Disclaimer: I don't own anything. Psh I wish I did. So yea, Twilight is to Meyer as Harry Potter is to Rowling. The song is from Showboat.

AN: uhm...okay. nothing much to say....kay bye.

Chapter 14: Harry's Esme, Carlisle's Harry

~Near the end of Second Year~

"A simple year, she tells us! We'll have a bloody simple year!" Ron helped Harry onto his feet as Ginny clung onto her old brother. "First we get another horrid defense professor, then Hermione and Draco go and get themselves petrified." He wrapped an arm around Ginny and hugged her tightly. "And then because of my silly sister, we get to take a fun slide down into the Chamber of Secrets! What a simple, relaxing year!"

"I'm sorry, Ronnie," Ginny muttered sadly.

He sighed and kissed her forehead. "It's alright, Gin. Just be thankful the basilisk was killed and Harry was bloody clever enough to destroy that horrid book. What were you thinking anyway?! Don't you think a book that writes back to you is slightly, oh I don't know, odd and may be dangerous?!"

"I was just really lonely," she cried in despair as Fawkes took hold of the group and flew them up the long, wide pipe. "I don't have a lot of friends like you do!"

"Then why didn't you tell us, Ginny?" Harry shouted.

"Weeee!" Lockhart laughed. "This is just like magic!" Harry glanced back at him with a roll of his eyes.

Once they landed in the girls' lavatory and sent a quick spell at Lockhart to render him unconscious, the two boys looked at the girl with crossed arms. She looked down at her feet, crying. "I was scared that if I told you, you'd make fun of me. And then the book came and… I wasn't lonely anymore."

"Ginny," Ron told her quietly. "I'm your brother. I may tease you sometimes, but I love you and I would never make fun of you for not having friends. Do well to remember that Harry and Draco are you friends! They have been since we were younger! Then you became friends with Hermione in the summer. This whole year we thought you were keeping your distance because you wanted to hang out with the girls your age. Look where that got us! Draco, Hermione and other students are petrified."

She sobbed, hiding her face in her hands. "And you have Luna," Harry told her softly. "Although rather… unique and… well the point is she's our friend too! And what about Neville? Poor Neville nearly had a heart attack when he found out you were in the Chamber. We had to send a petrificus totalus at him and carry him back to our dorms. He was ready to dig a hole into the ground to find you!"

"Really?" Ginny asked in disbelief.

"You'll see when he wakes up," Ron laughed throwing an arm around his sister. "For now-"

"For now, you're going to the Headmaster's office," a voice hissed behind them. Harry stiffened and the two Weasleys flinched when they turned and saw Severus standing behind them.

"N-now, Sev," Harry stuttered.

"I completely agree!" Another voice said.

Harry gaped. "Traitor!"

"Harry, this is serious!"

"You're Sirius," He said, hoping to distract his godfather.

Sirius stopped and began laughing. "Do you get it, Severus? Cause that's…my…." He slowed down when he saw the glare the potions master was giving him. "Right! Punishment for the two of you! And I'm calling your mothers."

"Don't!" The two boys shouted.

"Please!" Harry begged. "Mother is ready to suspend me from Quidditch!"

"And mum is already cross with me!"

"Why?" He asked in confusion.

"Oh, Harry, when is she never cross with me?!" That brought a laugh from Ginny, who still had tears trekking down from her eyes.

"Miss Weasley," Severus nodded. "Good to see you are safe."

"Sorry, Professor," She whispered.

"There's nothing to apologize for, Gin," Sirius reassured her. "That book could have tricked anyone."

"Oh but-"

"You two," Severus cut off. He strode forward and took them by their ears. The two boys began whining in pain.

"Come on, Ginny," Sirius said, pushing her lightly by her back. "You should rest in the Hospital Wing. Madame Pomfrey would like to know that you are okay."

~*~

Lucius Malfoy did not look like he usually did. His eyes were weary and he was tired and upset. He was slightly slumped forward, all signs of Malfoy posture gone. Harry smiled subtly at the man, knowing that it had taken a toll on him when he got news that his son was petrified. "Harry, Ronald," Lucius greeted kindly. The two boys frowned when they heard his raspy voice. "Don't worry about me, you two. I'm just fine."

"No you aren't, Mr. Malfoy," Ron said with a roll of his eyes. "Come on. We can go see, Draco."

"I'm afraid Madam Pomfrey will not let any of the parents in until the children are healed. They have the cure, finally," he said, a relieved breath sounding.

"I'm sure we can convince her." Lucius looked up at the Headmaster and Dumbledore nodded, signaling that it was okay. Harry looked back to see another man in.

"Ah, Mister Knott," Dumbledore said cordially, but Harry could hear a lace of anger in the old man's voice.

He glared at the people before him. "I see that the matters in school were taken care of. Everything is…"

"Safe… as houses, as the muggle saying goes." Harry tried not to smirk. The muggle reference Albus made was obviously just to spite the man.

Knott's eyes narrowed even further. "I'd hope so. I may not be on the board like Malfoy is…" The man gave a grim smile, "But I'm sure we can convince him if there is another occurrence like this, especially since his son was nearly killed in this one." He gave Dumbledore one more warning glance before turning to leave.

"Oh, Mr. Knott," Harry called. The man stopped to look at Harry, sneering all the while. Harry gave him a kind smile.

"You forgot your book," he told him. With a flick of his wrist he threw the book, basilisk fang sticking out and all, and it skidded across the floor before landing at the man's feet.

Anger flashed across his face as he kicked the book away from him. "I assure you, I have no understanding of what you mean."

"Oh because you didn't pick the second-hand books out of Ginny Weasley's cauldron then mock them before stuffing them back, with an extra one for her? Right, I guess you're right. It must have been someone else at Diagon Alley."

Knott stared at the boy. He was much more than he had expected. With an angry sigh, he turned on his heel and fled from the room.

Harry rolled his eyes. "What a baby."

"You cheated," Draco theorized. "That must have been it. You wouldn't have won any other way."

"Yea well we did win," Ron taunted. "So suck it up because now we get to annoy you with our winning."

"We're thirteen," Draco said angrily. "Aren't we a little old for this. I mean, it's just a house cup!"

"Absolutely not," Harry chuckled. "Ron is right. You wouldn't stop bothering us until you got petrified. That shut your gob up didn't it?"

"Oh leave me alone, Harry!" The blond laughed. "Where is Hermione anyway?" He sent a knowing look to Harry before the two stared at Ron. The redhead looked at the two in confusion.

"What?"

"Nothing," Harry said, looking away.

"Nothing at all," Draco echoed.

Ron gave the two an odd look. "You two are bonkers."

"What?" He gasped. "We didn't do anything! We're just lounging in your backyard, enjoying the sun."

"I must agree with Draco," Harry nodded. "We were just wondering where Hermione was."

"But then you two looked at me like I would know!" The redhead exclaimed.

"Do you?" Draco grinned, turning in his spot to look at his friend.

"What's the matter with you two?!" he asked in exasperation.

"Not getting into any fights, are you?" The three looked up to see Luna swaying back and forth in her spot.

"Hey there! It's our lovely Lady Luna," Draco laughed. "When did you get here?"

"Oh I just walked over to Harry's house and noticed no one was there so I came here," She said dreamily. "And I found you, next to a patch of dandelions where widgets live, mind you. You might crush their homes."

"That's a really long walk, Luna," Harry started. He got up and gave Luna a hug. "We'll move away from the widgets so we don't kill any of them."

"Oh, but don't you think it's a good thing if you do? They eat hair." She giggled and tousled Harry's hair with her hand before skipping away into the house. The boys grimaced and began to sift their hair through their fingers.

"I don't care if she's wrong or right, I'm not taking any chances," Draco said as he ran towards the house.

~*~

Draco fell onto his back with a thump. Emmett frowned and straightened from his fighting stance. "That sucked," he told him.

"Oh well sorry!" He said sarcastically. "You're the only one here who's going full force!" They looked around to see Harry and Ron holding up against Edward and Jasper respectively. Emmett shrugged.

"Well I expect more from you."

"You expect more from someone who's only been learning this since he was eight?"

"Yea!"

"Harry's been learning this since he was four."

"…Okay that's true, but-"

"Get your logic straight, Emmett," Draco laughed. Emmett rolled his eyes when Rosalie came out, laughing as well.

"It's true, Em," she told him. "That didn't make any sense."

"Hey!" Draco teased. "While you try to figure out why you decided to use all that vampire strength on me, I'll just cozy on up with your wife. How's that sound?"

Rosalie tried to hide her smile as Emmett playfully glared at the young blond who was sauntering over to her. The other boys stopped to watch what was going on. "Oh, Draco dah'lin," she said in a Southern accent as the boy dipped her. Jasper frowned.

"That was a terrible impersonation," he muttered. Rosalie sent a glare his way to shut him up.

"Ooo! Okay!" Emmett took a few leaps forward and pulled Draco off of Rosalie. "That's enough play time. Back to training."

"Aw, I could have gotten a kiss from her that time!" Draco whined.

"In your dreams, kid," the burly man laughed.

Draco laughed as he began to fool around, exaggerating some boxing movements. "Try and get me, try and get me!"

He rolled his eyes. "Well if you're going to make it that easy then-"

"GET HIM!" Ron and Harry jumped onto his back while Jasper and Edward grabbed him by his legs.

Draco fell onto the ground, laughing hysterically as he watched the four take Emmett down.

"Hey get off!"

"Malinda!"

"GET THE SNAKE OUT OF MY PANTS, HARRY!"

"Harry James Cullen!" Esme shouted from inside the house. She threw the door open and pulled the boys off of Emmett. "You get that snake out of Emmett's pants! What if she decides to make a home up there?!"

"Esme!" Emmett groaned, hiding his face in embarrassment.

Esme hummed a happy tune as she prepared dinner for Harry. She unconsciously listened to Alice and Rosalie arguing about wizarding fashion trends in the living room with the sound of Jasper and Emmett playing video games in the background. Carlisle was working at St. Mungo's and wouldn't be back until midnight. She looked up from the simmering pot and out the window to see Edward and Harry come back from Ron's house. She smiled when she saw her youngest. There were many times when she thought of her baby boy and wondered if he was sitting in heaven, watching over them. After time, she began to believe that her beautiful boy was the reason why her family was blessed with Harry, why she was blessed with him.

A familiar tune came onto their little radio. Esme had forgotten the song was on the tape. She turned back and stared at Harry as she listened to the melody.

"Momma!" Five year old Harry complained. "I just can't do it!"

"Oh my darling," Esme told him. She picked him up into his arms and softly swayed him back and forth. Harry giggled and burrowed his face into her shoulder. "You'll become a wonderful dancer when you're older! Why every one of my children has grace and poise. Why should you be different?"

"Momma, I can't dance! I look silly!"

She smiled and kissed his forehead. "Fish got to swim, birds got to fly," she sung softly. "I got to love one man till I die. Can't help lovin dat man of mine."

"Momma, you're singing silly," Harry told her.

She chuckled and continued the song, dancing him around the living room. Harry squealed before he gained balance in her arms once more and took her hand, pretending to be lead. "Tell me he's lazy, tell me he's slow. Tell me I'm crazy. Maybe I know! Can't help lovin dat man of mine."

"I like this song, Momma," he told her.

"So do I."

Edward and Harry quieted as they entered the kitchen and heard Esme humming "Cant Help Lovin Dat Man of Mine." Edward nudged Harry's side before creeping up to his bedroom. Esme was much too absorbed in the memory to realize her boys were already in the house. Harry stepped beside her and took the knife out of her hands before pushing the chopping board away. Esme's eyes flashed to him in surprise. "Harry, darling! I didn't even notice you came in!" She laughed. He smiled and kissed her cheek before bowing and holding his hand out to her. A bright grin fell onto her face as she took Harry's hand and felt his other hand on her back.

"Fish got to swim, birds got to fly. I got to love one man till I die. Cant help lovin dat man of mine," She sung quietly.

"Sing louder, mother," Harry encouraged. "You have such a beautiful voice." If she could blush she would have. When Harry saw that he had embarrassed her, he laughed and kissed her cheek. "Tell me she's lazy. Tell me she's slow. Tell me I'm crazy, maybe I know. Cant help lovin dat gal of mine."

She rested her head on his shoulder as they danced around the island and into the hallway. "Oh listen sister, I love my mister man. And I can't tell you why. Dere aint no reason why I should love dat man. It mus' be sumpin dat de angels done plan."

"Would you like to spend the rest of this day with me, mother?" Harry asked. "I was at Hogwarts for Mothers' Day so I haven't had one with you for the past two years."

"Well…" She looked at the food on the counter. "We can go out for dinner."

"We can go out for dinner," Harry said. "It's okay. You were only just starting it weren't you?"

She smiled and nodded. "I guess we're going out."

~*~

"Harry, this is much too much!" Esme protested.

Harry shook his head and took her hand, leading her to the dress robes shop. "I'm sure my real parents would be proud to know that I'm using some of the money they left me for my new family, especially for the woman who loves me as much as they did." She threw an arm around his shoulders and held him close to her. "Now come, mom. There's bound to be a ball sooner or later, especially with all the purebloods in my school and," he stopped and cleared his throat with a bragging tone, "my popularity."

'Harry Cullen, you know better!" she laughed. He glanced at her with a smile as he opened the door for her. "Are you sure you want to do this? We could just get you that new broom, the lightning bolt."

"Honestly, mother," he teased. "It's the Firebolt."

She rolled her eyes. "Well excuse me," she said. "But really, raven, are you sure?"

"I'm absolutely, positively sure that I want to get my mother a dress that she will look absolutely, positively stunning in."

"You're making me blush!" She said, swatting her hand at him.

"Lies," he said. "Vampires can't blush. It's a physical impossibility."

"Well then if it were possible, I'd be blushing."

"Well you can keep blushing for the rest of your life. Just look for a dress while you do so."

"Harry, be honest, are you completely-"

Harry turned to the woman with a charming smile. "Can you help my mother here? She's being quite stubborn when all I want to do is buy her one of your magnificent dresses. Don't you think she'll look beautiful in one of them?"

The dressmaker blushed and nodded. "Of course I'll help her." She took Esme to one of the racks in the back. "You have such a charming son, Miss," Harry heard her say. He grinned to himself. Success.

~*~

A half hour later, Esme finally entered one of the dressing rooms to try on a dress she found. Harry pulled a chair up and sat outside by the mirror. Tapping his foot, he began to whistle a little tune quietly. A few teen girls had entered the store and were glancing at him every once and then, blushing when they were caught. He tried not to raise a brow when one came over and began to talk to him after he cleared his throat. "Hi," she started. "You're Harry Cullen, right?"

"Yea," he said while hiding his grimace. He wanted to laugh at how nervous she looked.

"Well, my friends and I were wondering if maybe you wanted to…" She drifted off, not sure on how to ask.

He waited to see if she was going to continue, and when she didn't, he sat up straight to be polite. "Sorry, but I'm here with someone."

"Oh can't we take you away for just a few minutes?" She nearly pleaded, her mood suddenly changing. "Your friend can come with you."

He shook his head. "Sorry. I gave her my promise."

"Her?"

"Harry, darling?" the two heard. Harry looked up and saw his mother push the curtains apart to reveal herself. His jaw nearly dropped when he saw her. Standing, he pushed the girl aside and walked in front of her. Esme was dressed in a long, blue gown that hugged her figure, the straps grasping her shoulders. Her hands were behind her back, making her look like a timid, young girl. "Do… do I look okay?"

"You look beautiful," he breathed. "I can't wait till you show this to father."

She smiled and kissed his cheek. "Are you sure about this?"

He rolled his eyes. "Change and we'll pay for the dress, mother."

She shook her head as she walked back in. "I don't know what I'll do with you, Harry Cullen!"

"Your mother?" The girl asked softly. Harry nodded in response, a bright grin on his face. "Sorry for bothering you, Harry."

He shrugged. "No harm done."

Carlisle shook his head at their protests. "Really, please come. I'm sure Esme has more than enough for the three of you, including Harry, to eat. She always goes overboard when making dinner for him." Remus and Sirius glanced at each other hesitantly. They had been at the hospital to check on Remus scars. The full moon had been rough on the werewolf this month and caused him to gain deeper cuts and darker bruises than ever before.

"Are you sure, Carlisle?" Remus asked. "We wouldn't want to impose."

"You're joking, right?" He smiled. "You're part of the family. The only difference is that you live in your own house. You wouldn't be imposing at all."

"Dr. Cullen," one of the nurses said. He nodded to her, showing that he was listening. "Your daughter is on the phone for you."

"Thank you, Martha," he told her as the two men followed him to a phone. "Hello?"

"Hey, doc!" Alice's cheerful voice sounded.

"How are you, Alice?"Carlisle asked.

"Just fine. I just wanted to say that Rosalie and I made the dinner for Remus and Sirius."

"Why's that?"

"Esme isn't here."

Carlisle frowned. He was looking forward to seeing his wife. After his knowledge of the wizarding medical world advanced to their satisfaction, the hospital board gave him a much busier schedule. Because of the change he didn't have as much time with Esme as he used to. "Where is she?"

"Har-Bear took her out for a mother-son day. They're at Diagon Alley right now. You should see it, Carlisle. They're so cute together! He got her a beautiful gown."

Carlisle smiled. "That's awfully sweet of your brother to do for her. Remus, Sirius and I shall be home in a few minutes, Alice."

"Sure, we're all ready for…" The girl trailed off.

A silence fell over the two as Carlisle looked at the two men before him in confusion. He felt a chilling feeling of foreboding come over him. "Alice, darling? Are you there?"

"Carlisle," she whispered. "You three need to leave now. Someone's there and they're going to try and hurt you. Carlisle, you need to leave now!" She gasped in horror. "Guys! Esme! We need to get to Harry and Esme!"

Carlisle dropped the phone in horror. Quickly, he pulled out an emergency portkey form his pocket. Sirius and Remus, who had heard the girl's frantic screams on the phone had quickly grabbed onto the portkey. "Coven," he said firmly. They disappeared, but not before Carlisle got a glimpse of a tall, dark figure appear in front of St. Mungo's glass doors.

~*~

Meanwhile

Esme's arm was hooked with Harry's as they strolled back down the cobblestone road. Although there were a few lamp lights around, the moon and stars were mostly lighting up their path. "Did you enjoy yourself, mom?" he asked her caringly. She nodded and rested he head on his. "The dinner was quite delicious, don't you think?" he joked, patting his stomach.

"I wouldn't know, would I?" She laughed. "This day was wonderful, Harry. I truly did enjoy myself.

"I'm happy to know you did."

"It's been a while since we spent time together. You're growing up so fast," she told him sadly.

He shrugged. "I'm still not as old as any of you geezers."

"Have some respect for your elders, Harry darling," she teased. "You'll be sixty year old but your brothers and sisters will always be older than you, remember that!"

"Sixty…" he muttered. "So old… like father."

"Harry!" She giggled.

His eyes suddenly lit up in amusement. "Do you realize that father is much older than you are? That's…that's… dad is a cradle robber!"

"Harry!" She snorted. "He's a handsome cradle robber, at that."

"And you're into older men…for their money."

She tilted her head in thought. "Fair enough. He did accumulate a lot of money by that time."

They continued walking in a comfortable silence. "We're a weird family," Harry finally said.

"Indeed," She agreed.

He grinned up at her. His eyes shone with admiration and love for her. "I know I don't tell you this often, but I'm very happy to have you as my mom."

Esme gave him a teary smile. "And I'm as equally happy to have you as a son."

They leaned in to hug each other when she gasped and turned around. "Inflamare!" a voice hissed.

"MOM!"

"HARRY!"

Esme guarded the boy from the spell and shouted in horror as her arm caught on fire. "Mom!" Harry cried, dropping to his knees besides his fallen mother. He fumbled for his wand, glancing up to see the figure disappear into the shadows. He finally grasped the wooden instrument and pulled it out. He said a quick spell and liquid rushed out, putting the fire out and leaving her skin black and burned. Tears were streaming down his face as he tried to figure out how to help her. He looked up when he heard his name being called. Carlisle, Remus, and Sirius had just landed on the ground and were running towards him. Carlisle appeared before him much faster than his two uncles. "Dad, I don't know-"

"It's okay," Carlisle whispered. He took Esme's hand in his and kissed her knuckles. Esme smiled at him weakly. "You're both okay."

"Dad," Harry stuttered. He pointed at the burn mark on Esme's arm.

Etched in her skin was "Cullens, Beware."

~*~

Severus Snape looked as his vials and quickly put them into his bag. When he was sure he had everything, he picked his things up and flooed to the Cullen's mansion. He looked around the living room. The first thing he saw was Remus and Sirius sitting on the couch, talking quietly. Molly was standing by the door with Arthur, both restraining Ron from running upstairs. Draco was sitting in between his parents, a sad expression on his face. Hermione and Ginny were sitting on the ground by the table, busying themselves with muggle playing cards to get their minds of what happened. Neville waved shyly at his potions professor and his grandmother gave a curt nod. He looked above him and listened to Harry play a poignant melody on the piano.

"Severus," Lucius greeted.

"Where is she?"

"In Harry's room," he answered. He nodded and walked up the stairs to see her. Alice and Rosalie smiled sadly at him when they saw him.

"Where are the boys?"

"Edward is inside with them. Emmett and Jasper are downstairs, sparring," Rosalie told him.

Alice opened the door for him and he entered quietly. Esme was lying on Harry's bed with Carlisle sitting next to her. Edward was at the piano with Harry, quietly whispering to his brother. Severus cleared his throat and turned back to Esme. "This is just a healing salve for burns. It should be able to heal any creature. I'll be quite shocked if it doesn't work for you. After all," he said as he smoothed it out on the burnt part of her skin, "I was the one who perfected it."

"You don't give yourself enough credit sometimes, you know?" she told him sarcastically.

"That's a new one he's playing, isn't it?" Severus asked as, changing the subject as he took a wand out to take away the words that were carved into her skin.

Esme gave him a small smile. "Edward composed it many years ago. Harry was just starting to learn it. Don't you think he's quite good?"

"Your son is a prodigy at the piano." She nodded as she held her arm out further for Severus to tend to. "You must be proud of him."

"I really am."

Harry's next note went flat as he heard her response. "No, Harry," Edward seemed to be correcting, but there was an indefinable look on the vampire's face that said he wasn't talking about the slip of Harry's finger. Edward glanced back to look at Carlisle. The blond vampire raised a brow in question. Edward shook his hair and glared at the young human.

"What is it, Harry?" Carlisle asked him.

"Nothing," the boy finally answered after a few seconds.

"It obviously is," Edward snapped. "Stop thinking that, you little moron."

"Gee thanks," Harry said sardonically, turning back to the piano.

When he was sure that the boy wasn't looking, Edward nodded towards Esme mouthing the word 'proud.'

Esme seemed to understand him and she stared at Harry's back. "Is Albus lying, Severus, or are Harry's grades some of the top in his class?"

"He's in competition with Miss Granger for the highest rank in their year."

"How amazing," Carlisle said firmly. "We've never been more proud-"

Harry's hand curled into a fist and slammed down onto the piano keys. He gritted his teeth and his eyes snapped shut. "Proud of a stupid idiot who has the highest grades in his class and he still couldn't protect his own mother? That's what you're proud of?"

"Harry," Edward warned.

"Why would anyone be proud of that?! I'm supposed to be the savior of the wizarding world and I can't even defend my mother when someone attacks us!"

"Harry, none of this was your fault, you must believe that," Carlisle told him.

"What kind of a lie is that?! They attacked mom because of me! They were going to attack Remus, Sirius and you because of me! It's about me and you can't hide me from that because I know it already! All of you are going to get killed just for being my family!"

Esme shook her head. "Harry, it isn't your fault that you couldn't save me. Look at me! I'm fine aren't I? You can't blame yourself for not knowing that someone was going to try and hurt us."

"But it is," he said miserably.

"That's enough of your melodramatics, Cullen," Severus drawled as he finished with Esme's arm. Harry's eyes blazed as he picked up one of his piano books and threw it at Severus' back. The potions master jolted in shock and Carlisle stood in outrage as he quickly made his way to his son. He was too quick for Harry to move away in defense and the boy's eyes went wide behind his glasses when he was taken by his shoulders and shook by his father.

"Harry James Potter Cullen!" He shouted. "How dare you-"

"Carlisle, don't," Esme pleaded. She got up as quickly as she could, softly pushing Severus out of her way.

"No son of mine ever steps out of line like that! Do you hear me, young man?! Never!"

"Carlisle, you're hurting him!" Edward shouted, prying his hands away from Harry. Carlisle stepped back in surprise as he saw Edward pull Harry's shirt down to check for any marks. Sure enough, bruises were slowly developing on both his shoulders. The door opened and Alice and Rosalie were staring at the scene, stunned.

"Harry…" Carlisle whispered, horrified with himself. "Son, I'm-"

"Harry!" Severus called as the boy ran from the room, pushing his numb sisters out of the way. Severus was following him as quickly as he could. Carlisle stood in his spot, staring at his hands with disgust and anguish, as he listened to Severus call his son's name. "Harry, come back!"

"Harry, open this door!" He could hear from the basement. Harry had locked himself in the second sparring room and Emmett and Jasper were trying to help Severus without making too much damage. Edward gave Carlisle one angry glance before running down to the basement with Rosalie and Alice.

"Oh, Carlisle," Esme whispered. The man shook his head and looked down in shame.

"I wasn't thinking," he nearly stammered. "I would never hurt Harry like that. He's my son, I would never-"

"I know, darling," she told him, hugging him tightly. "I know you didn't. We're all stressed right now. It's taking a toll on everyone."

"I should be able to control myself," he protested. "I've always been able to and I let myself slip today!"

"You nearly lost the both of us," Esme said quietly. "I know you're blaming yourself as well, Carlisle, for not being there with us and Harry's guilt just furthered your anger towards yourself. You may have taken your anger out the wrong way but-"

"There are no 'buts', Esme," he said, an inconvincible tone in his voice. "What I did was wrong. I don't know how I'll fix it." A look of misery came on his face as he shook his head. "How could I have done that?"

The house was quiet now. Everyone had gone home and the children retired to their rooms, although none had to. Esme was already in the kitchen, baking brownies and cookies to make Harry feel better. Carlisle, however, was sitting at the basement stairs, listening to Harry kick his frustrations out in the training room. Harry's heart race had increased, and the rapid beating was hammering more guilt into Carlisle. "Please calm down, Carlisle," he heard Jasper say from his room. "You're making me anxious."

"Sorry, son," he muttered, staring down the stairs.

"Just talk to him," Alice encouraged. "I've seen it, haven't I? Go on, Carlisle. He won't set you on fire."

Carlisle wasn't sure if he should go down. He wanted to give Harry his space but at the same time he wanted to talk to him already. After a few minutes of hesitation, he got up, brushed the dust off the back of his pants, and began walking down the stairs. He passed the first training room door before staring at the one Harry was in. The door was locked before but he took a chance and reached out to turn the knob. From nervousness, he broke it and the sound of Harry exercising stopped. Carlisle flinched as he pushed the door, groaning when he realized he used too much strength once more and broke on of the hinges. He laughed nervously when he saw Harry staring at him, arms crossed and eyebrow raised.

"I'll get Emmett to fix that later," he joked, knowing that Emmett didn't like doing the handy work around the house.

"What do you want, dad?" Harry sighed, sitting down on the mat and resting himself.

"I… I just wanted to say that…"

Harry gave him a quiet chuckle. "Sorry? I know, dad. You didn't mean it." Carlisle sighed as he pushed the door as closed as it could be and sat next to him.

"Harry, don't make excuses for me. I was hoping you would forgive me but I was also hopeful that you wouldn't do it so easily."

"Why not?" Harry said as he allowed Carlisle to place a hand on his shoulder. "You were right. I shouldn't have let my anger and guilt control me."

"Harry, I don't know how many times I'm going to have to tell you this, but it wasn't your fault. It wasn't any of our faults. The one who is to blame is the crazy… bastard who decided to try and attack us. Your mother was only caught in the crossfire and I let my anger get a hold of me because of that." He looked at the bruises that were now visible since Harry took his shirt off. He turned his eyes downward in shame. "I'm lucky that Edward pulled me back before I injured you further. I'm sorry, son. I don't know how to make this up to you."

Harry smiled sadly as he moved closer to him. "I'm okay, dad. Look at me! More than two bruises can keep me down. In fact, it was much harder to keep Faolan and Malinda from appearing and attacking you." Carlisle laughed softly and gently rested an arm around his shoulders. Harry could see the immense pain in his eyes. "Father," he said in all seriousness. "I know that you weren't thinking straight… bloody hell, I threw a book at Severus."

"Watch that language," he said sternly. A comfortable silence fell upon them as Harry tried to think of something to say.

"Dad, humans are humans, even when they're vampires. We both felt the same way: scared, anxious, angry. I hurt someone in my confusion and so did you but… Severus understood and he forgave me. I understand you and I forgive you too."

"I'm lucky to have such an insightful son," he said. Harry couldn't help but notice the gleam of pride in Carlisle's eyes. "You must believe us when we say how proud we are of you, Harry, how proud I am to have a son like you. I don't know how I was so lucky to find you. In fact, I'm shocked that you didn't run away after I hurt you."

Harry shrugged. "You're my dad. You were bound to do something stupid sooner or later. I was just waiting for it to happen."

Carlisle's laughter echoed in the room as he pulled Harry into a hug. "We're going to find the people who did this, and they will pay."

Harry nodded before grimacing. "Dad you're kind of hurting my shoulders." Carlisle groaned and pulled back. "Oh stop that."

"I know you've forgiven me already, son, but…"

"What dad?" he said with a roll of his eyes.

"How about I buy you something new, hmm? That piano is getting pretty worn out."

Harry rolled his eyes at Carlisle's humor. He grabbed his hand and allowed Carlisle to help him up. "Very funny, dad. You don't need to bribe me."

"How about that new firebolt we saw in Diagon Alley?"

His eyes widened as they walked out of the room. "You know what… I'm not very forgiving after all. Maybe I do need that new broom."

Carlisle stopped and laughed again, allowing Harry to skip in front of him and go up the stairs first. At the top of the staircase, Carlisle raised a hand and placed it on Harry's cheek. His son's emerald eyes looked up into his. "I really do love you, Harry."

The boy groaned. "Aw, dad! Men like us aren't supposed to be sentimental to each other." Carlisle gave him a gentle smile as he turned to walk into the kitchen. "I love you too."

Carlisle glanced back and watched Harry walk up the stairs.

"Cradle robber."

His face contorted in confusion as he looked at Esme who came out of the kitchen, giggling. "Did he call me a cradle robber?"

"It's a long story, darling," she responded. "Don't worry about it."