Disclaimer: I am not J.K. Rowling. This story is merely my way of saluting her. I do not own any of these characters; I just manipulate their thoughts. And I'm not Stephanie Meyer either. I'm just borrowing her minions to do my bidding.

A/N: Yes, I crossed that line. I promised myself I wouldn't do it. But I crossed it. Gah, I'm beating myself up over it, but I can't stop myself from writing this! Damn it! (Revised: 29/12/11)

Harry shrugged on his dark windcheater while rushing out of the house. He slammed the door shut before groaning and fumbling with his keys to open it again. He needed his umbrella. Of course I do. Damned rain. He ran up to his bedroom, wrenching it open and ruffling through his unpacked boxes for it. Darn it, I'm going to be so late! He whipped out his wand for the first time in over a month, relishing the feel of it against his skin.

All it took was one silent wave for an unopened box to start rumbling next to the window. An umbrella burst through the cardboard and flew into Harry's hand. He quickly stowed his wand away in a hidden compartment in his jeans. He liked to keep it handy even though he had vowed to himself not to use it. He was, after all, trying to integrate into the Muggle world now. He glanced at his watch, swearing quietly. It was already half-past eight. He stumbled down the stairs and out of the foyer, dragging his bag and coat with him. He slammed the front door shut once again and ran up to the car. No more Apparition for him. He was going to do everything the Muggle way.

As much as he could, anyway.

He clamored into his luxurious black BMW and quickly shifted it to reverse, backing out of his driveway smoothly. He enjoyed driving. It was a quick release from all the pressures that built up inside him. He enjoyed the speed and the rush of the car moving through empty roads at top speeds. That morning, the drizzle had covered the roads with water, causing the wheels to splash. He zoomed into the small highway, rapidly gaining speed as he swerved around the soft corners.

It took him nearly ten minutes to make it to the high school. Students were already piling around the outside, chatting amicably. Harry slowed his car down, not wanting to run over anyone. Would be very bad form to do that, he thought as he parked his car easily into a spot as close to the entrance as possible. He felt the butterflies in his stomach swarming wildly. After taking a shaky breath, he put his car in park and ran his hand through his untamable black locks, trying to get them in order.

A cold rush of humidity hit him the moment he got out of his car. That was one thing he was starting to notice about Forks quite rapidly - rain. Rain, rain, rain. Darned rain. Water splattered onto his windcheater without hurry. Water turned the ground into mud, dirtying his shoes. Water soaked into his bag that he was trying to keep dry. He was on his way into the school with an umbrella above him and his head hanging down against the wind when he heard a low whistle of appreciation beside him. He looked up questioningly.

A slight statured boy was staring at his car in awe. "How did you afford that?" he asked without a care about how invasive that question was.

Harry smiled sheepishly and shrugged. "I'm partial to cars," he said, looking back at his sporty BMW. He had to admit, it was rather flashy. But, then again, all his brooms had been flashy too.

The boy turned his large smile towards Harry, his brown hair drenched under the rain. "Hey! You're British! Amazing," he exclaimed. "We don't get a lot of new students and to think you're fresh off the boat," he said, tugging at his damp shirt as he stuck out his hand. "I'm Eric. And you are?"

Harry stumbled at the warm greeting. One of the perks of being in a small town I guess. Everyone knows everyone. He politely shook Eric's small hand, grinning back. "I'm Harry. Would it be terribly embarrassing if I told you that I'm not a student?"

Eric's smile faltered to make room for a confused frown. "Er…" He withdrew his hand. "But-Wait... You're-"

Harry flushed when he saw Eric's expression. "I'm the new Biology teacher," he explained, stuffing his hand in his pocket uncomfortably.

"Wh-You-you're a teacher?" Eric stammered, looking at Harry suspiciously.

"Yes…" Harry mumbled, brushing his damp hair off of his forehead. He noticed Eric glance at his peculiar scar. He hurried to flattened his hair over it. He would have none of that. He had run away to Forks to get away from questions.

"I'll see you in class... er." Eric broke off.

"Potter. Harry Potter."

"Right, Mr. Potter… I'll see you around," Eric said vaguely before rushing to get as far away from the new teacher as possible.

Harry sighed despondently. He knew he wasn't going to fit in. He was much too young to be a teacher and much too – teacher – to be anything else.

He trudged into the school, his sneakers squelching with water. Perhaps he should have dressed in a suit or something of that nature. He had been in Forks for a fortnight now and everyone he had met had been casual and friendly, so he figured that jeans and a tee was enough for school. He looked down at himself while he shook the umbrella dry and took off his wet coat. He should have definitely dressed up a bit.

He looked around the bustling hallways, biting his lip nervously. Students walked past him without hurry, most of them eyeing him with mild curiosity and faint smiles. He was too tense to respond in kind. He quickly found the office across the main lobby and weaved through the crowd to get to it. The door led into a bright room filled with large abstract paintings, plush chairs and a receptionist's desk demarcating the office into two sides. He stared expectantly at the woman behind the desk. She was on the phone, speaking rapidly about textbook orders and late shipping. She smiled at Harry with an apologetic shrug. Harry smiled back, waving his hand to let her know that he was in no hurry.

After a minute or two, she dropped the phone onto the receiver and sighed tiredly. But she made sure to rearrange her irritated features and smile up at Harry again. "Hello dear, what can I do for you? New student?" she asked, looking down at her notes for a name.

"Oh, no. I'm Harry Potter. The new teacher."

"Ah, yes!" she gushed. "My, my, everyone's been telling me you're young and, now that I see you for myself..." She shook her head at him with a delighted grin. "Biology, right?"

"Yes," Harry hesitated.

"Well, I'm Mary. If you have any questions about school supplies or field trips or lesson plans… Well I suppose, if you have any questions about anything, please come see me. I assume this is your first time teaching."

Harry nodded.

"Well, this is the best school to start at, Mr. Potter. Everyone is so nice, they'll make you feel welcome in no time," she said while promptly getting up from her seat and grabbing a set of keys from her desk. "I suppose I should show you to your room, then!" She stuck her head into the inner office. "I'll be right back. New teacher," Harry heard her say. She laughed at something the person behind the door had said and then closed it. "Everyone is rather excited to see you, Mr. Potter!" she said, looking up at Harry with a sly glint in her eyes. She stepped in front of her desk and pulled the office door open, letting him pass through first before following him. "So, how are you liking it so far?" she asked, walking briskly down the hall.

Harry easily followed behind her, towering over the petite woman. "I-er-I just moved in a couple weeks ago," he said.

"Oh! That explains why I haven't seen you around town then, doesn't it? Where are you from?"

"Surrey, near London."

"Explains the remarkable accent then."

Harry chuckled at the blatant comment. "Where I'm from, I never noticed," he said.

"A charmer," she laughed. "You will get along well with us." She slowed to a halt and waved her hand at the closed door to her right. "This," she said, opening the door, "is your new office."

Harry took a deep, calming breath before walking into the dark room. He fumbled for the light switches and flicked them on.

The right end of the classroom had a large wooden table and a blackboard was mounted on the wall. One of the walls was lined with windows and the other was lined with empty shelves. Thirty-odd desks were scattered around the rest of the room. The back of the room had four large lab benches lined vertically with stools on either side. It looked so bland compared to the classrooms at Hogwarts.

"It's so... empty," he said.

"You can decorate it however you want, Mr. Potter. Isn't it a gorgeous room? The windows have the best view ever," she said happily.

The windows had a view of the dull green grass and the dull grey sky.

"Yes, I suppose so," Harry said slowly, not voicing his opinion.

"So, any other questions?" Mary asked, interrupting his thoughts.

"Harry's fine. And I don't know my class schedule."

"Oh, of course, Harry. I'll run up to my office and grab you a copy," Mary said. "Here, keep the key." She undid the key from her keyring and handed it to him. "Welcome to Forks!"

She strode out of the room, leaving Harry to stare out of the wet windows despondently. More rain.

He shuffled to his desk, sliding his bag off of his shoulders. After dumping the contents of it on the table, he rifled through them half-heartedly. He placed his stationery on one corner and his textbooks on the other. He stared at the photo of Ron and Hermione's wedding, smiling at Ron's flushed grin and Hermione's glistening eyes. He ran his hand down the photo before putting it in one of the drawers. Then he walked around the desk, leaning against it thoughtfully. Start of a new life.

Mary strode in a few minutes later with a pieces of paper in her hands. She placed them neatly on Harry's desk. "You're going to be teaching four classes, one for each grade. Biology is not the most popular subject, no offense! So you will have two classes in the morning and two in the afternoon. That means that you will have a spare in the morning and one the afternoon. Most teachers use their spares to write up lesson plans for the week. I'm sure you'll know best what to do with your time. So you have the first hour off. Then the ninth and eleventh graders for the next two hours. Then you have lunch. Tenth graders after lunch, then another spare. You end your day off with the twelfth graders. Easy enough, I think. Most of your classes will have about twenty students. They all have their textbooks and I see you have all of yours as well. And now, I'm rambling, so I'll stop talking and let you get to work." Mary tilted her head and smiled at Harry.

He tried to wrap his head around what had just happened. He smiled back tentatively, reading his schedule. "Okay, I'm set, I think," he said.

"Great. Good luck!" Mary said, nodding at Harry encouragingly and walking out of the classroom.

"I need all I can get," Harry muttered, sitting down heavily on his chair. He had just started reading the information Mary had compiled for him when the first bell rang. School was in session.

Harry reminisced about his final days in the wizarding world. The two years after Voldemort's death was absolute torture for him. He had no privacy and no peace. Adoring fans and press perpetually surrounded him. He was frustrated with his public life. He was unnerved by the constant questions about the numerous deaths and horrific injuries sustained by his friends. He had to relive the Hogwarts battle everyday for much too long. He was sick and tired of being the hero, the Boy-Who-Lived.

And Hermione had come up with a solution.

"If you want a normal life, live in the normal world, Harry. Somewhere new, where nobody knows you," she had said.

Such a simple solution. So Harry started searching.

He wanted to move away. Far away, where no one could reach him. He had stumbled upon the drab small town in Washington. Population of a little over three thousand and surrounded by lush mountains and forest. It was hidden away from the world, forgotten. It was perfect. Harry had showed the location to Hermione and Ron.

Ron had been less than encouraging.

"It's so far away! Why would you move so far away from us?" he asked.

"I'll come visit. It'll be easy. I just need some time away from this madness," Harry had reasoned.

Hermione was more than accommodating when it came to searching for a home and a job. She had used her contacts to procure Harry a position in the teaching staff at the Forks High School. She helped hunt out a gorgeous two storey house for him just outside of town, despite his protests. He had wanted to buy a flat but she had insisted that if he wanted privacy, it would be best to buy a house. Harry had no qualms about spending money, so he had agreed to Hermione's purchases after a little coaxing. And in a month's time, he found himself in Forks. Alone.

He walked towards the window and stared out into the rainy grounds. He didn't mind being alone all that much. This was the first time he had lived on his own. It was sort of like an adventure and he was making his way through his days one step at a time. He had learned how to grocery shop, keep a home, do laundry and even drive a car in a span of just three months. He was rather proud of himself, in fact. He didn't pay any attention to Ginny's taunts or George's guffaws. He was going to live his life on his own now.

The bell rang again, snapping Harry out of his memories. He quickly smoothed his hand over his shirt to shake it free of wrinkles. Then he ran his fingers through his hair, out of habit, while watching the door nervously. Within seconds, a bustling crowd of ninth years scrambled in, talking and laughing amongst themselves. The chatter died down when they noticed the new teacher standing by the desk. They quickly took their seats, crowding in the middle of the room. There were around thirty of them and all of them seemed to know each other, which wasn't a surprise. The town was small enough for everyone to know everyone. The last student quietly closed the door behind her.

Harry looked at the shy, expectant faces as his stomach churning. This is such a bad idea!

He steeled himself against his nervousness.

You can do this. This is nothing compared to Voldemort. He managed to smile somehow as he mumbled, "Hello."

The students smiled back, some of them murmuring greetings back.

"I'm Harry Potter and I guess I'm the new Biology teacher for the year," he said, pleased to see friendly expressions. "Shall we start with introductions?"

So began his first class.

Mary was right; the students were very welcoming and eager to learn. Harry had a few stumbles along the way but the fifteen year olds easily overlooked them, nodding encouragingly when he handed out outlines for the year and talked about what he wanted to achieve within the span on the year.

The hour passed quickly as Harry started on the first chapter. Biology was rather easy for him. It was simply the way the world worked, so it was easy enough to learn. There was always an explanation and, although the explanations differed from the wizard way of thinking, it still made sense to him. It was simply a lot of memorization and piecing things together. A puzzle.

And he had only gotten ten pages into it when the bell rang and made him jump with fright. "Merlin, I don't think I'll get used to that," he muttered.

The students in his proximity giggled. Harry flushed, rubbing his hand on the back of his neck.

"Right, er... I really wasn't planning on assigning any homework. That's fine with you guys, right?"

The question earned more giggles.

"Good," he said, shrugging to himself as he closed his textbook.

The students shuffled out of the room, no doubt discussing their first biology lesson. The ninth years filed out and the eleventh years straggled in, this time a scarce twenty of them. Harry was feeling much more confident now. He introduced himself the same way as before and received the same response as before. The second hour passed even quicker than the first. The class passed without interruption and Harry was feeling quite good when the bell rang.

"That means lunch, right?" he asked, sliding his book on his desk. A few students nodded in ascent. "Good," he smiled. The students stayed in their seats. "Um... You can go?" he faltered, wondering why no one was getting up.

The students scrambled in their seats, embarrassed by their inaction. They quickly exited the room, a few of them smiling shyly at Harry before following their friends.

He heaved a sigh of relief and plopped onto his seat once the last student had left. His stomach growled in protest. He hadn't had time to eat breakfast and all this nervous speaking was draining him. He grabbed his lunch out of his bag and leaned back on his chair, stretching his tired limbs. He scooted his chair back far enough so he could prop his legs up on the desk. He opened his lesson plan for the tenth graders and started reading while munching happily on his sandwich. He was so engrossed in the notebook that he didn't notice the door open.

"Hello!"

Harry gulped quickly, almost choking. He looked up in surprise at the blond head that was poking into the room. "Hello," he said as he brushed away the crumbs off his mouth.

A stout body soon followed the blond head into the room. The man strolled in with a happy air around him. "I'm Tom, I teach PE. You must be Mr. Potter, am I right?" Harry dropped his legs from his table and struggled up, catching his notebook before it could topple to the ground. He wiped his hands clean before shaking Tom's hand. "Just wanted to welcome you to Forks High. It isn't often that we get new teachers, you know," he said, grinning from ear to ear.

"Thank you," Harry replied.

"How were your first classes?"

"Great! The students were great."

"Yeah, they are, aren't they? So, has anyone given you a tour of our prestigious school yet?"

"No."

"Well, I'll be the one to do that then," Tom said, turning around without waiting for Harry's response.

"Oh… Okay," Harry muttered to himself. He followed Tom out of his classroom into the almost empty hallways.

"Everyone's in the cafeteria," Tom explained. "The whole school is a big donut. So if you get lost, I'd be incredibly curious. See, each class has the name of the teacher and their subject on the door. Most of us have been here for years. You'll get your name on your door soon enough."

Harry followed Tom around the school and the layout of the library , computer rooms, staff lounge, gym, and cafeteria were pointed out ot him. Grey lockers lined the hallway and posters were plastered on bulletin boards. Tom had a tendency to talk more than listen, which Harry was okay with. He tuned him out after a few minutes, gazing at the graduation pictures that lined the walls on top of the lockers. Je thought back to his Hogwarts graduation, saying goodbye to his friends and venturing out into the real world. There had been tears and promises and smiles and memories. It had been spectacular.

He must have missed an important part of the conversation because he was snapped back to reality by Tom nudging his elbow.

"Harry, I was just wondering whether you wanted to see the teacher's lounge? You should have lunch with us."

Harry smiled gratefully. "I'd like that but how about I take a rain check? I need to get back and reread some of my notes for next class."

Tom waved his hand carelessly. "Of course! No hurry at all. Just drop by whenever you feel like it," he said. They walked back to Harry's classroom making small talk. "Class starts in thirty minutes, so I won't keep you. Enjoy the rest of your day!"

"Thanks, Tom," Harry said before walking into his classroom. He stared out the window after the shut the door behind him. Sunlight was starting to filter in through the clouds. Harry watched the trees glistening against the light and the grass moving against the frigid breeze. It's not so bad.

The next class went by smoothly, most of the students behaving themselves as Harry filled them in on the lessons for the coming year. Small cheers rang up when he hinted on possible field trips. He mentally patted himself on the back for doing such a good job on the first day. He supposed it had something to do with the fact that he was very much still a student himself. The bell ran again and the second spare hour came quickly. Harry astutely read his notes, making corrections to the lesson plan as he thought fit. He rubbed his tired eyes as he waited for the final class of the day. Thank goodness I don't need glasses anymore. That'd have been a pain in this rain. He let out loud yawn, the rainy weather making his drowsy. Better get used to it, I guess.

The bell rang for the final class of the day. He stretched himself awake and blinked back the sleep. He had trepidations regarding the twelfth graders. They were, after all, much closer to his age. Undermining his authority would be easy for them, being the eighteen-year-old rebellious types. He straightened himself out just in time too. The door shot open and invited in loud students who were all quite excited about their first day. The conversations abruptly stopped, however, when they spotted the new teacher sitting on the desk with his legs dangling under him carelessly.

"No way," one of the blond girls breathed, staring at Harry with wide eyes. Her friends giggled conspiringly as they poked at the girl to stop staring. The laughing group quickly took their seats at the front of the class, staring wondrously at their brand new Biology teacher. Harry cleared his throat uncomfortably, shifting under their gaze and looking down at himself to make sure he didn't have an embarrassing mustard stain on his shirt or anything of that sort. He had gotten used to giggles and whispers when he was in London, but why was it happening now? No one knew him... He was nothing to be stared at. He nervously drummed the desk, waiting for the rest of the students to show up.

He frowned at the ground when he felt a twinge in his chest. He looked up at the door, curious to see what had piqued his interest.

Three students had just walked in, looking calmer than the rest of the students. Harry held his breath unconsciously as he stared at them. The first thought in his mind was, stunning. They looked related - pale marble faces and deep topaz eyes. Their presence stilled the room for a moment, but only for a moment.

The petite dark-haired girl was smiling lovingly at the grim boy beside her. She reached up and pecked a kiss on his cheek faster than Harry could blink. The boy mumbled something to the girl and she laughed musically. The sound carried to Harry's desk, making him fidget. The couple moved across the room with grace and lithe, choosing a corner at the back of the room to sit at. Harry then looked at the third student who had seated himself in the middle of the room. The desk was soon neatly arranged with paper, textbook and a pen. Pale, light fingers moved across the desk, coming to a rest on the pen. There was an almost melodic quality to the way those hands moved.

Harry raised his eyes from the student's desk to his downturned face.

And he let out a slow release of air.

The boy was incredible. His lids were half-closed as he read the open textbook. Harry noticed the faint purple undertones around his eyes, but it hardly deterred from the beauty. In fact, it magnified the man's flawless skin. His narrow face was pale, yet healthy. Harry noticed a faint glow emitting from him and started wondering if this was just some hallucination. His nose sat perfectly upon his face, angular and soft. His lips were twitched upwards like he was laughing at his own personal joke. His deep, bronze hair was ruffled without care.

He was so... irritatingly perfect.

Harry clenched his jaw. That's just great. I'm checking out my students. Ugh!

He jumped off of his desk, silencing the students. He smiled warmly at them, making sure to avoid the boy in the middle. "Hi. I'm Harry Potter and I'll be your Biology teacher for the year," he said, drawing loud sighs from the girls. He raised his eyebrows at them and that hardly stopped them from smiling flirtatiously at him. "Right," he muttered, turning around to grab his book from the table. That was when he felt a slight pull in his mind, causing him to frown.

He shook it off and kept going. "I'll try my hardest to make this as enjoyable as possible, but I also need you guys to work. I don't hand out easy... marks..." He faltered when he felt another pull in his mind, only this time it was stronger and more purposeful. He firmly shut his mind away using Occlumency, his lips twitching under the mild discomfort. He looked back up at the class to gather his wits.

"So, is it really just the-" Harry counted quickly. "-sixteen of us?"

The class chuckled and nodded.

"Biology isn't that bad, is it?" he asked incredulously.

The girl sitting up front chimed, "Biology isn't bad, but the teacher was."

"Oh... Well, hopefully I do a better job, then," Harry mumbled with a sigh.

"You will," the impish girl from the back called out, her clear voice causing Harry's heart to quiver. His eyes were involuntarily drawn towards her. He noticed her lips moving rapidly and her head tilted towards her boyfriend. He also noticed the boy in the middle of the class titling his head towards them, a slight frown gracing his straight brow. It looked like he was listening to the conversation.

Focus, Harry.

Harry pushed forward with his lesson.

"So, this year we will be studying the circulatory and respiratory systems, some genetic evolution theories and ecosystem diversity. It's not a heavy syllabus so you should be able to cope without stressing yourselves out. I will be testing after each unit and there will be a midterm and a final. I-"

"Excuse me."

Harry's heart thumped loudly as he flicked his eyes towards the bronze haired man who was sitting up straight in his chair. "Yes?" he asked, feeling a much stronger pull in his mind. He frowned thoughtfully. He knew his Occlumency was strong enough to hold his mind steady but he had no idea who was using Legilimency on him to begin with.

The boy imitated him, frowning while staring into Harry's emerald eyes.

"Where are you from?" he asked simply.

Harry blinked at the boy's calm tone. It was such an easy question but his voice conveyed more. Harry's mind reeled at the effect the boy was having on him. "Surrey," he said after clearing his throat.

"And how old are you?"

The class was filled with murmurs at this question. Apparently this was the question that was on everyone's minds.

Harry sighed dejectedly. "Does it really matter?" he stalled.

The boy shrugged his slender shoulders but the class said yes in unison.

"Going on twenty-two..."

"What?" the girls squealed and the boys groaned.

The handsome student chuckled at the students and nodded once at Harry as a thank you for answering his question.

Harry twitched his lips up hesitantly. "Any more questions?"

Hands shot up instantly.

He stifled an exasperated sigh. That's just great...

Most of the class was wiled away with extremely personal and unreasonably complex questions. Harry made up most of the answers on the spot since the truth would make absolutely no sense to Muggles. The bronze haired boy did not ask anything else, which was a relief. He contented himself with staring languidly at Harry or glancing suggestively at the pixie girl. By the time bell rang, Harry was thoroughly frazzled.

"Well, look at that. It seems you managed to waste an entire class. I have half the mind to load you with homework," Harry grumbled, narrowing his eyes at the class.

The students groaned.

"What? I said I had half the mind. The other half wants to go home. So I'll see you guys tomorrow," Harry said, walking back to his desk.

The students excitedly got up from their desks, talking about their first day and classes.

Harry grabbed all of his notes, stuffing them into his bag. He was just about to put the textbooks in when he caught a flutter of movement on the other side of his desk. He looked up and found himself face-to-face with the boy who had managed to frazzle him.

"I'm Edward Cullen," he introduced himself.

"Hello," Harry stuttered, mentally kicking himself for even remotely feeling the way he did. The twinge in his magic was growing rapidly and he bit his lip thoughtfully while observing Edward.

"How are you liking Forks so far?"

"Besides the rain? It's great."

"Forks is all about rain," Edward remarked, smiling faintly.

"Maybe I'll grow to like it, then," Harry replied.

"Do you have family here?"

"No. It's just me."

"Then why are you here?"

Harry noted the immense curiosity in Edward's tone. "I... Well, I wanted a change, that's all," he settled.

"And you chose Forks," Edward mused to himself.

"Why the tenth degree?" Harry asked, closing his bag and slinging it over his shoulder.

"Just wondering," Edward said vaguely. "Would you like to have dinner with my family tonight?"

Harry almost stumbled backwards at the question. "Wow, isn't that a little... forward?" he asked, laughing incredulously.

"Oh, is it? I just thought... Well, you said you didn't know anyone here. You could get to know my family," Edward explained innocently.

"I... um… Is it alright if I politely decline? I haven't fixed up my place yet and... I-I'm not really a family dinner type of guy," Harry fumbled through, hoping the two excuses would be enough.

"Hmm… That's fine. I'll see you tomorrow, Mr. Potter," Edward said nonchalantly. He smiled at Harry one last time before walking out of the classroom.

What is happening? Harry groaned in mortification. That had been the lamest excuses ever!

-x-

A/N: Don't bash me. This is for my own reprieve; please don't read any further if you don't want to! Because it's about to get a heck of a lot weirder.