A/N: Hey guys, thanks for the reviews! This took me a while to write and ti may seem a little disjointed because I wrote it over many sessions. It was also originally drafted in messy writing on lined paper during algebra, so some things may have been lost in translation. ;) Hopefully you'll get the picture, even if it's been revised slightly.
Also want to point out that the last few chapters (and this one) have not been beta'ed. I've decided to give up on my beta, as I've found it doesn't make a huge difference. After a review of the last 10 chapters I've found that many, many mistakes were missed even when beta'ing was used, so I'm not going to bother.
THANKS FOR THE REVIEWS! I LOVE YOU ALL. MORE?? ;)
Chapter 11: The Fall
As the two left the cinema, Harry couldn't help but notice the curious glances many of the other movie-goers shot the two of them. It was with a very bright blush that Harry realised that they hadn't exactly been quiet – and back row or not, someone had to have noticed the missing shirts. However after a brief spike of embarrassment, Harry felt himself feeling rather thrilled – something about the excitement of doing something do private in a public place gave him an odd sense of exhilaration.
Edward's hand intertwined with Harry's as they made their way out to the car, both refecting silently on this new development in their relationship.
After a few moments of driving and the exhilaration having passed for the most part, Harry felt the weight of what they had done settle uncomfortably in his mind.
"Edward…" he began uncomfortably, turning to see the vampire staring seriously at the road, his knuckles tight on the steering wheel.
"I'm sorry." Edward interrupted, meeting Harry's insecure gaze for a moment, before turning back to the road. "I shouldn't have taken advantage of you." He stated, his steely gazed fixed on the car in front of them.
"No!" Harry said quickly. "You didn't. I wanted to." He said with certainty, frowning as Edward stilled refused to look him in the eye. Harry sighed after a moments silence. "What's wrong, Edward? Didn't you….enjoy it?" Harry swallowed nervously as Edward finally met his gaze.
"No Harry." He shook his head. "That's not it at all!" He sounded a little desperate, Harry though absently. They fell into silence again at Edward's statement, Harry finally sighing and breaking it once more.
"Well…what does this mean for us?" He said quietly, gazing at the side of Edward's face. "I mean, are we…" He paused uncertainly, blushing slightly. "Like…boyfriends?" Harry held his breath as Edward slowly turned to him.
"Do you want to be?" Edward said finally, after a very pregnant pause.
Harry bit his lip slightly before parroting, "Do you?"
Edward said nothing for a long moment. "I…I want to. Yes." He nodded. "But I'm a vampire." He said, as if that should be enough of an explanation.
It wasn't. "And?" Harry challenged. "You're as likely to hurt me as Rosalie is to like me!"
"By intent alone." Edward said quietly, staring fixedly at the road. "But intent means nothing when it's something I may not be able to control."
"I trust you Edward." Harry said without pause. "I've never…I've never felt like this about anyone before. Well, Cedric, but that's different. With you, it's just…" He sighed, struggling to find a word that described his feelings perfectly. "Different." He said finally. "And I trust you." He finished softly.
Edward sighed, running a hand through his hair. "Let me say this Harry," he said, turning to look at him as they stopped at the lights. "My reluctance has nothing at all to do with the way I feel about you. The only thing I am uneasy with is your vulnerability! As a vampire…I could hurt you so easily. Tonight, I wasn't even thinking. I could have really hurt you Harry!"
"But you didn't." Harry argued stubbornly. "And you won't."
"You don't know that." Edward whispered angrily.
"Yes, I do." Harry said strongly. "Now stop arguing. You're my…my boyfriend now." He said softly, looking to Edward for approval.
Finally, Edward nodded. "Yes, I suppose I am." He said with a chuckle, ruffling Harry's hair fondly. However, Harry noticed that not one bit of tension left the vampire's body.
…---…
Cedric sighed as the door bell rang, resigning himself to the fate of having to answer it, as Harry was out. Honestly, it could only be one of Harry's (surprisingly many) friends anyway, seeing as Cedric really only had one friend who he only talked to at work. He groaned, reluctantly pulling himself of the couch and making his way to the door. He loved his days off, and if it were up to him he would spend all of his days curled up on the couch watching antiques road show, Caesar the dog whisperer, or one of the many other lifestyle shows that Cedric lived for. Not that he would willingly admit that to anyone…No, if anyone asked, he was watching the football. Or soccer, as they called it in this strange, strange place.
Finally making it to the door, he swung it open, blinking blearily at the person on the other side. "Hello Bella." He greeted with a yawn. "You here for Harry?"
"Hi Cedric!" Bella greeted enthusiastically. Very enthusiastically. Hmmm. Cedric filed that away for later contemplation. "Yeah," she continued. "Is he in yet?"
"Nah." Cedric said, shaking his head. "But he should be back soon. Come in?" He said after a moment's hesitation.
"Sure! Thanks Cedric." Bella said, walking past him and taking a seat on the couch.
Cedric grumbled mentally as she sat in his favourite spot, before quickly correcting himself as he remembered she was a hot girl. Any hot girl could sit in his spot, he thought with an internal grin….not that he was thinking of Harry's best friend as being hot. No, not at all.
"So…" Cedric began awkwardly. "Harry's out with Edward then?"
"Yep." Bella nodded.
"What are they doing?" Bella blushed quickly, before it was gone from her face. Too late, Cedric had seen it.
"Oh, nothing." She said quickly. "A movie or something."
"Uhuh." Cedric said, eyes narrowing. "What kind of movie?"
"Um…" Bella shrugged. "I'm not sure?"
"Hmph." Cedric grunted. "Well you tell that vampire to watch himself, because the second he hurts Harry he'll wish he'd never been born." He finished darkly.
"Um…" Bella stared at him with widened eyes. "Okay?"
Their…pleasant….conversation was interrupted by the opening of the door, as a happily humming Harry entered.
"Hey Har!" Bella said, jumping up from her seat. "Your room, now!" She demanded, dragging him up the stairs with an apologetic wave to Cedric.
Once they reached his room, Harry sunk down onto the bed while Bella closed the door, before joining him.
"Well?" She demanded, after Harry said nothing. "How was your date?" Harry winced as she practically squealed in his ear, before sighing and nodding.
"Good." He said simply with a sigh.
"Aww!" Bella gushed. "Did you kiss him?" Harry blushed deeply.
"Um…yeah." He muttered, glancing away.
Bella's eyes widened as she yanked his arm. "Wait…you didn't…?" She left the question hanging.
Harry glanced up sheepishly, nodding after a few seconds. "Yeah." He admitted finally. "We did."
"Oh my God!" Bella exclaimed. "Wow. I didn't think you two would…was it good?" She said, suddenly changing tracks.
Harry laughed nervously. "Uh…yeah. It was."
"So are you guys…like together? Like, boyfriend-boyfriend together?" She asked eagerly, leaning forward in anticipation.
"Yes." Harry said, rubbing his neck.
"Congratulations!" Bella squealed, pulling him into a hug. "That's so great. I'm so glad you're happy Har!" She continued on this track for a while, before frowning at Harry's slight despondency. "What's up?" She asked finally.
Harry shrugged. "Edward…wasn't to enthusiastic about it, is all." He said softly.
"What do you mean?" Bella asked in confusion.
"Well…" Harry sighed. "It was all fine while we were…you know…but once we got back in the car he wouldn't shut up about how dangerous it is because he's a vampire." Harry admitted, chewing on his lip a little.
Bella sighed, contemplating his words for a moment. "Look Har, that's just Edward. You probably don't want to hear this, but he was the same when we were together. Always harping on about my safety…he never stopped, and it'll probably only be worse with you because he feels so much more for you. He's over protective…that's just the way it is with Edward I guess."
"I know." Harry said finally. "It just…spoils the moment, you know? He makes out like I can't protect myself."
Bella nodded, agreeing silently. "It's only because he cares so much for you though." Bella reminded him. "So don't be too harsh." She nudged him on the shoulder. Now give me all the details!"
…---…
The next few days were golden, in Harry's opinion. He was fairly sure they were the best of his life so far. He spent the weekend primarily with Edward – they went out at night, and hung out at the Cullen's during the day. Nothing else sexual happened between them, and for that Harry was somewhat grateful. He couldn't help feeling that they had moved a little too fast, and was happy to take a step back for the time being.
It was finally Sunday afternoon, and Harry couldn't help feeling like the utter perfectness he had been feeling the last few days would end when they returned to school. The two were reclined on Edward's bed (a very comfortable bed, even if it was just for show) Harry was reading a book on vampire history, while Edward listened to his ipod next to him. They had been relaxing for the last hour or so, simply enjoying the other's presence and proximity.
"Hey Harry," Edward murmured, causing Harry to look up from his book to see that Edward had placed his ipod on the bedside table and was giving Harry his full attention.
"Yeah?" Harry replied, snuggling a little closer s he leant over to place the book on the table beside the ipod.
"Tell me about you." Edward said after a moments silence. "I want to know you."
"Like what?" Harry said awkwardly after a brief pause. "You know a lot already…"
"Tell me about your friends. The ones in England." Edward said finally, his arm secured around Harry's waist.
"Okay." Harry said with a laugh. "My first friend was Ron. We met on the train when I was eleven…"
---…---
Harry was feeling elated and incredibly at ease as he walked into his house that evening. He and Edward had talked the afternoon away, learning new and interesting facts about each other that they had yet to know. Harry had jut dumped his bag and walked into the kitchen, when his mouth fell open at the sight before him.
"Sirius!"
Harry ran towards his godfather, who enveloped him in a brief hug.
"Hey Harry. Let's go into the living room." He said
seriously, taking Harry's arm.
"What's wrong?" Harry asked in confusion, taking a few steps back.
Sirius sighed, shaking his head. "Come into the living room. Me and Remus will explain it to both of you at the same time."
Harry
followed his sombre godfather into the living room, taking a seat
beside an equally worried looking Cedric.
"Hey Remus." Harry
greeted his honorary uncle. "What's up?"
"We have to go back to England." Remus said bluntly. "Now."
"What?" Harry blinked incoherently at his uncles.
Sirius sighed, running a hand through his shaggy hair. "Dumbledore has asked us to return you to England immediately. I have an idea what it is about, but I will let Dumbledore explain when we get there."
"Wait…we're leaving tonight?" Cedric demanded. The thought 'But the new season of Lost starts tonight…' was quickly banished as Cedric chided himself for thinking of trivial things in a serious situation.
"Yes." Remus answered with a nod. "As soon as possible."
"When will we be back?" Harry asked cautiously. "This isn't permanent…right?"
"I don't know Harry." Sirius shook his head. "I don't think so. We don't know exactly what is going on here."
"What do I tell my friends?" Harry asked, almost desperately. Sirius raised an eyebrow, shooting a look to Cedric hat clearly read 'Friends? Harry has friends?' before turning back to Harry.
"Just…" Sirius sighed. "Just tell them you're going away for the week. Tell them you'll be back on Sunday."
"Will I be back on Sunday?" Harry challenged. "I don't lie to my friends."
Remus sighed impatiently. "Harry, I give you my word we'll do all we can to ensure you're back here by Sunday."
Seeing that Harry wasn't convinced, Cedric stepped over, placing a hand on his as-good-as-brother's shoulder. "It'll be okay, Harry." He promised quietly. "We'll just go and see what Dumbledore wants, and we'll be back before you know it."
Harry sighed, contemplating this for a moment. "Promise?" He said finally, biting his lip.
"Yes, I promise." Cedric said, ignoring the hesitation and lingering uncertainty that he felt for Harry's sake.
"Fine. At least let me call Bella and go grab my stuff." He muttered.
"Be quick." Remus said, but Harry had already disappeared up the stairs.
As he reached for his phone on his dresser, Harry was surprised to find it already ringing. "Hello?" He answered cautiously.
"Where are you going?" The voice demanded. Harry sighed at the high frequency of Alice's 'worried' voice.
"Nowhere, why." Harry said dully, throwing some clothes into his bag.
"Don't lie. I saw you leave!" Alice exclaimed, sounding angry.
Harry sighed. "Look, our uncles are ordering us back to England for the week. I have no say in it, but we should be back on Sunday." Harry explained as he further packed his bag.
"Oh." Alice said. "Well, okay then. But we'll miss you! Especially Edward." She added, and Harry could tell she had winked.
"I know." Harry sighed. "I'll miss you guys too. Look, I don't have time to call Bella or Edward, Remus wants to leave now. Can you tell them goodbye for me? And tell them I'll miss them, and…I love them." He finished softly.
"I will." Alice agreed "Have fun."
Harry snorted, hanging up the phone. Fun. Yeah right. "Hurry up Harry!" Remus called, causing Harry to sigh once more.
"I'm coming!" He yelled back, shoving the photo album he had started building shortly after they moved here into his bag. "Goodbye room." He muttered, staring wistfully at the framed picture of him, Bella and the Cullens on his desk. "Bye guys." He whispered, closing his door and walking down stairs.
"Let's go." Remus said, directing him to the fire. With one last glance at his home, Harry stepped into the green fire.
"Harry!" Dumbledore greeted cheerfully as Harry stumbled into his office. "How are you my boy?" His twinkle, though present, had dimmed somewhat since Harry had last seen him.
"I'm well thankyou sir." Harry replied politely as he took a seat and waited for the arrival of the others. One by one the others filed out of the fireplace (with a little more grace then him, Harry noted with a sigh) and took the vacant seats in the Headmaster's office.
"I'm glad you came so quickly." Dumbledore said, straightening as he became serious. "We have much to talk about."
…---…
Grimmauld Place. Harry though, as he stared at the dreary roof above him. Apparently, this was Sirius' ancestral home. It didn't have a homely feel about it, Harry would admit. Infact, it was quite the opposite – what with the peeling paint, screaming portraits and mad house elves to boot. However, the state of the house didn't really matter to Harry at the present moment – rather, the reason he was currently residing in it, and not at his real home in Forks.
Dumbledore had given them a lot of information that, for the most part, had gone right over Harry's head. But the important, life changing information? Yeah, that part he remembered.
Dumbledore had revealed, among other things, that Voldemort had somehow come up with a way to track Harry and locate his whereabouts. The spell had not yet been finished, but one of Dumbledore' spies had made it known that it was very close to completion. For this reason, Dumbledore had explained, staying hidden in Forks was not only pointless, but counteractive to their goal of keeping Harry alive. According to Dumbledore, Harry would be much more protected among Dumbledore and the Order then in a small overseas town with little to no magical population. The underlying result of all this? Harry would not be returning to Forks in the foreseeable future.
"You will have to stay in England Harry, at least for the time being."
These words left Harry in a state of constant anxiety. He had promised Alice that we would be home on Sunday. And she…she had promised Edward that he would be back on Sunday. And somehow he was now trapped in this rotting house for the foreseeable future, with a strict ban placed on all overseas contact.
Harry was not happy.
He had completely ignored his friends upon his return, and locked himself in his assigned room. However, they didn't know it yet, but Harry had no intention of staying in England. He would have to for the time being, play the part of the complacent, obeying teenager. But not for long.
Harry had decided this the moment he walked through the dilapidated door.
Harry would return to Forks – with or without permission.
Harry sighed, still trying to formulate his plan. He knew he would be stuck here for at least a few weeks – however unbearable it would be. For this, he needed a survival plan. After several moments of thinking, he came up with a temporary fix to his problem. A variation on a world wide muggle idea – He called it…The Game.
