~Edward's POV~
According to Harry Potter, Hogwarts started school on the first of September and had a winter break and a spring break before it let out for the summer, and it was located in Scotland. Harry said that the location was a secret to prevent muggles from seeking it out. Mr. Shacklebolt's head; however, told me the exact location of the castle. I filed it away in my own mind. He must not know of my abilities fully or he wouldn't have thought so freely in my presence. Harry's mind confused me. I had described it earlier as a flimsy barrier, but it seemed more like he was damaged. It was as if his mind once was shared with someone and then was forcefully ripped away leaving scarred and never to be the same.
Harry was still steadily talking about the magical protection that went into concealing and protecting Hogwarts when Mr. Shacklebolt interrupted, "Harry, I have seem to have forgotten the anklet back in my desk. May I borrow Kreacher for a second?"
"Um, of course. Kreacher!" he called.
About two seconds later there was a pop and suddenly there was a small creature with large eyes and large pointed ears standing in the middle of our living room wearing a purple t-shirt and a heavy necklace. "The master calls for Kreacher?" the thing said bowing low enough that the tip of his hooked nose brushed the carpet.
"You don't need to bow, Kreacher. You remember Mr. Shacklebolt?" Harry said slightly embarrassed.
"Kreacher does, sir."
"Please as he asks." Harry said.
"Yes, Master, sir." Kreacher turned to Mr. Shacklebolt and bowed though not as low as he had to Harry, "Master's friend?"
"Yes, Kreacher, will you please go to my office and get the small chain out of my left hand drawer? And please free to also grab a few sweeties out of the bowl on the desk while you are there."
Kreacher smiled excitedly and disappeared with another pop.
"What was that?" my daughter asked.
"Kreacher is a house elf. He serves me and my family just as he served my godfather's family. He is an excellent elf."
"He is a slave?" Bella asked slightly concerned.
"No, he was freed many years ago, but like most other house elves, he chose to stay and serve. The ones that were treated badly fled to Hogwarts and now work with the kitchen staff there. They like to serve."
"He called you master." My wife challenged.
"He prefers to. I already told him he didn't have to, but he told me he like it that way."
"Most house elves were freed after Ms. Granger pushed for better treatment of house elves. There are still a few pureblood families that refused to free them, but started to treat them significantly better than before."
"A raging force, that Hermione is. She could accomplish anything if she wanted to. She will make an excellent replacement for me one day." Mr. Shacklebolt thought. His mind flooded with a woman Harry's age with soft brown curls tied back and carrying a very large stack of books and a feather quill tucked behind her right ear. There was a certain determination in her eyes that was positively awe-inspiring.
The house elf, Kreacher, returned with another pop carrying gold chain and a letter. "Master's friend was waiting in office for you and gave Kreacher a note for you. She waits for reply."
"Speak of the devil." He thought opening the note. It was asking if the half-vampire had agreed yet. I figured it meant my daughter.
"Tell her that it is being worked on as we speak and that I appreciate her spell work on the anklet. You can grab some more candy before going back to your duties at the Potter household."
"Yes, sir." His head was concentrating on the message he was to deliver in hopes to not get it wrong. He bowed once more to Mr. Shacklebolt and Harry before disappearing
After that the conversation flowed back to Hogwarts and Harry was telling Nessie all about the castle and was fact checking everything through the Minister of magic's brain. Nessie thoughts ranged from excited to terrified constantly. She occasionally would ask me a question mentally and I would respond with a quick shake of my head. My wife sat there and listened attentively her mind of course blank to me. I could only hear her when she permitted me to.
"After your 11th birthday, you are permitted to receive your wand and attend Hogwarts." Harry stated.
"I don't turn eleven till mid-September though?" Nessie said almost sadly.
"We are well aware of that," Harry said, "but we bent the rules for you. Normally you would have to wait another year, but we decided to allow you to start a year early because we understand that for you time is of the essence."
"She ages very fast, but she will stop aging once her body matures around 16." I said.
"We understand." That's why we are starting her off much earlier than other students and we are allowing her to get a wand in the while she is still 10. We will probably do that next week if you permit us to. We also have a little something for her."
Mr. Shacklebolt held up the gold chain that Kreacher had fetched earlier. "This anklet is layered with multiple charms. The most important are glamour charms that will make the wearer appear several years younger. The other charms will help tone down some of your vampire abilities. You won't be as strong and as fast as you are now. We would like you to try it on for us now to see if any changes must be made."
I wasn't sure I liked this. Bella opened her mind to me to tell me that she didn't like this either, but Nessie seemed game to try it on.
Harry used his wand to levitate the golden chain to her outstretched ankle wear it clasped securely in place. Nessie immediately become uncomfortable.
"It almost feels as if I am being crushed by it." She was thinking. She felt suddenly weak as if she had a head cold.
Her appearance had changed drastically. She was suddenly much shorter and much less womanly. She looked now like she did when she was five. Her face had morphed into that of a normal ten year old; however, her eyes still looked too intelligent for her age. Bella's beautiful chocolate brown eyes was one the things I missed the most about her being human. They always looked so mature, but innocent at the same time. I was glad that our daughter inherited them.
"It makes her uncomfortable. Can we not have the extra charms that mute her strength? She is quite safe to be around with or without it. It will also make it hard for her to hunt effectively." I said then I caught Mr. Shacklebolt's train of thought, "What do you mean she is not going to hunt?" I snapped.
"Dad…." Nessie started.
Harry and Shacklebolt were both shocked at my statement. "How did you…?"
"I am a mind reader." I answered, "Now, answer my question."
It took a moment for the men to collect themselves. I waited patiently while ignoring my wife's silent comments to be polite.
"We thought she could survive off human food." Shacklebolt said.
"She can, but it does nothing for the pain." Bella said before I could open my mouth again.
"Pain?" Harry asked.
"Yes, It will be like shoving a white hot branding iron down her throat." I said repeating the same words I had said to Jacob when he high handedly brought Charlie to the house the first time while Bella was only a day into being a vampire. The both men realized their mistake.
"I apologize for my misunderstanding, Mr. Cullen. When she said that she eats human food, I assumed that she didn't have to drink blood." Harry bowed to me then turned to Nessie, "I am sorry. Please forgive me."
"It's fine. I forgive you. I am a strange person. Trust me. You are not the first to not understand me. One of them almost ended in the death of me, my family, and several of my friends." Nessie said with nervous smile spreading across her face. Her thoughts fell along the lines of panic and embarrassment.
"Please tell us more about yourself?" Shacklebolt asked.
I listened to Nessie and Bella telling the two wizards the story of Bella's pregnancy and the birth of our daughter leaving out the more violent details and everything about Jacob and his tribe. I spent most of my time using my best glare on both of them; only speaking when asked to by Bella. They were terrified by me and tried their best to keep their eyes focused elsewhere. Though I had the boyish looks of the seventeen year old that I once was I had a menacing undertone to features. It normally kept other humans away from me, except for the few brave girls that attempted to ask me out and of course my Bella.
She was absolutely radiant today in her simple clothing. Her brown hair was swinging loose and occasionally would move as she made gestures with her hands. Her pale skin subtly reflected a beautiful rainbow of light under the bright lighting in the room. Her light amber colored eyes met mine and she opened her mind to me to tell me to focus. I painstakingly tore my eyes away from my beautiful wife, my Bella, to look at our guests.
"Mr. Cullen, can you tell us more about your mind reading?" Harry asked.
"I would rather not. Now tell us about what you intend to do about hunting." I asked glaring again. Harry shrank back.
"The boy can face the most evil dark wizard in history, basilisks, and death eaters with very little fear; but put a glaring vampire in front of him and he suddenly forgets that he is the boy who lived." Shacklebolt thought. I made a mental note to do a little research on Harry Potter tonight.
"I think something to can be worked out, Mr. Cullen. I will discuss it with her teachers. I must say though Hagrid is thrilled." Mr. Shacklebolt said. He flicked his wand and the anklet that had been around Renesmee's ankle floated into his hand where he pocketed it. She returned to normal size and her features fleshed back out. The relief she felt was immediate and almost visible.
"Hagrid is the groundskeeper at Hogwarts and the Care for magical creature's teacher. He was the one who bought your books." Harry explained.
"You mentioned the Renesmee the other day that her identity is meant to be kept a secret?" Bella asked.
"Yes, only a few people have been allowed knowledge on who you are. Harry knows, the headmistress knows, the heads of house know, and a few of my associates know. Only the ones that needed to know."
I saw the names and images of those who knew about Renesmee's identity. "Will she be allowed to keep her own name?" I asked, hearing the answer in his brain before he spoke it.
"Yes, it is more about the fact that she is half vampire that is the issue."
Suddenly there another mind entered into my field of hearing. He was about two miles out and running fast on all fours. Jacob Black's mind was red with anger.