The Boyfriend - AverageFish - Harry Potter (2024)

Chapter 1: Footwear

Chapter Text

Basic Plot idea inspired by FalconLux's The Boyfriend, Harry's unique neurodiversity inspired by hctiB-notsoB's I See The Moon and The_Carnivorous_Muffin's Painting Red Madonnas. Thank you for sharing your stories and letting me share my own in turn.

It was only supposed to be for a night.

"You're sure you can't remember why you were wandering through the forest?"

The man shook his head. It was startling how young he looked, barely out of his teens. Charlie tried not to think of Bella stumbling through Arizona, about whether or not René would notice in time.

Harry's story came out in bits and pieces, disoriented as the man himself was. No, he wasn't running away. No, he didn't have anywhere to stay. No, he wasn't hungry, and he didn't know where he'd left his shoes.

Charlie wasn't going to let him sleep on the streets if he could help it.

"We're here," he said once the car was parked. Harry was staring into the trees around the house, not bothering to unbuckle his seatbelt.

Charlie had checked, there weren't any asylum outbreaks or foster care runaways that fit the description. It had brought him to this moment, a man with bright green eyes sitting in his faded yellow kitchen. He found some fish fry in the freezer, better that than a microwave dinner. They probably didn't have microwave meals in Britain anyway.

"It's just fish tonight." Charlie shrugged. He didn't mind being quiet, but this man was making him feel self-conscious.

"I can cook," Harry said, and then he had his head in Charlie's fridge, sorting ingredients onto the counter. There were a few potatoes that were sprouting. "I can plant them," Harry said when Charlie tried to throw them away.

The smell of onions filled his kitchen. Charlie sat and watched Harry opening and closing cabinets, listened to him humming an unfamiliar tune.

They ate in front of the TV. Charlie always overcooked his fish, but tonight it was perfect.

He found an unused toothbrush and set Harry up to sleep in Bella's old room. "I don't mind the spiders," Harry said, nestling himself between blankets and cobwebs.

"I'll see you tomorrow," Charlie said. He meant it as a promise.

.oOo.

Harry woke somewhere strange, with the spiders weaving the world into a familiar disorder around his head. He got up and walked down the stairs, knowing exactly which step creaked. There was an empty gun holster by the door. Outside, the air was thick with fog.

Harry walked into the twilight with his arms stretched out in welcome, an embrace.

The trees here were beautiful, full of life and old magic. There was a hole in Harry's mind; somewhere along the way he knew he'd lost some pieces. Maybe they were here, in this forest? Harry moved south, touching them as he went. The moss under his feet welcomed him.

"Harry!"

He turned. Sunlight pushed its way weakly through the mist.

"Harry, where are your shoes?"

Charlie's hands were rough and warm. Harry let himself be led back to the blue house with the yellow kitchen. "Should I make breakfast?" he asked. He wanted to thank the man somehow.

Something strange showed in Charlie's face as he rubbed Harry's feet dry. "I have to go to work."

"Okay." Harry looked around for the shoes he was supposed to be wearing. He wanted to climb the big oak he'd found; if he sat at the very top it'd feel almost like flying.

Charlie's sigh went on for a long time. "Sure, see what you can fix up for breakfast. I'll call the station."

There was some oatmeal that didn't have moths in it, and the milk was still good. With a tin of peaches, it was a fair meal. Harry made sure to eat everything in his bowl. He couldn't remember why, but eating quickly was important, and wasting food was worse than sin.

Harry didn't get to do the dishes. Charlie wrapped him in a coat and pointed out the right shoes, then drove them to a bakery. When they arrived at the police station Harry got to carry the box of donuts, and offered them around.

"Sit." The chair had wheels and spun. Harry let himself whirl back and forth and around, listening to the sound of his own rushing blood. He didn't want to hear them talking about him. The coffee was disgusting, the tea didn't deserve to be called that, but the donuts were alright. Harry licked the glazing off his fingers one by one.

"You're making me dizzy," one of the american bobbies said. He placed a stack of dusty boxes on Harry's desk. "Here, sort these by year and name."

It was simple enough. Harry washed his hands, then got to work.

"Hey, he can read." Someone was laughing, and then Chief's voice rumbled out, "Harry isn't stupid."

The reports were mostly old speeding tickets and petty crimes. Nothing that they'd toss you through the veil for.

"What's the veil?" Harry asked Charlie as they went shopping after work.

"Like, you want a definition? It's a thing brides wear, I guess. To cover their face. Here's the veggies, pick whatever you like."

Potatoes, leek, tomatoes, beans. No baked beans in stock. No kidneys at the butcher's either. "No, I mean the kind of veil that whispers." Harry remembered falling. He remembered being pushed.

"Sorry, I only know them white and lacey."

The veil Harry stumbled through had been made of shadows and death.

.oOo.

Charlie wished it weren't normal to find his house guest up in the tree out back. Wear shoes, he'd said, and stay on the property. Today was Harry's third day here, and the newest rule was Start the coffee machine when you get up.

Harry did well with instructions. It wasn't that he didn't know things, he just seemed to…forget.

Sometimes he reminded Charlie of Bella, but the sight of Harry balancing high on two thin branches reminded him that Harry was something else entirely.

"Next time you run the coffee machine, you have to add the coffee grounds too," Charlie called up.

"Yes, sir." Harry let go of a branch and saluted.

"No!" But Harry was already falling, twigs whipping around him.

Then Harry caught himself, swinging from a branch and hopping to land in the crunching leaves. He was only wearing one shoe.

"Oops," Harry muttered, digging his toe into the ground.

"We'll get you lace up boots, the kind that won't come off," Charlie decided, but then the sneaker fell down, landing right by Harry's feet.

It was almost like magic, but Charlie brushed it off. He'd promised Rudi that Harry would help her in the bakery today, and they were already running late.

.oOo.

They settled into a strange kind of peace together. Harry earned his keep with Rudi in the mornings, and Charlie got used to coming home to a hot meal, and to Harry's warm presence beside him on the couch.

He didn't remember when he started hanging his gun by the door again, or when Harry stopped forgetting to wear shoes. He brought in a tree for Christmas, decorated with baubles René must have left in some cupboard.

"Thank you for letting me stay," Harry whispered, eggnog and fruit cake and turkey long abandoned. They both fell asleep on the couch together that night, waking with creaking backs and a sense of right that Charlie hadn't felt since before his girls had left.

.oOo.

All 14 chapters are completely written and posted.

Chapter 2: Warmth

Chapter Text

"What happened to you?" Charlie found himself asking for the hundredth time, fetching Harry from where he'd wandered halfway into the river. If Charlie locked the doors Harry would get incredibly anxious, so he'd learned to read track instead. This time, the snow had made it easy. Charlie wrapped Harry in a blanket and turned on the heater, driving them home.

"I remember a bad man," Harry said, bundled safely on the sofa with his hands and feet no longer blue. "He killed my parents, and then he tried to kill me."

Charlie made sure to keep his voice light, even as his heart was pounding. "Is the bad man coming here, Harry?"

Harry was pretending to watch the muted TV. "He's dead. I killed him."

The shudder up Charlie's spine wasn't from the cold. "Promise me you'll never say that where anyone else can hear you, alright? I'm glad you're safe, but people 'round here still talk about locking you up."

Harry blinked his doe eyes. "Do you think I'm dangerous?"

Charlie thought for a long time. Sometimes Harry tried to remember too hard and had fits, but those weren't dangerous. The first time he'd seen Harry's chair float had been a surprise, though Charlie had always known his house guest wasn't normal. "I think someone hurt you real bad, Harry, and my job is keeping you safe."

The man leaned into Charlie's shoulder, hot breath against his neck. Charlie wrapped his arm around Harry and pretended this was just a part of the job.

.oOo.

His first time visiting Billy Black felt like listening to a stone falling down a well. There was an echo, a memory that wasn't there anymore. "My godfather was called Sirius." He'd been sad, and then he'd been gone, Harry remembered as Billy mustered him. "He turned into a dog sometimes."

From the glint in Billy's eyes, Harry knew he also felt the magic in the trees. "We have a legend about our people," Billy was saying, so Harry put aside the fuzzy memories and listened while the two men fished, let the story wash over him of a place where being human was only the beginning.

"Don't let Billy's tall tales scare you." Charlie was laughing. Harry just grinned and jumped into the river, splashing water over them all.

"Next time, you're on babysitting duty," Billy grumbled, setting aside the only fish they'd caught that day.

Next time, Harry let Jacob show him all the best trees to climb, sappy pines and white sycamores. When Jacob asked for a story Harry spoke of a boy his age who defeated a basilisk with only a sword, a phoenix, and a heart full of courage. He wasn't sure where the images came from, but something about this place helped Harry know truths he'd forgotten.

He told Jacob how snakes were cruel, how walking to your death was like waking up to everything you'd never be.

Harry remembered that the world was made of wise men and young fools, and when you're in a game of chess you should aim for transcendence.

.oOo.

"I've never heard him talk so much," Charlie murmured. He and Billy were letting the mud dry off their boots on the back porch, listening to Harry with Jacob inside.

"He's special for sure, that one. I wasn't sure, after Renée, but Harry's a good choice for you."

It took a moment for Charlie to wrap his mind around Billy's words, and another to stop spluttering. "It's not like that," he hissed.

What would people think? Forks' Chief of Police, playing house with a younger man.

"Oh, sh*t." He hadn't put it together like that before. "Is that what people are saying? Don't lie to me, Billy Black."

His friend shrugged. "People talk, you know what it looks like. Anyway, I like him for you. Don't let gossip stop you."

Something was churning in Charlie's chest. He thought of a warm body pressed against him as the NFL was on.

He thought of how Harry made him heart shaped pancakes on Sunday mornings, and wondered why that hadn't seemed strange before.

Then he heard a crash, saw the lamp flicker, and rushed inside. Harry was barely breathing, eyes seeing things that the rest of them couldn't. He scooped up the man and took him home.

.oOo.

"How old are you?" Charlie asked, head lolling to watch Harry on the sofa beside him.

"I was seventeen when I left home," Harry said, words measured out slowly. "It was a year later that I killed him." The man scowled, looking past the curtains at the falling rain. His fists clenched and unclenched, but Harry had been having a good week, seemed to be in control. "They sent me here when they realised I was broken. Brought me to Death's door, and pushed. I walked around for a while, before I arrived. All that is gold does not glitter, not all those who wander are lost. "

Charlie rested a hand over Harry's. He'd read Tolkien in high school, though he'd never much liked all the fancy words and drawn-out scenery. If he wanted trees and rivers, he could go outside. It was Renée who'd been obsessed with fantasy, she'd always wanted to be somewhere else.

"So you're what, twenty?"

"Maybe. Things are different now." Then Harry leaned in, tucking himself under Charlie's arm as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

No matter how he spun it, Harry was closer to Charlie's daughter's age than to his own. And yet, here they were, cuddling, holding a conversation that neither of them fully understood.

"Harry, this, all the…touching, are you coming on to me?" Charlie had to ask, had to know.

Green eyes blinked. "What if I am?" Harry murmured, and then he nestled back into their embrace.

Charlie's hands stroked over black hair as he tried not to think too much. Renée had always said that he was supposed to feel these things, and the ball of happiness in his chest was warm.

.oOo.

The next day, he took Harry to the diner. They sat across from each other, Charlie watching Harry and Harry watching things only he could see dancing in the dust. They didn't speak much, but they didn't have to. When Charlie put his hand on the table between them, Harry took it.

If they were going to be the talk of the town, they might as well do it properly.

.oOo.

It was almost a relief that Bella didn't want to come visit that summer, now that a British man had taken over her bedroom, and filled the yard with potatoes, peppers, sage. Charlie wasn't sure how he should explain what his grandmother would have called a companion, what his mother would have insisted was a flatmate. Billy's knowing smile comforted him, a reassurance that what Charlie was feeling wasn't wrong, just different.

When Charlie got there Arizona was too hot. Bella had grown into a teenager without him even noticing. He felt like a failure of a father, but the whole time he wanted nothing more than to go back home.

.oOo.

"You can sleep in my bed while I'm gone," Charlie had said. Harry hadn't slept much, but the smell of the sheets had calmed him that week.

He'd started the coffee machine every morning, cooked for them, worn shoes like he was supposed to. It was good Billy came by to collect the leftovers, because Harry didn't know what to do if not what he always did.

One night he forgot to come inside. He spent the night in the oak tree watching the stars and wishing he could recognize the ones from his old world. Sirius who was supposed to bring him home. Andromeda raising the baby. Draco falling, falling…

Instead they hung solemnly in the black sky, constellations that didn't fit right just like he didn't fit right.

Billy's red truck woke him that morning, the fog a wet blanket around Harry's shoulders. They drove to the hardware store where Billy told him to pick out paints and brushes.

Charlie came home to blue kitchen cabinets and fresh laundry. He tucked into his dinner while telling of red dirt, endless heat, and his daughter.

That night, Charlie stood beside Harry, looking at how their faces were touching in the bathroom mirror. "If you like, it could be our bed?" he murmured.

"Chief Swan, are you trying to sleep with me?" Harry grinned as the man's face turned bright red.

"I didn't mean—"

"I know." Charlie would never take advantage of him, even if Harry wondered sometimes if kissing those lips would feel familiar and safe, like the rest of the man did.

That night they lay on opposite sides of the bed, barely sleeping. They woke curled around each other, and Harry felt whole.

.oOo.

Chapter 3: Doctor

Chapter Text

I've been overwhelmed by all your positive feedback. I'm posting this chapter ahead of schedule as a heartfelt thank you.

When the Cullens came to Forks, Charlie was wary. He wanted to be open minded, he meant to keep his small-town prejudices to himself—he saw five adopted teenagers and immediately thought trouble.

It came as a surprise when Carlisle stopped by the police station to introduce himself, bearing Rudi's best pastries and a firm handshake. "It's a pleasure to be here," he said, unnaturally pretty with a smile that could turn a man gay. "My wife wanted somewhere safe, you see."

The donuts were good. The flattery didn't hurt, either. "Forks is lucky to have you," Charlie said, and that was that.

The next day Esme Cullen came by and introduced her youngest, and the day after Alice Cullen and Jasper Hale came by to invite Charlie to dinner. "You must bring your companion," the girl said, shorter than Bella but twice as cheeky. "We're all so happy to be here, but we could use some advice on the best places to shop."

"I'll ask Harry," Charlie said. The man didn't like changes to his routine, and Charlie didn't want another episode.

"He'll say yes. See you tonight at six."

…

Just to be disagreeable, Charlie wished Harry had said no. Of course, that wasn't in either of their natures. Harry sat in the car, waiting for Charlie to do his seatbelt as always, staring at the fall rain.

If they hadn't been in his police cruiser Charlie would've felt uncomfortable driving the lane to the Cullens'. The trees jutted, branches whipping against the tin roof like an omen.

"We'll be perfectly safe," Harry said as the house pulled into view. "Their eyes aren't red, see? That's important."

"Of course," Charlie murmured, because he'd learned not to ask questions. He unbuckled them and walked up the crunching gravel with Harry's hand firmly in his own.

"I'm so glad you're here!" Alice Cullen squealed, yanking the door open before they could knock. Charlie felt off-balance, but Harry's presence beside him was warm. "Come in!"

The house was bright and big, everything Charlie's wasn't. The open kitchen was sleek and brand new. Mrs Cullen called over that dinner would be done soon.

The rest of them sat on the couch, eyeing each other, pretending to sip their drinks. Harry was staring at Doctor Cullen. "How old are you?" he asked.

"Harry," Charlie said, squeezing the man's hand. "Sorry. He's been a bit different since the accident, but we get by just fine." It was the excuse they'd decided on together, rather than the more accurate version of since the murder. Harry's answering smile was blank while his eyes fixed on the piano in the middle of the room.

"Do you play?" Edward asked, oddly eager. "Come, I'll show you."

The sounds made it clear that Harry had no musical talent while Edward was a virtuoso. Neither seemed to mind, plonking away companionably.

"The accident?" Doctor Cullen prompted. "Is Harry alright?"

"He's fine," Charlie said, surprised by his own ferocity. During dinner he reminded Harry to stop pushing his food around, just like always, and Charlie was sweating by the time they were done. He'd never showcased Harry like this, never tried to mould him into something for polite company. Down to his bones, it felt wrong, and he could tell Harry wanted to go home.

Mrs Cullen carried the small talk, while Edward spent the evening staring intently. "I have a headache," Harry finally said, holding the scar that the bad man had carved into his face.

Glad for the excuse, they left.

.oOo.

The Cullens didn't give up. Even though school had started, there were almost daily visits to the station. "I can drive him home, if you like?" Alice offered one day when Harry came in after his bakery shift to press an absent-minded kiss to Charlie's cheek. "I can see you have plenty to do, and it's no bother."

"Harry?"

"I like Alice," he said. Charlie smiled, tucked a stray strand behind Harry's ear, and went back to work.

When he got home dinner was ready as usual. Alice was still there. She was talking about the paint in the kitchen, and Harry seemed perfectly content to let her bear the brunt of the conversation. With just three of them, and in a familiar environment, it was nice.

.oOo.

Harry liked Alice, her hair was spikey but her heart was soft. He'd worried at first about how cold she was, but she felt safe. He made sure to give her mugs of tea to hold, he'd noticed she liked having warm hands.

There was something skittish about her, but that was alright. Harry knew what it was like to need to run. Sometimes, she looked into space and said things that reminded him of the moon, and he wondered if she could see things that weren't there, too.

Just because it's all in your head doesn't mean it isn't real. The memories liked to jump out at him in bits and pieces. Carlisle said he should try writing them down, but Harry wasn't sure if he wanted them.

For some reason Alice liked him too, and she'd decided it was her job to drive him to and from work. He often came home dusted with flour and cinnamon, but she barely noticed.

"You smell nice," Alice had said once when she'd unbuckled him.

For a moment he'd been scared, though he wasn't sure why. "Nice as in nice to eat?" he'd checked.

Her smile didn't falter. "No Harry, you don't need to worry about that."

He believed her, it was something in her eyes. Alice was skittish and had spikey hair, but her heart was soft.

.oOo.

Their first time, Harry could feel how scared Charlie was. "I want this," he said a hundred times, guiding their bodies together just right. It was quick and unpractised, and Harry couldn't stop pressing kisses against the man's hairy chest.

Their next time was better, and by the third Charlie was reaching out and holding Harry like he was precious. At some point it was almost routine, in the mornings he'd roll towards Charlie instead of climbing trees.

What they had was simple, perfect, between them. Harry had never thought the Cullens would ruin it.

.oOo.

"Alice wants to redo our living room," Harry said. Charlie couldn't help his grin, he'd never heard Harry call it ours before.

"We can afford some new paint." Charlie had been saving to take Harry to a Seattle neurologist, but it was a stupid idea. Harry's job was part-time without benefits, and Charlie knew it would be naïve to marry him for a doctor's visit.

"She just wants permission, not money. She's like a cactus, you know."

Charlie sighed. Bella might have understood succulents, but he sure didn't. "Alright. Have fun, I guess." He tucked a fifty into Harry's jacket pocket and insisted, "You're paying for the paint."

The next day Alice came up to Charlie at work and hugged him, and the day after that Charlie came home to a room he didn't recognize. The furniture was the same, though the upholstery was different. Judging by the lack of draft, there was insulation in the walls.

He didn't mind, though he preferred how Harry the kitchen was. "You made some weird friends," Charlie said, leaning over to peck the man on the cheek. "Come on, let's see if the TV still works, the Seahawks are playing tonight.

That weekend, they hosted the Cullens for dinner again. Harry was taking the lasagne out of the oven while Alice trilled about, showing Esme the new lamps like an ordinary girl who wanted her mother to be proud.

Jasper smiled at them. Charlie settled himself at the head of the table with Harry by his side where he belonged.

"I specialised in neurology, actually," Doctor Cullen was saying, and then tilted his head as if he could hear Charlie's heart racing.

"Do you think it's possible for people to move things with their minds?" Charlie asked. Going by the Cullens' expressions, they hadn't been expecting that. Harry's hand didn't squeeze his in warning, so he knew Harry was okay with it.

"You mean telekinesis?" Edward laughed, voice a little off. "That's impossible."

Charlie had broken down criminals harder than this teen. He waited, letting the silence stretch between them. He thought Edward would squirm, but the boy froze like a statue instead.

"I'd say it's not unfeasible," Doctor Cullen said lightly. "Are you asking because of Harry?"

The man was kneading his scar again, brow wrinkled in pain. Charlie got up and fetched a cup of ice, pressing a cube into Harry's unresisting hand. It seemed to be helping Harry ground himself, so Charlie turned back to Doctor Cullen.

"I don't know. I'm just worried."

Mrs Cullen stood, her smile soft. "I'll clear the table," she said, ushering her children out of the room.

"May I?" Doctor Cullen waited for Harry's nod before he touched the face Charlie knew by heart. The doctor turned Harry's head back and forth. "Can you take off your slippers and stand on one foot? Good, now the other. Walk toe to heel in a straight line."

Harry did well, ice water dripping from his hand all the while.

"Physically everything seems to be in order, but perhaps something was, let's say, miswired in the accident. We can't know without an MRI."

"You have pretty eyes," Harry said.

Charlie supressed the jealously gurgling in his gut. Doctor Cullen was married, but anyone could see the man was hot.

"Can you tell me about the accident, Harry?"

"No, he can't remember much from before." Sometimes Harry told him little bits as they came to him, but Charlie had learned it was better not to ask. Especially not on a day like this, where they'd already changed their routine.

"There was a bad man," Harry whispered.

"You don't have to do this." Charlie held his cold hand, but Harry was somewhere else. The lamps burned steady, the furniture stayed put, and Charlie forgot to breathe as he listened.

"His name was Tom, but nobody called him that. He came to me when I was little, he put a part of himself inside of me."

Charlie exchanged looks with Doctor Cullen. He'd thought he wanted to know, but now he was being punched. Helplessness, grief, Charlie wanted to scream. He forced his lungs to inhale, then exhale.

"When I killed him, maybe some of him was left behind? Or maybe I'm broken without him in my head."

Harry was pressing against his scar so hard his skin was white. Charlie reached out and took both of Harry's hands again, pressed a kiss against them while ignoring the hot tears splashing off his own face.

"I can assure you you're not broken," Doctor Cullen said, finding all the words Charlie was missing. "It's possible that you've blocked your memories to protect yourself. The mind can be astute and even mysterious."

"Shouldn't we just leave it, then?" Charlie didn't want Harry to remember the horrible things that had been done to him. Their life was fine like this, they were happy.

"Alice said you have episodes where you shut down, Harry?" Doctor Cullen had moved so that Harry was looking at him. "Have they been getting better or worse? More or less frequent? Do you remember new things afterwards?"

"I guess," Harry shrugged.

Charlie felt himself breaking. Had they been happening at work? In the car? Had Rudi said something?

"Edward's digging makes it worse," Harry added.

They heard glass shattering in the kitchen. Charlie'd forgotten the other Cullens were there, they'd been so quiet. He wished he could sock Edward in the jaw, even without knowing exactly what for.

"Alright, Harry. Good, we can work on that. Anything else that triggers you? Flashbacks?"

"Black dogs, small rooms, and stupid questions," Charlie answered.

Harry smiled back with sad eyes. "I'm going to bed," he said. "Good night."

There was an answering chorus from the kitchen, and then it was just Doctor Cullen and Charlie at the table.

"Oh God," Charlie said.

They'd been sleeping together. Harry had always been so sure, but the sudden guilt was crushing him.

When the Cullens left, Jasper's handshake was firm. "You are a good man, Charlie Swan. Harry is lucky to have you." The words helped ease Charlie's pain surprisingly well.

He slept on the couch that night, with Doctor Cullen's parting words whirring through his head. 'And if the telekinesisisn't hurting anyone, I wouldn't worry about it. It's only natural when Harry's emotions are heightened. You've done well keeping it a secret.'

"I love you," Harry said, curling his warm body against Charlie's.

"Wha—? What time is it?" For twelve years his radio clock had been there, now Alice had replaced it. "What did you say?"

"It's sleeping time," Harry said, kissing Charlie's head. "Now stop thinking about nargles and come back to bed."

.oOo.

The Cullen parents became regular visitors, leaving Carlisle and Charlie in the kitchen while Esme and Harry watched home improvement shows.

Charlie leaned over to check, but the doctor knew how to make carbonara much better than he could ever hope to.

"It's only fair to redistribute gender roles as needed," Carlisle murmured as he drained the pasta. "Look at them, Esme has been deprived of a gossiping partner forso long."

The sappy look in Carlisle's honey eyes made Charlie remember Harry's reassurances that the Cullens didn't eat people. Fiddling with the cork necklace Harry had made him, he called Harry and Esme to the table.

Afterwards, like every week, Esme set Harry floating in a salt bath, talking through a meditation while Charlie wrung his hands and wished the soap would stop floating in mid-air.

It was helping Harry to do better, he had less episodes now and more lucid moments with insights that Charlie never understood. Esme seemed convinced he'd be ready for the confinement of an MRI soon, so Charlie trusted the doctor and his wife, and hoped for the best.

AN: It's an honour to share my stories with you. After writing 8 chapters I've now finally outlined this fic. I promise youThe Boyfriend will be heart-wrenching, wholesome, and brilliant.

Chapter 4: Family

Chapter Text

Another early update, because you're all so kind (and because I can).

On Thanksgiving he called Bella, listening to her prattle about her life, school, friends. When she said Renée had started seeing someone new, it struck Charlie how little he'd thought of his ex lately. Her absence no longer hurt, his house no longer carried memories like scars. He slept in a heated waterbed now, Renée would have hated it.

Maybe Renée had known, when she'd left, that Charlie would one day fall in love with a man. Maybe that was why she'd insisted he check in with his feelings, that he didn't love her, that he was stuck in his small town like a child holding to his mother's skirt.

"I've met someone too," Charlie heard himself saying. "I could introduce you next summer, but only if you're comfortable with it."

"Oh," bella said.

Charlie leaned and peeked into the kitchen, at Harry in his bikini-print apron. "Yeah," Charlie said. "I know you worry about me, but I'm happy Bells. Really happy."

"I definitely want to meet her," Bella said, laughing into the phone. "Maybe I should come visit you."

Charlie wondered if she'd recognize the house, what with Alice's gently insistent renovations. One day Charlie had even came home to a sunroom where the south-facing porch had been. He'd wanted to put his foot down, but Harry seemed so pleased setting up pots of thyme and lavender.

Charlie didn't know how to tell his daughter, 'His name is Harry,' so he wished her a happy Thanksgiving and hung up.

~.~.~

December flew by, with Harry working extra shifts at the bakery while Charlie had extra shifts at the station. Billy came by a few times to complain about the Cullens, but when he saw Charlie's necklace he'd smiled. He even asked if Harry could make more, though the carved corks were pretty bulky. Charlie brushed it off as Billy being polite, while Harry enjoyed his new task.

They chopped down a silver fir for Christmas, which Harry decorated with pebbles from La Push and garlands of dried tomatoes. "Dirigible plums would have been better," he explained, and Charlie leaned in to kiss him.

~.~.~

Then Bella called, voice firm and argument neatly drafted. Charlie smiled and waited for her to finish her self-assigned script. "Of course you can come live with us," he said, phone tucked against his shoulder as he wrapped his arms around himself. "Forks grows on you, you'll see. What colour do you want your walls?"

He helped Harry re-paper Bella's bedroom. After buying Billy's old truck they used it to pick up a new bed for her.

They agreed that Harry would stay with the Cullens for a day, just while Bella settled in. The whole way to the airport, Charlie's heart sat in his throat.

"I'm so happy you're here," he said honestly, wrapping her in a hug. Bella only had a single bag of clothes, none that would suit Forks' weather. His daughter was wearing the same yellow raincoat Renée had worn when she'd left, and it fit. "You've grown so much."

"Thanks, Ch—dad." They drove home talking about the mist, the truck, and the possibility of a shopping trip, before Bella finally forced the topic. "Tell me about your girlfriend?"

Charlie swallowed. "His name is Harry," he said, staring straight ahead.

"Oh. Oh wow. Really, Charlie? You're gay?"

He glanced over, relaxing a little with her grin. "That's what people in town will tell you." Charlie was proud of Harry, they could gossip all they liked.

"I had no idea. Mum did say…but I always thought…Really? I'm so, so happy for you!"

Relief wasn't a strong enough word for how he felt. Charlie smiled at his daughter and turned onto the familiar road home.

~.~.~

"The place looks amazing, Charlie and his boyfriend are really living up to the stereotype," he heard Bella say. Charlie ducked back into the living room to give her privacy. It was strange how he missed Harry already, how cold he felt thinking of sleeping alone.

After dinner Bella watched the game with him, then Charlie reached for the phone himself.

"Hey, you," he said. "Are things alright?"

"Alice has decided this is a sleepover. She's painted my nails, and put mud on my face. The bathroom here is lovely, though. The hot water lasts forever."

"That's nice, dear," Charlie said. Harry's laugh was beautiful. "Bella said she likes the wallpaper you chose, but we did raise her to be polite." He sighed. "See you tomorrow, yeah? Love you."

He was yawning as he turned, just to see Bella standing at the bottom of the stairs. "Was that him?" she asked. "You're really serious."

"I don't do things by half, kid." He reached out to ruffle her hair, but she dodged, almost falling. He'd forgotten how clumsy she was. With a pang, he realised that he barely knew his own daughter anymore. "Did you need something, Bella?"

"I just wanted to say good night."

They hugged for a second, not quite knowing how their bodies fit together, and went to bed.

.oOo.

Harry was worried about making the right impression. He knew he was different, that normal people didn't struggle with blurting out the wrong things at the wrong times, that normal people didn't need to be told to put coffee in the machine before turning it on.

Charlie said that he was proud, but on grey days Harry felt awkward and broken. There was a cracked mirror in the laundry room and sometimes he watched it, waited for a bright blue eye that never came. It just reflected Harry back at himself, all his separate pieces that didn't fit together right.

At least he didn't make things levitate accidentally anymore.

Harry waited for Esme to help him with his seatbelt before stumbling towards the door. For a second he wasn't sure if he was welcome, if it was still his home. "Go on," she said, handing him his key. "You're wonderful. It'll be just fine."

Sundays were for pancakes. Harry breathed, letting his hands follow familiar steps. Charlie came in and kissed his cheek, just like always, before setting the table. The pancakes were heart-shaped, as always.

"You two are adorable."

Harry turned. She looked like an ordinary girl, with a nose and hair and a smile.

"Hello, I'm Harry. It's nice to meet you."

"Hi." Bella waved. "How old are you? Are you from England? What do you do for a living?"

He smiled, relieved to know the answers. "I am in my twenties. I grew up near London. I work half-days at the bakery in town. I fill the pastries, Rudi works at the counter. They tell me I'm not good with people."

He bit his lip before he could say that Alice had decided to be Bella's best friend, how it had been the last of his Galleons that paid for her truck, how she should touch the trees more so that the magic here could claim her.

Bella giggled and helped herself to a pancake. Like Esme had promised, things were just fine.

.oOo.

"I could drive you." Charlie wished he could think of something better to say. Renée used to tell him he had bad instincts, but she'd only done that to be hurtful.

"Dad, that's embarrassing."

"Better than getting lost and being late."

He watched Bella think. She'd always had a terrible sense of direction.

"No," Harry said, adjusting the Velcro on his shoes, "Alice will drive you."

The Cullens thought their daughters would get along, but Charlie wasn't sure. Bella hated shopping, and Alice could talk your ear off.

"Who's that?"

"I could drive you." Charlie checked the time and got to his feet. He pressed a kiss to Harry's hair, then to Bella's even as she shook her head no. Alice was a safe driver, he trusted her. "Have a good day."

.oOo.

AN: To those of you being busy with university things, best of luck! To those of you who found time to read the latest chapter, see you in the comments! Remember to look at my other fics in this series for more of my writing.

Chapter 5: First Sight

Chapter Text

Bella stared at him, not that Harry seemed to notice. Her dad's boyfriend—her dad had a boyfriend—was staring out the kitchen window, the oatmeal on his spoon cold and goopy.

She didn't really like oatmeal when Renée made it, but this was pretty good, probably a British recipe.

"Who's Alice?" she asked again.

"She's your best friend," Harry said once Charlie's car had driven off. He looked back at her, eyes very wide and green, like everything else in Forks. "I'm sorry. I'm not supposed to have said that."

Bella mimed zipping her mouth, but he just blinked dumbly. "Okay," she tried again. "I won't tell."

He smiled, then got up to do the dishes. Bella wanted to like him, she really did, but Harry was a bit…weird.

It was also weird to picture her dad having sex with a guy only a few years older than she was. Scratch that, it was weird to picture Charlie having sex at all. She'd walked in on Renée a few times, and that had been traumatising enough, she did not need to know if Charlie sucked—

"So are you working today too, Harry?"

"No." He was fidgeting with the dishrag. Bella watched him and waited for him to speak. Her eyes kept drifting over his ass, it made her uncomfortable that he had a nice ass.

"Have you been here long? D'you miss home?"

"No." The kitchen was spotless, but Harry kept wiping. She wondered if he had an obsessive compulsive thing.

Bella got up, grabbed her bag, and went to wait on the front porch for whomever Alice was.

She didn't have to wait long. A smart-looking black car crunched its way up the gravel drive, looking very shiny in the drizzle. Back in Arizona, she'd have called everything precipitous rain, but in Forks she'd have to differentiate. Drizzle, shower, downpour.

Alice was tiny, and looked like she was only a breath away from wrapping Bella in a hug. They mustered each other, and the moment Bella decided she wouldn't mind it, Alice embraced her. She was wiry, like a dancer, and wore nice clothes with Goth makeup.

If she'd been back in Bella's school in Arizona, Alice would have been one of those kids wearing too many layers in the heat, just because they liked the aesthetic. Bella thought her way too pretty for a place as boring as Forks.

"Hi! I'm Alice, you're Bella of course, it's so good to meet you—"

And she was off. Bella let the words carry her to school like a wave. Bella had been surfing once, she'd gotten a concussion; metaphorical surfing was much safer. Bella moved through her first day of school like she wasn't really there, wishing they would stop staring, wanting to be normal for once.

She hadn't been normal in Arizona either, of course. They'd called her Juliet because she read too much, as if educated was the worst insult they could come up with. In the kinds of neighbourhoods Renée could afford rent, it basically was.

She'd already been dreading AP biology, and on the way to class her stomach dropped.

Because there was Harry, looking kind of hot and extremely disoriented standing outside the cafeteria in one of Charlie's jackets. He'd forgotten to put the hood up, so he was soaked.

"Hi, Harry," she said, checking who else was watching. Mike Newton was hovering like a golden retriever.

At least Harry looked about as embarrassed as she felt.

He pressed a small bag into Bella's hands, like the kind Mrs Vane used to pick up her dog poo. The thing inside it was hard and lumpy. "Take this. It'll keep you safe if you wear it. Do it for Charlie. Please, Bella"

A cork, painted silver, with tiny inscriptions all over. Harry had wrapped it in wire like a child's attempt to make a statement about caterpillars turning into butterflies. Worst of all, there was a leather cord. Forcing herself to smile, Bella put it over her head and fixed her hair.

"Hi!" Alice hugged the man.

Bella just stared. Maybe the sprite girl did that to everyone?

Harry also completely ignored the girl wrapped around him. "You can tuck it under your shirt. I'm sorry."

"Bella," Alice waved, then turned back to Harry. "I have gym now, Coach Clapp won't mind if I skip. Wait right here, I'll drive you home."

"Thank you," he said, still looking right at Bella.

The bell rang. Mike Newton swooped in and led the way to Biology.

…

The boy sitting beside her in class would probably hate having to do group projects. Bella didn't care, she'd only been given the choice between bio and chem. Better have Cullen wrinkling his nose at her, than suffer through covalent bonds and electron orbital subshells ever again.

He probably thought she was a complete idiot, wearing a surrealistic cork sculpture like jewellery. Bella hid it under her collar. "Hello."

"I'm Edward Cullen. You've met my sister, of course." His handshake was cold, but his smile was nice. He looked unfairly attractive, like a demigod amongst mortals.

"Yeah, she was walking Harry to her car just now."

"I hadn't realised Harry was here." Benefits of a small town: everyone already knew about her dad's gay boyfriend. Disadvantages of a small town: everyone also knew enough to comment on the ins and outs of said boyfriend's schedule.

"He's a bit strange? Came by to give me…" A necklace? This ugly thing? "…a cork."

Edward inhaled deeply. "I've seen Harry make those, he's truly gifted. I'm glad you have one."

She'd thought Edward was hot, but at that moment Bella realised he was also deranged. She shifted to face the front and started scribbling down every word on mitosis.

…

Bella tried to ignore Harry, she really did. He was just there all the time, cooking dinner when she got home, sharing a ride with her and Alice in the mornings, or curled up on the sofa with Charlie while watching a game.

It shouldn't have surprised, coming home to a neat stack of laundry by her bedroom door. He hadn't used fabric softener, but he'd ironed the shirts. Bella was pretty sure Renée hadn't ironed, ever, in her life.

She found him halfway up an oak tree, standing like a wood nymph between its boughs with his face turned toward a rare Forks sunset. The trunk was familiar and gnarly, she could see the remnants of the rope that used to hold her tire swing.

"You didn't have to do my laundry," she said, instead of 'thank you' or 'please don't fold my underwear'.

"There's magic here, wild and ancient," Harry said, instead of something normal. "Touch the trees, Bella, and you'll feel it."

It was just bark, damp and flaky. "Could you show me how to use the iron?"

When Harry swung down, grinning wildly, she couldn't help but laugh. In that moment he had the same childlike delight as Renée, and Bella understood what Charlie loved in him.

.oOo.

There was a flash of light against the black of her room. Bella stared at her billowing curtains, listening to her racing heartbeat.

She turned on her lamp, but the warm light didn't feel any safer. The window barely whispered as she slid it shut.

Charlie's house loomed cold and dark; it was better than returning to bed.

When washing her face didn't help, Bella tiptoed downstairs to make herself a cup of cocoa. The familiar smells reminded her of grandma Marie's kitchen. She poured carefully, pleased she'd gotten the amount just right, then went to put the pot in the sink.

Bella almost died at the sight of Harry on a kitchen stool. The pot clattered to the floor, bouncing twice. By some miracle, it hadn't made a mess or hit her feet. "Holy sh*t," she whispered. "How long were you sitting there?"

"Not long." Harry's eyes almost glowed in the dark. It made her believe, for a second, in the magic he kept mentioning. "Are you alright, Bella?"

She sat down, mug cradled between her hands, feet nestled in her slippers. "Just had a bit of a scare is all."

"Hmm," he said. "Anything in particular?"

'I didn't open my window,' she wanted to say, but she knew it sounded crazy. She'd sleepwalked when she'd been younger, and she'd been told that nowadays, she talked when she dreamed. 'No rest for the wicked,' Gran would've tutted, then made her cocoa and tucked her back into bed. Bella smiled into her cup. "It's stupid," she said. "I think it's the sound of the rain, I'm not used to it."

Harry sat and stared through her without answering.

"Whenever we had thunderstorms in the desert, mum and I would bunker down to watch," Bella said, just to make the silence end. "They're beautiful, the purple clouds and the flashes of lightning. I loved the smell of dust and rain."

"Maybe you should close your window?" Harry offered, but he was smiling.

"I'll try that," Bella said. She smiled back.

…

The next time she woke to billowing curtains and a visceral fear thudding in her ears, she found Harry already in the kitchen. There was a stick of vanilla floating in the milk. Bella had never been able to afford a whole pod, let alone waste it on hot chocolate.

"I'll look into getting you a new window," Harry murmured, pouring them a mug each. "Something soundproof, with a handle that locks."

Bella thought Harry was strange, from how he couldn't meet her eyes, couldn't tie his own shoes, couldn't hold a normal conversation.

But in that moment, sitting in the dark kitchen surrounded by chocolate and cinnamon, she appreciated him for taking her worries seriously.

Sorry about the lack of updates this weekend. I've been dealing with the trifecta of water damage, computer trouble, and a work situation.
Hope you enjoy this look through Bella's lens. Next chapter we'll be taking a look at Alice. Thanks for reading, see you in the comments.

Chapter 6: Colliding

Chapter Text

Alice was used to seeing things. Every day, she'd have at least three visions before most people finished breakfast.

When she had the vision of them all moving to Forks, they'd packed their stuff into boxes and headed west. There'd been a man she kept seeing: brown skin, green eyes, round glasses. He was always staring back at her in the visions. Alice needed to know who he was, what he knew. Maybe he was like her, she told herself, or maybe more like the human she used to be.

The first time she met Harry in the bakery, Alice realised he was incomparably himself. She was alright with that. Alice enjoyed his company, and he seemed to enjoy hers just as much. When her visions showed their families getting along, she prodded and pushed them together.

Esme loved the company, and Jasper took pleasure in following Alice's lead. Even Rose and Edward played along, happy to practice being the perfect little family.

Then Bella arrived like a lightning storm. The school worked itself into a frenzy of anticipation, while at home they counted down the days by debating what she'd be like. Edward wondered if he'd be able to read her mind, what with Charlie and Harry each being some kind of shield.

It was cute how Edward kept forgetting that Bella wasn't the couple's biological daughter. He surprised them sometimes with how open-minded he was, and other times they all wondered at the dimensions of the stick up his rear.

After Bella's first day of school, Edward reported that she surpassed his expectations with the silence of her mind. He seemed content to watch her, just to bask in her quiet whenever he had occasion to. He took to hunting every night, claiming his unusual draw to her scent whenever she wasn't wearing one of Harry's masking corks. Nobody but Alice seemed to notice that he often returned with eyes just as dark. She amused herself watching Edward's flip-flopping decisions through the long morning hours, waiting for a future where he'd finally choose Bella.

Then, a month into Bella's stay, two visions appeared while she was waiting for the Swans to finish breakfast.

The first of Bella, sparkling, beautiful, laughing.

The second of Edward, crimson eyes and lips, terrified of a stick-wielding Harry.

"Oh my God," Alice said to her empty car. She knew that stick. It seemed to follow Harry around, almost like magic. She'd seen him leave it lying about, but it always showed up again in the man's hoodie pocket, nestled in silver fabric.

She decided to ask Harry about the stick and waited for a vision. 'This?' Harry was going to answer, twisting his hair into a bun. 'It's an old bit of elder. You know, me and my trees.'

'It's more than just that. I've seen it. Is it magical?' Alice saw herself say.

'There's magic here, in the forests. Down at La Push, and in your family, too. It's a strange world.'

'Can you do magic with it?' future-Alice was saying, and then she watched Harry's eyes bulging, his breaths shuddering, his hands clutching at nothing. His hair started to float around him like a halo.

"Alice, Alice!"

She opened her eyes. Bella was stumbling towards the car, feet only half in her shoes.

"Alice, you have to help me, Harry's having some kind of seizure."

The porch light was stuttering on and off. Alice ran into the kitchen.

.oOo.

There had been a kid at Arizona High that had epilepsy. Bella remembered changing after P.E. once, and seeing the girl fall over, shaking, her mouth foaming and making sounds like she was possessed.

Bella remembered feeling scared and helpless, while that girl's friend knew exactly what to do. Afterwards Bella had looked up everything she could in the library, she'd learned that some people were vulnerable to their own brains in ways she couldn't begin to imagine.

Charlie had told her, "sometimes Harry has fits, but he's been much better lately. Don't worry, he's safe."

Charlie had not said, "Harry is going to randomly drop his plate and start moaning." Nobody had mentioned that the man's eyes glowed like nuclear radiation, as if some energy inside Harry wanted out. Bella had never been more relieved to see Alice in the driveway.

Her friend moved Harry to the couch and swept up the shards in the kitchen, all while talking on her mobile. Bella was ushered out of her own home, grateful to just sit and wait. When the silver Volvo pulled up and Edward Cullen asked her to get in, he reminded her of a superhero. That turtleneck made her wonder if he was wearing spandex underneath, like he'd whip it off and be someone else entirely.

"You should wear the necklace Harry gave you," Edward said, holding the passenger side door shut "I'll wait."

Another car pulled up, a sleek Mercedes. "You must be Bella, I've heard so much about you," the woman said, gliding through the mist. "I'm Esme Cullen, I'll watch Harry while you go to school. Don't worry, dear."

Bella couldn't remember the last time someone had patted her cheek like that. Esme's hands were cold like the rain. Alice popped out of the house then, giving Bella the cork she always dumped as soon as she got home. "It suits you," Alice said. Then the girl was leading her mother back into Charlie's house.

When they got to school Bella realised she'd forgotten her jacket. Edward shrugged his off, the gentleman as always. It smelled like cinnamon and elderflower, like Grandma Marie's kitchen, and the sleeves only fit once she'd rolled them up twice.

It was summarily the strangest morning of Bella's life. She was past caring what people would think of her wearing Edward's clothes, Charlie had taught her there were more important things than small-town gossip. All the way through maths class, she chewed her nails, worrying if Harry was okay.

She wasn't ready to do her own ironing just yet.

But everything returned to normal, except that Edward became her daily ride to school. Bella almost felt sorry for her truck sitting idle in the driveway. Then again, she didn't feel ready yet for Forks' rain-slick roads. They even had ice to contend with, sparkling in the dappled dawn sunlight. That morning, Bella was doubly grateful not to be at the wheel.

Edward began with a fresh set of strange questions, like always. They'd moved from music to discussing her childhood. It felt a bit like therapy, or what Bella imagined therapy would be like. She'd seen it on TV, someone reclining and talking about their daddy issues.

"I love my mum," she said, just to be contrary. "Tell me about Esme, Charlie says she and Harry get along well?"

"It's hard not to like Harry," Edward said, "I'm sure they'll be having their regular soirées again soon." He turned, smiling at her.

Once on the parking lot he hurried inside, she'd noticed he was allergic to even the threat of vitamin D. Bella ambled over to greet Jessica, hoping to exchange spanish homework for trig. Jessica agreed easily, but forgot all about her as soon as Mike joined them.

Sighing, Bella took their notebooks to the sun-thawed picnic table nearby. She'd finally gotten the second trig problem when she heard a shout. Bella looked up.

Eric's white van was skidding across the ice. He'd barely been driving fast enough to park, but the collision was inevitable, like the car was being pulled by a great magnet. She could see its path, it would hit the corner of Jessica's car before swerving towards the curb, towards her. Bella's legs were frozen, she couldn't move, she couldn't swallow her heart from where it was pounding in her throat.

She watched Jessica shove Mike away, saw her friend fall to the ground. The sound was the worst part. Metal scraping against metal, a cry of pain, glass shattering. The van stopped at the curb, teetered once, and crashed into place. For a fraction of a breath, everything was silent.

She could hear screaming. The air smelled hot, like blood, and she wanted to throw up. Bella's legs still wouldn't move.

"Let's go inside," Edward's voice was murmuring in her ear.

She wanted to say something about Jessica, about Mike, but her own helplessness was rising again like bile. When Edward set her down by the cafeteria she spit into the frosted grass.

"They've called an ambulance. Jessica, Mike and Tyler are all going to be fine. Calm down, it's alright. Breathe, Bella. You have to breathe."

She blinked up at him. She couldn't remember sitting down. "I want to go home," she heard herself mumble, so quiet Edward shouldn't have heard.

"Charlie will be busy processing the accident, but we can stop by the bakery on the way," he said.

It was strange how comforting the thought was, Harry with his oversized sweaters and his propensity for forgetting his own footwear.

"Alright," she whispered, and concentrated on breathing.

.oOo.

When Charlie told her he had a boyfriend, Bella hadn't expected him holding her as she sobbed. He rubbed soothing circles on her back and hummed a familiar lullaby. I see the moon, the moon sees me, please let the light that shines on me shine upon the one I love.

Bella had thought—Bella didn't know what she'd thought while meeting Harry, but she sure hadn't been picturing potted peonies on the back porch. She hadn't imagined how safe he'd make her feel, even though his arms were skinny and his eyes couldn't meet hers.

"There's magic at work here," he crooned into her hair, rocking the both of them. "It's shining on you, like the moon. She's a fierce mistress, but she's generous with her gifts. You'll see, Bella. Trust me."

Harry was like that, didn't know the words he was saying until they spilled from him like skittles. Bella knew he wasn't quite right in the head, but when he spoke his truths, she listened.

.oOo.

It took a week for Mike and Tyler to come back to school. Scrapes, cuts and bruises, nothing too awful. But when Jessica returned she was changed. They'd shaved her hair, and Jessica didn't seem to notice. She shuffled from class to class with her shoulders hunched and her eyes hidden behind sunglasses. When Mike asked her to the dance, Jessica screamed that she didn't want his pity.

"Is that what happened to Harry?" Bella asked Edward on the way home. She'd whispered it, but all the Cullens had supernatural hearing. She listened to the sound of their breath rise and fall as she waited; Edward liked thinking before he spoke.

"It wouldn't be my story to tell, even if I knew it," he said when they reached her driveway. "His situation is more complex, Jessica just hit her head very hard. People aren't broken once they no longer suit your definition of normal, Bella."

"You know that's not how I meant it."

Edward's fingertips brushed the top of her hand. "Jessica needs to regain her equilibrium. She'll no longer make valedictorian, but she'll have a great story to tell someday. Humans are strong. Resilient."

He was smiling, and Bella smiled back. Being around Edward was always so effortless. "You talk about humans like you aren't one."

They both laughed at that.

.oOo.

The fire hissed and spat like an angry cat. "The Cullens don't come here," the Quileute boy was saying. He looked powerful, like he was quoting a line from a movie, or the bible.

"Sure, that's only a bit creepy." Laura looked stupid, batting her lashes like she was shaking a feather duster. "I bet you know some real spooky stories."

Bella rolled her eyes and got up. She ambled over the beach, picking up pretty pebbles, dipping her fingers into rock pools. When she reached the line where the forest touched the beach, she trailed her hands over mossy bark and tried to listen to the voices Harry heard in the waves and the wind.

If Harry could have so much faith, then Bella was willing to believe in magic too.

.oOo.

Thank you ex-livreira for help with logistics, posting, formatting, research, and typos.

And thank you, my lovely readers, reviewers, and lurkers for so much support! I'm touched how much you all love Charlie. I've never finished writing a story so quickly before.

Chapter 7: Chrysalis

Chapter Text

"What are we, Edward?"

Alice looked up. Bella was sitting at the piano, watching Edward compose lullabies. She hadn't seen the question coming.

He sat like a startled hare. Edward looked like his first instinct was to run. She watched him start playing with his words while his fingers trailed through familiar tunes.

'Does it matter?' he said in one future, smiling at Bella and kissing her on the cheek. 'To me you are a blessing, a gift.'

'What, so I'm some god-given reward for your morally superior behaviour? Eww. Don't objectify me.'

That future vanished.

'I love you, Bella. To the moon and back.' Alice watched Edward's second attempt play out.

'Harry talks about the moon sometimes like she's alive. He also says I don't need to be afraid that you'll eat me. Does he know what you are, do you think?'

Alice winced.

'For you, I can be whatever you want me to be,' Edward decided to say.

'That's a bit strange, isn't it?' future Bella replied. 'Mum and dad and Harry all taught me that if you're changing yourself for the sake of a relationship, then something's seriously wrong.'

'Is that what your question is about, Bella? Do you want us to be in a relationship?'

Future Bella blinked. 'We hold hands and kiss, I'm pretty sure you don't mean that platonically. You're sitting there writing me songs and composing confessions, but you keep backing away when I want more.'

"I see," Edward said aloud. "If you want, we could be officially dating?"

Bella's smile was brilliant. She plonked her fingers on the keys, playing Harry's ode to the moon, and Edward wove an accompaniment around her. "Yeah, Edward. I'd like that."

Alice watched Edward decide to kiss her on the lips. Within moments they were buried in each other, like teenagers who were in love for the first time.

"Oh my God," Alice said, getting up. 'Edward', she thought at him, 'Next time, you ask for consent verbally like a normal person. I did not need that.'

She found Jasper in Carlisle's study. Alice led him into the forest for some fresh air and a hunt.

.oOo.

Charlie watched Harry and Edward sitting at the kitchen table with a smile in his heart. Bella had finally announced that the two of them were dating. They could hear the shower running upstairs.

"Because it's spring," Harry had explained last night, combing his fingers through Charlie's hair after their slow, comfortable love-making. "Ostara is about fertility."

"Harry, please don't mention my teenage daughter's fertility."

"I can talk to Edward about it if you like?" the man had said.

If he could, Charlie would be filming. Carlisle and Esme probably wanted to see this, too.

"What are your intentions towards our daughter?" Harry said, and suddenly Charlie was glad it was just the three of them.

"To love and to cherish her," Edward said, solemn as a tomb.

Charlie winced. "How old are you, son?"

"Seventeen."

It was a long time ago that Charlie had been seventeen, speaking those exact words to his pregnant girlfriend. "How many times have you been in love?"

"Bella is the only one for me."

"How long have you been seventeen?" Harry said.

Charlie laughed. Of all the ways to ask someone's birthday, Harry took the cake. "Edward, I know you mean well, but don't get ahead of yourself. You do right by Bella, and the rest will fall into place. I don't want to hear about marriage or children until she's out of college at least."

He didn't regret his daughter, his wedding, his career. But he wanted more for her, so long as more was what made Bella happy too.

"Yes, sir."

Edward and Harry were still eyeing each other over the kitchen table. Charlie went to find some snacks to take to Billy's later.

"Forever is a long time," he heard Harry say. "Keep those eyes gold, or I'll haunt you like Death herself."

Edward looked ghostly pale. "Yes, sir," he whispered. They all turned to the stairs at the sound of Bella's clattering steps.

"I'm ready!" she announced, her hair still damp.

Charlie loved the way her eyes lit up at the sight of her boyfriend, the way mooning teenagers always looked. They watched her put on hiking boots and shrug into the old yellow parka.

"It'll be sunny," Edward said, helping her back out of it. "You'll see, the meadow is almost as exquisite as you." He tucked Bella's cork necklace around her neck and led the way out, all the while wearing the sweetest smile.

"You didn't have to threaten the kid, Harry," Charlie said, tucking Harry against him to watch the truck drive off.

"I don't know. Sometimes these instincts come to me. Like when I followed the magic in the trees, and she led me to you."

Harry had a lot of instincts, Charlie had noticed. Making jewellery, climbing old oaks, trusting the Cullens not to eat them.

"Are they going to be alright? Bella's not much of a hiker."

"I have a good feeling about today," Harry said.

"That's enough for me."

.oOo.

"This is a terrible idea," Harry was saying.

Whenever Esme had been helping Harry with his meditations or whatever, Alice had organized girls' nights. The last two times they'd been in Bella's room instead of at the Cullens', because Rosalie liked to loom.

She hadn't realized that the process involved Esme watching Harry take a bath. Carlisle and Charlie just relaxed in front of the TV, but the last time she'd been home during a session all Bella's hair had stood on end.

"It's perfectly safe," Alice had said, probably listening to the sound of Bella's heart. But Bella couldn't shake that something making her feel deeply, supernaturally uncomfortable. It made her think of those half-forgotten nights listening to Billy's voice ringing out over a crackling fire, about all the things she used to believe were myths.

Sometimes Bella wondered if Harry was one of those things she'd dreamt of as a child, something that went bump in the night, a nightmare to be soothed away by cocoa and cinnamon.

The day before, they'd held a vote to take Harry to a hospital, and Bella was the only one who agreed with Harry's decision that this was a terrible idea.

They drove to Port Angeles in the very early hours of the morning, because Carlisle had pulled a lot of strings to get Harry this MRI appointment and it was apparently as good or bad a time as any. When Edward and Alice said they were going with, Bella wouldn't be left behind.

She trailed through the hospital hallways after her family wearing goosebumps. Bella had read the word recently. Kenopsia: a conspicuous absence of people in a place that was meant to be bustling with life. It reminded her of the vampires, always so quiet and still.

She wondered sometimes if Edward would turn her. She wanted it some days, and on others she wasn't sure. She'd heard her mother's lectures on there being no such thing as forever, but she looked at Charlie and Harry on the couch and knew that she wanted exactly that.

Edward vacillated between self-loathing and intense longing, but Bella wanted that quiet, mutual peacefulness of a game after dinner. Two pieces that were damaged in their own ways, but slotted together just right.

A nurse nodded as she passed. Bella nodded back and hurried to catch up with the others.

They all crooned at Harry like he was a frightened animal, laying him in a tube that groaned and droned. Bella could see the same calming breaths that Harry had taught her after Jessica's accident, and she could tell they weren't helping.

Esme was singing. Harry got left in the tube with a cage over his head while they started the machine.

Voices crackled over the microphone. Harry continued his crooning lullaby.

"Are you doing alright, Harry?" Carlisle said evenly, but Alice was already pushing buttons.

"Out, we need to get him out right now," Alice said.

Bella pushed her back against the wall, watching it all unfold.

"Harry, love, we're stopping the machine," Charlie said. Esme rushed through the door, dropping her watch and ring.

The monitor showing Harry winked out. They were plunged into darkness.

"Oh sh*t."

Bella didn't know Carlisle could swear. Emergency lights went on, the blinking and humming of fluorescent tubes sounding as loud as Bella's heart. She met Edward's eyes just as the emergency lights died.

She heard Charlie groan.

"Carlisle." Edward's voice was thick. "Operating theatre two. You might be able to—"

"I'll get the power back on," Alice said. The door whooshed shut.

"Ch—Charlie?" Bella reached out. They were all upset, but why was nobody surprised that Harry had done this?

Edward used his phone to light the room. Bella's hands found her father's and didn't let go. She wondered if Harry's power was like a vampire's gift.

Walking through the dark halls of the small hospital felt wrong. Eventually they found Esme and Harry on the roof with their legs dangling off the side of the building.

Charlie looked so lost standing beside Bella with tears in his eyes. A streetlight below glowed yellow against flashing blue. Nearby on the roof, some engines started humming. The lights in the hospital came back on, they watched the few people milling outside file back in.

"I'm sorry," Harry whispered, eyes lifted to the moon.

Charlie held tight to Bella's hand, pulling her with him. She watched her father put an arm around Harry's shoulder, guiding him away from the ledge.

"I forgive you," he said, simple as that. "Let's go home."

Bella looked back toward Edward. In all her life she'd never wanted something so badly. It was irrevocable, her yearning for a love as simple as that.

.oOo.

"We don't really know what happened to Harry," Edward said on the slow drive back. "He's been getting much better at controlling whatever it is since Esme was working with him. We know he has muscle memory but little narrative memory. When Alice couldn't see anything happening tonight, we thought it was safe. Carlisle and Charlie had been hoping to finally get answers on how to help him."

The newspaper was late that morning, the article on the front page had two typos in it.

Olympic Memorial Hospital suffers Freak Power Outage at 4:15 This Morning.
Three dead. Two awoken from comas. Surgery patient saved by Forks' own Dr Carlisle Cullen.

They didn't talk about it, but the paper stayed on the mantle for weeks.

Watching Harry shuffle around the house wearing black, Bella wondered how anybody had thought putting him in that machine would help him.

.oOo.

Charlie wished he were better with words. I love you, he wanted to say. It's going to be okay, he wanted to promise.

Carlisle said the magnets in the MRI had knocked something loose in Harry's head, as if it was a good thing that Harry couldn't sleep without nightmares.

'His name was Voldemort,' Harry would say when Charlie woke him. 'I touched him and his skin turned to ash. When he touched me, it burned like snake venom. He told me to die so that everyone might live, and I went to meet him.'

They were snippets and snatches of a world full of death, war, and magic. Harry said he didn't remember them in the mornings, but Charlie wasn't sure. Sometimes Harry flinched from nothing, always clutching at that stick hidden in his pockets—

—the magic wand Harry kept in a hoodie pocket like some kangaroo. When Charlie asked if they were in danger, even offered they move to Australia, Harry smiled and said that his friend's parents were nesting there.

"I don't understand what's going on," Charlie said when it was just the four of them at the dinner table around a half-eaten dish of lasagne.

"This is a good thing. Harry's mind is healing," Carlisle said.

Charlie squeezed Harry's hand. "Harry, you've stopped leaving the house. You're not working, or eating, you only talk to me if it's the middle of the night. I'm worried. Billy's worried. Rudi's worried."

"There's magic in the trees," Harry said, staring out the window. "She'll protect us."

Esme patted Harry's hand and got up. "How about I run you a nice bath?"

.oOo.

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Chapter 8: Catalyst

Chapter Text

The world was like a cast-open book. Everything bled ink across the pages, black and blue on white and yellow. He felt himself be broken, felt a quill snapping, felt Sectumsempra bleeding out on the bathroom floor. There was a basilisk's fang in his arm and a black heart pulsing in his hand.

He plucked the poison from his veins and cast Fiendfyre.

…

He came apart in bits and pieces: Harry James Potter lived at Number 4, Privet Drive. He was perfectly normal, thank you very much.

'Freak,' said the pig, the whale, the giraffe.

'You can come live with me,' said the dog, but then Death claimed him.

'You're as sane as I am,' said the moon, gifting him a cork to keep the wrackspurts away. She'd given him the recipe cocooned in a lullaby.

'Just because it's all in your head doesn't mean it isn't real, Master,' said Death. He wrapped Harry in a cloak of water spun to thread.

'Look at him, he's catatonic. It'll be a mercy,' said the lion with the family that had been broken in the act of loving him.

'He's not stupid, give him a chance,' said the swan, 'Stay the night at my place, if you want.'

He'd forgotten his name, but he remembered being led to the edge of a veil that whispered Harry, _Harry, HARRY.

He could never forget the feeling of magic coursing through all his cavities, casting him whole as swiss cheese.

.oOo.

It was strange how quickly it became normal, living with someone who refused to leave their property. He'd walk around, mumbling and waving his stick in the air; that became normal too. Alice made a game of doing their grocery shopping without a list. They all settled into a different kind of life.

Esme came to work with Harry every day now. After a week, he started doing little things around the house again.

Bella wasn't sure why she felt so relieved to come home to freshly ironed laundry. She'd gone to hug Harry when she'd found it and he'd almost met her eyes when he smiled.

Classes were getting more intense, and Mr. Varner kept getting worse. Once, when sitting at the kitchen table with Edward explaining the same question to her for the third time, Harry came by to watch. He just stood there quietly, peering at the pages. She left the book out for him. The next morning over breakfast, she wasn't surprised to see Harry doing strange things with imaginary numbers.

"Your school is very limited," he said while putting a teaspoon of salt in his coffee.

Bella grinned, fetching him the sugar and a new cup.

.oOo.

"Are you sure about this, Bella?" Charlie loved his daughter. He knew she didn't like baseball. He didn't want her to come back in a sour mood after dropping the bat on her own foot.

"I'll just watch. It's the American pastime, you know." She pulled on her parka.

Her cap was crooked. Charlie fixed it, tucking a flyaway strand behind her ear. "Be careful, Bella."

"I'm always careful," she said, and then she was off.

"That's why I worry," he murmured at the retreating headlights. At least the truck was getting some use, he consoled himself. Tonight, he could kiss Harry on the couch without worrying about their daughter coming in.

They'd settled down for a movie Charlie had no intention of watching when Harry sat up.

"What is it, honey?"

Harry shook his head, getting to his feet. He put his hand in his hoodie pocket like whenever he was nervous. "There's a storm coming," he said. He'd been talking more lately, but it was usually riddles.

Charlie listened for the thunder anyway. "You're not worried about your trees, right?" Then he heard the car doors and Bella came crashing into the house.

"I don't want to be trapped here," she cried. "Just let me go." Charlie couldn't speak, he felt himself breaking. For fifteen years those words had kept rattling around his head.

Harry placed his hands on Bella's shoulders, stopping her in her tracks. "Don't lie to us," he said. "Charlie deserves better."

He watched Bella shatter like a bullet. Charlie wanted to move, but his knees were shaking. He didn't remember sitting down, but he'd never forget the sound of her sobs. The yellow parka drip-drip-dripped onto the linoleum floor.

"You're going to stay right here with your father, where you belong," Harry said once the tears ebbed. "Edward, you can come in. Please call Alice for me."

Charlie wondered for how long Harry had been lucid. He hoped Harry was lucid, not running on instinct and terror.

They watched Harry put on Bella's raincoat, plus her cap. "Sorry," he said when some of her hair got caught in the clasp. He walked outside barefoot, in a circle around the house. Protego totalum, Salvio Hexia, he said, and Cave inimicum. His eyes were glowing. When Charlie looked at him, Harry held his gaze.

"Don't leave until Edward tells you it's safe," he said, cradling Charlie's face in his warm, warm hands. He kissed Bella's head, then Edward's. "I'll come back soon," Harry promised, and left.

.oOo.

The house had never felt so small before. She didn't know how Harry had stayed indoors for a month, when she could barely stand two days. Bella moved from one room to the next, feeling Edward watch her.

"I love you," he said, and Bella smiled back feeling utterly, terribly helpless.

It was like that time in the locker room, or the time Harry was having a fit in the kitchen. Bella remembered when Renée had announced she was falling in love, remembered feeling left behind. It welled inside her, like Jessica's spitting I don't want your pity—but her friend had never said what they could do to help instead.

Bella felt impotent, useless, good for nothing. All she could do was pace, but that made Charlie feel worse. Charlie, whose boyfriend was out there facing down god-knows-what.

Harry, who hadn't left the house in a month after shorting out a hospital building, Harry with his oversized sweaters and flour on his hands, Harry who called Bella our daughter. That same Harry was in Phoenix fighting a vampire.

"He said he'd come back," Charlie reminded them every night at dinner, not even noticing that Edward didn't eat. "I believe him."

Bella found comfort in Edward's arms as he wrapped himself around her like a marble statue. There was solace in his soft kisses. There was hope in his murmured phone calls. Alice and Jasper were limited by the sunlight, but Harry had donned a wig and was walking around Arizona touching saguaros and singing to the moon.

"They found James in your old ballet studio," Edward announced. He repeated himself when Charlie came in, adding "the building is ruined, but you're safe now, Bella."

The tightness in Edward's eyes betrayed the answer to Charlie's inevitable question.

"Where's Harry?"

They watched Edward swallow. "We don't know."

Then, from outside, they heard a crack, like someone was trying to steal her truck. Edward fell off his chair but Bella was too busy running after Charlie.

Harry was at the edge of the property, sleeves torn and arm bleeding. Bella watched Charlie help him into the house, her heart bursting with worry. Edward was on the phone, but he didn't seem to mind Harry's blood. Charlie helped settle Harry on the sofa and went to get the first aid kit.

"Edward," Harry snapped.

He put his phone down. "I was calling Carlisle?"

"We both know it's too late for that." Harry extended his arm, turning it into the light. There, on the underside, was the unmistakable crescent of a vampire bite.

Bella sat down. She reached out on instinct, holding Harry like the many times he'd held her. She didn't have the faith to whisper the words, 'it's going to be okay, trust me.'

"Edward," Harry said again, his face already flushed with fever. "You protect Bella like your life depends on it. And Charlie. Look after my Charlie."

"Yes, sir," Edward whispered.

Charlie came in then with the kit, but Harry was already pushing himself back up, pushing an apology from his lips. "Edward is taking me with him. I'm sorry."

Bella held her father before he could fall, watching Edward do the same for Harry.

"What's going on?" Charlie said, and Bella never wanted to hear him that broken again.

"Come on, dad." She was done feeling helpless. It was just vampirism, not the end of the world. Harry was special, but he was going to be just fine. Bella squared her shoulders and jutted her chin. "I'm driving us to Billy's for the night."

.oOo.

Alice sat by him, holding his hand as he tossed and turned on the couch.

"I can hear his thoughts," Edward announced after the first day was up. "There's disconcerting latin, and screaming."

"I'm here with you, Harry," Alice said, wishing the future would come sooner.

She watched possibilities in her mind, but they were frustratingly muddy, and in the rare snippets of Harry he was staring back at her with impossibly green eyes. She'd learned not to focus her visions on him too much, and now she didn't know what to do except fret.

On the second day, Charlie and Bella came by with Billy Black and Sam Uley. They all sat in the living room under a blanket of Jasper's calm, watching Harry become something that wasn't human anymore.

"This is a violation of the treaty," Billy Black said.

"Tell me what's going on." Charlie stood by Harry, looking like he was scared to touch him.

Carlisle was at work while Esme, Rosalie and Emmett were hunting. Alice exchanged glances with Edward. She decided to call them home, but her visions showed nothing at all.

"They're all vampires," Bella announced, taking the decision from them. Edward winced. Jasper's calm fluttered.

Charlie just sighed, dropping onto the couch beside Bella. "I thought Harry was joking. Like it was a metaphor or something."

"Harry was a good man," Billy Black intoned. "You will tell us who did this to him, Cullen. We will have our justice."

"He still is a good person," Bella huffed. "Turning into a vampire's a good thing."

Edward groaned. "Not now," he said, so quiet that only Alice heard him.

"We didn't come here for a chat," Sam Uley growled.

Outside, the clouds shifted, letting the last rays of sunlight into the house. Jasper darted into the shadows.

"Okay," Charlie said, turning to blink at Jasper. "Okay. Harry kept saying you don't eat people."

"We drink from animals," Edward explained, then turned to the Quileutes. "A passing nomad wanted Bella. Harry destroyed James, but he was bitten."

"Whose idea was it for the whacko human to fight a leech?"

"Quiet, Uley," Billy Black said. "Harry was a friend."

"This whole thing was Harry's idea." Bella leaned into her father's side. "He did it to protect me," she whispered.

"Okay." Charlie got up and rested a hand on Harry's neck, feeling for the pulse that Alice could hear fluttering. "How long until he wakes up?"

"Less than a day," Jasper said from his position in the corner. He'd know, of course, even when Alice was blind. She smiled, sending him a rush of fondness. "He'll likely be volatile, Chief Swan. We would prefer that Harry stay with us at first, until we can be sure it's safe."

"Okay." Charlie sat down by Harry's head, holding his daughter with one hand and his lover with the second. "Us Swans would like to be alone now."

Alice watched Sam Uley and Billy Black drive off. She went back to her room with Jasper, hearing Edward's stereo through the walls.

It couldn't drown out the conversation below.

"You want to be one of them, don't you."

"I love Edward," Bella said. Her voice was calm and her words measured. "I feel like we could be something amazing, something beautiful like what you and Harry have. I'm sorry, dad. I never wanted to lie to you, or leave you behind."

"Okay." They heard rustling and creaking, the sound of people moving around. "I love you, Bella."

"I love you too, dad."

Alice listened to Harry's heart beating its last hundred thousand beats like a countdown.

.oOo.

Next up is Crescendo, wherein Harry wakes up, and Bella visits Renée. Also, check out my other fics in this collection for more unique takes on reincarnation:

• A variant of Horcrux!Tom-takes-over-Harry, beginning at the end ofPrisoner of Azkaban.Tom has to outmanoeuvre Albus and his other self as he tries to take over the world.
• Peter Pettigrew's story, where you'll see the humanity in the rat as he tries to redeem himself by honouring the Potters' sacrifice.
• My take on the classic hero's journey, where Harry raises a dragon and finally grows into his own man.
• Another wholesome Twilight crossovers with Harry as Bella.
• A witty, compassionate tale of Snape in Harry's shoes.

Chapter 9: Crescendo

Chapter Text

The world was a shattered chandelier. Harry opened his eyes to dust motes in sunlight. For the first minute of his new life, he forgot to breathe.

"Harry?" Her voice sounded like a chord on Edward's piano. She smelled like violets and seaweed.

"Alice." Turning his head, he found her sitting with her hands held up. "I'm not going to hurt you," he said. He didn't want her to look so spiky and scared. Harry could feel something burning in his chest, the same as he felt magic in trees and love in his heart. "Where's Charlie? Bella?"

"We thought it'd be best with only one person here to start with."

Harry's worry burned brighter. "Are they safe?"

"Of course, Harry." She reached out, brushing his hand. Her skin was soft. "You protected them."

The fear drained from him, like saltwater in a bathtub. He wondered if he could eat taffy as a vampire. "I'm hungry," he decided, getting up. The world was a bit disjointed, as if the pause between his deciding and his doing wasn't quite right. It used to be that things were impossible for him, that pauses stretched like Drooble's Best Blowing Gum.

Harry wondered if he'd be able to fasten his own seatbelt now.

.oOo.

"He's doing well," she'd said.

There was something on Alice's face that brought out Chief Swan.

"But?"

"Really well. Maybe he'll be able to come home soon, even. Much sooner than we thought, anyway. Edward says we can try exposing him to humans next week." Alice's pretty smile didn't fool him any.

"And?"

"He's a bit unusual?"

Charlie slumped. He'd thought it was something bad. Harry being special was nothing new. "That's alright," Charlie said. Then he got up and went to use the phone in the hall.

"Hi." Harry's voice was bright.

"Hey, you."

They let the static crackle between them for a minute. It was good, knowing that Harry was okay.

"I remember you," Harry said. "The Cullens said they forgot bits of their human lives. I remember everything."

Charlie had never heard Harry lie, but he didn't want this to be true. "Everything?"

He could hear Harry's shrug.

"Are you okay, hun?" Charlie said, and waited.

When he spoke, Harry's voice was soft. "It feels like it was a very long time ago for me. Almost as if I watched my life in a movie with the emotions dialled low." Then there was a choked laugh. "I'm not broken anymore."

"You never were broken, Harry." There was fear inside Charlie's chest, a mute terror.

If the emotions were gone, did Harry still love him? Would Harry still want to be together?

"Edward says I'm not acting like I should be," Harry said. "Vampires weren't that different in my old world, though." Harry sighed. "I'll be home soon, if you'll have me?"

"Yes!" Charlie swallowed his heart back down and took a slow breath. "Yeah, I'd like that," he said.

"Me too," Harry said. "I miss you."

.oOo.

It was strange how quickly it became normal, living with a vampire in the house. Nobody even asked about Harry refusing to leave the property, probably because they'd written him off as crazy. The Swan family still had heart-shaped pancakes on Sunday mornings. Bella'd already gotten used to having vampires sit there watching her eat.

Alice kept doing the grocery shopping. Esme kept up her daily visits. At night Harry would go to bed with Charlie, same as always, though she knew he went hunting after Charlie fell asleep. They all settled into a different kind of life.

With all the tutoring Edward had been doing, Bella did very well on her finals. When she told Edward she'd rather see a movie instead of going to prom, he picked out a terrible romantic comedy. She pretended not to like it for her dignity's sake. When Edward quoted lines at her afterward, she smiled.

Renée's call came as a surprise. "When are you coming home, Bella?"

That was when Bella realized she'd found her home in wet green ferns and molten gold eyes. "I'll visit for two weeks," she decided. Esme happily bought two plane tickets, even though Edward couldn't visit Arizona in summertime.

Angela had to watch her brothers, and Jessica was so scared of cars she biked to school now. It was Charlie's idea to take Jacob, it was definitely the right choice. He'd grown a lot over the past months, making him feel more like an equal than the scrappy kid that kept trying to talk her ear off while Charlie and Billie fished.

"Your dad's really still together with Harry?" Jacob said once they'd been dropped off at Port Angeles' airport.

"Yup," Bella said.

"'And you're really dating Edward Cullen?"

"Yeah." Bella's smile must have given him the answer he was looking for.

"Huh," Jacob finally said, once they'd passed through security. "Maybe it runs in the family."

She'd shoved him, he'd shoved her back. It was like they were just Bells and Jake again, splashing each other in the river.

It was good to have a friend who was neither dramatic nor complicated.

…

"Your dad's fine with you visiting?" Renée asked for the third time.

She'd never cared whom Bella brought over before. There'd been a girl once, Vanessa, who'd played on the varsity basketball team and had more piercings than Bella could count.

Apparently Renée only noticed when it was a boy. "Yeah, mum. Billy knows. He and Jake have been arguing a lot lately so they decided it would be good to give each other space."

"Uh-huh."

It was funny, Bella had never minded the way her mum chewed gum before. 'Chew with your mouth closed,' she wanted to say. 'Are you ever going to grow up?'

Renée tried to make time to hang out together. She took them on day trips to the zoo and to Baskin-Robbins. Jacob couldn't stand the zoo, claiming it smelled like animal dung. Later, when Renée was exclaiming about rainbow sherbet and chocolate fudge, Bella wondered if she thought they were twelve.

The most exciting thing they did was visiting the burned down ballet studio. "Vandals," Renée said, sweeping her hand irreverently through her messy hair. "It's lucky nobody got hurt. They're going to put in a condo, some wealthy buyer from the East Coast. The plans are rubbish, of course. Postmodern nonsense."

Over the course of two weeks, Bella discovered that Phoenix was dusty and boring. The desert was beautiful, but it felt foreign to her now. The horizon was too flat, the spaces too open, the sun too hot. She watched saguaros groan and wished for Harry's old oak with the rope that her tyre swing used to hang from.

While the spaces were alien, the little things made her feel alien. It used to stress Bella out, that Renée was never on time, that she left her stuff everywhere after Bella just finished cleaning. Now, she let Renée do what she wanted while only feeling apathy.

Maybe, meeting vampires had shifted her perspective. Clutter didn't matter…Renée didn't matter. Maybe living with Harry had affected Bella, too. When she did her laundry, she didn't add fabric softener. When she realized her mum didn't own an iron, Bella anticipated returning home.

.oOo.

It was bright and loud, quiet and soft. There were new colours that Luna would have loved. When he painted runes on corks now, his mind was clear, his heart pure, his hand steady and sure.

Harry made sure not to think too much. Hermione had always known that there were better things than cleverness, so Harry never spent his nights reading.

He liked walking through the forests listening to the ebb and flow. The shadows were comforting, even if he could see through them now. Harry had to send Edward away because the trees didn't like him, but Jasper was a much better babysitter. He reminded Harry of Mrs Figg with her chocolate cake and boiled cabbages.

Jasper smelled like thistles and honeysuckle. Charlie smelled like gunpowder and donuts.

Harry spent his days following familiar routines, and he made sure not to think too much.

At night, he'd leap from one branch to the next, tasting the air. Every tree in this forest was brimming with magic, and it sated him like ambrosia.

.oOo.

When their two weeks were up, Bella lied about when their flight was just to ensure they'd get to the airport on time. After three hours browsing Arizona's airport shops, only the bookstore in Seattle could hold their interest for long.

"Do you smell that?"

Bella looked up from the trashy paperback she was holding. Jacob was sniffing the air like a dog, a look of disgust etched onto his face. She inhaled. "Not really? Something flowery. It reminds me a bit of—"

"—the Cullens," Jacob finished. His whole body was trembling, in a different way than the girl with the seizures had.

"Are you…okay?" Bella moved over to grab one of his shaking hands, mentally going down her emergency to-do list. "You're burning up. I can find us a hotel, or drive us back."

Bella tried to swallow her fears. What if it was contagious?

She could picture being seized by airport security kitted out in hazmat suits. The next time she saw her family it'd be through a thick plastic sheet. Would they check if her visitors had a pulse? Even though Carlisle was a doctor, he probably didn't have any government clearance.

But she felt fine, not feverish. Maybe she was sweating a bit more than usual, was that just pre-flight jitters?

Bella lead Jacob to some out-of-the-way seats, coaching him through Harry's deep belly-breathing exercises. She left to buy him an overpriced bottle of water.

"I'm okay," Jacob said after drinking the whole thing in one go. "That was weird, but I'm fine now." He took another few breaths. "Sorry. That was really weird."

Bella knew her own smile looked thin. "Are you sure you're okay? No nosebleeds, cramps, hallucinations?"

"Well, I'm seeing things, how do I know if they're real or not?" Jacob was grinning, already getting back up.*

"Maybe I should call Carlisle."

"No!"

They stopped and looked at each other. Bella wasn't sure who was more surprised.

"Sorry," he murmured. "I'm sorry. I guess I need to find my chill."

She watched the muscles under his shirt clenching and unclenching. When they walked past the bookshop again she took a curious breath, but all she could smell was fresh croissants from over in the first class lounge. "I think it's safe?"

Jacob sipped the air, then shook his head, eyes wide. They walked to their gate as fast as they could manage.

.oOo.

Alice had invited him to a family meeting. Charlie looked at the eight vampires crowding his cozy living room and hoped this wouldn't take long. He was leaving to pick Bella and Jacob up from the airport in half an hour.

"You saw what?" Edward said, his head jerking up. They all turned to look at Alice.

She'd wrapped herself in Jasper's arms. Her body was like an overstrung bow. "The Volturi are coming. They're taking the next flight from Seattle."

"Bella's on the next flight from Seattle," Charlie said. He took a deep breath, it wouldn't help anyone if he got up before knowing the facts.

"What?" Alice had flinched. "She called me this morning saying she'd gotten to the airport. I didn't see any delays."

Edward pulled out his phone. "I'll call Bella. They can return to Arizona for another week."

"She won't want that." Charlie checked his watch, "And they're probably already on the plane." Harry's hand squeezed his. It made Charlie feel less like his skin was boiling off. "Who are the Volturi?"

"Aro, Marcus, and Caius are our kind's leaders, self-assigned kings. Their rule has kept us safe and undiscovered for almost two millennia." Carlisle almost sounded fond. His wife patted his leg.

"Carlisle stayed with them in Italy for two decades in the 1800s. We consider the Volturi to be old friends," Esme said. "Maybe they thought it was time for a visit?"

Jasper snorted. "With all due respect, Esme, you've never met the kings beyond a handshake. They are judge, jury and executioner. I'm not sure if the rest of you were paying attention, but we're in definite violation of law." At that he nodded towards Charlie, then Edward.

Charlie had been proud of his badge from day one. "What law am I breaking, and why has nobody told me before now?" He said it as a demand.

"Humans must not know about vampires," Edward said tonelessly. He ran his hand through his hair, tugging. "Exceptions can be made for people who will soon be turned, especially if the individual is gifted."

"Oh." Charlie looked at Harry sitting beside him, hand clasped in his own. He had known it was an option, but this was all so new. Forever was hard to wrap his head around.

"You and Bella are both shields," Alice said. "Aro will want to spare you."

"You don't know that." Edward said, "They're both too close to Harry for you to see properly."

Charlie wished Edward would stop pushing himself into things that weren't his business.

"I have decided to leave," Harry said, but he didn't let go of Charlie's hand.

They all watched Alice frown off into space. "I can't see what Aro will decide, but they're not coming out of spite. It's curiosity mostly, the wolves caught their attention."

"Wolves," Charlie said.

"Oh my God, it's Jacob, Jacob's in that airport!" Alice cried.

"Caius detests werewolves," Jasper said, rubbing Alice's back. "Carlisle, did you inform the Volturi of your treaty or about the Quileutes' existence at any point in the past eighty years?"

Judge, jury, executioner. Charlie could see where the conversation was going, he knew what a stacked conviction looked like. He needed Bella to get out of danger, now. Taking Harry's cellphone, Charlie dialled.

"Dad, we're boarding now, I have to hang up," Bella said. Her voice was too high. Had she seen the threat? Harry had been teaching her to listen to her instincts.

"Is there a way for you to safely get off that plane now?"

"Jacob isn't feeling well." Across the room, Alice winced again. "We barely made it this far without getting weird looks. There's three people in first class who were staring, we think they're—"

Carlisle grabbed the phone. "Very good, Bella. I need you to not finish that sentence. Is Jacob bothered by the smell?"

"Tell her to trade cork necklaces with Jacob, if they're wearing them," Harry said.

Carlisle repeated the words, then gave the phone back to Charlie. He'd put her on speaker.

"Wow, I think that really helped," Bella was whispering. "I need to go. Thank you. Jacob says we'll be okay—we're gonna be okay, right, dad?"

Charlie looked over at Harry, who nodded. "Yeah, Bells. Everything's gonna be just fine."

.oOo.

Next up: Three Wise Kings, where we meet the Volturi.

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Chapter 10: Three Wise Kings

Chapter Text

Thank you ex-livreira for your wonderful help. Also to Eider Down who is betaing this despite never having read the Twilight canon, it's been a blast.

Marcus was bored. Aro had said this would be an amusing trip to Japan. It had not been amusing.

Their guard had stayed in Kyoto to do cleanup, but Marcus was impatient. When he'd insisted they take the next flight back to Italy, Aro booked them first class tickets with a suspiciously long stopover in Seattle. Together, the three Volturi kings had looked at the Space Needle. It was disappointingly earth-bound. Caius said it was overpriced, even though Aro was paying.

Marcus didn't understand why they had left the airport until one of the Denali coven approached them in the Seattle Center parking lot. It was one of the females, not Eleazar. That was acceptable. Marcus hadn't liked Eleazar much.

Irina Denali reported that the Cullens were fraternizing with humans. Marcus wasn't surprised, because Carlisle had always been living on the brink of exposure.

Caius wanted bloodshed. Aro wanted to meet the newest Cullen. Marcus was bored and wanted to go home. They voted on it, deciding to send Edward Cullen, the newborn 'Harry', and their humans an invitation to Volterra.

Then, in the airport, they smelled something worse than a dog in a bathhouse changing room. It was disgusting. Caius wanted bloodshed, Aro wanted to meet the creature. Marcus wanted to go home.

They followed the pair of stinking humans to their gate and got on the same flight to Port Angeles. Aro always got his way, in the end.

.oOo.

Bella's knees were weak when they got off the plane. She was very glad that economy disembarked last. Charlie had texted her to abandon their luggage, so she and Jacob moved straight toward the exit.

The entire Cullen and Swan family was waiting for them. Bella ran to hug her dad tight. He smelled of the right kind of detergent. She hugged Harry next, then Edward. They shared a small kiss.

"You had company on the plane," Edward murmured in her ear. "We decided a formal welcome would be best."

"Car-lisle!" a voice cried. The man sounded foreign.

Bella turned. His skin looked paper thin, but his dark red eyes told a different story. Beside her, Jacob started trembling again.

"Aro," Carlisle said with all his usual warmth. "We would be delighted to drive to Forks together, if that's to your liking?"

"Of course, my friend." Aro's teeth looked sharp. "But where are my manners, we must have introductions first, who are your delightful companions?" He spoke it all in one breath. Then his hand was reaching for Bella's. "Ladies first?"

She didn't want to touch his skin. He looked like he'd either crumble to dust, or he'd crush her fingers to pulp without that smile ever wavering. Edward nudged her forward, so she let Aro grasp her hand in his cold ones.

His face didn't change, though his grip tightened. "Fascinating," he said. Looking past her, he grinned. "How she must appeal to you, Edward!"

Bella wished she knew what was going on. Charlie put his arm around her shoulders, that helped.

On her dad's other side, Harry was standing with his back straight, looking right at Aro. "It's an honour to meet you, Aro Volturi. I'm Harry Swan, this is my mate Charlie and our daughter Bella. Sorry about Jacob, Esme had to take him outside."

Bella bristled. She liked Harry, but all this talk about mates—her dad didn't belong to Harry, and she certainly didn't either. Charlie squeezed her gently to his side; they'd be talking about this later.

Aro let go, turning away like she didn't exist. While Bella dug her fists into her pockets, Aro shook Harry's hand and grimaced outright. He looked at Charlie and barely bothered to touch him. "Gifts do often run in families," Aro said. He nodded his head toward his companions. "These are my brothers Caius and Marcus. Well met."

Caius looked like an angry angel, with golden curls and a frown that defined the expression if looks could kill. Marcus was staring past the Cullens as if he were somewhere else entirely. He reminded her of Harry, except drained of all the warmth and happiness.

"We came with three cars, one of them can seat seven." Carlisle began to walk to the exit, drawing Aro and Caius closer to him with his sheer presence. Bella had never seen him so firm. She breathed a sigh, relieved to have others taking control. She still wished someone would tell her what was going on.

"Greetings, Bella Swan."

Bella flinched away from Marcus Volturi. "Well met?" she echoed.

"Yes." The vampire looked like he'd been dead inside for a very long time.

Bella took Edward's familiar marble arm.

When they divided themselves between the cars, Marcus ended up joining them in Alice's BMW. He sat in the passenger seat, stifling their conversation. Bella tried not to feel so angry at being kept in the dark while Charlie and Harry just sat there, hand in hand, perfectly silent.

"We'll make you something to eat," Alice chirped before Bella's stomach growled. "Oh my God, Bella, another sleepover!"

It was barely evening, but Bella was exhausted. "Sure," she murmured, leaning her head against Harry's solid shoulder. "That sounds nice."

"Does drinking animal blood make you require sleep?" Marcus asked, barely managing to shape his monotone into a question.

"It's a metaphor," Harry answered.

Bella smiled into his sleeve. Even as a vampire, Harry was still uniquely himself.

"I see," Marcus replied, then he stared back out at the trees.

.oOo.

The next time she blinked her eyes open, they were turning onto the Cullens' gravel drive.

Bella stretched as well as she could. Harry shuffled over to give her room; he wasn't wearing his seatbelt.

"When I asked for a sleepover, I didn't mean in the car." Alice laughed.

It was a relief to breathe Forks' damp evening air. Bella stood outside, letting the familiarity of this place cradle her. She walked over and pressed her palm against a pine, wondering if this feeling of homecoming was what Harry always on about.

"The magic likes you," Harry said, guiding her inside. "You're almost there, with the trees. Soon, you'll be talking with each other."

Bella smiled. It hadn't been so long ago that she'd been the one fetching Harry back into the house for dinner.

Carlisle pulled up in Esme's minivan next, Aro and Caius' bright red eyes showcasing the reason for their delay. Bella tried not to contemplate that two unlucky travellers would never be making it home.

"Esme is driving Jacob straight to the border," Carlisle announced. "She'll be back with the others soon."

Once they were inside the house, Harry started making pancakes. With a start, Bella realized it was still Sunday; she felt like Arizona had been forever ago. While the rest of them went to talk in the conference room, she hopped on a stool at the kitchen counter.

"Carlisle explained to me that the Volturi are our kind's kings," Harry said after serving her a pancake, heart-shaped but lopsided like the first ones always were. "I'm sorry about before. I've been told it's a vampire thing? Mates and children. I dunno. I think of you as family, Bella."

She stabbed her pancake, but when she looked up to meet his tired red eyes, she smiled a little. "So, kings?"

"Judge, jury, and executioner," Harry said, scowling. He sat down across from her and sighed. "Aro's gift lets him see your memories at a touch, and apparently everyone just trusts him to separate out the innocent. It's a bad system, and it gets worse when your mind is hidden or shielded like ours are. Jasper said Aro wouldn't like that much."

Bella thought back to their meeting in the airport. Not liking it seemed like an understatement.

Harry's fingers brushed the back of her hand. "Caius doesn't have a gift beyond being a strategist, but I don't know how much we can trust that."

"And Marcus?" Bella asked.

"He can tell how people are connected. Edward described it as a web of bonds that make up the relationships we hold," Harry said. "I suppose," he added, smiling, "Marcus sees things that aren't there, though that doesn't mean they're not real things. You could say that he's just as sane as I am."

.oOo.

Charlie was a cop. He'd been a cop for a long time. Even at school he used to break up fights, or tell on the kids that stuck gum under their desks. He'd asked for Renée's full name and phone number to give her a handwritten ticket, but when she'd tossed back her head and laughed he'd realized it wasn't his place. Instead of telling her which rules to live her life by, he'd asked her out. Renée had been beautiful, untameable, wild. She'd made him feel alive.

He'd joined the department because it was a good job that he could get right out of high school, and he'd not regretted it once.

Being a cop meant a lot of hours sitting in his car just waiting, or sitting in court waiting, or sitting in interrogations waiting. Charlie had grown good at it.

At least he'd thought so, before he'd sat and waited through an eight-way talk that was going nowhere. It was worse than jury duty.

Charlie cleared his throat. Three sets of red and five sets of gold eyes faced him. "In conclusion," he said, "Caius Volturi, you accuse Doctor Cullen of not informing you about the wolves. Carlisle, you didn't tell him because you were afraid he would murder first and ask questions later. Caius, you currently would still like to murder first and ask questions later."

He paused until both nodded.

"Okay, now let's table that and move on. Aro Volturi, you've said that me and my daughter being human is against your laws. If you need it, we'll get…changed." Charlie tried not to grimace. Esme's look showed he'd failed. He took a deep breath and pushed on. "I'm asking that you give Bella time to graduate. It'd be suspicious to leave right now."

They watched Caius touch Aro's hand, showing the vampire his thoughts. Aro then reached for Marcus.

"We see the merits of your plea," the mind-reader finally said. Charlie tried to calm down, knowing they could all hear his stuttering heart. "We have voted that you must be turned within a year, and your daughter as soon as she finishes her schooling. We will decide on the situation regarding the wolves tomorrow."

Charlie sighed until his lungs were empty. Blinking, he spoke once he was sure the words would come out right. "Thank you."

"Your mate," Marcus Volturi said, the first he'd spoken that night, "Bring him to me."

Charlie found Harry in the kitchen with Bella, watching the dishes clean themselves in the sink. Edward and Alice came to take Bella to bed. Charlie led Harry back to Marcus in the conference room.

"Carlisle has said you come from another world, one where many men turn into beasts while keeping their minds." He had leaned forward. There was a light in the vampire's eyes.

"Not just the men," Harry said, pulling Charlie to sit with him.

"Caius saw a man once who changed into a hound."

Harry sat up like he'd been tazed. "A shaggy black dog?"

Marcus shrugged. "Yes, but he died before Caius could turn him. It was some years ago."

They watched Harry collapse. "You're sure?" he whispered. Charlie wished he could think of a reason the vampires would be lying.

"I wanted to talk to you about magic," Marcus droned on. "Edward mentioned trees?"

"It's everywhere in Forks, but it's stronger in the forest," Harry's voice was low and his shoulders sagged. "I'll show you. Tomorrow. Please."

Charlie held Harry in his arms that night, listening to the rain pelting against the roof. He felt too wrung out to sleep. "The moon's shining on your friend now," Charlie said.

What he really wanted was to promise that everything would be okay.

.oOo.

Marcus touched the oak's trunk warily. It was damp and alive. "I do not feel any magic," he said after a second.

"Wait," Harry Swan said. "She doesn't know you yet. Give her time."

The lack of birds nearby made the human's heartbeat sound loud. Marcus could hear insects in the leaf litter underfoot. Charlie Swan's pulse was slow, proof that he found physical contact with his mated vampire calming. Yesterday, Aro had reminded Marcus he needed to drink, but thirst was boring. This magic was the first interesting thing since Didyme's death. With his flat hand on the bark, Marcus waited.

The sun moved the shadows around them. The human sat down.

Harry Swan did not open his eyes once.

"Oh." Marcus almost laughed. It was a light tingling, as if someone was tickling him. "Oh," he said again, and smiled.

"She's beautiful, isn't she?"

The sensation was astonishing. It felt…familiar. "Tell me where you come from, Harry Swan."

"My world was messed up in places, and beautiful in others." He did not sound wistful. The relationships tethering Harry to that world were well and truly severed. "Magic sounded nearly like it does here, you know? Almost alive, you could taste it. And in other places, you could taste the holes in it." They listened to a foolish thrush that had perched nearby. When its song ended, Harry's last words were a whisper. "I came here through the Veil of Death."

Marcus brushed his fingertips over green leaves. "The Veil of Death." He had forgotten his human life, but those words were familiar. "Mrmoreshtata zavesa, the Romanians called it. The Murmuring Curtain." Marcus Volturi was very, very old, but there had been vampires before him that were older. "Vladimir says the first vampire came through a portal of shadows and mist."

"Does it go both ways, this magical veil?" the human asked. There was an emotion in his voice, but Marcus was not good at emotions.

"It has no counterpart on our side that I know of." Aro and Caius thought that the story was a myth, but a small part of Marcus had clung to the strange echo of familiarity. "The Veil of Death. Tell me, Harry, can your magic bring the dead back to life?"

"It's your magic too, if you want." Harry Swan's eyelids were still closed, his back leaning against a great oak.

Marcus had waited a long time, now he could feel hope bursting from the tips of his fingers. The branch under his hands cracked. "Our magic, can she bring the dead back to us? Didyme—"

Harry Swan's eyes opened. They were a bright, fatal green. "I was told that it does not do to dwell on dreams and forget to live."

Marcus sat down. He reached out and turned over a fallen leaf. He watched the centipede scuttle away, and just before it could hide again, he squashed it. "They are wise words for a human." Men's lives were fleeting, but his had been long. So, so long. "Yet, Harry Swan, I am an immortal. How simple it would be, a life that can be ended on a whim. Humans change as often as the tides."

"Hmmm." Harry Swan's eyes had closed again. There was sunlight dappled across his face. He looked like he was glowing.

The human shifted. "Maybe if magic can't return her to you, it could bring you back your life instead," he said.

Marcus looked. Harry Swan's mate had warm brown eyes. Marcus couldn't remember the last time he'd looked at a human without seeing its terror. He couldn't read Charlie Swan's face, but Marcus could see a bond forming between him and the human, something like understanding.

"When you are turned, you will come to Volterra." Aro would be pleased to have two shields in his guard, and Marcus would have interesting company.

Beside him, Harry Swan stirred. "You'll help us protect the wolves in return," he said. "They have a magic-given right to live. They aren't a threat to the Volturi or our kind.

Marcus could not remember the last time somebody had haggled. There was energy tingling under his fingertips, filling his body with an emotion he could no longer name. It bubbled like a cauldron on flames. Marcus laughed, startling himself with the sound.

"We have an accord," he said, and laughed again.

.oOo.

Next up: Parley, where the Volturi judge Carlisle for negotiating with werewolves.

Day 10 of an update a day. You've all been so wonderful, thank you! Check out my other Twilight crossover If I Should Have A Daughterand anything else that strikes your fancy.

Chapter 11: Parley

Chapter Text

The wolves had arrived. Alice knew they couldn't make a new treaty without them, but she hated the pack for how they blinded her.

She watched Billy Black wheel himself up the ramp Harry and Emmett had built. Jacob looked different from when she'd last seen him; he was one of the wolves now. The Quileute pack leaders Sam Uley and Jared Cameron moved in like they were attending a funeral.

Alice followed them. She wished she'd known to bring her supplies so she could fix Jacob's choppy haircut.

Harry handed the three wolves shirts once they'd chosen seats by the wall.

Alice had tried to watch this day a hundred times in a hundred futures, all the possibilities and impossibilities, but it was hard when she just couldn't see . The werewolves moved around her visions like blurry shapes and unformed mist, a fog of uncertainty that was giving her a throbbing headache.

"If you stop looking so hard, you'd be able to see what's right in front of you," Harry said. His voice was teasing.

Opening her eyes, Alice smiled. "Thank you." She took the cup of steaming tea.

Aro, Caius and Marcus Volturi came in next. Renata was the only guard with them. Charlie had insisted on four from each group, constrained by the size of his own living room; Carlisle had left Edward at home with Bella. If she listened carefully, Alice could hear Felix and Demetri talking lowly as they circled the property.

Those two were considerate house-guests, making their decisions well in advance. It was good to still have someone she could anticipate.

The room looked very full: wolves on one side, the Volturi on the other, with Charlie and Carlisle sat in the middle. Harry continued distributing drinks. Jasper was leaning against the mantle right next to Alice. She could feel his unease like tar across her skin.

Alice wished she could send him feelings of comfort or faith, but she didn't have Carlisle's optimism. They had broken the law.

They were in deep trouble.

Outside, a wolf howled. From the forests to the south, another joined in. The hairs on the back of Alice's neck bristled.

Charlie cleared his throat. They could hear his heart thudding desperately, but he wasn't letting it show. "Thank you all for coming," he said, the words measured. "Harry has promised that the protections on our house and your cork charms will keep everyone safe and scentless. Let's all try to treat each other with respect."

Caius took that as the first insult. "You will not tell me what to do, human," he spat.

"Peace." Aro spread his hands. Alice tried to divine what he would say, but all she could see was mist. "We have discussed the terms of the Swan family's humanity already. Today, we will negotiate an accord regarding the wolf shifters."

Even the introductions were rocky. Sam Uley and Caius were brimming for a fight, but Alice couldn't foresee if it'd happen.

"We have lived on this land for many generations," Billy said. "Q'waeti granted Taha Aki the gift of the change, and it remains strong in our blood."

"That means even if you kill us, we'll be back to bite you in the ass," Sam said.

Aro laughed. "Charming," he said. "Delightful. Fascinating."

"We have ended bloodlines before," Caius goaded, leaning forward. "Every last man, woman and child. Children have the sweetest blood, you know. It's their innocence ."

"I believe we would do well to stop threatening each other," Carlisle said. "The point remains that the Quileute wolves aren't like the Children of the Moon. They can be a threat to our kind, but their actions were in their own defence. They keep their minds when in wolf form and their bites are not cursed."

"My preference is to destroy threats before they have a chance to destroy me," Caius said. He was grinning.

Alice looked into a future for the right counterarguments but found only snippets and fog. She gritted her teeth, turning into Jasper's presence beside her.

"We won't treaty with human-drinkers," Billy said. "These are our lands, gifted to our people by Q'waeti himself. When we defend those living here with teeth and claws, that's our right."

"If nomads are merely passing through, how could they know if they're in violation of your local rules? There are no signposts, no warnings. It is an inhumane choice of action," said Aro.

"That's rich, you talking about humanity," Jacob said. Jared grinned, then Sam stepped on his foot.

"We can spread the word in Volterra," Marcus said. Alice blinked at him. Renata, Caius, even Carlisle had turned to stare. She wondered when the last time was that Marcus had contributed an opinion. "We will warn our kind to keep away. I believe we should heed Magic's will in this case."

Aro nodded slowly, reached out to brush his fingers against Marcus', then smiled widely and nodded again. "Not a treaty or a pact, no, but a reservation." Aro's laugh perfectly balanced Caius' scowl. "Would that be acceptable to you and yours, Billy Black?"

The man pressed his lips together, taking a whistling breath.

"It'll help," Harry said, his eyes on his mug. "Fewer children will turn once there aren't as many of us here. It's best for you."

Charlie put his hand on Harry's shoulder. They all turned back to watch Billy.

Sitting with his spine straight and his hair gleaming, the man carried his truth like Charlie wore his badge. "We'll keep living here, as T'ist'ilal wills it. You can warn your kind to stay away. Yes, Aro Volturi. As a direct descendent from Ebrahim, I speak with the authority of my ancestors and the voice of my people. We accept those terms."

Alice let a bit of relief flash through her. She looked into the future an hour from now, but found it missing. Scowling, she set down her cold tea.

Aro had spread his arms, messiah-like. "Excellent," he was saying, "Wonderful. Caius, surely you agree this is a fair choice for all involved."

Caius reached out and touched Aro's hand. They watched the king's face shift in contemplation.

"I see," Aro said, turning back. "Yes, we have the Swans, the wolves…but what about Carlisle, old friend ?"

Carlisle froze with his palms up.

There was something constricting Alice's throat, and Jasper's warmth couldn't quash it. With fear clawing from her ribcage, Alice turned to watch the three kings decide over the fate of her adoptive father.

"Caius, you know I never meant harm. It's not in my nature."

Aro's smile was sad. "My friend, there is nothing natural about you. It is what has always fascinated me so." From what Carlisle had said of his stay in Volterra, it was Aro he'd been closest to. That fondness had been fostered a long time ago.

Caius said his part quickly. "Regardless of your motivations, you have broken the law. You fraternized with a new species; you made a treaty with them on behalf of yourself and your coven. I charge you with treason, Carlisle Cullen."

Alice watched her father's eyes lower to the floor. "Please," he said.

The only sentence for treason was death.

Aro spoke again, slower than before. "Your actions did lead to further humans being exposed to our kind. The first law is secrecy." The king brushed his fingers against Caius' again, then grimaced. "We know you broke our law with intent, Carlisle, I have seen your mind. You identified a risk, yet you chose not to bring this to us."

They could hear Charlie's heart like a pounding drum. "I haven't known the doctor for very long, but I can tell you he is a good man."

Aro laughed into the room's silence. "Nobody is doubting that, Charlie Swan. The question is if he has been a good vampire."

"And the answer is no." Caius was grinning. There was a metal lighter in his hands, reflections flashing against the ceiling. Alice wished she hadn't put so many lamps in the room.

Then Jasper stepped forward. "We are all complicit. May I show you, Aro?" He reached out.

They waited for Aro to release him again. Alice counted her breaths, wishing she'd kept the radio clock in the corner. She wondered if Aro was witnessing her tell Jasper about countless visions. Or was he watching their most intimate moments? Would Aro try to entice them into his guard, like Jasper had always feared?

"I see," Aro finally said, letting go. "We will confer."

Aro and Caius walked out with kingly grace, heads high and capes billowing. Marcus Volturi walked like he wasn't sure if he was dreaming.

"What did you show him?" Alice whispered.

"The truth," Jasper said. "If they punish Carlisle, then they must punish us all."

"Oh," Charlie said. "Oh, that's bold."

Alice smiled at him, wishing she had his faith. Yes, the Volturi didn't want to kill all of their coven—but as Harry liked to remind them, there were worse things than death. Every time Alice looked for their verdict, she saw searing fog.

"Billy, are you sure you want to stay for this?" If they'd leave, maybe, maybe she could see again, maybe her head would stop throbbing.

"We need to see what they're capable of," Billy said. "You can tell a lot about a man—a vampire—by how they treat their friends."

Jasper began projecting peace over the room. It was heavy enough to make Alice stop breathing, content to just wait; there was nothing they could do now anyway.

Renata came in first, then the kings. Strangely, Marcus was the one who spoke their verdict. "Carlisle, you are convicted of treason. You will be dismembered and scattered, your family may not reassemble you until a full month has passed."

Alice began to breathe again. She had never thought they'd be so lenient.

"Furthermore," Marcus said, sounding bored, "as you believe to speak for our kind, your coven will be disbanded as punishment. No more than four Cullens may be in one place at a time."

Carlisle's golden eyes met her own. Alice didn't need Jasper's gift to see his heart was breaking.

Jasper always had said that the Volturi felt threatened by the size of their coven. She wished they hadn't just proven him right.

The king continued, "To enforce this—"

"Marcus," Harry said.

They stared. Alice wondered if anyone had ever interrupted Marcus before and lived. Considering how little Marcus spoke, she didn't think so.

"Harry?"

"Are the Swan, Denali or Whitlock covens part of that too?"

"No, no, yes," Marcus said over Caius' noise of protest.

"And if the Cullens all come to Volterra, could they have family visits?" Harry asked.

"Wonderful!" Aro exclaimed. He probably missed the sound of his own voice speaking his own thoughts. "Yes, yes, that can be arranged. It will be good to catch up on the news from all over the world."

The Cullens would be in Volterra, even if not quite part of the guard. Aro always did get his way, in the end.

Harry nodded his understanding. Marcus cleared his throat. "To enforce this ruling, I will be remaining in Forks until Charlie Swan is turned and all vampires leave the territory. We are designating the area as a shape-shifter reservation."

Phrased like that, it sounded almost like a nature reserve protecting an endangered species. In a way, it was.

"Thank you, my friends," Carlisle said. He stood slowly. "Might I convey the news to my family before…"

Before Caius throws my decapitated head into the Pacific ocean?

"Ten minutes," Caius said, grinning again. Carlisle was gone before the humans could blink.

Alice knew it'd only be a month without him, but her heart already ached. Their family would never be the same again.

Thank you Ex-liveira for alpha reading and research, Eider Down for beta reading, and you for reading the finished version.

Day 19 of a post every day this month. Wishing you a lovely Sunday and hopefully I'll be seeing you in the comments or the Fish and Fics Discord server.

Next up: Transition, where Harry and Marcus bond.

Chapter 12: Transition

Chapter Text

It was a strange feeling, knowing that his time was running out. Charlie wondered if this was what Ellie had felt like when they told her about the cancer. He wished he were creative enough for a bucket list.

Every morning, Charlie picked up a box of donuts from Harry and Rudi on the way to the station. He let the people in town gossip about him and Harry. He rolled his eyes when they talked about the young doctor walking out on his barren wife. On Sundays, Charlie had pancakes for breakfast.

Every morning tasted sweeter because the clock on his human life was ticking.

"You'll be a fat vampire if you're not careful," Bella said as she spread Nutella on her toast. Charlie turned to Edward, who'd basically moved in now that his siblings had left Forks.

"The turning burns a lot of energy, but it's possible if you have enough adipose tissue," Edward said. The boy was scowling out the window at the sun peeking through the clouds. He was fiddling with his mobile.

"Nobody will mind if you're a bit chubby," Harry said. He put more eggs in the middle of the table. It would be a lot easier if Harry would stop cooking for three.

"I'll keep that in mind, dear."

"Would you like to come over for dinner today?" Edward asked.

Charlie sighed. "Sure." More food. His football days had been a long time ago, but it was time to get out his trainers. "I'm going for a run before lunch."

"Sure, dad." Bella smiled.

The dishes floated to the sink and started washing themselves. Harry held his magic wand like a conductor's baton. "Your shoes are in the bedroom closet. I'll go visit Esme," he said once Bella and Edward had gone into the sunroom. "She needs the company."

It was good that Edward was a prude, otherwise Charlie would worry about him and Bella alone in the house.

"Thanks." Charlie kissed Harry's cheek. "Have fun."

.oOo.

There was magic here, vibrant, older than even Marcus was. It ran through his fingers like an orchestra playing the sweetest melodies.

Marcus drank animal blood when Harry brought him deer. It was convenient, perhaps not dissimilar to the muggle system of take-away. Marcus wasn't sure how long he'd been sitting, just listening to the great spruce he'd chosen by the river on the Cullen property. She never said any words, but the gentle presence under his fingertips made him feel like he wasn't alone.

The humans had visited the house that evening. Marcus heard them leaving again, then Harry's soft footsteps. He opened his eyes to see the man's face tilted up at the moon.

"She's listening to you, too," Harry said without looking. "It's been three weeks. You're not getting closer to her unless you share who you are."

"What do I say, and to whom?" There were mosquitos humming near the river. The cicadas in the bush beside him didn't stop singing, even when Harry jostled the leaf-littered ground as he sat.

"Magic, the moon, life, death. They're all waiting for you to open." Harry's eyes were closed. Marcus could feel the song in the trees change to something warmer. It felt like a greeting.

"I don't understand," he said.

"Tell the trees about Didyme?"

Marcus opened his mouth, but nothing came out. He tried again, and again.

"She was beautiful," he finally whispered. "It was impossible not to love her."

The leaves stirred in a gust of summer wind. Marcus cleared his throat.

"She had the most amazing soul. Her greatest wish was for everyone to be whole, I believe. It killed her, when we did nothing to stop her manic episodes. Aro allowed Didyme everything, even as a human. She'd always been sick, destructive. It was impossible not to forgive her."

The trees did not move, nor answer. "Go on," Harry said.

"I loved her like a moth loves the moon." Still, he couldn't raise his voice above a whisper. He looked up and there she was, completely unreachable. "She was the heart of my world, I wanted only to be near her. Every time I got close, her touch burned me, and I could not stop myself from returning to her embrace again."

Against his back, he felt the spruce humming.

"I thought we would live forever. She was so brilliantly, vibrantly, beautifully alive. We all loved her, but I hope I loved her most of all. It was her gift, to be loved."

"What happened?"

Harry's eyes were glowing. He had a pebble in his hands, Harry was always fiddling with something.

"I don't know," Marcus said, choking over the words.

"Oh, m'amor."

He had not heard that voice in a thousand years, yet his mind had pressed it like a flower in a book. "Didyme," he breathed. Harry was looking at something that Marcus couldn't see.

"Marcus. I am sorry. So sorry. I could stand it no more. I would ruin things always, you three were ever building while I forever tore apart."

Marcus stared. He could not see her. He glanced up at the moon, she was laughing at him. "Suicide," he said, the word bitter tar on his tongue. He'd thought, there had been rumors—

"I'm sorry. It seems to all be so petty now. Selfish."

"I forgive you," Marcus said without even thinking. It had always been that way, Didyme was light itself.

"It's not me whom you must forgive, but yourself. I beg you, Marcus, m'amor."

"She can't stay much longer," Harry said. There was blood on his face. Marcus had never witnessed a vampire's nose bleed.

"Forget me, Marcus. Or despise me. Tell my brother, also, I loved and loathed my life, I am glad that I end—"

Marcus blinked. He felt empty.

A different kind of emptiness than grief. That had been damp, now it echoed.

"Aaaahhhh!" he screamed. The cicadas stopped. Inside the house, something crashed to the floor. The earthworms and insects continued, unbothered.

The feelings came back to him like waves. For a moment, Marcus was not sure who he was, despite perfectly recalling everything he had ever been.

"Didyme is gone," Harry said. "You don't have to let her haunt you anymore."

There were no words. Marcus wished he could sleep.

"Are you alright, dears?" Esme called out the window. Behind her, the house glowed a warm yellow.

"Try talking to the magic now," Harry said. "She likes to listen." Then the man got up and walked away as if he hadn't shattered the bedrock of Marcus' very identity.

Empty, Marcus told the tree. Broken.

Infinite, the spruce whispered. Whole.

.oOo.

When Carlisle came back he stopped by the station to shake Charlie's hand. In front of three witnesses, he explained he'd been helping his four eldest settle into college dorms. The news would have spread by dark. Current rumours included Mrs Vane's theory that the doctor got abducted by aliens. Like Billy said, Vane'd drown herself in the bottle if she didn't buy her wine boxed.

Overnight, Esme was almost back to her usual happy self. Charlie still caught her staring out the windows at times, but didn't ask. He knew what it was like to be missing a child, he didn't want to imagine four.

Down at La Push, Billy said there hadn't been any more kids turning. Charlie was glad, and on his next fishing trip he said so.

"I wanted to be one once," Billy said.

"Huh?"

"A wolf. I dreamed of running fast as the wind through these forests." Billy laughed, then whacked the arm of his chair. "It was a stupid dream."

"I guess we never know what our lives will turn out like," Charlie said.

He couldn't believe school had already started again. Even the boring things like traffic duty flew by now.

"You'll always be my friend, Charlie Swan," Billy said. He was fiddling with his rod.

"Don't scare the fish," Charlie answered. They sat like that for a while, watching the river. Charlie wished Bella were here, she was clever with words. "Billy," he said, "I promise I'll never try to eat you."

They both laughed, but it wasn't like it used to be. The whole time sitting on that pier, Charlie felt his time running out.

.oOo.

Halloween was never good to Harry. His head might not remember everything, but his body did. Harry moved through the day like it was covered in eggshells.

Harry had forgotten a lot of things when Voldemort killed the bit of his own soul that used to live in Harry's head. It was strange, being able to recall things that had been gone for so long. Not good-strange, not even bad-strange. But Harry knew he'd been happier before, and he missed it sometimes.

"Come inside, Marcus," Harry called. He didn't have to raise his voice, but it was hard to stop doing things the way he'd always done them.

The pumpkins Harry'd carved sat by the door. A few kids had already come trick-or-treating. It got dark early; they'd be setting the clocks back soon.

"I travelled through time once," Harry told them at the dinner table. "We saved a hippogriff's life." He wondered what hippogriff would taste like, but he knew some things shouldn't be said out loud.

"I think I remember hippogriffs," Marcus said. "I was a boy. My father was teaching me to ride, then the horse started flying."

"That was an Abraxan," Edward said.

Harry wished Edward would stop snooping. He hadn't figured out how to teach Marcus Occlumency. They didn't know why, but the vampire was really great with runes. Together they'd switched from corks to little silver disks. Working with Marcus reminded him of Hermione, except that he smelled of sage and hazel.

The doorbell rang. Harry got up, taking another bag of sweets.

It wasn't children. A nomad stood on the property, nevermind the wards. "We heard you keep a human," she said. Her hair was the colour of fire. "The Volturi said not to come here, but…"

"Did they also say not to hunt in the area?"

When she nodded, Harry held the door open for her to come in.

Edward loomed in the doorway to the kitchen. "Either you leave, Victoria, or I'll kill you."

Harry sighed and fingered his wand. He wished he were between Victoria and his family, too, but if she'd gotten past his protections, she couldn't be that bad.

"I heard she's a shield," Victoria whispered. "The greatest Aro has ever seen. I just want to see her."

She shot forward, dodging around Edward, then—

—the wards rumbled, lurched, and they were gone.

Harry rushed out the door. When he found Edward on the property line he was standing next to a pile of limbs. "Incendio," Harry said. Victoria turned to purple smoke.

They walked back to the house slowly. "Next time, you can answer the door."

Harry had forgotten a lot of his life, and then he'd remembered it. And now, looking at the cracked door frame and damaged drywall, he understood why he'd been feeling antsy all day.

Bad things always did happen on Halloween.

.oOo.

"It's a bit weird when you stare like that," Bella said.

Harry smiled. "Sorry." He didn't turn away, though. Harry wasn't good at subtext.

"Do you miss it?" she asked. Despite that the turkey was too big for just her and Charlie, they were making a good attempt. Charlie was on his third portion; his new year's resolution was to join Bella on her runs.

"I miss having solid things in my mouth. Chewing. Also, sunlight. We didn't get much in Scotland either, but there's nothing like watching the sunrise over water."

"You're an odd duck, Harry," Charlie said.

Bella watched them laugh. She didn't know why the sight had her heart aching. Harry used his magic to clear the table. It was mesmerising to see the sauce pour itself neatly into a Tupperware. Then Harry got up, pecked Charlie on the cheek, and went to put things into the new fridge.

This year, Charlie was big on traditions. He'd sent her to Renée's for Thanksgiving, but Christmas was for the Swans. Once they could move, they put on their raincoats to walk through the streets looking at the lights.

"Where did you put your shoes?" Charlie asked.

Bella thought it looked strange the way Harry's breath didn't fog. She wondered if Charlie was ever going to give up on telling him to wear shoes now that he didn't need them any more.

Maybe once Charlie became a vampire he'd stop worrying about silly human things. She looked at the two of them hand in hand and thought they were the most perfect human sight she'd ever seen.

.oOo.

His time was almost up. Harry wasn't scared, being scared didn't help. It was much harder being a Gryffindor when you knew it was other people doing the hurting for you. "It's going to be fine," he said.

"You keep saying that," Charlie replied. He was still watching the TV, even though the game was over.

"Bella's going to be fine, too."

"That girl's a magnet for trouble." Charlie sighed, leaning into Harry. Harry wished he were soft. He wished he could jump forward in time to a year from now, when everything would be alright again.

Sometimes, he even wished he could jump back to a year ago, when he hadn't known who he was. Everything had been simpler then.

"We should sell the house if we're going straight to Italy after," Charlie said.

Harry didn't want to sell the house. "We should," he said. It was a reasonable thing to do.

It would also be reasonable to wear shoes, to wear his seatbelt in the car, to cook for the number of people that were eating. Harry wasn't so good at reasonable. Books and cleverness were for other people, not him.

"It's okay if we don't," Charlie murmured.

Harry wrapped an arm around him and pressed his nose into the man's shirt. It smelled of sweat and grass. Charlie had mown the lawn after he came home from work. He said his lawn was his pride, but Harry knew he just liked the way the engine reminded him of Billy's motorboat.

"Marcus says he'll miss the trees here. Maybe we can convince him to stay a bit longer?" Harry asked.

"No. They make the rules, we follow them. It's the way things are done."

Harry sighed. "I don't want you to burn. It hurts, Charlie."

"It's three days. We pack off Bells to college, we pack our bags and say our goodbyes, and then we're going to Italy."

"D'you think they have trees in Italy?" Harry thought of the olive trees he'd seen pictures of, of walnuts and figs.

Would they have any magic left to give if they were so busy making fruit?

"I don't know."

Harry squeezed his hand. They kissed. Harry could tell Charlie was scared too, even more than that first time they'd made love. "It's going to be fine," Harry promised.

"You keep saying that." Charlie smiled, pressing their heads together. "One of these days, I'm going to believe it."

Chapter 13: It Hurts to Become

Chapter Text

Thank you ex-livreira and Eider_Down for research, alpha-reading, and beta-reading.

I said to the sun, 'Tell me about the big bang.'
The sun said, 'It hurts to become.'

Andrea Gibson, “I Sing The Body Electric; Especially When My Power Is Out”

For three days, Alice sat and watched Charlie Swan turn into one of them. Edward had taken Bella on a trip to settle in her college dorm. The people of Forks had been surprised when their chief of police had announced his early retirement to Florida, but they hadn't begrudged him the choice.

Three days were almost up and Harry still hadn't left his mate's side. They listened to the heartbeat puttering steadily away. Alice didn't check the future. Her friend hadn't had another of his episodes since turning, but it made her uncomfortable how Harry would always be watching her in her visions. They knew it was because he was magic, that didn't mean it wasn't also unnerving.

"It's time," Jasper said. The calm blanketing them didn't budge. For a moment nothing changed, then they heard Charlie's heart begin to race.

"He's going to be okay, right?" Harry looked so small in his oversized green sweater.

"It's a bit late to ask that, my friend," Marcus said.

Alice ignored him. She didn't know what to make of the king now that he had grown a personality. Most of the times she'd interacted with him, he'd told her she should be meditating.

"Charlie's fate is in Her hands," Marcus continued. "I have prayed to Lady Magic for him. We should take a moment and convene with the source. Let us centre ourselves."

Alice listened to Marcus take a deep breath and resisted the urge to get up and strangle him.

"Wow," Charlie said.

Harry tightened his hold on his hand. "Are you thirsty? I can bring you a deer. Or maybe you want pancakes?"

Charlie brushed the hair from Harry's cheek as if he was made of glass. Alice looked away, catching Jasper's eye. The calm that lulled over them began sparkling with his happiness.

"I swore I would bring you to Volterra," Marcus said. "You must hunt your fill, then we must take our leave. We agreed to spare your daughter's humanity until she finishes her education. But your time has come, Charlie Swan."

Alice watched Charlie and Harry jump out the window into the night. She cycled through the futures she could see, searching for the one that would be best.

"Jasper, we should say goodbye now," she decided.

He took her hand and pulled them both into a bow. "Farewell, Marcus Volturi. Give my best to Aro, Caius and the others."

"Well met," Alice muttered, then ran for the freedom of the forest outdoors.

.oOo.

The moon was glowing. Charlie had never seen it so clearly before.

One of the Volturi guard had come to pick him, Harry and Marcus up from the airport. Poor Demetri had been confused by Marcus telling him his chakras were blocked.

They could already see the city gates.

Charlie knew didn't have a proper digestive system anymore, but he could swear his gut was churning. "Is this a good idea, Harry?" Bella was back in Arizona for college, protected by Edward when the sun wasn't out. Carlisle and Esme had moved to Seattle to be nearby if the Quileutes needed something. Forks was safe. He shouldn't be feeling so uneasy.

Harry smiled. "I have a good feeling about this," he said, kissing Charlie's hand. "Everything's going to be just fine."

…

"Charlie! Harry!" Aro cried. "Immortality suits you well."

Charlie was surprised to have made it through airport security with his bright red eyes. Of course, nobody understood how Harry still had his green ones. When in doubt, Charlie knew to blame magic.

"Aro, it is good to be home."

The room turned to stare at Marcus.

"Are you alright, brother?" Caius asked. He was looking at Harry with accusation.

Aro took Marcus' hand, then flinched back. "I can see nothing," he said. Then he also turned on Charlie. "Your gift, is it similar to your daughter's?"

They hadn't figured out how it worked yet. "Probably a shield against powers," Harry said. It was the working theory.

"Never mind that, brothers, I have discovered Magic, " Marcus said. There were more stares.

"Magic," Caius said.

"It's everywhere. Even here, I can feel it now, talking to me. Harry told me about this portal to a parallel universe, the same one the Bulgarians spoke of. Mrmoreshtata zavesa and—

"How wonderful!" Aro cried. "You have discovered magic. But the journey has been long, surely you are weary. Demetri, show our guests to their rooms. We can convene in my study tomorrow morning."

The hall emptied at a speed only vampires could manage. Charlie was glad Harry was holding onto him. He wasn't sure if he felt comfortable with so many dangerous people around. Even if he'd taken his gun, it couldn't do jack.

"What happened to King Marcus?" Demetri said after he'd led them into what looked like a fancy hotel room without windows.

"He found out there are things in life that are bigger than him." Harry said it with his head tilted back to look at the frescoes on the ceiling.

"Marcus figured out a bit more about who he is and where he fits," Charlie said.

Demetri nodded. "He seemed…happy."

"Magic will do that."

"It's real? Magic is real?"

Harry flicked his wand. The vampire shouldn't have sounded so doubtful. In his place, a large rabbit was sitting in Demetri's shoes. Harry had already turned back to the ceiling.

"Transfigurations like that usually wear off in half a day," Charlie told the rabbit. It sniffed at him and hopped out.

"Do you think we should keep the boots, Harry?"

"I want you to make love to me on this bed," Harry said instead of answering. "Maybe it'll be different now that you're a vampire too."

Charlie wasn't always good with words like Bella, or good with feeling things like Harry, but he knew what to do when asked something like that. Stepping out of his shoes, he pulled his mate into a kiss.

.oOo.

"Our best tracker has been hopping about the castle," Aro said. "It wouldn't be a problem if he could refrain from chewing on the wiring."

"Felix!" Caius barked. The man rushed in. "Go watch Demetri. Getting electricity down here was expensive, any damages are coming out of your pay check."

"We don't pay the guards," Marcus said. It was so new, talking to his brothers again. It reminded him of the days when nobody had known the Volturi name.

"It's a miracle you know any of what goes on around here," Caius said, nevertheless he was grinning. He came and gave Marcus a clapping hug. "What happened to you, brother?"

"Indeed, an excellent question," Aro said. Then he was holding Marcus' hand.

They stood there for a few minutes. Marcus knew the moment Aro saw the memory of Didyme.

"Ohhh," he whispered. "Deu meu"

"What is it?" Caius demanded.

Marcus waited for Aro to let go. They watched him sit heavily. "Harry holds power over the dead," Marcus explained. "He let me—I spoke to Didyme."

"What?"

"She told me to forget her." The words felt wrong on Marcus' tongue—

—The words felt so right.

"I have spoken with Harry. He came from a world of magic and suffering. We concluded that I also came here from this world. I can recall some memories from my human life now, and am most adept at a type of magic involving runes."

"What." Caius also sat. "You're a witch?"

"I was a wizard, yes."

"Marcus was speaking to the Swans about immortality and unchangeable grief," Aro said. Marcus did not mind, Aro had always been the voice of his thoughts and feelings. "These runes can be used in rituals that have strong magical effects. He intends to develop a ritual with Harry's help that reverses vampirism."

"No!"

They turned. Renata clapped her hands to her mouth. Marcus had forgotten she was there.

"Are you alright, dear?" Aro said to her.

Marcus did not listen. He let his mind replay Aro's words from before: an end to vampirism. A cure to this curse.

Humans were changeable like the tides, and Marcus had been stuck for half a millennium.

Yes, now that Aro had aligned his thoughts like that, it was clearer than even his memories of Didyme. The purpose of Marcus' life now was to transform himself into something old. A shape he'd had so long ago.

How would it be to eat, sleep, dream?

What might it be like to forget?

.oOo.

Bella didn't hear from Charlie much anymore. He called her every other week like clockwork, just like back when she'd been living with Renée. He told her the news from Volterra and listened to her talk about her English major. Her thesis, she'd finally decided, was on symbolism of rebirth and immortality in Gabriel García Márquez's One Hundred Years of Solitude.

Jacob called sometimes too, just to tell her how the pack was doing. It was just the six of them, and while he said that he missed her, he sounded happy. He'd imprinted on Jessica at their graduation, and while everyone else was trying to get out of Forks to live a more exciting life, the two of them were settling down. She was glad that the people living in Charlie's house loved the place just as much as Harry had.

Edward had been studying premed again. He gave her privacy whenever she wanted it, but she felt bad that he didn't have any friends besides her. It was a strange thing, knowing that she was a whole person now, while he defined himself as half of a whole.

When they kissed, Bella's stomach still churned with butterflies. She'd gotten around Edward's weird 'no premarital sex' rule by buying herself a few adult toys and asking him to help her use them. Things were really good, all things considered.

In a year, she'd have her undergrad degree. She could probably tack on a master's, Charlie said the Volturi's concept of time was different from humans', but—

Edward had been studying premed again , because Carlisle's passion was medicine and the vampire wanted an update. Carlisle, who'd had the same passion for five hundred years .

Bella loved Edward, she really did. It had grown from something fiery into something calm and deep, and on good days when they were cuddled up in front of the TV watching Dawson's Creek reruns, it reminded her of what Charlie and Harry had.

But she knew Edward hadn't changed in the past century. He'd fallen in love with her, and that was it. If she would die like Marcus' wife had, he'd mourn her for the next millennium. It scared her most days to know she had that kind of power over someone else.

It scared her because she knew she'd mourn him for a year at most before moving on.

…

On Sundays, Edward made pancakes. Bella didn't tell him she'd heard that gluten and milk were unhealthy. She didn't have the heart to tell him she'd moved on from wanting little hearts with Nutella for breakfast.

"I love you," she said instead, kissing his forever-seventeen cheek. It was a calmer love now, like the lakes Charlie used to take her fishing on.

It didn't matter if the first pancake was ugly, not after she covered it in chocolate. She chewed slowly, trying to find the courage to say what her mind had been thinking for weeks.

"I think we should take the next semester off," she said. It was almost what she'd meant to say. Edward smiled and served her another pancake.

"There's an exclusive exchange program with this university in Volterra. I'm applying for the scholarship."

Edward coughed. "That's for art students," he said. "Aro likes to have people appreciate his collection. From what I've heard most of those students…don't come back."

"Aro isn't going to eat me with my dads there."

Usually Edward was very clever. Sometimes, he was very very stupid.

"I don't think it's safe for you to go there while you're human, Bella." She remembered when Edward used to tell her what he thought she should and shouldn't do, back before Harry had threatened him with his magic.

Bella swallowed. She took a sip of tea. "I don't mean to go there as a human."

Edward stared at her until the fire alarm went off. Once the smoke had cleared they sat side by side on her bed, hands wrapped together. His cold marble, her warm heat.

"Are you sure, Bella? There's time. You could get a doctorate. Or maybe a second undergraduate degree? You could still change your mind about this."

Bella had filled the application forms out weeks ago, but it had taken a long evening and a bottle of Baileys with her girlfriends to finally send them to Italy. "No, Edward, now is exactly the right time to be doing this. Changing my mind is what I'm worried about."

She didn't know how to tell him the truth: that she didn't want to wake up one day and realise he was still the same stuck person from 1918 while she'd moved on to be someone who wanted a life without him.

"I don't understand," Edward said.

Bella kissed him. "It's my body, my choice," she said. "Your head's big enough, Edward. You don't need to understand everything."

That smile was so familiar it hurt. "Will you marry me in Italy?" he asked. She had lost count of how many times she'd heard him propose.

Bella took a deep breath. She was going to Volterra. She'd be seeing Charlie and Harry again. She was going to be a vampire, perfect and unchanging.

"Yeah," she decided. "Yeah, Edward, I will."

This is the last of 35 updates totalling over 72,000 words this December. It's been an amazing journey and it never could've happened without your support. Thank you for reading. Thank you for your kudos, your bookmarks, and your lurkish silence. I have written 65,000 words in the past three months, finishing four of my fics. I also have over a hundred of you hanging out in my discord server with me. It's been a blast.

See you in 2022, my friends.

Chapter 14: Renascence

Chapter Text

Charlie liked Marcus. They didn't talk much, but Charlie liked to sit and listen when Harry and Marcus were plotting. He didn't really understand the things they went on about. It was all energy and magic and ley lines; Charlie had never learned about intersecting planes in Mr Varner's geometry class.

Some things, Charlie knew, it was okay not to understand. What mattered was the way that Harry's eyes would light up. What mattered was when they were lying on Volterra's tallest tower watching the stars and Harry talked about Sirius, Andromeda, and Draco.

If Marcus was there they talked about Didyme, too. There were burned stones on the side of the tower from where she'd set herself on fire before she'd jumped. For Marcus, Didyme had been the only thing that made him happy.

Sometimes Charlie wondered if Harry was the only thing that made him happy. He loved Bella, but he remembered what his life had been like before they'd received the call of a kid without shoes walking around touching the trees.

It was funny how they'd thought Harry was crazy. Most days, watching Aro, Caius, Marcus and all the guards, Charlie was pretty sure he and Harry were the sanest of them all.

He hadn't been surprised when Bella had shown up in Volterra with red eyes and a ring on her finger. The Cullens had all shown up to celebrate their wedding before packing the two off to a honeymoon on Esme's private island.

After over three decades living with vampires things like private islands didn't surprise him anymore.

What did surprise him was when Harry teleported into their apartment with a CRACK, short circuiting all the lights.

"We've done it!" Harry said, lifting Charlie and spinning him around the dark room. "We found it, Charlie!"

Laughing, he kissed Harry's cheek. "Remember, we said no teleporting in the house." At least the neighbours still had power; a streetlamp was shining through the window.

Harry twisted in his arms—and they were on the opposite side of the city. Charlie wished he could puke, but vampire anatomy wasn't like that. Even by moonlight he recognized the tower by the smell of burning that had stuck around for a thousand years.

"Remember we said no teleporting me, ever?"

"Charlie, we require your gift," Marcus said. "Please stand in this circle."

Sighing, he moved over to the area that had been chalked onto the stone floor. He didn't need to understand what they were on about, and they knew that even if they tried to explain he probably wouldn't get it anyway. Taking a deep breath, he let go of his hold over his power.

"Very good," Marcus said. The chalk lines started to glow like Saint Marcus' Day decorations. Then the king started to float.

"That's supposed to happen, right?" Charlie asked. He would be in so much trouble with Aro if Marcus accidentally drifted off into the night. Most days, Charlie didn't understand why he was meant to be the responsible one.

There was a crack so loud and bright that Charlie's ears were ringing. He tried to blink away the afterglow but it was like he was blind. The air smelled of ozone, almost like there'd been a lightning strike on this random summer night.

"Hnn," he heard Harry say.

The ringing dimmed. "I can't hear you," Charlie said.

"Hurn nuh," Harry answered. Charlie held tight to his mate's hand and waited. It didn't take long before he could see what was in front of him.

Marcus was naked. All his hair was standing up like a cat that had licked a power socket. Even in the dark, Charlie could see that his eyes were brown.

He was poking his own skin. "I'm hungry," Marcus said. His voice was pure wonder.

"It's Sunday," Harry said, pulling Charlie forward so that they could help Marcus up. "Sundays are for pancakes. Jacob sent me a gluten free recipe I want to try."

…

Aro and Caius were furious, but Charlie knew he'd never seen Marcus look so peaceful. It made Charlie remember back when it had been him and Harry in their house with the blue kitchen and the big oak out back that Bella's swing used to hang from.

He remembered the man who couldn't do his own laces and who sometimes forgot his own name but remembered to make coffee every morning like clockwork.

They'd come a long way, Charlie knew. And he loved Harry like this, in his confidence and his own power with eyes that glowed like a nuclear reactor.

Marcus moved into his own apartment. He fell in love with the Volturi's human secretary. Charlie blinked and a year had passed. Marcus showed them all his newborn son with the same awe in his eyes Charlie knew he'd had when holding Bella for the first time.

.oOo.

Marcellus Volturi knew his dad used to be a vampire. That was why all his uncles were vampires. His mum said she used to want to be like them too, but when she'd fallen in love with her dad she realized what they really wanted was humanity.

Marcellus liked the humans. He didn't really feel like he belonged with them. It was hard when everyone he knew and loved didn't need rest or sleep.

Vampires didn't change. When they loved you, they loved you forever. When Renata told him she loved him, Marcellus asked his parents for their blessing. She didn't mind that he wanted to stay human a bit longer, maybe even much longer. Vampires, Marcellus had learned, were like that.

Dad celebrated one birthday after another. Every grey hair got its own party. All the wrinkles on his face were laugh lines. Marcellus counted the passing years by their annual father-son trip to forests all over the world, where his dad made sure he knew how to talk to the trees properly. It was important to tell them all your secrets, Marcellus learned. If you stripped yourself bare in front of them, the trees would talk back.

Marcellus had never felt like he belonged with the humans, but he didn't feel like he belonged with the vampires either. Renata never really minded, she said she was happy to follow him to the end of the world. After talking to all his aunts and uncles, Marcellus decided the place he really wanted to go was Forks.

.oOo.

They picked him and Renata up from the airport in a rusty red truck. All their bags barely fit. Marcellus could never choose which clothes to pack and his wife refused to replace her book collection because 'the kindle doesn't smell right.'

"It's a miracle you got permission to come here," Charlie Swan said once they were on the highway. The man's hair and moustache were silver, but otherwise he was exactly like dad had described him. "The tribe said they wouldn't mind if the next generation started turning into wolves again. Don't know why. Kids these days, always chasing the next big adventure."

"It'll be time for our next great adventure soon," Harry Swan said from the passenger seat.

Besides the green eyes, he was nothing like how dad had described him. Marcellus had been hoping to learn more about magic from the man, but Harry didn't seem to be quite…there.

Charlie just leaned over and helped Harry out of his seatbelt.

The house was cosy, even if the kitchen looked like it was antique. The new counter and stove didn't match the peeling blue paint on the cabinets. Marcellus scraped a nail over the wood. There were at least two layers of more paint underneath. Blue like the sky on a clear day. Blue like the ocean over a sandy beach. Blue like a glacier melting into the sea.

The guest room was tiny. Marcellus and Renata had to stack their bags onto the bed carefully so it wouldn't all fall to the floor. It was hard to imagine someone as powerful and regal as Bella Swan ever having lived here.

At night the house creaked and groaned in the wind like Mum's fairy tale about the wolf who'd blown a home like this one to the ground.

"There's magic here," Harry said as he led Marcellus to the weathered oak in the back garden. "She'll talk to you if you let her. Expecto Patronum." A badger made of silver light trotted around them like a loyal dog.

It had markings around its face that looked almost like a moustache.

"My dad taught me to listen to the trees," Marcellus said, but Harry just smiled without properly meeting his eyes.

"I remember how he used to hold you. Like you were his moon and stars. Marcus didn't send you here to learn about trees."

"Nobody sent me here," he protested. He watched as Harry caressed the sunflowers and the begonias. It looked like they were leaning into his touch.

"Hold it and think of your happiest memory," Harry said, thrusting a stick into Marcus' hand. "The words are Expecto Patronum."

The wood felt nothing like any tree Marcellus had ever touched. He said the words. When wisps of silver came from its tip, his heart filled with wonder and he laughed.

"Expecto Patronum, Expecto Patronum," he said, again and again until his eyes were crying from his happiness.

When he stopped he realized he was alone. It was almost dark; Dad always said twilight was the most magical part of the day. Watching the fog creep through the trees, Marcellus wasn't sure if he didn't prefer the magic of warm bark and sunshine.

"You're new," someone said.

Marcellus spun to face the house. There was a little girl on the porch with golden hair cascading down to her elbows.

"I'm Marcellus Volturi," he said. "Renata and I are staying with the Swans for a while."

She nodded with her five-year-old self-importance. "I'm Luna like the spanish word for moon. Uncle Charlie told me to tell you dinner is ready."

Inside the house a large man was playing with a toddler in the living room. The girl's mother was in the kitchen. She was the most beautiful human Marcellus had ever seen. It was a good thing Edward wasn't around to tattle on him to Renata.

All through the meal, Marcellus watched Harry Swan push his food around or stare out the window. Charlie coaxed him into eating with deep familiarity. Marcellus knew a lot of vampires, but these humans acted like they'd been together forever.

.oOo.

Over the course of a year, Marcellus managed to make Expecto Patronum conjure a silver bulldog. He learned Wingardium Leviosa and Muffliato and Tarantallegra. Harry was most lucid in those moments where he was teaching, but the rest of the time he climbed trees, forgot to wear his shoes, could never quite meet anybody's eyes when he managed to speak.

At night Harry told stories about constellations: Andromeda raising a baby, Sirius who had meant to take him home, the cowardly Lupin, and Draco who'd been falling, falling.

Once he had a fit, dropping a plate in the middle of doing the washing up. Marcellus had been frightened by the flickering lights and the shuddering windows.

Charlie just smiled. "It's alright," he said, catching the soap before it could float away. "Sometimes, things happen different from how we expected, but that doesn't mean they aren't perfect the way they are." Charlie carded his hands through Harry's hair and started to croon a lullaby.

"I see the moon, the moon sees me, under the shade of the old oak tree. Please let the light that shines on me, shine on the one I love."

The end.

Thank you for joining me on this journey; it's been a delight. Your support means the world to me.

There is no sequel to this planned. Do join the Fish and Fics Discord to talk about fanfiction, ugly sweaters, and various debated topics. Demographics-wise we range from 18ish to 45, with many LGBTQIA people.

Posting early March: the final chapters of Another Oh, Whatever (Fatherly perspectives of Twilight canon) and Semantics of Divinity (Harry raised by Death)
Updating on alternating weekends: A Public-Private Partnership, my Mycroft/Harry aromantic romance/adventure novel.

In the meantime, take a look at my completed works:

More Than One Way to Skin a Cat: Humorous Severitus time travel fix it, with a twist;
If I Should Have a Daughter: Rosalie Hale used to be Fem!Harry Potter, an almost canon-compatible retelling.
Beware the Jabberwock: Harry realizes he's fighting for the wrong side, with everyone on dragonback;
Three Hallows, a Rat, and Redemption: Peter raises ASD!Harry/becomes Neurodivergent!Harry and tries to turn himself into a better person;
Various one-shots: when you're looking for something quick.