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. Enjoy!

14. Lessons

HPOV

"Rosalie and Emmett have found the perfect place for practising Defence," Edward told us the next day.

"Brilliant! Where is it?" I asked eagerly.

"On the seventh floor, opposite the tapestry if Barnabas the Barmy," he replied, "The house-elves call it the Room of Requirement."

"We're checking it tonight if you wanted to start your lessons," said Bella.

"That sounds great!" exclaimed Hermione.

"Okay, well we're planning on going after dinner," explained Edward, "Did you want us to wait for you?"

"No, that's okay," I said, "We have my Invisibility Cloak and map. We'll be fine."

"Awesome," grinned Bella, "We'll see you guys later then."

I grabbed the Invisibility Cloak and Maurauder's Map after a quick dinner and ran back down to the common room to meet Ron and Hermione.

I threw the cloak over the three of us and tapped the map with my wand, whispering, "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good."

The dot on the map marked Dolores Umbridge was still in the Great Hall so we started walking down to the seventh floor. On the map, we were approaching two dots labelled Renesmee Cullen and Jacob Black, and we hurried to catch up with them.

They couldn't see us under the cloak, but Renesmee looked up curiously and stared directly at the spot where we were standing. She frowned slightly in confusion and inhaled deeply, her nostrils flaring. Jacob also looked up when he noticed her distraction.

"Harry? Ron? Hermione? Are you there?" she asked.

We pulled off the cloak and they jumped in surprise.

"How did you know we were there?" I asked her.

"I didn't until I heard your heartbeats," she replied, "then I picked up your scents. Why couldn't I see you?"

"Because of this," I held up the cloak, "It's an Invisibility Cloak."

"You mean it makes you invisible? That's awesome."

"It's really useful for sneaking around," added Ron, and Jacob snickered.

"I hear you guys do a lot of that."

Hermione blushed and looked guilty. "Anyway, I expect the others are waiting for us."

We walked to the seventh floor and found the tapestry Edward told us about. I was sure that the door across from it hadn't been there before.

I pushed the door open carefully and we piled inside. The rest of the Cullens, minus the two adults, were already there.

"Finally!" cried Alice theatrically, "We've only been waiting half an hour!"

I looked around the mysterious room. It was rectangular with a high ceiling and marble floor. I was positive I'd never seen it before.

"Relax, Alice! They're here now!" teased Edward. He turned to us. "The room only appears when someone needs it, and is always equipped appropriately for those needs."

"This is perfect!" exclaimed Hermione, "How did you find this place?"

"Well," said Emmett with a grin, "if you really want to know, and I doubt you do, Rose and I were looking for somewhere to…"

"Okay, okay, we get it, Em!" interrupted Bella, "No need to give them nightmares!"

"Me?" asked Emmett incredulously, "Give them nightmares? Why, young Isabella, I seem to recall Alice telling me that Harry Boy actually caught you and Edward at it!"

Bella gasped and glared at Alice. The tiny vampire actually flinched away from her stare.

"You traitor, Alice!" she shrieked, "You told Emmett? You're supposed to be my sister!"

"I'm sorry, Bella!" Alice wailed as she took a menacing step forward.

Edward took his vampire wife's arm. "Careful, love," he cautioned, and Jasper stepped protectively in front of Alice.

Bella took a deep breath and smiled sweetly. "Don't worry, Jazz. I won't hurt her…physically."

Alice blinked slowly and then cried out in horror. "You wouldn't!"

Edward started laughing. "Okay, you three," he said to us, "First step in destroying a vampire: Blow up her credit cards!"

"Speaking of which," piped up Rosalie, looking bored, "can we just get on with the lesson?"

"I like that idea!" said Alice quickly, glancing at Bella and wincing, "Where should we start?"

"I think you should teach us the theory first," said Hermione, "It will help give us a better understanding of what we're fighting."

"I agree with Hermione," added Ron, "Know your enemy and all that."

"Your enemy, Ron?" asked Renesmee sadly, "I thought we could be friends, but if that's what you think of us…"

Ron looked horrified at her assumption. "I didn't mean you guys! I just…I mean…"

Renesmee grinned and the rest of the Cullens started laughing at his expression.

"Don't mind my daughter," Edward told him, "She can be a real tease. She gets it from Bella." He scowled at Renesmee, but the silent scolding was lost in the tenderness of his gaze. He was clearly an adoring father.

"Anyhoo," said Alice, "vampires. You've witnessed our strengths; super speed, super strength and enhanced senses, not to mention some of our other talents."

"Our weaknesses, on the other hand," added Bella, "are very few. Only our kind's strength is enough to rip us apart. Vampire and werewolf teeth are the only things that can penetrate our skin, and only vampire venom leaves a scar."

"So what chances do we have?" I asked.

Jasper smiled grimly. "Lucky for you, our kind has one other weakness. Bella mentioned just now that we have venom. Do you know much about that?"

We shook our heads no.

"You three have to remember that we are predators; we're dangerous," said Edward seriously, "When we…bite…venom from our saliva enters the victims bloodstream. It doesn't exactly paralise, but puts our prey in such agonising pain that escape is near impossible. However, if we were to stop feeding, and that alone is difficult enough, the venom will continue to spread through the blood and start changing the body."

I felt Hermione beside me flinch when Edward used the words 'prey' and 'feeding.' He smiled apologetically.

"Please forgive me. That was thoughtless."

Hermione shook her head. "Don't worry about it. It's fine. But what does this have to do with your weaknesses?"

"Our venom is also highly flammable," he explained.

"So if you were to catch fire…" I began.

"We would be dead…well, properly dead…within a matter of seconds," Edward concluded and Bella shuddered.

"Which means all we need to do is light a fire!" said Hermione.

The Cullens grinned at her.

"I trust you all know how?" asked Edward, and Emmett snickered.

"I should hope so!" scoffed Rosalie, making us blush.

"Of course we do!" replied Hermione quickly, "It's just a simple charm. We learnt it in our first year."

"Great!" said Edward, "That's one less thing to learn. Now," he strode casually to the middle of the room and stood stone still, "go ahead."

Hermione, Ron and I exchanged confused glances.

"Er," I began, "what do you want us to do?"

"You say it's an easy charm," he replied, "so prove it. Set me on fire."

"No!" cried Bella harshly. She looked horrified and furious and I presumed she hadn't been in on his plan. She started forward to go to him. "Edward…"

Edward held up a hand. "Stay there, Bella."

Bella narrowed her eyes and didn't stop. "Not likely," she growled, "I don't like this."

"Don't worry about me, love," he said, and flashed her a crooked grin, "I'll be fine."

"He will, Bella," added Alice, "Trust me."

Bella glared at her sister for a minute, probably remembering their argument of ten minutes ago and the last time she trusted her. Finally, she sighed in defeat.

"Fine," she said, then addressed Edward, "But if you get hurt, I will personally kill you."

Edward chuckled. "I love you too, Bella."

She scowled, and Edward looked back at us. "Go on."

Ron and Hermione looked at each other doubtfully. But Edward appeared impatient, so I raised my wand uncertainly and took aim.

"Incendio!"

I watched the jet of flame shoot towards Edward, who stood motionless. It was upon him within a second but didn't hit him. Instead, the fire exploded on the back wall and Edward was directly in front of me. He grinned cheekily and prised my wand from my hand effortlessly before I could blink.

"Very good," he praised, "but you can see the problem."

"Your reflexes are too fast!" breathed Hermione, and he nodded.

"So how are you supposed to hit us if we can dodge you so easily? We will need to be unconscious or otherwise distracted."

"But I thought you couldn't be knocked out?" I asked.

"Not in the usual way," replied Bella, "You guys have the advantage in one spell. Can you figure it out? Alice did."

I was confused. They had told us that our spells didn't affect them. I had tried to stun Edward and Alice myself and watched the spell bounce off them.

"Think stronger than Stupefy," prompted Edward, grinning, "Much, much stronger."

Hermione gasped and Ron and I looked at her in alarm. She had gone pale. "The Avada Kedavra!" she whispered.

I was abruptly angry. "You want us to use an Unforgiveable Curse on someone?"

Edward was calm. "There aren't many other options if you want to destroy us."

"No way!" I exploded, "That's Voldemort's job! We would never do that, whether they are vampires or not!"

"You wouldn't have any other choice," sniffed Rosalie indifferently, "Unless you want to die."

"Wait a minute," said Hermione suddenly, "you said we have another option. We could distract you."

Edward hesitated. "You could," he agreed slowly, "but there is only one thing strong enough to distract us in the middle of a hunt or battle, and it's very dangerous for you."

Ron snorted. "In case you guys haven't noticed, we're used to danger. Harry has fought You-Know-Who before; what could be more dangerous than that?"

I nodded, agreeing with him. I was extremely averse to using an Unforgiveable Curse on anyone.

Jasper grinned. "You know, Edward, they have a point. It could work."

Edward growled at his brother. "Not a chance. We aren't putting humans in danger any more than necessary."

"Could you just tell us what it is that distracts you?" I asked impatiently.

It was Bella who answered. "The scent of fresh blood. Human blood."

"Oh," said Hermione quietly, "that makes sense."

"Human blood brings out the monster in us without a second thought on our part. We completely lose control and even attack our own family members, the temptation is so strong," explained Jasper. I noticed him shoot Bella an apologetic glance. She rolled her eyes and smiled back.

"I guess that plan's out, then," muttered Ron.

I opened my mouth furiously to protest, but Edward beat me to it. "Don't even try to argue, Harry. It's far too dangerous and we won't allow it. You'll just have to do as we say and practise the Curses."

"What if we don't?" I asked stubbornly.

Bella grinned and exchanged a glance with Edward. "I can think of something to motivate you."

"Bella…" Edward warned, his face darkening, "…this probably isn't a good idea."

"It worked for me," replied Bella.

"That was different," he protested, "Renesmee's your child."

"Relax, Edward," she sighed, "Or I'll make Jasper do it for you."

Edward groaned. "Fine. You're too stubborn for your own good."

Bella's smile widened. "Thankyou!"

I listened in confusion to their exchange and scowled when Bella faced me. I couldn't think of any sort of 'motivation' that would make me hurt her. But then she raised her wand and pointed it at Hermione.

"Use the Cruciatus Curse on me," she ordered, "or I'll use it on her."

Hermione gasped and paled and Edward handed my wand back to me grimly. I couldn't believe my ears. Was she serious? I thought Bella was alright! She had been nothing but nice to us since we'd met her. She treated the three of us with an almost maternal edge, but it seemed there was a whole other, cruel side to her. Instantly, I was furious. I felt my face heat up in anger as I watched Bella take aim directly at my best friend's chest. Hermione was trembling, and Ron seemed frozen in shock. I shook my head slowly and almost missed Bella opening her mouth.

"Crucio!" she cried.

Hermione screamed and jumped out of the way just in time. The curse shattered on the wall behind us and I jumped forward.

"CRUCIO!" I shouted, pointing my wand right at her.

It hit her squarely in the middle of her stomach and she yelled out in pain, doubling over. Edward ran to her so fast I missed the movement. One second he was standing near me, the next he was holding Bella in his arms.

"Enough," he growled, glaring at me, and I felt my anger vanish. I lifted my wand, removing the curse and stared at them.

Bella gasped, shaking, and Edward pressed his lips to her forehead. Renesmee hurried to join them.

"Mum!" She hugged Bella tightly and Bella smiled back weakly.

"Bella, love," murmured Edward, "are you okay?"

"I'm fine!" she replied, her voice only shaking slightly. She looked up at me and grinned. "That was very good, Harry."

I gaped at her for a moment in disbelief. Was she actually praising me for torturing her?

"What the hell was that?" I exploded, "You would've actually hurt Hermione just so I'd do what you told me!"

Bella shook her head. "I'm very sorry I gave you that impression, but Hermione was never in any danger."

I didn't comprehend. "What?"

"I removed my shield so the Curse would affect me and spread it over Hermione instead. If it had hit her, she wouldn't have felt a thing. I figured the best way to anger you into attacking me was to pretend to hurt your loved ones. It's a…technique I learnt once from a good friend."

As soon as I realised Hermione had been safe, I felt horrified at what I'd done. "Damn, Bella, I'm so sorry! Are you sure you're okay?"

"I'm fine," she repeated, "Really, you shouldn't apologise. I was totally asking for it. And I'm sorry for frightening you, Hermione," she added, "You should know I would never really hurt any of you."

"That's okay," replied Hermione shakily.

"Well," said Alice brightly, breaking the tension in the room, "now that we know Harry is capable of performing an Unforgiveable Curse, I think we should continue practising. My turn now!"

She danced to the middle of the room, and I stared at her. Attacking someone who was a threat to my friends was one thing, but Alice was something else. She was so tiny and fragile-looking! It would feel like blasphemy to hurt her!

Alice rolled her eyes. "I can see you hesitating, Harry, and I can guess why."

Edward nodded at her, confirming her guess.

"You're a thousand times more breakable than me," she told me. I already knew that, but just looking at her made it hard to believe. "Look, I'll prove it."

She beckoned Emmett over, and he complied happily. There was a huge beam on his face as he shifted into a crouch facing her. She didn't even reach his stomach in height! She smiled sweetly and closed her eyes just as Emmett lunged. She dodged swiftly out of the way and laughed. Emmett leaped forward again, a playful snarl erupting from his chest and she dodged again. She moved agilely out of the way of each attack, each one faster than the last, until she launched herself at Emmett from behind, bringing him crashing down to the floor. She had her lips pulled back from her teeth, which were resting on his throat.

Emmett boomed with laughter and stood up, ruffling Alice's hair in a very brotherly action. Alice poked her tongue out at him, giggling. I noticed a large crack in the marble floor where they had fallen.

"No point asking for a rematch, Emmett," she said as he opened his mouth, "I'll only beat you again."

Emmett shut his mouth and shook his head. "One day, Alice."

Alice turned to us, serious again, and raised an eyebrow. "Do you still think I'm too fragile?"

I shook my head, unable to deny it. I was still wary about hurting her, but there was no doubt she was strong enough to handle it. I raised my wand slowly and took aim.

When we left the Room of Requirement, I was still apologising to each Cullen I had cursed. After Alice's turn, Jacob, Edward and Emmett had been willing to be guinea pigs. Jasper and Rosalie would have had a go, but we ran out of time, and Edward and Bella absolutely forbade Renesmee to try, no matter how willing she was. Ron and Hermione weren't quite as comfortable cursing them as I was, so they passed.

"Sorry, sorry!" I said again, and they all just rolled their eyes and laughed.

"You're too damn noble for your own good!" complained Emmett, "Dude, we're fine!"

"Why are you so worried about us?" grumbled Alice, "You're the one fighting vampires! Give us some credit!"

"You shouldn't be so concerned, Harry," said Bella gently, "We know how to take care of ourselves."

I allowed them to soothe my guilt and soon I was calm, but I guessed Jasper might have something to do with that.

"So, same time tomorrow night?" asked Alice enthusiastically. Before we could answer, she continued, "No, maybe not. Day after tomorrow, and we'll bring everyone else along. It can be our first official meeting."

"Just so long as I don't have to curse you again," I mumbled, and she laughed.

"Nope. That's everyone else's job. Oh, I can't wait! It's going to be so much fun!"

"Fun?" I repeated doubtfully. Shooting spells and curses at my classmates didn't sound like my idea of fun.

"If I've learnt something in the last fifty years," said Edward, "it's to never bet against Alice."

"Trust me," said Alice firmly, "You're going to love it."