Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or Twilight.

List of POVs:

Bella – BPOV

Edward – EPOV

Renesmee – NPOV

Jacob – JPOV

Alice – APOV

Jasper – JasPOV

Emmet – EmPOV

Rosalie – RPOV

Harry – HPOV

Ron – RonPOV

Hermione - HerPOV

Sorry for the late update!!! Thanks for the reviews I'm still getting.

This is probably one of my favourite chapters because it shows a lot of the growing friendship between Harry and the Cullens, especially Bella, as you might have guessed from the title. Lol enjoy!!

11. New Friends

HPOV

I woke up in the morning to early rays of sunlight streaming through the window. Everyone else was still asleep and only Edward Cullen's unslept-in bed was empty. I blushed when I remembered what I'd walked in on the previous night.

I dressed quickly and made my way to the common room with my writing equipment, where I found my favourite squashy old armchair occupied.

"Hi, Harry!" called Bella, "You're up early!"

"Um, yeah. I was going to write a letter while everyone's still asleep." I held up the parchment and quill for her to see.

"Great! Come sit down. I might write to my dad now that I think of it."

I sat opposite her. "Where's your boyfriend?" I asked.

Bella looked kind of guilty. "Um, well, he's gone to talk to Carlisle. About Umbridge and, um, you." She trailed off apologetically.

"Why?" I asked in annoyance.

"It isn't personal," she assured me quickly, "It's just that Carlisle asked Edward to keep an eye on her anyway, and seeing as she's cutting your hand open…Don't worry, they won't tell Dumbledore!"

"Right," I muttered, "I should get started on this letter."

Bella ran upstairs, only to return a second later with a quill and parchment of her own. She started writing immediately, while I just stared at my parchment, drawing a blank. Bella offered to help me once she'd finished her own letter a whole two minutes after she'd started, but I didn't accept until an hour and a dozen scrunched up pieces of parchment later. It didn't take very long at all after that.

Once we were done, Bella read through it and laughed.

"Snuffles?" she asked.

I felt the blood rush to my cheeks. "It's what we call him when he's a dog so nobody knows what we're talking about."

"Clever," she giggled, "Okay, I think you're good. How do we send it? I can't imagine the postman just walking up to the castle."

"My owl, Hedwig, will deliver it to him. You can use one of the school owls for the letter to your dad."

"Owls? That's really cool. I suppose there's an owl-house or something?"

I nodded. "The Owlery is at the top of one of the towers."

"Lead the way then."

We left the common room and were halfway down the corridor when Peeves, the school poltergeist, made an appearance. I didn't see what happened. One second the bust of Paracelsus was falling towards Bella's head and I opened my mouth to shout out a warning. A second later there was a loud crash and the statue was a pile of stone chips littered around Bella's feet. Peeves cackled with laughter until he realised she was unhurt. The look Bella gave the poltergeist was terrifying, and a loud growl was building up in her chest. Even Peeves looked frightened.

"Run and hide now," she threatened, "before my husband finds out about this!"

Peeves didn't need any convincing and flew away before she'd finished speaking.

I was impressed. "I've never seen Peeves scared before."

Bella laughed, snapping out of scary-vampire-mode.

"Thanks. I assume that was a compliment?"

"It was." Something else she had said sunk in. "Hang on, you and Edward are married? I thought he was your boyfriend."

She grinned. "It's another way of keeping up human appearances. We're supposed to be teenagers, remember? Alice and Jasper, and Emmett and Rosalie are all married too."

"What about Jacob and Renesmee?" I wondered.

"Absolutely not!" she replied quickly, "Nessie is younger than she appears. She's still just my baby!"

I still couldn't believe that Bella, who looked just a few years older than me, had a daughter.

"So how old is she really?"

"She actually turns eleven this Wednesday. Edward and I are throwing her a party. You'll have to come, as will Ron and Hermione."

"Really?" I asked. I couldn't help feeling a little honoured.

"Of course! You three are our friends now. Nessie will love for you to be there, and knowing Alice, the party will be special."

"Well, that would be, er, cool."

Bella hesitated at the door of the brightly sunlit Owlery.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

She chewed nervously on her bottom lip. "The, um, the sunlight," she muttered.

"Oh! It doesn't burn you, does it?"

She laughed. "No, not at all. I just don't want to frighten you. It can be a bit…surprising."

I shrugged. "Don't worry about scaring me," I told her, full of curiosity.

She laughed again and walked gracefully into the circular room. I couldn't help it; I gasped. Bella's white skin shone like diamonds in the sunlight, throwing patterns over the walls.

She smiled at my shocked expression. "That was my initial reaction when I first saw Edward like this," she explained, "It's conspicuous, right?"

I laughed numbly. "Yeah. Even in a magic school," I agreed.

After a minute she laughed again. "Don't you have a letter to send?"

I'd been staring. I turned away quickly, blushing, and scanned the rafters for Hedwig.

"There you are! Get down here; I've got a letter for you." Hedwig flew down to land on my shoulder, watching Bella curiously. "Er, Bella, this is my owl, Hedwig."

"She's beautiful!" gasped the vampire.

"You can stroke her if you like," I offered, but she was quick to shake her head.

"I don't think she'll appreciate that. Most animals shy away from our kind. They sense we're dangerous."

"Oh, okay." I gave Hedwig the letter to clasp in her beak and took her to the window. "Safe flight."

She launched herself into the air and flew away. I then called one of the school owls down, as they wouldn't go near Bella. She handed me the letter, which I glanced at before giving it to the owl. Written on the front, in beautiful script was the address;

Charlie Swan

Forks, Washington,

USA

"This is your dad?" I asked.

"Yes. It's been a while since I last saw him."

"Same with my parents," I muttered dully.

Bella didn't offer any words of sympathy, only nodded in understanding. She stood at the window with me and watched the owl fly away. That was when I saw the creature flying over the treetops. It was the same creature that had been pulling the carriages; the thing that only Luna Lovegood and I had seen. I looked at Bella and saw her eyes following the creature as it flew in a circle before disappearing into the trees.

"You can see it?" I asked her desperately.

"Uh huh," she replied, "Everyone in my family can." She tensed up suddenly. "Someone's coming! I have to hide!"

I looked at her sparkling skin in alarm. Before I could say anything, she jumped out the window onto the tower roof.

The door opened and I felt my heart stutter when Cho Chang walked in. "Hi!"

She looked surprised to see me standing there. "Oh, hi!"

We chatted lightly while she tied her mother's birthday present to her chosen owl's leg. Cho mentioned my detention with Umbridge…and called me brave!

Then Filch, the Hogwarts caretaker, ruined it all by bursting into the room and accusing me of ordering Dungbombs. Cho helped me out of the situation, defending me until he reluctantly turned away.

"Thanks," I muttered, feeling my face heat up. Cho was quite pink herself.

"No problem. Well, I'll…I'll see you around, Harry."

"Yeah, see you."

She left the Owlery, with me just standing there like an idiot.

"You like her," grinned Bella from beside me, making me jump.

I blushed darker.

"And she likes you, too," she added.

"How can you tell?"

Bella laughed. "You should've heard her heart race when she saw you."

I shook my head in denial. "She was surprised. She didn't expect anyone to be up here!"

She arched one perfect eyebrow. "For the whole five minutes she spoke to you?"

I couldn't let myself hope. "Her boyfriend just died, Bella!"

She made a face. "Yeah, I heard about that. But it doesn't change how she feels. I doubt you'll ever hear anyone say this again, but trust the vampire, Harry!"

She laughed as she went to the door. She paused to pick up a feather from the floor and smiled at it in her hand; white on white. "Feathers," she sighed as though remembering some old joke, before pocketing it and holding the door open for me. "Are you coming or not? It stinks in here!"

I grinned and followed Bella down to the Entrance Hall, where she left me to join my friends for breakfast.

The rest of the day went badly. Quidditch practice ended with Fred and George escorting a blood-soaked Katie to the hospital wing. Returning to the common room, Ron and I faced a mountain of homework and disapproving Hermione. Ron was already in a bad mood and stormed off to bed early.

Fred and George flopped into the chairs across from us. Hermione raised her eyebrows suspiciously.

"So are you two still hanging out with the new kids?" asked Fred.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Edward and Bella watching us.

"You mean the Cullens? Yeah, they're cool."

George snorted. "Weird is more like it."

"Why do you say that?" I asked them.

"When we took Katie to the hospital wing, after Quidditch practice, you know," began George.

"Alice and Jasper were in there, talking to Doctor Cullen," Fred continued, "and so we took Katie in and the two of them just froze!"

"They didn't even seem to be breathing, they were so still!"

"It was weird," added Fred.

"Anyway, Jasper wouldn't take his eyes off Katie until Alice grabbed his arm. She said something like, 'No, Jasper, you can't!' then she blocked her nose and they left!"

"But the weirdest thing…" he paused dramatically, "when they went past, Jasper just glared at Katie. Seriously, he looked really angry, like he was going to attack her or something!"

"It was seriously freaky."

I exchanged a worried glance with Hermione.

"So the stories about the Cullen freaks have finally started," said someone behind us. I looked around to see Edward and Bella grinning at us.

"What took so long?" continued Edward, "We've already been here a whole week!"

The twins were dumbstruck. "We, uh…"

Edward chuckled. "Just don't let the wrong ones spread."

The sun was still shining the next day, so Edward and Bella stayed inside and helped me and Ron with our homework.

"Don't get used to this," Bella warned us, "We won't always be able to help you guys."

Hermione approached us at half past eleven that night, shooting us glares.

"You two really shouldn't help them," she told Edward and Bella, "They ought to do it themselves. It will teach them a lesson for not doing it sooner."

The vampires laughed at her disapproval.

"Really, we don't mind!" said Bella, "We've got, literally, all the time in the world."

Edward's head snapped up suddenly in the direction of the window. The rest of us followed his gaze.

"Isn't that Hermes?" asked Hermione in surprise.

Ron nodded in amazement. "What's Percy writing to me for?"

He crossed to the window to let the owl in. Hermes flew to the table, keeping a distance from Edward and Bella, and held out the letter tied to his leg. "He flew away as soon as the letter was unfastened.

Ron opened it and began to read. Whatever was written clearly wasn't to his taste, and he frowned. As he read, Edward was muttering something too quickly for me to hear, and his and Bella's faces darkened. Once he'd finished reading, Hermione and I read it together.

Insert letter here – pp266-268 HPOOTP

I couldn't believe the words that jumped out at me. I stared at the letter dumbly, then looked up at the others.

Ron snatched the parchment off me and tore it to pieces. "He. Is. The. World's. Biggest. Git!"

With the last word, he threw the fragments into the fire, where they shrivelled up into ash.

"Your brother wrote that?" asked Bella in disgust.

Ron nodded silently.

I stared at the fire gloomily, thinking.

"Are you alright, Harry?" asked Bella gently.

I was about to answer when I saw something in the fire that couldn't have been there. I blinked and it was gone. I must've imagined it.

"You didn't imagine it," muttered Edward, "I saw him too."

"Him?" asked Hermione, "What are you..? Oh!"

Sirius' head was sitting in the middle of the flames, grinning at us.

Bella cried out in surprise. "Is this another one of those Floo Powder tricks?"

Edward smiled in amusement and nodded. "I've been hearing his thoughts for a couple of seconds every hour. I was beginning to get very confused."

"You've been popping into the fire every hour?" I laughed.

"Just to see if the coast was clear."

"Nobody saw him," Edward assured Hermione, who was looking anxious.

"But what are you doing here?" I asked.

"Answering your letter," Sirius replied.

Ron and Hermione looked at me accusingly.

"I forgot," I replied honestly, "But I made sure no one would be able to understand it."

"I helped," put in Bella, "It was quite good."

"It was, yes," agreed Sirius, "Now, your scar…"

Edward rolled his eyes.

"Well, I know it can't be fun when it hurts," continued Sirius, "but I don't think it's anything to worry about. Now Voldemort's back it's bound to hurt more often."

"So you don't think it had anything to do with Umbridge?"

"I already told you," said Edward, "I've read her mind and watched her closely over the last week. She isn't possessed and she isn't a Death Eater."

Sirius nodded. "I've heard of her. She' got a nasty reputation. You should hear Remus talk about her!"

"Does Lupin know her?" I asked quickly.

"Not directly, but she apparently loathes part-humans…" he broke off at Edward and Bella's furious snarls.

"Such as shape-shifters and half-vampires?" growled Edward.

"Sirius," began Bella in a pleading tone, "you must tell us; is she a threat to our daughter?"

Sirius gazed at her for a moment, and Edward, hearing his thoughts, let out an enraged growl.

"I won't lie to you," he muttered finally, "If Dolores Umbridge finds out what Renesmee really is, she will want her killed. Same goes for Jacob."

Bella made a strangled sort of cry and Edward was quick to comfort her, his eyes black.

"It's okay, love! Renesmee and Jacob have eight full-vampires to protect them! Umbridge is just a weak little human! They'll be fine!"

Hermione was watching them with some sort of strong emotion on her face. "We'll watch out for them too, guys," she said unexpectedly.

"Yeah, that's right!" agreed Ron, "If Umbridge wants to hurt one of you, she'll have to get through us first!"

"We won't let her hurt them," I finished firmly.

Edward and Bella surprised us by laughing.

"That is such a human notion," Bella chuckled, "But that's real sweet, you three. We appreciate it."

"Back to the subject," said Sirius, "Was there anything else you wanted to ask, Harry?"

"Have you heard any news on Hagrid?" I asked quickly.

He frowned. "Nobody's really sure – he was supposed to be back by now. But don't worry! I'm sure he's fine!"

We weren't convinced, and Bella reassured us.

"If you're really worried, we can ask Alice to keep an eye on this Hagrid's future. She might be able to tell you if he's okay."

Hermione sighed in relief. "Really? That would be wonderful!"

"Like I said, I'm sure he's fine," said Sirius, "By the way, when's your next Hogsmeade weekend? I mean, we got away with the dog disguise at the station, right? I thought maybe I could…"

"No!" I interrupted loudly, and he looked instantly hurt.

"Didn't you see the Daily Prophet?" asked Hermione.

"That's nothing to worry about. They're always guessing where I am."

"But we think they've got it right this time!" I insisted, "We think Malfoy and his father may have recognised you!"

Sirius looked at Edward inquisitively.

"I didn't hear anyone thinking about you," he shrugged, "but I was trying to block everyone out…Alice in particular."

"It's still too risky!" I said firmly.

Sirius looked at me coolly. "You're less like your father than I thought. The risk is what would have appealed to James."

I felt like I'd been hit in the stomach. "Look…" I began.

"Well, I have to go. I'll write another time. Maybe organise another fire visit. If you want to risk it, that is."

His mocking tone echoed in my head, and he disappeared.

"He didn't mean it," Edward told me quietly, "He was just pissed that he doesn't get to see you enough."

"Right," I muttered.

Ron yawned widely. "What's the time?"

Edward glanced at his watch. "Late. Bedtime for the humans, would you say, Bella?"

She grinned. "I think so. They look asleep on their feet to me."

We went upstairs to bed and, to my surprise, Edward and Bella followed us.

"What're you doing?" asked Ron as Edward lay down with his arms around Bella.

"Not what you're thinking," Edward replied, laughing quietly, "We just want to spend a night around humans for a change."

"Goodnight, you two," whispered Bella.

It wasn't long before I was fast asleep.

I was surprised to see all of the Cullens waiting outside our History of Magic classroom the next morning.

"Professor Dumbledore has fixed our timetables so we have all our classes with the fifth-years," Edward explained.

"How come?" asked Ron.

"We are advancing quickly through our classes," replied Alice.

"But mainly, we think, so we can keep an eye on you kids," grinned Bella.

We took our seats and Professor Binns floated into the room.

"I wonder if Umbridge will be inspecting any of our classes," I said.

Alice turned in her seat in front of me. "Divination," she told us.

"What will that be like?" asked Hermione.

Alice grimaced. "Not pretty. Poor Sybil Trelawney."

"That bad?"

She nodded solemnly, and then brightened up. "By the way, if you don't start paying attention to Professor Binns, I see you failing your next assignment."

We quickly started taking notes.

In Potions, I got my essay in moonstones back, marked with a 'D' for 'Dreadful.' I put in extra effort for my Strengthening Solution, and it didn't turn out too bad. Only nine students perfected it; Hermione and the Cullens.

Divination was as bad as Alice had predicted. Trelawney was in a nasty mood by the end of it.

Then, to end the day, we had Defence Against the Dark Arts. Hermione interrupted the class again, having finished the whole of Defensive Magical Theory. Alice and Edward Cullen groaned when she went on to disagree with the author.

"Well, I'm afraid," said Umbridge, "that it is Mr Slinkhard's opinion, and not yours, that matters within this classroom, Miss Granger."

"Are you saying that we can't even voice our views?" demanded Edward. He shook his head in disbelief. "That completely disregards the point of learning!"

"That is enough!" snapped Umbridge, "Miss Granger, I am going to take five points from Gryffindor house. And five points from you, too, Mr Masen."

I thought this was just too unfair. "What for?" I exclaimed.

"For disrupting my class with pointless interruptions," she replied.

"Pointless?" scoffed Jacob. "The girl's letting you know she's finished the book! This is completely ridiculous!"

Alice was suddenly looking frustrated.

"Ridiculous?" repeated Umbridge quietly.

"Yeah. What kind of teacher are you?"

"Detention, Mr Cullen. Tonight; five o'clock; my office."

"Hey!" Renesmee exclaimed angrily, and Jacob quickly hushed her.

"It's okay, Nessie. I don't want you to get involved."

Umbridge ignored their exchanged. "I am here to teach you using a Ministry-approved method that does not include inviting students to give their opinions on matters about which they understand very little. Your previous teachers in this subject may have allowed you more licence, but as none of them – with the possible exception of Professor Quirrell, who did at least appear to have restricted himself to age-appropriate subjects – would have passed a Ministry inspection…"

"Yeah," I interrupted, all my patience gone and leaving anger in its place, "Quirrell was a great teacher. There was just that minor drawback of him having Lord Voldemort sticking out of the back of his head!"

The following silence was broken by the Cullen's loud groans. Umbridge watched me calmly.

"I think another week's detentions would do you some good, Mr Potter."

The Cullens all wore matching scowls on their perfect as we filed out of the classroom at the end of the lesson.

Renesmee was worrying over Jacob. "I can't believe she gave you detention!" she cried, "It's not at all fair!"

Jacob sighed. "Don't worry about it, Ness. I should've kept my mouth shut. I really was asking for it."

Alice frowned at me. "McGonagall's not going to be happy with you, nor is Angelina."

I sighed. "Thanks for the heads up."

"I would've warned you to watch your temper, but when the mutt here," she nudged Jacob playfully, "got involved, your future disappeared."

"You feeling okay, Jazz?" asked Edward.

Jasper smiled sarcastically. "I'm thinking I should just start ditching Defence Against the Dark Arts. Too much emotion, what with Harry getting pissed at Umbridge every five minutes."

"Yeah," agreed Emmett, "Dude, for a human you've got some serious anger management issues."

Ron laughed. "Ha! You're telling us!"

I rolled my eyes. "Gee, thanks."

"You're welcome!"

"Well, at least you'll have some company in detention tonight," grinned Jacob.

"Yeah," I muttered, "get a couple more people and it'll be a party."

Alice looked up. "Speaking of parties, I assume you three are coming to Nessie's?"

Hermione looked surprised. "I didn't realise she was having one, let alone that we were invited."

"Really? I'm sure I saw Bella invite you."

"She told me," I said, "I forgot to tell you guys."

"Oh," said Alice, "well, anyhoo, it's Renesmee's birthday on Wednesday; her party's on Saturday."

Hermione beamed. "We'd love to come! Thanks, Alice!"

"Awesome! Well, see you guys later."

I met Jacob on the way to our detention, and we walked to Umbridge's office together.

"So," I began, attempting awkward conversation, "do you like Hogwarts so far?"

He shrugged. "It's not too bad. Renesmee's enjoying it, so that's a good thing."

I noticed how he said her name, as though she was a goddess he worshipped or something.

"You really seem to like her."

"I really do. Ever since she was born, it's like nothing else on earth matters anymore. She's what ties me to the ground and stops me floating away. Renesmee is, literally, my soul mate."

I stared at him, not exactly understanding, and unsure what to say.

Jacob grinned sheepishly. "It's called imprinting. It's a wolf thing."

"Right," I muttered.

"Good evening, Professor Umbridge," we chorused together on entering her office.

"Good evening," she replied softly, "Mr Potter; you know what to do. Mr Cullen, I want you to use this special quill here, and write 'I must not be rude.'"

He took the quill off her and sat down next to me. I watched as he wrote the line and his hand was scratched open. He didn't even seem to notice, as his skin healed over instantly. I quickly tore my eyes away and started my own lines. It wasn't until his hand was patched slightly with blood that he realised what was happening. He glanced at my own hand, glistening red, and his eyes hardened.

"Shit!" he exclaimed, glaring at Umbridge, "What the hell is this?"

Umbridge looked up slowly. "Is there a problem, Mr Cullen?"

Jacob was shaking violently, and took a few deep breaths to calm down. "No. Not at all."

She smiled. "Excellent."

It was very late when Umbridge dismissed us, and my hand was throbbing as it bled. Jacob's hand, in comparison, only had faint pink scars where the quill had cut it open.

"Another wolf thing," he explained, "We heal fast."

I nodded and started heading back to the dormitory. A hand on my shoulder stopped me.

"You should go to the hospital wing."

"I'm fine!" I protested.

"Sure, sure. But it's probably best not to tempt Bella and her bloodsucker."

I frowned. "They managed fine the other night."

"Whatever," he said, "but Bella's told me that their thirst is like red-hot flames in their throats, and that's with blood under the skin. I don't want you causing my best friend pain."

I sighed and gave in. "Well, if you put it like that…"

He walked me to the hospital wind, where Doctor Cullen was watching the patients while Madam Pomfrey retired to her office for the night.

"Hey, Doc!" called Jacob casually.

Doctor Cullen looked up in surprise. "Hello, Jacob. What are you doing here so late?"

Jacob shoved me forward. "I've got you a patient."

"Ah!" He beckoned me over and examined my hand, frowning. "May I ask how this happened?"

"I had a detention with Professor Umbridge," I began, and I could tell he understood.

"Yes, Edward told me about that," he muttered grimly, "Well, sit down and I'll bandage it up for you."

"Thanks," I sighed, sitting on one of the beds.

"What about you, Jacob?" asked Doctor Cullen as he started mixing up a yellowish paste, "You also had a detention?"

Jacob shrugged. "All I did was tell Umbridge what I thought of her. She didn't appreciate it that much."

"Jacob," sighed Doctor Cullen, "I know I'm not your father or anything, and therefore have no control over you, but I do wish you hadn't done that. Again, you have no reason to do as I say, but please try not to do it again."

Jacob watched him with respect, and nodded. "Don't worry about it, Carlisle. It was a one-time-only thing."

He grinned. "I'm glad to hear that." He spread the paste over my hand and started bandaging it up. "How's my granddaughter? I trust you're taking good care of her."

"Of course! I think she's really enjoying school."

"Excellent! Okay, Harry, all done. You can go to bed now. The paste is covering the scent of your blood, so Edward and Bella won't be a risk."

"Thankyou," I said, standing up.

"No problem."

"Erm, goodnight," I muttered awkwardly.

"'Night," grinned Jacob.

"Goodnight," said Doctor Cullen.

On the way back to the common room, I thought idly to myself. Bella, Edward, and now Jacob; three new friends in one week. Not bad.