Harry had been acting strange all day, Bella thought as she watched her classmate from afar one Thursday. He hadn't said a word on the drive to school, which wasn't overly unusual as a rule, except that he seemed to be a million miles away lost in thought rather than simply not wanting to have a conversation. Even now as Bella watched him walk into the cafeteria, Harry seemed completely unaware of his surroundings. He didn't even provide the Cullens with his customary scowl.

What could have gotten into him? Bella had noticed that he had been somewhat spaced out since Tuesday, the day after she had properly gotten angry at him about the Cullens. But today was even worse. Had something happened? She gave him a small wave to get his attention; he had been scanning the room with a frown of confusion, which lifted once he saw Bella and began to wind his way through the tables.

"Hey," she said as he placed his food on the table. "How was the morning?"

"Hmm," was the only response Harry gave, lifting his sandwich absentmindedly to his mouth.

"Cool," Bella said somewhat sarcastically. Harry was now staring at the Cullen table with a deep frown, though Bella noticed it was not his usual frown of anger and hatred. This look was contemplative, as though he wasn't entirely sure what to make of them.

"Harry, what –"

"I did what you said," Harry announced all of a sudden.

What had she said?

"What did I say?"

Harry turned to look at her, confused. "You know," he prompted, "at our last meeting."

"Is this something about the Cullens?" she asked. As she said it, Bella sensed rather than saw the attention of the strange family focus onto her and Harry. She shivered.

"You were right," Harry began. "I shouldn't hate them. You have no idea how hard it is for me not to, but you're right that I shouldn't. I… went and saw Doctor Cullen at the hospital yesterday." The last part he said in a whisper.

This, at least, began to explain the change in Harry's behaviour. He was right about one thing: she didn't understand why he felt the desperate need to hate them. There was still so much she didn't know about the Cullens, but also Harry. Several times she had thought about how little he really said about himself. Bella knew terrible things had happened to Harry before, but other than the death of his parents, which she had gathered was a long time ago, she couldn't begin to imagine what. Why did a seventeen year old feel the need to escape his life to a whole new continent and start again? Was this solemn and depressed kid the same Harry that had always existed, or had he once known happiness? And what on earth could have taken that life from him?

"How did it go?" She asked.

Harry shrugged. "Okay, I suppose," he said. "I told him what I've just told you. I don't hate him. But I can't trust him either."

"Why not?" Bella frowned. "He's been trying to help you." She didn't – couldn't – understand.

This time it was Harry's turn to frown. "How can I? He has to earn it, doesn't he? If he can show me he deserves it then I will, but so far I just can't, Bella. I can't." He stared at her, eyes wide and begging for understanding. Begging she wouldn't question his resolve.

"Then who do you trust?" Bella asked, trying not to get her hopes up.

"I'm starting to trust you," he said. Bella smiled at him; she thought she could understand how difficult it was for Harry to admit that.

"I'm glad to hear it," she said honestly.

"So then I've been meaning to ask you something." The nervous Harry was back, biting his lip as he did whenever he wasn't sure of what he was about to say. Bella stayed quiet, giving him time to think.

"Would it be alright with you," he began, "if we were kind of friends?" There were many emotions on Harry's face. Bella thought she could still see his usual pain and sadness, but also hope. She grinned at him.

"Yes, Harry. I'd love to be your kind-of-friend."

Harry sighed as his shoulders dropped, released of the tension Bella hadn't noticed he'd been carrying.

"You've been good to me," he said simply. "I actually get things in class now. But also I don't feel as angry with the world when I'm with you." Harry looked at her with a slight frown on his brow. "I know that's a selfish reason to want a friend, but I'm a selfish person." He smiled then, one of his sad apologetic smiles that he gave whenever he was pointing out a flaw in his personality.

"You're not selfish, Harry," Bella said kindly but firmly.

Harry shook his head. "You wouldn't say that if you knew what I'd done. What I've just done."

"Then tell me." Instead of answering, Harry gave her another sad smile and stood up just as the bell rang.

"See you in class." And he walked away.

"The little…" Scowling, Bella disposed of her trash and followed Harry to Biology. Again she felt rather than saw Edward Cullen fall into step close behind her.

If she were being honest, she hadn't given her lab partner very much thought at all during her first three weeks. So obsessed had she been with befriending Harry and observing the family at lunch, she had almost forgotten that Edward had sat next to her in Biology since the beginning. Now that she was finally earning Harry's trust, she found her attention drawn instead to the odd Cullen out.

They had exchanged very few words with each other. Mr Banner had only assigned work in their pairs twice since Bella had arrived, and for both, whether coincidence or otherwise, Edward had been absent. When he had been in class, Bella had noticed his attention on Harry most of the time. There were occasions which Bella found disconcerting, during which she could see Edward openly staring at her out of her peripheral vision. It did not seem to matter which of the pair he was staring at, Bella always noticed the same look of deep concentration, a small frown marring his otherwise flawless features. Whatever it was Edward was trying to understand about Harry, it seemed he had similar misgivings about Bella.

From what she had observed in the school, she didn't entirely understand why the Cullens were given such a wide berth. They always kept to themselves, which was fair enough really, but why did no one else ever seem to approach them? Edward was the only Cullen that Bella shared a class with, but she knew from her friends that no one spoke to any of the others in class either. For two years the family had been in Forks, but had never made any friends. Did they share Harry's negative beliefs of trusting others?

Today, however, she didn't like the look on Edward's face as they sat down at their bench. It wasn't that he looked angry or confrontational. Quite the opposite. He was giving her an award winning smile.

"Hello," he said in a voice so smooth it should be criminal.

"Hi." Bella hoped he didn't notice how suspicious she sounded.

"We're working in our pairs today," he explained. "Banner wants us to identify the phases of mitosis. A pop quiz." There it was again, that magazine cover smile. Bella frowned. Mr Banner had only just walked in the door. He certainly hadn't set the task yet.

"How do you –"

"Alright everybody, in your pairs today identifying the stages of mitosis through these microscopes," he indicated the ones just in front of him. "Think of it as a pop quiz of our work a few weeks back." He smiled widely at the class, most of whom had already begun discussing the task. Even Harry had begrudgingly put his head together with Mike's to study the slides.

'How had he known the task already?'

"Would you like to go first, or shall I?" Edward asked, pulling Bella from her thoughts.

"Oh, um, you can if you like." As Edward glanced into the microscope, Harry turned around, sending Bella a questioning look, glancing between her and Edward. Not knowing what else to do, she shrugged back at him, just as Edward resurfaced declaring, "Anaphase."

"So, Bella Swan," he said, "tell me about yourself."

First Harry starts to forgive the Cullens, now Edward is talking to her like they're friends? Bella pinched herself. It hurt.

'Well, seems like this is actually happening.'

"There's not much to tell, really," she confessed. "I was living with Mom in Phoenix and now I'm living here with Dad." She glanced in the microscope. "This one's Prophase."

"But you grew up here, didn't you?" he probed further. "So you must know quite a few people here from before." He changed the slide again.

Bella nodded slowly. "I guess so, yeah. It's been a while since I schooled here, though. I don't remember any of you, for example." Bella thought this was a very strange line of questioning. Where was this going?

"Yes, well, we only came to Forks recently. You two seemed to know each other already," he said, motioning towards Harry who was sitting very still as if listening to every word being said behind him. "Metaphase."

"We met briefly," Bella admitted slowly. Why did Edward care about this?

"You're very alike," Edward went on. "You aren't related, are you?"

Bella couldn't help laughing out loud. "You're kidding?" She gasped. "We don't look at all similar."

"No, I suppose you don't." He looked over at Harry who had turned around properly to glare at Edward. Apparently not up for a staring contest, Edward looked back to Bella and raised his eyebrows in surprise at the expression on her face.

"Sorry if I was rather probing just now," he apologised sincerely. "I merely found it curious how you two seemed to know each other. I find you both very difficult to read."

'What does that mean?'

"No, it's fine, I guess," she stammered. "You're allowed to be curious." Is he? Bella was sure that Harry was currently questioning his newly formed truce with the Cullen clan.

They continued the rest of the lesson in this fashion; Edward would ask her questions and she would answer as vaguely as possible. Until she knew what his deal was, she didn't want to trust Edward with too much information about herself. He seemed determined to know her, yet Bella couldn't help being charmed by his personality.

What was wrong with her?

Class ended with a cheery "See you in gym" from Edward. Still blinking in confusion after him, Bella didn't notice Harry come to stand next to her.

"What the hell was all that?" He asked angrily. "Since when are you and Cullen mates?"

Bella turned to look at Harry. "We weren't – we aren't. I don't know." She was so confused.

They walked out of the classroom together, making their way to the gym in silence. Once sitting in the stands waiting for Coach Clapp to take the roll, Bella noticed Edward and his brother, Emmett, standing in a far corner. They looked as though they were arguing. Shoving his brother forcibly, Edward stormed off to sit at the back of the class. When Bella looked at Emmett, she was surprised to see him staring back in anger. It almost felt like they'd been arguing about her.

'What the hell was that about?'


She walked through the bowels of the Ministry, growing taller with every gaze that turned to follow. The atrium glittered around her as she made her way into one of the elevators. A space was cleared for her at once.

'As they should,' she thought, and stepped inside.

Today a new Minister was to be chosen. Why it had taken them almost a month, nobody was entirely sure. Kingsley Shacklebolt's body had been found more than three weeks ago, murdered, they said, with the Killing Curse. "A tragedy" she had said, as she pretended to mourn with the rest. Panic and fear had immediately taken hold of the Wizarding World once more, mere days after the Dark Lord's defeat. It had begun with their hero's abandonment. The Boy Who Lived had fled, and now there were few who did not believe he too had been the one to murder their Minister.

She couldn't help the smile that crept on to her face.

Since then her days had been spent providing comfort to the bereaved, giving assurance that the murderer would be brought to justice. She had put herself out there and she had since heard the whispers. There could only be one fit for the Minister's role.

She exited the elevator, walking purposefully past the Department of Mysteries until she reached the courtroom of the Wizengamot. Offering greetings to those already gathered, she took her new seat on the front bench. She glanced back at where she had used to sit before her promotion and smirked. She had always known she was destined for greater things.

"I call to order this meeting of the Wizengamot assembled to inaugurate our new Minister for Magic," the little man down the front declared. He was no more important than her. Only she was moments from becoming the most important person in Wizarding Britain.

"You are aware of the names put forth. Now we shall vote."

She watched in amusement as the hands rose in a unanimous decision. Not one other candidate had received a vote. She almost cried out in mirth.

Banging his gavel twice, the little man cried, "And so on this day, let it be known, our new Minister for Magic!"

Applause began as she stood. She would be the one to take them out of this darkness and further into the light than they had ever been before.

And Minister Prestwick smiled.