A/N: As a treat for getting to 100 reviews (holy cow, guys, 100 reviews for three chapters?) I'm uploading a second chapter today! C: This one's longer than the other, but it's a vital chapter - I hope you all know I wasn't planning on dragging out the story while Harry wasn't with Paul. xD

DISCLAIMER: Don't own anything you recognize. C:

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The New Dawning

Chapter Four: The Bleached Forest.

"Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear, not absence of fear." ~Mark Twain

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December 12, 1999

Dear Harry,

I hear you're doing better and they may let you out of the hospital soon. We all miss you and hate seeing you like this, but it's really for your own good. It scared us so much when Ron got the owl that you were admitted into the hospital, because we were sure someone had attacked you.

I'm sorry we haven't written or visited, but the Healers were positive that if we did, you may rebound. Now that you're stable again, we're able to write, but we still can't visit yet.

Molly says you can stay at the Burrow when you're discharged, or you can stay with us. It's not recommended that you live on your own...but nobody can really stop you, I suppose.

Hope to hear from you soon,

Love Hermione.

–

December 17, 1999

Harry,

Hermione thought you should know that Bellatrix Lestrange has escaped from Azkaban. They're reinforcing the wards on your hospital room and adding extra guards now.

Ron

–

December 24, 1999

Dear Harry,

I can't believe they won't let you come home for Christmas! That's idiocy if you ask me. Spending time with your loved ones will do you good! It's as if you're a child who's done something naughty.

We've all sent along our Christmas presents for you, and I've been asked to pass along the thanks for the presents delivered to us – I assume you ordered them by owl order, and we cannot wait to see what they are!

Merry Christmas, Harry.

With love,

Hermione.

–

December 31, 1999

Harry was curled up on his side in the hospital cot, eyes big and unseeing. There was a constant, sharp pain in his chest, something that made him wince every once in a while, but the Healers had said there was nothing wrong with him. He hated this place, where there was either everything wrong or nothing wrong or a pain in his heart was related to mental problems caused by Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, which he apparently didn't have but they always brought up anyways.

He'd contemplated running away many times since he'd gotten into this place, but had managed to convince himself that it was for his own good. Now, it had been months and he'd gained several pounds – enough to cover his ribs near-completely. He was ready to go home. He was even sleeping well again! But ever since Bellatrix had escaped Azkaban, they'd had guards around his room twenty-four hours a day. They'd also taken his wand away, which meant he couldn't fight them. He could always shift into his Animagi form, which he hadn't liked using when he was underweight because the feeling of his animal skin clinging to him made it really uncomfortable. But he was registered, so he'd never get past the guards that way, either. He'd not really liked his Animagi form much at all, actually, because you can't use magic in that form. And if you're too injured, you sometimes switch forms from your Animagi form to your human one.

His Healer slipped in with a tray of food for him. That meant it was lunchtime, and his Healer was going to sit and watch Harry eat every single crumb before leaving.

Harry began picking at the food, nibbling. He could take as long as he liked, so long as it was all gone when he was finished. Once he'd taken four hours to eat a whole meal, but those days were over now – he'd realized that the longer he dragged it out, the longer he'd be in this place. It was hard, though, swallowing, because of that pain in his chest. He didn't bring it up.

"Healer," Harry mumbled when his sandwich was half gone. "If you don't let me leave by midnight, I'm going to leave on my own."

He'd said things like this before, but this time he was being honest. The Healer could tell it by his tone, and nodded slowly. "I don't recommend it," Healer Jones sighed. "But I suppose it is time for you to get back to reality. I'll have your wand for you when you're finished with lunch, and then you're free to go."

This is how Harry found himself outside the Burrow, standing in shin-deep snow, at little past one in the afternoon. He was a bit unsteady, mostly because he was freezing, somewhat because the pain now spread to his thighs, but otherwise he was well. His clothing was only a bit too big now, but Harry knew somehow that he'd never be the same weight he was before.

He knocked three times before opening the door. He had free access to the Burrow now, but he always knocked anyways, because it was habit. The people in the sitting room, which was across from the door, looked up.

And then he was passed gently from one pair of arms to the next, as if he was a delicate doll, and tentatively talked to like he'd be back in the hospital if they mentioned the word 'food' or anything edible, and there was an acidic feeling in the pit of his stomach as Molly mentioned lunch was done and he said he'd already ate and nobody believed him.

This wasn't what he wanted.

They were acting like it was his fault that he couldn't eat before, because he saw gruesome images of things nobody should ever think. They were acting like he was a feather that would bend and break and be swept away by the wind.

It irked him.

He wanted out, immediately.

But he put up with it for another two or three hours, nibbling on a blueberry crumpet and drinking some tea so that they'd all be satisfied.

Then he Flooed to Andromeda's house, where he was much happier to be coddled and cried over instead of having the gentle shoulder pats and sympathetic looks at the Burrow. His godson was also there, nearly three and very happy to sit in his godfather's lap, saying, "Unc' Howie! No more pokies!"

January 1, 2000

He woke up on the couch the next morning, curled up with Teddy. They'd apparently fallen asleep there last night after Andromeda had fed them a light dinner of noodles and unseasoned beef – it was rather delicious after the hospital food and Harry knew that Andromeda had been pleased to see him scarf it down like he'd never eaten before in his life. The pain was reduced to just soreness, but it was still there.

Over breakfast, Andromeda brought up the topic of Teddy's guardianship.

"Tonks and Remus wanted you to watch over him if anything happened to them," Andromeda began. "I took him because he was my grandchild and ...well, honestly, you weren't well. But now I think you should take him."

Harry shook his head back and forth, quickly, his appetite immediately ruined. He didn't know how to care for a child, and he didn't dare try and screw up. "Andy, you've done a great job. I can barely keep myself alive, what makes you think I can care for a toddler?"

She glared at him, and he winced a little, taking a bit of his sausage in order to refrain from looking at her. "Harry James," she said, and you know it's worse when they only say your first two names. "You're healthy now. You're eating, see? And I didn't even have to remind you. You can do it. And I'm too old to be taking care of a child. I've owl-ordered the guardianship forms, they'll be here by noon. And you'll sign them, you hear me?"

– – –

December 17, 1999

The sound of eight giant wolves crashing through the forest on the tail of something so sweet it burns like bleach is amazingly loud. Branches broke, digging into thick skin and creating gashes that bled for only a minute before healing over and barely scarring. Fur was pulled out, leaving bald spots but only for several minutes and then they were fur-covered again. One set of eyes saw through eight sets as their minds were connected, and it was dizzying and confusing but oh-so-clear at the same time.

Paul could see what was in front of him, but because his packmates were running with him, he knew from their minds what everything in front of them looked like. There was something in La Push that shouldn't be there.

More awareness entered his mind as Jacob shifted miles away, sending up a short howl as was protocol before taking off after the rogue vampire. Collin, whose mother didn't know he was a wolf, shifted seconds later – having had to practically sneak out – and then all ten of the wolves were there, practically unstoppable.

Two years ago, when the Volturi had targeted Jacob's Renesmee, there more and more wolves shifted. There had been a good forty of them as every male child with the gene shifted. But once the scents of the vampires sifted away, the children had lost the ability to shift and didn't even remember they'd ever had it. It was quite weird, but maybe only ten of them were needed to defend the reservation.

To the right, Jacob thought, skidding to a halt and changing directions. Something's off.

He was still a few miles away, but that didn't matter. They could all smell what he was smelling because of their mind connection.

It was like gallons upon gallons of bleach had been poured over an entire section of the forest – a somewhat large clearing. But – that would mean that dozens of vampires were in that clearing, and that simply wasn't possible. There'd been someone patrolling these woods every hour for the past six months.

It wasn't possible.

But, as Jacob reared back in shock and fear, they all saw the impossible: a clearing full of pale, beautiful bodies surrounding a two figures. One was male, and a vampire – the other was female, cloaked in a yellow-orange shimmer, but quite obviously human. As Jacob watched, one of the vampires lunged at the woman, but when he touched the shimmering shield, his fingers were singed off, smoking, and he screamed so loudly.

Holy mother of god. Leah thought. That... is one powerful human.

Thank you, captain obvious, Jacob sneered. Just-just give me a second ..to count..

It was more than they'd ever seen together at any one second save for when the Volturi was there, and it was amazing but there was no doubt about it:

None of these vampires were newborns.

Fifty-four, Jacob gasped. Oh god. That is...not good.

Thank you, captain obvious, Leah snarled back.

Contact the Cullens. Sam ordered Jacob. We need a neutral meeting to figure out what to do.

January 1, 2000

The Cullen house was packed. No pun intended – the whole pack, plus several newly-shifted members, and the Cullen family were all stuffed into the living room, debating what they were going to do. Esme was somewhat delighted to have someone to cook for again, because Renesmee didn't eat much human food.

"How did you not notice them all coming in?" Sam asked Alice as Carlisle asked Sam.

The room went quiet for a moment before Alice told Sam, "I don't see everything, you know, and most of La Push is cloudy to my vision because of how many of you run around there."

Sam nodded slowly, and then answered Carlisle. "I honestly have no idea how we didn't see it. We have at least two of us running patrol every hour of the day – but today is the first day that they're there, and we only caught the scent of one single vampire and that one led us to the rest."

"It was crazy," Jacob confirmed. "Like they were all there, but that was the only place they'd been. There were no trails from them walking, nothing on the trees, nothing. And then that human – oh god – she looked like she was glowing yellow or orange, and when one of the vampires tried to get at her, the glow seared his fingers off. It was ...crazy," he repeated.

Emmett blanched. "It was a human who did that?"

"Well, her heart was beating and she sure acted a lot like a human," Sam nodded. "But...it was weird. She was insane or something, she just looked wild. Like she wasn't even in her own head and didn't care what was happening."

"I've never heard of anything like that," Edward cocked an eyebrow, obviously reading everyone's minds. He looked torn between believing and calling them all liars. "That's incredibly suspicious, if you ask me. They can't all have just appeared there like magic, can they have?"

But that was exactly what had happened, even if none of them knew it yet.

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A/N: Review, por favor? C:

QUESTION: What's your favorite HP fanfiction? Link me to it using the story number, or just tell me the name and author of it. It can be any rating, slash or het (though I prefer slash). C: