Just a few meetings
Harry had decided he hated his first day of school. Sure, it hadn’t been all terrible, but his overwhelming anxiety had made it borderline intolerable. So when the bell rang signifying the end of the day, he was out the classroom door in seconds. He rushed through the school and into the parking lot where he finally exhaled the breath he wasn’t aware he was holding. He shoves his school books into his backpack and hastily puts on his helmet, preparing to make a swift exit. As he sits on his bike, he glances up and notices the same beautiful family, the Cullens, preparing to pile into the ugliest car Harry's seen. It was some silver Volvo monstrosity that looked barely adequate to bring home the giant one. He shakes his head and starts his engine, sparing one last look at the family. He shivers as his eyes lock onto Jasper Hales; feeling something shift within himself. He forces his eyes away, he feels like looking any longer would change him and quite frankly, he’s not ready for any more change. He starts the engine and quickly makes his way home.
Harry stumbles through his front door and heads straight for his kitchen where he promptly pours himself a drink. He knows he really shouldn’t be drinking on a school night, it's a terrible idea, but right now it’s the only thing keeping him going. He quickly downs his whiskey and immediately pours another. He wants nothing more than to skip school, but doing so on the second day, when you’re already behind, is beyond idiotic. Harry is an idiot, he comes up with stupid plans and ideas all the time, but Hermione had instilled fear in him when it came to school so he figured it’s better to buck up and continue with it. Even if she wasn’t a friend anymore he still felt the need to listen to her.
Harry sighs and finishes his drink, it’s only four in the afternoon. Perhaps a nap would do him some good. He makes his way to his bedroom and swiftly falls asleep.
***
A few days pass and school has gotten a bit easier, though Harry still finds himself drinking when he arrives home. Charlie makes idle talk with him when he comes home, Harry suspects he’s a bit nervous knowing a teenager is living by himself in a foreign country. It’s funny to imagine how the man might react if he knew that Harry was actually closer to 24, though permanently resembling a teenager.
Tonight he found himself knocking back his second glass of wine, feeling the stress from the day slowly melt away with every sip. Something about a nice glass or wine or a neat whiskey puts him at ease, lulling him to sleep before he even realizes.
It’s on one such evening where Harry is sleeping soundly until he is rather rudely woken by his doorbell. With a deep groan he groggily sits up, quickly stretching before heading to the front door.
“Oh, hello Charlie.” Okay, Harry was not expecting that.
“Hey, sorry, I wasn’t expecting you to be in bed at 6pm.” Charlie replies, eyeing Harry up and down clearly taking note of his disheveled appearance.
“It’s alright, I was only planning to take a short nap. Ended up being longer than I expected. Uhm, anyways, what can I do for you?”
“Well, I was wondering if you’d like to accompany me to the best diner in town, the Lodge? Y’know, get to know your neighbour and all that.” A look of uncertainty passed over his face, probably questioning whether a ‘teenager’ would want to accompany their cop neighbour anywhere. Normally, Harry would likely decline but looking in Charlie's eyes told him he needed this more than Harry did.
“Sure”, he shrugs, “Give me half an hour to get changed and we can meet outside?” Charlie gives a nod and heads back to his house.
Harry sighs and quickly goes to freshen up. He realizes that Charlie could probably smell the alcohol on his breath, and he hoped to Morgana that he didn’t bring it up at dinner. Also, why would a diner be also referred to as a lodge? Harry knew from Hermione that the ski hills she’d visited all those years ago had lodges and that they served hot chocolate, but he didn’t realize they could also be diners. Or was that just an American thing? Checking himself over in the mirror and trying (and failing) to fix his hair was a mistake. It was simply one beast that couldn’t be tamed. Deciding it was good enough he made his way back outside and over to the Swan house.
He sees Charlie is already waiting for him, leaning up beside his cop car.
“All good?” Harry nods in return. Charlie slaps his hands against his legs and fully stands up.
“Right well, hop in.” Harry makes his way to the back door, pulling the handle slightly before stopping when he hears chuckling from the other side.
“You’re not under arrest kid, just sit up front.” He definitely did not blush in embarrassment, shut up. He does as he’s told and takes a seat up front. Charlie starts the car up and they begin their journey to the infamous ‘lodge’.
Along the way it’s silent. Perhaps it should feel awkward, sitting in a car with a near stranger, but instead Harry feels rather fine. There was a sort of calm energy to Charlie, it felt like he was grounding Harry to the moment. After a few more minutes they arrive.
Harry was disappointed really, the building resembled nothing like a lodge but instead looked like a normal diner. He fought the urge to sigh, not wanting Charlie to think his displeasure had anything to do with him. They head inside and Charlie guides them to a table.
“Hey Charlie! Gettin’ the usual hun?” A bright 30 something woman asks.
“You know me Sarah, gonna need a menu for the kid here though.” He nods his head towards Harry.
“Oh! Sorry sweetheart didn’t notice ya there. Names Sarah, you must be Harrison, been hearing lots about you.” Her smile was infectious.
“Er, yeah that’s me. Pleasure to meet you.” He replies, giving her a shy smile in return.
“Well I’ll give you boys a minute!” And with that she walks off towards another table. Harry looks over the menu, briefly amazed at all the burger combinations America has before turning his attention to Charlie.
“Been sitting at this table since I was your age, y’know things change in life but it’s nice to have a few things that stay the same.”
Harry thinks for a moment, he’s never gotten to have anything stay consistent in his life. Maybe this could be the start of that, a small town where things change slowly and not in the blink of an eye.
“I think I’d like that, haven’t had much of that.” He adds. Charlie gives him an appraising look, likely wondering if he’s allowed to ask the question Harry is sure he knows. He surprises Harry by quickly shifting the conversation back over to the menu.
“Anything catching your eye?”
“I'm not sure, it all sounds tasty. I will say I’m a bit skeptical of American fish and chips.” Barely hiding the disgust in his voice.
“Hah, s’pose it would probably be better over the pond.” He replied grinning. Harry snorts in return.
“What do you usually get Charlie?”
“Well, I’m a simple man. I get the steak and cobbler every week. Can’t beat the classics.”
“Hmm, think I’ll give the chicken burger a go.”
“Good choice kid, now why don’t you tell me how your first few days have been?”
Harry starts off easy, telling him about his trip to the mall and his curiosity towards computers, and he fills him in on his woes with biology, and how Mr. Hartwell seems like a right prick. They were halfway through Charlie talking to him about his yearly fishing trips when the server came up to their table to take their orders.
The conversation continues despite the interruption and Harry is even bold enough to mention his prank list, something that gets him a chuckle in return.
“As long as I don’t have to arrest you after, I say have at ‘er. I wasn’t much of a prankster myself but man did I get a kick out of it whenever Lewis Newton got up to something.” Nostalgia creeping up his face.
Harry scrunches his face up in disbelief.
“Newton? As in Mike Newton's dad?”
“The very same.” Charlie replies gruffly. “Kids nice and all but seems a bit empty headed if you ask me. All I know about him is that he likes two things: sports and girls.”
“That’s about the impression I got, I will say that you forgot the third thing he likes…” Harry trails off, Charlie raises an eyebrow.
“Why Charlie, his love for hair gel triumphs all things! From the way his hair defies gravity I'm certain he’s barmy for it!” Harry says, smirking. Charlie sighs in mock annoyance, but Harry can see the corners of his mouth twitching.
“S’pose you’re right, kids hair does look pretty crunchy.” He says, a twinkle of humor in his eyes.
“Anyways, my fathers and uncles were a group when they went to my old school, called themselves the Marauders, and they were menaces according to my old headmistress. Makes me want to keep up the legacy. My mum didn’t like my dad at all until he finally calmed down in 7th year.” This time, Charlie didn’t ignore the obvious question.
“Fathers and a mother eh? You said your folks died right? Now, you don’t have to tell me anything but if you want to I’m listening.” He thinks about it for a moment, Charlie doesn’t really seem like the type of man to go talking about Harry’s life so he figures it might be okay. Something about him just feels comforting, maybe it’s just that Harry is weak to father figures but he decides he might as well spill his guts.
Worse comes to worse he can always obliviate it away.
‘Well, in England there was this sort of cult run by an absolute maniac. He killed my birth parents when I was still a baby, and went into hiding. Luckily I was spared but he carved this scar into my forehead before leaving. I was found and sent to live with my aunt and uncle. Sadly they didn’t like me very much, but it was fine since I ended up going to a boarding school in Scotland. My parents had set up a fund for me so that I could go once I turned 11. There I met my best mates, Ron and Hermione. Honestly school was kind of traumatic, the madman wanted me still and he had his little cultists everywhere trying to get their hands on me. When I was 14 my other father Sirius found me and adopted me, which was lovely since I didn’t have to go back to my aunt and uncle after that. We lived together with my Uncle Remus. It was really nice, sadly they both lost their lives because of the cultists but he at least finally got locked away for good.” He breathes, taking in the shocked expression on Charlie's face. He hastily adds,
“It’s not all bad though! I spent some of the best years of my life with them, I’m happier to have spent some time with them rather than none at all. Plus I found out I had family here when I thought I was the last one left so, really I’m happy now. I just want to move on and start a new life.” Which wasn’t a total lie, even if Harry constantly teetered on the edge of being depressed/anxious, and happy/excited.
Charlie is silent for a few minutes, staring at him with disbelief clear on his face. Harry anxiously bites at his lip while moving his chips around his plate. He thought that perhaps he’d gone a bit too far, telling Charlie what had happened to him. Honestly the really shitty thing was that what he did say wasn’t even as bad as it really was. If Charlie knew that he was a wizard who had technically died more times than he could count I’m sure he would have a heart attack, or ship him off to some mental hospital. Even the story he did tell sounds absolutely mad. He was sure Charlie would believe him, but honestly he was regretting having said anything at all.
“Well kid, I gotta say I wasn’t expecting that. I believe you though. It is weird how we never heard anything about it, woulda thought that’d be all over the news.” Shit, he was right. A cult trying to kill a baby would probably make the news.
“Oh uhm yeah, see they knew it was a– uh delicate situation. The cops were very careful about not letting it get out. They knew it would be dangerous for me, but also didn’t want anymore people to think of joining them.” Charlie narrows his eyes, he probably knew Harry was lying about that part because he’s still a shit liar.
“Whatever you say Harry.” Charlie definitely did not believe him.
Awkward silence hangs in the air, Harry shifts uncomfortably in his chair, before clearing his throat.
“So Charlie, why did you look so down earlier? I thought you would be more excited because Bella comes home tomorrow?” Maybe not the most subtle, but please let him change the subject.
Charlie sighs, a sad expression forcing its way onto his face. “Well, the thing is she called me earlier today. Said something about her mom wanting to keep her for another 2 months. Not sure why, just knew I wouldn’t be able to argue with it. See once Bella or her mother, Renee, get their minds set on something they get damn stubborn about it. She did say she was definitely coming after so there's that at least. I was just happy to finally have her home.” The look of utter disappointment on Charlie’s face was unbearable. Even if he didn’t know him well it was clear as day that he wanted his daughter to be with him. Harry felt a pang of jealousy, wishing he had parents to fight for him like Bella does.
“At least you know for sure that she still wants to come, it can be something to look forward to! And well if you’d like, I wouldn’t be opposed to meeting for dinner or lunch every week. I don’t know too many people here and you’re already friends with my uncle. Plus being friends with the police Chief will give me special privileges I’m sure.” He adds a cheeky wink for good measure. Charlie narrows his eyes, a look of consideration on his face. Harry turns to his cola taking a big gulp.
“Sure, like not getting caught for underage drinking, right?” Harry chokes on his cola, elegantly spitting it onto the bits of half eaten chips.
“Uh, d-don’t know what y-you’re talking about.” He forces out through coughs.
“Whatever you say Harry. Just don’t let me smell it again, especially on a school night. Parents or no parents, you’ll still receive a talking to from me.”
“Yes sir, it won’t happen again.”
Charlie flashes him an amused smile while handing Harry a spare napkin.
“Dinner would be nice though kiddo, I’ll take you up on your offer.” Harry smiles at the man, feeling a bit of his own loneliness ease with his words. “On another note, you messaged Billy yet? You said he knows you’re here so colour me shocked that you didn’t run over there first thing.” Harry is baffled momentarily, he wasn’t aware that shock could have a colour. Would it be a type of red? It feels like it must be a type of red.
“Well, I was going to try and message him tonight but I haven’t yet figured out how to add a contact to my new telephone.” There was a slight sense of shame that accompanied his words. Charlie chuckles, patting Harry on his arm.
“Hand it over, I’ll do it for ya.” So Harry does hand his phone over and watches how Charlie inputs the name and the number. Charlie also goes ahead and adds his own in the device. “There, you get into any trouble and you give me a call. Doesn’t matter what time.”
“Thanks Charlie.” Harry smiles brightly at the older man. Charlie shrugs before going back to eat his pie. Harry forgoes the rest of his dinner, not feeling particularly keen on soggy cola coated chips. They sit in a comfortable silence before Harry asks Charlie about the Cullens.
“The Cullens? I’m guessing you realized that next to you they’re the talk of the town eh? Well I don’t know too much about the kids, they’re practically model citizens. Never speeding, always safe on the roads, and keep to themselves. I was honestly hoping to give at least one of ‘em a ticket”, he smiles wistfully, “they're all adopted, their parents Carlisle and Esme are real young, if you ask me, too young to have five teenagers. But still Carlisle’s a good man, took a pay cut to work here. He saves a load of people every year. Can’t hate ‘em even if they’re a bit odd.” Harry nods in return. They talk for a bit longer before deciding to head back home. Charlie pays for both their meals despite Harry’s protests. They get back into the police cruiser, making idle chit chat during the drive. Charlie goes up his driveway, the pair promptly making their exit once still.
“I’m paying next time!” Charlie simply shakes his head with a smile as Harry walks away.
He makes his way up to his bedroom, more tired despite his long nap. He sighs and glances at the time, it’s only 8 o’clock, hardly too late to call his uncle. Despite longing for his family, he couldn’t help but feel nervous all the same. There was a chance that they wouldn’t like him or want him to be a part of their lives. Although Billy did seem keen on meeting Harry. Frowning, he pulls out his telephone, finger hovering over the call button.
“Should I just do it tomorr-” Too late, he’d already pressed the call button. Great, now he was panicking because he wasn’t fully ready to contact them. He’d hardly had any time to think about what he wanted to say to them.
“Hello, this is Billy Black. Who am I speaking to?” His uncle's voice was gruffer over the phone than Harry had remembered.
“Hi uncle Billy, it’s Harry.” His voice cracked at the end, his nerves were quickly rising.
“Ah Harry! How are you? Did ya make it to Forks okay?” Harry can feel the warmth of his uncle's words through the phone and finds himself smiling.
“Yes I did! Went to school today and had dinner with Charlie Swan tonight as well. Didn’t expect one of your friends to be my neighbour but it was nice, seems like it will be a weekly occurrence!”
“Charlies a good man, he’ll look out for ya. Speaking of dinner, you should come over next week and spend some time with Jake and I. We’ll have a barbecue.” Harry perked up at that, he’d heard about American barbecue but never had the opportunity to try it until now.
“Sounds lovely! I’m looking forward to meeting you guys in person.”
“Me too Harrison, family has to stick together. If I’d known about you sooner I would have forced you to move down here a long time ago. Jakes’ excited to have a cousin around his age too.You won’t be alone anymore. ” Harry willed himself to not cry, he felt the crushing loneliness come back with full force. If only he’d been able to come here years ago, if only he wasn’t such a coward who resented his immortality.
“Thanks Billy. I should probably head to bed, I’ve got school tomorrow.” Fuck, he was crying now and really hope that his uncle couldn’t hear it. Billy was silent for a few moments before clearing his throat.
‘’Alright Harrison, I'll let you go. I expect to hear from you more often now that you’re here. If I don’t I’ll come down there myself. Even if you just shoot me some text messages, it’ll be nice to hear from ya.” Harry cleared his own throat.
“I’ll do that, promise.” The thickness in his voice was apparent, hsi words hanging in the air.
“Have a good night Harrison, talk again soon.” Billy said, sighing.
“Goodnight Billy.” And with that he clicked his phone off. Harry couldn’t help the sobs that escaped his lips. Feeling both overwhelming grief and happiness at the thought of having family again.
***
A week passes and Harry finds school to be a lot easier. He still dreaded calculus and biology after finding them to be nothing like their magical counterparts. History was alright but that was mainly due to sitting next to Jasper, Mr. Hartwell certainly wasn’t the highlight. Angela and Eric made the process of enjoying school a lot easier with Harry finding comfort in their quiet friendship. Begrudgingly, he’d even come to enjoy Jessica’s presence. He half expected the girl to hold a grudge over his lack of romantic interest in her, but instead she had taken to telling him about which guys in school were bisexual or gay, and even warning him against the ones who were not worth his time.
“You see that guy there, Sam Campbell? He looks like a total sweetheart but he’s basically the biggest jerk when it comes to dating, guy or girl. He spends his time sleeping around, cheating on anyone he starts to date. I also heard that he even hit one of his ex girlfriends so definitely stay away from him. We’ll find you a nice and sweet boyfriend, nothing less than what you deserve.” She said primly, looking right into Harry’s eyes.
“Thanks Jess, I appreciate you looking out for me.” He smiles, she nods her head at him before turning to Angela to continue gossiping. Harry slowly munches down on his sandwich while watching the pair.
Apparently Harry wasn’t always a good judge of character; while he was positive that Lauren Stanley was going to be a problem, he could admit that he had been wrong about Jessica. She clearly did care for her friends and just had a very unique way of showing it. Harry had also come to tolerate Mike. The guy was nice enough, just a bit of daft really. The only one he still couldn’t stand was Lauren. The girl always seems so cold, and looks at Harry like she’s ready to rip him apart at any given second. To put it plainly, she is simply not a nice girl, she always has something rude to say about anyone they passed in the hallways. And for some reason he still couldn’t help but shiver every time she looked into Harry’s eyes.
Harry had also felt himself growing more and more impatient with introducing himself to a certain blonde classmate of his. Wanting to introduce himself in every history class; or approaching him in the cafeteria or after school, but also feeling like he had already waited too long. Sure, there was no time limit on taking initiative, but at the same time it felt a bit awkward. He’d spent most of the lunch period mulling over when or how he could introduce himself to the infamous Cullen family.
Alice was also growing impatient.
Jasper spent the whole week lamenting over the fact that his mate was a human. Honestly, they joked about Edward being the whiny and broody sibling, but Jasper was seriously outdoing himself. It had taken him two days alone to know the truth because Jasper is an idiot. He wanted to meet his mate soo badly but then as soon as he does he doesn’t even realize it’s him, Honestly he didn’t even realize it himself, If it hadn't been for Carlisle who knows how long it would have taken him to notice.
Jasper was sitting in the living room, confused on why he was so attracted to the new kid. Sure, Harrison was cute with his big green eyes and messy hair, but why did he feel like he would do absolutely anything to protect him, to keep him happy? What confused him most was how he didn’t feel any desire to drink his blood, and how he quelled his urge to drink anyone else's blood when he was next to him. After spending the better part of a day going over possibilities in his head, he finally bit the bullet and asked Carlisle.
“Oh Jasper!” His adoptive father exclaimed, clapping him on the back. “I’m so happy that you have found your mate! What wonderful news, wait until your mother hears about this!”
“Wait what? My mate? But he’s human. How is that even possible?”
“Well, it doesn’t always have to be a vampire. I felt the exact same way when I met Esme, I knew she was my mate when all I felt was wanting to protect her, to keep her safe and by my side. Even if I have the best self control in the family, human blood still smells delightful but with her I felt nothing towards it. Some vampires say it felt like an irrational pull towards their mate.”
Jasper was shocked. He became this weird mixture of happiness and dread. Overwhelmed by his fathers intense feelings of happiness, and his own fear for telling a human that not only is he a vampire, but that he is said to be a human's mate, or soulmate as they would say. For all he knew, he would permanently scare him off, leaving Jasper to chase after him for the rest of Harrison’s natural lifespan. Just the thought of Harrison dying sent a wave of anxiety through him, he couldn’t allow that to happen. He would have to work on befriending him, easing him into his family’s lives before committing to telling him their true nature.
“Jasper I swear to god just go introduce yourself, if I have to hear your depressive thoughts over Harrison for one more day I’m going to lose my mind.” Edward was clearly growing exasperated by his brother.
“Easy for you to say that, it’s nerve wracking to think of introducing myself to him.” Glancing over at Harrison who was for some reason, still sitting with that witch Lauren Mallory. He could hear Harrison laughing with Jessica Stanley and Angela Webber, but surely the three of them didn’t need to be around the other girl. He could tell from his emotions and the way he spoke to her that he wasn’t happy to be there either, so why put himself through that? He ignores his siblings, opting to listen in once he notices Lauren beginning to speak to Harrison when the others begin to depart, heading off early to their next classes. Or in Jessica’s case wanting to stand outside for ‘a few glorious minutes’.
“Y’know Harrison, I see you looking at me all the time. I think we should date, become the power couple of this lousy school.” The girl had the audacity to purr at his Harrison, Jasper clenches his teeth, fighting the urge to walk over there and snatch him away from her.
“Uh, I’m flattered, but I am not interested in you.” Maybe he smirked a little at that, did the girl really forget that Harrison was gay? Besides, even if he did look at her sometimes, he looked at Jasper far more.
“Harrison we both know that can’t be true. I mean look at me, I’m beautiful, popular and smart! Any guy in this school would kill to be with me.” Lauren was radiating pride , the girl assumed every person in this school wanted her when she didn't realize the things they mutter under their breaths. Harrison had been filled with disgust at her words. Jasper knew he was smart, Harrison had clearly always been very weary of the girl and every time she showed her true colours he grew more and more dismayed at being around her.
“Look, I’m not sure why you’ve been so fixated on me but I’m not interested. Even if you were a bloke I wouldn’t be interested.”
“Oh really”, she giggled, “are you still thinking you’re gay? Honestly I’m not sure how ugly the girls in England are but I’m sure being around me has to do something for you! Who could have caught your attention so much that you won’t even consider me?” Harry spared a glance over to Jasper, he flushed as he was caught red handed by him, quickly shying away in embarrassment. Lauren herself chuckled darkly, her emotions twisting into ones of hatred.
“Ugh you cannot seriously be thinking about trying with them . Seriously they may be attractive but they’re so stuck up! They think everyone is below them. Honestly they’re such freaks, so don’t even waste your time!” Her words dripped venom, Harry could feel himself bristle. Not only was this girl delusional, but she was a massive hypocrite. She herself thinks she is above everyone in this school, constantly talking shit about everyone here and bullying the younger students. Harrison wasn’t sure why Lauren was so obsessed with him but he decided he wouldn’t be putting up with her bullshit anymore.
“You know what, I don’t know how many times I have to say it for your single brain cell to comprehend, but I am not interested. I’ll never be interested. In fact, I’m also not interested in being your friend. I’m gay and you’re annoying. I’m so sorry that they weren’t keen on getting to know an absolute tosser like you but judging from how you behave I’m not shocked. Do everyone a favour and go take your mouth for a shit.” He added with a sickeningly sweet smile. Beneath the surface he felt his blood boil, it felt like he was back in year one meeting a certain prejudiced blonde git. Jasper’s mouth dropped into a perfect ‘o’ at Harrison’s words, a feeling of pride towards his mate creeped up through him. He saw Lauren go still with shock, an indignant expression filling her face as it reddened, fury brewing inside the girl so fast he thought she might actually explode.
“How dare you! Don’t you realize that I can make your time at this school a living nightmare? So what if you're a freak too? I was going to offer you the chance to keep your populararity but no, you think you’re so much better than me, don’t you?” Her screeching somehow went up and octave and Harry felt his ears ring, “I’m telling you right now, don’t even fucking bother, they won’t want anything to do with you.”
He quickly looks around and notices they’ve gotten attention from nearby tables, staring at him with their beady eyes.
“Oh fuck off.” He says loudly shooting scathing glares at the offenders.
Harry smirks to himself seeing the looks of shock he received in return and looks back to look at the raging girl. He wordlessly casts a tripping jinx on her, smiling innocently as he does so.
‘Enjoy the rest of your day dumbass, you won’t be getting very far.’ Lauren had just made herself a full on enemy. He has some peace of mind knowing that soon she won’t have peace from Harry’s pranks. Soon she won’t trust anything or anyone.
Alice stands up, casting a look towards Jasper.
“I’m going over there! I need to rescue our poor Harrison from the evil Lauren!” She proclaims.
“What? No, don't do that, this is hilarious!” Emmett cheers as he fixes an intense stare at the duo.
Rosalie snorts, “Wouldn’t it be better if his prince charming went to save him?”
Alice perks up at that. instantly eyeing Jasper.
“No no no, Harrison can handle himself. He’s doing great, I don’t want this to be the first time we meet.” Jasper is looking at his siblings, praying someone supports him.
They don’t.
Edward and Rosalie are smirking, Emmett just looks highly entertained.
“Jas, if you don’t, I’ll tell Harrison about that time you ran into a tree.” Alice’s eyes were twinkling with mischief. Treegate was NOT something he wanted Harrison to know besides there was a certain vampiric flare to it that couldn’t be properly conveyed until Harrison knew the truth, whatever human sounding way Alice would come up with was sure to be way more embarrassing than the truth. Jasper felt himself involuntarily growl, standing up with a glare.
“Fine. Sit down cause I’m going over there. Also if you mention it to Harrison I will personally burn all of your Italian dresses.” Alice gives him a mocking expression before it turns blank. Her big eyes stare at nothing for a few moments before she starts giggling. Edward snorts next to her, hiding his grin behind his hand.
“No you won’t!” And with that she takes her seat.
Jasper shoots one last glare before anxiously making his way over to the table. He was excited to meet Harrison, but the circumstances were less than ideal. Though a part of him did feel satisfaction at the fact that this would surely drive Lauren crazy.
“Hello, my name is Jasper Hale.” Harrison slightly turns and looks up at him, his heart stuttering, eyes going wide because he was not expecting Jasper to come over and introduce himself. When Harry allowed himself to fully look at him, he could really see how beautiful he was.
“Uhm, hello, I'm Harr- Harrison Po- Black .” He adds sheepishly. Leave it to him to almost bungle his new name in front of such an ethereal man. And he was doing so well with everyone else too.
“Pleasure to meet you.” Jasper said with a warm smile, throwing his hand out for Harry to shake. He tentatively grasps his hand and he fights the urge to gasp at just how cold it is. Sweet Circe, it was as cold as snow. As Harry holds the outstretched hand and feels what could only be described as electricity flow through him.
‘Merlin I sound like some lovestruck protagonist in a shitty novel.’
“The pleasure is all mine.” He replied, somehow keeping his voice steady.
“Uh so what brings you over?” He mentally smacks himself. Why would he even question it, this was his chance to get away from Lauren and meet Jasper. What's the saying, two pixies one jinx? He glances over at the table he came from and notices the brunette boy was laughing, the pixie was looking over highly amused with her bear of a brother, and the blonde girl looked to be fighting a smirk.
“We sit next to each other in Mr. Hartwells class and I’ve been meaning to introduce myself to you for a while now. My siblings have also been wanting to meet you so I figured I would come and invite you over.” He couldn’t help but stare in bewilderment. Harry forces himself to look into his amber eyes and could feel something pivotal shift inside of him. It accompanied a strange yearning, a pull to be around him.
“Well Jasper, sounds lovely.” Smiling brightly at him.
“Perfect, if you would follow me then.” With no room to protest, he allows himself to be hauled up to the table. Before leaving he looks back at Lauren, who was resembling more a fish out of water than a human girl.
“Well it’s been positively lovely Mallory, but a word of advice, you may want to close your mouth before something crawls in and takes up the space where your brain is supposed to be.” He adds smugly. He looks long enough to see her snap her mouth closed, a cold expression erupting onto her otherwise unpleasant face. He sees her bolt up, turning to storm out of the lunch room. Only much like he had predicted, didn’t make it very far. It was like something out of a book, the girl slammed face first into some poor student who shoved her away. The tray that they were holding apparently housed milk that splashed gloriously all over the girl's face. The front of her jumper was coated in ketchup from their chips. Harry almost felt bad. Almost. He snickers before turning to Jasper who bore a look of feigned calm, but Harry could see his lips twitching oddly as he forced himself to be above laughing at the girl's misfortune.
As Harry approaches the new group, he could really get a grasp at their unnatural beauty. They all looked just too perfect (although Jasper was still the most perfect.) It’s almost like they’re surreal or carved out of marble.
The coiffed one seems shocked and stares openly at Harry. He felt a pang of sadness, up close he could really see that he resembled Cedric Diggory.
It felt like someone was casting legilimency on him. He quickly raises his occlumency shields just in case, glancing around haphazardly. Although he has no proof he still won’t take his chances with us mind being read. It surely couldn’t be possible, MACUSA hadn’t told him of any other wixen living in the area. Though they don’t really hand that sort of information out to just anyone, not even Harry Potter.
Coiffy just looks away, Harry narrows his eyes. Jasper takes him around to an empty seat, pulling it out for Harry before sitting back at his previous spot.
“Hello everyone, this is Harrison Po-Black.” Why did Harry have to be this way? Must he always go through life so awkwardly?
“Uh hello, just Harrsion, uhm Black, thanks.” He grimaces. His eloquence never ceases to amaze him.
He hears someone clear their throat, shifting his focus away from his thoughts.
“Names Emmett, nice to meet you new kid.” Throwing out his hand in the shape of a fist, Harry stares blankly at it.
“Uh sorry, what am I meant to do?” He asks, embarrassed that he doesn’t know a clear social norm. The bear boy, Emmett, breaks into laughter,
“Awe man, they don’t do this in England? Here, you’re supposed to bump fists, come on do it don’t be shy. I don’t bite.” He finishes, earning a quick glare from Jasper, Harry does as he’s told and successfully bumps his fist with the large teens. His hand was also frighteningly cold compared to the average humans. Even with just tapping it lightly it felt like he had touched a stone.
“I’m Rosalie.” The blonde girl said coldly and bluntly, not even bothering to hold a hand out to Harry. Still, he smiles politely at her.
“I am Edward, it’s nice to meet you.” Once a Coiffy always a Coiffy. He felt a push on his occlumency shield, one that made him flinch at how abrupt it was. He takes note of how Coiffy is still tense, and clearly uncomfortable.
“I’m Alice! I just know we’re going to be great friends!” The petite girl was smiling widely at him, her big amber eyes swirling with amusement. “You seem so interesting Harrison! I was thinking you should come over sometime, I mean friends do that don’t they, they hang out at each other's houses?” She says, her cheerfulness never once dropping.
“Uhm yes, you’re right they do that, and I’d love to, Alice, maybe we should exchange telephone numbers?” He asks, feigning confidence with his terminology.
The girl nods her head while giggling while leaning over to whisper in Harry’s ear,
“You can just say ‘can i get your number.’” Harry feels his blood rush to his face from embarrassment but reaches into his pockets to hand her his phone. He looks at Jasper from the corner of his eye and sees him staring in awe at Harry, causing him to redden further.
Alice hands Harry back his phone and smiles at him.
“So Harry, how are your classes going?” Why is everyone so interested in how his classes are going? It’s embarrassing to tell them just how abysmal he is at some courses.
“They’re mostly fine, history is cool but biology is an absolute nightmare. I’m a bit further behind than I’d initially realized.” Putting his head in his hands and groaning, feeling the embarrassment settle in.
“Oh that’s perfect!” Alice exclaims, causing Harry’s head to whip up. After seeing Harry’s weary look she quickly amends her statement.
“Not that you’re doing bad in biology but that Jasper is great at biology! Why don’t you come over this Saturday so he can tutor you?”
“Uh I mean, I’d love to but are you sure Jasper wants to do that? Er- I mean- I wouldn’t want to impose.” Harry mutters out, cheeks reddening from the intense stare he was receiving from Jasper. If Harry gets any redder he might just turn into a tomato.
Alice shoots Jasper a pointed look, he sighs and sits up.
“So, Harrison, want to come over Saturday and I can tutor you in biology?” Shooting him a smile that makes him melt. Oh Merlin, why is he so attractive? Harry feels like there's a frog in his throat desperately trying to hop its way free.
He clears his throat in a desperate attempt to be some semblance of normal.
“Y-yeah sure, love to.” Why? Why did his voice have to crack? He can feel his entire face burn as he uncomfortably shifts on his spot. Jasper smiles sweetly at him.
“Wonderful, may I have your phone Harrison?” Harry sheepishly hands out the device for Jasper.
He hears him tsk under his breath, “You should really put a passcode on this Harrison.”
Harry looks away, “Er I would, but uhm, I don’t know how to..” Jasper shoots Harry a look, eyebrows furrowing slightly. How can someone look so attractive doing that? Seriously Harry feels more like a teenage girl, is this how Ginny felt when she’d first met him?
“You don’t know how?” He asks incredulously.
“In my defence, I’ve never had a cellphone before.” Harry retorts, clearly embarrassed.
“Well, I suppose I can help you with that too.” Jasper throws a cautious smile up.
“Thanks.” Harry utters, a small smile on his own face. Jasper hands Harry’s phone back to him, brushing their fingers together. Harry is surprised to feel the same sparks from the slightest touch. Alice goes to say something before being cut off abruptly by the bell.
“Well it was lovely meeting you all, I'm off to english” He says looking at the five siblings.
“Bye Harry see you saturday!” Alice says, waving him off.
***
The rest of the school day passes by in a blur with Harry still riding the high from his interaction with Jasper Hale. There was something about him that was just so magnetic, he drew Harry in every time he looked at him. He’s not sure why he feels like this, especially given he’s never felt anything like this for someone else. He decides that he’ll get to know him, and perhaps he’ll either get over this crush and remain friends, or become something more with him.
What does bother Harry is just how unhuman these muggles seem, they’re too beautiful, too perfect. All of their mannerisms seem well rehearsed and not natural at all. He tries to think of what it could be but his thoughts quickly become muddy, slowly circling back to the blonde man. He suddenly hears a ding from his phone and goes to check it/
“Hello Harrison, it’s your uncle Billy. Come over this Friday for dinner. -Billy”
Oh? I guess ‘text messages’ are meant to be signed with your name at the end. Luckily he hadn’t sent too many out yet.
“Hello uncle Billy, Friday sounds lovely. Should I bring anything with me? -Harry”
“Just yourself. See you then. -Billy👽”
What the fuck is that? It’s some sort of face that vaguely reminds him of Voldermort. Could it be that his image somehow transcended the magical world and bled into the muggle?
He would have to ask Alice about this later.