Twilight Saga characters
created and owned by Stephenie Meyer
And the characters and plotline of
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
created and owned by J.K. Rowling
Chapter 12: Castle Venlaw
"That was exhilarating. Thank you, Carlisle." Dumbledore said, eyes shining, as we slowed and he hopped down. He was surprisingly agile for someone with such an elderly body. We had stopped in a small clearing in the woods. "The proprietors have already left, but I didn't want to take any chances of someone seeing us arrive," he explained, "Of course, if someone is there, we were dropped off at the bottom of the hill by a cabbie."
"Of course" Carlisle agreed.
"This way, then, to your new home." We followed him onto a gravel driveway and walked the rest of the way to our new accommodations. We were all anxious, I could see from the thoughts of the others around me, and the way Bella squeezed my hand, but Alice and Esme were in particular having difficulty holding themselves to a human pace.
At long last, we walked into a opening in the forest. The roadway widened into a small parking area. Off to the left was a lawn, tastefully adorned with a minimal number of pieces of furniture against a forest backdrop. I could hear the clucks and heart beats of several chickens nearby, seemingly behind the grand mansion before us. It was, truly, a small castle, appearing to be roughly 18th century in its original construction, of a Scottish Baronial style. The exterior was a taupe stone brick, three and in some places, four stories high with a turret at one end and high peaked roof. Ivy climbed the outer wall in places and the grounds boasted beautiful gardens.
"Wow!" Alice exclaimed, "This is going to be fun!"
"I thought this might be suitable" Dumbledore was pleased with the obvious appreciation for the place, "There are free range chickens out back. They are good layers, though I am sure only Bella will take advantage of that… As for the rest, the forest should hold sufficient wildlife to sustain you, although you'll need to be careful not to hunt too far north as Edinburgh is not far away. I respectfully ask that you refrain from hunting on Hogwarts grounds as many of the creatures are sentient…"
"Certainly. You have been more then helpful. Thank you for your consideration." Carlisle said, moved by Dumbledore's easy acceptance of our way of life.
"Shall we explore your facilities further?" Dumbledore gestured toward the front door, a large iron key in hand.
The entrance was grandly decorated in dark stained oak and rich burgundy, navy and forest green. It had been modified to serve as a reception area for the bed and breakfast guests. To the right was a large staircase. We followed the hallway to the left, finding a large dining area that had been enlarged by opening up a wall between two rooms. Next to that was a library that must have been used as a bar. We settled ourselves in the library on the beautifully upholstered seats.
"I'm sure you'll want to explore the rest of your new home and pick out rooms. Your belongings have been delivered upstairs. However, as I have some other responsibilities to attend to in the near future, I thought we might spend some time discussing plans for the coming year first."
"Absolutely," Carlisle gestured for Dumbledore to start.
"I've been considering how to best protect Harry. He must, of course, never know."
"Of course."
"Edward will have to enter the Triwizard Tournament to watch out for him. However, the tournament is only open to students who are of age, specifically seventeen or older. So Edward will have to pose as a 6th or 7th year student."
"I should be able to manage that." I replied, thinking of the many years I had played the part of a teenager in school.
"Yes, I expect you've had more then enough practise at that. The issue is magic. I had expected to place you in a natural teenaged relationship with a female student to pose as your girlfriend and then to help you with magical practices. However, we have an opportunity I hadn't expected. You see, you are very similar in appearance to one of our sixth year students."
"Yes, Cedric Digory. I noticed a certain resemblance." I replied recalling our meeting prior to the World Cup.
"This provides the possibility of you being his cousin from America. Cedric is a very accomplished young wizard and his father is a trustworthy friend in the Ministry. It will also make you much more welcomed at the school."
Bella brightened suddenly to the idea. She hadn't relished the thought of my playing the part of someone else's boyfriend. "Does that mean Edward and I could be dating at school?" She asked brightly.
Dumbledore looked at her gently, "I am afraid I would still advise against it. Firstly, to keep you safe from Voldemort and his Death Eaters. If they learn of this plan, and know of your connection, they will use you to get to Edward. Secondly, I have an equally important task to ask of you."
"Oh" she said grimly.
"You see, we need someone to keep watch out for Harry from day to day. Edward can't because he must be in a senior level to enter the tournament. So, as I mentioned at the Port Key, I would like you to attend classes with Harry."
"But what if something happens to her? Who will watch out for Bella?" I asked, very concerned for her life after what we had witnessed over the past evening.
"You met Hermione Granger at the World Cup. She is probably the most talent witch of her age. In fact, she is the most promising talent we have had for several generations. She is also completely trustworthy. I believe she and Bella will make excellent best friends." Dumbledore said reassuringly.
I breathed a sigh of relief. I momentarily feared he was going to match her with Ron Weasley. That boy, though good hearted, didn't need any more encouragement with respect to Bella.
"Now, as far as Rosalie" he said turning his gaze to her, "I would also like to place you in the 6th level class with Edward and Cedric. We need to know what the female population is thinking. I am assuming your sensitive hearing will be able to pick up on the various discussions between the female students?"
"Certainly" Rosalie affirmed, also noting she would be able to hear the whispered longings of the boys… and looking forward to it.
"Now for a few unexpected complications." Carlisle broke in, "Edward has found he can't hear some of the wizards' minds."
"Yes, that is unfortunate, but not completely unexpected. Voldemort was skilled in legilimency, which is the reading and manipulating of minds. At times he used that ability to torture others and turn people to his side. To combat this, many of the wizards learned occlumency, allowing us to block our minds from his invasion. I'm afraid that many of the older adult wizards, especially those who were on his side or who fought against him, will have their minds closed to you. You may catch snippets now and then, but I expect that particular skill will not be useful with those wizards. Fortunately, you will find none of the students are so skilled."
"I understand now." I replied, not comforted by the knowledge, "That is unfortunate. I am used to being able to hear people's plans. It caused me to hesitate in the clearing with the wizard who set the Death Mark. If he had planned to attack Harry, I am afraid I would have been too late." I looked down.
"Edward, we do not expect you to take on a full grown wizard! Only to use your skill to navigate your life among the students and keep an eye on Harry during the competition." He looked kindly at me and, again, I felt the pleasurable warmth of acceptance and pride. I had the intense desire to deserve his trust.
"We have another complication," Carlisle went on, "Alice's vision – it is blind to house elves."
"I don't expect our house elves will be much of a problem. They are all very loyal."
"You have house elves? At the school?" Alice exclaimed, panic rising.
"Yes, about a hundred of them."
"Oh, no!" she cried.
"I am failing to see the problem," Dumbledore looked at her curiously.
"Let me explain." Alice took a deep breath, "It's not just that I don't see them. When others interact with them or are too close to them, they disappear as well." She said glumly.
"I see… that could be a problem… Do you have a sense how close it too close?"
"I'm not entirely sure. Definitely, when people engage in conversation or pay attention to them… If they were not engaged but simply walked near, I don't know how close is too close."
"Well, during the day, they stay confined to the kitchen so interaction should be minimal if at all. At night they come out and do other chores. The students would be asleep so there should be no interaction, but they would certainly walk near the students."
"I guess we will just have to see." She said, not relishing the constant headaches this was likely going to cause.
"We will need to maintain constant communication regardless." Dumbledore stated.
"I agree" Carlisle responded. "We all have cell phones we have used for this purpose in the past."
"Those won't work at Hogwarts." Dumbledore explained, "You see, because of magic, normal technology is problematic. Phones, electronics, electricity… all don't work at Hogwarts, or for Wizards for that matter…"
That explains it… Alice thought.
I hope we haven't made a mistake here, Carlisle worried.
"I will come to you regularly. And anyone of you are welcome on the grounds. I am sure you will make it there in very little time given the display of speed I experienced on our journey here." He said, the twinkle returning to his eyes at the memory. Then, as if in response to completing a mental check list, he turned back to look at Carlisle, "Hagrid will be by tomorrow. I originally planned to have you picked up school supplies for Edward, Bella and Rosalie before leaving London, however, given the circumstances this evening, I thought it best to get you here as quickly as possible. Hagrid will help you get the necessary supplies for school."
"Thank you again," Carlisle responded, his mind turning to what these school supplies would entail.
"And, I've arranged for Professor Sprout to assist you in your first class before she leaves for sabbatical." He concluded, "Well, I have a few more items to finalize before school starts next week." He turned to go.
"Dumbledore" Carlisle quickly called out before he disappeared, "I'm sorry to ask, but how will we find the school? I understand it is hidden?"
"Oh, yes… Hagrid will show it to you. Once you've seen it, you will have no trouble."
"Thank you."
"Oh, and before I go, here is a letter from the proprietors. I assured them they would be very pleased with the results of this arrangement," his gentle warning was not lost on Esme, as he handed the letter to her.
"We will do our best to restore it to period" Esme responded, excited by the challenge.
"Until next week," Dumbledore waved and, with a pop, disapparated from our presence.
"I don't know if I'll ever get used to that." Jasper sighed.
"It certainly is different," Alice agreed. "So what does the letter say?"
We all turned to Esme as she quickly opened the letter.
Dear Cullens,
We trust you will find the accommodations to your liking. We ask that you watch after the chickens while enjoying their eggs and, of course, the rest of the castle.
The castle was built in 1782 with additions in 1854 and 1892. As you will see, it has been modified over the years. We are very pleased you have agreed to under go the renovations to bring it back to period in exchange for accommodations. We would have liked to be there to participate in the project, but Mr. Dumbledore assures us you come highly recommended. We only ask that you ensure you maintain the period and original design in your work. Later additions, such as closets, should be avoided. Of course, plumbing and electrical should remain to make it practical. Also we ask you avoid any significant structural changes given the age of the building, unless absolutely necessary.
Enjoy your year.
Sincerely,
John and Shirley Stoggie
Alice momentarily sulked at the limitations on the closets. Then, looking at the rest of us with a twinkle in her eye she said without thinking so I had no warning, "I've got dibs on first choice of bedroom," as she dashed up the stairs.
"That's not fair, Alice… I get second choice." I called back.
The excitement was contagious and soon we were all upstairs exploring the rest of the castle.
"Remember, you'll have to relocate temporarily when we renovate your room," Esme called out, having found the proprietor's quarters which included a study for Carlisle. "And stay off the main floor. That is where we'll start."
"Bella, which room would you prefer?" I asked. She would be the only one doing any actual sleeping... which she should be doing now as it was still night, but she was wide awake.
"They are all so amazing… But I think the one with the large dark oak four-post bed and the rust carpet. There is a really nice window seat overlooking the yard… and no one else seems to have claimed it yet."
"Then it's ours" I said as I scooped her up to claim our room.