There is absolutely no plausible excuse, to me, that is good enough to explain the lack of update. The AC Adapter for my laptop is broken, limiting my access to my documents, so I pretty much had to re-write everything on the desktop computer in my house, which I have even more limited access to. But, I managed and have conjured a new update from somewhere. I will admit, it is not my best, and it very jumpy in my opinion. But, I was really trying to play with like personalities and stuff, I don't know. I'm just crazy.

don't own, don't sue.

Enjoy. (:

Harry's body was stiff and cold when he awoke Sunday morning. All of his joints were locked together like puzzle pieces, rigid from the chill of his bedroom. He wrapped his comforter around him tighter, cocooning himself in the warm cloth. He knew he wasn't going to be able to fall asleep, but that didn't deter him from staying snuggled in the depths of his bed with his eyes shut for a few more minutes.

Then he heard Albus scream downstairs in the kitchen, and he knew it was definitely time to get up. He didn't mind though, because he had this strange worm in his stomach that gave him the impression that today was going to be a good day, despite the hour at which he was awoken. 6:30 AM isn't all that bad, anyway.

He wasn't even aggravated by the fact that he was up this early because of a meeting that Albus had accidently gotten them stuck into attending. Apparently his fascination with the heaping amounts of magical creatures in the forests surrounding Forks merits enough attention that it needs to be included in a meeting. And since Harry had helped in the exploration he just had to be there. No, not even this fact bothered him at the moment.

Hell, even the sheer coincidence that it was Sunday, practically a day away from the one week mark he had allotted his and Edward's little trust experiment irked him at the moment. Nor the fact that said vampire had crawled up his arse the entire week in hopes that he'd be able to accumulate enough good points with Harry in order to deem him trustworthy. No, he wasn't letting any of these things get under his skin today; he wasn't going to allow them to become the itch that he couldn't seem to scratch.

He rolled out of his bed and stood, his bones cracking from the sudden and swift movement. He shivered in reaction to the iciness of his bedroom as he wandered towards the bathroom for a quick shower. He went about his morning routine: brushing his teeth, messing with his hair in hopes it would co operate, taking a piss. All the banal things that made up his morning were completed in roughly ten, fifteen minutes. Before he knew it, he was putting on the khakis and silky black button up Albus had laid out for him.

He was walking down the stairs whistling by 7:00. He meandered from room to room, the sun shining out his arse. The second he entered the kitchen, however, his entire mood went down the shitter. In split seconds, too. I think we might have a new record.

Edward and Carlisle Cullen were sitting casually at his kitchen island, looking poised and graceful as always. Harry wanted to rip them apart, destroy their beauty. Nothing should look so perfect, so infallible, this early in the morning, no make that ever. He walked stiffly towards the refrigerator, set on getting a glass of orange juice and some toast while looking at least mildly pleasant. When he turned around to get a glass he was almost positive he was failing miserably.

"Good morning Mr. Cullen, Edward." He inclined his head to both of the guests before reaching into the cabinet to get a tumbler. He resisted the urge to chuck it at Edward, but only because he knew the older was capable of dodging it in seconds.

"Please, call me Carlisle." The dazzling smile that was flashed in Harry's direction only made him sick. He hated vampires and their early morning vivaciousness. He slammed the toast into the toaster, almost breaking it in order to vent some of his anger.

"So, what brings you to our humble home this early in the morning?" Harry almost patted himself on the back at the civility displayed in his tone. He was so good at masking his emotions.

It wasn't that he disliked Carlisle or Edward, well maybe that wasn't completely true about the latter, but he just didn't like having guests in his house when he was getting ready to go to an important meeting at 7 in the morning. It sort of threw his mental equilibrium off. Plus, to make matters worse, both of said guests are vampires, one of which felt the need to annoy Harry to his last strand of patience.

His toast popped loudly, so he took the opportunity to turn away from the conversation and retrieve it just as Carlisle began, "Albus has invited us along to the meeting for political purposes. Since Edward is the oldest, and the most inclined, he came with."

"Oh, how nice of Al." He shot a look in the older man's direction. The Gryffindor golden boy only then noticed how quiet his former Headmaster was being. He had something serious on his mind. He smiled at Harry, the folds in his face morphing to accommodate the expression. The somber and humorless look leaving his eyes to make room for an unreal chipper one. The ancient man began bustling about the kitchen in a forced animation that only Harry could pick up on. This only added to the slowly forming bad mood that was encroaching Harry's mind. He knocked back the rest of his orange juice and put the empty glass in the sink. He didn't even want his toast anymore.

"Well, I think it's about we start out on what I'm sure is going to be a wondrous journey together, hmm?" Albus commented, already making his way towards the front door. Harry and the other two vampires trailed behind, making their way out onto the front porch.

Harry didn't listen to the driving arrangements; he just followed the crowd towards a car, got inside and buckled his seatbelt. He was trying to focus on what he would say at the meeting, remembering and categorizing different information for later use, just being his generally analytical Hermione-like self. He only acted this intelligent when he had the time to, most of the time his decisions, actions and words were made under the stress of an urgent situation, therefore weren't always the smartest choice. People thought he was dumb, when in reality, the things he got himself into were.

Harry was so caught up in the rapid succession of his thoughts that he didn't even notice when they began to meander into dark alleys that were best left untouched. His brain flashed through all the terrible things that had happened during the war, and for some reason all the happy ones couldn't overpower these ones. He felt lost for a moment in all the sadness before someone nudged him from his left.

"Harry, calm down." The whisper felt so close to him, he almost screamed in surprise. "You're letting your thoughts get the best of you." Edward was looking straight into his eyes, into his soul.

Harry hated the vulnerability he felt around the vampire, no not a vampire, god. He was perfection in its purest human personification. And that scared Harry, because he didn't know how to explain it, rationalize it. He wondered what it was like to live for so long and watch loved ones die around him. He smacked himself into reality – he'd witnessed the same things. He'd seen people he cared for unconditionally disappear from this tangible world in seconds.

Seconds he wished he could take back. Still, he thought that if he had to continue living for hundreds of years knowing that those people had died to ultimately save him he'd never be able to think the same. He'd be changed, forever.

"If I keep thinking like this I'm going to turn into a loon." Harry mumbled to himself, his hands automatically playing with the hem of his shirt. Albus and Carlisle were deep in conversation about Veela; Harry was surprised Carlisle was even able to pay attention to the road with how into the exchange he was.

"You've really got to learn to control your thoughts, Harry." The Gryffindor only turned his head in Edwards's direction slightly, not even bothering to show he was listening even though he was. He cared about everything that Edward said, but he didn't want to admit it, because admitting it would mean handling it, facing the issue. He wasn't prepared for that. So he'd continue to act indifferent.

"I'm sorry if my personal feelings bother you so much. I know my human intelligence is nothing in comparison to your years of knowledge." He whipped his head to look out the window at the passing scenery, the green leaves morphing into a giant ball off spinach puree that seemed to whizz by. Harry wished everything was so quick, so fleeting.

"That's not what I meant, and you know it." Edward shot back with such a controlled calmness. It was awe-inspiring. Everything about him was awe-inspiring.

"Then what is it, hmm?" Harry kept his gaze focused on the outside world, his mind fixed firmly on anything but the seclusion and atmosphere of the car.

"Your thoughts are potent," the vampire began, his voice hushed to the point of near non-existence. "Every time you think of something it's like an emotional kick to my face. You're the only person I've ever encountered that thinks like this."

"I guess I'm just reallllyy deep." He smiled for a second, his gaze wandering towards Edward. He didn't look at his face, but at his neck, the perfect connection of his collar bone and shoulders. Everything about him was so perfect.

"I guess so." The smoothness of his voice was like marble, like melting ice cubes and the crashing of waves on the shore. It was rain pounding on a tin roof, snow falling softly onto the ground. It was everything angelic and enticing, Harry thought.

"Harry, I'm anything but angelic." Edward muttered, his smile creeping upwards, showing off sparkling canines, so sharp and dangerous but on Edward they even looked alluring and dazzling.

"Hmmm, my definition of angelic obviously differs greatly from yours then." Did he just say that out loud? What happened to indifference? Harry chastised himself for forgetting so easily, but whenever he was around the older boy he felt so comfortable, so at ease. Yet that fact made him uneasy at the same time.

"We're almost there, boys." Albus suddenly commented from the front seat. Harry was glad for the break in Edward's and his conversation. But despite the reprieve Albus had gifted him with; it didn't make the tingling in his chest go away.

Draco Malfoy was bored. And not in the nothing to do because everyone's busy, or I've thrown sooo many parties already that it just isn't pleasing to throw yet another one kind of way.

He was tired of life the way it was now, after the war. He didn't want to be caught up in the aristocracy that his parents had bathed him in as a child. He didn't want to continue on in the same rich snobbish fashion he always had.

He wanted to dive head first into something new and exciting that was far, far away from England and its Wizarding World misery. And he knew that the United States could give him that.

He played with one of his blonde locks as he stretched out on one of the day beds by the window in some random study of the manor. He had asked his father to contact Harry Potter, someone whom he knew was in the country he desired to inhabit, and someone he knew was participating in the opportunity of a lifetime. He wanted wiggle his way into that new and raw world, where there wasn't yet a stable society that knew his name or his status.

He wanted seclusion, but excitement. The paradox seemed almost unattainable. But, despite his maturity, Draco hadn't outgrown the fact that he got whatever he wanted, no matter how impossible or insurmountable it seemed. He was strong, clever, and level-headed.

The war had changed him in so many innumerable ways. He was so much more aware of his mental constitution, of his weaknesses, flaws that could potentially hinder him in the ways of protecting himself. So after Voldemort, the disgusting creature that he was, had been defeated, he had trained and became what he had always been meant to be: great, powerful and of course, fantastically good looking.

Sunshine broke through the thick blankets outside for a second, its rays peaking through all the anguish of Wiltshire and creating a scintillating reverie for a few evanescent moments. Draco basked in its warmth, in its calm. He felt transparent, omnipotent, and fantastical. And then the feeling was gone, like that, in a split second. And the Malfoy heir was left feeling alone, a twinge of longing prominent in his chest.

He napped that afternoon, and dreamt of himself boarding a flight to America.

"Well, I think that went over quite well." Were the first words to be uttered as Harry, Albus, Dr. Cullen, and Edward made their way out of the building the meeting had been held in and towards their car.

"Yeah, if you think managing to get the entire wizarding population of the surrounding states to hate our guts is good." Harry commented, his eyes wandering towards the graying sky. It was going to storm. He was sorely reminded of the weather back in England and felt a twinge of melancholy.

"Harry, you are being entirely too critically." Albus stated, patting his companion on the back. "They were simply having a difficult time digesting the plentiful amounts of information we provided, that's all."

Edward chuckled at the comment as he climbed into the backseat of the car, and Harry and Carlisle simply shook their heads at Albus's words.

The meeting had begun well, with many warm welcomes and introductions. They had discussed many issues, like floo networks, bases of ministry operations, industry, muggle policies, a school, and etcetera. After many hours of debating and civil arguments, it was Harry and Albus' turn to present the information they had gathered. Harry had began by explaining the situation and the area they were currently living in, then by explaining the several different categories of magical creatures they had discovered, estimates of what other areas might hold, and so on.

Then Albus had put in his input. And for some reason, the mood and struck him to speak completely in riddles. Yes, riddles. There were only three people in the entire room, who had any semblance of an idea as to what he was saying, and since he is regarded with such high respect and his words are generally remembered it was quite annoying to find that nobody could tell what the bloody hell he was talking about.

People were irked. More than irked, near furious. So it was with further ado that they four of them promptly left the meeting before anyone could approach them about Albus' strange behavior.

Harry bit back a smile while they were in the car. Leave it to the old man to brighten his mood by acting like a codger. The Boy Who Lived fiddled with his seatbelt absentmindedly, his eyes flickering to various things. He didn't want to think about anything, because thinking meant Edward would be listening, which would then subsequently start a conversation that he didn't want to endure.

The time that passed during the car ride was in relative silence, excluding the random singing from Albus, or a comment or two from Edward here and there. Harry passed the time by calming himself to almost the point of sleep. He wanted to forget about all of his problems, everything that was happening around him, the world. He wanted to disappear.

He was in a total state of placidity by the time they reached their house. Goodbyes were exchanged. Harry was inside and up in his room in ten seconds flat. He sat at his desk, staring at his unfinished homework for awhile, his brain stuck between action and lack thereof. He couldn't make a tangible decision.

He picked up his pencil, only to put it back down again. He turned from page 56 to 57 in his Biology book, only to turn back to the previous one. He sighed. Now that he was alone, in the comfort and confines of his own bedroom he could let his brain run around in thought processes until it was liquid goop in his skull.

His feelings for Edward confused him but intrigued him. He at least had the balls enough now to admit that the feelings actually do exist. He switched his iHome on, (another one of Sirius's instances) letting it shuffle through his playlist. He leaned back in his chair, his eyes locating a crack in the ceiling. He didn't know what he was doing, what he wanted. He knew that he wanted to trust Edward; he knew that the other wouldn't betray him or his personal memories or feelings anytime soon.

Edward had supplied quiet the amount of information to him over the past week. How lonely he had been, how Carlisle had turned Rosalie for him to have a companion, only to have that fail horribly. The Spanish Influenza, Esme, his family, how he initially rebelled against Carlisle's "vegetarian" lifestyle, bits and pieces about the Volturi. Tiny bits and pieces of information that eventually amounted to a giant pile of facts and experiences that Harry was left to sift through.

He thought about it, dissected each and every word and phrase he remembered the other saying. He bit his lip in thought; the tang of a little droplet of blood prickled his taste buds. Hah, ironic.

Edward, in reality, just wanted someone to share his life with. He had gone on living a mundane existence, void of anyone remotely interesting that wasn't already undead. He had indulged in small amounts of excitement here and there, but generally lived a quiet lifestyle, listening to the prosaic thoughts of the people around him.

And then this person comes along, and changes all that. He threatens the lifestyle that the vampire had cushioned himself with. He can't ready Harry's thoughts if Harry doesn't want him to, he can do magic, he's a pioneer looking to help in the effort to settle a completely foreign place. To Edward, Harry is probably the most interesting thing that he'd ever chanced upon.

So Edward wants to keep, protect, and cherish that. Because he's never had it before. Never had something interesting to share his life, his thoughts, and his feelings with.

Harry smiled, a final decision set in his mind. And suddenly, the end of the week long time period he had set didn't seem so daunting after all.

"I guess I'm prone to shake and sweat
Confounded every time
I see you do the things you do
Pale and bright you shine"

"Edward, turn down your goddamn music!" Edward ignored the complaint from Rosalie. He had suddenly grown an infectious obsession with Two Tongues.

'Oh Max Bemis, how you make my heart swell.' Edward thought. He felt stupid for acting so childish, so emotional. But this is what Harry had reduced him to: an idiot, a vampiric idiot. He slid farther down onto the floor as the song switched from 'Tremors' to 'Alice.' He rested his head in his hand.

Harry hated him, he could tell. He finally stumbles across someone that interests him, and it turns into a failure. Just like everything else. Edward smacked himself for wallowing in self-pity. He wasn't some pathetic heartbroken high school girl. He was Edward Cullen, and he had more backbone than this.

He stared outside into the backyard, watching a squirrel dart up a tree he wondered what he had to do in order to win Harry's favor. He had tried everything, had even revealed things about himself that he would have never told anyone, ever.

Maybe he should just wait, wait and see. He had waited all this time for someone to come along anyway, a while longer wouldn't hurt, right?

Right.

Tomorrow would make it one week, he'd wait and see what happened then. He smiled pleasantly, switching off his music before going downstairs to play the piano for awhile.

Harry pulled into the school parking lot the next morning in a remotely good mood. Albus had made him his favorite kind of pancakes for breakfast: pumpkin with chocolate chips. And the drive to Forks High school had gone by without any incident.

And for once this entire week, Harry was actually mildly excited to see Edward. He climbed out of his car and peered around the parking lot, looking for the Volvo. He spotted it halfway across the parking lot, but without the usual vampire clan surrounding it. Harry meandered inside, Jessica quickly finding him and latching on as he made his way to his locker and then his first class of the day.

"Harry, you should really come up to the beach with us this weekend at La Push, it's going to be a ton of fun!" Jessica chirped. Before he knew what was happening all of Jessica's tag-alongs were agreeing that he should go along.

He shrugged, being non-committal. Biology couldn't come quick enough.

A Few Periods Later. . .

And it was finally time for Harry to make his way to Biology, the one place he had been looking forward to all day. He had opted to eat lunch inside his car; therefore he hadn't gotten a chance to see Edward beforehand.

He made his way into the classroom to see the vampire already sitting there. He looked tense. Harry got a sinking feeling in his gut. He slowly slid into his seat next to the other, ignoring the microscope and slides set up in front of them. He didn't notice the seemingly innocent needle either.

"Hey Edward, what's up?" Harry caught a glimpse of the others eyes and saw they were darker than usual, and almost shuddered. "Oh Jesus, your eyes." He regretted letting the words tumble past his lips and into the tense air between them.

"I've been forgetful and sloppy, and neglected to feed." The words were inaudible to the other students in the classroom. "It's making for a very uncomfortable day." He elaborated.

"I'm sorry," Harry wasn't sure what else to say. The path the conversation was heading down wasn't making it easy for Harry to break into the whole trust issue. "Why didn't you just go feed quick during Lunch?" It seemed like a logical solution.

"Because, people watch my family. And it takes time for me to get to an area that's populated with enough game for it to be easy to find a quick meal. It just wouldn't have been advantageous." He explained, making Harry feel stupid. "You're being terribly nice to me today; Albus cast a spell on you or something?" Edward's smile only held half of it's usually charm, due to the circumstances.

"Actually-" Harry began, but was cut short by the teacher interrupting with the beginning of the lesson.

"Today, we're going to be looking at blood cells under the microscope, and identifying red ones from white ones, and also, determining your blood type." He sounded much too jovial about blood. "You'll all be pricking your fingers, and putting a drop of blood between two slides. Go on, let the blood be spilt!" He instructed.

It took one look from Edward for Harry to know what to do. He acted like he was pricking his finger; he cradled the appendage, stared at it for a moment, before "fainting." Harry was in Edward's arms before he could move two inches.

"Mr. Hoffman, Harry's fainted." Edward only allowed what resembled panic slide into his always even-toned voice. "I don't think he can handle the blood."

'You owe me one, vampy, now everyone's going to think I'm a bloody pansy.' Harry thought, making the remark loud enough that he was sure Edward heard it.

"Take him to the nurse." The teacher commented idly, his attention fixated on the blood his students were depositing into their slides.

Edward scooped Harry up bridal style, and made his way out of the classroom. They were in the hallway three seconds before Harry's eyes shot open and he began to climb out of Edward's arms.

"At least let me carry you to the parking lot." Edward bargained, his eyes looking down the hall incase a teacher happened to wander by.

"Why are we going to the parking lot?" Harry asked frantically, squirming harder at the vampires words. "Edward, put me down!"

"Shhh! I'm just going to take you home, there's no point in staying for the rest of the day, anyway. And this way I have an excuse to leave and go hunting." He explained. For the second time that day, Edward made Harry feel like a complete idiot.

"Oh, right." He finally conceded, halting his frantic movements. He cuddled closer into Edward's chest, hoping the act went unnoticed.

'Might as well enjoy it while I can.' He thought, making sure his mental barriers were up.

"So, you never told me why you were being so nice." The older vampire stated, as he maneuvered towards the office.

"Yeah, about that, I wanted to tell you-" And again, he was cut off.

"Hold that thought, and play dead for a moment." Harry shut his eyes and let his body go slack. He smelled cinnamon gum and freshly photocopied papers, and knew they were at the secretary's desk. "Uhm, excuse me, Mrs. Soyster, I hate to be bothering you, but Harry passed out in Biology from seeing blood and I was wondering if it'd be okay to drive him home?" He was really laying on the charm thick.

"Hmm, let me make a call." She stated. Who the hell was she calling? Couldn't she just say 'yes' and be done with it. Edward waited patiently. Harry heard the secretary's squawking voice discussing something with someone before she said, "You're free to go, you can take him home."

They were out and into the parking lot in ten seconds flat. Harry opened his eyes. "You can finish now." Edward instructed.

Harry huffed indignantly before continuing, "I've been thinking, something you know I do often, and I've decided that," He paused, resisting the urge to bury his face into Edward's chest and escaping. "Well, I've decided that- that, well I think you're about trustworthy enough for me." Oh god, did he feel like a sap. He looked out at the parking lot, searching for something, anything to look at other than the boy whose arm's he was currently tangled in. He didn't need to look up to know the other was smiling that sparkling, toothy, crooked, smile.

Edward expertly opened the passenger door and slid Harry into the seat, before making his way over to the driver's side. He wasn't even half-way into the vehicle before he began talking, "So, since now that I'm 'trustworthy.'" Insert obligatory air quotes here. "Does that mean you'll answer some of my questions?" The eager look on Edward's face almost did Harry in. He was just too cute.

"Some of them, but not all." He answered, buckling his seatbelt while the pulled out of the parking lot.

"Oh, where to begin. Let's see," He turned right towards the road you took to get to the Black-Dumbledore residence. "Where did you live before you came here?" Logical first question.

"England," Harry responded wistfully, a smile creeping onto his face. "The weather here is very much like back home. Rainy, rainy, rainy." He commented.

"Alright, next question. Why did you and Albus and the rest of your family come here? Carlisle said you're all pretty important wizards and such." Edward had done his homework, partially.

"We're here to help develop the Wizarding Community of America; couldn't you deduce that from the meeting you attended?" Harry thought that was fair enough, since Edward had succeeded in making him feel like an idiot twice already.

"Yeah, but I wasn't completely sure. Did you have friends back in England?" He continued.

"No, I was a bloody loner, and all I did every day was sit by myself and torture mice. Of course I had friends, you idiot!" This was serving to be quite entertaining to Harry.

"You know what I mean, stop being a smartass. You're always thinking about a red-head and a brunette all the time, I was just wondering if they were your friends or something." Edward was trying to be gentle. Harry gave him props for that, at least.

"Hermione and Ron, they're my best mates." He didn't want to talk about that any further, he missed the two of them a boatload already.

"In all your memories you three are at a school, is that where wizards and witches go to learn about magic?" This was what Edward had wanted to get at, the thing that piqued his interest most.

"Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, where every young witch and wizard goes when they turn 11 to experience and learn about their magic and all the ways it should and shouldn't be used." He explained. "It was the home I never had, and I miss it every day." He'd said too much. He didn't want Edward prying into his family life now.

"It sounds wonderful." Edward commented, as they pulled into the driveway. Edward was out of the car and opening the door for Harry in a flash. The Gryffindor smiled at the other, appreciating the gesture.

"See you later, yeah?" Harry stated, his eyes wandering up to Edward's.

"Of course." He said, his hand somehow making its way to Harry's cheek. They stood for a moment, basking in each other's presence before they pulled themselves back down to reality.

"Go hunt, before you decide to snack on me!" Harry scolded before turning and walking towards his house. He heard the car door shut and the Cullen boy pulling out of the driveway. Harry sighed, touching the spot where Edward's cold hand had been moments before in a brief moment of happiness, before walking into the house.

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