Disclaimer: All rights go to J.K Rowling and Stephanie Meyer.

Chapter 6 - House Arrest

"Oh my god I can't believe you!" Daphne Greengrass was stood over one of her best friends, one who she hadn't seen since the Yule Ball. And that wasn't a happy memory at best.

"Lovely to see you too." She remarked. Not even glancing up from the small compact mirror as she applied mascara.

"Where have you been?" She gasped sitting down heavily next to her, she huffed as she almost stabbed herself in the eye.

"Salem."

"America?" She gasped, Bella hummed a reply. "Wow! What's it like there?"

"Well, it's all girls." Daphne sighed automatically.

"How awful."

"I know. And the work load is unbelievable."

"Hard?"

"No, unbelievably easy. I hardly had homework."

"Well that's why American's are stupid." He shrugged, Bella snickered.

"Stereotype much. Anyway that's not the worst part, the worst part is that it had nothing to do with blood purity. And I'm sure the whole time I was there I didn't meet one single pure-blood. The blood line's are so diluted. You have to take a test before you enter, see how good you are at magic."

"It sounds horrible." Daphne said putting her hand in a bad of half-eaten crisps lying on the coffee table in the middle of the room.

"Is that sarcasm?" Bella asked placing her make-up back into its bag.

"Sort of." She shrugged. "So, when does jail duty end?"

"I wouldn't exactly call it jail duty. I was in hospital."

"Tomatoes tomatoes." She said pronouncing the American and English version, Bella snickered rolling her eyes.

"You mud-blood!" She slapped her shoulder lightly, Daphne looked offended.

"Stop joking around about that, it is offensive to some people!" Andromeda called out, both girls looked at each other and snickered quietly.

"I'm half actually!" She jokingly flipped her hair back.

"So what have I missed at Hogwarts?" She felt strange asking, being back home with Daphne as they sat in the living room eating a bag of sensations while the radio played in the background. It felt like she hadn't been away.

"God, well…." She trailed off grinning ready to spill everything. "Blaise is still pining after you. It's pathetic really."

She winced as she mentioned this at the thought of Edward. She missed him bitterly, she could still remember those months vividly without him.

"Pathetic." She echoed.

"I know that look." She giggled grabbing her arm.

"What look?" Bella resisted rolling her eyes.

"You still like him!"

Bella stopped biting her lip, did she still like Blaise? No, currently she hated him. But once she got over that. Would she like him in that way? Surely not. She was entirely devoted to Edward. Not that she was one of those pathetic heroines who needed a man to save them. They were two parts, making a whole. He needed her as much as she needed him, she knew that.

"No." She finally answered.

"You're sure you're not lying?" Daphne asked, Bella raised her eyebrow sarcastically. "Fine."

She had known Daphne Greengrass since her first year when she had met her on the Hogwarts express she was one of the ones in Pansy Parkinson's carriage when she had appeared and as if anyone had seen Neville's toad, although they had never been closer than that. They could hold a conversation if alone together, but would never choose to be. Both preferring the companionship of Pansy Parkinson, not that they had anything against each other. Just nothing in common, or so they believed.

Where Bella was slightly above average height, average weight, with black hair and the classic Black good looks. Daphne was very tall with light brown almost blonde hair and cutting blue eyes. She was exceptionally thin, which Bella and Pansy were slightly envious of.

During their third year the two girls grew apart from Pansy and became closer with each other, not having to worry about their catty comments being told to anyone else as Pansy had done. They shared a dormitory together and became close, although that dormitory was shared with Pansy, another girl Tracey Davis who wasn't very chatty and had her own friends who spent most of their time in the library.

Although Bella was never friendly with the girls as much as she was with the boys.

She preferred talking to Theodore Nott, Draco Malfoy and …. Blaise. She thought the name with contempt.

Although Andromeda did not allowed boys over, even though she was sixteen. And so she had called Daphne who caught her up on every boyfriends, girlfriend and break up of the last two years.

"So, when can you leave?" She asked once again.

"I don't know, but first I have to return to… Salem… to get my things anyway. I did leave quite suddenly."

"So you are coming back to Hogwarts? For definite?"

"Yes. Although it shan't be as enjoyable as all those American girls." Daphne laughed.

"So, if you don't like Blaise. Do you have another man in your life?" Bella snorted at her phrase, and the way she asked with raised eyebrows (a different colour from her hair which she claimed wasn't dyed.)

"I do."

"And does he have a name?"

"He does."

She whined then, "oh come one Bella! Tell me!"

Bella laughed doing her best acting, "I was just joking " Daphne groaned.

"No fair. Anyway, what time is it?" She glanced at the large clock hanging over the mantle piece. "I have to be back in my cell by seven. Family dinner or something." She rolled her eyes standing before leaning over to give Bella a hug. "You shall expect an influx of letters from everyone. Bye." She waved before stepping into the giant fireplace Andromeda had connected to the floo network.

"Fantastic, bye!" Bella called to her as she disappeared with a poof of green smoke.

She stood carefully wincing a tiny bit, before going through to the back of the house where Ted had his TV room, every muggle appliance he wished. From a massive plasma screen and silly Xbox and play stations.

The front room, was completely non-muggle. Moving photographs, radio, grammar phone. It was for when Andromeda brought her work home. And for when Bella brought round her friends, as none of them would be particularly happy with the muggle standards she lived in.

And to tell the truth, she wasn't too happy about muggle appliances. Growing up in a house like 12 Grimmauld no one would be.

Living as a muggle she had gotten used to it, but she still didn't like it. Old habits die hard, she guessed.

She went and sat in the kitchen where her mother was making dinner. "Is Dora coming?"

"Oh is that infernal girl gone? Good."

Bella snickered, she didn't like any of her friends. All 'super-Slytherin's' as she put.

Daphne had heard of Bella being back in England due to her aunt working at St Mungo's alongside Andromeda, and when a letter had appeared demanding to see her she wasn't opposed as Ted and Andromeda were driving her slowly crazed. She hadn't seen anyone but them and Dora since the accident and so she hadn't minded Daphne barging in.

"And Dora is supposed to be coming, but I don't know whether she can get of work." She stopped slicing the carrots for a moment. "Please to god don't tell me you want to be an auror?"

Bella shrugged thinking. "Too much effort." She eventually said, Andromeda letting out a sign of relief.

"Thank god, what you do plan on doing anyway?" She asked genuinely intrigued.

"I plan on marrying that smoking hot vampire and living off their riches." She deadpanned.

"You are serious aren't you?" Bella laughed in response agreeing.

"The Black family way."

Andromeda rolled her eyes, "also I need new clothes. Dora's cast off's are killing me. She lives in jeans and ratty band t-shirts. I actually have taste." Bella whined.

"We'll go shopping at the weekend."

"Yes." She almost staggered as Bella threw herself at her wrapping her arms around Andromeda. "I'm as tall as you now!" Bella giggled as she was shoved away.

The portkey arrived in London, alongside the mountain of luggage Alice had packed. The seven vampires who never had felt anything quite like it before all felt nauseous, something they had not felt in a long time.

"This is the Leaky Cauldron. I have got a place for you to stay for a week while we work things out. Understood?" Dumbledore asked, Carlisle nodded feeling queasy. The Leaky Cauldron, although turned out to be better than the run down outsides. Was still dirty, and very old, and so smelt.

Edward lay on his four-poster bed with his arms over his head.

He was trying to accept everything that had happened in the last twenty-four hours. But was mainly worrying about Bella. Was she alright? Would she recover? How long would it take for her to recover something as bad as that?

He kept seeing flashes of the light, then her, lying motionless upon the floor. In his nightmares, she was dead. Well it was as close as a nightmare a vampire could get to. The man was no help. He resisted the urge to pace up and down his sufficiently small room. He could hear his siblings talking in the rooms adjacent.

Hopefully they wouldn't be doing any bed breaking while they were here.

Among his suitcases, there was a smaller hand-held bag. Of which was filled with Bella's clothes, Alice had packed it in case she needed it while she was here. He was still unsure of whether to even trust this Dumbledore, had he saved Bella? Carlisle had similar thoughts.

Was he even on the good side? Although then that would mean that Bella was on the bad side, although he…. He could see it. Sometimes with the girls in Forks high. He highly doubted she was like that, although she could be cruel. Although never, ever to him.

He missed her terribly. Even those months he had left to go hunt Victoria. Those contact-less months had left their toll on his as much as hers. He could still remember their reunion. Hot kisses, and a deep urgency. It was wonderful.

He let his mind wander then.

Even to their first time.

Although it was not his first time, everything felt different and new again. And Bella was beautiful. And perfect.

He let himself drown in memories of her, perfect. It was prom, and a cliché, but she had giggled and said they were allowed to have on cliché in a relationship such as theirs.

"Edward!" He felt something hit him and his eyes flew open as he jumped off the bed.

He had missed Emmett's elephant-like footsteps bursting into his room.

"You miss her?" He asked leaning against the doorframe. Edward sunk back into the bed.

"Obviously. And I don't even know if she ok." He rubbed his face sinking back into the bed.

"It's Bella. I'm sure she'll be as right as rain. But what do you think of this, it's so cool! Hogwarts and all!" Emmett looked like a small child on Christmas as his mind exploded with all the different theories about magic and Hogwarts and such.

"You're not annoyed about Bella not telling us?" Edward asked genuinely interested.

Emmett shrugged, "she couldn't with that spell. Un-breakable vow. She would've died, Dumbledore told me." In his mind Edward heard how he felt special after Dumbledore had provided this with his.

In the Cullen family dynamic, Carlisle and Esme were the parents. The caregivers. Alice and Rosalie were the daughters. And Emmett the brother, the protector of the family. Which was what Dumbledore had seen him as.

Jasper and Edward felt like they did not fit into this perfect family. Although Jasper had once called Edward the prodigal son.

"What do you think about Hogwarts?" Edward asked Emmett who was dying for him to ask, while trying to hide his thoughts.

"Oh god it sounds boss!" He exploded grinning. "Doesn't it, they can do whatever they want. I was listening to them talking downstairs about quidditch, this sport which is literally played on flying broomsticks. Look!" He shoved a newspaper in his face.

The name of the paper read The Daily Prophet.

Which actually had moving pictures, Edward was momentarily stunned. "Wow."

"I know, they move and everything." The two of them flipped through the paper, Edward in awe. Magic was amazing. So far he had only seen the harmful things. Now he was seeing the other side.

At the back, in the sport section, was a picture of a man riding a broomstick. Quidditch was a real sport, on brooms.

He pushed Bella to the edge of his mind and for that moment acted like a teenage boy finding out about such an amazing sport.

The Cullen's were imprisoned inside the Leaky Cauldron for around a week, each day Dumbledore would visit with books for them to read. And sit talking with them letting them question him mercilessly.

On the last day that Dumbledore had told them they would be here for he appeared, and finally had news of Bella.

She was home safe.

It was on a piece of parchment written by a woman named Andromeda Tonks. It was mainly a rant about how she expected her daughter would have not come to any harm, and how he would not be trusted in his care again.

"Daughter? But they have different second names?" Esme asked gently.

"Ms Black had a complicated life, her parents dying when she was just a baby. She was left in the care of her grandmother, Walburga Black. But when she was six she passed away and ended up in an muggle orphanage for a while, well foster home or care home as they are now called. But Andromeda Tonks her aunt once removed, found out and took her in. She has lived there ever since."

Edward didn't know quite what to say, she had always seemed at such ease with Charles Swan. And now she wasn't even related to him?

He didn't know what to do.

Should he be angry at her? Shout and roar at her for lying? Or accept like she did him.

"How did you get into my room!" She hissed angrily attempting to cover herself up with her strappy pyjama top. Her pink flowery bra on show. Her cheeks flushed some.

"This better?" He asked covering his eyes with his hands. He heard her mutter under his breath 'childish' he snickered .

"Marginally. But if you peep through your fingers, I shall have to murder you to protect my virtue!" She said straight faced. He hid his smirk as she turned around and pulled her top on quickly over her head. "I cannot believe you!" She hissed. "How did you get in?" She asked genuinely curious.

"You father let me in." Her shocked faced showed how gullible she was. After he laughed she huffed throwing herself on her bed, and gently hitting his arm. Only doing it gently so she wouldn't hurt her own arm.

"You're so mean, but I'm guessing the window?" He nodded smiling shyly. "You know that's a bit weird. You don't do that to girls in the 'burbs. Maybe in Seattle. Not here."

He laughed throwing his head back, somehow she had managed to reassure him. It still felt strange these strong powerful, moving, feelings. He was shy, awkward. A seventeen year old boy. Something he hadn't been in a long time. He made him feel shy! Of all things. Unsure how she would react, he was ready to flee. But here she was attempting to be subtle, shuffling closer to him.

"My apologies Madam, I shall not do it again." He apologised winking.

"Hey!" She jumped on top of his pushing on his shoulders so he was lying down on the small single bed, and she was straddling him. "I didn't say don't do it again."

She pressed her soft lips to his, her breath tasting of mint. He grinned placing his hands on her hips, sliding them down gently so they were just on the inside of her shorts waistband

He hadn't don't this sort of things before, he had never been so gentle. Felt so much he felt his heart would explode in his chest. He had never been so caring so loving.

It had just been something to take his mind off the monotony of his life.

With Bella, it was new and hot… like fire. A burning in his chest.

After they had finished making out she rolled onto her side next to him, her finger trailed up his face before resting in his hair gently stroking it. He felt his eyes close as she played with his hair, he felt relaxed, almost if he could sleep.

Suddenly she giggled, and loudly. His eyes shot open as she sat up pressing her hand over her mouth.

"What?" He asked urgently grasping her arms pulling them away from her mouth. "What's wrong?"

This just made her giggle more.

After she had calmed down she managed to speak, "You purred!"

He knew his face would have been bright red had he been human. "I… I…I… didn't…. I…" He managed to stutter through his words. She moved so she was suddenly sitting on his knee. Her scent, so potent. Was so appealing, even now he was aroused.

Her finger traced the black circles under his eyes, "I don't mind. I think its…. Sweet." She licked her lips leaning closer to him. "I love your eyes, they're so unique."

At these words he shut his eyes, if only she knew.

"Tell me." She whispered into his ear suddenly. "Please. I…. I love you." She slammed her eyes shut as quickly as he had opened them. Her face was scrunched up, her nose all scrunched up too and rather cute.

"I love you too, so much!" He whispered wrapping his arms around her, she let out the breath she was holding and leant into his side.

"Thank god." He grinned. "Will you tell me?" She asked gently again running her fingers through his hair.

"I can't…" He heard her small sign, "I want to… but… you wouldn't want me."

"Don't be silly." She whispered.

He wished he could tell her, but would she want him afterward. He didn't think he could live without her.

"I'm not." He whispered, she lay her heard upon his chest closing her eyes.

"Whenever you're ready." She whispered, neither her heartbeat or breathing evened and so he knew she was still wide awake even as he lay back and wrapped the quilt around her.

"Is it ok if I stay?" He asked brushing the hair back from her face.

"I haven't screamed yet, so take that as a yes." Her eyes flicked open a wicked expression on her face.

She lay quiet again once more, her hand against his chest as if feeling for a heartbeat she would never find. He was sure she knew far too much already. So she may as well know the rest, and with a heavy heart for the effects of his next words he opened his mouth. The words leaving a bad taste in his mouth, but he continued.

"I was born in 1901, Chicago…."

Sorry for such a long time, six weeks I think? Well anyway I am back in school, this is my second day back and I already feel depressed. Especially as this is my last year of 'compulsory education' as they keep saying, in other words, my last year of high school.

See you next Thursday!