Dumbledore Meets Potter ...Or Rather, 'Evans-Snape-Hagrid'; Story of the 'Cold Ones'
Something to know about Pinocchio and his father that *NOBODY* save for 'Miss Fairy' and Jiminy knew: they were descendants of a certain manipulative 'for the greater good' Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore, and *NOT proud* of it. They'd been *BEYOND disgusted* by his plans for Harry Potter's life and death, plus those of Severus Snape, Remus Lupin, Sirius Black, and Ruebus Hagrid, among others! ...So, needless to say, when he first saw longish messy jet-black hair, large almond-shaped brilliant green eyes now covered by non-rounded glasses with a deepish-blue frame, the famed now-faded (*thank HEAVENS*!!) lightning scar on the left side of his forehead, a thin-yet-heart-shaped face with Lady Lily's nose, lip-shape, and chin, and a thin taller but still-small-for-his-age frame 'thanks' to constant malnutrition under a Hufflepuff-emblemed T-shirt, hoodie of Ravenclaw-blue with bronze-colored trimming, denim skinny-yet-baggy Slytherin-green jeans that just displayed knobbly knees, and white socks and sneakers, Pinocchio was *VERY nervous* indeed about not only meeting Harry James Evans-Potter, who was in *Forks, Washington* rather than anywhere in the British Isles, but *talking to* him!
He'd have been *less* nervous with the tall lanky-yet-nicely-muscled Quilete boy with long glossy black hair pulled back with a rubber band at the nape of his neck, silky russet-copper skin, high planes of cheekbones, and very dark brown deep-set eyes clad in shades of black and grey who looked older than 'Nocchi yet the same age as Harry; and *Harry's BOYFRIEND*, apparently, given how the darker-skinned boy gently squeezed Harry's slightly smaller hand in his own larger long-fingered one and bent down to press a sweet kiss to his pale cheek! 'Potters *ALWAYS* fall *for REDHEADS*'- *PFFT*!! *Yeah, right*...
He tried his best not to let his stims or nervousness show when he saw Harry recognize the bright blue shade of the younger boy's eyes- but although his thin black brows and naturally-red lips pursed slightly in thought, he didn't once glare at Pinocchio or send a Severus Snape-esque sneer his way. And neither did the other boy, or any of his and Harry's companions.
Instead, the green-eyed teen gave Pinocchio a friendly smile, and the first words out of his mouth were "Hello; are you a cousin or brother of Miss Isabella Swan's?"
"A-Adopted cousin," the other dark-haired and pale-skinned boy stammered, tucking a long lock of raven hair behind his ear.
Harry held out his hand in a friendly gesture. "I'm Harry- Harry James Evans. -Well, it's now more like 'Evans-Snape-Hagrid' in full, but I mostly go by just 'Evans'."
Pinocchio was relieved that Harry didn't seem to hold a grudge against anyone with the last name or 'Romanov eyes' of 'familia' Dumbledore, but still just a bit apprehensive as he shook Harry's hand. "Pl-Pleased t' meet you, S-'Signor' Harry Evans! -I'm Pinocchio- 'Pinocchio Edward Benjamin Caspari', in full."
"Nice name, if a bit long!" the Quilete teen who'd just introduced himself as 'Jacob William Black' to Bella piped up in his pleasant husky voice, giving 'Nocchi a friendly wink.
Harry gave Jacob a LOOK, but then gave a smile both rueful and fond as he chuckled with slightly twinkling Coke-bottle-green eyes, "-What my boyfriend Jake just said, more or less." Then he added a bit worriedly with a small nibble to his bottom lip, "You- Y-You won't mind that, will you?"
In reassuring answer, Pinocchio lightly touched his fingers to the ribbon on which his blue butterfly necklace hung, today a literal rainbow complete with cloud-shaped clasp- also pushing his chest out just a bit so that Harry could clearly see the 'Wizard of Oz' pin that he'd attached to his dark vest that day- the famous Yellow Brick Road/"We're Off to See the Wizard" scene with Dorothy Gale, the Scarecrow, the Tinman, and the Cowardly Lion alternately walking and skipping arm-in-arm while little Toto trotted along beside them. Displayed in white and all-caps, the words above the forever-friends proclaimed 'FRIEND OF DOROTHY'.
"I'm NOT *at ALL* a 'hideous Two-Faced Hypocrite' like HE was- I *PROMISE*!" Pinocchio uttered in a whisper.
His heart lightened when Harry gave a sigh of relief. Neither of them really knew what to say further, so they just vaguely listened to Jacob's and Bella's conversation.
"-You're *Billy's son*. I probably should remember you."
"Nah- I'm the youngest of the family! You'd probably remember *my OLDER SISTERS*, though."
"...*Rachel and Rebecca*. Are they here??"
"No- Rachel got a scholarship to Washington State, and Rebecca married a Samoan surfer. She lives in HAWAII, now."
"...*Married*. *WOW*!" both Bella and Pinocchio murmured to themselves at the same time with widened eyes.
"*TELL ME about it*," Harry mumbled with a small headshake. "He's a *NICE guy*, at least-!"
"-So, how do you like the truck??"
"I *LOVE it*! It runs *GREAT*!"
"Yeah, but it's *REALLY slow*...! I was *so RELIEVED* when Charlie bought it. My dad wouldn't let me work on building another car when we had a *perfectly good* vehicle right there."
"It's not *THAT slow*."
"Have you ever tried to go over sixty??"
"-No."
"*GOOD*. DON'T."
"So, you build cars??"
"When I have free time, and parts. -You wouldn't happen to know where I could get my hands on a master cylinder for a 1986 Volkswagen Rabbit, would you?"
"His dream car," Harry laughed fondly.
"Do- Do *you* build cars when you have free time and spare parts, S-Signor Evans?"
"More like when I'm not reading for pleasure, then doctors' and nurses' books- but I do like to help Jake on his newest project, and he sometimes looks through my medical books with me. -Thanks for being polite where HE *wasn't*, but you don't have to call me 'Mr. Evans'! JUST 'Harry' is fine by me."
"O-Okay, Har-Harry. S-So, you ...want to be a doctor/Healer when you grow up?"
"I only said 'Auror' to get *HER* off of my back/rile her up, but even before I knew that I was a wizard, I always wanted to help others with their injuries and help them get well (if I could)."
"...You'll be a *WONDERFUL Healer*, Harry. I just know it-!"
"Thanks, 'Nocchi. -Is it alright if I call you that, or Jake does?? N-No offense meant to your name, it's just ...well, *long* even without the middle monikers."
"M-My friends call me 'Nocchi', s-so..."
"Good to know. -What do YOU want to do when you become old enough?"
"-Theater therapy. Silly; stupid?"
"Not at all; *sounds GREAT*, actually! Maybe we'd even be in business together, occasionally-! Is- Is your dad alright with the thought of your *NOT following in his footsteps*?"
"...I never really got to talk to him about it. H-He d-died just a while back."
"I'm *so sorry* to hear that...! What- What happened?? Accident? Illness?"
"-Latter. The doctor tried *EVERYTHING*, but h-he couldn't help."
Pinocchio was *VERY glad* when Harry *didn't* ask him why he wasn't in Italy, but rather now *in AMERICA* as they, Jacob, and Bella walked down the beach together toward the driftwood wall.
"-If you don't mind my asking ...how old are you?"
"'M thirteen; turning fourteen in November on the ninth. Y-You and Mr. Jake?"
"Fifteen. Jake's birthday's in January on the fourteenth, and mine's July thirty-first ...though you probably knew that last."
"W-Well, *heh*! Who- *Who DOESN'T*?"
"Mm..."
"Do either 'f you come up to Forks much?"
"Not unless Mr. Billy's visiting with Chief Charlie Swan, since they're best friends. But when we get our licenses, we can go up as much as we want, if we desired!"
"That sounds nice... Why does it sound like Mr. Sam doesn't really like the doctor's family??"
"-You ever heard of 'the Cold Ones'?"
"Uh-uh ...I don't *THINK so*."
"Well, Jake's telling Bella by way of a 'scary story', so I'll tell you as well- if you'd like me to."
"Sh-*Sure*! Y-Yes, please!"
"Alright... One of the Quilete legends claims that they were descended from WOLVES- and that the wolves are their brothers and sisters still. It's against tribal law to kill them, as a result. The Cold Ones are said to be the natural enemy to the wolf- or, rather, *WERE-wolf*; shifter. But long ago, Jake's great-grandfather -a tribal elder like Billy Black- made a treaty that would keep them off of the wolves' land with a pack of Cold Ones that didn't hunt as others of their kind did. The truce was, that if they would promise to *stay OFF* of their lands, the wolves wouldn't expose them to the 'pale-faces'. Since they didn't hunt humans, *but ANIMALS* instead, it was agreed- and it's been that way ever since."
"-The 'Cold Ones' are the same ones that Mr. Jake's great-grandfather met?"
"*Yup*. The're *BLOOD-drinkers*; a form of Dark Faerie known as 'vampires'."
"...Vampires are a *form of DARK FAE*??"
"They're not always winged, and call their magic 'powers' more often than not, ...but, yeah."
"-How do Miss Wendy and Miss Leah work it out together, then??"
"They meet outside of the reservation, as well as some of the rest of us. Jake gets along *GREAT* with Emmett, I like to cook with Esme and learn doctoring from Carlisle, and *those two* are just plain lovebirds despite supposing to be enemies! -Please don't say anything to Charlie, though? Sam doesn't know, and he'd be *FURIOUS* if he knew as the current Alpha."
"H-How does Mr. Billy deal with it??"
"He balked a bit at first, but Wendy's *a SWEETHEART* despite being ...well, and so she won him over fairly quickly like she did Leah's mom and younger brother Seth. Her dad still wrinkles his nose, but he's not forbidding it either."
"-You're a *REAL good* storyteller, Harry!"
"Thanks, 'Nocchi. Jake's the better one, though- he can do voices!"
"It's *a TIE* for me."
"-Can't decide whether you'd be in Ravenclaw or Hufflepuff if you'd gone to school at Hogwarts."
"There such a thing as *DOUBLE-housing*??"
"Not to *MY knowledge*... But if so, then you'd *DEFINITELY* be a Ravenpuff/Huffleclaw."
"-You too, in reality and if HE'D just let the Sorting Hat do his *stupid job*; no offense to Slytherin."
"-First time somebody's said that."