Chapter 2: Memories

"Sorry to disturb you. I'd say sorry for not giving you any notice, but… Alice, I believe it is, obviously knew," Kingsley began. "May we?"

"Of course," Carlisle answered, gesturing to the couch.

"These are my apprentices, Kelsey and Harry," Kingsley introduced them. Carlisle smiled at them and introduced his brood.

"I am Carlisle, that is my wife Esme, and these are our adopted children Alice, Edward, Jasper, Emmett, and Bella. Our daughter Rosalie and granddaughter Nessie are away."

"I don't recall meeting Bella," Kingsley commented, looking over to the brunette, who was on the arm of the teenager named Edward. Harry meanwhile noticed not only how queer it was that they didn't shift or blink at all, but how flawlessly beautiful they all were. The one next to Bella seemed to be focusing on something in particular, but Harry could not tell what.

"She is a new addition, only eight years ago. She chose to be a vampire willingly, after meeting Edward," Carlisle answered his unspoken question. "We tried to dissuade her from it." The one named Edward, must be the mind reader, Harry decided.

"You are correct, Harry, I am the mind reader." He strode away from Bella and into the middle of the room. "The Volturi are in England?" he asked, "That's definitely news to us."

"You know nothing of it?" Kingsley asked.

"We know only that they are angry of us and afraid of our collective power," Carlisle answered. In that moment, a Patronus flew into the room, a faint muskrat, but it dissolved before it could deliver its message.

"I need to go, now," Kingsley muttered, before apparating right from the Cullen's house.

"What?" Harry uttered in surprise, looking around and trying to determine what to do.

"Now what?" Kelsey asked, eying the vampires with fear.

"It's weird you don't seemed frightened of us," Jasper noted.

"I am afraid, but not of what you could do to me physically," Harry admitted.

…………………………….

"Have you seen Dawlish?" Kingsley asked Proudfoot, after he had searched the Ministry thoroughly for him. He shifted from one foot to the other

"Sorry, no, should he have been back by now?"

"Only an hour ago," Kingsley remarked sarcastically. He was usually never sarcastic.

"Was it dangerous," Proudfoot asked, trying to get a scope of the situation without alerting his apprentice, Ron. Ron looked up quickly, away from the cafeteria, which had held his gaze for several minutes.

"Is Harry all right?" Ron asked quickly, his hand going instinctively for his wand pocket.

"Fine, with the vampires," Kingsley said shortly and then at Ron's frantic expression added, "Trust me he is in absolutely no danger. I shouldn't have just left him and Kelsey there, hmmm…"

"Do you want me to look for him?" Dawlish asked.

"Yes, I will join you when I have collected my apprentices," Kingsley replied.

………………………………………………..

Harry sat for a moment in silence, then just as he was about to speak, the door flew open. In sprinted a teenage girl and a furry, brown wolf, who was baring his teeth. Harry drew his wand intuitively, but before he could cast a single spell, Edward had swooped over and grabbed it from his hand. He moved at an impossibly fast pace; if Harry had blinked, it would have seemed he was apparating.

"This is Nessie and our friend Jacob," Edward said, "and I would appreciate you not spelling either of them." The wolf, Jacob sauntered (if a wolf can saunter) away to the next room. A minute later a tall boy, about the same age as Nessie it appeared, came back again. "Again, this is Jacob."

"Are you an Animagus?" Harry asked.

"Don't think so," Jacob answered with a boyish grin.

"You are not a werewolf. I have a friend who is… you certainly are not," Harry added, frowning and rubbing his forehead.

"He's a shape shifter. There are quite a few wolf forms here," Jasper answered, speaking for the first time.

"Rosalie's back," the prophetic girl, Alice, interrupted. Seconds later, a graceful blonde with stunning appearances, casually strode in, stopping short upon seeing Harry.

"Not surprising at all, I go away for a few days and Edward already has a mortal friend," she commented haughtily. She tossed back her blonde hair and scrutinized Harry.

"He's a wizard Rosalie," Emmett, the largest one, corrected her. He punched her playfully on the arm. He was grinning outrageously, looking slightly insane; Harry was reminded of Fred, but that only made him wince. He tried to swallow the lump that was in his throat, hoping he wouldn't be forced to talk soon. He watched Edward's eyebrow's slant and then he hurried to whisper something in Jasper's ear. Jasper rubbed his head, messing up his blonde hair, and then seemed to concentrate on something.

Harry felt his pain seep away and be filled by something that seemed like happiness. It was queer; it was warm, but it didn't seem exactly real.

"Don't manipulate my emotions," Harry pleaded, "I know you mean well, but… just please don't." He remembered the lurches of annoyance of happiness, Voldemort's connection with him caused. Then, he remembered the cruel ecstasy he had felt only a day ago. The unnamed Death Eater, who was attempting to rise to power, though Harry doubted, or more hoped she wouldn't.

"I'm sorry about that, and I'm sorry about the mind-reading thing too. That's probably just as bad," whispered sympathetically.

"Try being possessed by Voldemort," Harry remarked darkly.

…………………………….

Her father staggered in the door, his robes torn and smattered with dirt and muck. He was wincing. Unfortunately, Laiet knew exactly what had happened; it was not the first time.

"Please, leave me be Laiet, I don't want you to see me like this," Snape murmured, stumbling over a step. Laiet reached out to grab him, but released him almost immediately, her hands covered in blood. He slumped against the wall, sighed heavily, and then continued wearily up the rest of the narrow, wooden stairs.

"Why don't you fight back?" she asked in disgust.

"I have no choice, but to submit," he answered.

"You have a choice: resist. I know you could win," she asserted.

"I have to do my part to end this," he stated calmly, "I have failed many times and now I feel I am failing you." He looked down, shaking his head. He didn't lift it again until Laiet spoke:

"How have you failed me? You only fail yourself by not living to your full potential."

"And that is where I have failed you. You don't see that power is not nearly so important as what is right," he said, the most lucid he had been throughout the whole conversation.

He dragged himself into his bed. He collapsed onto it, sprawled awkwardly, not bothering to get under the covers.

It was perplexing that at the moment she was set up to succeed, she kept remembering her father. He had always tried to correct and guide her, and now he seemed to be doing so, even after his death. Good riddance.

…………………………..

"Voldemort?" Alice asked.

"Merlin, didn't think you knew about him," Harry groaned

"Of course we do," Edward answered. "Oh," he yelped. He stood back, aghast. He ran his slender fingers through his bronze hair and a frown confused his faultless face. Collapsing into a chair, Edward rested his forehead against his hands. Bella glided over to him and he looked up. Her finger traced his high cheek bone affectionately and she held his face in her hands.

"Are you all right?" she asked, and then turning to Harry demanded, "What did you do to him." She drew herself up to her full height and stared down at him, menace in her soft brown eyes.

"Probably nothing he didn't deserve," Rosalie commented, as though bored by the proceedings. She looked down at her long fingernails, painted a bold fuchsia.

"Rosalie," Carlisle chastised.

"He saw a few less pleasant memories. If I could completely suppress them I would," Harry commented, in a would-be-casual voice. He stood up and took a tentative step towards Edward, but Bella stepped between them. Jasper, meanwhile had also stepped closer to Edward. "You think I mean him harm?" Harry scoffed.

"Of course, I don't," Jasper answered, Harry noticed Jasper putting careful emphasis on the "I", "but assuming I am correct, he is overwhelmed, something my power can help with." He looked into the chalky white face, framed by honey-golden hair. In his amber eyes was something that Harry knew was a love, love for his family. Like him, none of them had a real family, but they had each other. Something Harry had never had. Sure, he had Hermione and Ron, but they did have their own families, and as kind as they were him, it wasn't the same.

"It would be really helpful, if you thought of something happier," Edward muttered.

"Umm," Harry murmured.

"Is your life really that bad?"

"What do you think? You've seen a few typical memories," Harry derided. All the same, he could see the torment he was causing Edward, so he dug in for a few memories. He thought of Sirius, but that turned out to be a bad idea because that led to the Ministry and the veil. Obviously painful as Edward winced. "Sorry, sorry." Quidditch, that was pretty safe, until… dementers, his mother screaming, Voldemort's cruel, shrill laughter. Oh, hold on, he thought. He approached one more topic, Ginny. She had finally forgiven him for abandoning her in the 6th year. She meant everything to him.

"That's a little better," Edward commented.

"Can't you choose not to listen to my mind?"

"Unfortunately, no."

……………………………………..

Laiet considered the agreement with the Volturis merely tentative. She could change plans as necessary, though it did complicate things that they couldn't die. She had asked them how they intended to kill the other vampires, if they were immortal. They had said they would reveal as much when they were more certain of her trustworthiness. Rather forward, but they were fools; you should never trust.

"Trust me Laiet," her father beseeched her.

"Only fools trust," she opined. Her black eyes flashing power and rebellion and anger. Her arms were crossed dangerously.

"If Dumbledore had not trusted me, I would not have my life and Voldemort would be no closer to his defeat."

"He would if you let me at him," she jeered.

"Laiet, do not make the mistakes I have."

"Oh, trust me, I will not," she gibed, twisting his words. She drew her wand and marched purposefully out the door, into the abyss. As her father pursued her, his large robes tossed hither and thither in the violent wind, she increased her gait to near a run.

Then she nearly stopped; her father was crying.

He never cried, never.

…………………………………

Dawlish had been gone for 5 hours past the time he had set to return the Ministry. Kingsley could only assume that one of two things had happened: he was captured or he was dead.

"Proudfoot," Kingsley said heavily, "I believe we are in deep trouble."

"You don't say," noted Proudfoot sarcastically. Kingsley swore. "I expect a little more dignity from our Department head," Proudfoot added.

"If you fancy your job, you will keep your mouth shut. I have to return to the Cullens," Kingsley said hastily.

………………………………..

"This should be interesting," Emmett remarked.

"Edward should leave," Alice added, "I can see what he looks like when Harry's telling us… and it isn't pretty." She stood there, staring expectantly at Edward, looking sprite-like. Her short, spiky, brown hair seemed to give her a definitive attitude. Edward left grudgingly, not wanting to give in to the second vulnerability that had overcome him, (the first vulnerability had been Bella), in over a century. Under his sister's authoritative gaze, though, he gave in.

"Memories don't usually affect him like that, do they?" Harry asked tentatively. Harry looked remarkably weak, in comparison to everyone else in the room. He was skinny and frail, though in color he was quite comparable; his face had gone nearly as pale as their colorless skin.

"No," Esme answered softly, looking through the door Edward had left, as if she could somehow see him, even though by now he was likely miles away.

"What is it that disturbed Edward so much?" Harry stood up and began pacing the room, from the piano on one side of the room to the big screen television on the other side. He paced for several minutes before turning to speak.

"When I was an infant, Voldemort came and attacked my family, and even though I was the one he meant to kill, I survived. He lost all his powers when he tried to kill me; to the wizarding world, though there was no body, he was dead," Harry began in an unaffected voice.

"Do you miss your parents?" Alice whispered.

"I never knew them, but I miss them not being there for me," Harry answered quietly. His voice was still unaltered, but all the vampires, with their enhanced senses, could see the pain in his eyes. He looked away quickly, and then realized that he needed to continue. He took a deep breath:
"He went after the Philosopher's stone, sharing the body of my Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, and almost got it, but my friends and I stopped him, and then my headmaster Dumbledore saved me," Harry said running over his first year with no pain. It had seemed like a big deal at the time, but it was pretty small now.

"By Philosopher's stone, you mean a stone that creates elixir of life, don't you?" Carlisle asked, "I didn't realize they actually existed."

"One did," Harry answered, "but it was destroyed after Voldemort almost got a hold of it."

……………..

Edward knew he was more than far enough away, but he kept driving, pushing down on the pedal of his Volvo. Urging his car into impossible speeds, he shot along the curved street, turning the car with perfect instinct. The speed was not nearly enough to drive visions of agony, loss, and regret from his head. He pressed down on the petal once more.

Then, in an instant, it appeared he was going to collide headlong with a large truck. No one would believe he survived that unscathed.

……………………..

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