Disclaimer: The Twilight character all belong to Stephenie Meyer. I do not make any money…I simply play with them. The magical locations belong to J.K. Rowling.

Special thanks to my wonderful beta, sorceresscirce. She makes my work readable and gives me the funniest comments. I would also like to thank ObsessingOverEdward for helping me out of my writers block and for being just plain awesome.

Chapter 9: Train Ride

Edward Masen

We were the last to arrive to the Head Compartment and I immediately notice Bella tense up as all eyes in the room turned to us. It was obvious that they had read the article in the Daily Prophet. I reassured Bella by rubbing her back softly as I waited for Jasper to take a seat.

"Good morning, everyone, I'm sorry we're a little late. We promise to make this as short as we possibly can." I took the lead in starting the meeting, allowing Bella to get comfortable with the group. I knew for a fact that she really didn't enjoy talking in front of people, and she was even more uncomfortable in front of James.

"For those of you who don't know us, I'm Edward Masen, and this is Bella Swan. We have been appointed this year's Head Boy and Head Girl." I kept a close eye on James as I spoke. He didn't look happy to be at the meeting or to see us.

"Of course the Minister's son and his whore would be appointed Head Boy and Girl," James stated with a sneer, causing me to glare at him.

"James, if you have any problems with the appointments, I suggest you take it up with the Headmaster. We are here to set up patrol schedules, not to argue." I remained perfectly calm as I spoke even though I wanted to clobber him. I didn't even want to use magic.

"It's obvious I should've been Head Boy. Everyone knows that. Tell me, Masen, how much did your daddy pay for your position? Did he pay for your little girlfriend's position, too?" James' voice was laced with venom as he looked us over in disgust. He truly thought himself better than anyone else.

"James, if you don't keep your comments to yourself, I'm going to have to ask you to leave." I used the last bit of my patience before turning my attention back to the group. I had to be the better man.

"That's right. You don't deny it, because it's true. Your positions are bought." The anger in me bubbled up as Bella straightened up, walking past me to James.

"Listen to me, Malus." I tried to reach for Bella to stop her but was held back by Jasper.

"Let her do this. Let her stand up for herself," Jasper said, watching the exchange with great interest.

"Edward and I do not need to buy our positions. I believe that is something your family does, not Edward's. I suggest you sit there quietly and let us finish this meeting so we can continue on with our day." Bella spoke authoritatively, making sure she got her message across before returning to my side to continue the meeting.

"We all know how you got your position," James answered as soon as Bella had turned her back on him.

"And how is that, Malus?" I inquired coldly.

"She sleeps around. First it was me, now it's you, Masen. Who's next, Swan? Are you going to screw Professor Cullen, too? Or have you already?" I drew my wand out of my pants pocket, aiming it straight at James. How dare he say those things about Bella?

"Ignore him, Edward," Jasper whispered as James looked at me smugly. He really didn't believe I would attack him.

"If I hear another word from you, James, I will personally report you to the Headmaster. Do I make myself clear?" James simply rolled his eyes as he sat back down, wrapping his arm around Victoria. I knew it was going to be a very long year.

I looked over to Bella, who was speaking quietly to Jasper. He seemed to have the situation under control. However, I knew that James was watching Bella closely. He was studying her intently as she took care of the patrolling schedules. I knew I would have to keep a very close eye on him.

The important thing now was to end this meeting as soon as possible. I didn't know how I was going to make it through the year. How long was it going to take before James threw me over the edge?

Isabella Swan

I hated the way James was able to irritate me to no end. He looked at me simply as a piece of ass. How had I allowed myself to date him? None of it made sense now. How hadn't I noticed Edward's feelings?

I busied myself with double checking the patrol schedules even though Edward and I had checked them at least three times before today. Edward was much more a people person than I was, and he was much more comfortable talking to everyone. Plus, I really just wanted to ignore James. His constant stare was making me feel uneasy.

"Now, Bella will pass out the patrol schedules and answer any questions about the them," Edward finished before giving me a grin.

"Patrols will be done every other night in pairs. If you would like to request a night off from patrolling be sure to ask Edward or me so we can make the necessary arrangements. Otherwise, everyone is expected to follow the schedule as shown." I explained as I gave everyone the schedule before giving them a few minutes to study it.

"Are we allowed to request a specific partner?" James was the first to complain, causing me to sigh even though I had expected him to have a problem with whatever schedule we came up with.

"Who would you like to be partnered up with, James?" Edward asked, keeping his voice as civil as possible.

"I noticed that you and Swan are partnered up. I don't think that's conducive to work. I don't think snogging in the corridors will be considered patrolling," James pointed out, causing everyone to laugh.

"What Edward and I do is nobody's business but ours. If you have a problem with the way we do our job, then I suggest you take it up with the Headmaster. The pairings will remain as is." I hated the way James was making me feel. He made me feel like an object. His stare was nerve wracking. "Does anybody else have any questions or concerns?"

Edward and I remained silent for a few moments, giving them time to think of any questions. A lot of the information we had given had remained the same throughout the years. Nothing was new but the patrol schedules and the pairings.

"Look for meeting announcements on your common room bulletin board. They should be posted at the beginning of every week. If there is any problem, please feel free to contact Bella or me. Thanks for coming, and we'll see you all once we arrive at Hogwarts." Edward dismissed the meeting without any other issues.

James was the first out of the compartment, causing me to breathe a sigh of relief. I didn't want him to provoke Edward any further. I just wanted to get to Hogwarts without any major incident. We had to show James that we were better. We were not going to fall for his tricks.

Everyone else quickly emptied the compartment after James leaving Jasper, Edward, and me alone. "I don't see why you don't just report him," Jasper stated once the compartment door was closed. "You know he's going to make your lives impossible."

"James will be James," I sighed, taking a seat. "Nothing we say is going to make a difference."

"Bella's right," Edward agreed with a shrug. "The Malus family has enough money and influence that they have pretty much secured James a spot as prefect."

"I'm going to go look for Alice. Are you two coming?" I couldn't help but smile at Jasper's sudden eagerness to go get Alice. He was obviously very smitten by her.

"Go ahead, Jasper. I want to finish some paperwork before we arrive at Hogwarts," I replied, hoping Edward would get the hint and stay behind with me. I really wanted to spend at least another few minutes on our own. It was going to be a lot harder to do that once we got to Hogwarts.

"I'll help Bella finish." Jasper laughed at Edward's answer, making me blush slightly. Jasper knew me well enough to know that I never left anything to the last minute. All the paperwork was already done.

"You two have fun. I'll see you when we get to Hogwarts." Jasper exited the compartment, finally leaving just Edward and me.

"So, what's the paperwork?" Edward inquired, raising an eyebrow curiously. "I thought we had finished all of that already."

"We did," I admitted, my blush becoming much more pronounced. My eyes met Edward's causing my stomach to flip flop nervously. His gaze was full of love and a hint of something more.

Edward took a seat next to me as he reached for my hand, gently kissing my fingers. "If you wanted us to be alone, all you had to do was ask." His kisses trailed from my fingers to my open palm and then my wrist. His eyes never left mine.

"I always want to be alone with you," I confessed as I slid closer to him.

Edward smile made the butterflies in my stomach flutter. He didn't say a single word, but no words were actually necessary. His eyes conveyed all the emotions within him. His lips brushed mine softly, causing me to sigh in satisfaction. I never wanted him to stop kissing me.

"I'm sorry for all the attention," he whispered, his lips almost touching mine. "I never expected us to end up on the front page of the Daily Prophet."

I hated the fact that he felt like it was his fault. Why did he have to apologize? He had no control over what they published. The attention bothered me, but my happiness overshadowed that. I was just happy to be Edward's girlfriend.

"Edward," I said as I gently caressed his cheek. I didn't want to talk now. "Just shut up and kiss me."

Edward laughed at my forwardness before pressing his lips to mine. I felt like all my nerve endings were on fire as our kiss deepened. His tongue slipped easily into my mouth as the weight of his body pressed my back against the train's window.

I wrapped my arms around his neck pulling him further into me. I wanted to feel every inch of his body against mine. "Bella," he moaned as I kissed his jaw, nipping at it playfully. I loved the way he made me feel. He made me feel beautiful, sexy, and wanted.

"We have to stop." I knew Edward was right, but the feel of his hands on my sides and on my hips was almost too much. I didn't want to stop.

"Why?" I whispered into his ear.

"Train," he practically gasped, causing me to sigh in frustration.

Edward rested his head against my chest as I played with the ends of his hair. We were both trying to regain control of our breathing before joining the rest of the students. But in reality, I didn't want to leave the sanctuary of the compartment. I didn't want to be the center of attention or be the top story in the gossip mill.

"Are you alright?" Edward questioned as he sat up.

"I'm fine," I lied, causing him to look at me skeptically. Edward knew me far too well.

"Bella, what's going on? Did I do something wrong?" Edward looked extremely confused as I sat up and leaned against him.

"No, Edward. It's just me. I hate being the center of attention, and it seems like we're going to be now." I stared at the carpet as I spoke, biting my lip nervously. I wanted to tell Edward how I felt, but I didn't want him to feel guilty about it.

"You know it's only temporary. The attention won't last long. Eventually they'll turn their attention somewhere else and leave us alone." Edward kissed the top of my head as he pulled me into a hug. "Plus the attention is on both of us, not just you."

Edward held me for the rest of the train ride. The soft rhythmic beating of his heart lulled me to sleep, and it wasn't long before he joined me for a nap. I would be fine as long as I had Edward with me.

Edward Masen

I woke up suddenly as the train came to halt. We had arrived at Hogwarts. I hated waking Bella, but I didn't have much choice. We had to help make sure that all the first years went on the boats and that everyone else made it to a carriage.

"Bella, sweetheart, wake up," I said softly, brushing my lips against her forehead.

"Are we here already?" Bella asked as her eyes fluttered open.

"We are, love. We have to get our robes on and head outside." Bella nodded as we both found our school robes in our bags, slipping them on.

"Are you ready for this?" Bella smiled at my question, giving me one last kiss before we stepped out of our compartment.

By the time we exited the train, most of the older students had already found a carriage. The first years were still waiting for the boats, and Alice and Jasper both looked completely lost.

"What's going on?" Bella asked them with a concerned look. She had become really close to Alice over the last few weeks.

"I'm not quite sure where to go," Alice admitted with a shrug. "I'm not technically a first year, but I haven't been sorted."

I wasn't sure what to tell Alice. I had never heard of a student joining Hogwarts passed first year, and didn't know the guidelines for that. Did she ride with the first years in the boats?

"You have to go on the boats," Bella answered promptly causing Jasper and me to laugh. It really did seem as if Bella had the answer to just about everything.

"I guess, I'll see you guys after the Sorting then," Alice shrugged, her usual energy diminishing slightly. She seemed extremely nervous about the Sorting.

"Look at the bright side, Alice. You have a fifty percent chance of ending up in one of our Houses." I tried to make her feel better knowing just how nerve wracking the Sorting could be.

"You'll be fine, Alice." Bella brought Alice into a hug before Jasper offered her his hand. I wrapped my arm around Bella as we watched Jasper walk Alice to the boats.

"I give it a few weeks," Bella mentioned with a huge knowing smile.

"A few weeks for what?" I had no idea what Bella was talking about.

"Before Alice and Jasper get together. They really do make a cute couple," Bella sighed, causing me to roll my eyes.

"Let their relationship progress on its own, Bella," I warned, causing her to laugh.

Jasper joined us a few minutes later as we jumped into the last carriage at the train station. Jasper smiled at us once he noticed our intertwined hands on my lap. "So it's true, you two are really together?" Jasper had an amused grin on his face as he waited for an answer.

"We are," Bella answered happily as she rested her head against my shoulder.

"It's about time." Jasper shook his head and laughed.

"What do you mean?" Bella asked.

"I thought you two would never realize the obvious. It took you long enough." I simply laughed at Jasper's explanation, knowing he was right. Bella and I had wasted a lot of time, and I was going to make sure we never wasted another second of our time together.

"How about you and Alice? You two seemed rather cozy today." Bella shifted the focus from us, causing Jasper to blush slightly.

I laughed at Jasper's silence. Bella was probably right. It was only a matter of time before Alice and Jasper became an item. They were perfect for each other.

We arrived at Hogwarts a few minutes later. Bella and I walked hand-in-hand into the Great Hall before being forced to part to our separate tables. "See you after dinner." I kissed Bella quickly, smiling at her before joining my brother at the Hufflepuff table.

My attention stayed on Bella as she sat with Jasper at the Ravenclaw table. "How was the train ride, Romeo?" Emmett asked, elbowing me playfully. "I heard some pretty strange sounds coming out of the Head Compartment. What were you and Bella up to?"

I ignored Emmett's comment as the first years and Alice entered the room with Professor Cullen in the lead. The Sorting was about to begin.

A/N: Here is the next chapter. What do you think? How many of you hate James?

I'm happy so many of you are anxious to get to Hogwarts. Its a lot of fun to write these character in the Harry Potter world. I am having a blast.

Next Chapter: The Sorting

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