A Different Path

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or Twilight, nor the characters from these stories. I do not make any profit from these writings.
Rating: PG-13

Chapter 5: Getting to Know You - Part 2

“During the summer between my first and second year, I spent most of it at the Dursleys. First thing they did was lock away everything from the magical world even my books and wand, even though I needed to finish the homework assigned during summer. They begrudgingly allowed me to stay in their son Dudley’s second bedroom. It was filled with things like old broken toys, books that had never been opened, a computer that Dudley had broken in a fit of rage. Everything was left; I wasn’t allowed to touch it even if Dudley no longer wanted it. I was locked in the bedroom save for when I was doing chores or using the restroom. I was fed on mostly bread and water through a flap in the door, like a prisoner. Well, I was a prisoner; they had put bars on the window to keep me from getting out. I wasn’t allowed to send letters to my friends or respond to their letters. Then a week or so before the start of school, Ron and his twin brothers Fred and George decided they were going to rescue me. So they stole their father’s muggle car that he had charmed to fly and came to break me out. They did it quietly during the night, getting my things locked away. But, the Dursleys heard and came barging into the bedroom and we barely got out of there in time. So I went to stay with the Weasley’s until school started.”

“You rode in a flying car? How cool is that!” Emmet said. “Do you think you could maybe, you know, fiddle around with our cars… it would be awesome if we could fly around!”

“No, I don’t know how to do it, wouldn’t even know where to begin…” Harry laughed and said, “So, in my second year at Hogwarts, I was a little more prepared for my life in the wizarding world. I was welcomed into the Weasley family and Ron, Hermione and I had become best mates. Before the beginning of the school term, The Weasley’s took their children, Hermione and I to Diagon Alley to shop for our school supplies for the new term. While we were at Flourish and Blott’s, a book store, we found a man by the name Gilderoy Lockhart signing autographs and giving a speech. It seemed he was a famed author of books on magical creatures and was a celebrity, at least in his own mind. He was a pompous windbag who delighted in the attention the public gave him. As it turned out he was the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, as obviously Quirell was no longer. During this time the Malfoys came into the shop and caused a scene by demeaning the Weasley family. The Weasley’s though pureblood, were very poor and were known as blood traitors by other purebloods. They were kind and open to all people, whether they were pureblood, half-blood or magical creatures. A fight broke out between Mr. Weasley and Lucius Malfoy, and Ginny Weasley’s books were sent flying. In the hustle Lucius Malfoy slipped an unknown book into Ginny’s other things.”

“What was in the book?” Jasper asked.

“It was a diary filled with blank pages, that if you wrote in it, you could talk to a person incased in the book. It was a 17 year old boy by the name of Tom Riddle who would one day become Lord Voldemort-”

“No way…” Emmett said excitedly, Harry story was keeping him very entertained.

Laughing Harry said, “Yes. Even as a teenager, he was a dark wizard and before graduating from Hogwarts he created the diary, which was called a Horcrux. It was essentially a part of Voldemort’s soul held within the diary. The only way to create one is by killing, the act of killing causes a split in your soul and you can create a horcrux. This of course is Dark Magic and is banned, more so, it is viewed as such an unspeakable thing that very few people know about it. Voldemort created the diary so that if he ever died he could be reborn, fully grown and aware of the previous life. During this year, there was talk of a place in Hogwarts created by one of its founders, Salazar Slytherin, a thousand years ago. It was called the Chamber of Secrets and only the Heir of Slytherin could open it. A while into the term, Mrs. Norris, the caretaker’s cat, was found petrified and written in blood on the wall behind her was a warning. It said that the Chamber of Secrets had been opened and enemies of the Heir beware.”

“Enemies?” Edward questioned.

“Salazar Slytherin was a known blood purist and so it was saying that muggleborns were next. Soon, a muggle born student and a ghost were found petrified. Petrification does not kill a person; it only keeps them in stasis. There was a potion that could reverse the effects but, it was going to take months to brew. When this happened, Professor Lockhart convinced Headmaster Dumbledore to create a dueling club to prepare students for the danger around the school. He had so far been completely useless as a professor and as a dueling instructor he was just as bad. I was paired to duel Draco. We fought sending spells at each other. Then Draco did a spell to create a snake to attack me. The snake became distracted by a nearby student and posed to attack the student. I stepped in to try and keep the snake away and told it to leave him alone. The snake after several attempts was destroyed by another professor, Snape. He was a man that had gone to school with my father and had a similar relationship to him as I had to Draco, hate. He made my life as horrible as possible.”

Harry frowned in thought at the relationship similarities between Harry and Draco and his father and Snape. Would they have been able to get past the animosity like Draco and he? If they had overlooked their differences and ignored their pride, would it have happened? Harry would have never of thought so a few years ago, but it was an interesting thought.

“Back on track though… so when the snake disappeared I realized everyone was looking at me. Most in fear and Ron and Hermione told me I had been talking to the snake, in parseltongue. The snake language-”

“Okay, this I’ve got to hear!” Emmett said.

Harry rolled his eyes, but spoke, “Thisss isss sstupid and I feel ridiculousss.”

“What did you say, it was all hissing to us?” Asked Carlisle.

“I said ‘This is stupid and I feel ridiculous.’”

“Wow, so you can really speak to snakes? That’s cool.” Said Emmett.

Harry nodded and continued. “So apparently, Parselmouth is considered a dark gift as Salazar Slytherin could speak it as well as Voldemort. It was a rare gift and beside Voldemort no one had been able to speak it for hundreds of years. This was when the school began to think I was the Heir of Slytherin, out to kill all muggleborn’s in the school.”

“But, you’re a half-blood too!” Esme retorted angerly.

“They weren’t thinking about that, they just wanted someone to blame for their fear. So I kind of became an outcast, besides my close friends. Another student was petrified and there was talk of closing the school to keep the students safe. One night as I was returning to the dorm from a detention (Harry smiled and blushed as Esme scolded him) and I heard a noise. It was a voice that was broken, hissing and I heard a voice talking about killing and ripping things apart; it was hungry and looking for food to eat. I couldn’t figure out where the voice was coming from as I was in a deserted corridor and nothing was nearby. I told Hermione and Ron, they thought it was odd and maybe I was losing my mind hearing a voice in my head. By this time we were searching to find out who had opened the Chamber and what was petrifying the students. Then, Hermione was petrified, in her hand was a mirror and a note that said ‘pipes.’ We began to realize the voice I heard was a Basilisk; a giant snake that was magical. It was able to kill by just looking into its eyes. Lucky for the petrified students, they had all not looked directly into its eyes, rather in a mirror, or a camera lens, or through a ghost. This was the only thing that saved them.”

The Cullens were transfixed by Harry’s telling and listened avidly for more.

“Another message in blood was found a few weeks later, it said ‘Her skeleton will lie in the chamber forever.’ Ginny Weasley was down in the chamber slowly dying, guarded by the basilisk. A while later, it came to light that Hagrid was arrested for opening the chamber. It seemed that when Hagrid was younger, he was blamed for the last time the chamber was open. It was also during the time that Voldemort, then Tom Riddle, was attending the school. It was he who opened the chamber and blamed Hagrid. The teacher’s who had been fed up with Lockhart horrible teaching and annoying personality, told him to go find the Chamber after he boasted that he knew where it was. Lockhart, ever the coward was attempting to flee, when Ron and I forced him to find the chamber with us. In a bit of luck, we found the entrance to the Chamber of Secrets; so Ron, Gilderoy Lockhart and I went into the chamber. After a cave in, cause by Lockhart which wiped his memory after a bad spell, I was left to go on to save Ginny.”

“It was something to do with the diary, wasn’t it?” Alice asked.

“Yes. She was being possessed by Voldemort and wrote the message herself and then went down into the chamber at his command. So when I found Ginny she was nearly dead, the life being drained from her into a body being formed for Voldemort. I fought the basilisk, killing it with a sword brought to me by Fawkes, a Phoenix, but the basilisk punctured me with one of its fangs. The fang was poisonous and I could feel it taking my strength. But, a Phoenix’s tears are able to heal wounds and Fawkes cried into the wound healing it. I cried out and stabbed the fang into the diary by Ginny and Tom Riddle disappeared as the horcrux was destroyed. Ginny began coming back and was saved. The year ended and I again went back to the Dursleys, not matter how much the Weasleys insisted I come to stay with them, Dumbledore said I was to return to them because it was the only way to keep the blood protection.”

“Okay, that was awesome! On to the next year!” Emmett exclaimed.

o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

After a short break, for Harry to go use the restroom, he came back and smiled at the eager faces looking up at him.

“In my third year a mass murderer by the name Sirius Black, broke out of Azkaban Prison. It is a wizarding prison guarded by beings called dementors if around you, they cause the air to go cold and they feed off of your happy memories, making you relive the worst memory of your life over and over. Sirius Black was convicted of killing 12 muggles and another wizard by the name of Peter Pettigrew on the night my parents died, he was said to be the one who betrayed my parents to Voldemort. During this year, I met another friend of my parents, Remus Lupin and he was our new Defense Against the Dark arts teacher-”

“They don’t seemed to last very long, dear.” Esme said.

Harry laughed and said, “Yes. They don’t. It was actually because a curse was put on the position by Voldemort years ago, just after he graduated Hogwarts. He wanted the position and was denied by Dumbledore.”

“So obviously not a happy person!” Emmett said sarcastically.

“That’s an understatement! During my third year, the dementors stayed around Hogwarts as they knew Sirius Black would be coming for me and there were many problems with them getting too close to the students. It was also during that year that Professor Lupin told me a lot about my parents and about how much they loved me and would be proud of who I had become. I hadn’t really heard any specifics about them too much and I loved the time we spent together. He gave me extra training out of class, teaching me how to perform a patronus to protect myself from dementors.”

“What is that?” Carlisle questioned.

“It is a spell using your happiest memory to cast a protection against the dementors sucking the happiness from you. Hear, I’ll show you…”

Harry stood up away from everyone and pulled out his wand from his arm holster. Thinking about Edward as his mate he cried “Expecto Patronum!” From his wand burst a glowing white stag that cantered around the room and then came back to Harry and then disappeared. The Cullens were all grinning at the first bit of magic Harry had done for them and were amazed.

“Wow!” Jasper and Emmett said, while Alice and Esme clapped in excitement.

Harry walked back to his seat and a grinning Edward put his arm back around him. “He taught me that as it is the only way to protect yourself from having your soul sucked out by the dementors. It is called ‘the kiss’ and it takes your soul, leaving an empty body alive and breathing, but nothing going on up in the brain.”

Everyone’s eyes grew large as he spoke, the vision of such a creature running through their heads.

“Through the rest of the year there were sightings of Sirius Black, but also a large black shaggy dog as well. He broke into the castle one night and tried to get to my dorm, but was unsuccessful. Then near the end of the year, Ron’s pet rat Scabbers tried to run away from him while we were outside. Ron caught him, but then that big black dog came and bit Ron’s leg dragging him into a tunnel under a large Whomping Willow tree near the school. Hermione and I ran after him, chasing them trying to free Ron. We ended up in an old abandoned shack near the school and found him in a room, his leg broken and the dog growling at Ron. The dog slowly changed form into Sirius Black, the escaped prisoner. He seemed crazy; he wanted to kill Scabbers saying he was finally going to kill him after being convicted of the crime already. Then Remus Lupin burst into the room and we thought we were saved, a teacher had come to help us, but he knew Sirius and hugged him saying he was sorry he didn’t believe Sirius-”

“WHAT?!” Yelled everyone, well nearly everyone, Rosalie was a little more reserved.

“Yes, he said he was sorry he didn’t believe and that he would help Sirius. I got mad; the man I trusted was betraying me as well as my parents’ memory by siding with Sirius Black. They began telling me about Peter Pettigrew and how my father, Sirius and Peter became animagi. An animagus is when a wizard changes form into an animal that most exemplifies their strongest characteristic. My father was a stag, Sirius a large black dog and Peter a rat.”

“What was Remus?” Asked Jasper.

“He wasn’t one, because he was a werewolf. He changed into one every full moon and they all changed together to keep him company during it. Sirius then began to tell me that he had not been the one to betray my parents, it had been Peter. Who then framed Sirius for the murder of 12 muggles and his own death and then hid away as a rat, Scabbers. I didn’t know who to believe and then they got Scabbers and used a spell to change him into his human form and it all became clear. I was so angry, I wanted to kill him and so did Remus and Sirius. However, I couldn’t do it and I couldn’t let them either-”

“Why, he killed your parents; well as good as!” Said Rosalie

“I knew my parents wouldn’t have wanted their best friends to become murderers. So we tied him up and we were going to take him to the Ministry of Magic to have Sirius cleared of the conviction against him. As we walked to the castle Sirius told me that he was my godfather and asked if I wanted to live with him; he said we could be a family. I was so happy, I was going to have a family, but, it didn’t last… It was a full moon and Remus lost track of time, changing into the werewolf. Sirius changed into the dog to protect us from Remus. On the night of the full moon, the werewolf takes over and he becomes a feral killer. There is potion that allows Remus to keep his mind while as a werewolf, but he wasn’t able to take the potion that night. In the fight to stay alive, Peter Pettigrew got free and was gone. I followed them into the forest to help Sirius and found him surrounded by hundreds of dementors as they were attempting to perform the kiss. I tried to save him, but they overwhelmed me and just before I blacked out I saw a figure across the pond casting the patronus. It looked like my father, before he died.”

Harry remembered the chill that had swarmed him that night and the happiness being sucked from him. He had watched as Sirius’ soul began to leave his body and he had feared the worst. As he had blacked out for a moment he had really thought somehow his father had come back and rescued them.

“When I came to, I found out that the Ministry had come at the last moment, after the dementors had left. After Sirius’ breakout they decided to give him the kiss. With Dumbledore and Hermione’s help, we used a time-turner and went back to save him.”

“A time-turner?” asked Edward from beside Harry. Harry realized as he looked at Edward that he had sometime during the story leaned into Edward’s body, resting his head on Edward’s shoulder. The way he had done so, without even realizing it surprised him. Their bond was growing quickly and he smiled.

“Um, it’s a tool used to travel back in time-”

“You guys have the coolest toys!” Emmett said as Jasper was nodded vigorously beside him.

“We went back in time to save him and I went back to the pond to see if it really was my father. I waited until the last moment, but he didn’t arrive and then I realized it had been me that had saved us, not my father. I saved us, but we weren’t able to recapture Peter Pettigrew. So, Sirius had to go on the run again, though this time he had Remus. I wasn’t able to live with them, but I hoped for the day when he was cleared and that was the end of my third year. After the term ended I went back to the Dursleys even more reluctantly. Just before I had been offered a home and a family and then it was taken from me. Dumbledore wouldn’t hear of anything else, no matter what anyone said. He was the Headmaster of Hogwarts and a powerful wizard for the side of light; no one ignored what he had to say.”

o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

Harry had rearranged himself to get more comfortable, leaning fully against Edward now, his head nestled on Edward’s chest. Edward had his arm around Harry’s back and the other interlinked their hands together, resting on the marbled abdomen below.

“My fourth year was the year that the Tri-Wizard Tournament came to Hogwarts. It was a contest between the three biggest schools around the world. Each school had a champion to compete, because of how dangerous the competition is and the deaths in the past competitions; they only were allowing students who had reached 17, which is the age of adulthood in the wizarding world. The schools brought several advanced students to put their names in to compete; the names were put into a magic goblet that would randomly choose the champions. The champions chosen were Fleur Delacour from Beauxbaton’s Academy, Viktor Krum from Dumstrang, Cedric Diggory from Hogwarts...” Harry had to stop for a second; the pain of Cedric’s death even years later was still very fresh. He felt waves of calm coming over him and breathed a sigh of relief, then said, “and me…”

“I thought you said there were only three schools with one champion each?” Asked Carlisle.

“Yes, there was and the first three should have been it, but someone put my name in the goblet and used very advanced magic to make it choose a fourth champion. The adults were in an outrage, as well as the students, everyone felt I put my name in and forced it to pick me for more attention. They wanted to remove me from competing and I was more than willing to do that; I never wanted the fame of the championship. However, the goblet was a magically binding spell and once my name was picked there was no going back.”

“But, you were only fourteen!” Exclaimed Esme, the fear of the motherly woman was plain on her face.

“Didn’t make a difference… so I became the only ever fourth champion. The press came to interview us, the woman’s name was Rita Skeeter and she felt it was her duty to find the juiciest stories and make them even more so. She pushed me into a closet and tried to get as much out of me as possible before Dumbledore came along. She wrote a lot of lies about me as The-Boy-Who-Lived and the fourth champion. It made the students hate me even more. During this time we had our new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, Professor Moody, start teaching. He was a grouchy old man who spent his life in the cause of fighting dark wizards. He had been an Auror until he retired.”

At the question in their eyes, Harry elaborated. “An Auror is the equivalent of a police officer in the magical world. He showed us more than we had learned in the last two years combined, some things were questionable. He showed us the Unforgiveables.”

“What are they?” Asked Jasper.

“They are three of the darkest spells in the wizarding world. There is the Cruciatus curse, it is a curse that inflects pain in every cell of your being and if used too long will take a person’s mind from them. They lose the ability to think logically, remember their lives and are put in the care of caregivers for the rest of their lives. Then the Imperius Curse, used on another person you can control them; what they do in every way possible. Having them commit murder, rape, killing themselves, lie, cheat, steal, anything. There are those who if they have a strong enough mind can fight the cruse, but not many can do that. The last is the Killing Curse or the Avada Kedavra. I am the only one to ever survive it. If you are hit with it you are dead. These are illegal in the wizarding world.”

“Have you ever had those done on you, besides the killing curse, obviously?” Emmett asked.

“I have had all three used on me.” At the gasped from the group he nodded solemnly. “The cruciatus has been used on me many times over the years and the pain is unbearable, it feels as if your entire body is on fire and nothing you do eases the pain. The Imperius Curse was used on me at the end of the fourth year, but let me tell you how it came to that.”

“The tournament was set up all through the year so for a few months life was fairly regular, except for the most of student population hating me for stealing Cedric’s thunder. Draco Malfoy created these badges that everyone wore that alternated from ‘Cedric Diggory, Hogwarts True Champion’ to ‘Potter Stinks.’ He was his usual git self, always trying to make those around him feel inferior. During that time Ron was jealous that I entered without telling him, he wouldn’t believe no matter how many times I told him otherwise. So he didn’t speak to me for a while, except to get angry with me. Cedric didn’t believe I would do it, so he was rather nice and we ended up helping each other during the tasks. When the first task arrived Hagrid pulled me aside and told me that the first task involved dragons-”

“Dragon’s? Like ones from the fairytales?” Emmett questioned.

“Yeah, I told Cedric about the task and soon it was time. We were supposed to get a golden egg from the dragon by whatever means we could. So when my turn came, I summoned my broom and proceeded to fly using my skills on a broom to help me. The dragon was the meanest one of the four there and the biggest. It was forty feet from head to tail and twenty feet tall. It took a while and a few burns from the dragon’s fire, but I got the egg. The second task came a few months later, it involved the egg somehow, but I was having trouble finding out how it was involved. Cedric ended up giving me a clue and I found you had to open up the egg underwater. Outside of the water, the egg opened screeched like a banshee. However, underwater, it was a beautiful song sung by merpeople, telling that they had taken what we sorely missed and we had an hour to find it. The task was to retrieve the item from somewhere at the bottom of Black Lake.”

“How were you going to get down to the bottom?” Jasper asked.

“We had to figure out a way. My friend Neville got me something called Gillyweed. Ingested gives you gills and webbed fingers and toes; lasting for about an hour or so. The task began and after several obstacles, I swam to the bottom and found four people tied to weights. It was Ron and Hermione, as well as two other students. I grabbed Ron and got him to the surface, but there was a problem and I went under and got a second person after one of the champions couldn’t go on.”

“How could they breathe under there?” Said Edward.

“I’m not sure what they did, some kind of spell like petrification or the like. So the task was over and Ron and I were friends again.” Answered Harry. “The next task was the last and the hardest. It was a huge maze made of hedges about ten feet tall. We had to get through the maze, at night while battling obstacles along the way. About an hour in, I heard a scream from Fleur, but nothing came of it. A while later, I heard someone being attack and rushed to get to them. It was Cedric, he was being crucio’d by Viktor Krum, one of the other champions. I sent a stupefy spell at him, making him unable to move, he fell and Cedric slowly got up. I sent a signal for Krum to be collected and we separately went on our way. Towards the end we helped each other beat the final obstacle; it was a gigantic spider about the size of the dragons we fought. Finally we got to the end where the Tri-Wizard Cup was placed. We both felt each other helped the other too much to take the cup ourselves so we agreed to share the title of Tri-Wizard Champion. So we both grabbed it and as soon as we did it took us to a dark and silent graveyard halfway across the country.”

“How could it do that?” Asked Carlisle.

“It was a portkey. It is a means of travelling for wizards. At a designated time or touch, the object takes you to certain place. It is instant travel and can be used by many people at one time. Cedric and I had no idea where we were or why we were there, but it wasn’t for the tournament…” Harry now had tears trailing downs his cheeks, unnoticed by the young wizard who was trapped in the vision from the past. “We took out our wands and then something came out of the fog. It was a Death Eater and he was holding something in his arms. I felt a horrible pain that felt like it was splitting my forehead in two and I fell to the ground, dropping my wand as I cried out. The scar, whenever Voldemort is near or feels his emotions strongly I can feel it in scar; the pain is horrible and the connection to him that I have is worse. Then a voice, not from the death eater, said to… the voice said to…”

Stopping Harry turned his faced into Edward’s chest, hiding away from the faces in front of him. They all held looks of horror and empathy, his tears affecting them all. He felt a movement to his side and turned back around to see Esme beside him as she took him into a comforting embrace and allowed him to cry. For a few minutes the pain of all he had gone through came to the surface and he cried for the years spent abused, the loss of his parents, Cedric, Ginny, the Weasley’s abandoning him… everything was a raw open wound that felt like salt was being poured in to it. Finally he turned to, still in Esme’s arms and spoke again.

“The voice said to ‘Kill the spare’ and the Death Eater sent a killing curse at Cedric before we could even move. I screamed as he fell to the ground, his eyes open, but dead. He didn’t even have a chance to defend himself… I was then tied to a gravestone that said ‘Tom Riddle’ on it and then I had to watch while the Death Eater used Voldemort’s dead father’s bones, my blood unwillingly given and the Death Eater’s hand given willingly, to resurrect Voldemort. When it was done he had a corporeal body and was alive again. He then took the wand the Death Eater had been using, which was Voldemort’s original wand since Hogwarts and sent for his minions, Death eater after Death Eater popped into the graveyard by aparation.” Harry paused for a moment and then said, “Oh, aparation is something wizards can do; it is a form of teleportation. There were dozens of them and they surrounded the graveyard. Voldemort began to taunt me and cast the Cruciatus on me many times. He told me how he had a faithful Death Eater hidden in Hogwarts that masterminded my being in the tournament and getting me there to the graveyard for Voldemort to be reborn. He used his wand to untie me from the headstone and he had a Death eater give me a wand. He wanted to make me duel him, he wanted to feel that he bested me; Savior of the Wizarding World, the one who had beat him before. We fought and I evaded some spells, but he crucio’d me, he tried to make me given in to him, breaking my will, but I wouldn’t. So, he cast the Imperius Curse on me.”

Esme rubbed his back lovingly while Edward held his hand and Harry felt brave enough to keep going on.

“I felt like I was weightless, floating and blissful. Then I slowly began to feel like I should say no; that I shouldn’t be so calm and I tried to break free from the curse. I wouldn’t give in and broke free from the spell. He tried to crucio me again, but I dived away from the curse. We sent one last curse at each other, his was the killing curse, mine was a disarming spell. Somehow, our spells collided, fusing together and creating a dome of light around us. Voldemort still wanting to feel like he was the better wizard, commanded his people to do nothing, that he would kill me. Then from his wand came light shooting out that formed into ghosts of people he had killed. There was Cedric and many I recognized and then came my dad and mum…”

“Oh, sweetheart…” Murmured Esme as she pulled Harry closer to her.

“It was so fast and I had wanted to know them for so long, missed them even if I didn’t remember them. I wish that we had had more time, that I could have talked to them, but they told me they could keep him there, but only long enough for me to get away. Cedric asked me to take his body back to his father and I promised him. Then I pulled free and dived for Cedric’s body, summoned the portkey to me and it took us back to the place it should have in the first place. The crowd cheered as we arrived, but soon they realized what was wrong and I told Dumbledore that Voldemort was back. The Minister of Magic, who is a complete idiot, was afraid of the public’s reaction and tried to make me seem as if I was ill and didn’t know what I was saying. I was rushed away by Professor Moody and taken to his office. He then pointed his wand at me and I realized he was the Death Eater. Later I would find out it wasn’t the real Mad-Eye Moody, but an impostor. He told me how he got me to his master and how great Voldemort was, the most powerful wizard ever. Then just before he fired a curse at me, Dumbledore and several of the professors came in and disarmed him. Then soon my year was over and I was back to the Dursleys again for another summer of their horrible treatment.”

“I’m so sorry, dear. You have gone through so much and I can’t do anything about it. I can’t take the pain, even though I would if I could.” Esme said quietly and Harry cried silently in her arms.

“Thank you. I am use to it by now, it is just the way my life is…” Harry murmured.

Edward was trying hard to keep his rage held back. The thought of his mate being tortured and having to watch a friend die in front of his eyes, made Edward want to rip the offenders limb from limb. The call to protect his mate was strong and he was waiting for the moment to do so in the future. The war his family would become involved in would assure that.

“You shouldn’t half to get used to it, Harry. That Dumbledore should have made better arrangements to keep you safe, that awful family was abusing you mentally and physically, he should have placed your well being above that of the protection charm. What use was that when you were being destroyed slowly from the very same people who supposedly protected you?” Carlisle said emphatically.

“Every time he sent me back, every time I said how much I hated that place and those people, he said it’s was for ‘The Greater Good.’ My safety was paramount, no matter what. Sirius and Remus tried to find a away to have me live with them, they lived in a placed protected nearly as strongly as Hogwarts, but Dumbledore always had a reason for me staying there. I could read in Sirius and Remus’ letters how much they wanted me there, they wanted to be a family and it killed them they couldn’t give that to me. Sirius was still wanted and couldn’t try to get legal custody.”

“Are they together? Mates?” Asked Esme.

Harry smiled and nodded. “They had been in love with each other since they were teenagers. But they for whatever reason never seem to realize the other felt the same way. Then the war came and everyone was on edge, it was hard to even trust your closest friends and family. Everyone was worried Voldemort had their loved ones under the imperius or that they may have switched sides. Remus, Sirius, my dad and mum all knew someone was feeding information on them to Voldemort, but they weren’t sure who it was. Then when my parents died and Sirius went to prison Remus spent 12 years thinking the worse of Sirius. But, they survived and after he escaped Sirius and Remus finally decided they had wasted enough of their lives without each other.”

“That’s beautiful and heartbreaking; to hear they lost so much time because they didn’t say enough to one another…” Esme said.

“Yeah, but when I left they were absolutely in love. They listen to each other, are constantly showing how much they love each other, even if it’s a quick hug before they leave. I think that is how love is supposed to be, kind of two halves making a whole being…” Harry said quietly, and then the smiles directed at him made him blush and he cleared his throat. “Well, that was the end of my fourth year.”

o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

“In the summer before my fifth year, the Ministry began to publicly denounce that Voldemort had returned, they and the press made it seem as if I was seeking attention or stark raving mad. The press painted me as an unstable child who was a danger to those around me. It seemed like every day a new article came out on how I was dangerous or crazy or starved for more of the lime light that I received as The-Boy-Who-Lived. The public soon followed suit for the most part, some believed I was telling the truth, but the Ministry kept that quiet. Dumbledore sided with me and told anyone and everyone that war was coming. The Minister was afraid of Dumbledore, worried that the older wizard would try to take his place as Minister of Magic. Dumbledore was a powerful wizard and was feared by many. He had Dumbledore removed from certain high ranking ministry committees and tried to make him seen as if the old wizard was going senile.”

“Shortly before school began I was out one night at a park near the Dursley home. Dudley and his cronies had found me and wanted to play their favorite game ‘Hunting Harry.’ I was in a foul mood and wasn’t willing to take any shite, oh um, sorry. Not going to take anymore beatings from him. You see, underage wizards aren’t allowed to use magic outside of school until they are 17 and the Dursleys knew this. Dudley was very happy because he could do whatever he wanted and I couldn’t hex him without being expelled from Hogwarts. So that night, I was at my limit with Dudley and his friends taunting me, when a sudden storm came. The air got horribly cold, even though it had been warm just a few seconds before and Dudley’s friends ran off scared. We began running towards the house when the air got so cold that I could see my breath and I felt like I would never be cheerful again. This was when I realized a dementor somehow was there near us. The dementor went after Dudley and I saw it close to performing the kiss and I pulled out my wand and cast the patronus and sent it away.”

“What happened, did you get expelled?” Asked Jasper.

“We quickly ran home and the Dursleys yelled and screamed at me for doing something to their shaking and mute son. As they did so a letter arrived saying the Ministry had detected my using magic and I was expelled from Hogwarts.”

“But, it was going to kiss your cousin!” Said Emmett heatedly.

“The Ministry was just looking for any way to discredit me and this was perfect way to do it. Shortly after that I got a letter from Mr. Weasley saying Dumbledore had arranged a hearing to explain why I used magic. The next few weeks were excruciating, wondering if I would ever go back to Hogwarts. During this time, I was brought to an ancient house in London that looked like it had been there for centuries. The Weasleys were there, as well as Hermione and it seemed Sirius and Remus as well. I soon found out that it was Sirius’ family house and it was also the headquarters of The Order of the Phoenix. The Order was a group formed by Dumbledore during the first war with Voldemort. My parents along with Remus, Sirius and many other witches and wizards, had been in it and now with Voldemort’s return the Order was brought back together again.”

“Soon my hearing arrived and I was brought to the Ministry for it. It seemed that the Ministry was trying their best to get me expelled and have my wand taken away. They had changed the time and place of the hearing forward and hadn’t tried notifying us until after we had left for the hearing. We barely made it to the new room for the hearing and Dumbledore, having expected it, came early. The hearing was treated as if a full trial, all members of the Wizengamot there to judge me, instead of one. They tried to railroad the hearing, making accusations about me and disbelieving that a dementor had been there that night. Dementors were under the Ministry’s command and were only at Azkaban prison, nowhere else. It was clear, if only to those who opened their eyes, that the dementors if under the Minsitry’s command, were being controlled unofficially for whatever use. One judge, the Undersecretary for the Minster Delores Umbridge, was especially disbelieving and I would later find out she had sent the dementor to create just that situation to have me expelled. But, Dumbledore provided a witness who confirmed the dementor and they reluctantly let me return to Hogwarts.”

They all gave a happy cry at the result of the hearing and Harry laughed and continued. “When I returned for my fifth year, it was to a new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher as usual. The position was held by none other than Delores Umbridge. At the welcoming feast she gave a little speech and in it she talked about the Ministry’s interest in bettering the curriculum and keep traditions, about getting rid of things that should be prohibited and such. Most of the students paid little attention, their eyes glazed over in boredom. But, Hermione paid close attention and when the speech ended she explained that the Ministry was trying to interfere at Hogwarts and Umbridge was the first wave.”

“Why did Dumbledore allow her to teach there?” Asked Edward.

“The Ministry had a provision that incase a position at Hogwarts wasn’t filled shortly before the beginning of term, the Ministry would send an approved instructor to fill the position. Umbridge was a woman who tried to pass off her prejudices and belief that she was better than some, by hiding it behind a sweetly simpering demeanor. She taught the Defense class by books alone. We read every single day of that year. We practiced no spells and were scoffed at for even asking why we were not allowed to practice the spells. She said the books would give us enough understanding behind the theory of the spells and if we ever needed to use them we should be able to if we absorbed enough. It seemed that the Ministry thought we were being taught spells we should not have been. Over the course of that year she quickly began gaining strength in Hogwarts and was pronounced High Inquisitor by the Ministry.”

“What was that?” Rosalie questioned.

“She went around reviewing all the teachers and began systematically trying to remove the ones that she found lacking. Such as teachers who were not quite human, those with questionable backgrounds or allegiances to Dumbledore and those she thought hindered her goals. Ron and Hermione convinced me that we needed to teach ourselves Defensive spells if Umbridge was not going to. So we formed a group of students who got together to learn what we weren’t being taught. The group chose me as the leader/teacher, as I had more experience with defensive spells. I didn’t want the job, I felt others would be better at it, but I was made the leader anyways. So we began learning how to defend ourselves for the coming war.”

“I can’t believe they would be so stupid as to think not preparing you all would be a good idea.” Jasper said. The soldier in him found the stupidity in the Ministry’s actions astounding. “Idiots!”

“Yes, they were that. A Few months after the term started, Dumbledore had me begin taking lessons from Snape in Occulmency. He was worried about my connection to Voldemort, as I had begun having dreams about what Voldemort was doing. Occulmency is a form if magic meant to protect your mind from being invaded-”

“Is that why I only hear your thoughts every few words? It’s broken, like the signal fading in and out…”

“Bloody Hell!!” Harry exclaimed as he jumped up from the couch and looked down at Edward. “You can read my thoughts?”

“Some vampires have gifts such as reading minds like Edward. He is very good most of the time about not invading people’s privacy. As a human he was probably more observant than others and when he became a vampire it became mind reading. Jasper is an empath and is able to read and manipulate emotions.” Carlisle said trying to ease Harry’s worried mind.

“Did you calm me down earlier?” Harry asked Jasper. He had felt several times during the harder events in his life, a calming effect on him just after his nerves began to fray.

“Yes. I felt your pain and guilt and tried to help you through it…” Jasper answered.

“Oh.”

“Alice also has a gift, she is a Seer.” Carlisle continued.

“But I am only able to see a future after a decision has been made and the vision may change if those involved change their plans.”

“Did you see me coming here?” Harry asked quietly.

Alice nodded and then said, “I had a vision of you coming and that you were Edward’s mate. We know that you are involved in the war and you are important to it. We knew you were a wizard, but not really what that meant or any real understanding of your world.”

“I have kept this family separated from that world. The prejudices in it for creatures like us are high and I placed the safety of this family above that. Since her vision we understood we would now be involved in that world, that war. Not because we were forced to, but because as Edward’s mate you are now a part of this family. And we protect our family!” Carlisle stated firmly.

“We would very much like to give you that family you never had…” Said Esme softly as she stood up and wrapped her arm around Harry. “If you would allow us, Carlisle and I would like to adopt you and give you the Cullen name.”

Harry stood there in wonder; he was finally going to have a family!

“I’d like that, but it will only be able to be done in the muggle world as the magical world doesn’t know where I am right now.”

“Good then, now why don’t they know where you are? Won’t they be worried?” Asked Carlisle.

“Um, it’s all involved in what happened in my fifth, sixth and seventh year…”

“Sorry, continue, please.” Carlisle replied.

“So where was I…?” Harry asked absently as he sat back down beside Edward, they clasped their hands together.

“You started learning Occlumency from that Snape guy.” Emmett answered.

“Oh, right… Snape was very unhappy about teaching me and made that fact very known. I wasn’t very happy either, since for the last four years or so, he had made my life hell. He saw me as the same spoiled obnoxious git as he had my father. The lessons didn’t go very well and I learn nearly nothing. They abruptly ended when I saw a few memories of him and my father back during their school years. My father and his friends did not like Snape very much and he did not like them either. They both made complete asses of themselves and I ended up paying for it… After I saw the memories, he refused to teach me anymore and I hated him, so I was glad to end it. As the year progressed Umbridge kept a tighter leash on everyone at the school and after finding out about our little afterschool group she enacted a new rule at Hogwarts. All groups, teams, etc were to disband and only able to reform from approval from her. She and the Minister did not like us learning to fight… it seemed the Minister was worried Dumbledore was going to use the students as his own private army to take action against the Ministry.”

“Was that what Dumbledore was doing?” Carlisle asked.

“No, he had been asked many times over the years to be Minister of Magic, but he found he could better achieve his goals outside of the Ministry’s doors. When Umbridge enacted the new rule, we still continued to meet in private, not willing to stop for fear we wouldn’t know enough when the war began. Someone in the group got scared, worried of expulsion if we were caught and told Umbridge where we were meeting. They came for us, her and a group of student called the Inquisitorial Squad, we all tried to escape and I was caught, they knew I was the leader. So Umbridge and the Minister questioned me on the group, Dumbledore stood on in silence until it came to light what the name of the group was…”

“What was the name?” Asked Jasper.

Harry smiled and said, “Well, we thought since they thought we were Dumbledore’s private army, we might as well to call ourselves the D.A… Dumbledore’s Army!”

They laughed when he said the name and Harry continued. “They tried to place the blame on me and get me expelled, but Dumbledore didn’t want me to leave the school as I had more to learn. He said it was he who started the group; it was called Dumbledore’s Army, not Potter’s Army after all. The Minister accused him of treason against the Ministry and wanted to arrest him. Dumbledore left the school in a big dramatic flash and he was gone. Umbridge took over officially and the school was even more oppressive. Then one night I had a dream about Sirius being captured by Voldemort and tortured. I tried to find him and make sure he was alright. When I tried to find him at his home, I was lied to by his house elf and told he went out, to the Ministry of Magic’s Department of Mysteries. The elf, who hated Sirius, laughed and said his master wouldn’t be returning from there…”

Harry could see it all in his head, wishing he had known what he knew now. Ginny would still be alive if he had… “So Ron, Hermione, Neville, Luna, Ginny and I left the school, going to go rescue Sirius. Before, in a last ditch effort I told Snape that Sirius was captured, but he ignored my warning and walked away. I knew, even though he didn’t like me, that he was a part of the Order and could let them know what was happening. When we arrived at the Ministry we searched for Sirius and found ourselves in the Hall of Prophesies. There were thousands of little orbs that held prophesies in them. One had my name on it and I wondered what it was. It seemed the Death Eaters were after it for Voldemort, but only the person the prophesy was about could activate it. Soon were soon surrounded by Death Eaters. In the fight the prophesy was destroyed. We fought and held our own against them, everyone got hurt and we tried to get out alive. That was when the Order arrived and Sirius with them… Voldemort had laid a trap to get me there and in that night one of my friends died…”

He had been so worried for Sirius and his friends, they fought so hard, but there were so many Death Eaters. He quietly continued, “Ginny and Hermione were fighting a Death Eater together, hexes and curses were flying all around. While I was fighting I heard a scream and watched as Ginny was crucio’d. She fell to the ground in pain and another Death Eater sent a killing curse at her. The green light flew from his wand and hit her in the chest and she was gone…”

Harry felt the tears that were near bursting from his eyes, pain seized his chest and guilt flooded him. “…the fight went on, no one even had the chance to do anything about Ginny, we were all too busy fighting to stay alive. Then Voldemort arrived and he came for me… he tried to kill me, but Dumbledore came and fought him. It was a battle on a scale I had never seen and I realized I wasn’t ready to fight him; I wasn’t prepared enough to finish the war. Then it seemed like Voldemort was gone, he had vanished after Dumbledore won against an attack by Voldemort. I thought for a moment, he might actually be dead, finally it would be over. And the Dumbledore yelled for me to stay down and then my scar began to throb horribly and I found myself and Voldemort locked together, one mind one body. He had possessed me and told Dumbledore to kill me, in my own voice, I could control it. For a moment I was ready to let him kill us, I was ready to die if Voldemort went with me. I would finally see my parents and the pain in my life and those around me would end. I felt happy it was finally over and then Voldemort seemed to recoil in my mind. He couldn’t bare the emotion if felt, the happiness I felt even if it was about dying, was unbearable to him and he left me. Voldemort left, seeking to live and fight another day. The battle was over and all of us were hurt and Ginny dead. Afterwards, when the fight was over and everyone began to understand that she was dead; the Weasley’s blamed me for her death. They felt I was the only reason she was no longer alive; I had been a danger to them since that day years ago when they met me…

“How could they do that? You had no control over what happened!” Said Esme fiercely.

Edward had become tense beside Harry and his hand gripped Harry’s tightly. “What did they do?”

“They and the Ministry tried to blame me for her death, saying my reckless actions led to it. They claimed I was unstable and shouldn’t be allowed to be free, that I was a danger to everyone around me. Dumbledore interceded for me again, keeping everyone at bay. He made it clear how much he had to go through to keep me from being taken by the Ministry. He then told me about the prophesy, as he was the one the prophesy had been made to. He was the only one who knew what it said. He told exactly what my roll was in the war and what was expected of me; and that I was not to destroy everything he had accomplished to win the war. It was hard for me to hear it; I had spent the last five years thinking of him as my mentor, my friend. He had been kind and welcoming when I knew nothing about that world. He did this in a kind grandfatherly way, but it was clear what he wanted. He was doing this for the greater good and he would do anything he had to to win the war, even if my life was the thing that tipped the balance. I was a weapon and nothing more.”

“I can’t believe he would do that!” Exclaimed Emmett.

“It was war and he meant to win at any cost… it was as simple as that.” Harry said flatly, the anger he had felt at the old man had raged for so long and he had finally come to the decision that he wouldn’t allow that rage to consume him anymore. “Whether he controlled those events or not, my roll was exactly what he expected and I couldn’t change that. I was the only one who could end it all and I finally accepted that.”

The silence in the room felt deafening; Harry knew they were all thinking the same thing. “No matter my age or experience, I am the only one who is able to end this and kill Voldemort.”

“You won’t be alone, you’ll have us!” Said Edward strongly, the rest of his family nodding vigorously.

“Thank you, that means a lot…” Harry said quietly. “The public all through the year had been divided on who to believe, but with Ginny’s death the scales tipped. I became an outcast, no one wanted to be near me, fearing that they would end up just like Ginny, like Cedric. The only ones who stayed by me were Sirius, Remus, Neville and Luna. They kept me sane when the world turned against me. Hermione for a time stayed with me, but the strain of the trying to not pick sides was too much, she soon gave in and stopped being my friend. It was hard, Ron and Hermione had been my best friends for so long and it was difficult for me to get used to them no longer being there, but I did… and that was the end of my fifth year.”

A/N: I am working on part three and hope to have it out soon. This will be the last of the Getting to Know You chapters and then the story will pick up a bit more once that happens… I hope you enjoyed it!!!

~Caprilyeous~