Cullens go to Hogwarts!

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Cullens go to Hogwarts
Is a fan fiction story adaptation by Erica K. Bailey and Leah_K
based on the
Twilight Saga characters
created and owned by Stephenie Meyer
And the characters and plotline of
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
created and owned by J.K. Rowling
DRAFT #2:
Includes edits pointed out by readers during posting to thetwilightsaga.com site
As well as rewrites to include the joke Dumbledore almost tells at the openning feast.
The entire document is currently in the hands of a friend who is editting.



Chapter 1: The Visitor
“Someone is coming to visit” Alice said, her eyes slightly unfocused. She was having
one of her visions.
“Anyone we know?” Esme asked, nervously. It seemed that, in recent history anyway,
those words were ominous… usually the beginning of trouble.
“No, nobody I recognize… Edward?”
I listened, trying to catch the thoughts of the approaching stranger… He knew Carlisle, or
at least new of Carlisle. “Do you know someone called “Hagrid?” I asked Carlisle?
“Hagrid?” He replied… Hagrid… there is only one Hagrid I have ever heard of, and I
wasn’t even sure if he was real… Could it be?
I puzzled over his thoughts. It was clear this was not someone Carlisle had met, but what
did he mean that he wasn’t even sure he existed.
“Oh my… Oh my…” Alice’s face went blank again. I watched as she saw the stranger
approaching… now noticing something was different, but it took me a few moments to
figure out what. He was walking alone, but he seemed out of place, or wrong. Then I
saw what it was – he was too big… Or the trees were too small. The landscape looked
familiar – I could see the recognizable driveway up to our house, the familiar foliage
lining the way… but this guy was huge in comparison.
“This Hagrid you knew of – was he… excessively large?” Alice asked.
Oh my, he is real… Carlisle’s thoughts alarmed me. “Esme prepare the house. I don’t
know what to expect, but this is unusual. It is best to be prepared.”
Esme quickly flipped the switch that pulled metal shutters over the solid glass back of the
house. Carlisle called us all down to the front room to prepare.
“We have a visitor – someone who, until now, I wasn’t even sure existed. His name is
Hagrid – he his half giant, half human, or at least that is what the lore says. From what I
had heard, he is friendly and is usually good hearted, but I don’t know anything for
certain. As I said, until just now, I didn’t even know he existed for certain.”
The tension was high as we waited in silence, not sure what the night would bring. I was
thankful that Bella was safely at home in her bed, though a part of me desperately wanted
to have her by my side, just to know that she was safe with me. My logical side knew
better. If things went terribly wrong tonight, it would be better that she was at home.
Thump, Thump, Thump… the knocking at the front door sounded like someone was
trying to break it down with a club. Jasper, Emmet and I got in defensive positions around the door, prepared to jump in if needed. Alice’s face went blank as she focused
on the immediate future. Esme and Rosalie stood to one side, ready to attack if it came to
that.
“It will be okay.” Alice finally said. We breathed a collective sigh of relief, “He has a
message for Carlisle… and Edward. It affects us all.” Suddenly she was grinning. I
searched her vision to see why.. Oh, this could be interesting.
“Well, I guess I should welcome our visitor,” Carlisle stated, not sure what Alice had
seen but taking her word that there was no danger. “Good evening” he said to the
stranger as he opened the door, “Welcome to my home. My name is Carlisle. Would
you like to come in?”
“I’d be muc’ obliged.” A rough, booming voice replied back, as in walked the largest
human we had ever seen. He had to stoop almost to his knees to clear the standard door
frame and I wondered if, due to his width, he would fit at all. He was almost twice as tall
as an average man and nearly five times as wide…
“Rubeus Hagrid’s th’ name. Everybody calls me Hagrid.”
“We’re very pleased to meet you” Carlisle offered his hand when Hagrid finally squeezed
himself into our entry way. It was fortunate that our house was designed to be very open
with high ceilings. As it was Hagrid had to sit on the floor to be able to carry on any type
of conversation.
Carlisle then gestured back toward us… During the process of Hagrid’s entrance and
settling in, we had all backed up considerably. Carlisle frowned slightly at what could be
construed as our rudeness, as he introduced us, “Hagrid, this is my family: Esme, my
wife, and our children, Edward, Rosalie and Emmet, Jasper and Alice. Everyone, come
and meet Hagrid. He is an assistant to Dumbledore, a gentleman I was fortunate to have
met some time ago.”
We all filed forward and greeted Hagrid in the order we were introduced.
“Well, then, the introductions are take’ care of… Down to business. Now where was me
note…” he padded around his leather clothing, checking pockets and creases until he
found was he was apparently looking for, “Ah, yes, here it is… An urgent letter from
Albus Dumbledore.” He said as he presented an envelope to Carlisle.
The envelope looked as though it had come from another time, one closer to when
Carlisle was changed then the rest of us. The paper appeared to be parchment, the
address written in calligraphy and having the appearance of being written with a fountain
pen. It was bulky and as Hagrid handed it to Carlisle, I noticed it was sealed with wax.
“Thank you.” Carlisle responded as he took the letter.
“You see, Dumbledore needs you to come to Hogwarts righ’ away. There’s an issue a
brewing with Harry Potter – nots that there ain’t always something with Harry. That boy
is cursed with bad luck.” I smiled as I recalled someone else with that particular ailment.
Carlisle smiled as this Hagrid recounted what was supposed to be in a private letter.
“I guess I shouldn’t ‘ve said that – well, it’s all in the letter…”
Carlisle opened the letter then, scanning it over at once, then reading to the rest of us.
“My old friend Carlisle,
Very dark times are upon us, or I would not have risked sending you this letter. A very
dark Wizard, Lord Voldemort is gathering strength. He is using all his power to reappear
as he once was and take control in the Wizarding world. This would have far reaching
implications in the muggle world, as I am sure you can understand, affecting all
creatures, magical and otherwise.
We have a young boy who is the key to our freedom, Harry Potter. His life is at great
risk and I need assistance in protecting him. I have received a prophesy that Harry will
be entered into the Tri-Wizard Tournament, though he is under aged and unprepared for
such a battle. I fear this is the work of Lord Voldemort in an attempt on young Potter’s
life.
There are few people I trust with such a task, and those I do trust, are already known. I
need someone who would be unknown to come to Hogwarts to help protect young Harry.
I hope you will accept my invitation to teach at Hogwarts over the coming year. We have
an opening in Herbology that I think you could fill given your extensive knowledge. I
assume your family would also accompany you. We may have need for the services of
your son, Edward.
There is much to discuss, and time is short. I ask you to consider this request with haste.
Your old friend,
Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore.’
There was a moment of silence then as we took in all that was said, realizing that we
were not much more clear about what was happening then before the letter was read.
Questions flooded to me all at once, as not only my own but the entire family’s thoughts
penetrated my head:
“What, there are Wizards? Why hadn’t I heard of this before?”
“What is with this Harry Potter? Why don’t they just un-enter him from the contest?”
“Can I be in charge of protection? Wizard or not, I’ll bring him down” That one was
Emmet.
“When did Carlisle meet this Dumbledore, and why is he asking for our help”
“Does this mean we have to move again? I’m almost done high school.”
“I wonder if I could take him… He is huge, but still, I am stronger… I wonder how
strong half-giants are?” Emmet again.
“Well, then, there it is – so shall I tell the headmaster you accep’ his offer?” Hagrid said,
hopefully.
We all looked up at him in shock. Was he serious? We were just wrapping our minds
around the existence of a half-giant and Wizards… And now he was asking if we were
ready to go to Hogwarts, whatever that was, to defend against a dark Wizard?
“Ah, Hagrid… I think my family may have a few questions. Do you have leave to
respond to them, or do I need to take them up with Dumbledore directly?” Carlisle
started.
“I’ll try me bes’ to answer what I can. I’m only the groundskeeper.” Hagrid responded,
looking slightly disappointed that Carlisle didn’t answer in the affirmative immediately.
“All right. Thank you. Hogwarts – I am assuming that is Hogwarts School of Witchcraft
and Wizardry?”
“Yes, that is right.” He responded as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.
“And Albus Dumbledore is now the headmaster of this institution?”
“Yes.” He began to eye Carlisle as though he questioned his intelligence.
Carlisle turned to us then… “I’m afraid I may need to fill in some of the gaps, here.
Albus Dumbledore is a Wizard I came across once in my visits to England. Wizards are
not immortal as we are, but do live much longer lives then normal humans, or muggles as
they call them. I met him not long before I settled in Chicago, where I met you, Edward,
he looked down at me. He was young then, almost thirty, but was already a very talented
and well regarded Wizard.
“I did not know much about his world and, in fact, know very little to this day…
However, he did tell me about the existence of Wizards and a school whether they
developed their magical skills… This is the Hogwarts referred to in the letter.
“Over the years, I have heard word from and about Albus from time to time. That is how
I heard about Hagrid. It was really just a story in passing about a half giant who was
working with Albus at Hogwarts. I don’t know much more then that. I also recall
hearing about some sort of uprising that occurred roughly 13 years ago… It was very
dark and there was concern it would have an effect on the entire world, but it died down.
I didn’t ever hear why, but I do remember hearing the phrase ‘he, who shall not be
named’. I am quite sure, however, I have never heard of the boy you speak of, Harry Potter”
“You’ve never hear’ of Harry?” Hagrid looked incredulously at Carlisle and then the rest
of us. Finally accepting that we, indeed, had never heard of this Harry Potter, he
launched into an explanation, “Well, Harry Potter is the one who defeated Volde… er, he,
who shall not be named in the first place. When he was bu’ a baby, Harry was attacked
along with his mum and dad. His parents die’, but when he, who shall not be named,
attacked Harry, he survived, and he, who shall not be named, was killed. Or at least that
is what everyone though’. He is famous – the most famous Wizard of all time.” He
looked back at us all then – as if he imagined we would now recall that we remembered
this Harry Potter, but, of course, we didn’t.
“Carlisle,” Esme started, the first of all of us to have actually spoken since the stranger
arrived, “Why haven’t you ever mentioned any of this before?”
“The Wizards protect their identity as strongly as we protect ours. They do not, hastily,
bring others into their world. It was only because I was involved in an incident that I
came in contact with Albus at all. And, it was only because of what I am, that I
maintained that knowledge – otherwise the spell they use on muggles would have erased
the memory from my mind.” Carlisle explained, “There was never any need to share the
knowledge – it was no more then a passing event in my long life… In context, until now,
it was insignificant…”
I finally found my voice, “Why does he know about me, then?” I searched through my
vampire memories which were as clear as the day they happened, but found nothing. No
reason to believe that I had ever met this Albus Dumbledore.
“As I said, I met Albus just before settling in Chicago. We corresponded sparingly after
we first met. In one of my letters I told him about my first attempts to create companions
– you, Edward, and then Esme. We haven’t corresponded since then, and so I am sure he
is unaware of the rest of you.”
“Yes, that’s true. He said I was to find Carlisle, Edward and Esme Cullen. He never
mentione’ four more o’ you’s.” Hagrid piped in. “Had a lot of fun findin’ you I did. Not
easy to track down… And this land is bloody huge, if you don’t mind me sayin’.”
I saw then, in his mind, that he had to cross the ocean by boat and then travel the country
on foot. I guessed he wouldn’t fit on any commercial airlines and I couldn’t imagine a
vehicle that would fit him.
“Well, I best be off” He said, suddenly. “What should I tell Dumbledore?” he asked
Carlisle.
“Tell him I will consider his offer. I would, very much, like to confer with my family
and, I am wondering, if he would consider meeting with me before I finalize my
decision.”
“He thought you might say that. Here are airline tickets for the three of you to come to
England. Dumbledore would be happ’ to meet with you and discuss the details. I’m not
too sure of them all me self. As I said, I’m only the groundskeeper.”
“Do you want anything to eat or do you need a place to rest?” Esme added then. We had
some food stocked now that Bella was a regular visitor, but I couldn’t see where we
would be able to offer him a place to rest.
“No, I need to be on my way. I res’ when I need to… I’ve a long journey.”
I could only imagine, as he now had to walk back across the country and then travel to
England by boat, how long it would take him. I wondered if we would make it there
before he did – if we came at all.
“Thank you, Hagrid. Give my best to Albus. I’ll be seeing him soon.” Carlisle shook his
hand and Hagrid stooped and squeezed himself back out of the house and started off
down the path.
We all stood in the living room watching him go… for once, the shock and amazement
did not flood me with thoughts – everyone was truly speechless in voice and mind.

Chapter 2: Family Conference
We gathered in the dining room to discuss this sudden possible change in our lives and
the weight of new knowledge that was thrust upon us. It was going to take a little time to
consider all that we had learned tonight and even more to decide what we would do as a
result.
“First of all, do any of you have any questions? I can try to answer, but I want you to
know that I don’t know much more then any of you.” Carlisle started.
“Ya, when do we pack – epic battle with Wizards and Giants, here I come.” Emmet
grinned from ear to ear. Rosalie rolled her eyes.
“Do you know what this Tri-Wizard Tournament is?” Jasper asked.
“No, sorry. This is the first I’ve heard of it.” Carlisle responded.
“Is this school a university or college?” Rosalie asked.
“It’s equivalent to our middle or junior high and high school… It’s a boarding school for
wizard children – children who develop magical skills when they are young. When they
are identified, they are sent a letter inviting them to Hogwarts… This usually only
happens to children from magical families, however, occasionally non-magical families
produce a magical child. When this happens, a representative from the school visits the
family to explain what is happening.” Carlisle explained.
“So, if it is a boarding school, where would we stay – would we have to stay in separate
dorms?” Rosalie continued, her temper starting to rise. I am not living celibate for an
entire year to protect the life of this Potter kid, no matter how important he is.
Whoa, I never thought of that, flashed through Emmet’s mind – there is no way I’m
doing that!
“Rosalie, I have no idea what Dumbledore would expect, but I am sure we could make
arrangements.” Carlisle responded, guessing at her obvious concern. “At this point, I can
guess that he doesn’t even know that our family has grown. But I will take your concern
under consideration. I am sure that Alice and Jasper would feel the same way.”
I looked down at that point… I didn’t have the same issue with Bella. We were still
engaged, after all… but would I be willing to live apart from her… in another country for
a year? Would she? I didn’t think so… the thought was painful to me, almost like I
couldn’t breathe, if breathing was as important to me as a human.
“Carlisle…” I started, not sure how to put my concern into words. We were engaged, but
I had no permanent claim, yet.
“We’ll find a way.” was his simple reply. He knew my concern before I raised it. Esme
reached over and rubbed my back in understanding.
“Alice, what do you see?” Carlisle asked then.
“I see us at a large castle, with several students. I see Edward in a school uniform, and
Rosalie. By the way Rose, you rock that outfit.”
“Of course she does.” Emmet grinned, mentally picturing Rosalie in some plaid skirt,
white shirt with tie, short vest and knee highs. I shook my head and tried to block out the
rest of the vision.
“I also see a smaller castle, more likely a manse or estate home. It is difficult. There are
many images so none are too clear or stay too long. Until we are decided it is difficult to
say.”
“Can you see the Wizards, though?” He asked.
I could see where his question was leading, even without my extra sense. Ever since the
werewolves, we had become aware that Alice’s visions had holes. We knew the
limitations based on the decisions of others, but before we had not realized that she could
not see some types of creatures.
“I could see Hagrid clearly enough, about as clearly as a human. The wizards seem to be
about the same, although it is difficult to know for sure since I don’t have one to focus
on. Until I do, they are only bodies and faces. However, it isn’t like the werewolves,
who are just a total blank.”
“That is… encouraging.” Carlisle said. “If we decide to go, your ability would be very
helpful. And, also, Jasper… I don’t know what we might be facing, but if Dumbledore
says we are heading for some sort of magical war, having your knowledge and expertise
would be helpful.”
Jasper just nodded his head in acceptance.
“I guess the question I really need to ask, is, are we willing to consider this request? If
so, I will need to go to England to discuss the particulars with Dumbledore… and I will
need to know if there is anything I need to ask him to ensure any of your qualms are
satisfied…”
“Sleeping arrangements are key!” Emmet called out.
“Of course, Emmet, as I already said, I will be sure to take that concern into
consideration.”
“How are we going to pose as students, when we aren’t magical?” I asked. This had been on my mind since the visit since I was specifically mentioned in the letter.
“I don’t know, but I will be sure to discuss it with Dumbledore.”
“I guess I would just like to know more about this tournament, what the specific threats
are and the history of the conflict, so I can consider strategy…” Jasper added.
“Of course,” Carlisle nodded.
“My only condition… demand… is that we stay together.” Esme said quietly, but firmly.
“I won’t accept us being separated.”
Carlisle looked back at her with such love in his eyes it would have made me ache if not
for the fact that Bella was now in my life. There was no spoken response, only a slight
nod, and unspoken understanding.
“Do you have any ideas of how… or if… to broach this with Bella? I mean, I will need to
prepare her…” I asked tentatively. I worried how she would take this.
“Bella is a part of this family, Edward. We have no secrets from family.” Carlisle
responded, then added for my benefit: Do what you think best, Edward – but don’t try to
protect her for her own good. It is better to be upfront…
“Edward, she will be fine. I can see that much.” Alice added, and I could see from her
vision she was right. Bella would take it in stride, as she always did. Should I expect
anything less?
“Well, then, it looks like I have a plane to catch.” Carlisle stated. “I call you as soon as I
know more.”
“We have a plane to catch” Esme added.
Carlisle smiled, “Of course.”

Chapter 3: Delayed Plans
I ran over to Bella’s as soon as Carlisle and Esme left for the airport. I still couldn’t
imagine how they were going to avoid beating Hagrid to England. It just didn’t seem
possible, but then a lot of things didn’t seem possible a few hours ago.
Bella had spent the evening just being with Charlie. Ever since graduation, the
announcement of our engagement, as well as the plans for our wedding and the changes
that would occur as a result, she had tried to spend more one-on-one time with Charlie,
before she would have to say good-bye, possibly forever…even if that one-on-one time
meant watching basketball or baseball or hockey on the flat screen.
The plan was to attend Dartmouth. Bella was still pushing for an August wedding, but I
was trying to hold her off for another year – to give her a chance to reconsider her options
for eternity. I didn’t hold out much hope for her changing her mind, and as I reconciled
myself to that, I began to be hopeful for the changes in our lives that would result. I was
certainly looking forward to being able to call her my wife. That, I didn’t want to wait
for. I frowned. What if we were gone for a year? Even if Bella came, would we put the
wedding on hold for an entire year. I wasn’t sure if that was what I wanted.
When I got to the house, I found it quiet. The game must be over. I listened for Charlie’s
voice and heard his muffled thoughts dreaming of fish. He was asleep. This was good. I
quickly crawled through the window to her room, finding her on her bed reading.
“Good evening.” I said as I entered the room, appraising her relaxed figure. She was
curled up on her bed with a worn copy of Pride and Prejudice. The glint of the ring on
her left hand, which was holding the book, caught my eye, sending a flood of warmth
through me. She had already showered for the evening, which seemed to be her routine,
and was dressed in the sweetest set of blue pyjama pants and a tank top. She was
mesmerizing.
She jumped up as she realized I was there. “Edward” she exclaimed in an excited
whisper, as she jumped from the bed and flew into my arms, only slightly tripping on the
last step, resulting in her falling into me, as I caught her. I felt the familiar burn, always
slightly stronger after being away from her for so long, as well as the relief. Being apart
was painful, even for a short while. When we came back together, it was like the missing
piece of myself, my heart, returned to my body and I was whole again.
I bent my head down and kissed her hair, inhaling her fragrant scent. “I missed you, too.”
I chuckled. Then I couldn’t resist. I knew we had things to discuss, but I had missed her
and I wanted to remind myself that she was mine. I scooped her up and carried her to the
bed, placing her gently on the comforter. I sat on the edge of the bed, looked down at
her, memorizing her face, as I carefully traced her cheek, her nose, her lips with my
finger. Then I leaned down and gently placed my lips on hers, taking in her aroma, and
her taste.
She eagerly pressed back, her arms involuntarily winding around my neck to pull me
closer, as she always did. I was better prepared now that I knew it was coming. I was
able to maintain control as she pressed herself to me. Sitting helped too, I had learned. I
lingered a little longer before pulling back.
She pouted, “You never get carried away…”
That wasn’t true, but I was in particularly good control tonight. I had things I needed to
talk to her about. “That’s not entirely true...”
“Yes it is!”
“Bella” I warned. I didn’t want to repeat this argument tonight… “I need to talk to you
about a situation that has come up.” I started very seriously. I looked up at her then and
saw panic rise to her face, coupled with fear. It was a faint shadow of her expression
when I told her I was leaving. “It’s not bad, so don’t panic, but we need to talk about this
because it affects you.” I quickly added.
“Okay” she said… I watched as the panic and fear bled from her face and a stoic
expression replaced it. I marvelled at her ability to calm herself. I supposed that all the
undue excitement of the past two years had something to do with that. “As long as we are
together, I can handle whatever it is.”
I smiled in reassurance, “I promise you, it’s not as bad as you might think, but it will
require a leap of faith. I am about to share with you some interesting information that
might be difficult to accept….” I paused while I assessed her status. She continued to
remain calm, so I went on, “Tonight we found out that there are wizards in the world. In
particular, a group of wizards who have requested our help… so I am wondering, how do
you feel about not going to Dartmouth next year.”
“I was never planning on going to Dartmouth next year, so that is hardly a problem.” She
started… I wondered if she had missed the part about the wizards.
“So, these wizards have requested our help in keeping a particularly important young
wizard, Harry Potter, safe. It would require relocating to England for the next year, so
instead of Dartmouth, our cover would be a university in England… They have
specifically asked that I be involved, though we aren’t sure how yet. Carlisle has just left
to discuss matters with the headmaster…” I stopped then, looking into her face to see if
she would faint or have an episode…
She appeared to be fine… well more then fine actually. She was grinning. “So, are you
saying that we are going to move to the UK? With the entire family? And live in a
castle? A real castle… and meet real wizards who do magic?”
Alice’s vision had shown she would be okay with it, but I wasn’t prepared for this. She
was… excited. “You do realize that this might necessitate holding off on any changes for the year…” I said, hesitantly, “and possibly the wedding…”
“I don’t see why.” She answered back stubbornly, “If I’m going to be out of commission
at Dartmouth, I don’t see why I can’t be in England.”
“Well, love,” I started, carefully, “this is a boarding school. If I am going to play the part
of a student, I might have to stay in one of the dorms… If we are married, that might
be… challenging. And, when I change you, I want to be fully available to help you
through the first steps of being a newborn vampire. Plus, you won’t be able to be around
people, wizards or otherwise….” I looked down then, as I played with her fingers, “so I
wouldn’t be able to see you very much…”
I realized then that there was no reason to delay. She could, as she said, be out of
commission in England, just as easily as anywhere else – it was only my selfish desire to
be with her every waking minute of the day that made the idea impossible. I conceded, “I
suppose you are right. We could go ahead with our plans – get married this summer and
go through the change once we move and get settled in. We will have to check on
satisfactory local wildlife… only… you will have to accept Alice’s or Jasper’s help in
adjusting to this new life, if I am to be of assistance to the wizards. Of course, we
haven’t agreed to this at all, yet. Carlisle is flying over to discuss the matter. We can say
no.”
She was quiet, deep in her silent mind, as the crease appeared between her eyes and she
bit on her bottom lip. I tried to wait patiently for her to speak, to share her thoughts with
me. I tried, but it was becoming unbearable, “Bella, please… what are you thinking?”
“If we wait until next summer, I will still be nineteen… but it will have to be early in the
summer… like the day we get back – I mean the very day we get back.” She said sternly,
then she moaned, “NO! I can’t agree to this. I was all ready for this to be over and done
this summer so I could start living the rest of my life, or existence, whatever, with you…
now we are waiting a whole year!”
Her hands flew to her face as her cheeks flushed red. I carefully peeled them back.
“Please Bella, don’t cover your face. I don’t want to miss a minute of it. We don’t have
to do this. I can call Carlisle right now and let him know that we can come, but I can’t be
a part of this… or we can say no all together.” I was hasty to relieve her pain.
“We don’t know everything yet, do we?” she asked. I shook my head no. “Well, let’s
just wait on Carlisle and get all the information. I suppose, though, if I had to choose
between being changed now, but missing out on being with you for the first part of life,
and waiting for a year, I would choose waiting… but maybe that won’t be necessary.”
She said hopefully.
“So, just for the record, the idea of wizards doesn’t concern you in the slightest?” I asked,
still marvelling in her calm acceptance.
“Not really – I mean, if there are vampires and werewolves, I suppose wizards come with
the territory…” she stated simply.
I shook my head. “You are amazing, do you know that?” I asked as I pulled her to me.
How had a managed to deserve a creature such as her?

Ch. 4 The Plan.

Carlisle and Esme returned three days later to report what they had learned of the
situation and ask us to make a final decision. Again, we met around the dinning room
table, this time I had Bella at my side.
“Somehow, Hagrid had managed to arrive in England ahead of us, or at least it seemed he
must, as Dumbledore was waiting at London Heathrow for us when we got off the red
eye. He had already made arrangements for us to stay at a local bed and breakfast, out of
the way from the main tourist area. The proprietors, the McDiarmids were used to
having travellers from overseas who might need a day or two to overcome jet lag. We
had a shared room, posing as a couple travelling with their Grandfather. Dumbledore is
as meticulous about keeping up appearances as we are.” Carlisle stated, clearly impressed
over the details Dumbledore had gone through.
“He was surprised to hear of the additional family members… However, after some
thought and discussion with us we came up with a possible solution, should we choose to
go.”
“Sleeping arrangements?” Emmet asked
“Yes, I’ll get to that…” Carlisle frowned. “Hogwarts is actually located in Scotland.
There is a small town, south of Edinburgh, called Peebles. On the southern end are the
remains of a castle – Neidpath Castle. What most people see is the castle tower, a ravine
where the River Tweed runs, and then a large area of forest and hilly farmland. In actual
fact, the hills and farmland are an illusion. This is where the school is located.”
“If it’s an illusion, how are we supposed to find it?” Jasper asked.
“Dumbledore or one of the other Wizards will show us. Once we’ve been shown, we will
be able to see it..” Carlisle replied. “I know, this is difficult to believe, but apparently this
is how the spell works….”
“So where will we live?” Rosalie asked.
“In the nearby town… The town is quite small, only about 8,000 in population. On the
north side of town is a smaller castle, Castle Venlaw. It currently runs as a bed and
breakfast, though business is not as busy over the school year as it is in the summer
months. Dumbledore knows the owners. They have been considering doing some
restoration work, but have been wavering as they also have desired a break to travel. He
thinks he could convince them to allow a family to come restore the place while they live
there for the year.”
I looked at Esme then, knowing I would see the excitement in her eyes. The opportunity
to restore a castle was impossible to resist. Alice started clapping her hands in
anticipation as well.
“Alice, this restoration will have to be to period. And there are no closets, only
wardrobes!” Esme said sternly. Alice’s face fell only slightly.
“And our cover story?” Jasper asked, his mind already on strategy.
“Yes, thank you Jasper… It is not uncommon for wizards and witches to marry muggle
mates. So I will pose as a Wizard and Esme will be my muggle wife” he smiled at her as
he spoke, “which also opens the door for both magical and muggle children. Alice,
Jasper and Emmet, you will be muggles. Edward and Rosalie, you will be magical,
posing as exchange students from America. Since they are playing host to the two other
magical schools – one from France and one from Hungary – a couple of American
exchange students will fit right in.
“Alice, we need you to be available for your gift. Though you might have a better time
posing as magical because of your gift, Dumbledore agreed that having you free to
consult at a moments notice was more important. Additionally, I thought you might
enjoy working with Esme on the renovation project.”
Alice grinned wickly, “Yes, I’m sure we’ll have fun discussing what, exactly, is a
‘period’ restoration…”
“Rose, we will need you to be a part of student life, to keep an eye and ear on what
people think, particularly the female population. You won’t be staying in the dorm…”
Carlisle added quickly, seeing the look on Rosalie’s face harden, “but you will have
access as a part of one of the houses. Edward, you as well, though you will also have
other responsibilities – I will get to those in a moment.”
“Emmet, Dumbledore came up with an excellent idea for you – something I think you are
really going to enjoy. I knew you wouldn’t want to be far from Rosalie, so we found an
assignment for you on the grounds. As Hagrid mentioned, he is the groundskeeper. That
involves watching over the creatures of the dark forest… and he could use an assistant.”
“Cool! What kind of dark creatures are we talking about?”
“There are centaurs and giant spiders… and the possibility of dragons.”
Emmets eyes danced with enthusiasm and he imagined wrestling a dragon.
“Jasper, like Alice, we would like to use your ability and knowledge. Dumbledore
doesn’t know exactly what will happen, only broad strokes. We would like to have you
available to provide your experience in military strategy as we plot the next moves in this
contest, as well as your ability to affect the emotions of the student body when necessary
– if you are agreeable. Therefore we don’t have a specific duty for you, but you are
welcome to assist Hagrid and Emmet when you wish.”
Jasper turned and punched fists with Emmet then. I was moderately disappointed. It was
clear there was another task or role I was to play… and it must be significant as Carlisle
was waiting to the end to present it. It would have been fun to wrestle dragons with
Emmet and Jasper… But I would do my duty, what was required of me…
“As far as the rest of the student body is concerned, Jasper and Alice are attending school
in town. The students only go into town on breaks, and they don’t mingle with the
town’s students, so there should be no issue with the fact that they won’t actually be
enrolled in school.”
“That leaves you, Edward and Bella.” Carlisle turned to look both of us, his face and his
thoughts hesitant. “Edward, Dumbledore wants to enter you into the actual contest to
keep a watch out for this Harry Potter. He is a younger student, 13 years of age, not
actually old enough to enter. How he becomes entered and, eventually, chosen, is
currently unclear, and once chosen, you can not back out. All we know is that his name
is produced as a contestant from the goblet of fire. There are three tasks which are
currently unknown – but they are dangerous to muggles and, possibly to us as well.
While we are immune to spells that would destroy mortal human bodies, which the
wizards and witches possess, there are dangers that could harm us – like fire. So I have
not agreed to this on your behalf. I think you need to consider it very seriously before
you agree.
“Bella, you are part of this family. And yet, I do not know you as I know the rest of my
children. I did not want to make any plans for you as I didn’t have the opportunity to
speak with you and I did not want to suppose I could imagine your wishes. Dumbledore
has the ability to have you pose as a witch at Hogwarts – also as an exchange student – or
you could remain in the town as a muggle.” His expression turned soft, compassionate, as
he considered what he had to say next.
“You and Edward had planned to marry this August and to change you into a vampire.
You may also want to consider whether this is the best timing for that or not. Again, I
will leave that to you to discuss. This is not something I feel I should thrust upon you.
You and Edward need to discuss it – but we will need a decision very shortly as
Dumbledore will need to make arrangements for us, should we choose to do this.”
Carlisle turned his face to the rest of the family then, taking a moment to look each one in
the face with the same love and concern he had for all of us. “For that matter, I should
say to all of you – this is not thrust on any of you. I made arrangements which I thought
would be satisfactory to all of you, but, of course, this needs to be something we do
together unanimously. Perhaps you should take some time to discuss this with each
other…”
I could see from the minds around the table, this was an unnecessary concession on
Carlisle’s part. The rest of my siblings were already decided and had moved onto
thinking of the next steps of the plan. Jasper was considering where he might locate
information on magical wars and battles to gain better insight into what he might encounter. Emmet was imagining what other dark creatures might exist in the dark forest
and, of course, battling each one he came in contact with in his mind… He also imagined
what it might be like to wrestle Hagrid, though I didn’t think Hagrid was one to wrestle…
Rosalie was picturing herself at a new school, full of adoring adolescent boys and the
object of every adolescent girls’ envy. Alice had already slipped out of the room to
Google Castle Venlaw with Esme close behind her…
“Wait a minute… Carlisle, what about the magic. How are you and I and Rosalie and,
possibly, Bella supposed to do magic… This is a magical school.” I suddenly asked.
“Well, as exchange students, you won’t be required to take all the courses. Some courses
would be entirely possible for a muggle with enough knowledge – like Herbology and
Potions… as well, two of the faculty, Professor Snape and Professor McGonagall will
know of your presence and purpose. They will watch out for you. Rosalie, that should
be enough for you to get by. Edward, on the other hand, you will need some magic to get
through the tournament. Dumbledore can obtain for you an enchanted wand that will do
a series of specific spells. However, he is also toying with the idea of having a student
work along side you to deal with any issues that may be encountered. As someone
actually in the tournament, you will gain quite a bit of attention. There may be situations
where you will be called upon to exhibit your magical ability in unanticipated ways….”
I could see in his mind where this was going and I braced myself. I knew Bella wasn’t
going to like this…
“So he suggested that, perhaps, one of the witches could pose as your girlfriend?”
Carlisle said apologetically, the statement directed at me, but looking at Bella.
“WHAT!” she screeched. Then flushed red in anger as tears pooled in her eyes. I
watched her close her eyes as she took some deep breaths to calm herself… after a few
moments the colour drained from her cheeks and she seemed able to speak again. The
room was silent, though I heard Emmet’s thought “Cat fight!” as his eyes danced in
amusement and he and Jasper shared a grin. I didn’t need Alice’s gift to see a bet coming
on.
She finally opened her eyes to see that the remaining Cullens in the room were staring at
her. She immediately flushed again, out of embarrassment now for her outburst. “I’m
sorry, Carlisle. That caught me off guard.”
“Perfectly understandable.” He responded softly, looking only at her with the kindest of
eyes, fully of fatherly love. “This was the other reason I made no commitments for you.
Not only is this dangerous for Edward – this will be difficult for you. I know how you
feel for Edward. I know that you will not want him to be in danger – but if he is, you will
want to be nearby. However, it might also be very difficult to be nearby, but not with
him… to appear only as friends and acquaintances… You need to know and consider that
before you and Edward decide what you are willing to do.”
She looked down at her hands, as she played with the ring on her left finger. I knew that
if I looked in her eyes now, tears would be threatening, but she would hold them back in
the presence of my family. I put my arms around her lovingly and rubbed her arm.
Let her decide, Edward. Carlisle directed at me. This will be hard for her, but it is only
the beginning of the difficult things she will need to do as a part of this family, to protect
the family.
I only nodded. I didn’t want Bella to have to face this decision – to have to live with the
pain of whatever she decided. She had already given up so much – was prepared to give
up everything to be with me. And now she was asked to, in essence, give part of that up
as well.
“Let’s go.” I whispered to her. She just nodded her head. We left by the nearest exit as I
threw her on my back and ran to our meadow.

Ch. 5 Decisions

I didn’t know what to expect when we arrived at the meadow and I let her down from my
back. Instead of letting her go, I swung her around to face me and pulled her into an
embrace. We had already been through so much, I wondered why the fates would throw
another obstacle in our path. I wondered if we should go forward with our original plan –
get married, have her changed – we would be apart during the day, but we would then
have all night. I swallowed at the thought…
I pulled her to the ground with me, kissing her eyes, which were streaming tears, wiping
them away with my lips, her cheeks, her chin, her neck and finally her lips. She wrapped
her arms around me, pulling me closer, as if such an embrace would force away the
difficult decision before us. She wasn’t done kissing me, but I pulled up anyway to tuck
her head beneath my chin and hold her tight to my chest. I sat with her in my lap, holding
her close in vain hope we would physically bond us so that we would not be able to be
apart.
“Why?” she asked… I knew what she meant. Why was life always throwing these things
in our path.
“We don’t have to say yes, love.” I responded. Then I reluctantly pulled her away and
forced her to look into my eyes. “We really do not have to do any of this. This is a
request. We are free to say ‘no’” I said with certainty.
“I know” she said, but the sadness in her voice told me she had already made her
decision. I suspected she had made it the other night, before all the details were worked
out, and now she was trying to figure out which part of this decision she could best live
with.
“What are you thinking?” I asked gently.
“I am thinking I would be even more of a horrible person if I refused to go along with
helping this Harry person. I am thinking that I might be able to live with that if I could
steal you away right now, and be able to put this all behind me…” she took a deep breath,
to steady herself. She spoke with more certainty, “but I won’t be able to forget… and if
something happened to this Harry… just because I was too selfish to let you go… I
couldn’t live with myself.”
I pulled her back into a strong embrace. “There are others who could help. This isn’t on
your shoulders…” I tried to reassure her.
“Who?” she demanded. “Who else could help, Edward? If they are looking for someone
who is practically indestructible, who could potentially fit in with wizards and witches,
and who could live in close proximity to warm blooded humans without killing them –
who else could that be?”
I could see her point. However, until a few days ago, I hadn’t even realized there were
witches and wizards and I had been part of this world for almost a century. “Bella, if it
isn’t right for us, if it is too much to ask, we can say no. Surely a man like Dumbledore
has back up plans…”
I could see her eyes were doubtful, but she nodded her head in acceptance of my words.
“Still, it would be selfish…” she said, going deep into thought.
“No, not selfish… just realistic. It isn’t selfish to set out your limits…” I replied softly,
tracing my thumb along her arm.
“What do you want to do?” she looked up at me then.
“I want to do whatever you want to do.” I said softly.
“Thanks – then the decision is all on my shoulders.” She stiffened. “Very passive
aggressive, Edward.”
I smiled at her sulk. She was trying to avoid the issue by picking a fight – I could see
through that. “Bella…” I forced her eyes up. “This is not your decision. This is our
decision. I want to honestly know what you want, what you can live with…”
“And I want to know the same from you. I don’t want to think that you are simply going
along with what I say, nor do I want you to make a decision for me… This needs to be a
discussion” She insisted.
I could see what she was saying. So often, in our early relationship, I had simply made
the decisions, trusting that I knew better… Only I learned that often I didn’t know better,
that her intuition and perception were better then mine. So, I had resorted to trusting her
judgement, her decisions and making them work. I could see now what she was saying.
If I did that, and things went bad, the results were, seemingly, on her shoulders.
“Okay, Bella. I understand. I will tell you what I think and what I want, but I want you
to do the same – to be completely honest about what you want and what you are willing
to live with, okay?”
“Sounds good to me” she brightened up slightly.
“The idea of spending a year at Hogwarts, regardless of the circumstances is intriguing. I
didn’t even know there were wizards and witches in the world before a few days ago. To
spend time with them, to learn more about their lore, their life… It excites me. I have
spent almost a hundred years learning about the world of humans. To find that there is an
entirely new world here, within this one…” there weren’t words to describe my level of
fascination. As soon as I had seen the vision of Hagrid’s visit through Alice’s mind, I
was intrigued.... “On top of that, to make some purpose of my life, to find a way to make
a difference, especially be a part of something that might have far reaching consequences– it helps me believe I might just have a soul – that there might be hope for me yet.”
I took a breath then… I needed to also share my hesitancies – both in the interest of full
disclosure as well as to ensure she was able to share hers. “On the other hand, I am
anxious to marry you. For that, I don’t want to wait a year. I would drive you to Vegas
now, if it wasn’t for how much it would hurt Alice, and break the promise you made to
her. And the idea of having to spend my days treating you like simply a friend seems just
impossible… Worse still, spending the days apart from you – it causes me physical pain.
The idea of taking you, putting you in danger again, is very difficult for me to reconcile,
and yet I know I can not leave you for a year. That is not an option for me… Finally,
putting myself in danger, when I know that if anything happened to me, what it would do
to you…” I couldn’t finish. I already knew what it would do to her. It would do the
same to me… There would be no life left to live without each other. I understood that
now – that it was the same for her as it was for me.
I realized I had looked away from her face, staring into the darkening sky while I
concentrated on sharing my full thoughts and feelings with her… to try and consider all
angles of my feelings… I pulled myself back to her, looking into her face to decipher
how she was feeling. She stared back at me with an unfathomable expression on her
face. There was wonder and pride and something else…
“Do you always think and feel so many things at once?” she asked quietly.
“Yes, I suppose I don’t say everything… even just now, I’ve only just highlighted, not
gone into the full depths of what I am thinking on this particular issue, but yes.”
“Wow” she replied, “I thought it was just me… You always seem so sure of your path. I
just figured you only saw one way… To hear what you are wrestling with… it is very
satisfying. It makes me appreciate you even more.” She pulled me close then, “I love
you.”
“As I love you.” I held her for a moment and then pulled her away. “Now it’s your turn.”
“Okay… I’ll try to be as open and honest as you’ve been… Being away from you for an
entire year – also not an option for me, so we agree there… On the positive side – the
idea of Wizards, and Witches, Magic, Castles, on top of just living overseas for a year… I
don’t know how to say it – you’ve opened up an entire mythical world to me. In one
sense this is simply an extension of that – but still – it amazes me. And England… or
Scotland, wherever… It is the birthplace of all my favourite pieces of literature. If you
only said we were going to study abroad, that would be enough to excite me… then the
magic on top of it… I don’t know if I could accept giving up the opportunity, especially
as it doesn’t appear to be a regular occurrence. Knowing that you didn’t even know
about this world and you’ve lived as long as you have, makes me think this is a once in a
lifetime or perhaps existence opportunity…
On the downside – firstly, you being in danger. I don’t like it, but we have been through worse and come out okay. I can accept that as long as I know appropriate precautions
will be taken – and that you won’t let yourself get killed! I would be really pissed if you
did that! Being apart from you at all, even if it were just during the day… every day…” I
saw her face tighten in pain… she didn’t finish the sentence. “Being able to see you
everyday, but only say hi as we passed in the hall, would be difficult, but not impossible.
Especially if we can be together at night. It would make it easier if you lightened up on
one of your conditions…” she raised her eyebrow suggestively.
I smiled at where her suggestion was leading. “I’m not saying no, but from what I
understand from speaking with Carlisle and my brothers – that might make the ‘justbeing-
friends’ thing even more challenging…”
She frowned at my objection. “I thought I was supposed to share all my thoughts and
feelings…”
“I’m not saying ‘no’ – just adding my own thoughts.” I defended… However it was
something to consider. But if things went, well, not well, that would necessitate her
change… “Let’s put that on the back burner. Let’s just say it is open for discussion, after
we decide what we are going to do.”
She smiled at her small victory, “Well, as I was saying, being just your friend every day
would be difficult… especially if you have to pretend to have another girlfriend. I don’t
know if I can help not being jealous. But I can try. I have no qualms about waiting for
the wedding, except that I don’t really want to wait to be changed… however, what I
want is more then just you doing it. I want you to be there as I take my first steps in this
new life, to hold my hand as learn to be a vampire… I don’t want to learn all this while
you are off at school, saving the world… Plus I really want the wedding to be a chance
for Charlie and Renee to say goodbye. If I get changed before the wedding, then… I’ll
be different at the wedding. And I’m not sure that is exactly what I was thinking…” she
got lost in thought then, seemingly unsure of what to say next.
“And… I like the idea of being a part of something important. I know I said I thought it
would be selfish to say no – and it would be… but that’s not exactly what I mean. I mean
that this is the opportunity to do something for someone else. I’m sick of being the
person everyone is running to save… it would be nice to be the hero – or at least one of
the hero’s...”
She wanted to do this, I realized. She really did. I couldn’t contain my enthusiasm, “So,
you really want to go?”
She nodded her head excitedly.
“So we just need to figure out the details.”
“I guess – so I recall you saying that one particular detail is open to discussion…” she
started.
I sighed deeply. I did say that. And I wondered if it was possible… to be together, really
together at night… but just be friends during the day. “Yes… so let’s talk about it. Let’s
suppose we agree to go forward with that particular detail, and something goes wrong.”
“Nothing is going to go wrong”
“We don’t know that. We’re discussing here – let’s just say we do… and things go
wrong, I will have to change you. Then you will have to go through being a newborn
vampire without me. So, you need to be willing to accept that.”
“But nothing is going to happen.” She insisted, the crease deepening between her
eyebrows as she was deep in thought. Finally she conceded, “But if it did, you’re right.”
“Okay… now this is new for both of us. What do you think it will be like, to be that
intimate at night, and then friends during the day. I am not sure I can do that, especially
if I have to pretend to be with someone else. I’m not saying no, I’m just saying that I
think that would be challenging for me. And of course, I would prefer to wait until we
are married, but you already know that.”
She sighed deeply, “Well, I don’t feel the same way about waiting until we are married,
but I do respect that is how you feel.” She swallowed, pausing, then her words came out
like a gush of water, “I really don’t want to wait, Edward, I really don’t. I want you,
every part of you, now…” She stopped, took a deep breath and thought for a bit. “Okay,
I can see your point. I don’t know what it will be like either, but it will be hard enough to
pretend to be friends… I don’t want to agree to this, Edward…”
I could see her struggling. “Bella, we don’t have to decide this particular detail today. I
think we’ve decided to go?” she nodded “And that you would be at the school, as
opposed to living in town?” another nod “And we won’t change you until it is over?” she
hesitated for a second, then nodded… “And, about the other thing – we can think about
it, okay?”
“Okay” she said… then she looked up at me with gleaming eyes, “We’re really going to
live in a magical castle in Scotland?”
“Yes” I pulled her in closer, our shared enthusiasm boiling over. I bent her face up and
kissed her then. She kissed back enthusiastically… I went with it, falling on my back,
pulling her with me, kissing her until she was breathless. Pulling away, I couldn’t help
but laugh… I knew there would be danger. I knew there would be problems to
overcome, but I was so excited about going – and that she was also excited… I couldn’t
believe it… And I felt like we had moved to another level in our relationship.
I looked back at her… How I loved this girl! Then the excitement and joy in her face
was replaced with another emotion – fear. “What am I going to tell Charlie?”
“No problem… tomorrow you and I are going to have a special delivery with acceptance
to the University of Edinburgh Freshman Year Abroad program!”
“Really? When did that happen?”
“It didn’t, we will forge them tonight.” I grinned back at her…
“What about when Charlie… oh never mind. It’s not like he is going to come over and
check! We’re going to Scotland!”
We jumped up then, both excited to go back and tell the rest of the family.
As we approached the house, I saw Alice waiting for us on the front porch. She jumped
up and ran to us excitedly… “I’m so glad you’ve decided to go… and with a whole year
to plan your wedding it is going to be even more amazing!” She clapped her hands with
glee.
“Alice! No! The wedding will be no more then it would be if it happened this August.
AND it has to happen the day – the very day we return.” She was firm… and I could see
she wouldn’t waver on this.
“Alright! But maybe we could do the wedding in Scotland? At the renovated castle?”
“Alice!”
“Okay, okay… let’s go tell the others!”

Ch 6 Packing up to go
Charlie was a significantly easier hurdle then either Bella or I had anticipated. Of course,
he was thrilled at the delay in the wedding plans and the fact that we would officially be
staying in separate boys and girls dorms. Thrilled was actually an understatement. I
could see, in his mind, he was ecstatic and a bit relieved…
We spent the rest of the day packing. I could see a plan developing in Alice’s mind and I
knew Bella would be furious.
“Bella, don’t you want me to help you pack” Alice started in her sweetest more innocent
voice.
“Sure, Alice, that would be really nice.” Bella had no idea what she was setting herself up
for.
I shot Alice a look. “Go easy” I warned in a low, hushed voice.
You just stay out of this, Edward. This is girl’s business… Besides, Bella will need to
be prepared for every eventuality… I cringed as I saw her plans for Bella, knowing how
much she would hate it.
“Bella, you come with me… Edward has some other things he needs to take care of.” She
said forcefully as she steered Bella away.
Not too long later I heard “Alice” as an expletive coming from the oversized closet
upstairs. I shook my head, knowing there was nothing I could do to save Bella from this
particular terror.
I found my way downstairs to meet up with Carlisle. There was more information I
needed to prepare myself.
I am so pleased that you and Bella came to an understanding…Carlisle thought as he
heard me approach, so proud that you are both willing to help. “She’s a good woman.”
He said out loud.
“I know.” I replied. That was what I loved most about Bella, her beauty that came from
inside – the character of her being. She took my breath away, if that were possible.
This will be difficult for her. She is being brave… no courageous. But this will be hard.
Have you considered how you might deal with the challenges… He asked, his thoughts
clearly pointed toward the charade we would have to put on while at Hogwarts.
“Only the mechanics of it, really. She has suggested that… taking our relationship to the
next level… would be something to consider. To give us a piece of what we thought we
would have after this summer… but…”
But you are worried you don’t have enough control…. I nodded… and you don’t feel
right about being intimate before you are married? I nodded again, looking down.
He sighed deeply then, putting a hand on my shoulder, waiting for me to raise my eyes to
his. “Edward” he said allowed, “you are a most remarkable man. Your love for Bella is
enough to give you the control you need. So don’t worry about that. As far as your
moral beliefs, I can’t tell you what to do about those, but if it is a concern, we could
always perform a civil ceremony now and have a religious one later…”
“I just don’t know if I can… and then be her friend… and ‘date’ someone else…” I
drifted off…
That would be difficult, he agreed. He tried to imagine, pretended to be friends with
Esme. To meet her and be able to give her a cool or friendly hi, without the passionate
love that radiated from his core and shone through every part of his being. He shook his
head. “It will be difficult” was all he said.
“There are other difficult matters… can you tell me any more about this Triwizard
Tournament?” I asked. This was what I had really wanted to talk about, what I had come
to find him for.
“Well, Dumbledore didn’t give me a lot of details, but I can tell you what I know. This is
a contest between the largest magical schools in Europe. There are three tasks in which
you are to demonstrate courage, intelligence and, of course, magical talent. Wizards have
died in this tournament, so the danger isn’t to be taken lightly. Of course, you will have
some advantages. Still, it will be difficult.”
“If it is between the three magical schools, how am I going to get into it?”
“Dumbledore seems to think he can enter you as if you are student from a magical school
in America. As the only entrant, you would be the successful champion for that school…
It will be somewhat unprecedented, but it is necessary, given the circumstances.”
“Can you tell me more about that? Did you learn more about what is going on with the
wizard war?”
“It would seem that this Lord Voldemort began gathering followers about 25 years ago.
He grew in strength and power until he was prepared to take control of the wizarding
world and, by extension, the rest of the world. He is hungry for power and will stop at
nothing to get it. He has followers called death eaters, who practice dark magic. A group
of Wizards gathered together to oppose him, but he started killing them off one by one.
The last couple he killed were Harry Potters’ parents. He used a curse that instantly kills.
However, when he went to kill the baby, something happened and the baby lived, while it
seemed Lord Voldemort was destroyed. However, he was only reduced to a practically
lifeless existence. He has been subsisting in various forms until the time he can return in full strength. There have been several incidents at the school since Harry was of age to
attend – all seem to be attempts on his life. There really is only one person who would
want this young boy dead, Voldemort.”
“I see” I thought about that. I couldn’t imagine the pressure that was on this boy. He
was only 13 and he had already had attempts made on his life. What kind of fear must he
live in... I wonder if he is bitter? Or has all the attention made him brass or cocky? It
will be interesting to meet him and find out what kind of person he is…
I think you’d better check on Bella, Carlisle thought then, I think she has had just about
enough of Alice for now.
I chuckled as I turned and bound up the stairs.
“Alice, I’m going to be in a school uniform all the time… why, Why, WHY would I need
a full wardrobe of designer dresses? I will never wear them!”
“You can never be too prepared, Bella. Besides, this is a boarding school. There are
bound to be formals, dances, parties” Alice argued.
“Dances – ug! I won’t go… besides, if I can’t go with Edward, what’s the point?”
“Bella, don’t you want to go to dances? Have you learned nothing since you’ve been
with us? Dancing is a part of life”
“Alice!”
I swooped in then and gathered her up. “I need to borrow Bella back for a few moments.
It looks like she is packed enough, Alice. I’ll get her luggage and bring it down stairs.” I
gave her a stern look to let her know this particular event was over. Bella just snuggled
in closer to my chest as I started carrying her away to my… our room.
Edward, this is as much for you as for her, Alice shot back in her mind.
I left her with a warning growl. “So, did you survive?” I asked.
“Barely” she sulked. “You could have come back sooner, you know!”
I chucked, “What happened to my brave Bella who didn’t want to always be the helpless
one? You know you need to learn to stand up to her.” I teased.
“I know” she sighed, “I just don’t want to hurt her feelings.”
“Alice will be fine. She is very capable of taking care of her own feelings.”
We were at the room then, so I took her in and lay her down on the bed. I just wanted to hold her close to me for awhile. As excited as I was to be off to learn more about this
new magical world, I knew once we were there, life would be crazy and hectic. We
wouldn’t have much time together. I wanted to make the most of it now.
She looked up at me with wide eyes as I silently lay down beside her, pulling her close to
me. I stared at her face, memorizing each curve, each hollow… she flushed then under
my scrutiny and I revelled in the beauty of it. Then I couldn’t resist any longer – I
carefully touched her face, outlining her cheek bones, her eyes, her nose, her lips –
keeping careful gage on the amount of pressure… I traced lower, down her neck and
along her collarbone before bending in for a kiss.
Kissing Bella was pure pleasure. The warmth of her lips flooded through me, creating
electrical shocks that coursed through my entire body. Her reaction was, of course, even
more of a pleasure. She threw herself into the kiss with reckless abandon… Whereas the
previous night I had been careful to sit up, to create some distance between us which
helped maintain my control, tonight I held her as tightly as I dared, embracing her
warmth, edging closer to the edge…
I released her lips then and kissed her face, allowing my lips to memorize what my eyes
had completed moments earlier. Then down her jaw and along her neck, inhaling her
scent and embracing the accompanying burn.
She was breathing heavily now and I knew I needed to slow down… I wondered, could
we do this – could we go further? A year had never seemed like much time to me, not in
comparison with a century… but right now, a year seemed like a very, very long time. I
sighed and pulled away, knowing this wasn’t the time, regardless of what we decided.
I saw her small pout as I stared down at her, but she didn’t voice her objection. “I love
you.” She said.
“As I love you”

Ch 7 United Kingdom, Here we Come!

We left early the next morning, picking up Bella from her house where she said good bye
to Charlie.
“Well, Bells – don’t get all hopped up on bangers and mash over there.”
“Thanks, Dad. I’ll miss you.”
“I’m real proud of you Bells. Work hard.”
She gave him a hug. I could see tears in her eyes as she approached the door I was
holding out for her.
He looked over me grudgingly, “You have a good year too, Edward.”
“Thank you. I am sure we will.” I could hear that he was making an effort. Ever since we
announced our engagement, he had decided to try to like me, though I could see it was a
challenge… he saw me as the boy who was stealing his little girl away. I could
appreciate his concern, especially in light of the eventual result – her becoming a
vampire.
Our flight departed from the Sea-Tac Airport in Seattle. Dumbledore had arranged for
the extra ticket Hagrid had left with us to be changed along with additional seats, all in
first class, to London.
“If the school is south of Edinburgh, why are we flying into London?” Jasper asked, his
mind strategising.
“We will be meeting up with Harry Potter and a few others and attending the World Cup”
Carlisle explained, careful to not make any specific references to the existence of
Wizards.
“The World Cup!” Emmett exclaimed, excitedly, then with confusion, “But the World
Cup isn’t on right now.”
“Not that World Cup,” Carlisle went on, “This is for a sport they play. He told me to tell
you, ‘You’ll see’.”
Bella let out a coughing laugh. I looked down at her questioningly.
“It’s just that, the first time I watched you play baseball, that is what you said to me. It is
sort of funny to hear it said to you. For once, I’m not the only one in the dark.” She
laughed.
Soon we were up in the air, flying toward England. We were fortunate to get a direct flight on British Airways, making the trip easier to manage with eight of us, and all the
extra baggage – thanks to Alice. It also gave Bella and I some time to talk. Our family
were the only ones in the first class section, and they would be discreet about listening in
on our conversation, so I thought this might be the best time to continue our discussion
from the other day.
“So, Bella,” I was suddenly uncomfortable. I looked down at her left hand, which I was
currently playing with, noting the ring that held so much meaning to me. With a pang of
regret I realized she would have to remove it before we met up with the wizards. I took a
deep breath and started in, “Have you given any more thought as to what to do about our
arrangements?”
She looked at me quizzically, “I thought our arrangements were finalized. Aren’t we
staying at that castle?”
“I was thinking of our other arrangements…Carlisle offered to do a civil ceremony, you
know… so that is an option.”
She sighed, “I see – that is what you are referring to.” She sounded annoyed.
I heard Emmett cough to cover up a laugh from two seats in front of me. All right, so
most of them would be discreet… “We had such a good discussion before, and we’ve
both had some time to think about things, I just thought we could talk about it while we
have all this time together on our trip over.”
“Oh.” She said, “So what have you been thinking about?”
“Well” I started, “A year didn’t seem like a long time in comparison” she stiffened up,
but pressed her lips together to avoid interrupting me. “But more recently, it has seemed
like a very, very long time.”
Emmett broke into another ‘coughing’ fit.
“Maybe we should continue this conversation later” I said to her, standing, reaching over
the row and giving Emmett a smack on the head with my in-flight magazine.
“I’ll behave” he said, stifling a laugh, “I promise.”
“We might as well talk about it now.” Bella said, “It’s not like we are going to get any
more privacy in the house…” She thought for a minute and then launched in “Listen, I
don’t want you to think I’ve changed my mind on what I agreed to earlier – on waiting,
like we had agreed before this whole… trip… came up. I know it is important to you,
and I want to do everything right – this and the wedding… It is just that, when I agreed
to that, we were looking at August, not next year. A year does seem like a very, very
long time to me, too.”
I understood what she was saying. I wouldn’t hold her to our earlier commitment.
Things had changed – two months was very different from a year. I just hoped we could
come to a compromise, “So, as I was saying before… Carlisle has offered to perform a
civil ceremony.”
“NO!” We heard from one row up.
“Alice, you are not a part of this conversation.” I warned.
A small, pixy like head popped up over the seat and glared back, “How dare you consider
it, Edward. What kind of a brother are you?”
“Alice” I warned. Jasper pulled her down into the seat as she sulked. I felt his calming
influence as he tried to get her to relax and let us have this incredibly awkward
conversation.
Emmett got up then and walked toward the lavatory. What is he doing? Why would he
need a lava… oh… Bella looked up in response to Emmett clearing his throat as he, held
out the folding lavatory door, gesturing to us as if he were the porter of at a hotel,
showing us to our room. Bella flushed as I glared back at him.
“Emmett, get back down here and leave them alone.” Rosalie hissed. He quickly
returned to his seat with chagrin. We didn’t hear anything else from him for the rest of
the trip.
I didn’t know how to get back into our discussion, nor if I wanted to. I leaned away and
looked out the window, gathering my thoughts. I heard the faint scratching of pen on
paper beside me. Bella must have given up as well and was writing her mother.
However, when I finally turned back, I saw her eyes, shining with emotion and an
envelope that said, Edward.
I looked from it to her with wonder. She pushed it forward as a tear escaped her eye,
falling down her cheek. I reached over and carefully brushed it away, and then leaned
across and kissed her face. She was the most amazing creature. She pushed the envelope
a little more forcefully, with a whisper, “Take it, before I change my mind.”
I opened the envelope to read her note.
Edward,
I love you more then anything in the world. I love you more then my life. I want to be
with you forever – in this life and the next. I know you believe in that possibility.
I don’t know what this next year holds for us, but I know whatever we face, we can
face it if we are together. I love you. You know I want to be with you fully. I want to be yours in every way. That means every part of every day. I don’t want to wait, but I also don’t want to have just part of the picture I’ve painted for myself of our life together. I want it all, and for that, I am willing to wait.
I love you, Edward. I always have since the moment I saw you. I always will.
Bella
I read it over twice before looking up at her. Here, I had been ready to give in. The civil
ceremony or not – to give her what she wanted, what we both wanted – to give her some
small piece of what we had dreamed about for this fall. I swallowed back the emotion
that flooded through me, both the love and the regret.
“We could always re-evaluate at Christmas,” she whispered conspiratorially with a small
grin that didn’t quite reach her eyes.
I pulled her to my chest and held her there for the remainder of the trip – with the
exception of a few “human moments” of course.
“We are on approach to London,” the attendent announced over the speaker, “please
returned your seats and trays to the locked and upright position and return any carry on
items to the overhead compartments or under the seat in front of you.”
Emmett groaned as he had fully reclined his seat for the duration of the flight. The rest of
the family scrambled to prepare for landing and, more importantly, meeting Professor
Albus Dumbledore.
“It should go without saying,” Carlisle spoke softely, looking pointedly over at Emmett,
“but please be on your best behavior.”
“That means no crude jokes,” Jasper said to Emmett.
Oh, man! Emmett groaned internally.
We landed at London Heathrow, where we were met by a tall aging man, with long
flowing white beard and hair. His clothing was peculiar, like someone who wasn’t quite
sure how to put an outfit together, with a suit that were a few decades out of date. Alice
persed her lips, trying to keep her opinions to herself.
“Carlisle, my old friend” he came to us with enthusiasm. I was reminded of Aro and his
overt friendliness and courtesy, yet without the underlying threat. Yet, like Aro, I sensed
that this man was capable of more then he appeared. He carried himself with a certain air
of authority or power. Perhaps it was confidence.
“Albus” Carlisle embraced him. “This my family.” He said as he introduced each of us.
“You’ve already met Esme” They embraced warmly as if old friends.
“Emmett and Rosalie.” Carlisle announced as they both shook Dumbledore’s hands.
“Emmett, you look like you can handle yourself. Hagrid is looking forward to having
your help dealing with some of the wildlife around the school.”
Emmett’s eye’s shined with excitement, “I’m looking forward to that as well.” His mind
flashed through a million jokes he wished he could share, but a quick glare from Carlisle
held his tongue.
“And Rosalie, you are radiant. I am sure you will be a most welcome addition to our
student body.”
“Thank you.” She said, tossing her hair lightly over her shoulder.
“Jasper and Alice.” Carlisle continued.
“Alice – you have a most remarkable gift. I am truly eager to learn more about it.”
“Thank you – I hope that it will be as helpful with your kind as with ours.” Alice replied.
“And Jasper – your experience, I’ve heard many great things. I am sure you will be a
great help to us as we plan and strategise our next moves.”
“I would be pleased, sir” Jasper replied, and I could see a hint of his military background
in his demeanour.
“And, of course, Edward and Bella.” Carlisle concluded.
“Edward” he said with surprise. You look… he didn’t finish his thought. I was
astonished at the control he had over his mind. He didn’t let a stray thought wander
during our entire introduction. Interesting… “You are a most welcome addition to our
student body. Your contribution is greatly appreciated.”
I simply nodded in response.
“And Bella, you wonderful girl. You have a difficult path a head of you this year. Thank
you for your sacrifice.”
She blushed, “It is nice to meet you too.”
“We must be on our way. We have much territory to cover this morning, and very little
time to get there. I have transportation waiting to take us to our meeting point. I have
already arranged for your luggage to be taken directly to Hogwarts.”
We exited the airport to find our transportation – three old fashioned black cabs. It was
still dark out, due to the time change. It was only 3 in the morning. Bella stumbled along
beside me, clearly jet lagged.
“We will be heading out into the country to a meeting place. I will tell the drivers where
to go. Once we arrive, we can discuss more.” He said as he stuck his head into the first
car to give directions.
The cabbie looked confused as he mumbled over the direction in his head while we piled
in. I pulled Bella closed to me, encouraging her to go to sleep. I didn’t know how far we
had to go, but she would be exhausted by the end of the day, I was sure. Her body would
take some time adjusting to the difference in time, while ours were not affected at all.
We sped away from London into the country side, as the moon shone down. “Welcome
to the UK” I whispered to Bella’s sleeping form.

Ch. 8 the Port Key

It seemed as though we were nowhere in particular when the cabs stopped and
Dumbledore got out.
“Quickly, quickly” he called back to us. We all shuffled out. Bella was somewhat
incoherent as I pulled her from the car – so I used it an excuse to carry her. I never
wanted to let her go.
We watched the cabs pull away as we looked around. We were nowhere in particular. I
was suddenly anxious and on alert. I realized the strength of emotion was coming from
Jasper. He must be uneasy with this situation and I can understand why. We had just
been driven to the middle of nowhere…
“We don’t have much time before the others arrive.” Dumbledore started, as we gathered
around, “We will be meeting up with some of the other students from Hogwarts up here,
where we will be transported as a group to the Quidditch World Cup. One of the students
will be Harry Potter, so you will get an opportunity to meet prior to going to the school. I
thought it would be a good social outing, as well as a chance to mingle – to try out being
a Wizard, so to speak.”
“Quidditch?” Emmett asked.
“It is a sport played on brooms – you’ll see.” Dumbledore responding quickly, moving
on. “Harry Potter is currently staying with the Weasley family. They are trustworthy
Wizards who are supportive of muggles, so this meeting should go well. It will also be
the first time for you to take on your new personas so” he eyed my hold on Bella, “you
will need to be prepared.”
I shook Bella lightly, trying to wake her. “Bella, Bella, you need to wake up.” I
whispered.
“Oh, Edward, I’ll wait, okay, I’ll wait.” She said with an annoyed tone, still asleep.
Emmett burst out a quick laugh. I growled. Carlisle glared.
“Bella, we are here, love. You need to wake up. Others will be here soon.”
“Hmmm, what?” she said opening her eyes.
“We have arrived.” I said to her.
She looked around. “Where is the castle?”
“No, love, we are meeting up with some students from the school. We will be going to
the Quidditch World Cup with them. We need to… be apart.” I said with a sigh.
She woke up suddenly at that. “Oh!” she scrambled down from my arms. “Okay, I’m
ready” she said with a lot more certainty then she portrayed, tottering back and forth on
her feet.
“We have a short walk before we meet up with the others. Then we’ll be transported.”
Dumbledore explained, “I need to warn you, this will be a different experience. We will
be using something called a Port Key. It will transport you almost instantly to our
location. It might feel a little bit like flying. We thought it was the best way. This is how
underage wizards travel because they aren’t allowed to use magic – no magic is required,
which is good for you – and you will appear to fit in with the rest.”
We all nodded as if we knew exactly what was coming though none of us did.
“All right, let’s go.” He headed off up a hill into the darkness.
The walk was good for Bella – the fresh air and exercise invigorating her and making her
more alert. It was a short walk. If we had been allowed to run, it would have taken only
a few seconds, but the chance that the others may have already arrived was too great to
risk it.
I was so focused on Bella, I hadn’t noticed Emmett working up a way to break the ice
until it was too late. “Dumbledore,” Emmett started, a wicked grin on his face, “I heard a
story about a hag, a troll and a leprechan who went into a bar one day.”
“Emmett,” Esme said softly in warning.
He ignored her warning and went on. I groaned seeing where this was going. I shot a
panicked look at Carlisle, but Dumbledore had already stopped, looking back at Emmett
with interest.
“So, they go into a bar and take a table out of the way in the corner. The bar tender shot
them a few looks, but did come over to take their order. Finally the Hag gets up and
marches over to the bar. ‘Three Guinness please.’”
Emmett congratulated himself on changing the name of the beer from ‘bud’. Rosalie
moaned.
“The bartender doesn’t even look up and grumbles, ‘we don’t serve yer kind.’ Aghast, the
hag storms back to the table, ‘he says he won’t service us,’ she shreeks.”
“‘uh?’ the troll got to his feet and stumbled over ot the bar, ‘three beer,’ he growls out,
setting his club on the bar in threat.”
Oh no! Carlisle gasped, recalling the joke.
“The bar tender rose himself to his full height, only reaching half way up the troll, but
glared back and said, ‘Like I told yer friend, we don’t serve yer kind.’”
“The troll, being low on brains and used to being able to intimidate, just drug his club
back to the table and sat down dumbfounded.”
“That’s when the leprechan jumped up, ‘Listen here laddies. Let me see if a little gold
will loosen his taps.’ He danced up to the bar setting his sack of gold on the bar, but
before he could open his mouth the bar tender swung around and glared at him, ‘Your
gold’s no good here, why don’t you just take your business elsewhere.’”
“’Listen,’ he gingled the gold, ‘What do you have against a little business from a few
mythical creatures?’”
“’Mythical creatures?’ The bar tender suddently grinned, ‘Ey nothin’. We thought yous
was Irish.’”
A shocked gasp escaped the family. Roselie slapped the back of Emmett’s head.
“What?” he exclaimed, rubbing the back of his head, “It wasn’t crude.”
“Emmett,” Carlisle started, but then a noise drew our attention. In the midst of our shock
at Emmett’s blunder, we failed to notice Dumbledore had begun shaking violently.
“Dumbledore… old friend? Are you okay?” Carlisle asked, concerned.
He didn’t speak… just continued shaking. After a moment, he straightened up somewhat
so that we could see tears falling down his cheeks.
“Way to go Emmett. You’ve offended him so badly he’s crying.” Rosalie glared.
Then a low chuckle escaped Dumbledore’s lips. “We though yous was Irish.” He doubled
over again, now his shaking accompanied by loud rauchous boughts of laughter. “The
Irish,” He continued to chuckle.
The tension broke and we were all suddenly laughing, Emmett in a full belly guffaws, the
rest of us with nervous chuckles.
“Oh Emmett,” Dumbledore said, as he removed his half moon glasses and wiped the
tears, “I haven’t heard one that good in years…. The Irish… worse then a troll….” He
giggled a bit more… “Oh my.”
When he caught his breath we continued on our trip. It wasn’t much longer before we
arrived at the top of the hill just as another group was approaching from the opposite
direction. I noted, with a twinge of sorrow, Bella quickly shift her ring to her right hand.
“Dumbledore” a red haired, middle aged man with the most peculiar outfit greeted us.
“What is he wearing?” Alice whispered to Rosalie, who smiled in return.
“Mr. Weasley, so good to see you.”
“Professor” one of the boys ran ahead, right up to Dumbledore. “It is so good to see you.”
“It is good to see you too, Harry.”
All eyes suddenly zoomed in on this boy. He did not look at all impressive – average
height for his age, slight with round rimmed glasses perched on his nose.
No wonder he needs protection. He looks like I could snap him like a twig, I heard
Emmett’s wondering thought.
This is who we are here to help? Rosalie was incredulous. He looks no more then a boy.
Edward, what can you tell about him? This was Alice. She was concentrating on him to
get a picture of his future. The only thing she could see was confusing – a picture of him
flying through the air and then landing near a camp ground. Maybe her vision was
affected by wizards.
I searched his thoughts… At the moment he was expressing joy as seeing his professor
again, and general satisfaction at being with the Weasley’s. He was curious, as well,
about us – but not overly so and he was not suspicious. I noted a twinge of melancholy in
his thoughts, as though he was particularly glad to be here and away from some
unpleasant place that he avoided thinking about. The tenor of his thoughts were both
innocent and full of life while at the same time, mature and serious.
“I would like you folks to meet some people who you might see around Hogwarts this
year.” Dumbledore said, gesturing toward us.
“This is Dr. Cullen. He will be our new Herbology professor this year.”
“Professor” they nodded politely. Harry and the other boys showing no more then a
polite interest, however one of the girls – the one with large fizzy hair and noticeable
front teeth took a particular interest.
I wonder what kind of teacher he will be like. I hope he is very brilliant. I need to work
hard if I am going to be prepared for my OWLS next year, she thought. Ah, so she is
studious.
What is she so interested in? He’s just a new teacher. One of the red headed boys
thought, noticing the girl’s interest in Carlisle. He seemed particularly protective of her.
Most interesting…
“And this is his family” Dumbledore went on with the introductions. “Dr. Cullen’s wife,
Esme” she nodded as they nodded back, “she is a muggle.”
“Is she really?” Mr. Weasley’s interest suddenly peeked. “And the children?”
“Some wizard and some muggle” Dumbledore responded.
“How very interesting,” he replied, looking over us with a keen interest.
“Mr. Weasley works in the Ministry of Wizard-Muggle relations. He has a keen
fascination with all things muggle.” Dumbledore explained.
“So, some of his children will be attending the school. His daughter, Rosalie, and son,
Edward, will be joining us at Hogwarts, along with this young lady, an exchange student
from America, Bella Swan”
“Nice to meet you” they said politely, though the three red-headed boys took in Rosalie
with a longer glance then Bella and I and their accompanying thoughts were more
friendly then courteous.
“Their other children: Alice and Jasper will be attending school in town, while Emmett
has accepted a position as assistant groundskeeper with Hagrid.”
“With Hagrid?” the frizzy haired girl asked
“Yes, Emmett is looking forward to assisting Hagrid with his duties around the grounds.”
Dumbledore said kindly, yet firmly, making it clear no further information would be
forthcoming.
But, if he isn’t magical, how can he help Hagrid? I saw a collection of images flow
through her mind – unicorns, three headed dogs, a baby dragon hatching, large winged
creatures, centaurs – it was a remarkable collection of mythical creatures and I was
suddenly envious of Emmett and the fun he would have.
Then Dumbledore turned to us. “And these” gesturing toward the family, “Are the
Weasley’s and Harry Potter and Hermione Granger. I’ve already introduce Mr. Weasley.
These are his children, the twins Fred and George”
“Our mum took our candies, otherwise we’d offer you some.” One of the twins said
overly polite. I suddenly saw an image of a large boy with an even larger tongue
protruding out of his mouth. I shook my head at the image. I didn’t fail to miss the
warning glance from Mr. Weasley to the twins and I wondered if they would be trouble.
“And this is Ron and Ginny Weasley. Ron is in the same class as Harry and Hermione.
Bella, I think we will be placing you with them.” Then turning to the three, “Bella is eighteen, but has only recently been enrolled in wizarding school, so she will be taking
some classes with you. I think Bella and Hermione may become very good friends.”
I could see the disappointment in Bella’s eyes. She had been hoping we would be in
classes together, but perhaps it would be easier if we were split up. I wondered at his
final words – that she and Hermione would be close.
“Rosalie and Edward will be senior students. They will be in some courses with the
twins as well as with this young man who is coming up the hill now.”
We all looked down at another middle aged man, accompanied by a teenager who was
clearly his son. It was shocking for, other then the perfecting features of my
transformation, his face looked terribly familiar.
“This is Amos Diggery and his son Cedric.”
“Hi” everyone said, except for the twin Weasley boys, who seemed cool toward this
Cedric.
He looks like a younger version of Edward when I first met him, like his younger brother.
I heard Carlisle’s thoughts.
“Must be nearly time” Mr. Wessley said. “You only need to touch the port key.” He said
pointing to what appeared to be an old boot.
We all looked at him questioningly, as the rest started putting their hand on the boot. We
looked at Carlisle who nodded for us to join suit. We quickly put our hands on the boot
as Mr. Weasley counted down, “three, two one.”
Suddenly we were flying. It was like running, only instead of pumping my legs faster, I
was being pulled by some force connected to my center. I heard Bella gasp beside me
and I feared for her. Yet as quickly as it started it ended and we were landing lightly on
the ground – well except for Bella, who thudded to the ground and fell over. I looked
over then and was grateful that Harry and Ron had fallen to the ground as well.
“Can we do that again?” Emmet said looking excited.
I understood. It was exhilarating. Better then running, better then driving a finely tuned
European sports car.
We will have to look into getting one of those, I heard Alice’s thoughts.

Ch 9. Welcome to the Wizard World

We found ourselves at a large camp site. I looked around, perplexed. Surely wizards
would be able to conjure better accommodations then some simple tents. We did better
then this when we went camping and we had no magical powers. I could see Rosalie and
Alice weren’t any more impressed with what the perceived would be our living
arrangements for the next few days. Alice had already started devising a way to obtain a
generator and access to full washroom facilities.
Dumbledore spoke quickly with a man who must have been the proprietor of the
campsite, and then urged us to follow.
“This way, we have things already set up for you. The school had a tent that you can
borrow. I hope it will meet your needs.” He said walking quickly down a row of tents, a
few with unusual embellishments such as weather veins and chimneys. I shook my head
at the eccentricity of these wizards. Not far from us was the Weasley family with Harry
and Hermione. They stopped and started setting up two rather meagre looking tents. I
wondered how they would all fit. I was sure it would be tight. Then a few steps later we
were at our tent.
“Here you are. I trust you will find the accommodations suitable.” Dumbledore gestured
toward a tent only slightly less meagre then the Weasley’s. Though we looked at it
doubtfully, Dumbledore had a twinkle in his eye and I wondered if this was some sort of
wizard initiation.
“I am sure this will be fine for our family.” Carlisle politely stated, giving us all a
warning glance.
He can’t be serious, Rosalie complained inwardly.
That will barely fit me, Emmet’s thoughts joined Rosalie’s.
“We’d better get in and sort things out.” Jasper said bravely, making the most of the
situation. I supposed he’d seen worse accommodations in his years of military service.
His words convinced us that we might as well go in. Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad. At
least Bella and I would have to ‘sleep’ close together and, in reality, only Bella would
sleep, so the rest of us could wander around the camp grounds. It was the least we could
do to not offend Dumbledore.
With a brave face, we ducked into the tent, and gasped at the most amazing site. Once
through the tent flap, the space opened up into the most incredible room, lined with
pillows and soft chairs. There were separate rooms off the main one, partitioned with
rich flowing curtains. The entire area was set in rich fabric in red and gold. It had the
aura of a time long past – of several centuries prior, in the days of kings and queens. The
entire space must have been at least ten times the appearance from the outside. I
wondered how it was even possible. We all stood for a moment and marvelled at the
magnificence.
“This is more like it” Alice murmured staring at the rich beauty.
I heard a chuckle behind me. “So, will these accommodations meet your needs?”
Dumbledore asked.
“Yes, thank you very much,” Esme said, “It is beautiful. I would have never imagined.”
Now that we were in the privacy of this incredible tent, though using that word seemed
hardly appropriate, I risked drawing closer to Bella.
“What do you think?” I asked her.
“It is amazing… Wondrous.” Her eyes gleamed with exuberance. “This… this was worth
it.”
“We try to keep up appearances for the muggles.” Dumbledore explained, “But that
doesn’t mean we can’t live in comfort.” As his words released the tension at the wonder
of what we had just experienced, a few chuckles escaped. “With that said, I would
suggest you take the time to gather water and firewood for your campsite. The proprietor
of the site has already had some unusual experiences and it isn’t good for us to continue
to use the ‘Obliviate’ spell on him…”
We looked back at him curiously, but he didn’t explain further, and we didn’t ask.
“Here are your tickets. You are seated near the Weasley’s. They will stop by and show
you around. I must leave you now, but we will meet up again at Hogwarts.”
In very little time we were settled in our accommodations. Alice’s brief concern over our
trunks being taken directly to Hogwarts were relieved when she found clothing packed in
each room for us.
“Well, it’s not high fashion, but it will help us blend in.” she sighed at the simple outfits
in each of our sizes. “At least they provided some appropriate grooming products.”
After a moment, there was a voice at the tent flap. “Excuse me, Mr. Cullen…” It was Mr.
Weasley’s voice. I was struck at their insistence at using formal names. Except for
Dumbledore, it seemed the rest of the adults use formal names in casual conversation. I
wondered if it were an English thing or a Wizard thing.
“Come in, Mr. Weasley,” Carlisle called out, as Mr. Weasley entered the tent.
“Ah, I see you have gotten yourselves settled. Very nice accommodations here. Oh, what
is that?” he launched over toward Bella’s iPod with unrestrained fascination.
“It’s an iPod.” She said plainly, confused by the response.
“Is it really? What does it do?”
“It plays music” She held it out to him, showing him the earphones and the dial.
“This is magnificent… truly magnificent…”He said, too loud, as he listened to Bella’s
music. “How do you get the musicians in the iPod?”
“Ummm” she wasn’t sure how to answer. “We download them off the computer?”
“And that shrinks them into the iPod?” He asked seriously.
“I guess.” She answered, not sure what else to say.
“Fascinating.” He said handing it back to her gingerly, as if he were afraid of upsetting
the miniature musicians inside. “Well enough of that. I am sure we will have plenty of
time to learn more about American muggle culture… I came to let you know, I am
sending the children off to fetch wood and water… keeping up appearances you know. I
thought they could show you the way?”
“Excellent idea,” Carlisle responded. “Our children would be glad to join yours to fetch
water and wood.” He looked around at us, leaving little opportunity to object.
I do NOT fetch wood and water, Rosalie thought.
“Come guys, let’s go with the other children.” Jasper called out. I haven’t been a child in
over a century, he thought with annoyance.
Everyone except Esme and Carlisle trotted out of the tent, to see a dejected Ron, who was
not particularly thrilled with his role in keeping up appearances either. Harry and
Hermione stood off to the side, in remarkably better spirits.
“I shall think it interesting to see who else is around.” Hermione said with a slight air of
arrogance. From external appearances she would seem stuck up, but her thoughts
betrayed her sense of inadequacy.
Who would have thought that such a small tent would have such a large inside. It is
really remarkable…. I wonder who will play first? I hope it isn’t long until the games
begin. Maybe we’ll see some of the players on the way… I was surprised at Harry’s
thoughts. He seemed almost as amazed as we were at the world around us. It was almost
as if this were as new to him as it was to us. His thoughts brought to mind the
possibilities of what we might see along the way and I found myself suddenly very
interested in fetching wood and water.
“We have a map – it is just through here.” Ron pointed out.
“Well, it would appear that you have more then enough hands,” Rosalie said, “I think I
will stay here and keep up appearances… Emmett?”
“Um, Rose?” This is just starting to look fun, he looked around at the unusual tents and
wondered what else might be just around the corner.
“FINE!” she huffed. “Go along with them. Alice?”
“Actually, I thought I might go with them… get a better sense of their culture.” Alice said
apologetically.
Rosalie scowled and with a flourish, stormed back into the tent.
“I wouldn’t want to get on her bad side.” Ron remarked quietly, not realizing that she
heard every word.
There were a remarkable number of tents crammed into the small camp site. Even more
remarkable when you considered the dimensions inside the tent were likely a multiple of
the outside space. My brain tried to work through the physics that would make this
possible… it simply wasn’t possible. I shook my head as I tried to make my eyes believe
what they had seen.
People were stirring as we walked past – a small child playing with his father’s wand
blew up a slug to giant proportions before his mother, stomped it out… people attempting
cook over campfires, keeping up appearances I supposed, though what they cooked
hardly looked appetising, young girls playing on toy broomsticks which actually
appeared to fly. For the first time in my vampire existence, my mind felt incapable of
handling all the new information that it was taking in. It was all too fantastical.
The spirit of the games hung in the air… some went as far as to cover their tent with
shamrocks showing their support of the Irish, while the Bulgarian tents were decked out
with flags and pictures of a particularly tough looking player.
Did that picture just move? Jasper looked closer.. It did! He stepped back in amazment. I
looked to where his interest was drawn to see a moving picture. I stepped a little closer
and took the picture in hand, surprised to feel the thin film of paper where I had expected
the thickness of a digital frame. I met Jasper’s wondering eyes. “Cool!” I heard Emmett
exclaim.
“Krum” Ron said to us quietly.
We looked to him questioningly.
“Viktor Krum, the Bulgarian Seeker!” he exclaimed. The only part of that I understood
was Bulgarian… “He is the best Seeker in the game, and he’s only eighteen! He’s a
genius!”
I have no idea what he’s saying, but I am looking forward to tonight, Emmett exclaimed
in his head. I looked to him and nodded in agreement. This would certainly be an
interesting evening.
Hermione had pulled Bella aside, chatting about something other then Seekers and Viktor
Krum… She was clearly not impressed. Well, that wasn’t much different, then! We
came to a line up that must have been for the water and wood, as it contained a long line
of wizards carrying various buckets and other containers that theoretically should hold
water. After a wait, we gathered up our wood and water and headed back to camp. We
started back at a good pace, excited to see what else had occurred while we were gone,
but quickly realized the young Wizards were having as much difficulty carrying their
heavy loads as if they were human.
“Let me help you with that” Emmett offered to take Hermione’s water, and we fell into
step with the rest, keeping up our own appearances.
“Who d’you reckon they are?” Harry asked at one point, gesturing to a group of teenagers
who hadn’t waved at them as they passed. It seemed they had known almost every young
wizard in their age group and I was beginning to guess at the size of their school. “They
don’t go to Hogwarts, do they?”
“Spect they go to some foreign school,” said Ron, “I know there are others, never met
anyone who went to one though….”
Harry laughed at Ron’s description of some event with a pen pal. I was more fascinated
with the thoughts flowing through Harry’s mind… I suppose there would be other
Wizarding schools. It would only make sense, seeing as to the number of different
nationalities here. But still, I had no idea. This was very curious.
We had made it back to our campsite to find Mr.Weasley hopelessly lost with a pack of
matches. “Let me” Bella offered holding out her hand and taking a match to strike it.
“No” Alice exclaimed, as Bella quickly lit the match, setting it to the fire, and promptly
burning her arm as the fire flared under what smelt like too much lighter fluid.
“Ouch!” she exclaimed. “That burns”
“Let’s get you inside…”
“Derma-repairo!” Hermione quickly flicked her want at Bella and in an instant; the angry
red mark was gone.
“Thank you.” Bella exclaimed, quite pleased. “I’ll have to learn that one.”
“You’re welcome,” She responded with pride, “though I probably shouldn’t have done
that out of school. I suppose no one will report me here.” She said with chagrin. It is
funny that she didn’t know that charm. It is first year here at Hogwarts. I wonder what
they teach in those American schools. She is clearly going to have a lot of catching up to
do. I suppose I could help her…
“Well, we should return our water and wood to our tent.” Alice said, trying to extricate us
from Weasley’s and get us back into our tent. I could see her concern. In a few moments
a contingent of official looking wizards would be arriving, including one who enjoying
gambling. She didn’t want Jasper and Emmett to make a fool of themselves on bets,
showing our ignorance for the sport.
“Yes,” I agreed. “We are a bit jetlagged and we want to be well rested for the, er, match
tonight.” I hoped I had the correct terminology.
“We’ll make sure to gather you up for the game, then.” Mr.Weasley said, “Till then!”
We waved and headed back into our tent.
“Well, I know the rest of you aren’t jet lagged, but I am actually quite tired.” Bella said
as we were safely inside, “Do you mind?” she looked up at me with longing eyes.
I couldn’t resist her, even though my curiosity was peaked as what other mysteries were
occurring outside. However, there was something I needed to discuss. “Get settled – I’ll
be in there in a minute.” She smiled and headed off into one of the rooms, letting the
curtain fall across the opening.
“Carlisle, what more do you know about this Harry Potter?” I asked. “His mind is
particularly… interesting. He seems just as bewildered as we are at the sites and events
around us, almost as if he were seeing this for the first time.”
“Dumbledore did mention that he was not raised by a magical family.” He started,
recalling the exact words from his mind. “Yes, he said he was raised by his Aunt and
Uncle – his mother’s sister and her husband. It would seem they were not supportive of
magic and Harry didn’t even know he was a Wizard until his eleventh birthday when he
received his acceptance to Hogwarts.”
“He has only been in the Wizarding world for three years?”
“So it would seem. He is quite a remarkable young boy, isn’t he?”
“He seems very earnest – innocent.” I mused, “Yet, it is as though he has aged before his
time. There is, in one sense, a maturity about him.”
I saw that too… Carlisle considered.
“I’m going to check on Bella, now. Thank you.”
“Pleasant rest.” He said as I walked toward the opening.
“Wait.” I heard Esme call out. “I have something – for Bella… and for you too.”
I looked at her questioningly. She held out a thin golden thread – a chain. “I thought
Bella might like something to keep her ring close to her heart.” She said softly.
It was perfect. She could wear it – no one would find it unusual to wear a family
heirloom as a charm. “Thank you,” I hugged the woman who had become my mother and
then turned to find Bella.
She was already asleep as I entered the room. I didn’t want to wake her, so I carefully
lay down next to her, laying one arm over the blanket which covered her still, sleeping
form. She must be very tired, she wasn’t even restless or talking. I noted, with pleasure,
that she had moved her ring back to her left finger. It must have been after we returned to
the tent. I breathed in her scent and lay back as I thought through all I had seen today,
wondering at what more was to come.
It was quite a bit later, when Bella finally rolled over and rubbed her eyes. I suspected it
was close to dinner time here, though her body would think it was breakfast. I recalled,
with chagrin, that I hadn’t given her anything to eat when we got here. Her stomach
grumbled in complaint.
“I suppose I should find myself something to eat.” She said, yawning. “I haven’t eaten
since the plane.” Then she sat up suddenly. “Oh, we’re really here, aren’t we?”
“Yes, love” I laughed. “Don’t you remember?”
“I do now!” she scowled. “It all just seemed like a dream.”
“I agree. Let me find you something to eat. You can stay here and wake up.” I suddenly
had an idea, remembering the scent that had wafted over from the Weasley’s tent earlier.
I retuned with eggs and sausages. “Here you are – traditional English Wizard breakfast!”
“Mmm. That actually looks really good. I feel like breakfast.” She stretched and reached
out for the plate.
“Wait” I called out as I zipped out and back again, “orange juice.”
“Wow, breakfast in bed. I could get used to this.” She smiled, as she dug into the food.
When she had done and I had cleared the plates away, I sat down next to her, pulling out
the gift from Esme.
“Bella, I noticed you were conscientious about the ring around the others.” I started,
“Esme thought you might like some way to keep it next to your heart.” I held out the thin
gold chain.
“It’s perfect.” She whispered. I wished I had anticipated her reaction, so that I could
have let Esme enjoy the pleasure that ran through me at her acceptance. She quickly took
the ring from her left hand and slipped it onto the chain.
“Let me” I said, taking the chain from her hand, and fastening it behind her neck. “I am
so pleased you are learning to accept gifts. Perhaps I’ll test out your new found abilities.”
I smiled.
“No!” she frowned. “Don’t buy me anything.”
“I’ll make no promises.” I laughed.
“Hey Edward, Bella – get ready, it’s going to start soon.” Emmett shouted from the
entrance of the tent.
“Emmett – what are you wearing?” Rosalie hissed.
“Jasper!” Alice cried.
Bella and I scrambled out to the main area of the tent to see what was happening. We
were met by Emmett, dressed in Bulgarian red, wearing a scarf with a lion that actually
roared. In contrast, Jasper was decked out in green, wearing what looked like a
leprechaun hat with shamrocks that danced along the thin brim. Their hands were full
with a lit rosettes in their team’s colour, screaming out names, I assumed of players on
each team. They also each had large flags of each team tied around their necks like
capes. Each flag had moving figures which were currently flying across their backs.
“I bet Jasper that the Bulgarian Seeker would capture the Snitch.”
“And I bet Emmett that the Ireland Beaters would be the first to hit a Bulgarian with the
Bludger.”
They had no idea what they were talking about, but their excitement was palatable.
“And we got these for you.” Emmett handed Rosalie a small item that looked like a stick.
“A miniature broom?” she asked.
“No, a model Firebolt, check this out.” He held it out on his palm and suddenly it started
hovering just over his hand.
“I got you one, too.” Jasper held out to Alice.
“See, they get to give their wives gifts.” I pointed out to Bella.
“Edward, if you ever get me a broom as a gift…” she hissed with humour in her voice.
“I think it’s time” Carlisle said then as he heard Mr. Weasley approach.

Ch. 10 Quidditch World Cup
“This way” Mr. Weasley led us through the crowd toward a gigantic stadium that rivalled
the largest stadiums in the world. It was not only large in area, but it projected several
stories into the sky. How had the Wizards managed to erect a structure on such large a
scale without attracting the attention of the muggles?
“Seats a hundred thousand.” Mr. Weasley said, responding to some unspoken question of
Harry’s. I could see he was as much in awe as we were. “Muggle-repelling charms on
every inch of it. Every time muggles have got anywhere near here all year, they’ve
suddenly remembered urgent appointments and had to dash away again… Bless them.”
I appreciated Harry’s presence then, as his curiosity was a valuable source of
information. Even now, as we walked along, I picked out details from his mind to help
understand the game we were about to watch – although the sketchy details I was able to
glean were very confusing.
“Prime seats!” said the woman at the entrance. I suppose she is a witch, I thought. “Top
Box. Straight upstairs, Arthur, and as high as you can go.”
Prime seats are at the top? Emmett’s confused thoughts wondered as we climbed the
stairs. Higher and higher we climbed as the crowd dissipated at each level. I wondered at
how Bella would manage if we had to go much further. She stumbled and tripped on
every third or fourth purple carpeted step. It gave me an excuse to touch her as I caught
her arm at each trip, but what I wanted was to scoop her up and carry her the rest of the
way.
That one’s a bit clumsy… cute, but clumsy, Ron’s thoughts triggered a growl low in my
throat.
Edward! Carlisle’s sharp thought warned.
Finally we made it to the top of the staircase – to a small box. I could see from the
richness of the seats and the location in the centre of the field, this certainly must be
prime seating, but we were awfully far from the pitch.
How are we going to see anything from way up here? Jasper wondered. We can barely
see the field.
I gazed at the site of a hundred thousand wizards and witches taking their seats. Amazing
to think not all that long ago we had no idea they even existed. Now I wondered at the
size of their population in the world. Bella must have seen the wonder in my face for she
leaned over, speaking in a whisper, “Now you know how I felt when you opened my eyes
to the existence of vampires.”
As the wonder wore off, I looked more at the stadium and the field, trying to make sense
of the set up in context of the thoughts I was pulling from the heads of wizards around
me. The gold goal hoops seemed much too high in the air to be at all useful. How were
they to get up fifty feet to score? Was this like basketball… The image in Harry’s head
finally put it all together. He was remembering a match he played in, sitting on a broom,
flying through the air, reaching for a small golden ball…
“Oh, they play it on brooms!” I said suddenly, as if it were the most obvious thing in the
world. Six pairs of eyes looked at me, while Alice’s eyes shone with excitement as she
started seeing visions of the coming match. Wow! It was going to be amazing.
“They play it on brooms,” I said again to their questioning eyes of the rest of my family
and Bella.
“Yes, that is what Dumbledore said.” Carlisle started, then – he remembered the toy
firebolt broom hovering in Emmett’s hand, “Oh, they play it on brooms…” He said in
wonder.
The others still looked confused. “Flying brooms” I said quietly, with a nod toward the
toy broom Alice was holding in her hand. A knowing look spread through their faces
then.
“Cool!” Emmett said. This is going to be something else!
We followed the Weasley’s, taking our seats in the box directly behind them. A small,
very poorly dressed creature sat in the box already.
“What kind of wizard do you suppose that is?” Esme leaned over and quietly asked
Carlisle. Alice had also noticed the creature and concentrated very hard on it, but saw
nothing… Then she saw Harry and Ron disappear. I panicked until moments later I
noticed Harry and Ron engage the creature in conversation.
“Carlisle, whatever it is, I can’t see it.” Alice whispered.
I focused on Harry’s thoughts as they spoke. “Apparently, it is a house elf. They are
slaves to the wizards… they have magical powers that, apparently, exceed the wizards…”
I whispered the snatches of information to my family. The last image was one such house
elf, defending Harry against a full grown wizard with long flowing hair.
“Slaves?” Alice was shocked.
Do we get one? Rosalie thought, picturing the chores she could have one do for her. I
shot her a disappointed look.
What? When in Rome? She shrugged her shoulders.
“Carlisle, we must do something,” Esme pleaded.
“I’m not sure that is the best idea… As much as I hate to consider the mistreatment of
any being or creature, this isn’t our world.” He reasoned. Esme sighed in resigned
agreement. The passing issue was suddenly interrupted…
“A display from the teams mascots will precede the match.” Hermione announced,
reading from her program.
“Oh, that’s always worth watching.” Mr. Weasley commented. “National teams bring
creatures from their native land, you know, to put on a bit of a show.”
Wizards, witches, elves… what next – leprechauns? Jasper’s eyes eyes shone with
wonder.
“Yep – leprechauns.” I confirmed out loud, as I previewed the pre-game show in Alice’s
mind.
“No way!” Emmett exclaimed.
“And some dancing girls called Veela.” Alice added, “Watch out for those – they seem to
have some sort of effect on men. It might be best to plug your ears to help, just to be
safe.”
“ah, and here’s Lucius!” the man named Fudge said as another family filed into the box.
A growl rose in my throat as I recognized the man from Harry’s memory – the wizard
who had attacked him was stepping into the box. From the thoughts of Mr. Weasley I
could see this was not someone to be trusted. Carlisle looked over at me with alarm, but I
only shook my head, trying to concentrate on the full adult wizard before me… But there
was nothing to hear. It was as if his mind was a blank, like Bella. I wondered briefly at
this, but then he spoke.
“Ah, Fudge.” He held out his hand, “How are you? I don’t think you’ve met my wife,
Narcissa? Or our son, Draco?”
It was during his introduction that I realized his mind was not a blank, as I had heard each
of his words in his mind before I heard them with my ears. However, like Dumbledore,
he had amazing control over his thoughts… Whereas Lucius had impeccable control over
his mind, his son, Draco, had absolutely none.
Weasley’s – how did they manage to get up here? Riff raff! And the mud-blood with them.
Disgusting! How our world has fallen. And what of these others? Not familiar at all –
commoners by the looks of them… except for her… his eyes halted at Rosalie, sitting
haughtily in her seat. Now there is someone of obvious pedigree… and beautiful as well…
Father will have to find out which family she is from. I removed myself from his mind as
his thoughts turned to subjects I’d rather not consider. I was briefly humoured to think of
what would happen to Draco if Emmett found him anywhere near Rosalie. I turned my attention back to the conversation, now that the initial introductions had concluded.
“Good Lord, Arthur.” Lucius said disparagingly, “What did you have to sell to get seats
in the Top Box? Surely your house wouldn’t have fetched this much?” I cringed at the
obvious insult against our good mannered host. Carlisle frowned as well, but cast a
careful glance at each of us. This wasn’t our battle.
“How – nice” Mr. Weasley responded to some random fact that had been disclosed about
the Malfoys. Throwing their weight around, I see – their ill gotten death eater money
used to buy friends at the Ministry. I’ll have to let Dumbledore know.
“I should introduce you to the newest additions to Hogwarts.” Mr.Weasley brightened
then, “Dumbledore has snagged them all the way from the Americas. This is Dr. Cullen,
newly appointed professor of Herbology.”
Carlisle nodded, “Pleased to meet you.”
“And I you.” Lucius shook his hand, eyes tightened as if trying to remember something –
then for the briefest moment he slipped. Cullen – why is that name familiar? He quickly
regained his composure and control as the introductions continued.
“His wife, Esme… and his children, Rosalie, Emmett, Jasper, Alice and Edward. And
this lovely lady is an exchange student they brought with them, Bella.”
They look very young to have older children. I wonder if they have a philosophers stone?
I’ll have to discuss it with Lucius, Narcissa thought.
After shaking hands with Carlisle, the Malfoy’s didn’t offer to properly greet the rest of
the family, which suited us fine. “Slimy gits” Ron said under his breath and I found I
couldn’t agree more.
A large man charged into the box then, “Everyone ready?” he asked, his face flashing
with excitement, “Minister – ready to go?”
“Ready when you are, Ludo.”
He whipped out a wand, pointing it to his neck and said, “Sonous!” his voice then
boomed as if over a loud PA system. “Ladies and gentlemen… welcome! Welcome to the
final of the four hundred and twenty-second Quidditch World Cup.”
“Ya! Whooo Hooo!” Emmett boomed with the crowd. We briefly looked at each other
and, laughing joined in. The enthusiasm was contagious.
“And now, without further ado, allow me to introduce… The Bulgarian Team Mascots!”
Emmett stood up, placing two fingers from each hand in his mouth and let out a piercing whistle.
Really! Hermione thought with disgust.
“Ears everyone” Alice warned under her breath. Unfortunately, it was too late for
Emmett as the mascots – a hundred of the most beautiful women I had ever seen pranced
out on to the pitch, more beautiful even then the perfected beauty of the vampire women I
had met in my century of living. Their faces were pale like ours, and their hair was white
gold – moreover they shone with a glow that seemed to emanate from within them and
beam out though their skin and hair. They were luminescent. I could see every male in
the stadium was mesmerized by their appearance – their minds going blank, filled only
with thoughts of the Veela.
Music must have started for they began to dance the most beautiful dance, intensifying
the impact on the male minds around me – most noticeably Emmett’s. He started to walk
toward them as Rosalie clamped down on his arm, pulling him to the chair with a
murderous glare. She promptly put her fingers in his ears as he looked sheepishly back at
her. It only helped moderately, as our hearing was so sensitive, but the overall affect on
us did not seem as strong as on the wizard men who were completely enthralled.
Edward! Harry! Alice’s alarmed thought warned me as I saw him rise and jump to his
death. I shook my head, not sure if I dared release my ears. In the split second of my
indecision, Hermione noticed Harry rise.
“Harry, what are you doing?” she said sternly. That paused his advance just long enough
for the music to end along with the enchantment that held him.
“Honestly!” she hissed as she pulled him back in his seat.
“Fascinating” Carlisle murmured, his mind already working through the possibilities of
this mystery.
“And now” roared Ludo, “kindly put your wands in the air… for the Irish National Team
Mascots.”
Now, the leprechauns! Jasper thought excitedly. But instead a great green and gold
comet zoomed into the stadium, circling around before splitting into two smaller comets.
“Where are the leprechauns?” Jasper asked disappointedly looking down at the pitch then
back at Alice. His dejected expression made Alice laugh. “I thought you said…”
“Wait for it” she chuckled, as she watched the comets turn into shimmering bands of light
forming a rainbow. It quickly faded and formed a great shimmering shamrock with
golden rain falling from it.
“Ouch!” Bella complained. I turned to see her rubbing her head as she peered at a large gold coin in her hand.
“Excellent!” Ron yelled in front of me, as the great shimmering shamrock broke into
thousands of little green men that could only be leprechauns.
“See” Alice whispered to Jasper.
“Wow!” he said in awe.
“And now, ladies and gentlemen, kindly welcome – the Bulgarian National Quidditch
Team!” Ludo bellowed introducing each of the players. Emmett stood up again, freeing
himself from Rosalie’s grasp, cheering loudly much to the dismay of most everyone in
the box, with the exception of Ron.
“That’s him, that’s him!” Ron yelled as the player, Krum was introduced. He was an
intimidating man – thin, dark and sallow-skinned, with a large curved nose and thick
black eyebrows – he looked much older then his eighteen years. This was, apparently,
Ron’s hero.
“And now, please greet – The Irish National Quidditch Team!” Logo hollered – to many
more cheers from our box, including Jasper, not willing to be outdone by Emmett.
“And here, all the way from Egypt, our referee, acclaimed Chair Wizard of the
International Association of Quidditch, Hassan Mostafa!”
A small wizard strode out onto the pitch, broom in one hand and a crate in the other.
“From what I’ve gathered, there’s one ball for scoring, two balls that are used to hit each
other with and one tiny gold one that one member of the team, the Seeker, is to try to
find.” I tried to explain quietly to my family, “When one of the Seekers finds the little
golden ball, the game is over and that team is award one hundred and fifty points. They
also receive ten points for scoring goals in the hoops.”
“I see bats” Jasper noted, “Is this like baseball?”
“I don’t think so – I think they use those to hit the balls at other players.”
“They purposely try to hit balls at players? That is awesome!” Emmett exclaimed,
impressed at the obvious brutality of the sport.
“It looks like it has begun.” I said as I watched the referee kick open the crate and the
various balls flew into the air. We all sat in stunned silence as we watched the game
unfold. Nothing in all my long existence could have prepared me for this. It was a fast
paced exciting game – made all the more exciting by the fact that they were flying on
brooms and could fall at any moment.
“TROY SCORES!” roared Ludo, “Ten – zero to Ireland!”
“Ha!” Jasper laughed.
“Just you wait – we never bet on first goal!” Emmett bantered.
The Irish team appeared to out match the Bulgarians. As the game continued it sped up
and got more brutal – players hitting each other on their brooms, and the Bulgarian
Beaters, as I had learned they were called, batting the large balls, called Bludgers at the
Irish Chasers with greater frequency and intensity. Still the Irish continue to out play the
Bulgarians.
The one exception to the Irish dominance of the game was the Seeker, Viktor Krum. I
was mesmerized as I watched him fly on his broom as if it were simply an extension of
himself.
“They’re going to crash!” I suddenly heard Hermione scream and I looked around to find
the source of her distress.
“Look!” Bella pointed to the two Seekers plummeting through the Centre of the Chasers
quickly approaching the earth. “Oh my” she said in alarm… Then at the last minute,
Krum pulled up, leaving the Irish Seeker to hit the ground with a thus.
“Way to go Krum” Emmett cheered.
“That was a cheep move.” Jasper defended, as the medical team treated the Irish Seeker.
“Hey, check these out,” Ron twisted backward in his seat facing Bella, handing her what
looked like a pair of binoculars. She looked at him questioningly. “They’re Omnioculars
– you can speed up, slow down or replay the game” he explained.
Bella looked through them briefly, and then more closely… then she handed them to me,
“That is really neat, Ron. I hadn’t ever seen those before.” She said politely.
I looked through the lenses – it was replaying the dive to the ground over and over. I
played with the dial and the scene sped up and slowed down accordingly. “That is really
interesting, Ron. Do you mind if I show my brother?”
“Sure” he said, not really excited about losing his Omnioculars.
“It will just be for a second, I’ll give them right back.” I handed them to Jasper. “Hey
guys, check these out...”
Jasper looked through them, playing with the dial. “Cool!”
Emmett took them from Jasper repeating the process. “These are awesome!” He
exclaimed before handing them to Carlisle.
“Fascinating” he said in awe. The women weren’t interested so I handed them back to a
relieved Ron, who gave Bella a quick, shy smile before turning around.
She really is very pretty, he thought to himself. Too bad she would never go for the likes
of me… I’m too young for her anyway… He returned his focus to the game.
The Irish Seeker, obviously doing better, was back in the game. As if in response to the
stunt, the Irish scored several more goals, and were now ahead by ten goals, one hundred
thirty points to ten. The game got more violent and, apparently, more dirty as various
fouls began to be called, and the crowd complained and yelled at those that weren’t. The
mascots also got into the spirit of competition, taunted each other. At one point there
rose a dispute as the referee became entranced with the Veela and then attempted to
throw them out of the game when he came to his senses.
They play further intensified, the Beaters hitting at each other without mercy. A
Bulgarian Beater hit the bludger toward an Irish player, almost knocking her off her
broom.
“Ha!” Emmett laughed.
“Foul!” roared Ludo.
“Doesn’t count!” Jasper laughed.
The Leprechauns then made a rude gesture toward the Veela and the Veela shifting in
their appearance. “Look” I pointed out, as their faced elongated into sharp, cruel-beaked
bird heads, and long scaly wings were bursting from their shoulders –
“And that, boys.” Yelled Mr. Weasley, “is why you should never go for looks alone!”
At that, Rosalie, of all people, broke out into hysterical laughing. “Emmett, what do you
think of your girl friends now?”
“Awe, Rose!” he slumped in his seat.
The game was back on, the Irish easily cutting through the Bulgarians, passing up the
field… “MORAN SCORES!” and they added to their lead. As the game commenced
after the goal, the Irish Beater swung heavily at the passing Bludger, sending it straight
toward Krum. Not noticing it in time, Krum was nailed hard in the face.
“That count!” Jasper said smugly to Emmett.
“Aren’t they going to help him?” Bella asked… but then the Irish seeker took off into a
dive.
“He’s seen the Snitch!” Harry shouted. “He’s seen it! Look at him go!”
We rose in our seats, watching the Irish seeker closing in on the small golden ball,
invisible to human eyes, but which we could clearly see. Krum was on his tail and
closing in fast. Blood was streaming from his face… I notice Jasper blanch at the site
and quickly clamp himself down in his seat. Even from this distance, we could smell it.
I noticed the rest of my family stop breathing as a precaution.
“They’re going to crash!” Hermione shrieked in front of us. But it didn’t appear they
both would. The Irish seeker seemed as though he was going to lose control, while Krum
appeared in perfect control. In a split second, the Irish Seeker hit the ground, hard, while
Krum pulled up, snatching the snitch from the air.
“He’s got it – Krum’s got it – it’s all over” Harry shouted as Krum held his hand up high,
the small golden ball in his hand.
“And that counts too!” Emmett said with a quick shove at Jasper.
Jasper, who was still keeping himself locked in place, grinned grimly.
“Ireland win!” Ludo shouted.
“What? Oh, I guess…” Emmett said as he looked at the scoreboard and counted up the
scoring in his head.
The crowd went wild with cheers and jeers from fans and mascots alike. It was
pandemonium. Flags were flying, the Irish national anthem blared from an unknown
source, the Irish players dancing while the leprechauns danced and threw gold coins. The
Bulgarians and the Veela looked forlorn at the loss.
The World Cup was awarded and we shuffled out of the stadium back to our tent.
“So you owe me fifty bucks!” Emmett teased Jasper.
“And you owe me fifty!” Jasper shoved back. “So I guess we’re even!”
“That was quite the game” Bella said, stumbling along, not quite seeing where she was
going.
“It certainly was.” Carlisle nodded.
It was the first night in a long, long time, that any of us had seen anything that completely
surprised and amazed us. What more would this year bring?

Ch. 11 The Dark Side of the Wizarding World
“That was quite the game. Thank you for your hospitality, Mr. Weasley.” Carlisle said as
we neared the tent.
“We were very pleased to be of assistance to a friend of Dumbledore’s. And how did the
muggles enjoy the spectacle?” He turned, looking to Esme and the ‘non-magical’
children.
“Oh, I think we were all pretty amazed.” Carlisle responded, “We don’t get Quidditch in
America.”
“Well then…” Mr. Weasley stalled, trying to find a reason to prolong our visit. “We’re
about to enjoy a hot cup of cocoa. Would your family like to join us?”
“Mr. Weasley, that is very generous of you… some of the family are a little worn out
from the time change and the activities of the day, but perhaps Esme and I will join you
at least.” He looked around at us to see how receptive we were to the invitation, not
wanting to commit on our behalf.”
“I think I have the energy for a cup of cocoa” Alice chimed in. Jasper looked over at her
and grudgingly nodded. “Me too!”
Rosalie glared at Emmett as he began to speak. “Well, I’m tired. I think I’m going to hit
the sack.” She said as she not so gently nudged Emmett.
“Ya” Emmett poorly faked a yawn, “I’m exhausted.”
Well that settled things… I didn’t want to be back in the tent right away now… I looked
over at Bella to see how she was doing. The nap this afternoon must have given her
exactly what she needed for she seemed wide awake now. “I’d like some cocoa, too!”
she said… Ron brightening at the information.
“Me too!” I joined in.
We all piled into the larger of the two Weasley tents. Like ours, the interior expanded into
a multiple of its exterior size. It wasn’t as grand as the tent Dumbledore had arranged for
us, but still, very comfortable.
The sounds of raucous festivities rang out all around us – crowds of Irish supporters
laughing and singing – celebrating their championship win. Inside, Ron and Harry led a
heated discussion over various aspects of the game with Ron’s older brothers. It was
fascinating to hear the more complex analysis from those who had actually flown on a
broom as I replayed my memories of the game in crystal clarity… It was clear we would
see more of Quidditch as it was a regularly played game at Hogwarts. Hogwarts – what
other mysteries would be revealed there, I wondered.
“BANG!” a loud noise and the sound of cocoa spilling across the table caught my
attention. I quickly looked over at Bella, who was just as startled, however she was
holding a half full cup. Then I saw the cause of the distraction. The youngest Weasley,
Ginny had nodded off at the table.
Bella looked back at me accusingly, “You thought it was me” she hissed.
“I made no such judgements.” I lied.
“Perhaps we should leave you folks. Our children are also tired. I am sure we will catch
up with you in the morning.”
“Very good” Mr. Weasley agreed, “Yes, I think we shall send off ours to bed as well…”
We returned to our tent, settling into our various ‘sleeping areas’. Of course, only Bella
would actually sleep, while the others occupied their time until morning.
“Edward, I’m so glad we decided to come.” Bella said, inching her way closer to me, her
head on my chest.
“As am I” I responded automatically, my attention otherwise held by the way the
lamplight played against her skin and hair. It left the most irresistible glow – one that you
didn’t experience with artificial lights.
“I wonder why they didn’t use electricity or technology” she mused.
“I noticed that as well.” I responded as my finger found its way to a lock of her hair,
twisting it around my finger as I watched the red flecks in the lamplight.
“Those Malfoys give me the creeps.” She said suddenly, a shiver running through her
body.
“Mmhm” I agreed entirely, but the shape of her lips was much more fascinating then
malicious, evil wizards. I leaned over and silenced her next observation with my lips.
“Mmm” she murmured in response.
“What was it you were going to say?” I teased, as I brushed my hand against her face,
then ran my fingers down her neck.
She looked up at me with those smouldering brown eyes, the most curious expression on
her face, “you know what? I have no idea.” She reached up for another kiss.
“Get Up! Ron – Harry – come on now, get up, this is urgent!” I heard Mr. Weasley’s
voice shouting from the tent next door. In an instant, I was pulling Bella to her feet and rushing out to the main area of the tent where we met Carlisle, Esme, Jasper and Alice. Emmett and Rosalie joined half a second later.
“What’s going on?” Emmett demanded.
“Fire!” Alice and I said at the same time as I saw hooded wizards moving across the
camp ground, using their wants to lift people in the air and blast tents with fire.
“Get outside, NOW!” Carlisle ordered. Once outside we saw the scene that had just
played out in Alice’s vision. People were running in different directions, trying to avoid
the coming danger. We could see, in the distance, a group of hooded wizards, walking in
our direction, sending random individuals into the air while blasting their tents.
“Wizards fire!” Carlisle’s voice was calm, but highly alarmed. “Grab Bella – let’s get out
of here.” He said, quickly moving to the nearest wooded area. There I threw Bella on my
back and we broke out into a dead run.
“Carlisle! What about Harry?” I asked.
No, he could die… but the boy… Carlisle hesitated. I had never seen him anything but
certain of his direction.
“Carlisle, should I go back and get him?” I asked urgently. We were now a safe distance
from the mob.
Edward the fire will kill you almost instantly. It is much more intense then regular fire –
and as a directed blast will pierce your skin igniting the venom.
I nodded in understanding before I ran back. The last thing I heard was Bella’s
impassioned cry, “EDWARD!”
I arrived back into the middle of the chaos that now loomed around the fringe of the
camp. It was madness to try to find him in this crowd, but I needed to. Keeping to the
edges, away from the hooded wizards, I searched with all my senses to find Harry. I
couldn’t find any trace of his scent around the edges of the campground, nor could I hear
his voice. I started to panic. He must still be in there, I thought, unwilling to consider the
other option. I decided I would have to start back at our campsite. I carefully made my
way around the crowd, waiting until the wizards had passed the area where our tents had
been to find his trail.
I picked it up instantly, following his path through his scent. He had run away with Ron
and Hermione whose scents were mingled with his. He must have been in a panic as his
direction changed several times. Finally I found his mind as he listened to his friends.
“Those poor muggles, though.” Hermione said nervously, “What if they can’t get them
down? I saw the image of people floating in the air.
“They will” said Ron, reassuringly, “They’ll find a way.”
I stayed in the shadows, keeping a watch over them as they discussed the evenings
events.
“Hello?” Harry called out suddenly. A growl rose in my throat as I sensed the danger.
“Who’s there?” He asked.
A dark figure stood in the clearing. I could see him clear as day, though I knew the three
young wizards wouldn’t be able to.
“MORSMORDRE!” The man suddenly called out, wand in hand. My breath caught in
my throat as I realized he may have just said a spell that could kill Harry and I had no
warning from his thoughts. A vast, green and glittering mist erupted from the wand
flying up over the treetops and into the sky. It formed a skull, composed of what looked
like emerald stars, with a serpent protruding from his mouth like a tongue. I breathed a
sigh of relief as it rose higher and higher. It was just another magical affect.
But then the woods erupted with screams. I looked around, confused as the chaos
reignited and fear spread throughout the camp once again.
“What’s the matter?” Harry said, echoing my confusion.
“It’s the Dark Mark, Harry!” Hermione moaned pulling him away through the forest.
“Voldemort” I heard him say as I shadowed their position. In an instant twenty wizards
appeared out of thin air and surrounded them. I considered my options. Could I kill all
twenty before one of them realized what was happening? Not likely – and it would only
take one blast of the wand to end my usefulness. Perhaps I could run fast enough to grab
Harry before they saw. That seemed the better option. I crept closer, moving around to
find my opening. As I was preparing my move, Harry yelled.
“Duck” he said to his friends and they hit the ground.
“STUPEFY!” a chorus of voices yelled to a blinding series of flashes as a dangerous
level of magic flowed through the circle, just missing the three young wizards.
“Stop! STOP! That’s my son!” With relief I heard Mr. Weasley’s voice. The twenty other
wizards stepped back, lowering their wands as he rushed toward them. I watched from
my spot in the darkness as the wizards discussed the source of the mark. A house elf was
brought forward and discussion ensued. When it appeared Harry and the others were safe,
I began to carefully back away, finding a passage through the trees to a point where I
could safely break into a run back to my family.
Edward! I heard Alice’s urgent plea.
“Right here!” I called out.
You disappeared! She said with alarm. Then glancing toward the clearing, “Oh” as her
gaze fell upon the house elf. I realized what had happened.
“It’s okay. They’re now with Mr. Weasley.”
“You’d better come back now. Bella is in hysterics. I tried to leave quietly, but she must
have seen my face as I saw you…” she broke off.
I had a pretty good idea what Bella would think. “Let’s go!”
We made it back to the others in seconds to find Bella struggling against Emmett’s iron
clad grasp.
“It’s okay, let her go.” I said as we arrived and suddenly Bella was in my arms, kissing
my face, my neck, my arms, my hands…
“Sorry Edward. It was the only way to keep her from leaving.” Emmett grimaced.
“Not a problem. Thanks for keeping her safe.” I chuckled, knowing how obstinate she
could be, even while surrounded by six deadly vampires.
“You… are never… to do… that… again…” she said between kisses.
“Bella,” I said, gently pulling her away, “I would never do anything to hurt you, you
know that, right?”
“Yes” she said
“And I know it would hurt you if something happened to me.”
“Okay.”
“So, please trust me when I tell you I won’t let anything happen to me.”
“But Alice saw…”
“Alice saw me disappear… only because I was too close to a house elf.”
“Oh” she said looking down.
“Bella” I pulled her to me, into my embrace. “I love you more then my life.”
“You need to love me as much as your life,” she whispered.
I kissed her hair, trying to kiss away the worry. “Yes, as much as my life.” I agreed.
With a loud popping sound, we suddenly saw Dumbledore appear before us.
“Ah!” Jasper yelled in surprise.
“What is that thing you do?” I asked anxiously, remembering the wizards in the clearing.
“And good evening to you too.” Dumbledore said graciously.
“Sorry old friend. Please forgive our rudeness. It has been quite a night.” Carlisle eased.
“I am sure it has.” Dumbledore responded gently, but with a very serious tone. Then
turning to me, “It’s called apparating and disapparating when we leave. You’ve seen this
before?”
“Yes in the clearing… I went back to keep an eye on Harry, to make sure he was alright.
There was a man, a wizard who cast a spell that made an illusion in the sky. Hermione
called it the Dark Mark. Then twenty wizards apparated and attacked the three of them
before I could do anything.” I felt ashamed over my momentary hesitation. I wasn’t
dealing with humans anymore. Everything was so new, so unexpected, so fast. For once
since I had become a vampire, I felt unequal to the task. I felt inadequate.
“But Harry and the others are alright.” Dumbledore stated. It was not a question.
“Yes” I answered anyway, wondering how he knew. “They ducked and then Mr. Weasley
came out and stopped the attack. I stuck around and watched until I was sure the danger
was over and then came back here.” I concluded.
“This man, who made the Dark Mark, were you able to get a good look at him?” he
asked.
“I could see him clearly enough, though he was facing away from me. I only saw a partial
profile.”
“You did a good job, Edward.” He looked down at me with such tenderness I felt warmth
spread through me. It was almost the same as when Carlisle expressed his pride in me,
though I didn’t deserve it.
“I was lucky. I had no warning… I am not used to being at a disadvantage.” I said, the
words coming unbidden to my lips.
“Disadvantage?” Dumbledore asked. Carlisle looked concerned.
“I can usually hear what people will do well before they do it… Here, with some of the wizards, I hear nothing.” I admitted.
“Like Bella?” Carlisle asked.
“No” I turned to him, “It’s different. It’s like I could hear their thoughts, but they hide
them from me. Even now, with you” I turned to Dumbledore, “I hear nothing except
when you speak. Then I can hear what you are about to say before you say it. Or when
you are surprised and slip – I’ll hear a fraction of a thought before you regain control.”
“Slip?” He asked again.
“Yes, when you saw me at the airport, you thought ‘you look’ but you never finished the
thought.”
“Ah… yes” He looked at Carlisle then, “This is interesting. We have much to discuss, but
perhaps not here.” He said looking around. “I think we should get you settled in your new
accommodations first, then we can discuss everything.”
I had the distinct impression that Dumbledore never discussed everything, but I was sure
he would share what we needed to know.
“Now, you can’t apparate and, unfortunately, the port keys are exceedingly busy right
now…” he mused.
“If I can offer a suggestion?” Carlisle asked. Dumbledore nodded. “If you are not
opposed to riding, we can travel exceedingly fast if you point us in the right direction.”
A twinkle came to Dumbledore’s eyes, “That would be very interesting and, it would
seem there are not many other options.”
“Then hop on old friend.” Carlisle said as he took a hold of Dumbledore. “The rest of you
follow.”
He took off, then, heading north to Scotland…

Ch. 12 Castle Venlaw

“That was exhilarating. Thank you, Carlisle.” Dumbledore said, eyes shining, as we
slowed and he hopped down. He was surprisingly agile for someone with such an elderly
body. We had stopped in a small clearing in the woods. “The proprietors have already
left, but I didn’t want to take any chances of someone seeing us arrive,” he explained,
“Of course, if someone is there, we were dropped off at the bottom of the hill by a
cabbie.”
“Of course” Carlisle agreed.
“This way, then, to your new home.” We followed him onto a gravel driveway and
walked the rest of the way to our new accommodations. We were all anxious, I could see
from the thoughts of the others around me, and the way Bella squeezed my hand, but
Alice and Esme were in particular having difficulty holding themselves to a human pace.
At long last, we walked into a opening in the forest. The roadway widened into a small
parking area. Off to the left was a lawn, tastefully adorned with a minimal number of
pieces of furniture against a forest backdrop. I could hear the clucks and heart beats of
several chickens nearby, seemingly behind the grand mansion before us. It was, truly, a
small castle, appearing to be roughly 18th century in its original construction, of a
Scottish Baronial style. The exterior was a taupe stone brick, three and in some places,
four stories high with a turret at one end and high peaked roof. Ivy climbed the outer wall
in places and the grounds boasted beautiful gardens.
“Wow!” Alice exclaimed, “This is going to be fun!”
“I thought this might be suitable” Dumbledore was pleased with the obvious appreciation
for the place, “There are free range chickens out back. They are good layers, though I am
sure only Bella will take advantage of that… As for the rest, the forest should hold
sufficient wildlife to sustain you, although you’ll need to be careful not to hunt too far
north as Edinburgh is not far away. I respectfully ask that you refrain from hunting on
Hogwarts grounds as many of the creatures are sentient…”
“Certainly. You have been more then helpful. Thank you for your consideration.”
Carlisle said, moved by Dumbledore’s easy acceptance of our way of life.
“Shall we explore your facilities further?” Dumbledore gestured toward the front door, a
large iron key in hand.
The entrance was grandly decorated in dark stained oak and rich burgundy, navy and
forest green. It had been modified to serve as a reception area for the bed and breakfast
guests. To the right was a large staircase. We followed the hallway to the left, finding a
large dining area that had been enlarged by opening up a wall between two rooms. Next
to that was a library that must have been used as a bar. We settled ourselves in the library
on the beautifully upholstered seats.
“I’m sure you’ll want to explore the rest of your new home and pick out rooms. Your
belongings have been delivered upstairs. However, as I have some other responsibilities
to attend to in the near future, I thought we might spend some time discussing plans for
the coming year first.”
“Absolutely,” Carlisle gestured for Dumbledore to start.
“I’ve been considering how to best protect Harry. He must, of course, never know.”
“Of course.”
“Edward will have to enter the Triwizard Tournament to watch out for him. However, the
tournament is only open to students who are of age, specifically seventeen or older. So
Edward will have to pose as a 6th or 7th year student.”
“I should be able to manage that.” I replied, thinking of the many years I had played the
part of a teenager in school.
“Yes, I expect you’ve had more then enough practise at that. The issue is magic. I had
expected to place you in a natural teenaged relationship with a female student to pose as
your girlfriend and then to help you with magical practices. However, we have an
opportunity I hadn’t expected. You see, you are very similar in appearance to one of our
sixth year students.”
“Yes, Cedric Digory. I noticed a certain resemblance.” I replied recalling our meeting
prior to the World Cup.
“This provides the possibility of you being his cousin from America. Cedric is a very
accomplished young wizard and his father is a trustworthy friend in the Ministry. It will
also make you much more welcomed at the school.”
Bella brightened suddenly to the idea. She hadn’t relished the thought of my playing the
part of someone else’s boyfriend. “Does that mean Edward and I could be dating at
school?” She asked brightly.
Dumbledore looked at her gently, “I am afraid I would still advise against it. Firstly, to
keep you safe from Voldemort and his Death Eaters. If they learn of this plan, and know
of your connection, they will use you to get to Edward. Secondly, I have an equally
important task to ask of you.”
“Oh” she said grimly.
“You see, we need someone to keep watch out for Harry from day to day. Edward can’t
because he must be in a senior level to enter the tournament. So, as I mentioned at the
Port Key, I would like you to attend classes with Harry.”
“But what if something happens to her? Who will watch out for Bella?” I asked, very
concerned for her life after what we had witnessed over the past evening.
“You met Hermione Granger at the World Cup. She is probably the most talent witch of
her age. In fact, she is the most promising talent we have had for several generations.
She is also completely trustworthy. I believe she and Bella will make excellent best
friends.” Dumbledore said reassuringly.
I breathed a sigh of relief. I momentarily feared he was going to match her with Ron
Weasley. That boy, though good hearted, didn’t need any more encouragement with
respect to Bella.
“Now, as far as Rosalie” he said turning his gaze to her, “I would also like to place you in
the 6th level class with Edward and Cedric. We need to know what the female population
is thinking. I am assuming your sensitive hearing will be able to pick up on the various
discussions between the female students?”
“Certainly” Rosalie affirmed, also noting she would be able to hear the whispered
longings of the boys… and looking forward to it.
“Now for a few unexpected complications.” Carlisle broke in, “Edward has found he
can’t hear some of the wizards’ minds.”
“Yes, that is unfortunate, but not completely unexpected. Voldemort was skilled in
legilimency, which is the reading and manipulating of minds. At times he used that
ability to torture others and turn people to his side. To combat this, many of the wizards
learned occlumency, allowing us to block our minds from his invasion. I’m afraid that
many of the older adult wizards, especially those who were on his side or who fought
against him, will have their minds closed to you. You may catch snippets now and then,
but I expect that particular skill will not be useful with those wizards. Fortunately, you
will find none of the students are so skilled.”
“I understand now.” I replied, not comforted by the knowledge, “That is unfortunate. I
am used to being able to hear people’s plans. It caused me to hesitate in the clearing with
the wizard who set the Death Mark. If he had planned to attack Harry, I am afraid I would
have been too late.” I looked down.
“Edward, we do not expect you to take on a full grown wizard! Only to use your skill to
navigate your life among the students and keep an eye on Harry during the competition.”
He looked kindly at me and, again, I felt the pleasurable warmth of acceptance and pride.
I had the intense desire to deserve his trust.
“We have another complication,” Carlisle went on, “Alice’s vision – it is blind to house
elves.”
“I don’t expect our house elves will be much of a problem. They are all very loyal.”
“You have house elves? At the school?” Alice exclaimed, panic rising.
“Yes, about a hundred of them.”
“Oh, no!” she cried.
“I am failing to see the problem,” Dumbledore looked at her curiously.
“Let me explain.” Alice took a deep breath, “It’s not just that I don’t see them. When
others interact with them or are too close to them, they disappear as well.” She said
glumly.
“I see… that could be a problem… Do you have a sense how close it too close?”
“I’m not entirely sure. Definitely, when people engage in conversation or pay attention to
them… If they were not engaged but simply walked near, I don’t know how close is too
close.”
“Well, during the day, they stay confined to the kitchen so interaction should be minimal
if at all. At night they come out and do other chores. The students would be asleep so
there should be no interaction, but they would certainly walk near the students.”
“I guess we will just have to see.” She said, not relishing the constant headaches this was
likely going to cause.
“We will need to maintain constant communication regardless.” Dumbledore stated.
“I agree” Carlisle responded. “We all have cell phones we have used for this purpose in
the past.”
“Those won’t work at Hogwarts.” Dumbledore explained, “You see, because of magic,
normal technology is problematic. Phones, electronics, electricity… all don’t work at
Hogwarts, or for Wizards for that matter…”
That explains it… Alice thought.
I hope we haven’t made a mistake here, Carlisle worried.
“I will come to you regularly. And anyone of you are welcome on the grounds. I am
sure you will make it there in very little time given the display of speed I experienced on
our journey here.” He said, the twinkle returning to his eyes at the memory. Then, as if in
response to completing a mental check list, he turned back to look at Carlisle, “Hagrid
will be by tomorrow. I originally planned to have you picked up school supplies for
Edward, Bella and Rosalie before leaving London, however, given the circumstances this evening, I thought it best to get you here as quickly as possible. Hagrid will help you get the necessary supplies for school.”
“Thank you again,” Carlisle responded, his mind turning to what these school supplies
would entail.
“And, I’ve arranged for Professor Sprout to assist you in your first class before she leaves
for sabbatical.” He concluded, “Well, I have a few more items to finalize before school
starts next week.” He turned to go.
“Dumbledore” Carlisle quickly called out before he disappeared, “I’m sorry to ask, but
how will we find the school? I understand it is hidden?”
“Oh, yes… Hagrid will show it to you. Once you’ve seen it, you will have no trouble.”
“Thank you.”
“Oh, and before I go, here is a letter from the proprietors. I assured them they would be
very pleased with the results of this arrangement,” his gentle warning was not lost on
Esme, as he handed the letter to her.
“We will do our best to restore it to period” Esme responded, excited by the challenge.
“Until next week,” Dumbledore waved and, with a pop, disapparated from our presence.
“I don’t know if I’ll ever get used to that.” Jasper sighed.
“It certainly is different,” Alice agreed. “So what does the letter say?”
We all turned to Esme as she quickly opened the letter.
Dear Cullens,
We trust you will find the accommodations to your liking. We ask that you watch after
the chickens while enjoying their eggs and, of course, the rest of the castle.
The castle was built in 1782 with additions in 1854 and 1892. As you will see, it has
been modified over the years. We are very pleased you have agreed to under go the
renovations to bring it back to period in exchange for accommodations. We would have
liked to be there to participate in the project, but Mr. Dumbledore assures us you come
highly recommended. We only ask that you ensure you maintain the period and original
design in your work. Later additions, such as closets, should be avoided. Of course,
plumbing and electrical should remain to make it practical. Also we ask you avoid any
significant structural changes given the age of the building, unless absolutely necessary.
Enjoy your year.
Sincerely,
John and Shirley Stoggie
Alice momentarily sulked at the limitations on the closets. Then, looking at the rest of us
with a twinkle in her eye she said without thinking so I had no warning, “I’ve got dibs on
first choice of bedroom,” as she dashed up the stairs.
“That’s not fair, Alice… I get second choice.” I called back.
The excitement was contagious and soon we were all upstairs exploring the rest of the
castle.
“Remember, you’ll have to relocate temporarily when we renovate your room,” Esme
called out, having found the proprietor’s quarters which included a study for Carlisle.
“And stay off the main floor. That is where we’ll start.”
“Bella, which room would you prefer?” I asked. She would be the only one doing any
actual sleeping... which she should be doing now as it was still night, but she was wide
awake.
“They are all so amazing… But I think the one with the large dark oak four-post bed and
the rust carpet. There is a really nice window seat overlooking the yard… and no one else
seems to have claimed it yet.”
“Then it’s ours” I said as I scooped her up to claim our room.

Ch. 13 Back to School Preparations

“Hullo? Mr. Cullen?” we heard Hagrid’s gruff voice call from downstairs.
“Bella, Bella” I gently shook her, “Hagrid’s here to help us with our school supplies.”
“What time is it? How long have I been sleeping?
“It’s nine in the morning. You’ve been sleeping twelve hours.”
“Can I have twelve more?” she whined.
“No, you need to get yourself adjusted to this time zone. Up until now you’ve been wide
awake at night and napping during the day. You need to force yourself up, love.”
“Okay, you’re right” she grumbled. I stifled a chuckle at her grimace. “Do I have time for
a shower?”
“Certainly.”
“I am so glad we have our own bathroom. It’s so much nicer then having to share like I
did at home” she mumbled as I heard her turn the water on in the bathroom
“You have to share with me” I teased.
“Not the same” she called from behind the bathroom door.
I chuckled. No I suppose it wouldn’t be… Then, recalling her pleasure at breakfast in bed
at the camp site, I rushed down to the kitchen.
“Hello, dear” Esme greeted me, “How is Bella getting settled in?”
“She’s having trouble with the new time zone, but overall, she’s doing well.”
She really is remarkable. She’s so good for you.
“I know… I was wondering what supplies we have. I was thinking about breakfast.”
“There are plenty of eggs. I am thinking maybe I should find somewhere to donate them.
Bella will never eat them all… We also have bread, milk, juice, fruit… what are you
looking for?”
“I think I’ll make an omelette and toast… and cut up some fruit.” I mumbled, already
getting the ingredients together. In a few moments I was back at our room. That
sounded good – our room. Back in Forks, she had her room and I mine, though we shared
both. But this was our room… I balanced the plate and glass of juice while I opened the door. “Bella, I hope you’re hungr…”
I stopped at the sight of Bella quickly pulling her towel back up to cover herself. “Umm,
sorry.” I quickly set down the food and rushed out of the room. What was I thinking? Of course she would be getting ready. Why hadn’t I knocked? But along with berating
myself, I was remembering the site of her freshly showered skin in the few seconds
before she clung the towel back to herself. I swallowed at the memory. I had spent
almost every night with her since my return, but I had never seen her so sparsely
clothed… She was… there wasn’t words. How had I managed to get such a goddess?
I heard the door open behind me. “Edward? Would you come back in?” she called
hesitantly.
I turned to see her dressed, hair still wet, in jeans and a sweater. I gave her an awkward grin, “Sure.” I said, following her back into the room.
“This is amazing,” she gestured toward the breakfast I had hastily left behind. Thank
you.” She put her arms around me. I let her pull me into a warm hug.
“Bella, I’m so sorry.” I started, trying to find the right words for my indiscretion. “I
should have been more careful… I should have knocked.”
“Edward, how could you have known. When you are over in my room at Forks – I
always get ready in the bathroom.”
“Still, I shouldn’t have assumed. It was very rude of me, Bella… Entirely inappropriate.”
“Edward, it happened… don’t give it another thought.”
If that were only possible. Unfortunately my mind recalled it with perfect clarity… not
think about it? Not likely. Something must have shown in my eyes for her face suddenly
flushed dark scarlet. I reached out to touch the heat risen to her cheeks. “I love that” I
murmured.
“Umm… Is that all you love?” she asked looking down at her hands.
I couldn’t understand what she was getting at. I loved everything about her. Her
goodness, her character, her beauty and now, apparently, her body. Oh, she was
wondering if I liked how she looked… I gulped not sure how to respond.
“Bella, you are the most amazing creature. You are good, selfless, brave… and somehow
you love me. I love the colour of your skin when you blush, your scent, the sound of your
voice. Your hair is the most attractive combination of brown with golden-red flecks that
catch the sun or firelight. Your eyes are impossibly deep brown. You face is beautiful. I
love all of that…”
She had continued looking down at her hands as she twisted them together. I put a finger
under her chin and lifted her face up to meet my gaze. “But today, Bella, I saw more of
you then I have any right to see before I am committed to you in marriage.”
Her shoulders slumped in defeat. I couldn’t understand why… I went on, “But, if you
will excuse my rudeness at the observation, you are beautiful – all of you… I only
wish…” I didn’t dare finish that thought. We should have been married by now and, at
that moment, I wished we were…
“You really think I am beautiful?”
“Oh, Bella… of course. You are a goddess. You are magnificent. You are glorious…”
She blushed again, “You left so quickly… I thought maybe…”
She thought I didn’t like what I saw? I pulled her closer. “Oh Bella, you silly girl.” I held
her for a moment, then her stomach growled. “You should finish your breakfast. Hagrid
is waiting for us downstairs.”
“Okay” she said, reluctantly letting go and carried her breakfast to the desk.
“And Bella? I’ll knock next time.”
“Okay” she smiled.
We joined Rosalie and Carlisle in the dining room where Hagrid was eating his way
through a large helping of scrambled eggs. “I think I’ve found a way to deal with our
extra eggs.’ Esme said cheerfully.
“Yer wife makes good breakfas’’” Hagrid mumbled to Carlisle, between mouthfuls.
Esme beemed at the complement as he finished off the plate, “You are welcome
anytime…really” she insisted.
“Dumbledore gave me yer class list. We nee’ to go to Diagon Alley.”
Diagon Alley? Rosalie thought.
“We’ll ‘ave to go by floo powder. Mr. Weasley ‘ad your fireplace connected to the floo
network.”
We all stared waiting for him to explain.
“Ya see, you stand in the fireplace, toss some floo powder and say the place you wan’ to go.” Bella and I looked at each other and then back at Carlisle hesitantly. Emmett, Jasper and Alice ran into the room.
“Can we try?” Jasper asked.
“Ya, can we come? Can we travel in the fireplaces too?” Emmett asked excitedly.
“I s’pose. Hermione’s parents come to Diagon Alley… So who’s firs’?”
“Me” Emmet stated, stepping up to the fireplace.
“Alice?” Carlisle asked.
She paused for a moment with that familiar unfocused expression in her eyes. “Well, if
he is supposed to end up near a shop that is advertising eye of newt, he should be okay.”
“Ya – that’s the place…” Hagrid confirmed.
Emmett grabbed a handful of dust from the bag in Hagrid’s. Throwing it he said clearly,
“Diagon Alley” and suddenly disappeared in a flash of green flames.
“The fire?” I asked nervously.
“Ah, goo’ question – only lef’ over magic, not real fire…” Hagrid assured.
We all stared at the place where only moments before Emmett stood grinning widely.
“Okay, me next” Jasper jumped up. In moments he was gone.
“It’s okay. I see them together.” Alice stated.
“Well, I might as well.” Rosalie said repeating the process, followed by Carlisle, Esme
and Alice.
“Well, I guess it is up to us.” I said, looking at Bella.
“I’ll do it,” she said, standing, grabbing a handful of dust. “Diagon Alley” and she was
gone. In half a second I followed her, worried something might have happened to her. As
I said the words, I felt myself moving through space, spinning quickly and the next thing
I knew I was standing next to a shop full of the most unusual items I had seen in my
existence.
“Well, it looks like you all made it.” Hagrid said, appearing. “Firs’ stop is Gringott’s to
get some money.”
“Hagrid, what do you mean? We have plenty of money. We can just charge it to our credit cards.” Alice inquired, holding up her special black card.
“I don’ know ‘bout yer credit cards, but ta buy yer supplies, you’ll need some gold from
yer vault at Grigott’s bank.”
“But we don’t have a vault at this Grigott’s. Maybe we’ll have to go to a muggle bank
and take out some cash?” Carlisle suggested.
“No need, yous see, Dumbledore took the liberty of deposit’n yer annual salary into a
vault at Grigott’s. I think yous’ll have enough to buy what you need.” Hagrid confirmed.
“Okay” Carlisle responded, somewhat taken aback.
“All right, ‘ere we are.” Hagrid said, holding open a large bronze door. By now, nothing
should have come as a shock, but as we walked into the snowy white building, our
collective mouths hung agape as we peered around the large marble interior.
“Are those… house elves?” Esme whispered.
“House elves?” Hagrid bellowed, breaking into a full laugh. “Imagine, house elves at
Gringott’s. Those are goblins.”
Of course, goblins… Jasper thought sarcastically, shaking his head.
Hagrid walked down the long room toward one particular goblin at the end. “I’m ‘ere to
make a withdraw’… vault 267.”
“I assume you have your key.” The goblin snarled.
Hagrid padded down his various articles of clothing, finally finding a small gold key in
his inside vest pocket. “’ere it is.”
“Come with me” the goblin hopped down from what must have been a very tall chair, for
when he came around the desk he was barely up to my waist. When we all followed him,
he stopped and glared back, “Are you all coming?”
Ya! Emmett exclaimed to himself while looking anxiously between Carlisle and Hagrid.
“It it’s no’ too muc’ trouble.” Hagrid responded.
“Very well” the goblin said with a growl. “We’ll need to take two carts…”
Why would we need to take a cart to the vault? How far are we going? Rosalie wondered.
Can’t we just take a port key or use floo powder? Emmett thought, eyes shinning.
We had walked a short distance through a rough stone passageway. Do they keep their
money in caves? Rosalie wondered.
“Get in” the goblin said sharply as we neared two un-powered carts. After we got settled,
the carts zoomed off. We changed direction a multitude of times, moving forward,
turning, dropping several stories, back up again… All the time moving past large
numbered doors.
“Here we are, key?” he said to Hagrid.
“You may wan’ to come wit’ me” He said directly to Carlisle, who turned and murmured,
“stay here” too low for the others to hear.
Carlisle stepped out of the cart and followed Hagrid to the large iron door that the goblin
had opened. We all strained out of curiosity to peer into the door and see as much as we
could.
Is that a pile of gold coins? Alice wondered.
Very quickly Carlisle and Hagrid returned, Carlisle with a velvet bag very full of coins.
Soon we returned to the bank where Hagrid led us back out onto the street. “Firs’ thing –
uniforms. Madam Malkin’s is the bes’ place for that.” Hagrid took off down the street
guiding us to a shop that clearly sold clothing.
Greeting the proprietor who I guessed was Madam Malkin, he said, “We ‘ave a few new
students ‘ere. Need uniforms and dress robes…”
“All of them?” Madam Malkin’s eyes widened.
“Only these three” Hagrid clarified, pointing out Rosalie, Bella and I, “An’ this one needs
professors robes.” As he gestured toward Carlisle.
“I’ll do my very best, dear, to have them ready by the end of the day.” She took each of
us in turn, a type measure working its way around our bodies taking various
measurements.
“Whoo-hooo. Can’t wait to see you in a school girl uniform.” Emmett exclaimed as we
left the store. Rosalie smacked him on the back of the head in response.
“We need tag it caldrons and potion supplies… then yer books… oh, and here” He said
stopping at a very simple store with only a wand lying on a pillow in the window. The
sign on the store read in peeling gold letters: ‘Ollivanders: Makers of Fine Wands since
382 BC’.
“Wands?” Carlisle asked. He can’t be serious.
“This way” Hagrid ignored Carlisle’s tone and walked into the shop. The store was tiny
with the appearance of dust over everything. Small boxes were stocked from floor to
ceiling. A small man peered at us from a spindly chair in the corner of the store.
“Here to purchase wands? You’ve come to the right place… hmm… difficult to place
you – what kind of wand…” He launched off urgently.
“’Scuse me… we’re here for a special order…” Hagrid leaned in, speaking in a hushed
tone, though we were the only ones in the store. “Dumbledore sen’ me.”
“Oh, yes,” he eyed us suspiciously then, “Well, then” he hopped off his chair and
shuffled off to the back of the store, returning with four long thin boxes. “You should
find these in order. Please be on your way now.” He said hurriedly, clearly uncomfortable
with our presence.
“Thank you” Hagrid said quickly herding us out of the shop.
“Hagrid, what is wrong?” Bella asked in response to our expedient departure.
“Mr. Ollivander make’ these types of wands only in very special circumstances –
normally very dangerous circumstances. He don’ want ta be linked wit’ whatever we are
doin’.” Hagrid explained.
“But he doesn’t know we are…” Jasper asked.
“Oh, no, no’ at all” Hagrid reassured.
We continued on our way, stopping at Slug and Jiggers Apothecary to get our potions
supplies. Emmett grinned as products such as bat spleen, dragon skin gloves and
mandrake juice made their way into our belongings.
Next was Flourish and Bott’s to purchase our school books. If we had expected to finally
see one store that would match our experience in the real or muggle world, we were sadly
mistaken. Books were piled in every which way with no apparent organization. However,
that didn’t slow down the owner, Bookseller, from quickly gathering the long list of
books Hagrid handed him and wrapped them for our departure.
By our final stop, Pottidge’s Cauldron Shop, we were all balancing several packages
wrapped in brown paper. We were glad to have the large black containers to dump our
packages in. We picked up our robes, which were completed as promised, in what
seemed like an excessively short period of time.
“Where is the short plaid school girl skirt and knee-highs” Emmett complained when he
say the long robes that were the school uniform. We laughed at his dismay, before
continuing on to our floo network point of entry.
“Oh my!” Carlisle’s voice stopped us suddenly. He reached into a bin picking out what
appeared to be an ordinary newspaper, except for the moving pictures on the cover. “The
Ministry of Magic would do well to stop wasting time quibbling about cauldron
thickness, and instead use their limited resources to stamp out the growing vampire
problem in our nation.” He read from the paper, then looked up at Hagrid. “What does
this mean? Do people know?”
“Hagrid took the paper from Carlisle’s hand, “Bah, Rita Skeeter… nothing but a rag
writer. Trin’ to make a name fer hersel’. Nothin’ to worry ‘bout.” He dismissed, but
folded up the newspaper and stuck it in the inside pocket of his vest. “Bes’ be on our way
now.”
And in a flash of green flame, we returned to Castle Venlaw with our purchases.
“Very convenient – that floo powder… but I much prefer the port key.” Alice commented
upon our return.
“Dumbledore aske’ me ta show you the school.” Hagrid suddenly said, met with eight
pairs of very eager eyes. “So do yous wan’ ta go now… or I can come back tomorrow.”

10/3/10

Ch 14 Hogwarts

“No, now would be fine.” Carlisle said much too quickly, as the rest of us dropped our purchases and rushed to the front door.
“Okay” he said, “Now when you firs’ see it, it won’ look like muc’. But jus’ wait…I
suppose it be bes’ to just walk, though you can go by floo powder…” He led us down the path from the castle to the town below. “It’s called Peebles by the muggles, but the wizards call it Hogsmede. It helps kee’ it a secre’” he said as we walked through the small town to the western end. “An’ here it is” He said with a sweeping gesture with his arms.
We looked and saw only the remains of what might have been a grand castle on the side of a hill, that plunged down into a ravine with a river flowing along it. On the opposite bank was a backdrop of forested hills as far as the eye could see. Under normal circumstances it would have been an amazing sight, however despite Hagrid’s warning, I couldn’t help but feel some disappointment.
“This way, follow me.” Hagrid walked forward toward the ruin. Several signs warned us the castle was closed and we had to step over barriers noting danger ahead. Once we walked through the stone arch and into the open court yard of the ruined castle, a large stone bridge appeared that crossed the ravine. On the opposite shore, the woods parted to reveal the largest castle I could have imagined. The grounds contained several other outcropping buildings and what appeared to be a Quidditch stadium, though significantly smaller than the one used for the World Cup. To one side, the forest and hill disappeared altogether to reveal a dark lake. I blinked once to make sure I was really seeing all that had suddenly appeared where moments before there was only hill and forest. I looked back toward Hogwarts. It was a huge rambling castle with several towers and battlements. It had clearly been built over several different periods as no one style prevailed through the entire structure.
Bella shivered beside me, “It’s quite ominous looking.” I hugged her close to settle her nerves.
“You see it then?” Hagrid asked. For the most part we were speechless, so we simply
nodded in response. “I ‘ave a few moments for a quick tour if you like?”
“I am sure we’d all appreciate the time.” Carlisle said politely, belaying his obvious
excitement, matching our own.
“All right then, this way.” Hagrid led us up to a huge double door that swung open on its own upon our approach, and we walked into a huge entrance hall of stone, lit by flaming torches. Though we didn’t need the light, aside from Bella, it cast a warmth about the place that diminished the ominous appearance. Before us was a beautiful marble staircase.
“Ya, see, normally students start in firs’ year – when they’re eleven. We bring ‘em here
jus’ before the start of term banquet. They have to be sorted into their houses by the
sortin’ hat, but I don’ imagine you’ll do that. No’ sure what the sortin’ hat would make of
you…” Hagrid said as he led us up the stairs.
“What is?” Bella suddenly screeched, pointing toward the wall. “I swear, I saw
something right there” she exclaimed, embarrassed.
“Likely one of the ghosts.” Hagrid said unconcerned.
“Ghosts?” Alice asked.
“Oh yes, we have our share of ghosts. Do you know any?” Hagrid went on. We shared an
uneasy glance as we continued across the hall through a pair of double doors in to the
great hall. The great hall was set in long tables that could seat up to a thousand plus a
head table at the far end. Like the rest of the castle, the walls were stone with a high
arched ceiling.
“Sorry, it’s not lit righ’ now. You’ll see it at the banquet. It’s real pretty then.” Hagrid
explained.
It’s pretty amazing as it is, Esme wondered, I can’t imagine what they could do to
improve upon it.
“Will all of us be there?” Alice asked, not wanting to miss out.
“I imagine Dumbledore will wanna introduce you all – seein’ as you’ll be aroun’ the
school from time to time.” He confirmed, “Alrigh’, this way” he backed out of the great
hall and returned to the great marble staircase. “These lead to the various houses. Can’t
take you der mysel’ on account I don’ know all the passwords, but I thought I’d show you
anyhow.” He started climbing the stairs.
“That picture just moved… and that one… WHAT THE?” Jasper exclaimed, his head
swinging back and forth at an inhuman pace, trying to catch each painting lining the walls
along the stair case.
“Of course – you don’ think they’d jus’ sit in the same spot for years, do ya?” Hagrid
replied.
Of course not, Jasper cringed.
“Whoa!” Bella wavered and stepped down a step to keep her balance as it seemed the
entire staircase moved beneath us. I wondered if the area was prone to earth quakes.
Then, as her foot dropped, it sunk lower then the step below. She teetered backward and
began tumbling down the stairs. In a second I saw her falling to the stone floor below in a
vision flashing through Alice’s mind.
“NO!” I yelled, as I vaulted over the railing, landing on the floor in just enough time to
watch her hit the last step, roll across the landing, past where there was no more stairs or
railing and into thin air. I cringed as she hit my arms, knowing that they were just as hard
as the floor would have been. I moved slightly, dipping to absorb some of the impact of
her fall, hoping she wouldn’t bruise to badly.
“Are you okay?” I asked worried, checking her heart beat, her breathing, the sound of the
blood flowing through her veins to ensure her pulse was strong. She seemed okay overall.
I reached down to gently check the foot that had seemingly sunk lower then the step.
“Ouch” she cried as I handled her ankle.
“Carlisle, I think it’s broken.” I called to him, momentarily ignoring the confusing string
of events that led to her injury.
“I’ll be down in a second,” he called, as soon as I figure out which stairwell.
I looked up then and noticed that the stair case we had been on had shifted entirely, which led to the opening that was just closing up as another stairway moved to meet up with it. I shook my head and looked again up the massive staircase. Really, it was a set of staircases leading up the castle. Every few moments, one moved and shifted to another landing. What was with this place?
Carlisle had found a way down and was at my side then, his thoughts almost as
bewildered as my own. He pushed the mystery aside as he checked Bella’s leg. “Yes,
it’s broken alright.” he said as he felt the bone beneath his trained hands.
Bella groaned, “Not again! Now I have to start school in a cast!”
Hagrid and the others joined us. “Sorry ‘bout that, Bella. But Madam Pomfrey should
have ya good as new in no time.”
“I am a fully licensed physician,” Carlisle assured Hagrid, “I think I can manage to treat a
broken bone. Do you have any casting supplies on hand? I brought some supplies with
me, but they are back at the house and I would prefer to not move her too far.”
“I don’ know about casting materials, but Madam Pomfrey should have wha’ you need.”
Hagrid replied defensively.
Still holding Bella in my arms, I followed Hagrid to the Infirmary with the rest. It had
the appearance of something from the great war, lined with cots. There were no monitors,
no x-ray equipment, no IV bags or poles… I seriously doubted they had the ability to
appropriately treat my Bella. I looked back at Carlisle with my eyebrow raised. “Maybe
we should take her back to the house.” I said quickly and lowly so Hagrid couldn’t hear.
There was no sense in offending him further, though I was about to insist on the best
treatment possible for Bella despite his feelings.
Just then a stern lady walked in. Her clothing and demeanour perfectly fit the
surrounding infirmity, with an appearance that would pass for something closer to
Florence Nightingales’ time then the 21st century. “I hear we have a patient. What is
wrong with you dear.” She asked briskly.
“I fell down the staircase and broke my ankle.” Bella responded with a blush.
“Ah, happens to one or two of them every year. They ought to do something about those
staircases, with the moving about and gaps in the steps, but seems the spell is so ancient
no one knows how to fix it. So let’s take a look then.” She quickly moved to Bella’s
ankle.
“We were about to take her back to our house to treat her.” Carlisle quickly moved to her
side, trying to extricate us from the situation delicately. Careful, Edward. We don’t want
to make enemies before the semester starts.
“Don’t be silly. It’s a simple broken bone. It will just take a little mending serum and
she will be as good as new in a couple hours.” Madam Pomfrey stated.
“I’m sorry, did you say a couple hours?” Carlisle gaped at her. His mind started
evaluating the potential for medical learning as she explained.
“Of course! What did you think I was going to do, put her in a cast for months like a
muggle?” she laughed, as she directed me to set Bella down on the nearest cot while she
picked up a bottle of something and poured it into a large spoon. “Drink up dear.” She
ordered, before Carlisle or I could do anything.
“Wow, I can feel it heating up. And the pain is gone.” Bella remarked. “We seriously
need to get some of this.” She looked up at me. Carlisle and I exchanged an incredulous
look. What more would we learn?
True to form, in a couple hours, Bella was up and walking on her previously broken
ankle. “This is really good! Thank you Madam Pomfrey. I am afraid I might be seeing
more of you this year. I tend to get into accidents.” She flushed again.
“Well, dear, then you shall spend a lot of time with Harry Potter. That boy gets into more
trouble….” She exclaimed. “Well, see you back in a few days at the Start-of-Term
banquet.” She waved us off.
Hagrid had already left, mumbling something about a delivery of Blast-Ended Skrewts. We found our way back out of Hogwarts, running across a couple ghosts on the way, marveling at the moving paintings and finally out the doors.
“Well, that was quite enough for one day.” Carlisle commented. “This should be a very interesting year.”

Ch. 15 Start of School Banquet

“I’ll bring you out and introduce you and your family after the sorting ceremony.”
Dumbledore explained to Carlisle as we listened. We were all gathered in a room off the
Great Hall, near the head table. “We won’t subject you to the sorting ceremony, through
you’ll be able to see it from here. As exchange students I can assign you to houses.”
“What is the sorting hat?” Bella Asked.
Dumbledore turned to face her directly, “When Hogwarts was created, the four heads
picked students to be in their houses dependent upon the qualities they possess. Slytherin
picked the most ambitious and those of pure blood, Ravenclaw picked the most
intelligent, Hufflepuff picked those who were hard working and good, and Gryffindor
chose the most brave and chivalrous. However, the foresaw when they were gone, the
tasked of choosing students into each house would need to be done by someone else.
They decided to bewitch a hat to read the minds, not just the thoughts but the traits,
characteristics and abilities of the students to sort them into each house. I am certain, if
we put the hat on your head, it would quickly discover your lack of magical ability.”
“Oh” Bella responded, “I suppose it is good we aren’t doing it then….”
I wonder what this hat would tell us about Bella… Would it be able to read her mind?
Carlisle mused.
“Now, before things start, I want to remind you to be careful. Even when people aren’t
around, other beings see what happens… like leaping over railings to catch falling girls.”
He cast his gaze directly at me as he spoke. If I could blush I would. “I had a bit of
explaining to do about that one… fortunately some wizards are quite gifted with
levitation spells.”
“I understand… very sorry.” I mumbled.
“Well, no harm…” Dumbledore suddenly looked up at the door, “Ah, here they are.”
As he said it, in walked Hermonie and Cedric. I wondered if Dumbledore might be as
gifted at mind reading as I was, for I had also heard their approach, yet he introduced
them before they actually entered the room. “Cedric, Hermione, I am glad you were able
to join us prior to the banquet. Ah… and here are McGonagall and Snape… If only
Moody were here. Well, he is not needed for this… let’s get on with it.”
“Yes, Dumbledore… what is this about.” The dark greasy haired wizard with a sharp face
fairly snarled with distain as he looked over the group of us. I assumed this was Professor
Snape.
“What I have to say is surprising and will certainly take a leap of faith on your part. As
you know, Professor Trelawney, occasionally has accurate prophesies.”
“Yes” Snape snarled.
“And you know about our plans to host the Triwizard Tournament for the first time in
over a hundred years.”
“The Triwizard Tournament!” Hermione gasped, “But wasn’t that discontinued when…”
She trailed off upon a quick glare from a stern witch who I guessed to be McGonagall.
Guessed because, like Dumbledore, I was unable to read her or Snapes’ minds. I didn’t,
however, have difficulty reading Cedric’s or Hermione’s minds. At that particular
moment, they were reacting to the news of this Triwizard Tournament albeit in very
different means. Hermione was recalling several tragedies from past tournaments as
chronicled in ‘Triwizard Tournament, A History’. I could see, aside from her studious
nature, she seemed to have a photographic memory as I could see the actual pages from
the text in her mind. I would have to make a point of picking up a copy and reading it for
myself.
On the other hand, Cedric’s mind had leapt to the possibility of competing. He wasn’t a
proud boy, or someone who sought glory for himself. Rather, he expected the best of
himself and set high standards. I’m not sure if I would get chosen, but if I was – perhaps I
could win it to bring pride to the school and Dumbledore. Ah, he was selfless as well. I
could see he was someone I would get along with.
“Yes, the Triwizard Tournament” Dumbledore went on. “Trelawney has had a vision that
Harry Potter will be chosen as Hogwarts Champion.”
“But the new rules… He isn’t of age” McGonagall gasped, her stern demeanour wavering
in pace of true concern and compassion.
“I know. We aren’t sure how it happens; only that it does.” Then Dumbledore gave a
stern glare to each of us, including Hermione and Cedric. “This is for your ears only. You
may not repeat this to anyone. If you do not feel you can comply with this demand, you
should leave now.”
There was no hesitation of course. Bella and my family were already prepared and it
seemed clear McGonagall and Snape were two of Dumbledore’s most trusted faculty… It
was the students that were the concern. But neither of them wavered. They simply gazed
back at Dumbledore in preparation for whatever came next. I was struck by the level of
loyalty Dumbledore had cultivated in this young wizard and witch. It wasn’t surprising,
though. I had known him only a short time and I found myself ready to face wizard’s fire
for him.
“Alright then.” He continued, having confirmed the commitment of the group. “I’m sure
you will all agree this is very dangerous for Harry – that he faces certain death by
participating.”
“Certainly, young Potter is not prepared. We must find a way for him to withdraw.”
McGonagall demanded.
“Minerva, you know as well as I do that once a champion is named, he must proceed with
the tasks.”
“Professor, if I may” Snape interjected. “This could be the work of the Dark Lord in an
effort to rid himself of his rival.”
‘You may be very correct, Severus. Thank you for that… I will have to ponder it further.”
Dumbledore mused momentarily. “Regardless, precautions need to be taken. That is
where Carlisle and his family come into play.”
Four pairs of wizard and witch eyes suddenly peered at us with a mixture of curiosity and
speculation. Dumbledore continued, “They possess some particular qualities that make
them an excellent from of protection for Harry. However, they are not magical.”
“But, how will they?” McGonagall started.
“I’ll get to that… Carlisle, or Dr. Cullen has come to pose as a replacement in Herbology
while Madam Sprout is on sabbatical. His level of knowledge is unprecedented.”
“But he can’t be more then thirty…”McGonagall stated, then peering even more closely,
“or is he?”
“I can assure you, I am more then 350 years old, madam.” Carlisle stated. His admission
brought a sudden suspicious glare from Snape as he examined each of us. I wondered
how long it would take him to figure it out.
“Regardless, I have asked Carlisle to come and bring his family, in particular his son,
Edward to help protect Harry. Edward has a particular talent. On top of his considerable
physical attributes, he is able to read minds with a few exceptions.
“Exceptions?” Snape asked with snide pleasure.
“He is unable to read those of us skilled with occlumency… and Bella.” His explanation
appeared to comfort Snape.
“Also, as you can see, he bares some resemblance to Cedric, almost as if he could be a
cousin, which is where you come in.” He turned his gaze on Cedric. “We want to enter
Edward into the Triwizard Tournament to keep an eye out for Harry. He is exceptionally
fast and strong and has highly sensitive senses, but he can not perform magic. We have a
bewitched wand which will allow him to basic transfiguration, levitate, produce a shield
and disarm an opponent, but there may be occasions where he is called upon to perform
other magic. I am hoping you’ll agree to stick with him and help where need be.”
“So, then, I won’t be able to enter the tournament myself?” He was momentarily
disappointed, but then felt pride in being able to help. He was a boy of truly good
character.
“No, but we may need your help to get him through it.”
“Well then, if that is what you need, professor, I am pleased to help.”
“Thank you Cedric. I wouldn’t have asked if it wasn’t absolutely necessary.”
“What about the others.” Snape said tonelessly.
“Emmett, Jasper, Alice and Esme will all pose as muggles, though Emmett will fill a
support role for Hagrid, with Jasper’s help occasionally. Jasper has an interesting talent
as well… why don’t you demonstrate for us?”
Suddenly I felt euphoric – as though all the happiness in the universe was channelled
through my core. I couldn’t imagine anything better then standing here at this moment, in
this place, with these people. Then, suddenly I felt utter despair, as though there was no
hope left in the world. Then anger as fierce as I’d ever felt. That quickly ended before
anyone acted on it, then calm took over before returning to my regular state.
“Mmm. That was interesting” Snape commented, “I can see how that might be a useful
talent.”
“Alice also has a unique ability. Her prophetic abilities are somewhat more reliable then
Trelawney’s. She can see into the near future with considerable accuracy.”
“My ability is limited to people’ decision. If they change their mind, the vision changes.”
Alice clarified.
“Still, it could be very helpful as we look forward to what is in store for young Potter.”
McGonagall commented with admiration.
“Yes, I agree” Dumbledore went on, “Now Rosalie and Bella will also be students.
Rosalie has the same exceptional strength and speed and very sensitive hearing and sight
as Edward. I am hoping she can keep an ear out for the female students.”
“So she will be a sixth year, along with Edward and Cedric?” McGonagall clarified.
“Yes”
“And the mental mute?” Snape glared at Bella. “What with her?”
I felt the urge to place myself between the two of them, though I was reasonably sure he
would cause her no harm.
“That is the only talent we know of. We need someone to stick with Harry. It can’t be
Edward as he needs to play the part of a sixth year to enter the tournament. So she will be
a fourth year with Harry. That is where you come in” he gently looked at Hermione.
“Me, Professor Dumbledore?” she asked, though there was a tone of pride in her voice.
“Yes, you Miss, Granger. I need your help supporting Bella. You are a very talent witch,
Hermione. I know you will do a very good job.”
“I’ll do my best.”
“Of course, Carlisle, Rosalie and Bella will also have bewitched wands.”
“Ah, Albus…” Carlisle stated, “I’m not sure if giving everyone a bewitched wand is
necessary.” I can only imagine the trouble Bella will get in.
“Carlisle, your wands will only have defensive type spells – nothing dangerous. You will
need to be able to perform some magic.” Dumbledore explained.
Carlisle tried to glance discreetly toward Bella. Dumbledore seemed to understand then.
“Of course, each want will only be bewitched with what is absolutely necessary.” He
furthered explained.
“And flying?” Cedric asked.
“They will only take selected courses as exchange students, so no flying, no dark arts…
only classes they can reasonably do with minimal magic and, of course, your courses
where you can help.”
“They will be in potions? Snape droned as though this were the most painful proposition
every conceived. “They can’t imagine the subtle science… the precise art… How will
non-magical…”
“They will be paired up with magical students, Snape. I am sure, under your excellent
guidance, they will be fine. They might even learn something.” Dumbledore chuckled.
“The Start of Semester banquet is about to being, Albus.” McGonagall reminded.
“Of course, Minerva. Thank you for the reminder. I will introduce them tonight at the
banquet. However, I wanted to fill you all in before hand.”
“I am sure we’ll do our best. Now, I must be going to bring in the first years.”
“Of course. Thank you.” Dumbledore dismissed McGonagall.
“Dumbledore, of course, I will support you in the protection of Potter.” Snape spit out the
name. I was quite certain he felt animosity toward Harry. “Now I will take my place at
the head of Slythern.”
“Certainly, Severus. Thank you… And you two should also join your houses.”
Dumbledore dismissed Cedric and Hermione who looked back once more at Bella,
offering a tentative smile.
After they had gone, I allowed myself to pull her into a quick hug. Then remembering
Dumbledore’s warning, I let her go.
“Do you think this will work?” she asked fearfully.
“I guess we’ll see” I answered back as we looked out from the doorway of the small
room.
“Oh my!” Esme gasped beside me as we looked out into the Great Hall. I see now what
he meant. It is magnificent.
It truly was. The large stone hall which was beautiful in its own right was now adorned
with hundreds and hundreds of candles floating throughout the room casting a warm
glow of the entire hall. But beyond that, the ceiling had disappeared and, instead, we saw
the night sky. But unlike the true night sky tonight, the ceiling showed dark swirling
clouds of treacherous storm, complete with thunder and forks of lightening. The affect
was breath taking. The long tables were adorned with golden plates and goblets that
reflected the candlelight and the storm. The students were, for the most part, settled at
their tables and the staff at the head table at the near end of the room.
“Look the ghosts.” Bella whispered, pointing at the pearly white translucent figures that
openly hovered about the room, transacting with the students.
This is… wow… nothing prepared me for this… Jasper’s thoughts were barely coherent.
He was used to knowing what to expect, what was coming and preparing for it. This was
challenging all his assumptions.
If anyone were to glace at the entrance of the small room we were in, I’m sure they
would have found the site comical for all eight of us had found a position from which to
watch the proceedings, Bella and Alice seating on the small step up to the hall, and the
rest of us either crouching, standing or stretching up to see what was going on.
Fortunately, the students attention was otherwise diverted as the Great Hall doors opened
and Professor McGonagall led in a long line of very young students.
“Must be the first years.” Carlisle whispered.
As Professor McGonagall reached the front of the room, she set a three-legged stool on
the floor and placed a very old ratty, dirty pointed hat on it.
Is that the sorting hat? Alice wondered. Really, it could use with a make over.
I was inclined to agree, but just then, what appeared to be a tear in the brim opened like a
mouth and the hat sung.
“Whoa. Cool.” Emmett murmured in awe. “This is, seriously, the best move ever.”
Jasper looked over at him, sharing his wide grin. “I’m with you on that” he said as they
punched fists.
The students broke out into applause as the song finished. Carlisle reached his hand out to
signal us to remain silent. It wasn’t time to show our presence yet.
“What I call out your name, you will put on the Hat and sit on the stool. When the hat
announces your house, you will go and sit at the appropriate table.” McGonagall called
out each student in alphabetical order. One by one they sat on the chair with the hat on
their head. In some cases, the hat simply called “Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, Gryffindor or
Slytherin” but in some cases it pulled out various facts and characteristics while it mused
over which house. Interestingly, more discussion went on between the hat and the student
then was heard by the others – almost as though it pulled out more information through a
silent conversation with the student t. I could understand why Dumbledore didn’t want us
to participate in this particular ceremony. I was certain it would be capable of pulling out
our true nature without difficulty. I wondered what it would do with that knowledge.
The sorting was done. Professor Dumbledore stood up. I wondered if it was time to be
introduced, but he said simply, “I have only two words to say to you. ‘Tuck in’. And the
various dishes on each table filled with enough food to feed a roomful of werewolves.”
“He thought it would be easier to introduce us after the meal.” Carlisle answered our
unasked question.
“Ah hem” we turned to see one of the strange small creatures we had first encountered at
the Quidditch World Cup.
“Oh my” Alice gasped as her vision of Bella wavered and momentarily disappeared. I felt
panic rise as I automatically took a defensive posture.
“For Miss Bella.” The house elf said, holding various dishes it was setting on the table.
“Thank you so much” Bella responded walking toward the elf to sit down to the small
feast that was on the simple table.
Edward, there is no danger, Carlisle warned. I forced myself to relax my stance through
it was exceedingly difficult while Bella’s future remained indefinite in Alice’s vision.
“Very welcome miss” And the house elf snapped her fingers and disappeared. I heard
Alice breath a deep sigh of relief beside me as Bella’s future returned.
Indifferent to the entire exchange, Bella had settled at the table and had already begun
eating. “Wow – this is delicious.” I mentally chastised myself as I recalled we had
forgotten about lunch in our preparations to come to the feast. She must be famished.
When the feast ended, as suddenly as the food appeared, it evaporated, leaving the plates
perfectly clean.
“Amazing” Rosalie marvelled.
The hum of conversation had ended in the Great Hall, and so in half a second we were
back at the door to see what was happening, Bella arriving a moment later, nudging
herself into position beside Alice.
Dumbledore was standing at his position in the centre of the head table, smiling at the
students. “So! Now that we are all fed and watered, I must once more ask for your
attention, while I give out a few notices.”
While Dumbledore made his announcements, I glanced around the room at the students
trying to catch the tenor of the thoughts from each table. I could feel a frown in my brow
as I first considered the Slytherin table. Seemingly, without exception, the Slytherin
students were proud, self-absorbed people who saw themselves as the best in the school
and their families as the leaders the wizarding world. The worst of which was Draco
Malfoy.
Look at that mudblood, sitting there as if she has every right. That will change soon
enough. I followed his gaze to the source of his glaring, surprised to see
Hermione.Granger. It was as though he was pitted against her specifically as the focus of
all his disgust for ‘impure’ wizards and witches. This was shared only by the focus of his
wrath, Harry Potter. My gaze flitted back to Draco, trying to hear more, but he had
shifted to his recollection of Rosalie, wondering where she was. I left his mind then, but I
would need to explore that further. He seemed to know more then he was thinking of at
the time.
I considered the next table, Ravenclaw. They seemed to pride themselves on being clever
and skilled. Hufflepuffs were primarily selfless and good. I could see the character I had
seem in Cedric in most of the minds of his housemates.
Finally, Gryffindor – They were not dissimilar from Ravenclaw or Hufflepuff in that
many were both cleaver and good, but more then those two characteristics, one rose to
the forefront - their collective willingness to face danger – bravery. That and a strong
distain for Slytherin. Very interesting that the Sorting Hat had done such a consistent job.
I was even more impressed and intimated by the magic.
Just then, the room broke into cries of dismay and disgruntlement. I quickly filed back in
the part of my mind that had been paying attention to Dumbledore’s speech. There was to
be no inter-house Quidditch cup this year. My disappointment was shared by my brothers
in particular, though the entire family had been looking forward to seeing the game
played again.
I focused my attention back to Dumbledore. “This is due to an event that will be starting
in October, and continuing throughout the school year, taking up much of the teacher’s time and energy – but I am sure you will all enjoy it immensely. I have great pleasure in announcing that this year at Hogwarts-”
I heard him complete ‘The Triwizard Tournament’ in his mind but the words didn’t reach his lips because at that moment the doors of the Great Hall flung open with a large bang, accompanied by a rumble of thunder through the ceiling.
That was ominous, Jasper thought.
A man stood in the doorway, leaning upon a long staff, clothed in a long black cloak. He flipped back the hood to reveal a worn weathered face, covered in long grizzled dark grey hair. His face was heavily scared – his mouth looked like a gash spread diagonally across his face and his nose was partially missing. His eyes were the most striking feather. His one eye was normal, but his other eye was a large circle, like a coin, and vivid blue. This eye moved ceaselessly, independent of the other. It was the strangest thing I had seen. As he made his way to the front to of the hall there was a large thunk which I could see as he approached was due to a false leg. He walked up to Dumbledore and shook his hand. Dumbledore then gestured for him to take one of the open seats at the head table.
“May I introduce our new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher” Dumbledore said
brightly, “Professor Moody”.
I heard a gasp below me, at the same time my mind noted the cool reception of the
student body.
“Edward” Alice gasped. I turned my focus to her vision as she was trying to see this
Professor Moody’s future. As she focused on his figure, it wavered. She wasn’t blind to him like the house elves. Rather, it was like his physical body kept shifting. He appeared primarily as he did before us, but the edges of his figure wavered and shifted in her vision. “What does it mean?”
I shook my head, “I don’t know.” I whispered back.
“I suppose this would also be a good time to introduce another new faculty member and
his family.” Dumbledore gestured for us to come out.
“Professor Sprout will be going on a year sabbatical. In her place, we have Professor
Cullen.” He held out a hand which Carlisle shook as he came near. “Professor Cullen
comes to us from America.”
After so many years, I was prepared for the mental response to our physical beauty, but it didn’t fail to amuse me to see Carlisle’s appearance drew the same response from the young witches in the room. I could easily guess he would have plenty of class assistants in his courses this year.
“And this is his family, his wife Esme.” Half the minds in the room expressed a marked disappointment, “and these are their children – specifically their foster children from America: Emmett, who will be joining us as an assistant to Professor Hagrid.”
Professor Hagrid? I thought he was just a grounds keeper, Emmett’s thoughts echoed
our own. Hagrid, for his part, looked slightly embarrassed by the title.
“Jasper and Alice will be attending muggle school in town, but may be assisting us from time to time.”
Muggles! Draco sneered in his thoughts. I couldn’t help shifting my gaze toward him and
glaring. Did I say that out loud? He wondered.
“Edward and Rosalie will be sixth year students. Edward is a distant cousin of our own
Cedric Digory.”
A murmur of understanding spread throughout the crowd. Clearly the visual similarities
were obvious to the students.
“And they have brought with them an exchange student, Bella Swan, who will also be
with us for the year. As one year exchange students, we will be placing them in houses to
host them for the year. To be fair, we will be splitting them among you. Bella will be
joining Gryffindor.”
YES! Ron exclaimed, to my chagrin.
“Edward, will join his cousin in Hufflepuff” A roar of cheering rose from the group.
“Dr. Cullen will be apart of Ravenclaw.” A similar response came from the group.
“And Rosalie will join Slytherin.”
Of course, Draco thought, I could see that from the moment I met her. He then proceeded to tell his housemates how he had sat with Rosalie in the top box at the Quidditch World Cup, failing to mention the rest of us were there. Rosalie snarled subtly as Draco claimed
the fame she felt she rightfully deserved. I briefly considered the appropriateness of the
placement.
At another gesture of Dumbledore, we joined our new houses. I noted that Ron eagerly assisted Hermione in clearing space in between them. Hermione didn’t seem any more pleased then I was at Ron’s eagerness.
Carlisle took his place at the head table facing Ravenclaw, while the rest of the family fit into other open spaces. There was quite a bit of commotion as each table greeted their new members.
Dumbledore cleared his throat to bring our attention back “As I was saying, we are to
have the honour of hosting a very exciting event over the coming months, an event which
has not been held for over a century. It is my great pleasure to inform you that the
Triwizard Tournament will be taking place at Hogwarts this year.”
“You’re JOKING!” one of the Weasley twins said loudly, echoing the thoughts of most
of the other students in the Hall, a notable exception being Draco who seemed to have
already known. The outburst broke in to a chorus of laughter amount the students and
faculty alike. A lot of surprises had been sprung on them at once and the laughter was a
welcome relief.
“I am not joking, Mr.Weasley,” he said, “though, now you mention it, I did hear an
excellent one over the summer about a troll, a hag and a leprechaun who all go into a
bar..”
Professor McGonagall cleared her throat loudly.
“Er – but maybe this is not the time… no… Where was I? Ah, yes, the Triwizard
Tournament… well, some of you will not know what this Tournament involves, so I hope
those who do know will forgive me for giving a short explanation, and allow their
attention to wander freely.”
“The Triwizard Tournament was first established some seven hundred years ago, as a
friendly competition between the three largest European schools of wizarding –
Hogwarts, Beauxbatons and Durmstrang. A champion was selected to represent each
school, and the three champions competed in three magical tasks. The schools took it in turns to host the Tournament once every five years, and it was generally agreed to be a most excellent way of establishing ties between young witches and wizards of different nationalities – until, that is, the death toll mounted so high that the Tournament was discontinued.
“There have been several attempts over the centuries to reinstate the Tournament, none of
which have been very successful. However, our own Department of International
Magical Co-operation and Magical Games and Sports have decided the time is ripe for
another attempt. We have worked hard over the summer to ensure that, this time, no
champion will find himself or herself in mortal danger.
“The Heads of Beauxbatons and Durmstrang will be arriving with their short-listed
contenders in October, and the selection of the three champions will take place at
Hallowe’en. An impartial judge will decide which students are most worthy to compete
for the Triwizard Cup, the glory of their school, and a thousand Galleons personal prize
money.
“Eager though I know all of you will be to bring the Triwizard Cup to Hogwarts, the
Heads of the participating schools, along with the Ministry of Magic, have agreed to
impose an age restriction on contenders this year. Only students who are of age – that is
to say, seventeen years or older – will be allowed to put forward their names for
consideration. This” Dumbledore raised his voice slightly, for several people had made
noises of outrage at these words, and the Weasley twins were suddenly looking furious
“is a measure we feel is necessary, given that the Tournament tasks will still be difficult
and dangerous, whatever precautions we take, and it is highly unlikely that students
below sixth and seventh year will be able to cope with them. I will personally be ensuring
that no underage student hoodwinks our impartial judge into making them Hogwarts
champion.” His light-blue eyes twinkled as they flickered over Fred and George’s
mutinous faces, “I therefore beg you not to waste your time submitting yourself if you are
under seventeen.
“The delegations from Beauxbatons and Durmstrang will be arriving in October, and
remaining with us for the greater part of this year. I know that you will all extend every
courtesy to all our foreign guests while they are with us, and will give your whole-hearted
support to the Hogwarts champion when he or she is selected. And now, it is late, and I
know how important it is to you all to be alert and rested as you enter your lessons
tomorrow morning. I ask the prefects from each house to ensure our guests are properly
introduced to their new houses before they return to the Great Hall to retire at their
residence in town. Bed time! Chop chop!”
Dumbledore turned back to Professor Moody. I wished I could remain to do what I could
to examine his mind, but he seemed just as closed to me as meay of the adult wizards. I
could only hear his thoughts as he spoke. Strangely, his thoughts had a different voice
from his hushed tone as he spoke with Dumbledore. Normally, a person’s thoughts
sounded the same as their voice. While I puzzled over this, Cedric tugged on my arm.
“This way, Edward. We will need to be with the group to learn the password to our
common room.”
I followed him and the rest of his house out of the Great Hall and up the marble staircase,
waiting for part of it to shift to the proper landing. I risked a glace at Bella who was
chatting with a fellow Gryffindor whose foot was stuck in a gap in the stairs.
“Don’t worry about it Neville, I did that just the other day. Except then I fell down the
stairs.” She smiled kindly at him. He flashed her an appreciative look as he freed his foot
without further mishap. For her part, Bella kept a firm grasp or the railing in case it
moved again.
Once we hit the landing, I lost sight of her as returned to the main entrance hall and went through an entrance to the right of the main staircase. Then we were led through a series of passages and entrances moving further down into the ground until, by the smell, I guessed we were near the kitchens. We approached a still life painting. A voice came from the painting, “Password?” it asked. “Flibbit Gibits” The painting moved aside to reveal an opening.
“This is our common room.” Cedric showed me a large, but comfortable room filled with sofas and several comfortable chairs. “The girls’ rooms are that way.” He gestured toward an entrance off to the right. “Of course, we don’t go up there. Our rooms are this way he led me toward an entrance on the left. We proceeded along a tunnel, with several round doors off to each side. I was reminded of the hobbit hills of Tolkien, except these were in a castle. We finally stopped at one, which Cedric opened and led me through.
The room was lined with several single four poster beds, all but one were occupied by his fellow Hufflepuff house mates.
A large ghost swept into the room then. “This is the Fat Frier. He is our house ghost.”
Cedric explained.
“Very good to meet you.” He greeted.
“It is good to meet you, too” I replied politely, marvelling at the oddity of greeting a
ghost.
“And this is my room and my mates.” He introduced me to each of them who were, for
each part, very welcoming.
“I suppose I’ll see you in the morning after breakfast?” I confirmed.
“Sure, see you then.” Cedric said in parting.
I made my way back to the Great Hall, very appreciative for my perfect memory. I was momentarily concerned for Bella, but then I saw her come in, aided by Hermione.
“Thank you. I think I would have gotten lost otherwise.”
“Not a problem. It’s a little challenging at first. Well, see you tomorrow at breakfast.”
“Bye Hermione.”
We were all back in the Great Hall. “Shall we go home?” Carlisle asked.
“Yes, but lets take Floo Powder this time.” Alice suggested to the eager agreement of
Emmett and Jasper.

11/3/10

Ch. 16 First Day of School

I carefully knocked on the door to our room with a tray of breakfast. Esme had found a
tray in her exploration of the kitchen last night. “Bella are you ready?”
“Yes, come in.” She turned to greet me with her beautiful smile, which widened a she
flushed, seeing what I was carrying. “Edward, you didn’t have to do that. I could have
eaten at the school. You don’t have to trouble yourself.”
“Don’t be ridiculous, Bella. It isn’t any trouble. I like making you happy… Besides this
way we all have an excuse for not eating breakfast at the school.”
“Oh. I didn’t think of that. Thank you!” She skipped over and threw her arms around me
in a warm hug.
“You’re in a good mood today. Not the least bit nervous?”
“Extremely, but I don’t expect to know anything and I’m learning magic.” She grinned
widely.
“You look like Emmett right now.” I teased, “Anyway, as soon as you are done, we’ll
head over.”
We gathered at the front door. We could have travelled by Floo Powder, but Rosalie
complained that the dust would show on her robes and I just wanted to run. We hadn’t
had much of a chance since our arrival. Alice was staying with Esme for the day as they
planned out the renovation. Jasper, however, couldn’t resist joining Emmett for his first
day with Hagrid.
It took us six seconds to get to the ruins on the west end of town, undetected. Now that
we had seen it, the castle was as clear as day. It was difficult to believe only a few days
ago all we had seen were wooded hills.
I let Bella down. This was our transition point we had decided, where we changed from
two people in love to acquaintances, and continued toward Hogwarts. We broke off to
our houses as we entered the hall.
“You missed breakfast” Cedric noted as I sat beside him.
“We ate at home… I’m on a special diet.” I muttered. It was completely truthful; though
I felt less then noble each time I said something like that, knowing it was misleading.
“Dumbledore dropped off your schedule. We are in all the same classes, except you
won’t be taking charms or Dark Arts. I guess you’ll just study in the library then.”
“Sure” I grinned. Actually, I had finished reading the textbooks last night, but I wasn’t
about to share that with him. I decided I would use the spares for additional research in
the library and keeping an eye on the rest of the family… and Bella of course.
Just then there was a flurry of activity as a large flock of owls flew into the Great Hall
from a window. Flock? I didn’t know Owls flocked… I riffled through my bank of
knowledge. No, they didn’t typically, normally roosting alone or in pairs. Some species
may flock, but rarely… then I noticed various envelopes and parcels being dropped off
with each student. Cedric must have noticed my curious expression. “These are mail
owls. They bring the mail each morning.”
“Oh” of course… Would I never cease to be amazed?
“It looks like we’ll start with Care of Magical Creatures with Professor Hagrid.” Cedric
mused, looking over his schedule.
“It’s weird to think of him as a professor, isn’t it? After all these years?” one of the other
boys mentioned.
“What do you mean?” I asked. The title had puzzled all of us. Perhaps this would clarify
the matter.
“Oh, Hagrid was expelled when he was student at Hogwarts. They broke his wand and
banned him from using magic, poor man. Then they found out two years ago he had been
set up. So, he has been fully reinstated as a Wizard and Dumbledore appointed him
Professor of Care for Magical Creatures. He just doesn’t seem like a professor…” Cedric
explained. “So after that, we have Charms, spare for you, then double Potions this
afternoon.”
“That’s with Professor Snape?” I clarified, knowing that was the answer.
“Yes, and he is tough. You don’t want to get on his bad side, especially given your, ah,
unique situation.” Cedric’s voice dropped, “He knows more about potions then any other
wizard in existence. He can bring you to tears simply by asking challenging questions.”
“Thanks for the heads up” I said to play my part, though I had no concern. I could pull
any piece of information from my mind and I found myself looking forward to the
challenge.
We headed off to Care of Magical Creatures while I took a moment to check on Bella
through Hermione. Seeing as she was headed to Herbology with Carlisle, I knew she
would be in good hands.
Jasper and Emmett were tussling as we walked toward a little hut on the grounds, behind
the castle. Hagrid was waiting outside watching my brothers, considering whether or not
he needed to break up their play fight. We were joined by the sixth year Slytherins.
Emmett froze in mid swing as soon as Rosalie walked up, giving Jasper a clear shot at his
jaw. The fight suddenly stopped, much to Hagrid’s relief.
“As you know, the blac’ fores’ is off limits. Today, I am going to accompan’ you as we
walk through the fores’ and find out the specific dangers therein.”
“Do you want me to bring out the Blast Ended Skrewts now?” Emmett asked Hagrid.
“No. Them’re for the fourth years next period.”
“Right” Emmett grinned. He knew that was the answer, but just wanted to point out the
fun they’d already had.
“All right then. Let’s go.”
As we walked through the forest, Hagrid pointed out various plants and small creatures. It
was nothing more then a glorified nature walk for most of the period and I was
disappointed, along with most of my classmates and, certainly Emmett and Jasper. Then,
near the end of our class time we heard a voice to the left behind the trees.
“Hagrid, why have you brought these young ones into the forest – onto our territory?”
“They ‘ave to learn the dangers to avoid. I am showing them all the dangerous plants and
creatures in the forest.” Hagrid explained nervously.
“Then they should see me.” The voice said as out walked a huge centaur.
Cool! Emmett and Jasper shared a grin.
The centaur glared at each of us as he pranced about. “You should know you are on our
territory. By treaty, I have a right to kill each of you, but I will provide safe passage this
one time because of Hagrid. Please do not test our patience again.:” the last statement
was focused at Hagrid.
It was very still in the forest, but a small breeze blew through the trees just then and the
centaur quickly turned his gaze back toward the group of students. “Interesting scent
some of your young ones carry…”
Hagrid looked nervously about “Well, we ough’ to get bac’ to the grounds. I won’t bother
you with a class again.” He led us off, the centaur glaring as we left.
I bet I could take him, Emmett thought with a glance back.
We were running late as we returned to Hagrid’s hut. The fourth year Slytherin and
Gryffindors were already waiting as we arrived. I took a quick glace to see that Bella
was engaged in conversation with Hermione, much to my relief. I would have to check
in on her later.
“I’ll come find you after lunch.” Cedric hurriedly said, as he rushed off to his next class. I
found my way to the library. First task, find the book on the Triwizard Tournament. It
wasn’t difficult, shelved under “T” in the history section. I sat down and opened the copy
of Triwizard Tournament, a History as I checked on the rest of the family.
First Bella: She was at Care for Magical Creatures – so that covered Emmett and Jasper
as well, though I focused no attention on them as I watched Bella through Hermione’s
eyes. They had brought out the Blast Ended Skrewts that Emmett had been so excited
about, and were trying, unsuccessfully to feed them. I shook my head, wondering what
the point of the exercise was. It seemed harmless enough, though and I switched over to
Carlisle. He was teaching second years to transplant Mandrakes with Professor Sprout.
The screams were piercing and I was glad Carlisle was wearing the protective ear muffs.
With our sensitive hearing, the sound was even more piecing then it would be for the
others. The muffs only moderately helped.
Rosalie and the other sixth year Slytherins were in Levitation with McGonagall. They
were learning to levitate humans, practising with each other in partners. The sixth year
wizards were anxiously volunteering to partner with Rosalie, much to her pleasure.
However, McGonagall put an end to the disruption as she took Rosalie to work with her.
I chuckled at Rosalie’s disappointed expression as the loss of attention.
Everything seemed to be well in hand, so I turned my attention to the book. Dumbledore
had already gone over the key information from the introduction, but the second chapter,
Rise and Fall of the Triwizard Tournament was particularly interesting. It outlined the
initial decision to run the tournament which was no more then a demonstration of magical
skills. Over time, it grew to include more and more challenging activities to prove the
abilities of the competing champions, and increasing the level of danger. More and more
serious injuries and deaths began occurring, culminating in 1792 when a cockatrice the
champions were supposed to be catching went on the rampage and all three school heads
were injured.
Two thirds of the chapter outlined the growing death toll. I frowned as I saw the sources
of death – use of unforgivable curses, battle under water where on contestant had
drowned the other, one contestant had been burned to death by a dragon.
I wondered about that. Having never even considered their existence previously, I hadn’t
even thought about the affect of dragon’s fire on a vampire. I started looking around the
library under Mythical Creatures for a book that might help. I had been looking for one
on Dragons, but suddenly my finger grazed over one called Vampires.
This should be interesting, I thought, as I took it back to my table. First I turned to the
index card to see who had taken it out. Interesting, the last person was H Granger three
years ago. That must have been in her first year. I frowned. She has dangerous interests.
The next person before her was Q.Quirrell two years prior to that. Clearly, it wasn’t a
popular subject. I gazed over the contents quickly focusing on “Methods of Disposition”.
I flipped to page 56 and started reading.
‘Contrary to popular opinion, there are few ways to kill a vampire. Commonly believed
methods such as a stake to the heart, silver bullets and garlic have no affect. Other
magical solutions such as curses may slow or stun a vampire, but can not kill. The most
common method is to dismember the vampire and burn the pieces. Because of the
impenetrability of their skin, dismembering is almost always required. This releases the
venom which is highly flammable. There are two known exceptions.
The first exception is wizards fire administered by wand. In this method, the wizards fire
which is already one hundred times hotter then regular fire, is delivered in a concentrated
enough blast as to break the surface of the vampires skin and thereby ignite the venom.
The second known exception is dragon’s fire…’
Well, I guess that answers that question. Hopefully we wouldn’t run into any dragons
during our stay.
I heard Cedric’s approach so I quickly covered the vampire book with ‘Triwizard
Tournament, a History’. “Doing some research, I see” Cedric commented eyeing the
book.
“Ah, yes, though I should be prepared.”
“Are you taking those out?” He asked as I started walking away.
“I suppose I should” I wavered.
“Well, be quick about it. Potions is all the way in the basement and you don’t want to be
late.” He warned, “I’ll wait in the hall.”
“Thank you, I will be right out.” I said relieved he wasn’t going to look over my
shoulder.
I quickly signed out the books and joined him in the hall. I mentally kicked myself for
not going to lunch. Though we couldn’t be together, it always brought me some relief to
simply see Bella. I decided, Snape or no Snape, I would glance in on her once we were
settled in at Potions.
Cedric hadn’t been kidding. Walking at a human pace, it seemed to take a very long time
to navigate the halls and stairs down to the Potions classroom. Aside from the stone
walls, it looked like a chemistry lab, except instead of glass beakers and Benson burners,
we had cauldrons and open fires.
“Today we are going to take some of the pus extricated by the fourth years and mix it into
an anti-acne solution.” Snape droned on, “Can anyone tell me what kind of pus we might
be using? Mr Cullen?” He glared at me.
“Bubotubers” I picked the answer from a footnote in chapter six of the text.
“Very good, glad to see your father shares his lesson plans at home.” He accused as he
moved on.
I felt the anger at the unfounded accusation flare up within me. Venom flowed to my
mouth in anticipation of the attack that wouldn’t come. I swallowed it back feeling the
burn.
“He’s just disappointed he didn’t catch you.” Cedric whispered.
I simply nodded, not trusting my voice. We started on our concoction as I calmed down.
The rest of class wasn’t much better. At every question, he directed me to respond. When
I answered accurately, he accused me of some form of treachery.
I needed a distraction, so I looked for Bella. First, focusing on Hermione’s voice, I found
her in Arethmacy. However, I didn’t see Bella. I flitted to the minds around her, seeing
through their eyes. Still, no Bella. I frowned. Where was she? Then I recalled she was
supposed to be with Harry. I focused on his voice instead. Aha, there she is in Divination.
I wrinkled my nose at the funny smell in the room.
They were examining the placement of the planets… Was this professor serious? The
professor in question, Trelawney, looked barely qualified to teach colouring as she
rambled on making mistake after obvious mistake. I cringed as she stated Harry must
have been born in mid-winter, to which he responded he was born in July. This was the
person whose prophesy brought us all the way here? I began to seriously doubt our
purpose.
They were working in groups now – Bella working with Ron and Harry. I was somewhat
pleased to see that Bella had strategically placed Harry in between her and Ron. Their
attention was drawn away by two boys off to one side of the room, snickering.
“Oh, Professor, look! I think I’ve got an unaspected planet! Oooh, which one’s that
Professor?” one of the boys asked.
“It is Uranus, my dear.” Trelawney responded.
“Can I have a look at Uranus too, Lavender?” Ron said to another girl in the class.
I snorted as I barely contained a laugh at the juvenile joke and the expression on Bella’s
face at it. Cedric kicked me as I returned my attention to the Potions class and into the
piercing black eyes of Professor Snape.
“Nice of you to join us, Edward. I wonder, what was so amusing as to drag your attention
away from my very important lesson?” He turned as if to walk away, then in an instant he
was peering into my eyes as if into my soul. I saw the most recent scene from Bella’s
class replay in my mind as I felt Snape’s presence there. Just as quickly, it was gone.
“I see… very interesting.” He sneered. “Now I suppose you can tell me the difference
between monkshood, wolfsbane and aconite since you’ve returned to my class.”
I riffled through the list of information I had stored from my reading to pull out the
answer and throw it back at him. It wasn’t there… I looked down as I searched back
through the catalogue of information in my mind. There was no mention of any of those
plants. I swallowed, unsure what to say. I had never been caught without the right answer
before.
“Surely, Mr. Cullen, someone as advanced as you can answer a simple first year
question.” He snapped, victory in his voice.
Of course, he asked something not in the text, knowing full well I wouldn’t have read
years one through five. I was angry at his obvious attempt to humiliate me, primarily
because I was humiliated.
“There the…” Cedric whispered beside me.
“Digory! No need to help him. Clearly he doesn’t know that they are all the same plant.
Tsk, tsk, I would have expected better.” He walked away gloating.
I imagined what it would be like to throw his body across the room against the stone wall.
It was only mildly satisfying as I knew I would never actually do it. I spent the rest of
class quietly focused on our project. Snape didn’t call on me again until I was leaving at
the end of class.
“Mr. Cullen?” He droned as I started walking out with Cedric. He waved as I turned back
to Snape. “I appreciate you have a very important task taking care of our local celebrity.”
He stated, sarcasm dripping from every word. I knew, for certain, he held distain for
Harry and now, apparently, me. “but while you are in my class, you will focus your
attention on the task at hand. I also suggest you catch up on your prior year reading. You
might, just learn something.”
I was relieved that he only seemed to gather from his foray into my mind that I had been
keeping tabs on Harry. I did not want him, or anyone else at the school to know the true
focus of my attention had been Bella. I was sure he would not be so tolerant of that.
“And if you can’t keep your mind off your girlfriend, might I suggest you find other ways
to occupy your mind.”
I sighed deeply. He had caught the focus of my attention. I was being sloppy, careless.
“You may go” He dismissed as I gathered the books I had set on the table. His hand
quickly stopped me, glancing down at the titles on the end of my library books.
“Interesting reading.” He snarled as I met his speculative gaze.
Yes, I had been very careless.
I considered how to deal with my lack of prudence as I followed the series of stairs and
hallways back to the Great Hall. I would have to discuss this with Carlisle. He would be
disappointed but understanding. That was almost worse. I wished he would be upset,
yell at me for my stupidity. Because of me, the entire family would be exposed. I could
only hope that Snape would keep the secret.
“So, how did you enjoy your first day?” I hear Hermione Granger’s voice. She must be
talking to Bella.
“It was okay – well better then okay. This was more amazing then I ever imagined. And
only a couple of minor injuries which, for me, is pretty amazing in itself.”
What, injuries? What had I missed? I slowed down and watched through Hermione’s
eyes, which focused down on two bandaged areas on Bella’s right arm.
“It could happen to anyone. Bobotuber pus is very toxic and can burn when undiluted.
And those Blast-Ended Skrewts either burned or stung almost half the class. I have to
say, I love Hagrid to bits, but sometimes his idea of instruction is a little lacking.”
“He is pretty funny though.”
“Yes – he is a dear old half-giant.”
“Half giant?”
“Yes, didn’t you know? His mother was a giantess and his father a man. That is why he
is so large – but not as large as a full giant.”
“Full giants?” Bella’s mouth hung open.
“Of course! So, speaking of professors, what did you think of Trelawney?”
“The class was funny enough – I didn’t feel any further behind then anyone else. But I
wondered if there was any truth to what she was teaching. I mean, she kept getting
everything wrong…”
“She is a fraud, in my estimation” Hermione said huffily, “That is why I switched to
Arethmacy. It is a much more precise subject – based on numbers.”
“Oh, I wouldn’t do well in that class. I had enough trouble getting through Calculus.”
“Well, tomorrow you’ll have a spare while we go to Defence Against the Dark Arts.
Harry and Ron are really looking forward to that class. I’m not sure about this Professor
Moody. He seems, odd, if you ask me. I suppose you’ll go to the library?”
“I should probably study up. I need to catch up to the rest of you… I feel woefully
behind.”
“I can help you. We can study together over lunches or in the evenings if you like?”
“That would be really nice, Hermione. I would appreciate that.”
I saw her give Hermione one of her grateful and genuine smiles. It took my breath away.
I suddenly felt like I couldn’t be away from her much longer and I picked up my pace and
got to where they were standing.
It took all my effort to resist running up to her and scooping her up in an embrace. I
settled for a stiff, “Hello Bella. Did you have a good day?”
“Yes, thank you, and yourself?” she matched my tone, as Hermione looked between us
suspiciously.
“Fine. I had some difficulty in Potions with Professor Snape. I need to do some catch up
reading…”
“Well, Bella and I were just talking about doing some studying in the evening. If you
want you can join us.” Hermione brightly offered.
Would I want to give up my evening at home with Bella to sit in a library, pretending to
simply study and act like acquaintances? Not likely. Though now that the suggestion was
out there, it would be difficult to turn her down without seeming rude. I risked a casual
glance at Bella trying to see what she thought of the idea. Being able to read her mind
would be very helpful right now.
What is taking him so long? Surely he wants to do well in his classes. I would have
thought he would jump at the offer. Boys! I will never understand them. Hermione
thought as I deliberated.
Bella nodded slightly, but not slightly enough to avoid Hermione’s sharp gaze. She
looked between us again, wondering why I would be checking with Bella on my answer.
“That sounds good” I confirmed. “We’ll return after dinner.”
“I’ll be in the library.” She said.
“Where she always is…” Ron commented as he walked by, catching the end of the
conversation.
“Ron Weasley, you would do well to spend more time there yourself.” She huffed. “Well,
see you later.” She waved to us and glared at Ron.
I caught the tenor of admiration from Ron as she marched off down the hall. He
shrugged and followed after her, noting the way her hair bounced as she walked.
“Do you think they’ve dated?” I asked Bella once they were out of earshot.
“No, but I think Ron wants to. He just doesn’t know how to ask. And he’s keeping his
options open.” She considered.
“I noticed” I said looking intently at her.
Her eyes narrowed as she replied in a hushed tone, “Where you spying again?”
“Just making sure everyone was okay. I missed those” I looked toward her bandaged
arms, “I’ll have to pay more attention.” I teased. She just glared in response.
Jasper and Emmett caught up with us then. They were laughing and jostling each other.
Clearly they had a good day. Carlisle and Rosalie arrived last.
“Dumbledore would like to meet with us a little later tonight to debrief. I thought Alice
should join us as well… Perhaps after dinner?” Carlisle asked.
“Bella and I already made study plans with Hermione. We could break them, but we’d
need to have an excuse.” I explained.
“Let’s do it after your study plans. That will give me more time to prepare for
tomorrow’s lesson. I must say, there is an entire body of knowledge here that I never
knew about. The medical opportunities alone…” he mused. “Well, let’s get on home
now.”

Ch. 17 Dumbledore’s Office

Carlisle, Bella and I returned as quickly after supper as we thought was reasonable. Bella
and I met up with Hermione at one of the library tables, while Carlisle went off to explore
the various books for more information. He found his own table and began piling books
upon it.
“Is he going to read all those today?” Hermione said incredulously, “I mean, he could
leave some on the shelves for others until he plans to get to them.”
“Carlisle, er Professor Cullen is a fast reader.” I replied, “Plus I think he is just doing
research…”
“Oh. Anyway, Bella, you need to catch up on your first three years. I would start with
Potions… Snape is not very tolerant of students who are not prepared for class – and we
have him tomorrow. I brought my first three year’s texts for you to use. I’ve made a lot
of notes in the margins that you might find helpful.”
“Not tolerant?” I questioned. I would have used a much stronger term then that.
“He sets high standards” she defended. “He is very brilliant. Have you had him yet?”
“Yes, I had double Potions today.” I replied dryly, “I would have used a stronger term
then not tolerant.” I could feel myself glaring, reliving the humiliation.
“Yes, well, it also helps if you are in Slytherin.” She said quietly, nodding.
“He doesn’t like Harry much, does he?” I probed.
“No, he doesn’t. I think it has to do with the fact that Harry is so well known. I think he
expects Harry to be spoiled by the attention… but he isn’t. He is embarrassed by it really.
Plus his aunt and uncle are horrid. They treated him terribly before he came to Hogwarts.
He didn’t even know he was a wizard until he got the letter…” she said with indignation.
I had picked up one of her Potions texts as she spoke, and started glancing through it.
She really had made a lot of notes in the margins – where the book called for a measure,
and she had noted that a measure and a pinch worked better, or where the addition of
some other ingredient acted as a catalyst… I wished she had already completed fourth
and fifth years. “Can I borrow these to take home? I like to do some reading before bed.”
I asked.
She looked uncertain. Clearly her books were her most prized possessions. “Well, okay”
she said hesitantly, “Just please bring them back tomorrow. I may need to refer to them
during Potions.”
“Certainly” I responded as I started reading her year 1 text. I would have to find
someone else just as studious in the upper years…
She and Bella settled in as well, Bella reading over her notes from her first year classes,
Hermione interjecting here and there when she noted a page Bella was on and some piece
of information that she thought needed to be shared to explain the concept.
“Hermione, what is this information about werewolves?” Bella asked, as she flipped
through pages of notes.
“Oh, that is from Defence Against the Dark Arts from last year. I had it filed with the
Potions because Professor Snape gave that lecture. Professor Lupin was… otherwise
disposed.”
The tone of her voice caught my attention. I looked up at her and glanced over at the
notes. “Otherwise disposed?” I questioned.
“Well, you see, Professor Lupin was a werewolf. He took a potion to help him from
changing, but sometimes he forgot and during a full moon it was particularly difficult for
him to keep from changing.”
Bella looked back at me alarmed, then turned back to Hermione, “but werewolves are
protectors. They take care of humans. Why would he need to take a potion to keep from
changing?”
“Werewolves are dangerous, Bella. When Lupin changed, he was not in his right mind.
He would have attacked any one of us with out the slightest provocation.”
I smiled smugly as Hermione confirmed what I had been trying to convince Bella of for
almost a year. Though, I knew, these were very different werewolves then the ones we
had encountered back at Forks.
“Fortunately, he had friends who were Animagus, which means they could shape shift
into animals and helped stop him from doing anything he would regret later.”
“Shape-shifters?” Now my curiosity was peeked.
“Yes, there was Sirius Black, who could shift into a dog, Peter Pettigrew who could shift
into a rat and Harry’s father, James who could shift into a stag, though, as you know, he
died when Harry was a baby. Anyway, Peter had turned to the Dark Lord and last year
he disappeared after he was confronted. He used to be Ron’s pet…” she threw out this
string of facts so quickly it would be difficult for a human mind to take it all in, not to
mention make any sense of it.
“Wow… that is really amazing. How do you know all this?” Bella asked her.
“Well, last year Sirius turned up at Hogwarts trying to track Pettigrew down to get his
revenge. You see, when Pettigrew went to the You-know-who, he told him of Harry’s
parents’ location… Sirius ended up going to Azkaban for the Pettigrew’s murder and the
murder of several local muggles. So, anyway, he showed up here and Harry, Ron and I
went after him. We found out that Ron’s rat was actually Pettigrew and that Sirius had
been falsely accused. But, when we got back to Hogwarts, the Ministry of Magic
wouldn’t believe us and took Sirius into custody. Then we used a Time-Turner to go
back in time, free Hagrid’s hippogriff, Buckbeak, who was about to be killed, and then
rescued Sirius who flew away with Buckbeak.”
We both just stared at her as she wrapped up the entire explanation with an expression
that this was perfectly reasonable. I was speechless. She really did have dangerous
interests. I would need to keep a closer eye on Bella from now on.
“Hippogriff?” Bella asked.
“Oh, here…” she picked up one of her texts and flipped through to a picture of a winged
creature with four legs…
“I see” Bella replied, shaking her head. “That must have been quite the experience.”
“Well, we had to do something. Anyway, I want to get this one paper done for next week
before I have to return to common room, so…” she broke off, returning to her homework.
Bella and I shared a bewildered glance and then returned to our own reading. Before we
knew it, Hermione was packing up her books. “Well, it is almost time to be back in the
common room. Please do return those potions books tomorrow.” She directed at me,
“You can borrow them again, but I like to have them on hand. And, I would be glad to
work with you again tomorrow, Bella – perhaps at lunch?”
“That would be great. Thank you for your help, Hermione.” She smiled.
Hermione’s stiff demeanour which had appeared after her explanation, melted and she
grinned back. “Good night.”
We followed her lead, packing up our books and following Carlisle out the door.
Interesting girl, he mused. I raised an eyebrow in response.
We made our way further up into the castle to the seventh floor and stopped at the statue
of a gargoyle. “Crackle Candy” Carlisle clearly stated. At his words, the statue moved to
the side revealing an opening in the wall and the top of a staircase. Carlisle stepped in.
“Come on you two” he said as the stairs started moving upward. Bella and I quickly
jumped on with him. “The rest will join us in a few moments.”
About half the way up I heard voices, “Carlisle, someone is in there with Dumbledore…
it’s Snape.” I said in a hushed whisper. We listened intently as we rose the rest of the
way up and waited outside the door.
“It’s not that I don’t trust your judgement, Albus. But last year you bring in a werewolf,
and now these… These are dark creatures, Albus. You know as well as I do, they have
aligned themselves with the Dark Lord.”
“All creatures have a choice, Severus. The Cullens have chosen to live in support of life.
They have the same goals we do. I have known Carlisle for many years.”
“Yes, but, this leads down a dark path. Be wary of your own path, Albus, and the
company you keep.”
“Severus, I am very aware of the company I keep. I am not above reproach, but I know
when I can trust someone and when I can not. It was not that long ago that people said
the very same thing about bringing you back to Hogwarts.”
I heard a very deep sigh. “Well, I suppose you know what you are doing. I will support
you Albus, but I felt I needed to express my hesitations.”
“I understand and I appreciate what you are saying. I would never ask you to follow
blindly, Severus. You are one of my most trusted advisors and I appreciate your opinion
and observations.”
“And what of Moody? What have you told him?”
“Nothing, yet. He is to be involved in the Triwizard Tournament, but I haven’t felt the
need to share everything with him. I am not sure how he would react. He isn’t as clear
minded as you, old friend.”
“Well, that might be for the best.”
“I have another meeting, and I believe they just arrived. Perhaps we should conclude this
later?” Dumbledore said then.
“Yes”
We heard footsteps coming toward us and the door swing open. “Good evening. We are
here to see Professor Dumbledore” Carlisle stated politely.
“Yes, of course. I was just leaving.” He stepped around us and proceeded down the stairs.
“Come in, come in.” Dumbledore gestured from his desk. We walked into his office
which was a beautiful circular room with several windows. It appeared to be facing east,
toward the mountains and one particular window had a good view of the Quidditch
stadium, which I was sure he would be able to see from his very high backed chair. His
desk was highly polished dark wood with claw shaped legs. It was as ominous as it was
beautiful. The entire room was covered in pictures. Those with actual subjects in the
pictures move and chattered. Some were empty, though I noticed that some of the
individuals in the paintings came and went over the course of our visit. Behind the desk
was a shelf that held only the sorting hat, beside which was a glass case that held a large
and very ornate sword. One wall contained a fireplace.
As we stood there, gaping at the site, I noted the presence of voices. This wasn’t usual, I
almost always heard a din of voices in the background, but the source of these voices
seemed to be in the room. I peered at Dumbledore. Was he letting me into his head? I
listened more carefully. Some of the voices matched Dumbledore but not all. It was as if
I was hearing a myriad of different voices, different discussions… very similar to
standing near a hall full of people. I looked around perplexed.
“Is there someone else here?” I asked Dumbledore.
“I wondered if you would be able to hear that… it is a Pensieve” He opened a door in a
dark cabinet to reveal a shallow stone basin, decorated with runes and symbols along the
edge. As I stepped closer I noticed that basin contained a silver liquid – almost like
liquid light. It was definitely the source of the voices. I looked up at him questioningly.
“It is where I store my memories or the memories that others have been good enough to
share with me. It helps me sort through them, see links I might have missed otherwise.”
He explained.
I realized that Dumbledore had lived more life then I had – he had walked this planet
many more years and had lived through just as many difficult times. He also had spent
his existence in the acquisition of knowledge… I barely recalled what it was like to be
human, but I recalled that my mind had seemed many times larger after my
transformation and better able to retain and recall information. I guessed this would be
infinitely more difficult with a simple human brain. I wondered at all this – amazed at
the simple solution, and yet the necessary magic to make it happen.
“That is quite remarkable.” I commented, “I can see its usefulness.”
“Yes… well, we best be on our way” he said brightly, “I think this next conversation is
best held at your house. As you know, this office is not the most secure.” He said, his
eyes twinkling. I had the impression that we were meant to overhear his conversation
with Snape. I suddenly recalled his announcement of our presence, long after we had
arrived, yet before we had a chance to announce our arrival. I wondered, again, at
whether he had mind reading abilities. Snape certainly did, those his were much more
intrusive. I would have to ask about that.
We quickly returned by Floo Powder through the fireplace in Dumbledore’s office and
congregated in the library with the rest of the family. “I thought it would be best to have a
bit of a debriefing of your first day. Certainly I am sure you have had a lot to consider
today and I am sure there are questions you’ll have for me, as I you… First of all, I am
sure you overhead the tail end of my conversation with Professor Snape?”
Carlisle and I nodded. With our sensitive hearing it was easy enough. I was fairly
certain Bella wouldn’t have made out actual words through the door. “That is my fault,
Professor. I am afraid I was very careless today. I was doing some research in the library
and took out a book on Vampires as I was trying to discover the possible affect of
Dragon’s Fire… I had the book with me in Snape’s class and he saw it on the way out the
door.”
Dumbledore chuckled. “You certainly take more upon yourself then you need to. Perhaps
your placement in Hufflepuff was entirely appropriate?” He mused, “Snape already
suspected what you are before you attended his class today. And I am sure he took a
glance into your mind as well?”
“Yes, he caught me… ah… checking on the family at their various locations. He wasn’t
pleased. Actually, he wasn’t pleased with me at all today. I couldn’t do anything right.”
He chuckled some more, “Snape is a most trusted friend and accomplice. However, he is
also highly suspicious. At one time, he sided with Lord Voldemort, before he saw him
for what he really was. He has had more then his fair share of dealing with vampires and
werewolves and other supposedly dark creatures. It was only a matter of time before he
figured it out.”
“I see.” I replied, not sure what to think. I still felt terribly guilty over my carelessness.
“And so he gave you a hard time, did he?”
“Yes.”
“That is his way. If he thinks you are strong, he will challenge you all the more. He is
particularly annoyed that you could learn this material as a non-magical person. Plus, I
am sure he was testing your ability to memorize the text, further confirming what you
are. He would have picked less well known facts from foot notes and end notes to see if
you had a photographic memory, which I am sure you do.”
I thought back over my interrogation and realized he was right. Every question had been
both random and not well known. A normal student wouldn’t have caught them. A
normal student wouldn’t have read the entire textbook yet. It was another point of
carelessness. In my desire to be right, I had forgotten to be human. Careless!
“What will that mean for us?” Carlisle asked.
“Snape already knew of the existence of vampires, so your kind’s secret has not been
revealed. Also, he has agreed to go along with this and will not reveal your nature to
others. You can trust him.”
“If you say so, I will accept it.” Carlisle nodded. But we will keep our eyes and ears open.
I nodded to Carlisle’s thought.
“So what did you think of the banquet last night?” Dumbledore asked, eyes twinkling.
“The hall was amazing. I couldn’t believe the beauty of it.” Esme gushed. “It is truly
remarkable.”
“Yes I thought you might like it. It is too bad Moody was so late in his arrival. I would
have liked him to have met you prior to the banquet with McGonagall and Snape. I will
have to arrange a meeting later…”
“Dumbledore – about Moody. My vision of him is strange.” Alice interjected.
“How so?” Dumbledore suddenly looked intrigued.
“When I see his future, his figure is not completely solid. I see him as he is now, but the
edges of his figure waver as if he is going to change into something else. I have never
experienced this type of flaw in my vision. I am not sure what to make of it.”
“It may not be a flaw, dear” he looked kindly at her, “And yet I do not know what could
be causing it. He was an Auror – a Ministry official who hunted down Death Eaters. He
has certainly seen his fair share of magical battle. Perhaps one of his injuries has left
magical residue… I will have to consider it further. Thank you for sharing that
information with me.”
“Dumbledore, also, when I hear him, I hear a different voice in his head then when he
speaks. I only heard him briefly, speaking in hushed tones, but there was a marked
difference. People voices usually sound the same or similar.” I added.
“That is most peculiar. Again, I will have to think on it some more. Perhaps it is best if
we delay your introductions until I have had some time to consider this new knowledge.”
He mused, pausing as if he were filing the memory away for later use. “Now about the
house elves – have you figured out anything more about them, Alice?”
“Last night, at the banquet, the house elf was right in the room with us, however my
vision didn’t change until Bella decided to speak to it. Then she disappeared. It would
have been interesting to see if she disappeared if she had ignored it while moving closer,
but of course, that is a difficult experiment without actually paying attention to the elf.
However, my guess is that as long as we don’t engage the house elves, I should be able to
see the future.”
“That is excellent news” Dumbledore clapped his hands. “So, other then Snape being,
well, Snape, how did the rest of your classes go? Rosalie? Any problems in class?”
“No. I seemed to fit in well enough. I didn’t have any opportunity to have to demonstrate
magic. I suppose I should learn to use the wand, though. I expect, eventually, I will need to use it.”
“Of course, we will get you set up with lessons before the end of the week.” He nodded,
“And Bella?”
“Other then a few minor burns, it was great.” She grinned, “Hermione was really helpful.
She agreed to tutor me to bring me up to speed for my classes and Harry and Ron were
very welcoming.”
“I am sure they were” I murmured, to which she shot me an annoyed glance.
“Hermione is very intelligent and helpful. I am sure she will do what she can to get you
through. She has already proven to be very trustworthy.”
“Yes, she mentioned something about rescuing a hippogriff and a shape-shifting dog.
And dealing with a werewolf…” her story had come out in such a string of statements, it
was difficult to put it together in an order that made any sense. “And something about a
time-turner…”
“She shared that with you, did she?” his eyes twinkled “I am sure she very much
regretted it once she said it, acting quite stiff afterwards?” Bella and I nodded, “Yes, she
is very accomplished. Very appropriately placed in Gryffindor. From her first year, she
has faced several life threatening situations and come out unscathed. She has a very
bright future ahead of her.”
“A hippogriff? Here?” Emmett asked excitedly.
Dumbledore laughed, “I am sorry to say, not anymore. He had to leave to avoid
destruction at the end of last year, but you will likely come across centaurs if you go into
the Black Forest with Hagrid… also giant spiders…”
“We saw a Centaur today, but giant spiders? How giant?” Jasper asked
“As big as a car” Dumbledore chuckled at their excitement
“Wow! What else?” Emmett asked
“Thestrals pull the carriages, but you can’t see them unless you’ve been touched by
death… I wonder…” Dumbledore mused.
Jasper and Emmett exchanged excited expressions.
I was amused by their enthusiasm for all things mythical, but something Dumbledore said
bothered me. “Did you say she has faced several life threatening situations?” I wondered,
was she as much a magnet for trouble as Bella? And, if so, how would Bella fare?
“Yes, she has.” Dumbledore returned to a more serious expression. “In her first year she
and Ron worked with Harry to defeat Lord Voldemort who was living similar to how you
live – off the blood of unicorns. In second year, she was petrified by a Basilisk. You have
already heard the story of last year.”
“So, does she seek out trouble or does it seek her out?” I asked truly concerned.
“Neither” Dumbledore smiled, “she seems to have a rather protective nature. She can’t let
Harry and Ron get into trouble on their own – and it is a good thing too. I don’t know
how the two of them would have fared if not for her quick wit and knowledge.”
I sighed, somewhat relieved. At least Bella would be in good hands.
“So what other impressions have you had?”
“Well, that Draco Malfoy is not the purest mind.” I said, hesitantly.
“Ah, yes, Draco. The Malfoy’s were very clearly on Voldemort’s side during the last
battle and I strongly suspect they have not changed since then. Draco’s father, Lucius, is
on the board for Hogwarts. They are not to be trusted.”
“He knows more then he lets on… His thoughts lead me to believe something is coming.”
“Interesting… Let me know if you hear more.” Dumbledore nodded, “Well, It is time to
return to Hogwarts. I am truly thankful for involvement here. It is more important then
you may realize. We should touch base regularly, but if anything happens or if you hear
or see anything you think I should know, no matter how small, please come find me.”
“Ah, Dumbledore, there is one more thing…” I started hesitantly, not sure if I should
bring this up, if it would be offensive. “I checked in on Bella during Divination today –
with Professor Trelawney. She seems to be… not entirely precise all the time.”
Dumbledore broke out into laughter, “Yes, Sybil has her faults. She isn’t exactly the
most consistent prophet. However, she has had at least two accurate prophesies – and I
believe she is accurate this time as well.” He looked very serious by the end of his
sentence, making it clear there was no question in his mind.
“Okay. Thank you for clarifying” I responded.
“Well, if there is nothing else, I shall return.” And he left as quickly as he arrived.

Ch. 18 Spiders, Rats and Vans

The next morning began pretty much as the last. I finished reading Hermione’s textbooks
from potions during the night as well as the Vampire Book and Triwizard Tournament, A
History, while Bella slept in my arms. It was an incredibly satisfying night, gaining new
knowledge and holding the woman I love.
Once at the school we split back up into our houses. Today, I had a double spare in the
morning, as Cedric had double Defence Against the Dark Arts, so, after returning the
Potions textbooks to Hermione, I headed off to the library. My cover, since I needed to
read them anyway, was to find the fourth and fifth year potions texts to catch up, and
have something to at least appear to be reading while I checked in on my family.
While I sat staring at the book, I first checked on Carlisle. After his first day with
Professor Sprout helping him, he was now on his own instructing the class. He had spent
the prior evening and night catching up on his own missed learning on plants with
magical properties. In passing, Professor Sprout had mentioned Neville Longbottom’s
particular interest in Herbology, so he had looked into some more advanced information
to share with the boy and was planning on including him as an assistant, eliminating the
overly eager witch support in, at least, one class. Unfortunately, the Fourth Years didn’t
have Herbology today. He was currently struggling with the Third Years. At every
question, half of the class raised eager hands, while he sought out a not so eager hand to
produce the answer. I chuckled to myself at his predicament.
Next I checked in on Rosalie. She was currently rolling her eyes through Divination.
Ah, yes, the perfect class for someone who believed in making her own destination… I
was surprised she didn’t get up and walk out right then and there. I could feel her cringe
as Trelawney spouted off another useless and, ultimately incorrect fact.
I could twist her neck in about 2 seconds and then jump out the tower window… or I
could hit her square in the chest hard enough to stop her heart… or maybe just a quick
cuff of the hand behind her head as I walk out the door and the hemoraging will cause
brain damage… that won’t work, she is clearly already brain damaged…
I left Rosalie to her musing of 100 different ways she could kill Trelawney. I had no
concern she would actually go through with it. She was just passing the time.
Jasper had joined Emmett again today. He was eager to see if there were more mythical
creatures then the centaur they ran into yesterday. It just so happened the Hagrid didn’t
have a class at the moment, and so they convinced him they needed to learn more about
the Black Forest.
“Do you have any poisonous spiders or other interesting arachnids in these parts?” Jasper
started.
“Oh yes, I have always held a particular fascination with arachnids.” Emmett chimed in.
“Ya know, I haven’t bee’ to visit Aragog and his family. Las’ time I sent someone else,
though, it didn’t end well. I s’pose you wouldn’t smell to good to them. Let’s go.”
I almost jumped up and joined them. But I hadn’t checked on Bella yet, and I had been
saving that for last, knowing I would probably spend the rest of my spare watching her.
It was hard being away all this time.
I found her in Transfiguration with McGonagall. The class was learning to transform rats
into birds. I watched McGonagall pull Bella and Hermione aside.
“Now, Miss. Swan, we have altered this bewitched wand to produce only this spell for
now. You should be able to perform the spell as Miss. Granger shows you without any
difficulty, but you shan’t be able to do anything else. Understand?” she asked hesitantly.
“Yes, Professor McGonagall” Bella responded, eyes gleaming.
“The enchantment will ware off after one hour, so you must understand your wand will
be quite useless after that.”
I breathed a sigh of relief. Like Carlisle, I was also concerned with Bella having a live
wand at all times. This seemed like a reasonable compromise Dumbledore had come up
with.
She and Hermione took their seats as McGonagall demonstrated for them.
“So with a light swoop and a flick, state clearly “metamorph-avian”
Bella hesitated looking over at Harry. Hermione followed her gaze. Harry’s rat turned
into a bald eagle. Then Ron’s efforts caught Hermione’s attention, as he had a half
rat/half seagull sitting in front of him squawking. Neville missed his rat, who jumped off
the table and ran to the back of the room, with Neville hot on his tale, shouting, “Come
back, come back.”
As I was in Hermione’s head, I heard her pass an exasperated thought before turning to
her own rat. She thought of an owl as she repeated the process McGonagall
demonstrated. With a flash of green the rat changed into a grey owl. Hmm. That was
well done. Hermione congratulated herself. Then with a flick, she changed it back with
“metamorph-rodent”.
“Okay, Bella – now you try.” I watched her vision focus on Bella, holding her wand
awkwardly. I could already see that her technique was off. Instead of holding it gingerly
between her thumb and fingers, she was grasping it tightly in her fist. I felt the cringe in
Hermione’s face. Bella moved further away as I felt Hermione leaning backward, away
from the impending doom. Then, with her full arm she made a very exaggerated swing
and came down hard with a straight arm, wand pointed at the rat and stated “metamorph a-van
A low rumble started on the desk where the rat stood. OH NO! I saw Hermione’s hand
shoot out and grab Bella as she turned and ran to the back of the class. The rat was
vibrating viscously on the desk. Ron and Harry stared at Hermione as she ran past and
then looked back at her desk. With fear in their eyes, they and the rest of the class cleared
the front of the room. I could hear screams and yelling all around me as I stayed
transfixed in Hermione’s mind.
“Children, children… just stay clear…” McGonagall called out in a terse clear voice with
a hint of concern.
The rat was growing larger and larger as the tail and head sunk into it’s body. The hind
legs began taking on a black round appearance. I heard a creaking and the cracking of
wood and realized it was the desk the rat was sitting on, as it grew to the size of, well, a
van and took over the entire first row of desks. With a loud CRACK, shards of wood
flew out and the half rat-half van landed on the floor with a boom, still vibrating.
“Oh my… goodness… someone get Dumbledore.” McGonagall called out, but the entire
class was transfixed to their place at the back of the room.
The top half of the rat/van started to turn translucent. However, at that point, the not yet
fully transformed rat was taken with fear and tried to escape. The front paws scratched at
the ground, trying to move, while the back legs simply rolled forward. Unfortunately, its
size made it impossible to move much at all, so it simply rocked back and forth fervently,
while it squeeled, “Eeeeek-honk, eeeek-honk, eeeeek-honk.”
The students covered their ears at the horrid sound. Then, in the midst of the chaos, I
heard a loud “STUPIFY” and the half rat/half van creature lay still and quiet.
“Good thinking, Miss. Granger.” McGonagall said with a forced calm, then turning back
to the creature she stated, very clearly, “disappearo” and it was gone. “Well, class, I
think that is enough transfiguration for one day. Gather up your books and you can head
off toward your next class. Miss. Granger and Miss. Swan, can I please see you for a
moment?”
As they explained what happened I tried to ascertain whether or not Bella was hurt.
Unfortunately, McGonagall’s mind wasn’t open to me and Hermione’s focus was
primarily on McGonagall. So I settled for smell, focusing on each inhale of Hermione’s
breath. It was a less then satisfactory method, as the human sense of smell was hardly
delicate enough to smell blood, but it would have to do. I concentrated very hard. I
couldn’t smell anything remotely close to her blood, and that scent was particularly
strong to me. I debated getting up and ‘casually’ walking by, but I had already made too
many mistakes over the past day.
Finally, McGonagall asked, “Bella, dear, are you alright?” and Hermione changed her
focus over to Bella.
She was standing somewhat shakily in her spot, but otherwise looked unharmed. I saw
no blood, and no evidence of broken bones. I wished I could be there myself to make
sure, but I knew that would be foolish.
“I t-t-think so. Just a little shaken.” She paused, gathering herself together, “How did it
do that? I thought it was only supposed to do the one charm?” she asked. I wondered the
same thing.
“Well, it was bewitched to transform a rat. I didn’t specify what into. We just wanted to
make sure you didn’t transform another member of the class… We’ll have to be more
specific next time.” McGonagall explained.
NEXT TIME? Were they crazy? I would have to talk to Carlisle about this. A flicker in
my mind, notified me that the few students in the library were staring at me. Did I speak
out loud? No… Then I realized I was holding two broken ends of a ruler that had been
sitting on the table in front of me. I smiled sheepishly. “Sorry, good book” I said.
I decided to say with her to see what other trouble she could get into. I was glad to see
that McGonagall had confiscated the wand for the time being. As she and Hermione
walked out into the hallway, Bella said, “I am so sorry, Hermione. I don’t know what I
was doing.” She blushed furiously.
“Don’t worry about it Bella. In our first year, Ron and Neville didn’t get a single
transfiguration right… and one time, when Harry was using Floo Powder, he said
“Diagonally” instead of “Diagon Ally” and ended up in Knock Turn alley, which is full
of all sorts of nasty things.”
“You can mess up with Floo Powder too?” Bella cried in dismay. The thought was just
occurring to me as well. What if Bella had ended up in some swamp? Or in this Lord
Voldemort’s house? The possibilities of disaster seemed endless.
“Oh, hardly. Only if you say the wrong word. Or miss-pronounce it. I am sure you’ll be
more careful from now on.” She said confidently.
“I’m not so sure of that.” She cringed.
“Hey, Bella, that was bloody brilliant!” Ron exclaimed as they caught up with him and
Harry in the hall.
“Yes, quite the bit of magic there. Well done Bella!” Harry applauded.
I could see Bella’s lips tighten up into her angry pout and the crease appear between her
eyes. “Humf” she exclaimed and speed up down the hall.
“Now you’ve done it. Good going you dumb blokes” Hermione glared, as she ran off to
catch up with Bella.
By the time she got there, Bella’s eyes were full of tears from her anger. Hermione put
her arm around her in comfort, “It’s okay Bella. They’re just being a couple jerks. Don’t
cry…”
“I’m not crying, I’m angry” she burst out… “ARGE! I hate it that I cry when I am mad.”
“Well, I would be mad, too! It’s not like Ron did much better. Did you see his
transfiguration?”
“No… I was paying attention to Harry’s and then your’s”
“Well, he ended up with a half-rat, half-sea gull. It was like a rat with big white wings
and a yellow beak.”
“Really” Bella brightened a bit, the crease disappearing…
“Yes – and Neville lost his rat all together.”
“Oh… that’s too bad. I like Neville… He is sort of clumsy, like me. Harry did a beautiful
job though.”
“Yes, well… that is to be expected.”
“And you did too!”
“But Bella, we’ve been working on this for three whole years now. And Ron came from
a magical family. He should be well practised by now.”
“I guess I see your point. Thanks, Hermione.” She threw her arms around in a hug. I
could feel the warmth from my desk in the library. I wished I could be there instead.
“I suppose we should get you to Muggle Studies” Hermione said brightly, trying to
lighten the mood.
“At least I should know something about that.” Bella grinned, though it didn’t quite reach
her eyes.
I followed them the rest of the way down the corridor. I decided they should be able to
make it the rest of the way to class unscathed, so I changed back to see what was
happening with Emmett and Jasper. As I checked in on Jasper’s mind, I saw the flash of
black and fangs much to close for comfort. I felt myself jump in my seat and I switched
to Emmett.
“That’s it Jasper, let him know who’s boss.” Emmett cheered.
“Now, go easy. He’s don’ mean no harm” I heard Hagrid’s voice off to the side.
I could see Jasper in a death grip with a huge black spider five times his size.
“Your friends are good fighters.” Another voice, dark and sinister called out. I saw
Emmett gaze to the source. It was an even larger spider standing back a few feet. Behind
him were dozens more.
“Come on Jasper, let me have a try.” Emmett called out, and I saw them switch off, with
a wrestling style hand slap, and Jasper squirmed out of reach of the huge fangs and eight
long wiry legs. Emmett had quickly climbed a tree and was flying through the air onto
the spiders’ back.
“Nice move, humanoid. It is good you don’t smell good to us, or we would have killed
you by now. But this is fun. We haven’t had a good challenge against another creature in
ages.” The dark sinister voice chuckled.
I realized they were more than okay and, as much as I would have loved to watch, I
switched back to Bella. Again, as I looked through Hermione’s mind, I didn’t see her.
Then, looking at the notes Hermione was taking I realized she was in Charms, while
Bella was supposed to be in Muggle Studies. I switched over to Harry’s mind, to find
her. She was sitting across the isle taking notes as Professor Burbage droned on about
the substitutes for magic muggles use to get by.
“The Ministry of Magic recently reported that some Muggles have very small boxes into
which they shrink musicians to carry them around and listen to them at leisure. It is quite
fascinating. They use a process called downloading from the Internet to get them into the
boxes.”
I saw a small grin on Bella’s face through Harry’s sideways glance. I’m glad she is
feeling a bit better. I didn’t mean to tease her. Ron is right, she really is quite pretty when
she isn’t falling over herself.
I felt myself give out a low growl, and then looked around to make sure no one in the
library had noticed.
Not as pretty as Cho, though… I wonder if Cho would go with me to Hogsmede?
What is this? A love interest for our Harry? I could hardly agree with his assessment. It
was like comparing a single tree to the entire orchard. But if he found this Cho
interesting, perhaps there was something I could do about that. It worked for Angela and
Ben… why not? I wondered if Cedric would be as accommodating as Emmett had been
in setting up the situation. I would have to ask. But first I would have to do a little
research…
Harry’s attention was back on the teacher, so I flitted to Ron’s mind. He often was paying
attention to Bella. As much as I disliked it, if he was, it would, at least, give me some
way to see her.
Hermione! She always thinks she knows everything. She is so, so, infuriating…
Okay, he wasn’t focused on Bella for once. That was comforting, but there was
something in his tone that caught my attention… I would have to pay attention to this as
well.
I couldn’t find any other mind that wasn’t content to stare at the blackboard and take
notes, or was just daydreaming, so my ability to check on Bella was cut off. I returned my
focus to the library and finished reading the Potions texts in front of me before lunch.
Bella had made arrangements to study with Hermione in the library over lunch and I fully
intended on not paying attention to my text when I could see, hear and smell her for
myself in the very near future.


Ch. 19 Flying High… Flying Low

When lunch arrived, I decided I couldn’t wait any longer and found my way to the Great
Hall. I would have to use my “special diet” excuse again, or choke down a few bites that
I would sit in my stomach all day before being able cough them back up. I needed to get
a sense of who this Cho girl was, I told myself. To begin my research – to see if she
would be open to a date with Harry, but the real reason was to see Bella – to see with my
own eyes that she was okay.
Being apart was becoming more difficult as time passed. It had only been a few days,
and yet I was already aching for the evening when I could drop this façade. I missed her
being a part of my whole life. As much as this project was intriguing and the new
knowledge fascinating, I wished we could just do this together, as a couple…
I found Cedric at the Hufflepuff table chatting with two of his roommates, James and
Patrick. “Hey Cedric, how was Dark Arts this morning?”
“It is too bad you aren’t taking it, Edward. This new Professor Moody – he really knows
his stuff. He has really faced you-know-who and his death eaters. He went on about
being vigilant – and he showed us the unforgivable curses.”
“Aren’t those illegal?” I asked. I had heard as much from the passing minds of those who
had already taken Moody’s lecture. It seemed to be pretty similar for each year.
“Yes, if you perform them on a human. He used a grasshopper. It was pretty graphic. I
can’t imagine what I would do if I had to face something like that”
“I guess that is why they are teaching it here.” I supposed. “So you are prepared.”
“True enough.”
“So, what is on for this afternoon?”
“Muggle Studies… and then Divination.” Cedric rolled his eyes.
So, it would be a fairly easy afternoon. “Cedric, do you know a Cho Chang?”
“Cho? Sure. She is the Seeker for the Ravenclaw Quidditch team. She’s good – not as
good as Harry though. Over there – there she is.” He pointed behind us over at the
Ravenclaw table to a girl matching the picture in Harry’s mind. She was in the midst of a
friendly conversation with several of her classmates. I tried to read her thoughts for any
sense that she had an interest in Harry. All I could see what that she was friendly enough
and bright. She was kind-hearted and open, which was probably why she also appeared to
be quite popular among her classmates. I suppose she was also pretty, as far as human
girls go. I could see the attraction Harry might have for her, though she was no
comparison to Bella.
“Edward and Cedric are looking at you” the girl next to her whispered. I did a quick
search and found her name was Marietta. Cho casually looked up to see the two of us
looking over at her. She smiled nicely, without much encouragement and then returned to
her conversation.
Now that I’d seen and heard her, it would be easier to keep her voice in my mind. I
turned my gaze back over to the Gryffindor table to find Harry glancing over at Cho
between gaps in the conversation.
Cedric must be explaining Quidditch to him – pointing out each of the seekers, I heard
Cho assume. She had been trying to find a rational explanation for my attention, and
settled comfortably on that. It was a relief. I didn’t need to create any confusing romantic
entanglements.
I couldn’t see any connection for Harry in Cho’s mind, however, there didn’t seem to be
any particular boy in her mind at all. She was similar to Angela’s, generally content. I
would have to wait until they interacted to see if there was any possible connection.
“Why do you ask?” Cedric wondered.
“Oh, I had heard she was good… and someone said she was pretty” I thought to add that
in to gauge Cedric’s reaction.
“Oh” he said while I read his mind. True, she is and nice too, but not the prettiest girl
here. His eyes gazed over one isle where Bella and Hermione were walking down to meet
up with Harry and Ron. I sincerely hoped he had been thinking of Hermione.
I turned back to the table, but focused on watching Bella through Harry and Ron’s minds
as they watched the two of them come and join them. I would have preferred to watch
her myself, but I had already made so many mistakes. It wasn’t until she was settled
across the room where I could look casually at her without being obvious, that I dared
satiate my need for her. Fortunately, I didn’t need to be terribly obvious to hear her.
“Hey Harry, Ron.” She greeted as she sat down. Did she seem a little cool? Well, of
course… they had teased her earlier this morning.
“Hi” they repeated automatically.
I wonder why she is suddenly stiff. She seemed fine in the hallway a few minutes ago.
Maybe she is still sore about this morning. Hermione wondered.
“So what is in the plan for this afternoon.” Ron asked.
“Bella and I are going to the”
“Library, we know” Ron interrupted, annoyed. Is that all girls think about – books and
studying?
“Actually, Hermione, I was thinking of maybe walking down to Hagrid’s – just to say
‘hi’ before our next class. I can catch up with you after.” Bella said softly. I creased my
brow… Bella walking around the grounds unattended… I didn’t like the sound of that.
“I’ll go with you” Ron chimed in, “It might be a little hard to find, with you being a new
student here.” I didn’t like the sound of that either.
Hermione rolled her eyes. “It’s not that hard, Ron” she said exasperated.
“Really, I remember the way from class. I should be able to find it again.” Bella
confirmed, looking between Ron and Hermione. I suspected she sensed the tension, as
perceptive as she was, and didn’t want to get in the way.
“I’m going down there anyway,” Harry said, “I need to return something to Hagrid. I’ll
walk with you.”
“Thanks Harry…” she smiled kindly. I was glad for the arrangement – it left her
protected, but not by Ron Weasley, who I suspected wouldn’t be much protection at all.
I returned my full attention to the HufflePuff table.
“So, too bad about Quidditch for this year. The Triwizard Tournament will be terribly
exciting, but I’ll miss the matches” Patrick was commenting.
“I agree. I really enjoy playing. Maybe we can organize a fun game – just throw some
teams together for a weekend exhibition game” Cedric suggested.
“That would be great. I would love to see the game played again.” I chimed in. “I hadn’t
ever seen it until the World Cup.”
“Really?” James wondered, “How is that possible?”
Cedric cast a worried glace in my direction, “He’s from America - you know they don’t
have any real sports over there.” He teased with a quick grin.
“Hey, what do you call hockey?” I shot back, joining in the banter.
“Muggle Sports? Come on, any game that is only played on two dimensions can hardly
be called a sport at all.” Cedric teased back, carrying on the charade.
I smiled at him in appreciation.
“Hey Edward, have you ever given it a try?” Patrick asked.
“What Quidditch?” I gave Cedric a quick worried glance.
“No hockey – of course Quidditch” Patrick challenged.
“I’m not really much of an athlete.” I excused.
“That’s a surprise. You’re cousin is quite a talent. Have you ever watched him?” James
said with admiration for his friend.
“No, I haven’t had the opportunity. I hope I do.” I said truthfully.
“Let’s go hang out in the common room until class.” Patrick suggested, seeing the meal
was finished.
What I wanted to do was follow Bella out as I watched her leave with Harry, but I was
sure she would be fine. I just missed her. I saw, as we headed out, I would pass right near
her… Joy leapt within me at the possibility. Perhaps I could softly brush my hand
against her arm, or walk close enough to feel the breeze of her hair. I sped up slightly,
planning my moment.
Cho and her friends we leaving at the same time. At once, our three groups converged at
the huge double doors of the Great Hall. I heard Harry getting up the nerve to say
something to Cho, and immediately shifted my attention to her mind to see what her
reaction would be.
“H-h-hi Cho. Shame about Quidditch this year.” Harry started out.
“Yes, Harry. I would have been fun to play you again this year. Though you always beat
me.” She replied softly. I gauged her physical reaction as well as her thoughts to his
presence and conversation. She was telling the truth, she enjoyed playing the game and
found Harry to be a superior player. She held some admiration for him, and seemed
open. There was the smallest smile and a hint of a faint blush. Hmm, perhaps there was
potential here.
“Patrick, James and I were just commenting on the same thing,” Cedric jumped in. “We
were thinking maybe we could get an exhibition game together – just for fun. To keep in
practise.”
Interesting, Cho had a similar reaction to Cedric. She seemed equally open to either boy,
though if I gauged her correctly, she seemed slightly in favour of Cedric as the older of
the two. I focused a little more – yes she had an interest in Harry, but his being younger
had an impact. Why was it that girls had such a hang up on age? Bella certainly made a
big deal of it… speaking of which, where was Bella?
Harry was engaged in conversation with Cho and Cedric and hadn’t noticed her leave. I checked in with a few minds down the hall… nothing. I took a good breath in… she
seemed to be heading in the right direction to get to Hagrid’s cottage… I was torn.
Should I leave to find her, or stay… What would the others think if I suddenly left now to
go find her? Would I blow our cover? I decided on a more tactical solution.
“Umm, Harry – I noticed you were walking up with our new exchange student, Bella.
How is she fitting in?” That was okay. A fellow American concerned about one of his
fellow foreign students. Anyone would do that.
“She and Hermione are best of friends. Oh, where did she go? We were going to go to
Hagrid’s. I suppose I ought to make sure she finds it okay.”
I breathed a sigh of relief. Harry would find her and keep her safe, as I followed Cedric
and his friends to the Hufflepuff common room, making plans for an exhibition
Quidditch match.
“Well, we have three of the Seekers on board. I am sure Wood and the rest of the
Gryffendor team would be game.” James said excitedly.
“And I know the rest of Hufflepuff would participate.” Cedric added.
“And Ravenclaw – Cho sounded excited… It sounds like she’ll get the rest of the team on
board.” Patrick commented enthusiastically.
“So, we need a few staff members to support it, and a referee. Cedric, as Prefect, it would
be best coming from you.” James suggested.
“If you think so, I can do that.” He offered.
They continued with the plans while I checked in on Harry’s progress in finding Bella.
He was heading toward Hagrid’s cottage, but there was no Bella in sight. Perhaps she
had already gone in. Then I heard voices, and Harry’s gaze focused out beyond the hut to
the garden behind. Through his ears I heard the soft tone of her voice and the deeper
tenor of Emmett. If I had been there myself, I could have made out what they were
saying, but Harry’s ears were not sensitive enough from that distance. He rushed toward
them with relief at locating her.
As he rounded the corner, we both noticed her brush the tears from her face, and
Emmett’s comforting hand on her shoulder. What was going on? Why was she crying?
Did she fall on her way to the hut? Perhaps, but why would Emmett bring her to the
garden to patch her up? If she had been bleeding, the last thing he would want is to be
alone with her. Not that he didn’t have enough control, but he would be more careful
then that. No she didn’t appear to be hurt. Still, it was puzzling.
“Hey Harry,” she said with forced cheerfulness.
What is up with her again? Maybe she is homesick. Harry wondered. “Hi Bella. Sorry I
lost you there for a minute. I see you found your way alright.”
“Yes – and I ran into Emmett. He was telling me they visited a giant spider today.”
“You did? How did you….” Harry was baffled. I saw a recollection where he and Ron
barely escaped dozens of the large spiders in a blue car. That must have been what
Hagrid was talking about.
“We were with Hagrid.” Emmett quickly added, seeing the question in his face.
“That explains it. They really are monstrous.” Harry commented with a healthy dose of
fear.
“Yes. Quite!” Emmett replied, with a flash of excitement.
“Where is your brother… Jasper?” Harry asked.
“He went home for lunch. He said he’d be back, though. We are going to help Hagrid
with some feeding chores he has this afternoon.”
“I hope not those Blast-Ended Skrewts…” Harry added.
“No, he’s saving those for you Forth Years on Monday.”
“Oh, no” Harry groaned. “Oh, it is almost time for Potions. Are you done here, Bella?”
“Yes, let’s go. We don’t want to be late.” She replied, casting a thankful look at Emmett
before she turned and left. Unfortunately, his thoughts had shifted to this afternoon’s
activities, so I couldn’t glean any information from him on what had Bella so upset.
I turned my attention back to the Quidditch discussion.
“So it’s settled then – Cedric will talk to the faculty, James will approach Slytherin, and I
will confirm with Ravenclaw and Gryffindor.” Patrick said cheerily to the plan.
“Do we have to ask Slytherin?” James complained, “It’s not like they will care if it’s only
for fun.”
“We should ask them anyway.” Cedric said firmly, “It’s up to them if they want to join
in.”
“Maybe we could do a skills exhibition – where other students get to try playing… then
we can give Edward a shot on the broom… I think you’d be a natural beater.” Patrick
added.
“Let’s not push it with the faculty” Cedric warned, giving me a quick glance. “We’ll be
fortunate to have them agree to the games at all.”
‘Thank you’ I mouthed as we turned to leave.
Muggle Studies was about as ludicrous for sixth years as it had been for the fourth years.
Fortunately, it was also a class I could allow part of my mind to pay attention in, while I
focused on Bella in Potions. I cringed, worried that Snape would rip her apart in his
class.
“Ms. Swan, is it?” Snape droned. “Well, you might as well partner with Hermione, seeing
as you two have so much in common.” He snarled.
Bella sat down beside Hermione, a question on her face. “He means because I am a mud
blood and you are, well, a muggle” she whispered.
“Ms. Granger, you shall focus in my class!” he barked at her, and she sat up straight in
attention.
“Now, who can tell me….” I cringed waiting for him to attack Bella as he had me my
first class, but instead his piercing gaze rested upon Harry, though Hermione’s hand was
clearly high in the air. “Mr. Potter?”
“Houndstooth?” he responded hesitantly.
“Hmmm” he turned away, “And how would you prepare it for a poultice?”
Hermione’s hand shot up again.
“Mr. Potter?” He snarled.
“Ummm, by mashing?”
“WRONG! Really, Mr. Potter, I would have thought with your lineage, you’d be a little
more astute. No, you would leach it and then distil the liquid into a paste.”
Hermione let her hand rest regretfully.
If I had any doubt before that Snape disliked Harry, all doubt was gone. It was perfectly
clear that he despised him. Why, I could not begin to understand, but clearly he did.
I watched a little more, but as I found there was no discussion between Bella and
Hermione during class, for fear of Snape and as I felt my anger rising at Snape’s
unjustified attack on Harry, I decided to check in on Emmett.
As I entered his mind, I smelled something mildly appetising. I was looking into a bucket of warm raw meat, swimming in its own blood. Fortunately, the blood was cooling,
which was much less appetizing, but I could tell Emmett was having a little trouble with
control as I felt the venom pool to my mouth at the sight. I watched as he reached in,
grabbed a piece of the meat and threw it into the air. Suddenly a large, dark winged horse
like creature swooped down and grabbed the meat out of the air in it’s beak like mouth.
“Whoa” I heard Jasper’s voice.
“So, ya see’em then?” Hagrid asked.
“Oh, ya” Emmett exclaimed. “Why, are they normally invisible?” he said throwing up
another piece.
“Only those touched by death can see’em.” Hagrid noted, “Dumbledore though’ you’s
might be able to see th’ thestrals”
“They are amazing – like a carnivorous, skeleton Pegasus.” Jasper gasped.
They started landing around them, as Emmett handed out more of the meat.
“They might let you touch ‘em, if you are careful… I don’t know how they’d like you,
considerin’” Hagrid cautioned.
Emmett held out a piece of meat gingerly, wafting it back and forth. One that looked like
a yearling walked up hesitantly. Then, as it took in a deep breath, trotted right up to
Emmett and took the meat out of his hand. As it stood there, eating, Emmett slowly
brought his other hand up to its neck to stroke it.
“It’s letting me touch it.” He marvelled.
“Let me try” Jasper walked up, grabbing a piece of meat. As he held it out, another
thestral walked right up to him and took it out of his hand, while he reached around and
pet his side.” He looked back at Emmett, eyes wide.
Hagrid chuckled, “You’d thin’ you neve’ touched an animal before.”
“Not one that let us willingly… and not one we actually intended to keep alive.” Jasper
said. “Most animals run from us – our scent warns them we are dangerous.”
“They might let you ride’em.” Hagrid suggested.
He only got two pairs of stunned eyes in return. Then Emmett slowly stroked down the
mane to the thestral’s body. It seemed calm enough so he gently, but swiftly threw his
leg gracefully over. It momentarily bucked slightly at the weight, but seemed otherwise
unfazed by a vampire on its back. Emmett continued patting and stroking its neck, his
eyes gleaming.
As it started trotting, Hagrid warned, “It looks like he’s gonna give you a bit of a ride.
You might wanna hold on.” After a short trot, the thestral leaped into the air, its wings
beating it higher and higher into the sky.
“AWESOME!!!” Emmett cried. I had been watching from Jasper, but quickly switched
to Emmett to experience this with him. The feeling was exhilarating, the wind whistling
past as the winged horse narrowed into a dive, only to unfold its wings to swoop back up
at the last second.
“I’m going to try” Jasper called out, and I switched back to his mind to experience the
full effect. He first tried using his ability to calm the thestral, but it seemed to become
more and more nervous, the harder he tried to calm it. Finally, he stopped his power all
together and it quickly calmed down. “Strange” he murmured. Then, following the same
process Emmett had, he patted and stroked it until he was beside the body, where he
gracefully threw his leg over. It was as though the thestral had been waiting for him, for
when he was finally on board; it began its trot and leaped into the air, quickly gaining
altitude.
“WHOO-HOO-HOO” he cried out as it swooped and dove.
“What are you grinning at?” Cedric threw me a playful elbow back in Muggle Studies. I
quickly rearranged my facial expressions to more appropriate reflect the class.
“Nothing” I grinned with embarrassment. If I could blush, I probably would.
“Hey, if you want I can introduce you to Cho.” He offered, guessing at the subject of my
overly excited grin.
“No, that’s okay.” I whispered back. “I was thinking of something else.” I threw in,
though I knew it sounded lame.
“Sure – well, if you change your mind, let me know.”
“Thanks.”
We finished out the day and returned to a half torn apart main floor. Clearly renovations
were well on their way.
“We’ve stripped all the wall paper and will be replacing them with more period tapestries
coverings.” Alice explained as she held up a steamer to the wall. “I can’t imagine you
guys have had more fun then we’ve had today.”
Jasper and Emmett exchanged a glance, “Oh, I think we have.” They grabbed Alice and
Rosalie to let them in on their fun. I laughed as they left.
“They wrestled giant spiders and rode flying thestrals today.” I reported to Bella who was
standing next to me, but not close like she usually did.
“I heard about the spiders.” She said coolly. Yes, she had, I remembered… “Well, I am
going to work on my homework and reading for tomorrow. Potions is really hard.” She
walked away up the stairs.
I couldn’t help but notice she seemed distant. Maybe she was tired from a long day.
Certainly, two periods with Snape could bleed the energy from anyone. Speaking of
which, I needed to hunt, then I wanted to fix Bella some supper.
“I’m heading out to the forest for a hunt. Does anyone want to join me?” I said clearly.
Alice flitted to the front door. “Sure, I’ll join you.”
It wasn’t long before we found a herd of large deer, satisfying ourselves on two each,
before we sat back and enjoyed the forest.
“How did your day go today?” she asked curiously.
“It was pretty funny. This morning I watched Jasper and Emmett wrestle the giant
spiders… Then Bella tried to change a rat into a van.” I had been scared for her at the
time, but now that she was safe, the humour of the situation hit me and I bent over
laughing. “You should have seen it, Alice. Why they would give her a wand again…”
the laughter overtook me as I saw, with crystal clarity the expression on McGonagall’s
face. “Anyway, this afternoon, she had Potions. Fortunately, Snape was a little more easy
going on her then he was on me. He really hates that Harry Potter though. And I watched
Emmett and Jasper fly thestrals… It was amazing, Alice. We should see if Hagrid will
take us out. They were so tame. They weren’t even afraid…”
She was watching me with a curious expression, as if she was expecting something else.
And what about at lunch?
“Some of the students talked about putting together a Quidditch match, for fun. So, we
might get to see the game played again, even thought the formal games are cancelled for
this year.”
“Mmmhmm” she said. I could see she was trying to not think of something. It got me
suddenly curious.
“Why do you ask, Alice? Is there something I should know?”
“Well, yes… there is, Edward.” Idiot! “I’m just not the one who should tell you.”
I cringed at her insult as I considered her words for a moment… Oh, Bella, at lunch.
“Something was wrong with Bella at lunch, right?”
Maybe that is something you should discuss with her.
We headed back then. It was getting later and Bella needed to eat something for dinner. I
found Esme in the kitchen as I rummaged around for something to make for her.
I hope Bella is alright, I heard in her thoughts before she quickly immersed herself in
thoughts of the renovation. I gave her a glance, eyes narrowed.
“Here, take her some of this,” she offered, holding out some pot roast, potatoes and
julienne carrots. “I thought I’d do a little cooking today,” she shrugged.
“Thanks, Mom.” I gave her a half hug, as I set the food on a tray with a glass of milk and
took it up to our room.
I remembered to knock, those I was sure she wouldn’t be changing yet. There was no
answer. I knocked a little louder… still no answer. I slowly opened the door, “Bella, I’m
coming in,” I called out as I entered. “Oh”
She was spread out on the bed, books and papers slipping off her lap, one book still in her
hand, half covering her face. I set the tray down and carefully gathered up her papers,
into a neat stack and picking up the books around her. Lastly, I picked up the book she
was holding, marking the place where her thumb was keeping it open. I looked down at
her face then, hair strewn across. I brushed it back, surprised to find her cheeks tear
stained. She had been crying? Esme must have heard her. But why would she be
crying? Certainly today had been embarrassing, but Bella had never been one to cry
about her mishaps. I brushed the streaks away from her cheeks. Then I lay down beside
her and gently lifted her into my arms, holding her close while I stroked her hair.

20/3/10


Ch. 20 Short Glimpses at the First Few Weeks

I held her until around midnight when she woke. “Good evening, love.” I whispered.
“Are you hungry?”
“Famished” she said.
“Well, your dinner is a little cold. Let me go warm it up for you while you get ready for
bed.”
“Mmmm” she responded, rubbing her eyes.
I quickly stole the tray down to the kitchen, reheated her meal, poured a fresh glass of
milk and was back up stairs, again, carefully knocking on the door before entering.
“That smells really good… did you make all this for me?”
“Afraid not. Esme was feeling creative in the kitchen. There are a lot of leftovers. We’ll
have to invite Hagrid over to help you out with them.” I teased.
“That would be nice.” She dug into the meal, eating quickly. She must be very hungry.
“Bella” I started, as she finished her milk, “are you okay? You seemed sad earlier.”
“Oh” she put the glass down, “I’ll be okay, Edward. It’s nothing you need to worry
about.”
I reached over and wiped the milk from her upper lip. “You know you can tell me
anything, right? If something or someone is bothering you, you can tell me.”
She sighed, “Just forget about it, okay? I’m tired.”
“Sure, go back to sleep…” I said as we moved back to the bed and I carefully tucked the
blankets around her to keep her warm. I hummed her lullaby until I heard her breathing
deepen back into a deep sleep.
****
The first several weeks at Hogwarts continued a similar combination of learning new
magical knowledge, watching Bella get along in her classes, ensuring Rosalie was okay
in hers and feeling a little jealous that I couldn’t just spend the day with Emmett and
Jasper who had taken to regular visits to the Thestrals and going on expeditions with
Hagrid to discover other magical creatures in the forest.
Our second weekend at Hogwarts brought the informal, hastily planned Quidditch match.
In the end, the Slytherin team decided to participate, as they couldn’t stand to miss an
opportunity to prove their prowess, so they decided to play two back to back games,
based on a draw. The result was Slytherin would play against Gryffindor as the first
game and, Ravenclaw against Hufflepuff for the second.
The entire family came over for the exhibition and sat with Carlisle, except for Bella and
I who sat with a group of students.
“Normally, we sit in our houses to cheer on the teams” Cedric explained, “But since this
is for fun, everyone is just sitting together. It is kind of a nice change.”
“I see” I responded. I was pleased to see that Cho Chang and her friends had sat down in
front of Cedric and me and some of his housemates. Bella came up to join us along with
Hermione and Ron. I really wanted to sit right beside Bella and hold her hand during the
match. But I knew we couldn’t. Hermione already seemed suspicious of us. In the end,
Bella sat further down the bench with Hermione between us. That was probably for the
best, I thought.
The game began and the Slytherin took an early lead with three quick goals. A group of
Slytherin students, who were the only ones who decided to sit as a house cheered loudly,
as the rest of us looked on. It was clear they were a fiercely loyal house, as well as
generally disliked by the rest of the students. Harry and the Slytherin Seeker cruised
around the pitch keeping an eye out for the Snitch.
Gryffindor finally scored, but was quickly countered with another Slytherin goal. It was
beginning to look like a blow out for Slytherin. Our box was very quiet as we watched
the score move more heavily in favour our least favourite team.
Suddenly, Harry, who was flying around the Gryffendor goal shot up in to the air toward
the centre of the pitch. Then, just as quickly he dove down toward the ground at a
dizzying speed. The movement caught the Slytherin Seeker who raced over from the
other side of the pitch. Trying to catch up, he turned into a deeper dive, racing for the
Snitch.
“Pull up, Harry, pull up… Oh, he’s going to crash!” Hermione cried.
But at the last second, Harry pulled up and flew off toward the outside of the pitch. The
Slytherin Seeker wasn’t so lucky. But the time he attempted to pull out of the dive, he
was already within a few feet of the ground. He managed to right himself just enough to
avoid a face plant as he crashed against the ground.
“Bloody brilliant – he pulled off a Wronski Feint! I can’t believe it… He’ll be the next
Krum.” Ron cheered.
“He could have been hurt, Ron! It was bloody stupid, that’s what it was,” Hermione
reached across Bella to give him a firm swat on the head. I had wished she had swatted
his arm instead, as it seemed to be inching its way closer to Bella. I wondered if he would try to hold her hand. I stifled a growl at the thought.
“Wow! That was amazing…” I heard Cho exclaim in front of me.
Cedric nodded vigorously beside me. “I don’t think I could have pulled that off. He’s the
best of all of us.” He said with admiration.
“Oh yes.” Cho agreed. I saw in her mind, her estimation of Harry increase.
I thought I would try to push the point at little further, “I take it that would be a very
challenging move?” I asked, directing the question toward Cho, leaning forward slightly.
Cedric gave me a sideways glance and noting my stature chose to not answer, though he
could have.
Cho turned slightly to face me, “Oh yes – the only other person who can do that currently
is Viktor Krum of the Bulgarian National Team. He is the best Seeker in the world, but I
dare say, Harry has the potential…” her attention was suddenly drawn away as Harry
took off across the pitch again. “Oh, I think he’s really seen it this time.”
The Slytherin seeker followed, but a little more carefully this time, not certain if this was
for real or another trick. Harry quickly jumped up on his broom in a standing position,
and reached out with one hand. The Slytherin Seeker picked up speed. He’d seen the
snitch, but too late. Harry had hopped back down in a seated position on his broom
holding his hand up in the air, a glint of gold shinning therein.
“He’s got it – and what a move.” Cho gasped.
“That was a bit of a show off” Ron commented sourly, “Standing like that.”
“Still, impressive” Cedric commented, grudgingly.
Again, I directed my question to Cho, leaning forward, “Has he always been this good?”
As the game was over, she turned right around, “Oh yes, he was a natural born Seeker.
On his first day on a broom, he was flying as good as most of us after a year of training.”
Her admiration was quite evident, and his recent performance was quickly overcoming
her hesitation at their difference in age. The fact that I was paying attention to him was
having an effect as well. She was definitely warming up to the idea of a date with Harry
Potter. I smiled in self satisfaction as she and Cedric stood up.
“Well, we’re next, Cedric. Suppose we ought to go get ready.”
“Yes, you just wait, Edward,” Ernie commented, “Cedric is about to knock your socks
off.”
“Hardly,” Cedric smiled, “But it should be a good game. Ravenclaw always gives us a
good run.”
He was right. The Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff teams were evenly matched. Cedric was a
stronger Seeker then Cho, making more dramatic turns and dives, but the Ravenclaw’s
Keeper appeared to perform the best of all the teams, making spectacular saves against
the Hufflepuff Chasers. The game stayed close, with Ravenclaw in the lead by 2 goals
when Cedric, who was cruising a metre off the pitch, suddenly shot up toward the
Hufflepuff goal. I could see the glint of the snitch not too far away from him. Cho
quickly picked it out and came at it from the opposite side of the field. They were
quickly closing in on each other.
“Ohhh, they’re going to crash” Bella winced, but before they hit, Cho broke off the chase
and Cedric’s hand closed around the snitch. Only then did he notice that Cho was in such
close proximity. As he saw her on his right, he wavered and swerved, almost falling off
his broom, as he held on tightly with one hand.
“He is quite intense when he plays,” I commented in admiration to his housemates, “He
didn’t break focus for one minute. I thought Cho was going to beat him to the Snitch, but
she broke away…”
“That’s what makes him so good” Harry said with admiration, having joined us after his
match. “It’s one thing to have skills, but to be dedicated to the pursuit… You can’t teach
that.” It was a gracious thing to say, but Harry wasn’t being gracious. He was, sincerely,
impressed with Cedric and saw him as someone to learn from.
“Well that was quite the exhibition. It was amazing to see.” I commented.
“I’m surprised you hadn’t seen it before… both the US and Canada have Quidditch teams
listed in ‘Quidditch Through the Ages’.” He questioned. “I would have assumed you
played at your schools as well.”
“I suppose it varies from region to region. We aren’t much into it in Washington.” I
responded quickly.
“I suppose.” He replied. If he had been a more suspicious sort, I am sure that would have
made him wonder. But fortunately, he took my response at face value.
As we left the stands, I noticed that Bella still didn’t seem quite herself, and this
continued when we got home. But she didn’t bring it up and I didn’t note any evidence of
tears, so I chose to leave it. She usually got embarrassed about that sort of thing. Still, I
was bothered by her cool response to my hugs and my kisses. She didn’t kiss me back
with the same fervour as before. In some ways that made it easier to keep control, but it
bothered me. I decided not to push myself on her too much. Perhaps everything going on
was just too overwhelming for her. And it was difficult be affectionate at night and aloof
during the day. It was probably just easier to be a little less affectionate. I was glad we
hadn’t decided to move forward in our physical relationship. I could only imagine how
difficult it would be then.
****
Also, over the weeks, she and Hermione seemed to be getting quite close, which was
nice. The closest friend she had in Forks was Angela, and she had only spent a sparse
amount of time with her outside of school. Bella and Hermione were more like best
friends, spending every lunch and many evenings together in the library. At first I
thought it was simply to study and help Bella pass as a foreign exchange Witch, but on
one particular Wednesday evening I was sitting at home watching Bella through
Hermione, and discovered they were up to something.
“It says here that house elves have been enslaved to their houses for centuries. No scholar
is certain when the practice originated, however, it is clear it existed back as far as 1542
when a specific reference was made to the appropriate punishment of a disloyal house
elf.”
“I can’t imagine the wizards and witches… in this day an age, would allow slavery to
continue. Why haven’t the house elves revolted?” Bella demanded.
“I don’t know. Ron says they like being enslaved. That they look down upon house elves
like Dobby.”
“That is just because they haven’t the choice. That was exactly what the African
American slaves went through when slavery was abolished in the United States. They
hadn’t any choice, so they didn’t know better. Some had lived as slaves for so long, they
didn’t know how to be free.”
“They have been so brain washed over the centuries, they can’t even accept their
freedom! That is it! Bella, we need to do something about this, especially at Hogwarts.
Imagine a place of higher learning supporting this injustice.”
“You’re right, Hermione, but what can we do?”
“Well, we can get others on board… And round up the house elves… Create a support
group… We need a name.”
“Witches and Wizards against the Enslavement of House Elves?”
“Hmmm WWAEHE… Doesn’t really have a catchy ring… I would love to find a way to
fit Stop the Outrageous Abuse of Our Fellow Magical Creatures and Campaign for a
Change in Their Legal Status into our logo, but it is a bit long.”
“Yes… that is a mouthful.”
“What about the Society for the Promotion of Elfish Welfare?”
“SPEW – don’t you think that sends the wrong message?’
“No – it won’t be SPEW, it will be S P E W… It is short, concise and it fits it all in, I
think…”
“I suppose” Bella said doubtfully…
“We need buttons for our society members… We can write them up and then I can make
buttons using a charm…”
“Okay” she said as Hermione pulled out some paper and coloured inks to use with their
quills. They went hard at work
“Edward – Bella” Alice ran panicked into the room.
“What?” I asked, then saw, in her vision, Bella had disappeared. I returned to
Hermione’s mind. She was still quite safe…
“What is she doing RIGHT NOW!” Alice demanded.
“She is working on buttons with Hermione in the library… they are creating a Society for
the Promotion of Elfish Welfare”
“They are working with the house elves?”
“No, I am quite sure they are doing this on their own. I don’t think the house elves are
aware of their efforts at this point.”
“They must be thinking of something to interact with them. I can’t imagine just thinking
about them erases their future…”
“I don’t know, Alice. Right now they are just drawing and colouring in buttons…”
“Keep an eye on them” she said with a worried expression, as she left the room. I shook
my head. But turned my attention back to the two of them in the library.
They had just finished up the colouring the buttons and Hermione was transforming each
into a magical button that changes from S.P.E.W. in large letters to ‘Society for the
Promotion of Elfish Welfare’ and back again. It was quite cleaver…
“Let’s go recruit our first members. Maybe we’ll run into a house elf and we can let them
know of our plans.” Hermione said, determinedly as they got up from the library.
As they walked along the corridor, Hermione whispered, “Look, there – a house elf.”
One of the small creatures was cleaning the hall as it was quite late and most of the
students had retired to the common rooms of their various houses. “We should let it know
of our society.”
She walked right up to it, “Excuse me, house elf… I’m sorry, I don’t know your name.”
The little creature stared up at her, nervously, not sure what to say.
“What is your name?” Bella asked.
“Twinky” the little elf squeaked.
“Don’t be afraid. We aren’t going to hurt you. We want you to know we understand your
plight. We want to support your freedom.”
“Freedom? No… please.” The house elf broke into tears, “please don’t… I will punish
myself, soooorrrryy..” it began beating its head against the stone wall.
“No… no, please stop, please stop Twinky. We don’t want to hurt you.” Hermione cried,
reaching out to stop it, but in an instant, it snapped its fingers and disappeared.
“She’s back!” Alice cheered, bursting back into the room.
“They ran into a house elf cleaning the hall, and spoke to it.” I told her.
“Why… why does she do these things to me…” she muttered.
I supposed it was late enough. I decided to go back to Hogwarts and bring Bella home.
In a less then ten seconds I was running up the hall, calling after her. “Bella, Bella”
She and Hermione turned, hands full of buttons and a concerned expression on their
faces. Clearly they had been discussing the confrontation with the house elf.
“Edward, what is happening?”
“Alice was wondering if you were going to be home soon. She has an issue she wants to
discuss with you.”
“Oh, okay. It is getting late. I suppose I should get back home. See you tomorrow
Hermione.”
“Good night! I’ll get Ron and Harry – you work on Edward and Rosalie.”
“Sure thing” she said, grabbing three buttons.
“You don’t seriously think I am going to wear that?” I asked as we returned to Venlaw.
“Of course – you want to support the ethical treatment of magical creatures, don’t you?”
“Bella, this isn’t our world. It isn’t our fight.” I used the Carlisle’s argument.
“It’s Hermione’s world – and Ron’s – and Harry’s – and I want to support them” she said
stubbornly.
“Well, before you do that, you may want to have a chat with Alice.” I heard her coming
down the stairs as I spoke.
“BELLA! What do you think you are doing to me!” she practically shrieked.
“What do you mean, Alice?”
“Don’t you realize you almost gave me a stroke tonight when you disappeared!
DISAPPEARED! For 20 minutes! Do you know what could have happened in 20
minutes?”
“Oh… the house elf.” She realized… “I’m sorry, Alice. But we couldn’t just stand by.
We had to let it know we cared about its situation. Hermione and I are starting a support
group for elves – to help them become free.” She said holding out the button.
“Bella, Bella, Bella – please tell me you aren’t really going to do this.” Alice shook her
head.
“Of course, I’m going to do this. It is unethical.”
“But, every time you interact with one of these house elves, you disappear from my sight.
Don’t you realize what that does to me – not to mention the danger it puts you in?”
“I’m not going to stand idly by and let some poor defenceless creature continue to be
taken advantage of, simply because I am afraid something might happen in the few
moments you can’t see my future.” Bella crossed her arms and glared at Alice as Alice
glared back at her.
I sighed, “Can we discuss this tomorrow? Bella needs to get some sleep.”
Have you talked to her about the other day – about lunch? Alice asked as we turned to go
upstairs.
I shook my head.
Well, that’s one way to deal with it… she sighed and walked off.
****
While I struggled with how to discourage Bella from her House Elf project, I was still
stumped with my Harry and Cho project. While Harry was clearly interested, peering
over at her whenever possible, mostly during lunch, Cho wasn’t as attentive. In order to
facilitate opportunities to get them interacting, and to make closer relationships with
Cedric and his housemates, I had begun joining them for lunch, though refusing to eat.
“Are you sure you can’t eat any of this?” Cedric asked, concerned.
“Really, I can’t. I have some special food that I eat during the day. I just don’t want to
offend the house elves by bringing it out here.” I figured I could cover two bases at once,
as I had also agreed to wear the SPEW badge.
“Okay..” He said suspiciously. Then noting my glance over to the Ravenclaw table,
“You know, I could introduce you…”
“No, it’s not like that.” I replied. I wondered if I should let him in on the plan, but I
wasn’t ready to put it into action until I was sure of how to proceed. It would do no good
to act prematurely, or to precipitate something that would only embarrass Harry.
****
Unfortunately, things hadn’t improved with Bella either. Even with Alice’s help, she
wasn’t dissuaded from her work with Hermonie to improve the situation for the house
elves. And, despite her insistence that everything was fine, I knew that everything was
not fine. For one, Alice kept reminding me and secondly, Bella continued to keep her
distance whenever possible. It wasn’t that she was outwardly hostile, just distant. I
waited for awhile to see if she would come around, hoping it was just fatigue. But after
the first couple weeks, I confronted her.
“Bella, what is going on? You are so distant lately. Something is clearly wrong – I wish
you would tell me.” I tried to open the discussion one night before bed.
“I don’t know what you mean, Edward. I am here, aren’t I?” The way she emphasized ‘I
am here’, made we think there was an implication that I wasn’t catching.
“But you aren’t you… You keep your distance from me.” I didn’t know how to tell her, I
had noticed that she didn’t spontaneously hug me any more, or reach up for a kiss. She
didn’t curl up closer in my arms when she went to sleep.
“That is what we are supposed to be doing, right? Pretending to be apart… Pretending
that we are single.” Again, the emphasis on pretending and single, made me think I was
missing something important.
“Yes, during the day. But we are free to be us at night, Bella. We can be together.”
“And here we are – together” she pointed out.
“Yes, but…” something was missing. I just didn’t know how to put it into words. “I just
feel like something is wrong.”
“Well, maybe you and your 5th and 6th year friends can figure it out. Now, if you don’t
mind, I’d like to get ready for bed.” She huffed.
I left to give her privacy while she prepared. When I returned, she had already buried
herself deep in the covers, almost as if she didn’t want me to be there. I wasn’t sure what
to do. I wanted to dive in next to her, pull her to me and try to put whatever was between
us, behind us. But maybe she just needed some space. I sighed, and settled into the
window seat overlooking the yard to read for the night.
****
We had been at the school for over a month when my next real opportunity to evaluate
the possibility between Harry and Cho occurred. It was late October. Bella and
Hermione were just returning from Care of Magical Creatures with Ron and Harry, and I
was walking down the hallway from the library to meet up at the end of the day. Cedric
was off at Dark Arts. As I approached I noticed a large gathering in the Entrance Hall,
looking over a notice on the board. I could read it with my sensitive sight from half way
down the hall.
TRIWIZARD TOURNAMENT

The delegations from Beauxbatons and Durmstrang will be arriving at 6 o’clock on
Friday 30th of October. Lessons will end half an hour early. Students will return bags and
books to their dormitories and assemble in front of the castle to greet our guests before
the Welcoming Feast.
It wasn’t unexpected. This was the reason we were here. Yet in the midst of settling in,
making friends and my side project, it would have escaped my mind entirely, if that were
possible for a vampire.
“Hey Edward,” Ernie MacMillan greeted me as I walked up – another mate of Cedric’s.
“Can you see the notice?” He was having trouble reading it over the crowd, so I repeated
what I had read part way down the hall.
“Only a week away! I wonder if Cedric knows? Think I’ll go tell him…” he rushed off.
In the murmur of the students about the arrival of the new guests and the upcoming
tournament, I noticed that Cho and Harry were standing not all that far apart. Harry was
trying, desperately, to think of something to say to Cho.
“This will be quite a year, with the tournament and all.” Harry started.
I concentrated on Cho for her reaction. This time, there was more hope. He certainly
seems to have matured from last year. He seems older, somehow… “Yes, it will be very
interesting. I wonder who the champion will be for Hogwarts.”
Ah, yes… here we go. She is considering him.
“Yes, it will be interesting to see. I wonder what the tournament will be like.”
“Oh, I read they had all sorts of dangerous tasks before. I hope everyone is safe.” I’m
glad they aren’t letting anyone under 17 in. It would be a shame for someone like Harry
to get hurt. “And I heard a rumour there is supposed to be a dance…”
It was a lead in… I was sure of it. I looked over at Harry. Ask her, I wanted to shout. All
he did is fumble with his hands while he looked straight ahead at the notice. “Well that
should be fun.”
She looked at Harry then. Yes, there was definitely hope there. This, I could work with I
thought as I heard an exasperated voice behind me.
“Excuse me, I don’t like people just because they’re handsome!” Hermonie said
indignantly to Ron, and she turned and huffed off, with Bella at her side. As I watched
them leave, it seemed that Bella looked sad. She had seemed sad most of the past month,
but she seemed particularly sad at the moment. I walked down the hall a ways away from
the crowd and watched through Hermione as they left.
“That Ron… errrr. All he cares about are people’s looks. Doesn’t even think that there
might be something more interesting to a person…” She stomped down the corridor.
“Boys are like that, Hermione. They always flock around the prettiest girl.” This was
when Bella would have normally tried to find something comforting to say, but that
didn’t seem at all comforting. Actually, she looked rather grim as she said it. What was
with her?
She stopped and looked at Bella for a moment, “At least you are very pretty, Bella.”
“Hardly…” she never did have an accurate view of herself, “and you are very pretty too,
Hermione – and smart and interesting. Ron would be lucky to go out with a girl like
you.”
“Like I’d want to…”
“Don’t you?” Bella looked into her eyes with those beautiful deep brown pools, currently
filled with concern and knowing.
“Truthfully, the idea might be interesting… if he wasn’t such a bloody idiot.” She smiled
and faintly blushed. “What about you? Is there anyone you are interested in?”
“Umm, well… I was dating someone…” she started hesitantly, “but I don’t know. He
seems sort of interested in someone else… I don’t know.” She looked down at her hands,
folding and unfolding them.
Someone here? Hermione wondered, trying to recall if she had seen Bella with anyone in
particular. Then, in a burst of perception, “Edward!”
Bella blushed, “How did you know?”
“You’re always staring at him at lunch. When you first got here, your eyes would light
up when we walked into the room. And when we met at the World Cup – now that I
think about it, it was like there was a connection between you two. So, why aren’t you
together?”
“Well, at first, it was because of what he is doing here - to protect Harry. It seemed
prudent. But now… I don’t know. He just seems…”
“Interested in Cho?” Hermione finished.
“I thought it was only me.” she whispered, looking down at her hands. When she looked
back up, tears were streaming down her face. “What do I do, Hermione?”
“I don’t know, Bella…” she pulled her into a hug.
I was incredulous. She thought I liked Cho? She thought that my affections could be so
easily swayed by another girl? She thought that there was anyone that could even
compare with her? I shook my head. How long had she felt this way I wondered… then
it dawned on me… It had been since the first week, when I had first asked about Cho.
That day, in the Great Hall, as she walked in with Hermione, I had asked about Cho, and
been staring at her, seeing into her mind. Then, as we left, with Bella standing right
there, I had been focusing all my efforts on Cho. I had been a fool. But now, how to
help her see that she was wrong? She would be furious if she knew I had seen this little
exchange.
I returned to the Entrance Hall and waited for Bella, Carlisle and Rosalie to gather in
preparation to return home. Maybe, once there, I could get some advice from Alice.

Ch. 21 A New Tune

So, you finally figured it out… Alice looked at me with annoyance as I walked into the
room, already seeing what I was about to ask her.
“So, if you already know, do you want to enlighten me with your brilliance?” I responded
sarcastically. I was already in trouble. I didn’t need to have my nose rubbed in it.
Well, let me enlighten you. She flashed through several scenes she had seen from the first
day I had spent lunch in the library, while Bella had watched the door for me, to the next
day when she walked in and watched me ask about Cho and look at her for some time…
to when I engaged Cho in conversation while Bella stood right there looking at me… to
the Quidditch match… and every moment since where I had clearly ignored Bella and
focused on Cho.
I shook my head, “I know I’ve been an idiot. You don’t have to prove it to me.”
“I just thought you might need to see it from anther perspective, to appropriately
appreciate the depth of your idiocy.” She smiled grimly.
I glared at her. “This isn’t helpful, Alice. I need to know how to get out of it.”
“Have you considered the truth?”
“I can’t tell her I spied on her and Hermione. She would be even more upset by that.”
Alice raised an eyebrow in defiance. “I don’t think so… but that isn’t what I meant – just
tell her the truth about what you have been doing.”
“Will it work?” I hoped she could give me a little foresight on this one.
“I’m afraid you’re going to have to fly blind on this one, Edward. There are just too many
variables.”
I sighed deeply and trudged up the stairs as a man to his doom. I knocked quietly and
then slowly opened the door. She was sitting on the bed reviewing her notes. I walked
over, sat on the bed, and looked at her intently.
“Bella… I need to talk to you.”
“mmmhmmm” she said, staring even more intently at her notes.
I reached over and gently lifted her face to meet my gaze. “I need to talk to you and I am
asking for your full attention. Can we please have a discussion – or at the very least, can
you hear what I want to say?”
She looked hesitant… almost afraid as she responded. “O-okay.” She gathered up her
notes and set them aside.
I took a deep breathe. “Bella, I need to talk to you about Cho.”
The crease immediately appeared between her eyes and her lips tightened. Tension set in
her shoulders. “Yes” she said curtly.
“Since we’ve come here… well not long after we came here, I’ve been working on a side
project. Something that I thought would be a good thing, but in hindsight, it has been all
wrong. It has hurt you.”
She didn’t relax. I wished I could know what she was thinking. But she just looked at me,
waiting, almost as though she was preparing herself for something horrendous. Then I
realized what that could be and I knew I needed to make my point quickly.
“Bella, I have been trying to figure out a way to get Harry and Cho together… I read in
Harry’s mind that he liked Cho, and I have been trying to figure out if Cho would be
interested in him… well, actually, trying to work on Cho being interested in him, as much
as I can… but I see that… I know that… it must have looked like…” I didn’t know how
to put it into words.
I paused for a moment while I looked into her eyes, to see if she understood what I was
saying. I could see the crease, but the tension in her shoulders released. The expression
was less fear and anxiety and more consideration… she was thinking it through. She was
taking quite a while to think it through…
“Bella, what are you thinking?” I begged, impatient at her silence.
“You know how it drives you nuts when you want to know what I think and you can’t see
in my head?’
“Yes”
“Do you realize that I can’t see in your head either? That I can only interpret your
actions?” She spat out angrily.
“Yes…” where was she going with this?
She sighed deeply. “So, all this time, all the attention you were paying to Cho – you were
just trying to get into her head to play match maker?”
“Yes”
“So, why didn’t you tell me that from the beginning?”
“I don’t know. I guess I wanted to see if there was even a possibility before I let anyone
else in on the plan.” But even as I said the words, I realized I had never considered asking
Bella for her help, or even telling her what I was planning to do. I shook my head.
“What? What is wrong now?” she asked.
“I am just realizing that, for a 108 year old vampire, I can be pretty obtuse sometimes.”
She smiled at that.
“Bella, I should have talked to you right away about what I was thinking. It could have
been something we did together… but then, at least, you would have known. I know it is
hard enough to be apart during the day. I spend my entire day looking forward to when I
can be with you.”
“You do? Really?” She said softly.
“Of course. I miss you desperately during the day… but Bella, I need to ask you to do
something for me.”
“What is it?”
“Don’t ever bottle yourself up like that. I knew something was wrong and you refused to
talk to me about it. I didn’t know what I was doing wrong. It was incredibly frustrating,
and I am afraid that I only made it worse by not pushing you, by giving you space…”
“I’ll try... it’s just that… At first, I felt like I was being stupid. Like I was seeing things. I
know you love me – you’ve proven that time and time again. I shouldn’t doubt your
feelings. At least that is what I kept telling myself. I wanted to trust you, to have faith in
you and our relationship. I didn’t want to be that girl anymore who is always doubting us.
But, it was so hard… and as time went on, it got harder… and the doubt was so strong,
Edward. I just didn’t know how to tell you… how to admit that I didn’t believe
anymore.” Her voice trailed off as she folded and unfolded her hands.
“Don’t ever be afraid to tell me what you need, Bella, even if it is just reassurance.” I
pulled her face up to mine, and gently placed my lips on hers… then with a ferocity, built
up over the past six weeks, I crushed my lips to hers as she pulled me strongly to her. I
couldn’t get enough of her – her warmth, her scent, her taste. I wanted all of her at once.
And she seemed to want the same. We were falling back onto the bed, as I traced the
outline of her face, rememorizing each line, every hollow, the arch of her eyebrows, the
contour of her jaw. I felt her squirm slightly under me and I realized I must be a bit
heavy. I lifted myself slightly, putting the bulk of my weight on my knees and my arms
and I continued to kiss her fervently.
She released her hands from around my neck and reached under my arms to trace the
outline of my shoulder blades over my shirt. Then her hands were under my shirt and I
felt the pure pleasure of her warmth against my cold skin. Electricity ran through me at
every touch.
I knew I was going to have to slow this down soon, but it was such a release that the
tension between us was over. We both felt it. This was a celebration of it.
She was running her hand up and down my back, when I turned to the side, and pulled
her on top, freeing my hands to return to the task of reacquainting them with her perfect
face. She was struggling for air, so I released her lips, blazing a trail down her jaw to her
fragrant neck. That scent, that was once my torture, was now my pleasure as I inhaled
deeply. Ah, feel the burn… It meant she was still with me.
I could feel her pulling away slightly, slowing down. It surprised me. Suddenly she
pulled right away, sitting up while straddling my waist. She was breathing hard. I
looked up at her questioningly.
“I’m just making sure I don’t get carried away.” She said breathlessly. “I know we are
going to wait. I don’t need to push it.”
This was different. “I’m okay, right now.” I said, reaching up for her. It was true, I wasn’t
quite out of control, yet… though I was getting close. I briefly wondered what it would
be like if I did.
“I’m sure you are, but I’m not.” She said, “Or at least I wasn’t… I’m doing better now.”
She leaned back over, kissing me slowly… carefully. I marvelled at her change. It made
me want her more then ever. It was… seductive. I reached for her, to pull her closer. I
wanted to feel her full warmth against me. What if I touched her skin? Just at her back?
Could I do that and not lose control I wondered. I started to inch my hands forward, up to
her waist, dipping a finger under the sweater… the rest of my hand started to follow.
She sat up quickly, looking down at me, questioningly… no accusingly. “What are you
doing?”
“Um…” What was I doing? I was pushing the limits of my control, was what I was
doing.
“I thought we decided to wait.” She said. “I mean, you know I want to… but we both
decided.”
“That isn’t what I was doing.” I defended. Not exactly… just trying to get closer to it,
though.
She threw herself down on me then, twisting her arms under my neck and pulling herself
to me in a strong hug. “Edward, I love you!” she exclaimed, before bursting into
hysterical giggles.
I was mildly annoyed at my efforts being stymied by the sudden development of her
responsibility in our physical relationship, while her laughing was doing nothing to help
me regain my own control. “I don’t see what is so funny.” I lightly snarled.
“You were trying to get to second base… and I stopped you.” She laughed…
“I was not!” I argued.
She sat up again and looked at me suspiciously. “Really?”
I sighed deeply. I didn’t want to get into exactly what I was trying to do. I looked up at
her beautiful face – the face of my beautiful, amazing, intelligent – most of all, good,
Bella. “Come here” I growled, and kissed her deeply once more, wanting more then
anything to wipe away her new found control. Not that I was hoping to break our
agreement, but I liked being the one in control of this aspect of our relationship. I used
every once of persuasion I afforded myself, but she quickly pulled away again.
“This is fun, but I really do need to finish a couple assignments for tomorrow.” She said,
getting off me. I groaned as her warmth left my body. My body physically hurt from her
leaving. I stared at the top of the four post bed as I took a few minutes to relax before
getting up. “I’ll go get you some supper.”
“Sounds good” heard her call from the bathroom.
I met Alice on the way down the stairs. So, what did I tell you?
“Thanks, Alice…”
I’m just glad you guys worked it out. I was frustrating to watch, you know.
“I know, thanks for being patient.”
I quickly gathered together her dinner, thought my mind wasn’t on the task at hand. I was
thinking over what had just happened upstairs. I realized she had been partially right. I
had only consciously decided to touch her skin, but once at her back, it would have been
a natural progression to move to her front… and… I swallowed. I didn’t think I had the
control for that. Why was I even considering it? My control, the limits that I had so
firmly put in place over the past almost two years of our relationship were crumbling, and
I didn’t know why.
I returned to find her changed in to her typical bed clothes – blue light cotton pyjama
pants and a tank top… The first night she invited me to stay over it looked more like and
old pair of sweats and a t-shirt. These days, it looked more like something that was
actually made for bed – the fabric was lighter, more feminine… It clung to her body a
little more closely. I shook my head… I need to think of something else.
She smiled up at me as I delivered the tray to the desk where she was finishing up some
assignment for school. I liked that she took this seriously – that she was actually trying to
do a good job at her studies, even thought no one in our world would ever know of her
year here. It would count for nothing. A lesser person then Bella might have been
tempted to put in less then their best effort.
“Thanks” she said, reaching up for a kiss, which I promptly gave her. It was such a relief
to have her back, like this. The past month and a half had been difficult. I walked back
over and sat on the bed while she ate. “Umm, this is really good, Edward. You spoil
me… I know, when you do things like this, it’s because you love me… I know that, but
when I doubt, I sometimes think it is just your sense of duty.” She said between bites.
Then as she finished she looked up at me, “I’m sorry doubted.”
“Just talk to me about it. These past weeks were… challenging.” I responded… Speaking
of challenging, “Bella, it’s not that I mind…” well, actually I do, “but why are you
pulling away… now… after all the times you have pushed for more… why now?”
She took a deep breath, “Well, like I said, we decided to wait.”
“True”
“And, while all the good reasons still apply, one that you mentioned really stuck in my
head since we came here.”
What could that be?
“You said, you weren’t sure you could be that intimate with me at night, and then just be
friends during the day. You thought it would be hard.”
“Yes” I had said that. “But you said it might give us a small piece of what we were
supposed to have by now.”
“I know… but these past weeks were hard, Edward, so hard… Even before the Cho
confusion. That first day, I missed you terribly all morning, and then when I went to
lunch and didn’t see you, and knew I wouldn’t see you until the end of the day, it was
almost painful.”
I knew what she meant. And she didn’t have the ability to see me through others minds.
I realized I hadn’t considered how much more difficult it would be for her, when I stayed
away.
“Knowing you were at the school, somewhere… and I couldn’t see you or go to you…
and even when I did I had to restrain myself from running up to you…”
“I understand what you are saying, Bella… It has been the same for me. Except I cheat.”
I confessed.
She looked up at my quizzically.
“I check in on you… on all of you.” I admitted.
“I know that. It is part of your roll to make sure we are safe. I assumed to kept tabs on us
once in awhile.”
“Yes, but… I don’t just keep tabs on you, Bella. I spend most of my spares and my easier
classes, just watching you in your classes. I miss you so much… At first, I was just
checking on you, but now, I just watch you all the time.” I looked down and I waited for
her anger at my obvious spying. She didn’t like knowing that I had seen her when she
made mistakes…
Her anger never came. I heard her softly get up from her chair and walk over to the bed.
Just as I had so many times when I needed to look into her eyes, she gently placed her
hand under my chin, to raise my head to meet her gaze. I had thought she would be
angry. All I saw was love.
“Edward” she said, a little breathlessly, “I’ve missed you too.” She said as she placed her
lips on mine. I stood up, pulling her to me. She reached her arms up around my neck,
and I felt her body reach up toward me. I lifted her off the ground so she didn’t have to
strain and she wrapped her legs around my waist as I held her body to mine, trapped in
our kiss. My hands, which had been at her waist to lift her, travelled up her back to her
shoulders, and her hair. Her hair was luxurious – its length, its silkiness, its smell. Then,
back to her shoulders, and I felt the warmth of her skin there and the smoothness of her
arms. I let my hands glaze down her side to her waist, but along the way my thumbs
found their way around to the front and traced the curves I had previously been so careful
to avoid.
I heard and felt her moan as she pulled away, and disentangled her legs from around my
waist. “Edward, what are you trying to do to me?” She was breathing hard and I knew I
had cross a line I shouldn’t have. I put my hand back in a safer position, squarely on her
back and pulled her into a warm hug. The heat was almost unbearable… almost.
“I… don’t know” I was a little breathless myself. I considered setting her down on the
bed and escaping to the chair, but after over a month of little or no affection, I didn’t want
to let her go. Why was I pushing things? Especially now, when we were on the same
page? Was it knowing what would have been if we hadn’t come here? Was it seeing
what I was missing out on when I so foolishly walked in on her? Was it the pain of the
past two months?
“I can’t say I don’t want you to… do that… but it makes it harder… if we aren’t going to
keep going…” she fumbled for words as her head lay on my chest, trying to settle her
breathing.
“I know… I shouldn’t have pushed things” I responded as softly as I could, though I
could hear the roughness in my voice – the husky tone of the part of me that wanted to
keep going. But I was starting to regain my calm as well. I reached down to kiss the top
of her hair. “It’s going to be a long year” I admitted.
“Mmmhmmm” she mumbled in agreement.
We stood like that for a few minutes more until she broke away. The fresh air between us
was both a relief and a shock, as she made her way over to the chair by the window,
seating her self there with her legs pulled up to her chest. “So, what are we going to do
about Harry and Cho.” She asked suddenly, all business.
I grinned at her change in tactic, “Well, I’ll tell you what I know so far.” I outlined what I
had seen in Cho’s mind – her initial openness… how she had seemed hesitant over the
age difference, but her growing admiration was overcoming that… and finally how she
seemed to leave an opening for Harry to ask her to the rumoured dance, but that he hadn’t
taken advantage of it.
“Hmmm” she considered. “I think you are right. Cho is interested, but is not committed
to him as a love interest. She could be easily swayed by another interested party – and
there are several…”
“Several?” I asked.
“Oh yes, in case you hadn’t noticed, Cho is one of the prettiest girls at school – and
interesting…”
“I hadn’t actually…”
She burst out into laughter. “Really? I mean I am sure you noticed that she is pretty. I
would have a hard time believing you didn’t notice that. But the thing that had me
doubting the most was that she isn’t just pretty. She is smart and athletic. She is confident
around her friends and friendly… and kind… responsible.” Bella stopped and looked at
me carefully, “You really didn’t notice did you?”
I shook my head, “No… I only see you, Bella.”
She smiled and her entire face lightened up. She moved as if she were about to get out of
her chair, but then stopped and stayed where she was. “So, what are we going to do to get
Cho and Harry together… what did you say about a dance?”
“Cho had said she had heard a rumour that there was going to be a big dance with the
tournament.”
“But we don’t know that for certain, yet?”
“No, I haven’t seen anything in anyone’s minds, though, I’m sure the people who would
be in the know, are the same one’s whose minds I can’t read.” It was frustrating.
“I am sure we’ll find out soon enough. Then we’ll have to plan out what we are going to
do… if there is one, Harry has to ask Cho to the dance…”
“Agreed” I said, smiling back at her, enjoying our joint conspiracy. I should have
thought of her in the first place.
“Well, it is getting late… Time for the human to sleep” she grinned. She crawled in and I
tucked the covers around her, but tonight I curled up behind her and wrapped my arm
around her body to pull her close.
“I really missed this.” I said as held her and she pushed herself further into my arms.
“Me too!” she murmured.
I let my nose graze the graceful line of her neck, inhaling her scent… then reaching down
I pressed my lips to her neck and her shoulder. I just couldn’t seem to get enough of her
tonight.
“Mmmm” she murmured. I wanted to go on, but I knew this wouldn’t help her get to
sleep, so I hummed her a new tune I had been working on. Her first lullaby was sweet
with a hint of melancholy, for a time when I first knew I loved her, but had no confidence
that we could really be together. This tune had greater complexity, more subtly and
nuance – and though it wasn’t as sweet, it wasn’t as sad either…

1/4/10

Ch. 22 Beauxbatons and Durmstrang

Bella and I hadn’t made much progress on our joint conspiracy project, code named
‘Harry Gets a Date’ by the following Friday, but we were certainly doing a lot better as a
couple. We still had to survive the difficult task of staying away from each other during
the day, a task I was finding more difficult now that we had worked through our
differences. While it had been frustrating, it had been easier to not be affectionate with
Bella when she had been distant all the time. Now, I wanted nothing more then to scoop
her up into an embrace when I saw her at lunch and the end of the day, to meet her
outside of each class we had apart, as I had done in Forks, and hold her hand as we
walked down the hall. Only we couldn’t do any of that during the day… So I made up for
it in the evenings.
We fell into a routine of returning to our room as soon as we got home and talked about
our day and any further developments with Harry and Cho. That discussion was usually
broken up when I couldn’t resist any longer and pull her to me, kissing her until we were
both breathless. I hadn’t realized how much joy I had been missing out on during the
first six weeks of our time at Hogwarts until now. It was like falling in love with Bella
all over again – though I had been in love with her all the time. Our reunion was usually
interrupted by the growl of her stomach reminding me that she couldn’t live on love
alone. I would either go make her meal, or put together whatever Esme had decided to
make that day in her creative efforts, while Bella began working on her homework. We
both worked on our studies after that. Though, I usually ended up watching her as she
worked on whatever paper or reading she had to complete. After a couple days of
interrupting her efforts to complete her homework, she suggested that we, perhaps, return
to Hogwarts to work in the library with Hermione… I didn’t like the idea of going back
to a place where we had to pretend to be apart, but I could see her point. I just couldn’t
stay away from her. So, we went to Hogwarts for a couple hours each night and returned
home to get ready for bed.
Rosalie started joining us after the first couple days. She had really begun to fit into the
Slytherin House. The other Slytherins had decided she must have come from a wealthy
American Wizarding family, that had come to some tragic end, and Carlisle took her in,
seeing immediately her potential. Her aurostotic air – or snobbish self interest as I liked
to think of it, seemed to make her acceptable to the Slytherin house, and she did nothing
to dissuade their stories.
After the first week, we met with Dumbledore once a week, usually on the weekend at
Castle Venlaw, to review what we had learned and practise with our wands. Rosalie was
a natural. With only a few tries, she had a graceful subtle flick that accurately execute the
pre-programmed spells. Her wand had been bewitched with the ability to levitate items,
to perform simple transfiguration on inanimate objects and, periodically, simple animals
when required for class, and also to provide a shield for defensive purposes. More then
her wand work, she was excelling at Potions. She had quite a knack for using her
stronger senses to tell when a little more of toad’s egg or newt’s eye was needed to get
the potion just right. Snape was particularly pleased with this new pupil. Her apparent
lack of magical ability seemed to have no affect on his treatment of her, I noted dryly. It
was as if, other then the ability to actually perform magic, she was a natural born witch.
And, other then being away from Emmett for long periods of time, she was enjoying this
assignment. As expected, a large portion of the male population already saw themselves
in love with her, and whispered to each other dreams of asking her out on dates, or
catching her in the common room alone, all of which she caught with her sensitive
hearing to her pleasure. The girls, too, whispered wishes to have her face, her figure, her
hair, and she took that all in stride as usual. Her mind was particularly prideful from all
the complements from both sexes, and I was finding it more difficult then usual to be in
her mind.
The one fly in her ointment was Draco Malfoy. Unlike the other young wizards who were
content to whisper their dreams from afar, Draco had taken it upon himself to make an
impression on Rosalie – a feat he was accomplishing, thought not to the extent he would
have liked.
“Good evening, Rosalie” He approached us one evening as She and I studied in the
library with Hermione and Bella. “Why don’t you join me and some of your other
housemates at our table. I’m not sure your want to continue to consort with these types.”
He looked with particular distain toward Hermione.
Rosalie looked up at him sweetly, You little pip-squeak. I wonder what you’d think if you
knew what my type was… “Thank you, Draco… You are so kind. I was working on a
project for my 6th year Potions class. I don’t suppose you have any friends at your table in
my class? I would be glad to get the extra help…”
“Well, it is only 4th years at my table at the moment.” He looked dejected.
“As much as it would be a pleasure to join you. I think I will continue to work with
Edward as the 6th year Hufflepuffs have the same project.” She flashed him her most
winning smile and he was ‘dazzled’ as Bella would call it.
As he turned to walk back to his table, she said lightly, “Draco, you smell amazingly
delicious tonight… what are you wearing?”
Bella just about choked over her laugh, as Draco walked back to his mates, gloating over
what he mistook as a complement. I chuckled softly to myself, while Hermione just
looked at all of us suspiciously.
A few days later at lunch, I over-heard Draco’s further efforts at chivalry as Rosalie
walked into the Great Hall to fake her way through another lunch. She was also clinging
to the special diet excuse, informing the table that it was important to eat many small
meals during the day to maintain her figure… Of course the rest of the witches had begun
to eat smaller portions at meal time and take pieces of food with them from the Great
Hall to class to eat during their breaks. On this particular lunch, Draco had decided to
stake his claim on Rosalie. As she walked by, he stood up in front of her and gestured
toward his bench.
“Rosalie, would you like to have lunch with me?” He shoved the large brut name Goyle
who quickly got up and found another place to sit further down the table.
Unable to find a reasonable excuse to say no, she smiled sweetly, “Draco, I would love to
have you for lunch.”
I coughed a laugh at the less then hidden threat. Cedric threw me a questioning look, but I
couldn’t tell him, nor did I trust my voice to speak as I heard Draco working through
Rosalie’s words.
Did she mean to say she would love to have lunch with me? Or perhaps it is an American
phrase to say “have you” for a meal… or did she mean something else? Is she hinting
she would like to be more with me then just a lunch date? I wondered what he would
think if he knew the true meaning behind her words.
She managed to sit through that lunch with Draco, but the following day, she made a
point of finding a seat before she got to where he was sitting.
To her credit, she was trying to be kind, in her way. Other then the barely cloaked
threats, she smiled sweetly and responded kindly. It was taking a toll on her. She was
used to the schools in America, where the study body admired us from afar, but didn’t
dare join us – that was until Bella. And, if any of the males gathered up the courage to
approach her, she had always had Emmett to make them think twice.
Like us, they had chosen to keep their relationship a secret on campus. It just seemed
prudent given the circumstances. This didn’t stop Rosalie from spending her spares in
the Forbidden Forest, though, and she had found her way to the Thestrals one afternoon
with Emmett.
“Where are you off to?” I asked as she got up from our shared table in the library. We
both had double spares this particular afternoon.
“I’m going to go for a walk in the forest.” She said defiantly.
“You shouldn’t walk there alone.” We heard Draco’s annoying voice pipe up from
behind a stack of books. “There are a lot of dangerous creatures out there. Once, in my
first year, Harry and I were in the forest and came across a vampire. Fortunately, for
Harry, I fought it off.”
“Really?” she looked at him, interest peeked. I wonder if we should test that theory…
She was about to invite him to walk with her, when I interrupted. “I have a spare as well,
why don’t I join you.”
Spoil sport! She sulked looking back at me… I wouldn’t hurt him. Just have a little fun.
“I suppose that would be prudent, Edward”
“I have a class anyway, right now.” Draco said as we left, “Otherwise I’d offer to take
you myself.”
“Another time” Rosalie promised, as I shook my head.
We met Emmett out at Hagrid’s shack. Hagrid was working with the Blast Ended
Skrewts who, despite a lack of feeding for they still hadn’t figured out what they ate,
were growing at an alarming rate and had started killing eachother.
“Hey Rosalie, what brings you out this way?” Emmett asked as we approached. “I might
be able to escape for a couple hours. We could go do things that would scare mythical
creatures in the forest?” he said too low for non-vampires ears to hear.
“Intriguing, but no…”she responded softly, then a little louder, “I needed to get some
fresh air and thought I would go for a walk. But one of my fellow Slythern housemates
warned me that the grounds, especially near the forest, was full of dangers, like
vampires… He regaled me with a story of how he saved poor Harry Potter once in first
year…” her voiced dripped with heavy sarcasm.
“What? Was that Malfo’… that chicken – he ran off at first sight… Wosn’t even a real
vampire – just you-know-who livin’ off the blood of unicorns.” Hagrid laughed
indignantly.
“You-know-who was a vampire?” I asked.
“No, he was sorta living a half life – not strong enough to come back, but not yet dead.
So you sees, he drank the blood of unicorns to keep him alive… sort of. He was hopin’
to get his hands on a philopher’s stone…” he explained, though it wasn’t entirely clear to
us how he had managed to live as a vampire for a short period of time, or what a
philospher’s stone would do. I wonder what Carlisle would make of that. “No, Draco
Malfoy’s the last one you’d see fightin’ a vampire. Be interestin’ to watch though.” He
chuckled.
“It could be arranged.” Emmett offered.
Hagrid looked at him, appraisingly. “No, Dumbledore wouldn’t like us messin’ with him
like that.”
“Can I show her the Thestrals?” he asked Hagrid excitedly.
“Sure – they seem ta like yer type.” He agreed.
I was about to ask to join them when Emmett looked over at me. Edward, we need some
alone time – I am sure you understand… or maybe you don’t? He smirked.
I rolled my eyes. I would avoid seeing how Rosalie’s ride on the Thestrals went. “I have
some work to finish up in the library. See you guys later.” I would check in with Bella
instead.
So, other then the mild irritant that was Draco Malfoy, Rosalie was thriving at Hogwarts.
That was until the delegates arrived from Deauxbatons and Durmstrang. It was the
Friday before Hallowe’en, a little over a week since Bella and I had made up. As posted,
classes had been cut short that day, which meant 30 minutes less of Potions for Bella and
30 minutes less of a spare for me. The student body had been in a state of excited
anticipation since the notice was posted the previous week, and I was faintly reminded of
the days before Bella arrived at Forks. Something new was just as exciting to the young
witches and wizards at Hogwarts as the “muggle” teens at Forks. The main difference
was, this time, the vampires were also excited.
The staff had made every effort to ensure Hogwarts was at its best. It was difficult to
imagine it could be improved upon. It was already pretty amazing. But for this, the castle
had been cleaned from stem to stern, the various pieces of armour had been polished up
and even the paintings had been cleaned. One evening, after leaving the library late,
Bella and I had accidentally come across the caretaker, Mr. Filch, cleaning one particular
painting. The inhabitants of the painting vacated the canvas and were hiding behind the
frame peeking out every few moments yelling “hey, watch it” and “that’s too hard” and
“really, aren’t you through yet?”. Bella had giggled hysterically all the way home.
The day before the arrival, McGonagall made a point of pulling Bella aside at class. “Ms.
Swan, I appreciate your efforts to learn magic – and you have come a long way…” It
was true, yesterday she turned an owl into a cup… it was supposed to be a plate, but still,
not bad. “But while the other exchange students are with us, I am afraid I will be asking
Hermione to perform your spells for you.” She had then taken all powers out of the wand.
She and Hermione had to practise their technique together – Bella waving her powerless
wand and saying the enchantment, while Hermione copied the actual actions discreetly
beside her, actually performing the magic. It seemed to work better then Bella’s attempts
at magic on her own, and safer.
And so, with the Castle sparkling as much as it could and the students all in order, the
inhabitants of Hogwarts, along with the rest of the Cullen family, congregated in front of
the school to welcome the newest visiting students. I had strategically steered Cedric to a
position on the edge of the Hufflepuffs, close to the huddle of fourth year Gryffindor
students that included Bella. Though it made no difference to me, I noted it was a clear
cool evening. Bella shivered in the breeze.
I saw the thought in Ron’s mind, before I heard the words, “Would you like to use my
cloak?” But it wasn’t Ron’s voice that said it. I was surprised to see Cedric offer his
outer cloak to Bella.
“Thank you” she said kindly.
“You are very welcome.” He said just as kindly and politely as I would have, if it had
been me, which made it extremely difficult to fault the boy. He was only being polite… I
told myself, though I really wanted to rip his head from his shoulders. Though a search
through his mind told me his intentions were pure, despite his recognition of her obvious
beauty.
“Nearly six” Ron Weasley said, moderately disappointed he hadn’t acted sooner to come
to Bella’s aid. “How d’you reckon they’re coming? The train?”
“I doubt it” said Hermione
“How, then? Broomsticks?” Harry suggested. I glanced up at his suggestion.
“I don’t think so… not from that far away.” Hermione countered thoughtfully. Of course
not – I was surprised at myself for looking up to see.
“A Portkey?” Ron suggested. “Or they could Apparate – maybe you’re allowed to do it
under seventeen wherever they come from?”
“You can’t Apparate inside the Hogwarts grounds, how often to I have to tell you?”
Hermione said, impatient at his suggestion, but also irritated at the sour look on his face
as he looked at Bella wearing Cedric’s cloak. For once, I could relate with Ron Weasley.
Then Dumbledore’s voice carried over the crowd of students from the back row, “Aha!
Unless I am very much mistaken, the delegation from Beauxbatons approaches!”
Hundreds of eyes suddenly sought out the location, but with my vampire vision I caught
first sight of a large carriage pulled by several horses, coming toward us from over the
Forbidden Forest.
Where? Several students asked.
“There!” I called as I pointed it out, once I thought it was close enough for human eyes to
detect.
“It’s a dragon!” shrieked one of the first-years.
“Don’t be stupid… it’s a flying house!” another student called out.
I rolled my eyes, could they not see? It was an ordinary, powder-blue, horse-drawn
carriage, soaring towards us, pulled by a dozen winged horses - palominos if my eyes
were right. It must be well in sight by now for a human… Then I realized, I had the scale
all wrong. Where I thought I had seen a normal sized carriage pulled by normal sized
horses quite close to the grounds, I realized it had been a carriage the size of a house and
horses the size of elephants. I stood in awe at the sight, though a part of my mind
snickered at the fact I had accepted the flying part of the picture without question. I must
be getting used to being in the magical world.
“Wow!” I heard Bella exclaim as the giant horse drawn carriage neared. I quickly
whipped out my hand and pulled her back as it landed. The rest of the student body
seemed to follow suit as the first three rows of students back up into the rest, a few feet
getting trod upon in the process.
The door of the carriage bore a coat of arms of two golden wands, crossed, each emitting
three stars. It quickly opened and a boy in pale blue robes jumped down from the
carriage, bent forwards, fumbled for a moment with something on the carriage floor and
unfolded a set of golden steps. He quickly straightened up into a respectful pose. Then
the largest foot I had seen since we met Hagrid, set itself down on the step.
Nice shoes, Alice appraised as she stood with Jasper, Carlisle and Esme, definitely
French made.
The foot was followed by the woman, who was the largest person we had ever seen other
then Hagrid.
Wow! Big woman. Emmet exclaimed.
She must be half giant like Hagrid. I am sure she is roughly the same height. Carlisle
assessed.
Look at those jewels, Rosalie noticed the huge opals that clung to the woman’s fingers
and around her throat.
Hmmm, nice olive complexion, and beautiful large dark eyes… are they black? The nose
is a little beaky, but workable. The black satin dress is striking, but I wonder how she
would look in more natural colours. She would be very interesting to dress… Alice’s
mind wandered.
Dumbledore suddenly started to clap. The students, amazed at the sight and not sure what
else to do joined in. Greeting her with a kiss to the hand, that didn’t require any amount
of bending, Dumbledore welcomed her, “My dear Maxime. Welcome to Hogwarts”
“Dumbly-dorr” she said in a low voice, “I ‘ope to find you well?”
“On excellent form, I thank you,” he responded.
“My pupils” Madam Maxime introduced with a wave of her hand and a dozen boys and
girls made their way down the golden steps.
Nice uniforms – fine French cut silk robes – lovely shade of blue, Alice noted.
Poor dears – they must be freezing. Dumbledore should let them in the castle to warm up.
Esme noted.
“’As Karkaroff arrived yet?” Madame Maxime asked.
“He should be here any moment.” Dumbledore replied, “Would you like to wait here and
greet him or would you prefer to step inside and warm up a trifle?”
“Warm up, I think,” Madame Maxime said, “But ze ‘orses-”
“Our Care of Magical Creatures teacher will be delighted to take care of them”
Dumbledore started to say as Emmett quickly walked forward. “the moment he has
returned from dealing with a slight situation which has arisen with some of his other – er
– charges.”
“I’ll lead them around back” Emmett offered, as Jasper stepped up to help him.
“Ah, this is our Care of Magical Creatures teacher’s assistant” Dumbledore gestured to
Emmett, “He is more then capable.”
“My steeds require – er – forceful ‘andling.” Madame Maxime said, looking as though
she doubted whether Emmett and Jasper would be up to the challenge.
They shared an excited glace. “Oh, I think we can handle it.” Jasper said.
“I assure you Hagrid and his assistants will be well up to the job” said Dumbledore,
smiling.
“Very well” said Madam Maxime, bowing slightly, then turning to Emmett and Jasper,
“will you please inform zis ‘Agrid zat ze ‘orses drink only single-malt whisky?”
“It will be attended to” Dumbledore assured her, while Emmett and Jasper began
wrestling with the horses. It looked like they might actually have their hands full, but
they were enjoying the challenge, laughing as these beasts, twice their height and ten
times their size fought their encouragement to follow them around to the back of the
castle.
“Come” Madam Maxime lead her students into Hogwarts. The Hogwarts students parted
to let them through while trying to get a better look.
“Do you suppose they’ll all enter the Tournament?” Cedric asked.
“I would guess that is why they are all here. They all appear to be the right age.”
It was then that I heard the gurgling sound coming from the lake, the sound of a large
object surfacing, like a submarine. Could wizards have their own submarines? I peered
into the darkness of the lake, seeing a mast rising to meet the currently calm surface.
“The Lake!” one of the students, Lee Jordan, I picked his name out of a nearby mind,
exclaimed, “Look at the lake!”
The rising mast and the object attached to it began disturbing the surface of the lake. At
first, it was a small circular ripple originating above the rising mast… this grew into
bubbles and then great waves as the body of the ship rose from the depths. The waves
began swirling, creating a whirlpool. It was then that the mast came into view to the nonvampire
eyes in the crowd.
What followed was the majestic rising of a ship, gleaming in the moonlight. It had the
appearance of a long forgotten ship from the bottom of the ocean – like the skeleton of a
ship, the dim, misty lights shimmering from its portholes like ghostly eyes. It finally
surfaced in full with a great splash, bobbing on the water. It gracefully glided toward the
bank, where it laid anchor in the shallows, and lowered a plank to the bank.
Several students, along with an adult disembarked, making their way up the bank to the
main lawn. They wore large bulky fur coats. I supposed they must be from a northern
climate, like Russia, by their appearance. In contrast, the adult was dressed in fine sliver
furs. He was tall and thin, yet his white hair was short and he had a goatee hanging from
his weak chin.
He called out as he approached, “Dumbledore! How are you, my dear fellow, how are
you?”
“Blooming, thank you, Professor Karkaroff,” Dumbledore replied.
“Dear old Hogwarts” he said as he shook Dumbledore’s hand in both of his own, looking
over the castle at the same time. He offered a smile in greeting, though he did not truly
look pleased. I immediately felt suspicion rise against him. As was my natural tendency,
I sought out his mind, but it was a silent to me as many of the adult wizards at Hogwarts.
However, judging by his cold eyes, this was not someone to be trusted. “How good it is
to be here, how good… Viktor, come along, into the warmth … you don’t mind,
Dumbledore? Viktor has a slight head cold…”
With a surprise that was shared by a large portion of the Hogwarts student body, I
recognized the student who approached as Viktor Krum, the Seeker from the Hungarian
National Team.
“I can’t believe it – It’s Krum” Cedric gasped beside me.

1/4/10

Ch. 23 The Goblet of Fire

We filed back into Hogwarts behind the Durmstrang students. Cedric and I followed
close behind Bella, Hermione, Harry and Ron, who was even more astounded then Cedric
and I by the appearance of Viktor Krum.
“Krum, Harry! Viktor Krum!” Ron exclaimed, repeating it over and over.
“For heaven’s sake, Ron, he’s only a Quidditch player,” Hermione said with
exasperation.
“Only a Quidditch player?” Ron asked incredulously.
“He is quite amazing, though” Bella said softly.
Ron looked back at Hermione as if to say “See, she understands.” Hermione rolled her
eyes.
We walked past a group of girls from Cedric and my class. I was amazed – the more
minds I read, the more I realized that people are all the same. This was no different for
the group of witches who stood in front of me, their minds wistfully dreaming of making
an impression on Viktor Krum, of catching his eye. Cedric and I exchanged knowing
looks as we heard them, “Oh, I don’t believe it, I haven’t got a single quill on me.”
“D’you think he’d sign my hat in lipstick?”
“Really,” I heard Hermione exclaim loftily as we past the girls. She was, interestingly,
not as star struck by Viktor as the others were. She wasn’t a person who was sold on
fame… She was similar to Bella in that way. I was really glad they were friends – it was
nice for Bella to have such a close friend who was actually kind.
We had reached the Great Hall and split up from the Gryffindor 4th years, making our
way to the Hufflepuff table. The Durmstrang students had stopped just inside the door,
unsure where to sit. The Beauxbatons students had already settled themselves at the
Ravenclaw table.
This is quite the barbaric accommodations… cold… uncomfortable.
You would think they would demonstrate at least a minute level of fashion sense.
I can only imagine what they will be serving for the banquet – bangers and mash, snort.
The Beauxbatons students were less then impressed with the accommodations at
Hogwarts. I shook my head at their ridiculously light uniforms, not at all appropriate for
this climate. With their snobbish attitude they should have sat with Slytherin. However,
that was exactly where the Durmstrang students had finally settled themselves. I cringed
as I saw Draco Malfoy lean over toward Krum.
“It is fortunate you sat with Slytherin. I am sure you will find us to be the cream of the
crop here at Hogwarts.”
“I see” Krum responded, unexcited.
“By the way, I am a Seeker myself. I ride a Nimbus 2001 – our entire team has them.”
“Oh” he said, uninterested.
He and his school mates seemed to have the opposite impression of Hogwarts, as they
pulled off their heavy cloaks and looked around the Great Hall with appreciation.
“Did that student just lift up one of the golden plates and bite it?” Cedric leaned over.
“I think he did.” I responded. By the tenor of their thoughts, it seemed they were used to
much simpler surroundings. I wondered if any would try to take off with the valuables.
“Look” Cedric pointed to the head table, “Mr. Filch added four chairs – two for the other
headmasters, but who else could be coming?”
“I don’t know”
Once the students had all settled in, the staff filed in and took their seats at the head table.
Carlisle and Esme, who had arrived early, were seated at one end with Jasper and Alice
and an empty chair for Emmett. Rosalie was seated over at the Slytherin table with the
rest of her house. Draco had made a point of ensuring he was located near Rosalie and
was continuing to make his ‘impression’.
“Rosalie, isn’t it appropriate that a world class athlete like Viktor Krum is seated with the
Slytherin House?”
“Yes. And he seems as ferocious for your company as I am.” She smiled sweetly.
Emmett coughed as he walked by not so discreetly on his way up to the head table. “Oh,
hello Emmett.” She said coolly, playing along with his ‘casual intrusion’.
What’s the help doing here? Draco sneered as Emmett paused.
“Hello Rosalie, Draco…” He said, then turning to Draco, wide-eyed, “Hey, Draco, I
heard somewhere that you are quite the expert in protection against dangerous
creatures… some story about you in the Forbidden Forest?”
“He sure is,” Rosalie said with mock pride in her housemate, “He was telling Edward and
I just the other day how he single handedly beat a vampire in only his first year.”
“Ya, that’s the story…” Emmett exclaimed with mock amazement. “Draco, would you
show me the place where you killed the vampire? Maybe you could recreate the scene?”
“Ummm” Draco’s bravado suddenly disappeared, “I would be, ah… pleased, but, as you
know… the forest is off limits. Um, I am sure it wouldn’t be a problem for me – but as
foreigners, I wouldn’t want you to get in trouble…”
“Pity…” Rosalie pulled out her full charm, smiling sweetly and batting her eyes, “I
would have been delectable to walk with you in the moonlight.”
Emmett snorted as he excused himself and completed his trip to the head table, chuckling
softly along the way. I almost felt sorry for Draco. It was clear Rosalie had found a way
to make this minor annoyance into a game.
“That wasn’t nice.” Esme hissed to soft for human ears to hear, as Emmett sat down.
“But it was really funny.” Jasper added.
Carlisle gave them a stern glace then. The headmasters from the three schools were
coming in. The Beauxbatons students suddenly stood to attention as their excessively tall
head mistress made her way to the front of the Great Hall and didn’t sit until she was
seated. I was embarrassed as I heard some of the Hogwarts’ students laugh at the
respectful gesture. We could learn something from them… if not how to dress for the
weather.
Everyone was seated, though Dumbledore remained standing. His presence brought a
hush over the Great Hall, “Good evening, ladies and gentlemen, ghosts and – most
particularly – guests. I have great pleasure in welcoming you all to Hogwarts. I hope and
trust that your stay here will be both comfortable and enjoyable.”
I hardly think that will be possible, I heard one of the Beauxbatons girls think as she gave
a derisive laugh. Perhaps we didn’t need to learn anything from them after all.
Dumbledore went on, “The Tournament will be officially opened at the end of the feast. I
now invite you all to eat, drink, and make yourselves at home!”
As he sat, food filled the serving dishes on the table as they had at the first meal we had
attended here, peering from our hiding place in the side room, and every meal since. It
hadn’t ceased to amaze me, the magic of it all, though I wouldn’t eat a piece of it.
Fortunately I wasn’t alone in my aversion to some of the menu choices for this evening.
Clearly, in an effort at hospitality, the kitchen staff had included dishes from both
schools’ native lands.
“I bet you’re glad to have an excuse not to eat some of this stuff.” Patrick grinned at me
from across the table.
“It’s not all bad,” Cedric defended, “It’s just different… I’m sure our food looks just as
strange to them.”
“I suppose” Ernie said doubtfully, looking over at the Ravenclaw table at the light blue
uniforms, “At least they’ve warmed up a bit…. Hey, who’s that?”
The rest of the group looked to see what Ernie was now gawking at. One of the
Beauxbaton girls was walking over to the Gryffindor table, looking at their dishes
curiously. She stopped at Bella’s group, apparently looking for more of one of the less
popular dishes.
“See” Cedric pointed out, “She was looking for more of whatever that is…”
But the rest of the males around us at lost interest in the food, or anything else for that
matter, as the girl walked gracefully back to her table, holding the dish of food. She had
long blond hair, so blond it was almost white – like the Veela. She was certainly quite
pretty for a human girl, but she had also been the one who had rudely laughed during
Dumbledore’s introduction. From a look at her mind, she was prideful – almost as much
so as Rosalie, but without the resentment. She knew every eye was on her as she walked
back to the table. Even Rosalie noticed, as Draco had given her a reprieve from his
astonishing accomplishments to watch this new girl walk back to her table.
“Hey, look who else has arrived. I suppose they’ve come to open the tournament,”
Cedric pointed to the head table where Ludo, the man who had called the World Cup, and
Mr. Crouch, one of the Ministry officials who had sat in the box with us, were shaking
hands with Dumbledore, and then taking a seat in the two extra chairs – one beside
Professor Karkaroff and the other beside Madame Maxime.
“Guess we know what the extra seats were for.” James commented.
Dinner was finishing up and the plates, again, magically wiped clean. An air of
anticipation rose in the hall, as everyone knew what was coming next: The opening of the
Triwizard Tournament.
“You going to put your name in, Cedric?” James whispered across the table.
“No, Dad thinks it’s too dangerous…” He frowned as he forced the lie, “but I’ve been
telling Edward he ought to enter to uphold the family name.” Cedric deferred.
“Really, do you think you would enter, Edward?” Ernie asked.
“I’m not sure – what do you think?” I responded. I would have to enter, that was the
entire reason I was here, but I was curious to see how my fellow housemates would feel
about a foreigner playing in their place…
“That would be great – you look like you could handle yourself.” Patrick commented.
“Sure – go for it, Edward!” Ernie added.
“Not sure they would accept me, being from America.” I added, pushing to see what they
really thought…
Never thought about that, but why wouldn’t they – he’s a Hogwarts student now. “There
are others who attend who aren’t from the United Kingdom… Some students come from
Northern Ireland…” James pointed out.
If they didn’t let him in, just because he moved here this year… ridiculous! Ernie thought.
I was satisfied. It seemed that at least these guys would support me. I shared a glance
with Cedric. He gave me a polite nod, as if to say, “you’re in.”
Any further conversation was halted as Dumbledore rose from his seat. The air of
anticipation increased to excited tension as silence took hold of the hall. Every eye was
on Dumbledore, each student shifting slightly in their seat to lean toward him, waiting for
the words that would begin the tournament.
“The moment has come” Dumbledore announced, smiling at the student body, “The
Triwizard Tournament is about to start. I would like to say a few words of explanation
before we bring in the casket, just to clarify the procedure we will be following this year.
But firstly, let me introduce, for those who do not know them, Mr. Bartemius Crouch,
Head of the Department of International Magical Co-operation” – there was a smattering
of polite applause – “and Mr. Ludo Bagman, Head of the Department of Magical Games
and Sports.” – there was a much louder and more rowdy applause for him. He rose
slightly, giving an enthusiastic wave.
“It’s because he was a famous Beater in his younger days.” Cedric answered my unasked
question quietly. I nodded in response.
“Mr. Bagman and Mr. Crouch have worked tirelessly over the last few months on the
arrangements for the Triwizard Tournament.” Dumbledore continued, “and they will be
joining myself, Professor Karkaroff and Madame Maxime on the panel which will judge
the champions’ efforts.”
If it were possible, the student body became even more attentive at the word ‘champions’.
Clearly the students were excited to see the tournament begin.
With a flare of drama, knowing he had set the height of tension, Dumbledore then smiled
as he said, “The casket, then, if you please, Mr. Filch.”
I had noted his presence earlier, waiting impatiently in the far corner of the Hall, though
his sudden appearance seemed to catch several of the students off guard. He walked up
the hall to Dumbledore, carrying a large wooden chest, beautifully decorated with jewels
embedded along its exterior. It was certainly several centuries old, thought I couldn’t
place the time period.
“The instructions for the tasks the champions will face this year have already been
examined by Mr. Crouch and Mr. Bagman, “Dumbledore continued as Mr. Filch placed
the chest on the head table in front of him, “and they have made the necessary
arrangements for each challenge. There will be three tasks, spaced throughout the school
year, and they will test the champions in many different ways… their magical prowess –
their daring – their powers of deduction – and, of course, their ability to cope with
danger.”
The silence was deafening. The students barely dared to breathe, waiting for Dumbledore
to continue.
“As you know, three champions compete in the Tournament, one from each of the
participating schools. They will be marked on how well they perform each of the
Tournament tasks and the champion with the highest total after task three will win the
Triwizard Cup. The champions will be chosen by an impartial selector… the Goblet of
Fire.”
At that Dumbledore took out his wand and tapped three times on the top of the casket.
The lid creaked slowly open. Dumbledore reached inside it, and pulled out a large,
roughly hewn wooden cup. The cup itself was ordinary… less then ordinary, really. But
in the body of the cup, all the way to the brim, were dancing, blue-white flames.
Dumbledore closed the casket and placed the Goblet carefully on top of it, clearly visible
to anyone in the hall. “Anyone wishing to submit themselves as champion must write
their name and school clearly upon a slip of parchment, and drop it into the Goblet.” He
said, “Aspiring champions have twenty-four hours in which to put their names forward.
Tomorrow night, Hallowe’en, the Goblet will return the names of the three it has judged
most worthy to represent their schools. The Goblet will be placed in the Entrance Hall
tonight, where it will be freely accessible to all those wishing to compete.
“To ensure that no underage student yields to temptation,” Dumbledore went on, casting
a critical eye around the room, pausing particularly on the Weasley twins, “I will be
drawing an Age Line around the Goblet of Fire once it has been placed in the Entrance
Hall. Nobody under the age of seventeen will be able to cross this line.
He paused and his voice became grave “Finally, I wish to impress upon any of you
wishing to compete that this Tournament is not to be entered into lightly. Once a
champion has been selected by the Goblet of Fire, he or she is obligated to see the
Tournament through to the end. The placing of your name in the Goblet constitutes a
binding, magical contract. There can be no change of heart once you have become
champion. Please be very sure, therefore, that you are whole-heartedly prepared to play,
before you drop your name into the Goblet. Now, I think it is time for bed. Goodnight to
you all.”
He turned and walked down to the end of the table where Carlisle was sitting and said
quickly and too softly for the wizards and witches nearby to hear, “We will need to meet
tomorrow afternoon, just before the entrance period closes. I would very much like to ask
Alice some questions then. Edward should not enter until after that meeting.”
“Certainly, the usually time then?” Carlisle responded.
He nodded.
Students were getting up to return to their dorms in a great commotion, every one talking
about the Goblet and the Tournament – a few considering how they would overcome the
age line… Others, who were old enough, discussing whether or not they would even
enter. Dumbledore’s warning was ominous enough to turn off some of the less brave, or
perhaps the smarter of the group.
“So are you going to put your name in now?” Cedric asked as we made our way out.
“No, I’m supposed to meet with Dumbledore first. I suppose he wants to make sure
everything is in place first.” I supposed, not sure why he had made a point of wanting me
to wait, but certain he had a reason.
It would have been interesting to compete. His thoughts betrayed him, though he wasn’t
bitter…
“I’m sorry” I said, “Truly, I am sure you would have made a good champion.”
“Well, if Harry’s name is going to be picked anyway, I suppose I wouldn’t have had a
chance anyway.” Still… it would have been nice to have the chance.
Bella met up with us then, ready to return to our new home. The crease had appeared
between her eyes and I knew I was in for a discussion when we got home.
“Good evening, Bella.” Cedric nodded politely. She looks nice tonight, but worried. I
wonder what is bothering her?
I felt concern over his observation. He had clearly been noticing her more then I had
realized – enough to recognize her expression.
“Good evening Cedric, Edward.” She smiled politely, but I could see something blazing
under the surface in her eyes. “Should be quite the tournament. The Weasley twins are
up to something – looking for a way to beat the age line…”
“I suppose if anyone will be able to figure out a way, it would be the Weasley twins.”
Cedric laughed.
“They’re talking about an Aging Potion” She replied.
“Well, if they try that, they’re not as smart as I give them credit for. I am sure
Dumbledore will have thought of that.”
As they continued in light conversation, my attention was partially diverted by Professor
Karkaroff speaking with Krum. “Viktor, how are you feeling? Did you eat enough?
Should I send for some mulled wine from the kitchens?”
Krum shook his head. Though I couldn’t read Karkaroff, I could read Krum, and his
thoughts betrayed his embarrassment at being singled out of the group.
“Professor, I vood like some vine.” One of the other boys called out hopefully.
“I wasn’t offering it to you Poliakoff.” Snapped Karkaroff… I mentally cringed at the
obvious favouritism. It was clear that Viktor was a bit of a pet of Kararoff’s, and
certainly his favourite for champion. I wondered what he would do if one of his other
students were chosen. I watched him as he left the Great Hall, stopping for a minute by
Harry Potter. His back was to me, so I looked into Harry’s mind to see what he was
doing. His eyes, which had skipped over Harry on the way out the door, stopped and
returned to examine Harry more carefully. His eyes narrowed as he examined every inch
of his face, taking time to examine the scar on his forehead. The expression on his face
was less then kind and more then pure curiosity. There was a hint of hostility, though his
students seemed simply curious. I was about to excuse myself to find a way to extricate
Harry from the situation when Professor Moody walked up behind him.
“Yeah, that’s Harry Potter” he growled.
I breathed a sigh of relief as he confronted Karkaroff, and sent him out the door, pointing
out the traffic jam he was creating. I did not trust that man, Karkaroff much more then I
trusted Moody, but at least Dumbledore trusted Moody.
I turned back to the conversation. The rest of the family had joined us by then.
“Well, I suppose we’ll see you again tomorrow night at dinner. You won’t believe how
this place looks at Hallowe’en.” Cedric beginning to close the conversation.
“I can only imagine” Esme said softly. “I am sure it will be breath-taking” she continued
to look in awe at the ceiling. She had only seen it in its full effect with the enchantment
during the first feast. It still took her breathe away.
“I’ll be off to my dorm, now. See you tomorrow…” he nodded to each of us. I noted that
his nod toward Bella seemed slightly longer, though, again, his thoughts showed no lurid
intentions. Bella showed no signs of noticing, though. I could see from her expression,
she was clearly focused somewhere else – the crease even more pronounced between her
brow.
Bella waited until we were safely back at the Castle, in our room behind closed doors. Of
course, in this house, the closed doors were more a matter of convention, then function,
as every ear in the house other then hers would be able to hear every word, if they chose
to pay attention.
“Edward, I am so worried,” she said suddenly, throwing her arms around me, “The way
Dumbledore spoke of the tasks… the dangers… I am afraid for you.”
“Bella, Bella – you worry too much.”
“I know” I could hear tears in her voice, but she fought to keep calm, “I know I shouldn’t
worry – that you are practically indestructible – but something could happen… This isn’t
the human world we are used to dealing in. This is magic. What if there is something you
don’t even know about that can hurt you?”
I thought about that… It was a worry that had begun to concern me after reading the
Vampire book. I had already learned of two methods of dying I had previously not even
considered. Were there other ways that even Wizards hadn’t considered?
I pulled her beautiful face up to gaze into her deep brown eyes. I wanted so much to tell
her it would be okay – that there was nothing that could hurt me, but I knew we were past
that. I couldn’t lie that convincingly to her. Not anymore… I kissed her gently on the
forehead and followed my way down to her cheak and finally her lips.
She reached up to force her lips more firmly on mine, urgent to make a tangible
connection, to savour our time together. I reached down to the small of her back and
pulled her closer. I wanted her, all of her – it was the only way I could think of to release
her mind from her worries… though I knew it wouldn’t answer her questions. After a
few moments, when she needed breathe, I reluctantly broke away.
“It’s been a little while since I’ve been the one to break off.” I chuckled, trying to lighten
the mood. Her expression showed no humour. The deep rooted concern was still there.
“Bella” I started, more serious, “I am not going to pretend there is no risk here. Like you
said, this is a new world. One that we are all just learning about. I did take out a
Wizarding book on Vampires and it indicated that magical curses won’t kill us… but
there could be other things that can harm us that even they don’t know about.” I started,
laying all my cards on the table.
“But… then… what can we do? I can’t lose you Edward. You know that.” She whispered
as she clung to my waist, her head buried in my chest. I could feel the wetness of her
tears, and felt sick that I would cause her any further pain.
“I know, Bella, I know” I said, pulling her face up again to look into her eyes. “But I
promise you, Bella, I will do everything I can to stay safe. Even if that means betraying
our cover – letting my true nature show to defend myself… I’ll do it.” I gave her my
word. She would come above all this – and that meant that my life – her life – had to
come first.
“Thank you” she said, reaching up for another kiss. This time I wasn’t the one to break
away.
***
The next day, we spent the morning quietly at home. After the last few days’ activities,
Bella needed some rest, and I needed to hunt. Carlisle joined me as we went in search of
something a little more exciting then deer.
Are you ready for this? Carlisle asked as we ran through the forest.
“I suppose as ready as I’ll ever be.” I replied, non-committally.
He slowed to a stop at an outcropping over looking the valley below. The view was
beautiful, but he hadn’t stopped to admire nature.
“Edward” he spoke aloud, “I want you to know, you don’t have to do this. I am already
proud of you. You are more then any father could have hoped for. You don’t have to do
this if it isn’t what is right for you.”
“Thank you. I know what you are saying… But this is something I have to do. If I can
do some good in this world, I need to try… but”
He raised an eyebrow at me.
“I won’t risk my life if I can help it, Carlisle. I won’t do that to Bella…” I searched his
eyes and his thoughts for any hint of disappointment, and passing thought that told me I
wasn’t giving my all. There was none… but he sensed my need for reassurance.
“Son… You do what you can, but you have other responsibilities now… It is a sign of
maturity that you realize that. Knowing what it would do to you if something were to
happen to Bella and realizing what it would do to her if something were to happen to you
– that isn’t a sign of weakness. Don’t ever think, for a minute, that you aren’t right in
considering that…”
His words rang true in me… and brought me greater assurance in my decision. I knew I
would do what I had to do to survive, if it came down to that.
“We’ll support you, whatever you have to do when you’re in the tournament. We’ve had
to leave quickly before – for less noble causes.”
“Thank you.”
And just then I caught the scent of a large cat… not as large as a mountain lion, but
almost as appetising.
Lynx? Carlisle asked?
I nodded and we were off.
***
A light rain had begun to fall when Dumbledore arrived mid-afternoon by Floo Powder.
It was at about this time he usually met with us for a cup of tea and a quick update on the
week’s events. However, after the first week, once we figured out the wands, the
meetings had been rather brief. This one wasn’t likely to be so.
“Good afternoon” Carlisle greeted him, carrying out a tray with a pot of tea, cream and
sugar and two tea cups.
“And to you too!” Dumbledore returned, settling into one of the chairs in the library.
Bella and I found a seat around one of the tables closest to Dumbledore, who poured
Bella a cup of tea, as had become his custom, before pouring one for himself. Of course,
the rest of us abstained.
Once we were seated, Dumbledore started, “I am sure you all realize what is at stake
today. The students have been, of course, entering their names throughout the day. The
Durmstrang and Beauxbatons all entered at once… The Hogwarts students have been a
little more hesitant, though I am sure some entered their names earlier this morning when
no one was around. We had a few mishaps with some of the underage students,” he face
turned into an amused smile and his eyes twinkled, “but not to worry, their beards will be
gone soon enough.”
“Beards?” Bella questioned.
“Oh, I’m sure Hermione will fill you in…” he chuckled, then turned more serious, “We
need to ensure Edward is chosen by the Goblet, which is where you come in.” he looked
directly at Alice.
“Me, but how?”
“I have some thoughts on how to accomplish this, but I want to test each one out. I am
hoping you will be able to see what will transpire when I make my decision on each
method.”
“You realize you will have to actually make the decision either way, before I can hope to
see the outcome…” Alice said hesitantly.
“Oh, yes… I am sure…” He smiled kindly. “So, the first decision I am going to make is
to not enter Edward in the tournament. Yes, I have decided we will not enter him. We
will go to Hogwarts and simply sit and see who the Goblet draws.”
I wondered at that. Was it an option? Then I considered, if I didn’t enter, I would need to
let Cedric know. He should at least have the opportunity to try. He would want that.
Alice’s eyes became unfocused as I saw her look into the future. She was focusing on
Dumbledore as he would be receiving the names from the Goblet. I saw in her mind, as
the flames turned red and a piece of parchment flew out. “Viktor Krum” she said dully,
repeating the words of Dumbledore in her vision. She concentrated some more as the
flames turned red again… the piece of parchment flew out as Dumbledore caught it,
“Fleur Delacour”…”
Dumbledore nodded as though these two names didn’t surprise him but he was suddenly
much more interested as Alice’s vision continued.
The Flames were red again. One tongue of flame shot up into the air as before, a piece of
parchment floated down, “Cedric Diggory… Ron’s not happy…” It was true, as the name
was called in Alice’s vision, there was a clear shout from Ron Weasley’s mouth, “No!”
A small part of my mind was intrigued by the mystery, why Ron would have objected to
Cedric… but the larger part of my mind sank. It took less then a second to figure out
why Cedric’s name came up… Why my decision to let him know would affect the
outcome… Not only would he have had a chance to compete – he would have been the
champion. His nobility, on top of his bravery and skill would have won out and given
him the opportunity to bring pride to the school and his father. The glory, that he didn’t
want for himself, would have been his. Instead, I would take that from him.
Dumbledore looked at me in surprise, “I suppose you would have given him the chance?”
he said to me, kindly. I nodded.
We turned back to the vision. The cup was burning red again. Dumbledore and the others
were surprised. In the vision, everyone had thought it was over when the cup flared up
unexpectedly. Finally, a fourth piece of parchment flew up in the air, “Harry Potter” –
and then the scene turned into a chaotic mess of incredulous exclamations, shock and
dismay on every face, not the least of which was Harry’s.
“It was as Trelawney prophesied.” Dumbledore said quietly. “There is a fourth champion.
We don’t know how or why for sure, but there it is.”
He thought for a minute. “I have changed my mind. I have decided to have Edward enter
his name as a student from and American School. Yes, when we leave here, Edward,
you shall put your name on a piece of paper along with the name of an Institution from
the US, and put it in the cup.”
I could see myself doing it… Writing down my name and Forks High School… Then
Alice’s vision changed. The first two names came as before, but then there was a change.
As the flames shot high, a piece of parchment floated down, “Angelina Johnson” Alice
said tonelessly… then “Edward Cullen”… and “Harry Potter”…
The uproar from this was even greater then the last. Karkaroff began yelling at
Dumbledore about finding a way to fix the competition to favour his school by having
three champions. Madam Maxime stood back considering… Ludo and Crouch were in a
heated discussion about the validity of the choices given the number and the obvious
favouritism shown for Hogwarts. It was a mess. Karkaroff began threatening to pull out
and take his team home.
Alice was relating all this to Dumbledore as he shook his head sadly, “No, no… we can’t
do that…” he said before she had finished the vision. “This can’t be the start of a war
between the schools. With the troubling times before us... now is when we must come
together… I have changed my mind, Alice… Edward will not enter as an American
student.” He seemed troubled. I guessed this had been his plan to ensure my entry, but
seeing the downside was disturbing.
The vision vanished and Alice opened her eyes momentarily.
“Do you need a rest?” Dumbledore asked quietly.
“No, I’m fine.” She said, “Lay another one on me.” She said smiling…
“Okay. I wonder, what if…” he paused looking at me speculatively, “I am going to ask
Edward to enter as a Hogwarts student. He is to put his name forth as a representative of
Hogwarts.” He said affirmatively. I visualized putting my name on the parchment and
writing Hogwarts under, walking up to the goblet and dropping my name in.
Alice’s vision returned… again the first two names came as before, but as the flames
grew red and a large flame escaped the bowl, a piece of parchment floated down.
“Edward Cullen” Alice said. A gasp went up through the crowd. I heard a few students
wonder at that and a few mumbled phrases, “but he just moved here” “he’s not even a
real Hogwarts student” “he doesn’t even take full courses.” But then James, Patrick and
Ernie stood and started cheering wildly. Cedric quickly joined in… then the rest of the
Hufflepuff table. The critics quietened, while the flames burst out red again and the last
piece of parchment fell, “Harry Potter”…
Dumbledore sighed, “Well there we have it then. Edward, you need to return to Hogwarts
before the Feast to enter your name in the Goblet of Fire as a Hogwarts student.”
I nodded, understanding that was how it would play out… Then a thought occurred to
me, “Why would it choose me?” I asked.
“It chooses the student with the highest combined measure of magical ability, courage,
their quick wit and intelligence and, finally, their ability to keep their head when faced
with danger. It chose you because you have the greatest combination of the four.”
“But I have no magical ability?”
“True” he said turning toward the fireplace, “Which says a great deal for the rest of your
abilities...” he stopped and turned back, looking at me, “Edward, you are most
remarkable. I wish you all the best.” He looked down at me again with that gaze that left
me feeling warm and accepted, and yet humbled by his praise. I didn’t deserve it.
“Wait” Bella called out, “You said people have died in this… what about vampires? Can
vampires die in this?”
He hesitated for a moment, “I can not honestly answer that question without revealing the
tasks, something I have sworn I would not tell any of the champions… I can say that the
tasks are dangerous to anyone entering the tournament unprepared. But I give you my
word that I will do what I can to ensure Edward is appropriately prepared for whatever he
might face.” The look in his eyes left little reason to doubt he would do as he said, but
also little doubt that there was true danger, even for a vampire. I felt Bella shiver beside
me, from fear, not the cold. I reached over and pulled her closer to me, wishing I could
drive away her fear.
At around four o’clock we made our way over to the school. It was a little early for the
feast, but I needed to make sure I got my name in on time, and we all wanted to catch up
on what had happened during the day. For the first time in our long existence, we were
caught up in the trivialities of the teenage life around us. It occurred to me that we were
truly part of the school – instead of the strange but beautiful Cullen kids who flitted on
the outskirts of the social networks around us. It had never bothered me or any of my
siblings before. School was simply a part of our cover. Here, it was part of who we were.
I was glad to see most of the students had vacated the area where the Goblet was located
when we arrived. While the few students who were standing by were distracted by a
report on the status of the Weasley twins, I quickly slipped up and put my name in unnoticed.
I then listened in for what happened with the Weasley’s – chuckling as I recounted the
event for my siblings and Bella. “Apparently they took some aging potion to trick the
Age Line. They got across it, all right – but Dumbledore must have anticipated their
attempts. The line seems to have had a particular reaction to Aging Potions –
accelerating affect actually.”
“What happened, Edward” Alice exclaimed, exasperated. She was used to knowing
things like I was and hated being in the dark.
“They grew long white beards down to their feet.” I laughed, seeing the sight in one of
the students’ minds – as they were thrown out of the circle, the beard immediately taking
over their face and body, making walking or fighting nearly impossible, as they
attempted to take a swipe out of each other in frustration.
“A few of the female students also gave it a try.”
“No… they didn’t” Alice gasped.
“Yes, they did – though their beards weren’t quite as impressive.” I replied.
“I would have liked to have seen that.” Emmett let out a loud laugh… “We could say
we’ve seen everything then – wizards, witches, giants and the bearded lady.” He
guffawed…
“Well, we have some time,” Rosalie pointed out, “What should we do until the feast?”
“I think I’ll go find Hermione and see how our S P E W recruitment is going.” Bella said.
“SPEW? Really Bella, SPEW?” Emmett laughed, “Who is going to wear a button that
says that?”
“It’s the cause that counts!” Bella huffed, as she walked off in search of the Gryffindor
common room. I wanted to follow her, but I wouldn’t be allowed in, so I let her go.
“Let’s go see how the Blast Ended Skrewts are doing.” Jasper suggested excitedly. The
last I had seen them they were over three feet long and growing rapidly.
“Sure” Emmett agreed.
“Blast Ended Skrewts?” Alice mouthed to Rosalie, who rolled her eyes and responded,
“You don’t really want to know…” But you are about to find out.
So, with about forty-five minutes before the feast, we headed down to Hagrid’s.
We heard voices as we approached… It sounded like Hermione, Harry and Ron.
Hermione must have been making an attempt at recruiting Hagrid as a member of S P E
W, for we heard his explain as we approached.
“It’d be doin’ ‘em an unkindness, Hermione” his voice was grave, “It’s in their nature ter
look after humans, that’s what they like, see? Yeh’d be makin’ ‘em unhappy ter take
away their work, an’ instultin’ ‘em if yeh tried her pay ‘em.”
“But Harry set Dobby free, and he was over the moon about it!” Hermione countered,
“And we heard he’s asking for wages now!”
“Yeah, well, yeh get weirdos in every breed. I’m not sayin’ there isn’t the odd elf who’d
take freedom, but yeh’ll never persuade most of ‘em ter do it – no, nothin’ doing’,
Hermione.”
Not wanting to interrupt their visit, Emmett took us around back to see the not so little
creatures that were his and Jasper’s charges these days. They were less then interesting
creatures, every so often letting out a blast of air that seemed to ignite behind them… It
was hard to imagine any redeeming quality to them, but Emmett and Jasper had taken a
love to each and every one of them. They were almost maternal as they cared over them.
“See this one is Petals, because it’s blast doesn’t smell as bad as the rest. And there is
George… he just looks like a George… and Ginger – she gets fresh with the others if you
don’t keep her apart…” Emmett pointed each out with it’s name and the rationale for the
name
“How can you tell the males from the females?” Alice asked.
“We have no idea – we just guess based on how they act.” Jasper explained.
“So how would you know if they are, you know, procreating?” Rosalie asked.
“Well… we aren’t sure – it’s either that, or they are trying to eat each other…” Emmett
admitted doubtfully. “We decided to go for the romantic angle.”
“I see” Alice said thoughtfully.
By this point Emmett had crawled right into one of the wooden pens with one of them
and was pretending to ride it. “Emmett, you’re going to get all dirty before the feast.”
Rosalie said irritated.
“You could join me – maybe Draco won’t find you quite so intriguing if you are covered
in Skrewt slime…” he teased.
“Gross, Emmett.”
Just then we heard the door to the cottage about the same time the smell hit us.
What is that? Alice whipped her head around to see Hagrid, dressed in the most hideous
hairy brown suit with a checked yellow and orange tie, his hair slicked back into two
bunches down his back and he had, apparently, covered himself in some type of
aftershave or cologne… Oh man, this guy needs help… “Rose, do you think we can?”
She shook her head, “It would take a miracle. We don’t have much to work with.”
I shook my head as my sisters attacked Hagrid.
“What the… excuse me… what are yeh?” he coughed and spluttered as they dunked his
head in the water barrel outside the window.
“Shampoo” Alice ordered. Rosalie reached into her purse, pulling out a small bottle of
something that Alice applied to poor unsuspecting Hagrid, before dunking him back in
the rain barrel.
“Conditioner”
“I don’t think yeh need ta be.” He got out before she dunked him under again.
“Detangling solution” This was, apparently applied and then brushed through with one
of several brushing and combs, all produced from Rosalie’s purse…
I wondered why either of them would have these things on them. Emmett and Jasper just
stood back smirking as Alice and Rosalie wrestled him through an impromptu makeover.
In the end, his hair was better tamed back into a single pony tail, minus the grease, and
his beard was neatly trimmed back about 4 inches.
“Now is this all you have to work with?” Alice looked doubtfully at his outfit.
“What’s wrong wit’ my suit?”
What’s right with it? Alice wondered… what if we… she quickly whipped off the tie and
undid his first two buttons… a massive explosion of hair sprang out from under his
shirt…. Ok, bad idea. “Rose?”
She looked around quickly, grabbing a length of tan cloth that was hanging over a
clothesline. I didn’t even want to guess what it was supposed to be.
“Try this” she threw it around his neck, fashioning it into a tie with a double Windsor,
snipping the ends off and tucking it under the jacket.
“Not bad” Alice appraised. “It’s definitely not our best work, but it will have to do.” She
said noting Hagrid’s attention was suddenly caught up in the group of Beauxbatons
students crossing the grounds with their headmistress, Maxime.
The look that overcame Hagrid at Maxime’s sudden appearance reminded me of a
werewolf in the presence of their imprint. His attention to her was all encompassing –
there was nothing else.
“Go get her!” Emmett growled playfully.
I wasn’t sure if Hagrid heard him or not as he walked toward them with adoration in his
eyes.
“We’d better get up to the feast too.” I mentioned…It was almost five, and I was missing
Bella. We headed back up, joined by the Durmstrang party walking across the grounds from the lake. I heard Hermione, Ron and Harry follow behind us as they let themselves
out of the cottage.
We found Carlisle and Esme just outside the Great Hall. As we walked in, Esme gasped
at the ceiling, as it had been redecorated for the occasion. A cloud of live bats fluttered
around the ceiling, its enchantment showing an almost perfectly clear night with a full
moon - only a wisp of cloud floated by occasionally. Hundreds of beautifully carved
pumpkins stared down at the Hall from every corner.
“Amazing” Esme gasped, taking it all in. I could see her mind working, trying to figure
out some way to create this kind of affect at our next house.
When we arrived outside the Great Hall, I momentarily wondered where Bella had gotten
to. She had gone to find Hermione at the Gryffindor common room, but Hermione had
been at Hagrid’s instead. I didn’t have to wonder long. As we entered the hall, she was
sitting at the Gryffindor table, waiting, and talking with Cedric Diggory.
“Hi Cedric” I called, interrupting their conversation. I quickly searched my mind to see it
had been nothing of consequence. Simply Cedric being polite and keeping her company.
Why, then, did I feel less then gentlemanly toward him at the moment?
“Hi Edward… so did you enter?”
“Yes” I said, immediately feeling guilty for my momentary jealousy. Here I had taken his
opportunity to enter and, as Alice’s vision had shown, to be the Hogwarts’ champion, and
I was jealous because he had shown some courtesy to Bella? I shook my head.
We settled ourselves at the same tables as the previous night along with the rest of the
student body. The Goblet had already been brought in and set on the head table where it
had been last night. With very little by way of introductions to the evening, the meal was
served.
The atmosphere was less enthusiastic and more tense then the previous night. In the
minds of almost every student was the question of who would be the champions… As a
result, they were quick to finish their meal and have the food cleared away.
“Well, the Goblet is almost ready to make its decision.” Said Dumbledore, while
Professor Karkaroff and Madame Maxime looked tense, Ludo Bagman beamed and
winked at the students and Mr. Crouch looked bored. Dumbledore went on, “I estimate
that it requires one more minute.” He looked over at Alice. She concentrated for a
moment and then looked up, giving him a nod. It looked from her vision as though
everything was still on course to go as planned.
“Now, as the champions’ names are called, I would ask them please to come up to the top
of the Hall, walk along the staff table, and go through into the next chamber”
Dumbledore continued, gesturing toward the small room we had spent our first feast in,
“where they will be receiving their first instructions.”
There was a moment of anticipation and then the flames inside the Goblet turned
suddenly red. Sparks began to fly from it. Just as I’d seen in Alice’s vision, a tongue of
flame shot into the air and a charred piece of parchment fluttered down into
Dumbledore’s nimble fingers. And, just like Alice’s vision, Dumbledore announced,
“The champion for Durmstrang will be…. Viktor Krum”
The students clapped and cheered, though the loudest cheer came from Professor
Karkaroff, “Bravo, Viktor! Knew you had it in you!”
The process repeated and Dumbledore announced, “The champion for Beauxbatons is….
Fleur Delacour!”
Again, the student’s cheered, thought there was a marked lull in the cheering from the
rest of the Beauxbatons students. Several were visibly upset they hadn’t been chosen. I
frowned. My initial perception of them dramatically dropping at their lack of
sportsmanship.
The silence was unbelievably tense with excitement. The entire room knew the next
champion would be Hogwarts. Many minds around the room were silently cheering for
their favourite… or for it to not be a Slytherin student. I was appreciative that Cedric and
his friends were all silently routing for me.
The Goblet flared up with red flames once more and a piece of parchment floated down.
Dumbledore announced, “The Hogwarts champion is… Edward Cullen”
Just as in Alice’s vision, there was a moment of shocked silence… then a few murmurs
of discontent. “What, he’s American” “He just got here” “He’s not even a full time
student.” “Not fair” I heard throughout the crowd. But within seconds, James, Patrick
and Ernie were cheering madly, quickly joined by Cedric. Half a second later, the entire
Hufflepuff table was clapping and cheering, “Ed-ward, Ed-ward, Ed-ward.”
I smiled gratefully at Cedric and my new found friends. I was embarrassed at the
cheering, but found my way up to the front, past a smiling Dumbledore and into the
smaller chamber off the Great Hall. There I stood and listened for the rest.
Playing his part, Dumbledore continued, “Excellent! Well, we now have our three
champions. I am sure I can count upon all of you, including the remaining students from
Beauxbatons and Durmstrang, to give your champions every ounce of support you can muster. By cheering your champion on, you will contribute in a very real-”
The Goblet had started churning again, flaring up with red flames, catching
Dumbledore’s attention, quickly followed by the rest of the room. A long flame shot into
the air and a fourth parchment floated down. Automatically, Dumbledore reached up and
seized the parchment. Though we both knew what it said, there was shock and dismay in his voice when he read out the name “Harry Potter.”

28/4/10

Ch. 24 The Fourth Champion

There was shocked silence in the Great Hall, even more poignant then when my name
was called. Despite the silence, I could hear the mental shouts around the room…
What, he is under age – it can’t be!
Hogwarts gets two champions? Not fair, Beauxbatons should get two as well!
How did he manage to trick the age line?
Two champions? Can that even happen? What about Durmstrang – will we get a second
champion?
Potter – always working around the rules – always trying to be special – that particular
sneer matched Draco’s whiny voice.
It didn’t take long for the mental shouts to turn into audible ones. The entire hall was in
an uproar… I looked over at Harry to where his head was at, how he was handling this –
and to determine if he had any involvement.
He was in shock. There wasn’t much in the way of coherent thoughts flowing through his
head – only emotions. Primarily shock, then dismay and embarrassment at being singled
out. In recent days there had been the vision of him, holding the Goblet of Fire over his
head. I had caught a glimpse of that, but right now that was the furthest thing from his
mind.
“I didn’t put my name in” He said to Ron, Hermione and Bella, “You know I didn’t” His
thoughts confirmed his innocence, but, it would seem, his words were not enough.
Bloody hell you didn’t, Ron snarled at him in his head. He was angry, no furious with his
friend.
Oh Harry, Hermione’s thoughts were kinder, as she knew this was coming. From her,
was only concern for his safety.
It had been 20 seconds since his name was called, and Harry hadn’t moved, other then to
slink further into his seat, as if he could avoid the barrage of comments directed his way.
“Get him out of here, Dumbledore – in the quiet where we can discuss this… before
Karkaroff and Maxime make a scene in front of the students. Maybe one of the others
will have an idea where we have failed.” McGonagall quietly whispered to Dumbledore.
He nodded. Then peering down at Harry he called again, “Harry Potter! Harry! Up here,
if you please!”
“Go on,” Hermione encouraged him and he finally found his way up to the front. If he
could have slinked along the ground, he would have. He slowly walked to the front of
the hall, head bowed, avoiding the combination of shocked and icy glares focused in his
direction.
“Well… through the door, Harry, “Dumbledore said to him sternly, as he walked by.
I quickly made my way down to the others as he approached. I didn’t want him knowing
I had seen the entire scene unfold. It would only increase his embarrassment. The room
was quiet. Fleur and Krum standing near the fire, in quiet contemplation. I nodded to
each, and took my place with them, as if I had just been chosen and knew nothing of the
storm that was brewing outside the doors.
Not long after, Harry walked in…
“Did you hear – the Goblet chose a fourth champion – a fourth! It’s never been done…
and it’s none other then Harry Potter” I looked around to see where the whispered
information came from – it was a wizened witch who had flitted out of the frame of her
picture over to the next one – a wizard with a walrus moustache. It was quiet enough that
no one else heard. I frowned, I didn’t remember pictures in here during our last
meeting… No, I was quite certain there wasn’t… I replayed our first evening back in my
head to confirm.
Fleur looked up at Harry as he entered, “What is it? Do zey want us back in ze Hall?”
Harry just stared back at her, dumfounded. He looked so very young, and very small at
this particular moment – unsure of what was to come next.
I heard the scurry of footsteps and made out the voices of the three headmasters,
McGonagall, Snape, Mr. Crouch and most of all Ludo. They had stopped just outside the
door, but Ludo burst into the room, marching straight over to Harry.
“Extraordinary! Absolutely extraordinary!” I saw Harry wince under the pressure he was
placing on his arm… “Gentlemen… lady” he added noting our presence, though he was
clearly focused on Harry. “May I introduce – incredible though it may seem – the fourth
Triwizard champion?”
WHAT? Him – another Hogwarts champion? Viktor Krum glared.
What – that child is in the tournament… that makes no sense… “Oh, vairy funny joke,
Meester Bagman.” Fleur said, tossing her hair and lightly laughing.
“Joke? No, no not at all! Harry’s name just came out of the Goblet of Fire!”
I realized that I should be as shocked as they were. I carefully rearranged my expression
to show a quiet confusion…
Fleur frowned, “but evidently zair ‘as been a mistake,” her tone turned from humour to
contemptuous, “’E cannot compete. ‘E is too young.”
“Well… it is amazing” he considered. His expression was much different then the others
– the other champions, the students in the Great Hall – and certainly the other adults who
were just outside the room. He was excited at the possibility of something new and
unprecedented. “But, as you know, the age restriction was only imposed this year as an
extra safety measure. And as his name’s come out of the Goblet… I mean, I don’t think
there can be any ducking-out at this stage… it’s down in the rules, you’re obligated…
Harry will just have to do the best he-”
It seemed Dumbledore was doing his best to settle the tempers of the other two
headmasters before they entered the room, but was having a difficult time doing so.
Madame Maxime pushed her way past and walked into the room, followed by the rest.
“Madame Maxime!” Fleur exclaimed, rushing to her Madame’s side, “Zey are saying zat
zis little boy is to compete also!”
I noticed Harry’s chagrin at the presumption, the use of the term “little boy” but at this
point in time, looking at his smaller, slight form, it was difficult to not think of him that
way. He hadn’t grown or broadened into his potential as a man… He was small, even
among his peers…
The two headmasters set in on Dumbledore. I couldn’t read their minds to assess what
they were thinking, so I read their tone, their posture, their faces.
“What is ze meaning of zis, Dumbly-dore?” Maxime demanded – upset, shocked, slightly
suspicious, yet open.
“I’d rather like to know that myself, Dumbledore.” Said Professor Karkaroff. By his
grim smile and cold eyes, he clearly believed there was a conspiracy and Dumbledore
was in on it. “Two Hogwarts champions? I don’t remember anyone telling me the host
school is allowed two champions – or have I not read the rules carefully enough.”
Sarcasm dripped off his every word, as he gave a short bark of a laugh.
“C’est impossible. ‘Ogwarts cannot ‘ave two champtions. It is most unjust.” Her tone
made it clear, she was not accepting this situation, but not ready to accuse Dumbledore of
foul play.
“We were under the impression that your Age Line would keep out younger contestants,
Dumbledore,” Karkaroff continued, “Otherwise, we would, of course, have brought along
a wider selection of candidates from our own schools.”
I almost laughed at that. There was surely none other at his school who would have been
selected over Krum. His obvious favouritism made that clear – he was simply making
arguments to tear down Dumbledore’s credibility.
Snape must have recognized the same thing, as a low stern voice came from him just
then, “It’s no one’s fault but Potter’s, Karkaroff. Don’t go blaming Dumbledore for
Potter’s determination to break rules. He has been crossing lines ever since he arrived
here”
I was shocked. He knew! HE KNEW! We all knew this was going to happen. He must
realize that Harry had nothing to do with this… or did he? Was he so blinded by his
hatred for the boy that he could honestly believe Harry put himself up to this? It was
possible, Snape could actually believe it. I wished I could see into his head, just for a
moment, to see what he actually believed – and what it was that drove his hatred for this
boy.
“Thank you, Severus” Dumbledore said with a barely contained warning. Snape went
silent, though he stood, continuing to stare malevolently at the boy.
Dumbledore, himself, was playing his part, ensuring none of the others knew what he
knew – or realize that Dumbledore was not completely taken by surprise by this recent
development. He looked down at Harry very seriously, but with a nameless emotion. I
supposed, like me, he had rearranged his expression to mask the true feelings and
knowledge underneath.
“Did you put your name into the Goblet of Fire, Harry?” He asked very calmly.
“No” he replied – his voice and his thoughts rang true. Snape snorted in the corner.
“Did you ask an older student to put it into the Goblet of Fire for you?”
“No”
I occurred to me then, Dumbledore was not only playing his part – doing what he would
normally do if he hadn’t the advantage of foreknowledge of this particular event. He was
also asking the questions that would force Harry to answer honestly – if not by voice,
then at least in his mind… I wondered if he was using his ability to read Harry’s mind –
to see if he knew anything about how this happened.
“Ah, but of course ‘e is lying!” cried Madame Maxime.
Snape shook his head as though he agreed. His lip curled over his teeth, almost like a
vampire…
“He could not have crossed the Age Line. I am sure we are all agree on that” McGonagall
defended.
“Dumbly-dorr must ‘ave made a mistake wiz ze line,” she returned.
“It is possible, of course.” Dumbledore said politely, ignoring the barb.
“Dumbledore, you know perfectly well you did not make a mistake!” McGonagall was
incensed. “Really, what nonsense! Harry could not have crossed the line himself, and as
Professor Dumbledore believes that he did not persuade an older student to do it for him,
I’m sure that should be good enough for everybody else!” She glared pointedly at Snape.
“Mr. Crouch… Mr. Bagman,” Karkaraoff redirected his arguments, in a less suspicious
tone, “you are our – er – objective judges. Surely you will agree that this is most
irregular?”
Mr. Crouch, who hadn’t spoken the entire time, said in a very curt and crisp voice, “we
must follow the rules, and the rules state clearly that those people whose names come out
of the Goblet of Fire are bound to complete in the Tournament.”
“Well, Barty knows the rulebook back to front” Ludo said beaming, clearly pleased that
Harry would have to compete.
“I insist upon resubmitting the names of the rest of my students.” He had dropped all
pretences and was now openly hostile, “You will set up the Goblet of Fire once more, and
we will continue adding names until each school has two champions. It’s only fair,
Dumbledore.”
“But Karkaroff, it doesn’t work like that,” Ludo clarified, “The Goblet of Fire’s just gone
out – it won’t reignite until the start of the next Tournament-”
“-in which Durmstrang will most certainly not be competing!”
I saw Dumbledore’s shoulders sag slightly at that. This was exactly what he hadn’t
wanted. It would have been worse if there had been a third Hogwarts champion.
“After all our meetings and negotiations and compromises, I little expected something of
this nature to occur! I have half a mind to leave now!”
“Empty threat, Karkaroff.” Moody growled from the door. He had just arrived and was
limping up to the group, his false leg clunking with every other step. “You can’t leave
your champion now. He’s got to compete. They’ve all got to compete. Binding magical
contract, like Dumbledore said. Convenient, eh?”
The constant conflict between the sound of Moody’s mental and his physical voice as he
spoke was always disconcerting. But even more so was the difference in tone. As his
voice completed the sentence with a sense of dread, his mental voice completed it with
glee… I puzzled over this.
“Convenient?” Karkaroff replied, “I’m afraid I don’t understand you, Moody.”
I focused on Moody, wishing I could see his mind, if only for a moment. “Don’t you?
It’s very simple, Karkaroff. Someone put Potter’s name in that Goblet knowing he’d have
to compete if it came out.”
“Evidently, someone ‘oo wished to give ‘Ogwarts two bites at ze apple!” Madame
Maxime exclaimed – airing her suspicions fully, though clearly not prepared to place the
blame on Dumbledore.
“I quite agree, Madame Maxime,” Karkaroff chimed in, giving her a slight bow as though
he was accepting her to his side, “I shall be lodging complaints with the Ministry of
Magic and the International Confederation of Wizards-”
“If anyone’s got reason to complain, it’s Potter” growled Moody, “but… funny thing… I
don’t hear him saying a word…” His mental voice was more perplexed… and pleased by
this then his vocal.
“Why should’e complain?” burst out Fleur, who had been standing slightly behind
Madam Maxime during the entire conversation, “’E ‘as ze chance to compete, ‘asn’t ‘e?
We ‘ave all been ‘oping to be chosen for weeks and weeks! Ze honour for our schools! A
thousand Galleons in prize money – zis is a chance many would die for!”
“Maybe someone’s hoping Potter is going to die for it.” Moody growled.
Silence filled the room – each one in their own thoughts – glaring at each other in
suspicion. For once, I was thankful that I couldn’t hear most of the minds in the room –
for I sure they were shouting.
Ludo was visibly uncomfortable at the tense silence, “Moody, old man… what a thing to
say!” he tried to break the tension.
“We all know Professor Moody considers the morning wasted if he hasn’t discovered six
plots to murder him before lunchtime.” Karkaroff tried to discredit Moody’s assertion,
“Apparently he is now teaching his students to fear assassination, too. An odd quality in a
Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher, Dumbledore, but no doubt you had your
reasons.” I saw how he artfully pulled it back to a criticism against Dumbledore,
attempting to cast a shroud of doubt over his intentions.
“Imagining things, am I?” growled Moody, “Seeing things, eh? It was a skilled witch or
wizard who put the boy’s name in that Goblet.” Did I detect a hint of pride?
“Ah, what evidence is zere of zat?” Madame Maxime threw up her giant hands.
“Because they hoodwinked a very powerful magical object.” He exclaimed, “It would
have needed an exceptionally strong Confundus Charm to bamboozle that Goblet into
forgetting that only three schools compete in the Tournament… I’m guessing they
submitted Potter’s name under a fourth school, to make sure he was the only one in his
category…”
That certainly explained it – it was what Dumbledore had considered doing… I supposed
he would have had to use this Confundus Charm as well… I turned my focus back on
Moody. He knew more then he was letting on – or was it that he knew more then he
appeared to be guessing at… Something was off with him. I could only hope he would
slip for a moment – and give me my opportunity to see what was going on in his mind.
“You seem to have given this a great deal of thought, Moody.” Karkaroff replied coolly,
“and a very ingenious theory it is – though of course, I heard you recently got it into your
head that one of your birthday presents contained a cunningly disguised basilisk egg, and
smashed it to pieces before realising it was a carriage clock. So you’ll understand if we
don’t take you entirely seriously-”
“There are those who’ll turn innocent occasions to their advantage. It’s my job to think
the way Dark wizards do, Karkaroff – as you ought to remember…”
“Alastor!” Dumbledore barked in a sharp warning… Then turning to the rest, “How this
situation arose, we do not know. It seems to me, however, that we have no choice but to
accept it. Both Edward and Harry have been chosen to compete in the Tournament. This,
therefore, they will do…”
“Ah, but Dumbly-dorr-”
“My dear Madam Maxime, if you have an alternative, I would be delighted to hear it.”
He waited patiently – hoping for some other method, some other way to avoid this danger
for Harry. It was what he wanted more then anything else. But no one had any ideas or
further arguments… They all simply glared – Maxime, Karkaroff and Snape… except
Ludo, who looked pleased, well more then pleased.
“Well, shall we crack on, then?” Ludo said, rubbing his hands together in glee, “Got to
give our champions their instructions, haven’t we? Barty, want to do the honours?”
Mr. Crouch, who had seemed to have been lost in deep though, suddenly returned to the
present, “Yes” he said, “instructions. Yes… the first task…” he moved closer to the
other champions and me, “The first task is designed to test your daring, “ he spoke to
each one of us, “so we are not going to be telling you what it is. Courage in the face of
the unknown is an important quality in a wizard… very important…
“The first task will take place on November the twenty-fourth, in front of the other
students and the panel of judges. The champions are not permitted to ask for or accept
help of any kind from their teachers to complete the tasks in the Tournament. The
champions will face the first challenge armed only with their wands. They will receive
information about the second task when the first is over. Owing to the demanding and
time-consuming nature of the Tournament, the champions are exempted from end-of-year
tests.”
He turned to Dumbledore then, “I think that’s all, is it Albus?”
“I think so,” Dumbledore responded, concern evident in his voice, “Are you sure you
wouldn’t like to stay at Hogwarts tonight, Barty?”
“No, Dumbledore, I must get back to the Ministry. It is a very busy, very difficult time at
the moment… I’ve left young Weatherby in charge… very enthusiastic… a little overenthusiastic,
if truth be told…”
“You’ll come and have a drink before you go, at least?” Dumbledore encouraged.
“Come on, Barty, I’m staying!” Ludo said raucously, “It’s all happening at Hogwarts
now, you know, much more exciting here than at the office!”
Ludo’s enthusiasm seemed to have the opposite affect on Mr. Crouch. I wondered if they
didn’t get a long as a general rule, “I think not, Ludo.”
“Professor Karkaroff – Madame Maxime – a night cap?” Dumbledore offered in vain, as
Madame Maxime was already leaving swiftly by the side door, speaking to Fleur in
French… “Don’t worry, Fleur, I will get to the bottom of this.” I translated, as she
soothed Fleur’s concerns. Karkaroff simply gestured for Krum and left swiftly.
Dumbledore’s offer was left unrequited.
“Harry, I suggest you go to bed… Edward, I am sure your father is waiting for you…”
Dumbledore said kindly, but with a look in his eye that told me to wait. Harry started out
the door, as Dumbledore swiftly said, “Quickly, follow him, see if you can see anything
more, then return here.” I left, quickening my pace to meet up with Harry in the Great
Hall.
“So… We’re playing against each other. Just like you and my cousin.” I began weakly.
“I s’pose” Harry said glumly. I tried to glean something from his thoughts, but it was a
jumble of various images… nothing concrete to draw upon.
“So… tell me…” we had just reached the Entrance Hall, I was running out of time to play
games, “how did you get your name in?”
“I didn’t” he said, staring back at me… There was nothing in his head to suggest
otherwise as I already knew, and no suspicion of who could have done it, “I didn’t put it
in. I was telling the truth.”
“Ah….” I tried to think of any way to try to pull more out, but I didn’t think there was
more to pull – he was telling the truth and he didn’t seem to have any idea how this had
happened. There was no passing suspicion, no remembered conversation, nothing.
“Okay…. Well… see you, then.”
Harry headed up the marble staircase as I retuned to the Great Hall and to the small room
at the end.
“Dumbledore, I don’t-” I started to say as I entered but he cut me off.
“Not here…” he said swiftly, subtlety glancing at the pictures around us… The rest of the
family was there, except for two noticeable exceptions.
“Where’s Bella? And Rosalie?”
“Bella is celebrating with her housemates – she will be back momentarily. Hermione has
graciously offered to escort her back here in a few moments. Rosalie suddenly
remembered some notes she needed to share with a fellow Slytherin student. She should
also be back momentarily.”
“How long?” Carlisle asked, too quiet for non-vampire ears to hear.
“Rosalie - about 32.6 seconds…” Alice added, “Bella won’t be back for another twelve
minutes, though.”
“Well, perhaps we should return to Castle Venlaw for the evening. Seeing as no one has
taken you up on your generous offer, may I offer you a night cap?” Carlisle offered
politely.
“Certainly, that would be most appreciated, Professor.” Dumbledore responded with the
same level of polite civility.