Notes: Thank you so much to fireflii for betaing this chapter as well! You're a life-saver!
…
It was Friday when Harry walked out of the classroom after first period, separating from Mike as they headed off in different directions. Rounding a corner, he bumped into Cullen. The vampire glanced behind himself at Harry before resuming his focus at the end of the hall.
Bella stood there, talking with one of the teachers. Harry recognized him as Mr. Banner, the same teacher as yesterday. Harry and Cullen waited side by side for the two to finish talking; the vampire's eyes narrowed as he watched them interact. When Bella set foot back to them, the teacher didn't take his eyes off her as she walked.
"Does that man have a thing for Bella or what?" Harry joked quietly, finding the staring disconcerting.
"Yes," Cullen answered through gritted teeth. His eyes widened at the voiced answer, clearly not having intended to reply out loud. "He has since she first came here," he continued in a low voice at the questioning gaze Harry threw him. Looking away, he muttered, "It's foul."
Harry nodded, it really was. But he couldn't resist the urge to comment. Side eyeing the vampire, he said, "Yes. Imagine that; some man decades older leering at her. Gross."
Cullen's head whipped around. He looked extremely disturbed at the comparison. Unable to respond without saying too much, he kept quiet, looking just a tad paler than before. Harry knew Hermione was probably right about the frozen ages, but the stuffy immortal's reactions were just too funny.
"Sorry for making you wait," Bella smiled once she'd made it to them, but the happy expression melted off slightly as she noticed her boyfriend glaring at her cousin.
"I wasn't," Harry denied, ignoring the vampire. "I just got here. Frownie over here, however..." he trailed off, nodding his head to the offender.
Bella rolled her eyes, reaching out to wrap her hand around Cullen's wrist. She sent the vampire a reproachful look. "Let's go to class." She tugged at his frozen hand, obviously incapable of moving it. The effort seemed to set the statue to life once more, following Bella without taking his eyes off Harry. The wizard smiled placidly back.
When the two walked ahead of him, Harry caught the teacher's eyes as he looked up. The wizard subtly prodded his mind with legilimency. The mind arts had been learned and taught as a prerequisite for all members of the DA, and the training had proven its worth many times. The average wizard didn't spend a lot of time developing occlumency shields and so when used right, the unnoticeable legilimency connection could be used to fight far more effectively. Predicting moves and attacks being only some of the many benefits.
Considering Bella had been the last thing on the teacher's mind, it wasn't hard to confirm Cullen's statement. Harry grimaced in disgust as images of other students the man had fancied flashed past. At least it seemed he'd never tried anything more untoward than intrusive conversations and looks. So far. Harry wasn't about to leave it to chance. Mr. Banner was well within his mid-forties, and the leering really was unacceptable.
The teacher was looking at him with a confused expression, having caught Harry's aggravated expression. Harry turned the corners of his mouth up in a stiff smile. Mr. Banner smiled back and turned his back to walk off. The wizard subtly twitched his fingers towards the end of the hall. The jinx latched onto the man.
His eyes glazed over for a second as the compulsion took hold. Clearing up again, he shook his head and headed off without a second look.
Harry walked through the door of the classroom. Bella and Cullen were already sitting waiting, both sending him a questioning look as he trailed in towards his desk.
Harry disregarded the question marks etched in their faces, sitting down by his desk quietly.
It was lunch when the jinx had its chance to take effect. Alice was by his side at their table, chattering about the essay as Bella and her boyfriend gathered some food on their trays.
Mike passed by, holding hands with Jessica. Seemed they were on again this week. He paused by Harry, letting go of his somewhat-girlfriend's hand so she could sit down on the other side of the table. Leaning down, he whispered, "Thanks, man, Mr. Varner would've killed me if I'd forgotten my homework again."
He held up a fist in thanks. Harry bumped it lightly. At least he wasn't as clumsy with the muggle gestures now as he had been the first week. Mike had quickly introduced him to most of them. "No problem," he said honestly.
After Mike had moved to follow his girlfriend again, Alice cleared her throat pointedly. Harry tilted his head to look at her.
"You're going to get in trouble if you're caught," she commented in a low voice.
He put on an oblivious expression. "Caught doing what."
She rolled her eyes, continuing her previous line of conversation before Mike's interruption.
Harry paid attention for a bit, but then Mr. Banner walked through the cafeteria door. Harry's lips turned up in a smile. Pausing in the door, the teacher looked around with glazed eyes, the charm guiding him.
He eagerly approached Harry's cousin once more, swaying on his feet, each step getting heavier.
Harry watched out of the corner of his eyes, Alice's words turning to background noise as he waited with excitement. He couldn't hear the words exchanged, but it was clearly making Bella uncomfortable. Harry felt a stab of guilt for putting her in that situation. The man's face flushed and his shoulders twitched with even intervals as he hiccupped. Anyone looking at him would assume he was drunk.
He leaned on the counter of the salad bar Bella stood by, still swaying, and leered down at her.
The teens at the tables nearby quieted down, watching the scene unfold with confused murmurs. The whispers didn't reach his table, but the side-glances said enough.
Cullen returned from the till, having paid for their lunch. He pulled Bella away quickly, leaving the magically inebriated teacher behind with a glare. The teacher didn't waste time, the charm guiding him to his next victim, a younger girl sitting at one of the observing tables. His approach sent them all ducking their heads, thinking he was there to admonish them for their gossiping.
He gave the female student an appreciative look, slurring something inaudible out. She leaned back in disgust, her friends' blanching at whatever the man had said.
Another teacher hurried over then, quickly and quietly guiding the swaying man out of the cafeteria before he could pull more attention his way.
Harry smirked at the scene, blinking his eyes to look away. Aside from the normal buzz of the cafeteria, it was unusually quiet at his side. He realized it was his friend's chattering that was missing.
Harry turned back to Alice. She was staring at him, eyes narrowed. She had very likely caught his lack of surprise at the teacher's behaviour. Opening her mouth, no doubt to dig, Harry beat her to it. "Sorry, Alice, I should've been listening," he apologized, purposefully misunderstanding her suspicion for annoyance.
She snapped her mouth shut again, eyes still on him, lips in a thin line. Harry held the stare evenly. Her expression smoothed out soon, morphing into a sly smile. "Oh, I was just talking about where we'd be tomorrow," she said, waving it off and looking off to the side at her approaching brother and Harry's cousin.
The two sat down next to them before he could respond.
Bella sighed before leaning forward. "Did you guys see that?" she whispered.
Harry threw a glance at Alice, seeing if she'd mention anything. She was silently smiling. "No, what," he asked, eyes still on the vampire.
"Mr. Banner came over to talk again, but I think he may have been drunk," Bella said in a low tone.
"How disturbing," Alice broke in, sounding properly shocked. "It's a good thing we already agreed to go to our place," she hummed. That was news to Harry; they'd agreed to stay a couple hours at the school library after classes that day as well as the day after. If he wasn't confident that his mind was indeed impenetrable, her next statement may have left him doubting. "We don't want to stick around if there's teachers getting drunk; it would be rather disruptive to our work. Right, Harry?"
She sent him an easy smile, daring him to argue. He bit his tongue. Cornered, all he could do was nod his head. Her expression looked like the cat that finally ate the canary, and Harry just knew what she was thinking. Check mate.
"Besides," she said, once it was clear he wouldn't try to contend it, "Carlisle is working in the afternoon, and Esme will be out. And I doubt we'll see Bella or Edward," she snickered.
Bella giggled. "I'll return him in one piece," she promised.
With another smile, Alice continued, "So, the house will be pretty clear."
"Thought you had another sibling." Harry had remembered her mentioning a 'Rose'.
"Two," she corrected. "Rosalie is Jasper's brother; she married Emmet after graduating. They were on a honeymoon overseas all summer. But they're," she paused to think, "at college." What a convincing story.
He nodded, leaning back in the uncomfortable plastic and metal chair as he accepted his faith. Seven vampires. A surprisingly big coven. Fawkes wouldn't be happy he was visiting the den of vampires alone, but even a coven of that size wasn't a threat to a wizard. If Alice really wanted away from his fiery friend bad enough to invite him to their home, he'd play along.
The day trickled along. It seemed the biology classes had been cancelled for the day for unknown reasons. Rumours of the teacher being drunk at work were already circulating, and Alice side-eyed him each time a murmur passed them.
The end of the day spelled her excitement as she led him eagerly down to the car park, practically shoving him into the backseat.
"Jasper," he nodded in greeting, slightly hassled from the rushed vampire.
The blonde nodded back with a tense expression. They set off soon, driving through town, out past the thinning line of houses. Soon, there was only forest to see. Of course, the vampires would live somewhere out in the middle of nowhere.
Harry really couldn't understand why they'd want someone they didn't trust to encroach on their clearly intentional isolation. Unless, "This is a poor murder attempt, Alice, hundreds of students saw me get in this car," he stated sarcastically.
She threw him a look. Her face didn't look particularly amused. "I have better methods," she said finally. "Don't underestimate me."
Harry smiled back calmly. "I don't doubt it."
Leaning back in the seat, he enjoyed the scenery as they passed by blurry trees with only the occasional lake being exposed through the thick tree line.
They soon turned off the main road, drifting down a long, unpaved forest road. It wasn't until they reached the house that Harry realized they'd been driving on the vampires' driveway for the past two minutes. The house, while beautiful, was completely isolated.
"Not a fan of guests?" Harry smirked.
Alice turned around, grinning, and even her boyfriend's stiff face melted slightly; his lips tilted in a wry smile. "We don't usually have anyone over," the blonde said.
"They all probably got lost. Do you even get mail out here?"
"We got a PO box," Alice laughed as the car circled up to enter the garage.
"What, did they get tired of losing postmen?"
"They didn't like coming so close to the house," Jasper murmured dryly, probably not meant for Harry's ears considering the look Alice dished out.
Harry didn't question it, unsurprised at the muggles' reluctance to visit a vampire's den. Muggles found vampires just as intimidating as vampires found wizards after all.
The car slid perfectly into an empty spot in the huge space, surrounded by shiny cars Harry couldn't care to know the brands and models of. Alice hopped out, Harry following behind with a sigh. She eagerly skipped ahead to the door presumably leading up to the main floor, leaving Harry behind with Jasper.
The blonde stared at him, still on guard but clearly feeling more at ease in his own home. Harry didn't see why; they didn't have wards to keep him in check. But if it made the vampire feel better that was fine. Jasper gestured to where his girlfriend had disappeared, cueing Harry to follow. Leading him up the stairs and through a hallway, they made it to the living room.
"Tada!" Alice beamed, standing with her arms open in the middle of the big space.
"Nice place," he complimented politely.
She frowned, hands falling to her hips. "It's gorgeous," she contended.
Harry nodded agreeably. "It is."
Jasper huffed a laugh at her antics. "Not everyone is as easily impressed as you, Alice."
"I am impressed," Harry argued with a laugh. "I've just never seen anything like it." He gestured to the windows which had replaced a whole wall. "It's modern, I suppose."
"Does it beat your stuffy English boarding school?" she sniffed.
"Well, my school was very different."
"Right; no electricity."
"That too, but it was, well, a castle."
Her eyes widened. "You never said that before!" she frowned until her curiosity got the better of her. "How was it like living in a castle?" she asked, eyes shining.
Harry smiled. There really was only one word to describe Hogwarts. "Magical."
She fell back into the couch, sighing dreamily. "Ok, beside a magical castle," if only she knew the extent of that word, "this still measures up?"
"You have a beautiful home," he assured her. She pouted at the slightly patronizing tone, but let it go, opting to get her books out on the table.
Jasper made himself scarce, leaving them to get to work on their essay.
Harry settled down on the opposite side of the table, sorting his own books out as they got started.
It happened about an hour later. Alice was lounging lazily on the couch, reading out some bullet points for the shape of their essay. Harry nodded along, tagging down notes for each. They'd already checked out the books from the library they thought they might use for the task.
Soon flipping through the books, they looked for the right information along the long lines of tightly packed text. Harry was not as familiar with American history as he'd have liked. Perhaps another visit to Nelson's was due. Or would that be too much cheating?
A loud screech interrupted his train of thought.
Alice jumped in her seat, head whirling to the source of the noise. Harry was already reasonably sure he knew what it was; the screech had been a rather familiar one.
On the other side of the glass, Fawkes wasn't hard to spot with his crimson feathers contrasting heavily to the green background. The huge bird was perched precariously on a branch, feathers ruffled and wings out to look big, and if Harry could guess; to keep balance. He screeched again, staring the vampire down.
Alice wasn't breathing, likely having forgotten her state of make-believe humanity. "What the—Did you call him?" she asked, horrified at the bird's second confrontation.
Harry turned back to his book, flipping another page for the right date. "He doesn't have a phone."
"Shut up. You know what I mean." She finally exhaled.
Fawkes hopped onto a thinner branch closer to the glass, brandishing his wings further by flapping them to keep balance on the unsteady perch.
Jasper appeared at the top of the stairs; no doubt having heard the commotion. "How did he get here?" he asked, confused.
"Probably flew," Harry said matter-of-factly.
Alice threw her notepad at the space next to him. "You're terrible."
Fawkes hopped onto the thin windowsill and loudly tapped his beak on the glass, unhappy with the perceived attack. Alice sunk back in her seat, face wary.
One of the slimmer windows was slightly open, letting fresh air into the room. Fawkes hopped over to it, balancing on the thin sills. He stuck his beak in through the crack, warbling unhappily as he tried to push it open.
Alice hopped up now, bounding off the back of the couch to Jasper. "He's trying to get in," she whispered. "Tell him to go away, Harry!"
"Go away, Fawkes," Harry called dispassionately, eyes still on the texts. The bird started snapping at the window latch, eager to work out how to open it.
Jasper rolled his eyes, approaching the window warily.
"Don't go near him," Alice whispered, pulling him back.
"At this point he'll break the latch. Esme won't like it." He squeezed her hand to reassure her, lightly moving it off his arm.
He walked close, stretching his arms out the final distance to open the window, carefully avoiding his powerful beak. Unlocked fully, the bird flapped back to let the window swing outward, Jasper melting into the wall to allow him in.
Fawkes hopped onto the inside of the sill, staring the blonde vampire down. Jasper backed further into the wall, somehow. Accepting the vampire's hand in helping him get inside, he took off, gliding through the room to land at Harry's knee. He cooed affectionately, a sharp contrast to the earlier screeches. Harry raised a brow at him, finally closing his book.
Harry sighed. "He's a little overprotective," the wizard explained, throwing the bird a look, "sorry about that."
His avian friend did not seem repentant in the slightest, warbling happily at the reunion while butting his head against Harry's chin. Due to the unplanned visit, Harry hadn't had the opportunity to let Fawkes know where he'd be. So of course, the phoenix would not have been very pleased finding out he had been brought to the vampires.
Alice huffed, her master escape-the-bird plan ruined. "How did he know you were here?"
Harry shrugged. "Tracked me down?" he suggested, stroking the bird's neck with the back of his hand.
"You were in a car," she deadpanned.
"Don't underestimate Fawkes," he chastised. "This is what you get for kidnapping me."
Jasper snorted. "Bella can tell you; she's a serial offender."
"Serial is too much," Alice argued. "I've only done it once," a pause, "maybe twice."
"Aren't you planning one in another week or so, on her birthday?" Jasper teased.
"Well, she's got to look stylish. It's a party after all." She crossed her arms, gaze moving to the uninvited guest once more. "How come he shows up here but not at school?"
Harry raised a brow. "Fawkes doesn't need a diploma," he answered easily.
Her eyes flickered to the pillows on the couch, no doubt considering asphyxiation or another aerial attack. Another glance at Fawkes seemed to change her mind when the bird stared her down as his crest feathers started to rise. Jasper moved closer to her, keeping a wary eye on the bird. "I don't see what he needs here," she challenged.
Harry smiled. "How would I know. He's a bird. Shouldn't we get back to work? I won't be able to meet up on the weekends," he said, purposefully changing the subject. Harry would be busy all of Saturday and Sunday since Hogwarts had just started back up, so he'd have to spend more time sneaking around for his visits to Ginny, Neville and Luna. He also had another stop to make.
She sighed but nodded. Jasper stayed silently by her side, watching Fawkes carefully. With another moment's consideration, Alice turned to the other vampire, shooing him out, "It's fine, Jasper. Don't worry."
He hesitated. Clearly worried about the presence of the phoenix but also aware of how odd it would look to anyone else to be so concerned about a pet bird.
Alice crossed her arms again, unimpressed, "You're the one that let him in."
He rolled his eyes with hints of a smile. "Was I supposed to let him break down the walls?" Her hands came to rest on her hips, brows raised. "Fine," he raised his hands in defeat, "I'll go. But if that creature," he pointed at Fawkes, whose feathers ruffled at the gesture, "takes you away to, I don't know, feed you to its hatchlings, don't blame me."
"Fawkes doesn't have children," Harry assured them both.
They didn't seem too comforted but the blonde set foot back out of the living room, leaving the two— now three— alone.
Alice approached the couch again carefully, settling down on the edge, furthest away from the two of them.
Considering she had returned unscathed from her first encounter with Fawkes, the bird wouldn't have some new obscure reason to suddenly attack—besides her impromptu kidnapping. Her brother's behaviour toward Harry had been far less friendly, and the phoenix had yet to toast him. Then again Harry could understand how overwhelmingly confusing and scary it had to be for creatures acclimated to being apex predators to suddenly be faced with the tremendous presence of a phoenix. Especially after already being tripped over by their first contact with a wizard. Obviously, they had no clue what they were face-to-face with in either case, but instinct was a powerful tool for most creatures, and they could no doubt tell they were unmatched if nothing else.
She picked up her notes again, but didn't even look at the paper, instead eyeing the two of them. Harry peered back questioningly.
Alice pursed her lips in thought before talking again. "Ok, since my plan to get away from your pet raptor," she nodded her head at Fawkes who in turn glared at her, "didn't pan out; at least tell me. How did you do it?"
Harry blinked. "Do what."
She pouted. "I'm owed a refund on my silence," Alice insisted. Harry still looked confused, completely caught off guard at the sudden question. Her eyes narrowed. "How did you spike Mr. Banner?" She leaned forward, naked curiosity shining through. "A drink? How did you time it for when he spoke to Bella?"
Harry leaned back, petting Fawkes' neck. "I never signed a contract; no clause for refunds."
Alice rolled her eyes at the snarky response. "Don't get me wrong, he deserved it," she assured him. "He's been perving on a couple of the other girls too." Harry grimaced at the reminder. "The school will be forced to take action against him now, so hopefully he'll be gone soon. Thank god Rosalie never took Biology; she'd have killed him."
When he remained mute, she huffed out a sigh.
"I'll find out," she warned.
Harry very much doubted so. Muggles, mortal or not, were good at making up justifications to unexplainable things.
"I think chapter two in this," he carefully tossed the book he'd been looking at earlier over to land next to her, "will be a help for the background," he said instead of answering. "Page nineteen."
Alice pursed her lips again, in discontent this time but picked the book up, letting the subject rest. Flipping to the right passage she read through quickly, eyes flicking through the words at inhuman speed. She nodded, jotting down some notes on a paper. "You're right."
They got back to work for a couple hours more. Fawkes periodically checked over their writing quality by tasting the paper in his beak while Alice watched nervously. The bird clearly enjoyed testing the vampires' nerves.
It was evening, the sunlight slowly trickling down past the treeline, when another vampire entered the living room. "Oh," she whispered, wide-eyed. "I didn't realize you had a friend over, Alice," the older female vampire said softly. Her eyes fell on the bird next. Fawkes had settled uncomfortably close to Alice, peering over her shoulder at her work.
"Hey Esme," Alice greeted. "This is Harry." The two exchanged a look. It wasn't hard to discern that he'd been a subject of conversation.
The vampire seemed hesitant but moved forward to greet him anyway. Harry stood up politely, hands at his side. She smiled warmly, teeth hidden, although her eyes showed unease. "It's nice to meet you Harry, I'm Esme."
Her hands were filled with bags of different sizes, but Harry doubted she'd have risked a handshake even if they weren't.
"You too," he smiled. "Do you need any help with the bags?" he enquired courteously.
She shook her head quickly, eyes crinkling at the offer. "Thank you, I'm alright. You two continue, it's getting quite late," she smiled.
Fawkes peered at her as she moved to walk past. She walked in a big half circle around the couch, avoiding close contact with the firebird, before setting half of the bags down in the kitchen and taking the rest upstairs.
Alice and Harry put their heads back together, focusing wholly on the task.
Esme soon returned to sort the wares. Harry wondered why they bothered buying food just to fill up a fridge they didn't need anyway.
She approached cautiously after placing everything away. "Harry, would you like some food?" Esme asked carefully, eyes hopeful.
Harry blinked, taking a moment to process. "Uh," he cast a glance at Alice, seeking help. She nodded with a hopeless smile. Esme wrung her hands in anticipation. Merlin, he felt genuinely bad for making this woman— vampire, he reminded himself, disappointed. He wasn't particularly hungry, but, "Sure," he agreed, feeling compelled to accept. "Please," he tacked on quickly, feeling out of place.
The woman beamed, scurrying back to the kitchen. His eyes turned hopelessly back at Alice, who only rolled her eyes with a smile. "Esme loves taking care of us," she explained quietly. "But we're too old to be treated like children."
Wasn't that an understatement. Harry raised a brow, "But I'm not, you mean?"
She grinned. "Bella's slipped up and called you her 'kid-brother' on accident a couple times."
It was Harry's turn to roll his eyes. Ignoring the comment, he set his attention back on the books.
Sometime after, a delicious scent from the kitchen wafted into the living room. Esme came to stand in the entrance of the kitchen, a nervous expression on her face. "I figured you'd like something familiar; shepherd's pie. Or, rather, cottage pie, I didn't have lamb," she corrected, flustered.
"Sounds delicious," he replied quickly to ease her, "smells really good," he assured her honestly.
Her face broke into another smile. "I'll come right out with a plate." Harry got up quickly to relocate to the table, but Esme interrupted, "You don't have to move."
Harry sat back down hesitantly. The motherly vampire quickly returned with a plate, a fork, and a napkin, setting it down in front of him on the coffee table. It felt rude to eat outside the kitchen or dining table, but he felt equally uncomfortable demanding to be re-seated. Esme stood back at a little distance, watching eagerly for him to have a taste.
Alice snickered behind her hand, disguising it as a cough when Harry glared at her. He picked up the fork to have a taste of the potato mash and meat. Fawkes hopped over before he could, squawking suspiciously at the dish. "Oy, it's my food, you fiend," Harry chastised. He knew for once the bird was rather more concerned about the possibility of poison, but it wasn't like some muggle poison would do much to a wizard. Either way, he silently screened the food to please the phoenix. Despite the clear result, the bird didn't waste time snatching a small piece from the fork with the tip of his beak. After a quick swallow, he immediately trilled happily at the taste.
"He's hungry too?" Esme asked, although she was clearly wary of the feathered monster, her eyes lit up at the chance of wasting more time cooking for them. Considering the food had come up clear, and obviously tasty, Fawkes also looked very interested at the possibility.
Harry took a bite of the potato mash and meat, shrugging. "He usually is," he answered after swallowing, moving for another bite. "This is delicious, thank you," he said gratefully. It really was, and he hadn't had cottage pie since he'd left Hogwarts more than a year ago.
The woman looked abashed, if she was still human Harry was sure she'd be blushing. "I'm glad you like it," she smiled. "I could get something for your bird, if that would be ok with you? I don't know what he likes…" she trailed off, head turning to the kitchen with a dangerous glint in her eyes. Harry recognized it as the same excited look Mrs. Weasley would get when presented with the opportunity to feed her whole family.
"Bella said he eats bacon a lot," Alice broke in.
"Fawkes eats everything to be fair," Harry nodded. "But you don't have to make him anything," the bird squawked in disagreement, "he'll be fine," Harry assured both the vampire and Fawkes himself.
"Oh, I don't mind at all. I'd love to make him something," she insisted. Fawkes trilled in accord.
With the two ganging up on him and Alice just snickering at his situation, Harry could only smile defencelessly. "I'm sure he'll love it," he said finally, giving up.
The vampire swiftly disappeared back into the kitchen, the scent of sizzling bacon rolling in a couple minutes after. Fawkes shifted impatiently, eyes hard locked on the kitchen doorway. Harry shook his head. So much for the bird's distrust of the vampires.
Esme soon returned with a little plate piled with the crispy snacks. Fawkes watched hungrily, shifting around as she approached. She leaned over from the other side of the table, putting the plate on the edge and quickly retreating. Fawkes quickly hopped over.
Fawkes could replace a hoover with how rapidly he devoured the bacon. Trilling happily, he flapped his wings to hop over to Harry again. Harry raised his brows incredulously at the phoenix. "At least say thank you," he insisted.
The bird turned to Esme, warbling happily. She startled, unsure how to respond. "You're welcome?" she answered, her tone making it more of a question.
Picking up the plate again, Esme left them to their work once more, offering Harry more food when he finished his plate. The evening dragged on as the two continued.
It was Esme that finally decided Charlie would probably want him back. "It's already ten, Harry, your uncle is probably sitting up waiting for you," she said with a concerned frown. "I can drive you home if you'd like," she offered.
"Jasper will do it," Alice said instead.
"Jasper?" Esme almost gasped. "I mean, how nice of him, but are you sure…" she trailed off, frown deepening. "Edward should be back soon too, he could drive him," she suggested.
"It'll be fine," Alice said, waving it away with a hard look at her adoptive mother.
What was that about, Harry wondered. He was happy enough getting a lift from the blonde vampire as long as he didn't have to share breathing room with Cullen.
The vampire in question soon appeared, no doubt having heard his name called. Harry packed up his books and notes, shoving them into his bag.
Esme stopped him on his way out, handing him a Tupperware before letting him leave. "It's the cottage pie that was left over, have some with Charlie and Bella," she said kindly.
Harry smiled, accepting it gratefully. It wasn't something the vampires would be able to eat, so she probably didn't want it to go to waste.
Fawkes hopped over to the opened window as he said his goodbyes to Alice and Esme.
"Is he not coming with?" Jasper asked, looking perplexed.
"In the car?" Harry laughed. "I think he'd prefer to fly."
"On his own?"
Fawkes cooed readily, taking flight into the darkness of the night.
"Should I fly with him?" Harry joked dryly. Well, he could, technically.
"I just mean, how does he know where to go," Jasper corrected, leading the way down to the garage since the bird was already gone.
Harry followed. "He knew to find me here," he reminded the vampire.
The two settled into the car, the vampire remaining silent in thought. The drive seemed longer in the night, or maybe due to Alice's absence. But they soon reached town once more, houses and buildings surrounding the lit-up streets.
Harry breathed out a sigh of relief as they pulled up to his uncle's house. Jasper turned to him at the reaction. "She can be a lot," he voiced, an easy smile on his lips.
Not amused, Harry peered back stoically.
The vampire's smile widened, turning into a smirk. "She means well though, wanted to get to know you better," he confided.
"I don't see why she couldn't do that here," he gestured at Charlie's house, "or at school."
Jasper leaned back in the seat, looking ahead. "We all feel most comfortable at home."
Harry nodded. "I know the feeling."
The shadows twisted as something big flew past the headlights of the parked car, landing heavily on the fence by the stairs leading up to the door. Jasper jumped, head swirling to the creature.
Fawkes sat perched, head tilting at Harry from behind the windshield.
The vampire's expression turned to shock. "He made it here fast," he murmured.
Harry smiled, "Thanks for the lift," he said, choosing not to reply further.
He opened the side door, stepping out to the awaiting bird.
…
Notes: I think I may have mixed a bit of the book's Cullen house and the movie's in my head. In the book it was a Esme-restored old house with a wall of windows though, so I think it passes anyway. I'm sure Esme likes it light, bright and open. :p
And if anyone is confused about Banner; Smeyer said he had a crush on Bells (at least in her first year there when she was seventeen). Harry: "And I took that personally". In other words, Bob Banner's going down.
Also, cottage pie is absolutely amazing. I 100% recommend any and all to try it. It's easy to make and *chef's kiss* delicious.