So I posted the prologue of this and on the first day I got over ten views. So to make you guys even happier here's chapter 1, totally redone and made over. Some things you'll recognize and others you won't! Hope you enjoy.
Disclaimer:
Blah, don't own and all that stuff.
Chapter 1
Isabella Swan hummed softly to herself as she pushed her ancient and bulky red truck down the winding path that lead to the Cullen's house, and she used the word house very lightly. The gorgeous white structure could be viewed more as a mansion than a house. It had a towering glass wall that made up the back side and gave view to a sprawling river. A beautiful wrap-a-round porch hugged its structure like a nice fitted skirt on the first floor. Fresh white paint coated the outer layer of the rectangular house and it was shaded by tall cedar trees that gave off an air of mystery and fantasy, like anything could happen there.
The Cullen house would easily have been the envy of every homeowner in Forks, had anyone ever really seen the place. But, like always in a small town, people speculated and Bella was smug when she heard them gossip because she knew that they guessed wrong. The Cullen house was located well into the forest far away from the prying eyes of the resident town's folk who'd want to do nothing more than poke their noses into other peoples' business. You'd have to know what to look for and be very acquainted with the Cullens to be able to find and approach the house, after all, the Cullens like their privacy, and for good reason.
What no one knew was that every member of the Cullen family was – in fact – a vampire, but not your normal, run-of-the-mill vampire, if ever such words were used together. Nope. The Cullens were a family of vampires that acted on a strict animal blood only diet, which came as a kind of relief for the citizens of Forks, although they did not know that. To them, the Cullens were just a bunch of rich and beautiful people who called one another family. Bella was the only normal person clued in on their secret.
Bella blinked her large, doe brown eyes as she came upon the Cullen home. Even though she had been there before, she couldn't help but stare at it in awe. The first time she had seen the place she had thought it was timeless, and now, a little over a year later she still believed that. The front door swung open, breaking the spell Bella was in and Esme Cullen smiled out at her, looking extraordinarily like Snow White standing in the doorway of the beautiful house.
"Hi," Bella called out in a small voice, knowing that despite the distance Esme, and all the other vampires in the house, would be able to hear her. Sighing inwardly, Bella turned the key in the ignition, effectively turning off her truck. The silence that followed was deafening now that the roar from the old engine was gone. Bella sighed a little before she stepped out into the damp air that constantly hung over the town, despite the fact that the sun was actually out today.
"Hello Bella, how are you," Esme asked as way of greeting once Bella had approached her. She moved to the side to allow the girl in and she shot her a smile full of dimples, which Bella always found to be a little odd. How could a person that felt like rock have dimples? They couldn't possibly be as soft as they looked.
"I'm fine, thank you," Bella said back politely as she shrugged out of her light sweater. A sweater she had been wearing as a precaution in case it rained again – which it hadn't so it had been pointless and a minor annoyance having to lug the thing around. She hung it up by the door and looked around the open space that was the "living room" if you could really call it that.
The area really just looked like a mass of empty space – kind of like a loft would look and Bella often suspected that the room had originally been three or four separate rooms. There was a large couch, two loveseats were white suede and the far back wall was made entirely of glass – giving view to the leafy green surround them. On a raise platform near the glass was a white grand piano. Everything in the room was white, the high-beamed ceiling, the walls, the thick carpet, even the wooden floors. A large winding staircase took up much of the west side of the room and an empty square near their lead into the kitchen. Another empty space on the other side of the room lead to the dining room which doubled as the family meeting room since vampires technically didn't eat human food.
"That's good to hear. Now, I'm sure you're hungry." Esme said, turning toward the kitchen. "I made you some food. Let me go and warm it up for you." And then she disappeared through the walkway before Bella could even think about objecting. Bella smiled and shook her head fondly at the motherly vampire, before she walked over to the couch and sat down next to Alice, who was flipping through the channels quickly on the wide-screen TV. On Alice's other side, Jasper leaned forward and gave Bella a tightlipped smile and she could see from the way his chest didn't move that he had stopped breathing.
Bella sighed at the notion, feeling a little bit guilty that Jasper had to try so hard to maintain control over his bloodlust whenever she was near.
"Hey Bella, how was work?" Alice asked in a distracted voice. She didn't seem particularly interested, but Bella answered anyways.
"It was alright." She told her nonchalantly with a casual shrug of her shoulders. "I heard some interesting news." Alice hummed absently, her bored gaze not leaving the TV. Bella wondered if she was actually watching it at all. "Yeah, you guys have some new neighbors." At this Alice's hand froze; the channel landing on some random soap opera as she turned to face Bella.
"Neighbors," the small dark-haired girl repeated, confusion coloring her bell-like voice. Bella nodded her head, her brown hair falling into her face with the movement. Pushing it behind her ear, she continued on.
"Yeah, the realtor who sold the house was talking about it in the store today. She said the house had been empty for about 90 years now and that it belonged to some old family from England. The Potters I think she said their name was," Bella trailed off, poising a thoughtful expression. She was completely oblivious to the silent conversation Alice and Jasper seemed to be having beside her. "Well, anyway, just the other day some kid called her saying he inherited the house or whatever. And today they moved in."
"Hmm, I've never seen a house anywhere around here," Alice finally said and Bella looked at her in confusion, finally catching on to the vampire's discomfort.
"That's odd," she mumbled and Alice hummed in agreement before turning to look at her husband inquiringly.
"Have you?" Jasper shook his head in the negative, looking thoughtful. Alice sighed sadly, and Bella could only guess that she was not pleased with not knowing something. It was silent as the three pondered over this new development. On the TV, some woman was begging her husband to not leave her, telling him that she'd try and be more faithful.
"Bella, do you know who the person is that bought the house?" Alice suddenly questioned, breaking through the still silence.
"No, but the house supposedly cost a fortune, so the guy has to be rolling in it, right? But then again, it could probably be just some kid that got lucky." Bella shrugged at the end of her statement, showing how much she believed her own words. Alice shrugged also, her lips pursed thoughtfully.
"Is it just the kid? What about his parents? How old is the boy?" Esme fired off as soon as she was within hearing distant of Bella. She was whipping her hands off in a kitchen towel and Bella was a little bit struck at how normal the gesture seemed. She was just so caught up in the vampire-ness of them that she was often taken aback when they acted human.
"I don't know, supposedly the guy didn't want to talk about his family. At least, that's what I got from the realtor's complaining." Esme continued to frown, but she sensed the hopelessness of her questions and returned to the kitchen to finish making Bella's snack. If Bella strained really hard, she could hear the small clattering of the woman tinkering with kitchen appliances.
Alice suddenly sat straight up in her seat, her eyes filming over slightly. Just as quickly as it had happened, it was over and she was once more relaxing into Jasper's strong arms.
"Edward's back," Alice announced at Bella's questioning look, and right on cue Edward blew into the room in a swirl of wind and scattered blades of grass. The three turned to look at him questioningly and was taken aback by his appearance. The normally neat vampire was curiously missing several buttons from his shirt and his already messy hair was filled with grass.
"Edward? Is that you?" Esme called before walking into the room from the kitchen. "Oh! What happened? Are you okay?" she questioned when she took in Edward's harried appearance. Edward nodded once, the move so quick Bella could not catch it with her slow human eyes.
"Edward," Alice said in a warning tone when Esme's worried expression didn't go away. Edward hesitated for a fraction of a second, his dark eyes landing on Bella before moving away quickly. He looked embarrassed as he treaded his fingers through his bronze colored hair, scattering a few blades of grass.
"I . . . I don't know." His brows pulled together and he frowned deeply as he said, in a serious tone, "I think there's something wrong with me." Esme took a few steps toward Edward, concern written on her face.
"Did something happen, dear?" she asked. Edward sighed heavily in a very human fashion and turned to stare unseeingly out the large glass wall behind him.
"I didn't mean to," Edward finally said into the silence that had fallen. Jasper frowned when he sense the waves of shame coming off of his 'brother.' "I don't know what came over me." Edward continued. "I just . . . I just jumped on him. I just wanted to . . ." he trailed off, lost in his thoughts and recollection of what had just happened.
Esme looked at him with concern and sadness, Jasper and Alice with shock, and Bella just didn't look at him, instead looking somewhere else so that he wouldn't see the sick expression on her face. After a moment Edward seemed to finally notice their expressions for he sighed. "I didn't want his blood," he muttered quietly. He then looked down at the floor, looking about as embarrassed as a vampire could.
The man in the soap was now throwing his unfaithful wife's stuff out of the house while she stood on the lawn crying hysterically.
It took a moment, but having normal teenage friends, some of them boys, allowed Bella to put together Edward's words and appearance, and the knowledge had her slapping her hand over her mouth. Alice, Jasper, and Esme looked over at her in confusion at the clear amusement the saw on her face.
"Ah . . . sorry," Bella choked out before she lost all control and collapsed into a fit of uncontrollable giggles. Her amusement caught the attention of the household's prankster and the bulk of a vampire strolled into the room to investigate, his wife, Rosalie, tucked possessively under his arm.
"Hey, what's so funny?" He asked in a booming voice, looking around the room as if he could somehow spot the source of Bella's amusement.
"Edward . . . jah-jumped . . . boy . . . wah-woods," Bella managed to gasp out, still overtaken by her laughter. Rosalie spared Bella a look full of distain before she rolled her amber eyes and focused her attention on her nails. Emmett, however, was very interested and he turned to look at the bronze haired vampire, his dark eyebrows raised.
"Wow! Really?" Bella nodded her head vigorously, tears streaming down her cheeks as she tried to catch her breath. Emmett let out a booming laugh. "Wow little brother! Finally decided to bat for the other team, huh?" He wiggled his eyebrows teasingly at the mind reader. Alice and Jasper finally seemed to catch on to the situation and the blonde male looked at Edward in shock while his wife beamed brightly. Bella sneaked a look at her and could practically hear Alice's plans for a shopping spree, as if Edward's new sexual preference would make him more agreeable to go and 'shop till he dropped.'
"I'm afraid I don't follow," Esme finally admitted in a slightly defeated tone, looking around at all the teens in confusion. Emmett sighed as if exasperated and he waved his hand vaguely at Edward as he said, "Well, it seems like Eddy-boy here tested his new found sexuality out on some poor boy." Edward groaned and was sure that had he been human he would have died from embarrassment by then.
"I always figured you were gay," Rosalie said in a dismissive tone, still studying her nails as if they were the most interesting thing in the world. Her comment was the only one that seemed to get a rise out of the immortal teen.
"I'm not gay," Edward snapped defensively. He glared at the blonde beauty before looking over at Bella, his eyes asking her to back him up, but she simply shrugged.
"Sorry Edward, but Rosalie is right," she told him in an apologetic tone. Edward stared at her with wide eyes, as did Esme and Jasper – and even Rosalie spared Bella an astonished look for one short moment before she went back to looking disinterested. Bella sighed in exasperation and shook her head, as if she were disappointed in them. "Well, it's true. Anyone with eyes could see it."
"Bella," Edward called in a whisper, his expression that of great confusion. The others in the room could feel the sudden change in the atmosphere and they discreetly left the two alone. Bella, noticing their departure, motioned for Edward to come and sit with her. Edward obliged, sitting down and grabbing one of Bella's hands and clasping it between the both of his. Bella patted the back of his hand with her free one.
"Actually, Edward, this is sort of why I came here," she said in a low voice. She looked down at their linked hands. "We need to talk."
"About what," Edward asked a forbearing feeling overcoming him. He was once again tortured by the fact that he couldn't read her mind. If he could . . .
"Our relationship," Bella answered and then she sighed. She really didn't want to do this, was willing to completely ignore it and go on, but she also wanted him to be happy. "It's not working anymore, Edward."
"What are you —?"
"I can tell you don't love me," she told him, cutting him off. She drew swirling patters into his hand as she waited for his response, and when it came she mentally sighed.
"Yes, I —" Bella looked up, locking eyes with him and Edward broke off at the look in her eyes, a look that said she knew he didn't and she didn't want him to have to lie to her.
"No, you don't," Bella told him softly but with conviction She then sighed yet again – she seemed to be doing that a lot in this conversation – and let her eyes wander around the spacious room. "Yes, you love me," she spoke again in a slightly distracted tone. She sounded wistful as if a declaration of love did not mean the same to her as it did to him. "Yes, you do," she intoned again, still in that soft voice. She patted his hand again but still avoided looking at him. "And yes, you see me as a part of the family, but you don't love me. And yes, there is a difference." Edward finally looked away from her, his expression torn. Bella peeked over at him through her eyelashes and said again, "You don't love me."
Edward flinched slightly as if he had been hit, but he knew Bella's words were true. He had known something was different as soon as they had come back from Italy. Yes, he did love her, and she most definitely was family, but she was more like . . . another sister than the love of his "life". He wasn't sure how or why it happened; it just . . . sort of did, so while their relationship had started out intimate, in a way at least, it wasn't now.
"You see my point," Bella said after she had given Edward a moment to think her words over. Edward turned to look at her again and they locked eyes, intense gold against warm brown. Bella thought he looked like an odd mixture of distressed and relieved – but still beautiful, always beautiful.
"I'm sorry," he apologized, his sincerity pouring out of him. Bella shrugged and waved his apology away.
"Don't be," she told him. She then lifted her free hand and placed it on his cool cheek. "I love you Edward. I really do." Edward's face seemed to break at Bella's declaration, twisting into an expression Bella did not wish to ever see – ever. "But," she continued, determined to get her message across," I always knew we weren't meant for each other. I'm too plain for you."
"No, you're not," Edward protested immediately, lifting one of his hands to curl around the one Bella had on his cheek. Her skin was so warm under his icy touch that, had he been human he would have shivered. "You're very beautiful."
"That's not the point," Bella told him, although she couldn't help the blush that flooded her cheeks – from both the compliment and the intensity of his gaze. She slipped her hand off of Edward's cheek and took a deep breath to calm herself before she continued. "We . . . we don't fit together. We're not compatible. We're like . . . like . . . like fire and ice."
"Bella," Edward whispered, using his free hand to trail down Bella's cheek. Her sad smile could have broken his heart if it had still been beating and he was sure that she was crying on the inside. He couldn't read her mind, but he could read her face and it was there, in her dark brown eyes, shimmering on the surface.
"It's okay, Edward." Bella said, almost cooed, trying to comfort him and if the situation wasn't so sad, Edward would have rolled his eyes. It was just so Bella to comfort someone else even when she was the one that was hurting. "I'll be fine. I just want you to be happy." Edward smiled bitterly as Bella patted the hand he was still using to hold hers. He could almost hear the unspoken words in her mind. It's okay that you've stop loving me, they spoke to him.
"You're probably the most selfless human I have ever met," he told her and Bella laughed in response. The sound was light-hearted and helped to loosen the tension a little bit.
"I'm not so sure about that," Bella responded, grinning from ear to ear. It hurt a little, but Edward seemed to relax at the sight of it. Bella looked away and racked her mind for a distraction. Finding one, she clutched onto it like a life preserver and kept it in mind as she turned back to face her, now ex-boyfriend.
"So, do you want to hear what I found out today?"
Harry Potter sank down into the ugly, orange plastic chair positioned in the drab office he was currently residing in. It was bland looking place, with dull off-white wall – that may have been pure white at some point in time – and an abundance of potted plants, as if there weren't enough greenery outside. The room was also small and box-like; Harry couldn't imagine anyone wanting to willingly work in the room. It was closterphobic and the chairs were very uncomfortable and annoying.
Harry balanced a pad on his knee and reached over to grab a pen off of the nearby table, which had a potted flower on it. And then he sighed for what he figured had to have been the hundredth time in the past two minutes.
"Teddy Remus Lupin, would you please stop moving," he pleaded with the adorable blue-eyes baby in his arms. Teddy tilted his head to the side cutely; his black hair flopping into his eyes, and, despite his annoyance, Harry couldn't help but smile at the boy. He was putty in the child's chubby little hands. With an amused smile and a shake of his head, Harry turned back to the form he had been trying to sign. He had managed to write down his name before Teddy started squirming in his arms again.
"Come on Teddy," he began pleading again. "Aren't you bored? Don't you want to go home? I'm sure you do, and if you would just sit still for a moment I could finish up here and we could go home." The baby simply stared at Harry blankly, chewing absently on his little fingers. Harry sighed inwardly, feeling like an idiot for trying to reason with a baby. "I'm going completely mental," he muttered softly to himself.
"Excuse me." Harry looked up at the sound of the voice and came face to face with a cute brunette that had an amused expression on her pale face. "Do you need any help?" she asked him, gesturing vaguely at Teddy with her hand. Harry hesitated for a fraction of a second, his instincts screaming that he could not trust strangers, even if they did appear to be very good in nature. It was most definitely his paranoia talking because the girl didn't even look like she could harm a mosquito.
But then Teddy decided that he had had enough of sitting still and he began to wiggle impatiently in Harry's lap, causing the pad to fall onto the floor and the papers Harry had been trying to sign to scatter about. Harry glared accusingly at the boy before holding him out to the girl in a sign of clear abandonment, even if Teddy could not tell. The girl plucked Teddy up into her arms, beaming into his face as she turned so that she could sit down in the empty chair right next to Harry. Harry immediately approved of the girl, whoever she might be.
"Thanks," Harry told her as he reached down to collect the documents. He pulled them into a neat stack, making sure they were straight, before clipping them back onto the clipboard. "I thought I'd be here forever thanks to that little monster." He threw a mock glare at Teddy but the baby didn't seem to notice, so busy with playing with the girl's thin fingers.
"No problem," the girl told him airily, waving her hand in the air to dismiss his thanks. She then braced Teddy against her right arm so that she could hold her left hand out to Harry. "I'm Bella Swan by the way." Harry shook her hand and gave her a smile, which in turn caused Bella to blush. This was normally a cause of alarm for Harry – girls were always blushing and giggling and flirting with him – but with Bella that didn't seem to be the case. Chuckling lightly, Harry offered his name.
"Harry Potter." Bella's brows rose into her hair and she hummed thoughtfully, the tone of which had Harry cocking a brow in question. "What?"
"Oh, nothing," she mumbled quietly, another blush coming up to coat her pale cheeks. "It's just that . . ." she started and then finished in a rush of words that had Harry blinking in confusion for a moment, ". . . The whole town is already buzzing with gossip about you and your move here." Harry groaned and shook his head sadly, while Bella nodded her head at him sympathetically. "Yeah, I know." She told him, her voice low – which made Harry think that that just made it more pleasant on the ears. "I moved here last year and the only reason why they're not still gossiping about me is because my father has lived here since forever."
"Fantastic," Harry complained on another groan, shaking his head. Bella smiled, amused by the teen's reaction. She had always assumed that she was the only person who didn't like attention, but it appeared that she wasn't as much of a freak as Emmett liked to tease her about, which was a relief for her to realize. While she thought this over she bounced Teddy on her knees, enticing small giggles from the baby.
It was silent except for Teddy's baby babbling and the ominously loud ticking of the overhead clock. Bella thought quietly to herself during this time. She wondered when it would be a good idea to stop by the Cullens again, or was that relationship gone now that she was no longer dating Edward? She wondered what she should make Charlie for dinner. She wondered when next she'd be able to visit Renee. She was just thinking about what someone like Harry would be doing moving to a remote town like this when Harry's low tenor washed over her.
"So," Harry finally drawled when he was done filling out the forms. "Aren't you going to question about my accent, or my family, or why I moved here?" Bella blushed once more for she had just been wondering about those things, and Harry wondered if the girl was an easy blusher. That would be interesting; he hadn't met one of those before.
"Well . . . I wanted to," Bella admitted a bit reluctantly. "But I know personally how annoying those questions can be." The response was so bluntly honest that it had Harry blinking in surprise. Most girls Harry knew tended to only be able to blush, giggle, and jabber consistently and they often got on his nerves.
"You know Bella," he said slowly, picking his words carefully so as not to be too forward. A smile crept onto his face as he said, "I think I'm going to like you." Bella's face immediately flushed dark red – a reaction Harry was coming to expect was normal – as she blinked her large doe eyes. Harry couldn't help the smirk that pulled on his lips as he continued. "I don't normally say this, but I have a feeling we're going to be great friends."
Bella let out a laugh in a short burst before she said, "You sound like someone I know. And she happened to be right." Then she stood up, perching Teddy on her hip. The baby giggled before pulling some of her wavy hair into his mouth – a horrible habit of his – and Harry was amazed when it didn't seem bother Bella. Most girls seemed to care a whole lot about their hair, another thing Harry couldn't understand about them. It was turning out that Bella wasn't like most girls.
"Well," Harry drawled, his accent thickening on reflex with his good mood. "That's good to know." He also stood and placed the signed documents into the turn-in bin – which was made of black wire and had large stickers of flowers on it. Harry was starting to get sick of seeing flowers.
"So, Harry, what's this little guy's name," Bella asked as they made their way out of the warm building and into the chill outside. She jostled Teddy a little, smiling when the baby let out another peal of excited giggles.
"Teddy, and before you get the wrong idea, he's my godson." Harry said in a rush. He knew that in small towns people tended to have simplistic views on other peoples' lives, and he wanted to quickly clear up anything that would be harmful to his small patched-together family.
"Godson," Bella asked, surprise showing in her voice and on her face, but Harry heard nothing of the small town condemnation. "Where are his parents?" Harry stopped walking abruptly and looked down at the ground with a depressed expression. Though he had expected it – it was a reasonable question – he was still jarred. Bella bit her lip and immediately tried to make up for her blunder. "Oh, well um . . . it's nice that you have him," she said nervously. "I wish I had something of a younger sibling."
"It's not all its cooked up to be," Harry told her lightly, internally glad that she had changed the subject and humbled that she had thought to do it at all. He immediately knew that Bella wasn't like other people, those who didn't know when not to press a subject, and he liked her all the more for it. "They can be quite annoying after a while." Bella laughed at his attempt at a joke. And just like that the tense situation from before was quickly forgotten and the two walked on in an oddly familiar ease, like old friends or something of that sort.
"So, now that we've established that we're friends, can I question about your accent, or your family, or why you moved here?" Bella asked in a teasing tone with an easy grin. She was falling into a comfortable pattern she had only ever accomplished with her best friend. The thought had her backtracking and she tried to shake it away, turning to focus on Harry. Harry's nose wrinkled as he tapped his chin in thought, yet Bella could see the amusement sparkling in his emerald eyes.
"I supposed so," he finally said in faked reluctance before letting out a deep and enriching chuckle. "Well, let's see. I'm British – but you could already guess at that. I'm an emancipated orphan and as for why I moved here," Harry seemed to really think about this one, and after a moment he shook his head and turned to look teasingly at Bella once more. ". . . well I don't know you that well to trust you with that, now do I?" His tone was teasing so Bella laughed, but she couldn't help but wonder about the whole emancipated orphan part.
"I guess you don't," she agreed then she said, "Wow." They had reached what Bella assumed was Harry's car; it certainly didn't look like something a resident of Forks would own, or even be able to afford. In fact, it didn't look American, and that was reason enough.
It was a midnight black with a single green stripe painted on its side, like a racing car. Bella couldn't tell the model or make, but she knew it had to be both expensive and fast. Something she knew the Cullens would enjoy, and suddenly she couldn't wait to introduce Harry to them. She was positive that even Rosalie might like him.
"Well, I guess I'll be seeing you at school tomorrow?" She asked, handing Teddy over as Harry opened the back door. Harry took Teddy from her and buckled him into his car seat before answering Bella's question.
"You most certainly will," he said, laying his accent on thickly, and he was rewarded with another of Bella's easy blushes. The brunette then smiled before saying, "I'll look forward to it." Harry nodded, tipped an imaginary hat at her – making Bella giggle girlishly – and then hopped into his car. Bella stood where she was until the car had pulled out of the lot before she turned and walked back toward the building. All the while she wondered if Alice had seen any of that.
Harry pulled his car up the long drive to his new home. He took a few minutes to appreciate its beauty. The gorgeous house that he had somehow come into inheriting was nothing he had ever dreamed of possessing, and even now, three days after he had come to reside in it, he still couldn't believe it was his.
It was four floors of brick and wood, all painted in a soothing blue and white, and stretched out to nearly cover the entire two acres of land it sat on. A porch wrapped around the second floor of the building, where the four of the bedrooms were located. There were seven bedrooms in all, three libraries, two living rooms, four drawing rooms, one ridiculously large office, seven bathrooms and three half-baths, a large kitchen, and a basement Harry suspected was used for training and potion development.
And that didn't even included the serving quarters that Harry knew was for house elves, or the garage, which had to have been a recent addition. The house was all done up in neutral tones of browns, creams, and tans – save for the occupied bedrooms that had their own personal touches. It was completely furnished when Harry had first got it – again except for the bedrooms – and the libraries were already stocked full. Three house elves named Tibs, Shell, and Misty had kept the house in tip top shape for the thirty years that it had been uninhabited, and that had been a pleasant surprise for Harry.
On Harry's first exploration of the house, he had come upon his family's entire heritage – the Potter's side that is – stocked up in one of the drawing rooms, the East Den to be exact. Harry had spent the entire first day going through it and familiarizing himself with the Potter family history; which had been very interesting, For instance; he had found out that for a while the Potter family had a string of Slytherins – none of which were evil. Also, the Peverell brothers were direct descendents of both Slytherin and Gryffindor. That had been a real head turner.
Harry sighed and pulled into the massive garage, parking his car next to a sleek green motorcycle. In the garage was a total of five vehicles and only two of which Harry owned. There was his Lightning GT, which he was coming to love dearly, and then Sirius's old flying motorbike, which he had gotten remodeled and painted green, in dedication to his and Sirius's Slytherin side – and the man did have a Slytherin side, despite his many protest. Next to Sirius's bike was a silver motorcycle, made for speed, a Slytherin green GT3 40, and lastly a bright blue Vantage.
Harry rolled his eyes at the flashy vehicles before moving to take Teddy out of the car, and then the two headed into the house. Harry was immediately assaulted by the loud wailing of the fire alarm he had taken the courtesy of installing, when he crossed over the threshold into the house. In his arms, Teddy started wailing with the alarm, big fat tears streaming down his cheeks and small hands clamped over his ears. Harry winced, because he was sure the noise was killer on Teddy's overly sensitive ears, and he quickly moved to the second floor, so that he could place Teddy down in his room.
Out of all of the rooms Harry had remodeled, Teddy's was his most priced piece. The walls were a dark blue, so that it always looked like it was night and it was filled with millions of twinkling stars. On the ceiling right over Teddy's crib was a large moon. It changed like a regular moon – which had been a bit of very tricky magic. The floor was covered in a thick black carpet and there were toys – both Muggle and Wizarding – strewn about. Teddy's favorite, a shaggy grey wolf, was rested against the crib bars.
The little boy, however, was not ready to relinquish hold of his godfather just yet though, so Harry had to have a small battle with the baby before he finally managed to get him into his crib. He called on Misty to come and watch the boy. Harry then placed a one-way silencing charm over Teddy's room before going to investigate what had caused the fire alarm to go off.
The kitchen was cloaked in a thick smoke and Harry could hear someone cursing violently from inside of it. With a sigh, Harry waved his arm, where his wand was tucked securely up his sleeve, and the smoke was sucked out of the room like some kind of vacuum. With it gone, Harry could easily spot the source of the problem.
The two blondes were bent over the stove, their blonde hair merging together so that Harry could see the distinct difference in the coloring – one more white than the other but both white-blonde to begin with.
"What is going on?" Draco Malfoy jumped up in shock and turned around looking distinctly guilty before he managed to school his featured into a mask of indifference. Luna Lovegood, never one to be scared or startled, simply looked over her shoulder at Harry briefly before turning back to the smoking stove.
"I didn't do anything," Malfoy immediately proclaimed calmly, doing the Slytherin thing and ratting someone out to save his own arse. He pointed one slim finger accusingly at Luna saying, "It was all Lovegood's doing." Harry crossed his arms over his chest loosely and leaned back on the counter behind him, arching a brow at the blonde aristocrat.
"I see," he said in a patient tone, trying to hold in the laughter that was dying to bubble up inside of him. "And what, pray tell, did she do?" Malfoy gave an uncharacteristic shrug then looked pointedly at Luna, who was now humming softly to herself.
"I simply thought it would be a good idea to cook breakfast, seeing as you were out," she finally said after a too long pause. "But I'm afraid the Chikaries thought it'd be rather humorous to play a cruel prank on me, and something went rather bad." Malfoy snorted at Luna's explanation and rolled his silver eyes, then looked pointedly away when Harry glared at him.
"Well, Luna," Harry said kindly, walking over to her. He peered into the pot that she had been cooking in but could only distinguish a black mass out of what was left. "How about we ask Tibs to do the cooking if I'm out," he then suggested. Malfoy mumbled something under his breath, but before Harry could question him on it, he turned and stalked out of the kitchen. Harry sighed for the millionth time since he had awoken.
"We'll all get used to one another sooner rather than later," Luna suddenly said, somehow managing to read the worry on Harry's mind. Harry laughed once without humor.
"A Gryffindor, a Ravenclaw, a Slytherin, and the child of a Marauder; all living in one house," he said then shook his head. "We'll have to learn to get alone. It's either that or one of us kills the other. I opt for killing Malfoy, but that would probably hurt Teddy's feelings. They are cousins after all." Luna giggled like Harry knew she would, and the Savior smiled before patting her fondly on the head.
"Alright, let's get this cleaned up." Luna nodded, turned, and walked out of the room in a swish of her long skirt. Harry watched her leave with an amused expression that disappeared when he looked back down at the charred pot. "Tibs!" he yelled.
Draco groaned and leaned back in the black leather armchair, looking up at the night blue ceiling – magically painted with twinkling stars in the shapes of his favorite constellations. He had gotten the idea after taking a look at what Potter had done to the baby room. Draco watched the stars, letting his mind drift about but not on anything in particular. He was content in his solitude, revealing in the peace that came with his very much unexpected move west.
Getting away from the Wizarding World was the best decision he had ever made, as surprising as that may be for a Pureblooded Wizard who once believed strongly in pureblood supremacy and sneered at the mere thought of anything Muggle.
Draco sighed then, and let his eyes trail around his room, the biggest room in the house with a sitting area and a connecting bathroom. It had taken only the better part of a day to get the room to fit his liking, and Draco was smug to admit that Harry probably wouldn't approve of it, what with all the magical items it displayed.
His broom – the same Nimbus 2001 his father had given him – was propped up on a display case above the fireplace in the sitting area. A portrait of his mother also rested high up on the wall opposite his bed. She was currently missing from her frame, probably off visiting her living counterpart at Malfoy Manor – it was amazing the kinds of things you could talk about with yourself. Among other things, Draco also had his many school pictures, the moving figures flickering lazily in their frames around the room – a room Draco had taken care of painting a dark moss green. A Slytherin banner hung above his king-sized bed, snakes slithering silently around the green words.
The sitting area – which was where he was currently seated – was set up in much the same way, a suede green couch, a white armchair, and a magical fireplace he had set up simply because he had wanted his own Floo. The floor here was wood, blonde oak to be precise. Another portrait, this one of his family – his father, his mother, his aunt, his uncle, his grandfather, and himself – sat above the fireplace. Sure, he no longer approved of his family's actions during the war; it didn't mean he wasn't proud of his heritage – which is why he had family books in the truck under his bed.
There was a sudden knock on the door and for a minute Draco simply stared at it. The three – plus the baby – had been living in the house . . . manor for a little over three days, and in those four days Draco had spent all his time in complete solitude in his room. It wasn't because he didn't like his company – he could tolerate even Potter to some degree now – it was simply because he had wanted to be left alone.
After a moment's debate, he flicker his wrist in a moment of wandless magic to open the door and let his guest in.
Potter peaked nervously around the door, spotting Draco at the far end of the room before entering. He shuffled nervously and looked around, letting his surprise at the room's décor momentarily distract him.
"Can I help you?" Draco drawled. He was staring, not at the Boy-Who-Lived, but at the wand he held in his hands, which Harry had returned to him shortly after the war ended. He twisted the object in a show of idleness as he waited for Potter to speak.
"Oh . . . right . . ." Potter mumbled. "Well . . . I just thought – you know . . . with us living together and all . . ." Draco rolled his eyes, mentally urging to other teen to quit his ramblings and get to the point already. ". . . I thought we should come to a . . . truce of sorts . . ." Draco finally looked up into the Savior's eyes and he could see that this conversation was not one the wizard was comfortable having.
"Well, Potter, I agree." Potter's head shot up and he stared over at the aristocrat in blatant shock. "But," Draco continued and the shock on Potter's face changed to a wary expression. "You should already know that I can't really do anything without your permission." Draco then watched curiously as Potter winced at the reminder.
"Right, I forgot about that," the dark-haired teen muttered, looking more uncomfortable than when he had first entered the room. Draco lifted and dropped his shoulders slightly in a shrug, apparently nonchalant as he said, "It's not really that big of a deal."
"So you say," Potter mumbled looking down at the floor. "But I've never actually liked leading" – Potter winced again as if the word hurt coming out of his mouth – "people. I'm not exactly comfortable with —"
"Well it's not like you can change anything," Draco interrupted, feeling just the slightest bit annoyed. Who knew the Savior was such whiner? "Look, I don't care, you're godson certainly doesn't care, and I'm pretty sure Looney doesn't care either."
"I really wish you didn't call her that," Potter muttered absently, looking down at the thick carpet that mirrored the ceiling. Draco shrugged again and he could practically hear his father's voice, scolding him. Draco, Malfoys do not shrug like commoners. We are above such normalcy. I don't want to see you exhibiting such behavior in my presence again.
"Alright Malfoy," Potter finally said after a long moment of strained silence. Draco put up a wall in his mind to block out his father's drawling voice. "We'll just . . . try not to kill each other . . . okay?"
"Agreed," Draco complied airily, not really paying the other teen any attention any more. He was staring at his wand again, frowning only just slightly so that you'd have to have be looking really closely to see it. Potter nodded and then turned to leave, but stopped at the doorway – lingering in the threshold.
"By the way," he added turning to look at Draco over his shoulder. There was a grin stretching his face, showing off the straight pearly whites. "We have to do something about your room. What would happen if a Muggle came in here?" Draco let out an uncharacteristic snort and shot Potter a grin of his own.
"As if I'd have a Muggle in my room," he sneered, but only playfully. Potter threw his former rival a parting smirk before shutting the door gently behind him. Draco could hear his ringing laughter as he moved down the hallway.
Man I just loved writing that bit about Edward. I was practically rolling as I wrote it. LOL. And that stuff about Luna making breakfast! Hilarious! Well anyway . . . R&R