Chapter notes: Since I wasn't really planning on it, I'll just tell you the mystery of the missing money and objects. I didn't mean to make it sound like such a big deal, because it's not. I just wanted to explain why Harry didn't have his keys.
I didn't intend to bash Dumbledore and this isn't a Bashing story. I like those on occasion, but not in this instance.
Now, Harry's parents did sign him up for Hogwarts at birth, it's why the first book never mentioned that he had to pay tuition fees and all of that. So, at the time, Dumbledore had a certain amount of authority of over him and he went ahead and claimed Harry's keys for him and paid what needed to be paid to attend school so that Harry wouldn't have to worry about it.
The extra money would have been given to him later. My excuse for it not happening in the book was that McGonnagall used it to buy his Nimbus 2000.
Dumbledore was going to slowly give Harry back his heirlooms (i.e. the invisibility cloak) as he got older in order to build trust, then he would later teach him how to handle his accounts appropriately. The pictures were to be used to make his parents' photo album. The pensive, however, was too useful NOT to use. So he isn't totally innocent.
The motorcycle wasn't taken precisely, more like, it was never returned. Sirius had lent his bike to Hagrid, but the half-giant never returned it. Therefore, it was considered missing.
A/N: Many thanks to my reviewers!!! I have gotten lots of useful and occasionally humorous suggestions on Harry's job. You'll find out what he will be in this chapter.
Chapter Four: Welcome to Hell...err...High school!
Christmas had come and past like it had every other year, not that he really noticed. He had never done anything special. It was simply easier not to be around when Dudley ripped open useless (but expensive) gifts that he would never appreciate.
On Christmas morning, he pulled on his heavy, winter coat, after noticing the thick snowfall outside, before making his way outside to his new (for him at least) truck. Jacob had been kind enough to show him how to put snow chains on the tires; he was glad that he had done it the night before because it was too cold to do it now. He practically leapt into the cab and slammed the door, immediately turning on the heater.
After acquiring his truck, he realized that he would need some sort of identification. He was now the proud owner of an American license, the dream of every 16 year old. He didn't have any trouble with the tests, they were fairly identical to the ones in London, and he figured that his only problem would be remembering what side of the road to drive on.
Once he was relatively thawed out, he cranked the truck and eased out of the drive way...no need to tempt Fate with his death again, snow chains or not; he wasn't taking any chances on the slick roads.
Nearly everything was closed; most of the local businesses were family owned, so he was pleasantly surprised to find an illuminated 'Open' sign on a small restaurant called 'The Lodge'.
Thinking back, he remembered passing this place once or twice while running errands, it was usually pretty packed, each spot filled with cars of all types. Now, however, the tiny parking lot and surrounding areas were mostly empty with only three cars parked in the lot near the entrance. So, with a mental shrug, he parked next to a rusty old pick-up and quickly made his way inside.
The place had a pretty welcoming feel to it. Not cozy by any means, it was entirely too masculine to be considered 'cozy'. Two older men sat at the bar talking in low voices while another man sat in a booth sipping coffee and reading a news paper.
The waitress behind the bar saw him and smiled. She seemed like one of those motherly types of women. She was probably in her late thirties, early forties.
"Hey kid, what can I get you?" she inquired, pulling out a used notepad and pencil.
He smiled in return, sliding into a seat on the bar. "Just a coffee, thanks." He replied.
"Sure thing Hun." She said pleasantly, pulling a mug out from under the counter and snagging up a half-filled container of coffee.
She hesitated, frowning at the contents. "Hmm, I can either nuke it for you or make you a new pot." She said with a sigh as she realized the coffee wouldn't be hot.
"No, it's fine; just add a few ice cubes." He said with another amused grin. She nodded and complied with his wishes.
"Here you go." She told him, placing the mug in front of him.
"I haven't seen you around before. Passing through?" she inquired.
"No. My relatives and I just moved here."
Her eyes lit up in recognition.
"You're a Dursley then? I've met your father...interesting guy." She said with a grimace.
Yeah, interesting was a good way to describe him.
"Fath- oh! No, Vernon's not my father, he's my Uncle. I'm Hadrian. Hadrian Potter. Though everyone calls me Harry."
"Oh, sorry. I'm Diana Cope." She told him, shaking his hand firmly.
"It's a pleasure to meet you Miss Cope."
"Oh, just Diana...that's what I answer too." she said chuckling. "What's a little thing like you doing all the way out here on Christmas morning?"
Harry shrugged, sipping his coffee. "I've never really celebrated holidays." he told her. It was the truth anyway.
"Won't your family want you around?"
"We...don't get along that well. What about you? From the looks of things this is the only place open."
She snorted. "These men here would starve without my services." She gave a playful glare to the men at the bar.
"Isn't that right Steve!" She called down to one of the men. One turned to her with a look of confusion in his eyes.
"Ah...yeh sure Diana...whatever you say." He agreed quickly. She gave a triumphant grin, making him knock a few years off her estimated age.
"Besides, my sister is out of town. She won't be back until the school year starts. She's a receptionist at Forks High."
She refilled his almost-empty mug.
"Besides, it's nice to be able to work without all the stress. We've been short handed lately." she admitted.
Harry perked up.
"Oh?"
"Yeah. One of our main waiters, Andy, decided to go off and marry some girl he met online."
Harry grinned. Normally, he didn't enjoy gossip, no matter how amusing small-town scandals were. This time however, it worked to his advantage.
"Really? That's pretty bad, maybe I could be of some assistance. You see...I'm looking for a part-time job, mostly after-school stuff."
Her eyes lit up. "Do you have a resume?"
He nodded. "I have a copy in my truck. Do I give it to you?"
She nodded. "Go get it and I'll have a look while you enjoy your coffee." She ordered. He quickly complied.
Thirty minutes later, he walked out with a grin. Finding a job wasn't as hard as he thought it would be.
BLOODMOONBLOODMOONBLOODMOONBLOODMOONBLOODMOON
Harry looked through the CDs that Esme had left him. There was quite a variety to choose from; mostly old classics though, and a lot of piano music. He didn't mind though, he enjoyed all types of music.
As long as it was actual music and not people screaming at each other with some twisted parody of a beat in the background.
He had heard most of the songs from either his humanities course or his music classes, so he wasn't entirely culturally deprived.
He passed over the Clair de Lune and paused, there was an unmarked CD. With a frown, he set it aside and found another blank CD. He searched through the disks and found several others; they made a pretty large stack.
He looked at them and shrugged. 'Why not? It's not like it will hurt anything,' he thought to himself, picking one at random.
He popped the disk into the portable CD player he had bought himself for his 16th birthday and hit 'play'.
His jaw dropped in utter amazement as the most beautiful sound he had ever heard came through his headphones. His breathing hitched at the utter emotion in the soft tunes that echoed up from the notes of a piano. He had never heard anything like it before in his life!
The next song was just as breathtaking as the first, if not more so. Are all the unmarked CD's this wonderful? He asked himself, reaching for another to pop into his cd player.
They were that wonderful ..he quickly made a separate pile with the unmarked cd to listen to when he had the time.
BLOODMOONBLOODMOONBLOODMOONBLOODMOONBLOODMOON
The first day of school had finally arrived and Harry was thrilled. He wasn't sure how much longer he could stand the company of his relatives.
For the most part, they ignored him. He tried not to leave his room unless he had to do his chores, but he was always aware of their presence in the house. Especially during breakfast and lunch.
Since Dudley had to make his own snacks now, a rather pathetic attempt on Petunia's part to get him to lose some weight, the fat pig took full advantage of Harry's cooking to make up for his own failed culinary attempts.
Vernon used the time to happily insult him and his parents.
Harry wasn't openly beaten, as he had been before rejecting his Hogwarts letter, but he was given the occasional slap or shove. If he messed up or wasn't fast enough. It happed enough that he was no longer really bothered by it, no one listened to him anyway.(1)
He heard Dudley throw his alarm clock and rolled his eyes. If Dudley wanted to be late then he'd be late. Harry wasn't going to wake him.
He grabbed his well worn, but still in good condition book-bag and stuffed it with a note book and binder along with his now-filled CD case, player and head-phones.
He could listen to his music at lunch.
He didn't wear anything fancy; this was school, he wasn't going on a date and he certainly didn't have the money to waste on the expensive brands. He had on a pair of simple time-faded jeans, a green t-shirt with the words 'Always remember you're unique... Just like everyone else.' and a pair of comfortable sneakers.
He spent his vault money on his magical education and equipment. The card was set up so that he had a limit on how much he could spend in a month until he turned 17...which was the age he'd be considered an adult in the Wizarding world, though he wouldn't be able to receive his full inheritance until he turned 18, when he'd be of age in the muggle world. He knew all too well that Voldemort wouldn't let him live; he also knew that the man-thing was old enough to be his grandfather and had much more experience. So he tried not to spend his inheritance on anything other than his magical education...he needed all the help he could get.
The trunks in his mother's vaults had helped him immensely. He had been able to go over his first five years of Hogwarts from the perspective of five very different people...yes; even Peter had an original outlook on how he learned the filthy rat. He was able to grasp the sixth and seventh year curriculum easily through their eyes. The marauders had also left behind a good deal of spells and potion recipes that he had no idea even existed, they probably used in their pranks.
He went downstairs, setting his bag by the door before starting breakfast. It was Wednesday, so it was bacon and egg day. He was setting it on the table by the time that Dudley waddled down in his boxers.
Ewww.
He suppressed a shudder and turned away quickly, grabbing his bag and coat before making his escape before Vernon came down.
He liked his coat. It was one of his most cherished possessions. It was a well worn, brown leather coat. He had found it in his father's old school trunk. His mother had given it to his father for their first year anniversary. Under the coat he found a photo album filled with pictures of both of his parents and in them, James was almost always wearing it. It held a faint, comforting smell he couldn't quite identify, it never really faded. It had been a muggle coat, but one of his parents had enchanted it at some point. It never ripped, tore, stained or got dirty and it was always the perfect temperature. It was nice to have something relatively normal from his parents. Most of their belongings couldn't be worn in the muggle world. In fact, the only other thing he had of them that could be worn was his parent's wedding rings and his mother's engagement ring. He wore all three on a chain around his neck. (2)
He quickly made his way to his truck, trying to avoid getting soaked by the frigid rain. He wasn't entirely sure why it wasn't snow instead, it was certainly cold enough!
He climbed into the spacious cab and quickly had the heat on. He was nearly thawed by the time he made it to school.
The previous day, he had gone up to the school to get his schedule before classes started. Ms. Shelly Cope, Diana's sister, had his schedule ready and was happy to give him an admittedly short tour. Forks High was nothing compared to Hogwarts, and he seriously doubted that he'd get lost.
He found a parking place near the entrance and swiftly made his way inside. He shook his head lightly to clear his hair of any rain drops and looked around.
He was slightly early, but there were already several unfamiliar teenagers lounging around before class. They stared at him openly, causing him to sigh inwardly.
He hated when people stared. It was so...rude! He shook his head again, this time in annoyance as he made his way to his first class.
Trigonometry with Mr. Varner...yay.
BLOODMOONBLOODMOONBLOODMOONBLOODMOONBLOODMOON
"Ah! You must be Mr. Potter." Mr. Varner said as he entered.
"Yes sir." He replied.
"Wonderful. Here are your books and a copy of the syllabus. I'm afraid we only have one seat open." He guided Harry to a desk in the left hand corner of the front row.
"You'll be sitting next to Alice Cullen. Polite girl, if a bit...unusual." He muttered as he walked away.
Cullen? I wonder if she is one of Esme's adoptive children. He thought as he flipped through the pages of the book lazily and waited for the first bell.
After the first bell, people quickly moved inside, giving him curious (but annoying) stares as they did so.
A rather short boy with black hair and dark brown eyes sat in the desk behind him. He offered Harry a polite smile.
"You must be Hadrian Potter. I'm Ben Cheney." He offered quietly. Harry gave a small smile in return.
"Just Harry if you don't mind, 'Hadrian' is a bit of a mouthful." He replied. Ben grinned and turned to his homework, looking it over once more before he had to turn it in. It was then he felt a cold, tingling sensation along his magic that signaled the arrival of a vampire. He turned in time to see a small, pixie-like girl with short, spiky black hair the tale-tell topaz eyes that told him she was a 'vegetarian' vampire.
She beamed at him.
"Oh, Hi! You must be Harry! Esme told me all about you!" She said cheerfully. He couldn't stop his small chuckle at her enthusiasm.
"Nothing bad I hope. I tried to be on my best behavior." He said in response, smiling a little.
She giggled. "Quite the gentleman! She was pleased, there are so few of those these days."
Harry blushed slightly, but was unable to form a reply as the final bell rang.
He had little trouble with the subject. He was a bit ahead of everyone and easily finished the assigned work.
"Finished already Mr. Potter?" Mr. Varner inquired as he set his sheet on the man's desk. Harry nodded.
"Very well, you may amuse yourself until the bell rings. Just try not to disturb everyone." his teacher said dismissively.
Harry sat down and pulled out his CD player and headphones, hitting 'play' and sitting back in his seat to let the music flow over him.
He didn't notice Alice shooting him a surprised but delighted look. He barely heard the bell as it rung but sighed as he packed up his belongings.
He was surprised when Alice touched his arm.
"Was that part of the collection that Esme gave you?" She asked, pointing to the CD player that he was trying to put away. He blushed slightly.
"Oh...um, yeah. You don't mind do you? I mean...I didn't ask for them I just-" He asked a bit worriedly.
Her eyes danced. "Mind? No! Do you like it?" She asked, her grin widening.
"Like it? It's amazing! I've never heard anything so...perfect! Do you know who made it?"
She just laughed and danced away.
He sighed. Oh well...maybe she'll tell later? He thought hopefully to himself. He began walking to the doorway and stopped in surprise as he saw Ben waiting for him.
"Um...hey. Do you need any help to your next class?" Ben inquired kindly. "I don't mind showing you around."
Harry blinked. "Oh, I have Mr. Mason next, English. I think I remember the way."
Ben grinned. "I have him too. It would be nice to have some company...if you don't mind of course."
"No, I don't mind. Company would be great." Harry said with a smile. "I've never really been good at making friends." He admitted.
"Really? You're so nice though! Even Alice Cullen likes you!" Ben gasped. Harry shrugged.
"I've always been too busy with my studies, I guess." He said, hiding a wince. That was certainly the truth.
Ben smiled a bit. "It sounds like you'll get along great with Angela."
"Who?"
"Angela Weber. She's kinda quiet and likes her books. She's really nice. She has the prettiest brown eyes..."
Harry looked at Ben with some amusement. Poor guy had it bad.
BLOODMOONBLOODMOONBLOODMOONBLOODMOONBLOODMOON
Lunch time couldn't come soon enough.
It wasn't like he had trouble, but everyone was so damn rude! They were always staring or demanding answers like he owed them something!
Where are you from? Hey! Your Harry Potter right? Do you have a girlfriend? Why did you move? Are you single? Can I be your girlfriend? Why is your cousin such a dick? Can I have your number?
He snatched up his tray viciously, scaring the lunch lady as she set out the food.
GAH!! If one more girl approached him he was going to...
"Hi! I'm Jessica!" A chirpy voice said.
His eye twitched.
"Hey Harry!" Ben said walking over to him with a polite smile. "Would you like to sit with us?" He asked, gesturing to a table where a tall girl with long, light brown hair and gentle light brown eyes was setting down her tray.
"Sure." He said with effort. Trying hard not to strangle the chattering girl in front of him. He made his escape before she could catch her breath.
Ben snorted.
"Jessica Stanley. You won't get rid of her that easily." The girl said catching on as he sat across from her. Ben took the seat to his left. He felt a strange, familiar tingling, but he couldn't quite remember what it meant.
He grinned in reply.
"Worth a shot. Do you think she'll back off if I tell her I'm gay?" he asked easily. No longer caring about the reactions of other people.
Ben and the girl grinned. "You could give it a shot I guess but then again, she may make it her mission in life to make you strait." She told him, eyes laughing.
He chuckled. "I'm Harry." he told her offering his hand. She took it with a smile. The tingling intensified, its meaning tugged at the edge of his mind. It was so...familiar.
"Angela." She replied.
His eyes lit up. "Angela Weber by any chance?" he asked, his eyes drifting to Ben, who had a steady blush building up his neck and cheeks.
"Yep. How'd you know?" She asked surprised.
He shrugged, "Oh, just whispers here and there, nothing bad. You are pretty." he told her.
She blushed. Her eyes flicking to Ben before they dropped to the table in embarrassment. He grinned. They both had it bad, and for each other no less! He couldn't wait to see how this played out.
Ben quickly excused himself. Angela smiled and leaned forward.
"So...you're the Great Harry Potter huh?"
The source of the mysterious tingling hit him like a bludger. His eyes widened and he leaned forward. Now he felt really dumb. How did he not know what she was!? He wanted to smack himself.
"You're a witch?" he hissed, so only she would hear. She laughed and nodded.
"Yeah. I'm a half-blood. My mother is a pureblood. She's been homeschooling me."
He smiled hesitantly. "Um...you aren't going to...ah..."
She gave an understanding grin. "Spread the fact around that the oh-so Great and Powerful Boy-Who-Lived is living in Forks? No. I can see that you don't like attention as much as the rumors say you do."
He gave a sigh of relief. "Thank you" he breathed. She giggled madly.
"So," he said a bit weakly. "Home school? Is there a local Magical community then?"
"Not in Forks, but both Port Angeles and Seattle have one. My brothers are attending the 'local' school, Brinewood. It's located on an uncharted island in the ocean, not far from the coast. Ben probably knows more about it. He's a squib and can probably tell you more about it than I can. He went there for a year to learn the basic courses. You know, like history and theory. I'll give you a map on how to find the Alley entrances later. Do you have an owl? My Leona is delivering a letter for my mother."
"Yes, his name is Vex. I'll send him by after school." He said as Ben returned.
Then...
"Hey! I didn't see you leave!"
Damn.
Jessica sat down on his right, and as if she were the one to break the ice, all of the other chairs at the table were suddenly filled with several unfamiliar teens with big smiles and he imagined, bigger egos. He closed his eyes.
So much for a quite lunch. Ben and Angela looked annoyed and gave him apologetic glances. He just shrugged and picked up his pizza...only to have a large, meaty hand snatch it away.
"Thanks Freak." Dudley said smirking as he stuffed his face with pilfered pizza, Harry sighed, looking over to see that his cousin already had a gaggle of idiots following him around. He idly wondered what he had threatened them with before dismissing the thought. He really didn't want to know.
He looked back; Ben and Angela were giving him odd looks, but thankfully didn't comment on it. He just shrugged, "My cousin, Dudley. Try not to let him bully you too much." he replied, ignoring the fact that he had just been bullied.
Then, they arrived.
He saw Alice first. She smiled and waved cheerfully at him before sitting on the lap of a tall well built man/boy with honey blond hair. He smiled in return, glancing at them all briefly before minding his own business.
"Oh! Seems you met the Cullen's." Jessica said, oblivious to his annoyance.
He rolled his eyes and tried to ignore her.
"They're all...together you know. I mean...they even live together!" She said in a disgusted, appalled tone of voice. She didn't even bother with whispering. "It's almost incest!"
He glared at her. Angela cut in then, obviously angry.
"Leave it alone Jess! They're all adopted. Only Jasper and Rosalie are related by blood. It isn't incest and you know it." She said harshly.
Jessica ignored her.
"Their parents are all dead, you know; they're all orphans!" She told him; as if it were their fault their parents were dead.
"I heard that Mrs. Cullen can't have kids." She told him in a scandalized tone.
Ok, now she was really pissing him off.
He slammed his uneaten apple down and turned to face her fully.
"I'm an orphan. Is there something wrong with that?" he asked her in a deadly tone of voice.
"In fact, no one bothered adopting me. I don't have a mother and personally, I'd give anything to have one as kind and as gentle as Mrs. Cullen. So would you kindly shut the hell up!" He snarled, standing with his tray. He quickly dumped it and stalked outside to the patio tables, ignoring the whispers that followed him.
He heaved a sigh and leaned against the brick wall. It was drizzling slightly, and the cold air stung. He ignored it though, unwilling to go back inside as his magic danced dangerously to the surface.
It wouldn't do to blow Jessica up in front of a hundred odd witnesses.
"Thanks."
He jumped in surprise and spun quickly to see Alice standing there with a smile. Her siblings stood behind her, carefully not looking at him.
He clutched chest in an attempt to slow the frantic heart rhythm.
"Holy Shit! Don't you ever make noise?" he questioned lightly, grinning to take the sting out of it.
She grinned in reply. "Nope! Really, thank you. No one ever stands up for us."
Harry shrugged. "It was more for Esme." he admitted. "She is the kindest person I've ever met. You're all very lucky to have her as a mother." he said softly, his eyes longing.
They were all looking at him now.
"Yes, we are." The beautiful blonde girl said with a small not-quite-a-smile-but-close, seemingly shocking her siblings as she spoke up.
"I'm Rosalie. This is my boyfriend Emmett." She pointed to the mountain of grinning muscle beside her. His grin widened as he gave a cheeky wave.
"My brothers Jasper," she pointed to the honey blonde who held Alice in the protective cradle of his arms. "And Edward. You already know Alice."
Edward was tall, but not as tall as his 'brothers', with oddly colored, but attractive, bronze hair.
He was easily the most beautiful, even standing next to the model-blonde Rosalie...but that was probably his sexual preference talking.
He felt a nudge on his mind-shields and frowned slightly, his eyes searching out each of them and finding Edward's coal-black orbs.
He nudged the vampire's mind in return.
'That isn't very polite.' he informed the vampire mentally. Those eyes widened and his jaw dropped. Harry grinned a bit and made his way inside as the bell rang, his grin widened as he watched out of the corner of his eye to see Edward's siblings practically pounce on him to ask him what had happened.
He looked back once to see Alice grin at him and give him a double thumbs-up before he was swallowed by the masses.
(Next chapter: Spanish! Harry and Edward finally have a class together!! Yay! From what I remember, Edward has spanish after Biology, so he will still be meeting Bella...she will just be more like really tasty smelling food rather than a potiental girlfriend. He will never develop an unnatural interest in her.)
BLOODMOONBLOODMOONBLOODMOONBLOODMOONBLOODMOON
Ending notes.
People have been asking me about Harry's age. He is 16 going on 17; I want him to be the same 'age' as Edward when he is turned.
And no. Ben isn't trying to win Harry's affections. He is just trying to be a good person. Like Angela.
Also, I will be going by the Twilight timeline. There is a link to it in my profile. Bella arrives in Forks on Monday, January 17th. She starts school on the 18th.
Harry started school on Wednesday, January 5th.
(1) Since Harry decided not to go to Hogwarts, Dumbledore felt it best that he remain within the Dursley home...despite the abuse. So, every time that he told someone and Harry's place within the Dursley home was threatened, Dumbledore would send a ministry official to obliviate everyone involved.
He isn't evil, he has the best of intentions towards Harry...but you all know what they say about good intentions.
(2)Link to picture in profile.
It took me AGES to find the perfect ring. Everything was so gaudy! But I guess that's just me. I prefer something small and simple.
Have fun!! R&R!!