Chapter 21

Alice was sitting in the kitchen waiting with the rest when she phased out again with another vision.

"Alice what do you see?" Jasper asked.

"This meeting is going to take longer than we expected. I think I should go wait in England with Bella and Ginny. Maybe if I'm there I can keep them from rushing home worried." Alice said.

"You see them coming in the middle don't you?" Edward asked.

"Yes I do and if they do it won't end the way we want it too." She said.

"Kreacher" Harry called out. The house elf immediately appeared. "Does anyone else want to go with Alice to help her?" he asked before giving Kreacher his orders.

Rosalie and Esme both raised their hands and Carlisle and Emmet seemed to smile in relief.

"Ok then Kreacher I need you to take Alice, Rosalie, and Esme to where ever the Weasely's are right now." Harry said.

"Right away Master Harry." Kreacher said with a bow. With a pop Kreacher and the three women disappeared.

Bella was watching the talking portraits when one finally addressed her.

"Oh Hello I don't believe I was properly introduced. I'm Sirius Black"

"Um Hi I'm Bella Swan. You was or are Harry's Godfather." "Yes I am. He has spoken of me then."

"Briefly when I took him to meet my friend Jacob Black and his father Billy. But he didn't say much just that you were his Godfather and had died."

"Oh" Sirius said sadly.

"I just think the memories of you are really painful for him you know." Bella said. Ginny wandered over to where they were talking.

"Sirius Bella is right. He blames himself for your death as we told you before. When he got home he didn't say a word just went up to where Teddy was and fed him and that is where I found him crying. He says that he doesn't feel guilty when we ask but he never could lie very well. It's not just you he doesn't talk about anyone we lost anymore. Sometimes it's like a piece of him went with each one of you." Ginny said as they heard a pop from behind them.

Alice, Rosalie, and Esme looked at everyone in shock at first and then saw Bella and Ginny. The two girls ran to them asking questions all at one time.

"Whoa calm down. Harry sent us here with Kreacher because I saw a vision that it was going to take longer than we expected and that you might get worried and come home to soon. He thought that having me here might keep you calm enough to stay until they come get you." Alice said calmly.

Esme walked over to Molly and hugged her warmly.

"I thought I'd come help I'm sure as time goes by those two are going to become quite miserable."

"Thank you Esme." Molly said then introduced them to the portraits who were now staring at the Vamps that had entered. Kreacher walked over to Ginny before leaving.

Sirius stared at his old house elf as he bowed low to Ginny.

"Kreacher will protect Master Harry and his Cullenses. Kreacher promises this Mistress Ginny." Kreacher said before popping away.

Kreacher brought in the cups of blood into the kitchen which was tense in anticipation and then joined the wolves. He began his own circuit around the house looking every which way. He was determined that he would keep his promise to his new mistress.

Harry was looking out the kitchen window when he saw the first Volturi member enter his yard. He moved towards the door and waited until he saw the other two join her. It was two males and a female but he could not tell who in the dim moon light. As they neared their pale faces became more pronounced and Harry realized that it was Jane, Felix, and Dmitri who had came. Harry swallowed angrily and took a deep breath he knew that he must be civil with them if he was going to convince them to at least stay out of this war.

Harry opened the kitchen door and stepped out unarmed to great his guests. Jane smiled her near perfect smile as she stepped up in front of him. He felt the pain start as she stared into his eyes but he didn't cry out or react to it.

"Jane, I hope that you had a reasonably good journey. And I would very much appreciate it if you refrained from using your extraordinary gift in my home." Harry said in a forced calm voice. "Please enter."

Jane nodded as she lead the two others inside. Harry motioned them to the table and invited them to have a seat. Carlisle, Emmet, Jasper, and Edward was already sitting down as they found their seats across the table. Harry sat down at the head and nodded at Carlisle.

"Would you care for some refreshments it is not what you are accustomed too but it should suffice for now?" Harry asked. Jane looked questionably at the other two who shrugged their shoulders.

"May I ask what is it?" she asked clearly shaken by the offer.

"It's only elk's blood. I couldn't morally provide you with what you would prefer. I do hope you understand." Harry answered.

"You are correct that it is not what we prefer but as it may make us feel a bit more pleasant while we discuss things." Jane answered. Harry immediately served his guests and poured himself some tea.

Kreacher was watching warily as the "Bad Vamps" entered his masters house. He knew that his master would not want him to enter the house at that time. So he started his circuit again. He was getting tired but he would not let his master down.

Ginny was pacing again. Ron watched her dizzily and was getting a bit annoyed. Bella leaned against Esme and Alice. Andromeda was in deep discussion with Remus and her daughter. Molly was nervously watching the family. Arthur and Sirius were talking with Bill and Charlie and kept glancing at Ginny. Hermione walked over to the pacing girl.

"Ginny please sit down for a little while. You need to conserve your energy. Harry will have this all worked out in no time at all." Hermione said soothingly.

"I know. I just hate this waiting." Ginny said allowing Hermione to lead her to where George and Percy sat with Fred's portrait.

Jane looked at Harry calmly before she spoke. "You have a new dark lord on your hands?"

"Yes Luscious Malfoy. He was a former disgraced death eater." Harry answered not wanting to lay his cards on the table quite yet.

"He has came to Aro, Marcus, and Cassius. Something that you have not. Aro has sent us here to discuss what you can offer us." Felix said smoothly.

"I have not come to you because I do not wish to ask you to become involved in any case. But as you came to me. I will be honest and straight forward as I am able and hope that you will be the same. May I ask what he has offered for your Support?" Harry said. Carlisle smiled slightly at Harry.

"He has given us the same deal that Voldemort offered and then some. He has promised us that we would be treated as equals if he comes to full power." Dmitri said.

"And you believe that he will follow thru with what he has promised." Harry said.

"OF course he has given us his word. Now we want to know what you would offer for our support." Jane said.

"I will be honest I have no promises that I can in good faith offer except that there could be peace between you and my side of the battle. I believe that it is possible that you don't know Luscious as well as you should. He is a liar but a smooth one. He is masterful at the art of blocking his mind. He makes promises that he has no intention of keeping and he uses those who can get him what he wants."

"You believe that we have been deceived." Felix said matter of factly.

"Yes I have but it would not be your fault. He deceives many people. I believe that he will use your support to his advantage and then when he wins by your hard work then he will with his followers turn on you and destroy you."

"How?" Jane asked cockily.

"Please stand over there behind me. I want to show you something. But I don't want to risk any of you getting hurt." Harry asked. Confused they stood and went to stand behind Harry. He took his wand out quickly and conjured a marble statue. Without warning he sent a powerful blasting curse causing the statue to burst and then almost as fast he sent a ball of fire towards it singed all the pieces black. He turned to his shocked guests.

"That is how. Just two simple spells that ever witch and wizard knows. Lucious would not hesitate to use them on any of you after you give him what he wants." Harry said as his guests sat back down.

"How do we know that you would not hurt us?"

"You are in my home are you not? If I intended to actually kill any of you I would have the day I rescued Ginny from you. I do not take the life of any person, or creature if I can keep from it. I realize that the day may come soon that I have to do what I must to end this war once and for all. I'm not naive enough to believe that Malfoy can be stopped any other. I can not promise you equality. I can not promise that you will always be safe from my kind. But I can promise that you have nothing to fear from my friends or I. I will not go back on my word my honor is at stake."

"What exactly do you wish us to do?" Felix said.

"I wish for you to tell Aro and the others that it is my wish that we have a lasting peace and that you all stay out of this fight and be on neither side. If you do join Malfoy however it will be considered by us as an act of war and as such we will fight to the death if necessary. But I would prefer it not to end up as such. I believe that it would not be in any of our interests to create a war that would never end. I hope that Aro and the others will think very hard about what those consequences would mean to all of us. To tell you the truth I'm just looking forward to a little peace in my life. Please tell Aro that if he wishes to know any more from me feel free to contact me. I will answer any and all questions that he has to the best of my ability." Harry said looking the three visitors in the eyes.

"We shall let Aro see these sentiments for himself. You have been most informative. If it is acceptable we will contact you either way with our decision." Jane said.

"Thank you" Harry said.

Jane turned to Edward and Carlisle. "It is good that you are here as well Carlisle, Edward. It has come to our attention that a mortal girl knows of our existence and you have not destroyed or turned her as of yet."

"Yes while we admit this is true we also must stress that she is no danger to our secret. She is very careful." Edward said.

"The Law is the Law. Whether she is careful or not does not change the fact that you are breaking our law." Felix said. Harry saw the anger in their eyes and knew that he only had seconds to calm it down before it got ugly.

"If I may interrupt please." Harry said causing every eye to turn to him. He let his mental walls down long enough for Edward to hear is thoughts. 'sorry Edward this is the only way. She will have to be turned eventually. I will try to buy you some time however.' Edward nodded slightly yet painfully.

"What do you have to offer in this?" Dmitri asked angrily.

"It has already been seen by several known seers in my world and in yours that she will be turned." Harry said. Carlisle and Emmet hid their surprise as they watched Edward who sat there like stone.

"If it has been foretold why wait? Why not do it now?" Jane asked skeptically.

"It is a bit complicated but I will try to explain it fully. Bella is mortal as you said. But she is very young. Only 17 and still in school. If she were to disappear now it would cause an outrage that surely even you would feel. She also has parents whom she loves as much as they love her. Since this is going to happen. The plan is to do this right and with the least amount of pain to those she loves." Harry explained.

"She also needs time to prepare and to say goodbye to those she will never be able to see again. We don't want to cause anyone more pain than is necessary. We also need to set up a good cover story for her leaving and other arrangements that needs to be made. It takes time to make sure all the loose ends are taken care of. If only for her peace of mind. When we can finally spend forever together I do not want her to have one moment of regret." Edward said resigned.

Jane looked closely into Edwards eyes looking for any sign that he was lying to them but finding none she finally spoke. "Very well. We shall take this information back to the others but we will check up on you."

With that Jane nodded towards the other two and thanked Harry for his hospitality and left the quiet kitchen. A half hour later Sam and the others knocked on the door.

"They are gone. We will keep a patrol going all night until we make sure they are not coming back. I trust it went well." Sam said.

"As well as it could. I don't know what they will decide but I was honest with him. However we must tell you of something that will upset you and could put an end to our alliance." Harry said sadly.

Edward steadied himself. Everyone could tell that he was upset despite Jaspers calming presence.

"What is wrong?"

"They know about Edward and Bella being a couple. Victoria went to them and told them. I should have probably killed her when I had the chance. But I never thought that she would do this. At any rate, Bella at some point will have to be turned. There is no other alternative. If she isn't she will be hunted down and killed in the most brutal way possible. As will the Cullen's and any one else who knows. They do not know about you but it would not take long for them to figure it out." Harry said with a slightly guilty voice.

"No this isn't good news but it doesn't surprise us. We've been expecting that to be the case even before this group came. If it keeps Bella among the living then it must be. We have learned enough about the Cullen's to know that they would not even consider it if it wasn't necessary. How much time do we have?" Sam said the other shifters nodding.

"that is undecided we told them that we had a lot to get accomplished before it can happen so that we cause as little pain to others as possible." Carlisle answered.

Sam stood up and shook Harry's hand as well as the Cullen's and led the pack back out into the night. Harry called Kreacher and had him apparate Carlisle, Emmet and Jasper to where the rest was at the moment.

After the three left Harry sunk into his seat and put his head into his hands. His body shook with the guilt ridden sobs that he cried. Edward watched and came to sit next to him.

"Harry it's ok. You are not to blame for any of this. I read their thoughts you were right. There is no other choice. It's going to be fine." Edward said putting his cold hand on the crying man's shoulders.

"I was hoping you could talk them into some reason. Edward but when I saw their faces I knew that that wasn't going to happen." Harry said drying his eyes as Kreacher reappeared to take them to the school. With a pop they were gone. Kreacher apparated into the entrance hall to give his master a few minutes to calm himself before seeing Ginny.

Ginny listened as Carlisle told them what had happened. She was proud of Harry for doing so well and sad for Bella that she would have to be turned in order to survive. She watched as Bella took it with a resigned look. Rosalie looked angry but Ginny couldn't tell with whom. She watched the three couples embrace and looked away sadly. Hermione squeezed her hand comfortingly. "He'll be here soon." she said.

The doors of the great hall swung open and Harry and Edward with purposeful steps entered the room. Ginny looked up and watched as he neared her. She saw the pride and the pain warring in his eyes. She stood up and took two steps towards him. Harry didn't seem to notice anyone else in the room. He didn't even notice Edward and Bella's emotional reunion or the stares as the two kissed passionately. He only saw Ginny. He stopped quickly in front of her and without saying a word pulled her to him.

He leaned down to claim her mouth with his own. She deepened the kiss as he pulled her even closer. Ginny ran her fingers thru his raven hair. He moaned slightly before finally pulling away but not letting her go. Ginny had tears flowing down her cheeks. Harry touched her face gently wiping her tears.

"It's ok Gin, I'm here and We're all safe." He murmured into her ear. Ginny was still crying hard as Harry gently picked her up and carried her over to a bench where he sat down placing her gently on his lap. He continued to talk soothingly to her.

The portraits just stared slack jawed at the two young people. Tonk's had a tear in her eye. Sirius and Remus was fighting back fierce pride and sadness. Fred however didn't know whether to be angry at Harry for kissing his little sister like that or be angry with his siblings for not doing anything. George saw his twins look and walked over to his portrait.

"You know he loves her. And there is no doubt that she loves him. We have accepted their relationship. There really was no other choice. They are good for each other. It's weird but they really do need each other." George said.

"I guess I'm just a little shocked. Hey George what's up? You don't seem yourself." Fred asked.

"Just worried. Don't know how he is going to react to seeing your portraits."

"Well won't he be happy like you lot was?"

"That's just it Fred. It's different for him. He holds so much pain and guilt. Seeing you and the others I don't know what that is going to do to him. I don't know if he can handle it. He hasn't came to terms with your death yet. Not really. He's gone thru all the motions. He has nightmares you know. He told me about them once. He sees you all blaming him for your deaths in his dreams."

"You don't think he'll be afraid that we are going to blame him when he sees us?"

"That is exactly what I think." George said sadly.

Ginny was slowly calming down and Harry was starting to be more aware of his surroundings. Molly was watching nervously as Harry spotted the portraits. She could see the pain emanating from his eyes. She wanted nothing more than to take every pain away from him but knew that was impossible.

Ginny moved from where she was on Harry's lap and took his hand gently. She could see he was struggling. She could almost sense the flash back coming.

"Harry it's ok now. It's over. It's all over." She said so that he could hear her. She looked in his eyes and realized the look. It was the same look he had during the break. She gripped his hand harder. "No Harry don't run. Stay with me. just with me. You don't have to say anything to them if you aren't ready."

Harry heard the soft words. He knew they were meant to be comforting but they sounded so hallow as he felt the pain overflow. He started shaking slightly as the emotions that filled him threatened to overflow. Ginny knew that he would have to get out soon but she also knew that he had to face this. He had to deal with the pain.

Remus was watching as Harry started rocking back and forth crying. He was shocked at the sight. He had always seemed so strong. When they told them how Harry had took their deaths, Remus didn't really believe it could be that bad.

Sirius was equally baffled at his Godson's reactions but noted that the Weasely's and Minerva wasn't surprised at all. He watched as one of the Vamps walked over to Harry and Ginny and whispered something to Ginny. Ginny nodded lightly. Harry said nothing but looked up.

With out much warning Harry let go of Ginny's hand and started running out of the great hall. He was half way to the doors when he felt the shaking take over he couldn't move another step. He cried out loudly as his legs went out from under him. He sank to his knees sobbing uncontrollably. Ginny ran to him and fell to her knees beside him wrapping her arms around him and allowing him to cry on her shoulder.

"I can't Gin," Harry said brokenly.

"I know Harry but you have to try." Ginny said. "You have to face them. They love you. You have to talk to them and let them show you."

"How? How can I?" Harry said. "how can I look the people I got killed in the eye?"

The room had fallen completely quiet as they listened to the quiet conversation. Molly sat next to her husband quietly crying into his shoulder. Bill looked almost sick. Ron looked like he wanted to say something. But Hermione put a restraining hand on his shoulder. "Don't he needs to get this all out. He's held on to this for far too long." She said sadly.

"Harry, listen to me you are not responsible for their deaths. They fought because they chose too. They knew the risks. and that didn't stop them from fighting. You didn't make any of them fight. You have no responsibility in their death." Ginny said.

"Why don't you all understand?" Harry said anguished. Jasper walked of to the youth and knelt beside him.

"Harry, your wrong about so many things. You loving them had no part in their death. you loving people doesn't cause them harm. Harry you lift people up. You are able to see past the exterior and see who a person really are. Yes everyone that died loved you and fought with you. But Harry you have to see that they died fighting to make sure you had a chance for a future just as you are fighting yet again to ensure Teddy has a future." Jasper said solemnly.

Harry barely looked up at Jasper. Jasper continued to talk to him. "Harry please try to talk to them. They love you and will always love you. Harry you are worthy of that love. You always have been and always will be. You can't keep doubting your worth. You are worth it Harry."

Harry looked up finally and nodded slightly before passing out in Ginny's arms. The healer rushed over and did a quick diagnosis spell. She sighed heavily before saying anything.

"He's ok. His body and mind is just too overwhelmed right now. Minerva could you conjure up a bed here. I don't think it's necessary for Harry to go to the Hospital wing. he should wake soon." Poppy said.

Ginny sat worrying beside Harry. Molly sat talking quietly with Sirius and Remus.

"He'll be ok. He just feels so much and so deeply. But he will get thru this. He has to face his doubts and his fears. George has told me that most of his nightmares include all of you haunting him telling him it was his fault. I think that he is terrified that you are going to do that now." Molly said sadly. Remus just shook his head sadly.

Hours went by and as they slowly realized that Harry wasn't waking up the decision was made that he would be moved up to the hospital wing. Soon Ginny was sitting by his side wide awake and worried. Kreacher found his way to her side and sat near her exhausted but not leaving his master. Sirius just watched the old elf in shock.

Everyone found a quiet place to sit and wait. It was a very long night a head of them.