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

Thankyou again for all the reviews!! The proper action begins in this chapter. I have had a couple of reviews asking me if much will be changed in the Potter-universe. So that I don't disappoint anyone at the end, I just want to tell you that since I'm paralleling OOTP, and I'm planning on also writing sequels to parallel books 6 and 7, I don't want to change anything too major.

23. Escape and Exams

EPOV

Carlisle was busy in the hospital wing when I went to tell him about Bella failing to shield Harry's mind from his dreams. The Slytherin boy Fred and George had trapped in the Vanishing Cabinet had reappeared; stuck in a toilet on the fourth floor. The poor boy was extremely confused, and even Carlisle was trying not to laugh.

Chuckling quietly to myself, I left the hospital wing to find Bella and tell her what had happened. As I passed a corridor on the second floor, Harry flew past me, breathing heavily and heart racing. His thoughts were in a jumbled mess and he didn't turn when I called after him. Sighing, I looked around to make sure no one was watching before running vampire speed to come to a stop in front of him, halting him in his tracks.

"What's the matter?" I asked.

Harry tried to duck around me, but I grabbed his arm and pulled him back. Giving up, he leaned against the wall, panting, and glared at me. He didn't answer, but I saw his thoughts clearly. I watched as Severus Snape threw well-aimed jars at his head before chasing him out of his office. "Get out, get out, I don't want to see you in this office ever again!" he bellowed in Harry's mind, his expression beyond fury.

I growled angrily. "He won't teach you Occlumency anymore," I hissed, and Harry nodded silently. I turned and started walking in the direction of the dungeons. "I'll talk to him."

"No!" Harry spoke for the first time. "You can't!"

I looked at him. "You can't just stop learning to protect your mind, Harry. It's of the utmost importance that you don't. Bella can't even shield you anymore."

Harry frowned. "Even if you talked to him, I doubt you'd change his mind. You should have seen him; he was furious."

"I did see him. You showed me, remember?" He continued to look at me intently, and his hands were clenched into fists. I sighed and ran a hand through my hair. "God, Harry, what did you do?" I asked.

He replayed the scene for me: entering a Pensieve; intruding on his worst memories; watching as his own father tormented a fifteen-year-old Severus…

I shook my head and tried to stop listening. "I see," I muttered.

"What do you think of that, then?" he asked coldly.

"Honestly," I replied, "I think that was probably the most idiotic, foolish thing you could've done. However, I see how this must have upset you, and I won't talk to Severus for you. God, Harry, what were you thinking?" He shrugged helplessly, and I saw what was really worrying him. "Oh."

Harry scowled at me. "Stay out of my head!"

I looked back apologetically. "I apologise. I can't really help it. But Severus's reaction isn't what upset you, was it? It was actually watching the memory."

Harry looked away and ducked his head. "Snape's always told me how my dad was…arrogant. I thought it was just a grudge, that it wasn't actually true, but seeing that…"

He actually was every bit as arrogant as Snape always said he was, he finished in his mind, not intending for me to hear it.

"I'm sure he wasn't really," I said, although I wasn't entirely convinced myself, "From what I've heard from everyone else, all their memories, your father was a good man."

Harry sighed. "I want to believe that, trust me. You of all people should know how much I want to believe that. But it's just hard to at the moment."

I nodded sympathetically. "I'm probably not the one you should really be talking to about this," I told him, "Speak with your friends, or maybe Bella. You're closer to her."

Harry looked thoughtful. Maybe if I spoke to Lupin…or maybe Sirius…

I interrupted his internal musing. "I don't know that's such a good idea, Harry. If you get caught, everything can be ruined."

He looked disappointed. "Yeah, I guess."

But I could hear that he hadn't completely dismissed the idea, and I smiled exasperatedly, in spite of myself.

***

A few days later, Harry still hadn't given up on the idea to speak with his godfather. He had made up his mind on the matter, and all he really needed was an opportunity. Word got to Fred and George that he needed a distraction, and they began planning.

Harry himself was rather occupied. His year level was scheduled for Careers Advice throughout the following week, and his thoughts strayed from his future paths beyond Hogwarts to plans on talking to Sirius.

I'll have to use the Floo network from Umbridge's office, I caught him thinking one evening; I'll take my Invisibility Cloak and sneak in while Fred and George distract her. I might need to use my knife to get into her office, if Alohomora doesn't work. They promised me five minutes; ten tops.

Although Fred and George (and the other Weasleys for that matter) encouraged his risky behaviour, Hermione was less than impressed. If he gets caught, he'll get into such terrible trouble! He'll get expelled for sure! And then Umbridge will force him to drink Veritaserum so that he tells her who he was talking to, and then she'll know about Sirius and he'll get sent back to Azkaban! Doesn't Harry realise how risky this is? He's being so stupid!

Everyone's thoughts on the matter were starting to drive me crazy, as I told Bella. She stroked my hair sympathetically and took me hunting, away from the humans and their jumbled minds.

The morning before Harry broke into Professor Umbridge's office, Alice danced up to the Gryffindor table to speak with us. "Stop nagging him, Hermione," she said, rolling her eyes, "You're not going to change his mind, at least not that I can see. Besides, everything's going to work out fine."

"It is?" asked Harry hopefeully.

Alice nodded. "But that doesn't mean you should be any less careful. My visions change, as you know."

The bell rang then, and everyone stood up to go to class. Alice stopped Fred and George before they could leave the hall and gave them a hug each. "I'm going to miss you two!" she exclaimed, standing on her chair to give Fred a kiss on the cheek, "Your stunt is going to be inspiring; brilliant."

The twins grinned goofily, and she kissed George's cheek. "Well, thanks," they said in unison.

Alice stepped back to eye them. "Now don't you two get all cocky," she said, "Your mother won't be happy with you when you get home."

Their smiles didn't fade and they shrugged. "Ah well," muttered Fred.

"What else can you expect from Mum?" added George.

They staged their big farewell scene at lunchtime, and it was, as Alice put it, inspiring. To begin with, they transformed one of the corridors into a swamp, and then allowed themselves to be herded into the Entrance Hall by Professor Umbridge. The entire school gathered around the edge of the Hall to see what the commotion was about, and the twins enjoyed the spotlight. They beamed at everyone and even bowed.

Umbridge was unimpressed. "So, you think it is amusing to turn a school corridor into a swamp, do you?" she demanded victoriously.

"Pretty amusing, yeah," replied Fred casually, and by the quiet giggles circling the audience, most of the other students agreed.

Harry appeared behind Ron, Hermione, Bella and I then.

"Hey," he whispered, pulling off the Invisibility Cloak.

Hermione looked at him anxiously. "How'd it go?" she asked quietly.

He just nodded, and Hermione let out a small sigh of relief.

Umbridge was still speaking to the Weasley twins. "You two are about to learn what happens to wrong-doers in my school," she announced.

"You know what?" asked Fred, "I don't think we are." It was clear he had rehearsed his lines, and I thought they sounded a bit tacky, but everyone held their breath in anticipation. "George," he continued, "I think we've outgrown full-time education."

"I've been feeling that way myself," agreed George in the same carefree voice.

"Time to test our talents in the real world, d'you reckon?"

"Definitely," answered George firmly.

Across the Hall, Alice was bouncing on the soles of her feet eagerly, and Emmett was beaming in pride. The twins raised their wands in unison.

"Accio brooms!"

From far-off in the castle, I clearly heard a crash as their broomsticks broke away from their bonds and flew obediently to their masters. Without hesitation, Fred and George climbed onto their brooms, to the applause of the watching students.

"STOP THEM!" ordered Professor Umbridge, starting forward, but the twins were already rising into the air on their brooms.

"Make sure our legacy lives on!" shouted Fred.

"Yeah, give her hell for us, Peeves!" added George. The poltergeist saluted and George nodded back. Then he added, as an afterthought, "You too, Emmett!"

"Hell yeah!" My giant of a brother whooped and whistled and not even Rosalie stopped him. She just rolled her eyes, smiling, and muttered, "Idiot."

Fred and George grinned one more time before turning their brooms around and leaving Hogwarts for good.

***

Just as they asked, the twins' legacy lived on in aspiring trouble-makers over the next few weeks. Emmett was the cause of most of the mischief that occurred around the school and he became so bad that Esme had to have a talk with him. He looked very gloomy the next time we saw him.

Carlisle was also kept very busy with all the Slytherins who had been jinxed, particularly members of the Inquisitorial Squad.

The last Quidditch match of the year was upon the school, drawing with it nerves and anxiety to the Ravenclaw and Gryffindor teams. Unfortunately for us, the sun was shining the day of the game, so Bella and I decided to go hunting with Alice and Jasper.

We left a few minutes after the match started, when we could cross the grounds to the forest without being seen, but when we got to the edge of the trees, we found three others already there.

"What are you doing here?" Alice asked Harry, Hermione and Hagrid.

Hagrid jumped at the sound of her voice and looked around shiftily. "I need ter show these two somethin' in the forest," he admitted. I listened to his thoughts and found that the 'something' was in fact his giant brother. "Er, yeh four should prob'ly come along too."

I shook my head, knowing how dangerous giants were, even to vampires. "I don't want Bella anywhere near it," I told him.

Harry and Hermione exchanged panicked glances, and Bella glared at me.

"Whatever it is, I'm sure I'll be fine," she said indignantly.

I groaned, knowing there was no use arguing. "Fine! Lead the way, Hagrid."

As we walked, Alice looked frustrated, earning worried glances from Jasper. "I can't see anything!" she hissed in annoyance.

Hagrid led us to the clearing where his brother lay sleeping. The smell in the glade was strong and extremely unpleasant. I wrinkled up my nose against it, and saw Bella, Alice and Jasper doing the same.

It took Harry and Hermione a second to realise what they were looking at, and then they were shocked.

"Oh, Hagrid, you didn't!" exclaimed Hermione in a shaky whisper.

I instinctively pulled Bella behind me, out of harms way.

"I had ter bring him, Hermione, I had ter," Hagrid replied pleadingly.

I shook my head in exasperation. "You really should've told them."

Harry shot me a look. "You knew about this?" he asked in disbelief.

My family and I nodded. "It's been really annoying," said Alice grumpily, "I haven't been able to see anything while we've been hunting because he keeps getting in the way!"

"But why?" asked Hermione, "Oh, Hagrid!"

"Hermione, I couldn' leave him," he said earnestly, "See, he's my brother!"

Harry and Hermione were silent. All I got from their thoughts was: !!!.

"His name's Grawp," added Hagrid, and they stared at him with their mouths hanging open. "I wouldn've told yer, 'cept I'm likely ter get the sack any day now, and I can' leave him here all alone."

"You want us to look after him?" asked Harry faintly.

Hagrid nodded desperately.

"You can't honestly expect these two to look after him!" exclaimed Jasper, "Giants are even dangerous to vampires!"

"He's not that dangerous!" disagreed Hagrid, "Yeh just need ter come out here maybe once a week an' have a little chat with him. You'll do it?"

"Well," said Harry, eyeing the giant uncertainly, "We'll try."

Hagrid beamed. "I knew I could count on yeh, Harry. I'll wake 'im up, then…introduce yeh…"

"What?" shriek Hermione, "No, Hagrid, you really don't need to…"

But Hagrid was already approaching Grawp, carrying a large branch with him, and poked him in the back.

The giant let out a deafening roar and I pushed Bella directly behind me. Jasper did the same with Alice, and we all stared up at the giant.

"Look, I've brought some friends ter meet yeh! This is Harry, Grawp! He migh' come ter visit yeh if I have ter go away, understand? An' this is Hermione, see?" he paused and looked at Hermione, "Do yeh mind if he called yeh Hermy? On'y it's a difficult name fer him ter remember."

Hermione shook her head, her eyes wide with terror.

"This is Hermy, Grawp!" Hagrid continued, "An' that's Edward, an' Bella an' Alice an' Jasper. Is'n' tha' nice, eh? GRAWPY NO!" he shouted.

A huge hand shot towards Hermione. Bella and I grabbed her and Harry and pulled them behind a tree. A second later, we were all in hunting crouches, hissing at the giant threateningly. Grawp peered down at us curiously, before turning away and playing with a tree.

"Righ'," said Hagrid, "Well, I reckon tha's enough fer one day. We'll, er, go back now, shall we?"

Harry and Hermione couldn't get out of there fast enough. While the rest of us backed away quickly, not taking our eyes off the huge threat, they followed Hagrid at a jog until Grawp was out of sight.

"Are you two alright?" asked Bella anxiously. She went to put an arm around Hermione, who was very white in the face and shaking.

Alice was hissing angrily to herself, cursing Hagrid under her breath, which was very unlike herself. Jasper's eyes darted around the forest, searching for any more threats.

"There goes our hunt," sighed Bella, a slight hysterical giggle in her voice.

"We'll just have to go another time," I told her, "If Grawp doesn't scare away all our prey by then."

The Quidditch match had just finished and a crowd was starting to flood out of the stadium, so we ran at vampire speed back to the castle before anyone could notice the sun glinting off our skin.

To everyone's surprise, apart from Alice's, of course, Gryffindor had won the game, and, with it, the Quidditch cup. Ron was the hero in Gryffindor tower that night, and Harry and Hermione seemed to enjoy the good atmosphere rather than thinking about the giant in the forest. Bella and I, on the other hand, could dwell on both with our advanced vampire brains, and the celebrations in the common room were just about lost on us beneath our stress.

***

To make up for our interrupted hunting trip, we went on Monday evening with Carlisle, Esme, Emmett and Rosalie instead. Alice and Jasper had gone the night before and Renesmee and Jacob were planning on heading out the next week.

The week was fairly laid-back for us, as the fifth years we shared our classes with mostly busied themselves with preparing for their upcoming exams. The teachers no longer gave us homework, not that that ever tied us down, but we couldn't hang out with our friends as much as we would've liked. This didn't bother us too much; the skies were void of clouds so we couldn't go outside and instead helped them study. Bella and I didn't mind testing them and reassuring them, but others, like Jasper, weren't coping with the extra panic and anxiety in the air.

It also meant that when everyone else had their exams, we had free time. Bella and I mostly hung around in the Gryffindor common room, enjoying the peace of having my dormitory to ourselves for several hours at once, and we assumed the others occupied their time likewise.

Harry, Ron and Hermione's first exam was for Charms, which they spent the whole day on. By the sound of their thoughts, Harry and Hermione were fairly confident in their performance, but Ron was musing over the few mistakes he knew he'd made. The next morning we wished the three good luck before they left for their day of Transfiguration. Wednesday and Thursday passed much the same as the first two days, but on Friday Harry and Ron had the day off whilst Hermione attended her Ancient Runes exam before the weekend.

Saturday and Sunday we spent helping the three study for their last few exams. Harry and Ron weren't feeling particularly confident about their Potions test on Monday, so we mostly focused on that. Tuesday and Wednesday they said were fine, but Wednesday night, whilst they were absent for their Astronomy practical, was extremely eventful.

Professor Umbridge and five fellow Ministry of Magic employees paid Hagrid a visit in the middle of the night, and a full-out brawl occurred. Our family rushed down to help, but there wasn't much we could do without revealing ourselves.

Professor McGonagall hurried out into the yard to try and stop the attack, but the six turned their wands on her and sent Stunning spells straight into her chest. Her heartbeat stuttered for a moment before picking up a fast pace, and Carlisle ran to her side to check on her.

Hagrid fled the grounds and Minerva was taken straight to the hospital wing, where Carlisle did his best to help her. She didn't regain consciousness that night, however, and was transferred to St Mungo's the next morning.

Jacob and Renesmee went out hunting on Thursday, while the fifth years completed their final exam on History of Magic. After the previous night, I cautioned them to be extra careful and told them to stay away from Grawp. Bella nudged me in the ribs with a smile and told me to lighten up a bit.

"They'll be fine," she said, "They've been out alone before. Umbridge won't be able to hurt them."

I smiled back and sighed. "I know. I can't help worrying about them, though."

Bella stroked my face with the back of her hand. "She's your baby. It's in your nature to worry about her. I worry too."

We spent the day strolling around the castle. At one stage we went to visit Carlisle in the hospital wing, where it was very quiet except for a couple of patients, and we asked after Minerva.

"She'll live, but I don't know what damage will be done to her heart. She's fairly old, for a human, and I'm worried some of the damage might be permanent. She was taken to St Mungo's this morning. They should take care of her there."

"It was so horrible," Bella said angrily, "How could they do that to her?"

Carlisle shook his head sadly. "I don't know, Bella," he sighed, "I don't like to think that a human can be capable of that, but, apparently some of them are."

JPOV

I raced Nessie through the trees, listening to her tinkling-bell laugh and barking every now and then in response. I heard her giggle come from above me and looked up to see her standing high up on a tree branch. Rolling my eyes, I dashed into a cluster of trees and phased back into my human form and pulled on my shorts. I ran back to where she was and started climbing the tree after her.

When I got to the branch below her, she suddenly jumped back to the forest floor, leaving me alone in the tree, and laughed.

"No fair!" I called down to her.

Nessie just stuck out her tongue. "Try getting the deer from up there!" she teased before she spun around and sped off.

I jumped down from the tree, landing with a soft thump, and phased back. No sooner had I taken two strides than I heard Nessie scream.

I froze for a fraction of a second and the fur on my shoulders stood up. Then I was tearing through the forest after her, snarling and barking. Renesmee was the only thing on my mind, so by the time I caught the sickly sweet scent of vampire, the mist was already creeping towards me.

My sight cut out first, then my hearing and sense of smell. As the blackness took me over, I collapsed onto my belly, whining in discomfort. My mind was still clear, even though my senses were gone, and it didn't take long to realise what was happening to me.

It was that Italian vampire messing with me. The young male who could take away your senses! Somehow, they were here, and they had Renesmee! I tried growling, but my voice was gone and I could do nothing but let the dark wash over me.

When my senses came back to me, I was disoriented at first. But I quickly remembered Nessie and followed her scent, mixed with vampire, until it abruptly disappeared.

No! No! NO!