Title: Family bonds

Summary: A small baby appears in the woods of Denali, Alaska. This young emerald eyed boy grows up in the loving embrace of the Cullen family. Voldemort has disappeared and the wizarding world is at a loss of what to do or expect next.

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or Twilight, they belong to JK Rowling and Stephenie Meyer respectively.

Thank you all sooo much for your lovely reviews and support! I really appreciate it!

Chapter 2

The little boy crouched low as he approached his prey. Eyes bright with mischief, the five year old jumped out from his hiding place and threw his arms around the solid, hard neck of his intended victim.

A startled exclamation of Anthony Cullen! had the little one in peals of laughter as he hung like a limpet from his sister's shoulders. It was always an accomplishment for Anthony when he managed to surprise Ally as she just always seemed to know when someone was coming or if something bad was going to happen.

He quickly found himself placed on his sister's hip as she grabbed hold of his arm, supported his leg and then pulled him from her back onto her hip.

Squirming as fingers tickled his sides, Anthony Cullen, the youngest member of the family cried out amidst helpless laughter in the hope that someone would come to his aid.

He knew that someone would come if he called any name in his family, even though he wasn't in any danger and even though Ally wasn't hurting him, he knew that one single word, even just a whisper, would have most of his family at his side within seconds. He didn't quite know why his family was always so fast or how on earth they managed to always hear when he was trying to tell someone a secret, but they did. Always.

Okay, not always. If he wanted to sneak up to Ally or Eddy or anyone in his family really and he concentrated really hard on being as silent as possible and wishing that no one would know he was coming, then they didn't hear him. Maybe they just humoured him and played into his hands but whatever the reason was, Anthony was grateful for their consideration.

Giving one last helpless squeal, Anthony gasped out Eddy and as he knew would happen, his saviour was there and lifted him away from his evil sister. Wrapping his small arms around his brother, Anthony stuck his tongue out at Ally and snuggled closer to his brother.

While Anthony knew that his family was different and would almost always stop him from falling or scratching himself or even bumping his head, he also knew that if he really wanted to, he could get absolutely anything from any of them.

He did not know how or why it happened that he came to live with the Cullens. He knew that he was not their real brother and family but that did not matter. They all loved him more than anything in the world and unfortunately for them, Anthony knew this and he knew that he could get away with things that most of the kids in his class would never be able to from their families.

Sitting on his very favourite brother's lap, Anthony leaned his head back on the strong shoulder as Eddy started playing something on the piano.

It was a very soothing tune and after a busy day of school and planning mischief, Anthony fell asleep to the soft hum of his brother and sister's talking.

Edward gave his sister a small smile as the little one fell asleep on his lap. He quickly finished the song he was playing and picked up his little brother to lay him down on the sofa.

It had been almost four years since Anthony had come into their lives and the whole Cullen family would agree that it had been the best four years of their immortal lives. When the baby had first arrived at their house about three weeks after Rosalie and Emmett found him in the forest, everyone had been on edge about having a human living with them.

Jasper especially had a hard time getting used to having the little one there and although his control had snapped once or twice, someone was always close by to stop him before he could harm the newest member of their family.

Carlisle had pulled Edward aside as soon as the little one arrived and asked him to see if he could find out where the baby came from and who left him in that forest. That was the first time that any of them realised that their newest addition to the family was not quite normal.

Edward could read the baby just as easily as any other human but the things he saw in his mind was definitely not normal. People waving sticks around that caused the dishes to wash themselves, those same sticks could do a number of other things and after talking it through with the rest of his family, the vampires all concluded that, no matter how insane it sounded, their newest brother's birth family could do magic.

It was a very emotional evening as Edward told the rest of his family that the little one's mother died right before his eyes and although he was not certain, from what Edward could read in his mind, the father had also died in another part of the house.

After much consideration, Carlisle decided that it would be best if they did not use the little one's birth name, Harry James Potter, but rather distanced themselves from his old life in the hope to better protect him if someone was still after the Potter family.

The things that Edward saw in the little one's mind put little doubt to the fact that against these humans, the Cullen family were easy prey.

Anthony Cullen was named such after spending one day with the Cullen family and refusing to leave Edward's side. No one, not even Esme could get the little one to remove his locked grip from Edward's body and so they named the little one Edward's shadow in a joking manner only for Rosalie to then say that since he was a second skin on Edward he should get his second name.

Edward forced his mind back to the present and quickly pulled a blanket from the hall cupboard to cover Anthony with.

Alice playfully scolded Edward for his earlier actions of "rescuing" Anthony from her clutches and although Edward knew it was true, he could not help the fact that their little brother had him firmly wrapped around his little fingers.

The only person in their family who could even remotely deny those expressive green eyes was Alice and Edward thought that it might be because she herself had a very mischievous streak. Rosalie and Esme doted on Anthony and the little boy had never been hungry or thirsty in his life. Sometimes he would get so fed up with their hovering that he refused to come out of Edward's room but they still managed to persuade Edward to take the plates and cups and give whatever was in them to Anthony.

There was also not a child in the world who was more loved than Anthony. The whole family had grown to love him and although Edward did not have the love of a mate, he was certain that what he felt for Anthony would surpass even that of his love for his life partner. He could see it in the eyes of the others as well, as long as this little one was human and defenceless, they would do anything and everything within their power to protect him.

These thoughts brought Edward to a question which had been growing in his mind for a few days and he turned to Alice to voice his suspicions.

"Have you noticed anything strange happening recently whenever Anthony is involved?"

At his sister's confused look, Edward elaborated.

"It has happened a few times now that he has managed to sneak up on me without a sound and not a whisper in his mind that alerted me."

All confusion cleared on Alice's face and she nodded enthusiastically.

"Yes! That is exactly what happened this afternoon, which is why I was tickling the little miscreant! He sneaked up on me and gave me the fright of my life. And you know how difficult it is to sneak up on me, even more so than with most vampires."

They fell silent to think over the happenings and as the thought formed in Alice's mind, Edward said it out loud. "Magic."

Never before had Anthony shown the same level of power that Edward read in his mind that very first night. They had all assumed that the magic sticks were necessary for those who wielded magic but now they were confronted with a new possibility.

Rushing to the phone, Edward called Carlisle and without giving too much away, he requested that his sire return home as soon as possible. Esme came into the room, having heard Edward's side of the conversation and Alice explained their thoughts and feelings on the matter.

When Carlisle arrived home forty five minutes later, the whole family was gathered and they discussed the possible repercussions of what they had found. There wasn't really any greater danger to Anthony or themselves now that they could see that Anthony could do magic without the stick but they all thought it best to not just leave it as it was.

Emmett was the one who came up with the perfect solution. They would tell Anthony what they knew of magic and of his birth parents and then they would encourage him to do the impossible. Since they themselves did not know the limits of magic, they thought it best to put no limits forth and to let their little one find his own limits and comforts.

It was quite a sight to see as the seven vampires surrounded the little human and waited for him to wake up with barely contained enthusiasm.

Anthony Cullen opened his eyes and licked his lips only to realise that the ice cream he had been eating just a minute ago was not there and had only been in his dreams. With a pout, he sat up and gave a small scream of fright as he came face to face with seven expectant faces.

"It wasn't me!" was the first words that left his mouth and as his mother gave him a suspicious look, Anthony realised that that was the wrong thing to say.

"Er, what's going on?" there, that was better.

Emmett laughed at him and Anthony pouted even more before sticking his tongue out at his brother. His father lifted him onto his lap and as everyone took a seat around them, Anthony realised that something big must have happened.

Even knowing that he was not their child or brother by birth, it still hurt to hear it from his father's mouth and as the explanation unfolded, Anthony sniffled and clung with all his might to the solid strength wrapped around him.

The explanations of how he had been able to sneak up on them recently left Anthony speechless. He had magic?! It was good to know that they had not just been humouring him and that it had really been his own stealth that allowed him to sneak up on them, but magic?

This really threw him and Anthony could not form any kind of response. His father then explained their idea and Anthony clapped enthusiastically as he suddenly and forcefully said "Cookie!"

Disappointment unlike any other filled him as absolutely nothing happened. Tears filled his eyes but before they could fall, Eddy knelt down in front of him and encouraged him to not give up and to try something else.

For what felt like hours and hours to little Anthony, he called out and tried all kinds of different things but nothing worked. His family had decided that maybe the fact that they were all swarming around him was distracting him and in the end only Eddy and Ally stayed with him as he tried again and again.

Frustration unlike any other filled him as he once again called for a glass of Orange juice and nothing happened.

Screaming at everyone that he just wanted to be left alone! Anthony suddenly felt a tightening all around him, as if he was stuck in one of those playground drums and then his family and his house was gone and he was falling on his bum in the middle of some woods.

Sobbing and panicking at the fact that his family was missing, Anthony wishes with all his might that Eddy would find him and pick him up and just hold him tight for the rest of his life. He promised he would never ever sneak up on any of them again if they would just come and get him!

And suddenly Eddy was there, as well as the rest of his family and Anthony clung to his brother's shoulders and sobbed his little heart out.

Soon he was back home and his panicked mind had settled a bit. His father then asked him exactly what happened and as he thought about it, Anthony realised that when he had wished really hard that his family would just leave him alone, he had thought about his favourite spot in the woods and he really, really wanted to be there and then he was.

Eddy wrapped his arms around him tighter and Anthony listened closely as his brother encouraged him to concentrate on that same feeling, that same wish but this time to wish for his glass of orange juice.

It took a little time, but after the third try, Anthony suddenly found his lap drenched in orange juice and although it was really uncomfortable and wet, he was just so happy that he had done it! He had done magic!

His family all praised him and kissed his cheek and Esme picked him up to quickly get him in the bath and then ready for dinner and bed.

It was with a contented sigh that Anthony snuggled into his bed covers that night, thinking of all the mischief he could now accomplish with his magic!

End Chapter 2

Most people loved the baby pov in the previous chapter and although someone expressed their dislike of it, I'm glad that they kept reading and is willing to give this fic a try.

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