything beyond the basic white noise that seemed to fill The Burrow at all times. There were people inside and outside, some de-gnoming the garden, some cooking in the kitchen, some experimenting upstairs, and Mr. Weasley was tinkering with electronics in the garage. Bella had been assured that she could just read up on the magical history of the Americas with Hermione in the living room and had spent that time in companionable silence.

Then Luna Lovegood appeared.

"Hi," she mumbled, trying to pretend like shehadn'tbeen almost scared out of her skin. "Is everything okay?"

"On my end, yes, thank you for your concern," Luna said, voice very airy and eyes very distant. "However, I've come to realize that someone is trying desperately to contact you and it would behoove you to enter a densely populated muggle area so that you can receive messages on your mobile phone."

Harry had said that Alice reminded him of Luna. Which meant that Luna was a Seer too, just of a different kind.

"Thanks for the heads up."

She smiled dreamily and practically floated away toward the kitchen. Hermione was nodding. "She always ends up being right, so you don't have to worry about her being mistaken. Perhaps you can stop somewhere and get coffee or tea before heading back to Grimmauld Place. Basicallyeverywhereoffers free wifi these days, right?"

"True. Is British coffee as disgusting as American coffee?"

She shrugged. "I don't drink coffee so I can't help you there. I would assume it's all disgusting no matter where it's from since it all smells the same."

Still, if someone was trying to get ahold of Bella, then it had to be something serious, so she shouldn't delay. "Do you guys have Dunkin' over here?"

"If you mean Dunkin' Donuts, yes. They're all in England though, so finding one in London shouldn't be too difficult."

"We'll go right after dinner!" Harry promised, appearing at her side as if he'd been there the entire time and heard everything! Which was completely impossible! "I've been interested in their donuts for the longest time, so this will be a cool experience for me!"

A special kind of dessert. Donuts and coffee. Or those weird fruity drinks they had.

There were so many jokes she wanted to make, but also knew that they would all be incredibly corny and decided to just hold them in. Instead, she would focus her attention on helping Mrs. Weasley with finishing up dinner.

And then she could worry about her phone afterward.

You have one missed call.

You have one missed call.

You have one missed call.

You have one missed call.

You have one missed call.

You have one missed call.

You have one missed call.

3 days ago -[Alice:Bella, I know you're on vacation right now, but we desperately need you to pick up your phone!]

You have one missed call.

3 days ago -[Alice:I got a vision of Victoria coming back to Forks in search of you. And when she doesn't find you, she goes to your home! In a fit of rage, she targets Charlie!]

You have one missed call.

3 days ago -[Alice:We've already decided to take up rotations protecting your father's house, but I felt that it was necessary for you to know what's going on in case you decided you wanted to come back.]

You have one missed call.

3 days ago -[Alice:Jazz, Rose, and I all went tonight, and there was no sign of her visibly, but her scent did float along the wind. She ended up fleeing before we could even hope to keep up with her. Jazz swears she's putting off a lot of rage and bitterness.]

You have one missed call.

2 days ago -[Alice:Tonight it was Em, Carlisle, and Esme who guarded Charlie's house. I didn't receive any Visions of Victoria the entire day, but that doesn't mean she's given up on revenge.]

You have one missed call.

1 day ago -[Alice:Tonight Carlisle, Jazz, and I were there and she did appear, but ran when we gave chase. It seems that she might have some kind of talent for escaping danger, because no matter how hard either Jasper or I tried to corner her, she was able to slip between us with ease each time. Jazz has far more training than I do, but my Visions tend to give me an edge over others. In this chase though, neither of our skills seemed to matter.]

1 day ago -[Alice:And just so you're aware, I have also sent a couple texts to Edward's phone as well. Basically, I'm just trying to reach whoever I can as soon as possible.]

You have one missed call.

You have one missed call.

1 day ago -[Alice:The biggest problem we've encountered so far was tonight, where a completely unrelated vampire actually appeared near your street. I didn't have any Visions of this vampire coming at all, but they were heading straight for Charlie's house, which means that Victoria turned them at some point and then sent them this way. They got close enough to get to the backyard but had no information to give us. Em handled them.]

1 day ago -[Alice:I can't help but feel that Victoria may have some form of extrasensory perception that allows her to understand others in ways that she shouldn't. I know it may sound absolutely mad to claim this, but I have a feeling she's worked out that somebody in our family is able to see the future because all Visions of her have stopped, and when I try to actively look for her, I get barely anything.]

1 day ago -[Alice:What we do know is that she has already turned a human into a newborn vampire and sent them our way, and we responded just a little too late. This may have proven something, though to what extent I'm not certain.]

You have one missed call.

1 day ago -[Alice:I know you guys are on vacation, and you wanted to hang out for hopefully the entire summer, but we need you back. Edward and Harry's particular talents would be incredibly helpful in covering more ground.]

1 day ago -[Alice:I know it's a lot of pressure to put on somebody, but it would be best if we were all together to form a united front, to confront whatever it is that Victoria is planning.]

1 day ago -[Alice:Also, I would just like to say that I did get a vision of you buying that blue blouse in that magic shop, and I approve wholeheartedly. The belled sleeves looked really nice on you! I've already dreamed up several outfit ideas based on that shirt AND may have also purchased a brown belt to go with it, but we can talk about that later.]

You have one missed call.

You have one missed call.

You have one missed call.

10 hours ago -[Alice:We have even bigger problems now! I received a Vision of Victoria, sending a vampire to Italy to report our family to the Volturi! They're vampire royalty and basically control all the laws for our kind! I saw a Vision of him arriving in Volterra, and meeting with the kings themselves!]

10 hours ago -[Alice:The situation has become a lot more serious because to draw the attention of the Volturi is historically the downfall of many covens. Yes, Carlisle is friends with one of the kings personally, having lived with them in Italy for a time, but friendship does not supersede justice. If they are convinced in any way that we have committed a crime, they will eradicate all of us, and might even extend that punishment to the shifters down in La Push, as well as you, Harry, and Charlie.]

10 hours ago -[Alice:When you finally get these messages, please either call me yourself or have Edward give me a call. It's urgent!]

You have one missed call.

You have one missed call.

You have one missed call.

5 hours ago -[Alice:The news has been full of deaths. So far, several bodies have been turning up around Washington. This is VERY bad! Your father's been enlisted in trying to help find the culprit, along with many other small town police stations. These are caused by vampires, not humans, and it's going to get worse.]

Bella looked up from her phone before Edward looked up from his. Harry was watching them both with a nervous look as he sipped on a Frozen Hot Chocolate. "We need to go," they both said at once.

Harry nodded. "Magic can pack our things for us, while I have a quill to take down a note to be delivered to The Burrow. We'll have to take a flight to the states, but once we actually leave an airport over there, I can just Apparate us back to Forks."

Bella hadn't been this scared in ages. Harry's book had mentioned the Volturi before but it had said that magical people hadn't really encountered them often enough to have enough information. At most, the general consensus was that they were incredibly dangerous and that they hoarded supernatural powers, which was what made them so formidable.

So, the main concern wasn't just passing judgment on the Cullens by claiming they broke some law, but perhaps trying to take the talented ones such as Edward, Alice, Jasper, and make them a part of their own coven as the real punishment. And while Bella had full faith in all of the Cullens at being capable of defending themselves, their extra talented family members all had abilities that dealt with the mind alone, and did not afford them super fancy offensive abilities.

Everything had just become so tiresome so quickly.

"What a pleasant surprise."

Such words were more of a formality these days. Because if there was one thing that he could at least be honest about, it was the fact that he didnotlike receiving visitors. When in Volterra, visitors tended to upset the natural balance of the way the Volturi decided to handle things. Despite being very clear in what was and wasnotallowed, young vampires tended to make foolish decisions.

It was rather baffling because as young as they were, one would think that they would remember more about human life having only recently departed from it. But no, blending in with the humans was apparently something very difficult for vampires in their first century of their new life, beyond the thirst for blood of course.

No, he wouldn't say that they received complaints often, but it happened more times in a year than he would like.

The young man standing before their thrones was unknown to them, but it was easy to tell that he was recently turned, and yet somehow had enough self-control to travel to them. And he'd come to the Volturi specifically to request an audience. That meant that the person who turned him had told him about the Volturi and expected him to come to Italy in their place. And he'd managed it all by himself, as no scent of another vampire clung to his form. Meaning they'd been separated for quite some time.

Marcus reached out to touch Aro's had briefly, showing him the oddly strong, if one-sided, bond the young vampire possessed.

"My sire instructed me to report a crime," the young vampire stated, not afraid in the slightest.

Very foolish of him. While it was clear that he had been told who the Volturi were, he very clearly had not been informed of justhow dangerousthey were. His sire told him enough to get him here, but not enough to preserve his life. Meaning he was expendable.

Vampires were very selfish creatures, and they did not like to share. If he had been someone who possessed a special skill, he would never have been the one chosen to come to the Volturi alone, because Aro would take interest in him. And if he had been important to his sire, then they would have actually told him enough information to keep his nose clean.

It was very clear that he was unsuspecting of any nefarious purpose for his visit. He was unaware of the fact that he was essentially cannon fodder and did not matter. He was simply being a good child, doing as he was told.

Such a waste.

"On whose behalf do you come?" Caius demanded shortly, just as unappreciative of the disturbance as Aro, but less capable of hiding it.

And the following words just served to prove how absolutely worthless this young vampire was to his sire. "I do not know her name."

Aro stepped forward, an easy smile on his face and his hand outstretched. "I'm certain you were informed of my particular talent, yes?"

The moment of hesitation, he received was answer was also very clear that there was no room for refusal, so the young vampire simply stepped forward and took Aro's hand.

In his memories was a vividly bright vampire whom he recognized. She was from the same coven as his dear Heidi had been from a few centuries back. Her name was Victoria. She had escaped her punishment with her coven years ago, but it seemed that she had fled to the Americas and chose to hide there. As if perfectly aware of his disinterest in the Americas.

"You need to tell the Volturi about the coven of yellow eyes who are controlling the Olympic peninsula. They are harboring two humans that they refuse to change and have killed one of our former coven members for simply asking about why they haven't been changed. It also appears as if the parents of both humans are perfectly aware of what this coven is because they are close comrades with a pack of werewolves that reside nearby. The yellow eyes and the werewolves have a treaty to not interfere in each other's hunting grounds."

Everything in Aro's body was refusing the idea that his dearest Carlisle would ever break their laws so openly and daringly. It was very clear that this was about Carlisle's Coven specifically, but he just couldn't see it as completely factual. There was a reason that Victoria had chosen to change this young Riley and tell him to come to Italy instead.

She was desperately hiding from Aro specifically because she had far more information about that dead coven member that this young man did not know about. In fact, up until she had told him about them, he hadn't even been aware that she had known anybody else who had been killed. That meant that Victoria was deliberately withholding information in order to mobilize the Volturi to her benefit.

There had to besomeform of truth in her words, because such an accusation would not go over well when she was already wanted for past crimes. It would be foolish of her to lie completely. However, without enough information, he couldn't draw a proper conclusion on what could be the truth and what could be falsehood?

At most there was probably a human involved though, considering the strength of the grudge the woman was holding against Carlisle and his family. There was no telling how long this human had been with them though, nor whether or not they'd be turned in the near future. Or if they had been turned yet.

The last time he checked, they were once again reliving high school so it could simply be another high school student. And considering everyone else in the house was together, it was probably somebody related to young Edward and his romantic life.

Still, he found himself very much interested in finding out what exactly was going on and how exactly things could be solved. If laws were being broken, then punishment had to be given no matter who specifically was breaking the law. Victoria was already in trouble, and they had to handle her. But if Carlisle or his family had done something, then they would have to pay the price as well, regardless of Aro's personal affection for his friend.

After all, there was no guarantee that Victoria hadn't gone to other vampires after sending her little minion to the Volturi. The chances of her telling multiple people about the Cullens potentially breaking the law, and the Volturi not doing anything about it, could backfire. After all, it would look like favoritism for Carlisle based on a personal relationship to him. Aro could not afford for their reputations to take a hit, therefore it was imperative that they investigate immediately.

He looked toward Felix with a common gesture, one that he had used many times before, and turned away. As Riley was beheaded behind his back, he addressed his closest comrades, and decided to give them a delightfully abridged version of events.

One that completely left out the existence of werewolves, simply because he could not be certain if the accusation was true. And Caius was far too emotional when werewolves were mentioned. There was no guarantee that he would be able to keep his head on straight if he knew ahead of time that anything they were doing involved big dogs capable of destroying vampires.

"That young man's sire wished to lodge a complaint against dearest Carlisle, unaware that we would remember her existence from crimes committed in times long past. She alleges that the Cullens are harboring two humans in their midst and assaulted her coven for no good reason, killing one of her friends in the process."

Marcus, who hadn't shown much emotion in the past two thousand years, managed the softest, almost choking snort Aro had ever heard anyone give. The kind of disbelief that everyone could understand because they all knew Carlisle and knew that he hated fighting, violence, and harming anyone. Thinking that Carlisle would simply attack anyone or order his coven to attack another without a justifiable reason, was laughable.

He was often considered too soft for the life of a vampire. And far too good for the world in Aro's personal opinion.

As for Caius, he was more focused on Victoria. "And what crime did the boy's sire commit, Aro?" He did love his punishments after all.

"Heidi's former covenmate has been hiding in the Americas in order to avoid us. It appears that we must act because she clearly has an agenda, and not only must she receive justice for her own actions, but we need to be seen doing something in case she opens her mouth and spreads misinformation to anyone else."

It was clear simply from how he had worded everything that Aro would have to be the one to go. There was no chance that Marcus would be crossing the ocean for something like this. And Caius would rather have somebody more present in mind, left in Volterra. If it was Aro and a select few of their most elite guards, he could get the thoughts of everybody involved and get to the bottom of things. No matter what happened, nobody could hide from him.

Also, between all of them, he had familiarized himself with the human world of today a lot more than they had.

This was a good way to catch up with an old friend, and acquire some new information. Last time he checked, Carlisle's young Edward was also a telepath, but he could hear thoughts across great distances and could even see what people were seeing through their own eyes or imagining in their heads in the present moment.

Such a power would allow Aro, through physically touching him, to access everyone's thoughts within a mile radius! The opportunities such a talent presented were difficult to ignore. He'd like to have access to such an ability atalltimes.

With a nod to himself, Aro began to give orders in preparation for a flight to Seattle Washington. There was a lot that needed to be done before making a visit. Perhaps he should bring a gift for Carlisle as well. To thank him for his hospitality on such short notice?

No one could ever say that Aro was a terrible guest.

"It's very clear from how many deaths have recently been reported in Washington, that someone is creating a newborn army," Calirsle said simply, staring at the telly with a displeased frown. "And it's very clear with how they've chosen to go about it, that they don't care aboutnotdrawing negative attention."

Which meant that it was most likely Victoria, considering when she was on some revenge kick.

"They're being sloppy," Jasper said with disappointment. "It's very clear that she's good at planning and good at escaping dangerous situations, so the reason that she's being so sloppy with this is because she fully believes she'll be able to escape the situation without getting caught. The chances are she will simply use these newborns to distract us in hopes of giving herself an opening. Once she gets what she wants, she'll be on her way again, with no care for what happens to her little pawns."

Harry didn't appreciate that kind of mindset, because people were not just pawns to be used in a game. It was giving him Dumbledore vibes, and he did not appreciate it.

"How do we approach this?" Bella asked. "It doesn't sound like a pleasant situation to be caught up in."

Harry's eyes trailed back and forth between the Cullens, trying to determine the level of worry that was acceptable in this situation. Half of the Cullens looked incredibly concerned, but it was very telling that the leader of the family, Carlisle, himself, didn't seem quite as worried.

"I know Aro, and he is a very dear friend of mine. He's not a person without reason, and he would never do anything without listening to every possible angle first."

The problem with that was that, based on what Harry had witnessed thus far, Carlisle was the kind of person who would see the best in everyone, and would probably overlook the more negative traits. So, while he doubted that this man would be horrible to Carlisle from the outset, he couldn't trust just Carlisle's opinion. After all, a relationship with Carlisle did not necessarily mean that his good feelings extended to Carlisle's family.

"What we truly need to address is the potential charges that will be presented with. The only one that would actually hold any kind of water is harboring a mortal without changing them. As Harry has demonstrated significant proof of not being human or mortal, this law does not apply to him. This leaves Bella, but as Edward has made his decision to stay with his partners, it's clear she will not remain as a regular human for too long."

"Iwantto be a vampire," Bella insisted with a sharp nod.

"Hell, anything could happen and she could end up cursed with immortality, turned into a werewolf, turned into adifferentkind of vampire, or even killed and brought back to life as an undead being." There were so many ways for Bella to shed her mortal life, and vampirism wasn't the only kind.

"Just to be clear," Bella added, "I would like to graduate high school first, and I would also like to reach the age of twenty. It would really suck if I spent the rest of my life being thought of as a child with no one taking me seriously."

Personally, Harry didn't see how she could be confused for a child, but if that's what she wanted...

Now, if they set aside the vampire royalty possibly coming to punish the Cullens aside for a moment, Harry had to consider Victoria. He had given her a clear warning and thought that he had been especially kind about it too. The audacity to get offended over Harry protectinghispartner becauseherpartner had no self-control, was amusing at best. James made his decision and Harry took his soul in return.

Victoria did not deserve her rage and had no right to such a tantrum.

Besides, it wasn't as if Harry had killed him. All he did was lose his soul. James had reentered the cycle and he would be reborn eventually as all things would no matter how long it took.

Perhaps she didn't appreciate only being able to hold his corpse.

In the end, it didn't matter because he was gone.

"Since there is no doubt that these vampire kings will be sending someone over to verify such claims, I believe it's important that the accuser is here as well," Harry murmured with a smirk. "Give me an hour or so."

He proceeded to cross his legs together and sink to the ground in a meditative position. Instantly, the world around him faded away, all sight and sound becoming dimmer and dimmer as he focused on centering himself, and communing with Death. Tapping into Death's unique powers was relatively easy when his mind was clear, and his senses were dulled.

Using Death's power over all things in order to pinpoint specific souls, was a skill Harry hadn't really used before. Though it was clear that it was something that Death was capable of because why would any soul living or dead be capable of outrunning Death if Death's own powers weren't being used to hide them?

Locating Victoria was very easy. Once he latched onto her position, he Apparated instantly, no doubt leaving the Cullens and Bella stunned at his sudden disappearance.

Harry appeared in the middle of an unfamiliar urban landscape, surrounded by vampires. And even as their attention all focused on him and every single one of them tried to leap at him at the same time, they failed. The more and more time passed, the more grateful he was that Luna made him learn how to enchant jewellery.

Having a protective bubble that basically followed him around and prevented anyone with bad intentions from harming him, was the biggest boon ever. And all they took was a little bit of effort in finding the right kind of stones and then purchasing the right kind of metals.

In fact, as modern American teenagers would say, he was a little salty over the fact that no one had thought to share this information with him earlier. To think that all he would have had to do was go to Diagon Alley and buy an ugly necklace from somewhere, and that it would've protected him from harm. It was much like how everyone refused to tell him that there was a potion to cure bad eyesight because they cared more about him looking like James Potter than they did about his health.

With all of the vampires instantly repelled, Harry merely had to snap his fingers, and it was like individual little bubbles appeared around all of them. And there Victoria was in the middle of the chaos, her bright, crimson gaze full of anger and promising retribution.

"Since you want to draw the attention of the vampire higher ups, we're going to make certain you're there to explain exactly what you've been up to," Harry said with a mocking smile. "I'm sure the Volturi will be very happy to know why you've suddenly created over ten new vampires and have been letting them murder indiscriminately and draw so much media attention to the Olympic Peninsula."

All twelve vampires surrounding him were lifted up immediately, and Harry performed the very first ever Side-Along-with-twelve-partners Apparition.

Reappearing in the Cullen's backyard with twelve foreign vampires in toe had to be quite the shock to their systems. Thankfully, his magic was powerful, and he didn't have to worry about any of them escaping their confinement. "You lot are going to sit here until the Volturi arrive and decide what to do with you."

Carlisle and Edward were stood at the back door, staring at their collective enemies in unmasked awe. And perhaps a little bit of fear as well.

This was basically hard confirmation that no distance could stop Harry, and that no one could really hope to hide from him if he really wanted to find them. He hoped that this also served as an example for how well he would be able to handle whatever it was the Volturi threw their way. He just needed to make a few more enchanted jewellery pieces and place a ward stone somewhere on the Cullen property.

It'd take very little time. After all, they were in the middle of summer, and he did not have anywhere that he had to be.

"How long does it take to fly from Italy to here?"

"Twelve to fifteen hours," Edward answered immediately. "They do have quite a few human employees among them and are able to adapt to the changing times decently enough to use modern technology without a problem. They have their own private jets, and they'll be able to make trips much more easily than the standard person, so it might be shorter than the lowest potential time."

Shouldn't be too difficult then. He could have those pieces done in a couple hours.

Alice did not See Visions in present time, so when she had gotten them, it was before said meeting had taken place. Bella finally saw the messages ten hours after the Vision had come.

They had time. Harry saved them a lot of time by choosing to Side-Along Bella and Edward to Washington rather than taking a plane the whole way.

"I'm going to go home, and I'm going to be busy for a few hours. Are you still going to be watching Charlie's house?"

"Do you think they're all the vampires she's created?" Carlisle asked, looking Victoria over warily.

"They are," Edward confirmed with ease. "The only other one she created, she sent off to Italy. And there's no chance that he will be coming back. It's just them now, and the Volturi probably won't tolerate their existence anyway, as they're barely more than mindless beasts without any distinction among them."

It was clear that Victoria realised just how dangerous the situation had become, because she'd finally lost that mad glint in her eyes. Now she appeared nervous, as if meeting the Volturi was something shereallydidn't want to do. As if, perhaps, she thought they might do something toherinstead of the Cullens.

Harry's face split into a mad grin of his own. "Just think that even if your vampire kings don't do anything to you for what you've done, you still have to deal withme. And I can make certain you don't go where your beloved James went."

Merlin, he loved ruining people's lives.

At least the lives of those who deserved it. It was always such a rush!

Anyway, he had work to do.

~.O.~

A/N: Another is done!

How was it? Let me know!

Check out mymany other fics!

See ya! :D

CHECK ME OUT ON TUMBLR.HELLY-WATERMELONSMELLINFELLON.