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Just so you know...I don't particularly care what your religion is. I personally am a Christian. However, I am writing a STORY where . exist. So please keep your personal views on the matter out of my reviews? I'm not going to change it because you're a monotheist.
Also, yes....I am aware that no company would pay for this sort of thing on this sort of scale, at least, none that I'm aware of...however in my story it's possible.
Chapter Two: Esme and Jacob
Harry looked around his new room with a slight smile. It was still the smallest room in the house but it was nearly twice the size of his room on Privet Drive and he had his own bathroom.
The house itself was only a few years old. It had been designed by one of the locals named Mrs. Esme Cullen.
Apparently, judging by what he had overheard, her husband was a doctor in the local hospital and she designed and oversaw the building of houses for her own amusement.
The house was located just inside Forks, on the way to Port Angeles and near the Olympic National Park.
It was a fairly nice house with three stories. Grunnings had paid for all of the moving and living expenses. Each room was fully furnished and outfitted with everything they would need to move right in.
He lived on the top floor, in the only bedroom on that floor...far enough away from the Dursley's that they could pretend he didn't exist and vise-versa
His room had four windows, three along one wall and another on the wall beside his bathroom. He also had a walk-in closet...which was the size of his old room on private drive. He was also quite happy to discover that he could shut the door that lead to the stairs.
It was like having his own apartment...sort of.
It was also fully furnished; his aunt had been given the chance to choose how she wanted to design her house. She and Mrs. Cullen had spoken extensively over the phone about how she wanted her home to look and it would have seemed suspicious if she didn't want to design her nephew's bedroom.
So, Petunia made it look like she wanted him to choose what he wanted rather than admit she didn't want to do anything for him at all.
Mrs. Cullen was very kind and happy to help him choose what he wanted. He was very pleased with the results. **
He had a tall four poster bed with a nightstand on both sides parallel to his closet. Under the window next to his bathroom stood his triple dresser next to his mirror. His armoire and tall chest were between the stair entrance and the walk in closet while the blanket chest sat at the foot of his bed. His desk and long book case were beside his bed, opposite of the bathroom. Two long benches sat under two of the far windows.
A corner of his room had been carefully stripped of carpeting and replaced with cool black tiles. The corner contained a refrigerator, a dark stained food cupboard and a small space of counter next to a small stove with only two eyes and a small built in oven with an over head microwave and light.
The counter held a small blender, coffie maker, and a toaster.
The drawers on the cabnets had a few other things like silverware, pots and pans and cleaning supplies. It was very nice and very, very welcome.
A large rug dominated the center of the room. On it was a small dining table with two chairs behind a small sofa, a love seat, two recliner chairs and a massive entertainment system full of DVD's and CDs...Wait...he hadn't asked for those...
"I hope you don't mind the extras," a semi-familiar voice said. "They were just collecting dust at my house. My children have seen and heard them all a hundred times."
He turned to see a beautiful woman standing in the doorway of his staircase. She was a slender, soft looking woman only two inches taller than him at 5 ft 6 in with caramel-colored hair and a heart-shaped face with dimples. She reminded him strongly of the mother figure he dreamed about having as a small child.
"Mrs. Cullen?" Harry inquired with a smile.
She smiled back and nodded, offering her hand with an almost unnoticeable hesitation.
He took it, kissing it politely, causing her smile to broaden. He didn't comment on how cold her skin felt against his...his magic had informed him that she was a vampire as soon she walked into his personal space. However, the topaz color of his eyes told him that she wasn't a dangerous threat to him.
"Hello Mr. Potter. It's good to finally meet you; I stopped by to see if you were settling in. Your Aunt told me that you were up here...do you like it?"
Harry looked around with an excited smile. "I love it! And please...call me Harry. Now that I've met you in person it's only polite." He told her.
She beamed. "Then you must call me Esme."
"Thank you Esme...you've done a beautiful job." He praised, looking around once more.
"And thank you for the extras, I haven't had much opportunity to watch movies or listen to music lately."
"Wonderful! I'm so glad you like it. My children just let the pile up. Will you be starting school soon? I'm sure they'd love to meet you." She inquired.
Harry nodded, gesturing with his arm towards the couch to sit. "Yes ma'am. The Christmas break starts in two days, my cousin and I will begin classes when they start back."
"Ah, I should have remembered. I'd forgotten about the break."
"My Aunt does that a lot...how many kids do you have?"
"Five. Three boys and two girls."
"..."
"What is it?"
"I'm sorry...you don't look old enough." He said politely, ignoring the fact she was a vampire. He wanted to know her cover story.
"Oh! I'm not. They are all adopted." She laughed.
He smiled wistfully. "How kind of you. Not many people would adopt five children."
"So I've heard, your Aunt was very kind to adopt you as well."
"She didn't."
"I'm sorry?"
"I'm not adopted. My Aunt is just fostering me until I'm old enough for her to get rid of."
He was unable to fully hide the pain, anger, disappointment and overall sadness in his voice.
"I'm nothing but a burden for her, the black spot on her perfect life." He said bitterly, and then shook his head.
"Never mind. Thank you again, the place really is wonderful."
Esme blinked, as if unable to find anything to say. She stared at him a moment, and then her eyes softened in understanding. She pulled out a small note pad from her purse and jotted several things down before tearing the sheet off the pad and handing it to him.
"Here, this is my cell phone number and address. If you need anything, anything, don't hesitate to call me." She told him gently, touching the fading bruise around his cheek.
He blushed slightly, but nodded and took the offered note. "Yes ma'am." He whispered.
Esme offered another smile, but didn't hesitate in bringing him in for a hug. He tensed instinctively, only to relax and return the embrace seconds later. He smiled as he realized that his first hug had just come from a vampire. The irony of it was not lost on him.
BLOODMOONBLOODMOONBLOODMOONBLOODMOON
Harry looked around his room once more after Esme had gone, and it occurred to him just how empty his room was.
He would have to go shopping, which meant he would have to get a job. He knew the Dursley's wouldn't spare another dime on him now that he was old enough to work.
His Uncle had made it very clear that as long as he did his chores, he would be mostly ignored. It would be his responsibility to feed and clothe himself. He would also have to work on getting some type of transportation, he highly doubted that his Uncle would drive him to school...which was seven miles away.
He already had a bit of money saved up from his previous job; he would have to be careful as to how he would spend it.
"BOY!"
Harry sighed.
"Coming Aunt Petunia."
BLOODMOONBLOODMOONBLOODMOONBLOODMOON
Harry looked around the little market clutching the lengthy list in his hands, pushing an overloaded shopping cart. He was almost done with the list, with only one thing remaining. Unfortunately, it was nowhere to be found.
"Where is the bloody sugar?" He snapped to himself, looking around in annoyance.
When he finally spotted the annoying substance, it was not four feet from him...or rather...above him.
Harry cursed his luck, only to bite his tongue mid-swear. Cursing gods and goddesses didn't bode well for anyone. He had learned that lesson the hard way.
But he was pretty certain by then that both Fate and Luck were having a good laugh at him right now.
Well...maybe not Luck, but he knew Fate got a kick out of watching him suffer.
He looked around for something to stand on, only to sigh when he realized that he was on his own.
Damn.
Vainly, he tried to reach the offending bag with humiliating results.
Why oh why did they have to stock sugar, one of the most commonly used substances in the world, on the top shelf???
"Need help kid?" A man inquired.
He turned sharply, nearly falling in his surprise. Three men...or rather, two men and a tall boy were staring at him in amusement.
The man who had spoken wore a beige police uniform and a slight grin. The other two had attractive russet colored skin. They probably lived on the reservation nearby. The elder of the two was a heavy set man in a wheelchair. The other, obviously his son, was a good foot taller than he was.
He sighed. "Help would be...welcome." he told them wearily. The boy grinned and moved forward, reaching over him with a slightly smug grin and pulling down the bag of sugar.
"Thanks." he mumbled with a blush.
"No problem. You must be new in town, I haven't seen you before." the boy commented.
"Yeah, my relatives just moved here."
"You must mean the Dursley's! Well, welcome to Forks young Mr. Dursley." the officer said. "I'm Police Chief Charlie Swann."
"Oh! No. I'm Hadrian...Harry Potter; the Dursley's are my mother's family. I'm just living with them until I'm old enough to get a place of my own."
"Ah, I see. Well, this is Billy Black and his son Jacob. They live in La Push; it's not too far from here."
"I've heard...thanks again. I better get going though; my cousin is probably hungry by now." He told them ruefully, looking at the overstuffed buggy.
"I don't suppose that you have any cabs or buses around here do you?" he asked Jacob. The larger boy shook his head.
"Nope, it's too small of a town to bother with. Don't you have a car?"
"Me? A car? No, my Uncle wouldn't want to waste his money on me, especially on something that big."
Jacob frowned and eyed his cart, then looked to his dad. The man grinned.
"I'll ride with ole Charlie, you give Harry here a ride to where ever he needs to be." the man said.
"Oh no! You don't have too..." Harry protested.
"Shush, don't look a gift horse in the mouth." Jacob said with a grin. Harry returned it hesitantly before heading out to the register.
BLOODMOONBLOODMOONBLOODMOONBLOODMOON
Jacob easily helped him load up the old faded red truck that he was driving. It was a massive thing with a bulbous cab and rounded fenders. It looked rather awkward but Harry loved it. He could honestly see himself driving something like it.
"Sorry, it isn't the nicest looking monster on the road, but it works. I rebuilt the engine myself." Jacob said as they climbed in.
"No! I like it! It's cozy in its own way. Besides...at least you have a car."
"Actually, my dad's trying to sell it so that I can start rebuilding an old 1986 Volkswagen Rabbit."
Harry smiled. "How much are you asking for it?" He inquired.
Jacob looked at him in shock.
"You're serious?"
"Yeah. I need a car. I really don't want to walk seven miles to school every day in unpredictable weather."
Jacob gave him the number, and Harry chewed on it a bit. It was a bit more than he wanted to pay, but within his budget.
"I guess I need to talk to your dad then. I'd like to buy it."
R&R
No, he will NOT be paired with Jacob. I'm sort of thinking that they could be friends...nothing more.
Coming soon to your viewing pleasure: Flash backs in the form of nightmares...
*House plan as advertised, details inside.
**Harry's Bedroom inside (roughly)
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