I don't own Harry Potter or Twilight!
"I heard he got jealous of Bella andEdward's relationship, and pushed her down a flight of stairs, but lost his footing and ended up falling as well."
"Well, I heard he ran off with some kid from the reservation, and get this, not the one he was supposedly dating."
"That's not what I heard, I heard he ran off with a group of bikers, that he services all of them...and he enjoys it."
The rumors surrounding their brother just seemed to be getting worse, and there was nothing they could do to refute them...who would believe them? Especially after seeing Bella hobbling around on crutches, her wrist in a brace. Who would listen to them if they told them that Harry was currently lying in a bed in the hospital hooked up to every machine imaginable. That Esme never left his side, never taking her eyes off him for fear she'd miss a slight movement or a last breath. That Carlisle only left to help his patients, but was otherwise right next to Esme. That the big black dog at the end of the bed was really a godfather who had noticed his presence in his animagus form helped keep nightmares at bay while hosting his godson for a weekend. They would not believe the man with the graying blond hair had only left to get everyone food and drinks. Or that the teen, almost too big for his chair in the corner, had been told to go home so many times, that eventually the adults gave up and let him stay as long as he did his homework. Nor would they believe that the rest of his siblings would take turns sitting with him so as not to run the risk of overwhelming him should he be able to sense their presence.
"Will you all just shut up!" Everyone turned to look at Angela in shock, it was easy to forget that she and Harry had become friends, and spent a lot of time together on the reservation.
"What is going on here?" Then there was Fred Weasley, a common addition to their household, always showing up with blood pops so they didn't have to hunt. The new substitute had already given out numerous detentions to the gossips.
"Nothing sir," Angela looked away, unwilling to meet the teacher's eyes.
"Ah, I see," Fred said as he looked at the group of students, the smug gossipers, and the irate Cullens, "Now I know you heard the same announcement as I did regarding what happened to the youngest Mr. Cullen, we've all seen Chief Swan questioning his siblings about the break in at their home. I for one have visited him in the hospital, and I know it pisses me off to think of him lying there fighting for his life, while you all spread vicious rumors about him. I can't imagine how it makes his siblings feel." He then looked at the back of the group, right at Bella, "I've heard that if he would have just been found a little bit sooner he may not have ended up in a coma." He gave a sad sigh..."Enough of this gossip, get to class." He watched as the students all hurried to do as they were told, giving Ron's shoulder a comforting squeeze as he passed.
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"You need to get rid of the cut flowers, he senses them dying, it is confusing him in his weakened state." A dark man said as he entered the room, his arms filled with potted plants, he wasn't the only one as three more redheads, two men and a young very pregnant lady, and a tall blond followed, their arms just as full. They set the potted plants, which appeared to be small rose bushes in many colors, up around the bed, removing the vases of flowers from the room. With a wave of his wand the widow was opened, but charmed to appear closed. "The elf in him is being starved, he needs to pull energy from nature, thank goodness he had his mate close by, as that is the only thing tethering his soul to this plane."
"How can you be so sure?" Carlisle asked, no accusation in his voice, just relief at seeing his son appear to be resting easier. Esme must have noticed as well as she moved to check him over, smoothing the hair back from Harry's forehead. He motioned Jake over into his chair, and Harry's color seemed to improve a bit.
"Severus knows more about magical creatures than anyone I know." Remus spoke up, and Carlisle wondered at the pained look on the faces of the werewolf and dog.
"I am an elf myself, a dark elf, a distant cousin of the earth elves." Severus explained, "When the wolf wrote to me begging for me to help one of my previous student, an earth elf at that, I decided it was worth a shot."
There was something in the man's eyes that said there was more to it than that, but Carlisle didn't have time to think about it as Harry started choking on the respirator tube that was down his throat helping him breath. "Shhh, it's alright son, mom and I are right here, just relax and let the machine do the work for you." He soothed his son and eventually Harry settled back down.
"His breathing is a lot steadier, I should be able to take the tube out this evening if it continues." The relief was palpable in his voice.
"Thank God!" Edward's voice came from the doorway as he collapsed to the ground. They had all noticed the change in the vampire, and while the rest of them were confused by it Jake seemed resigned to it.
"Interesting..." They all turned to Severus as the man spoke, "We all wondered how Mr. Potter survived his inheritance, having one of his mates present would explain it." The black eyes moved from the wolf to the vampire multiple times.
The vampires in the room couldn't hide their shock at his statement, but Jake almost seemed to expect it. "The bond is weak, brittle even, but it is there." The dark man continued.
"What does that mean?" Esme asked, her main focus on Harry, but glancing at the others.
"It means they can break it if they choose, there is another type of bond that could easily take its place, the sibling bond, neither one would be hurt physically, though the vampire runs the risk of never being able to form another proper mate bond. Mr Potter..."
"His name is Cullen, Harrison Carlisle Cullen." Edward cut in with an almost growl.
"Yes, well, since Mr. Cullen has already started strengthening his mate bond with the shapeshifter he would likely be virtually unaffected by the crumbling."
They were surprised to hear Jake scoff at this, "No, Harry wouldn't be affected at all, except for watching his so called brother struggle to make another connection, the guilt of letting the bond dissolve would eat away at him...even if he's not the one to make the decision." He leveled Edward with a glare to make sure the vampire wouldn't consider making a sacrifice for what he felt was for the good of Harry.
"So you'd be ok sharing your mate with a vampire...with me?" Edward scoffed at the notion. He knew that Jake had the right to claim Harry as the one to first acknowledge the bond.
"I wouldn't be thrilled, but if it would hurt him less than letting you dissolve it then I guess I'll have to live with it. Had you continued on with Bella it would have dissolved on its own, I mean I only sensed it after I became alpha, but I could feel it weakening by the day. We can see how having her around is dangerous, so yeah, I'd rather have you with us than with her. At least I know if you bond with us Harry will be your first priority." Carlisle was surprised to see Sirius, Remus, and the newcomer exchanged glances at Jake's mention of sensing the bond.
"You're being surprisingly mature about all this." Edward's voice held no hostility.
"Yeah, well it doesn't take all of us a century to figure out what's important." Jake's eyes held a twinkle to them that spoke of a joking nature not yet seen much by his mate's family, "Besides, it's not like I'll be the one kissing you."
"Thank God for small favors." Edward said with a grin.
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Multiple people were hovering around his bed when tired green eyes opened slightly later that evening. The tube had been removed, and an oxygen mask took its place, Carlisle gently stopping the weak hand from removing it, "Leave it alone for now son."
"You were attacked by the nomads, we found you just in time to get you to the Hospital. Carlisle ran the whole way here with you in his arms." Edward answered the question in Harry's mind. "We killed the tracker for what they did to you, the other two ran off, though Alice is tracking them to make sure they don't come back."
"Bella's ok, but her and I are no longer together. She found you long before we did, but didn't say anything about it, I couldn't abide that, you're too important to be treated that way." He could see the tears, in the green eyes, and for the first time felt the slight trill of the bond. Like they said, it was weak, but it was there, and could be strengthened.
"I hope you've had your fill of alone time, I don't think you'll be getting any of that for the next 50 or so years." Jake said with a grin, and Harry gave a slight smile before he let his eyes drift closed once again.
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"You should have seen it, I thought Malfoy was going to wet himself." Ron laughed later as he told Harry about threatening the blond about taking care of his baby sister. "Granted, I don't think Gin was overly impressed, but I thought it was hilarious, Malfoy afraid of the perpetually 16 year old Ronald Cullen."
Harry was propped up in bed resting against Edward, Jake having fallen asleep on the cot Carlisle had brought in. Ron was filling him in on having found Charlie, Bill, and Ginny, them accompanying Professor Snape, and setting up his impromptu rose garden. He was wondering how to go about asking if he could keep the roses, enjoying the peace they brought the room.
What he didn't know is that Edward had already relayed his wish to the family in the hopes they could set up a small garden for him. He saw the finished product in Emmett's head, and couldn't help but shake his head ruefully at yet another example of Alice going overboard. Their yard now contained a small Maze of roses in every color imaginable, with holes dug to add the small bushes in the hospital room.
"Of course he'd take care of her Ronald, she's his mate, and he's a veela, it's in his nature to do what is best for her." Hermione was once again the voice of reason, and he could feel Harry relax even more at the familiarity of it all.
"When does Dad say I can come home?" Harry asked weakly, he hated hospitals with a passion, something the family was all familiar with.
"When you can ask that question without needing a nap afterwords, end of the week at the earliest." Came Carlisle's voice from the door way, "You gave your mother and I quite a scare, we won't be taking any chances, which means you'll be in here until I'm satisfied there will be no more complications." The man said with an air of finality, and Harry could see just how much his newest brush with death affected the man.