Wish Upon A Star

Chapter 2 – A Family Meeting

"There are over a million stars in the galaxy; over a billion stars in the universe, but there is only one you."

/Edward/Harry

“You’re going to help me with my mate problem?” Edward repeated dumbly. “How? Are you going to use your magical starry powers and have my mate materialize out of nowhere?”

Harry looked at him dryly, ignoring the cynical sarcasm of the vampire’s question. “I’m a star; not a fairy godfather,” he said slowly. “Was the deer you drained high or something? Perhaps suffering some sort of chemical imbalance in the head? If I had known you were this slow on the uptake, I would’ve had a different star come down here to suffer the headache.”

Edward growled at him once more and abruptly turned around, running in the direction of his house. He was surprised to see that the star—Harry—could keep up with him fairly easily. “What’re you doing?”

“Look, I don’t grant wishes often! I’m going to help you find your mate and that’s final!” Harry snarled back, his eyes glowing an acidic green.

Edward frowned. “Why do you want to help me?”

“Why don’t you wa—”

“Don’t answer a question with a question,” Edward retorted and stopped running, annoyed. “I’m sure there are other people who have wishes they want to be granted. Why did you choose to come and personally help me with my problem?”

Harry sighed and his gaze softened ever-so-slightly when his eyes met Edward’s. “When people wish on us stars, their wishes are normally selfish. They want money, power, fame, or they want us to heartlessly disregard someone’s existing, happy, relationship because they’re madly infatuated or believe that they’re “in love” with someone. But, your wish wasn’t selfish at all. Not really, at least in my opinion. You don’t want to force someone to fall in love with you; you just want to find your mate. And, honestly, I think you’ve waited long enough.”

Edward swallowed thickly. “Well, why did you have to come all the way down here to help me? Couldn’t you have stayed in the sky and worked some kind of miracle from up there?”

Harry rolled his eyes. “Again, I’m a star, not a fairy godfather,” he replied. “I don’t have magic, so no miracle like that happening any time soon.”

Edward thought he detected a hint of sadness and nostalgia in Harry’s voice, but ignored it. “How is this going to work?”

Harry, who had begun to space out, glanced at Edward and allowed a big smile to dance across his face. “Don’t you worry! I already have a plan of action that I thought of while I was coming here and I know exactly how I’m going to find your mate! But, first, I think I’ll need some other clothes to help me fit in better.”

Edward glanced at Harry and snorted in agreement. “Do all stars dress that way?”

Harry fingered the plain white robe that hung loosely over his frame. “We don’t really have to worry about a fashion sense, or our lack of such a quality,” he replied dryly.

Edward couldn’t stop his lips from twitching upwards in amusement. “You look like a nun,” the vampire said, trying to keep the laughter from bursting out.

Harry scowled deeply at him. “Because you’re dressed so much better,” he grit out sarcastically.

Edward immediately frowned and surveyed his own clothing. His jeans were faded with little rips stylistically trailing up the sides of his legs, courtesy of Alice, and his simple black jacket was left opened, revealing a somewhat tight royal blue shirt. Overall, Edward didn’t think he looked too bad and, obviously, neither did the pathetic human girls that attempted to stalk him. “Whatever,” he said lowly, shrugging.

Harry grinned slightly. “Now, are we going to stay in this forest for who knows how long or are you going to show me around your place so we can get started?”

Edward sighed and motioned with his hand for Harry to follow him. He wondered how his family would react to the help he was going to receive, or to the information that the boy helping him was actually a star. It was a lot to absorb, and he himself hadn’t fully wrapped his mind around the fact that he was one step closer to finding his mate. Just thinking about it was enough to make him nervous and excited. Swallowing, he viciously stomped on the hope bubbling in his chest. It would do no good to allow himself to get used to something that was so subjective.

“I don’t know how my relatives will react to you,” he admitted to Harry. “A couple will undoubtedly be more…hostile…towards you than the rest.”

Harry smiled at him. “I wouldn’t expect anything different, to be honest with you,” the star replied. “Family wouldn’t be family if they didn’t look out for your well-being.”

“Do you have family?” Edward inquired curiously.

Harry stiffened slightly. “I used to,” he said softly.

Edward winced slightly. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to bring up any painful memories…”

“Don’t worry about it,” Harry chirped, his smile and laughter obviously false. “How long until we get there?”

“It’s just up ahead,” Edward answered.

The rest of the short trip was in silence. Edward couldn’t help but think that Harry’s sudden appearance was not only strange, but somewhat disrupting and…warm. His senses were normally sharp, but he found himself slipping, and that was dangerous. If Harry hadn’t been the one to catch him drinking his fill of the deer, someone else could have—and they wouldn’t have reacted so calmly about it. His cover could have been blown and his family would have had to move again or, worse, hide for at least fifty or so years. Despite that, a part of Edward found that he didn’t mind the disruption as much as he should have. Granted, he was thinking this only fifteen—or maybe it was twenty?—minutes after meeting Harry, so he couldn’t be sure if he’d feel the same thing in a week or in whatever amount of time it takes to find his mate. Harry’s appearance still made him feel stupidly warm and fuzzy on the inside. A small smile came to his lips; if the star really could bring him his mate, he’d be eternally grateful.

“Wow,” Harry breathed. “It’s beautiful.”

Edward’s smile grew at that. Esme had designed the house when the Cullens had first moved to this small, in-the-middle-of-nowhere town. She always took pleasure in the arts and crafts, and to design houses for a living truly was a dream job for her. In every house they’d ever lived in across the country, Esme had drawn up elaborate plans for the construction workers to build and then poured her heart into ever color swatch, piece of wallpaper, and furniture she put in the houses. The warm atmosphere of her designs, both inside and out, made her houses highly coveted by most.

“Esme built it,” Edward told Harry, his tone just a hair shy of boastful.

“She truly has a gift,” Harry said in wonderment, staring at the beautiful architecture. “The only other structure I can think of that’ll compete with the beauty of this house is Ho…”

Edward raised an eyebrow as Harry cut himself off. “Ho…?” he questioned.

“My old school,” Harry said softly, his eyes sad as he became lost in a memory.

“Stars have schools?”

Harry snapped out of his daze and smiled again. “Let’s head in,” he said happily. “We need to get started on helping you find your mate!”

Edward was surprised when Harry grabbed his hand and began leading him into his house. “I can walk by myself,” he grumbled. “I’ve been doing it for over a century.”

Harry paused. “You’re so old,” he said, laughing slightly. “Goodness me, do you need a cane?”

Edward threw the star a withering glare. “Vampires don’t need canes.”

Harry sighed and rolled his eyes. “No, but apparently you need the stick removed from your arse,” was the retort. “Learn to take a joke for what it is.”

Loud, boisterous laughs erupted from within the house. Harry let out a very manly squeal and hid behind Edward, using speeds that both impressed and amused the vampire and leaving a trail of glittery dust in his wake. Harry’s eyes glowed again and a deep blush erupted on his cheeks. He chuckled nervously, rubbing the back of his head embarrassedly.

“You’re not a fairy godfather, yet there’s fairy dust all over the front of my house,” Edward said dryly.

“It’s not fairy dust,” Harry retorted smartly.

“Star dust, then?”

“If you really must know,” Harry drawled, “it’s a mixture of meteorite and other nifty rock particles from space. I don’t know if you noticed, but us stars are constantly surrounded by such things.”

“Edward?”

Edward shifted his gaze towards the doorway, which now featured every member of his family. He looked at Alice and smirked a little before replying, “I found the blob.”

Harry looked furious, huffing indignantly. “I’m no blob!” he hissed angrily.

Carlisle cleared his throat slightly. “Perhaps we shall take this to the living room?” he suggested, looking at Edward and Harry curiously.

Edward nodded his head and entered his house, gesturing needlessly for Harry to follow him. Harry smiled at the Cullens as they took in his appearance. Edward quickly went to his room to change out of his bloody clothing before returning and taking a seat next to Harry.

“Welcome to our home,” Esme said warmly, though she regarded Edward and Harry with confusion. “I’m Esme Cullen, this is my husband Carlisle, and these are our children Alice, Emmett, Jasper, Rosalie, and you’ve obviously met Edward. Just who are you, exactly?”

“You mentioned something about stars?” Alice asked brightly, looking at Harry with barely restrained excitement.

“Well, my name is Harry Potter,” Harry replied with a dazzling smile. “And yes, I did mention stars.”

“Apparently,” Edward filled in, “he is a star.”

“Right I am,” Harry said cheerfully, ignoring the looks of disbelief, skepticism, and awe. “I’m here to help him find his mate!”

Carlisle blinked several times. “Forgive me, this is a bit to take in,” he apologized. “You’re saying you’re a star and you’re here to help Edward?”

Harry nodded and kept his rant about mentally slow vampires to himself. “That’s exactly what I’m saying.”

“Why?” Jasper asked, eyeing the star cautiously.

“Because he asked for it.”

The Cullens looked back at Edward. “You asked for his help?” Esme asked, her head tilting to the side in confusion.

Edward was thankful that he couldn’t blush. “Well…a few days ago, I saw a falling star and made a wish. And, well, he was the star…”

Rosalie pursed her lips. “Are you really a star?”

Harry looked her in the eye. “Do you really think I’d make up my being a star?” he asked, cocking an eyebrow. “Being something that is generally sparkly and pretty isn’t exactly boosting my man pride right now.”

Emmett chuckled. “He’s got a point,” the large vampire said with mirth. He then paused and frowned a little. “Hey, we’re sparkly and pretty, too…”

Harry smiled teasingly. “Ah, birds of a feather flock together.”

Alice squealed. “You really are pretty.” She looked at his clothes. “I’m not sure what all the rave is up there regarding your outfit, but down here, honey, that’s a big no-no.”

“Fashion isn’t exactly necessary in the sky,” Harry replied dryly.

“Wait, wouldn’t your parents miss you?” Esme asked worriedly.

Harry smiled sadly at her. “My parents died a long time ago,” he told her softly.

Esme gasped and her hand flew to her mouth. “I’m so sorry,” she said mournfully. “I didn’t mean to bring up anything unpleasant.”

“Don’t worry about it.” Harry waved off her apology. “It’s fine. For all you knew, this could’ve been considered a rite of passage or something. It’s fine.”

“How do you plan on helping my brother?” Rosalie demanded as she fingered the hem of her blouse. She didn’t like having any outsiders included in their family time, but she knew how important it was to Edward to find someone to share the rest of his life with. For him, she would tolerate the star.

Harry looked at Edward and smirked. “I’ve lots of ideas,” he began, “but first, I’ll need you to take a survey of sorts.”

“Why?” Edward asked.

“Because I said so,” Harry sniffed.

Alice laughed before her expression turned serious. “First, we’ll get you some clothes! I refuse to allow Edward to walk around with you while you’re wearing that…that…that table cloth!”

Harry flushed slightly. “Deal,” he said softly. “Clothes first, then we’ll get started on finding your mate. Anything else?”

Alice shook her head. “Not really. We’ll be asking you questions while we’re shopping; you know, the whole ‘kill two birds with one stone’ bit. For now, you’ll have to wear Edward’s clothes.”

Harry hung his head. “Fine,” he replied, somewhat exasperated. “I hate shopping.”

“Don’t worry,” Alice said, an evil glint entering her eyes. “You’ll grow to love it.”

Harry barely prevented the whimper from escaping his lips before following an amused Edward upstairs to change.