Renesmee Cullen and the Volturi's Protection
Chapter 2: To Hogwarts Again
Renesmee waited in the large sitting room with her parents, Mr. Giles, Willow, Xander Harris, Dawn Summers and Buffy, the Slayer. All were sitting around on the furniture waiting for Angel and Spike to get there. She jumped up and opened the door to see the two vampires standing on the porch. "Why aren't you guys coming in?" she asked curiously.
"We, uh, need an invitation," Angel said with a small smile. "Could you...?"
"Oh, right. Come in." said Renesmee and the two vampires walked into the house and sat down. "So, what happened? You didn't give out any details except that two Molochs attacked and you," she pointed at Angel, "got one of them so angry that it turned into a bear! I need more information!"
Spike paced the room while he gave her the longer version of the attack. "We were just walking the streets like vamps usually do and Angel sensed two people behind us, so we looked and there they were, the Moloch blokes in their true forms. We vamped out, fought them, then Angel had to say the wrong thing at the wrong time, then one of them turned into a bear."
"No, you asked if we'd look like the Molochs in their true form in later years, and I said you would but I wouldn't." Angel corrected Spike with obvious annoyance. "In case you haven't noticed, they ran." Renesmee glanced at Buffy, who shook her head. "What?"
"A vampire like the Molochs running from a fight like that means an apocalypse is coming soon, and we have to be ready for it." Buffy said standing up now. "I can't stop an apocalypse while teaching DADA classes at Hogwarts and with Dawn teaching, too, that makes it really hard." Dawn nodded and smiled. "I got the memo saying that these Volturi guys are going to help the Aurors protect Hogwarts and...what's wrong with that?" Edward and Bella growled at her mention of the Volturi and Bella told her what happened in 2007. "Oh, yeah, that would explain why you're so angry when I say their name. What I didn't get was a list of names of who would be there."
Alice came in with a tray of cakes for Renesmee and a tall glass of milk. "I had a vision about the Volturi. Jane, Alec, Afton, Benjamin, Tia, Demitri and Felix are all going to be there along with the Aurors Harry Potter, Ron Weasley and their team. I'm not sure how this is going to play out, but the Volturi are intent on keeping the Molochs out of the castle."
"Well," Bella said, "at least they're being protective this time. Not like when they heard some information about our daughter from another vampire and tried to kill her. As long as they leave my family alone, I won't kick their butts." Edward, though he looked very angry with the Volturi being at Hogwarts, laughed at her words. Bella grinned, then looked to Buffy with her amber eyes. "I didn't know you were teaching at Hogwarts this year?"
"Yeah, Willow, Dawn and I are teaching." Buffy explained. "I was asked by Professors Lupin and McGonagall the day before Mr. Potter's birthday and I gladly accepted the offer. I don't know much about magic or what creatures the students learn about, but I do know how to defend against the dark arts, so I'll make the class fun this year. Willow's teaching Charms class and Dawn is teaching Muggle Studies class and, since she was brought up as a Muggle during the time we fought Glory back in Sunnydale, she accepted the offer to teach about our heritage. Of course, there is a lot to learn..."
"And the textbooks needed for the class are less accurate than Spike on a good day, so I'll teach the kids what I know about Muggles and how we-they-live." Dawn said with a proud smile. "I have a lot of things I'm bringing to Hogwarts. None are electronic, so we won't worry about that. It's mostly your basic stuff. Muggle posters and pictures, clothing, board games, you get the idea." Bella nodded. "Willow has been really studying her charms and she's got a whole lot down now. Just last night, we shared a room and performed the Arresto Momentum charm on a vase I accidentally dropped at the Leaky Cauldron. The vase slowed down and I caught it."
"Well, I gotta get the hang of using my wand now," Willow said shrugging. "It's a huge change from lighting candles and using sand to make a circle around someone to cast a spell to waving a wand and muttering a Latin phrase." Buffy nodded. "What spells did you do?"
Buffy shook her head. "I didn't do much spellwork for the class. Professor McGonagall gave me the class syllabus and it said something about Cornish Pixies. When I asked her how I, the Slayer, was supposed to catch some of them, McGonagall informed me that she'd have some in my office when we get to Hogwarts. By the way," Buffy looked at Renesmee, "who's going to be your new History of Magic teacher this year?"
"I don't know," Renesmee answered honestly, "but I hope they can hold off a Moloch vampire, thats for sure." She suddenly had an idea. "Angel!"
"Uh-oh," the older vampire muttered. "I'm gonna hate this, aren't I?"
"You should apply for History of Magic teacher!" said Renesmee smiling. Angel's eyes widened and was now glad that he couldn't breathe. "Oh, come on! You know a lot about magic, right?" He shrugged. "Okay, even if you don't know too much about all of the history, maybe we, the students, can learn as much from you as you can learn from us?"
"That's a great idea, Renesmee," Buffy said and giggled at Angel's low groan. "Angel would make a great teacher. In fact, he's great with kids!" This time, Angel had his own say.
"No!" he said firmly. "I am not going to teach History of Magic. I'm not the type to teach others." He looked to Spike and said, "Maybe Spike will do it?" Spike didn't refuse, nor did he accept the offer. "Fine, if no one wants to take the job, I'm sure someone will take on teaching the class." Bella and Edward decided to go for a walk through town and Renesmee felt she should go, too, to get out of the house. "I'll go, too. I could use some fresh air." Even Jacob said he'd go. So, together, the five of them headed off for their walk across town.
Jacob, while walking with the Cullens and Angel, was deep in thought. He had gone to Harry Potter's birthday celebration at Grimmauld Place and had accidentally wandered into a large room with a tapestry covering every wall. This tapestry was the Black family tree and Jake saw his almost all of his family from the Quileute tribe on their along with himself. Seeing the name 'Sirius' on the tapestry, Jacob decided to ask Harry about the name and learned that Sirius was a pure-blood wizard who lay down his life for Harry back in the spring of 1996 during the battle in the Department of Mysteries. He was so deep in thought that he barely heard Renesmee speaking to him and only snapped out of his reverie when she tugged on his arm. "What's up?" he asked slightly dazed.
"See that woman talking with Angel?" she whispered. Jake noticed Angel talking with a brunette woman wearing a black tanktop and tight black pants. "That's another Slayer."
"She's cute," he said smiling and walked over to the woman. "Hi. I'm Jacob Black and this is my niece, Renesmee." The woman shook hands with both of them and introduced herself as Faith Lehane. "Faith. I like that name."
"Listen up, J." Faith said frowning. "My name may be nice, but I'm only nice if you're nice to me. Of course, I'm now renouncing my evil ways and turning to good, so here I am." Buffy stopped beside Renesmee and Jacob and placed a hand on her hip though she was grinning a little. "Hey, B, how are you?"
"I'm good. You?" Buffy said.
"Five by five." Faith answered in her cool-girl tone. "So, what's the sitch this time? I got word from the Watcher's Council that there are vampires running amok." Jasper explained the situation beginning with what happened at the beginning of last year and ending to what happened earlier. "Molochs, eh? Yeah, I had a run-in with them in Ontario last month. The Moloch that attacked really took the wind out of me." She cocked her head a little and her eyes rested on Renesmee. "It mentioned a girl with a blade shard from the Sword of Angels. That would be you, right?" Renesmee gave a noncomittal jerk of the head. "What happened to the shard?"
"I have it," Angel said proudly. "Renesmee entrusted me with it because of the Moloch that killed her original History of Magic teacher." Faith nodded. "The other shards are...we don't know where they are at the moment, but we're looking for them so the Sword of Angels can be put together and we can stop the three bloodlines from eradicating humanity."
"So, we just have to find the other Shards, put them together and we can defeat this threat?" Buffy said skeptically, "Something doesn't seem right about all of this." Angel said nothing but went to his room to pack some of his favorite clothes - his blood-red shirt, two or three black overcoats and a few pairs of pants - into his trunk along with a dozen packets of blood, and returned to the sitting room. "All right, let's get going. I have to take the Floo Network to school, so you guys will meet us there. Angel, would you mind coming with me by Floo? I'll give you the rundown on my lesson plans for the year."
"All right," Angel said nodding, "but what about the Aurors and the Volturi? Won't they be checking everyone?" Buffy didn't say anything as she grabbed a handful of glittering powder, stepped into the fireplace and said her destination clearly as soon as Angel was by her side. They vanished with a roar of green fire leaving Renesmee staring at the fireplace.
"Let's go to Diagon Alley and get your school supplies, honey," Bella said trying to get Renesmee out of the area for a while. "Maybe we'll see Scorpius there." Renesmee nodded and followed her parents to the car where they drove to Charing Cross Road, entered the Leaky Cauldron from the Muggle entrance and headed into the back to the entrance to Diagon Alley. After entering the twisted, cobbled street, Bella took her to Madam Malkin's to buy a new set of robes, the apothecary, Eeylops' Owl Emporium for owl treats and then to the other shops needed for her other supplies, then they returned home.
Renesmee was more than ready for her return to Hogwarts and she made it known as soon as she was downstairs. She drained the mug of hot blood Spike left on the table for her to drink and ate some toast before grabbing her school trunk, her owl, and everything else she needed for her second year at school and went, once more, with her parents and Spike - who ran through the entrance with his hood covering his head - into King's Cross Station, and through the barrier between platforms nine and ten. The Hogwarts Express was waiting for them and she found a seat next to Scorpius, Albus and Rose once more. "Hi," she greeted her three friends happily. "Are you guys ready for another year?"
"As long as it doesn't involve me being under the influence of a vampire, yes." Albus said uncertainly. The train started to gather speed and they were off. Through the windows in their compartment door, Renesmee saw Angel and Spike patrolling the corridors. "Takes his job seriously, doesn't he?" Albus asked her as he too watched the vampires walk down the corridors. Renesmee nodded and sat back down in her seat. "Y'know, Dad told me this morning that his department at the Ministry's really having a hard time with the Moloch attack on Angel and Spike the other day. Aunt Hermione's got everyone in the Beast section of her department working with the Aurors and Minister Shacklebolt's getting letters everyday requesting he do something about the Molochs."
"Well, I'm sure he'll do something, Al," Renesmee assured him. They were empty words, but Renesmee had faith in the Ministry of Magic, not only because Harry Potter was one of the most respected Aurors in the Ministry, but because they were very welcoming to vampires. "Meanwhile, Professor Summers and everyone in her gang are working very hard with the Ministry of Magic these days, though I'm not exactly sure what she has in mind to teach us this year besides the usual practical lessons and spells." She looked through her leather school bag and saw nothing unusual in there besides the vast amount of blood packets Spike packed for her and her pajamas she bought at a clothing store in London after she got back from Hogwarts.
The compartment door opened and Angel and Spike sat down. Angel sat next to Renesmee and Spike sat next to Albus, who scooted over. "All is calm in the corridors," Angel reported, "but the prefects were a little disappointed when we took over their jobs." He chuckled for a moment then watched as the old witch pushing the trolley of sweets came around. Angel paid for everything the kids asked the witch for and watched them eat the sweets ravenously. "Hungry?" he asked Scorpius who just walked in after the witch left. Scorpius nodded as he ripped off a Drooble's Best Blowing Gum wrapper and popped it in his mouth.
Renesmee was not used to riding in carriages pulled by Thestrals, skeletal black horses with bat-like who were invisible to those who have not witnessed a death. Renesmee could see them because she witnessed Professor Macmillan's dead body in the History of Magic classroom. The carriage pulled up to the gates and the students made their way into the castle and finally into the Great Hall. Professor McGonagall, the Headmistress, stood up as the new first years came in with Hagrid and, once the Sorting was finished, tapped her goblet with a spoon. Once everyone was silent, she stood up again. "Welcome to another year of Hogwarts!" she called to the whole student body, her arms spread as if to hug them all. "I am proud to announce some new staff appointments this year. First is our new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, Professor Buffy Summers who has agreed to take the post and she promises a very educational and fun class for everyone. Please welcome Professor Willow Rosenberg who will be taking Charms classes since Professor Flitwick has retired, Professor Dawn Summers will be teaching Muggle Studies and Professor Faith Lehane will be taking History of Magic." Buffy stood up, performed the voice-magnifying spell and spoke to everyone, her voice clear and loud.
"Hi, everyone," she said smiling, "I'm new to the teaching thing, so just bare with me, okay?" Everyone laughed a little and she continued, looking serious as she spoke again. "Now, since there are two Professor Summers in the school, I want you to call me Buffy instead of Professor Summers so you don't mix us up." McGonagall smiled as Buffy sat back down in her seat.
"Thank you, Buffy," said McGonagall, "and, as always, we wish you good luck." Buffy grinned and started talking to Professor Longbottom, who was looking a little worse for wear. His robes were ripped and there were quite a few deep gashes on his face and hands. "As usual, Mr. Filch has asked me to remind everyone that a list of items banned in school has been attached to his office door. The list includes Fanged Frisbees and a large number of items." Seeing the bored looks on everyone's faces, she sighed and finished with, "Good night, everyone!" and the food appeared on the golden plates on the four House tables.
Later in the Gryffindor common room, Renesmee, Albus, Angel and Rose took a seat in front of the fireplace. "I wonder what Buffy's class is going to be like this year?" Albus said once they were all sitting down. "Any ideas, Angel?"
"Well," Angel said smiling, "knowing Buffy it's going to be something really interesting." He took a swig of pig's blood out of a hip flask he bought in London and capped it again before placing it in his pocket once more. "Buffy is a gifted woman and the longest-living Vampire Slayer to ever live past their eighteenth birthday...also she died twice." Renesmee looked at her protector knowingly but the others were confused. "The first time she died was when The Master, a very powerful and ancient vampire, leader of the Order of Aurelius, bit her and threw her into a pond where she drowned and the second time was when she jumped into a portal to make sure her sister didn't do it first."
"Buffy's really nice, too," Renesmee said. "I met her a few days ago and really got to know everyone in the Scooby gang, which is what she and her friends called themselves during their time in Sunnydale. Professor Rosenberg started out as a normal girl during her sophomore year of high school but got into sorcery in her junior year and kept going throughout her life, Xander Harris, another of Buffy's friends, turned out to be quite handy with repairs and planning and Giles...well, he kept up the job as Watcher even when he got sacked."
"Yeah," said Angel, "and he did try to kill me a few times due to the fact I tortured him and killed his girlfriend when I was Angelus." This caught everyone's attention, except for Renesmee who already knew about Angelus, so Angel elaborated on what he meant. "About three-hundred years ago, I was cursed with a soul by a coven of Gypsies because I killed one of them. After Buffy and I became very close, she gave me one moment of true happiness and I lost my soul, leaving me to be Angelus, a very evil and sadistic vampire. Another Gypsy named Jenny Calendar, a techno-pagan, translated the curse but I destroyed her computer. Unfortunately for my evil side, I didn't know that she had saved it on a disk which Willow found after I killed Jenny.
I was fighting Buffy in front of a stone demon called The Judge when Willow finally recited the curse and I got my soul back. Buffy stabbed me in the heart with a sword and sent me to a hell dimension so I would endure a thousand years worth of torture. I came back less than I am now...I came back an animal." He sighed and took another swig of blood. "With Buffy here in Hogwarts, it's going to be very hard to control my feelings for her and I know for a fact that it's going to be just as hard for her as well."
"Don't worry, mate," Albus said firmly, "we'll make sure nothing happens." Angel patted him on the shoulder. "Well, good-night, Angel. We have classes tomorrow and I think our first one is with Buffy." Angel bade everyone good night and headed off to the dungeons to his own room there.
The next morning, Renesmee dressed quickly into her school robes and headed down to breakfast before anyone else could get there. Scorpius was sitting with a few of his friends at the Slytherin table muttering to them. One of the boys looked at Renesmee and greeted her at the doors. "Morning, Cullen," he said as polite as he could. "Shame security's so tight these days, isn't it?"
"Yes," Renesmee said nodding, "but that doesn't mean we can't go about or normal activities, Warrington." Warrington, the son of an old Quidditch player for the Slytherin team when Harry Potter was attending school, gave a nod and walked out of the Great Hall as Albus and Rose came in followed by Professor Finnigan. "Good morning, Professor. Is there something I can help you with?"
Professor Finnigan handed her a slip of parchment and said, "Harry Potter tells me you've been wanting to try out of the Gryffindor Quidditch team, so I talked to the captain and he said you could try out. The trials are this Saturday after lunch." Renesmee took the slip of parchment and slid it into her school bag. "Oh, and I want to wish you a happy birthday early since your birthday's coming up in about nine days time."
"Thank you," Renesmee said smiling and Professor Finnigan went to his seat at the staff table where Buffy, Dawn and Faith were sitting near Hagrid who joined their conversation and was laughing heartily. "Buffy, Dawn and Faith are getting along with Hagrid, it looks like." Renesmee noted. Albus and Rose glanced up at the staff table and grinned. The bell rang fifteen minutes later and everyone got up to get their schedules for the first term from the Head of House. Professor Finnigan handed out the schedules and Renesmee's smile widened when she noticed that Buffy's class was first on the list. "Ooh, we got Buffy first!" she said excitedly. "Come on, let's go find out what she's got planned for the first day!" Albus and Rose followed her up to the third floor and up the spiral staircase leading to the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom.
Buffy was standing at the top of the staircase leading to the teacher's office when the Gryffindors and Slytherins came in. "Good morning, everyone," she said smiling at them. "Today, you will be learning the many forms of hand-to-hand combat, where they originated from, what they are used for and how to apply them to your lives." The classroom was silent except for the sounds of quills scratching on parchment as the students took notes. "The first form is called Karate. Has anyone heard of it?" Rose raised her hand. "Yes, Miss Weasley?"
"Karate is a fighting style used mostly for defense." Rose said automatically. "This style teaches discipline of mind, body and spirit."
"Ten points to Gryffindor, Miss Weasley," Buffy said nodding. "Anyone have anything to add to it?" When nobody answered, she sat on the edge of the teacher's desk. "Good. I gave you the first fighting style, but can anyone tell me another one?" To everyone's surprise, Scorpius Malfoy raised his hand and stood up.
"There's Kung-Fu, ma'am." he said confidently. "Kung-Fu is mostly like Karate except for the movements. Karate has sharp jabs, kicks, sweeps and punches, but Kung-Fu is more graceful." Buffy gave Slytherin ten points and he sat down.
"That's correct," she said. "I don't like to brag, but I've used Karate and Kung-Fu when fighting vampires. In fact, one of the hardest vampires that I've fought is actually my assistant in this class. Spike, come out." Spike entered the classroom from her office and waved. "I shouldn't be teaching you about vampires until third year but seeing as a whole army of Moloch vampires want to attack Hogwarts, I think now's as good a time as any, don't you?" Everyone nodded and murmured their agreement. "There are different breeds of vampires. You get your normal vampires who can be killed by direct sunlight, fire, holy water, decaptiation and a stake to the heart, but there are two other breeds: the Fallen Angels, who can shift into animal, human and their natural forms, and vampires like the Volturi who have special abilities.
"All vampires, however, have super-speed, super-strength, enhanced smell and sight." Again, all that was heard in the classroom were the students writing down notes on their parchment. "Vampires like Spike can change their facial features to a more demonic form. Spike, if you would...?" Spike's human face changed immediately. His forehead lowered, his eyes turned yellow and fangs sprouted in his mouth. "This is a normal vampire, class." Everyone was still taking notes until she said, "Okay, you can stop taking notes. Spike, you can go back to my office if you want."
"I'll stay here and listen to you teach, Slayer," Spike said and sat down in a chair beside Buffy's desk. "I'm actually interested in all of this." Buffy shrugged and pulled a blackboard to the front of the room. Three pictures were on the blackboard. The first picture showed a vampire that looked like Spike, the second picture showed a more modern version that looked like the Cullens or the Volturi and the last picture showed the Molochs, Belial and the Ba'al vampire bloodlines. "Hey, what's all this about, Buffy?" Spike asked gesturing with a nod to the pictures.
"Those, dear Spike, are the different breeds of vampires known in the world," Buffy explained. "You get the normal vampires like you or Angelus, the vampires who cannot be killed by sunlight, stakes or anything like that, and the Fallen Angels who were the first vampires to walk the Earth. Does anyone know about any of the breeds?" Rose raised her hand again. "Yes, Rose."
"The second picture looks a lot like the Volturi who are trying to protect Hogwarts," Rose said pointing to the second picture. Renesmee looked closer at the picture and realized that it was a picture of the Volturi themselves. She could see Aro, Jane, Alec, Demitri, and quite a few others that were ready to fight with her family when they heard the news that Renesmee was born a human and vampire hybrid and raised her hand. When Buffy nodded to her, Renesmee stood up.
"Actually, if you look closer, this is a picture of the Volturi." she said. "I recognize them." Buffy then asked what Renesmee knew about the Volturi and Renesmee countered with, "How about we hear what you think of them protecting Hogwarts from the Molochs, Buffy?" The whole class muttered their agreement and Buffy sighed. "We also want to hear what Spike has to say. If we're going to fight the Molochs together, then we're going to need to hear everyone's opinions, right guys?" Again, everyone started muttering and nodding.
"Okay," Buffy said standing by the desk, "okay. I don't trust the Volturi, to be honest and, I know you've never heard this phrase, but they sorta give me the wig." She must have noticed the class's confusion because she rolled her eyes and added, "What I mean is these Volturi give me the creeps." Scorpius gave his opinion on the Volturi and she smiled. "Now, it's my word against the Ministry and the other staff here, so I have no choice but to let them help, but the Aurors are with us, I can tell you that. Spike, what's your take on the Volturi?"
Spike stood up, looked at the whole class and said, "You want to hear my take on them?" Everyone nodded. "Very well. I think they're a bunch of sadistic nancy boy vampire wannabes who think they're intimidating because they have special powers." He scoffed and looked at the stone floor for a moment. "I miss the days when vampires were the cause of fear. Nowadays, vampires are more tame than the dogs humans play with." Renemsee agreed to that, not because she was part vampire, but because she knew vampires were fierce hunters and very good tricksters. The class took notes on the subject of vampires and Buffy gave them an essay on how best to kill each breed of vampire for homework then the bell rang for their next class.
Renesmee told Angel all about their first lesson with Buffy as they walked to Herbology with Professor Longbottom. Angel listened to her talk but didn't speak at all. "What's wrong, Angel? Normally you're all talk and no silence." Renesmee said as they walked through the grounds. "Tell me."
"I met one of the Volturi when I went down to the kitchens to get some blood from the house-elves." Angel said bitterly and when Renesmee asked which of the Volturi he met, he didn't answer right away. "I met Jane first hand," he told her, "and I hated her the moment she spoke." Renesmee knew what he meant. Jane was the master of fear and, when she used her special power she was the master of pain. "I asked Jane what she was in the kitchen for and she told me that Aro ordered her to patrol the castle's entire inside."
"Aro normally has everyone outside," Renesmee said more to herself than Angel. "Did any of the Aurors speak to you or them?" Angel shook his head as he held the door to Greenhouse Three open for her and walked inside. The Hufflepuffs and Gryffindors were standing around a long table with several flowerpots set atop them. "Good morning, Professor Longbottom," she said smiling at him and Neville Longbottom smiled back.
"Welcome to Greenhouse Three, second years," he said happily. "For your first lesson today, I'll be teaching you how to repot Mandrakes. Can anyone tell me what a Mandrake is?" Renesmee, who had read about the Mandrakes over the summer holiday raised her hand. "Go on, Miss Cullen."
Renesmee cleared her throat and said, "Mandrake, or Mandragora, is a plant that can cure paralysis and other problems of that sort." Professor Longbottom grinned and nodded for her to keep going. "Also, the cry of a full-grown Mandrake can be fatal to those who hear it."
"Twenty points to Gryffindor!" Professor Longbottom said and looked serious. "Like Miss Cullen said, the cry of a fully grown Mandrake can kill a person but a younger Mandrake's cry can just knock you out for a few hours; I should know because it happened to me in my second year of Hogwarts." A few of the students laughed including Angel who was leaning against a wall away from the many windows. "I want you all to put on your earmuffs before you start repotting your Mandrakes. There is some fertilizer here in the bag and I advise you to wear your dragonhide gloves because a Mandrake's bite can hurt a lot."
The class spent almost all of their class period repotting Mandrakes and Renesmee was on her fourth one when Professor Longbottom asked them to stop. He assigned an essay on the properties of a Mandrake and what potions they could be used for and dismissed the class. "That was really cool," Angel said as he, Renesmee, Rose and Albus walked to the dungeons for Charms with Professor Rosenberg. "According to Professor McGonagall, Neville fought hard during the Battle of Hogwarts in 1998. He and Professor Finnigan blew up the wooden bridge leading to the Clock Tower Courtyard."
"Dad told me about that," Albus piped up, "though Dad was out trying to find the last of You-Know-Who's Horcruxes at the time." Rose glared at him. "What?"
"Al, Voldemort's been gone for twelve years! We can say his name, you know." Rose said bitterly. "Mum always snaps at Dad because he winces whenever she mentions Lord Voldemort." Albus looked disgruntled at being told off by his own cousin but lightened up when Hagrid walked past them. "Good morning, Hagrid!" Rose called and Hagrid waved. "How was your first Care of Magical Creatures lesson?"
"Ar, it was amazin', Rose." he said, his beady black eyes twinkling slightly. "I had the third years this mornin' an' they were really impressed by me half-brother Grawp. Yeh'll have ter come an' meet 'im, all of yeh."
"Half-brother?" Albus repeated. "Why is he a half-brother?"
Hagrid puffed out his chest and said with high importance, "Tha's because I'm a half giant, Albus. See, me mum was a giantess and me dad was human." Albus's expression was a mixture of fear and astonishment. "Anyway, I was talkin' to Professor McGonagall before school started and yeh see that large building near me hut?" Angel noded and asked what it was for. "That's Grawp's home now. McGonagall gave me the okay ter build him a house and he even helped. And his English is improvin' a lot. Come by tonight and yeh'll get to talk to him."
"We'll be there after dinner, Hagrid," Renesmee said, "providing the Aurors and the Volturi don't get angry with us about going out after dark." Hagrid's eyes narrowed at the mention of the Volturi which made him look more frightening than he already was. "See you later, Hagrid." The four of them headed to the castle and went to class.