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Cold. Dark. Cold. Dark. Cold. Dark.
The alternating sensations left Harry speechless as he sat stiffly in the soft blanket of grass in the backyard, his back turned away from the house and facing towards the woods. The wispy white old man sitting Indian style across from him in velvety blue robes seemed intrusive on the beautiful image of the lush green landscape, his withered face standing out against the youthful moss that clung to the trunk of a looming tree desperately.
Never before had he felt the need to remove Albus from his immediate presence, but the words that had come flying past his lips had punctured the air near Harry's lungs, causing the vicinity around him to bleed the contempt and unwavering anger he felt at the moment, the poignant emotions dripping and oozing from the wound like jelly. He felt unsettled.
Cold. Dark. Cold. Dark. Cold. Dark.
He knew that he didn't hate Lucius Malfoy, he knew that somewhere deep down inside the man had done everything in his life in order to ensure the well being of his son Draco. Every decision the prestigious pure blood made affected his precious heir in one way another. He knew that the man's sense of family prevailed over everything else, including his need and wants to serve the Dark Lord. But there was one thing that it hadn't conquered, and that was fear.
So why had Albus' question hurt him so much? The implications of it was the notion he deluded himself with. But he knew it was something more deep seeded than that. It was the fact that Dumbledore had seemed to disregard his feelings with such frivolity that it made the deepest, darkest, well-guarded part of Harry shift unnaturally.
"I'm not sure Albus," He asked through clenched teeth. The complete change in demeanor didn't go unnoticed by the three other men. "Why do you ask?"
Albus seemed to consider Harry for a moment, as if calculating the precise words to use in order to calm or destroy any qualms the young teen was feeling. Albus had been expecting a very negative response, but the adverse reaction he was receiving at the mention of the distinguished politician and businessman was completely unforeseen.
"He has sent me a letter, requesting a brief meeting with you." Albus answered, obviously wary of the tone his voice conveyed. He continued speaking before Harry could break in and turn the conversation into a heated argument, much like the one Sirius and he had had earlier, "And if you decide to accept, I shall assure you that many necessary precautions have and will be taken." He knew the promise wasn't going to comfort the other in the slightest. He watched as Harry narrowed his eyes down to slits.
"And what makes you think these "precautions" are going to prevent him from doing anything?" Harry breathed, his eyes trained to the old man. He pretended he didn't see the hurt slip across the baby blue eyes, continuing to glare menacingly at the elder man.
"You of all people should know my abilities exceed that of many wizards, Harry. Do not be so foolish as to presume that I have no considered every possibility of the outcome of the meeting, and that I have not figured a counter for ever one of them." The way the words slithered across the teen's skin made him shiver. He had crossed a very defined line with Albus, a line that he hadn't tip-toed past in many years. He had doubted Albus; he had mismeasured the man's worth, his power, his trust. It was the one thing that could get a rile from Dumbledore's emotions, could slightly crack the well collected mask that the man wore constantly.
"I'm sorry, Al." Harry apologized, searching for any indication that the man was going to forgive his rude comments. "I shouldn't doubt your abilities just because I doubt Lucius' intentions. It isn't fair to you." He reached over and placed his hand on top of the older wizards. He could feel all the wrinkles and creases of the flimsy flesh, the warm blood flowing beneath it radiating a calming heat. The scratch of Albus' long, yellowish, cracked and flaked nails made Harry's stomach turn though. He'd have to convince his friend to clip them sometime soon..
"It is quite all right, m'boy!" Albus exclaimed before shooting up from his spot on the ground. "I shall give you some time to think over the matter, and in the meantime I'll begin to organize the proper arrangements for when, and if, the event shall occur." Harry watched in amusement as the prehistoric wizard all but pranced up the back patio's steps. "Now where did I place those super bouncy balls?" He could be heard muttering as he stepped through the back door and into the house.
Sirius looked at Harry with an impish grin upon his face, while said boy rolled his eyes over exaggeratedly. Remus chuckled at the two's antics before pulling Sirius up off the ground and leading him inside.
Harry lay in the cool grass as the small glimmering rays of sun that had managed to shine through the clouds and create the slightest amount of light slowly diminished to nothingness behind the thick veil of clouds in the sky. He felt his eyes adjust tothe growing darkness of the area around him and he wondered what it would be like to just become a part of the Earth, what it would feel like to be the safely packed soil of the ground, relishing in the sweet brush of children's sneakers against the dark brown surface. Or the sensation of the trees as squirrels hastily ran in and out of tree trunks, searching for food and watching the forest surrounding them for predators.
He thought it would be the most calming thing to be the clouds, stealthily floating through the sky in giant masses like herds of cattle on the way to the slaughterhouse. He wanted to be the rain droplets that came hurting down from the giant body of the puffy white ship that they had once tended to. He could imagine what it would be like to fly down onto the face of a human, running down their cheekbones onto delicately parted lips that seemed to breathe life into the air around them. He could see wet, red tinted hair matted down to the face of a god, eyes carved from topaz glinting in the moisture slicked air as they pierced any that dared come near, the glinting pearly white of a abnormally sharp, lethal, tooth sticking out of the perfectly shaped crooked smile. .
Harry jolted up. He hadn't been thinking about Edward that way, he hadn't been imagining what it would be like to touch the boy's face. He hadn't been fantasizing, just simply admiring, right? Right. There was absolutely nothing wrong with admiring another boy's fantastically graceful and regal features and presence. It was normal, it was common, it was simply just curiosity and admiration, maybe even mild idolatry, or perhaps-
Attraction?
"Am I attracted to Edward Cullen?" he muttered aloud, relishing in the way the vampire's name rolled off his tongue sensually. The thought seemed possible, seeing as the boy was anything but ugly. But what does attraction turn into? Something he wasn't ready for.
He couldn't even believe he was considering having a relationship with Edward, seeing as there were very many obstacles that stood in the way, one of them being the big, resounding and utterly devastating fact that the boy was a bloody vampire. But when had someone slapping the label 'impossible' or 'doomed to fail' on something had stopped him before? It hadn't. He was drawn to things like this, things that most would consider to never work out in the end. He always felt the burning desire to make it work.
That's what he felt for Edward, the small, almost insignificant need to make it work, which was something that he hadn't even felt of considered in many of his previous relationships. Maybe that was why they had all been blundering failures.
But, then there was the issue of whether Edward even had feelings for him too? He wanted to doubt it, but he felt like he shouldn't. Like there was some unseen and muffled memory or piece of information in his mind that was screaming at him to not immediately disregard or doubt the other's possible feelings. He wasn't sure though, he wasn't sure about anything since he'd arrived in Forks.
He used to be so sure of himself, the path that he wanted to take was always clearly outlined and set in front of him delicately, patiently awaiting the time in which Harry would tread down its weathered road. But now, now there were multiple paths, multiple outcomes, multiple feelings, all of them swirling together to mesh into one giant jumble of motions and thoughts that seemed to plague his every waking moment.
He sighed and started at the almost visible stars in the sky as dusk approached. Maybe he just needed to relax and clear his goddamned head. Yes, that sounded good. He stood and shakily made his way inside on heavy legs, heading for the bathroom where he would indulge in a long, well-deserved, bath.
Edward felt like everything he touched burned his skin, he wanted to tear everything apart. He wanted to rip the entire house that Esme had worked so hard to decorate to shreds. He wanted to see some destruction, and he wanted to see it now. He clenched his fists tighter as a reflex, stomping on the urges he was getting.
"Edward, how could you be so idiotic! You're stupid decision risks everything we've worked for, he's a danger to our family's safety!" It took every, single, fiber of his being not to squash Rosalie into the ground at that very second.
Not only was she questioning his intelligence and judgment, which were something he took quite the amount of pride in, but she was questioning Alice and his ability to trust someone. But there was something else that fueled his anger, something that made his insides screams in an intense heat that couldn't be stopped, running rampant through his still veins like an unceasing wildfire.
"Rosalie, don't speak to your brother like that!" Esme reprimanded, sending the blonde a reproachful look. "Harry was bound to have found out anyway, and from what Edward has told us it seems he already knew before he came here." She calmed, trying to make her children stop arguing. Rosalie huffed, but stopped arguing. For now.
"Albus will probably want to come over and meet all of you, most likely sooner rather than later." Carlisle commented, running a delicate pale hand through his hair. He could lick all the tension that was crawling around the room if he wanted to.
Rosalie growled before opening her mouth to argue again, "We shouldn't have any contact with them! The less they know about us, the better, considering it's bad enough that they know we're vampires!" She shrieked, her face contorting in anger.
"Rose, c'mon, they don't seem that bad." Emmet urged, doing his best to relax the riled girl. Jasper cringed as he was hit with an unbearable amount of anger, coming from both Rosalie and Edward. Alice clasped his hand, rubbing along his knuckles with her thumb for comfort.
"Don't seem that bad? Don't seem that bad! They could tell about us, reveal us! Or worse, they could get their wizard friends to come and dismember us, and then-" Carlisle had heard just about enough for his liking.
"Rosalie, it upsets me that you'd think so little of a personal friend of mine, and a person that he obviously trusts." He looked at his daughter critically, a hard gaze set on only her. "Albus is not one to misjudge a person's character," Carlisle continued, his eyes softening and becoming slightly pained at the words. "If he trusts Harry as much as I believe he does, then I believe we have no reason to harm him or not get to know him better."
Edward growled from his corner when he heard Rosalie think about continuing the argument with the proposition of simply "exterminating" the duo, he found himself unable to hold his tongue any longer.
"You know Rosalie, for being someone to harp endlessly about how dangerous these two wizards are, you seem fairly certain that it would be easy to kill them." Edward hissed through his teeth, the room catching an icy chill to it. "And what's more is you think that they're so called "wizard friends" won't come hunting us down when they find out that we've murdered two of the greatest of their time." He cracked his knuckles against the palm of his hand, looking scornfully at the room around him.
"They'll only come after us if they find out they're dead. And what makes you think they'll immediately suspect us?" She snapped.
"Because, I'll tell them." Edward stated simply. He wasn't joking around anymore; this wasn't a fun family squabble where they all tossed around lame ideas that never seemed to come to fruition. Rosalie was seriously considering the idea of passing judgment and committing homicide for "the greater good." Edward sneered at the thought. As if anything good would come from killing someone as sweet as Harry.
"You wouldn't dare. Not after everything we've been through, not after all this family has done for you!" Rosalie howled, and Edward flinched as he caught sight of the pained expressions his parents were wearing. Alice just smiled and nodded at him, and he was thankful for her soothing thoughts.
"You're right, I wouldn't dare condemn this family, my siblings and parents whom I love so dearly – just you." He was leaning forward off the wall, his entire body taut and tense, ready to attack at any second. He knew he could kill Rosalie if he wanted to, if he had to.
"Aww Edward, don't talk like that!" Emmet moaned, placing his head in his hands.
"It's good to know where your concerns and priorities lay, Edward." She bit out, her voice stinging his skin. She stomped up the steps and slammed her bedroom door, not sparing the other occupants of the room a second glance.
"Edward, I-I know you really hate Rosie sometimes, but you really wouldn't do that, would you?" Emmet asked, his eyes burning holes into his brother. Edward set his jaw and didn't answer.
Alice gasped from her spot on the couch, her eyes glazed over with the haze and fog of a vision. Jasper grasped her shoulder to steady her from falling off the couch, as everyone stared in anticipation. Edward didn't bother reading her mind to see what it was; he really wasn't in the mood. Everyone leaned forward as they saw Alice blink repeatedly before regaining awareness of her surroundings. She stared at Edward decisively, scrutinizing him carefully.
"He would," Alice said, her chipper tone gone in the midst of her after-vision haze. "You would, Edward. You'd give up everything, whether you know it now or not I don't know, but you would if you had to in order to protect Harry." Esme buried her head into Carlisle's shoulder while her husband stood stiffly analyzing everything. Emmet rubbed his face into his hands in defeat while Jasper tried to calm everyone down.
Edward narrowed his eyes at Alice, trying to read her mind and see the vision but finding that Alice was thinking of everything but what she had witnessed. She didn't want Edward to know. He growled in frustration before barking at her, "What did you see?!"
His reserve was slowly crumbling, his face slowly contorting into anger. Alice smiled gently before replying, her face soft and calm. "I saw you happier than I have ever seen you, I saw you smiling with no regrets, pure joy." Alice's eyes began to bounce with their usual joy as she said this, her normal vigor returning to her petite frame as she jittered in her place on the couch. "We need to go meet them, tonight preferably." She recommended, directing the advice towards Carlisle who nodded.
"I'll try to get in contact with Albus; meanwhile will you go calm down Rosalie, Emmet?" The brawny boy nodded at his father before trudging upstairs resigned. He knew calming down the fiery blonde wasn't going to be an easy task, but it had to be done.
"Why do you think we should meet them? Don't you think it's a bit sudden?" Esme wrung her hands together, glancing between the remaining siblings in the living room. Her eyes seemed to linger on Edward.
"No, not from what I saw." She smiled, and once again Edward tried to see what the vision was, but her mind was eluding his fervent advances. She looked at him pointedly, warning him to not trespass onto unwelcome territory. He nodded curtly before immersing himself in his thoughts.
Alice had said that she had seen him happy, that he was smiling. What was causing the happiness? Harry? Edward wanted to believe it, but didn't want to get his hopes up just to be let down. It could be something trivial, like a gift for all he knew. But that wouldn't make sense; it wouldn't correspond with what was said earlier if it was simply a gift. Because Alice had confirmed that he would give up everything, to protect the boy, which was completely ridiculous since he'd only known Harry for a day.
But he couldn't deny that he felt very protective over the boy, as if he should constantly be watching him, guarding him incase something bad happened. He wasn't oblivious to the fact that wizard's had many enemies, and Carlisle had explained that due to the person Harry was, he was more likely to have people trying to kill him. Carlisle hadn't disclosed any more information than needed on the subject, since it was Harry's decision alone as to what the family knew or not. But the information he had given hadn't been reassuring in the least, and it only made the pressuring need to smother Harry and keep him by his side at all times pulse and throb, threatening to take over. It was one of his most primal instincts next to feeding, the instinct to protect.
Edward ignored the noises coming from the kitchen, knowing that Carlisle was making calls in order to reach Albus. Edward wondered how close Harry and the mysterious, elderly wizard were. There was a clear indication in the way Harry had spoken about the man during the conversation at school that they were more than house mates. He sincerely doubted they were lovers, considering the apparent marginal age difference, companions perhaps? It was more likely than some of the other theories he had created.
But was Albus the only person living with the boy? Surely if there were two wizards there were more somewhere? And what were they doing in Forks anyway? Harry hadn't given him any sort of definitive answer during their conversation at school, and had avoided all of his other questions concerning the topic, obviously because he didn't trust Edward, which he still didn't understand. He wanted Harry to trust him, and it made something scorch his lungs with icy air at the thought that the boy might never come to confide anything in him. Edward stared pensively at the ground after coming to this realization. He wouldn't let that happen, he'd earn Harry's trust, even if it took everything he had.
Edward heard soft rumbles of laughter float into the room as Carlisle entered the den. A half smile, half smirk played across his features. "We'll be leaving in fifteen minutes, see to it that you're all properly groomed." Carlisle stated, grabbing Esme's hand and leading her away to another room. Alice jumped in the air triumphantly before looking at apprehensive Jasper. Edward felt his breathing speed up unnecessarily, even as the world around him seemed to slow down. Everything felt so sudden, so fast. Was this how everything always happened with wizards? He imagined that people so established as them would live precarious and fast lifestyles, not lingering on one thing for too long and constantly relishing in the feel of fleeting emotions.
He didn't want Harry to be something fleeting, he didn't want the young teen to move away or leave and carry on to something better. He wanted to get to know him, to understand everything that made him who he was.
"Are you sure this is a good idea, don't you think it's a bit sudden?" Jasper asked Carlisle's retreating form, the worry and hesitancy to rush into something so swiftly playing over the vampire's creamy features.
"Albus and I both agreed that it would be best to meet as soon as possible, since Harry and he along with the rest of their family will be very busy throughout this week and the next." Carlisle calmly stated before finally leaving the room. Edward rushed upstairs to change his clothes as quickly as possible, ignoring the deep pit in the bottom of his stomach as he threw on his favorite grey cashmere sweater.
The last thing Harry James Potter expected to see when he waltzed down the steps and into the living room, a towel still wrapped loosely around his hips, his mind set on a mission to interrogate Albus as to the whereabouts of his favorite lilac scented shampoo, was a den full of vampires.
He shouldn't have been so foolish in thinking that it would be completely fine for him to trapeze around his home in completely nudity, since most people didn't have to live in impending fear that their 'dear, old, grandfather' had conjured up some new, insane, impossibly unbearable guest for him to deal with.
But seriously, the entire Cullen family, lounging in his living room?! He felt his anger and embarrassment raging as curious eyes raked over his petite, still water slicked form. He caught sight of Edward's lingering stare and growled.
"Where the hell is that damn old coot? Albus!" He roared, whipping around to stomp into the kitchen in search of the damned old man.
"He's in the backyard, said something about putting lilacs where they belonged?" Carlisle offered curiously, watching as the teenager stormed out the back door and into the chilly night air.
He saw the confounded old man bent over some over turned dirt as he shoved two dark blue bottles into the small hole he had dug. Harry rushed over and tore the objects from the other's hands.
"What the hell do you think you're doing?! This is my favorite shampoo!" He screeched, after taking in the sight of the muddy containers. He rounded on Albus, eyes lit in rage, "And why didn't you bloody tell me that we were having company! Especially since it's that lot!"
"Hmm, and to think I thought you'd be thanking me for bringing the gallant and charming Edward back to your clutches so you could charm him into being your slave for a-llllll of eternity!" Albus pinched Harry's cheek cutely before conjuring some clothes for the boy, adding with a small smirk, "I shouldn't have doubted your abilities to surprise me, Harry." The white haired wizard practically glided back into the room, the billowy robes he was wearing fanning out behind him.
Harry growled before throwing the clothes he had been given on and stomping inside, only to see all the vampires giggling furiously, except Edward and Rosalie. He mentally smacked himself when he realized that they had heard Albus and his conversation outside. He was about to round on the old man again when a rather charming looking slightly older vampire, who had directed him to Albus earlier, spoke.
"So this is Harry, the one you told me about?" The man questioned, Albus nodding fervently in response. The vampire turned to the boy in question and said warmly, but still politely, "Hello, I'm but you may call me Carlisle if you please." He flashed Harry a stunning smile, his pearly white teeth gleaming in the light of the living room. "It's a pleasure to finally meet you, Harry."
"Likewise." Harry stated, his face flushed from the smile Carlisle had given him. Albus promptly smacked him on the shoulder for being rude and the boy corrected himself. "I mean, it's nice to meet you too." He smiled back, trying to seem as grateful as possible.
The doctor chuckled, his blonde hair gleaming with strands of light brown and sandy tones. "I'd like to introduce you to the rest of my family." He gestured at the picture perfect beings sitting stone still on the furniture, as if they were posing for a catalog. "I've heard you have already met Edward and Alice." He quirked an eyebrow and Harry nodded in confirmation. "This is Esme, my wife," He rested his hand on the woman sitting next to his lap, her round face looking like a perfectly cut valentines heart, her caramel hair falling softly to the middle of her back. She looked so breakable, like a doll.
"And this is-" He gestured towards the large burly vampire sitting next to Rosalie, but the man cut him off.
"I'm Emmet," he stated, looking like the type of person whose bad side you didn't want to get on. Harry watched in fear as Emmet's biceps rippled slightly under his marble skin, the flesh flexing.
"And I'm Jasper," rasped Alice's boyfriend. Harry noticed that the boy was doing everything he possibly could not to breathe in the slightest, and a pang of pity snapped inside of him. "Don't feel bad for me, it's manageable." The man whispered, his hand clutching Alice's leg tightly. Harry looked confused for a moment before he remembered that Edward had said Jasper was an empath.
Finally, all heads turned to the blonde that sat stiffly between Emmet and Carlisle, her face contorted in restraint and anger. She looked at Harry before she spat, "I'm Rosalie, and stay far away from me." Her gaze pierced Harry, and he shivered twice as he remembered the only two people that had ever been capable of giving him a look so similar. He raked his nails across his thigh nervously as Rosalie continued to stare him down. He glanced frantically between the girl and Albus, looking caught, trapped. She laughed shrilly before hissing, "You should be afraid, I could crush all the bones in your-"
Before anything in his mind could react he had his wand pointed against Rosalie's throat, the tip right underneath where her larynx would be. "I will not hesitate in hexing you into oblivion if you ever dare look at me that way again."
The room seemed frozen for seconds upon seconds, everyone's eyes not leaving the two on edge forms before them. Albus cut in, his voice serious as he forgot all the inhabitants of the room and focused his mind solely on Harry, on his distress.
"Who did you see in Rosalie?" He asked softly, his eyes trained to the Holly wood wand pressed harshly to the other's throat.
"Nobody," he bit out, slowly relieving pressure, before snapping vehemently. "Nobody important that is."
"You saw Bellatrix didn't you, you saw the way-" Albus continued, not oblivious to the fact that his words were burning Harry, but aware that they were things that needed to be said.
"I said it was nobody!" He spun around, his arm still twisted around and pointing at Rosalie. Before he could speak another word, a voice that hadn't been heard the entire time came forth from the corner.
"Who's Severus Snape?" Edward asked, confusion furrowing his brow as he stared at Harry in wonder. All the boy was thinking about was a tall, dark man with long, thick, filmy curtains of black hair that hung around a pale jaunty face and a crooked and overly large nose. And all he kept remembering was this man, glowering at him intensely, in the same fashion that Rosalie had, only more intense, more passionate as if the man truly loathed Harry's entire being.
Harry bristled at the mention of the name, and Albus was quick in casting a silencing charm around Harry and himself before moving forward to rest his hand no the younger's shoulder.
"You cannot continually blame yourself to what happened to Professor Snape. He died because he had to, and without the memories he gave you, you wouldn't have been able to defeat Voldemort." He said sternly, his blue eyes boring into Harry's emerald ones.
"I don't blame myself for that slimy git's death!" He spat, eyes flashing dangerously. "I blame myself for not being able to realize sooner what he truly felt." He mumbled eyes downcast. Albus cancelled the charm and smiled down at Harry.
"He was a master Occlumens; he could have fooled anyone into thinking differently about his feelings towards you and Lily." Albus whispered, blue eyes twinkling.
Harry huffed at the old wizards words before stomping over and plopping down on the floor near Edward's feet, a pout placed strategically upon his face. He crossed his arms and looked around the room at any place but Rosalie and Dumbledore. He heard Edward chuckling smoothly behind him, and he immediately allowed his tense shoulders to droop slightly, the amount of nervousness and up-tight emotions he was feeling ebbing away to be replaced by calm feelings. He leaned back and felt his head connect very lightly with the top of Edward's knee.
There were loud footsteps, before a gruff voice shouted, "What the bloody hell is all this noise about! I swear Albus if you're forcing my pup into another one of your bloody experiments I can tell you now we're going right back-" Sirius stopped short as he barged into the living room full of guests. "-To Britain." He finished, giving the prehistoric man a withering glare before looking back at the room.
Harry smirked as Sirius's eyes landed on him and the boy sitting behind him. His godfather returned the smirk before howling, "Is that the vampire you were yapping about earlier? He looks like more of a pansy than you, pup!" It took everything Harry had to not throttle his god father incessantly.
"I am not a pansy." Edward bit out darkly, his left hand, which couldn't be seen behind Harry's back slowly traced a long line up the savior's nape, pulling away slightly when the younger shivered slightly.
"Well you sure look like one!" Sirius rumbled, leaning against that side of the door frame, looking like the charming Head of House that Harry knew he was. His silky black hair made it just to the top of the middle-aged wizard's shoulders, and his happy grey eyes were warm and inviting. "By gosh, you know who he reminds me of?"
"Why no, we do not Sirius, would you care to enlighten us?" Albus replied, his blue eyes sparkling like sapphires, ready to float away into the night sky and become stars amongst the heavens.
"The Hufflepuff, Cedric Diggory!" Sirius barked, his eyes watering as he seemed to be thoroughly enjoying his jokes. Harry stiffened slightly at the realization. He spun around and scrutinized Edward thoroughly. His eyes widened marginally.
"Merlin's panties, he does look like Cedric!" Harry squealed, his eyes frantically taking in Edward's features. Albus shot the two laughing wizards a thoughtful look, obviously worried that the mention of the deceased teen would rouse another spark of unbridled emotion in the wizarding world's saviour, but quickly thought better of it. Harry had learned not to dwell on certain things, one of them being Cedric Diggory's untimely and sad death.
"Who's Cedric? What's so funny about him?" Edward's voice held an unusual quality of panic in it, the melodic notes rushing out of his light pink lips in one fluid motion.
"Cedric! Oh!" Sirius was trying to speak between bouts of laughter; tears were quickly forming at the corners of his eyes as he continued his attempt at speech, "He was this Hufflepuff, rather good wizard! But, oh, he was such a flamer! His hair! Oh his bloody hair!" Sirius was nearly rolling, his body shaking with every laugh that coursed through his body. It wasn't nearly as funny as the old dog was taking it. "It looks exactly like yours Edward, all messy and sticking up everywhere! So ridiculous!" He howled. Edward was glaring daggers at Harry's godfather.
"My hair is not ridiculous." He huffed, eyes glinting in silent brooding. Alice giggled, her body wriggling in her seat on the couch, all the excess energy she contained causing her to become restless.
Harry, who had turned back around after thoroughly dissecting and comparing Edwards features to Cedric's, leaned backwards, his shoulder blades rubbing lightly against Edwards shins; his head tilting back to regard the older vampire. He smirked before saying, "Your hair is beautiful Edward, don't let anyone tell you differently, especially Sirius."
If Edward could have blushed, he would have been at that particular moment, furiously too. He felt his chest tighten, constricting around his un-moving heart, before relaxing. Edward smiled genially, his fingers self-consciously running through his tousled locks. Sirius' loud guffaws were still reverberating off the walls of the living room when a new, softer, tamed voice entered the area.
"Sirius, what did I tell you about laughing like that, its blood annoying!" Remus scolded before reaching down and pulling Sirius upright. He gave him a reproachful look before examining their guests. He had smelled them before they had even entered the house, and had tried to ignore the rather exotic scent, but had failed once he'd heard Sirius laughing like an idiot. He noticed that three of the seven vampires had their noses scrunched slightly in dismay. "Sorry about the smell, it's hard to get rid of." Remus apologized quietly, his amber eyes scanning the room before landing on a boy that was seated rather comfortably behind Harry.
"It's quite alright; your scent is rather subdued compared to those on the reservation at La Push." Carlisle commented, his eyes looking fascinated at Remus' humble figure standing next to Sirius' rather imposing silhouette. 'They complete each other.' Carlisle thought warmly, his eyes darting back and forth between the two, sensing the compassion they felt for each other. He could almost smell the love rolling off the pair's bodies, the potency of the undying emotion filling his lungs.
"Yes, the shape shifters there even smell strongly to me, and I am considered one of their own." Remus chuckled. Sirius tugged the werewolf down onto the floor next to him, where he quickly wrapped the man up in his arms. Harry snickered at the two, obviously amused by the display of affection.
"Hmm, since it seems that two introductions are now necessary, I shall enlighten you all." Albus gestured towards the loving mates on the floor. "The rather obnoxious, dark haired man is Sirius Black, Harry's godfather. And the complacent werewolf is his mate, Remus Lupin." Albus revealed.
"It's a pleasure to meet you." Carlisle said before introducing the rest of his family, starting with himself and ending with Edward.
"Ah, Edward, so that's the boy Harry told us about." Remus stated, his eyes wearily taking in the vampire behind his pup. He didn't feel comfortable with the rather close proximity the two were sharing, but disregarded the feeling before pressing on, though Albus cut in before Remus could get any other questions out.
"Yes his is, and he's rather special too, if my sources are correct!" Albus hummed. Edward nodded curtly at him before taking the floor. It didn't go unnoticed that his hand had been delicately tracing patterns on the bony shoulder below him.
"I'm a natural mind reader." He mumbled almost abashedly. Sirius' mouth opened slightly, almost becoming a gape. Remus' eyes narrowed considerably, the uneasy feeling from before rising suddenly in his stomach. He slammed it down with an iron fist. He wasn't going to allow himself to be prejudiced against the boy just because he was a vampire. It would be hypocritical of him.
"Yes, yes!" Albus was barely containing his excitement at all the news. "And Alice, she is a Seer! And a rather accomplished one, though with some room for improvement." He winked knowingly at the pixie and she giggled. Harry heard chimes on the wind like he always did when it had to do with the delicate girl. "And Jasper, the young gentleman that he is, is an empath! Such talent in a coven, it is unprecedented! Unless we were to speak of a rather large group of vampires from Europe, but they are an unwelcome subject in my presence!" Albus harrumphed at the last statement.
The conversation proceeded on like that for a few more hours as tedious details and such were discussed, with the occasional joke from Sirius and the rather random memory or outburst from Albus. Many subjects were covered, including the war that had just recently ended in wizarding Britain, their goals for settling America, vampire diets and lifestyles, and rather regrettably (for Albus at least) the Volturi. Albus nearly blasted a hole in the wall at the mention of the vampires, a spark of admonition and hatred scorching inside of him.
The Volturi were a rather sore subject with all of them, actually. But most of all with the previous headmaster, since during the war he had repeatedly sought out the coven's help in fighting for the Light, but they had refused. Albus had offered them everything under the sun (no pun intended): equal rights, ability to attend any school of their choosing, specialized cities built just for them, anything! And they had still turned him down. And then, they had had the audacity to follow explicit orders from the Dark Lord, though not under his rule, to attack and turn Harry. It had made Albus rage in anger at even the slightest mention of them. And soon it was known that the Cullens and the Hailes didn't hold the large group of vampires in rather high regard either, for which Albus rejoiced. Finally someone to share his dislike with!
Harry smiled lazily as he watched Albus gesture rapidly as he described the proper care of a Hippogriff to Alice, who was intently listening, when he felt a whisper against his ear.
"Can we go outside?" Harry shivered as every syllable pressed against the curve of flesh, before rolling gently into his ear canal. "I want to talk to you, privately." Harry nodded before standing up and leading Edward out the back door and into the backyard.
He pulled out his wand and quickly cast silencing charms around them, not wanting any unwanted vampirically augmented hearing eavesdropping on their conversation. When Harry turned around he saw Edward staring at his wand thoughtfully from his perch on the bottom most steps of the patio stairs.
Harry tapped the wand before gesturing towards the area around them. "Charms, so people don't listen in." He explained before sitting down next to the statue-like boy. "So what is it you wanted to talk about?" He asked his British accent thick in the dewy air. The dusky shadows of twilight played across the moon-white skin of the boy sitting next to him.
"Everything," Edward gasped, looking rather exasperated. "I want to know all I can about you." He whispered, his voice conveying the neediness he felt for more information.
"I told you Edward, not until I trust you." He felt bad for denying a creature so beautiful something so simple. But he was going to stand by his decision; he couldn't simply give Edward everything he wanted. Not if he wanted to have a stable relationship with the vampire.
"But that could be months!" Edward growled, looking rather perturbed at the prospect of waiting so long.
"I think you've got enough time." Harry laughed, his eyes meeting topaz ones. He couldn't help but smile, he wanted to reach out and touch the perfection in front of him, but restrained himself.
"That's beside the point," Edward leaned in to look at him fully, his eyes capturing Harry's very essence. "Months is too long to wait, I need to know, now." He said the last part rather urgently, as if the entire fully detailed volume of Harry's past was a quick read he couldn't live another day without indulging in. Edward couldn't muster up the emotions necessary to explain that he wanted to know Harry so the young wizard would become attached to him, so that he wouldn't feel the pull to leave Forks.
"How about this," Harry began after quickly assessing his options. "Let's get to know each other, and in a week we'll see where we stand." He knew it was too short of a time span to even begin to remotely trust Edward, but he thought it was a decent amount of time to at least evaluate if he could trust him. Besides, he felt drawn to the vampire. His magic tingled his skin when he was around the older boy, as if reacting to the other's soul, his aura swirling and mingling with his own. He knew that he could eventually trust him, even care for him, but he didn't want to jump into anything. He knew that rushing into something would be like diving head first into a lake in the middle of January; a bad idea. He was torn from his thoughts when a deft pale hand reached over and pushed a strand of hair behind his ear. He shivered at the icy sensation as the fingers brushed against his temple, the small action causing a huge reaction.
"Fine," Edward conceded to the proposition, his eyes lazily gazing into Harry's. He retracted the hand that had been trailing along the other's face. He saw the teenager stiffen slightly and had thought it best to refrain from any physical contact. But that didn't mean he couldn't squelch the longing he felt coursing through him to smother the boy, the need heightened by his primal vampiric needs. "Sorry, didn't mean to make you uncomfortable." He mumbled abashedly.
"You didn't make me uncomfortable; you just took me by surprise." Harry corrected.
Edward was on the verge of continuing on that particular statement but was cut short when Albus's voice rang out through an open window on the balcony upstairs.
"Harry, where are those gummy worms I entrusted you with? I left them in your explicit care for a reason!" Albus careened his neck, straining every tendon in his throat and shoulders in order to effectively look over the railing at the couple below. Harry canceled the charms he had cast earlier and shouted back,
"And what reason is that, Al?"
"Because you're to sour to enjoy sweets, so I knew you wouldn't eat them you frumpy old maid!" He snapped before stomping back inside the house.
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