Carlisle and Esme returned three days later to report what they had learned of the situation and ask us to make a final decision. Again, we met around the dinning room table, this time I had Bella at my side.
Somehow, Hagrid had managed to arrive in England ahead of us, or at least it seemed he must, as Dumbledore was waiting at London Heathrow for us when we got off the red eye. He had already made arrangements for us to stay at a local bed and breakfast, out of the way from the main tourist area. The proprietors, the McDiarmids were used to having travellers from overseas who might need a day or two to overcome jet lag. We had a shared room, posing as a couple travelling with their Grandfather. Dumbledore is as meticulous about keeping up appearances as we are. Carlisle stated, clearly impressed over the details Dumbledore had gone through.
He was surprised to hear of the additional family members However, after some thought and discussion with us we came up with a possible solution, should we choose to go.
Sleeping arrangements? Emmet asked
Yes, I ll get to that Carlisle frowned. Hogwarts is actually located in Scotland. There is a small town, south of Edinburgh, called Peebles. On the southern end are the remains of a castle Neidpath Castle. What most people see is the castle tower, a ravine where the River Tweed runs, and then a large area of forest and hilly farmland. In actual fact, the hills and farmland are an illusion. This is where the school is located.
If it s an illusion, how are we supposed to find it? Jasper asked.
Dumbledore or one of the other Wizards will show us. Once we ve been shown, we will be able to see it.. Carlisle replied. I know, this is difficult to believe, but apparently this is how the spell works .
So where will we live? Rosalie asked.
In the nearby town The town is quite small, only about 8,000 in population. On the north side of town is a smaller castle, Castle Venlaw. It currently runs as a bed and breakfast, though business is not as busy over the school year as it is in the summer months. Dumbledore knows the owners. They have been considering doing some restoration work, but have been wavering as they also have desired a break to travel. He thinks he could convince them to allow a family to come restore the place while they live there for the year.
I looked at Esme then, knowing I would see the excitement in her eyes. The opportunity to restore a castle was impossible to resist. Alice started clapping her hands in anticipation as well.
Alice, this restoration will have to be to period. And there are no closets, only wardrobes! Esme said sternly. Alice s face fell only slightly.
And our cover story? Jasper asked, his mind already on strategy.
Yes, thank you Jasper It is not uncommon for wizards and witches to marry muggle mates. So I will pose as a Wizard and Esme will be my muggle wife he smiled at her as he spoke, which also opens the door for both magical and muggle children. Alice, Jasper and Emmet, you will be muggles. Edward and Rosalie, you will be magical, posing as exchange students from America. Since they are playing host to the two other magical schools one from France and one from Hungary a couple of American exchange students will fit right in.
Alice, we need you to be available for your gift. Though you might have a better time posing as magical because of your gift, Dumbledore agreed that having you free to consult at a moments notice was more important. Additionally, I thought you might enjoy working with Esme on the renovation project.
Alice grinned wickly, Yes, I m sure we ll have fun discussing what, exactly, is a period restoration
Rose, we will need you to be a part of student life, to keep an eye and ear on what people think, particularly the female population. You won t be staying in the dorm Carlisle added quickly, seeing the look on Rosalie s face harden, but you will have access as a part of one of the houses. Edward, you as well, though you will also have other responsibilities I will get to those in a moment.
Emmet, Dumbledore came up with an excellent idea for you something I think you are really going to enjoy. I knew you wouldn t want to be far from Rosalie, so we found an assignment for you on the grounds. As Hagrid mentioned, he is the groundskeeper. That involves watching over the creatures of the dark forest and he could use an assistant.
Cool! What kind of dark creatures are we talking about?
There are centaurs and giant spiders and the possibility of dragons.
Emmets eyes danced with enthusiasm and he imagined wrestling a dragon.
Jasper, like Alice, we would like to use your ability and knowledge. Dumbledore doesn t know exactly what will happen, only broad strokes. We would like to have you available to provide your experience in military strategy as we plot the next moves in this contest, as well as your ability to affect the emotions of the student body when necessary if you are agreeable. Therefore we don t have a specific duty for you, but you are welcome to assist Hagrid and Emmet when you wish.
Jasper turned and punched fists with Emmet then. I was moderately disappointed. It was clear there was another task or role I was to play and it must be significant as Carlisle was waiting to the end to present it. It would have been fun to wrestle dragons with Emmet and Jasper But I would do my duty, what was required of me
As far as the rest of the student body is concerned, Jasper and Alice are attending school in town. The students only go into town on breaks, and they don t mingle with the town s students, so there should be no issue with the fact that they won t actually be enrolled in school.
That leaves you, Edward and Bella. Carlisle turned to look both of us, his face and his thoughts hesitant. Edward, Dumbledore wants to enter you into the actual contest to keep a watch out for this Harry Potter. He is a younger student, 13 years of age, not actually old enough to enter. How he becomes entered and, eventually, chosen, is currently unclear, and once chosen, you can not back out. All we know is that his name is produced as a contestant from the goblet of fire. There are three tasks which are currently unknown but they are dangerous to muggles and, possibly to us as well. While we are immune to spells that would destroy mortal human bodies, which the wizards and witches possess, there are dangers that could harm us like fire. So I have not agreed to this on your behalf. I think you need to consider it very seriously before you agree.
Bella, you are part of this family. And yet, I do not know you as I know the rest of my children. I did not want to make any plans for you as I didn t have the opportunity to speak with you and I did not want to suppose I could imagine your wishes. Dumbledore has the ability to have you pose as a witch at Hogwarts also as an exchange student or you could remain in the town as a muggle. His expression turned soft, compassionate, as he considered what he had to say next.
You and Edward had planned to marry this August and to change you into a vampire. You may also want to consider whether this is the best timing for that or not. Again, I will leave that to you to discuss. This is not something I feel I should thrust upon you. You and Edward need to discuss it but we will need a decision very shortly as Dumbledore will need to make arrangements for us, should we choose to do this.
Carlisle turned his face to the rest of the family then, taking a moment to look each one in the face with the same love and concern he had for all of us. For that matter, I should say to all of you this is not thrust on any of you. I made arrangements which I thought would be satisfactory to all of you, but, of course, this needs to be something we do together unanimously. Perhaps you should take some time to discuss this with each other
I could see from the minds around the table, this was an unnecessary concession on Carlisle s part. The rest of my siblings were already decided and had moved onto thinking of the next steps of the plan. Jasper was considering where he might locate information on magical wars and battles to gain better insight into what he might encounter. Emmet was imagining what other dark creatures might exist in the dark forest and, of course, battling each one he came in contact with in his mind He also imagined what it might be like to wrestle Hagrid, though I didn t think Hagrid was one to wrestle Rosalie was picturing herself at a new school, full of adoring adolescent boys and the object of every adolescent girls envy. Alice had already slipped out of the room to Google Castle Venlaw with Esme close behind her
Wait a minute Carlisle, what about the magic. How are you and I and Rosalie and, possibly, Bella supposed to do magic This is a magical school. I suddenly asked.
Well, as exchange students, you won t be required to take all the courses. Some courses would be entirely possible for a muggle with enough knowledge like Herbology and Potions as well, two of the faculty, Professor Snape and Professor McGonagall will know of your presence and purpose. They will watch out for you. Rosalie, that should be enough for you to get by. Edward, on the other hand, you will need some magic to get through the tournament. Dumbledore can obtain for you an enchanted wand that will do a series of specific spells. However, he is also toying with the idea of having a student work along side you to deal with any issues that may be encountered. As someone actually in the tournament, you will gain quite a bit of attention. There may be situations where you will be called upon to exhibit your magical ability in unanticipated ways .
I could see in his mind where this was going and I braced myself. I knew Bella wasn t going to like this
So he suggested that, perhaps, one of the witches could pose as your girlfriend? Carlisle said apologetically, the statement directed at me, but looking at Bella.
WHAT! she screeched. Then flushed red in anger as tears pooled in her eyes. I watched her close her eyes as she took some deep breaths to calm herself after a few moments the colour drained from her cheeks and she seemed able to speak again. The room was silent, though I heard Emmet s thought Cat fight! as his eyes danced in amusement and he and Jasper shared a grin. I didn t need Alice s gift to see a bet coming on.
She finally opened her eyes to see that the remaining Cullens in the room were staring at her. She immediately flushed again, out of embarrassment now for her outburst. I m sorry, Carlisle. That caught me off guard.
Perfectly understandable. He responded softly, looking only at her with the kindest of eyes, fully of fatherly love. This was the other reason I made no commitments for you. Not only is this dangerous for Edward this will be difficult for you. I know how you feel for Edward. I know that you will not want him to be in danger but if he is, you will want to be nearby. However, it might also be very difficult to be nearby, but not with him to appear only as friends and acquaintances You need to know and consider that before you and Edward decide what you are willing to do.
She looked down at her hands, as she played with the ring on her left finger. I knew that if I looked in her eyes now, tears would be threatening, but she would hold them back in the presence of my family. I put my arms around her lovingly and rubbed her arm.
Let her decide, Edward. Carlisle directed at me. This will be hard for her, but it is only the beginning of the difficult things she will need to do as a part of this family, to protect the family.
I only nodded. I didn t want Bella to have to face this decision to have to live with the pain of whatever she decided. She had already given up so much was prepared to give up everything to be with me. And now she was asked to, in essence, give part of that up as well.
Let s go. I whispered to her. She just nodded her head. We left by the nearest exit as I threw her on my back and ran to our meadow.