Crescendo
The world was a shattered chandelier. Harry opened his eyes to dust motes in sunlight. For the first minute of his new life, he forgot to breathe.
"Harry?" Her voice sounded like a chord on Edward's piano. She smelled like violets and seaweed.
"Alice." Turning his head, he found her sitting with her hands held up. "I'm not going to hurt you," he said. He didn't want her to look so spiky and scared. Harry could feel something burning in his chest, the same as he felt magic in trees and love in his heart. "Where's Charlie? Bella?"
"We thought it'd be best with only one person here to start with."
Harry's worry burned brighter. "Are they safe?"
"Of course, Harry." She reached out, brushing his hand. Her skin was soft. "You protected them."
The fear drained from him, like saltwater in a bathtub. He wondered if he could eat taffy as a vampire. "I'm hungry," he decided, getting up. The world was a bit disjointed, as if the pause between his deciding and his doing wasn't quite right. It used to be that things were impossible for him, that pauses stretched like Drooble's Best Blowing Gum.
Harry wondered if he'd be able to fasten his own seatbelt now.
.oOo.
"He's doing well," she'd said.
There was something on Alice's face that brought out Chief Swan.
"But?"
"Really well. Maybe he'll be able to come home soon, even. Much sooner than we thought, anyway. Edward says we can try exposing him to humans next week." Alice's pretty smile didn't fool him any.
"And?"
"He's a bit unusual?"
Charlie slumped. He'd thought it was something bad. Harry being special was nothing new. "That's alright," Charlie said. Then he got up and went to use the phone in the hall.
"Hi." Harry's voice was bright.
"Hey, you."
They let the static crackle between them for a minute. It was good, knowing that Harry was okay.
"I remember you," Harry said. "The Cullens said they forgot bits of their human lives. I remember everything."
Charlie had never heard Harry lie, but he didn't want this to be true. "Everything?"
He could hear Harry's shrug.
"Are you okay, hun?" Charlie said, and waited.
When he spoke, Harry's voice was soft. "It feels like it was a very long time ago for me. Almost as if I watched my life in a movie with the emotions dialled low." Then there was a choked laugh. "I'm not broken anymore."
"You never were broken, Harry." There was fear inside Charlie's chest, a mute terror.
If the emotions were gone, did Harry still love him? Would Harry still want to be together?
"Edward says I'm not acting like I should be," Harry said. "Vampires weren't that different in my old world, though." Harry sighed. "I'll be home soon, if you'll have me?"
"Yes!" Charlie swallowed his heart back down and took a slow breath. "Yeah, I'd like that," he said.
"Me too," Harry said. "I miss you."
.oOo.
It was strange how quickly it became normal, living with a vampire in the house. Nobody even asked about Harry refusing to leave the property, probably because they'd written him off as crazy. The Swan family still had heart-shaped pancakes on Sunday mornings. Bella'd already gotten used to having vampires sit there watching her eat.
Alice kept doing the grocery shopping. Esme kept up her daily visits. At night Harry would go to bed with Charlie, same as always, though she knew he went hunting after Charlie fell asleep. They all settled into a different kind of life.
With all the tutoring Edward had been doing, Bella did very well on her finals. When she told Edward she'd rather see a movie instead of going to prom, he picked out a terrible romantic comedy. She pretended not to like it for her dignity's sake. When Edward quoted lines at her afterward, she smiled.
Renée's call came as a surprise. "When are you coming home, Bella?"
That was when Bella realized she'd found her home in wet green ferns and molten gold eyes. "I'll visit for two weeks," she decided. Esme happily bought two plane tickets, even though Edward couldn't visit Arizona in summertime.
Angela had to watch her brothers, and Jessica was so scared of cars she biked to school now. It was Charlie's idea to take Jacob, it was definitely the right choice. He'd grown a lot over the past months, making him feel more like an equal than the scrappy kid that kept trying to talk her ear off while Charlie and Billie fished.
"Your dad's really still together with Harry?" Jacob said once they'd been dropped off at Port Angeles' airport.
"Yup," Bella said.
"'And you're really dating Edward Cullen?"
"Yeah." Bella's smile must have given him the answer he was looking for.
"Huh," Jacob finally said, once they'd passed through security. "Maybe it runs in the family."
She'd shoved him, he'd shoved her back. It was like they were just Bells and Jake again, splashing each other in the river.
It was good to have a friend who was neither dramatic nor complicated.
…
"Your dad's fine with you visiting?" Renée asked for the third time.
She'd never cared whom Bella brought over before. There'd been a girl once, Vanessa, who'd played on the varsity basketball team and had more piercings than Bella could count.
Apparently Renée only noticed when it was a boy. "Yeah, mum. Billy knows. He and Jake have been arguing a lot lately so they decided it would be good to give each other space."
"Uh-huh."
It was funny, Bella had never minded the way her mum chewed gum before. 'Chew with your mouth closed,' she wanted to say. 'Are you ever going to grow up?'
Renée tried to make time to hang out together. She took them on day trips to the zoo and to Baskin-Robbins. Jacob couldn't stand the zoo, claiming it smelled like animal dung. Later, when Renée was exclaiming about rainbow sherbet and chocolate fudge, Bella wondered if she thought they were twelve.
The most exciting thing they did was visiting the burned down ballet studio. "Vandals," Renée said, sweeping her hand irreverently through her messy hair. "It's lucky nobody got hurt. They're going to put in a condo, some wealthy buyer from the East Coast. The plans are rubbish, of course. Postmodern nonsense."
Over the course of two weeks, Bella discovered that Phoenix was dusty and boring. The desert was beautiful, but it felt foreign to her now. The horizon was too flat, the spaces too open, the sun too hot. She watched saguaros groan and wished for Harry's old oak with the rope that her tyre swing used to hang from.
While the spaces were alien, the little things made her feel alien. It used to stress Bella out, that Renée was never on time, that she left her stuff everywhere after Bella just finished cleaning. Now, she let Renée do what she wanted while only feeling apathy.
Maybe, meeting vampires had shifted her perspective. Clutter didn't matter…Renée didn't matter. Maybe living with Harry had affected Bella, too. When she did her laundry, she didn't add fabric softener. When she realized her mum didn't own an iron, Bella anticipated returning home.
.oOo.
It was bright and loud, quiet and soft. There were new colours that Luna would have loved. When he painted runes on corks now, his mind was clear, his heart pure, his hand steady and sure.
Harry made sure not to think too much. Hermione had always known that there were better things than cleverness, so Harry never spent his nights reading.
He liked walking through the forests listening to the ebb and flow. The shadows were comforting, even if he could see through them now. Harry had to send Edward away because the trees didn't like him, but Jasper was a much better babysitter. He reminded Harry of Mrs Figg with her chocolate cake and boiled cabbages.
Jasper smelled like thistles and honeysuckle. Charlie smelled like gunpowder and donuts.
Harry spent his days following familiar routines, and he made sure not to think too much.
At night, he'd leap from one branch to the next, tasting the air. Every tree in this forest was brimming with magic, and it sated him like ambrosia.
.oOo.
When their two weeks were up, Bella lied about when their flight was just to ensure they'd get to the airport on time. After three hours browsing Arizona's airport shops, only the bookstore in Seattle could hold their interest for long.
"Do you smell that?"
Bella looked up from the trashy paperback she was holding. Jacob was sniffing the air like a dog, a look of disgust etched onto his face. She inhaled. "Not really? Something flowery. It reminds me a bit of—"
"—the Cullens," Jacob finished. His whole body was trembling, in a different way than the girl with the seizures had.
"Are you…okay?" Bella moved over to grab one of his shaking hands, mentally going down her emergency to-do list. "You're burning up. I can find us a hotel, or drive us back."
Bella tried to swallow her fears. What if it was contagious?
She could picture being seized by airport security kitted out in hazmat suits. The next time she saw her family it'd be through a thick plastic sheet. Would they check if her visitors had a pulse? Even though Carlisle was a doctor, he probably didn't have any government clearance.
But she felt fine, not feverish. Maybe she was sweating a bit more than usual, was that just pre-flight jitters?
Bella lead Jacob to some out-of-the-way seats, coaching him through Harry's deep belly-breathing exercises. She left to buy him an overpriced bottle of water.
"I'm okay," Jacob said after drinking the whole thing in one go. "That was weird, but I'm fine now." He took another few breaths. "Sorry. That was really weird."
Bella knew her own smile looked thin. "Are you sure you're okay? No nosebleeds, cramps, hallucinations?"
"Well, I'm seeing things, how do I know if they're real or not?" Jacob was grinning, already getting back up.*
"Maybe I should call Carlisle."
"No!"
They stopped and looked at each other. Bella wasn't sure who was more surprised.
"Sorry," he murmured. "I'm sorry. I guess I need to find my chill."
She watched the muscles under his shirt clenching and unclenching. When they walked past the bookshop again she took a curious breath, but all she could smell was fresh croissants from over in the first class lounge. "I think it's safe?"
Jacob sipped the air, then shook his head, eyes wide. They walked to their gate as fast as they could manage.
.oOo.
Alice had invited him to a family meeting. Charlie looked at the eight vampires crowding his cozy living room and hoped this wouldn't take long. He was leaving to pick Bella and Jacob up from the airport in half an hour.
"You saw what?" Edward said, his head jerking up. They all turned to look at Alice.
She'd wrapped herself in Jasper's arms. Her body was like an overstrung bow. "The Volturi are coming. They're taking the next flight from Seattle."
"Bella's on the next flight from Seattle," Charlie said. He took a deep breath, it wouldn't help anyone if he got up before knowing the facts.
"What?" Alice had flinched. "She called me this morning saying she'd gotten to the airport. I didn't see any delays."
Edward pulled out his phone. "I'll call Bella. They can return to Arizona for another week."
"She won't want that." Charlie checked his watch, "And they're probably already on the plane." Harry's hand squeezed his. It made Charlie feel less like his skin was boiling off. "Who are the Volturi?"
"Aro, Marcus, and Caius are our kind's leaders, self-assigned kings. Their rule has kept us safe and undiscovered for almost two millennia." Carlisle almost sounded fond. His wife patted his leg.
"Carlisle stayed with them in Italy for two decades in the 1800s. We consider the Volturi to be old friends," Esme said. "Maybe they thought it was time for a visit?"
Jasper snorted. "With all due respect, Esme, you've never met the kings beyond a handshake. They are judge, jury and executioner. I'm not sure if the rest of you were paying attention, but we're in definite violation of law." At that he nodded towards Charlie, then Edward.
Charlie had been proud of his badge from day one. "What law am I breaking, and why has nobody told me before now?" He said it as a demand.
"Humans must not know about vampires," Edward said tonelessly. He ran his hand through his hair, tugging. "Exceptions can be made for people who will soon be turned, especially if the individual is gifted."
"Oh." Charlie looked at Harry sitting beside him, hand clasped in his own. He had known it was an option, but this was all so new. Forever was hard to wrap his head around.
"You and Bella are both shields," Alice said. "Aro will want to spare you."
"You don't know that." Edward said, "They're both too close to Harry for you to see properly."
Charlie wished Edward would stop pushing himself into things that weren't his business.
"I have decided to leave," Harry said, but he didn't let go of Charlie's hand.
They all watched Alice frown off into space. "I can't see what Aro will decide, but they're not coming out of spite. It's curiosity mostly, the wolves caught their attention."
"Wolves," Charlie said.
"Oh my God, it's Jacob, Jacob's in that airport!" Alice cried.
"Caius detests werewolves," Jasper said, rubbing Alice's back. "Carlisle, did you inform the Volturi of your treaty or about the Quileutes' existence at any point in the past eighty years?"
Judge, jury, executioner. Charlie could see where the conversation was going, he knew what a stacked conviction looked like. He needed Bella to get out of danger, now. Taking Harry's cell phone, Charlie dialled.
"Dad, we're boarding now, I have to hang up," Bella said. Her voice was too high. Had she seen the threat? Harry had been teaching her to listen to her instincts.
"Is there a way for you to safely get off that plane now?"
"Jacob isn't feeling well." Across the room, Alice winced again. "We barely made it this far without getting weird looks. There's three people in first class who were staring, we think they're—"
Carlisle grabbed the phone. "Very good, Bella. I need you to not finish that sentence. Is Jacob bothered by the smell?"
"Tell her to trade cork necklaces with Jacob, if they're wearing them," Harry said.
Carlisle repeated the words, then gave the phone back to Charlie. He'd put her on speaker.
"Wow, I think that really helped," Bella was whispering. "I need to go. Thank you. Jacob says we'll be okay—we're gonna be okay, right, dad?"
Charlie looked over at Harry, who nodded. "Yeah, Bells. Everything's gonna be just fine."
.oOo.
I'm updating two of my fics every weekend. All 14 chapters are completely written and going up on an every third weekend basis. Thanks for reading.