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Chapter Text

The first chapter will technically be chapter two as this is merely a placeholder to create the link.

This will be the last story in this series, as I’ve combined the canon-ish events of books 3 and 4 into one story (it’s surprising how short those two books are when you take out the love triangle and Jacob imprinting on a baby).

See you soon! ❤️

Chapter Text

Thursday March 10

“Bells, can I ask you something and you be completely honest with me?”

“Sure, Dad,” Bella said absently as she packed her books and homework in her backpack. She rolled her eyes at the stack of college applications that Edward brought her last night. She only resisted from throwing them in the garbage for Charlie’s sake.

“Have you gotten involved with some sort of Pagan witchcraft voodoo nonsense?”

“What?” Bella’s head snapped up from where she’d been carefully making sure her English essay didn’t get crumpled in her bag. She looked at Charlie’s entirely serious, if a little uncomfortable, face and felt her heart rate pick up. “What makes you ask that?”

Charlie fidgeted in his seat at the old and worn kitchen table they shared at breakfast and dinner. “I… uh, I went to put your basket of clothes in your room, and I found… a book on your dresser.”

Bella tried to think of what book on her dresser would have her dad talking about witchcraft. She had a few Jane Austen novels, her faded copy of Romeo and Juliet, and…

And a book she borrowed from her best friend.

‘A History of Magic’, complete with a pentagram carved on the front of the leather bound book.

“Uh…” Bella hesitated as she tried to explain without divulging a lot of dangerous secrets to her dad. Actually, she didn’t need to explain, just shift the blame on to Charlie’s favorite person. “That’s Harry’s, he loaned it to me.”

Like magic, no pun intended, Charlie looked suddenly thoughtful instead of uncomfortable.

“Is Harry into that Pagan crap?” he asked. He stroked his mustache and screwed his eyes up. “I think there’s a service for it in Seattle, we don’t have anything like that here.”

Sure.

If Bella was into ‘Pagan nonsense’, Charlie didn’t approve. But if Harry was into it, Charlie would probably offer to drive him to services and sit by him the whole time.

“I don’t think Harry’s a Pagan, Dad,” Bella told him without the roll of her eyes that she wanted to add. “He just has weird reading habits, I guess.”

“Humph.” Charlie nodded, his thoughtful look relaxing as he was clearly relieved to not have to suffer through ‘Pagan crap’ from his favorite citizen of Forks.

And yes, Bella was totally fine with Harry eclipsing her for that title. Well, if not totally fine then at least completely accepting of it.

“Well you remind Harry that he’s supposed to be studying that book I gave him,” Charlie said. “I’m gonna catch a lot of flack about hiring someone under 21, it’ll look better if he’s knowledgeable about the whole operation.”

Bella mentally corrected that to: it’ll look less like the blatant favoritism that it is.

Bella glanced at the clock and figured she had a minute to toy with Charlie before she really had to get going to school. “Harry wants to be an EMT, Dad,” she grinned. “He doesn’t want to fight bad guys, he wants to help people… and drive fast,” she added.

She hadn’t told Charlie about her little adventure to the ER, nor did she tell him about her trip to Italy. As far as Charlie was aware, Bella was camping with Harry last week. And that was the way she wanted it to stay.

That did not mean that she forgot the way Harry sounded so excited when they rode in the ambulance though.

“Bells! Why didn’t you say so?” Charlie looked excited instead of upset, like Bella thought he would. “The fire department needs new guys! I think they have a class starting in May! Oh!” Charlie’s joy seemed to grow as he had a sudden idea. “Why don’t you both take the class?” he asked. “Think about it, Bells, it’d be great training for you and then you guys would respond to some of the same calls I do.”

Well now Bella felt guilty as she had to gently burst his bubble. Her and Charlie didn’t have any similar hobbies- she liked to read and spend time with her mythical creatures that she calls friends and Charlie liked to fish and watch college basketball.

“Dad,” Bella gave him a pitying look, “me and blood? Do you really think that’s a good idea? I’d just end up a patient on our first call.”

“Oh.” Charlie deflated once more. “You’re right,” he gave her a small grin. “I forgot about how much you hate blood.”

For now.

Because in six months, Bella would be craving blood above anything else.

Not that she’d be telling Charlie that though.

“I gotta go,” Bella said after checking the time again. She gave Charlie a quick peck on the cheek, feeling more sentimentally fond of him than usual. “I’ll see you tonight, we’ll have fish or something for just the two of us, okay?”

Charlie brightened at that just as she figured he would. “No Edward tonight?” he asked as subtly as a raging bull. “Thought he might hang around like he used to before he moved…”

Bella did finally roll her eyes as she snagged her jacket off the counter and pulled it on. “We’re on a… break,” she said carefully. “For creative differences.”

Charlie’s dark eyes were glittering with amusement and a bit of approval. “Good for you, Bells. If he’s not willing to work his ass off for you, then he’s not worth it.”

“Yes, Dad,” Bella laughed. She grabbed her keys and slung her bag over her shoulder. “Love you, see you tonight.”

“Love you too, kiddo.”

Bella drove her truck to school, absently singing along with the newly reinstalled radio.

It was a good radio. Emmett and Rosalie had given it to her on what she had dubbed the ‘birthday from hell’. Bella pried it out of her truck when she couldn’t stand to listen to it anymore, but Edward had repaired and replaced it last weekend when they hung out for a little while.

And of course that thought turned into Bella thinking about what to do about Edward…

She knew she loved him.

She knew he loved her.

But he also left her, made her feel like crap, and then tried to kill himself when he thought Bella was dead.

Not to mention he was rude as hell to her best friend and probably hadn’t even apologized. Harry had made a few jabs at Edward too, but since Edward started it then Bella couldn’t be too mad at Harry for it.

The morning after they all got back from Volterra, which had been a terrifying experience that Bella never wanted to repeat, Bella told Edward that he was on probation and he asked her what that was supposed to mean.

She actually wasn’t sure, but she knew that it meant they were on a break at a minimum while he thought about his actions. She also warned him that just because she was joining his family didn’t have to mean that she would do it as his girlfriend.

Bella grinned when she remembered the threat she’d made.

‘Harry has a lot of wizard friends, and they live for a really long time. I’m sure they wouldn’t run off and dump me ‘for my own safety’.’

And, in her defense, Harry’s friend, George Weasley, was really cute and funny and charming.

She loved Edward, her entire being loved Edward, but that didn’t mean he didn’t have to face the repercussions for his actions, just as Jasper did for leaving Harry.

Bella automatically looked around the parking lot as she carefully maneuvered her truck into a spot and frowned when she saw Edward’s Volvo and no motorcycle or flashy new car.

“Where’s Harry?” Bella asked Alice as she joined the two vampires waiting for her under the awning out of the rain.

“I’m not sure,” Alice hummed as she casually linked arms with Bella. “He’ll be here by lunch though.”

Bella had long since accepted Alice’s abilities to see in the future- as long as Jacob’s pack wasn’t in that future and Harry wasn’t actively casting magic.

She had also accepted Alice’s constant casual touches, something she and Harry bonded over merely tolerating instead of actively seeking it out. She also accepted the fact that Alice was probably her second best friend and it made her happy to walk with their arms linked. She had been hurt when Alice left her without a word, but she also knew that if she had a real sibling, instead of only a faux-brother in Harry, then she would stand by their side no matter what.

Or, comparing it to Bella’s actual relationship with Harry, she could see how Alice would stay with Edward in self-declared exile when Bella herself stayed with Harry all through magic-jail.

“Did you not text him?” Edward asked as the three of them made their way inside.

“I can’t,” Bella said, calmly, if not a little irritably. “I broke my phone when Harry and I got in that wreck. Or…” Bella looked around and saw that nobody was paying them any mind. “I guess Harry technically blew it up when he caught his car on fire.”

Psychopath that he was.

Bella loved Harry; Harry was the brother she’d always wanted. Harry was loyal and fun and empathetic and just everything a best friend should be.

But Harry was also borderline insane. Which was fun, but also terrifying when he was the one driving or planning things.

Edward hummed and his eyes gained a little spark of something in them while his lips flattened. Bella could guess what the look was for, and so she channeled her own irritated look.

“Don’t start,” Bella warned him. “It was an accident.”

“I did not say a word about your friend who seems to neglect your safety at every given chance,” Edward said with a smile that did nothing to detract from the coolness of his tone.

“This is why we’re on a break,” Bella said with a bit of the flair she’d picked up front Ginny before striding away towards English…

…where Edward sat beside her.

Admittedly, Bella wasn’t great at giving the cold shoulder.

Bella looked around the classroom and sighed a little when it seemed as if Harry really wasn’t going to show up that morning. She debated on asking Edward if he would text him, but she could wait until lunch. It was cloudy out, so they could all sit outside anyway just in case Jasper dropped Harry off and wanted to stick around for a while.

Edward gave Bella a little ‘look’ when she sighed again as they entered their fourth hour class and there was still no sign of Harry. Unlike Edward, Harry had different classes from her, but she was sure that she would have heard or seen him in the halls between classes. He did stand out, like… a lot.

Not like how the Cullen’s stood out with their unnatural beauty and distance, but in the way that the magic around Harry seemed to draw people to him.

Bella was pretty sure half the senior girls, and most of the juniors, even a handful of guys, had all joined the ‘We Hate Jasper Hale’ Club once he and Harry went public.

And, sure, Harry was charismatic and a great friend to have, but Bella thought the dirty looks that Mallory and Lauren sent to Jasper every time he showed up with Harry was taking it too far. Jasper didn’t seem to mind though, he always made sure to kiss Harry at an angle where they could see and sometimes even found a way to mention their upcoming wedding in their goodbyes.

Harry would say bye, see you later.

Jasper would dramatically declare how many days it was until they would be wed together for eternity.

Even if it was embarrassing to be around them when they did it, it was still cute.

“What are you thinking about?” Edward whispered under the cover of the movie their teacher was playing for the second day in a row. “You’re smiling.”

She was smiling a little. Jasper and Harry were just effortlessly adorable- and she was sure they would both hate hearing themselves described that way.

“Harry and Jasper’s wedding,” Bella whispered back.

In a round about way.

Edward turned pensive. “I thought you didn’t believe in marriage?”

“Ugh.” Bella refrained from hitting her head off her desk. “That wasn’t the point of what I said at all,” she whispered heatedly. “Marriage is great for them, but not for us, not right now.”

Edward shrugged and leaned down so he could whisper directly in her ear- an unfair tactic as his breath on her skin gave her literal goosebumps and they weren’t all from the chill. “You know our terms.”

Bella rolled her eyes at him and hid the blush on her cheeks with her hair.

‘Their terms’ had been a discussion they had a few days after Edward came home.

Bella wanted Edward to be the one to change her. Even if they weren’t technically together now, Bella knew they would be for eternity; as soon as Edward admitted that he was being an ass.

Edward wanted Bella to wait, but she argued against it because of the safety risk to his family.

Instead, Edward wanted Bella to marry him before she changed.

And not only did the idea of marriage kind of give her hives, but also Harry and Jasper were getting married June 20th and Bella refused to wait a single day past September 1st to be changed. And six weeks was not enough of a gap to not feel like they stole Harry and Jasper’s thunder in some way.

Also: HIVES.

“I remember our terms,” Bella whispered, safely hidden behind her hair. “I bet Hermione can find a spell so Jasper doesn’t kill me and I can just let him do it.”

She peeked through the brunette curtain a few moments later and saw Edward sitting beside her with a polite little amused grin on his face. He knew she wanted him to do it.

Ass.

“Harry and Jasper will meet us outside,” Alice chirped when Bella eagerly left fourth hour for lunch and she met them in the hallway.

Bella quickly grabbed her brown bagged lunch and her jacket from her locker and joined Alice as she moved at a human quick, vampire slow, pace to the picnic tables out by the parking lot.

And they still weren’t quick enough.

Even with the clouds and very light drizzle, it seemed like the general ‘springtime warmth’ of the day had drove most of the students to sit outside.

Bella rolled her eyes when Mike Newton tried to wave her over and gravitated closer to Edward; she tried to give Mike the hint without giving Edward too much hope. Edward was gracious as he played along though, wrapping a firm arm around Bella’s waist as waving politely to a much less happy Mike.

“Why does Mike think you and Harry are twins?” Edward asked Bella as the three of them settled on a covered patch of pavement instead of a picnic table.

Bella laughed, she had forgotten about that. She was mid-story on the Mike Saga’s that Alice and Edward missed when a familiar roar caught her attention.

Actually, it caught most of the students’ attention.

Bella jumped to her feet to wave Harry down and grinned when she saw two motorcycles pulling in the parking lot at a reckless angle that only Harry and Jasper would dare pull off.

She couldn’t wait until she was a vampire. She didn’t think she’d develop some sudden obsession with speed and adrenaline like Harry, Jasper, and Edward all shared to an extent, but it would be nice not to be the one dragging them to the hospital after a poorly thought out plan too.

Harry must have caught Bella’s wave, because his green bike turned in their direction and he turned it last minute in a dramatic stop right in front of the part of the sidewalk where she had been standing. “Ta da!” Harry cried with a bright smile after he killed the engine. “I bet you thought I would skip, but I came!”

This was one of the things that Bella loved about Harry— his effortless enthusiasm that was more entertaining and more genuine than anyone else she knew.

“I knew you were coming,” Alice grinned.

“You don’t count,” Harry said with a fond look to take the sting out of his words. He ignored Edward completely as Jasper pulled up beside him with a light grin and a white knuckled grip on his handlebars.

That was another reason why Bella wasn’t giving Edward more dirty looks for his occasional comments about Harry. Harry also went out of his way to irritate Edward; it was like they were already brothers, really.

“Isabella, Alice, Edward,” Jasper nodded at each of them. “How’s… school?”

“Not as fun as a probation meeting sounds,” Edward said curiously. “Why were you at a probation meeting, Jasper?”

Jasper rolled his eyes up to the sky while Harry scoffed.

“I had a probation meeting,” he said, his energetic voice carrying to the gossipy students around them. “And it was dreadfully boring.”

“And expensive,” Jasper said.

“And dreadfully expensive,” Harry nodded.

“And you were accosted for no less than six autographs.”

“And I was accosted for no less than six autographs!” Harry practically growled. “A bit unprofessional, isn’t it?”

“Come, sit.” Alice patted the pavement beside her and smiled up at the couple. “You can tell us all about it.”

“You might want to go park those bikes first,” Edward murmured softly to just their group. “Mister Lee is headed this way to try and cite you.”

“He’s always hated me,” Harry said with what Bella hoped was fake sadness in his voice.

Harry had the teacher for half his entire junior year and only showed up to maybe a quarter of those first hour classes. Of course the man didn’t like him.

Bella wasn’t sure why it always seemed like such a personal blow to Harry when others didn’t like him.

“Well, let’s go park, daaaaarling.” Harry swung his leg over his motorcycle and smiled so brightly towards Jasper that Bella finally noticed it.

The it that everyone at school always whispered about, but Bella never understood.

“Oh my God,” Bella whispered as the two of them moved to park in actual parking spots. Her jaw popped open a little and she forgot to even fight to close it.

Harry with his artfully messy black hair. Harry with his bright green eyes and his perfectly white and endearingly crooked smile. Harry with his leather jacket and faded blue jeans. Harry should have looked short compared to Jasper, who was pretty about 6’2” as compared to Harry’s average 5’10”, but on his motorcycle he was radiating enough confidence that he seemed to be just as tall as Jasper.

Bella didn’t usually think about it, but she would have to be blind not to notice it now.

Harry was hot.

And… Harry leaned over to kiss Jasper, just as Bella had seen him do hundreds of times before… and Jasper was also very hot.

Alice was grinning beside Bella, just as amused by Harry and Jasper as Edward was wholly unamused.

“They make a very attractive couple, don’t they?” Alice giggled quietly while it seemed as if the female student body was torn between ogling Harry or ogling Jasper.

Bella nodded mutely, dumbfounded by how she’d never noticed before.

She felt suddenly shy as Jasper and Harry linked hands and walked over to where the others sat. Luckily, with Harry’s excitement to tell them all the really dramatic tale of ‘probationary hell’, nobody seemed to notice.

Bella remained quiet for the rest of the afternoon, her mind replaying that kiss over and over. She had seen Harry and Jasper kiss before, so why did this one bother her?

Or… not ‘bother’, but… why was this one memorable?

It took until Bella got home that night, brushing off Edward’s offer to hang out and Harry’s offer to get dinner together, for her to figure it out.

She sat bolt upright in her bed and was glad to be alone as her face felt like it was on fire from the force of her blush. “Oh my god,” she whispered. “I’m jealous.”

Not of Harry, not of Jasper, but of what they had together.

Not only were they extremely and obviously in love, but they were passionate and flirty and had fun together. It probably helped that Jasper didn’t want to drink Harry’s blood, but still.

Bella threw her head back on her pillow and covered her face with her blanket as she groaned.

“I need to get laid.”

And, suddenly, Bella began to mentally renegotiate her terms of changing with Edward.

Chapter Text

Friday, March 12

“How would we go about getting you lot drunk?” Ginny asked the Cullen’s curiously.

“Find an intoxicated deer and let us drink the spiked blood,” Jasper said sarcastically.

Suddenly, Alice giggled and jumped to her feet to grab Ginny’s hand and yank her to her feet.

“We’ll be back!!”

“They’re joking, right?” Edward asked everyone else uncertainly.

Harry doubted it.

But he wasn’t really talking to Edward either. Bella was an adult and perfectly free to make her own decisions, and if she’d decided to ‘cautiously get back together’ with Edward then that was her business. But Harry’s feelings had been rather hurt by him and he wasn’t in a forgiving mood just yet.

Instead, Harry leaned into Jasper’s side and looked around the sitting room they were all in and felt a sense of peculiar rightness at the situation.

It was the first night of spring break and Harry decided to host a party before he left with Jasper the next morning. Other high school students had parties, and Harry wanted to have one too.

Finding people to invite had been easy. Ron, Hermione, and Ginny- the witches and wizard. Bella, of course- the human. Jacob and Jared- the shapeshifters. And Jasper, obviously, Alice, Rosalie, Emmett, and even bloody Edward- the vampires.

Deciding on a location had been more difficult. Harry could have had it at his place, but it wasn’t really roomy enough for the twelve of them. Jared and Jacob would have been uncomfortable at the Cullen’s place. None of the vampires except for Jasper could go to La Push. Grimmauld would have been okay, except Harry didn’t really want to hang out there and the time differences would have messed with him and Bella, as they were both leaving for spring break the next morning. Bella to Arizona with Edward, Harry to Texas with Jasper.

Then, as she did most of Harry’s problems, Hermione solved the issue.

She floo’d over early, planning on helping Harry grocery shop and prep for the first party he’d ever hosted, and instead found Harry pacing his sitting room as he debated the issue.

Hermione logically pointed out that Harry’s house was on ‘neutral territory’ for all his mythical friends and that he simply needed more room.

And then she collected Ron and the three of them added a flat on to Harry’s garage for Jacob to use after the current party ended.

It simply looked like a door that led to nowhere on the inside of his garage, but it actually opened up to a full sized two bedroom, two bathroom, flat with an open kitchen, sitting room, dining room, design.

Jacob looked he was going to cry when Harry told him it was all his. Then he laughed when Harry corrected himself and said it was all his after the impromptu party they were going to be having.

Jacob was still smiling like an idiot as he looked around the simple flat. Everyone was settled on the furniture that Ron picked out, Harry paid for, and Hermione moved. Harry, Jasper, and Hermione were on one sofa. Hermione had her head on Harry’s shoulder while Harry had his on Jasper’s. Ron sat on the floor in front of Hermione and had his head tipped back in her lap while she played with his hair.

Jacob and Jared were on the floor as well. Ginny had been too before she took off with Alice to hopefully not get a deer drunk.

Rosalie was on Emmett’s lap in one of the recliners. Rosalie had made ‘a face’ when Harry introduced everyone and she met Jacob for the first time officially, but she looked perfectly at ease now.

Then Bella and Edward were on the other small sofa. Edward looked mildly uncomfortable, but Bella had been carrying on an easy conversation with all of Harry’s others friends when they began arriving.

Bella was the best.

And so were the others.

In fact, Harry had been needlessly nervous about this.

Jasper told him it was going to be fun, and it was.

And then Ginny and Alice returned and it got weird.

Ginny collapsed on the floor in a pile of giggles while Alice held up four flasks victoriously.

“You didn’t truly just go get some poor deer drunk, did you, Ginny?” Hermione asked disapprovingly.

“We did,” Ginny said with a shameless smile while Alice nodded in the background. “It was his stag party, get it?”

Harry, Ron, Bella, and Emmett laughed at the look of indignation on Hermione’s face.

Jasper was uneasy though. “Why are you trying to get us drunk?”

“And how’d you get a deer to drink… whatever that is?” Jared asked the girls curiously.

“For games,” Ginny told Jasper.

“And magic,” Alice added to Jared.

“Well here’s to games and magic,” Emmett laughed. He held up the flask Alice gave him and took a drink. “Damn, that’s good. What are we playing, ladies?”

The girls exchanged a smile, a smile full of evil and mischief Harry was pretty sure.

“Truth, dare, and drink,” they said simultaneously.

And that’s how things got weird.

They moved the furniture out to the walls so the whole group could sit in a circle and Harry found himself seated between Jasper and Hermione.

“I’ll go first,” Ginny offered. She turned to Jacob and smiled sweetly, “Truth or dare?”

Jacob didn’t look worried at all, which meant he wasn’t as smart as Harry thought he was.

“Dare.”

Ginny’s smile turned truly mischievous and Alice giggled. Even Edward grinned a little as he ducked his head.

Harry knew he should have studied legilimency harder.

“I dare you to… kiss Jared.”

Jacob grimaced while everyone else laughed. “You’re joking, Gin?”

“Aww, Jacob…” Ginny laid her head on his shoulder and gave him a sweet smile. “I never joke. Take a drink and lay one on Jared.”

Jared took a drink of his own and puckered his lips at Jacob. “Come on, handsome, you’d be so lucky to kiss these lips.”

Jacob caught Harry’s eyes and Harry just smiled and laid his head on his fiancés shoulder.

“I’m glad we’re together,” Harry murmured to Jasper. It didn’t keep him safe from the mischief of his friends, but at least Ginny preferred to pick on Jacob rather than him.

Jasper tilted his head to Harry’s and gave him a (theoretically) heart stopping smile. “As am I, Mister Hale.”

Harry laughed and went to correct him, Jasper was going to be Mister Potter, damn it, but then Jacob took a drink and kissed Jared like he was an actomantula and everyone began laughing.

Jared didn’t look offended at all, he just grinned and shook out his shaggy brown hair. “I’ve had better,” he told Jacob with a wink.

“Me too,” Jacob told him playfully. He turned to Ginny and stuck his lower lip out. “Kiss me to take that terrible memory away?”

Ginny put her face right in Jacob’s and shook her head as she cupped his cheek so gently. “You just kissed Jared, I don’t want your lips on mine.”

Jacob only laughed and shook his head at his girlfriend. “My turn then?” His dark brown eyes looked around before they stopped on Ron, “Truth or dare, Ron?”

Ron seemed uneasy considering Ginny just made Jacob kiss Jared. “Truth.”

Ginny laughed and whispered something to Jacob quickly that had the eavesdropping vampires smiling.

“I hate you,” Harry scowled up at Jasper. He wished he had super hearing.

“You don’t,” he said smugly.

No, Harry didn’t.

“Alright, Ron,” Jacob grinned and pushed a bottle toward Ron. “Who was your first kiss?”

Ginny cleared her throat, and Jacob went on.

“The first woman you kissed on the lips that wasn’t your mum,” he clarified.

Harry had felt uncomfortable at first, he was pretty sure it had been Lavender Brown, who died in the Battle of Hogwarts. Then Jacob clarified and Harry finally got the joke and Hermione began giggling at Ron’s red face.

“You’re a prat,” Ron told his sister hotly before he pointed at Jacob, “And you shouldn’t be encouraging her.”

“And Ron’s first kiss was with his Aunt Muriel!” Hermione shrieked.

Everyone laughed at Ron’s red ears and his irritated scowl as they all laughed their heads off at him. It was even better, in Harry’s opinion, if Jacob and Jared had met his rude Aunt Muriel.

Ron finally grinned a little when he saw Harry falling over on Jasper lost in a fit of laughter over his best mate’s embarrassing story. Harry was just relieved that his first kiss had been Cho, who was at least she appropriate and pretty.

“My turn,” Ron said gruffly. He took a swig from the bottle and looked around the group. “Oi, Jasper!”

Jasper stiffened and Harry grinned.

“Yes?”

“Truth or dare?”

Jasper glanced down at Harry and quirked a brow up. “A true Gryffindor would say dare, correct?”

“Correct,” Harry agreed.

“Dare,” Jasper told Ron.

Harry took a drink from the bottle he snagged from Ron and waited for his friend to dare his fiancé something.

Ron seemed stumped for a moment until a ding on Jasper’s phone drew his eyes. “I dare you to show everyone the most embarrassing photo on your phone.”

“Happily,” Jasper said quickly. He grabbed his phone, ignoring the text from Sam about the nights patrol, and went to his photo roll. Harry tried to peek over his shoulder, but Jasper grinned down at him then angled his phone away from Harry’s line of sight. “Here,” he handed Ron his phone over Harry’s head after a second. “That is absolutely the most embarrassing photo I have on my phone.”

Ron positively howled with laughter at whatever he saw and he showed it to Hermione before passing it over to Rosalie and Emmett.

“Jesus Christ,” Emmett laughed and winked at Harry, “What a man, what a man.”

Harry sent an accusing look up at Jasper’s perfectly serene face. “What picture is that?”

“You’ll see,” Hermione told him as she kept laughing in a very unlike Hermione way.

Harry kept glaring at Jasper as his phone made its way around the group and made everyone laugh. Finally, Jasper got it back and showed it to Harry.

It was terribly embarrassing, but it wasn’t even Jasper.

It was Harry.

It was one weekend when they’d stayed at the Cullen’s house with Teddy and Teddy wanted to play tea party. He’d pouted and pleaded with Alice until Harry had finally given in and let Alice put him in a ridiculous dress and he’d allowed Teddy do his makeup.

And there was apparently photo evidence that Harry didn’t even know existed. Harry was sitting on the floor with a face full of outrageous makeup in a frilly pink dress, sipping fake tea from a teacup with a group of Teddy’s favorite stuffed animals.

“I hate you,” Harry growled. He resisted the urge to hex Jasper’s phone and settled for taking an angry drink of whatever crap Jared had brought for the party.

“I’ll make it up to you,” Jasper murmured sweetly. “Emmett, truth or dare?”

Emmett squinted at his brother and took another drink from the flask of spiked blood. “Truth?”

Jasper winked at Harry, then smiled at his brother. “What is the most ridiculous thing you’ve ever spent money on?”

Rosalie and Alice giggled while Harry and Bella exchanged shrugs and confused looks.

Emmett grinned, entirely unashamed, “Most ridiculous? Edward told me that there was a singing goose you could buy online, so I did.”

“A hip hop goose,” Edward murmured with a grin.

“Is that the singing duck in Teddy’s room?” Harry asked suspiciously.

“It is,” Alice snickered.

“I was referring to his pack of ‘dodo birds’,” Jasper grinned.

“Dodos are extinct?” Hermione said slowly and uncertainly.

“They are,” Rosalie agreed with Hermione. She ran a loving hand over Emmett’s black curls. “Emmett purchased a flock of flamingos from a black market dealer in New Zealand once, he thought he was saving the dodo species.”

Harry nodded at Emmett, it was a good goal even if he’d been wrong. Sometimes intentions were really all that mattered.

“They destroyed my record collection,” Edward scowled.

“And my closet of designer gowns,” Alice said with a pretty pout.

Even better, in Harry’s opinion.

Harry relaxed as the game went on and everyone, except Edward who was apparently extremely boring, and Rosalie who Harry knew despised alcohol, drank more and more. Emmett made Alice recount her most embarrassing moment, which apparently involved Alice walking in on a private and… and confusing moment between Carlisle and Esme.

“I’ll explain the details later,” Jasper whispered to Harry with a wink.

Then Alice dared Ginny to prank call someone on her phone, which Ginny happily did after Hermione showed her how to block the number as private.

“Hello?”

“Excuse me, is this Mister Charles Swan?”

Bella and Harry had to step into the bathroom so they could hear the conversation without letting Bella’s dad hear their snorts of laughter.

“It is?”

“Wonderful, this is Pansy Parkinson, the manager for the Russian Bride website you recently placed an order on. I’m pleased to inform you that your bride, Edna, will be delivered tomorrow morning.”

Bella was clutching Harry and had her face buried in his shoulder to keep from screaming with laughter as Charlie sputtered a denial on the phone and Ginny cheerfully wished him a happy final night of being a bachelor.

“What’s Pansy up to these days anyway?” Harry asked Ginny as he and Bella rejoined the group. He flopped down directly in Jasper’s lap this time and ignored Hermione’s roll of her eyes.

“She’s an editor for Witch Weekly,” Ginny told him. She was leaning heavily into Jacob’s side. Harry got the feeling Ginny didn’t drink much.

Harry snorted, “Figures.”

“What d’you have against editors?” Jared asked Harry curiously.

Jasper’s arms wrapped around Harry’s waist and he propped his chin on Harry’s shoulder while Harry rolled his eyes this time.

“One of their editors once vanished my shirt,” he told Jared. “It was humiliating.”

“Truth or dare?” Ginny abruptly asked Harry.

Harry didn’t trust her, but he wasn’t a coward either. “Dare.”

Ginny grinned and wiggled her brows, “I dare you to take your shirt off.”

Harry walked right into that.

“For how long?” Harry asked her.

“And what’s the penalty if he doesn’t?” Jasper followed up with.

Ginny and Alice stuck their heads together and began whispering. Then Hermione smirked and pulled her phone from her pocket and shot off a quick text that was obviously meant for Alice. Alice looked at her phone after the quiet ding, showed it to Ginny, they both laughed and Alice nodded at Hermione.

“Girls are bloody terrifying,” Harry muttered behind Hermione’s back to Ron. Ron nodded in agreement.

“If you refuse the dare, then you have to kiss someone here, and it’s spin the bottles choice,” Ginny said. “And if you accept, then you can put it back on after the next person finishes their turn.”

Harry hesitated. He’d rather not take his shirt off, as embarrassing as his scars and his body was, but he also didn’t think Jasper would be too happy if Harry kissed someone else either and odds were only 1/11 that the bottle would land on Jasper. Harry would have just suffered and taken his top off, but Jasper, who truly did seem to know Harry better than anyone, whispered to him, “Spin the bottle, darlin,” and so Harry did.

Everyone watched curiously as the bottle spun around, and around, and around, until it landed on…

“Oh thank god,” Harry sighed. He smiled brightly at Rosalie. “Can I kiss you, Rose? It’s cold and I want to keep my shirt on.”

It wasn’t, but Rosalie didn’t call him out on it and Emmett gestured grandly for Harry to go ahead.

“If Jasper gets jealous, then… then I don’t care,” Rosalie laughed. She pulled Harry toward her gently by the shoulders and kissed him softly.

And really, Rosalie wasn’t a bad kisser at all. She tasted a bit like lipstick and something copper that Harry realized was the spiked blood, but… it wasn’t the worst kiss Harry ever had.

“So?” Ron asked Harry with a grin after Rosalie released him and Harry scooted back to Jasper’s lap. “How was it? Was it wet?”

Harry, Ron, and Hermione laughed at the inside joke while everyone else watched them curiously.

“Not wet, and not bad,” he added politely to Rosalie. He turned his head and gave Jasper a shy grin, “But not my best kiss either.”

“Of course not,” Ginny scoffed, “I was your best kiss.”

Harry looked from side to side and grinned so Jasper knew that Ginny was not his best anything. In fact, Harry used Hermione’s unsubtle move and sent Jasper a sneaky text-

You’re my best everything.

Jasper grinned over Harry’s shoulder as he read the incredibly sweet text that his beloved fiancé immediately sent off not to ‘Jazz’ but to ‘Jake’.

Jasper adored his ridiculous wizard.

And the game went on.

After she chose truth, Harry asked Bella if she would rather shag Mike Newton and nobody know, or not shag him and have everyone think she did.

Edward looked annoyed by his question, but Bella was thoughtful.

“‘Shag’ him and nobody know,” she nodded confidently before clinking bottles with Ginny and taking a drink. “He seems like the type who would do anything to make sure I enjoyed it.”

“For the entire five seconds he lasted,” Ginny scoffed with a toss of her hair.

“Five really excellent seconds,” Bella grinned at her.

Harry bit his lip to keep from laughing at the shocked look in Edward’s eyes. He was relatively positive that Bella was only saying that to further along her current mission, ‘Operation: Lose Her Virginity’, but if it irritated Edward then all the better.

Bella chose Hermione for her next turn and asked her what the most illegal thing she’d ever done was when Hermione smartly chose truth.

“Hmm…” Hermione thought it over while Harry, Ron, and Ginny all grinned at one another. “Either the time I broke into the bank with the boys, or the the time that we cursed a professor, or the time that we—”

“Most illegal thing you did,” Bella stressed. “We all know Harry’s a troublemaker,” she said teasingly.

“Oh that’s easy,” Ron piped up. He wrapped his arm around Hermione’s waist and smiled at his wife. “Tell them about the time you caught Professor Snape on fire, love.”

Harry squirmed uncomfortably and drank more while Hermione told the story to the rest of the group. They’d never really been fair to Snape, even in the beginning he tried to help Harry… Except he’d also been a bastard and went out of his way to humiliate Harry and get him in trouble too…

“Oi!” Harry suddenly thought of an important question. He turned to the friends he’d had since he was eleven and raised his brows, “You know how Snape was always trying to get us expelled?”

“As if I forgot the flying car incident,” Ron snorted.

“Right,” Harry nodded and shuddered at the memory. “So… so what would he have done if Dumbledore said ‘okay’ and expelled me?”

Ron’s hand paused halfway to his mouth with a drink and Hermione’s eyes got the thoughtful look in them that usually preceded a trip to the library.

“Dumbledore never would have expelled you,” Hermione finally said slowly. She shook her head and focused on Harry, “Snape could push as hard as he wanted because he knew it never would have happened.”

That made sense.

“So what you’re saying is Harry could have killed someone and the Principal wouldn’t have expelled him?” Jared asked, trying to piece together the bits and pieces of their story.

“Exactly,” Ginny said.

Emmett and Jared gave Harry curious looks, but Harry sighed as he realized something.

“All those times we wanted to just curse Draco’s nose off, missed opportunities,” he told Ron sadly. The two of them clinked their bottles together in a mock-toast. “Here’s to the mayhem we could have caused with no punishment,” Harry said.

“Here’s to favoritism,” Ron added.

Jasper laughed and hugged Harry more tightly to his chest. “Your turn, Mrs Weasley.”

Hermione puffed up proudly, and a bit drunkenly, at Jasper’s sweet reminder of her marriage. She looked slowly around the circle, trying to find someone who hadn’t been chosen yet.

“Jared,” she said with a polite smile, “truth or dare?”

Jared bravely chose dare then he gamely ran the block entirely nude at Hermione’s rather shocking dare.

Jared asked Harry again, and Harry chose truth this time.

“Most embarrassing kink,” he grinned. Jacob and Emmet laughed and high-fived while Harry squinted at him in drunken confusion.

“I don’t know what that means?”

Harry glowered and felt his face get hot while everyone, even Edward and Bella, laughed at his genuine question.

Jasper didn’t laugh though, because he was the most loyal Hufflepuff Harry knew no matter how badly he wanted to be a Gryffindor.

“It’s a sexual preference,” Jasper explained quietly to Harry while his friends laughed their idiotic heads off. “Sort of like BDSM or exhibitionism.”

Harry’s blush only darkened at Jasper’s explanation. “I’d rather kiss Rose again,” he muttered darkly.

Ginny hummed and gave Harry a smirk, “And here I thought you were so brave. You’re going to turn down another task?”

Well not now he wasn’t.

Harry looked over his shoulder at Jasper, but Jasper merely smiled and shrugged.

“I don’t know,” Harry sighed. He ran a hand through his hair as he tried to think of his ‘sexual preferences’. “Is… er… is it like…” Harry hated Jared and Ginny so much. “Is it like being on top or bottom?”

Harry’s face was so red that he was certain every person in the room could feel the heat radiating from it.

“No,” Jared laughed. He wiggled his brows and gave Jasper a challenging smile. “You can always save poor Harry the embarrassment and answer for him.”

Harry shrugged and let Jasper answer while he hid his ever growing embarrassment by taking a drink.

Jasper licked his lips slowly then put his chin on Harry’s shoulder once more while his arms tightened around Harry’s waist as he gazed at Jared with a bland smile.

“Harry has a terrific praise kink.”

Harry was incredibly confused by everyone’s laughter and Jared’s sudden dark blush.

“What the bloody hell is that supposed to mean?” he asked Ginny as she nodded at Jasper.

“You like to be told how good you’re doing during sex,” she told Harry, ignoring Ron and Jacob’s faces at the reminder that she’d slept with Harry before. “You like to get verbal affection during sex. Like being praised, Harry, it’s not exactly subtle.”

“I get that,” Harry rolled his eyes. “I mean, how is that a kink? Everyone likes to be told ‘hey, great job’.”

“Oh, Harry,” Rosalie cooed and shook her head at Harry while Emmett grinned smugly and drank from his flask. “Some people enjoy the opposite.”

Harry and Bella both looked confused now.

“You want to be told you’re bad at sex?” Bella asked her, gobsmacked. “That doesn’t exactly sound fun.”

“Virgins,” Rosalie muttered with a roll of her eyes. “Isabella, some people, Emmett especially, enjoy being called bad, bad boys during sex.”

Harry sputtered on his drink at Emmett’s wink and Edward looked like he would be just as red faced as Harry and Bella were if he could blush.

Hermione and Ron shared an odd little smile though that Harry didn’t care to ask more about at all, ever.

“Your turn then,” Harry told Rosalie, changing the conversation as quickly as he could. “Truth or dare?”

“Truth,” Rosalie said.

“Same question then,” Harry asked her.

He hadn’t quite expected the thirty minute long, extremely detailed, discussion that Rosalie held with a very interested Alice, Hermione, and Ginny on bondage and different knots and techniques and ways to tie bodies up, but he shouldn’t have been surprised either.

Hermione taking notes was still surprising.

And… and kind of more information on his best mate’s sex life than Harry ever needed.

“Last one then I’m leaving you children and going home,” Rosalie said with a coy flutter of her lashes at Emmett that left little doubt about what they wanted to leave to go do. She looked over to Edward and raised a perfectly sculpted brow at him, “Truth or dare?”

Edward looked over at Alice, but Alice was suddenly humming loudly and grinning up at the ceiling.

“She’s blocking him,” Jasper murmured to Harry and all the magical friends with supernatural hearing.

Harry grinned and hoped that whatever Rosalie had planned was sufficiently embarrassing.

And it was.

“Truth,” Edward said. He immediately grimaced at Rosalie as her thoughts must have given her away. “I’m not answering.”

“Answer or spin the bottle,” she said.

“That’s sooo annoying,” Jacob drawled. “What’s the question, Blondie?”

Rosalie narrowed her eyes at Jacob for a moment. “I asked Edward what his top kink is, Mutt.”

Harry, Bella, and Edward’s siblings all began laughing while the others watched Edward curiously.

“Answer or spin,” Rosalie sang.

Edward seemed like he was grinding his teeth together. Harry would have felt bad for him, but he never apologized to Harry either so Harry didn’t mind if he was the one who was horrible embarrassed now.

“I don’t have any kinks,” Edward growled.

“Awe, c’mon,” Ron said, clearly trying to make Edward feel more at ease. “Everyone has something, nothing to be ashamed about.”

Edward inhaled needlessly and looked up to the ceiling as the others who were unaware of his virginity and ‘dedication to purity’ or whatever nonsense he spewed off to Bella in an attempt to not sleep with her.

“I have never had sex of any sort, and therefore have developed no sexual kinks as of yet.” He looked down and glared at his sister, “Satisfied?”

“Well Bella certainly isn’t,” Jared snorted, setting off a round of laughter that took ages to end.

Edward at least had the grace to smile at Bella fondly even while she fell over backwards from her giggles at his expense.

After the game ended, Harry hugged Ginny and Alice both for the idea even though they were quite terrifying when they schemed together.

Rosalie and Emmett took off quickly, and then Edward took a rather reluctant and drunk Bella back to her dad’s house. Ron and Hermione also took off, both hugging Harry and Jasper and wishing them luck on their trip the next morning.

Harry left Ginny and Jacob to deal with Alice and Jared as they wished everyone a good night and wandered out of Jacob’s flat and back toward their house.

Harry peered up at Jasper while they made the short walk down the driveway. “Hey, Jazz?”

Jasper smiled at Harry, the soft and sweet smile that only Harry ever got from him. “Yes, love?”

Harry waited until they made it through the front door to ask the question that had been on his mind for a while now. “What’s your kink?”

Jasper chuckled and pulled Harry flush against him. “I have a relatively innocent one,” he murmured as he pepped Harry’s neck with soft kisses. “Are you ready for it?”

“Mhmm,” Harry hummed as he pulled Jasper closer.

“It’s a you kink,” Jasper said. He trailed his nose from the dip of Harry’s neck to his hairline where he kissed the side of his head softly. “Everything about you.”

Harry grinned and reached up to pull Jasper’s face to his for a quick kiss. “You’re very cute.”

“I know,” Jasper agreed solemnly with a sparkle in his eyes.

“And a shit liar,” Harry laughed. “C’mon, you told mine to a room full of our family and friends, tell me yours.”

Jasper suddenly lifted Harry by the waist and began backing toward their bedroom. “Wouldn’t it be more fun for you to discover it, my love?”

Yes.

Yes it would.

Chapter Text

Saturday, March 13

“Oh.” Harry looked around the empty field that Jasper gave him the coordinates for and smiled a soft little smile. “This is really pretty, Jazz.”

Jasper agreed completely.

As Harry looked around the bean field and the sun began to rise behind him, Jasper looked at the most beautiful thing he had ever seen.

“I love you,” Jasper told him earnestly. He smiled when he felt a wave of love come from Harry.

“And I love youuuu,” Harry sang brightly. “Are we off to find your friends now?”

Jasper laughed and accepted the hand Harry offered him. “Yes, let’s go find Peter and Charolette and properly invite them to our wedding, hmm?”

Harry’s eager agreement was like music to Jasper’s ears. Not many people would find it very thrilling to spend their spring break with two ‘classic’ vampires and one vegetarian, but Harry wasn’t many people.

He was Harry and Jasper loved him.

The two of them traveled from the isolated field that Jasper had found the coordinates for Harry to apparate them at to a nearby road where Jasper called for a taxi. He had a vague idea of where his old friends might be, and he could track them effortlessly with Harry’s magical assistance once they were closer.

“It’s pretty here,” Harry said quietly as they rode through the empty back roads surrounded by fields in mid-bloom.

“Crystal City’s bout as pretty as they come,” the taxi driver drawled, earning a spark of amusement from Harry. “You boys not from around here, then?”

As if Harry’s charming accent had came from Texas.

“I used to live here,” Jasper mused quietly. He gave Harry a grateful smile when he squeezed his hand. It was Harry’s eyes he looked in when he added, “I simply found a better home elsewhere.”

Jasper basked in Harry’s simple and overwhelming peace as they looked in each other’s eyes.

The taxi driver, typically, ruined the moment with a disgusting snort.

“Ain’t no better home than Texas,” he muttered before turning up the radio to a twangy country station that Harry crinkled his nose at.

Jasper sighed silently as he watched the scenery pass them by. Truthfully, he would prefer not to be in what had once been his hometown. Unfortunately, it was where Peter and Charlotte were staying for the time being, and Jasper had been itching to visit them in person, properly introduce his soon-to-be spouse. Though, as eager and willing as Harry was to meet them, Jasper idly wondered how his old friends would feel about Harry.

He would prefer they not have the Eleazar reaction, as Harry had yet to meet the vampire that feared the magical world so strongly. Though, the Aro reaction was nearly as bad.

“Do people tend to either hate you or worship you?” Jasper asked Harry curiously.

Harry looked away from the window and smiled wryly, a regretful flash of annoyance muddling his prior contentment.

“Usually? Yeah,” Harry scoffed. “Not many people fall anywhere in the middle.”

“Oh I don’t know about that,” Jasper grinned, hoping to lighten Harry’s mood once more. “Isabella certainly adores you and is appropriately terrified of you.”

Jasper was rather smug as he felt and saw the shift in Harry’s emotional state.

“She’s mad,” Harry laughed fondly. “Scared of my driving, but got on a plane with Edward today? Planes make no sense, Jazz.”

“You did wreck, love,” Jasper said lightly, a gentle reminder of Harry’s impulsivity when he was behind the wheel of a car. “Isabella is much more likely to wreck in your car than she is in the air.”

Harry sighed and his eyes became unfocused as he was filled with wistful longing. Jasper could hardly pretend to be the recipient of such longing, as he was quite certain it was aimed at the brand new, terribly obstinate and flashy, glossy black Lamborghini Gallardo that Jasper, Alice, and Rosalie purchased for Harry. Technically, Jasper purchased the car, Rosalie purchased and installed the tint for the windows and the upgraded sound system, and Alice managed to find a keychain in Diagon Alley with Ginny Weasley that had a single golden snitch on it.

A group effort, truly.

One that had not gone unappreciated by Harry. Admittedly, and thankfully, only Jasper had reaped the more physically beneficial aspects of Harry’s gratitude, but his sisters received hugs and promises of ‘eternal appreciation’.

An amusing wish from the immortal wizard to the family of immortal vampires.

“I’ve always been bad at driving,” Harry said with a quick flash of a smile. “I think I crashed in every quidd— er…” Harry glanced up front and frowned. “Every soccer match I played?” he hedged, as if Jasper required an explanation for what ‘quidd’ could possibly refer to.

“I thought you were the greatest player in a century?” Jasper asked him with a grin.

Harry winked cheekily. “Youngest player, Jazz, youngest.”

Quite the distinction.

They remained comfortably quiet, content, for the last of the drive. When they arrived downtown at the only motel in the dusty country town, Jasper paid the taxi driver handsomely and exited the car with Harry.

“Shall we check in, in case we don’t find them, or carry our luggage and count on finding them before the motel is filled?” Jasper asked Harry, cordially leaving the choice to him.

Harry looked as amused as he felt when he swung a smirk over to Jasper.

“They’re two vamps against us,” he said. He stood on his toes to kiss Jasper lightly on the lips then smiled so dazzlingly right in Jasper’s face. “And we haven’t lost yet.”

Jasper politely did not diminish Harry’s confidence with the reminder of Victoria, who Alice foresaw testing the boundaries in La Push that very week. Instead, he nodded and gestured one arm out to the alleyway running beside the motels entrance.

“Let’s assume our positions then, my beloved,” he said with a crooked smile for his little wizard.

Harry gave him a salute so sloppy that Jasper’s arms felt a phantom ache of untold numbers of push-ups being performed.

“Assume the positions,” Harry quipped. “Sir, yes, sir.”

Bless his heart, Jasper loved Harry more than any words could ever adequately explain.

The two of them traveled through the outskirts of town, Harry on his broom and beneath his cloak, Jasper on foot scenting out the path of Peter’s scent. The scent wasn’t even a day old, which made it incredibly easy to track, leaving Jasper free to tease his fiancé while they moved.

I love you.

A laugh from the sky.

“You know I can’t text and fly, Jazz.”

Jasper tilted his head up, smiling toward where Harry’s voice came.

“I know.”

99 days until we say I do.

“You would have that memorized.”

“Of course I do,” Jasper said, offended. “Darlin’, I’d hardly not be counting down to the greatest day of my life.”

They took a sharp turn in the Hebbronville Forest while Harry mumbled some absolute nonsense about Jasper not being the lucky one in their relationship.

100 days until our honeymoon.

“D’you think just got married shagging will be better or worse than— oh fuck.”

As distracted as Jasper had gotten with teasing Harry, he hadn’t realized how close to Charlotte and Peter they had gotten, nor had he noticed the scent of a third person with them, not until they were close enough that Harry must have seen from his view in the sky.

A whisper of wind—

Bloody teeth at Jasper’s throat.

Jasper grabbed the hands that gripped the sides of his face and wrenched, hissing as he did. He threw the body- Peter -away from him as far as he could and spun around at the sound of grass being bent beneath feet behind him.

“Jasper?”

Jasper had to will his muscles to lock in place before he attacked Charlotte.

A red light hit the top of her head a fraction of a second later, closing her eyes and sending her crashing to the ground. Behind Jasper, Peter screamed and Jasper suddenly had to duck as another beam of light came from the sky, striking Peter before Peter could grab his mate.

“Oh.” Harry pulled his cloak off his head a moment later and blinked down at Jasper with confusion etched in every crease on his forehead. “Are they your friends?”

Jasper sighed at the two stunned vampires and the bloodless human body thirty-six feet behind him in the forest.

“Possibly one day they will be again,” Jasper said lightly. “Why don’t you go get us a room in that motel, darlin? Then we have a civilized location to speak with them at?”

“And you can get rid of the dead body, right,” Harry agreed, clearly seeing through Jasper’s rather unsubtle plan. “Go team.”

Jasper waited until Harry landed, handing over possession of his broomstick, then disappeared with a loud crack to smile and shake his head.

Go team, indeed.

After Jasper deposited the body, clamping his mouth shut the entire time lest the draw of the remaining blood sapped his restraint, and Harry moved Peter and Charlotte to their motel, Jasper allowed himself to be apparated there as well.

“So… just so you know… I’ve got crappy eyesight anyway, but you lot were moving so quick and I didn’t see what was happening so I just took a few shots off the second I had an opening,” Harry said hastily as Jasper looked at the body’s of his stunned friends. “Er… so it’s not my fault, not really.”

Jasper gave Harry a reassuring smile, sending him echoes of his love and mild amusement to keep him from unnecessarily worrying.

“Darlin’, I’m merely considering the best approach to keep from destroying this…” Jasper looked around their room at the faded floral wallpaper and stained carpets that smelled of body odor. “…charming room of ours.”

“Oh, don’t worry about that,” Harry waved an airy hand. “Rose converted a bunch of money to a bank account or something and I’ve got a credit card now.”

Jasper laughed and moved to stand beside the bed they laid Charlotte in. “Why don’t you keep them stunned, but wake them? Give us a chance to explain before we put your new credit card to use.”

Harry waited for a moment while Jasper inspected Charlotte’s young and soft face. Charlotte had been barely an adult when Jasper changed her, the reminder of her stolen youth always pulled uncomfortably in his chest.

“Rennevate,” Harry said. The instant the spell took effect, Charlotte’s eyes snapped open and she snarled as her muscles were magically locked in place.

“Jasper?” she gasped, finally taking note of who stood above her. “What is this?”

“Jasper?” Peter said from his bed. He tried to turn his head and he snapped his teeth as he was unsuccessful. “What’s going on? What’s that smell?!”

Perhaps it was Harry’s tendency for melodrama and dramatic proclamations that influenced Jasper in that moment. Whatever the cause, Jasper smiled down at Charlotte and sent a wave of tranquility to Peter who could not see him at present.

“Hello,” Jasper said, “I’m getting married. I wanted to invite you to the wedding in person.”

Harry laughed, the sound truly Jasper’s favorite noise in the world, and then they set about explaining to the two, literally and figuratively, stunned vampires.

By the time they were done, Peter and Charlotte sat on one bed facing Jasper and Harry on the other bed.

“Wizards,” Peter said flatly, shock in his every movement and emotion. “And you’re marrying him, Jasper?”

Jasper clutched Harry’s left hand in his right and turned it just enough for Peter and Charlotte to see his ring on Harry’s finger.

“I am,” he said proudly. “June 20th, you should come to our home in Washington on the 19th, then we can Portkey you to Hogwarts with us.”

Charlotte, ever the adventurer to Peter’s caution, beamed at them.

“We can truly come see your magical school and marriage?” she asked Harry in her soft and sweet voice.

“Sure,” Harry said, earnest and kind as ever. “We’re all staying there the night before, letting Alice and Ginny, one of my mates, a chance to go mad with decorating. There’s plenty of dorms.” Harry grinned at Jasper for a second, “You lot can stay in the Hufflepuff dorm.”

Harry’s jest at his continued refusal to allow Jasper to be a Gryffindor led to a flurry of questions from Charlotte, some which could be answered in person, and some which Harry claimed he could show her in a ‘private’ location.

“I don’t actually fancy destroying a motel,” Harry said apologetically after Charlotte asked to see a showcase of magic. “Also, I’m in a bit of trouble for using magic in front of muggles and clocks that oink might get me in more trouble.”

Charlotte got to her feet, as small as Alice, and held her hand out to Harry fearlessly.

“You can show me at our home,” she said. “I’d like to try apparating.”

Harry had been thrilled to be so easily accepted by Charlotte and took her hand quickly.

“Peter? Want me to come back for you?” he asked politely.

Peter was still shocked; he ran a hand through his short brown hair and shook his head.

“No, thank you,” he added when Charlotte very quietly cleared her throat. “Char, wouldn’t you rather run with me?” he asked hopefully.

“No.” Charlotte smiled widely and held Harry’s hand with the same sense of excitement as she had on the day she and Peter left Maria’s base together. “Jasper can run with you, I’ll see you soon, my love.”

Harry winked at Jasper, “See you soon, my super love.”

They disappeared with a loud crack, leaving Jasper to huff out a laugh and Peter to sigh.

“Is that safe?” Peter asked Jasper with a wary glint in his eyes that Jasper hoped would lessen once he spent more time around Harry and his charming quirks.

Jasper considered all the ways that Harry had surprise apparated others, the occasional splinching incidents when he attempted to do so intoxicated, and Harry’s general lack of safety awareness in everything that he did.

“Yes,” he lied to his friend. “Charlotte is quite safe with Harry.”

“You’re happy?” Peter asked, his voice thick with the same confusion that he radiated.

Jasper watched his wizard - his lover, his fiancé, his eternal soulmate - as he dueled so quickly and gracefully against Charlotte. Jasper and Peter had caught up on their own travels, trials, and adventures as they ran. Jasper described his incident with the Volturi, Peter explained how he had to flee Alabama after being caught in the sunlight after an ill-timed hiking excursion.

When they arrived at the small house, more of a hunting shack, hidden deep in the woods, Harry had been slinging spells and laughter in equal measures while he fought with Charlotte.

Charlotte felt far too amused, and Harry much too annoyed, for Jasper to believe that Harry would defeat her easily, but it was Harry’s tenacity that Jasper admired.

“I am,” Jasper said with a small smile. “He makes me very happy.”

Peter was bewildered, but he wished Jasper luck. As if Jasper needed something as arbitrary as luck any longer, he had his Harry and that was all he needed; it was all he would ever need.

The next few days passed pleasurably. Harry kept himself awake that first night, obstinately stating that if Jasper’s friends were going to ‘act like real vampires’, then he would make his sleep schedule match so they could all spend time together.

Jasper, Peter, and Charlotte gave Harry a tour of Texas. Peter was terrified the first time Harry offered to apparate them to Dallas.

“C’mon,” Harry laughed, “I got my license at my last probation meeting.”

A humorous truth that led to Harry sharing the story of his arrest. Which, peculiarly, led Peter to allow the magical transportation.

They went to the museums in Dallas. Harry and Jasper exchanged fond smiles as their less than legal methods reminded them both of their first date.

“What a way we’ve come,” Jasper whispered to Harry while they explored the state museum.

Harry smiled at Jasper brightly and squeezed his hand.

“What a way we have to go,” he said happily.

Charlotte talked about history to Harry, making corrections here and there with Jasper and Peter’s help. She asked Harry about magical history and listened eagerly as Harry talked about as much as he knew.

Harry seemed to enjoy talking with Charlotte, who had a great deal more to say than Peter, who had always been similar to Jasper in his silence. The two of them exchanged stories and information and continued to fight on occasion.

Harry was always putout when he continued to lose to Charlotte and Jasper was swift to cheer him up with any means necessary.

Their trip was not without difficulties though, such as when Jasper and Harry arrived at Peter’s home and saw his eyes were bright and bags he had sported the previous night were gone.

“They went and killed someone, didn’t they?” Harry demanded indignantly. “Jazz, that’s sick.”

“It is their nature,” Jasper said. He lingered outside their home with Harry, conscious that Peter and Charlotte could undoubtedly hear their conversation.

“You were changed by the same vampire and you don’t go around committing murder,” Harry said stubbornly.

“I used to,” Jasper said softly. It pained him to remind Harry, who was so truly good of his own sordid past, but Jasper would hide nothing from Harry.

Harry’s eyes, so enchanting, narrowed.

“How many?”

In nearly a hundred years as a vampire feeding off human blood- many spent with Maria as he turned and disposed of army after army of vampires?

“Thousands,” Jasper said truthfully.

The taut muscles in Harry’s shoulders and jaw relaxed and he struck Jasper in the face with pity.

Pity for Jasper? Pity for the humans he drained, the ones he turned, the ones he killed?

“Just… can they not while I’m here?” Harry asked pleadingly. “I can’t just stand here knowing they’re off killing random muggles.”

“That should be fine,” Charlotte said from inside the house, too quietly for Harry to hear. “I won’t apologize though and I refuse to drink the disgusting animal blood you do.”

“Absolutely,” Jasper told Harry, editing Charlotte’s commentary heavily. “Now, let’s see if you remember how to play Texas Hold ‘Em.”

Harry laughed and the tension between them disappeared as quickly as it arose.

Jasper chose to see that as a sign of fortune on their upcoming nuptials. Surely if two beings as different as Jasper and Harry could resolve their disagreements so effortlessly then their marriage would be one of peace and joy.

And Jasper believed it would be so while he continued to vacation with his fiancé and his oldest friends. He believed that if the two worlds he belonged to- the past with Peter and the future with Harry -could collide so peacefully then his future would be bright in a way he never could have imagined.

Did any being carry the imagination to envision the future that lingered in front of Jasper?

But Jasper forgot that while vampires and wizards needed to have no quarrel, the same could not be said for shapeshifters and vampires.

They were on their fifth day in Texas and Jasper held Harry happily while his wizard slept. And it was rather adorable the way that Harry sprawled in bed, snored, and occasionally spoke aloud when he was not plagued by nightmares. Jasper was enjoying his occasional mumblings about devils snare and mandrakes, when his peace was broken by the ringing of his cell phone.

Rosalie.

“Hello?” Jasper whispered, hoping to not wake Harry. It was nearly noon, but Harry hadn’t gone to sleep until seven. Five hours of sleep was not enough for him.

“Bring Harry home,” Rosalie snapped, skipping the conventional niceties of phone etiquette as usual. “There’s a problem.”

Jasper would have asked what the problem was if he did not hear Emmett’s booming voice shouting in the background only to be responded to by the deep voice of Paul Lahote.

“You’re fighting with the wolves?” Jasper hissed, outraged. “Rosalie, why?”

“Victoria,” Rosalie said as a curt one-worded response. “I have to go. Bring Harry quick.”

Just before Rosalie hung up, Jasper heard her snarl a biting retort to Paul.

“Wazzgoin’ on?” Harry asked, twitching his leg out beside where it had been lazily wrapped around Jasper’s.

Jasper sighed and kissed the top of Harry’s exceedingly messy hair.

“It sounds as if your family is warring,” he said lightly. “Your peacekeeping abilities are being requested.”

And Jasper’s simple vacation with his lover and his friends had came to an abrupt end.

Chapter Text

Friday, March 19th

“Woah! What the hell is going on?”

Harry had nearly tripped over his own feet when he landed in the forest of the Quileute Reservation. It was only Jasper’s always steady hand that kept him from falling over. Which was good, because Harry hastily pulled his wand when his arrival had gone entirely unnoticed in favor of the fight happening.

Rosalie was snarling in Paul’s face, her lips pulled back as her teeth snapped. Emmett had a hold of one of her arms and Esme had the other. Jacob was barking like mad at the wolves that lined up on either side of a very human and naked Paul. Carlisle stood behind Rosalie, his lips moving quickly, but speaking too lowly for Harry to hear. It was obvious where the border for the treaty lie, as everyone had their feet on opposite sides of an invisible line.

Harry didn’t need Jasper’s abilities to feel the tension in the air, as if one stray word would start a physical fight.

And Jasper thought Harry would be a good person to bring? When there were five angry vampires and six pissed off shapeshifters?

“I said…” Harry aimed his wand at the sky and shot off a meaningless and loud bang. He waited for everyone to turn and look at him before narrowing his eyes at them all. “What the hell is going on?”

Rosalie jerked her arms free from Emmett and Esme and pointed a finger accusingly at Paul.

“He tried to attack Emmett!”

Paul was shaking, and Harry was mildly impressed that he was able to keep himself from transforming in the moment.

“He stepped over the line!” Paul yelled, gaining barks of agreement from the other shifters.

“It was an accident!” Emmett bellowed. He cracked his knuckles and glared at Paul. “I was trying to grab Victoria!”

“You were trying to help her get away!”

Harry sighed and turned to look up at Jasper as an argument resumed between Emmett, Rosalie, and Paul.

“Where’s your brother when you need him?” he muttered.

“In Arizona with Bella,” Alice chirped. She danced silently over to Harry and stood beside him, carefully avoiding the invisible treaty line. She smiled sweetly at Harry. “How was Texas?”

Harry snorted and looked around at the others. He could feel a headache building from the antics of these adult mythical beings.

Honestly, it was worse than Gryffindor’s and Slytherin’s feuding.

“Fun,” he told Alice. “OI! YOU LOT! WILL SOMEONE SHUT UP AND TELL ME WHAT HAPPENED??”

Rosalie was clearly too pissed to explain, and Paul was probably putting all his focus on not phasing, but the large grey wolf beside Jacob shook its fur and quickly morphed into Jared.

“How was Texas?” he asked brightly, causing Harry to grin at the repeated question.

“Better before I was told that you lot can’t get along for five bloody minutes,” Harry sent an expectant look to the silently snarling ‘adults’.

Just because they were all frozen forever as teenagers didn’t mean they had to act like it. Not when it didn’t suit Harry’s current needs.

“He tried to—”

“Not you,” Harry laughed and cut Rosalie off. He shook his head at her, “You’re hardly unbiased. Jared? What happened?”

Jared puffed up his chest when Harry turned back to him. And since Jasper sighed quietly at Jared’s pleased look, Harry transfigured a nearby tree branch into a pair of brown sweatpants and sent them flying harder than absolutely necessary at his chest.

Jared huffed then laughed before he pulled the bottoms on and began explaining.

“So the redhead leech—”

“Victoria.”

Jared shrugged at Harry’s interruption. “Whatever. Anyway, she tried to get through the woods to cross our land on to theirs,” he tipped his head toward the Cullen’s. “But it’s kill on sight for that bitch, so we chased her.”

“And then we joined the chase once Alice alerted us to Victoria’s presence,” Carlisle said quietly, joining the explanation after Rosalie took a small step away from Paul and crossed her arms. “We had hoped to work together,” he said with a quick look toward Jacob.

“Fat chance of that,” Paul spat, his eyes never leaving Rosalie’s face. “We don’t work with a bunch of blood sucking leeches.”

Harry cleared his throat and sent a pointed look toward Jasper. “Suppose you should rephrase that, mate,” he said lightly.

Jared grinned, “You call them leeches all the time.”

“And I call you mutts,” Harry said agreeably. “And since I’m friends with all of you, I’m allowed to.”

Paul let out a loud bark of laughter, really driving home the mutt comparison, and stepped further away from the Cullen’s and closer to his friends.

“Jasper is the only one allowed on our land,” he said, a cocky lilt to his tone, almost begging for Emmett or Rosalie to try and fight him. “Then when the big one—”

“Paul!” Harry scowled at him. “His name is Emmett, Merlin. Who raised you?”

Jasper chuckled and buried his face in Harry’s hair while Paul turned a dark shade of red in what Harry hoped was shame.

“When Emmett crossed the line, they started brawling and Victoria got away,” Jared said when Paul didn’t say anything else and the silence stretched on to an awkward length. “So… that was that.”

Harry sighed and looked up to the sky. “So you’re saying that you guys couldn’t get along long enough to catch Victoria?”

“Exactly,” Alice said cheerfully. “And I see her trying again soon.”

Harry pointed at the Quileute pack before swinging his finger over to point at the Cullen’s.

“This is absurd,” he told them all, imitating Molly Weasley at her most disappointed as best he could. “You’re all adults. Kind of,” he added grudgingly with a sideways glance at the gangly sandy wolf he knew was Seth, a thirteen year old kid. “There’s no bloody reason why we can’t work together. If you all,” he focused on the shapeshifters, “can work with Jasper, then you can work with them. And if you all,” he looked at the Cullen’s, “can work with me, then you can work with them.”

Harry pointed at Jacob then Jasper then himself.

“We’ve been living together for months, and everyone’s perfectly chummy. So either start getting along or I’m going to kill Victoria by myself and you’re all going to hear about it for an eternity.”

Harry nodded decisively when nobody had anything to say and glanced up at Jasper. “Ready?”

Jasper smiled, “Always.”

Harry grabbed his waist firmly and turned on the spot, taking them home and hoping Carlisle would call him if a new fight broke out.

Jasper laughed loudly, filling the room with his rich voice, the instant they appeared in their sitting room.

“Have I told you that you are truly a work of art recently?” Jasper asked with a grin.

“Nope.”

Jasper pulled him toward him, sweeping him up in a loving and languid kiss.

“You are truly a work of art,” he murmured.

Harry ran his fingers through Jasper’s blonde locks, grinning when he unintentionally made them stand on end.

“You’re not so bad yourself. I’m knackered, are you going to hunt or come watch me sleep?”

Jasper knocked an arm beneath Harry’s knees and scooped him in his arms before Harry could so much as blink.

“Watch you sleep, of course. How else will I find out about the results of every quidditch match you ever played?”

Harry blushed and bopped Jasper on the head playfully. “I won them all,” he assured him. “When there weren’t any dementors out to cheat,” he corrected himself.

“Of course,” Jasper said smoothly, moving toward their room. “And I’m sure I’ll hear all about it while you sleep.”

Harry figured that if Ron, Seamus, Neville, and Dean had put up with his habit of talking in his sleep for years, Jasper could too. Perhaps in three hundred years he’d be bored with it and wear headphones when Harry slept.

Despite the abrupt end to their vacation, the rest of Harry’s spring break passed peacefully. He got half a dozen texts from Rosalie, Alice, Jared, and Paul, all apologizing for ending his vacation with their spat. Well, nobody actually said ‘sorry’, but Harry figured that they were similar sentiments.

On the day before school started back up, the day Bella and Edward were set to fly home, Harry had floo’d to Andy’s to snag Teddy for a day at the park. It was unusually sunny in Forks, keeping Jasper and Rosalie out of the public eye, and Harry was restless and wanted to be outside.

Teddy was happy to oblige him. At nearly two, he was still unsteady and slow on his legs, so Harry pulled him along in the shiny red wagon that Teddy adored. They stopped by a small cafe on the town square for lunch, opting for quiet instead of their usual preference of Patsy’s. Teddy babbled on in his ‘Teddy-talk’, as Andy fondly called the mix of baby talk and regular words that Teddy used, while Harry pulled him toward the playground after lunch.

“Bruff!” Teddy cried when they neared the swings, his favorite place. He pointed his finger eagerly at the swing set. “Bruff, bruff!!”

“Yeah, Teddy, bruff,” Harry laughed. He parked the wagon and swung Teddy out of it, tossing him up in the air and grinning at Teddy’s giggles. “C’mon, big man, let’s swing.”

Harry had no more than dropped Teddy in his seat, carefully buckling him, then Teddy reached out and grabbed Harry’s hand.

“Dada,” he said slowly and clearly, his eyes lit up as he assigned the name to Harry. “Dada, bruff!”

Harry froze, grief and shock locking his muscles as he stared down at Teddy. As Teddy’s smile began to slip, Harry forced himself to smile and then quickly move behind his godson to push him.

It doesn’t mean anything; just baby talk.

Dada. He called you dada.

He didn’t mean it.

Remus should be dada.

You didn’t save him and you stole his son.

Teddy doesn’t have a dad.

Because of you.

Harry went to push the swing and looked at his trembling hands through a very long tunnel. Teddy’s dark curls - imitating Harry and not Remus - were blurry. He gave a feeble push to the swing, unable to hear Teddy’s complaints through the buzzing that filled his ears.

You didn’t save them and you stole their son.

Remus’ son.

Dada.

It took every effort Harry had to reach in his pocket and pull his phone out while the weight on his chest kept him from properly inhaling.

“Hello?”

Harry struggled to force any words out to the only person nearby he could think of. The first person who could come get Teddy while Harry struggled to breathe.

“Park,” he whispered, his voice faint even to his own ears. “Please.”

It took Chief Swan less than ten minutes to arrive. By the time he did, Harry was seated on the ground behind the swing, his head ducked between his knees while the world tilted beneath him and Teddy’s protests washed over him like the complaints of every person Harry had let down.

“Dada! Bruff!”

“Gambling their sacrifice by wandering around the castle, unprotected with a killer on the loose, seems to me to be a very poor way to repay them.”

Remus and Tonks, side by side, their faces slack with the lack of life in them.

“He will know that I fought for him to be safe in the world.”

“Dada!”

“Harry!”

Harry sucked in a shuddering breath when someone shook his shoulders roughly. Working on instinct alone, Harry shoved at the hands.

“Don’t touch me,” Harry yelled, scooting away and looking around wildly. “Teddy?”

He lost him.

Teddy.

“Dada!”

“Teddy!”

“I’ve got him. Hey, calm down. Breathe, okay? Teddy’s fine, you did good, son.”

Harry’s eyes snapped to the gruff and familiar voice talking to him. He stared unblinkingly up at Charlie. Charlie looked down at Harry with his brows drawn low and wrinkles of what looked like concern lining his forehead. A little head of black curls were nestled in Charlie’s shoulder and it took until the curls let out a sniffle that Harry shook his head.

“Teddy?”

Teddy lifted his head from Charlie’s shoulder and Harry felt a wave of remorse, stronger than anything he’d ever felt, when he saw his round cheeks stained with tears and his eyes fearful.

Harry and his inability to do the right thing had terrified Teddy.

“Teddy…” Harry got up slowly, idly wondering when he’d decided to lay in the dirt. He used the metal side rails on the swing set to steady his shaking legs. He reached out for Teddy and snatched his own hand away when Teddy ducked his head.

“I scared you,” Harry said dumbly. He shook his head, too mortified by his actions to even register that he should be embarrassed by the way his eyes welled up. “Teddy Bug…”

“He’s not scared, just a little worked up.” Charlie hefted Teddy more securely on his side. “You love Harry, don’t you, buddy? You’re not scared of him.”

Harry clutched the bars of the swing set like his last lifeline when Teddy only sniffled again.

“He’s a baby, Harry,” Charlie said. He placed a protective hand on Teddy’s head and smiled gently at Harry. “You boys walk here?”

Harry nodded, his eyes locked on his godson.

He couldn’t even be a godfather properly. What was Andy going to say?

What would Remus say?

‘I’m sorry I chose you’?

‘You’re a disgrace to my memory’?

‘How dare you let my son call you dad’?

“Hey!” Charlie snapped his fingers in Harry’s face, causing him to inch away and blink quickly. Charlie’s lips were pulled down in a frown. “Jasper at your place?”

Harry nodded automatically then shook his head.

“Hiking,” he said, recalling Jasper’s plans to go hunt with his sister.

Charlie rolled his neck and peered thoughtfully at Harry. “You think you can walk back to my place? I can’t put Teddy in the car without a car seat and it doesn’t seem like a great idea to leave you two alone just yet.”

Harry couldn’t even be left alone with Teddy. He’d probably been sobbing, all alone, while Harry had been… having a fit. A fit he thought he didn’t have anymore.

Useless.

Harry took a step and grimaced as his legs felt weak and shaky.

“I just need… a minute,” he said. He swiped at his face then, shame finally overwhelming him.

Charlie sighed when Harry sank right back to sit in the dirt, bracing himself against the playground equipment.

“Jake at your place?” he asked. “Hang tight then,” he said when Harry nodded. “I’ll go drop Teddy off with Jake and be right back for you, son. Call me if- if something happens before I get back.”

Without even letting Teddy slip in his hold, Charlie bent down and grabbed Harry’s phone from where he dropped it earlier. He wrapped it in Harry’s hands, ignoring Harry’s flinch at the unexpected contact.

“Ten minutes,” he said firmly. “I’ll be right back.”

While Charlie jogged over to the wagon and began pulling it behind him while he carried Teddy, Harry watched him go with his godson and apologized over and over to Remus in his head.

“Up you get. Come on, Harry, don’t be daft.”

Harry was roused from the past by familiar brown eyes and dark red hair.

“Ginny?”

Harry couldn’t make sense of Ginny standing beside him and her small hands under his arms, hauling him to his feet.

“Come on, Potter, up and at ‘em,” she said, grunting when Harry was little more than dead weight. He struggled to stand, but Ginny was relentless with her pinchy nails digging in his skin.

“Charlie’s at your place, Jake’s trying to get him to leave so he can take Teddy back to Andy’s. Jasper’s on his way home, and Alice called me,” Ginny explained while she kept her grip on Harry until she was certain he wouldn’t topple over. “Jake’s living room or the Cullen’s place?”

Harry bit his lip while he stared at Ginny’s warm eyes full of care, so like her mum’s.

“The Burrow?” he asked, knowing in his heart it was unfair to ask it. Ginny didn’t seem to think so, she smiled at him like Harry gave the right answer to a question and looked around the empty park quickly before grabbing Harry’s hips and apparating away.

Harry was grateful that Ginny didn’t linger and that none of the boys were home when they appeared at the Burrow and Molly immediately began fussing over Harry.

“Oh, dear, you look peaky.” She pushed Harry down on a sofa and wrapped a quilt around his shoulders. Harry’s eyes burned at the tender care that he didn’t deserve but was selfish enough to want anyway.

Harry opened his mouth to explain himself, apologize, anything, but Molly cut him off when she settled herself beside him and pulled Harry against her. Harry felt as emotionally wrecked then as he had at fourteen when she’d embraced him just as tightly as he imagined his own mum would have. And, just as when he had been a teenager, with no distractions in the quiet and cozy home, Harry’s eyes spilled over with tears.

Molly rubbed Harry’s back while he cried on her shoulder, an old hat for the woman who tried so hard to hold him together when the war ended and Harry had been dedicated to drinking himself to death. Harry didn’t even realize he was babbling between his broken sobs until her she mentioned Teddy.

“…normal for Teddy to say that, dear, perfectly normal.”

Harry focused on Molly’s scent- clover and lemon -to try and calm himself, slow the sobs that wracked his body.

“S-sorry,” Harry hiccuped when he’d finally gotten control of himself. He leaned away from Molly and used his shirt to wipe his face off, silently casting a scorgify on it to clear away the snot and tears.

Molly kept her arm around Harry’s shoulder even when he tried to pull away. She gave him a smile and reached up with her free hand to cup his cheek and force him to look in her eyes.

“Harry, when I say that you’re my son, do you think it hurts Ron’s feelings?”

Harry shrugged and then answered out loud when it looked like she wouldn’t accept anything less. “No?” he said.

Ron had never complained to Harry about it, anyway. And maybe he should, but he probably knew that deep down inside Harry, it made him unbearably happy to be considered one of the Weasley kids.

“No,” Molly agreed, warmly, but firm. “I have always seen you as one of our children, a part of our family.”

Was she trying to make Harry cry again?

“And when I call you my son it’s because that’s the role I see you in,” she explained. Molly smiled at Harry for a moment while she let that sink in before continuing. “And when Teddy called you dada, it isn’t because he doesn’t love Remus just as much as I love Ron, but because that’s the role he sees you in.”

Molly wiped a lone tear beneath Harry’s eye with her thumb. “You’re allowed to be my son and a father figure to Teddy and a brother to Ron and a husband to Jasper without ever worrying about what your parents or Teddy’s would say,” she said softly, her words crashing in Harry as if she were targeting his exact fears.

“Harry, dear, they all just want you to be happy. That’s all.”

“Do you really think that?” Harry whispered, sounding weak and desperate. He wanted to think that, he wanted to think that when Remus made Harry godfather he wouldn’t regret it just because Teddy saw Harry as the adult male in his life that others would call ‘dad’ and stuck that name to him. Harry wanted to think that Lily would be as pleased with Harry caring about Molly like a mum as James would have been when it had been Sirius who Harry adored like a father.

Harry wanted his family that he’d never get to see to be happy that Harry found a family anyway, but it wasn’t like he’d ever get the chance to ask them.

Molly pulled Harry forward in another warm hug. “I know it,” she whispered. She smoothed his hair down and then pulled him back, smiling kindly at him. “Now, why don’t I fix you some soup and you rest, hmm? Then we can go over some of the wedding details once you feel up to it.”

Harry gave her a weak smile and a stronger agreement. As Molly bustled away, sniffling herself, Harry thanked all the God’s he could think of for having Ron sit in his train compartment all those years ago.

By the time Harry made it home, after being fed and fussed over and chatting with Molly, he felt much more calm than he had.

Jasper caught him when he stepped out of the floo, his face filled with love and concern.

“Everything okay? You feel…”

Harry grimaced when Jasper trailed off.

“Pretty bloody terrible, I reckon,” he said. His eyes flicked longingly toward the liquor cabinet for a moment before Jasper subtly turned his body, blocking it from his view. “Have you talked to Andy?” Harry asked instead, moving to flop across the sofa.

Jasper doubtlessly sensed Harry’s unease and fear at the question, but wisely didn’t comment on it.

“I did, actually,” he said. “I made it back before your cousin took Teddy back and offered to do it while he got Isabella’s father out of our house.”

“And?” Harry asked, focusing on his lap and twisting his hands together anxiously. Was Andy done? Did she see how upset Teddy was and decide that Harry was unfit to be Godfather? Would she ban him from having him? Maybe only allow supervised visits?

Jasper placed his hand on Harry’s, twining their fingers together. “And after Ginny arrived to her house after leaving you with her mother and explained, Andy said to tell you, and this is a direct quote, my love, that ‘everyone still carries scars’ and ‘not to beat yourself up’. And, for what it’s worth,” Jasper tilted Harry’s face up with a finger under his chin and kissed him softly on the forehead, “Chief Swan was singing his praises for your choice in calling him for immediate assistance.”

Harry released a heavy breath. Even if it felt like everyone was coddling him, giving him allowances he didn’t deserve, he wouldn’t look a gift horse in the mouth when it came to Teddy.

“Was Teddy upset?” Harry asked him. “I scared him, Jazz, he looked terrified.”

“No, love.” Jasper tilted their heads together, lightly rubbing his cold nose against Harry’s. “When I left, he was asking for you and felt what I would say was a mixture of love and concern. Just because he was scared and upset, did not mean it was aimed at you.”

The weight that had settled on Harry’s chest since Teddy first said ‘dada’ evaporated and Harry felt as if he could finally breathe properly.

“Swear?”

“Have I ever lied to you before?”

Harry pulled away from Jasper and quirked a brow at him in a pointed manner until Jasper smiled crookedly.

“Do you suppose in a hundred years you’ll forget about our ill-advised trip to Egypt?”

Harry nestled in his side and hummed contentedly.

“Maybe two hundred years, or three,” he allowed.

Jasper kissed the top of his head fondly. “What if I tell you about the newest Edward and Isabella drama?”

Harry grinned up at him and summoned a drink from the kitchen, a plain can of soda.

“If it’s good enough, I’ll dock fifty years off.”

Chapter Text

Friday April 2nd

“Yo! Where’s Harry at?”

Jasper smiled blandly at his brother, his thoughts too muddled by the recent news reports to truly scrounge up false indignation.

“Wonderful to see you too, I’m well, thanks for asking,” Jasper said lightly. He moved in the spacious living room and leaned against the staircase bannister. He rolled his eyes at where Emmett was sprawled on the floor, a headset on his ears and a controller in his hand. “Harry is at school, of course, it’s a Friday.”

Emmett scoffed and turned back toward the television where he was racking up an impressive body count.

“He wasn’t there yesterday and it was a Thursday,” he said.

Jasper grimaced at the reminder of the truly heart breaking way Harry had spent the first of April. Namely, in bed with a bottle of dark scotch that neither Jasper nor Isabella could convince him to relinquish. It had been a blessing and an irritation when Ginny Weasley floo’d to their house with grief filled eyes and curled up in bed with Harry as they cried and shared the bottle between them.

It had been a rather long night of Jasper and Jacob taking turns as they checked on their partners, tried to push food and water on them, and ultimately played cards in the living room while they waited out the grieving happening in Jasper and Harry’s bedroom.

“Harry was sick yesterday,” Jasper said smoothly, a half-truth. “Where are the others?”

“Garage,” Rosalie called, her voice quiet in the house and clear to Jasper’s ears. Jasper followed the sounds of tools clattering and soft whispers being shared between Carlisle and Esme clear to the garage.

Rosalie laid on the floor beneath her car while Carlisle absently held the front end in the air for her. Esme sat on the red stool with her hands clamped between her knees and a pained look on her soft face. Jasper sent his mother a small measure of peace to ease away the lines rumpling her forehead.

“Jasper, I’m glad you’re here.” Carlisle felt as concerned and somber as Jasper had ever seen him. He lifted the car a little higher at Rosalie’s demand and sent a pointed glance to the paper Jasper brought with him. “You have similar ideas?”

Jasper had no human ailments, but if he did, he believed he would be suffering from the worst possible headache. The news that had reached Forks’ paper clear from Seattle was filled with mysterious disappearances and the beginnings of a serial killer.

“Three documented disappearances and three unsolved murders,” Jasper sighed. He stood with his back to the door that linked the garage to the house and swiped a mentally weary hand across his forehead. “Someone is hunting in Seattle.”

“That’s what Carlisle said,” Rosalie grunted beneath the car. She slid out and nodded for Carlisle to gently place the front end back on the ground. Jasper quirked his lips in a grin at the grease and oil that marked Rosalie’s face but could never diminish her beauty. “Emmett and I are ready to go do a little canvassing.”

“Hell yeah, baby!” Emmett jeered from inside. “Time and place, Rose, time and place!”

Esme let out a pained noise and Carlisle placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder.

“We would prefer to not become involved,” Carlisle said patiently. Rosalie snorted in front of the mirror she used to clean herself off. “We do have more than just ourselves to consider.”

“I don’t give a damn about Isaballa—”

“Harry, Rosalie,” Jasper said irritably, interrupting her bitter snarl. “If we go involving ourselves with outside conflicts, we run the risk of Harry becoming involved.”

“So?” Emmett called from inside. It was mildly amusing that he continued playing his game and interrupting their conversation. “The kid is invincible, right? I say let’s grab Harry, go to Seattle, and solve this shit.”

Jasper counted to three very slowly before responding to his brash brother.

“Harry only very recently avoided imprisonment or bureaucratic entrapment for his actions. Do you believe if we take Harry to a city with a rogue vampire working that it will remain subtle enough to keep Harry hidden from both MACUSA and the Volturi?”

Rosalie’s bristling indignation flowed out of her as swiftly as air deflating from a burst tire. Rosalie would feed Isabella to any monster available, there was no love lost between them, but Harry? Her darling Harry?

Never.

Rosalie was as hopelessly dedicated to Harry as Jasper was.

“Okay, just me and Rose,” Emmett called carelessly. He let out a quiet laugh at whatever was happening on his video game. “We go, we scout, we come back. Easy peasy.”

“You go, you leave your scent, if the Volturi come checking or MACUSA sends aurors to investigate, they follow you here,” Jasper said. He had not been aware that there were magical police officers who investigated ‘creature disturbances’ until recently, and it had him on edge ever since he discovered it. He would be grateful when Harry was no longer on probation and they could avoid the magical government as much as Harry Potter was able to. “Brilliant plan, Emmett,” he added spitefully.

“So we do nothing,” Carlisle said firmly. He stared Rosalie down. “We all agree?”

“Nope.” Rosalie tossed the rag she used to clean herself on the tool bench and spun around with folded arms to challenge Carlisle. “If we do nothing and they keep going, we’re going to have to either get involved or risk the Volturi or MACUSA getting involved anyway.”

It was an impossibly fine line to walk. Intervene too soon, risk bringing outside governing bodies to their lives. Wait too long, risk the same outcome.

“We’ll have to monitor the situation and wait,” Jasper said slowly. He frowned at the paper he held as he considered it. “If they continue to be so bold and open, we intervene. If not, we stay out of it.”

“Watch and wait, wonderful,” Esme cried with relief. “Come inside, Jasper, I have your suit for tomorrow.”

“My suit for tomorrow?” Jasper asked curiously, obediently following behind his mother. “What am I doing tomorrow?”

Rosalie snickered mockingly and sank down to sit on the couch behind Emmett, immediately curling her fingers in his hair. Carlisle followed Jasper and Esme up the stairs and chuckled lowly.

“Alice has a party planned,” Carlisle explained. They went toward Alice’s room and Jasper withheld a groan. Alice always had a party planned.

“It’s a surprise engagement party,” Esme explained, wiping away Jasper’s distaste for any event that required a suit.

“Oh.” Jasper hovered just outside Alice’s room while Esme dashed inside and came back out with a cream garment bag in hand. “Why am I being allowed to know beforehand?” he asked as he accepted the suit that would certainly be a perfect fit.

Esme smiled at patted Jasper’s cheek lovingly. “Alice said this morning that if she didn’t tell you or Harry, that Harry would go to La Push and then she couldn’t see if he arrived at the party.”

“And if she told Harry and not you, that Harry would still go to La Push,” Carlisle smiled.

“And if she told me?”

“Then you guys will floo to Harry’s other home in the morning precisely a quarter til nine,” Esme said. “I believe Alice is taking Harry’s suit with her tonight and is planning on using brute force to stick him in it once you arrive.”

Jasper was torn between amusement at Alice’s antics and exasperation.

“What excuse am I giving Harry for why we’re going to visit his friends first thing in the morning?” Jasper asked his parents.

Carlisle gave off a small wave of mischief even though his face was perfectly passive while he placed a hand on Jasper’s shoulder.

“That is for you to figure out. Good luck, son.”

Jasper would prefer to be part of the ‘decoration committee’ that his family made up. Apparently, they were all going to Grimmauld once Edward and Alice returned from school to assist Hermione, Ron, and various other Weasley’s with cleaning and decorating Harry’s other home.

Despite his night spent locked in the past that continued to haunt him, Harry returned home from school in a relatively thoughtful mood.

“Hey, Jazz.” Harry called as he passed through the living room to the kitchen. Isabella, who followed Harry, also came through, smiling at Jasper as she went. Edward, a surprising guest considering his most recent argument with Isabella, also came through the front door and opted to sit in the living room with Jasper while Harry and Isabella rummaged in the refrigerator.

It made Jasper all the more content with his relationship every time Edward and Isabella fought. First, it had been over Edward not telling Isabella about Victoria attempting to track her. Most recently, it was over their ‘moral differences’. Isabella wanted to have a… sexual… relationship, Edward wanted the commitment of marriage beforehand.

Neither were wrong for their desires, and Jasper wished to be oblivious of all of it.

Unfortunately, Ginny Weasley all but lived in the apartment Harry magically created for his cousin in the garage and she seemed to deal with her jet lag of flooing between time zones by sharing gossip with Jasper while Harry and Jacob slept.

It was yet another reason why Jasper sometimes longed to be able to sleep. To simply say, “Ginny, I’m sorry, I’m going to sleep,” and push the girl from his home. Jasper had no idea how Harry had ever dissuaded the stubborn witch from following him when he embarked on ‘the camping trip from hell’, but he imagined that actual magic had something to do with it.

Jasper gauged Edward’s current peaceful mood and assumed that he was not currently feuding with his… whatever label they were currently using.

“I thought you had plans?” Jasper asked too quietly to be heard by Isabella or Harry. Edward, perhaps recalling his last visit where he sat in Harry’s favorite chair only to be told off by Jacob, shook his head and sat beside Jasper on the navy colored couch.

“I’m supposed to meet your friends in the morning and assist them with the floo,” Edward said, nearly disguising his dislike for the only friends Jasper could imagine he meant.

Things had been tense between himself and a few of the boys in the Quileute pack after the fight between his family and theirs. Harry, as usual, resolved it.

Sure, Jasper had to sit through an entire night of ‘backyard movies’ while Harry single-handedly paid the annual salaries for the local pizza restaurant, but it hadn’t been unbearable. It had been pleasant, in a way, watching Harry lay in the grass with his friends and watch films Jacob projected on the house for the pack.

It was merely a joke that had gotten old long ago for Jasper to be included in a pack of teenage shapeshifters.

By the end of the night though, Harry had been the most relaxed he’d been since the ‘Teddy incident’ that they didn’t discuss and the tension between Jasper and the Quileute pack was gone.

For such a storm of chaos, Harry was quite the peacekeeper.

Harry chose that moment to stride in the living room with arms full of various snacks. Isabella followed behind him with a smile and textbooks.

“Hello, darlin,” Jasper smiled at Harry and accepted a brief kiss before Harry settled on the floor in front of Jasper’s legs. Harry dropped his load of food on the table and Isabella rolled her eyes before sitting across the coffee table from Harry and shoving packages out of her way for the textbooks.

“How was school?” Jasper asked them both politely.

Harry said boring, Isabella said fine.

“Guess what?” Harry snatched some plastic wrapped sweet cake that Jasper always kept in stock for him and turned to grin at Jasper. “I got pulled over on my way to school.”

Jasper feigned as much surprise as he could, “No!”

Harry and Isabella both laughed.

“This might shock you, but it was Charlie who got him going 40 over again,” Isabella told Jasper.

“And this may be the biggest shock yet, but Charlie did not write him a ticket,” Edward said drily with amusement.

“Edward’s just jealous because he had to pay that seatbelt ticket,” Harry said smugly. He took a bite of his snack then dug through a stack of homework until he found the packet he wanted. “Charlie just wanted to give me this.”

Jasper glanced at the paper, relieved to see it was not another invitation to join the police force, and then bit his own tongue at what it was.

“Classes for emergency medical technicians,” Jasper read, holding back the horror that Edward better never relate to Harry. “Are you going to take them?”

Jasper knew that it was Harry’s most recent dream to drive an ambulance, but he personally thought it was a terribly poor choice for Harry to pursue. Not only was his forever-seventeen fiancé a terribly reckless driver, but he operated his magic with just as much abandon.

“Maybe,” Harry shrugged. “We can’t leave until September, so it gives me something to do after the wedding.”

“Or we extend our honeymoon, come back in August and you only have to wait a month before we move,” Jasper offered carefully. Not carefully enough, because Harry turned once more to give him an accusing look.

“You think I shouldn’t do it?” Harry asked, a trickle of hurt in his voice.

Jasper sighed and was about to dash Harry’s dreams when Edward did it for him.

“Harry, if you had a patient dying that you didn’t have the medical skills to save, what would you do?” Edward asked. The three of them watched Harry as he puzzled through the question carefully.

“Er… I dunno? What’s wrong with them?”

“Say they have a laceration across their chest,” Edward said, supplying a scenario that could lead Harry to see the issue with him entering a medical field. Jasper hadn’t seen it before, but after replacing their television for the third time, he could see that Harry couldn’t separate his magic from himself anymore than he could his hand. Perhaps in fifty years or so, after practice, he could.

But certainly not now.

“Bella had cuts all over and they just wrapped her up,” Harry said, sending the briefest flash of annoyance through Edward’s emotions. “So I’d just wrap them up, I suppose.”

“A deep cut, across their chest, endangering their cardiac and respiratory systems,” Edward pressed.

“I don’t know!” Harry was frustrated and threw his hands in the air while glaring fiercely at Edward. “I’d just heal them and hope my partner didn’t notice!”

Isabella sat back and glanced nervously at Jasper before speaking up.

“But you can’t,” she said softly, brown eyes filled with pity as she realized the same thing Jasper and Edward did. “You can’t just heal humans with magic when they’re dying, you’ll get caught.”

Harry turned and snatched the application from Jasper and held it up high before silently casting it on fire. They were quiet while it burnt itself to ash and then Harry jumped to his feet.

“I’m leaving,” he said. He was disappointed, pained, grievous, while he went out the front door. In nearly no time at all, Jasper heard Sirius Black’s motorbike begin to rumble then the unique scent that was Harry quickly disappeared.

“I’m sorry,” Isabella said awkwardly after a silent moment. “I was just trying to help.”

“Poor timing on my part,” Jasper assured her. Harry had seemed so tranquil that Jasper foolishly assumed his tumultuous emotional state, the state that began when Teddy had called Harry ‘dada’ had finally cooled down, but he’d been wrong. Between Teddy and the all day grieving Harry did the day before, it had been a poor choice indeed to take away an idle dream of Harry’s.

“Do you want me to track him down?” Edward offered.

“No,” Jasper waved him away. “He’ll come home when he’s cooled down.”

He always did.

That night had been no exception. Jasper had just finished cooking a beef soup that Molly Weasley sent him the recipe for, one she assured him that Harry ‘adored’, when the telltale sounds of Harry and his motorbike pulled in the driveway.

Jasper had shooed away Isabella and Edward not long after Harry left and text Jacob to stay away for the evening. If Jasper wanted to give Harry a relaxing evening before a surprise party the next morning, he needed to do so in peace.

Harry opened the door and slunk inside with his head ducked and needless shame filling his body.

“Hello, my beloved.” Jasper swept him in a tight embrace before Harry could remove his jacket. He didn’t alter Harry’s emotions, merely sent his own love for Harry to feel the edges of. “How was your drive?” he asked, pretending for all the world that Harry’s tendency to drive recklessly on the wet and winding roads was a normal way to calm himself.

For Harry, it was.

“Fine. I’m sorry,” Harry mumbled beneath Jasper’s chin where his face was held. “I don’t know what’s wrong with me.”

Jasper shushed him and lifted his chin so that Harry could see his judgement free smile.

“You’re doing wonderful,” Jasper assured him. Harry’s cheeks turned a slight pink at Jasper’s earnest praise so Jasper followed up his honest statement with a deep kiss. “Come, eat,” he murmured.

Jasper pulled Harry along to the kitchen. He made a sweeping bow at the table setting he laid out for Harry. A white linen tablecloth covered the counter, Jasper swore to one day purchase an actual table so he could romance Harry properly, and Jasper pulled out Harry’s chair like a gentleman.

“After you, darlin,” he said with a wink.

Harry was still unhappy, but he gave Jasper a crooked grin when he took his seat.

“Wow, flowers and candles?” Harry looked at the single candle Jasper had lit in the center of the counter with a red rose laying beside it. “I didn’t forget another holiday, did I?”

“Not at all,” Jasper laughed. He grabbed the pan from the stove and ladled Harry a serving. “Occasionally I do enjoy being nice to you.”

Harry’s melancholy shifted over to allow in a little surprise when he recognized the soup.

“Oh, Molly just loves you,” Harry grinned. He tried a bite and the noise he made was both sinful and terribly intoxicating. His lashes fluttered closed for a moment and Jasper looked up and blinked slowly at the ceiling, distracting himself with the dust mites he could see.

One man should not have so much power of Jasper.

“I dunno if I should thank Molly or you,” Harry said with some of his former cheer when his dish was half-gone and Jasper could interact with him normally without dragging him to their bedroom… the floor… the counter itself…

“I wouldn’t be opposed to your gratitude,” Jasper said with a leer so his intent was not misunderstood. It took Harry hardly any time at all to notice Jasper’s mood and then less time to follow his direction.

He did hastily stick his bowl in the microwave before going though and Jasper promised to assist him in working up an appetite for leftovers.

“You are Brutus,” Harry hissed at Jasper. He stood in the kitchen of Grimmauld Place with his arms crossed over his suit and his green eyes narrowed beneath a neatly styled hairdo. Jasper smiled at Kreacher, who danced around Harry, offering compliments and drinks in equal measure.

“Harry would like a glass of whatever champagne Alice has selected,” Jasper told Kreacher kindly once it became clear that Harry was too busy feeling embarrassed to notice.

Kreacher’s long nose curled when he peered at Jasper from the corner of his unsettling yellow eyes.

“Master Harry’s creature is telling Kreacher the truth, but Kreacher will not be listening to him…”

Harry blinked curiously and then looked down where Kreacher stood.

“Kreacher, don’t call Jasper a creature,” Harry scolded him lightly. “He’s a traitor, get it right.”

Kreacher cackled, delighted with Harry’s insult, then bowed low with promises to return with a drink for Harry quickly.

“You are aware that Kreacher and your friends were the ones who offered this place for the party, correct?” Jasper asked. He moved to lean against the counter beside Harry, smiling to himself when Harry automatically leaned in his side.

Jasper doubted that Julius Caesar ever snuggled against Marcus Brutus.

“I’m evicting Ron and Hermione,” Harry muttered as he fidgeted nervously with the cufflinks on his jacket. “I’m having Bill put up new wards and I’m never speaking to any of you again.”

Jasper huffed out a laugh and kissed the top of his dramatic wizard’s head. “You would miss me,” he said confidently.

Harry sent a dark look at the countertops filled with hors d'oeuvre then turned so he could show Jasper his immense displeasure.

“That remains to be seen,” he said haughtily. “I hate parties.”

“You’ve spent weeks planning out a party for Teddy,” Jasper reminded him.

Harry rolled his eyes behind his glasses and gave Jasper a look as if questioning his intelligence.

“That’s because nobody will be staring at me then, it’ll be all about Teddy.”

“You should find a new sister in law because this one adores parties where people stare at you,” Alice sang as she waltzed in the room, Rosalie right beside her. The girls were dressed up in ‘cocktail wear’ and both had on patient looks for their favored soon-to-be-brother.

“Ooh, you look wonderful,” Rosalie assured Harry while Harry mumbled about replacing Alice easily. She reached out to adjust a single strand of his hair and beamed at him. “Your friends have arrived.”

Harry smiled widely at her. “Brilliant. Tell them I’ve gone home with the flu.”

Alice stuck her lower lip out in a red-lipped pout. “Come mingle and let people congratulate you, pleaseeee? For me?”

“No.”

“For Jasper?” Rosalie asked shrewdly.

Jasper laughed when Harry crossed his arms more stubbornly.

“No.”

Jasper was merely enjoying Harry’s bickering with the girls when a silver otter flew in the room and hovered directly in front of Harry’s face.

“Harry James Potter, quit sending Kreacher to fetch you booze and come get it yourself if you must,” Hermione Weasley commanded from the mouth of the otter. “You have two minutes to get in here before I let Kreacher drag out his scrapbook.”

Jasper and Rosalie exchanged amused looks when Harry’s stubborn stance melted and his shoulders slumped with surrender.

“I hate all of you,” Harry announced. He unfolded his arms and grasped Jasper’s hand tightly, quite the juxtaposition to his statement. “Come on, Jazz, don’t- er- don’t let this be a bloody nightmare,” he said, a hint of desperation seeping through.

“With dozens of witches, wizards, vampires, and shapeshifters in attendance?” Rosalie scoffed and gracefully linked her arm with Harry’s while Alice danced ahead of them gleefully. “However could this be a nightmare?”

Harry smirked at Rosalie and Jasper smiled to himself. Apparently Harry was susceptible to blackmail when it came from Hermione Weasley.

It was useful information to catalogue away for future use.

As much as Harry had to be all but drug from the kitchen, his anxiety receded when the main rooms of Grimmauld Place were filled with familiar faces in a nearly unfamiliar environment. The rooms all still smelled strongly of magic, a welcome reprieve as it masked the odor of the shapeshifters and Isabella’s blood, but the place had been cleaned and decorated so lavishly that Jasper only just recognized it.

Harry was taken from Jasper’s side almost immediately by the ever growing group of Weasley’s. They took turns hugging the both of them then Ron and George took Harry to mingle with his other magical friends and relatives.

Jasper sought out Draco Malfoy’s grey eyes where he stood awkwardly beside Andromeda and winked, causing the wizard boy to blush and scowl. Teddy was conspicuously absent, but a cocktail party was hardly a place for a toddler, Jasper presumed.

Jacob and his pack were in attendance, all dressed nicely in collared shirts and khaki pants; Ginny Weasley’s doing if their discomfort and her smugness were any indicators. Alice had been unable to convince their vampire cousins from Denali to attend, but Jasper was shocked and grateful to see that she had reached out to Peter and Charlotte.

“You left rather suddenly,” Charlotte said accusingly when she hugged Jasper. She lowered her voice so it could not be heard by the others over the rising levels of conversation happening. “Is your wizard as disgusted by us as his friends?”

Jasper subtly looked where Charlotte’s red eyes flicked and saw that it was Jacob Black who she referred to.

“Harry was not,” Jasper assured his two oldest friends firmly. “Harry has a clear dedication to preserving life, but we had to leave due to a small family feud.”

“Ah.” Peter nodded while looking around the overflowing room. “Tanya, Kate, and Irina?”

Jasper sighed at the reminder of the Denali’s. “No, although they are similarly displeased with us.” Jasper pointed to Jacob and shrugged helplessly. “Harry’s cousin, Jacob Black, the alpha of the Quileute wolf pack.”

Peter closed his eyes in horror and Charlotte let out a startled laugh.

“You’re marrying a wizard with werewolf relations?” she asked. “My, my, Jasper. Quite the rebel you’ve become.”

Jasper looked across the room where he heard Harry laughing at something that Luna Lovegood, Harry’s friend from school and fellow war veteran, was telling him. He watched as Harry bent at the waist, nearly dropping his glass of champagne, and laughed until he had to swipe the tears from beneath his eyes.

“I would marry him if he were a mortal man or a shapeshifter himself,” Jasper said. His lips curled up as Luna added a second part to whatever story involved gratuitous use of her hands and Harry’s laughter increased. “In any life, in any body, my soul would have found his.”

Charlotte beamed with approval while Peter shook his head in bemusement.

“You’ve always been an odd vampire,” he said as he patted Jasper’s back. “But if you’re happy, I’m happy for you.”

Was happiness a word strong enough for Jasper’s joy that was engraved in his bones and tangled in his veins? He doubted if any dictionary in any language had a word for it. Thankfully, he had an eternity to attempt to describe it.

Jasper had just escaped from a lecture by Minerva McGonagall when he ran, quite literally, face first into Jared on the back staircase.

“Hiding from the insanity?” Jared asked, amicably scooting over so Jasper could sit by the sad boy.

“I’ve been informed by no less than seven war heroes that they will burn me to a crisp if I do anything less than cure Harry of all of his lingering depression,” Jasper explained. He was paraphrasing, but not by much.

Jared snorted and rested his head against the gleaming silver arm rail that went up the stairs.

“I’m no war hero, but you know me and the guys’ll fuck you up too,” Jared said conversationally.

Jasper refrained from rolling his eyes and instead stretched his legs down the stairs. “I am aware.”

Jared was quiet as they both listened to the loud conversations, laughter, and classic music (something Jasper saw Harry subtly turn off more than once). Eventually, Jasper was preparing himself to make an excuse to escape the morose emotional aura of someone he very, very, tentatively referred to as a friend, when Jared kicked his shoe against the bottom step and cleared his throat.

“I know you think I’m like obsessed with Harry, but I’m not,” Jared said quietly without the faintest trace of embarrassment. “He just… uh… opened my eyes, I guess.”

Jasper bit his lip to keep from laughing aloud.

“Harry was your, what do they call it? Gay awakening?”

Jared looked over at Jasper and gave him a humorless smile. “Yeah.”

“He is entirely too charming for his own good,” Jasper said. He nudged Jared’s foot with his own as a silent reassurance of his acceptance of Jared’s crush. It wasn’t that it wasn’t terribly annoying and pressed Jasper’s most possessive and jealous buttons, it was merely that Jared couldn’t help but be fascinated by the same power that ensnared Jasper. And, truthfully, Jared had never been anything but respectful to both Jasper and Harry.

He was certainly naked more than was perhaps necessary, but phasing offered him an excellent excuse for doing so.

“Yeah,” Jared sighed wistfully. “I just… I just wish I had a Harry, you know?”

Jasper looked at Jared, truly looked at him, and saw that his was so despondent that even his hair seemed less wavy than usual. His eyes were droopy where they stared at his shoes and his broad shoulders were slumped. It was hardly the same boy that took pleasure in making sexual innuendos in front of Jasper’s oblivious fiancé.

It created an uncomfortable twinge of pity inside Jasper.

“Have you tried dating?” Jasper asked him kindly. “Despite your terrible smell, I’m sure that there is some young man who may find you both entertaining and attractive.”

Jared shrugged his shoulders up by his ears and ducked his head low. He muttered something nearly indecipherable, even to Jasper’s ears, but the word ‘gay’ and ‘imprint’ were discernible.

“Oh.” Jasper hadn’t considered before how the sexuality of the Quileute wolves would impact their ability to imprint one way or another. He dashed from the stairs to the kitchen, grabbing Jared a glass of the whisky that Charlie and William Weasley had brought as a gift for Harry, and returned before Jared could so much as blink.

“Your soulmate would be a male, correct?” Jasper asked as delicately as possible. He offered Jared the drink as apology for the possible rudeness though.

Jared took a sip with a grateful look then crinkled his nose.

“Ugh, beer’s way better,” he gasped. “Fuck. How does Harry stand this shit?”

Alcoholism.

Jasper said nothing to the diversionary question and waited while Jared continued to take small sips of his drink and formulate a reply. It wasn’t Jasper’s business, but he couldn’t deny his curiosity at the idea either. Jacob and Ginny, the only pair that Jasper knew on a deeper than acquaintance level, were equals in every way. It would be… an unspeakable tragedy if Jared were unable to find that same equality and mutual desire that the others had.

“I probably won’t have a soulmate,” Jared finally said, his flat tone matching his miserable emotions. “I’m not going to get a Harry or a Ginny or an Emily of my own. We imprint on people who ‘make stronger wolves’, or whatever. So…” Jared’s voice choked and Jasper finally sent him a wave of peace, unable to hear the usually cheerful boy sound so forlorn.

“So I’ll never imprint,” Jared finished in a whisper. He threw back the rest of his drink, shuddering at whatever terrible taste it apparently held. “It’s fine, it’s just… I dunno, man,” he looked over at Jasper and his eyes were glassy in a mildly alarming way, “it gets lonely, you know?”

Jasper could empathize even if he couldn’t fully comprehend the pain of sharing a mental link with those enjoying something Jared may never have.

“Jared, you’re young,” Jasper said gently. “And if you don’t have an imprint, what keeps you from just… dating? Like every other soul without preselected matches,” he suggested.

“None of us date anymore,” Jared admitted bitterly. “None of us want to have a Leah situation happen.”

Jasper tried to explain himself with a modicum of care for Jared’s feelings.

“If you do not have an imprint, then your soul is not chained by the same magic your brothers’ are,” Jasper said slowly, giving Jared time to follow where he tried to lead. “Does that not leave you free to seek out a soulmate like all humans do?”

It took nearly two minutes of Jared’s emotions swirling through a myriad of different reactions before he finally settled on a muted sense of excitement. It was difficult to reach, but it was there.

“You know, for a vampire, you’re not bad at all,” Jared said. He grinned at Jasper and bumped their shoulders together in a friendly way.

“A glowing recommendation I’ll be sure to cherish,” Jasper drawled. He stood in a single fluid motion and raised a brow at Jared. “Suppose we should rejoin the others before I’m accused of impropriety at my own engagement party.”

Jared laughed loudly as he bounced to his feet.

“You wish, leech.”

Jasper most fervently did not wish. He was more than thrilled to have found his match in his exquisite wizard.

His exquisite wizard who was sharing a drink and laughter with Draco Malfoy when Jasper found them in the drawing room.

Jasper seized the opportunity granted to him and brushed Jared’s arm briefly.

“You wouldn’t trade my incredibly optimistic pep talk with a favor, would you?” he murmured quietly as they two of them approached Harry and the enamored blonde.

“Depends,” Jared said.

Jasper smirked and inclined his head slightly at Draco. “Perhaps take Harry’s other secret admirer for one of the dishes Molly Weasley prepared?”

Jared sized up Draco and Jasper felt a spark of interest light in the shapeshifter.

“Fine, but you owe me,” Jared said brightly. He closed the gap to where Harry and Draco stood and interrupted their conversation with a hand proffered to Draco.

“Jared Cameron,” he said charmingly with a gleaming white smile for the startled wizard. “I’ve heard so much about you.”

Draco was as confused as Harry as he slowly shook Jared’s hand. “You have?”

“Nope. Maybe you can fix that while we leave the lovebirds to it?” Jared suggested coyly.

Harry laughed and even Jasper couldn’t withhold a grin as Draco allowed himself to be led away by Jared. Jasper sized Harry up, gauging his general mood. Harry was relaxed, and had shed his jacket and pushed his sleeves up at some point. Jasper found himself momentarily distracted by the black dragon tattooed on Harry’s arm before looking up in his lover’s eyes.

“That was unexpected,” Harry quipped.

Jasper pulled him to his side and smirked at where he heard Jared shooting off rapid fire questions to Draco while they maneuvered through the crowd.

“A brief reprieve from your second and third most beguiled admirers,” Jasper said teasingly.

Harry scoffed, but his eyes softened until the green was as warm and accepting as the summer grass.

“Who’s my first most beguiled admirer?” he asked, certainly as a jest.

Jasper ducked his head to brush his lips across Harry’s forehead.

“I am, of course,” he said.

“Of course,” Harry agreed simply.

And that’s what their relationship had built to - through all the trials and tribulations that forged their bond to one of unbreakable steel - simplicity.

And Jasper, who had always fancied himself as a man with an adventurous and ever-wandering spirit, would never give up the simple and honest love they shared for anything.

Chapter Text

Saturday, April 10

Harry and Teddy knocked politely on Bella’s door and waited for her to answer. Teddy giggled when Harry poked his side and Harry grinned in response.

It was sad, handing out invites for Teddy’s second birthday. It was brilliant, in a way, because Harry loved to see Teddy grow and celebrate milestones. But at the same time… each milestone was a marked reminder of who wasn’t there to see them or celebrate them.

Before Harry could get too maudlin over the stack of envelopes they held, Bella’s door opened and Charlie himself stood there. Charlie was dressed down in a pair of sweatpants and a orange jersey not unlike the color of the Chudley Canon’s. His face split in a wide smile when he saw Harry and Teddy and Harry fought back the inane urge to blush.

The last time Charlie had seen Harry he’d been having ‘an episode’ at the park.

An episode that Harry hadn’t brought up since he’d talked it over with Molly and explained in a mumble to Jasper and Andy.

Molly had been supportive, Jasper had been understanding, Andy had been, well, a bit short over it, honestly.

“You’re upset because your godson called you dada?”

“I… er… yeah, it’s just- I mean, that should be Remus…”

“Remus is dead.”

“Yeah…”

“No, of course, you’re absolutely correct, Harry. Since Remus went and died for a cause he believed in, Teddy shouldn’t have a father figure in his life. Silly me.”

“That’s not what I’m—”

“Ted is gone. Remus is gone. You’re what he has left. Accept the mantle, Harry, I daresay it’s the kindest one ever offered to you.”

Apparently if Harry ever wanted a firm metaphorical smack, Andy was willing to give him one. Harry preferred Jasper’s method of just listening when Harry wanted him to.

And Harry would have prefer had his ‘episode’ not been so painfully public, but he’d been the one to call Charlie so he had to grin and bear it.

“Hello,” Harry said with forced cheer. He handed Teddy one of the envelopes and gestured for him to give it to Charlie. “Go ahead, Teddy, tell Charlie what we’re doing.”

Teddy held out his envelope and gave Charlie a toothy grin.

“Pawty,” he said carefully, just as he’d practiced. Teddy was a boy of few words, but his little lisp with all the words he did have was adorable beyond belief.

Charlie’s smile somehow widened even more when he accepted the envelope from Teddy.

“Now it can’t be your birthday already,” he said in his playful voice Harry only ever heard around Teddy. “You just turned one last week!”

Harry’s forehead creased slightly as he watched the easy way Charlie interacted with Teddy. Charlie was a good parent, a good ‘male role model with a kid who called him dad’.

Perhaps Harry should be watching Charlie for cues on how to behave with Teddy.

Although… when Charlie sent Harry and Teddy on their way to finish passing out invites with a giant rainbow lollipop for Teddy, Harry thought maybe Charlie was more of a fun uncle type of person.

Harry didn’t have any fun uncles, but Ron and Sirius did, so he knew they existed.

Their next stop had been the Cullen’s house. It was silly, since Jasper’s bike was in their driveway, but Harry thought it would be more fun for Teddy to hand out invites on his own. It always looked like fun when kids had done it in Harry’s primary classes. Each birthday child would go around the room and shyly hand out invites to their friends and classmates. Everyone had always seemed to be vibrating with excitement and Harry had always wondered what was inside those invites that had been so exciting.

Probably something that would have been much more magical to discover as a child and guest at the party than it was as the adult throwing the party.

The Cullen’s were really the ones hosting the party, Alice just conferred with Harry on the details. Which… maybe Harry should have been stricter.

He walked in the Cullen’s house, two weeks before the party, and saw that it was filled to the brim with what looked like an entire carnival.

Teddy immediately began wriggling out of Harry’s arms, running straight to what seemed to be a red and white striped candy floss machine while Harry sent an exasperated look at the trio of vampires on the staircase.

Rosalie was already sweeping down the stairs to Teddy, her arms outstretched and her eyes sparkling happily. Alice was bouncing on the balls of her toes as she scanned Harry’s face, undoubtedly looking for his reaction to the insane amount of games and machines filling their home.

Jasper leaned against the wall with an amused smirk and a quick wink when he caught Harry’s eye.

“What do you think?” Alice cried impatiently. She was beside Harry in an instant with her arms waving around eagerly. “It’s a carnival theme!!”

Harry sighed when Rosalie began to show Teddy how to operate a little crane game filled with plush toys.

“Alice, don’t you ever get sick of throwing parties?”

Because, frankly, Harry was already a bit sick of attending them. Truthfully, he’d had a decent time each time he did go to a party Alice threw, but at what literal cost?

“These are rentals,” Carlisle told Harry, joining the group in the sitting room with a kind smile.

“I thought Edward was the mind reader?” Harry said with a wry smile.

Carlisle chuckled and recliner against the wall. “A lucky guess,” he assured Harry.

Jasper joined Harry while Harry watched Carlisle greet Teddy and make a show of accepting the birthday party invitation that Teddy offered him.

“What are you thinking, darlin?” Jasper breathed in Harry’s ear.

Harry saw how Carlisle talked to Teddy like he was a little adult. Carlisle was patient and helped guide Teddy on how to use the crane game while Rosalie simply shook the machine to try and cheat a plush bear out of it for Teddy.

Carlisle was an unconventional parent, to be sure, but a good one.

“Nothing,” Harry told Jasper absently. “Come on, Teddy Bug, we still have to go invite all the Weasley’s.”

Rosalie pouted, but it was Carlisle who gently reminded her of the importance of Teddy’s task, appeasing Rosalie and making Teddy laugh all at the same time.

“Knock, knock.” Harry stepped out of the floo in the Burrow and frowned at the uncharacteristic silence in the home. “Molly?”

“In the kitchen, dear!”

Harry whispered to Teddy, “We should have known,” and Teddy giggled quietly.

“Teddy! Harry!” Molly dropped the spoon she’d been using to mix a batch of something that smelled like cinnamon and turned to give them both a warm hug. She smiled at them and patted Teddy on the cheek while his hair turned red and curly. “How are you boys?”

Teddy’s eyes crinkled in the corners when he gave Molly an impish little grin. “Hungy.”

Molly wasn’t bothered by Teddy’s obvious ploy for treats, she just snagged a giant chocolate chip scone from the counter and gave it to him with a kiss to the top of his head of red hair.

“There you go, dear,” she said. “Growing boys need food.”

Harry sighed fondly at the mess Teddy was already making as he eagerly dug into the scone.

“Here, Molly,” Harry handed over one of the envelopes that Teddy was too sticky to touch. “It’s for Teddy’s birthday, I thought maybe you could let the others know?”

“Of course,” Molly agreed. She tucked the invitation in her apron pocket. “I’m headed to Bill’s later anyway, but you might pop over to George’s and let him know.” She shook her head and returned to stirring the batter on the counter. “Poor boy is working himself to the bone at that shop of his.”

Harry hesitated. He’d rather not go to George’s shop, but…

“And you know Teddy adores seeing all the toys and sweets George has.”

“George!”

But it seemed like that was their next stop.

Harry grimaced and then plastered a fake smile on his face when he stepped in the wall-to-wall packed store in Diagon Alley. Weasley’s Wizarding Wheezes was doing as brilliant as ever, as the crowds indicated. And, just as Molly said, George was rushing around so much trying to handle the chaos on his own that Harry couldn’t even catch his eye.

He did catch the line leading up to the unmanned till though and set Teddy up with some of the harmless muggle toys and resigned himself to jumping behind the register.

The very first customer gasped when Harry smiled wanly at them.

“You’re Harry Potter,” the woman breathed.

Harry shook his head then plastered a very wide and very fake smile on his face.

“Ron Weasley, actually,” he said loudly. “My mate loaned me some hair for a… er… publicity stunt.”

“Oh.” The woman visibly deflated, which Harry found rather unfair since Ron was as essential to ending the war as Harry had been, but she checked out without any fuss.

Harry had slowly worked his way through the line by the time George joined him at the counter.

“Ron, eh?” he grinned. “I guess these jokers never heard an American accent before.”

Harry raised a quizzical brow at him. “I don’t have an American accent?”

George laughed and patted Harry on the shoulder.

“You do,” he said. He pulled a few sweets from his pocket and passed them down to Teddy after hastily swearing they were harmless.

“What brings you by anyway? Not that I’m complaining,” George added swiftly, “I was getting my arse handed to me with Ron and Verity both off today.”

“Oh,” Harry dug in his pocket and handed over an invite. “It’s for Teddy’s party,” he explained.

Teddy looked up from the sweets he’d been getting all over his face and grinned at Harry.

“Pawty, dada!”

Harry stiffened at the return of the phrase.

It didn’t mean anything.

It didn’t mean Teddy was replacing Remus with Harry.

It didn’t—

“Dada, huh?”

Harry was forcing himself to inhale and exhale very evenly and spared a quick glance at George. George was looking from where Teddy’s smile was slowly slipping away to Harry’s ashen face.

George snagged Teddy from the floor and bounced him on his hip.

“Does Harry take good care of you?” he asked Teddy.

Teddy, which probably didn’t even understand the question, clapped and squealed out a yes.

“Make you take baths and eat healthy?”

Harry smiled faintly. “He likes baths,” he said softly. “Not vegetables though.”

“Well who does?” George winked at Teddy and poked his stomach. “Does Harry read you bedtime stories and keep you safe from the boogie man?”

“No no monsters,” Teddy lisped out happily.

George hugged Teddy in his side and gave Harry a small smile.

“Then Harry sounds like a pretty good dad, Teddy.”

Harry’s breath hitched and he had to swallow harshly.

“Teddy has a dad,” Harry reminded George.

“And I have a twin,” George said easily. A shadow of unhappiness passed through his eyes, but he blinked and it was gone.

“They’re not here though,” George reminded Harry quietly. “You’re not taking anything from Remus, you’re giving something to Teddy.”

“Do you ever… ever feel guilty?” Harry asked him while looking down at his own shoes.

Harry felt guilty all the time. He could barely look at the photos in Andy’s house or directly at George without feeling guilty. Stepping foot in the shop made Harry feel guilty.

All those lives lost. All the people that Harry couldn’t save because he hadn’t been fast enough, or smart enough, or enough of anything.

Some days the guilt felt so overwhelming that Harry didn’t want to get out of bed. It was better than it used to be, but his school record still wasn’t stellar.

George cleared his throat and the silence lingered until Harry lifted his head to see that George was as solemn and serious as he’d ever been.

“Fred shouldn’t have been there,” George said thickly. “He didn’t have his coin, and I had to go tell him we were fighting before we came. He- Fred would still be here if I hadn’t went and got him.”

Harry’s fingers twitched with the urge to reach out to George. Assure him it wasn’t his fault, George couldn’t have known, but George smiled joylessly when Teddy reached up and traced the curve on the side of George’s head where his ear had once been.

“Everyone feels guilty, Harry,” George said. He looked much older than his twenty-three years when he handed Teddy over to Harry. “But you didn’t kill Remus any more than I did Fred.”

Harry thought about George’s solemn words that night when he rocked Teddy in his room.

“Do I give you something, Bug?” he asked the snoring toddler softly. Harry smoothed the fluffy black curls off his head and planted a gentle kiss to his forehead. “You give me so much,” he whispered.

Teddy was one of the best things in Harry’s life. Harry loved him like he imagined he’d love a child of his own.

And…

And was it any wonder that Teddy felt the same way about Harry?

Harry would never have kids of his own and Teddy… Teddy would never have Remus.

If Harry had gotten an Arthur or a Charlie or a Carlisle when he’d been a kid, he didn’t think that James Potter would have begrudged him for it.

What parent didn’t want their kid to feel safe and loved?

“You feel sad,” Jasper murmured when Harry eventually made his way to their bed.

Harry tried to wrap himself in Jasper’s cool and comforting grip.

“I was thinking about my relatives,” Harry admitted in the crook of Jasper’s neck where he hid his face. “They- they were shit, honestly.”

They were more than shit- the Dursleys had done everything the exact opposite of what Harry tried to do for Teddy. They never supported him, they just belittled him. They didn’t make him feel safe, they made him afraid of the place was meant to be his home.

And no matter how hard Harry had tried - they’d never loved him. They feared him, they despised him.

They weren’t fit to be relatives, nevermind anything resembling the role of a parent.

“Oh?” Jasper hummed. He stroked a hand down Harry’s back, relaxing his tense muscles. “Do you want to talk about them, darlin?”

Harry hesitated and bit hard on his tongue. It was curiously painful to talk about his relatives; it was as if he didn’t speak of them then they weren’t real.

If Harry stayed quiet, then they could remain as the shadows in the back of his mind that whispered he wasn’t fit to be a parent to Teddy.

And then they won and Harry lost, and when Harry lost, Teddy lost.

“Alright.”

Jasper held Harry and they talked late into the night. Or, more accurately, Harry talked and Jasper listened.

By the time Harry fell asleep, the sun was peeking through their curtains and Harry felt a small weight lift off his chest.

And when Teddy rushed to Harry with an icing covered stuffed bear at his party two weeks later, crying “DADA!” with arms outstretched for Harry to catch him, it felt like something right clicking in place.

Chapter Text

May 3rd

Jasper’s granite teeth ground against his lips as he fought against the urge to push away Harry’s anguish and guilt and replace it with something lighter. 

“We could leave,” Jasper breathed to Harry. Harry stood stiffly beside Jasper, his jaw clenched so tightly he could scarcely speak, but he shook his head all the same. 

Jasper sighed quietly. Damn his Wizard and his sense of obligation. 

“You could allow me to lighten your mood,” Jasper whispered, tilting his head down close to Harry’s and putting his nose in Harry’s hair just above his ear. “I could make this much less painful for you, darlin’.” 

Harry grabbed Jasper’s wrist in something that would be bruising if Jasper were a mere mortal. 

“Don’t,” Harry whispered, his guilt rising until Jasper himself began to feel needlessly guilty. “Just… don’t, okay?”

“Okay.”

Jasper twisted his wrist until Harry’s iron grip was on his hand instead of his wrist and he continued to stand silently, listening to Minister of Magic Shacklebolt give a profoundly deep and moving speech about the anniversary of the end of their war and the lives lost and futures secured. 

It was touching, more so because Jasper could feel the emotions of the crowd that listened with rapt attention, but it would be better if the Minister had chosen a different ending line. 

“And now, it is my great pleasure to introduce our next speaker, Harry Potter.”

The hundreds of solemn faced and professionally dressed witches and wizards in the crowd - with the single human girl that Harry snuck in with him - stood up and clapped enthusiastically. 

Harry kissed Jasper chastely on the cheek, squeezed his hand hard once more, and then stepped forward to shake Kingsley’s hand and stand at the podium on the stage before the crowd. 

Jasper, Isabella, Ron, Hermione, Ginevra, and Jacob had all been very against Harry attending the memorial service at the British Ministry of Magic on the anniversary of the day Harry died to end a war. Jasper hadn’t wanted to see Harry upset himself, Hermione Weasley insisted that Harry didn’t have the ‘emotional spoons’ to face the event, and Ginevra had flatly told Harry that he gave enough to the ‘vultures’. But Kingsley Shacklebolt had sent Harry a letter, asking him to make an appearance, make a speech, and use his image to draw in more donors for the War Orphans Fund and no argument in the world could combat Harry’s needless guilt and grief. 

So Jasper had donned a suit, went with Harry to fetch a new pair of dress robes for himself and Isabella (as Harry insisted that no one would think she was a muggle if she wore dress robes. Jasper had questioned if wizards were truly so simple to be tricked with such a small change and Harry took great pleasure in telling him about a hippogriff scheduled for execution that lived freely with a single name change), and the three of them arrived together for the gala-like event. 

Ginevra decided at the last minute to accompany them and had decided to stay with Isabella in the crowd. Isabella had no true reason in being there, at least Jasper was publicly acknowledged as Harry Potter’s fiancé, but Harry insisted that he needed all the ‘friendly faces’ as he could get. 

Which was ridiculous as the crowd oozed adoration and awe the moment Harry stepped forward and cleared his throat. 

“Hello,” Harry said, his voice quiet, but firm. “I won’t bother introducing myself; unfortunately I’m sure you all know who I am.”

There was some laughter and Jasper felt as Harry’s anxiety lessened just a touch. 

“I didn’t want to speak here, I hate speeches,” Harry said, earning a few more laughs. “But Kings— er… Minister Shacklebolt wrote to me and told me the charity being supported tonight is the War Orphans Fund, which I don’t need to explain why it’s quite important to me.

“Actually…” Harry cleared his throat. “Maybe I do. See, I was an orphan from a war and now I- I’m the parent of an orphan from this war.”

Jasper found Andromeda Tonks beside her sister in the crowd and he saw her smile and nod at Harry with teary eyes, pride radiating off her. 

“And I know today we’re thinking of the people we lost, but we’re also thinking of how we make sure we never find ourselves in that position again,” Harry said, sounding just as the leader Jasper knew his little wizard was. 

“I thought it was always a load of rubbish when Dumbledore said love was the most powerful magic in the world, but now I think maybe he was right- just a bit. I think if we stop seeing blood status or houses or ‘muggles or magic’ and we just start loving each other, that’s how we avoid another war.

“Who cares if someone’s a muggleborn or pureblood? Who cares about Slytherin or Gryffindor? When we were fighting, when people were dying, they all fought and bled the same. I lost people that were magical, my friends lost people who were muggle. Everyone lost someone they loved and I don’t want to see it ever happen again.

“The War Orphan Fund is for more than just children left behind with no parents and no home. It’s also for single parents and families that are struggling to recover from a war that never should have started. I know it would mean a lot to those people who lost everything in a war if you showed them love and donated to the cause.

“Thank you.”

When it was clear that was the extent of Harry’s speech, short and sweet, the audience gave Harry a standing ovation and Harry nodded his head in thanks. 

“It’s all for the war orphans,” Jasper murmured to Harry when Harry returned to his side. Kingsley began moving the crowd to the extravagant ballroom and Jasper could sense Harry’s exhaustion .

“I’d rather go home and wait for our war orphan to come back home,” Harry whispered. 

Jasper quirked his lips up in a smile. “Say the word, my beloved, and I’ll whisk you away and give all these reporters a true story to report on.”

That earned a smile and short laugh from Harry, but they seemed to have been spotted by Harry’s friends and thus their escape was temporarily foiled. 

“Harry!” Hermione Weasley grabbed Harry in a tight hug, overflowing with pride . “You have no idea how much they’ve earned so far! Oh, I wish you hadn’t come, but honestly I think most of the big donors only came because of you! And guess—”

“Breathe, love,” Ron chuckled, stepping up beside his bride with a wide smile and an enjoyable sense of calm within him. “Good speech, mate, you almost looked like you didn’t hate being here.”

“It’s called acting,” Harry said flatly as he reached out and plucked a wine glass from a tray that floated through the crowd. 

Isabella and Ginevra caught up with them as Harry finished his first glass of wine and their arrival seemed to unleash ‘the vultures’, as Ginevra called them. 

“Mister Potter, can’t tell you how happy I am to meet you.” A man with dark purple robes and thin brown hair shook Harry’s hand enthusiastically for much longer than social niceties required. “I must have missed you last year, but I looked!”

Harry had a smile pasted on his face that didn’t reach his eyes. 

“I was in the back doing shots with Neville most of the night last year,” he said blandly. 

Ron laughed loudly before subtly steering Harry’s admirer away. 

Jasper wrapped his arm around Harry’s waist and made it difficult for any more admirers to physically touch him as Harry’s right hand was taken with another glass of wine and his left snaked around Jasper’s waist. 

“Harry! You did wonderful!” Andromeda swept down on Harry and kissed both of his cheeks briefly. “And to publicly claim Teddy like that?” Andromeda clicked her tongue and smiled at Harry reassuringly. “You’re a good man, Harry.”

Andromeda’s sister, Narcissa, was quick to praise Harry as well, further contributing to Harry’s quite desperate downing of a third glass of wine. 

“It seems as if every time I visit Andromeda that I am regaled with tales of ‘Dada’ by little Teddy,” she said with an airy laugh and thoughtful smile. “Perhaps you and your…” her eyes flicked to Jasper and there was only the smallest amount of disgust within her that was only caught by Jasper’s gift. “…partner will consider having children of your own?”

“Teddy’s a handful enough,” Harry said even while filled with a sense of longing . “Tell Draco that if he ever has kids, I’m ready to be godfather though, in honor of all our good times together.”

Narcissa and Andromeda laughed and then left together to go speak with the other guests. 

Minerva McGonagall arrived with Neville Longbottom and a kind witch introduced as Poppy Pomfrey.

“You must be Jasper!” Poppy cried, delighted , as she leaned in to press her cheek against Jasper’s politely as neither Jasper nor Harry had free hands to shake. 

“I have heard quite a bit about you,” Poppy said kindly while Neville seemed to be quietly trying to dissuade Harry from continuing to drink. 

“Have you?” Jasper asked curiously. “I apologize, ma’am, I’m afraid I may not recall your name from Harry’s many stories.”

Poppy tsk’d cheerfully and seemed unoffended. “I’m the healer for Hogwarts and your sister has decided that my wing is where it was best for her to store her decorations.”

“Ah.” Jasper smiled fondly. “Alice is quite thrilled by her opportunity to decorate your beautiful castle for the wedding. I apologize on her behalf if she has been a nuisance.”

“Oh, not at all!” Poppy assured him. “Alice is a dear girl. I’ve been telling her of the many mishaps that placed your fiancé in my care. I do hope that he is more careful with his safety now?”

Jasper smiled widely, squeezed Harry’s waist, and lied through his teeth. 

“Of course.”

Once it became clear that Harry planned on braving his way through the event with heavy intoxication, Jasper made the executive decision to steer him away from any important Ministry workers or reporters. 

“I love you,” Harry hummed with his head on Jasper’s chest as they danced. Jasper all but carried his wizard, hiding his drunkenness from the others attendants. 

“And I love you,” Jasper assured him. “Guess what?”

“Hm?”

“Forty-eight days.”

Harry looked up and blinked at Jasper with glassy eyes hidden behind smudged glasses. 

“Until we’re married?” Harry guessed. 

Jasper kissed his forehead and ignored the audible flash of a nearby camera. 

“Forty-eight days until my undying devotion to you is made legal,” he murmured. “Forty-nine days until our honeymoon truly begins.”

Harry laughed then, his sadness brushing to the side some to make way for a sweet blossom of excitement .

“Motorcycling around the world?” Harry asked, beaming when Jasper nodded. “I wish we could do it for months.”

Jasper smiled. They had originally planned on spending the entire month of July traveling, but then Harry was struck with nerves about leaving Teddy behind for so long. Instead, they compromised- 

Once Teddy turned eleven and began Hogwarts, they would take the entire school year, with a return for the holidays, to travel the world together. 

What were nine measly years to immortals, after all?

Harry’s mood remained elevated for some time before Jasper felt him slowly slipping into sorrow .

“Let’s go outside,” Harry said, “I need air.”

Jasper found them the quickest route through the chamber, one that avoided the flocks of reporters and the golden statue in the center of the room. There were magically added verandas to the chamber, something that Hermione Weasley insisted were ‘a waste of time’. 

Harry clearly disagreed with his friend as he took a deep breath as soon as they stepped outside and Jasper was graced with a view of the night sky and a moon that highlighted Harry’s perfect face. Harry leaned over the metal bannister and dwelled in a sense of thoughtfulness while Jasper patiently waited for him to speak. 

“You know I never really had much of a family,” Harry said softly. “I always thought I’d have a big family of my own one day.”

Jasper stood beside Harry with his back to the bannister so he could study Harry’s face while they spoke. 

“You have the largest family known to man,” Jasper reminded him, misunderstanding Harry’s point. “You have my siblings, Carlisle and Esme. Isabella and her father, of course. Plus the never-ending Weasley clan, which seems to expand every time we see them. And Teddy and Andromeda.”

“Yeah,” Harry smiled sadly and stared out at the sky. “But that’s it, you know? We- we won’t ever have more kids than just Teddy.”

Oh. 

Harry’s disappointment suddenly clicked in place for Jasper who had not realized how much Teddy calling Harry ‘Dada’ had struck a sentimental spot in Harry. It made sense, Harry had been raised as an orphan and likely always longed for the safety and security that came from a family. 

And Jasper could not offer him what he wanted. 

Jasper cleared his throat and tucked a lock of Harry’s stray hair behind his ear. 

“Darlin’, if you want to have children, we could do surrogacy or adoption. There are—”

“No,” Harry cut him off and Jasper’s chest ached at the solitary tear that traced down Harry’s cheek. It was likely that Harry’s emotions were heightened by his inebriation, but it still pained Jasper all the same. 

“I don’t want kids that will one day look like they’re our parents, our grandparents,” Harry said with a trembling voice. “We’d have to bury them eventually, Jazz, and I don’t want to do that.” 

“We… immortal children are forbidden,” Jasper said, stricken that he could not give Harry this one thing he desired. “It’s a heinous thing to give immortality to a child, darlin’.”

Heinous and the highest crime imaginable in the vampiric world. 

“Immortal children?” Harry asked, turning to Jasper with curiosity . “Jazz, you’re not telling me that there are vampires that bit babies, right?”

Jasper grimaced and tilted his head affirmatively, sharing Harry’s horror and disgust .

“There were some in the past who desired children, just as you and Rosalie do,” Jasper said. “They turned children into perfect, cherub, uncontrollable monsters. The children were frozen at their stage of development and were unable to be controlled or taught. Imagine Teddy when he throws a tantrum over eating carrots but with strength of immortals and the ability to slaughter hundreds in an instant.

“And it seemed that all the little ones with venom in their veins shared a gift for attracting devotion and love in ways you can’t imagine. Entire covens would fight to the death to protect these children and infants. When the deaths were too high to hide, the Volturi stepped in.”

Harry let out a quiet gasp and Jasper nodded. 

“That is how Tanya, Kate, and Irene lost their mother,” Jasper said solemnly. “She had created an immortal child for herself and chose to be burned with them at the end.”

“That’s…” Harry’s horror was insurmountable. “That’s terrible, Jazz. I- I wasn’t even thinking about turning a child and damning them with immortal life, I was just saying that we can’t exactly have a normal family.”

“We cannot have a traditional family,” Jasper corrected him with a gentle smile. “You do have a family, my love. One that adores you and loves you.”

“Yeah.” Harry huffed and smiled falsely at Jasper even while his disappointment lingered. “You’re right, I’m just, er… a bit drunk, actually.”

“You are quite tipsy,” Jasper agreed. He kissed Harry’s cheek, bringing a light blush to his beloved’s face. “Come, why don’t we make our goodbyes and go home?” 

Ginevra and Isabella were easily found, standing in a tight cluster of the war heroes that were reminiscing and being heavily photographed. 

“Harry!” Isabella was flushed in the face, likely as intoxicated as the swaying Ginevra was. Isabella pulled Harry in their group and leaned on his side. “Did you know that nargles are everywhere ?” she asked. 

Harry looked to where Luna Lovegood stood beside Neville Longbottom, smiling serenely, and he snickered. 

“I heard they like mistletoe the most,” Harry said. “I’m actually going to leave, if you’re ready?”

“God, yes,” Ginevra said. She reached down and immediately peeled off her heels, tucking them in a purse that they should not fit in, and sighed in relief. “Heels are torture.” 

“You cannot compare heels with the crucio,” Hermione laughed. She twisted her foot out and showed the group her high golden heels. “As someone who experienced both, I promise that heels are less tortuous.”

Ron and Harry both frowned with matching anger and Hermione rolled her eyes with exasperation .

“Boys, I am fine,” she said firmly. Hermione bent forward and pressed a chaste kiss to Harry’s cheek before curling her nose in distaste. “You smell like booze.”

“It was either get drunk or cry,” Harry told her with a grin. “I did some of both, but imagine how much more I would have cried if I didn’t drink.”

Hermione sighed and sent a covert look up at Jasper that he nodded subtly at. 

“Go home and sleep,” Hermione said affectionately . “You did wonderfully, Harry.”

“Much better than last year,” Neville Longbottom added with his typical warm cheer . “You didn’t even throw up on anyone this time!”

The others were lost to a fit of giggles that set off stories of prior galas they were roped in attending while Jasper corralled Harry, Isabella, and Ginevra to the closest fireplace. 

“Ginevra, can you assist Isabella?” Jasper asked her, weighing up her level of sobriety. 

“Course,” Ginevra said stoutly. “Bella’s perfectly safe with me.”

“We’ll see you in a moment then,” Jasper said skeptically, unsure how flooing while drunk could result in possible chaos. 

Harry laughed and grabbed a handful of the powder above the fireplace and tossed it in before pulling Jasper in with him and calling out the destination of their home. 

Jasper’s entire body stiffened the instant he stepped out of the fireplace and he had Harry locked in his arms without a conscious thought. 

“Jazz? Jazz? Move, Bella’s coming.”

“No,” Jasper snarled, though he quickly rethought it. It would be in poor taste to allow Isabella to burn in their fireplace. Jasper stepped out with Harry and as soon as Ginevra and Isabella came through, Jasper had them all moved to a corner of the living room within the space of a second. 

“What’s going on?” Isabella asked Harry in a loud whisper while Jasper quickly ran through the house, searching out the vampire that left their scent behind. 

“No idea, call your dumbass boyfriend,” Harry whispered back to Isabella. Jasper heard as Isabella smacked Harry on the arm and Ginevra’s quiet laugh, but he was rather busy checking for the intruder. 

“No need,” Jasper told Isabella when he returned to the living room. “Harry, take Isabella to my parents’ home, I’ll be there momentarily.”

Harry grinned and Jasper could sense his amusement . “Jazz, c’mon, I’m not leaving. Gin can take Bella and I’ll help you do whatever you’re doing.” Harry held up his left hand, unfairly flashing Jasper’s ring on his fourth finger. “We’re partners.”

Jasper sighed inaudibly. “So we are, darlin’.”

Chapter Text

“You’re enjoying this too much.”

Harry laughed while he continued waving his wand around, swirling wards together and strengthening them as much as he could. 

“Course not, Rose.” Harry flashed Rosalie a smile over his shoulder, one that sparkled with mischief. “What would I possibly enjoy about vampire-proofing Bella’s house?” 

Rosalie, who was just as petty as Harry on occasion, laughed and went back to filing her fingernails with the special file she ordered that wouldn’t break beneath her nails. 

“You know that when most people are being stalked by unknown vampires, they aren’t quite so giddy,” she said with a smirk. “It’s almost as if you’re hoping it’s an assassin and not a random nomad.”

Harry rolled his eyes at Rosalie’s insistence on taking away the little bit of joy he had in making sure that Bella’s place couldn’t be entered by any vampire. 

In Harry’s professional opinion, it was hysterical that Edward couldn’t visit Bella anymore, all in the name of safety, of course. 

Nobody had gotten any sleep - and by that Harry meant that he didn’t get any sleep - after returning from the gala the night before. Once Jasper scented an unfamiliar vampire in Harry’s house, in the place where Harry’s godson slept , the two of them tracked it as far as they could with Paul and Seth. The vampire had definitely been in Bella’s house, particularly in her room, and even broke into Forks High School’s administration office. 

Jasper said that the only two files pulled were for Potter, Harry and Swan, Isabella. 

Edward, typically, freaked out and started talking crazy about taking Bella to Arizona where her mum lived, which had been insulting and resulted in a spat. 

“We’re not whisking Bella off to Arizona because there’s a vampire sniffing around,” Harry snapped. “She doesn’t want to go.”

Bella nodded in agreement with Harry, since Harry actually bothered to fill her in on what they found as they tracked the vampires scent clear to Seattle where they lost it in the mix of what Jasper and Paul swore were ‘dozens’ of other vampire scents. 

“If anything, we just change Bella a little early and then nobody has to worry about her getting attacked,” Harry said, quite eager for that option. 

“You are so excited to end her life!” Edward snarled, getting entirely too close to Harry. 

Harry pulled his wand and set off a warning spark that landed in the grass where they had met between the Cullens house and the border. 

Paul, Seth, and Jake were snarling then, probably just mad on Harry’s behalf, and Harry stared Edward down hard. 

“Her heartbeats became measured when you decided to be a dramatic prat in Volterra,” Harry reminded Edward coolly. “Her life is what I’m trying to protect.” 

And if it resulted in Harry getting an immortal best friend who could ride in the car with him without either of them stressing over wrecks, all the better. 

Harry had been firmly anti-immortality for Bella, but it was her choice and she made it with all the facts. 

“If we change Isabella now, she would still be a risk in a fight,” Rosalie chimed in. “She’ll be a newborn and driven by bloodlust, not exactly someone I want on our side if it comes to a fight.”

“Will it?” Carlisle asked, looking toward Alice. “Jasper said there were dozens of vampires in Seattle and the news supports this.”

“I- I don’t know,” Alice whined with her nose wrinkled and a stomp of her foot. “When I try to look at any of our futures with vampires from Seattle all I see are black and white spots.”

Harry grinned at Jake, pleased in the moment that their futures were so firmly entwined despite Jake’s dislike of vampires that weren’t Jasper. 

“So what do we do?” Esme asked, her sweet face shining with concern. “If they targeted Harry and Isabella’s homes specifically, I can’t imagine it was a coincidence.”

“It may have been,” Jasper said smoothly, lying through his teeth, Harry was sure. “This could have been a single nomad passing through who caught our scents in both places and became curious. Between the magical presence and the shapeshifters, we do have a unique scent at both locations.”

They discussed it for a while longer and wound up dividing in three groups:

Harry, Rosalie, and Paul were on ‘protect Bella’s house’ duty. 

Jasper, Emmett, and Alice went to Seattle to try and discover why there were so many vampires there. 

Edward, Carlisle, and Esme took Bella back to their house, keeping Bella hidden until Harry was certain her place was safe. 

The rest of the pack set off to up their patrols and inform the council what was happening and Harry went to set wards.

“I think I’m done,” Harry said, panting some after setting every ward he could, along with some that were probably unnecessary (trolls weren’t a huge risk in Forks, but Harry was beginning to think anything was possible). “Rose, wanna go check?”

Rosalie sighed in a putout way even though she literally just had to try and enter Bella’s house. 

Harry watched her walk through the backyard, only to stop at the line he drew and return to his side with a momentarily dazed expression. 

“Alright, Paul, you now.”

Harry didn’t block any of the shapeshifters from going in the Swan residence, as they were frequently invited guests by Charlie, but he couldn’t be sure that he didn’t accidentally block them with his other wards. When Paul was able to creep up to the backdoor and then return with a smug twist of his muzzle, Harry nodded. 

“Brilliant! My house now!” Harry declared. 

Rosalie gave Harry a bewildered sideways glance as Harry led their group to his house. 

“It will be difficult for Jasper to live with you if you block him from entering the house,” she said. 

Harry shrugged with a twinge of regret. “Right, but until we know for sure what’s going on, I can’t risk anyone getting in my house and somehow adding Teddy to their tracking list. Hopefully we get this squared away before this weekend or else I’m going to have to stay at Grimmauld with Teddy.”

Rosalie’s expression softened and she reached out to brush Harry’s hand with the back of hers. 

“You’re a wonderful father,” she said kindly. “Teddy is lucky to have you.”

“Teddy only had me because his parents are dead,” Harry reminded Rosalie bitterly. “I’m no replacement for Remus, trust me.”

For as long as Harry lived - forever - he would never forget the pure joy that lit Remus from the inside out when he arrived at Shell Cottage to announce Teddy’s birth. The best Harry could do was relay that joy to Teddy when he was old enough to understand it more. 

“I can’t imagine that Remus would be any more of an attentive parent to Teddy than you are,” Rosalie sniffed loyally. 

Harry gave her an appreciative smile and dropped the subject as they approached his house. It took him longer to ward his place than it did Bella’s, mostly because he had to focus just as much on the perimeter of the garage where Jake and Ginny lived as he did the house itself. 

Once it was finished and tested by Rosalie and Paul both, Harry was drenched in a fine layer of sweat. Rosalie offered to wait for Harry to get a shower and pack a bag, Jasper wasn’t staying at his parents house without Harry, and Paul took off to get some sleep before his patrol shift started. 

Harry took his time showering, washing off the grime from traveling through the woods on his broom while he tracked the vampire with Jasper and the sweat from exerting more magic in a day than he usually did in weeks. 

It broke Harry’s heart to send all his photographs of Teddy to Grimmauld, even though Kreacher swore to protect them with his life, but Harry couldn’t risk someone seeing the photos of Teddy with his wild black curls and green eyes and deciding he could be a chip to be used against Harry. 

Harry would never allow his godson to be a pawn in any sort of war. 

Rosalie climbed in the passenger seat of Harry’s car when he pulled out of the driveway and politely didn’t comment on his red-rimmed eyes. 

“You should know that I would die for Teddy,” she said casually while Harry began speeding toward the Cullen house. “As would Emmett. If there is a child better protected than our Teddy, I don’t know them.”

“Thanks,” Harry said, meaning it. “He’s- he’s the only son I’ll ever have. I just can’t let him get hurt because I’m stupid.” 

Rosalie put her hand on top of Harry’s on the gearshift and squeezed it. 

“If I ever thought that your endearing stupidity were placing Teddy in any sort of risk, I would kill you,” she said with a sweet tone that contrasted her empty threat. 

Harry laughed and flipped out the completed touch screen radio that Rosalie herself had installed in his new car. 

“You can try, but I’m hard to kill,” Harry joked with a gesture to the scar that decorated his collarbones. 

“I’d find a way,” Rosalie swore. 

Harry looked at her with a fond smile born from their friendship and similar senses of lost opportunities.

“I believe you.”

As soon as Harry made it inside the Cullen house, he went straight to the white sofa that was more comfortable than its sleek appearance suggested and flopped face down on it. 

“Wake me and die,” Harry mumbled, knowing every vampire in the house would hear him clearly. With his wand clenched in his hand and his arm beneath his head, Harry passed out almost immediately. 

“Harry… Harry… HARRY POTTER!”

Harry jolted and swung his wand, aiming it where the voice came from and firing off the first spell he could think of. There was a yelp, a snarl, and then Harry was suddenly flying through the air only to land in arms as hard as stone. 

“What the FUCK ?” Harry yelled once he had a split-second to see two blurs destroying the Cullens living room while Bella floated in the air by her ankle and tried to hold her shirt up to keep from flashing everyone. 

“Bro, you’re like a little hurricane of destruction,” Emmett laughed as he stood Harry back on his feet and Harry tried to decipher who was fighting and why. 

“ENOUGH!” Carlisle yelled, appearing beside Harry in an instant with only a soft rush of air to alert him to his arrival. “Edward, Jasper, enough!” 

When the blurs quit moving, Harry could see that they were Edward and Jasper with their teeth bared and both quivering as they growled in each other's faces. 

“Hi,” Bella said with a blush that had Jasper hastily moving to stand behind Harry and hide his face in Harry’s hair. “Mind letting me down?”

Harry flicked the wand he had been unconsciously clenching at Bella, dropping her to the ground where Edward caught her before she could hit the floor. 

“What the hell was that?” Harry asked, struggling to understand what had happened. Bloody vampires and their super speed… they made it difficult to track. 

“Isabella thought she would wake you for dinner by screaming in your ear—”

“A really bad joke,” Bella said with another heavy blush, interrupting Jasper’s tense voice. “Sorry.”

“You then understandably woke with a startle and HARMLESSLY hit Isabella with a spell—”

“That we had no way of knowing if it was harmless or not,” Edward said, just as terse as Jasper. 

Jasper snarled quietly before continuing. “Then Edward thought that the best course of action was to THROW YOU AT THE WALL MADE OF GLASS!”

“Well it’s not like it would have killed him,” Edward snapped. He wrapped a protective arm around Bella and curled his lip at Jasper. “Not like Harry firing off spells at random at Bella!”

“No, you’re right, Harry wouldn’t feel pain,” Jasper sneered. 

“And then Jasper attacked Edward, I caught you like a bad bouquet, and all's well that ends well!” Emmett laughed. “Who’s hungry? Esme has been cooking for hours.”

Harry felt bad that Esme had spent hours cooking since only two people in the house could eat normal food, and it smelled wonderful, but Jasper was so tense behind Harry that Harry knew he needed to cool off before another fight broke out. 

“Er… I’ll eat in a bit,” Harry said. He shrugged at Bella with an unapologetic grimace. “I’d say sorry, but I did say ‘wake me and die’.”

Bella didn’t seem too torn up about his very minor attack. 

“I was starving and Esme said I couldn’t eat until you were awake, to be polite,” she said, just as unapologetic. “Try to not be so paranoid.”

“Try to not be so annoying,” Harry grinned. “Just wait until I tell Charlie how badly you’re treating me, you’ll be grounded for the rest of your life.”

“I really hope not because he thinks I’m staying with you for a few days,” Bella said with her own smug grin. “No need to involve him in a possible vampire fight.”

Harry tilted his head in agreement then focused on his very stressed fiancé. 

“C’mon, Jazz, let’s go for a walk,” Harry said coaxingly with what he hoped was a winning smile. “I’m fine, really. I’m just glad I don’t have to repair that wall.”

Jasper shot his brother another furious look before he let Harry take his hand and lead him out through the garage, avoiding crossing Edward’s path altogether. 

“He is insufferable in his determination to vilify you,” Jasper said when they stepped out of the garage and on to the Cullens sprawling lawn. 

Esme was a talented landscaper. She had their backyard trimmed neatly with flowers that managed to blossom despite the terrible weather and even lined a playground for Teddy with mulch and lights that lit up his ridiculously expensive swing set with the attached play-castle. 

Harry pulled Jasper over to the swings and grinned when he sat down and instead of taking the other swing, Jasper decided to move behind Harry and push him lightly. 

“I did attack Bella,” Harry said logically. “You would have done the same thing if she attacked me.”

“I absolutely would not have thrown a human toward a wall made of glass, Harry.”

Harry laughed lightly at the use of his first name, proof that Jasper was in a right pissy mood. 

“Maybe not,” Harry conceded. “But if we’re staying here for a while, maybe just try and not kill Edward. I don’t wanna listen to Bella whine for an eternity.”

Jasper sighed heavily, which was just him being dramatic since Harry knew he didn’t need air in his lungs. 

“Tensions are doubtlessly going to be high for a while, I’m afraid,” he said slowly, clearly choosing his words with care. “Our trip to Seattle was not pleasant, love.”

“Oh?” Harry twisted his head around to look at Jasper’s perfectly smooth expression. “What’d you find?”

Jasper grabbed Harry by the waist lightly when Harry swung back toward him and flipped him around in his arms so they were facing each other and Harry could wrap his legs around Jasper. 

“I will refrain from murdering my brother for the foreseeable future,” Jasper said. He tilted his chin up and Harry ducked his head to kiss him slowly without any real rush. 

For the eternity that they would have together, Harry didn’t think that he would ever get sick of kissing Jasper. Even with Harry’s lips being warm and soft as a contrast against Jasper’s cool and hard lips, they were a perfect fit. 

Fire and ice. 

A good analogy for their temperaments too, Harry thought. 

“I’m only refraining from having you burn Edward to ash because I believe we may need him soon,” Jasper murmured to Harry when they broke apart. “Let’s give Esme an opportunity to show off her cooking skills and I can discuss the Seattle situation with everyone at once.”

“Mkay,” Harry said. He grinned at Jasper when Jasper began casually strolling toward the house with Harry still wrapped around him. “Are you going to put me down?”

“Eventually,” Jasper winked. 

Harry laughed and suffered through the indignity of being carried through the Cullen house until Jasper put him down in an open chair next to Rosalie at their grand dining table. 

Bella cleared her throat immediately from where she sat beside Edward and gave Edward a pointed look. 

“Harry, I apologize,” he said shortly. 

Harry smiled brightly. “And one day I might forgive you.” 

Rosalie hid a laugh while Jasper didn’t bother as he took his seat at the end of the table across from where Carlisle sat at the head. 

“Harry, eat,” Esme insisted, waving a hand toward the giant bowls of pasta and salad that sat in the middle of the table. 

Harry exchanged a quick glance with Bella, both of them wondering how two people were meant to eat that much food (Harry didn’t even like salad) before they both made their plates. Bella looked terribly awkward, unused to eating around the Cullen’s, but Harry was more at ease as he’d had plenty of practice. 

“This is the best… whatever it is that I’ve ever had,” Harry assured Esme after trying a bite of the delicious meal. 

Alice laughed from her seat beside Bella and shook her head at him. 

“You have uncultured taste,” she said with fake haughtiness. “It’s lobster tagliolini.”

Harry blinked at her. “If you say so.”

“It is really good, thank you,” Bella told Esme with a smile. 

Esme waved them off and seemed content to just bask in their praise. 

“Jasper, Edward said that you found the vampires in Seattle?” Carlisle asked after a few moments. “We wanted to wait until our entire family was gathered before discussing it.”

Jasper straightened immediately and everyone’s expressions became solemn, probably guessing that it wasn’t good news. 

“Currently, there are thirty-seven newborn vampires living in Seattle,” Jasper said gravely while Esme made a soft and pained noise. “I can’t imagine that they are gathered as anything aside from an army.

“And…” Jasper glanced sideways at Harry and then locked their ankles together beneath the table. “The vampire that was in Forks is certainly one of them.”

“You’re sure?” Rosalie asked sharply. “This can’t be a guess.”

“It’s a guarantee, Rose,” Emmett said, unusually serious. “They, uh… they had a shirt of Bella’s and a hoodie of Harry’s.”

“What hoodie?” Harry asked immediately as he tried to do a quick mental calculation of the jackets he owned. “It better not be the one I got in Vegas.”

Vegas had been a terrible experience on Harry, Ron, and Hermione’s holiday. Harry didn’t want to go again just to replace the hoodie he bought there. 

“Not the point, idiot,” Rosalie said with a sharp bite to her tone. She stared Jasper down with her eyes narrowed. “They plan on attacking us?”

“I cannot imagine what other purpose they may have,” Jasper hedged. “Someone has taken great pains to build them up. They have Harry and Isabella’s scent, we are the only nearby group…”

“Any idea who created them?” Carlisle asked Edward. 

Edward shook his head with an unhappy look. “Someone who knows us well enough to stay hidden from the newborns,” he said. “None of them have any idea who their creator is. They follow the lead of a vampire named Riley. He’s older, though not by much. He was reported missing at the end of February.”

Carlisle lapsed in a thoughtful silence while Harry tried to think of anything of significance from February. 

“Aro wouldn’t build an army to pick a fight with us,” Emmett said with his face scrunched up, thinking of the only connection Harry made as well. “Right?” he asked Edward. 

“He… may,” Edward said slowly. “Aro is dedicated to gaining Alice and myself in his guard. He also,” Edward glanced at Harry for a quick moment, “is intrigued by the idea of adding a powerful and immortal wizard to his collection.”

Harry grinned and wondered how bad it hurt Edward to admit that Harry was powerful. 

“I am more inclined to believe it is Victoria behind this,” Jasper said. “The Volturi would not be as sloppy as this and the last thing that Aro wants is to become an enemy to Harry.” 

Compliments all around, really. 

“Unless Aro thinks that Harry would join him if the rest of us were gone,” Edward argued. “You didn’t see in his mind when Harry said he killed Tom Riddle, Aro was fascinated by him.”

Harry was outright beaming. It was all terribly flattering. 

“Try not to get a big head,” Rosalie murmured to him, rolling her eyes. 

“I dunno, Rose, when someone builds an army just for one bloke, again , how am I supposed to stay humble?” Harry teased her. 

“I am disinclined to believe that the Volturi would pick a fight with us by targeting our strongest and weakest members,” Carlisle pointed out, only adding to Harry’s suddenly inflated ego. “He is aware that Harry cannot be killed and that we would fight to the death for Bella. What would he hope to gain?”

“Exactly,” Jasper nodded. “I think it’s more likely that it’s Victoria enacting some act of revenge. I didn’t believe that when we found her in March that it would be the last of her. She blames Harry and Isabella in equal amounts for the death of her mate.”

“Either way,” Carlisle spoke up before Edward and Jasper could argue further. “What should we do about it?” 

Everyone looked at Alice at once and Harry saw that she had a miserably pained expression on her face. 

“Don’t ask me,” she said, her voice high-pitched and pained. “The best I can do is give us a date. Everything past May 24th is black and white.” 

“So… three weeks?” Harry said with a small flash of worry. “We’re either being attacked or attacking nearly forty vampires in three weeks?” 

Three weeks was nothing… three weeks wasn’t nearly enough time to…

Fight? Flee? 

Jasper put his hand on Harry’s knee, probably feeling Harry’s mounting panic. 

Harry couldn’t die, but everyone else could. 

Jasper could die… and Rosalie… Bella…

“Nobody is going to die,” Jasper said, tilting Harry’s chin up with his free hand until Harry had to meet his eyes. “We are a family of exceptional fighters and their numbers will dwindle by then.”

“There are seven vampires, one wizard, and one human,” Harry said, his voice shaking with anxiety. “Jazz, we should just leave. All of us.”

“They will follow us,” Jasper said. “And I believe Alice said that the future is both black and white, darlin’. We won’t be fighting alone.”

“You believe the Quileute pack will stand beside us if it comes to a fight?” Carlisle asked. 

“Jasper is a pack-mate,” Emmett snickered. “And they’re all about protecting the pack.”

“Of which Harry is directly related to,” Jasper told his brother without looking away from Harry. “What options do you see for us?” Jasper asked Harry. “If you see an alternative path that avoids a fight, we would follow your lead.”

Harry was warm from the mutual respect that he and Jasper had - two veterans of very different wars, equals when it came to strategizing against an army - but he was also drawing blanks. 

“I could go alone,” Harry said, ignoring the hiss from more than just Rosalie at the suggestion. “I won’t win, but they might give up once they realize I’m just going to keep coming back to life.”

“No.” It was Esme who spoke up then, sounding just as firm and authoritative as Carlisle occasionally did. “I will not test Harry’s immortality by sending him to face dozens of newborn vampires on his own.”

“Nobody’s arguing,” Alice told her. “And Harry, you know you wouldn’t go alone, and that’s definitely going to end in either Rosalie or Jasper dying, probably both.”

Harry deflated at her logic and cradled his head in his hands. 

“I don’t like our odds against even thirty newborns,” Harry said while he used his palms to try and push away a headache. 

“I bet Ginny will fight too,” Bella said, causing Harry to snap his head up and glare harshly at her. 

“No,” he snarled. Harry looked around the table, making sure everyone was clear on where he stood. “We’re not dragging more of my friends in this. They- they bleed . They aren’t super strong or fast like you lot and—”

“We would never ask you to bring your friends in our fight,” Carlisle said quickly, his eyes open and honest. Carlisle must have sensed everyone’s heightened stress because he gave them all a soft smile. 

“We have three weeks and quite a bit to think over,” Carlisle told them all. “Why don’t we table this discussion to continue once we’ve all had time to think?”

“Good idea,” Jasper agreed. He stood up in a single motion and had Harry on his feet as well. “We’ll be prepared to discuss it further after Harry returns from school tomorrow.”

Harry gave Jasper an amused look while Jasper lifted him from his feet and flew up the stairs with him, not stopping until they were in Jasper’s relatively empty bedroom. 

All of Jasper’s belongings were at Harry’s house, though Harry did see that the closet was filled with clothes that Alice probably bought just that day and there was a comfortable looking bed pushed up against the far wall. 

The bed was where Jasper laid Harry, the two of them on their sides and facing each other. Harry waited until he twitched his wand lazily, casting a silencing charm, to talk. 

“I don’t like this,” Harry said quietly, safe with Jasper to voice his fear. “I don’t like the idea of us all facing off against an army, Jazz. It’s…”

“I know.” Jasper put his hand on Harry’s cheek and didn’t try to minimize Harry’s legitimate fear. “All I can say is that three weeks is plenty of time for us to prepare and strategize. We will not be able to keep the pack from standing with us, Alice has already seen it happen.” 

Harry scooted closer to Jasper until he could hide his face in Jasper’s chest. 

“Is it enough?” Harry breathed against Jasper’s collarbone. “Seven vampires and a dozen shapeshifters?”

Jasper ran his hand down Harry’s back and pulled him even closer. 

“And you, my love,” he said sweetly. “Seven vampires, a dozen shapeshifters, and you. How could we lose?”

Harry wasn’t worried about how they could lose, he was worried about who he could lose in this war.

Chapter Text

May 5th

As soon as Harry (quite bitterly) left for school with Isabella, Jasper left for La Push to meet with the pack.

Alice had already foreseen that they would all fight together - an incredible event that Jasper doubted if any aside from Harry could pull off - it would be foolish to not involve them in that evenings meeting. It would also give Jacob Black and his pack a better understanding of how vampires fight and give them higher chances of surviving the fight unscathed.

Jasper no more than crossed the treaty line than he heard approaching paws smacking the ground in a full sprint.

“Apologies, it is only me,” Jasper said. His lips twitched against the juvenile excitement that whatever shapeshifter it was felt. The excitement dimmed and Jasper was soon faced with the small gray wolf that had to be Leah Clearwater.

“I’m looking for Jacob,” Jasper said politely, ignoring Leah’s disgust at seeing him. “It is incredibly important.”

Leah snarled and turned around to begin running, leaving Jasper to follow. Jasper wasn’t unsympathetic to Leah’s dislike of him and his family, but as she was the only shapeshifter to actively growl at him and refuse to be human around him, Jasper was also thankful that she was an anomaly in more ways than one in the pack.

The two of them ran through the forest that curved around La Push as a protective blanket of green until Jasper could smell and sense the others.

Leah snarled and Jasper nodded, they were not far from Sam Uley’s house.

“Thank you,” he said politely.

As soon as Leah ran back in the direction she came from, Jasper made his way to the inviting home that was filled with happiness, love, and excitement. Trust Jasper to have to intrude on what seemed to be a joyous get-together with news of an impending attack.

Jasper could hear Jacob clearly as he approached, informing the others that he was there. Emily Clearwater threw open her front door only seconds later with a wide smile that dimmed when she saw it was only Jasper.

Jasper was two for two on disappointing the Clearwater women, apparently.

“Jasper, how are you?” Emily asked, still quite cheerful.

“I’m well, thank you,” Jasper said. He waited at the bottom of the steps to the porch, not presuming that Emily would want him inside of her home. “Is Jacob available? I need to speak with him.”

“Of course, come inside,” Emily said without a trace of fear. Jasper inclined his head gratefully and followed Emily inside the small and warm home she shared with Sam.

“Where’s Harry?” Emily asked him.

“School.”

The living room that was covered in overly tall teenage boys burst in laughter at Jasper’s response. Jacob actually fell off the recliner he had been lounging on in a fit of humor.

“No really,” Jared grinned up at Jasper from the floor, “where’s Harry?”

While Emily went to sit beside Sam on a loveseat, Jasper leaned against the doorway and smirked for a brief moment.

“He truly is at school,” Jasper told them. “Isabella managed to convince him to go.”

“Harry misses even more school than you,” Jacob said to Seth Clearwater who sat by Jacob’s chair. Seth grinned up at Jacob and shrugged carelessly.

“Pack patrol takes priority.”

“Is that what this gathering is?” Jasper asked curiously. There were a couple missing members of the pack - most notably Jacob’s third in command, Paul - but Quil, Embry, Seth, Jared, Sam, and Jacob still made up the bulk of the pack.

“Nah, we’re wedding planning,” Jared said, crinkling his nose playfully at Sam and Emily. “We’re trying to convince Emily to make Jake a bridesmaid.”

“And we’re going to arm wrestle for who gets to be Sam’s best man,” Quil added. He raised an arm up and flexed it, showing off muscles he undoubtedly found to be impressive.

“Who is Harry using in your wedding, Jasper?” Emily asked.

Jasper hummed. “Harry is having Hermione Weasley as his best man, then her husband Ron, and Jacob’s girlfriend Ginny.”

“Harry’s groomsmen are chicks?” Embry asked. He started laughing and shook his head.

Jasper flashed a smile. “As there is no bride, it stands to reason that the rest of the party will be as non-traditional.”

“A wizard, a vampire, and I’m guessing all your people will be vampires?” Seth asked and Jasper nodded. “Yeah, it’s a weird fucking wedding, bro.”

“Oh!” Emily turned to Sam and slapped him on the chest. “Make Harry a groomsmen!”

“Yes!” Jared jumped to his feet and pumped a fist up high. “I’ll be best man, Harry and Jake can be groomsmen!”

“What about me?!” Seth cried. “Emily’s my cousin!”

“You can be a bridesmaid,” Jared smirked.

Sam didn’t seem as convinced. He pecked Emily on the nose lovingly and murmured, “Maybe.”

In an effort to not allow the Quileute boys who were close friends with Harry to convince the sole standout in Harry’s friendships to change his wedding lineup, Jasper cleared his throat needlessly.

“I did have something of importance to discuss with you,” Jasper said, looking directly to Jacob.

The lighthearted happiness in the room melted into wariness at the solemn expression on Jasper’s face.

“What’s up?” Jacob asked, all business.

Jasper flicked his eyes uncertainly toward Emily just for an instant, unsure if Jacob wished for her to be a part of the sharing of information.

“Sam will tell her anyway,” Jacob said, not missing Jasper’s glance.

“I see,” Jasper said evenly. “As you know, we went to Seattle to investigate the vampire that broke in both Harry and Isabella’s homes.”

“Right,” Jared nodded. “Did you find them?”

“We did,” Jasper said. “And they are not alone. On May 25th, we can expect a full attack from at least thirty newborn vampires.”

For a being with supernatural hearing, the sudden silence in the room was truly deafening. Jasper stood and allowed the weight of his words to sink in while fear, anticipation, anger mounted in the others.

It was hardly a surprise when Seth, the newest member of the pack, began to quiver and shake.

“Quil, Embry, get him outside,” Sam barked. The boys moved immediately and Jasper heard the ripping noise of Seth transforming the instant their feet touched the grass outside.

Jacob was still staring at Jasper with his mouth open and his eyes wide.

“You’re sure?” Jacob asked.

“Unfortunately, yes.”

The others all looked at Jacob as their leader, waiting to take his cue on how to proceed.

Jacob ran a trembling hand over his face and Jasper felt as if he watched him age from a teenage boy to a man just before his eyes.

“What’s their goal?” Jacob asked.

“They carry Harry and Isabella’s scents,” Jasper said, despising the answer he knew to be true. “It is a decent guess that they are the targets of the attack.”

Jared leapt up again and snarled. “What the fuck? Why?”

“If it is Victoria, the red-headed vampire, then it will be revenge for her mate that Harry killed,” Jasper explained. “If it is the Volturi, then it will be for acquisition of Harry and decimation of my family.”

“They think they can recruit Harry to their weird clique if the rest of you are dead?” Jacob asked, a shrewd guess that Jasper nodded at. “Fuck. FUCK,” he yelled.

“Hey…” Jared stood behind Jacob’s chair and put a hand on Jacob’s shoulder. “Bro, thirty newborns and nine of us? That’s almost not fun. We can do this.”

Jasper coughed once again and shared a look with Jared.

“My family and I will also be fighting,” Jasper said. “And Harry, of course.”

“Oh, I bet Ginny will want to fight too!” Embry called from outside.

Jasper and Jacob were of the same mind when they both snapped out a ‘no’.

“Gin’s a human,” Jacob said. He looked around the room and touched eyes with every being present. “Nobody tells her, that’s an order.”

“Harry was of a similar mind,” Jasper assured him. “He would prefer to leave the Weasley’s out of it.”

“Alright so…” Jared began silently counting with his head tipped to the side. “Nine of us, seven of you guys, plus Harry… damn, why’s everyone even worried? There won’t even be enough for two a piece.”

“Jacob, if I may?” Sam cut in. Jacob looked at him, allowing Sam to continue. “If we bring the entire pack to a fight, we leave our people undefended.”

“Sam’s right,” Jacob said. “Okay, okay… fuck. Let me think…”

Jasper waited patiently for Jacob to silently strategize, impressed with the pack’s immediate acceptance that they would be fighting. The horrifying stench aside, the Quileute boys were good men.

“Alright, we leave Leah and Seth here,” Jacob finally said firmly. “Leah’s a good enough fighter and Seth is fast as fuck. Everyone else will go.”

“Leah won’t like that,” Emily said quietly, worry spilling from her in waves.

“Too damn bad,” Jacob said firmly. He looked back up at Jasper and quirked a joyless grin. “Any other bombs you wanna drop on my head before I go talk to the council?”

“Yes. We will be meeting in the clearing five miles south of the Amber Hiking Trail tonight to train.” Jasper smiled at Jacob with faux-innocence. “Perhaps you would like to join us?”

“Hell yes, bro.”

Jasper’s duty to the pack complete, he made his way home to discuss the evening with his family. As it was a rare sunny day in Forks, Edward and Alice were both home when Jasper returned.

The entire Cullen family was gathered in the dining room, waiting for Jasper. Emmett, who was practically bouncing with glee, was the first to speak up.

“We’re fighting the wolves tonight?” he asked as soon as Jasper stepped in the room. “Awesome.”

“Contingent on Harry’s agreement that there is no way to avoid a fight,” Jasper stressed. “I see no alternative; if we flee, they will follow. If we hide—”

“They will seek?” Edward said wryly, probably picking the word directly from Jasper’s mind.

“Alice?” Jasper asked, looking to his sister. Alice had her eyes closed, a look of deep concentration on her face.

“He’s right,” she said, stricken. “When I decide to leave, I see you all following and then it still ends in black and white.”

“And you can’t see anything past that?” Esme asked her.

Alice shook her head and opened her eyes.

“Nothing,” she admitted. “I mean, I still see Harry, but it’s foggy with a lot of white.”

Jasper didn’t smile, though he wanted to. It was a never ending comfort to know that he could perish and his love would live on.

Edward looked up at Jasper and raised a brow. “Quantity over quality?” he breathed, taking away Jasper’s comfort immediately.

Harry would live on, but if they suffered any loss then it would be a poor quality of life that he would have.

Unless Edward was the sole death, Jasper thought with a smile for his brother.

Edward had the grace to grin in amusement as he likely agreed.

“What are we missing?” Emmett asked, catching the private exchange.

“Jasper has a sense of humor,” Edward said smoothly. “The pack all agreed to meet us tonight though?”

“They did,” Jasper said. “I told Jacob that one of us would text him when we leave.”

“Excellent.” Carlisle stood up and Esme stood with him. “Jasper, if you can handle this tonight then Emse and I will go to Denali and see if Tanya’s family will join us.”

“And we’re going hunting,” Rosalie said, jerking Emmett to his feet as well. “If I have to be around the mutts tonight then I need as much patience as possible.”

“I’ll join you,” Alice said, rising fluidity. “Edward wants to talk to Jasper anyway.”

“Does he?” Jasper murmured. He watched Edward while the others filed out, his curiosity piqued.

Edward waved a hand to the table, inviting Jasper to sit. Which Jasper did tentatively, the fight between them still lingering.

“Bella will not be present for the fight,” Edward said as soon as the others were gone.

“No, you’re right,” Jasper said drily. “I thought perhaps I would involve the human girl in a supernatural battle, but it’s best if she isn’t present.”

Idiot.

Edward smiled crookedly, though he did not relax.

“Bella will want to be present and Harry will encourage her,” he said. “I would appreciate you dissuading him before they create an asinine plan together.”

That… Jasper frowned… Edward was not incorrect…

Harry and Isabella did have a tendency to be exceedingly reckless together.

“Precisely,” Edward said, following Jasper’s thoughts. “For what it’s worth, I do apologize for last night. Harry… Harry spends so much around supernatural beings that I feel he forgets that Bella is only human.”

“For now,” Jasper agreed lightly, a barb in return to the one Edward dealt. “And, for the record, it was just two years ago that Harry fought a war. Perhaps you could remind Isabella that while she was enjoying a childhood, Harry was raised in blood and death.”

Edward was solemn, understanding to the extent that he could be. Jasper’s brother was not heartless, and Jasper could see where Edward and Harry would clash with personalities- it was merely unacceptable to ever put hands on Jasper’s fiancé.

“I will,” Edward said. “He is… very difficult to live with.”

For a quiet and introspective person such as Edward? Perhaps.

“I don’t find it difficult,” Jasper said with an easy smile. While Harry was erratic and chaotic, the burden of becoming immortal before full cognitive development happened, Jasper thrives on the adventure of life with his wizard.

“You are well suited,” Edward said, smiling slightly. He stood smoothly and gestured to the door. “I’m going to hunt before Bella returns, would you like to join me?”

“I would,” Jasper agreed. He grinned at his brother, pleased to have their disagreement pushed away for the time being. “I’ll—”

Edward, the cheating mind reader he was, flew out the door before Jasper could finish his challenge aloud.

Idiot.

By the time Jasper and his siblings returned from hunting, he could sense Harry and Isabella inside the house before he saw Harry’s car parked out front.

“What did he do?!” Rosalie whined, running immediately to Harry’s car. There, on the front drivers panel, a decent size dent. “Em, come help me.”

Jasper winced at the dent and the way that Edward flew inside. If Harry could drive with a modicum of care, it would possibly solve much of Edward’s dislike of him.

“What happened to your car?” Jasper asked Harry casually when he followed Edward inside. As neither Isabella nor Harry appeared injured or shaken in any way, Jasper was much less concerned than Edward.

Harry looked up from the textbook he worked out of and rolled his eyes at Jasper.

“Mike Newton backed into me,” Harry huffed. He felt rather disgruntled, so Jasper had no reason to not believe him. “He said it was an accident, but we got in a spat during lunch so I’m not sure it was.”

Isabella sat beside Harry at the dining table, snacking absently on the outrageous amount of food Esme stocked their house with, and nodded in vehement agreement.

“I told Harry he should call Charlie, report it, so Mike’s license gets pointed,” she said. “But—”

“But I don’t have a real drivers license or insurance,” Harry laughed.

Jasper sat beside Harry and tilted his head curiously at him.

“Darlin’, did you think I bought you a new Lamborghini and neglected to give it the highest level of insurance coverage?” Jasper asked. Harry’s car carried more insurance coverage than most homes did- all in the event that Harry ever wrecked and injured others as opposed to himself.

Harry blinked at Jasper, clearly thinking just that.

“Oh.” Harry shifted around until he pulled a black billfold from his pocket from which he presented his drivers license to Jasper. “Well this is fake, anyway. Hermione made it for me when I moved here.”

Jasper looked at Harry’s license and inspected it for flaws. The only one he could identify immediately was the lack of the silver star that other licenses had on them.

“Does Officer Swan never run your information?” Jasper asked when he returned the card to Harry.

“Nope.” Harry grinned at Jasper, causing Jasper to melt at the genuine love he could feel from his wizard. “Is it a bad fake? I’ve got another one back at the house that says I’m twenty-two so I can buy alcohol too. Not that Hermione knows I made that one,” he added hastily.

Jasper leaned forward just enough to kiss Harry lightly on the lips- Harry was the breath of fresh air that Jasper needed after a trying day of strategizing.

“Unlike you, it is only almost perfect,” Jasper said. “I’ll have a new one for you soon.”

With a single call and a small stack of cash, Jasper could have Harry an entire set of documents: a license, birth certificate, passport, social security card…

And… Jasper kept his face perfectly blank as he realized what else he could do… Jasper could stick Whitlock as Harry’s surname on every single one.

A wedding present, to go with his painting.

“Thanks, Jazz,” Harry said, none the wiser to Jasper’s less than magnanimous offer.

Edward was filled with amusement, but he wisely chose not to comment.

“Bella, why is Harry thinking about Princeton University?” Edward asked suddenly, causing Isabella to groan.

“I thought he couldn’t read your mind,” Isabella hissed at Harry.

“It’s foggy sometimes, but watch this,” Harry told her. He looked across the table at Edward and smirked.

Jasper, and Alice who joined them, both laughed when Edward’s face went blank and his emotions rolled toward disgust.

“What are you thinking of?” Jasper asked Harry. He reached out idly to tuck a stray lock of Harry’s hair behind his head.

“The other night,” Harry said simply as he went back to his school work.

It took Jasper a moment to recall what they had done ‘the other night’ to cause Edward to physically recoil at the thought.

“Oh.” Jasper perked up immediately and laughed again. “That was an experience,” he said fondly.

Harry hummed and Isabella giggled.

“Can we get back to Bella’s acceptance at Princeton?” Edward asked, no doubt doubly disturbed when Jasper began reminiscing on the last sunny day in Forks that he spent with Harry.

“Or we can talk about the newborn invasion since I never applied to Princeton,” Isabella said stubbornly. She narrowed her eyes at Edward’s too innocent face. “Which, by the way, is what started the fight between Harry and Mike.”

“Pause! Newborns first then Newton!” Harry cried. He looked toward Jasper. “Did you make plans without me? Because Jake text me earlier and said something about training tonight?”

“I made plans based on the assumption that you had no brainstorms today,” Jasper corrected Harry, not wanting him to believe Jasper left him out of planning. “If you, like I, see no way to avoid a fight then we’re meeting your cousin and his pack to prepare them for what they’ll be facing.”

Harry frowned and became aggravated and despondent.

“I thought about it all day and couldn’t see any other options,” he said flatly. “I don’t like it.”

“Neither do I,” Jasper said. “If it helps any, your cousin and his friends are only disappointed that there aren’t more vampires coming that they can attack.”

Harry forced a laugh that Jasper sensed he didn’t feel- his fear too strong to allow any humor through.

And it was never fear for himself. No, not Jasper’s indestructible soldier, Harry only ever felt fear for the others.

“Tell Jasper about Mike calling you an idiot,” Isabella said abruptly. When Harry’s fear bled away the smallest amount, Jasper sent Isabella a grateful look.

Even if Jasper was as mystified in Harry’s friendship as Edward was with Isabella’s choice, Jasper couldn’t deny that the human was a good friend.

“So first off, I dunno what Harvard is, but if Mike Newton asks, tell him that’s where I’m going,” Harry said.

Jasper settled back with a small smile on his lips as Harry and Isabella launched in a story about the feud they have built with Mike Newton who apparently believed Harry was not intelligent enough for college.

When Jasper contacted Jenks for Harry’s documents, he’d be sure to order a Harvard acceptance letter for Harry to show Newton at graduation.

Chapter Text

Harry was going to die.

Then he was going to come back to life.

Then die again.

And it was Jasper’s fault.

Harry sat on the side of the field that everyone met in for training and watched Jasper as he talked.

Jasper walked up and down line of shapeshifters, vampires, and the lone muggle and wizard and described what newborn vampires were like.

“They are untrained and prone to direct attacks,” Jasper said, sounding as authoritative as he must have in the military. “Emmett, come help me.”

And that was when Harry knew he would die.

Emmett bounded to his feet and cracked his knuckles with a gleeful smile. Jasper must have picked up on Harry’s momentary feeling of worry - Emmett wouldn’t truly hurt Jasper… right? - because he shot Harry a wink before standing away from Emmett.

“My brother attacks very much like a newborn,” Jasper said to the mix of La Push teens who hadn’t shifted yet and the wolves that were too anxious to stay human. “Emmett has enhanced strength and relies on it over strategy, much like they will. Observe.”

Jasper twitched two of his fingers in a ‘bring it’ movement and Harry got to witness Jasper fighting for the first time in his life.

And it was killing him.

Jasper dodged Emmett’s direct attack and countered easily, moving with so much easy grace that he made it look beautiful.

And hot.

Merlin, he was hot.

Harry was so focused on trying to track Jasper’s movements that he missed the very quiet whisper from Edward to Bella that had Bella giggling beside Harry.

“Edward said to either stop mentally screwing Jasper or to do your ‘magic stuff’ and hide your thoughts,” Bella told Harry in a loud enough voice that all the others undoubtedly heard it.

“Can’t,” Harry murmured, unconcerned with everyone hearing Bella. He grinned unconsciously when Jasper did a flip in the air and landed behind Emmett, causing Emmett to turn with a growl.

Emmett charged at Jasper and Harry only had a moment to appreciate how Jasper stood so confident, so aloof, before Emmett knocked him to the ground.

“You going to let that happen during the fight?” Jared jeered at Jasper while Emmett pulled Jasper to his feet.

“I’m hoping that Harry is distracted enough during the fight that he won’t be distracting me,” Jasper said smoothly. He smirked at Harry and raised an eyebrow. “Perhaps you and Alice could train so I can concentrate, darlin’?”

“No way!” Jacob yelled out. He jumped up before Harry could agree with Jasper and grinned at Harry. “Ginny won’t fight me.”

“Oh, I will,” Harry said brightly. Before he could leave Jasper to train the others in peace away from his hormonal emotions, Harry walked up to Jasper and tilted his chin up.

“I’m not sorry,” Harry said.

Jasper smiled down in Harry’s eyes with an amused glimmer in his.

“I wouldn’t want you to be,” he said. He kissed Harry while Emmett and Paul made retching noises. “Go, before I decide that training is overrated,” Jasper said.

“Alright. C’mon, Jake, let me kick your arse.”

Jasper worked with the others while Harry and Jacob went to the opposite end of the field to fight.

“Are you shifting?” Harry asked his cousin.

Jacob raised his right arm up and flexed, showing off his tanned muscles.

“I just want to see what happens like this first,” Jacob smirked. “You’re pretty skinny, I think I could take you.”

Harry feigned an innocent look and shrugged.

“Yeah, maybe,” he agreed seriously. He held his wand up so Jacob could see it. “This might not be a match for you.”

Someone laughed, either Bella or Rosalie, and Harry and Jacob shifted in better stances.

“Go,” Harry said.

Jacob took one quick step toward Harry and hit the ground face-first in a full-body bind.

“Idiot,” Rosalie scoffed. Harry glanced to the side and saw that Rosalie, Bella, Jared, and Paul had all drifted to their end of the field to watch. Harry grinned at Rosalie then shot a spell at Jacob, allowing him to jump back up.

“I’m faster as a wolf anyway,” Jacob said. He didn’t look too put-out by Harry’s quick end to their first mock-fight. Jacob shed his tank top quickly and kicked his shorts off. Harry looked up at the sky while he waited for Jacob to shift.

Everyone thought it was hilarious to just be naked all the time, but Harry would rather not see his cousin’s business, thanks.

Once a growl from Jacob indicated he was ready to go again, Harry refocused on their fight. The pack was fast as wolves, fast enough to take down vampires. And Harry was, unfortunately, a mediocre runner at best. All those days spent training for quidditch never included cardio.

The wolves were huge though, and Jacob was the largest one. That was Harry’s advantage, he figured. If he fired off enough spells back to back, one was bound to hit Jacob even while he ran.

Harry took a steadying breath and thrummed his fingers on his trusted wand.

“Go.”

Jacob moved quickly and approached Harry in a zig-zagging movement, clearly not a novice. Harry began sending a variety of immobilizing spells at him until there was a clack of sharp teeth too close to Harry and Jacob’s russet colored wolf was yanked in the air.

“Fuck, that was close!” Jared called. Everyone watched Jacob wriggle in the air, an amusing image, before Harry abruptly dropped him to the ground.

“Ouch,” Jacob groaned. He phased back to human right after hitting the ground and rubbed his head. “You cheated.”

“Did not!” Harry cried, offended. “How the hell would I even cheat?”

“Dunno, but you did.”

Harry grinned at Jacob’s pout and went to put his wand away just before Jared joined them.

“My turn,” he said. He winked at Harry before pulling off his basketball shorts and tossing them to the side.

“Be my guest,” Jacob muttered. “I’ll go fight the vampire.”

Harry waited until the two of them phased and Jacob ran off to the other end of the field to grin at Jared’s wolf.

“You sure?” he asked. Jared bobbed his enormous head and Harry laughed. “Alright then, go.”

Jared didn’t bother going from side to side as Jacob did. Instead, he feigned a straight run and then jumped up to an unimaginable height, out of the stream of spells Harry fired, and landed just behind Harry.

Harry spun around quickly and continued mindlessly throwing spells as Jared dodged them. Magic flowed easily for Harry, it had ever since the battle at Hogwarts, but Jared was fast. Harry was forced to run backwards and levitate himself in the air to avoid an attack from Jared.

And once Harry was high enough in the air, it was over with.

“That looked painful,” Bella quipped when Harry ended the spell on himself and fell to the ground in a heap beside Jared’s stunned form.

“No, it was fun,” Harry drawled irritably. It was annoying how quick the others were. And when it came to the newborns, they’d be much smaller and more difficult to hit during a fight.

Once Jared was revived, Rosalie decided to take a turn.

“Aw, Rose, you wouldn’t hurt me, would you?” Harry grinned.

Rosalie raised a mocking eyebrow at him. “Do you know how difficult it was to find a front quarter panel for your car?”

“Very?” Harry guessed.

“Mhmm,” Rosalie hummed. She shifted her feet - how the hell did Rosalie walk around in high heeled boots all the time and not break an ankle? - and smirked at Harry. “I do promise to not kill you though.”

Harry heard a quiet snarl from the other end of the field, probably Jasper, and laughed at Rosalie.

“Fine. Go.”

Harry ducked and dodged to the best of his abilities, he fired off spells quicker than he ever had in his life. Rosalie was faster though, she dodged and rolled right in the mud - with the bloody heels on - and avoided Harry’s spells. Harry went for broke and made a circle of fire around him and then levitated himself again.

“Coward,” Rosalie called from the ground, outside the ring. She had her hands on her hips and glowered up at Harry. “What do you plan to do now?”

“Not lose,” Harry teased her. He stayed in the air above the circle, wobbling with the wingardium leviosa he cast on himself, and began trying to stun Rosalie.

The two of them fought like that for a while until Rosalie finally called it a tie. Harry extinguished the fire before he let himself down, as he didn’t really fancy being caught on fire.

“So all we have to do is stick Harry in the air while everyone else is on the ground,” Bella said after Harry dropped to the ground. She was laying on the ground, propped up against Jared’s wolf, looking entirely too comfortable.

Harry sent a tickling hex at her just so he could hit someone with a spell and then turned his attention to where Jasper was fighting Alice.

It was interesting, seeing them fight. Alice just closed her eyes and twitched around, dodging before Jasper even moved toward her. They continued on like that until Alice eventually leapt over Jasper and tackled him from the air.

“And we put Alice in the air,” Bella said. She had gotten up at some point to join Harry in watching the others. When Alice rolled off Jasper, Jasper looked over at Harry and smirked in a very knowing way.

“And then I can…?”

Harry whipped his head to the side, his distraction of ogling his fiancé forgotten in favor of Bella’s question.

“You can hang out with Ron and Hermione. In London. No where near here.” Harry smiled winningly at Bella. “And then afterward we can go get Chinese food from that buffet place we like.”

“Ooh, which one?” Paul asked, butting in their conversation from the sideline.

“The one outside Fairholme,” Harry told him. “You lot can come too, I’ll buy.”

“Done!” Jared said.

“Not done!” Bella stomped her foot and scowled at Harry. “You can’t hide me away in London during a fight! What if someone gets hurt?”

“You’re right,” Harry agreed. “I completely forgot you’re a doctor. It’s probably really important for you to be there.”

Harry wondered if Bella knew how ridiculous she looked when she glared at Harry with her perfectly muggle face and her very breakable human body.

“Bella, absolutely not,” Harry said when she continued glaring at him. “You can get hurt.”

Harry would be distracted trying to protect her.

And if he failed? If she died?

No.

Not again.

“And if you get hurt?” Bella demanded. “I’m supposed to hang out with your best friends wondering if you’re bleeding out or being bitten or something else horrible?”

“That’s exactly what you’re going to do,” Harry said firmly. “Bella, it’s a fight between vampires and shapeshifters, you’d be killed in three minutes.”

“I say two!” Emmett yelled as he charged at little sandy-colored Seth. Harry winced when Emmett grabbed the kid and squeezed, exactly the move Jasper told everyone to avoid let happen.

Bella huffed and stomped off toward where Edward stood, as if he’d give any different response.

Harry caught Jasper’s eye and grinned before slowly sloping across the field to him.

“Hi,” Harry said, looking up at Jasper through his lashes.

Jasper grinned crookedly, “Hey, darlin’.”

Harry put a hand on Jasper’s chest. “Do you love me?” he asked.

“Depends on what you want.”

Harry sighed at how easily Jasper saw through him.

“Fight me,” Harry said. He wiggled his eyebrows annoyingly when Jasper didn’t look prone to agreeing. “Come on, you said you know newborns the best. You don’t want me to get crushed, do you?”

Jasper rolled his neck and grimaced as if Harry were asking for something terrible. It made sense- Jasper was the most experienced with newborn vampires, it would be best to learn from him.

And if Harry liked to watch Jasper while he fought, then that was his own business.

A quiet cough.

It was Harry and Edward’s business, Harry amended himself.

“Fine,” Jasper said curtly. He avoided looking at Harry as he ran backward to the other end of field.

The others cleared off to the sidelines and Harry could hear bets being placed. It sounded like good odds that Jasper would kick Harry’s arse, which only heightened Harry’s refusal to lose.

“Is Jasper allowed to use every tool in his disposal?” Alice asked, sounding entertained by the whole thing.

Harry flicked his wand, summoning the best tool he would have at his disposal and nodded.

“Sure,” he said. He stared at Jasper until Jasper met his eyes. “If I win, you have to choose what everyone’s wearing in the wedding.”

It was Harry’s only real responsibility for their upcoming wedding and the closer they got to the date, the more panicky it made Harry about the whole idea. Harry didn’t know a damn thing about colors or clothes and Alice kept bugging him about choosing soon so she could coordinate the decorations for the castle.

Jasper’s lips curled up in a small smile and he tilted his head in acknowledgment.

“When I win, you also have to make the seating arrangements,” he yelled to Harry.

“Why the fuck do we need a seating arrangement?!” Harry asked, bewildered.

“Quit talking and fight!” The reason they had a seating arrangement grinned at Harry. “Ready? Go!”

Harry delayed the start with timing so perfect that Alice said go the same instant that Harry’s Firebolt tore through the trees behind him. Harry caught it easily and swung a leg over it before immediately rising out of Jasper’s reach.

On his Firebolt, Harry was nearly just as quick as almost all of the vamps. And what was hitting a quick moving target with a spell when compared to catching a snitch while dodging bludgers?

“You’re brilliant,” Jasper called to him when Harry began slinging spells with his entire concentration.

“I know,” Harry said smugly. He flipped his broom over in the air, feigning a spell to Jasper’s left to guide him to the right, only missing the next one by a hair.

“And yet…”

Harry suddenly didn’t really give a damn about winning. Fighting got old, boring. In fact, Harry thought he might just fly home, take a nap. He was so damned—

“Gotcha.”

Jasper leaped from the ground when Harry floated too low - still much higher than anyone other than a vampire could jump - and grabbed the handle of Harry’s broomstick. Harry blinked at him and then, just as quickly as it came on, Harry’s utter boredom at the fight disappeared.

“YOU BLOODY CHEATER!” Harry howled. “YOU CAN’T BORE ME OUT OF FIGHTING YOU! BOREDOM ISN’T EVEN AN EMOTION, JASPER WHITLOCK!”

Jasper laughed, a laugh echoed by a few of the others on the ground, and nimbly swung himself up on Harry’s broomstick. Harry scowled when Edward said the show was over and started up the actual training fights again.

“You lose,” Jasper said. He leaned toward Harry, as if Harry was going to snog a cheater, and Harry tried to get a single quick stunner off.

Which, typically, would be when Harry actually died.

Jasper did a quick backflip off the broom, throwing the entire thing off balance. The Firebolt took off, misunderstanding that Harry wasn’t trying to fly but to stay stable, and Harry rolled off the side, confident that Jasper would catch him.

That super speed had to be good for something other than pissing Harry off.

Harry landed in Jasper’s arms with a hard thud and caught his head on the side of Jasper’s head.

All the air in Harry’s body left him just as abruptly as his vision did- leaving Harry to make gasping noises that couldn’t be heard over other people screaming. Harry tried to grab at his throat, he tried to move at all… his gasps increased in desperation when he couldn’t.

“HE IS DYING!”

“HE IS PARALYZED, YOU GOD DAMNED MORON! YOU BROKE HIS NECK!”

“We should probably just wait for that flash of light… right?”

“CALL A FUCKING AMBULANCE, DUDE!”

“And he calls me dramatic.”

The overlap of voices arguing began to fade to a buzzing sound and Harry didn’t have the energy to even gasp… someone held Harry close and cradled his body before Harry let out a final rattling noise and his heart stopped.

When Harry came back to life less than a minute later, his lungs refilling and his brain becoming alert, it was Jasper’s face that Harry saw first.

“Hey,” Harry said. His voice was wrecked, sore, but he much preferred it to the terrifying gasps that hadn’t brought any relief to his body. Harry flexed his fingers as a test and sighed at the movement.

“We’re going home,” Jasper said stiffly. He maneuvered Harry in his arms some, giving Harry better access to see the others with.

Jacob was gawking at Harry like he was a freak show, which he was.

Jared’s eyes were red-rimmed, which was kind of him, even if unnecessary.

Bella looked bored.

“If anyone wishes to continue training, I will be here again tomorrow, same time,” Jasper told the others. “Emmett, get Harry’s broom when you leave.”

“Aye, aye, captain!” Emmett called. He winked at Harry. “Man, your drama puts even Eddy to shame.”

That was quite the insult. It wasn’t as if Harry had planned to…

“Did I smack my head too hard?” Harry wondered aloud. Jasper started running them back toward the Cullen house, probably upset that Harry died again.

At least there wasn’t any new scar to be added that time.

“I believe you broke your neck right about… here.” Jasper lightly touched the back of Harry’s neck without even looking down at him. “As you suffocated in my arms, I would say it was a hangman’s fracture.”

“I knew I was going to die tonight,” Harry said. He put his hand on the side of Jasper’s neck and tried to laugh the incident off. “Of course, I kind of thought it would be because I was distracted by how bloody attractive you are when you’re fighting. Is that possible? Spontaneous hormonal combustion? Probably not, right? Because Bella would have died by now too.”

Harry didn’t even go so much as a lip twitch from Jasper.

“Jazz, I’m fine,” Harry assured him quietly. “This won’t happen again, just let me hit the dirt next time, okay? A broken arm heals quicker than dying and coming back does.”

And it left Harry with much less of a headache. Dying was… uncomfortable and messed with Harry’s head every time it happened.

Everyone liked to joke and say Harry was mad, Harry was impulsive, Harry was this and he was that, but… but they had no idea. They had no idea how badly things got tangled in Harry’s head every time he defied every law in existence and just returned to life.

“It will not happen again,” Jasper said. Harry didn’t know if he was calming down some or if he could sense Harry’s impending panic attack.

How many times could he die and come back before he lost his mind entirely? If the world ended and exploded in a fit of rock and fire, what would happen to Harry?

Would he be doomed to float around in space and die and come back to life on an endless loop? There was no end in that, no peace, only… only endless suffering.

Jasper came to a sudden halt, jostling Harry in his arms, and then very carefully lowered Harry to the ground so he could sit. Harry pulled his knees up to his chest and tucked his head between them while he breathed.

If Harry had been truly injured before he died, would it have stayed? Could Harry have possibly spent a lifetime without the use of his arms if he didn’t die quick enough?

What if there was an expiration date on being the Master of Death? What if there wasn’t? There was no rule book, no regulations that Harry could follow.

Harry was, once again, one of a kind.

An anomaly.

A freak.

Cold hands rubbed Harry’s back while he struggled to push off the thoughts that he couldn’t answer. Harry had no answers, Hermione had no answers.

And if Hermione couldn’t find answers, then they didn’t exist.

“Fine,” Harry finally said shakily. He took one more heavy inhale - it was as if his lungs were collapsed earlier, completely ignoring his brain’s command to breathe - and then slowly lifted his spinning head.

“I’m fine,” he repeated. It took a few blinks before Harry made out the front door of the Cullen’s house, Jasper must have figured Harry would rather collect himself outside, and then Harry turned to face Jasper.

“Existential crisis,” Harry said as a weak joke. “Sorry. I’m fine. I- fuck.” Harry scrubbed his face with both hands, pushing his glasses up on top of his head. “I need a drink,” he muttered.

There was nothing more than a cold wind that washed over Harry before a cold glass of water was presented to him.

“Not what I meant, but thanks,” he said, struggling to grin at Jasper. He didn’t know why he bothered to pretend, Jasper could probably drown in the stress radiating off Harry’s body. But Harry obediently drank down the water and then slowly stood up with Jasper’s hand on his elbow.

“I’m sorry,” Harry said again. “Jazz?

Jasper turned to Harry and his face truly looked like stone.

“You could have been permanently paralyzed,” Jasper said flatly.

“Yeah.” Harry frowned. “You should probably kill me quick if that happens during the battle, make sure I’m dead before anything like that has a chance to become permanent.”

As much as Harry hated the way his thoughts and emotions were all tangled after dying, he would hate it much worse to be permanently injured or deformed.

“Nothing like that will happen during the battle,” Jasper said. He finally turned toward Harry and pressed a gentle kiss to the center of Harry’s forehead. “Because you will not be there.”

Harry had kind of hoped they could do some post-death shagging, but it seemed like they were going to fight instead.

Chapter Text

May 8th

Jasper laid in his bed and patiently waited for Harry to return from fetching Teddy. Typically, they floo’d to Andromeda Tonks’ home together, but as Jasper couldn’t access their home, Harry went alone and promised to apparate back for Jasper. They would spend their weekend in London, an acceptable place for Jasper as he never tired of exploring Harry’s magical home.

In the meantime… Jasper was taking quiet amusement from eavesdropping on a disagreement between Isabella and his brother.

“Why are you so eager for a permanent end to your humanity, but are afraid to commit to marriage?”

“Because I’m eighteen! Eighteen year olds don’t get married!”

“But they die?!”

Edward was not incorrect, but it was Isabella who Jasper toyed with. While the girl was annoyed, Jasper sent her waves of fury.

“THEY DO WHEN THEIR IDIOT BOYFRIENDS PROVOKE THE VAMPIRE POLICE!”

Jasper smiled serenely up at his ceiling while the fighting continued.

If Jasper was fighting with his soulmate, then it only seemed fair for Edward to fight with his as well. Perhaps, if Edward had wanted to avoid a fight, he might have found a better time to present his ring.

“You don’t get an opinion, you waited until Harry proposed first.”

Jasper grinned at his brother’s quiet words, heard quite clearly from two rooms away. And then, to retaliate to the barb, Jasper tried to make Isabella as furious as he could.

Have fun, brother.

Edward’s annoyed snarl could barely be heard over a loud crack of apparation directly in Jasper’s bedroom.

“Hello, my love,” Jasper said pleasantly.

Harry frowned at Jasper. “Hello, traitor. You ready?”

Jasper grinned as he rolled off his bed. Ever since Jasper had the audacity to say Harry should not be at the fight - he suffocated in Jasper’s arms - Harry had declared him a traitor.

Oh, and Jasper was apparently no longer a Hufflepuff. Instead, Harry finally said that Jasper was a Gryffindor as ‘some of the worst traitors come from Gryffindor’.

It was terribly amusing. Much more than watching Harry die had been. Even if Jasper knew that Harry would return to life quickly, it was still the longest two minutes of Jasper’s existence as he watched him suffocate to death and then finally revive.

Harry would be an asset, if he were in the air and not distracting Jasper with his hormones, but Jasper was confident in the fight even without Harry.

Which meant that Harry could be on Isabella babysitting duty this time, just as Jasper was the last time they fought against vampires.

“I’m ready,” Jasper told Harry. He offered Harry his hand and only had a twentieth of a second before Harry turned on the spot and yanked them away to London.

Jasper hardly had time to send one last wave of fury to Isabella. He managed, but only just.

Grimmauld Place hardly matched its descriptive name anymore. As soon as Jasper was able to touch the ground - he automatically steadied his love from stumbling at the fall - Jasper delighted in breathing in the uniquely dark and cold scent that filled the old home.

The walls seemed to gleam with the cleanliness, there were candles and decorative pillows throughout the living room that Harry brought them to. The entire home was filled with such a sense of warmth and comfort that it put Jasper immediately at ease.

The feeling of happiness certainly didn’t hurt anything either.

Hermione Weasley was curled up on a recliner with a dog-sized cat on her lap and a book in her hands. Teddy sat on the floor with Ron Weasley and had a variety of familiar toys in front of them on the floor.

“Ah, Teddy has the entire set now?” Jasper asked. He smirked at Harry’s wave of embarrassment before he folded himself on the floor beside Teddy and reached out to take his Harry Potter action figure.

“Who is this?” Jasper asked Teddy teasingly. “Is this Harry?”

“Da,” Teddy said simply as he snatched the toy back from Jasper. He held it up and wiggled it toward where Harry was pouting on the sofa beside Hermione. “Da!”

“That is Da,” Hermione agreed warmly. “Except that Da is smiling and nice and your Da is a mean scowly face.”

“A scowly face?” Harry demanded. He scowled at Hermione, proving her point and amplifying her smugness. “I am not a ‘scowly face’. Grow up, Hermione.”

Ron looked up at Harry with absolute hysteria radiating from him.

“Mate, did you just tell Hermione to grow up?” he asked Harry. “Someone write this down, it’s a historical event!”

“You can grow up too,” Harry muttered darkly. He was terribly amusing when he was angry.

Jasper shared a smile with Teddy and then settled in to play action figures with him. Perhaps Jasper was biased, but he thought Teddy was rather precocious at only two years old.

Teddy kept a firm hold of the Harry-figure in his chubby fist while he made Ron be ‘bad guys’ And Jasper was gifted the tiny Neville Longbottom holding the sword to fight alongside Teddy.

“We need to get some actual bad guys,” Ron complained when Teddy struck down the tiny Ron and Molly Weasley figures again with a victorious cry.

Harry’s slowly defrosting emotions became icy immediately.

“My godson isn’t going to have a Riddle toy,” Harry said.

“Not him,” Ron said hastily. He held up the Ron-figure in his hand and stuck a lower lip out at Harry teasingly. “It’s just every time I play with him, he makes me be the bad guy. Maybe George could make some little Draco’s for Teddy to beat up, eh?”

Harry cheered at the idea and let out a laugh.

“He’d have to get Draco to agree to it,” Harry said. “Oh! And Teddy needs an Aunt Cissa to help Harry, don’t you, Bug?”

Jasper scooted closer to the couch when Harry slid down to the floor to play with Teddy and Ron.

“Cissa would be Andromeda’s sister, the one who hates vampires?” Jasper whispered up to Hermione.

“Mhmm,” Hermione hummed a quiet agreement. She kept her eyes on the book she was engrossed in as she elaborated. “She also risked her life to assist Harry though.” Hermione flipped a page. “I don’t think it quite makes up for her bigotry, but Harry has a much kinder heart than I do.”

“I heard that,” Harry sang from the floor. He had taken up Jasper’s role as Neville and had his figure using a sword to fight Ron’s figure. “I didn’t say it made up for anything. Andy’s the one who invited her to the wedding.”

“What?” Hermione looked up with shock and irritation. “Harry! You never told me she was invited! She isn’t on the guest list!”

“Guest list?” Harry blinked up at Hermione from the floor. “It’s a bit early for that, isn’t it?”

“It’s in forty-four days!” Hermione shrieked.

Harry shrugged his shoulders when Hermione jumped up and ran from the room. He turned to Teddy and tickled his bare feet until Teddy was giggling and squirming.

“You know how long forty-four days is, Bug? A very, very, long time,” Harry told him. “And who knows? Maybe there won’t be a wedding because Jasper is being sooo silly. Right, Teddy-Bug?”

Ron chuckled and looked across the room to Jasper.

“What super silly thing are you doing?” Ron asked with a grin. “Hiding the liquor? Taking Harry’s keys?”

Harry answered before Jasper could.

“Ron, my best mate in the world… If you were in a fight, who would you want to back you up?”

“Magical duel or muggle fight?” Ron asked thoughtfully.

“Supernatural,” Harry said, clearly remaining purposefully evasive.

“You, of course,” Ron said at once. He nudged Harry’s leg with his socked foot. “I reckon I couldn’t lose a fight with you beside me.”

When Harry shot Jasper a smug look, Jasper cleared his throat.

“Ron, have you ever seen Harry D-I-E?” he spelled, not wanting to disturb Teddy with their conversation.

Based on the quick paling of Ron’s face and the way he immediately began looking Harry over for new death-scars, Jasper was certain of his answer before he said it.

“Uh… no,” Ron said. He glanced at where Teddy played happily with his toys and then looked between Jasper and Harry with obvious suspicion. “What’s this about?”

“Nothing,” Harry said hastily.

Ron’s suspicion only deepened at Harry’s quick response, but they were saved from an interrogation by Hermione’s return.

Hermione ran in the room as frantically as if she were being chased. There was a large black binder in her arms that she dropped on the coffee table and then sat down in front of.

“Guest list, guest list…” she murmured to herself. Harry and Ron exchanged exasperated sighs and Jasper moved closer to the table to see what Hermione had.

Hermione flipped through pages quickly and Jasper had a second to glance at each page she passed. There was a calendar with dates boxed off. There was a page with directions to Hogwarts on it. One page seemed dedicated to wizarding robes with a single handwritten word of ‘Tuxedos?’ at the bottom.

“Aha!” Hermione found the page she had been searching for and held it up. “Guest list!”

“May I?” Jasper asked politely. When Hermione handed over the list, Jasper recognized his sister’s writing.

The paper seemed to be comprised of three large lists and one small one: vampires, wizards, shifters, and humans.

Jasper quickly read over his family members, Peter and Charlotte, and the Denali’s. There were check marks beside most of the names, Carmen and Eleazor notwithstanding. The wizard section was much larger, comprising of over sixty names, and had at least thirty names that Jasper didn’t recognize. Jasper knew all the names on the shifter list though and saw that none of them had marks by their names.

Isabella and Billy Black were the sole humans on the guest list.

“You aren’t inviting Isabella’s father?” Jasper asked Harry curiously. He returned the list to Hermione and watched her frantically jot down Narcissa Malfoy to the list.

“Jazz.” Harry looked up at Jasper and sighed. “How would I explain it to him? ‘Hey, Charlie, grab this hat and you’ll be magically whisked away to a magical castle’. Bella’s already pushing the Statute of Secrecy.”

“Bella doesn’t push it, she breaks it,” Hermione said as she began watching for another page in the binder.

“Except everyone thinks Bella’s Harry’s secret American mistress,” Ron snickered. “Harry keeps dragging her around to events. The only weird thing about her being at the wedding is when people don’t know who Harry’s marrying.”

Jasper laughed even when he was briefly annoyed by Harry’s continued lie that Isabella was his ‘close friend’ and an American witch to sneak her in places she wasn’t currently allowed in. It was hardly Harry or Isabella’s fault that it became misconstrued that Harry and Isabella were lovers, but their shenanigans in the American Magical Police Station had not helped matters.

“Oh, bloody hell.” Harry smacked his hand to his forehead. “Hermione, you’ve gotta mail an invitation to Volterra. I promised my mate, Aro, that I’d invite him.”

“Harry,” Jasper was the one to sigh at his fiancé then. “We cannot invite the Volturi if Isabella is still—”

“Wrooooong,” Harry said smugly. “We’ve got a date set for that within the time frame you got us. And I promised him I’d send an invite. You were there, Jazz, don’t act like you don’t know that.”

Jasper sighed and nodded in defeat. “Add the Volturi then, if you wouldn’t mind, Hermione.”

Carlisle would get a kick out of it, anyway. And staying on the good side of the Volturi was rarely a waste of time.

“I’m glad you’re both here, actually,” Hermione told them as she scribbled down more names to the guest list. “You two still need to choose outfits for your attendings, decide on the seating chart, choose colors, and pick a wedding cake design!”

Harry groaned and threw his head back to rest it on the recliner behind him.

“Whatever they want, wherever they want, red, and whatever cake looks best,” Harry said.

Jasper, Harry, and Ron were all amused.

Hermione was not.

“Harry James Potter, you cannot be serious,” Hermione snapped at Harry. “Forty-four days, Harry. These decisions need to be made!”

“I don’t know,” Harry whined. He made big eyes at Jasper that usually worked quite well for him. “Jazz? What do you wanna do?”

Jasper gave Harry his sweetest smile.

“Whatever you want to do,” Jasper told him. “I won our bet, if you recall,” he added so kindly.

“YOU CHEATED!” Harry immediately cried, catching Teddy’s interest. Harry turned to Ron and flapped a hand at Jasper. “Mate, tell him it’s cheating to make me feel bored to win a fight!”

“Is boredom an actual emotion?” Hermione asked.

“Disinterest, apathy,” Jasper said airily. “Harry said I should use all my tools so I made him bored.”

“I bored,” Teddy whined, picking up the word despite the fact Jasper doubted he knew the meaning. He reached for Harry with his arms out and lip quivering. “Da, bored.”

“Are you bored, Bug?” Harry cooed with a rush of affection. Harry scooped Teddy up and put him on his lap. “You want to help pick cakes? We can go to the bakery and take pictures of the prettiest ones?”

“We should go to that place that the Patil’s opened with Corner!” Ron said. “It’s mental, mate. They’ve got these scones with blueberry filling, oooh, they’re like- like… something really tasty,” Ron trailed off with an embarrassed blush when he noticed Teddy watching him with interest.

“What d’you say, Bug?” Harry stood up and tossed Teddy in the air with a bright smile. Jasper watched them with pure adoration filling him. Despite Harry’s current irritation with him, it was pure joy for Jasper to see Harry and Teddy spending time together and filling the air with their warm love for each other.

Harry was a treasure in tiny moments like that. When his face was shining with love and he smiled so openly, Jasper thought he fell a little more in love with him. And Teddy was the picture of innocence and sweetness with his sparkling green eyes and black curls that mirrored Harry.

Jasper had never been a fan of children, as he had never been exposed to them, but Teddy was single-handedly converting Jasper.

Jasper helped Hermione with actual wedding planning while Harry, Ron, and Teddy escaped to a bakery under their guise of picking a cake style.

“There are no wedding cakes at that bakery, are there?” Jasper asked Hermione. They had a map of the Hogwarts dining hall laid out and Hermione continued to hand Jasper little flags with names on them.

Jasper held the little ‘Draco Malfoy’ flag in his hand while he searched for the spot where he had placed Jared.

“Not at all,” Hermione answered him. She watched Jasper place Draco beside Jared and grinned. “Are you playing matchmaker?”

“I am playing ‘these gentlemen can lust after my partner together, instead of in my face’,” Jasper said. He accepted the next flag from Hermione, Isabella, and placed it with Edward at the table furthest from Jacob and his pack.

It was a kindness to Jacob, not Edward.

“Mm, and why is your partner annoyed with you?” Hermione asked when they finished placing the flags. Jasper wasn’t entirely sure what the point of it was, as the guests would most likely roam around at freewill, but it lessened Hermione’s stress.

Jasper remained inscrutable even when faced with Hermione’s astute observation.

“Is he annoyed with me?” Jasper asked lightly. He kept his eyes on the catalogue of wizarding robes that Hermione gave them. Occasionally, he bookmarked a page where he saw a set that he thought would look nice on Harry.

Jasper refused to wear robes, he would be wearing a tuxedo at Alice’s insistence. Hermione, Rosalie, Ginny, and Alice would be in dresses, Ron in dress robes, Emmett in a tuxedo.

The question was precisely what they would be wearing considering that Harry hadn’t chosen colors yet.

“Don’t be obtuse, it doesn’t suit you,” Hermione said with mild annoyance. “Why is Harry upset?”

Jasper paused on a page of color options for trim and looked at Hermione.

“I said he couldn’t be involved in something dangerous,” Jasper told her truthfully. “He insisted that he would be, I threatened to involve you and Molly Weasley. Thus,” Jasper spread his arms wide in a helpless gesture, “Harry’s irritation.”

“Oh.” Hermione’s own annoyance diminished immediately and was replaced with approval and even a dash of affection. She leaned over and pointed at deep green and bright gold colors on a page. “Try and convince Harry of those colors. You do not want burgundy and gold, trust me.”

“Noted,” Jasper agreed.

After that honest explanation, Jasper and Hermione had a pleasant time making wedding arrangements. And when Harry, Teddy, and Ron returned, Harry had even chosen a wedding cake design.

“I bet you thought I wouldn’t do it,” Harry said pompously. He slid his phone to Jasper to show him a photograph of a cake while Kreacher served the others dinner.

The cake was lovely. It was a simple, yet elegant, three layer cake with a solid coat of white frosting and an intricate white beaded design on the sides.

“Cake!” Teddy said happily. He clapped his hands together and smiled at Kreacher. “Cake!”

“Kreacher will be making you cake,” Kreacher told Teddy. He pointed a long and wrinkled finger at the serving of tiny chunks of meat and potatoes that he placed before the toddler. “But first Mister Teddy is needing to be eating or he will never be getting taller.”

“And your goal is to outgrow Harry,” Ron told Teddy seriously with a grin for Harry. “But you have to eat your good food first.”

“That’s definitely why I’m so short,” Harry said nonchalantly with a twinge of bitterness hidden beneath his tone. Harry speared a fork of meat and held it up for Teddy. “But since I’ll never lock you in a closet and refuse to feed you, you should be fine.”

As with most of Harry’s references to his childhood, Jasper’s heart twinged. The air became thick with unhappiness until Kreacher snapped his fingers.

“Kreacher was meaning to kill Master Harry’s nasty muggles,” Kreacher muttered to himself even while he served a spoiled two year-old chocolate cake. “Kreacher will be needing to find time off…”

“Take all the time off you need, Kreacher,” Ron said with a grin, returning the levity to the room. “You’ve accrued some vacation time in your many years of service.”

“Slavery,” Hermione breathed almost illegibly, even to Jasper’s ears.

“Nobody is killing anyone,” Harry said. He scowled at his friends and then took the phone from Jasper to show Kreacher. “Kreacher, IF you still want to make the wedding cake, d’you think you could make this? You don’t have—”

Kreacher let out a delighted laugh that interrupted Harry’s request.

“Kreacher and Misses Molly will be making the best cake for Master Harry!” Kreacher exclaimed. “Kreacher can be making it any flavor you want!”

Jasper had never seen Kreacher so excited as he began listing off a variety of flavors, many that Jasper had never even heard of before. Harry was entirely bemused and let out an occasional ‘hmm’ in between bites of his meal.

Kreacher finally decided that he would make a variety of flavors for Harry to test before they left Sunday night.

“What are we doing for your lot?” Harry asked Jasper. “Veal cupcakes? Bunny brownies?”

“Deer blood biscuits?” Ron added.

Harry immediately scowled at Ron, unimpressed by his joke.

“Jasper doesn’t eat deer,” Harry told him. “Don’t be mental.”

Jasper coughed quietly until Harry looked toward him.

“Darlin’, you do understand that Forks is overran by deer, right?” Jasper asked him, confused by Harry’s adamant refusal on Jasper’s behalf. Jasper was certain that Harry knew Jasper drank the blood of deer, it was hardly a secret. “We assist the environment by keeping the population down…”

Jasper would have continued his teasing drivel, but oddly Harry was becoming more indignant the longer Jasper spoke.

“You can’t EAT DEER!” Harry yelled. “Merlin, Jazz! My dad was a deer!”

“DEER!” Teddy yelled in adamant loyalty to his beloved godfather.

Hermione’s mirth became nearly palpable and Ron choked on his potatoes at Harry’s outburst.

“Your father… was a deer…” Jasper repeated, attempting to make sense of that nonsensical statement. He looked at Ron and Hermione for assistance, but they were clearly busy with their silent giggling.

“I was under the impression he was a man?” Jasper said slowly. “Do deer frequently breed with women?”

Harry didn’t look amused by Jasper at all and Jasper blamed his general annoyance with Jasper in general. It couldn’t be too bad, considering he was still actively planning a wedding, but Jasper would be relieved when the impending battle ended and their stubborn feud ended.

“He was an animagus,” Harry said hotly. “Imagine, Jazz, just imagine… you drink the blood of a deer and BAM!” Harry smacked his hand on the antique table they shared. “You’ve killed my father.”

“Your father is dead, Harry,” Hermione pointed out, saving Jasper from having to say it.

“Someone else’s father then,” Harry said stubbornly.

“What if instead of eating a deer, Jasper eats a bear, right?” Ron said. “So he drinks the blood of a bear and BAM!” Ron smacked the table mimicking Harry. “He’s killed someone else’s father who was a bear animagus. And just think, if he ate the bloody deer to start with, their father would still be alive.”

Harry’s upper lip twitched and some cheer managed to shine through his annoyance.

“Fine, eat the poor deer,” Harry sighed. “Teddy-Bug, what’s Jasper?”

Teddy looked up at Jasper and babbled something unintelligible.

“That’s right,” Harry agreed solemnly. “A traitor.”

Hermione gave Jasper a look full of sympathy.

Harry was petty, stubborn, and occasionally unable to see any point of view not his own, but Jasper adored him because of those things.

It certainly made for an entertaining eternity.

And it made for incredibly heated sex. Harry seemed determined to exceed all their previous achievements.

Jasper had a difficult time deciding if the last sunny day at Forks would have been better if Harry had been angry with him.

It would have, Jasper was certain.

Once Harry was sleeping soundly, Jasper went downstairs to explore the library.

The library in Harry’s home was magnificent, truly. There seemed to be no shortage of books on subjects that Jasper had no prior knowledge on, which made them much more enticing to peruse.

Unfortunately, Jasper had a mission that he could not be distracted from.

Jasper had a specific book he once read that he needed again. It had a dark cover on it… Jasper was fairly certain it was actually human skin… And it was no where to be found.

Jasper was still searching for it when he heard footsteps approaching the library from the kitchen. They were too light to be Harry, to quiet to be Ron, too firm to be Hermione… The door squeaked open and Jasper turned to see Kreacher peering in at him with narrowed and suspicious eyes.

“Kreacher is not liking you snooping through the library when the Masters are sleeping,” Kreacher told Jasper.

Jasper smiled and remained pleasant despite Kreacher’s consistent dislike and distrust of him.

“Hello, Kreacher,” Jasper said evenly. “I’m not snooping, I’m trying to find a book.”

Kreacher shuffled further in the library while he kept his eyes on Jasper.

“Maybe Master Harry’s pet vampire should use his extra senses to find a book,” Kreacher said under his breath.

“What was that?” Jasper asked politely. “I didn’t quite hear you.”

Kreacher glared so darkly at Jasper that the phrase ‘if looks could kill’ popped in Jasper’s mind.

“Kreacher said that Kreacher can find any book you are wanting,” Kreacher lied boldly. “So you can get out of Master’s library,” he added in another whispered comment.

As far as Jasper’s perfect recollection recalled, there had been no title on the book. It had only caught his interest due to it being in a stack Hermione labeled as ‘possibly cursed’. The crude string binding the cover hadn’t hurt his interest either.

“It didn’t have a title,” Jasper told Kreacher. “The cover was black leather or possibly human skin. The pages were handwritten in Old Spanish. They were all recipes for different potions, all out-lawed according to Hermione.”

One of Kreacher’s ears twitched in what Jasper assumed was recognition. It was difficult to read the emotions of the elf, they came through so muted and often laced with disgust that Jasper couldn’t get a firm grasp on them.

“Kreacher might be knowing what book you are wanting, but Kreacher could find it easier if he knew why you were wanting it,” Kreacher said slyly.

Jasper weighed the elf briefly. There seemed to be no being that Kreacher adored more than Harry - a shared sentiment - but it also meant that Jasper ran the risk of having his search exposed to Harry early. And if Jasper had calculated incorrectly, if he did not know his beloved as deeply as he believed he did, then it would likely create another argument.

“I had an interest in one of the recipes,” Jasper said carefully. “I had hoped to ask Hermione about it before we returned home tomorrow evening.”

“Master’s pet vampire is wanting to create illegal potions?” Kreacher let out a delighted cackle before snapping his fingers. The precise book that Jasper wanted appeared in mid-air between them.

Jasper reached out for it and immediately flicked through the pages until he found the one that he read once before.

“Technically, Harry’s pet vampire is hoping Mrs. Weasley will brew an illegal potion for me,” Jasper corrected Kreacher absently. “And then Harry’s pet vampire is hoping that Harry doesn’t divorce me when I present it to him.”

Because this single potion had the ability to give Harry the one desire he had in his life that Jasper couldn’t give him. It was illegal, but Jasper hardly cared about wizard laws. And vampire law said that human babies could not be turned- it didn’t have any rules regarding children born of an immortal wizard and vampire.

It was likely Harry’s influence over Jasper that had Jasper diving through the loopholes of the law. If it made Harry happy, Jasper would leave no law unbent.

Chapter Text

May 22

Harry fidgeted with his tie uncomfortably and shot Bella a dark look when she laughed at him.

“That’s not even tied right,” Bella tsk’d. She reached over and easily undid the knot that Harry tied.

Harry sighed and stood still while Bella tried to tie it for him. It was a pain to be getting dressed up just to be handed a piece of paper by the principal of their high school.

And yet there was a little thrill of excitement coursing through Harry about the whole event.

Jasper told Hermione when the graduation ceremony was and Hermione told all the Weasley’s. Andromeda was bringing Teddy. Bella’s dad would be there, though her mum wasn’t flying in. Jake and most of the pack planned on attending.

Harry told them all they were being stupid, he’d probably graduate at least ten more times in his lifetime, but everyone still insisted.

“You only graduate high school for the first time once,” Emmett said cheerily as he slapped Harry’s shoulder and accidentally knocked him to the ground. “And it’s a miracle you managed it this time around.”

Harry certainly didn’t graduate with top grades like Bella, Edward, and Alice did. But Bella, Edward, and Alice had never spent their life in a school for magic either.

Bella had a little furl between her eyebrows as the struggled with Harry’s tie. After a few minutes she huffed and threw her hands up in exasperation.

“We’ll have Charlie do it,” she said. “Come on, he’s probably pacing already.”

Harry and Bella had decided to stay at her house the night before the ceremony so that Bella could give Charlie the memory of driving his only child to graduation. Soon enough Charlie would be left in the dark about Bella’s entire life, Harry thought she should give him as much as she could while she could.

Before following Bella downstairs, Harry checked his appearance once more.

His hair was… mostly tamed. His black dress shirt was buttoned up correctly with the dark red tie loose around his neck. There was an unexpected flush of excitement on Harry’s face that made his eyes shine brightly behind his glasses.

The next time Harry had to get so dressed up would be for his wedding.

An entirely mad thought.

Harry grinned as he followed Bella. He could hear Charlie’s anxious and heavy footsteps pacing across the Swan’s foyer. Charlie wasn’t as dressed up as Harry and Bella were, he just wore a pair of plain jeans with a collared shirt, but he still looked uncomfortable. Then he saw Bella all dressed up in the blue dress Alice got her and he sighed.

“Aw, Bells.” Charlie grinned and his eyes crinkled at the edges. “You look great.”

“Thanks,” Bella mumbled. Harry didn’t know why she was so awkward when someone complimented her, it—

“And you look great too, Harry. Who knew you could clean up so much?”

It took everything in Harry to not mumble like Bella did when Charlie said that. Harry quickly held his tie up helplessly.

“Would you mind?” Harry asked him. “Dead parents, you know.”

Bella rolled her eyes, but Harry forgot that his humor was better suited around immortals who hardly remembered their biological parents. Charlie kept a straight face while he tied Harry’s tie, but there was a sad look in his eyes.

“There you go,” Charlie said gruffly. He patted Harry on the shoulder and then seemed to force himself to grin. “Are dead parents the reason you can’t drive worth a damn too?” he asked with a wink.

Harry grinned as well and shrugged his shoulders.

“No, I blame that on the cupboard I grew up in.” Harry clapped his hands together and looked toward Bella. “Ready to go?”

The parking lot for the school was packed and Charlie waved at the officer directing excess parking to the empty bank lot across from the school. Harry wanted to try and find Teddy and the others before he had to line up, but Bella had their gowns in her arms and rushed Harry to line up with their classmates behind the stage.

Edward and Alice were in line toward the front and Harry stood behind Andrew Porter with only Jessica Stanley between himself and Bella.

“Are you like soo excited?” Jessica whispered to Harry. “We did it. Like… we’re done with high school!”

Harry grinned faintly and adjusted the cap on his head.

“Thank God,” he whispered back to her.

Jessica giggled as if Harry had said something terribly amusing.

“And you’re still going to Harvard?” she asked with just enough skepticism in her voice to make Harry bristle.

Sure, Harry was a poor student. But if the wizarding world had an equivalent to Harvard University then Harry probably could have gotten accepted. He might have been able to even do it without being Harry Potter.

“He is,” Harry heard Bella whisper heatedly. “Jasper framed his acceptance letter to display at the party tonight. You can see it then.”

Harry looked over his shoulder and flashed Bella a grateful smile while the principal stepped on stage to start the ceremony.

It was daft, really, but Harry had been thrilled when Jasper had forged a letter for Harry to show. It was insulting how unintelligent all Harry’s classmates thought he was when Harry managed to graduate high school on time even with nearly eight years of his muggle education being nonexistent.

If Harry showed up more often, he might have even graduated with honors, like Bella and the Cullen’s did.

Except Harry consistently managed to find things to do that were much more interesting than school.

When the speeches ended and the names began to be called, Harry was bouncing in place nervously. By the time Andrew was being called to the stage, Harry was actually sweating.

It didn’t matter, it really didn’t, but… but Harry still felt some small sense of satisfaction and wondered what his family would have said if they were there.

Would his mum have scolded him fondly for not applying himself more? Would his dad make a big spectacle when Harry’s name was called and tell everyone that it was his son? Would Sirius be grinning and clapping, amused by Harry’s muggle degree but proud all the same?

“Potter, Harry!”

Harry nearly tripped up the steps to get to the stage and then he actually staggered when he heard the commotion being made for him. Harry looked out in the crowd as he walked to the middle of the stage and his heart swelled.

Jasper had Teddy on his shoulders and was whistling loudly while Teddy clapped his little hands and smiled. Andromeda stood with Molly and Arthur and the three of them were beaming at Harry while they clapped. George, Percy, Bill, and Charlie Weasley were all chanting Harry’s name in a way that made Harry laugh while Fleur held Victoire and smiled up at the stage.

Emmett had an actual air horn that he honked while Rosalie looked patiently amused and clapped politely with Jasper’s parents and Charlie.

Ron and Hermione were absolutely the loudest. They stood with Ginny, Jake, and the pack and they actually had their hands cupped around their mouths as they cheered for him.

“You have a big family, Mister Potter,” the principal said with a kind smile as he handed over Harry’s diploma. Harry paused to shake his hand, as he was instructed to do before the ceremony, and then smiled widely to the crowd as he held up his diploma victoriously.

“Yes, sir. It seems like I do.”

Once the ceremony ended and the graduates were released, Harry was attacked first by a tearful Hermione.

“YOU DID IT!” Hermione cried in the middle of the gym as she hugged Harry tightly. “I knew you could, of course.”

“Of course,” Harry teased her as he patted her back. “I bet you never questioned my abilities once.”

Hermione was crying out her assurances when Harry was grabbed from behind and lifted up in a bear hug that had him gasping for breath.

“I didn’t think you’d do it at all!” Emmett laughed joyfully while he squeezed Harry. “I even bet Jasper fifty bucks that you’d skip the ceremony!”

“Easiest money I’ve ever made,” Jasper said as he joined them with Teddy on his shoulders and the others behind him. Teddy lunged for Harry and Emmett hastily released Harry so he could catch his godson.

“Da!!” Teddy laughed and patted Harry’s head with his hands that were beginning to lose their baby chubbiness. “Da!”

Harry spun Teddy around, caught up in the jubilant air that everyone surrounding Harry gave off. It didn’t even seem like a big accomplishment - other people graduated all the time. It still made Harry feel taller than anyone to have an entire family there, congratulating him, teasing him, and slapping his back cheerfully.

Everyone insisted on going to dinner together before the party at the Cullen house. Edward tried to split off to go to dinner with Bella and Charlie, and Ron just went straight to Charlie and invited him to go to dinner with all of them.

They had to split up in multiple vehicles and Harry was pleased when he got a chance to drive Arthur, Emmett, and Bill in his car. Jasper, wisely, took Andromeda, Teddy, Hermione, and Molly in a separate vehicle to keep all the people who would try to slow Harry down in one place.

“This is MAGICAL!” Arthur cried, looking as gleeful as a little kid, while he stuck his head out the passenger window. The wind was making his cheeks puff out but Arthur only laughed harder at it.

Harry didn’t know which of the Cullen’s did it, but one of them had to have bribed Harry’s favorite Chinese restaurant to close to the public for the day. It was decorated lavishly with banners that said ‘Congrats Graduates!’ and balloons and streamers in their school colors everywhere.

Some of the Weasleys, like Percy and George, had never had Chinese food before and looked around the buffet with blatant curiosity. Harry was thrilled to see that all of the tables were stacked high with fortune cookies and he tried to explain them to the Weasleys without Charlie becoming suspicious over their utter confusion.

The dining room where they all spread out at and shared food, stole food, and the Cullen’s did an excellent job at pretending to eat, was so full of laughter and shouts. It was utter chaos of the best sort. Harry couldn’t remember an hour afterward what had been discussed, but he knew he was still smiling so hard his cheeks were sore.

“Did you enjoy yourself?” Jasper asked Harry that night. They were dancing together in the Cullens house that had been decorated and rearranged to accommodate what seemed to be the entire high school for a party.

Alice truly went all out. There was a dj booth where Emmett had set up, multicolored lights were flashing around the room. There were a few tables set up, for the apparently-obligatory ‘senior boards’ (where Harry was amused to see that someone had to photoshop a bunch of photos of Harry, Edward, and Alice as children. They were a good likeness, even if Harry had never been that cute or happy as a child) and Harry’s table was covered in cards from classmates and teachers all around his framed acceptance letter.

Harry had already rubbed his letter in Mike Newton’s face, mocking him for calling Harry an idiot. Even Hermione, who was dancing and giggling with Ginny and Bella, had backed Harry’s lie by saying that she couldn’t wait to attend university together in the fall.

Harry beamed up at Jasper and decided to let their ongoing spat over the upcoming battle die. Harry would be there, they could fight about it then.

“This has been brilliant,” Harry told him. “I… thank you,” Harry said earnestly. “Just for everything, Jazz.”

They were dancing too slowly for the upbeat song that had everyone else bouncing around them. Neither of them cared though. Jasper smiled down at Harry and Harry didn’t need Jasper’s talent to recognize that Jasper loved Harry.

Jasper loved him enough to share his family with Harry. Jasper loved him enough to sit by Harry’s side when he had a bad day or the pull of the liquor cabinet became too strong. Jasper loved Harry all the time, in every situation, in all of Harry’s many moods.

And Harry loved him with all of his heart and soul. If Harry wasn’t already immortal, he might have sought it out just to get as much time with Jasper as he could.

“I love you,” Harry told him, a little choked up by how much he was feeling.

Jasper pulled Harry close and they were embracing more than they were dancing.

“I love you,” Jasper whispered. “I love you more than any word in any language could ever explain.”

Harry knew that. Harry actually knew that Jasper loved him.

It was something of a revelation. An odd revelation to have twenty-nine days before they were married, but a revelation all the same.

As soon as the one day scheduled out for graduation parties had ended, Harry, the Cullens, and the La Push Pack went back to training and planning for the upcoming battle.

Harry had been stuck on the sidelines, as nobody would fight with him after Jasper threw his tantrum, but it worked out in Harry’s favor because it was easier to plan that way.

Harry’s personal plans to attend the fight and keep Bella in London were thrown astray when Alice warned them all of a complication the night after graduation. Harry had been leaning against Jake’s side, mentally planning how to best use his cloak and his broom to help in the fight, when Alice let out a frustrated shriek from where she had been watching the fights happen.

“Alice?” Esme moved beside Alice. “What’s happened?”

“I can’t see clearly,” Alice gave Harry and Jake a disgruntled look, “but I don’t think this ends if they don’t smell Bella here.”

“What?” Edward had been sparring with Rosalie and he was at Alice’s side in an instant. Edward touched Alice’s shoulder gently. “Alice, what does that mean?”

“I… Harry, decide that Bella’s going to stay,” Alice said abruptly with her hands massaging her temples with her tiny nose scrunched up.

Harry tried to think about it and wasn’t sure how to trick his mind into deciding something he didn’t want to decide?

“Imagine that Bella was captured by a rogue death eater as soon as she stepped through the floo,” Edward suggested quietly. “It isn’t safe for her there, Harry. Wouldn’t she be much safer here? With all of us protecting her?”

A very small part of Harry’s mind knew that Edward was doing word play to get Harry to change his mind, but it worked. Harry could picture it too easily, Bella getting snagged in London by a wizard like she had by James. There were seven shapeshifters, seven vampires, and Harry in Washington.

“I see now,” Alice sighed. She dropped her hands from her head and nodded at Harry. “If Bella leaves, they don’t all come and they try again later with twice the numbers. If Bella stays, it all ends in black and white in two days.”

“There shouldn’t be any white,” Jasper said, joining the conversation to the side of the field. Jasper looked at Harry and quirked a brow. “Darlin’, I thought you were leaving?”

“Seems like I’m not,” Harry said cheerfully, still lounging against Jake. He tried to think around the Bella dilemma as he didn’t want her at risk. Harry stared at her thoughtfully and it wasn’t until the wind blew and rustled her hair that it hit Harry what the best plan was.

“Okay…” Harry closed his eyes tightly and imagined his plan. “Alice, what do you see?”

Harry scowled when Alice said that the attackers split off again.

“Why the hell wouldn’t polyjuice work?” Harry demanded, only just resisting the urge to stomp his foot.

“You decided to hide Bella and take on her appearance?” Edward guessed, probably picking pieces from Harry’s mind. “It’s not her face they’re tracking, it’s her scent.”

“It’s her blood,” Jasper added. “Polyjuice only transfers an appearance, not blood.”

“Swot,” Harry accused Jasper half-heartedly. Jasper knew more about potions than anyone, as much time as he spent reading old musty smelling tomes.

“So I get to come to the fight?” Bella asked with a hint of excitement that even Harry picked up on.

Harry, Jasper, Edward, and even Carlisle answered as one.

“No.”

Bella rolled her eyes. “If I’m not there then they try again, so it seems like I need to be there.”

It was Jasper who said it, just as calm as anything with a calculating look in his eyes.

“Or… your blood does,” Jasper said slowly, his eyes locked on Bella. “With enough of your blood here, it will lead the newborns straight to us. They’ll be driven insane by the scent, easier to pick off.”

“What exactly are you suggesting?” Edward had moved to stand behind Bella, his hands on her shoulders. “Bella shouldn’t injure herself to make an easy fight even easier.”

“Bella doesn’t have to injure herself,” Harry said. He forced himself to his feet at the chance to irritate Edward. “I can help her leave a trail of blood to lead the newborns to us, keep anyone from staying behind, and Bella will be injury free.”

“Good idea,” Jasper said. He flew to Harry’s side and grabbed Harry’s wrist softly and shook his head when Harry went to draw his wand. “Wait until the morning before, darlin’. It will be more fresh then.”

“And won’t make Jasper want to eat Bella in the not-fun way,” Emmett called from where he was still rough-housing with Paul.

It took Harry a moment to pick up on what Emmett was saying and he scowled heavily at him once he did.

And when Rosalie caught Harry’s eyes and nodded, Harry went ahead and hexed Emmett for implying anything so disgusting and Harry’s fiancé and his best friend.

“What can I offer you for you to sit this one out?” Jasper asked Harry the night before the battle.

Harry had done everything he could think of to protect every person he could… Teddy was with his grandma, Harry and Bella’s houses were warded against vampires. Charlie would be going on a fishing trip with Billy. Ginny would be spending the day with Ron and Hermione, finally trying on dresses, suits, and dress robes for the wedding. Seth and Leah Clearwater would be staying behind, protecting the boundaries of La Push in case anyone got curious.

In the morning, Harry would be taking Bella to the trail that Alice saw the army coming through. Bella would leave a trail of her blood, herding the newborns to where the fighters would all be waiting. After that, Harry would fly Bella up to one of the mountainside caves where Bella would wait the fight out with Quil and Embry.

Then Harry would join the others and fight like hell, one more time.

A small part of Harry, a small but loud part, didn’t want to fight. Harry was sick of fighting, Harry hated fighting. But if Jasper was going to be fighting, then Harry wanted to be by his side.

“I don’t want to argue about it, Jazz,” Harry whispered. They were laying on their sides in Jasper’s bed, facing each other, and Jasper’s hand cupped Harry’s face softly as his thumb traced cold patterns on Harry’s skin.

“I can’t watch you die again,” Jasper insisted. His eyes were a bright gold, proof of the recent hunting he did in preparation of the battle. There was something sad in Jasper’s expression and Harry wondered how hard it was to watch Harry die and then return to life.

As much as it hurt Harry, as much as it messed with his head and took time to recover from, it had to be painful on the other side of it as well.

“If I’m not there then I think that you’ll die,” Harry admitted, his worst fear about the battle. Harry closed his eyes for a moment and thought about all the people he couldn’t save because he hadn’t been enough.

“I can’t- I can’t lose you like everyone else,” Harry said with his eyes still closed and his heart racing in his chest. It had been a little over two years and some days Harry felt like he was still running across the grounds of Hogwarts, surrounded by spellfire, smoke, and the sounds of people dying.

Fifty people had died.

And Harry had moved on, to an extent, but there was nothing that would make him move on if Jasper was gone.

“If you’re injured, I’ll be distracted and others could get hurt,” Jasper told Harry. “Please, please, darlin’, I will be so focused on you that I won’t be able to defend the others if needed.”

Harry opened his eyes and was caught in Jasper’s genuine and guileless eyes.

As much as they were partners, equals, there was a block between them that kept them from standing together on the battlefield.

“Please stay with Isabella tomorrow,” Jasper pleaded. “If you won’t, you won’t. But for me, I wish that you would.”

Harry caught his lower lip between his teeth while he thought about it. It wasn’t giving them either what they fully wanted - Harry would still be there in a way but out of the direct fight - but it was a compromise.

It was a middle ground that Harry expected they would have to find multiple times on a variety of issues for the rest of forever.

“Okay,” Harry agreed softly. “I’ll stay with Bella tomorrow.”

Chapter Text

May 25

“Edward proposed last night,” Bella told Harry nonchalantly while they walked through the woods.

Bella had her hands out, touching the leaves and releasing a tiny drop of blood from her index finger here and there. Harry just sort of… spat on the ground. If vampires could track his blood and scent then they could track his spit.

“Gross.” Harry spat again both to help with the upcoming battle and to emphasize his point. “And you told him to go fuck himself, right?” he asked Bella, using one of Jared’s favorite phrases.

“Actually I told him he had to fuck me first,” Bella said, stammering over the swear some.

Harry raised his eyebrows in surprise and judged Bella’s very red face to mean that she was being honest.

“And?” Harry asked slowly. Harry and Jasper had sex the night before, Harry just didn’t think that Bella did as well.

Good for her.

“And we’re still in the negotiation stage,” Bella said with a huff. She held a hand out toward Harry, showing that the tiny trickle of blood had dried up and Harry sent a light trickle of a cutting spell toward her fingertip, letting the blood flow again.

“I really think that you should ditch Edward and try to get with Paul,” Harry said earnestly. They were nearly to the clearing and Harry spat again to add his scent to the trail.

“Paul’s fun, he’s funny, and—”

“And he’d tell everyone about our sex life and ditch me the instant he met his soulmate,” Bella interrupted.

Harry frowned. Those were good points.

“Okay, listen, I know you said no before, but I really think if you called him Charles that you and Charlie would be perfect,” Harry said, breezing through the familiar debate between them.

Harry wanted Bella to be happy, obviously. Bella was Harry’s best friend. But Harry just really wished she would be happy with someone who wasn’t Edward.

Edward just sucked.

They bickered playfully while they finished up their part of the upcoming battle. Originally, Harry was supposed to take Bella to the mountains afterward, leave her with Quil and Embry during the battle that would be happening in a matter of hours. After Harry compromised with Jasper though, Harry would be staying with Bella himself.

They brought cards and one of the La Push blokes would join them as a sort of walkie-talkie to the fight. If Harry said something, whichever pack member drew the short straw and sat out the fight with them would convey it to the rest of the pack and Edward could pluck it from their thoughts.

It made Harry anxious to not be able to receive messages as easily, but he had to just trust Jasper would do his best to keep their family and friends safe.

And himself.

Mostly himself.

Jasper looked toward the thickest part of the forest he hunted in when he sensed the unique smell that was only attributed to his wizard.

Harry’s patronus trotted through the woods and stopped just in front of the group of Cullens.

“Seeker and the future Mrs Dick-face— Oi! Don’t bloody hit me! We’re in position. I love you.”

Jasper smiled as he sensed the equal confusion and amusement flowing from his family.

“Harry thinks he’s funny,” Jasper said as he offered his hand to the majestic stag that always looked so real. The stag snorted and threw its head, just as high-strung as the man who cast it.

“Future Mrs…?” Esme was focused on the wrong thing and she turned to give Edward a beaming and purely joyous smile on her first son. “Edward! You asked Bella to marry you?”

“And she said yes?” Emmett snickered.

“Focus,” Jasper said a touch sharper than he would usually speak to his family.

Jasper felt Edward’s hesitation before he attempted to focus his family on the more important matters at hand. It was a one time kindness in exchange for the understanding that any message Edward may receive from Jared (who volunteered to sit out the fight with Harry and Isabella) would be given to Jasper immediately.

“Of course,” Edward murmured very quietly.

Jasper nodded minutely and as soon as Rosalie finished with the animal she caught, the Cullens made their way to the battle.

Jasper tried to absorb confidence from Alice, but it was blocked behind a peculiarly timed emotion.

Excitement.

Jasper looked at his sister while they ran and he raised an eyebrow. Emmett was the one more likely to be giving off excitement before a battle and even he had the bitter flavor of fear tainting his emotions.

“Why are you excited?” Jasper asked Alice curiously.

Jasper had hoped that Alice had seen something that assured their victory or a last-minute cancellation of the battle altogether. Jasper wasn’t worried about their win, necessarily, but if he could keep his parents from being in danger it would be preferable.

“I’m not sure,” Alice hummed, crushing Jasper’s foolish hope. “It just seems as if something extraordinary is going to happen today.”

Jasper had began to find peace in the ordinary moments - watching Harry eat, helping teach Teddy his numbers, even discussing the smallest details of the potion that Hermione Weasley brewed for him. The news of an extraordinary event did nothing to give Jasper hope.

Especially one that Alice couldn’t define.

“The last time Alice said that it was when she saw Harry joining us,” Edward said, responding to Jasper’s thoughts.

“And look how much chaos he’s brought,” Rosalie sniffed with a disdainful tone that didn’t match the constant affection she spilled when Harry was discussed.

“I’m with Jasper,” Carlisle said solemnly. He had his hand linked with Esme and slowed down when they could all smell the beginning of the trail Harry and Isabella left.

“I would prefer that nothing extraordinary happened today.”

Carlisle’s wish went ungranted as even Jasper could have foreseen.

“I’ll… raise,” Harry said as he slowly slid another chip in the middle of the complicated three-way poker game he played with Bella and Jared. It was complicated anyway because Harry only had a rudimentary understanding of poker, but trying to play while interpreting Jared’s howls and scratches in the dirt.

Bella was wrapped up in Teddy’s blanket, the charmed one he got for Christmas from Molly, and she squinted hard at Harry.

“You’re bluffing,” she said confidently. Bella slid three chips in the pile and then looked at Jared. “Are you in?”

They had Jared’s cards propped up against a rock for him to look at and tried to only ask yes or no questions.

Jared also stared at Harry with his black wolf eyes for a long moment. It shouldn’t have been possible for Jared to smirk, but he did.

“He’s in,” Bella grinned after Jared nodded. She moved two chips from Jared’s pile to the middle. “Alright, Harry, let’s see it.”

Harry sighed in defeat as he tossed his crap hand down.

“Flush,” Harry said flatly.

“Harry… it’s a royal flush,” Bella said.

There was no reason for her to rub it in. Harry was rubbish at poker but he didn’t think he was royally rubbish.

“You bluffing liar!” Bella flipped over Jared’s cards and tossed hers in as well. Bella pushed the chips to Harry gracelessly. “You cheated,” she pouted while Jared nodded.

“You’re just upset you couldn’t read my face,” Harry grinned.

Bella actually read Harry’s face just fine. Harry had always thought that flushes were bad. That was the sound a toilet made, who decided it was also the best hand in poker?

Wild.

Jared suddenly tensed, his oversized wolf body going still. Harry looked at him sharply and winced when Jared let out a loud howl.

Bella went pale. Harry knew that as much as he teased her, they both had everything to lose and neither of them were able to help.

“Is it starting?” Bella asked Jared.

Harry didn’t need to see Jared’s unhappy nod to know that it was.

Bella scooted closer to Harry inside the warded cave they were waiting the battle out in and Harry wished he had anything optimistic to tell her.

The wand and broomstick in Harry’s bag were practically burning his back, reminding him that they were there and ready to be used. If it had been anyone except Jasper, Harry never would have sat out a fight. Jasper could placate Harry and say he was doing an important job all he wanted; Harry didn’t like to fight but he would have been infinitely more useful in the fight than in a cave.

Jasper didn’t relish being in a fight, he had been on the earth too long to crave anything other than peace and contentment, but Jasper’s body was made for battle.

Nearly every one of Jasper’s family members had to be protected. Edward was Jasper’s only link to knowing that Harry was safe—

“Jared thinks he’s agitated, but safe.”

Esme was too kind to truly carry the self-preservation It took to rip the heads off the newborn vampires—

“They’re just children!”

And Alice was… actually being incredibly useless. While Jasper checked a vampire that tried to attack Jasper’s soon-to-be-cousin-in-law, Alice was darting around the fighters, in search of something it seemed.

Jacob howled with concern when the newborn Jasper grabbed got a bite on the side of Jasper’s neck before Jasper managed to get the scrappy young one in a headlock and end its life.

“I’m fine,” Jasper told him, already running toward the next one he saw.

There were thirty-two newborns that split off just as Alice had foreseen. The sixteen that ran directly to the waiting pack of seven shapeshifters were herded to the main clearing where the Cullens waited. Within minutes, the numbers were dropping quickly as the pack and the coven worked together, side-by-side.

It was an easy battle, despite the multiple bites that Jasper was receiving as he tried to be everywhere at once.

It was only Alice that had Jasper on edge. She swore right up to the start of the fight that it ended in black and white, which meant that Harry would be involved somewhere. And the way that Alice was avoiding actually fighting did nothing to ease Jasper’s fears.

Jasper found a newborn that had been hiding behind one of the trees and her red eyes filled with fear when Jasper snarled and attacked her too quickly for her to fight back.

The thick feeling of fear, grief, and acceptance that the girl gave off was precisely why Jasper left Maria so many years ago.

It made Jasper hate himself to be the one to evoke those emotions, but it was for his family this time.

Jasper had a hand on either side of the girl’s head while she thrashed and pleaded. Jasper began to twist when he was unexpectedly attacked by a terrified small body.

Not a newborn, but Alice.

“Don’t kill her!” Alice shrieked. “You can’t!”

Jasper flipped himself out from beneath Alice before she even finished her pleading and he was crouched in a wary defensive pose. Alice mimicked his movements, blocking the newborn from Jasper’s view.

Before Jasper could decide between attacking his sister or leaving the newborn to be dealt with by her, there was a piercing howl that ripped through every being in the clearing.

Jasper looked through the mess of dark fur and sparkling skin until he found the only person that could have made such a sound.

Jacob met Jasper’s eyes from sixty yards away and there was anxiety in the deepest waves that Jasper had yet to feel that day.

And since the battle in the clearing was practically over - Jasper could count without looking and knew there were less than half of the original newborns left standing - it was not anxiety for the fighters that had every shapeshifter sharing the same emotions.

It was for their brother that was protecting Jasper’s world.

“Jazz!” Alice gasped and even while she defended the newborn behind her, she reached blindly for Jasper’s body to grasp. “Go. Hurry.”

Jasper hesitated for a sixty-eighth of a second - Harry couldn’t die, but he could be hurt - before he began running to the mountainside cave that Harry, Jared, and Isabella were meant to be safe in.

“Will he make it?” Rosalie screamed at Alice while Alice turned her attention to the vampire that had been dancing around the edges of her vision for weeks.

“No idea,” Alice said simply. Everything involving Harry was almost always white in her mind. There was no way to answer definitively. Instead, she smiled at the vampire and offered her hand. “You’re going to love me soon, Bree Tanner.”

Harry was pacing the cave, his eyes focused solely on Jared. Wall to wall, side to side, Harry paced.

Jared twitched and occasionally one of his paws swiped out as if he were in the fight with the others.

It was driving Harry mad, not knowing what was happening.

Harry had his wand in his hand and toyed idly in the back of his mind with the idea of trying legilimency. Harry had never even attempted it before, but he should have thought of it before then.

If it wasn’t one of Harry’s best mates whose mind would be damaged if Harry did it wrong, Harry would give it a shot.

Out of no where, Jared let out a whine that broke off to become an urgent whimper.

“What is it?” Bella asked him. “Is someone hurt?”

No… Harry was beside Jared in an instant when Jared moved to position himself just outside the mouth of the cave. Jared wasn’t empathizing, he was defending.

“Someone’s coming here?” Harry guessed. He tried to be quiet, keep it between himself and Jared, but Bella was behind Harry and made a distressed sound when Jared nodded.

“It can’t be one of the others, right?” Bella asked frantically. “You cast all those spells.”

Harry did. Harry warded the hell out of the cave they were in. It was damn near unplottable, that was how much magic Harry put into his work.

No vampire in the world could find their cave.

Unless…

Jared pawed the ground and Harry watched as he did it in beats of three.

Once, twice, three times.

Pause.

Once, twice, three times.

Pause.

It was Bella who guessed what it meant.

“Three of them are coming?”

Jared whined and Harry clenched his wand in his right hand while he grabbed his cloak and broom from his bag. With a tap, Harry returned his Firebolt to normal size and he shoved both of his most priceless possessions in Bella’s hands.

Bella was a shit flier, just absolutely terrible, but Harry only needed her to get twenty feet in the air and be quiet.

“Do it or I’ll kill Edward,” Harry said flatly, leaving no room for the argument he could see brewing in Bella’s stubborn brown eyes.

Bella nodded and Harry and Jared moved just enough for Bella to shakily mount Harry’s broom and fly out of the cave and directly in the air. Bella barely covered herself with Harry’s cloak when the three people Jared warned him of began stalking in Harry’s line of sight.

‘People’ wasn’t exactly the right word to use though… Technically, it was two vampires and a wizard.

Two of them familiar to Harry, one a stranger.

All three looking as if they thought that Harry was someone they could kill.

“Jared, run,” Harry murmured from the corner of his mouth.

Jared snarled and Harry had a sudden and horrible image of Jared being buried… Jared being eulogized… Jared being another teenager killed in a fight that he didn’t need to participate in.

Harry’s eyes were trying to decide which of the three figures was the bigger threat while his wand automatically flicked at his side and Harry sent Jared flying back inside the cave and covered the entrance with every ward he could think of in the sixty seconds he had before the fight started. Harry didn’t particularly enjoy feeling like Dumbledore when he petrified Jared to keep him from trying to help.

As long as Harry didn’t die for any amount of time, Jared would be safe.

Jared would also be mad as hell, but mad was better than dead.

Harry only wished that someone had taught him the ward against marked death eaters before then.

Three, Jared thought desperately to his brothers. Two vamps, a wizard.

Is it the red headed bitch? Jake asked through the link.

Jared could see the red-headed leech fall back a step, letting the gaunt and sallow looking wizard take the lead. Jared could smell the hint of magic that made his nose tingle - the same smell that Harry, Ginny, and their magical friends shared. If that wasn’t enough of a clue, the wand he had was a dead giveaway.

So was the way he knew Harry by name.

While Jared struggled to break free of the fucking spell Harry cast on him, Harry was running his mouth.

“I feel like I’m supposed to be surprised right now, but I’m mostly confused,” Harry said cheerfully. “I honestly thought Hagrid killed you. Thought? No… hoped.”

The wizard curled his lip at Harry and Jared could see his crooked and yellowed teeth from where he was FREAKING STUCK inside the cave.

TELL HIM TO SHUT THE FUCK UP, Jacob screamed in Jared’s head.

Have you ever told Harry to shut up and had it work? Quil asked skeptically.

Jared could see his brothers fighting inside his mind, but he viciously tried to ignore it to focus on his dumbass pack-mate that was about to get wrecked.

“The oaf did me a favor,” the wizard rasped. “While my peers were carted away to Azkaban after the Dark Lord fell, I was able to leave without notice. Where’s your coven, Potter?”

The female leech was looking around with her nostrils flaring, probably trying to find Bella. The younger male leech - the scent that the pack had all locked on but never managed to see - looked curiously at where Jared snarled and snapped his teeth behind the shimmering spells covering the entrance to the cave.

“Tom didn’t fall,” Harry said glibly. “I killed him, kind of like I’m going to do you.”

Not the fucking time, Sam hissed in Jared’s mind when Jared accidentally thought that Harry was hot as fuck in that moment.

Like I can help it, Jared thought irritably.

And if that bothered them then they were all going to be really bothered by the thoughts Jared had when Harry struck first and began fighting off the two vamps and wizard single-handedly.

Edward snarled and ripped the head off one of the last newborns in the clearing.

There were twenty-five dead, twenty-six? Everything was a mess of body parts and flames, making it hard to definitively count the dead.

None of the wolves or any of Edward’s family were injured though. It left Edward free to leave his mind locked firmly inside the pack-mind while his body moved on autopilot to continue the fight.

Bella was safe, Edward could see that. Harry, despite his many numerous and deep-rooted flaws, had immediately ensured Bella’s safety with his treasured magical belongings. It was one of Harry’s flaws, his lack of strategic thinking, that had Edward’s future brother-in-law fighting Victoria, a boy vampire, and a man that Harry called Macnair though.

Edward had seen Harry disappear and reappear at the drop of a hat before. Why he didn’t do it with Bella and Jared as soon as their hiding spot had been breached was anyone’s guess.

And how Jasper could stand to tie himself to someone who was so attracted to danger as Harry was also anyone’s guess.

Though, Jared’s thoughts that overlapped with his view of the fight happening on the mountain was a clue.

Perhaps Jasper was as attracted to danger as Harry was.

Edward!

Alice’s voice cut through the voices of the pack within Edward’s mind and he looked across the clearing to where his sister stood hand-in-hand with the newborn she saved from Jasper. Alice’s eyes were wide and Edward could see why as soon as she replayed the vision he missed the first time.

“Go,” Edward breathed while he increased his actions to finish the fight quickly.

“What’s happening?” Carlisle asked. Edward’s father’s face was solemn as he threw another head on the fire he started.

“Volturi,” Edward said to his family and allies, explaining what Alice saw and why she needed to leave. “Seven minutes out. They’ll kill Alice’s… Bree… if she’s still here.”

With Jasper gone, Alice leaving immediately, and half the pack focused on the other fight it left their numbers depleted. There were only six or seven newborns left, less than that when Rosalie gracefully tore the head off a young male. Edward wasn’t concerned.

And his over confidence proved to be one of his own flaws.

The problem with fighting vampires was that they were created to be the ultimate predator and they were bloody good at it.

Victoria was landing an irritatingly high number of blows on Harry’s body while he dueled Macnair. The role of the second vampire was made clear as he blocked Harry’s spells and moved Macnair while he tried to hit Harry with a variety of unforgiveables.

“At least Tom had some variety,” Harry sneered somewhat breathlessly after he blew the one armed bitch away from him. Harry was working with what felt like at least one broken rib but he still hit Macnair with a disarming spell.

“It’s you that needs to learn variety,” Macnair cackled. Harry didn’t even get his bloody wand before the boy vampire snatched it from midair and returned it to Macnair.

Harry had tried to dodge the next green spell Macnair sent - even if a very small part of Harry thought it might be funny to just die painlessly, turn to life, really mess with their heads - and was smacked by something hard enough in the side of his head to cause everything in his eyesight to sway precariously.

“Where is she?” Victoria hissed in Harry’s ear with a grip of iron on his hair. She has a much more musical voice than Harry expected, it reminded him so much of Bellatrix that he wondered if there was some distant connection.

“The human?” Victoria lifted Harry by his hair and he kicked out uselessly, probably breaking a toe, as he tried to get away from the vampire holding him and evade the bloody death eater attacking him at the same time.

If Harry didn’t kill Macnair then he was going to make sure his probation officer locked Macnair away for the rest of his life. It wasn’t surprising that Macnair would become involved with vampires - if Harry had to guess, he would say that Victoria did the slightest amount of digging on Harry when she and James were in London and one thing led to another until she found a wizard with a grudge. Macnair wouldn’t have been difficult to persuade, he knew how dangerous vampires could be.

It was just pissing Harry off to no end that he was so singularly screwed.

Harry bit his tongue until he tasted blood when Victoria twisted his body for Macnair to hit with a crucio and the boy vampire moved Macnair in time to evade Harry’s Sectumsempra.

There was pain and more pain and then—

“How’s this for variety?”

Bella hated flying almost as much as she hated riding in a car with Harry.

But, just like being in a car, it actually wasn’t as bad when Harry wasn’t in control.

Bella had tentatively tried to move the broomstick around at first, just going higher out of reach and then doing little laps to test it out. The broom, Harry called it a Firebolt, was so responsive that Bella felt as if she barely had a thought before it was moving.

It killed Bella to be up in the air while Harry was on the ground, being beaten bloody, but she didn’t see an opening to help him until he was writhing in pain with blood trickling in a steady stream from his mouth.

Victoria, the mate to the vampire that wanted to kill Bella last spring, had Harry in her grip but the other vampire and wizard were keeping a careful distance from Harry. In any other situation, it might be funny.

Harry and his sarcastic smiles and his love of adrenaline and a little boy never seemed like someone to be feared. Harry just wasn’t scary in Bella’s mind. His driving? Sure. The way that he was so reckless Bella thought she might go grey prematurely? Absolutely.

But just Harry? Harry was Bella’s lovable, impulsive, energetic best friend.

That was because Bella had never actually seen Harry fight before though and he was just as intimidating as any of the Cullens were. Harry didn’t look 5’10” with a wand in his hand, Harry might as well have been ten feet tall with fire in his eyes and mockery on his lips.

It made it that much worse every time Harry took a hit because Bella knew he was fighting with everything in him and he was losing. Victoria was merciless as she struck at Harry, breaking his bones and splitting his skin open. So when Bella experimentally flew the Firebolt around the ledge of the cave, she was dedicated to saving Harry.

Bella found the perfect rock - a large and jagged one that was still just small enough that Bella could lift it - and she flew back toward Harry as quick as she could. Bella’s knees were shaking when she locked them so she could lean forward and hold her arms out.

“How’s this for variety?” Bella said as she launched the rock at Victoria’s with enough of a speed boost from the broomstick to make it knock her down for a moment. Harry hit the ground as well, but he raised his hand and Bella did a donut in the air to fly over him and grasp his hand.

Victoria leaped in the air to try and grab Harry but Bella grit her teeth and aimed them upward and out of reach.

“Good call,” Harry groaned as he twisted himself up on the broom with grace that Bella had never seen from him before. “Alright, now let’s fight.”

That’s so fucking cool, Embry whistled in Jared’s mind.

The pack watched as one when Harry flipped himself upright in the air. It was trippy with Bella being under Harry’s blanket thing because it really looked like Harry was just flying through the air with blood all over him and a bunch of multi-colored spells were aimed at the three attackers.

It was actually really fucking cool.

The wizard kept trying to hit Harry with something to knock his ass from the broom but there was just no stopping Harry in the air. The boy vampire jumped to grab a tree branch to try and launch himself at Harry from the air and Harry was freaking untouchable.

You’re disgusting, Leah complained while she ran patrols with Seth, keeping La Push protected during the fight.

I’m sixteen with the body of a grown man, sue me, Jared said. He had accepted that Harry had him fucked from helping in the fight so he figured he might as well enjoy the show while it was good.

Try and hold down the horny when Jasper gets there, Jake laughed. The last thing he needs is to- EMBRY!

Jared felt the phantom pain rip through him when Embry was flattened to the ground by a vampire that had been pretending to be dead on the ground.

LEAH, TELL BILLY TO GET GINNY, NOW! Jake ordered, the alpha timbre making it a true command.

When a third vampire joined the fight happening outside the cave, Jared whined pitifully, needing to get to his brother at the clearing.

Fear, anger, concern.

Misery, pain… attraction.

Pain. Anger.

It was easy for Jasper to pinpoint the emotions coming from those that he was familiar with -

Isabella, Jared, and Harry.

It was the heady fear from the others that struck Jasper by surprise. There were undercurrents of anger, righteous vengeance, and confusion as well, but fear was prominent.

Jasper took less than a hundredth of a second to check and see that his wizard was bleeding freely and flying through the air before Jasper looked for the vampire that made his Harry bleed.

As soon as Jasper saw the blood on Victoria’s one hand, he charged her with every intention on ending her existence before she could so much as consider fleeing.

Ginny was enjoying herself immensely while she listened to Hermione gush about all the work she had been doing within the Ministry lately.

It was actually dead boring information, but Ginny was tipsy from the booze she shared with Ron during their shopping trip and Hermione’s excitement was infectious. Ron kept subtly slipping the flask they shared under the table to Ginny while they played a game they hadn’t done in years—

How drunk could they get during dinner before Mum noticed? Except this time it was Hermione they were playing against.

“Misses Weasles?”

Ginny blinked slowly at Kreacher, trying to force her sluggish mind to focus, and she smiled lazily.

“Kreacher, hi,” she said, no doubt slurring and losing the damn game. “What’s up?”

“There’s a muggle in the floo asking for you,” Kreacher sniffed. “He says it’s an emergency.”

A muggle? In a floo? With an emergency?

Hermione shoved herself from the table with a huff when Ginny wasn’t comprehending what Kreacher was trying to say.

“You’re drunk,” Hermione said scathingly. She rolled her eyes when Ron jumped up to see what was going on and he nearly fell over. “Both of you are.”

“So we both win!” Ron cried cheerfully.

“Oh! Billy!” It finally clicked in Ginny’s mind who the only muggle with floo access was. Ginny had applied for Billy to have a floo through MACUSA and had it granted on the basis of his son being a shapeshifter and Ginny all but being his daughter-in-law.

It didn’t hurt that Ginny also added Harry Potter as a magical relative on the application.

Hermione led the two clumsy and drunk Weasleys from the dining room to the very posh sitting room where the floo was. Just as Ginny thought, Billy’s face was in the middle of the flames.

Ginny sobered up so quickly it was nearly painful when she saw the grave look on Billy’s lined face.

Hermione dropped to her knees in front of the fire, “What’s happened?” she asked.

“It’s Embry,” Billy said immediately. “He was crushed by one of the newborns. We need Ginny, quickly.”

A newborn? Ginny didn’t even feel as drunk knowing that Embry - Jake’s more quiet friend that patiently taught Ginny how to swim - was hurt. She was just confused on what a newborn had to do with it?

Hermione looked sharply at Ginny and Ginny shook her head, completely confused by the message.

“Stand back please,” Hermione told Billy politely. “We’re coming through.”

Ginny and Ron followed Hermione through the floo, stepping out in Billy’s living room.

“What the hell?!”

Ginny looked over and saw that Bella’s hot dad was staring at the three of them with his jaw practically on his chest.

“I’ve got Charlie, you go,” Billy said gruffly. He grabbed Charlie’s wrist to keep him from following and he nodded at the door. “Leah’s waiting.”

Ginny was glad that Ron had his hand on her shoulder to guide her because Ginny had truly never been as confused as she was then. And she had dated two separate gay men, which she always thought had been the most confusing experiences of her life.

Hermione moved much quicker than Ginny and Ron. Hermione ran right out the front door and she looked anxious as she jogged across the lawn to where Leah waited on the edge of the woods, bare naked and perfectly shameless.

Jake thought that Ginny’s slight crush on Leah was hysterical but it embarrassed the crap out of Ginny that Leah knew about it thanks to their mind link nonsense.

“What the hell did he do now…” Ron breathed, pulling hard on Ginny to drag her behind him and break her from her embarrassed thoughts.

“Who?” Ginny asked blankly. “Embry?”

Ron looked over his shoulder at Ginny in a very Percy-like way.

“Harry,” Ron said, only further confusing Harry. “Gin, what kind of newborn could crush a shapeshifter?”

“A really bloody strong one?”

“Vampire,” Ron said with no humor to be seen. “And who do we know that spends all his time around vampires?”

Oh.

“Harry.” And where Harry and Embry were, Jake had to be.

“Shit,” Ginny swore.

Harry waited for his shot…

Jasper was locked in a deadly and graceful dance with Victoria and the boy vampire and Harry just needed one second.

“Hey, Bella?” Harry murmured, waiting for Jasper to move the boy vampire.

“Hm?”

“Close your eyes,” Harry said. He had no way of knowing if Bella did or not, but the second that Jasper threw the boy away from him, smacking his body on the side of the cave and causing a small avalanche, Harry had his opening.

“Crucio,” Harry hissed.

Harry wasn’t concerned with Bella seeing the spell used on Macnair - she had seen Harry under it twice and Edward under a similar effect once - Harry just didn’t want her to ever have to testify against him in court.

Jasper had Victoria locked in a headlock when Macnair’s screams echoed around them. Harry held the spell for as long as he could, until Jasper ripped Victoria’s head off with a metallic screeching sound, then he ended it.

Harry killed Macnair with the most unforgivable of spells at the same time as Jasper lunged on the boy vampire and had his teeth at his throat.

Jasper looked up at Harry and their eyes met for a second. Harry turned his head from left to right and Jasper ripped the vampire’s head from his body.

“Hey, Bells?”

“Yeah?”

Bella sounded breathless, terrified, but the Firebolt had never wavered as far as Harry knew.

“Get closer to the ground,” Harry said as his head swam and the black spots in his vision began winning the fight he had pushed off for as long as he could.

“Why?” Bella asked.

Harry would have told her that he was going to go unconscious and he’d prefer to not break his neck again; but he opened his mouth, threw up, and promptly went unconscious.

Chapter Text

“You ungodly moron…”

“Ron, hold him still. Who broke his ribs?! I will kill every single one of you…”

“Why’s his fingers doing that… Jasper! You’re a bloody vampire and you can’t keep him from getting crucio’d? What damn good are you?”

“Why isn’t he screaming? That looks fucking painful.”

“Because he’s a masochist with a long history of being abused.”

Harry groaned as the voice that was right above him began to have a name attached to it in his mind.

“Mione,” Harry croaked, struggling to open his eyes.

“Harry?” Hermione’s soft hand brushed hair off Harry’s forehead, another painful experience as it seemed to have been glued there with blood. “Can you hear me?”

Yeah, he could. She was loud and clearly irritated.

“I didn’t die,” Harry said, a complaint for once. “Kill me, please.”

“He’s lost it,” someone - Ron - said further away.

“Nah, he calls it a reset button like on his Xbox.” That voice was Jacob, except it was tense and Jacob usually wasn’t tense. “Embry, can you walk? We need to dip. Jared’s free now, he’s going to meet us there.”

“You need to leave quickly—”

Harry groaned loudly when he recognized that as Edward.

“—they’ll be here soon.”

They? Who were they?

If it was more vampires then Harry was going to throw a fit. Stupid, strong, sadistic… Harry struggled to find more insults that started with an S, but Edward helped him out.

“Sacrilegious, savage, scandalous, scornful, scary,” Edward murmured just loud enough that Harry heard the list.

Harry snorted and then yelped when a light tap of a wand on his face made the bones beneath his eye snap back in place. It did make it easier to open his eyes though, even if everything was fuzzy without his glasses.

There was a familiar face with a familiar glare too close to him though and Harry turned his head to find a much more friendly face.

Jasper was right beside Harry and even if he wasn’t smiling, he wasn’t glaring either.

“Up you get,” Jasper said quietly without a trace of amusement on his face. He bent down and gently lifted Harry up beneath his arms until Harry stood on shaking legs beside him in a clearing filled with smoke and vampires.

And a very unhappy looking witch and wizard that Harry chose to ignore for a moment.

Harry saw half a dozen piles of bodies that were burning, sending thick grey smoke up to the sky in heavy waves. Emmett, Rosalie, and Esme were standing between two fires, talking quietly amongst themselves. Edward had an entirely too smug looking Bella beside him just behind Ron and Hermione.

But there was no Carlisle, no Alice, no shapeshifters, and Harry swore he had heard Ginny calling him a moron.

Harry’s stomach flipped and - annoyingly - Edward must have caught the gist of his thoughts.

“They’re fine,” Edward said quickly. “Don’t mention them just yet, we have guests arriving.”

Harry felt like rubbish, but it didn’t stop him from silently mocking Edward as he looked up to Jasper for an explanation.

“The Volturi will be here in sixty seconds,” Jasper breathed in Harry’s ear, speaking almost too quickly for Harry to understand. “Everyone is safe, I burned the body of the wizard.”

“Good,” Harry sighed in relief. He winced when he pulled his wand from his pocket and tossed it to Ron. “Can you cast a bunch of shit? I’m trying to avoid prison.”

Hermione narrowed her eyes at Harry and he shook his head. Harry would explain later, just not when the Volturi were arriving. Ron didn’t ask any question, he only aimed Harry’s wand in the woods behind them and began casting a variety of harmless spells to push back the more recent and incredibly illegal ones.

As if there was a sudden and silent cue that only the Cullen family sensed, everyone moved to stand beside and behind Harry and Jasper. Bella was directly behind Harry and she leaned forward to whisper in his ear.

“I saved your butt and you puked on me, again,” she said. “Jerk.”

“Don’t be stupid, I saved your arse,” Harry whispered back. “And you better have my broom and cloak.”

“I have it,” Hermione told Harry. She glared at him from the side of her eye and Harry swallowed hard. “You can have it back when you grow up.”

“So never,” Harry said flatly. “This is… is… immortality-envy, that’s what this is.”

Ron, good friend that he was, chuckled and then fell silent when four figures across the field stepped free of the forest. Harry squinted, but Jasper breathed who it was that approached.

“Jane, Alec, Demetri, Felix.”

“Shit.” Harry assumed that Hermione had healed any injury he had, but it didn’t take away the residual pain from getting his arse kicked by a one-armed vampire. Harry didn’t want to have another fight, but he didn’t fancy being caught off-guard by Jane and her nasty talent with crucio.

Harry subtly reached behind Hermione on his left and wiggled his fingers until Ron passed him back his wand.

“Jane is looking for a man named Macnair,” Edward whispered while the dramatically black-cloaked Volturi approached.

It was nice to finally have a use for Edward.

“Macnair?” Ron looked startled and he stared at Harry with wide eyes. “Mate, what the hell happened here?”

Harry waited until he was certain Jane could hear him as he raised his voice.

“Macnair teamed up with some leech looking for revenge on me,” Harry called loudly, smiling right at Jane. “I killed him, of course. It was even easier than Tom.”

“Shut up,” Hermione moaned. She reached out and grabbed Harry’s wrist hard. “Do you never learn?”

No.

Especially not when there was no reason for Jane to know about Macnair unless she knew about the newborn army already.

The Volturi was just the vampire Ministry of Magic. They were just another branch of government that would bend their own rules to try and achieve their goals. Harry couldn’t imagine what the goal was, but Edward’s quick flick of eyes told him that he must have read it from the minds of the four Volturi members.

Jane and Alec stopped midway through the field and they feigned boredom while Felix and Demetri looked around the field with blatant curiosity.

“How many?” Felix asked, looking to Jasper who had ended up standing at point of their group.

“Thirty-two, plus an unexpected wizard,” Jasper said with his back ramrod straight. Harry didn’t need to be an empath to know that Jasper was furious about the Volturi’s presence but trying to maintain respect.

“How terrible.” Jane’s tone was flat and she eyed Harry with blatant dislike that he was too happy to return. “One would almost wonder if it was personal.”

“That’s the crazy thing about living forever, I reckon I’ll make a lot of enemies that I’ll outlive,” Harry said with a sharp smile.

Demetri laughed loudly with a booming voice similar to Emmett’s. His smile wasn’t faked and Harry felt Jasper actually bristle beside him and shift closer to Harry’s side.

“Aro is never wrong,” he said cheerfully, if vaguely. “You were able to take down thirty-two newborns and a wizard?”

“Who said they were newborns?” Hermione asked, as if she didn’t just tell Harry to shut up.

“And who said Harry did anything alone?” Ron asked. He looked over Hermione’s head to grin at Harry. “Why’s everyone always dead set that you do things alone? You haven’t even brushed your teeth by yourself since you were eleven.”

Harry laughed and shrugged, trying to ignore the Volturi as disrespectfully as possible.

“Remember when you taught me to shave?” Harry asked Ron with a grin. “And Neville thought you were brushing my teeth for some reason?”

Ron threw his head back and laughed while a few of the others did as well.

“Someone should have told Snape that you were paying people to brush your teeth for you,” Ron said wistfully. “Imagine how red his face would have gotten.”

“Another missed opportunity,” Harry sighed.

“Ahem. Boys.” Hermione looked at them both and then nodded toward the Volturi. “Maybe save it.”

“Buzzkill,” Harry whispered. He looked back at the Volturi and tilted his head. “Why are you here anyway? Clearly you already knew about the fight, why show up when it’s over?”

“To see who survived,” Edward said, not bothering to lower his voice. “They were hoping for multiple casualties on our side.”

“How rude,” Harry quipped lightly.

“I was actually interested to see that Isabella is still entirely human,” Felix said with his eyes trained on Bella. “Aro will be interested as well.”

“Aro graced us with a deadline of fall,” Jasper cut in with his voice just on the side of respectful. “We’ve broken no agreement.”

“Indeed,” Alec said. He curled his lip up in Ron and Hermione’s direction before linking hands with his sister. They seemed to communicate silently for a minute while Harry shifted and hid a wince behind a forced yawn.

“It seems as if we’ve arrived too late to assist you,” Jane abruptly said. “A pity. I would have liked to see the carnage.”

“And I would have loved you to see it,” Harry said genuinely.

Harry would have killed her. When Jane looked Harry in the eyes, he hoped she knew that. If Jane had been there, Harry would have made her his number one target.

It didn’t matter that Harry got his arse kicked. In the end, he won and he would have beaten Jane too.

“Then I hope we get the chance again,” Jane said, just to Harry, a private swear that they would eventually play out the hate between them. “Until then…”

Harry curled his lip up and knew that Jasper had to be feeling Harry’s hatred for that vampire. Harry wasn’t unsympathetic, being turned so young and traded by Riddle like cattle was tragic, but Jane was a nasty sort and Harry would look forward to a day where he could destroy her with no repercussions.

It was as if nobody dared to breathe while the Volturi left with their dramatic black cloaks trailing behind them.

Snape could have taken notes on his theatrics from the Volturi. Maybe he did, Harry supposed he had no real way of knowing.

Edward held a finger up for them all to stay quiet while Harry grinned up at Jasper. Jasper wasn’t grinning back, but Harry figured he would once Harry washed his own blood off in the shower.

The army was gone. Everyone had lived. No more Victoria, no more army.

Harry felt very much like celebrating and had the odd feeling that it would be difficult to convince the others to go.

Except for Jake, Jared, and the pack. They were always down for anything that involved a hot meal. If it was a hot and free meal then Harry assumed that Jared would forgive him for that whole silly locking him in a cave situation.

The instant that Edward dropped his finger, Jasper’s mouth was on Harry’s in a fierce and bruising slam. Harry was too happy to respond though and he wrapped his arms around Jasper’s neck and let Jasper take control of the kiss.

Everyone else melted to nothing in the back of Harry’s mind. He curled his fingers in Jasper’s hair, pulling hard, and made an absolutely indecent noise when Jasper’s tongue swept through Harry’s mouth.

“Apparate, now,” Jasper growled in Harry’s ear.

Harry was hungry and sore, but celebration dinners, angry friends, and pain relieving potions could be pushed away in favor of celebration sex.

>
“You are a danger magnet,” Jasper said before Harry could even orient himself to Jasper’s bedroom in the Cullen house.

Harry was going to take them home, but there were still wards in place and Harry didn’t want to wait.

Jasper lifted Harry by the waist and threw him on his bed. Harry laid on his back and stared up at Jasper with too many thoughts to articulate them—

Jasper was covered in blood. Whose? Harry didn’t know and didn’t care.

Jasper had ripped the heads off those vampires without hardly straining himself.

Jasper had only killed the male vampire after he looked up to Harry in the sky.

Jasper was dangerous and Harry had never been so attracted to him.

“You thought you would fight two vampires and a wizard on your own,” Jasper said as he stared hard in Harry’s eyes. He started to unbutton his shirt and Harry whined quietly.

“Leave the shirt on?” Jasper looked down at the white shirt that was covered in blood. When he looked back at Harry there was something smug and dark in his expression.

“Does that turn you on?” Jasper asked as he too slowly stepped toward the bed. “Did you enjoy seeing me take the life of the ones who made you bleed?”

“Yeah,” Harry admitted in a breathless voice. “You’ve got no idea.”

Seeing the way that Jasper threw himself in the fight and seemed to sense where Harry would be aiming spells from the sky made Harry love Jasper all the more. Seeing Jasper kill two vampires with fierce and precise movements made Harry want him more than ever.

“Tell me.” Jasper crawled on the bed until he was above Harry with his hands on either side of Harry’s head. Their bodies weren’t touched and when Harry flexed upward, Jasper smirked and arched away.

“Tell me what you’re feeling,” Jasper commanded in a whisper. His eyes were smoldering and Harry knew that Jasper already knew exactly how Harry felt.

“I’m so turned on I’m going to die,” Harry said in a whining and desperate voice he barely recognized as his own. “Jazz, please…”

“I’ll tell you how I felt…” Jasper lifted his left hand to run it gently down the side of Harry’s face and cup his neck. “When I saw you once again bleeding, broken, clinging to consciousness. I was furious.”

Jasper squeezed just enough to make Harry gasp and flex upward in vain. Jasper said he was furious, but he seemed annoyingly in control as he released Harry’s neck and dropped his face to hover just a centimeter too far.

“And then to see you in the moment you decided to kill that man?” Jasper closed his eyes and shuddered. “My God, Harry… it’s unfair that the wizard was able to see your face of righteous anger as his last image.”

“Jazz…” Harry was prepared to beg. He was aching and Jasper didn’t seem to be in any rush to get himself undressed or to move so Harry could shed his jeans.

“Yes?” Jasper opened his eyes again and his lips curled up in a smirk at the desperate look on Harry’s face. “What do you want, darlin’? What can I do for you?”

“Fuck me,” Harry said as he tried to thrust upward again for any friction at all against his throbbing cock. “Please,” he added when Jasper moved again and Harry thought he might truly die.

It might have been the one death that even Harry couldn’t evade.

“Lovely,” Jasper sighed. He placed a cool finger against Harry’s lips and Harry opened his mouth in invitation. Jasper was the one to let out a soft sound of pleasure when he slid his finger in Harry’s mouth and Harry began sucking on it.

“Bend your knees,” Jasper said, he praised Harry as soon as Harry did it. “You listen so well in bed, darlin’, but you wouldn’t be mine if weren’t constantly flirting with incapacitation, if not death.”

Harry wanted to refute that, inform Jasper that Harry had actually been hiding and he couldn’t help it if nobody anticipated a wizard joining Victoria. But Jasper pushed his finger deeper in Harry’s mouth to keep him quiet.

“You’ll have an excellent excuse for why you didn’t apparate away with Isabella, I’m sure.” Jasper was casual and conversational as he used his free hand to rip Harry’s jeans by the seams.

“Oh.” When Harry’s jeans fell on the bed, Jasper froze. Harry lifted his head to see what Jasper was looking at and he grimaced at the bruises that painted his legs.

They looked bad, but Harry knew that Hermione would have a salve to diminish them once he asked.

“My love…”

Harry was worried that Jasper would leave him to suffer until the bruises were gone, but Jasper only pulled his finger from Harry’s mouth so that he could shift lower on the bed.

Harry pressed down with his feet to raise his hips when he felt Jasper’s cold breath near where Harry wanted his mouth the most.

Except Jasper was apparently going to punish Harry for a fight he didn’t see any choice in participating in.

“Aht…” Jasper lightly pressed down on Harry’s hips, effectively pinning them to the bed. “You’re hurt.”

“I’m not,” Harry complained when Jasper began slowly and softly kissing every inch of every bruise Harry had.

“No, you are,” Jasper said sweetly, too sweetly. “Let me take care of you, as you insist on taking care of everyone else.”

Harry clenched the sheets in his fists and tried to breathe slowly while Jasper decided to punish Harry through kindness. It took him an eternity before he decided that he had kissed every inch of Harry’s body.

When Jasper finally, slowly, pressed a finger inside Harry, Harry was nearly in tears from frustration.

“If nobody else will treat you with the gentleness you deserve, I will,” Jasper said. He worked his finger in slowly and took his time in adding a second finger.

Harry could feel moisture building up in his eyes as Jasper’s cold fingers only brought more heat to his body. Harry was panting, whining, unable to stop the outpouring of pleas.

“Please,” Harry begged, his eyes screwed shut. When Harry tried to thrust his hips, force Jasper to move more quickly, Jasper held him in place with his free hand.

“Please what?” Jasper asked calmly. “Please stay out of a fight? Please don’t get injured? Please apparate to safety when the opportunity presents itself?”

“Please fuck me,” Harry cried desperately. He was loose, he was so hard it ached, and he didn’t have a bloody choice but to fight.

“Of course,” Jasper agreed too easily. Harry didn’t notice that he undressed himself, but he did when Jasper’s long and lean body was suddenly stretched over Harry’s. Jasper pulled his fingers from Harry and slowly replaced them with his cock.

“Aah, aah…” Harry’s breath caught when Jasper entered him with more tender patience than he ever had before.

Harry opened his eyes and had to blink away the tears to see Jasper’s face above him. Jasper bent his head down to touch his forehead to Harry’s.

“You have no idea how it hurts to see you injured,” Jasper breathed. Once he was in Harry as deep as he could go, he began moving his hips in achingly slow and measured thrusts. “You never think,” Jasper said.

Harry grabbed on to Jasper’s shoulders and dug his nails in, knowing he’d never break his skin.

“I do,” Harry protested weakly.

Harry did think. But when there were two vampires and a death eater in front of him, all Harry could think about was the fight.

It never even occurred to Harry to apparate away.

“You do not,” Jasper said, snapping his hips hard in just the way that Harry wanted. Harry cried out and Jasper took a shaking breath before he resumed his slow rocking.

“You attract danger with the way you challenge every being you meet and then you refuse to admit that there are some fights you cannot win.”

“I- can’t- die,” Harry panted. Every time he tried to reach down and grab his cock, Jasper stopped him.

“That does not mean you can’t be hurt,” Jasper said heatedly. His speed increased just after he hit Harry’s prostate and made Harry see stars.

“Admit that you should have fled,” Jasper said in Harry’s ear.

Never.

“Faster,” Harry said, clutching Jasper like a lifeline. “Please, please faster.”

“Not until you see that you had more than one option.”

Harry screamed and pulled Jasper’s hair as hard as he could, wanting Jasper to feel even a fraction of the pain of Harry’s frustration. Jasper just kept up his even pace, heightening the heat that had to be pouring off Harry in thick waves.

When Jasper brushed Harry’s prostate again and immediately slowed instead of sped up, Harry actually sobbed.

“I could have left,” Harry babbled, desperate to come. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry. Please, please.”

“Good boy.” Jasper matched his mouth on the side of Harry’s neck and finally began thrusting hard enough to hit Harry’s prostate every time.

Harry’s orgasm built higher and higher and he held Jasper tighter and tighter while he rose to new heights.

When it crashed down on him, Harry swore he lost consciousness for a solid ten seconds.
>

Jasper wrapped Harry in blankets and held him tightly when Harry shivered and cried through the adrenaline crash.

“I’m sorry,” Harry said in a wrecked whisper that shook almost as much as every muscle in his body did. “I didn’t think about leaving.”

“You never do,” Jasper murmured, his voice warm. “You only think about how you can’t die, not how you can bleed and be broken.”

“I can be healed,” Harry argued even as he tried to snuggle even more firmly in Jasper’s chest.

“Does that somehow keep you from feeling pain in the moment?” Jasper asked.

“Er… no,” Harry said, wincing when he thought about the numerous blows Victoria was able to land on him. It felt a bit like Harry imagined being struck by Grawp would.

“Precisely.” Jasper kissed the top of Harry’s head and Harry tried to will his muscles to unlock and relax.

“I love you more than words could explain,” Jasper whispered a few minutes later when Harry thought he might just take a nap where he was.

“Enough to save me from Hermione?” Harry murmured sleepily.

Jasper chuckled and buried his nose in Harry’s hair.

“Yes, darlin. I love you enough to at least share the wrath of Hermione Weasley by your side.”

That settled it, in Harry’s opinion. No person had ever loved another that much in the history of any universe.

Chapter Text

“You know, I expect certain behavior from Harry.”

Jasper carefully pulled his bedroom door shut, letting Harry sleep through the inevitable explosion, and then turned to the incredibly worried witch who had been waiting for over an hour. It was discomforting, cuddling and comforting his wizard while someone stood impatiently outside their bedroom door, but Jasper couldn’t delay any longer.

Also, Jasper sensed Alice’s return and he was interested to discover the reasoning behind her absurd behavior during the battle. Even from the top of the stairs, Jasper could feel her excitement.

Though Hermione Weasley’s irritation, worry, and frustration was much stronger and more immediate.

Hermione stood with her arms crossed and her eyebrows mashed down, truly put out by Jasper it seemed.

“I expect Harry to not think things through, he’s always been impulsive, but you?” Hermione shook her head, perfecting the ‘I’m both mad and disappointed look that Jasper expected to receive. “I really thought you would think before allowing Harry to be involved in a fight with a bunch of newborn vampires!”

“You thought I wanted to involve Harry?” Jasper asked her, tilting his head in mild confusion. “You thought I wanted to see Harry hurt?”

“I… no.” Hermione sighed and Jasper couldn’t be bothered by her frustration when he alone sensed it came from a place of deep love.

“I’m sorry. I just… why didn’t you send for us?” Hermione asked Jasper. “It would take Harry’s patronus only a second to find us.”

It would have. They had plenty of time in their three weeks of preparation for the battle to alert Harry’s friends. Harry’s friends who bled, who died, who Harry swore would not be involved and Jasper found no reason to dispute.

“I apologize,” Jasper said, meaning it. He stared directly in Hermione’s eyes so she could see the truth. “The next time we find ourselves facing against an army of newborns, we will of course send for you.”

Hermione’s lips twitched, assisted by the peace Jasper was lightly pushing toward her, and it only took a second for her to smile and shake her head.

“You know with Harry that’s a real possibility, right?” she asked. When Jasper turned to make his way downstairs, Hermione fell in step beside him.

“Every time we think that nothing horrible will happen to him - or around him - it does,” Hermione went on. “‘Oh, basilisk in year two? Surely that’s it!’ Then it was an escaped inmate in year three, a death tournament in year four. Even now… Harry’s fighting vampires!”

Jasper hummed in agreement, Harry was a magnet for dangerous situations. Rarely did it seem as if Harry purposefully put himself in the situations, but he took much too long to find a way to escape them either.

Jasper’s entire family, with the addition of Ron, his sister, and Jacob Black, were settled downstairs and Jasper’s attention was drawn immediately to the nervous vampire shaking in place beside Alice. Truthfully, a small part of Jasper’s attention was momentarily diverted by the three silver animals floating around Isabella, who was being held too protectively by Edward.

Most of his attention was on the feral newborn vampire though.

Without her teeth at his throat, Jasper had an opportunity to study her for a fraction of a second. The vampire was young, likely only freshly eighteen, and even with her vivid red eyes, Jasper would wager she once had eyes as dark brown as her long and curly hair. She was a few inches taller than Alice, hardly a feat, and watched Jasper approaching warily.

The vampire had nothing to fear: she was holding the hand of Jasper’s sister, he wouldn’t harm her.

“Jasper.” Alice stepped forward and her smile was blinding with its joy. “I’d like you to meet Bree. Bree, this is Jasper.”

The rest of Jasper’s family was at ease and he assumed that they were introduced while Jasper had been otherwise occupied.

“You smell terrible,” Bree said, her voice plain and her nose crinkled. “Like sweat and —”

“Sex,” Emmett supplied helpfully. Jasper didn’t need to look at his brother to sense his childish glee.

“Emmett,” Esme ran in the room with an oversized platter covered in what smelled like chocolate chip cookies and she paused long with to shake her head as Emmett disapprovingly. “Be polite. We have guests.”

Jasper assumed that the cookies were baked for the ‘guests’. Guest was an informal term to use for Ginevra, Jacob, Ron, and Hermione. Jasper was sure that Harry would call them all his family. And as they were only a few weeks from marriage, the other Cullens should do the same.

“I think they’re practically family, Mom,” Edward told Esme, likely taking the exact thought from Jasper’s mind and delivering it to Esme with a smile when she stopped to aggressively shove cookies at a bemused Isabella.

“Awe, hear that, love?” Ginevra was lounging against where Jacob sprawled on the living room floor. They were beside the chair that held Emmett and Rosalie, the men both watching a hockey match on the television so intently that Jasper could only assume the injured pack mate had been healed.

“Hm?” Jacob hummed distractedly, his gaze following the game.

“Edward said you’re part of the family,” Ginevra told him. She smiled and thanked Esme for the heap of cookies shoved at her.

Jacob only looked away from the game long enough to throw a disgusted look at Edward.

“Jasper’s family. Not yours, leech.”

It wasn’t quite the endorsement that Jacob might have meant it to be, but Jasper appreciated it, nonetheless. Esme smiled softly, more amused than insulted by Jacob’s teasing jest. Alice’s Bree was confused, which was fair. They were an incredibly confusing group.

Nine vampires that were a family instead of a clan. A shapeshifter that smelled like a dog. A human that smelled too good. Two witches, one with the wizard, one with the shapeshifter. Another wizard…

One who was making his way down the staircase with wariness, mild fear, and an endearing amount of wistfulness as Jasper’s name was whispered so quietly that only the vampires could hear the call.

Jasper ran to his wizard immediately, smiling to assure him on sight that all was well. Jasper hadn’t meant to push Harry so hard when they first returned from the battle, Jasper had been… painfully overwhelmed by the injuries Harry had suffered. Even if the majority were immediately healed with magic, there were still bruises, there were still periods of time that Harry suffered when he did not need to.

Harry - thoughtful, impulsive, brave, strong Harry - only looked unsure at Jasper for a single hair-widths length of time. When he saw Jasper’s smile, Harry relaxed.

“I woke up and thought, er… anyway, who all’s here?” Harry asked, leaning in Jasper’s touch when Jasper carded his fingers through Harry’s long curls that were still damp with sweat, clumped with blood.

“Your friends are still here,” Jasper told him. “Edward, Isabella, your cousin, and Ginny as well. There’s also Alice’s new… friend. Come along, darlin’, Esme baked cookies.”

“Alice has a new friend?” Harry asked, his curiosity overriding his mild fear when Jasper mentioned his friends. “How’s Embry? I heard he got hurt, right? Everyone is okay?”

“Embry is either fine or Jacob is taking his death remarkably well,” Jasper said, leading his love downstairs to join the others. “No one else was injured.”

Except for Harry, who was always injured.

Harry cheered at that information and seemed all too happy to…

Jasper sighed, “Harry, darlin’, you’re limping.”

Harry was limping as he walked down the stairs, only pausing after Jasper pointed it out long enough to shoot him a wicked smile that made his eyes sparkle in the way that they were meant to always do.

“Er… well… it’s probably not from the fight,” Harry said, whispering and blushing all the same.

Jasper would have blushed as well if it were a response he were capable of, he was certainly keeping his head ducked when they stepped in the living area of the Cullen house and found that almost every member of his family was either laughing (Emmett, Rosalie, Jacob, and Alice), trying to not laugh (Edward and Carlisle), or ignoring the comment altogether to aggressively shove cookies at Harry the instant he joined them (Esme, of course).

“Harry! Oh, you look so much better!”

Jasper had no idea how deep Esme’s motherly concern and affection went for Harry, who she seemed to firmly see as one of her own. It was on full display for everyone though as Esme shoved a plate of cookies at Harry and then pulled him in for a careful and long-lasting hug, bewildering Jasper’s poor love.

“I am fine,” Harry said, patting Esme on the back awkwardly and looking around the room at the others. Jasper saw him roll his eyes at Isabella, nod his head slightly at his cousin, then blanch when he saw Hermione and Ron. Hermione had her arms crossed, but she was relieved more than annoyed, Ron was… hm… ‘Hungry’ certainly wasn’t an emotion, yet Jasper was sure that was what he was feeling. There was also a sense of what was nearly apathy in him as if Ron Weasley, for one, was not surprised by the fight of the day.

“You are not fine, you are an idiot,” Hermione huffed, striding across the room to take her turn in embracing Harry. Harry’s fear melted away at her hug and Jasper shamelessly listened to their whispered conversation, just as all the others had to do.

“Why would you not tell us?”

“I couldn’t. You know that.”

“No, you’re right, we’re entirely untrained and quite likely to die.”

“Mione…”

“Harry.”

Jasper caught Ron’s grin and assumed that Harry and Hermione would work out their differences at another time. Alice didn’t seem concerned with letting them speak as she shoved her way in the group standing in the doorway of the living room, pulling Bree by the hand.

“Harry! Meet Bree! Bree, this is Jasper’s fiancé, Harry Potter.”

Harry took one look in Bree Tanner’s red eyes and subtly moved himself just between Hermione and Bree in a move that was missed by no one.

“I wouldn’t drink her blood even if I thought anyone here would let me,” Bree assured Harry, her voice only mildly strained by the confusion that only continued to grow within her. “She smells bad, like…”

“Ice?” Jasper said.

“Power?” Alice said.

“Like magic,” Bree said, scrunching her nose. “Magic smells terrible.”

Which explained why Isabella was surrounded by patronuses, a stag joining them without Jasper’s notice.

“And you’re just… a friendly muggle-eating vampire then?” Harry asked slowly, looking from Alice’s jubilant face to Bree’s face where proof of her diet rested in her eyes.

“She’s going to go hunting with me, hate the taste of animal blood, then decide to be one of us anyway,” Alice declared brightly. “You two will be good friends, you know. Bree is talented too.”

“Is she?” Jasper asked, looking around at his family for confirmation. It was Edward who nodded, grinning just enough to keep Jasper at ease. If Bree were dangerous to Harry, Jasper would hope that Edward would say so, as Harry had kept Isabella alive on multiple occasions.

And nearly killed her himself at least once, but Jasper intentionally did not think that.

“May I?” Bree held her hand up close to Harry, an invitation that Harry actually hesitated for a second for ultimately accepting.

They just had a conversation about impulsivity and self-preservation.

“Ooh.” Harry sighed and everyone watched as his taut muscles relaxed, his emotions went surprised and pleased. Jasper felt himself becoming stressed at the lack of information on what was happening and Alice and Edward filled him in quickly.

“She’s a human pain reliever,” Alice chirped, staring at Bree Tanner with adoration.

“She’s able to minimize pain in a human, or wizard, apparently, with her touch,” Edward explained more concisely. “But watch when she stops contact…”

Bree dropped Harry’s hand, stepped backward away from him, and Harry’s shoulders stiffened, though the stubborn man showed no other sign of whatever pain Bree had relieved him from.

“Brilliant!” Harry said, smiling brightly at Bree as if they were the new best of friends. Rosalie must have noticed it as well because there was an amusing and mild flash of jealousy from her when Bree tentatively returned Harry’s smile.

“Were you a healer of some sort before you were changed?” Hermione asked Bree at once. “I read that vampiric gifts sometimes reflect a human’s strongest trait. You must have been very comforting for people.”

“And she can tell you about it over dinner,” Esme interrupted, rejoining them from the kitchen she had slipped way to and staring at them all with love. “I don’t know what everyone likes, but Alice said I was meant to order Chinese for Harry?”

“Yes!” Harry cried, echoed by Jacob. The cousins did an odd air fist-bump move while Ginevra stood up with a roll of her eyes.

“Boys,” Ginevra and Hermione said under their breath, quite nearly in tangent.

Alice and Bree turned down dinner to go hunting together after Edward told Bree that he could answer any questions anyone had about her. Bree did not seem mollified by that and instead made Edward promise not to share her information without her around, a demand that clearly raised her in Harry’s esteem as he was beaming at her. Rosalie and Emmett asked to join them on their hunt, likely an excuse for Rosalie to get away from Jacob’s smell, and Alice very firmly told them no.

Jasper politely didn’t comment on the less than friendly emotions that Alice was feeling. If she wanted to go… hunting… with her… friend… then Jasper was pleased for her. Though, as Ginevra immediately brought up over dinner, Charles Weasley would be unhappy.

“Damn. Charlie’s going to cry,” Ginevra declared, watching Alice and Bree leave out the front door just before Rosalie and Emmett ran out the back door together.

“My dad?” Isabella asked, checking inside white cardboard containers of the Chinese food that Harry loved so much and passing them along as she did. “Why?”

It was strange for Jasper to be sharing his family’s dining room table with so many people who ate human food. Typically, Harry and Isabella were the only two. But with Jacob, Ginevra, Ron, and Hermione enjoying dinner together, the four vampires left in the house were the minority. Carlisle and Esme were unbothered by it, they were both so content by the image of a family dinner that didn’t involve blood that Jasper thought they had truly deserved ending up with such a large family.

“Not your dad, our brother,” Ron said, happily dumping rice and chicken on his plate before doing the same for Hermione. “I reckon he got a bit attached to Alice.”

“Charlie was dating Alice?!” Harry cried, earning eight looks of surprise and a patiently amused one from Jasper.

It was always Harry who was the last to pick up on relationships. As if the weekends Alice used his floo to get to Romania were for business expenditures.

“What’s it like in your head?” Ginevra asked Harry with some light-hearted condescension in her smile. “Nice and empty up there? Loads of room to think about driving fast cars and getting laid?”

Harry was embarrassed by the light laughs that Ginevra’s jest caused, but he must have been feeling much better as he settled in to insult Ginevra right back.

“No, in between fighting off wizards who didn’t die in the war,” Harry shot a significant look to Ron, who frowned in puzzlement, “I also think about the most beautiful poem… ‘His eyes were as green as fresh pickled toad…’”

Ron roared with laughter and Edward smiled at whatever thought the boys were sharing that had Ginevra howling about being eleven and daft. Jacob was mildly jealous though he hid it quite well.

“Speaking of fighting off wizards who didn’t die in a war…” Hermione had noodles wrapped around the chopsticks she used with ease and paused them on their way to her mouth to stare hard across the table at Harry. “Do tell us what exactly happened today.”

“Gladly,” Harry said. “So, there we were, minding our business and being perfectly safe. I was winning in poker even…”

Jasper and the others listened as Harry outlined what happened on the mountain before Jasper’s arrival. Isabella stayed quiet, only cutting in once to correct Harry.

“You were not holding your own,” Isabella scoffed when Harry said just that. “Victoria was beating you to death with her one arm.”

“Aw, Harry, no,” Jacob groaned, feigning embarrassment as he covered his face. “You got beat up by a girl with one arm? The guys aren’t going to let you forget it, dude.”

“She got a few hits in,” Harry said ruefully, as if his face were not still bruised and his hair was not coated in his own blood. It was disgusting, actually. Jasper had to focus hard on the recount of the battle to not become distracted by the image that Harry made as the strongest person Jasper had ever known.  

“But Macnair?” Ron asked, focusing on the wizard that Victoria recruited to her cause. “Only you could get a wizard like Macnair to partner up with a bloody vampire, no offense,” he hastily added with a grin for Esme specifically. Esme didn’t hesitate to smile back, relaxing Ron and his momentary concern.

“It’s not that shocking if you think about it,” Hermione said thoughtfully. She had been rather upset during Harry’s tale, likely by the same concerns Jasper was, but she seemed more at ease once Harry finished off with his anticlimactic statement that Jasper killed Victoria and Riley, Harry killed Macnair.

“Macnair probably knew that vampires are, at a minimum, much physically stronger than we are and instead of making himself an enemy of them, he must have seen them as a community to exploit.” Hermione sniffed disdainfully. “It’s very Voldemort of him to claim to hate ‘creatures’ only when the need suits him.”

“RIP,” Harry quipped, unbothered. “I’m surprised MACUSA didn’t show up, really. The way they made it sound, they’ve got me on some ‘possible future Dark Lord’ watch list.”

“They really did,” Isabella agreed. She had finished eating during Harry’s story and had her head relaxed on Edward’s shoulder, her eyelids drooping with fatigue. “Maybe they were hoping you would die? Like Jane clearly was?”

“Maybe,” Harry agreed, too cheered by the thought. “You’d think I was a right arse to everyone, the way they’re always rooting for my death.”

“You are an arse,” Hermione deadpanned. “But in this instance I think it’s just another example of how the governing bodies for the magical population don’t care nearly enough about conflicts that don’t directly involve wizards.”

“Perhaps they leave the governing of vampires to the Volturi?” Carlisle suggested, heavily interested in Hermione’s thoughts on the government. “It would explain their absence even with a wizard involved in the fight.”

Hermione and Carlisle began discussing various facets of governing bodies in what was both an interesting conversation and one that Jasper ignored as he was asked by Harry to fill him in on what he had missed during the battle.

“It didn’t last long on our part,” Jasper promised him. “Embry was hurt at the end, but no one else sustained any injuries that I am aware of.”

“And Embry is fine now,” Ginevra said, quite smugly. “I made him say that I was more powerful than you before I would heal him though. Oh, Bella,” Ginevra turned to Isabella, forcing the poor girl into opening her eyes back up. “Your dad is staying at Billy’s tonight. I figured you could use a night to shag Edward--”

Harry laughed so hard while Isabella turned a furious shade of red that had Jasper immediately uncomfortable and mentally counting the days until her blood no longer flowed.

“—and someone needed to keep an eye on him tonight anyway,” Ginevra went on, only the impish grin proof of her purposefully poking at Isabella and Edward’s private life… or lack thereof.

“Wait! Is Charlie okay?” Harry asked suddenly, no longer laughing. “Why’s someone have to keep an eye on him?”

Hermione paused her debate with Carlisle to sigh when Ron pointed at her in a silent explanation. Jasper didn’t think that Hermione would harm Isabella’s father, so he too turned to her for an explanation.

“Billy floo-called Ginny and didn’t bother telling us that Bella’s dad was with him,” Hermione said irritably. “So we just flooed over, as it sounded like an emergency, and Charlie saw us.”

Jasper raised his eyebrows at the blatant breach at what seemed to be the most impo—

“YES!” Harry jumped from his seat and threw a dramatic and overjoyed fist in the air, beaming at Hermione and Isabella in equal amounts.

Perhaps he was concussed? Jasper should watch him when he went to sleep… even if he would revive in the morning, dying in his sleep would only serve to make them both paranoid for the eternity they had.

“Bella, that means Charlie can know everything now!” Harry gushed, remaining on his feet and smiling hard at everyone. He was so happy and relieved that he even smiled at Edward, as if he had not been mocking and bemoaning his proposal to Isabelle just that morning.

“No, he cannot,” Hermione cut in, shaking her head with exasperation at Harry. “Harry, I had to obliviate him, obviously.”

As happy as Harry had just been, it crashed immediately. The temperature in the room seemed to drop half a degree as Harry’s smile slipped away and he turned to Hermione with a look of nearly comical betrayal in his stunned eyes.

“Wait! My dad is okay, right?” Isabella asked while Harry seemed to struggle to find words. Jasper felt the tension mounting the longer Harry stared at Hermione and he once again despised the promise he once made to Harry to not influence his emotions.

It was going to be an argument, Jasper was certain of it. Harry adored Isabella’s father, the man had earned himself a spot in Harry’s heart with his fondness of Teddy, his refusal to ticket Harry, and the way that Charlie Swan seemed to be fathering Harry, in his own peculiar and polite way. They had shared fishing trips, dinners together, and Jasper was confident that the infopackets that Harry occasionally received in the mail about local colleges, Pagan places of worship, and AA meetings all carried Charlie’s scent on them.

“He’s fine,” Hermione assured Isabella without looking away from Harry. “It happens sometimes. When we make a mistake, we correct it.”

It was that last comment that broke Harry of his stunned silence, sending Jasper to his feet at the deep wave of anger that Harry sent out. Harry was impulsive, it would not be entirely out of character for Harry to lash out at Hermione, but he would regret it later if he did.

“Darlin’, lets talk later,” Jasper breathed, wrapping one arm around Harry’s waist and trying to control a thunderstorm. “It’s been a long day.”

Controlling the weather would have been more effective as Harry seemed not to hear Jasper’s gentle plea at all.

“You had no right!” Harry howled at Hermione, absolutely furious. “Who gave you permission to just- just—”

“Just erase the memory of magic that I accidentally left?” Hermione asked him, her voice cold and emotions teetering on indignantly angry. There were tears forming in her eyes, ones that were visible to Jasper, the other vampires, an uncomfortable Jacob, and not Harry. Jasper locked his arm in front of Harry when Hermione stood up. Ron slowly stood up as well with the look of a man who would rather be anywhere but where he was.

“Charlie could have known everything now!” Harry shouted. “It would have been perfect!”

“You are reckless and ON PROBATION!” Hermione screamed. “YOU ARE ACTING AS IF YOU’RE INVINCIBLE, AS IF THERE AREN’T WORSE THINGS THAN DEATH! THERE ARE LAWS, HARRY! RULES! MEANT FOR YOUR SAFETY!”

“NEWSFLASH, HERMIONE!” Harry screamed right back, straining against the arm Jasper had in front of him, the mirror to the hold Ron had on his wife.

“EVERYTHING IS WORSE THAN DEATH!” Harry shouted. “DO YOU THINK I’M SCARED OF PRISON IF BELLA’S DAD FOUND OUT I’M A WIZARD? IT’S NOT LIKE I DON’T HAVE PLENTY OF TIME TO BREAK OUT IF I HAVE TO!”

Jasper could not laugh, would not. Jasper kept his face blank even if his wizard was amusing even in the middle of a terrible fight with one of his closest friends.

“GREAT!” Hermione’s voice went shrill, a verbal sign of the agitation that was rushing from her in terrible thick waves. “I’LL BE SURE TO TELL TEDDY THAT! WHEN YOU’RE IN PRISON FOR FLAUNTING THE LAWS AND FIGHTING VAMPIRES, RON AND I WILL TAKE TEDDY SO NO ONE SHOVES HIM IN A CUPBOARD!”

At once, it went cold in the room. It was unnaturally, painfully, frigid. Harry stopped fighting Jasper; he went entirely still. Hermione made a sound that was half-gasp, half-cry, and Ron closed his eyes in horror.

Harry took a deep emotional downturn and Jasper thought it - Jasper nearly said it - but it was Ginevra who spoke up.

“Time to go,” Ginevra said, standing up and pulling Jacob to his feet as well. Hermione’s mouth opened and closed and she reached out for Harry, but Ginevra blocked her and shook her head.

“Everyone needs to cool off,” she told Hermione in a whisper. “Let Jasper take care of Harry, okay?”

“No, Harry, I didn’t mean…”

“Mate, we love you,” Ron interrupted, shaking his head at Hermione not in a scolding way but a pleading way. “We’ll talk tomorrow.”

Harry said nothing when Ron and Hermione apparated away. Harry said nothing when Ginevra and Jacob left, the latter having embraced Harry as a brother before leaving.

Jasper was as fond of Hermione Weasley as he was rightfully wary of her, as she had threatened his existence multiple times in the past, but for the rest of the night he was truly angry with her.

Carlisle and Esme tried to convince Harry to stay the night at the Cullen home, but Harry insisted in as few words as possible that he wanted to go home. Jasper was told to wait two minutes before joining him, as Harry needed to remove the wards that were blocking Jasper from their home.

When Harry abruptly apparated away, Jasper became the focus of four looks of pity.

“That was… fun,” Isabella said, grimacing when Harry disappeared. “Do you want me to come over tonight, Jasper? That wasn’t fair of Hermione to say. We all know Harry loves Teddy.”

“Harry takes excellent care of Teddy,” Esme agreed quickly, grasping both of Jasper’s hands as if he were the one who needed comforting. “We all know he’s a wonderful father.”

“Hermione didn’t mean to say that, but she is scared that Harry’s going to end up in prison,” Edward added. “I think that she’s at least as upset as Harry is right now.”

“And Harry’s thoughts?” Jasper asked, breaking his own personal rule to never try and invade Harry’s privacy by asking Edward what his thoughts were.

Edward frowned and his arm around Isabella tightened for a moment.

“Not great,” Edward said flatly. “I’d run fast.”

Truly excellent advice that Jasper didn’t need a mindreader of a brother to deduce on his own.

Jasper did run home as quickly as he could, sticking to the forests and planning his speech to Harry in his head as he ran. It was unfair of Hermione to attack Harry’s devotion to Teddy, even if there had been a grain of truth in her words. Harry was impulsive to a nearly supernatural level. If Harry were a vampire, his gift would somehow include that, Jasper was sure. But if there was anyone that Harry thought of consistently, it was his godson.

And if Jasper reminded Harry that the threat of harm was gone and they could fetch Teddy first thing in the morning, perhaps it would prevent what Jasper worried would be a night of incredibly heavy drinking. If Jasper were truly lucky, Harry would sleep, Andromeda Tonks would give him the potion that removed bruises from skin along with Teddy in the morning. Then they could smooth away the hurt feelings that the argument between Harry and Hermione brought up and in twenty-six days Harry and Jasper would be married with minimal problems in the meantime.

A foolish hope, one that Jasper recognized as he neared the home he shared with Harry and could hear glass breaking before he even reached the door.

Jasper could envision the fits of anger, of hurt, that used to keep Harry awake and haunted. Jasper could recall finding their home in disarray many times, more so before he moved in. Harry would drink himself to a stupor and then destroy his belongings before remorsefully repairing it all the next morning with a hangover.

It seemed as if Harry had chosen a new course though…

Jasper breezed through the front door, no longer magically prevented from entering the house, and froze when he found Harry sitting at the kitchen counter. Harry had his wand out, but he was destroying nothing. The room reeked of alcohol, but there wasn’t a drop of it near Harry.

Harry sat at the counter with his emotions in utter turmoil as he floated every bottle of liquor he had out of quite the variety of hiding places, crashing them in the sink in explosions of glass and alcohol.

“Darlin’…” Jasper approached Harry carefully, unsure what the change in behavior indicated outside of Hermione’s words cutting Harry deeply.

“I’m fine,” Harry said, his voice an eery calm to the devastation that it masked. “Teddy’ll be home tomorrow, I’m just cleaning up.”

Jasper sat beside Harry, a hand on his side, and said nothing as he watched Harry destroy every bottle of liquor in the house. When Harry finished, Jasper said nothing when Harry flicked his wand, causing the glass to disappear from the sink before he washed away all the evidence down the drain with an outpour of water.

“Fine,” Harry repeated, a single heartbreaking tear trailing down his cheek. “I’m fine.”

Chapter Text

May 27

Harry grinned while Teddy squealed with happiness on the swings.

Teddy loved the swings, even if he was sadly starting to outgrow the baby swing. He still fit, but he was going to be tall, like Remus had been, and even at two Harry could see that he was nearly tall enough to be pushed on the swing for older kids. That swing didn’t have a safety seat though, it was just the seat by itself, and Harry wasn’t in a rush to move Teddy over.

Harry wasn’t in a rush for anything, actually.

When Harry went to Andy’s house to fetch Teddy the morning before, it just clicked in Harry’s mind that Hermione had been right. Harry had been rash and reckless, not a proper parent to Teddy at all. How hurt had Harry been when he found out that he could have had a godfather if he hadn’t raced after Pettigrew when Harry was a baby? Was it not bad enough that a week after Teddy was born, Harry broke into Gringotts? The war was over, the newborn army of vampires was finished, and Hermione was right: Harry needed to grow up. If not for himself, then for Teddy.

It wasn’t so bad, so far. Harry brought Teddy home and spent a quiet day with him working on his letters and numbers. They played with Teddy’s toys, ignored Hermione’s many messages, and Harry even cooked dinner. Harry gave Teddy a bath and their entire day had been the peaceful sort of quiet that used to drive Harry a bit barmy. He made himself appreciate it though, quiet days were safe days for Teddy.

When they woke up that morning and saw the sunshine, Harry was relieved that it meant they could go to the park after lunch. The playground was busier than it had been last summer before the remodel that the Police Department paid for, but that was good. That meant that Teddy could play with other kids – something normal children did all the time – and Harry could subtly watch the other parents. It seemed so easy for them… their first instincts were always on their child. Harry didn’t think he neglected Teddy, he didn’t, right?, but he wasn’t as quick to catch him when he tripped and Harry didn’t even have tissues for a snotty nose in the small bag sitting in Teddy’s red wagon.

But Harry wasn’t in prison and he was going to do better, for Teddy.

“A B C D E F G…” Harry sang to Teddy while he pulled him in the wagon to their next stop of the day. Harry had wanted to check on Charlie anyway, see for himself that there weren’t any complications from Hermione bloody obliviating- rightfully obliviating a muggle to prevent breaking the law. It was the smart and sensible thing to do, the thing that kept MACUSA minimally involved in Harry’s life (outside of the monthly probation meetings he still had) and it kept Teddy in a stable environment with a pseudo-parent who wasn’t going to prison.

Harry still wanted to check on Charlie, let Teddy see someone that Harry thought was probably in his top ten list of favorite people, and- and ask about getting a job. A job was another thing that Harry should have been worrying about before. It was stupid to think that Harry could just… faff about… doing nothing but letting Rosalie invest his money and not contribute to society in any way. If Harry had a job, then maybe he wouldn’t be so reckless because he wouldn’t be bored. If Harry filled his time with a routine – work, Teddy, Jasper. Contribute to society, be a parent, be a partner – then there wouldn’t be time to be reckless and stupid.

There wouldn’t be time to race Jasper on their motorcycles, drink beer with Jacob and the La Push guys at bonfire parties, or act like an immature fifteen-year-old anymore. Harry was technically nineteen, nearly twenty. Even if he died at seventeen, he could be – would make himself be – just as mature as Ron and Hermione both were.

It was long past time for Harry to grow up… mentally, if he couldn’t do it physically.

Charlie answered the door of his house only a minute after Harry knocked, Teddy knocking as well from Harry’s hip. Charlie looked just the same as always and he cracked a big smile when Teddy immediately said his name.

“Chawwie!” Teddy waved fat fists at Charlie in an attempt to get him to hold him. “Home!”

“It’s been too long, Bug.” Charlie snagged Teddy from Harry’s hold and lightly tossed him in the air before settling him on his own hip and leading them inside. “How many suckers have you had today?”

“Zero,” Harry answered for Teddy, closing the door and catching sight of Bella’s favorite blue jacket hanging on the hook. Harry didn’t see her truck, and it would be difficult to miss, but he thought she must be home if her jacket was there. “Where’s Bella?”

“Alice and some girl picked her up earlier,” Charlie said vaguely, already headed to his kitchen probably to get Teddy a sucker. “I thought they were dress shopping? I don’t know, some girl thing.”

That sounded unlikely, knowing how much Bella hated shopping. But it sounded as if Alice and Bree were with her which meant her truck was…

“Where’s the truck?” Harry asked, mostly being nosy. He was also testing Charlie’s memory some, checking that he wasn’t going to suffer any for Hermione’s perfectly reasonable obliviation.

“Edward took it for a tune up,” Charlie grumbled. Since that sounded almost as likely as Bella willingly going dress shopping with Alice and Bree, Harry assumed that Edward and Bella were doing something entirely different.

Charlie was probably fine though, he didn’t seem mentally disoriented anyway. His arms were steady as he sat Teddy on the kitchen counter by the stove in the Swans tiny kitchen before he grabbed a jar filled with suckers from the cabinet above the stove. “Alright, Bug, you can have two.”

Teddy didn’t hesitate before taking the jar and beginning to sift through it, carefully searching for whatever color or flavor he wanted. Since Charlie didn’t seem any worse for Hermione’s not-at-all-meddling, Harry hopped up on the kitchen counter behind him and carefully brought up an old offer.

“I was thinking… maybe I would be interested in applying to the department… if you think there’s still an opening,” Harry said slowly, watching Teddy while he said it. It was for Teddy that Harry was doing something he very much didn’t want to do. It was good to show Teddy what normal, rational, safe parents did.

Harry didn’t have that type of role model when he had been a child – as Uncle Vernon was absolutely not a safe parent – but Harry didn’t want Teddy to end up as scarred and messed up as Harry was. Harry wanted Teddy to be happy and loved and just all the things he would have been if Remus and Tonks were there to raise him.

They trusted Harry, Harry had to make himself worthy of that trust somehow.

“You want to join the force?” Charlie asked. He kept a hand on Teddy while he looked at Harry, even his absent thoughts were focused on keeping Teddy safe.

Charlie was a great dad, a great person in general. Harry thought that Bella was so bloody lucky to have him… it hurt that they would both lose him in a few months when Bella was changed and Charlie couldn’t see his daughter again. If Charlie knew about magic-

No. Harry had to stop thinking that. Hermione did the right thing, that was what he kept reminding himself. Hermione was right to make sure the law wasn’t broken and she was right to remind Harry what happened when godfathers didn’t think more about their kid than of reckless and stupid decisions.

Harry loved Sirius, he did.

Harry didn’t want to be Sirius.

If Harry had to choose a parent to emulate, it would be Charlie.

“Yeah, I thought… might as well.” Harry shrugged and tried to sound more enthusiastic when he saw Charlie’s sharp eyes narrowing at his lackluster response. “I need a job, I need to be more stable, for Teddy, y’know?”

“Hm.” Charlie hummed and seemed to be seeing a lot more than Harry was saying. “And that starts with getting a job you don’t want?”

“I don’t not want it,” Harry said, confusing himself some with his own defense. Harry smiled, trying to smooth away the sticky moment. “I’m done with high school, I’m getting married soon, I have a toddler. I need to do grow up.”

Hermione said it, everyone else probably thought it. Harry needed to stop trying to find little ways to stay alive – little thrills of adrenaline to make eternity not seem so bleak – and he needed to just focus on raising the only child he’d ever get… a thought that made Harry’s heart clench and his muscles to work twice as hard to hold his smile in place.

“Hold that thought,” Charlie told Harry. Teddy had finally chosen not two suckers, but three, and Charlie winked at him before replacing the jar in the cabinet and helping Teddy down on the floor. When Teddy made a beeline for the sitting room where Charlie kept a tote of toys for him, Harry and Charlie followed.

“I joined the force right out of high school,” Charlie told Harry evenly. Teddy had found his toys and made himself busy with blocks in one hand and three suckers in the other while Charlie leaned in the doorway of the room to watch. Harry leaned on the other side of the wide doorway, mimicking Charlie’s pose some.

“I married Bella’s mom, became a cop, a husband, and a father in the same year,” Charlie went on, his eyes locked on Teddy. “I sold my Corvette, bought a damn van, something safe for kids.”

Harry couldn’t even force himself to smile anymore. Sell his car? His Lamborghini? Harry adored that car. It was beautiful and the engine purred so perfectly when Harry- when Harry drove it over one ten… never with Teddy in the car, but… but that was another thing that Harry shouldn’t do. It was reckless and irresponsible and his driving had nearly killed Bella once and why didn’t he just grow up?!

“You know what happened?” Charlie glanced at Harry quickly, thankfully not lingering so Harry wasn’t pressured to look as if he were happy about any of it.

“What?” Harry asked when Charlie seemed to be waiting for a response. Harry knew he sounded despondent; he didn’t want to. It was just daunting to think of all the ways that Harry was doing everything wrong.

“I got divorced. Renee took my girl to Arizona. And I drove that van in the ocean.”

Harry walked home slowly a few hours later. Teddy was curled up in the wagon, his face sticky with the blue candy from the suckers, his eyes drooping sleepily. Charlie had offered to let Teddy nap there, but Harry was hoping Jasper would watch him for a couple of hours so Harry could go to Seattle by himself.

Even if Charlie didn’t let Harry get a job application, telling him to ask again in a month if he still wanted it, Harry was still going to try and right all his wrongs that day. Maybe he wouldn’t get a job – it would be silly if they were moving that fall after Bella was changed anyway – but Harry could go get a more Teddy-centered vehicle. It would have to be a safe one, one that didn’t fly with the slightest pressure of Harry’s foot. They had some with little tellies in them, Harry had seen them in commercials when he watched TV with Jacob or Emmett, Teddy would love that.

Harry would hate driving around a bloody minivan, but he probably wouldn’t drive it in an ocean like Charlie claimed to have done his.

“Jazz?” Harry opened the front door, juggling to carry in Teddy’s nappy bag and the tired toddler in his arms. Jasper had been home when Harry left earlier, hovering and watching Harry too carefully.

Harry was fine. He had been an idiot and he just wanted to change. It didn’t feel great hearing from Hermione how Harry had his priorities all screwed up, but it was better to hear it before he had done something to hurt Teddy. Jasper didn’t need to act worried, Harry was doing exactly what Jasper had begged him to do and Hermione had said he never did: Harry was thinking everything through with careful precision. Harry wasn’t prioritizing his own safety, as Jasper had asked him to do, but Teddy’s safety and happiness.

If it meant that Harry wasn’t exactly happy, that was just a sacrifice all parents probably made.

Harry was carrying Teddy to his bedroom to change him and lay him down when he stopped just in the living room, blinking at the person sitting on his couch.

Not Jasper, but Hermione.

Hermione sat on the edge of the couch that she had once helped Harry choose and looked wretched. Her eyes were swollen and her hair was frazzled, proof enough that Harry wasn’t the only one hurt by their brief fight.

“Hi,” Hermione said weakly. “Can we talk?”

Harry didn’t sigh, that would have been immature. Hermione did the right thing, said the right thing. Hermione made sure the law wasn’t broken and pushed Harry on the path he should have been on two years ago.

“Alright then,” Harry said, proud of himself for sounding so calm. He hefted Teddy in his arms and tilted his head to Teddy’s bedroom door. “Give me just a few to lay him down.”

And if Harry used that time to give himself a pep talk, silently curse at Jasper for leaving him to deal with Hermione alone, and to chastise himself for wishing he could have a drink then that was his own business. As long as Harry also got Teddy down for a nap in clean clothes and his little stuffed lion wrapped up in his arms then nobody could claim Harry wasn’t doing his job.

Hermione was still on the couch when Harry joined her, silently adding a muffling charm to Teddy’s door as he closed it. It wasn’t uncommon for Harry to do so; he never knew when Jacob or Jared would want to have an Xbox tournament or Bella would stop by with gossip that would make Harry laugh too loudly. Harry didn’t usually put the charm up because he was worried he was going to be screamed at again, but Harry didn’t want Teddy to wake up if it did happen.

“Jasper is picking up the robes and tuxedos with Ron,” Hermione said as Harry settled in his recliner, hopefully appearing perfectly at ease.

“Oh, good,” Harry said. The wedding was approaching quickly and there were still plenty of things on the to-do list that Alice gave Harry. Harry planned to mark off most of his jobs in the next few days, mostly picking up the portkeys and delivering them all to the many different people who would be traveling to Hogwarts for the event. A lot of Harry’s friends and Jasper’s family were going two days early, to explore the castle that Professor McGonagall was kindly letting them use. Harry was also supposed to get the final count on that… something he would do the next day.

It was uncomfortable with Hermione for a long minute in a way that it wasn’t usually. Harry looked at his feet, Hermione looked at her feet. Neither of them said anything and Harry wished she would leave. Harry loved her, but he was tired, he didn’t need yelled at again, and he didn’t want to have –

“Harry, I’m so sorry.”

Oh.

Harry wasn’t expecting that.

“Why?” Harry looked over at Hermione and he shrugged. “You were right.”

“No, Harry, I wasn’t.” Hermione scooted over to the side of the couch that was closer to Harry and one of her hands twitched, though she kept them in her lap. “You’re not – Harry, you’re just… you are reckless, and I do worry for you, but it isn’t your fault.”

That was a new one.

Harry lifted an eyebrow not just at Hermione saying she wasn’t right about something (an uncharitable thought that he felt guilty for as soon as he thought it) but at her saying that Harry’s immaturity and recklessness wasn’t his fault.

“I mean… I’m not sure I can blame anyone else,” Harry said with a bitter grin. “There are no wands to my head, just me being an idiot all on my own.”

“That’s just it though, it’s just you,” Hermione said, stressing the insult. Harry bristled and Hermione immediately backtracked.

“I don’t mean it like that,” she said quickly. “I just mean, it’s you, Harry. Your brain, you see? You aren’t aging.”

It was insult after insult, apparently.

“I’m aware,” Harry said, a bit coolly.

Hermione groaned and ran her hands through her hair, making the curls frizz out that much worse.

“That is not meant to be rude,” she said. She took a deep breath and then reached out to place her hand on Harry’s where it rested on the armrest of the chair. Harry defrosted some at the genuine look in Hermione’s brown eyes, the one that said she truly wasn’t trying to hurt him.

“Harry, I love you, you know that,” Hermione said emphatically. “You are my family. I get upset because I’m worried about you. I just think that maybe you don’t do great at thinking about consequences but I think that part of it is that your brain is just… well… sort of stuck at seventeen.”

“I don’t…” Harry frowned with his eyebrows pinched together, confused. “What?”

“You’re the same height as you’ve always been,” Hermione said, the ‘wrongly sorted’ light beginning to shine on her face. “It’s hard to be certain, since you’re utterly unique as far as my research can tell, but it all makes sense!”

Harry didn’t think it made any sense at all, but he summoned himself and Hermione both a drink while she began filling him in on what sounded like months of research in the physical makeup of the master of death. Water wasn’t what Harry wanted, but it was the only real drink left in the house. It certainly didn’t make any of the information Hermione talked about at rapid fire speed – prefrontal cortexes and brain development stunted by hormonal imbalances and food insecurities in childhood – any easier to digest, but Harry did pick up the general idea of what Hermione spent nearly forty minutes straight telling him.

“You think I’m immature because my brain wasn’t fully developed when I died?” Harry asked, working hard to hide his hurt. It wasn’t hurt at Hermione, it was just… Harry was seventeen and scrawny and short and had an underdeveloped brain… forever?

Harry didn’t even want the damned Hallows.

“I think that it’s hard for you to think of consequences and make long-term plans because of the stage of your mental development at the time of your death, yes,” Hermione said, very slowly and with obvious care. “It’s a bit fascinating, researching your physiology.”

“Yeah, thrilling,” Harry said drily. “And you were just out of normal things to research and thought ‘I wonder what’s wrong with Harry’s brain?’”

“There is nothing wrong with your brain,” Hermione said, squeezing Harry’s hand hard. “Harry, you’re kind and thoughtful. You love with your whole heart and you’re an excellent leader, a true friend, and the best father that Teddy could hope to have. You’re also reckless and impulsive, but,” Hermione grinned, somewhat nervously, “at least you can blame those traits on Dumbledore.”

Harry blinked. That… huh.

It was Dumbledore’s fault for sending Harry on a mission without knowing what the consequences could be when Harry completed it. If Harry was forever seventeen, forever short, forever with an underdeveloped brain and no hope of ever joining his family in the afterlife… it would be nice to at least blame Dumbledore for Harry’s wrong choices.

“You’re right,” Harry said, smiling back at Hermione for the first time. “Fuck Dumbledore.”

Hermione stared very solemnly at Harry as she echoed him, “Fuck Dumbledore,” before they broke out in quiet and childish laughter. It was laughter at themselves for the fight, for the ease of which it was repaired. Harry shouldn’t have screamed at Hermione for obliviating Charlie, not when Harry knew that Hermione of all people would never have done it lightly. Hermione shouldn’t have screamed about the cupboard in front of everyone. They had just been friends for too long – been through an entire childhood and war together – to not end up laughing as they squeezed each others hands in the living room.

Plus, Hermione was Harry’s best man in Harry’s wedding next month. It would be awkward to hold a grudge while she stood beside him at the event.

“I was thinking about going and getting a new car today,” Harry told Hermione when their silly laughter faded and it felt much more comfortable between them. “I didn’t wreck mine,” he said before Hermione could ask. “I just… they have some with little tellies in the back, I thought Teddy might like that.”

“Until he gets excited about a movie and tries to change his appearance and fries the electrical system,” Hermione pointed out logically. Harry hadn’t actually considered that…

Dumbledore’s fault.

“Maybe not then,” Harry frowned. It sounded like a responsible choice, but Harry himself still accidentally ruined his electronics when he did things like used his phone and his wand at the same time. He couldn’t exactly expect Teddy to control himself at only two.

“Plus you love your car,” Hermione said matter-of-factly. “It’s a pretty car and it makes you smile. Why replace it?”

When Harry muttered his reasoning about trying to make some changes to make Teddy’s childhood better, show him that he truly was Harry’s first priority, Hermione sighed.

“Harry, everyone knows that Teddy is your first priority,” she said kindly. “I didn’t mean to imply he wasn’t, just that I wish you would think of him before you do things like not asking for as much help as you can when an army of vampires are attacking you.”

“I did think of him,” Harry defended himself. “I sent him to Andy, I even sent all my photos of him to Kreacher -” Harry needed to get those back actually “– and I made sure that he wasn’t anywhere near, that none of them even knew he existed. I wouldn’t… Hermione, I would never let Teddy be at risk in a bloody war, you- you do know that, right?”

Hermione had to know that. ‘Underdeveloped brain’ or not, Harry couldn’t stand it if someone who had known him for nearly half their lives didn’t know that Harry had protected Teddy before he did anything else in that fight.

Hermione stared at Harry for a long moment, staring hard in his eyes as if she were searching for something, before she smiled softly and nodded her head.

“I do know that,” she said. “And that’s why… here.”

Hermione let go of Harry’s hand long enough to grab a slim potion bottle from the front pocket of the sweater she wore. Hermione held it out to Harry and he tried to identify what it was as he took it. The potion was a deep red, only a bit too bright to be the same color as blood, and there were silver speckles in it. When Harry tried to think of every red potion he could – Pepperup, Blood Replenisher, Confusing Concoction – and disregarded them all as bad fits to the one he was handed, he looked at Hermione for an explanation.

“Harry, you remember when we broke in the bank, stole Helga’s cup, stole a dragon, and destroyed the building on our way out?” she asked, a hypothetical question Harry was sure since he wasn’t likely to have forgotten. “Well… this potion is three times as illegal to have even brewed as that entire trip was.”

“What is it?” Harry asked, bewildered by Hermione handing him an illegal potion and what he needed it for in the first place.

Actually, Hermione handing Harry an illegal potion wasn’t all that surprising. Hermione brewed Polyjuice, caught Snape on fire, and trapped Rita Skeeter in a jar. Hermione might have matured, her brain developed as she didn’t die alone in a forest, but it was still Hermione.

“Jasper asked me for it and I think that he’ll be upset I’m giving it to you, but…” Hermione took a deep breath and finished in a rush. “Itsamalefertilitypotion.”

Harry very nearly dropped the potion as his jaw dropped and he stared at Hermione in a stunned silence. Hermione’s face darkened in a blush, but she kept her chin raised as she stubbornly stared right back at Harry. Hermione wasn’t lying, that was obvious. Harry just didn’t understand why she was giving him a potion that he thought he actually remembered Jasper mentioning once before… as a joke… he thought.

“You – you said I don’t think of Teddy first?” Harry said, choking up even when he didn’t want to.

“I was wrong,” Hermione said for the second time in a single evening. “You’re an excellent father, Harry. I think that Teddy is lucky to have you and – and if you wanted, if you really sat down and talked with Jasper and planned it out properly that… I think you could have the family you always wanted, the one you deserve.”

Harry could feel his nose burning and eyes stinging with unshed tears, though he was quick to wipe at his eyes to hide them. It was almost the cruelest thing Hermione had ever done, handed Harry a glass vial with one mouthful of a potion that could give Harry something he had wanted his entire life. Harry always imagined himself as a father to a bunch of kids… but Harry also imagined himself as an adult… not someone whose kids would outgrow him, one day appearing to be Harry’s father instead of the other way around.

“Don’t take it and don’t dump it.” Hermione stood up and smiled down at Harry with her own wet eyes. “Just… really think about it, Harry. I think that you and Jasper would make great parents, but if that’s to another child or just Teddy makes no difference. You certainly have a village of help either way.”

“Thank you.” Harry stood up as well and kept the vial in his fist even while he hugged Hermione fiercely. Harry wasn’t sure about many things, the fact that Hermione loved him and never meant to hurt him was not something he was unsure about.

“I love you so dearly,” Hermione whispered in a thick voice as she hugged him back as tightly as he held her.

“I love you too,” Harry promised. He forced a light laugh when they finally let each other go, a laugh to try and make light of the tears they both had streaming down their cheeks. “If you see Jasper, tell him to quit being a coward and come home, will you?”

Hermione laughed and said that she would and the instant that she stepped in the floo, Harry collapsed in his recliner. Harry raised the glass vial in his hand and held it up, tilting it left and right, letting it catch the light in all different directions.

It was absurd. It was as if Hermione had reminded Harry of all the reasons he shouldn’t be a father – short, scrawny, seventeen, underdeveloped brain – and then handed him a way to do it anyway.

Hermione Weasley was an enabler, Harry just wasn’t sure what it was she was trying to enable. Did she want him to make the ‘smart’ decision and put the idea out of his mind? Was it just a ‘sorry I brought up your terrible childhood, have an illegal potion as an apology’ type of thing?

Wait. Harry’s brain replayed what she had said… did she… did –

DID SHE SAY THAT JASPER ASKED HER TO MAKE THE POTION?!

Harry made a very mature and rational decision then.

He called Rosalie and asked her if she wanted to have Teddy for a sleepover. It took Rosalie, quite literally, less than five minutes to make it to Harry’s house in her convertible. Harry didn’t tell her about Hermione coming over or the potion in his pocket, he just said he wanted to have a night with Jasper and Teddy had been asking for “Wose” anyway.

“I’ll see you in the morning, Teddy Bug,” Harry promised Teddy as he buckled him in his carseat in Rosalie’s car. “I love you.”

Teddy made his garbled sound for ‘love you’ (it sounded a bit like ‘fuck you’ which Jake found hilarious and Harry only grinned a little bit about) before Teddy made his adorable grabby hands for another hug.

Harry breathed in the Teddy scent – Harry’s only child… but he didn’t have to be… Teddy would outgrow Harry one day, but would he outgrow a little brother or sister? Did Teddy want a brother or sister? Harry had… - before he kissed Teddy firmly on the forehead and closed the car door carefully. Rosalie backed out of Harry’s driveway with dramatic kisses being blown and telling him to ‘take his time’ about picking Teddy back up, but Harry’s mind was far too distracted to tease Rosalie about being a little godson snatcher.

Why, and when, did Jasper ask Hermione to brew an illegal potion? Did Jasper want to have a baby? Did Jasper have any idea how the potion worked because Harry had never heard of a male fertility potion before and while it sounded rather self-explanatory, there were a lot of questions to be asked about it. Did – did Jasper not see Teddy as part of his family? Teddy loved Jasper, he was at least somewhere in the top three of Teddy’s favorite people, along with Harry and Andy. It would break Harry’s heart if Jasper didn’t feel the same, but… Harry thought he had to have.

Jasper doted on Teddy. Jasper made sure the kitchen was stocked with foods Teddy loved and ones that were healthy for toddlers. Jasper rocked Teddy on full moon nights when Teddy would whimper with aches and his body would become fevered. Jasper had a photo of Teddy in his wallet!

So why the potion?

Harry intended to stay awake until Jasper returned from wherever all he had to go to pick up the wedding clothes. It was only four in the afternoon, but Harry was exhausted. It had been a long day and talking with Hermione had somehow been as taxing as playing at the park with Teddy had been. Harry sat back in his chair, intending to just relax until Jasper returned home.

Jasper woke him up when he made it home an hour later.

“Darlin’… wake up…”

Harry startled as he woke, blinking in surprise as he didn’t mean to fall asleep. When he saw Jasper’s unfairly perfect face in front of him, it immediately reminded Harry of the many questions he had for him.

“Do you hate Teddy?” Harry asked, blurting out the most important one right off the bat. Jasper didn’t even blink as he easily lifted Harry up and stole his seat only to carefully place Harry on his lap. Harry stretched his legs over the side of the chair and rested his head on Jasper’s shoulder, waiting for an answer he probably didn’t need.

“I do not hate Teddy,” Jasper said, saying it anyway. Jasper raised a blonde eyebrow at Harry. “You feel worried, darlin’, is everything okay? Rosalie has Teddy, he isn’t hurt, is he?”

“Everything’s fine, he’s fine.” Harry had been in a mood before Jasper left earlier and he had been quiet and uncooperative the day before so he tried to say ‘thanks for sticking around even if I’m moody and impulsive’ with the way he wrapped his arms around Jasper and sort of snuggled in his chest. It was a lot of things to say with a snuggle, but Jasper seemed to pick up the message anyway.

That was what made them work out so well, really.

All of Harry’s flaws – his recklessness and his impulsivity – were tempered by Jasper. Harry was moody, quick to anger, quick to withdraw. Jasper had a literal supernatural control of his emotions and could pick out what Harry was feeling even when Harry himself didn’t know. When Harry wanted to jump into something without thinking it through, Jasper wanted to meticulously plan it. It didn’t make Jasper’s plans perfect, as his horrifying plan to take Harry to Egypt and turn him proved, but they were rarely impulsive.

Which meant if Jasper had asked Hermione to brew a potion, he had thought it through carefully and considered every aspect of it. And even if Harry didn’t know if it was something they would/could/should use, it did make him feel overwhelmed to know that it meant Jasper thought Harry was a good parent, good enough to have more than one child.

That meant more than words could explain so Harry hoped Jasper was sensing his emotions extra carefully instead.

“I love you,” Harry told him simply.

Jasper tilted his head to touch Harry’s and he just let it rest there while they had a moment of just Harry-and-Jasper.

“And I you,” Jasper swore quietly. “You and Teddy are my everything.”

“Is that why you want to have another baby?”

Jasper immediately froze in place, truly becoming a statue beneath Harry. Harry mentally swore at himself for blurting that out in what was probably the least subtle way possible.

Actually, Harry didn’t know why he was swearing at himself. Just as Hermione suggested, Harry swore at the person who deserved it:

Bloody Dumbledore.

Chapter Text

May 28

Jasper was an immortal vampire. His body was stone, his metabolism was more similar to mythical monsters than it was to human. Jasper wasn’t designed to tire, to have muscles that ached. Jasper was… unchanging, eternally.

Jasper was exhausted and it was entirely Harry’s fault.

Or, more accurately perhaps, it was Jasper’s fault and Hermione Weasley’s fault.

Jasper spent a couple of pleasant hours the day before with Ron Weasley as they traveled from robe shop to dress shop to tuxedo shops in London to collect all of the ordered and fitted outfits for the wedding. Ron had assured Jasper that he should leave Hermione and Harry to sort out their dilemma between themselves. As Ron seemed to have an excellent marriage and a much longer history with Harry and Hermione than Jasper did, Jasper took his advice.

When Jasper received a text from Rosalie, informing him that Harry asked her to fetch Teddy for a sleepover and that Harry seemed fine when she picked Teddy up, Jasper thought it was a good sign. When Jasper returned home and Harry was no longer switching from fear to worry to despair while he made lists of changes he thought he needed to make, Jasper thought it was a good sign.

Harry had just asked if Jasper loved Teddy and then soaked Jasper in love as he laid on his chest. Jasper thought it meant that Harry and Hermione had patched up their dispute and Harry was no longer thinking that anyone thought he was anything less than an excellent ‘Dada’ to Teddy Lupin. Jasper thought it meant that the last twenty-four days Jasper would spend unmarried would be calm.

Jasper did not think that it meant that Harry had been given the ‘incredibly dark and illegal’ potion that Jasper entrusted Hermione to brew. It was a lesson well-learned, one that told Jasper that even when they fought, Hermione’s loyalty was always tied to Harry. Even though it was meant to be a surprise, one Jasper wouldn’t have sprung on Harry the same day that he had been job hunting in some misplaced sense of proving he was a responsible parent.

All in all, it had been an exhausting twenty-four hours and Jasper left the house he shared with Harry to go fetch their toddler with a touch too much enthusiasm.

Asa Brainard, pitcher. Doug Allison, catcher. Charlie Gould, first base…

Jasper kept a large part of his mind focused on reciting the original players on the first teams in the MLB and their positions as he drove up to his parents’ house. It was an automatic defense to keep Edward from reading Jasper’s thoughts that he wasn’t ready to share with anyone yet.

It was entirely unnecessary as Jasper became distracted the instant he walked through the front door.

Spread across the living room of the Cullen house was such a mess of flowers, taffeta, candles, and more golden strings of lights than Jasper had ever seen in his life. Alice and her Bree were braiding stems of flowers within the white strands of lights that were kept magically alight by whatever charms Ginevra was maintaining with her aloft wand. Isabella was half buried under what looked to be an entire bolt of golden taffeta, a pair of scissors working in her hands while her tongue stuck out between her teeth in complete concentration.

“What on earth…?” Jasper breathed, taking in the destruction of Carlisle and Esme’s house.

“Oh, good! You did show up!” Alice was dancing toward Jasper immediately, yanking him by the arm toward the flowers that were covering at least eight square feet in the living room. “Which do you like more? These?”

Bree immediately held up the string of lights she worked on, the ones that were braided with light pink colored roses with green stems.

“Or these?”

Ginevra levitated another strand that had been buried, one braided with white peonies with dark green stems.

“Not to influence your decision, but roses are tacky,” Bree said cheerily. “But the other ones are ugly.”

“Take that back!” Alice gasped, making quite the face at Bree while Jasper tried to make a decision that he didn’t really care about.

Bree raised her chin and curled her lips in a smirk, clearly already entirely comfortable with Alice.

“Make me, muñeca,” Bree taunted her affectionately.

Alice launched herself at Bree, tackling her in the piles of flowers, while Isabella sighed almost silently and Jasper belatedly realized that Bree Tanner was Hispanic. The dark hair had been a decent enough clue, but her voice had been so strained on their last interaction that Jasper didn’t notice the touch of an accent she carried, one that hinted that she wasn’t a native English speaker.

The skin that remained tanned even after changing was another rather obvious hint. Jasper had been quite distracted during their last meeting.

“They do that a lot,” Isabella said, misunderstanding why Jasper was looking at where Bree was being kissed by Alice with mild interest. “It’s actually starting to get tiresome.”

Jasper thought it was sweet, he was pleased that Alice found someone to be with. Admittedly, Jasper didn’t know Bree very well, but she was clearly accepting the human and the witches and wizards in stride as Alice converted her to merge their lifestyles. Isabella was probably easier for Bree to not kill with as much magic as Ginevra was filling the room with. Which brought Jasper back to flowers.

“I thought we were doing lilies?” Jasper asked the two girls who were not becoming increasingly distracted. Jasper thought that finally all his decisions for the wedding were completed and all that was left was not letting Harry kill him before the grand event happened.

Even if Harry had been making an excellent attempt at it the last twenty-four hours.

Charlie Sweasy, second base… Fred Waterman, third base…

“That’s for the wedding, this is for the Bridal Shower,” Ginevra explained with a sense of patience that wasn’t exactly called for. “Oi! Alice! Bree! Focus, ladies!”

“I am focused,” Bree said smoothly, shifting Alice off her and both of them rising to their feet simultaneously. Jasper couldn’t help but smile at the smiles they shared, the growing fondness between them. Alice’s emotions were much stronger than Bree’s, but Alice was clinically insane and so it made sense for her to be the more immediately attached one.

It wasn’t love, it might never be what Jasper had with his wizard, but it still made him happy to see Alice have a chance at.

“Very focused,” Isabelle muttered, finally setting aside the scissors she had been working the taffeta with. “I’m eloping, by the way. This is so much work.”

“And unneeded as there is no bride,” Jasper reminded Alice pointedly. He and Harry had agreed to have bachelor parties and they had an engagement party and they would have a ceremony and reception. There had been no discussion of a bridal shower.

“Oh, it’s not for you two.” Alice lit up with a smile that she turned on Isabella. “It’s for Bella! Since I don’t see a wedding anytime soon, I thought a bridal –”

“You lied?!” Isabella stood up and dropped the taffeta and scissors to the floor. She crossed her arms and glared at Alice’s unrepentant face across the room. “You said this was for Harry!”

“Alice lied?” Bree snorted, clearly already knowing Alice too well. “Say it’s not so.”

Jasper scoffed in amusement as Alice and Isabella began arguing over a party and reception. Isabella clearly didn’t want any sort of fuss made and Alice never knew when to not make a fuss over things.

“The roses,” Jasper said, smiling blandly at Isabella’s look of betrayal. “They’re perfect. Excuse me.”

As Jasper had no reason to defend either of his sisters – Isabella would be family by the end of the year and already was family to Jasper’s soon-to-be husband – Jasper instead went in search of his other sister and his… his stepson? Step-godson? Hm.

Were there any exact titles for what the godson who called his godfather ‘dada’ was to the vampire soon to be married to the godfather?

Stepson worked as well as anything, Jasper supposed. Harry would like that, since apparently he worried, for even a second, that Jasper didn’t love Teddy.

Then Jasper walked out in the backyard and had to begin thinking of players from the 1869 Cincinnati Stockings team again when he saw Teddy.

George Wright, shortstop… Andy Leonard, left field…

Teddy had been playing in the sandbox that Emmett and Rosalie build for him, the giant square near the treeline that had half-walls, more sand than most beaches, and plenty of digging toys for a boy to explore with. When Teddy saw Jasper step outside, his tiny body exploded in the most endearing emotions of joy, happiness, and even the love that was very much mutual.

“Jass!” Teddy ran to Jasper on his short legs, meeting him halfway to the sandbox where Rosalie and Emmett had been assisting in the building of a castle fit for a prince. Jasper caught Teddy in his arms and smiled as he swung him up. Teddy’s giggles were a sweet thing, something Jasper never knew that he would adore.

Jasper had never spent much time around children. Not in the traditional sense, anyway. Jasper enlisted in the army where even the youngest soldier was honored as a man and then Jasper joined Maria’s army of the eternal dead. Even the accursed immortal children, those human infants and toddlers that were changed and eventually killed, were not something Jasper had been personally exposed to. All of which was to say that if someone had asked Jasper two years ago if he liked children, he would have said no.

It would have been proven as a lie because Jasper loved Teddy. Jasper loved watching as he grew – minute changes every time Jasper and Harry picked him up from his grandmother’s home. Jasper loved watching him learn new things and Jasper especially loved when he was the one to teach Teddy new things. Jasper loved the small moments with Teddy, when it was just the two of them and Teddy fell asleep in the middle of a story. Jasper did love the fact that Teddy loved him, but Jasper would have loved Teddy even if he were not an empath.

“Did you have fun with Aunt Rose?” Jasper asked Teddy, carrying him back to where Rosalie and Emmett waited.

Teddy nodded and then broke out in a story that even with sensitive vampire hearing Jasper couldn’t understand most of the words. It was all in the emotions either way, Teddy was happy then “Wose” and Teddy was sad. And “Carwie” (Teddy used the same word for both Carlisle and Isabella’s father) made Teddy happy once more. Jasper looked him over carefully, focusing mostly on his smell, and thought that there was an old smell of blood near his knee.

“You fell and Carlisle bandaged your knee?” Jasper guessed, getting a pouting nod from the toddler. “My poor boy, did you get ice cream for being a good patient at least?”

“Carlisle gave him candy then Esme made him cookies,” Emmett laughed, still working on the sand castle.

“Spoiled thing,” Rosalie added with a fond smile deep with endless affection for the newly blonde boy in Jasper’s arms. It galled Jasper that Rosalie, who would make such a wonderful mother, had the bad luck in life to be turned as a woman.

There was no potion in the world that could unfreeze a woman’s biological reproductive system. Though, if there were, Jasper himself would empty each of the numerous bank accounts he held to have made for his sister.

Perhaps Rosalie would enjoy being an aunt to more –

Harry Wright, center field…

“Where’s Harry?” Emmett asked, thankfully distracting Jasper.

“Home,” Jasper said. He smiled at Teddy and ran his fingers through the blonde curls that were falling off Teddy’s head in identical spills to Jasper’s own hair. “Do you want to go home? Go find Dada?”

“Dada!” Teddy cheered. He wiggled until Jasper sat him on his feet so he could run back in the sandbox and hug Rosalie and Emmett both. “Bye!”

Rosalie was so wistful when she hugged Teddy that it nearly hurt to feel. Rosalie deserved her own children, it wasn’t a fact that Jasper would dispute. And, when Jasper once again lifted Teddy up on his side and began making his way toward the front of the house – steadfastly ignoring the argument happening inside that sounded to have swollen to include Edward – Jasper asked his sister a tentative question.

“Rosalie, do you ever think about adopting?” Jasper asked, adding some calm to mix with the question to keep Rosalie’s defensive hackles from raising.

Rosalie was surprised, but Emmett’s arm around her shoulders kept her from being too upset with the rather invasive question. Emmett had a spark of want at Jasper’s question and he couldn’t hold the half-smile when he looked between his wife and their nephew while Rosalie answered Jasper’s question.

“We’ve considered it,” Rosalie said, only a hint of her usual haughtiness in her tone. Rosalie ran a light hand down Teddy’s arm, smiling sweetly at him. “It’s never made much sense, an immortal raising a child that ages, but I think we may…” Rosalie looked up at Emmett, sharing a look of mutual love and desire. “One day.”

“Give Teddy some cousins so he isn’t too spoiled,” Emmett laughed loudly, winking at Teddy.

Jasper hummed as he placed Teddy in his car seat, triple checking the straps were the proper snugness and secured.

“Why?” Rosalie asked, keenly missing nothing. She narrowed her eyes when Jasper closed the car door, fixing Jasper with a piercing stare. “Are you and Harry talking about adopting?”

“Adopting? No,” Jasper said, perfectly honest. It must have been the upcoming wedding, the relief that Jasper’s family not only survived the newborn attack but gained a new member from it. It was Harry’s emotional spirals the last few days and the feeling of rightness from having Teddy home once again. Jasper wasn’t usually so sentimental with his family, outside of Harry and Teddy, but he actually hugged Rosalie then, holding his alarmed sister for just a moment too long.

“I think that you would make an exceptional mother,” Jasper told her. He released Rosalie and clapped Emmett’s shoulder. “And you would make a great father.”

With that, Jasper began whistling a quiet song as he climbed in the car and drove away, leaving his siblings to watch him go while burning with curiosity, amusement, alarm, and affection.

Jasper spent the last two days in May with Harry and Teddy. They took Teddy to La Push so he could splash around in the shallow parts of the water while no less than three of Harry’s friends in the pack played with him at all times. Embry introduced them all to his girlfriend – object of his supernatural sense of soulmate imprinting? – and the girl helped Teddy search for arrowhead rocks. They visited Billy Black, who presented Teddy with his very own fishing pole for ‘trips with Grandpa Charlie and Billy’.

“Do you ever think that Charlie and Billy are denying their passionate love for each other?” Jasper asked Harry that night, a half-jest.

“If Hermione had left Charlie alone, I was hoping to introduce him to Andy,” Harry complained, missing Jasper’s point entirely.

Even if Harry was trying to prematurely end Jasper’s existence the moment that they laid Teddy to bed every night, Jasper thought it was at least an excellent send off. Filling his days with Teddy and Harry’s ever-expanding family members? It was a luxury.

And when Teddy went to bed and Harry gave Jasper a heated and coy look before they inevitable ended up tangled around each other, naked and crying words of love, that was a luxury as well.

There were worse ways to be killed than death by an eager and eternally-amorous lover.

Such as being interrupted with the lover by the unexpected, and currently unwanted, arrival of Isabella Swan.

Jasper only had a few seconds notice that Isabella was approaching their house. He and Harry were in the shower, quite occupied, and Jasper hastily pulled his mouth off Harry when he could sense an agitated and nervous Isabella walking up to their front door.

“If you stop now I’m going to die,” Harry complained. He had both his hands braced on the side walls of the shower and with his head thrown back and water spraying down on him, he made a picture that Jasper would cherish forever.

“Send your patronus to your friend walking in our front door and I’ll do anything you want,” Jasper teased him, breathless by the sight of the lightning storm in human form that he kneeled before. Jasper could never grow tired of looking at his Harry with all of his scars and his beauty. It would be like tiring of seeing art as it lived and breathed.

“Done. I’ve got a plenty happy memory to use,” Harry said with a smile full of mischief. Harry flicked his fingers, causing his stag to appear in the bathroom beside the shower. Jasper was interested to see that it kept its head turned away from the two naked men beside it. Could a patronus share traits from its caster? Or was Harry showing his own aversion to public nudity by making the patronus look away from them?

“Go away,” Harry said clearly, already tugging on Jasper’s hair in an attempt to put him back where he wanted him. “I’m busy.”

Isabella did not ‘go away’, she huffed and then made herself comfortable in the living room while Jasper and Harry very rudely made her wait for them for another hour.

“Everyone’s having sex except me,” Isabella said the instant that Jasper and Harry joined her in the living room. It was unavoidable, the bathroom connected directly to the living room, but Jasper still smirked when Harry blushed darkly.

“Then give Edward back his ring, go find someone else, and get shagged,” Harry said, jumping over the back of the couch to sit on it as Jacob tended to do when he was over. Harry didn’t land quite as gracefully, but Jasper liked seeing him once again acting carefree.

It had been both unnatural and painful when Harry spent a few days chastising himself for every decision he had ever made. There was nothing wrong with self-reflection, but Harry took it, like most things, to extremes. Getting rid of the alcohol in the house so he wasn’t tempted to drink himself to a stupor was a reasonable action, getting rid of his car and purchasing a mini-van was irrational and shame-driven.

Jasper had no idea why Harry had been hung up on the idea of being a ‘more mature godfather’. From what Jasper gathered in small stories he heard, Harry’s godfather had been quite mentally deranged and Harry still loved the man. It wasn’t as if Harry were raising Teddy alone either, the two of them had more help than could ever be needed for a child – two children.

Since Harry seemed content to stretch out on the sofa with his head on Isabella’s leg, staring up at her as if he were waiting for a story, Jasper snorted quietly and took the recliner.

“Jasper,” Isabella was blushing heavily and deeply mortified when she turned her head to Jasper, “could you pretend to not hear any of this?”

“Certainly,” Jasper lied pleasantly, reassuring Isabella with a small amount of peace.

If Isabella wanted to share details of Jasper’s brother’s private life then Jasper wouldn’t stop her. He also wouldn’t stop himself from taunting Edward, as was his given right as Edward’s brother.

“Okay, so!” Isabella huffed with indignation when she gave Harry her attention. “I told you what our deal is right now, right?”

“Yes,” Harry answered immediately, though Jasper was grateful when he summarized what was the absolute most hysterical ‘deal’ to ever exist. “You’ll marry him if he’s the one to change you, stupid, by the way. But you won’t marry him if he won’t shag you first, brilliant, what if he’s terrible? You won’t have a wedding because you suck and he’s allowed to plan the honeymoon as long as it involves a lot of sex.” Harry blinked, “Did I forget anything?”

The part where Jasper was beginning to see the true merit in having his most annoying brother’s soulmate such close friends with Jasper’s everything-mate. Because Isabella and Edward having to create a ‘deal’ to get Isabella to agree to marriage and Edward to agree to pre-marital sex? That was going to be Jasper’s first line of defense in his thoughts for the next century.

“No, that’s it,” Isabella said, her embarrassment thankfully fading as her indignation grew. It wasn’t as difficult to be around Isabella with as much exposure as Jasper had in the last year and half, but it wasn’t comfortable when she was blushing either.

It said quite a bit for Alice’s Bree that she was already able to be around Isabella as long as there was a magical buffer in the room as well.

“So what’s changed?” Harry asked Isabella curiously. “Wait! Don’t tell me…” Harry let out a delighted laugh when Isabella hid her face behind her hands and groaned. “You guys did it?! Was it terrible? Is he overcompensating? Tell me everything!”

“We didn’t have sex,” Isabella said in a mortified whisper. “He – I don’t think he – Jasper!” Isabella suddenly glared at Jasper with no anger in her at all. “You have to tell your brother, um… you know… you have to give him some help… about vampires?”

Oh, Jasper had never loved Isabella more than he did in that moment. It was the greatest gift that had ever been offered to Jasper…

“Are you suggesting that I,” and Emmett of course, Jasper would never let him miss such an event, “need to give my brother the vampire-sex talk?” Jasper asked her slowly, hopefully hiding the glee that filled him.

Jasper knew that Harry and Edward butted stubborn heads frequently, but Jasper still cared quite a bit for his brother, he always would. Edward had good intentions in his heart and there were times in the past where Jasper envied his sense of control around humans and their blood. Edward was a compassionate person, one who genuinely loved Isabella and the rest of his family. It was just so rare that Jasper was ever offered such an opportunity to absolutely, and with no mercy shown, tease the life from his brother.

When Isabella said yes, Jasper wasted no time at all. Jasper kissed Harry in a jubilant and nearly manic way before leaving Harry to give Isabella his advice on being the human during intercourse with a vampire and then Jasper positively ran. It was a beautiful night; the quarter moon was high; the stars were shining. It was warm out, quiet, peaceful. Jasper hoped he made Edward cry. But first, Emmett was needed for the brotherly conversation.

In hindsight, Jasper should have acted with a tad more tact as Edward did have access to a great many secrets within everyone’s heads.

Jasper and Emmett found Edward where Jasper tracked his scent at. Deep in the woods, perched moodily on a boulder, sat the youngest of the three Cullen boys. Jasper grinned wickedly, already feeling Edward’s unease and Emmett chuckled as the approached Edward on opposite sides and sandwiched him between them.

“Edward, when a vampire and a human love each other very much…”

“Don’t,” Edward said warningly, shoving Jasper hard by the shoulder. Edward’s face was set in a scowl, but Jasper and Emmett didn’t relent.

“Eddie, Eddie, Eddie.” Emmett snagged Edward with his arm around his shoulder, an opening to a headlock that Emmett swapped to within a second. “It’s not hard, bro. Well, actually it should be. Is that the problem? Stage fright?”

Edward growled and twisted away from Emmett, flipping backward off the boulder and landing on his feet.

“Keep laughing,” Edward said with aggravation and not a small amount of fear coating his tone. “You would kill her and you know it.”

“Jasper and Harry do it,” Emmett teased Edward unrepentantly. “You think it’s a kink? Jasper killing him every time they bone and waiting for him to come back to life?”

“Isabella is not the Master of Death so you cannot expect her to come back to life if you kill her,” Jasper told Edward very seriously. “I know it sounds impressive to screw the girl to her death, but I think that you might feel guilty afterward.”

“Death by dick!” Emmett screamed with laughter, surely scaring away any wildlife nearby. “Wait! If you kill her mid-fuck will you hurry up and bite her?”

“An orgasm would help lessen the pain of transformation,” Jasper said, grinning and ignoring Edward’s rising anger. “Maybe all vampires should be created in the throes of what I’m sure is genuine passion.”

“Passion? From Eddie?” Emmett grinned sharply, also loving the opportunity to taunt Edward, as rare as it was. “I can’t think of two less passionate people than Edward and Bella. Maybe this rock?”

Jasper should have known better. Jasper should have remembered that Edward could be just as petty and mean as Jasper and Emmett were being.

“The important thing to remember is that you really can’t overuse lubricant,” Jasper told Edward, adopting Edward’s own tone of superiority. “Don’t use your saliva, I can’t imagine that venom would feel good in such a sensitive area.”

As Jasper knew good and well after an ill-advised experiment with Harry early on in their relationship.

“You’re funny,” Edward said abruptly, his mood shifting from vexed to malicious. Edward smiled serenely and Jasper was so caught up in his teasing that he was wholly unprepared for Edward’s retaliation. “I assume you know so much about this from all the sex you’ve been having with Harry.”

When Jasper began to grin and turn that into a joke about how he was at least getting some action, Edward didn’t give him the chance.

“I’m sure you got him pregnant on the first try, but I do admire your tenacity.”

Jasper’s eyes bulged and he sucked in a shocked inhale as Edward turned and began running away, likely to hide behind Esme as Jasper couldn’t kill him in front of their mother. Emmett’s chuckles cut off at once and he still felt jubilant with some form of brotherly glee when he focused his teasing on Jasper.

“Jasper… no,” Emmett grinned slowly, his golden eyes lighting up and glowing brightly in the night. “You didn’t find a way to actually get Harry pregnant… right?”

“I – no,” Jasper lied quickly. He reached out and clapped his hand over Emmett’s mouth when he could see that Emmett would never believe him. “Tell no one,” Jasper told him in a serious hiss. “We have no idea if it would even work, Harry is already half-terrified, you keep it to yourself, Emmett.”

“Jasper, come on, would I?” Emmett asked, mischievous monster that he was. “You’re my favorite brother. I wouldn’t spill the beans before you did.”

Emmett was a liar, Edward was a dead man, and every single member of Jasper’s family was fully aware of the very delicate and imprecise situation within the span of six hours.

Chapter Text

June 4^th

“I WILL BURN YOU TO ASHES IF I HEAR ONE MORE GIGGLE!” Harry screamed shrilly out the door toward where he could hear Emmett giggling before slamming the door hard with a huff.

Carlisle sat behind his desk and gave Harry a rather sympathetic look of understanding. It was kind of him since Harry sort of doubted that Carlisle could understand any of it at all.

There weren’t many things more unique and one-of-a-kind than the situation that Harry and Jasper were in. Unless there were other Masters of Death who drank illegal potions to give themselves a freaking uterus in an attempt to get pregnant by their vampire soon-to-be husband. All Harry wanted to do when he went to visit Jasper’s family was talk to Carlisle, maybe get some answers to questions he couldn’t even properly word.

Harry didn’t expect to be asked by Emmett if he had a ‘magic vag’. Harry also didn’t expect Alice to attack him with baby clothes or for her new girlfriend, Bree, to start asking about morning sickness for wizards. Even Rosalie was being annoying with the way that she tried to feed Harry before he even climbed out of his car.

Edward Cullen was a dead… well… not man.

Harry was going to kill Edward though for sharing something so damned personal with his family, that much Harry knew for sure. As soon as Edward showed his face, Harry was hitting it.

“Have a seat,” Carlisle offered, waving his hand at one of the chairs across the desk from him. Harry only took two steps before a breeze rushed past him and by the time Harry lifted his foot for a third step, Jasper was in one of the seats and smirking at him.

“I hate you,” Harry huffed, not meaning it at all.

“Our wedding will be an odd occasion then,” Jasper quipped, winking when Harry sat in the other chair beside him.

The two of them had talked about who could answer more of their questions – Hermione or Carlisle. Hermione knew quite a bit about wizards and muggles, she also brewed the potion so Harry figured she would be an okay source of information. But Jasper had a copy of the potion, a swotty list of the ingredients and what they did individually and mixed together, and Carlisle knew more about vampires than Hermione so it settled the matter for Harry.

They took Teddy to Andy’s house for his last weekend with her before the wedding. Andy, thankfully, didn’t know anything about what Harry and Jasper were planning and Harry was grateful for the normal conversation about the upcoming wedding, the honeymoon they planned, and light talk about Teddy starting preschool in the fall. As soon as they left, Harry agreed that they should go talk with Carlisle, something they probably should have done before Harry took the potion.

All Harry wanted to know was what would happen if he did get pregnant (an absurd thought to even have as a man) and what Carlisle thought they could expect. Harry didn’t understand any of it really, but he was curious what changes the sweet-tasting potion had made and since it was his body that supposedly grew a WOMB, then Harry figured it wouldn’t hurt to see what Carlisle knew. Or guessed anyway, as it really was a unique situation.

“This is fascinating,” Carlisle murmured as he read the list of ingredients and the information on the potion that Jasper gave him. “It creates an entire new biological system… or does it…? No, ah…”

Harry grimaced at Jasper when Carlisle kept reading and muttering to himself. Thankfully, Jasper seemed just as impatient for information and he cleared his throat at his dad.

“If you could interpret as you read?” Jasper asked respectfully.

“Of course, sorry.” Carlisle flashed a friendly smile, one that Harry returned half-heartedly. “This is fascinating though, it’s, hm… it’s magically rearranged your internal reproductive organs to give you an internal anatomy more similar to a biological female than male. Have you experienced any external changes?”

Harry stared at Carlisle with a blank expression, wondering if that was a subtle way of asking if Harry was still a man on the outside or not. After Emmett asked if Harry had a ‘magic vag’ and Harry threatened to show him his dick, Harry really expected Carlisle to not ask him a similar question.

“Harry is still externally very much male,” Jasper said, much more politely than Harry was about to be. “Which, of course, poses a problem…?”

A big problem.

As impulsive and reckless as everyone accused Harry of being, it seemed as if Jasper had been infected by it some. Harry had trusted that he had carefully planned out the potion being brewed and so when he was sure that Jasper wasn’t just trying to replace Teddy, Harry had… he just drank it. It was sort of exciting, thinking that the two of them could make a magic baby –

Harry pictured his green eyes, Jasper’s golden curls. Harry pictured Teddy as a big brother, the four of them living happily. When Teddy outgrew Harry, if Teddy ever felt alone, he would have a little brother or sister that would always be there for him.

-but they didn’t think about how a magic baby would grow or get out of Harry’s very male body.

And that was terrifying because from what Harry could tell on the things he looked up online in his braver moments, babies had giant heads.

Giant, huge, body destroying heads.

Even being generous, Harry had no opening in his body where a giant head traveling through wouldn’t cause pain worse than a crucio.

“I don’t think it’s a problem,” Carlisle disagreed. Harry’s mouth popped up to inform Carlisle that it was absolutely a problem, but Carlisle went on before Harry could. “I think that if a child came to fruition that it would be delivered cesarean.”

“What’s that?” Harry asked, feeling dim when Jasper made a sound of understanding.

“It would need to be delivered through an incision in your abdomen,” Carlisle said. He leaned back in his chair so he could draw his finger across his own stomach, down low. “Right here.”

That was the best news Harry heard probably in his entire life and the relief must have shown because Carlisle chuckled warmly.

“We also wondered if you thought it was even possible,” Jasper said slowly, asking the second most important question they had. “Physiologically, is it even possible for me…?”

“Hm…” Carlisle stroked his jaw slowly while he looked at Jasper. “You are able to ejaculate?”

Oh, Harry was going to die. Then come back to life. Then hear Carlisle ask Jasper if he could ejaculate again. Then die. It would be a repetitive cycle of dying from humiliation and coming back to life that would make Harry as insane as everyone acted like he already was.

Jasper was smirking again, probably at the horribly embarrassed emotions Harry couldn’t control, and answered Carlisle with too much amusement.

“I do. Not in the part of the body where I was told connects to a reproductive system though, and I cannot guarantee that my,” Jasper glanced quickly at Harry, his smirk intensifying, “ejaculate carries any fertile sperm.”

Harry was so uncomfortable that he thought he might actually cry. He blinked very quickly at the ceiling and decided that facing the guys when they were shifting back and forth, too comfortable in their nudity, was a thousand times less horrible than the conversation he was trapped in.

“I think I’ll just…” Harry stood up, nodded politely at Carlisle, ignored Jasper and his smirks and his discussion on where he ejaculated, before he fled the room as quickly as he could.

Harry Potter, the Man-Who-Conquered, proud Gryffindor, ran away from a simple conversation about sex.

Well, not simple, nothing involving Harry or Jasper tended to ever be simple, but still.

Harry decided he liked his odds in finding Alice instead of Rosalie. Rosalie would be Harry’s first choice, but where she was- Emmett was. Instead, Harry wandered down the hallway directly to Alice’s bedroom and raised a hand to knock and was told he could enter before his knuckles even touched the wooden door.

“I would have ran too,” Bree said immediately when Harry snuck in the room. That blunt statement only made Harry scowl and his entire face to burn with heat knowing that everyone could hear the conversation that was being had in Carlisle’s office.

“I think it’s interesting,” Alice said airily. She sat at a sleek desk that took up the entire back wall of her bedroom. There were four monitors and it looked like Alice was designing clothes on two of them, had the blueprints for a house pulled up on the third, and the fourth looked like she was shopping for something. Bree was lounging in a cushy looking white chair with her feet propped up on a basket. Harry took the open computer desk chair by Alice and dragged it midway between the two girls to sit.

“It’s awkward,” Harry said, sounding painfully awkward. “Can we just talk about something else, please?” he begged.

“Do you want to talk about your bachelor party?” Alice asked, not looking away from the computer screens.

“No,” Harry said, scowling even harder. Hermione was meant to be in charge of Harry’s bachelor party, she was the best man. But trust Hermione to not want to plan a party – plan an eight month hunt for horcuxes? Sure! Plan a break-in in the Ministry and another in a bank? No problem! Harry’s bachelor party though? That one she passed off at first opportunity – and for Alice to conveniently offer to take care of it.

All Harry wanted was something simple. Something quiet and calm with Ron, Jake, and Harry’s other mates. Harry did not want a repeat of Ron’s bachelor party where they ended up in jail and Harry made an arse of himself by texting Jasper’s family through the night. They would all be at Hogwarts in a few days, setting the castle up and giving Harry time to get all his ‘episodes’ over before the actual wedding day arrived. Harry was hoping to maybe play quidditch, see if Quil and Embry would be as good of beaters as Harry always thought they would be. Maybe they’d go to Hogsmeade, play cards, something simple.

Harry might not even be able to drink by then, so he didn’t want Alice to go overboard on it like she had Ron’s.

“If I’m a vampire but I like you more than I do Jasper, who’s bachelor party am I invited to?” Bree asked conversationally, flicking the pages in the magazine she held.

“Mine,” Harry said, breaking a grin. “Why d’you like me more than Jasper though?”

“Jasper is too quiet and everyone talks about you like you’re muy loco,” Bree said. If Harry was confused about what that meant, he wasn’t for long. Bree smirked at him over the top of her magazine, her red eyes still a shock to Harry when he saw them. “I find lunatics fascinating. You’re like a podcast for crazy come to life.”

Alice giggled and Harry rolled his eyes.

“Alice is the lunatic,” Harry insisted with the innocence that had never suited him very well. “I’m just the innocent bloke that keeps getting forced in crazy situations. You chose to be here, Bree, you really have no excuse.”

“I like pretty women and not being burned to death, bite me,” Bree said, turning a page in her magazine. “Plus, this is much nicer than my old apartment. If I have to drink animal blood to not worry about paying rent on time, it’s an even trade.”

Harry spun around slowly in his chair, suddenly realizing that Harry and Bree were very nearly the same age. Bree was halfway through her eighteenth year when she was turned, Harry was two months from eighteen when he died. It was odd having Bree around, a baby vampire.

“How did you find out you had a gift?” Harry asked Bree curiously, seizing on the first topic of conversation that didn’t involve his body or his wedding.

“I held a man by the throat when I drank his blood and realized he didn’t scream after he was dead,” Bree said, just as casually as she said most things. “Everyone else’s humans were being really dramatic, but mine always died quietly.”

“And you call us crazy,” Harry huffed, looking up at the ceiling and trying to not judge. Bree wasn’t killing muggles anymore. Harry couldn’t fault her for not knowing there were better ways to live when she had been a part of Victoria’s army. “What did you do before they turned you?”

“I killed people.”

Harry stopped spinning his chair and looked at Bree’s passive face, she nearly looked bored. When she glanced over her magazine and saw Harry gawking at her, she smirked again and there was a (hopefully) teasing lilt to her voice.

“I was a CNA,” she clarified. “I worked in a hospice unit.”

“And a CNA kills people?” Harry asked. “You should have been an EMT, they actually save lives.”

And drove fast and got paid for it.

“Yes, well…” Bree still had a smirk on her lips when she went back to her magazine. “Some people are made to save lives, some to take it.”

That was a bit morbid, but Harry didn’t question it. Harry just sort of hid out in the room, occasionally peeking to see what Alice worked on, occasionally asking Bree more about her life from before. Harry never got any idea of what all Alice worked on, since she seemed to be working on multiple things at once, and Harry also thought that Bree was having him on about a lot of her life. It was a relief when Jasper called his name from down the hall, asking him to pop by Carlisle’s office again.

Bree was kind of weird, but Harry supposed Alice was weird too, so maybe they made a good match.

Nothing was more weird than Carlisle running a bunch of quick tests on Harry though – one that included peeing on a stick – to try and get a better idea of what was happening internally to him.

Harry had to leave before dinner, something Esme had been disappointed about, to go pick up the portkeys that they had ordered for a good portion of the wedding guests. Jasper was quiet with his hand in Harry’s after they apparated from the Cullen house to Diagon Alley and walked toward the portkey authority office together.

“We knew it might not work,” Harry reminded Jasper, hiding his own disappointment that, as far as Carlisle could tell, they had not made a baby despite almost a week of pretty constant trying.

“There is no reason it shouldn’t,” Jasper said. He looked so disappointed about the whole thing that Harry stopped walking just so he could cup Jasper’s face and stand up on tiptoe to kiss him hard on the lips. Jasper snaked an arm around Harry’s waist and pulled him closer, growling quietly in the back of his throat when he probably felt the quick shift in Harry’s emotions.

“We just keep trying,” Harry breathed, pulling away enough to look in Jasper’s eyes to gauge if he was saying the right thing. As far as the potion instructions said, Harry should be fertile (absurd) until a baby was created. If that took a week or a year, it wasn’t supposed to matter.

Harry just needed to focus on not dying, as that was always the most surefire way to reset his body to normal, like the Xbox when he pressed the button on it. But Harry was doing better, he was trying to at least not say ‘yes’ to everything without forcing himself to think about it for sixty seconds, so he wasn’t worried about dying again anytime soon.

Unless anyone brought up ‘ejaculation’ around him again. Merlin.

“What if I can’t give you what you want?” Jasper whispered to Harry in a stricken tone. He looked miserable, like the whole thing that Harry saw as an exciting adventure with the possibility of giving Harry something he always longed for was causing Jasper pain.

And as much as Harry wanted it, he didn’t want anything that hurt Jasper.

Jasper was… Jasper was everything to Harry. Harry wouldn’t be half the person he was if it weren’t for Jasper. Jasper gave Harry a reason to get out bed every day and to try and live. Harry spent his whole life just surviving but living with Jasper meant everything to Harry.

“You’ve given me everything,” Harry said. He wasn’t as good with words as Jasper, but he tried then. Right in the middle of the sidewalk in Diagon Alley, Harry tried to explain his feelings to Jasper. “Jazz, you’re- you and Teddy are my whole life. Don’t you know that? I love you. I love you more than I love anything, and- and, yeah, it would be brilliant if we had a little blonde baby.” Harry had his hands behind Jasper’s neck and it wasn’t hard to reach up and playfully tug a strand of Jasper’s hair. “But I don’t need it. We’ve got Teddy, that’s enough.”

A whole mess of kids – four, maybe five – was the type of dream Harry had back when he thought his life would be normal. Back when Harry envisioned himself as an auror, maybe playing quidditch professionally, and he thought he’d end up marrying Ginny Weasley and getting to truly be a part of the Weasley family for the rest of his life. That was an old dream though, one that died the same time Harry did. Harry wasn’t sure what his dreams were anymore, but he knew that Jasper was a necessity and that anything that cause Jasper unhappiness was not a dream of Harry’s.

If it happened? It would be terrifying and brilliant and Harry wouldn’t know what to do with himself. If it didn’t? That would be disappointing and it would be okay.

“I love you.” Jasper bent down so his forehead rested on Harry’s and their noses bumped together. “I don’t know how I ever deserved you, but I love you, Harry Potter.”

“And I love you, Jasper Whitlock,” Harry said, meaning it. He kissed Jasper again, a soft and sweet kiss, unhurried, before grinning at his fiancé. “We should go, deliver these portkeys… maybe see if we can’t get some more practice in…”

Practice for the honeymoon, obviously.

Jasper laughed and the hurt that had been twisting his perfect face smoothed away as they broke apart to continue their errand together.

“I forgot to ask, but what did you tell Isabella?” Jasper asked Harry curiously. “When she wanted to know what to expect, with Edward?”

“Oh.” It wasn’t all that exciting, not as terrible as the teasing that Jasper admitted to pulling on Edward that resulted in Edward being a dick. “I just told her to take those muggle pills, the ones you bought me when you thought I was a muggle? Tylenol? I told her to take those afterward and to try sucking him beforehand so that they had plenty of lube.”

Harry shrugged and felt a flash of satisfaction when it was Jasper who seemed to choke on his saliva at Harry’s nonchalance. It had actually been a mortifying conversation as Harry liked to keep his sex life as private as possible, but payback for Jasper’s earlier discussion on ejaculate still felt nice.

It also felt nice when they picked up the stack of portkeys, all of them as little golden flowers, for their guests and passed them out. It was the last real task that Harry had to do before they went to Hogwarts in a few days.

Harry was meant to write his vows, since Jasper had sweetly said he wrote his own and Harry wanted to do the same, but he figured that would come to him in time. If not, then Harry would just wing it at the alter. The important thing was that they were married, not that Harry brought people to tears with a bunch of words that didn’t matter. Jasper knew how Harry felt and Harry knew how Jasper felt.

Everything else was inconsequential.

Chapter Text

June 16

“Do you trust me?”

Bree Tanner looked hard in Alice’s golden eyes, the ones that Bree would eventually have herself, and she smiled softly.

“Not even a little bit,” Bree told her in as sweet of a voice as she could pull off. “In fact, in the long list of people that I trust, you’re at the very bottom, muñeca.”

That wasn’t true, not at all.

In just three weeks, the little manic-pixie-dream girl brought to life had somehow inserted herself in Bree’s life and just- she was –

There weren’t really words to explain what Alice was, not in either of the languages that Bree knew.

She was beautiful and funny, she talked faster than anyone Bree knew. She knew what Bree was going to say before Bree even said it. She was bossy, way too obsessed with clothes, and according to her, Bree was going to love her for an eternity.

As far as ‘soulmates’ went, Alice was a que chingone one to get.

That didn’t mean Bree believed in soulmates. Bree had a girlfriend before she was turned, one that called Bree her soulmate. And that bitch didn’t even share the post about Bree going missing on Facebook. What was that? They were in love and talking about adopting a cat together and then Bree disappeared in February and she just… changed her relationship status to single and went about her life?

Bree should have killed her before she agreed to give up human blood.

Alice thought it was a funny story, probably because Alice was a little crazy. Bree liked crazy women though; they weren’t red flags, they were fun facts.

“If you don’t trust me then why are you going to grab this portkey in twenty-four seconds?” Alice asked, staring at Bree with wide and innocent eyes.

“Probably because you’re going to trick me into grabbing it,” Bree said.

Not before the rest of Alice’s freaking weird family joined them though. Okay, it wasn’t entirely fair. Not all of Alice’s family was weird. The doctor, Carlisle? He was cool. His wife, Esme? Bree liked her on principal. Emmett seemed cool, Bree and him bonded over dirty jokes while Bree was forcing herself to pretend that elk tasted anywhere near as good as human. But Rosalie? Emmett’s smoking hot wife? She seemed like one of the girls from Bree’s CNA classes that thought they were better than everyone else when they were all literally learning to wipe asses together.

And Edward, Jesus Christ, Bree couldn’t stand Alice’s brother Edward.

Edward might not be so bad on his own, even with the moody ass piano music he was always playing, but Edward came with a human chick that made Bree want to kill her more than Bree had ever wanted anything. Edward probably knew that, since Alice said he was a mind-reader, and it probably explained why Edward seemed to avoid Bree like she was the plague on Earth.

Honestly, you get recruited to one army and try to kill a dude’s family and suddenly they were all glares and eye rolls.

Bree just couldn’t win.

Bella was cool enough when she was hanging out with Bree, Alice, and Alice’s witch friend Ginny. Bree thought she wore too many flannels to really pull off ‘straight and in love with Edward’, but Alice swore that they were a package deal so Bree ignored it. Supposedly, Bella was going to be turned in a couple of months, it was that or the Volturi – vampire cops? – were going to kill her.

Emmett said if anyone killed Bella that Harry, Alice’s other brother’s fiancé, would kill them. Then someone said that Harry would get killed and Emmett laughed and said that Harry would just come back to life to keep on keepin’ on. Or, at least, that was the vibe that Bree got.

Harry seemed cool, if only because he sounded like a one-man freak show and that was the only kind of man that Bree had patience for. Bree was glad that the army she had been recruited to didn’t win, it would have made them all look stupid as hell if they killed ‘the wizard’ that Riley warned them of only for him to like… come back to life.

Plus, if they did manage to kill him, then Bree wouldn’t get to take a magical ride to a magical wedding to watch two dudes say ‘fuck tradition’ and get married.

So that was cool.

“Isabella isn’t coming?” Esme asked Edward in her soft and sweet Mama voice. They all had a finger on the golden flower statue Alice held and Bree thought it would be some shit Alice would pull for it to just be a normal statue.

Edward glanced at Bree, not quick enough for Bree to not notice, and then smiled tightly at Esme.

“She’s traveling with Jacob and Ginny, she’ll meet us there,” he said, code for: I don’t trust Bree to not eat her.

Which, Bree tried to think very loudly, according to the gossip she kept hearing in the packed house, maybe someone should be doing. The poor girl was trying to get laid and Edward wasn’t giving it up.

Probably because he was as queer-coded as Bella was. Just two gay babies trying to force a sexual relationship. Plenty of people lived like that, but even eternity was too short for bad sex.

Bree heard Edward snap his teeth, they all did, but the statue suddenly sucked them all in some horrible magical vortex and Bree had to use all of her concentration on watching Alice’s serene expression so she didn’t scream.

‘Portkeys’ were terrible and if Bree was a human then she would vomit right on the… right on the…

Holy shit.

Two seconds ago, Bree had been standing in a little group huddle with Alice’s family in their fancy ass living room. But the magic statue thing dragged her through a vortex and spit her out in front of an honest to God castle. It was probably the most beautiful thing that Bree had ever seen.

And Bree saw Alice Cullen naked the night before so… like… that was saying something.

The castle was huge, all dark brick and probably hella creepy at night time. In the bright daylight though, it was gorgeous. And the grounds it sat on, the endless hills of rich green grass? They were just as breathtaking.

Probably a pain in the ass to mow…

“Welcome to Hogwarts,” Alice chirped brightly. She stuffed the statue in her purse and grabbed Bree’s hand. “Come on, lets go find everyone!”

That was the other thing that Bree didn’t like about Alice. Alice was obsessed with being around people, Bree hated people. Vamps, humans, gay wizards, didn’t matter. Bree was not a people person.

It was one of two reasons why Bree took her CNA license straight to a hospice center when she got it. Dealing with dying people who usually couldn’t even talk was way easier than dealing with fully-living ones. Being forced in an army had been like a nightmare, all close quarters and people talking to her twenty-four seven, never needing to stop to even sleep.

At least being dragged by Alice meant that Bree escaped her family for more interesting people, hopefully. Ginny the Teenage Witch was cool, Harry the gay invincible wizard with a uterus was cool. Bree hadn’t actually had a full conversation with Alice’s brother, Jasper, but he probably sucked. Anyone who tried to rip Bree’s head off her body – even in a war – totally sucked.

Alice led Bree inside the front doors of the castle that were twice as tall as Bree was and gleamed when they were opened. Bree only got a small chance to look around the huge foyer type of room in the castle before Alice was leading her toward where voices could be heard behind another set of huge golden doors.

It was a fuck ton of red-heads.

Correction, it was a fuck ton of red-heads and the smelly shapeshifters that tore apart the vampires Bree used to live with.

Another correction, it was red-heads, smelly shapeshifters, and a few people dressed in dramatic emo cloaks that all turned and stared at Bree and Alice.

“Alice!” One of the people Bree didn’t know, one that smelled like smoke and sparkles (Alice said that scent meant they were magic and that Bree should memorize the smell and never ever bite anyone with magic blood or they’d be pissed) broke out of the group to smile at Alice.

Bree usually would have gotten annoyed to have an older woman smile at her girl, but she kind of doubted that the woman was after Alice. Even if she was, there was no way that Alice would go for her. Bree didn’t do fashion at all, but Bree would still never be caught dead (could she still say that?) in the frumpy white dress and black cape the woman wore.

“Poppy!” Alice said, smiling and bouncing on her feet and not letting go of Bree’s hand. “Meet Bree, Bree’s a nurse too!”

Bree smirked and didn’t correct Alice that technically she was a CNA, not a nurse. ‘Poppy’ turned her smile on Bree and offered her hand.

“Are you another friend of Harry’s?” Poppy asked, impressively not making a face when Bree shook her hand even though Bree’s hands had to be cold as hell. “I’ve just met Miss Weasley’s… friends.”

Bree followed Poppy’s eyes and would have choked at the picture being presented if she could.

Ginny stood in a group with five of the smelly shapeshifters, perfectly looking like the meme of Piper Perri. Bree knew one of the shapeshifters was Ginny’s boyfriend, but they all looked hella similar with their black hair, tanned skin, cut off shirts, and muscles. When Bree turned to ask Alice if she had seen that meme (or the porno, Bree never watched it but maybe Alice had) Alice was waving at the group of red-heads.

“I’m with Harry’s fiancé’s sister,” Bree told Poppy, just to be polite, before she was promptly dragged to the red-heads.

“For someone who likes people so much, you’re rude to them,” Bree told Alice, loving it.

“Poppy’s used to me,” Alice said with no apologies. “I’ve been here every weekend for months. This wedding has been a nightmare,” she added cheerfully. Bree smiled, a little too fond.

Alice was just so damn cute, it was terrible.

It was less cute when Alice began introducing Bree to Ginny’s relatives almost too quickly to catch their names. It was a perk of vampire brain that Bree caught them all – she could totally kick ass in college with the way she could process information.

The woman with the messy red bun with a few streaks of grey was Molly, Ginny’s mom. She was married to the tall and bald man, Arthur. The oldest of the red-headed kids was Bill, he had the ponytail and the super hot blonde wife that had a total bitch face and a baby on her hip, Fleur. The baby was Victory, or something like that. Bree didn’t pay attention to the baby, not with the hot MILF standing there.

There was George, who had one ear. Percy, who had on glasses and stood close to the brother that looked the most like Emmett, Charlie.

Bree made sure that Charlie saw as she real slowly wrapped her arm around Alice’s tiny waist and let her fingers drum on Alice’s hipbone. Charlie licked his lips, winked, and mouthed ‘Threesome?’ and Bree laughed.

“I told you that you’d like Charlie,” Alice whispered smugly. Alice did say it, but Bree had never liked one of her girlfriends exes before and didn’t plan on starting then.

“He’s just trying to brag that he bagged the hottest vamp here,” Bree sniffed jokingly. She tossed her hair over her shoulder, sticking her nose up as she did. “And I do mean me, obviously.”

When Bree peered an eye open, her fake-haughtiness melted away immediately at the open and adoring way that Alice looked at her. Bree didn’t know what future Alice saw that made her so immediately sure of Bree, but it was hard to doubt when Alice looked at Bree with more love than anyone ever had before.

Alice was a little baby gay with her own uhaul trailing behind her, but Bree didn’t mind.

“You are perfect,” Alice sighed.

Bree lit up with a smile. “Can you repeat that? Louder? So your ex-Mister-Beefcake over there can hear how absolutely perfect I am?”

He definitely heard because Bree heard him laugh just before he turned to talk to his brother, Percy. Alice didn’t look bothered by Bree’s pettiness, she probably liked it if the tiny smile on her lips was any hint. Crazy chicks liked jealous girlfriends, it was one of their fun facts that Bree learned.

Alice rolled her eyes then continued pointing people out to Bree with a little smile.

Bree already met Ron and his wife Hermione. Bree liked Hermione, she was the psycho that screamed about putting Harry’s baby in a closet if Harry went to prison. Bree and Alice had been sitting in the backyard, sitting on the swings while Bree tried to absorb the shift in course that her life took that day. Then the people inside the house, the ones that smelled like smoke and did magic with their fingers, started yelling and Bree had laughed for the first time in her life as a vampire.

When Alice’s family joined all the other people in the room and Alice went to chat at someone she called Minerva, Bree looked around the room they were in with interest. It was exactly the sort of thing that Bree expected the inside of a castle to look like. The walls were all old brick, recently polished. Bree walked over to the nearest wall, the one that had a red and gold flag on in with a lions head, and she traced the carving she couldn’t read from where she had been standing.

Colin Creevey, it said.

Bree looked around and counted every brick with a name on in – fifty one. It was a neat trick of Bree’s new and improved genius brain to see each brick that was spaced evenly around the room, and she darted from brick to brick, to touch each one and read the name on it. When Bree got to the last one, the man with one ear, George, already stood there.

“Fred Weasley,” he read for her, his finger tracing the name carved in the brick. George sounded like he was going to cry and Bree did not fuck with men when they were crying.

“Relative?” Bree guessed, looking around for a red-head, smelly shapeshifter, or fellow vamp to save her. One of the smell shapeshifters caught her look of panic and swung a hand out to Ginny, nodding in Bree and George’s direction.

“Twin,” George said. “He died two years ago, in May.”

“Cool… cool…” Bree mumbled, backing away quickly as Ginny showed up like a red-headed hero to deal with her brother.

Since Bree was promised a bachelor party with wizards and not told anything about fifty one dead people names carved on the walls, she returned to Alice’s side quickly and asked in a whisper where the soon-to-be hubbies were.

“Harry’s here?” Hermione asked, catching Bree’s question. “Where is he?”

“No idea.” Alice scrunched her nose up, the cutest face she made, when she stood up on her tip-toes to search the room for Harry, Jasper, or their son. “I think- I think… I’m getting a headache trying to see anything happening this week,” Alice complained. She rubbed her forehead with her knuckles and did look like she was hurting.

Bree didn’t think her ‘gift’ worked on vampires, but she rubbed Alice’s back and tried to take away the pain anyway. Bree fucked around a lot, but she didn’t like to see people in pain. Even when she was a little girl, Bree would get snotty if one of her friends got injured. When Maritza Lom broke her ankle in softball practice in eighth grade, Bree had stolen Vicodin from her mama’s purse to give her the next day just to make sure she wasn’t hurting.

And when Maritza was high off her ass after school, Bree got her first kiss for it.

“I’ve got the map,” Ron said, grinning at Hermione when she swatted his chest lightly. “Oi! You were the one rushing me out the door, I told you I had something important to grab. I knew we’d be tracking Harry all weekend, didn’t I?”

Ron talked just like Bree always thought a British person would. If he had crooked teeth and called everyone ‘love’ then he would be the perfect stereotype.

When Alice crowded closer to Ron to look at the piece of old-timey paper he pulled from his pocket, Bree did too. It looked like the type of thing that pirates would use in a movie to find the treasure, a stupid way to track their ‘friend’.

Unless Harry and Ron were ex-lovers and that was why Hermione really blew up on Harry a few weeks ago. Maybe Hermione thought Ron was going to object to the wedding… stand up and declare his gay-ass love for Harry in front of his entire family. Otherwise, Bree had no idea why it seemed like all of Ron’s family showed up for his ‘friend’s’ wedding.

There had to be some gay shit between them, maybe a little experimental phase when they were younger.

No shame, Bree had a straight phase. She just didn’t go to Josh Kennedy’s wedding with her familia and object when he married Cassie Shanley after knocking her up.

Secretly-gay or not though, that map was que chingone.

It started with some message about Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs introducing the Marauder’s Map and then ink magically spread across the paper, creating a full map of the castle they were in. Bree knew it was the castle for sure because she instantly saw her name in a room labelled ‘Great Hall’ along with all of the others. It only took Bree one-eighth of a second to see that ‘Harry Potter’ wasn’t listed on the map, which made Ron and Hermione look all worried.

Maybe they were a throuple, maybe Ron and Hermione both were going to object to Harry marrying Jasper.

Bree had never missed human food as much as she did then. Popcorn would be a toda madre.

“The forest?” Hermione asked.

Ron nodded, “Dunno where else he would be.”

“Well Jasper is… there.” Bree pointed at a dot by itself on the map, in a room labeled ‘Headmistresses Office’. “Maybe Harry’s hiding under a desk.”

Ron snorted and tapped the map with his wand, clearing away the ink, before he carefully folded it up and stuck it in his back pocket.

“It shows that, trust me,” Ron said with a grin. “Alright, love, why don’t you go get Jasper and I’ll go find Harry? He’s probably under the cloak.”

“Bree will go,” Alice said abruptly. Bree turned to her very slowly and arched an eyebrow as she spoke through a clenched jaw.

“Bree will do what?” Bree asked.

Bree was so not going to go searching for a crazy person hiding in the woods. She wasn’t some dumbass white girl in the beginning of a slasher film… even though she supposed that she was actually the monster featured in most horror films.

Cool.

It took Alice forty seconds exactly to convince Bree to go get Harry while Hermione went to get Jasper and Ron helped Alice ‘start setting up for the parties’. Alice was supernaturally manipulative, with those big doe eyes framed with thick lashes and the innocent way that she swore she would ‘owe Bree one’.

Bree’s old crew, the friends she had and couldn’t contact again, would laugh their asses off to see her so whipped.

At least Harry was easy to track, even though Bree’s attention kept getting diverted at the weird animals she kept spotting. There were some downsides to super-brain and the unmedicated ADHD way that Bree kept twisting her head around to look at weird animals was definitely one of them.

Harry was deep in the forest and completely invisible. If Bree couldn’t hear him breathing shallowly and smelled the thick scent of smoke that his nasty blood carried, she never would have found him. As it was, Bree was distracted again by the dead ground they stood on. Bree’s abuela would have called it cursed ground, but Abuela would have called Bree cursed too.

“Jasper send you?” Harry asked, his voice just floating from the place where his body had to be hidden, right in the middle of the cursed ground.

“Alice,” Bree said. “Your friends are looking for you. I think you’re supposed to be getting married this weekend.”

“Yeah, I know.” Harry’s head appeared suddenly and Bree had to look down, since Harry was sitting on the ground. All Bree could see was the side profile of Harry’s face and – thank God – he wasn’t crying, but he didn’t look like a man preparing to marry his lover either.

Strike three for Bree’s personal theory that Harry was still in love with Ron and/or Hermione.

“This is where I died,” Harry said, sounding enough like he was just thinking out loud that Bree didn’t feel any pressure to respond. Bree died behind a Blockbuster video in Seattle, which was the lamest place to die so she didn’t plan on telling anyone about it.

The forest they were in was a cool place to go, it had all the right vibes for murder.

“It’s just… everything’s so different.” Harry sniffled and Bree debated on hauling ass back to the castle and making Alice drag her buddy back by herself. Bree knew that everyone cried at weddings – her mama, abuela, and tías always did – but two grown men in the timeframe of an hour was too much.

“Everything is supposed to be different,” Bree said. She put some excitement in her voice, trying to hype Harry up. She didn’t know what the fuck was going on with everyone, but it was a wedding. A wedding that Alice planned, which meant it had to be hella fun and chaotic.

Bree shifted around and sank to her knees in front of Harry, smiling at him and trying to get the guy to perk up.

“You’ve got it all happening, right now, güey,” Bree reminded him, warming up to her own pep-talk. “What could make you frown? You’re a forever young, hot, rich, white guy. There’s literally nothing you can’t do. Quit thinking about being dead and start thinking about being alive, chico loco.”

“Neither can live while the other survives…” Harry murmured quietly, looking down at the ground. “Yeah, yeah, you’re right.”

When he snapped his head up, Bree was surprised by how endlessly green his eyes were.

If Bree was attracted to men, she might think Harry was cute. He was, in a sort of anime way with big green eyes, the messy dark hair, and the ‘main character’ vibes he gave. He sort of reminded Bree of Hōtarō Oreki in looks, if not personality. Hōtarō was a lazy genius and Harry was an energetic psychopath with what Bree assumed was a long history of making hilarious decisions.

Getting magically knocked up by a vampire? Hilarious. Maybe Bree would be as crazy as Harry and Alice were after a few decades of immortality. Actually…

Bree waited until Harry agreed to head back to the castle, already looking like he was in a better mood, to ask him about when he died. Alice and most of her family were easy enough to guess, they all talked like old people, but with Harry’s British accent mixed with the American slang that rolled off his tongue, he was harder to guess at.

“Two years ago in May,” Harry told her, surprising the hell out of Bree. It also reminded Bree of what George said, about his twin.

“So when Fred Weasley did?” Bree guessed. Bree could hear Harry’s heart racing in his chest after she asked that, he was the only immortal that Bree knew of who had a heart that beat.

Alice said that Harry was the only immortal wizard in all of history, which was incredibly badass.

“Same day,” Harry said. He smiled at Bree, a bitter and mocking smile, one that Bree thought suited him. “I’m trying to not cry, or summon all of McGonagall’s liquor, mind if we talk about something else?”

“Sure. What’s that?” Bree pointed through the forest toward what looked like a walking stick that climbed up the trunk of a tree.

“Bowtruckle,” Harry sighed, relaxing at the question. “And see the blue insect flying just above it? That’s a billwig, they’re poisonous to muggles.”

They spent the rest of the slow walk like that, Harry explaining what different ‘creatures’ were. It was all hella cool, definitely worth trading her shit life to enter a world where monsters were pretty pixie girls and magic was real.

Or life really was all a simulation and Bree just entered a new level, one that ran like a D&D game. Bree felt like she rolled an eighteen with her ‘gift’ and her good luck at meeting Alice just before Jasper ripped her head from her body.

Jasper waited outside the doors of the castle for Harry and he nodded at Bree when she returned his mopey fiancé to him.

“I’m fine,” Harry told him when Jasper reached a hand out and Harry took it. Harry smiled at Jasper and shrugged. “I just needed to be stupid for a minute.”

“Come be stupid with me,” Jasper said. “Your family is at the quidditch field.”

Bree thought Harry didn’t have any family, just a baby who smelled like a dog. But it wasn’t Bree’s problem, she had a manic little pixie to find. Jasper took Harry across the lawn and Bree went back inside the castle to try her nose at tracking.

Alice had her own specific smell, like French perfume and vanilla, and Bree thought hard about that smell while she tried to trace it. It was hard to do, with all the smell of magic and wet-dogs…

Bree looked in the ‘Great Hall’ first and shook her head even when she double checked with her eyes what her nose already said. There was Molly, holding her son, Percy, while they cried together by the brick with Fred Weasley’s name on it, but no Alice…

Bree followed the faint trace of Alice’s scent up the staircase, occasionally pausing to check out the moving old fashioned portraits on the wall. One of them, a healthy looking old woman in a bright purple dress, squinted at Bree just as Bree did her.

“You’re a vampire then, are you, dearie?” she asked in a high-pitched nasally voice. “I don’t suppose you know if Mister Potter is really marrying a vampire, do you?”

“Seems like it,” Bree shrugged, taking the talking magic portrait in stride. Once you went from a freshman in college to a vampire in an army, you sort of stopped worrying if the whole world was crazy or not.

Because it was.

“Disgusting,” the woman sniffed, looking thrilled about it. “Thank you, dearie. Do try and not eat any students, Minerva has a wonderful track record as Headmistress.”

“I’ll try,” Bree said, smiling sharply.

Nah, Bree wouldn’t really drain anyone of blood. It had been gross to start with and Alice would make big sad eyes at her if she did it again. Just because Bree was a ‘monster’ didn’t mean she had to be a monster.

Bree continued following the faint scent of Alice in the direction where it grew. Occasionally, she’d get distracted by someone she heard behind one of the many doors in the giant castle.

There was a woman with long black hair that rushed out of one room, chasing after a little kid that might have been Harry’s kid, she screamed “Teddy” anyway. The little boy had light blonde hair, real fine, though so it might have been a coincidence. Another room had a smelly shapeshifter making out with a wizard that had the same light blonde hair that the little boy from earlier had. Bree whistled at the shapeshifter and wizard, making them jump apart with red cheeks, before she winked and continued her search.

Bree must have walked up a thousand steps – the place was a school? – before Alice’s scent grew and so did the sound of more godforsaken people.

“You found me!” Alice yelled. She jumped out from behind a multicolored tapestry hanging on the wall and launched herself in Bree’s arms.

“You’re not hard to find, muñeca,” Bree said as she swung Alice in a circle, smiling at the sparkle of happiness in Alice’s eyes. “I just listen for the sound of chaos and there you are.”

“I’m not creating chaos, not right now.” Alice laughed prettily and then kissed Bree on the lips.

Vampire kisses were like a million times better than every kiss Bree ever had from a human. Maybe it was all the extra senses; the touch of Alice’s skin, soft to Bree’s hands; the taste of her lips, sweet and intoxicating at the same time; the light sigh Alice made, a noise of contentment. Whatever it was, Bree liked it.

“What are you doing?” Bree asked when they broke apart before they got carried away. Bree had a light exhibition kink, but all the giggling portraits in the hallway were too many sets of eyes.

“Decorating for Harry’s party,” Alice said factually. “Come see?”

Bree allowed herself to be dragged by Alice again – probably a reoccurring theme for the eternity that Alice was confident they’d spend together – down the hallway toward a giant painting hanging on the wall.

“Password?” the woman in a pink silk dress said, fanning herself and hiding giggles when she looked at Bree and Alice’s entwined hands.

“I do,” Alice said, making the painting swing forward and reveal a hidden passageway.

“What a lame password,” Bree said, crawling through the tunnel and checking out Alice’s ass as she went.

“I’m hoping if Harry has to say it enough times over the next few days that he won’t mess up his lines when the time comes,” Alice said. “You’re staring.”

Bree smirked, “You have a great ass.”

“I know.” Alice popped out the other end of the tunnel and took Bree’s hand. “But there really are more important things right now. You have to tell me, how does it look?”

“I already said it looks great,” Bree teased her. “Ooh, you mean this place?”

Bree looked around the room they were in and took it all in. There was an offensive amount of red and gold in the room, like the Harvard Alumni went full psycho on the place. There were tables lined up against one wall, covered in food and drinks that Bree hated she couldn’t have. There was a huge round table in the center of the room, right in front of the fireplace, with poker chips and cards set up. Between the two staircases on the opposite side of the room sat a record-player that had to be magic since it was playing freaking Nickleback.

“The music sucks, but it looks like a bachelor party,” Bree shrugged. “Did you get strippers?”

“Strippers?” Alice turned a blank look toward Bree. “What- should I have?”

“Uh, yeah,” Bree scoffed. “It’s a bachelor party. Did nobody get Jasper strippers either?”

Honestly, Bree expected better.

“Emmett planned Jasper’s party…” Alice’s lower lip wobbled and if she cried then Bree was going to cry. “He probably got Jasper strippers and I didn’t get Harry strippers because I couldn’t see that he needed them because I CAN’T SEE ANYTHING!”

Ay caramba.

Bree had Alice in her arms again, doing the weird dry sobbing that vampires did, while she rubbed her back and tried to reassure her that Harry’s party probably wouldn’t suck even without strippers. Personally, if Bree ever got married and didn’t have strippers at her bachelor party then she wasn’t even sure what the point was. But Harry was a gay immortal wizard with a heart that beat and a uterus inside of him, so he was already an oddity.

“Will you help me find strippers?” Alice asked, sniffling up at Bree with dry eyes but her sad little lip sticking out. “I still have to set up the bedroom and make sure that Emmett has the Hufflepuff rooms set up…”

“Alice, muñeca, where the hell am I supposed to find strippers here?” Bree asked bluntly. “Just forget I said anything, okay? Harry probably hates strippers.”

“I CAN’T RUIN HIS BACHELOR PARTY OR HERMIONE WILL BE ANGRY WITH ME AND HARRY WILL NEVER FORGIVE ME FOR EGYPT!”

So Bree had to go search a magic castle for strippers…

Actually…

Harry was gay, so… Bree just had to find the smelly shapeshifters… and she had to remember to go to Jasper’s bachelor party… where Emmett hopefully found chick strippers.

The shapeshifters stunk up the place enough that they weren’t hard to track. Bree went back down the stairs, out the front door, and walked around the castle to get to the backside of it. There were a bunch of the red-heads and the shapeshifters out back, all flying high on magic broomsticks up in the air. Bree drifted over beside Bella, who didn’t smell so much like the best meal in the world when everything else  smelled so strongly.

“What are they doing?” Bree asked. There were fourteen players up in the sky, a mix of vampires and wizards and shapeshifters. The others were crowded around a table where Bree smelled more food she couldn’t freaking eat.

Blood or nothing, being a vampire was like joining a lame gang without potlucks or nachos.

“They’re playing quidditch,” Bella told her. She pointed where Harry was racing Ginny on brooms, Bree could see their expressions perfectly even from the ground and saw that they weren’t fucking around. “Harry and Ginny are seekers. Harry made Jared and Quil,” Bella pointed at two of the shapeshifters on broomsticks with short baseball bats, “play beater. Jake and Embry,” two more shapeshifters with baseball bats, “are beaters for Ginny’s team. Ron,” the redhead looking bored in the middle of three goalposts, “is keeper for Harry.”

Yeah he was, Bree smirked to herself.

“Charlie is keeping for Ginny.”

Bree hoped his team lost.

“Then Jasper, Rosalie, and Emmett are playing chasers for Harry, see how they’re passing the ball back and forth?” It didn’t look much like a ball, but yeah, Bree could see them laughing and passing something red between them while they flew toward where Charlie waited.

If Bree was real lucky, they’d hit Charlie out of the air with the red thing and Bree could decide between catching him – proving her superiority to him – or letting him fall.

“Then Edward, George, and Bill are chasers for Ginny’s team.”

“Who’s winning?” Bree asked.

Bella laughed and shrugged her flannel covered lowkey-gay-as-hell shoulders. “No idea, I think that it depends on who catches the snitch. Ginny plays professionally, but Harry had been offered to play professionally too, so I think they’re an even match.”

Bree liked Alice, they were basically girlfriends, but Bree didn’t sign away her life when she started kissing Alice anytime she felt like it. So Bree didn’t feel too bad when she checked Bella out from her long dark hair clear down to her ‘lesbian-best’ Converse sneakers.

“Hey, Bella?  You and Harry ever…?” Bree wiggled her eyebrows until Bella blushed, adding a fresh layer of thirst to Bree’s constantly-burning throat.

“Uh, no,” Bella said, laughing nervously. “Harry’s my best friend.”

“So… you ever thought about being a stripper?”

Bella said a pretty firm no, but Jasper heard Bree’s question from the air and whispered with Emmett, both of them laughing their asses off before telling Bree to go talk with Jared after he landed.

The smelly shapeshifters thought that Bree’s idea was excellent and four of them – Jared, Quil, Embry, and Paul – all agreed to pose as strippers for the night. Apparently Ginny’s boyfriend, Jacob Black, was Harry’s cousin and ‘didn’t hate Harry’ so he refused to help out.

Whatever made Alice stop (probably fake) crying was good for Bree though, as long as she ditched Harry’s party in time to make it to Jasper’s. Even if Bree couldn’t eat any of the food that looked delicious or drink any of the mixed drinks being made for the parties, she still thought being a vampire was totally worth getting to go to two magical bachelor parties.

Chapter Text

June 17th

Harry wanted a quiet bachelor party, if he had to have one at all.

All Harry expected of the evening was Ron, Hermione, Jake, maybe a few of his other friends to show up. They could have a normal amount of liquor, not enough to make Harry do anything stupid. They could play cards, have a few laughs, and Harry could pretend the Gryffindor Tower was decorated enough to not bring about too many memories.

And then Alice bloody Cullen took over the party planning and the Gryffindor Tower was filled with people, music, food. There wasn’t a lot of liquor, which a few of Harry’s mates from school rectified after noticing and Jake tried to keep Harry from obtaining. There were a lot of jokes being made at Harry’s expense.

“What happens when you’re an old man and he’s still young and sexy?” Seamus Finnigan asked Harry from where he was comfortably lounged across Dean Thomas’s lap.

Harry sent a glance toward where Ginny was dancing and laughing with Luna and Neville, wondering what it said about Ginny that three of her ex-boyfriends wound up in relationships with men after dating her.

Probably nothing bad.

“That’s quite personal,” Hermione frowned at Seamus, shaking her head. “And ageist. Are you saying that people over a certain age don’t deserve to be in loving relationships?”

“No, he’s saying that–” George hiccuped and leaned heavy on Angelina Johnson’s shoulder. George winked at Harry, his reactions slowed by the shots he had done with the older Weasley brothers before they took off to ‘check out the competition’.

“Seamus is saying that at some point Harry won’t be able to get it up and- and the vampire will go looking for hookups,” Oliver Wood, Harry’s old quidditch captain, said, just as drunkenly as George.

“So when I’m old you’re gonna – what? Shag my brother?!” Marcus Flint, Oliver’s partner cried.

“Obviously,” Draco drawled, also mostly sloshed off his arse.

The thing about Harry not drinking was that everyone else being drunk was actually rather annoying. People just kept showing up, filtering between the two bachelor parties happening in the castle.

Harry didn’t understand why they had to have two parties if all Harry’s friends were going to flit back and forth like confused and drunk owls delivering messages.

Luna told Harry that Jasper was drinking. Charlie Weasley told Harry that there were meant to be strippers at Jasper’s party but that Carlisle canceled them because Jasper was uncomfortable (Harry tried to not be happy about that). Everyone just kept showing up with reports of Harry’s fiancée and the party that Harry didn’t think they needed to have separate.

Harry had been debating if he even wanted to stay for his party or if he wanted to sneak off to find Jasper. It was daft to have separate parties… why did they need to celebrate separately when the entire weekend was meant to be about Harry and Jasper being together for an eternity?

Also, other drunk people were incredibly annoying and Harry had never actually seen inside the Hufflepuff common room before.

The main motivation Harry had in ditching his party to go find Jasper was Jasper, of course, but there were definitely other benefits to it.

The benefits tripled when Harry’s horribly embarrassing and idiotic friends ran down the stairs from the boys dorm with loud music playing to catch everyone’s attention. Harry turned to see what was going on and saw Jared, Quil, and Embry shirtless and waggling their hips side-to-side in a provocative way.

“Where’s the bride-to-beeeee?” Embry called, winking when some people whistled at him.

Harry could put up with a lot, he could and he had. But there was no chance that Harry was going to suffer through whatever that was while sober and without Jasper there for reinforcement.

“Here.” Hermione had Harry’s invisibility cloak and she shoved it to him quickly while everyone else’s attention was diverted. Hermione grinned sheepishly, “I thought, well, you do often have emergencies.”

 “You’re the best,” Harry whispered to her, after putting his cloak on to hide from view. It wasn’t a moment too soon, as he could see George egging on the guys and Harry had no desire to see his friends any more undressed than they already were.

Hermione didn’t seem to mind though, she didn’t even respond when Harry said she was the best. Hermione was entirely distracted by the La Push boys and so Harry only shook his head and slipped away.

The castle was warmly lit, hardly a spare inch of the place went without decoration of some sort. Alice had gone rather mad with lights and flowers, insisting that all the corridors and staircases needed to be decorated. The end result was rather pretty, it covered the scars and left a warm path for Harry to follow as he went in search of the one common room he had never been inside before.

Even with the decorations, Harry could trail his fingertips on the walls and feel memories soaking through him as he walked…

For every good memory, there was one of terror to match it.

Harry and Ron had been caught with Norbert in that corridor… it was where Greyback had attacked Bill the night Dumbledore died.

A secret passageway, Harry had been shown the passage by Fred and George in his first year, though he could never find it when he needed it…

The wall that had been blown apart when Fred died had been repaired, no damage remaining to show what that wall took from the world…

As much as Harry loved Hogwarts, would always have the memory of being eleven and scared, finding comfort and friends within the castle… it had changed.

Harry changed too, he wasn’t the same boy he had once been. Harry was nearly twenty, technically. He had grown, he had changed.

The scars inside the castle were inside Harry too. And, just as how Alice had decorated the castle to hide the scars, make it something beautiful again… Harry sort of thought that was what Jasper had done to Harry.

Harry liked to think that he would have grown up, matured, been able to scar over on his own. Maybe he would have. Maybe Harry would still be raising Teddy, mostly functional, and able to sleep soundly some nights.

It wasn’t weakness to have Jasper had sped along Harry’s healing though. Harry was certain he would still be oozing pain and misery if Jasper hadn’t shown him how to scar over, to heal.

Jasper knew how to help Harry move on because he had been in Harry’s shoes before. They were equals, nearly. Harry would never die, Jasper had already been alive for centuries.

All of Jasper’s old wounds had healed, leaving him free to help Harry heal. It was perfect kismet, in their unique way.

Harry might never be as pretty as the castle was, but he was still breathing, still looking forward to the future. That had to mean something, it had to prove something.

Not that Harry had anything left to prove though. All he wanted was to find Jasper, spend their last night unmarried together.

For a frozen vampire, Jasper had a knack for chasing away the chill that followed Harry.

The ground floor of the castle was twice as decorated as the rest of the castle was. It was warm with the heat-radiating floating paper lanterns that kept it alight.

Harry wondered if Alice had seen Harry wandering the castle the night before the wedding or not. She might have seen that Harry wouldn’t be as calm as he was if the halls were dark and cold, like they were when he was a student… when there had been a war tearing the castle apart.

Alice also, as Harry could gratefully realize, must have known Harry wouldn’t want to drink. Or maybe Harry wanted to drink too much, which was probably a sign that he shouldn’t drink. Maybe Alice didn’t foresee the others bringing in a bunch of liquor, but at least she had tried.

One day at a time, Harry figured.

He kept up his slow march down the corridor, mostly trying to think of everything that would happen the next day. Harry hadn’t been allowed out on the quidditch pitch after their first day at the castle, but Hermione and Bree swore that Alice had ‘transformed it entirely’. And when that made Harry feel faintly nauseous, Ginny swiftly promised that he would still recognize the pitch even with the decorations.

Andromeda said it was ‘classy’, Teddy called it ‘pretty-ful’.

Harry thought it was both pretty and classy, and he thought that Alice would have been exhausted if she were human. Harry would try to find a way to repay Alice, but judging from the way she had begged to do the decorating in the first place he assumed it had been a labor of love.

The entrance to the Hufflepuff dorms were in the same corridor as the entrance to the kitchen, but that was all Harry knew. It didn’t wind up mattering, Harry found his soon-to-be sister-in-law outside in the corridor as he approached.

“I can heaaar you,” Rosalie sang, giggling in Harry’s general direction. Rosalie giggling was startling enough that Harry pulled his cloak off and blinked at her.

“Are you drunk?” Harry asked. He had seen Rosalie drink before, Ginny had been the one to come up with alcohol-infused-blood, it was still strange though.

Rosalie slumped against the wall and the hem of her sparkling red dress rode up some. It didn’t seem to bother her any though and the smile she gave Harry was blinding.

“Your brothers decided to play a drinking game,” Rosalie explained, not slurring any of her clearly spoken words. “They lost. Jasper’s worse though.”

“Is he?” Harry grinned and glanced toward the door he assumed led to the Hufflepuff rooms. “How drunk is he?”

Rosalie mirrored Harry’s grin and reached out to open the door for him.

“Go see,” she encouraged him.

Harry forgot about the mild gloom the castle brought, the annoyance he had with his friends. All Harry wanted then, more than anything, was to see his fiancée when he was drunk and letting loose with his family.

The first thing that Harry noticed in the Hufflepuff common room was how nice it was. The walls were a dark yellow with comfortable looking furniture pushed all along them. It smelled good in there too, like fresh baked bread and clothes fresh out of the dryer.

The next thing that Harry noticed was the music playing. There had been loud music in the Gryffindor rooms, from muggle bands that Harry liked. Harry couldn’t imagine who picked the loud rap music blaring through the Hufflepuff common room, but it probably wasn’t Jasper.

At least Harry didn’t think so, until he found Jasper dancing along to it with Emmett, Alice, and Bree. And - fuck… - Harry had never seen Jasper dance like he was then.

Jasper had on a black dress shirt, unbuttoned midway down his chest, with matching black trousers. It made the contrast of his white skin to positively glow and Harry couldn’t look away from where Jasper writhed and danced, so unfairly graceful and magnetic.

Emmett was just as graceful despite his bulk and Harry grinned when Emmett and Jasper leaned toward each other to share the dark bottle Emmett wore like a microphone.

“It’s like this and like that and like this —”

Harry let out a surprised laugh and all at once Jasper straightened up. Jasper’s eyes flew directly to where Harry stood and Harry’s stomach exploded when Jasper immediately beamed at him.

“Darlin’!” Jasper called out to Harry and Harry couldn’t even blink before Jasper was right in front of him, smiling down at him like the happiest person in the world.

“Hi.” Harry grinned, already feeling better just being with Jasper. Harry reached out to touch the bared part of Jasper’s chest, tracing his collarbone lightly. “You are drunk,” Harry said.

“Oh, baby.” Jasper sighed and bent down to press his lips against Harry’s in a very heated and very public kiss. Harry didn’t mind until he heard someone whistle in the background.

“I am absolutely drunk,” Jasper confided in a very loud whisper with a boyish grin. “You’re not though.”

“I’m not,” Harry said. “I, er… just decided not to.”

“So…” Jasper had never seemed so relaxed, so young. “Does that mean you won’t dance with me?”

Harry looked around and saw Jasper’s friends, Peter and Charlotte, dancing. He saw Carlisle and Esme chatting with Bill and Fleur Weasley. Rosalie had slipped in behind Harry and was dancing with Emmett beside where Alice and Bree danced around like hyper pixies.

Everyone was cutting loose, enjoying themselves. Who would care if Harry made an idiot of himself while Jasper was in such a playful mood?

“I would love to dance with you,” Harry grinned, “Mister Potter.”

Jasper laughed so loudly that a few people glanced toward them, smiling when they saw Harry and Jasper together.

“I love you, Mister Whitlock,” Jasper countered, already pulling Harry over to where the others were laughing and dancing.

“I hope so!” Harry felt like he needed to yell to be heard, but Jasper could hear him just fine. “Our wedding will be a bit strange otherwise!”

Jasper laughed again then reached behind himself to snatch the bottle out of Emmett’s loose hand.

“We’re getting married tomorrow!” Jasper cried, holding the bottle up.

Everyone cheered and Harry was torn between amusement and embarrassment. Even if Harry’s friends were annoying when they were drunk, Jasper was just as charming then as he always was.

“I can’t believe I’m marrying you tomorrow,” Jasper told Harry, looking at Harry as if Harry were a prize. Jasper traced his hand up Harry’s back, subtly pulling Harry closer to him, and seemed so genuine it made Harry feel a bit emotional.

Harry often thought that he was lucky to have Jasper in his life, but it felt deeper than that. It felt so right that it must have been as fated as Harry’s birth, Harry’s past. If the terrible things in Harry’s life could be attributed to fate, why not the greatest thing in his life?

Fate was what they made it though, that was what Dumbledore had once said. Harry chose Jasper, Jasper chose Harry. And they would continue choosing each other for an eternity.

“Is this what I’m like when I’m drinking?” Harry teased Jasper, trying to sway in time with Jasper’s quick and easy moves and blink away the sentimental tears he brought to his own eyes. “You’re a sap, Jazz,” he accused him fondly.

“Only for you.” Jasper’s eyes had never been as golden as they were when he looked down at Harry. It might have been the lights, warm and low as they were, or maybe even the bloody-booze. It was nice though and made Harry feel warm inside seeing it.

It was also hilarious because Jasper was being such a sap while some song rapped about ‘bitches’.

Harry wound up having twice as much fun at Jasper’s party than he had at his own. The Cullens were more relaxed than Harry had ever seen them, all of them radiating pure joy for Jasper. At one point, it might have made Harry sad to see someone be so wholly supported by their family.

It wasn’t sad though because Harry was going to be a part of that family soon… very soon.

Even Edward wasn’t terribly annoying as he laughed and interacted with the others. Sure, he almost constantly had a hand on Bella, but Bella didn’t seem to mind.

“Next wedding might be yours,” Harry told Bella while their human bodies needed a break from the exuberant dancing that the Cullens were still doing.

“Me? No.” Bella laughed and seemed extremely paranoid as she looked around the common room, probably looking for Alice. Alice was mental about weddings.

“Alice and Bree went to see what’s happening in Gryffindor,” Harry told her. “I think Bill wanted to check on George.”

“We’re eloping,” Bella whispered, her cheeks flushed with excitement so much that Harry couldn’t even complain.

“What a terrible idea,” Harry said cheerfully, not bothering to whisper. “An eternity with Edward sounds miserable.”

“Oh, shut up.” Bella slapped Harry’s shoulder and stuck her nose in the air with fake haughtiness. “You’re growing an illegal and magical womb, you don’t get an opinion on my relationship.”

And that was when Harry learned something that he might have known had he been around to take NEWT Care of Magical Creatures…

Veela had excellent hearing.

“You are doing what?!” Fleur was halfway around the room and her screech was loud enough that Harry found her in the crowd easily. There was a manic light in Fleur’s eyes that weren’t unlike her look of determined excitement before the third task in the Triwizard Tournament.

Harry was scared, very scared.

“I - er… well…” Harry was stammering and searching for Jasper rather desperately when Fleur was suddenly right in front of Harry with her hands on her hips.

“Zis eez WONDERFUL!” Fleur cried, shocking Harry when she threw her arms around him in a fierce hug. Harry liked Fleur, he just never considered them to be very close. Certainly not close enough fit the conversation she wanted to have.

Fleur, apparently, hadn’t had a night off since Victoire was born and had quite a bit to drink. She also kept slipping into French which made her excited conversation about how ‘male pregnancy was highly encouraged in France’ that much more difficult to follow.

“Why should eet be the woman’s problem to carry ze heir?” Fleur said, her hands waving wildly as she ranted to Harry and Bella. “C'est barbare et ignorant! Non?”

“Er, yes?” Harry agreed, exchanging bewildered glances with Bella.

“Very ignorant,” Bella said solemnly, her shoulders shaking with silent laughter.

“Les hommes devraient connaître la beauté et la douleur de mettre leur enfant au monde, n'est-ce pas?”

Harry blinked at Fleur and figured that sounded like a question and it was probably safer to agree with her.

“Yes,” he agreed.

“Oh! What am I saying?” Fleur laughed and hugged Harry again. “You are marrying a man! Oh! I cannot wait! We will have play dates with ze kids! Victoire will love to see ozzer kids! ‘Er cousins!”

Harry waited until Fleur left before he looked over at Bella.

“What just happened??” Harry asked blankly.

“I think,” Bella was struggling to keep a straight face clearly, “that Fleur is going to plan the baby shower.”

Great. Because what Harry wanted was more party-obsessed women taking over his life.

When the bachelor party began to dwindle down, and the non-vampires that had been drinking were falling asleep all over the common room, Harry was quick to attach himself to Jasper’s side.

“I think, traditionally, we’re meant to sleep separately,” Jasper told Harry when Harry made his intentions clear.

“You’re a vampire marrying an immortal wizard,” Harry reminded him. “Why are we pretending to be traditional now?”

Jasper didn’t have any arguments against that, but he gave a token protest anyway. Probably on behalf of Harry’s childhood or something daft.

“You don’t want to spend your last night as a free man with your friends?” Jasper checked even as Harry was already pulling him toward the Hufflepuff dorms.

“And miss the chance to see if Hufflepuff has the best beds in the castle?” Harry grinned and then sighed when Jasper seemed to want a real response. “Jazz, I don’t need to celebrate being single or whatever because I’m not sad to give that up.”

In one motion too quick for Harry to see coming - and too uncoordinated for Jasper to be anything except exceptionally drunk - Jasper had scooped Harry up in his arms.

“Me either,” Jasper agreed. “I vote that we have our last night of unmarried immoral sex then.”

Harry laughed, even if he also blushed at the quiet snickers from Jasper’s family who were lingering in the common room and pretending to give them a moment of privacy.

“Yeah, alright,” Harry agreed. He laid his head on Jasper’s shoulder and felt a thrill of childish excitement at getting to infiltrate the Hufflepuff dorms. Just like their common room, they were warm and comfortable looking. With most of the ‘vampire-groom’s’ guests not needing sleep, it was simple enough for Harry and Jasper to take a dorm for themselves.

“You think you’re sober enough for this?” Harry teased Jasper, laughing freely when Jasper abruptly tossed him on a bed. As habit, Harry put up a wandless silencing charm.

“Oh, darlin,” Jasper was drawling his words, his old accent stronger. Harry’s grin became less teasing, more heated, as Jasper began unbuttoning his shirt without ever looking away from Harry.

“I have never been more intoxicated than I am when I’m with you,” Jasper said.

“Aww, you’re sweet when you’re drunk,” Harry said, huffing when Jasper jumped on the bed, straddling Harry and somehow already missing his trousers.

Bloody vampire super speed.

“And dramatic,” Harry told him.

“Mm, you can say that in your vows,” Jasper said, already kissing Harry’s neck and running his fingers through Harry’s hair. “‘My one true love, the third most dramatic vampire I know’.”

Harry grinned and then, all at once, stopped grinning.

“Shit,” he swore.

Jasper was still steadily kissing Harry, though Harry felt his mouth grin against Harry’s skin.

“You didn’t write your vows, did you, darlin?” Jasper breathed just before he began carefully ripping Harry’s shirt off him to get better access to Harry’s body.

“Of course I did,” Harry lied. “And they’re really romantic, Jasper. You’re going to cry… if, you know, you could cry.”

“Why do you feel so nervous then?” Jasper asked.

“Because I - I… shut up and help me get my trousers off,” Harry said, kicking his legs to change the subject.

It worked well enough. They certainly became quickly distracted as they got wrapped up in each other that night.

Harry put away worries over his vows… it would be fine, Harry had always done his best work on the fly. Harry wasn’t particularly good at speeches, but… it would be fine.

Probably.

If not, they could get married again in two hundred years and Harry would have a second chance to make romantic vows.

Chapter Text

Everything was beautiful.

Truly, Jasper had no idea that the school grounds and the guests that covered it could be so heart-achingly beautiful. Jasper did not realize before that a frozen heart could ache… and his did.

It was magic, true magic.

Hogwarts was a beautiful place, made ten times more beautiful by the work of Jasper’s sister. The spacious lawn made for quidditch players to crash on had been nearly transformed. There was an altar erected beneath a set of goal posts, decorated in rich foliage of golden flowers and green leaves. The runner that split down the middle of the seats was also gold and it shimmered softly in the sunshine that blessed Jasper and Harry’s union.

The guests were beginning to move in place and Jasper watched them all from his elevated view within the castle.

There was… quite the assortment of guests, truthfully. Jasper was most easily able to pick out the vampires in the crowd. Tanya and Kate were dressed impeccably in gowns that might have been as ancient and timeless as the very castle Jasper stood in. Eleazar sat with them on Jasper’s side of the divide beside his mate, Carmen. Jasper knew that Carlisle would be disappointed to not see Irina, who was still aching from the loss of her own mate.

Alice’s Bree sat in the front row on Jasper’s side, rather stylishly wearing a tuxedo. Jasper had the idle wonder of if Alice ordered it much before she met Bree or not. At the end of that row were Peter and Charlotte, both of them gazing around in clear interest at the mixture of guests. On the other end, closest to the center of the temporary venue, were Edward and Isabella.

Neither Edward nor Isabella were part of the wedding party, something that poor Harry had agonized over. Jasper was less bothered, no one had expected him to include Edward in his party with as many times as he clashed with Harry. Edward would play the wedding march on the enchanted piano one of the Weasley boys was meant to bring, it was plenty of inclusion. And Isabella despised attention, she refused to even agree to be a bridesmaid at the next Cullen wedding in another hundred years - or less if Alice had her way with Bree.

Jasper had originally refuted Alice’s traditional ideal of separating guests by which grooming they were there to support. It was unfair, in Jasper’s mind, as Jasper had family that would love forever and his beloved was a technical orphan. Alice had laughed at Jasper, laughed in his face truly, and assured him that Harry’s guests would heavily outweigh Jasper’s.

It had been another true prediction, that was clear. Jasper’s parents would sit with his family once the ceremony began, but his side was much smaller than the magical side.

The Weasley family proudly filled the front row of Harry’s side. Jasper did not need to sense their emotions to see that they were all seated with their backs straight and smiles wide. Molly, Arthur, and Fleur were absent, off to fulfill their tasks for the day. The others had saved a set of seats amongst them, including the one that Andromeda Tonks would fill with Harry’s son after his role was completed.

A great number of the La Push tribe sat behind the Weasleys. The shifters were almost too large to be seated so close to the front, but it seemed as if someone had done something undoubtedly magical to ensure that their heads were not obstructing any view. Jacob Black looked uncomfortable in his suit, the others were similarly pulling at their collars.

Jasper was surprised for a fraction of a second when he did not see Harry’s friend Jared amongst them. Surely he had not allowed his… ah, he was there. In the row behind the La Push pack were many of Harry’s prior classmates and that was where Jared had decided to be seated. Directly beside Draco Malfoy with their hands entwined.

Draco was a shade of pink in the cheeks that Jasper could see from the castle; it likely had to do with the mild shock painting Narcissa Malfoy’s face.

Good for them, Jasper thought with a satisfied nod. It was a day to be joyful for others and not smugly prideful that Jasper was the one that Harry had chosen to spend his existence with.

If Jasper was prideful anyway, it was only to be expected.

Even as he watched the guests and soaked in his perfect mixture of emotions, more guests continued to appear. Minerva McGonagall with a man that looked large enough to be the famous Hagrid from Harry’s stories. Luna Lovegood with Neville Longbottom, Luna oddly sat on Jasper’s side and immediately struck up a conversation with Eleazar. If it had been unlikely that Eleazar would show in the first place, Jasper doubted he would do it again.

Perhaps Luna could be the one to convince him that magic was not always a thing to fear.

There was a soft click of a door being opened behind Jasper and he knew without looking that it would be his parents.

“Oh, Jasper.” Esme sighed and there was enough tender love washing off her that Jasper could float on the feeling for an eternity. Jasper turned from the window and his mother —

“I mean no disrespect, ma’am, but I had a mother and you are not her.” Jasper had been uncomfortable, wondering what strange vampires with golden eyes that tiny Alice had taken him to. Alice had told Jasper that they would find peace and happiness with the others, Jasper craved it.

After nearly one hundred years of blood and death, Jasper needed peace.

“No one could replace your mother.” The wife of the clan leader, a softly spoken and pretty woman named Esme, slowly moved toward Jasper with her hands visible, as if Jasper were a feral dog that was prone to attack.

“I think that forever is a long time to live without a family though,” Esme said when she was just in front of Jasper. She smiled and Jasper thought then of his mother, a ridiculous comparison.

Jasper’s mother had been tall and thin with long hair as curled and sun-kissed as Jasper’s was. Esme looked nothing like her… not until she had smiled.

— looked as if she would cry if it were possible.

“You look perfect,” Esme told him. “I’m so happy for you, you deserve this more than anyone.”

Carlisle stood beside Esme and his pride continued to grow in strength the longer he looked at Jasper.

“I would ask if you are certain, but I can see that you are,” Carlisle said.

“I can’t do this.” Jasper crouched on the ground and clutched at his throat, fighting the urge to feed on warm and human blood with every cell inside of him.

Jasper had not asked to be turned, he would have said no. It was thrust upon him and he accepted the turn of tides in stride. Jasper had been a great Major, he had led his men to the best of anyone’s abilities. Jasper used that same strength and skill to lead armies of hundreds of vampires to glory and triumph in their wars.

Jasper Whitlock did not give in, he would accept death before dishonor.

What Carlisle Cullen asked of him was to lie on the ground and die and Jasper was halfway there.

“You can,” Carlisle said, answering Jasper’s spoken word and not his silent plea for release.

“This may be the hardest thing you will ever have to do.” Carlisle sank down to sit on the ground beside Jasper and he wrapped an arm around him in a loose embrace. “I understand this life isn’t for everyone. I would never force anyone to do as I do. I believe that once you decide that you’re certain this is what you want then it’s only a war between your body and your mind, Jasper.”

Jasper could not do it, he wouldn’t. It was torture, acute and agonizing torture. Jasper would take death a —

“I don’t presume that my opinion means anything to you, but I believe in you.”

Belief was a funny thing… and it was what Jasper needed to lift his head and inhale again, working to prove that Carlisle was not a fool.

“I am,” Jasper said confidently. It was the easiest decision of his entire existence.

Jasper’s love of his country, his family, and the Red Sox were pitiful in comparison to the way his soul loved Harry Potter.

Jasper was able to enjoy a brief tour of the main floor of the castle on his way to the side door where his party would be waiting. Harry, amusingly, had offered for his party to meet at the quidditch locker rooms. Jasper had worried that Harry was regretting having their wedding held at the school that had once been a home to him, but Ginny Weasley promised that Harry was merely ‘reliving his quidditch days’.

Truthfully, the castle interior had been as transformed as the quidditch pitch and Jasper hoped that it would minimize Harry’s discomfort. Alice had been given free rein by Minerva McGonagall and had taken full advantage.

The dining hall of the castle, where dinner and dancing would be held for their reception, was a sight to behold. Jasper and his parents paused long enough to look at the elegantly decorated room that was being filled with food by what seemed to be an army of house-elves.

Kreacher was there as well and Carlisle chuckled when the finely dressed elf snapped at another one —

“Kreacher will not be missing one moment of Master Harry’s wedding because you are not knowing to place the silvers properly!”

“There’s devotion, then there’s whatever that is,” Carlisle whispered to Jasper conspiratorially.

“Hush,” Esme admonished them gently. “He’s excited, it’s sweet.”

It was psychotic, Jasper was sure. If Harry had not spent the night in Jasper’s bed, snoring through the hollow pains of what must have been a vampiric hangover, Jasper would have anticipated a knife to his throat by Kreacher.

“Alice must love him,” Jasper decided after turning away from the hall and continuing his languid walk to the door he was meant to leave through. “I don’t know which one of them is more determined to make the day perfect.”

“It could rain right now and the day will still be perfect,” Esme said joyfully. She linked her arm with Jasper and tilted her head to rest against him for a tender moment.

“It would be,” Jasper agreed, smiling at the woman who only hoped for love and happiness for all of her children.

“Let’s not tempt fate though,” Carlisle said, solemnly speaking with a merry twinkle in his eyes. “I’ve heard that time-travel is a real possibility if anything goes wrong today.”

Esme pretended to shutter in mock-terror while Jasper considered that.

“I believe that Harry once destroyed the ability to travel time,” Jasper said slowly. Jasper recalled the conversation perfectly, but Harry’s stories were often so fantastical that it was difficult to know if Jasper was having his leg pulled or not.

As far as Jasper knew, not a single story that Harry shared had been a falsehood, he expected there had to be at least one exaggerated or sardonically shared story though.

Carlisle was still chuckling in amusement when they passed through the unobtrusive side entrance of the castle and joined the others. The moment of shade concerned Jasper and he had to look up quickly, briefly concerned that it would indeed rain.

The sun must have continued to shine though, there was a veranda set up to keep it off Jasper’s wedding party.

“If we didn’t add shade then George Weasley was going to make a joke about being blinded during the ceremony,” Alice said absently, answering Jasper’s question before he asked it.

Alice looked lovely in her long gown of shining emerald green. Her hair laid flat in smooth spirals and her nails were varnished to match Rosalie in a soft gold. Alice had her palms pressed to her eyes and her brows were pinched while she likely tried to foresee every hiccup imaginable for the day.

“Alice.” Jasper reached out to the first person he had loved, if not in the way he tried to force it.

World War II had just ended and much of the United States had become peaceful. There were struggles and hardships, but the sense of relief was widespread.

It seemed as if Jasper Whitlock was the only being to walk the country in an endless and restless search of… something.

There had to be a purpose in Jasper’s life, a war that needed won or a battle requiring a soldier. Without a purpose, there was only an endless search for meaning.

Jasper was weary, tired of his search and apathetic to the hope of eventual victory.

It was in Houston when Jasper stopped. He had fed in Lufkin and felt suddenly like being around others. Around noise, around life. Jasper wanted to drink in the emotions of the humans and force it to break through the cold that encompassed him.

There was a pub, nothing more than a dive bar, and Jasper moved toward the happiness within like a moth to a light. Once he entered and escaped the cold outdoors for the warm inside, he saw that there was a wedding happening.

The bride looked overjoyed, dressed in a simple white gown. The groom had bags beneath his eyes, yet a wide smile of joy as he stood tall in his uniform from the war.

Jasper would have left the private affair, but the lure of joy was too much to resist for him. He ended up removing his hat and lingering near the door, steeling himself to flee if he could not control himself.

It would not be Jasper who ruined the marriage of the young couple.

At the moment where the couple leaned in to kiss, there was a hand pulling on the sleeve of Jasper’s jacket.

“Excuse me.”

Jasper looked down and saw a tiny woman, short and petite. Her eyes were red, her brunette hair laid limply on her head, short and unlike the fashion of human women.

”You’ve kept me waiting a long time,” the woman - vampire, she was undoubtedly a vampire - said to Jasper accusingly.

Jasper was bewildered, but he was also fiercely hopeful. The couple leaned toward one another in the background and pressed their lips together, making Jasper believe it was a sign meant only for him.

“I’m sorry, ma’am.”

“You’ve made everything perfect,” Jasper assured Alice, gifting her with the same peaceful happiness she worked to give him.

“Not everything,” Alice grit out with surprise effort. Her head snapped up and her wide eyes flew to the far side of the grounds, where Jasper could see the outline of what Forks High School would call an athletic center.

“You did choose the most irksome…” Alice shook her head and started running, a blur to any guest who would turn to see her go.

“What was that?” Carlisle asked with a frown.

“Harry,” Rosalie said simply. She was a stunning image in her green gown, the match to Alice’s, that was topped by her long blonde curls. Rosalie examined her perfect nails, seemingly bored.

Jasper’s smile had not faltered once and it only grew when he could sense the deep and fierce love and excitement that Rosalie felt.

It would not be for Jasper, but her beloved Harry.

“You called him Henry.”

Rosalie growled warningly and Jasper ignored her. Their family had a disagreement recently over Harry: Jasper wanted to change him, Rosalie had been most strongly opposed to it.

It had been months ago, before Jasper knew who Harry was and knew that he loved him. Jasper never forgot Rosalie’s slip though, and he wanted answers.

Jasper needed to know that he had the bulk of information he needed to tie his existence to Harry’s for an eternity. Jasper made the decision after their prom night together and all he needed was Rosalie’s reassurance that ‘Henry’ was not another magic sized skeleton in Harry’s closet.

“Go away,” Rosalie warned him. She was beneath Harry’s car, replacing an exhaust fan that had been damaged in an incident with a curb. “It’s none of your business.”

“If it involves Harry then it is.” Jasper slammed his hand on the hood of the car and felt the metal dent beneath his palm. It could be repaired easily, Jasper only wanted his sister to show her face.

Rosalie did slide out from beneath the car and the sneer on her face was venomous.

“Because you love him?” she mocked Jasper. “What do you know about love, Jasper?”

Everything and nothing at all.

“I know I love him,” Jasper said surely. Jasper felt it within himself as easily as he felt it from others. It was a gift, to be able to be so confident about his feelings.

Rosalie squinted her eyes, gazing hard at Jasper as if searching for evidence of any lie. She could look all she wanted, it was the truth.

“Henry is no one,” Rosalie said abruptly. “It was a mistake, he was only another person I cared for.”

Jasper sensed no deceit and so he took Rosalie’s word.

“Thank you,” he said.

Rosalie was already busy with the dent on the hood.

“You should recall, Jasper,” Rosalie paused her work to glance at Jasper once more, “that I’ve killed before and I would do it again. If you hurt him, you will die.”

If Jasper hurt Harry, death would be preferable.

Jasper worried that Alice had dashed off to pressure Harry into a wedding he no longer wished to have. He tried to extend his senses to the small stone building and grimaced when it was impossible.

“Perhaps I should go check on him…” Jasper mused quietly. He started to take a step in that direction when Emmett’s large hands locked on his shoulders.

“Dude, chill,” Emmett said with a laugh. “The kid’s having his first wedding freak out, it’s normal.”

“Did you ‘freak out’ at your first wedding?” Jasper asked. Jasper was older than Emmett in every sense of the word, but Emmett had twenty times the experience that Jasper did at marriage.

“Me? Hell no,” Emmett said with a low well of desire that never failed to disturb Jasper. “I saw how hot Rose looked in her dress and had zero regrets, bro.”

“So… Harry.” Emmett had been filled with curiosity for days, Jasper was surprised it had taken him that long to ask about the one that filled Jasper’s every thought.

“Harry,” Jasper said. He leaned to the right, as if his body angle would keep him from getting blocked by Emmett’s team.

“He’s a dude. Hey! Foul! You’re fucking cheating!”

Jasper was not cheating, he didn’t think it was even possible on the Madden game they only played when Esme was not home. It tended to reduce the two of them to competitive boys and Esme disapproved of foul language and broken televisions.

“He is male,” Jasper agreed. He clicked the buttons quickly to try and block Emmett’s throw and groaned when he was unsuccessful.

“Loser,” Emmett taunted him. They were near the end of the second quarter and Jasper had a thin lead.

“I’m winning,” Jasper pointed out. Regardless of how slight, he was winning.

“Not for long.” Emmett leaned forward and kept his eyes glued to the screen while a new kick started the round. “So… you think he’s hot or whatever?”

Jasper snorted. Hot? Harry was conventionally attractive, he was also beautiful and a mystery to unravel. He was a contradiction of descriptions and there was something inside Jasper that yearned for him.

It didn’t seem like a time to say all of that and it wasn’t what Emmett was asking.

“Yes, Emmett, I am sexually attracted to him,” Jasper said, making his mortification behind dry sarcasm.

“Huh.” Emmett seemed to mull that over through the entire third quarter. Jasper was unconcerned, he felt more curiosity than any disgust.

“Not much of an ass though,” Emmett eventually said casually. “His eyes aren’t bad.”

With Emmett, things were so simple.

Jasper would only regret agreeing to have the wedding at a place that held so many mixed memories for his beloved. Never the union itself, that was inevitable in Jasper’s mind.

“It’s time!” Alice ran back in a blur of shimmering green silk and softly sparkling skin. She smiled at Jasper and shook her head. “He’s fine, I promise. Probably too much to drink last night. Now! Nobody panic—”

Famous last words from the family psychic.

“—but there are a few extra guests,” Alice said breezily. She timed it perfectly, no one had time to ask questions before the music struck up and Jasper was being pushed to his position.

Harry had been put through the pain of a rehearsal by Alice, Jasper had been spared that pain as he needed no instructions on where to walk or when.

Jasper and his parents were meant to go first and Jasper smiled crookedly when he had a parent on each arm.

“You smile so much now,” Esme commented sweetly while they walked toward where the runner began. The guests were all standing and Jasper pretended they were not there in order to minimize his sudden nerves.

Never had Jasper been the focus of such a wash of emotion.

There was more love and joy than anything. An expected amount of envy, some reasonable suspicion and what was surely a joking amount of lust.

“He brings me endless happiness,” Jasper said simply. If Jasper had not smiled much before, it was because Harry and Teddy were the ones who gave him something to smile about.

Jasper’s family brought him peace. Harry and Teddy gave him happiness.

It was all he could ever ask for. It was enough to last Jasper forever.

Jasper was led by his proud parents down the aisle and he covertly looked to see what additional guests had arrived.

Billy Black was present, sitting in his wheelchair beside his son. William Weasley had returned to his seat after moving the piano off to the side of the altar for Edward to play at. Andromeda Tonks was also seated, her eyes watering with emotion. And…

Only Harry… only Jasper’s most true soulmate…

The Volturi had arrived. Not the entire guard and family, but Aro, Caius, Marcus, Felix, and Renata. They were dressed in their blood red cloaks and sat on Jasper’s side of the division. It must have been their belief that the separation was between vampires and others, as they were undoubtedly only there because Harry had invited them.

Jasper thought that those were the guests that Alice had mentioned, the vampire royalty who so admired Jasper’s wizard. It was not until Esme left Jasper in his place and Carlisle moved to officiate behind him that Jasper could turn and see there was a final surprise.

A most unwelcome one.

Seated with a young man - a young man with golden blonde curls, a tall and lean physique, and crimson eyes - was Maria. The mild shock of seeing the Volturi had been nothing at all to seeing Maria just as she looked in all of Jasper’s worst memories.

Maria lifted a hand at Jasper and her painted lips curled in a mocking smile while her eyes flashed at him with 152 years of history. There were no emotions from Maria, there had never been before. Maria was cold, frozen…

Why was she there?

Jasper ripped his eyes from the vampire who created him as the first couple of the wedding party began their graceful trip down the aisle runner. Even with the rush of shock, envy, lust that Alice and Ginevra were receiving, Jasper had a difficult time shaking his own shock.

Who had invited Maria? Why would they do such a thing?

Jasper was able to both appreciate the lovely feminine beauty of Alice in her green gown and Ginny in her gold even as he subtly glanced toward his brother, hoping to receive a sign of a response. Edward tapped his left foot - Morse code.

P. E. T. E. R.

Peter?

Jasper found Peter as Alice and Ginevra took their places. It only took a minute narrowing of Jasper’s eyes for Peter to send out waves of remorse as he carefully shook his head.

An accident? Jasper couldn’t be certain, not until he was able to ask Peter about it after the most important day of his existence.

Jasper remained straight and thought mostly of Harry and the future they would share when Ronald Weasley and Rosalie made their way down the aisle. Ron had forgone a tuxedo and wore what Jasper was assured were traditional and formal wizarding robes with a golden tie to match Ginevra and Hermione’s dresses.

Ron was the most overjoyed of the party thus far and the first to pause before Jasper to threaten him before taking his position.

“Treat him right or you’ll answer to me,” Ron whispered to Jasper as he briefly clutched his arm in passing.

Jasper smiled faintly, finding it fully appropriate to be threatened by Harry’s favored brother on the day of his wedding. Jasper would only be disappointed if Hermione Weasley did not also threaten him.

The final pair, Harry’s best (wo)man and Jasper’s, walked together down the aisle and Emmett waved and winked at various guests, mostly the ones on Harry’s side who were more surprised at the hulking vampire with the most friendly affect. Hermione looked as lovely and felt as loving on Jasper’s wedding day as she had on her own.

Emmett clapped Jasper on the shoulder roughly, a move that would have shattered the bones of a human man, while he took his place beside him. Hermione leaned in for a hug and Jasper knew that it would not be a wholly friendly sentiment he would receive - and thus was surprised again.

“I’m so happy for you both,” Hermione breathed in Jasper’s ear. “You two deserve everything.”

“I thought for sure that you would threaten me again,” Jasper said, touched by her sentiment.

“Why would I do that?” Hermione asked quizzically. She pulled away to smile and whispered under her breath on her way to stand beside where Harry would be, “I’m not someone who tends to repeat herself.”

Touché.

Carlisle chuckled behind Jasper, as did a few of the vampires in the audience. Tanya winked approvingly at Jasper, Eleazar didn’t grimace - similar expressions considering their opposite personalities.

The pitch of the music began to rise and Jasper knew that he was smiling too widely when Fleur Weasley began a slow walk down the center aisle, a toddler in each hand.

Little Victoire Weasley was a perfect picture in her sparkling green dress and ribbons to match in her blonde curls. She was still young, not yet two, and wobbled terribly on her little legs. Victoire made a noise of discontent when she threw a handful of flower petals then immediately wanted it back and her mother would not allow her to backtrack.

Teddy… Jasper’s stepson and beloved boy… was a mess of all those who had a hand in raising him for his twenty-sixth months of life. It was Jasper’s curls that laid on his head, the sandy-blonde colored hair of Remus Lupin, Nymphadora Tonks’s heart-shaped face, and Harry’s eyes.

“Jazz!” Teddy’s pure emotions, his very clear love would have made Jasper weep if he were able, when Teddy saw him. Teddy had a fistful of rose petals and giggled brightly when he tried to throw them at Jasper from halfway down the aisle.

Jasper had never been fond of children before, as mysterious and sticky as they tended to be. It was a truly beautiful experience to become a stepfather to a child, a hopeful father to another, after discovering that children were the greatest creations on earth.

Jasper would do anything for Teddy, anything at all. For the rest of his days, Jasper swore that he would be there for every milestone, every achievement, and relish in the pride and love that he had for the talented child.

Jasper’s talented child.

In an impulsive rush, Jasper darted out of his place for a moment to pick up Teddy for a quick and careful embrace and to press a loving kiss to his forehead.

“Wuv Jazz,” Teddy said with a toothy grin.

“Jazz loves Teddy,” Jasper assured him, passing him to Andromeda for the remainder of the ceremony.

The next note to be played would be the final crescendo of the song, the one that would bring Harry to where Jasper waited for him.

Jasper prepared himself, prepared himself to see his wizard on the day that they would swear to one another for an eternity.

No amount of preparation could prepare Jasper for the rush of emotion that he would experience when he saw Harry - his Harry - walking toward him between the very proud and loving Arthur and Molly Weasley.

“What do you think, Jasper?” Alice turned around in the front seat and smiled sweetly at Jasper. “About Harry?”

Jasper hummed and let his eyes wander, thinking over the new student they had just met. The student with the beautiful eyes and the broken spirit. The student with the deep well of agony that had choked Jasper.

“I think he’s interesting.”

Jasper tried to draw him a million times… he failed a million times… could anyone capture Harry Potter just right? Would a photograph even show the fragility and strength of what was meant to be only a teenage boy?

Jasper admired him, he admired the surprisingly fresh face of a human who had tried to end his own life the night before. Jasper was glad he failed, he had a plan to keep it from happening again.

“Can I ask you one more question?” Jasper asked quietly, loathe to disturb the small smile that showed how at ease Harry was beside him.

“Sure.”

“If you could live forever, what would you do?”

Harry stared Jasper in the eyes when he answered, sounding much too old to be just eighteen, too hurt to be human.

“I’d find a way to kill myself.”

“Ask me again,” Harry demanded, looking up in Jasper’s eyes with such love that Jasper didn’t know that he deserved. “Go on, ask me again.”

Jasper cupped Harry’s face in the place they had been when Jasper first began to love the enigma that was Harry Potter.

“Harry, if you could live forever, what would you do?”

“I’d spend it with you.”

They had been through wars - their own wars then battles together. They had to fight to choose one another, they had to compromise and change and decide every single day that they were both worthy of love, of happiness, of one another.

It had all been leading to that moment.

That moment when Harry looked at Jasper and Jasper felt his emotions more clearly than ever before.

Jasper had once told Harry that his gift made him feel emotions as if they were the specific scents of a perfume, unique to each person. While Jasper waited for Harry, in a minute that seemed to last forever, it was much more tangible.

The warm embrace of love.

Fizzing bubbles of awe and disbelief, as if Harry couldn’t believe that Jasper was his.

There was a heated shadow of hope, warming Jasper while he and Harry shared the same hope that the rest of their tomorrows would be as beautiful as Jasper found his beloved to be.

Jasper and Harry had not broken the eye contact they held during Harry’s slow walk to Jasper. Jasper still stared in Harry’s eyes, sending him mere echoes of the feelings that threatened to overwhelm him, as Arthur and Molly passed Harry’s hand to Jasper’s.

“I’d spend it with you.”

And there they were, vowing to begin that forever together.

There had never been a day as perfect for a wedding as that day. The sun shined down on the guests, a breeze played through the lawns. Jasper could hear a faint hummingbird heard fluttering away nearby, as even the creatures wanted to see Harry.

Carlisle began the ceremony with a prayer, one that the La Push family followed with muted surprise and many of the others respectfully ignored.

“This day has been coming for quite some time,” Carlisle said merrily while Jasper and Harry stood hand-clasped before him. “I suspected that we would be here from the first time I met Harry. It may surprise many of you, but Harry was first introduced to me after a rather horrifying car wreck.”

There were a few horrified feelings, mostly endeared and amused though. Jasper smiled fondly as a light blush spread on Harry’s cheeks.

“I thought then that what Harry most needed was a doctor in his family,” Carlisle went on. “That was before any of us knew about magic and the world that Harry came from. It was around that time that I came to understand that it was not Harry who needed any of us, but our family, my son, who needed Harry.”

Jasper did. Jasper needed Harry like he once needed oxygen.

Harry shook his head just slightly, a rebuttal. But Harry had never needed Jasper, Harry was the ultimate soldier, a survivor at all costs.

Jasper needed Harry, Harry chose Jasper.

“It is my incredible honor to now ask Jasper Whitlock to read his vows.”

Jasper had memorized his vows long ago, then continued to change them twice a day or more. It had gotten to the point where Jasper would see Edward rolling his eyes when Jasper had a quiet moment to practice the most important speech of his life.

“Harry,” Jasper smiled and sent Harry love, affection, devotion; not so much to change anything of Harry’s, but to share them with him. It didn’t matter, their emotions were entirely in sync - a perfect start to their union.

“I believed, when we met, that what we shared was a brief intimacy, a small connection in the endless life I have. I now believe that time itself reserved this space for us, Harry. I believe that every battle either of us fought, every war we faced internally and on the ground, was made to shape us for one another.

“I’ve often wished that I could take away your bad days, that I could rewrite your past and give you everything good that you deserve. But I shouldn’t, and I wouldn’t. Because you are perfectly imperfect, Harry Potter.

“I will always like you because of your bravery, your strength, your tenacity, and your devotion to your friends, family, and loved ones. And I love you because of your flaws - your foul mouth, your bad days, your stubborn soul, and your impulsive mind.

“I, Jasper Whitlock, vow to love you Harry Potter above all until the end of time, until the sun burns to the ground and the moon falls from the sky. When only the stars are left to witness one thing - they will witness my love for you lasting until there is no more.”

Harry’s eyes had watered when Jasper began and he seemed embarrassed by the tear that fell, the one Jasper wiped away for him with a smile. though he had no reason to be. Jasper would be weeping shamelessly if he could.

There was a quiet whisper while Carlisle invited Harry to share his vows, one that made almost every vampire and shapeshifter in attendance grin with amusement.

“Harry should have gone first,” Hermione Weasley whispered to her husband.

“Nah, Harry’s got this,” Ron whispered back loyally.

Jasper had every confidence in his beloved, not that it would matter. Harry could say nothing at all and Jasper would still be just as perfectly happy as he was.

“Jazz.” Harry cleared his throat and the one word beginning was enough to weaken Jasper’s knees, the nickname that Harry alone had for him - the one that made Jasper Harry’s as irrefutably as Harry was his.

Harry was nervous, but determined. Jasper wondered if Harry was going to ‘wing’ his vows as he had the speech he gave at the Ministry banquet and the one he shared at his friends’ wedding.

It was quite likely, given Harry’s dread the night before when their vows were mentioned.

“I never had a home, not really,” Harry began. He only looked at Jasper, as if the intimate words were meant for Jasper alone. “I had a house, then I had a school. Some summers, I had a Burrow. I could tell you every place I’ve ever resided, and almost no place where I lived - where it was home to me.

“You, Jasper Whitlock, are my home. You, Jasper Whitlock, are the one who taught me what it meant to live. I don’t mean breathing and forcing yourself to go through the motions, I mean that I was dead inside, a walking corpse, and you didn’t give me life - you helped me to find it.”

Harry must be writing his vows as he spoke, nothing planned could ever feel so heartfelt, so genuine.

“Maybe this is how everyone feels when they’re in love, maybe everyone thinks they found their person. I don’t know, but I know that you brought me a family, you brought me closer to the child I plan to raise with you. You brought me back to life, Jasper. You gave me your understanding when I didn’t understand myself and you’ve given me more patience than any man should possess.

“I wish I had something more to offer you, because you deserve the world. All I can offer is this: I, Harry James Potter, vow to always fight for us, for our family, for our future. I vow to never give up, to be there for you as you’ve been there for me. I vow to be right where I am right now, by your side.”

Jasper thought that he could feel the frozen heart inside of his chest bursting at Harry’s words. There was nothing that Jasper would ever need to memorize more for the rest of his existence than Harry’s vows to him.

All Jasper could do in the moment was squeeze Harry’s hand, silently tell him that all the emotions he had - the great expanse of empathetic power he was capable of - were overwhelmed by Harry.

Love would never be a strong enough word, the word Jasper needed had yet to be discovered.

“You may now exchange your rings,” Carlisle said, managing to sound sniffly despite the impossibility of him crying.

Jasper’s hand shook as he returned the ring he had given Harry back on the finger where it would rest for an eternity. Harry, ever the soldier, shook not at all when he slid his ring on Jasper’s finger.

“The grooms may now kiss to seal their union.”

Jasper leaned down, Harry tilted his head up, and they shared the first touch of their lips as husbands.

It lasted an eternity, it should have lasted for two.

They broke apart only when the wolf-whistles and the applause became too much to ignore. Every person either of them cared for - and many that Jasper pretended were not in attendance - had to feel the explosion of emotion that burst from him when Carlisle concluded the ceremony:

“I now give you, Misters Jasper and Harry Potter-Whitlock.”

Chapter Text

Chapter Text

July 8

Pregnant… it was… Jasper was truly lost for words.

For Harry, it would be simple, beautiful, lovely. Jasper spent all night imagining the life growing within his husband, never doubting that they had created something pure and perfect. For Isabella and Edward… it would kill Isabella.

Isabella was a girl, only a human girl. If the child she conceived took after its father, it would tear her open from the inside out, if Isabella even survived to see it grow.

Jasper traveled directly to his parents home to find Carlisle, to inform him of what Isabella told Harry. Carlisle would want to see her - Jasper wanted Carlisle to examine Harry as well - then Isabella and Edward would have to decide which was more important - Isabella's life or the child.

It was hardly a question, Jasper was sure they would find a way to terminate the pregnancy. How could Isabella survive it? She was so desperate to join the Cullen family, to give up her life for an eternity, and that pregnancy could take that from her.

Jasper should have been spending the day celebrating with his husband, perhaps even picking up Teddy to ensure that he knew about his future sibling before anyone else. Instead, he was back in Forks, debating the morality in life and death, mother and child.

It was times like then that Jasper resented his brother the most.

Jasper's entire family was waiting for him in the dining room of the house. Alice's face was twisted in what seemed to be genuine pain, her Bree had a hand on her shoulder and Jasper sensed nothing but determination from her. Alice's pain was not physical though, it was confusion, fear, distress, and more fear.

"Alice can no longer see Isabella or Harry in her thoughts," Carlisle said without preamble. "Harry is well?"

Jasper was relieved Edward was not there and Jasper could save his news for a better time - for a moment where it could be celebrated.

"He is," Jasper said. "Isabella answered his call, they should be here soon."

Esme released a breath of relief and the stress hardening her features softened. "Good," she said, smiling and dashing forward to embrace Jasper briefly. "I'm so sorry we interrupted your honeymoon. Alice was worried."

"Why can't Alice see Harry anymore?" Rosalie asked, narrowing her eyes at Jasper. She seemed to be trying to will herself to read his mind. "What happened?"

"To Harry? Nothing," Jasper said. It was the truth, nothing bad happened to his wizard - only something miraculous and beautiful. Jasper drew himself tall and looked directly to Carlisle. "Isabella is pregnant."

It took a moment, a seemingly long one for Jasper's mind that counted seconds in fractions. Carlisle inhaled sharply, Rosalie's eyes went round. Alice made a quiet sound of sorrow. Esme, tucked beneath Jasper's arm, went rigid.

Only Emmett and Bree didn't seem to share the thick fear in the room.

"Edward knocked Bella up? God damn." Emmett chuckled, sickeningly amused. "I guess we didn't give him the right kind of talk, huh, Jasper?"

"It will kill her," Carlisle breathed, ending Emmett's laughter and stifling the sparkle in his eyes immediately. Carlisle was horrified, staring at Jasper as if he wished to be told it was a prank. "Jasper, you're certain?"

"I'm certain that Isabella said she and Edward eloped—"

Alice's wail of dismay was only dramatic that time.

"— and that she believed she was pregnant," Jasper went on, ignoring his sister. "Harry went to get her, they should be here soon."

"I'm going to go get equipment," Carlisle said, thinking quickly and making plans just as fast. "Esme, Emmett? Will you join me? We'll need to go to the city."

"What do we do with Bella when she gets here?" Brew asked, looking around at the somber faces with confusion. "Tell her ‘Hola, chica, don't leave, your bebe might be killing you'?"

"We tell her nothing," Rosalie said, suddenly calm. "We tell her that Carlisle is getting the equipment to check the baby. It isn't a lie."

No, but Rosalie's calm demeanor was suspicious. Jasper said nothing while Carlisle, Esme, and Emmett left - running rather than wasting time with a car. Jasper waited until he was left with both sisters to focus on Rosalie.

"You're not upset," Jasper said to her. Rosalie had been initially surprised and Jasper had sensed a brief flash of envy, then Rosalie became eerily calm.

"Should I cry?" Rosalie asked, challenging Jasper with a cool gaze. "Call Edward and fret about the death of the human we all warned him away from?"

"Rose," Alice still had both hands pressed to her face, but her tone was biting. "You could avoid a fight that will upset Harry if you walk away now."

"Can you see Harry?" Jasper asked. In his rush to warn Carlisle about Isabella's pregnancy, he had forgotten that the entire incident had been set off by Alice's vision deleting Harry and Isabella both.

Harry was often obscured in Alice's vision with his magic, Isabella had never disappeared before. Jasper could hypothesize that his and Harry's child blinded Alice - it was a being made up of more magic than Jasper had ever experienced. He had no similar thoughts on why Isabella would be gone… unless the girl had no future.

Rosalie, no longer the center of attention, flounced away to sit on the sofa in a haze of thoughtfulness. The envy was still there, but Jasper also felt an edge of sorrow. If that was for their newest sister or herself, Jasper couldn't know and didn't care.

"I know he's alive," Alice said tersely. Bree still had her hand on her and a small part of Jasper was deeply happy to feel the concern and love that Bree felt for Alice as she watched her. As flippant as Bree could be, as sarcastic and indifferent, she couldn't hide her feelings for Alice from Jasper.

"It's like he's doing constant magic to hide," Alice murmured. "It's been like this for weeks. I know he's there, I know he is, but he's hiding behind magic."

"Weeks?" Jasper asked. "How long, exactly?"

"Since the morning of the wedding."

Excellent, then Jasper created his son or daughter the night he had been intoxicated in Hogwarts. Harry would find that to be quite comical, Jasper was sure.

"Ah."

Alice dropped her hands and glared at Jasper then. Her eyes were piercing, Jasper's face was perfectly passive.

"Jasper Hale, why can I not — Jasper Potter-Whitlock," she corrected herself with a scowl just as Jasper was preparing to. "Harry is a danger magnet, do you really want me to not see him?!"

"I am sure you'll be able to see him again," Jasper said. He could see Alice's concern, but really Alice was just incredibly nosy. She could wait eight months to see Harry again in her visions.

"I hate you," Alice complained. She turned to Bree and was immediately embraced with open arms, even if Bree clearly already knew her well enough to be more amused than concerned. "Do you see how everyone treats me? I am abused, Bee."

"I see, muñeca, I see," Bree said sweetly. They paused when there was a crack, loud enough for them all.

Jasper listened hard and he heard Harry's heart, racing along as it always did. Isabella's - faster than usual, upset or was it a side-effect of the fetus? Beneath their hearts, when Jasper strained his ears…

There it was.

A heartbeat of a little one, quick as a hummingbird, strong as well.

That was the heartbeat of Jasper's child, his child.

"Why are you smiling?"

Jasper wiped the smile on his face away at once and watched the door, forcing himself to sound nonchalant as he answered Rosalie's sharp question.

"My husband is here, should I not smile?" Jasper said. He beat the others to the door and was wholly not surprised to see it was only Harry and Isabella, both drowning in heavy mixed emotions.

Jasper was sure that pregnant people - since it was not restricted to women when his husband was involved - were meant to be emotional. Jasper greatly preferred the last week when his husband was interested in almost nothing more than sex - it was an excellent way to spend a honeymoon.

"Congratulations," Jasper said to Isabella. He added on to that swiftly, before his sentiment could be misunderstood, "On the marriage."

"Thank you," Isabella said. She shared a grin with Harry, the image of co-conspirators. "It might be a short marriage, we sort of left him in Hawaii."

Jasper loved his husband more and more every moment.

"Unfortunate." Jasper fought down a smile when he took Harry's hand. Isabella was getting closer and she had always —

"Oh." Jasper sniffed tentatively and kept Harry beside him, testing the smell again. Isabella's scent was still thick, but it wasn't so strong, not when it was tempered so strongly with the mixture of something that was definitely vampiric.

"You're definitely pregnant." Rosalie joined them on the porch and there was wonder in her tone while Jasper himself nearly turned green from the jealousy aimed toward Isabella. "I can smell it."

Harry squeezed Jasper's hand, a small question that Jasper replied with two quick squeezes of his own. Isabella's pregnancy was masking Harry's, any heartbeat being heard would be blamed on Isabella. They would share their news soon, Jasper wanted it to be a better moment than in the middle of a catastrophe.

"And I need your help, Rosalie." Isabella raised her chin and there was a swell of determination that made her seem much wiser than a typical human of her age. "Edward wants Carlisle to kill the baby, I want to keep it."

Isabella couldn't have found a better ally to have - Rosalie was at her side instantly, smiling from ear to ear. Jasper felt uneasy about that, about Rosalie - who had never been Isabella's biggest fan - taking up her cause so quickly.

It was the baby, Jasper was sure of it. It was the one thing that no magic could give Rosalie, her one true loss in eternal life.

"Then you keep it," Rosalie said, as warm as the sun. "It's your body, Bella, your choice."

Ah, yes, Rosalie would be firmly pro-life when one very real possibility was that Isabella died and the vampire infant needed a mother. Jasper loved Rosalie, probably the most of all his siblings, and he was so disgusted with her that he had to turn away and focus on only Harry.

"I missed you," Jasper said, grinning slightly at the red rims around Harry's eyes. It had to be hormones, Harry was nothing except elated. It would be the top memory of Jasper's existence, feeling the overwhelming love Harry had for their child when he whispered hello to them.

"It was ten minutes, Jazz," Harry laughed. He leaned up and kissed Jasper lightly. "I missed you," he whispered, his lips still brushing Jasper's.

"Let's get inside," Jasper said. His phone began to vibrate in his pocket and he was sure of who the caller would be before he checked. Yes, Jasper hesitated in the doorway when he saw Edward's name… Jasper should answer. It was Edward's wife, his child, his family…

"Don't do it," Harry said. "He married Bella without us there, he told her that Carlisle will ‘take care' of the baby. He can fly back from Hawaii, I'm not going to get him. Besides," Harry shifted around so that Isabella and Rosalie could get past them and Jasper waited for Harry to grab his wand and give them privacy for a moment.

"I don't know that I'm supposed to be apparating," Harry said. Jasper hadn't even thought of that. Was it hurting the baby? Hurting Harry? Jasper should have asked, he had become too reliant on Harry's ability and it could have been harming him, harming—

"You're freaking out and it's fine," Harry said. He took Jasper's hand and moved it to his abdomen, his face lit up with joy. "Can you still feel it?" he whispered.

Jasper couldn't feel anything, but he did hear it… the quiet little heartbeat that raced along, 107 beats per minute…

Except…

"There shouldn't be a heartbeat yet," Jasper said, thinking of the timeline Alice gave him. If Harry was three weeks pregnant, there shouldn't yet be a heartbeat.

It was good that Carlisle was preparing to look Isabella over, Harry needed to be checked over too. But Harry was a wizard, which meant—

"I'll be back," Jasper said. He pecked Harry quickly, distracted and concerned. He didn't want to worry Harry, there might be no need. Jasper had no information on magical pregnancies, it could be fine.

Everything could be fine, Jasper only needed Hermione Weasley to tell him so.

It was easy to activate the floo in their house and make his way to Grimmauld Place, the home that Hermione and Ron shared. It was less simple to find Hermione, Jasper had to run up the stairs and follow her smell. He threw open a bedroom door and —

"MOTHER OF MERLIN!"

"GOOD LORD!"

"CLOSE THE DOOR!"

Jasper couldn't blush, it was impossible. And if he were a human man, his entire body would be bright red from the… the scene… he had just witnessed.

There were many benefits to a brain that forgot nothing, a brain that could take in every detail with less than one tenth of a second to witness something. Jasper found that there were also heinous drawbacks to it all as well.

Heinous, horrible, dark drawbacks.

Jasper leaned against the far wall in the hallway, trying to trick his mind into only looking at the articles about Harry that plastered the walls and nothing about the very private moment he interrupted.

"Untie me," Ron whispered inside the room, breaking Jasper's determination to pretend nothing had happened.

"I am trying!" Hermione whispered back hotly. "You know what? Here." There was a slap, Jasper very much hoped it was Hermione handing Ron his wand and not striking him with something wooden. "Untie yourself. I'm going to see what's wrong with Harry."

"What makes you think there's something wrong with Harry?" There was a thud, a person landing on a hard floor.

"Oh, be serious, Ron. Why else would Jasper be here?"

It was a fair assessment, though Jasper hoped there was nothing wrong with his beloved.

Hermione opened the bedroom door and slipped out of it, an admirably light blush darkening her face. There was also a robe wrapped around her, for which Jasper was grateful.

"Harry?" she asked.

"Could use your immediate assessment, though he was uninjured when I left him," Jasper said, honest and careful. He couldn't tell Hermione or Ron about the baby without Harry, it would be taking such a happy moment away from Harry. If that meant that Hermione was worried for a few extra minutes, Jasper would accept it as the lesser evil.

Hermione didn't delay any, she swished her wand and the grey plaid robe she wore changed to a tasteful, if clashing, blouse and trouser combination. The second that Ron left the bedroom, deeply humiliated and avoiding eye contact at all costs with Jasper, they rushed back to Forks.

Jasper had to run when they made it back to his house, Hermione and Ron were able to apparate away. They would beat Jasper there and if Harry wanted to tell his closest of all friends without Jasper, that would be okay. Jasper didn't want to take that moment from Harry, the moment when he could share such perfect news with his friends.

They fought together, they were hurt together, they grew together, and they deserved to share joy together.

As long as they shared joy and also Hermione made sure that Harry was healthy and that their child was safe, then Jasper would be fine taking an extra seventy-one seconds to get back to his parents home.

In the time it took Jasper to retrieve Hermione and Ron Weasley and return, Edward had called him nine times. Carlisle had also returned, Jasper could smell him inside the house. Jasper was eager to talk to him, but Harry was outside with his friends and Jasper needed only to feel Hermione's continued concern and Ron's bemusement to know Harry hadn't shared their news yet.

"Jazz!" Harry grinned and Jasper moved behind him, put his hands on Harry's shoulders. Harry twisted his head to grin up at him, still so deeply happy. "Did you walk in on Ron getting laid?"

Jasper actually walked in on Ron getting plowed, but it wasn't a distinction he wanted to make - ever.

"Can you give us some privacy?" Jasper asked Hermione, perfectly politely and calm. There were tsunamis happening inside of him, he needed Harry's friends to be as happy with their news as Jasper was. It would hurt Harry deeply if they reacted poorly, though Jasper was sure they wouldn't.

"What's going on?" Hermione asked the instant that she had waved her wand and given them a private shield.

"Harry's fine," Ron added, eyeing Harry shrewdly with a crooked grin. "He's smiling though, it looks wrong."

"It looks lovely," Hermione said, swatting her husband's arm. "Except I expected blood or death or some horrible car accident…"

The muscles beneath Jasper's hands were trembling lightly, a mixture of fear and trepidation. Jasper wanted to take that from Harry, but it would be gone once Harry's friends knew.

"Er…" Harry glanced at Jasper again and Jasper smiled at him, adding a nod of reassurance. Hermione, at a minimum, would not be unhappy, she was the one who gave Harry the potion.

"So… I'm pregnant?"

Shock, worry, then a rush of excitement that was so strong that it could have knocked Jasper on his back. It wasn't Hermione who squealed though, it was Ron.

"Luna was right! I owe Ginny twenty galleons!!" Ron yelled, rushing forward to hug Harry even while Jasper refused to relinquish his hold on Harry. "Mate!! This is so weird!"

"It's not the weirdest thing to ever happen to one of us," Harry laughed, hugging Ron with relief. "Hermione was a furry."

If Jasper needed oxygen, he would have died then and there. Harry did not just call Hermione Weasley a furry.

"I was a what?!" Hermione shrieked. She yanked Ron away so that she could hug Harry too, then Ron elbowed her and somehow they were all hugging each other.

Perhaps that was how they grew together at Hogwarts, just endless hugs and cuddle piles in their red and gold dorm while they saved lives year after year. They were heroes, but they were also ridiculous.

"A furry." Harry pulled back so that he could grin at his friends, so clearly pleased with their acceptance and continuing love. "You know, with your cat tail and ears? That's what Jake said."

Jasper recalled the conversation Harry incorrectly quoted —

Jacob had been complaining that Quil sent pornographic images to Seth. Harry asked if they were ‘really bad' and Jacob said it was images of furries. When Harry asked what a furry was - Jacob said it was ‘chicks with cat ears and shit'.

"I was never a furry," Hermione said, more indignant and embarrassed than she had been when Jasper interrupted her. "And you have no room to speak, you're pregnant! Harry! I'm so happy! How far along are you? Are you having any symptoms? Did you take a test? How sure are you?"

Carlisle walked out to the porch and tilted his head at Jasper. Jasper shook his head, raising one finger off Harry's shoulder to ask for a moment. Isabella was important, but Jasper wanted to share the moment with Harry and his friends.

Their friends, really. Jasper cared quite a bit for Hermione and Ron Weasley, he certainly considered them friends. After all, what was Harry's was Jasper's and Jasper's was Harry's.

For eternity… for the rest of their existences… it was Jasper and Harry and their family and friends and children.

Jasper couldn't wait to tell Teddy about his sibling.

Harry rattled off a brief explanation to Hermione about Jasper hearing the baby's heartbeat that morning and Hermione noticed the oddity much quicker than Jasper had.

"I wonder when you conceived?" she mused thoughtfully. "If Jasper just heard the heartbeat then you'd be about five weeks? Maybe six?"

"Three," Jasper told her, catching her eye and trying to silently convey his worry without upsetting Harry. Hermione understood, Jasper knew from the spike of concern.

"You're certain of the conception date?" she asked.

"Alice is sure of it," Jasper told her. "Harry's disappeared from her visions, I believe it's due to the constant active magic happening within him now."

"So… what? On our wedding night?" Harry asked.

Jasper didn't smile, he didn't laugh. "The night before."

When Jasper was intoxicated almost beyond remembering the night… perhaps they would tell their child they were made on their wedding night instead.

"Oh, brilliant, when you were drunk," Harry said cheerfully. "That's a great story for our kids."

Continuing proof that they were made for each other. They were sharing thoughts, just as many married couples claimed to be able to do.

"At least you weren't the drunk one," Ron said just as cheerful. He stepped to the side when Hermione pulled her wand out and continued to chatter with Harry while Hermione went to work.

"It'll be a nice change up for Harry Junior to hear about - Oi! What does Teddy call you two? Are one of you dad and the other some poncy thing like ‘father'?"

"Teddy - Teddy calls me ‘Da'," Harry said, thankfully only feeling a few seconds of sadness. "Jasper is ‘Jazz'."

"Well the baby can't call Jasper ‘Jazz'," Ron scoffed. "That's not what a kid—"

Hermione had been casting magic on Harry, nothing that bothered Harry and nothing that Jasper could follow as she did it all silently. Harry's stomach had glowed golden at one point, a sweet image, then it disappeared. Hermione dropped her wand and looked around, spotting Carlisle on the porch as Jasper had. Carlisle wasn't intruding, only waiting.

"Have you two not told your family yet?" Hermione guessed accurately, interrupting Harry and Ron's debate on what the baby would call their two fathers. "I'd like to do a better exam. I'll need Carlisle to be sure of anything I see though, I've only read about this, never put the theory into practice yet."

"She's read two libraries since she brewed that potion," Ron said proudly. "I reckon she's basically a magi-midwife now, could come in handy if Bill decides to have another one."

"But never on a wizard," Hermione said, stressed, but pleased about Ron's bragging. "And my results are weird. I don't know how any of this is going to work… the baby must be part-vampire. I don't know."

"Well we can't tell Jasper's family now," Harry said, his voice rising with his panic. "They have to take care of Bella!"

"What's wrong with Bella?" Hermione asked.

"She married Edward."

Jasper couldn't help it, he snorted. "She's also pregnant," he said drily. "So… a series of tragic events."

"Unfortunate, not tragic," Hermione mumbled. She looked at the porch and sucked in her lower lip, worrying it between her teeth. "Harry… I think you might want to tell Carlisle. I'm sorry, I'm so sorry, it's just - Jasper is a vampire. You're a wizard."

"The master of death, at that," Ron added, uncharacteristically quiet.

"Exactly," Hermione nodded. "I'd feel better if Carlisle checked you over…"

As would Jasper. If Hermione's results were ‘weird', Jasper very much wanted his father to look Harry over, to assure him of his health and the health of their child. When Harry nodded uncertainly, Jasper waved for Carlisle to join them.

"Everything will be fine," Jasper told Harry softly, whispering it to him, grateful that Hermione and Ron feigned deafness. "Our child is magic, like you, Darlin. There's no reason to think that there's anything wrong."

Jasper could be privately terrified, he wouldn't give Harry any reason to be. But if the child had a heart that was racing, surely that was a good sign, even if it was too early, too soon…

"But… Bella," Harry said, turning away so that Carlisle couldn't read his lips. "I don't want to bother Carlisle."

"Harry, Bella will be fine," Hermione said. Her dismissive attitude caught Jasper off-guard, but it was her cool logic that reminded Jasper of what they had all forgotten - "I mean, honestly, I've read about vampire and human babies. The poor mothers never survived, but they never had a magical delivery."

A magical delivery.

They could use magic to deliver Isabella's baby. It didn't have to be a death sentence, not as long as Hermione or Harry were there. Hermione was absolutely going to be godmother to Jasper's child, he would trust no one else.

"Hello." Carlisle waved kindly and pulled up an amused smile. "I'll assume since I can't hear you that you're having a private conversation. I only wondered if I could speak with you all? Preferably before my terribly upset returns home tomorrow?"

"Why tomorrow?" Ron asked, shameless when his wife waved her wand so that Carlisle could join their conversation.

"Because we left him in Hawaii and it's a long swim," Harry said brightly. "Sorry, Carlisle."

"No apologies needed," Carlisle said peacefully. There was only a spark, one spark, but Jasper caught Carlisle's surprise while he still followed the beating of his child's heart.

"Oh. I see," Carlisle said. He looked at Jasper and his eyes glittered as his exhilaration welled up. "Should we talk at your house, Jasper? I did have some questions for Harry, and Mrs Weasley if she would humor me, but we still have seventeen hours until Edward returns."

Jasper was able to hear what Carlisle wasn't saying, that there was time to discuss Isabella's pregnancy after Carlisle checked on his and Harry's. Jasper was grateful again, it was a day for gratitude it seemed.

"Carlisle!" Rosalie ran outside to join them and her hair was still moving with the wind while she glared at Carlisle and began complaining. "You can't leave Bella! Anything that needs to be talked about can be done here."

"Not everything is about Isabella," Jasper snapped, protectively pulling Harry further into his chest. It wasn't the same, it wasn't, but Jasper was never going to forget the feeling of unease when Rosalie looked like a predator disguised as an ally to Isabella.

"Harry?" Rosalie hesitated and Jasper relaxed some, Rosalie loved Harry, Jasper knew that. Rosalie loved him and wanted nothing but Harry's health and happiness.

And Harry was not a weak human, Harry could never die and leave their child behind. Rosalie had nothing to gain with Harry, she only had true affection for him.

"What's - wait a minute…" Rosalie cocked her head and her eyes traveled slowly from Harry to Jasper to Hermione to Ron and then landing back on Harry as understanding began to dawn in her eyes. It was no secret that Jasper and Harry had been trying, but Jasper didn't like that their announcement was going to be continuously ruined by vampire senses.

Damn Isabella for staying inside while Jasper needed her to cloak his child's heartbeat. Harry did so much for her, couldn't she simply stand beside Harry so that he could decide when and how to tell their family about their child?

It went from frustrating to true aggravation when Rosalie's tone of voice brought Esme, Emmett, Alice, and Bree outside. They gawked from the porch and Harry started to shrink from the weight of all their stares.

One day, Jasper would repay Edward and Isabella both for his and Harry's moment being overshadowed and taken by Edward and Isabella's. Jasper didn't need to feel special, he needed Harry to be happy and Harry wasn't happy when he felt forced to announce their pregnancy.

"Surprise," Harry said, smiling weakly. It was a balm to Jasper's anger when Harry softly folded his hands over his abdomen sheepishly. "We're having a baby."

Jasper's frustration and anger moved away, pushed by the emotions of his family that battered him down at once. There was excitement, joy, disbelief, and love. They were happy for them, all of them. As humiliating as it had been for Harry, all of Jasper's family had known about the potion, the plan, the way Jasper's fear that he gave Harry false hope instead of a larger family had grown every day that nothing happened.

There was no negative reaction, not one. Even Emmett was—

"Actually…" Hermione cleared her throat, bursting the bubble of true happiness that had been filling the yard. "If I'm not wrong, I think it's more than one."

Jasper couldn't faint, he was a vampire. Jasper could hear something so startling that it knocked him quite literally off-balance and he toppled over in the yard.

Because did Hermione just say more than one?!

Chapter Text

July 8

Harry didn't exactly like naked bodies. Harry didn't like naked bodies, he didn't like for people to see him naked. It wasn't just a bizarre sense of shyness, Harry had shared a dorm with four blokes and shared a locker room with a quidditch team.

It was the scars, all the scars.

There was the lightning bolt on his chest from the night Voldemort killed him. There was the scar across his collarbones, the one he gave himself from the car wreck that killed him and nearly killed Bella. There was the thick silver scar on his wrist, the one he didn't like to look at, ever.

There were more too, little scars earned from a lifetime of fighting. Each one had a story, each story was something Harry preferred to not think of.

Which was difficult to do when he was sitting on a suspiciously obtained hospital bed in what had once been Jasper's bedroom, dressed in only a pair of shorts. It was better since Bella was in the same awkward position, though she had on a hospital gown on her own bed with Rosalie beside her. It was worse because there were too many people scrutinizing him.

Jasper kept Emmett, Alice, Bree, and Esme out, but the room still felt cramped with Jasper, Carlisle, Hermione, Bella, and Rosalie all in there. Hermione kept looking at Harry too, which was miserable.

"Sorry," she said, when Harry caught her looking at him again. Harry started to sigh, assuming that Hermione was going to say something about the scars and responsibility and — "It's just - you're pregnant."

"With a litter," Rosalie chimed in. That made Hermione and Bella giggle, which made Harry laugh.

Poor Jasper, he looked sick, really.

It was funny, in a very not-funny way. Harry wasn't exactly the best sort-of-parent to Teddy, he didn't know what to do with one newborn, Andromeda took care of so much of that with Teddy. If there was more than one?? Harry was going to be lost, he just knew it.

"Let's check that," Carlisle said, interrupting the giggles of the girls and the semi-hysterical laughter from Harry. "Harry? Would you mind being first?"

Harry looked at the machine that Carlisle had, a big computer monitor on wheels with an attachment he held in his hand, carefully.

"It's an ultrasound machine," Jasper said, probably sensing Harry's wariness about it. "The wand will show the baby on the screen."

"Or babies," Bella grinned.

"Oh." Harry didn't know that - he didn't know anything about pregnancy, apparently. But if they could see the baby… or babies… "Sure, I'll go first."

Harry turned on the bed and ignored the weight of everyone staring at him while Carlisle brought the machine closer. Jasper stood beside Harry's head and took his hand, making it so Harry didn't have to ask him…

But they had him sort of freaking out. Harry thought it was good that the baby had a heartbeat, it was amazing. A tiny little heart, beating away inside of him. Harry was making a life, he was making a life. If the heartbeat was a good thing, why did it have everyone else on edge and not saying whatever it was they were thinking?

It was a very Hermione-like thought, but Harry needed a book.

‘What to Expect When You're a Man Expecting a Baby with Your Vampire Husband'

Jasper tilted his head and Harry shook his, it was daft, he didn't need to share it. Plus Carlisle had the machine on and Bella was craning her neck to see what she would have to do after Harry was finished.

"This is going to be cold," Carlisle said. He had a bottle of something that was cold when he squirted it on Harry's abdomen. Harry tried to not move when Carlisle put the little scanner thing on his stomach.

"Let's see if we can… ah, yes." Carlisle moved the scanner around and the screen lit up, everything was black and white and grainy. The more Carlisle moved the wand, the more the screen moved. "Let's see…" Carlisle watched the screen while he moved the wand and Harry was practically holding his breath.

"There's baby A," Carlisle said. It was black blob, not a baby. But if Carlisle said it was, then surely it was. "And, yes, Hermione was correct, that's baby B."

On the screen were two black blobs, two shapeless blobs.

Blob babies.

Harry's babies.

"Oh." Harry was squeezing Jasper's hand tightly, using him to keep Harry in place. There they were though… Harry's kids. It was two of them and that was a lot, it was all a lot, but…

"I always wanted a big family," Harry said. The screen became blurred and Harry would have been embarrassed to be crying, except Hermione started loudly bawling which took the pressure off him.

"You're - you're going to have the best family!" she sobbed. Jasper didn't need to have Alice's gift to know that he needed to move just before Hermione threw herself at Harry and they were hugging and crying.

It was terrifying and Harry didn't know what to do with newborns, Harry didn't fancy being sliced open, but it was his family. It was the one thing Harry had always wanted; his earliest memories were of him sitting in his cupboard, wishing he had his own family.

When things didn't work out with Ginny… when Harry thought he might be interested in blokes… when Harry died and returned to life… he thought it wouldn't happen.

And it was happening.

Harry had a husband, a family, they had Teddy, and they had… had…

"Twins," Harry's cry bubbled off in a laugh and he looked up at Jasper with wet eyes that he hoped Jasper could read the happiness in. "We're having twins, Jazz."

"Twins," Jasper repeated, maybe not as happily as Harry had. He didn't look unhappy though, only shocked. It was good for him to be surprised, Harry wasn't going to forget that Jasper knew they were having a baby for six hours while Harry slept.

"Much sooner than you might have expected." Carlisle still had the machine on, though the screen was frozen on an image. He moved a cursor around and started clicking things. Harry didn't understand much of what was going on, but he would learn.

Harry would study as if it were his OWLS until he was an expert in pregnancy.

"See these sizes?" Carlisle circled the black blobs and little numbers popped up. "They're measuring much larger than they should, if Alice's timeline is to be trusted."

"It is!" Alice yelled. She sounded like she was just outside the room.

Carlisle chuckled and pointed the cursor at something else. "So judging from their sizes and the heart rates, I would say you're closer to six weeks than three."

"Why?" Hermione wiped her face off with her shirt sleeve and smoothed her hair back, trying to make herself appear more controlled. Harry was still half dressed, he wasn't going to look controlled.

"If it isn't the norm for magical pregnancies, we have to assume it's the vampire side altering their growth rate," Carlisle said. He rubbed his chin and clicked on the screen a few more times. "Unfortunately, this is an entirely unique situation. We will have to do frequent checks. Harry," Carlisle smiled at Harry, "I apologize, today has been such a whirlwind. How are you feeling?"

"Fine," Harry said honestly. "I mean, I was sick this morning, but I'm fine now."

"Excellent," Carlisle said. "If you wouldn't mind, I think we should do daily checks on the twins for a while, until we can track their growth rate more accurately."

Harry didn't mind, he wanted to see them as much as he could. After Harry promised to keep Carlisle informed on any health problems he might have, Carlisle turned to Bella and Rosalie.

"Bella? Your turn," he said. Harry wasn't an expert, but he was pretty sure Carlisle sounded a touch more stressed about Bella's half-vampire baby than he had been Harry's.

"You'll be fine," Harry told her. He had gotten caught up in the dramatics of vampires until Hermione showed up, full of logic, and reminded Harry that a baby wasn't going to kill Bella. If Hermione and Carlisle were both there for the birth, then Harry was sure Bella would be fine.

And if not, they would only have to change her a bit sooner than planned. It was already July though, the Volturi gave them until the fall. Harry would have to make sure nobody came to check on Bella before she had the baby and became changed, but it would be fine.

As long as Hermione was there to remind everyone of logic and common sense. Vampires seemed to forget common sense the longer they lived, Harry would need to remember that when he became as old as they all were.

When Harry was old, still looked seventeen, and… and had three kids who all looked older than him…

"Stop." Jasper scooted Harry over so he could sit behind him while they shamelessly watched Bella's exam. Jasper rubbed Harry's shoulders and whispered reassurances to him. "Everything is going to work out beautifully, darlin. Who deserves it more than you?"

Jasper. Jasper deserved it. Jasper deserved to have the greatest existence, he deserved everything. So even if Harry didn't expect things to work out for himself, he had to think that Jasper had good things coming for him.

"I love you," Harry said. He turned his head to see Jasper and then caught himself looking at Jasper's features, wondering who their children would take after. Would they be witches or wizards? Would they be vampires? Vampires were created, not born, but Teddy carried many of Remus's werewolf characteristics without changing during the full moon.

Would their twins have Jasper's golden curls or his thirst for blood? Would they have Harry's green eyes and the magic that he got from his parents, his father's parents?

It was exciting to wonder about, and terrifying. They would be tiny human lives in Harry and Jasper's hands, entirely dependent on them to raise them and give them love, happiness, all the things they wouldn't get from their genetics.

"I love you," Jasper said. "I can't wait to meet our children."

Their children. Their family.

"Are you going to tell Teddy soon?" Hermione asked, her eyes on the monitor while Carlisle began Bella's exam. Harry could see a definite bump in Bella's stomach, something he was glad he didn't have yet.

Harry also wasn't sure how to tell Teddy, he wouldn't have told anyone yet if he didn't have to. Teddy would probably be excited, once Harry found a way to explain things to him… Harry hoped he wouldn't be hurt, that he wouldn't think that Harry was replacing him or that Harry wouldn't love him as much once the twins were born.

"I imagine he'll be very excited," Hermione said. It was almost as if she could read Harry's mind. "He played so wonderfully with Victoire at the wedding, Teddy loves other kids from what I've seen."

"Siblings and a cousin," Rosalie cut in, positively beaming. "The house is going to be full of kids!"

"Though, probably not this… ah." Carlisle grimaced and everyone looked at the monitor. There was nothing there. No white grains, no black blobs. It was all black.

"What? What's wrong?" Bella was clutching Rosalie's hand, her face paling the longer nothing on the screen changed. "Carlisle? What is it?"

"It could be nothing," Rosalie said quickly, smoothing Bella's hair down while glaring daggers at Carlisle. "Carlisle? She's obviously pregnant."

"I would say yes," Carlisle agreed slowly. He moved the scanner bit around more and nothing changed on the screen. "Except, I believe that this fetus has developed an impenetrable sac, not unlike our skin."

"Really?" Hermione moved to the other side of the room so she could peer at Bella's stomach. Bella looked at Harry through them and Harry grimaced for her, it wasn't comfortable being the focus on so much attention.

"May I?" Hermione asked. She raised her wand and Harry's eyebrows twitched when Rosalie looked ready to argue about it.

"Hermione's not going to hurt Bella," Harry said. "It's Bella's decision, Rose."

"I'm fine with it," Bella smiled at Hermione. "I trust Hermione."

"You shouldn't," Harry grinned, tried to ease the tension in the room since Jasper wasn't going to apparently. "You know she locked a woman in a jar for a year? She's mental, really."

"Shush," Hermione said.

"She feels so proud," Jasper confided to Harry quietly. Carlisle chuckled and Harry went quiet when Hermione began working —

She cast the same spell on Bella that she had Harry and Bella gasped when her stomach glowed golden. Unlike when Hermione cast it on Harry, the light didn't split in half or move, it shrank down and centered high on her stomach.

"Definitely pregnant," Hermione said. She touched the place where the light was with the tip of her wand, "And it's only one."

"It's high up," Carlisle commented. "Strange, it's very strange. Bella, you said that you've been sick for the last two days? Alice lost you in her sight yesterday… you shouldn't be this far along…"

"How far do you think she is?" Rosalie asked. "Three weeks?"

"Roughly, yes," Carlisle said. "Bella, could I take a blood sample? It might give us more answers."

"Not with Jasper in the room."

"What's your problem?" Harry snapped at Rosalie. Harry liked Rosalie, Rosalie was the one Cullen who Harry got along with the best. He was glad she was there with Bella, holding her hand and taking Edward's place, but Rosalie wasn't going to be rude to Hermione or Jasper.

"Harry, it's fine," Jasper said. "Really, I'll leave the room."

Yeah, obviously it would be best for Jasper to leave the room if Bella was going to be bleeding, but Jasper knew that. Rosalie didn't need to say it and make him feel badly about something he couldn't control.

Rosalie didn't shrink under Harry's glare, she drew herself tall. "I'm saying that Bella doesn't need Jasper trying to attack her," she said waspishly. "She's pregnant and scared and I already have one brother making her feel terrible."

Harry didn't know what Rosalie's problem was, but he didn't think it actually had anything to do with Bella's feelings.

"Why don't you all clear out and I'll take a sample of both Bella and Harry's blood," Carlisle suggested calmly. "I'm sure they would like some privacy to change?"

Jasper waited for Harry's nod of agreement before kissing his head and opening the door for Hermione and Rosalie to leave first.

"I'll be out here," Rosalie told Bella before she left. "If you need me, I'll come back."

Jasper paused and rolled his eyes at Rosalie's back before giving Harry the sappiest smile he had ever worn.

"If you need me, I'll come back," Jasper said in a high-pitched and breathy voice. "Call for me, my love. I'll be waiting."

"Oh my god." Bella snickered when Jasper blew a ridiculous kiss to Harry, mocking his sister once more before closing the door and giving them some privacy. "He's so different now," Bella said. "He's so happy."

"He was, until Hermione said it might be twins," Harry agreed. He started dressing while Carlisle took Bella's blood, Harry wasn't exactly thrilled to have Carlisle take his blood, but it was for the twins.

The twins.

It sounded so unreal.

Harry, a man, was pregnant with twins. Jasper believed everything was going to be fine with them, that it didn't have to be a big problem that they were twice as big as they should be. Harry believed Jasper, he believed Carlisle and Hermione wouldn't let anything terrible happen to the twins.

And they were going to have an older brother who would hopefully love them and a cousin… they were going to have so much family, Harry almost couldn't even wrap his mind around it all.

"Woah, easy." Carlisle caught Harry when he swayed suddenly. Carlisle guided him to sit back on the bed and then peered in his eyes carefully. "Are you dizzy? Faint?" he asked, concerned.

"No, no," Harry could feel himself blushing, he felt stupid. "I - er… it's just been a lot today, I'm sorry."

It wasn't even twelve hours yet since Harry woke up and had Jasper change their entire lives. Harry was barely used to being a husband yet, then a parent, then a parent to twins.

Everything was happening quickly and Harry didn't even have a chance to celebrate with Jasper. He didn't get to tell Teddy, Andromeda didn't know, Molly and Arthur didn't know…

Harry didn't even get a chance to hand out his gifts to everyone from his honeymoon yet.

"I'm going to write you a very serious prescription, Harry." Carlisle was quick with taking Harry's blood, Harry didn't even have time to flinch away from the needle before it was in his arm, his blood pouring in a tube.

"I am ordering you to go home, eat, rest," Carlisle said. He patted Harry's shoulder gently with a smile once he was finished with his blood. "You've had a busy day, you should rest. Bella can stay with us tonight, I will keep an eye on her."

Jasper was back in the room in an instant, his hand on Harry's shoulder and his mouth clamped shut against the threat of any blood. Jasper nodded and Harry barely had time to say ‘thanks' before Jasper had him in his arms and was running.

Through the house, where Harry tried to wave to Hermione and Ron, out in the yard, then in the woods where Jasper could slow down and let himself breathe. Harry waited patiently, Jasper wouldn't make him wonder or worry what the rush was.

They had an eternity, Harry could be patient.

"I'm sorry, my love." Jasper slowed down when they must have been halfway home. He stopped to stand Harry up and sweetly offered his hand. "This wasn't how I imagined our day to go."

"Me either," Harry said. "Are you alright though?"

Because Harry was happy. He was overwhelmed, but happy. Harry was getting everything he ever wanted, if not exactly in the traditional way.

"I am amazed, ecstatic, overjoyed, and overwhelmed," Jasper said, listing each thing slowly. "I'm also terrified." Jasper grinned at Harry, a little crooked smile. "A baby was an abstract idea, now it's a certainty. Not just one, but two."

That really summarized everything Harry was feeling too. There was also the uneasiness that the potion they used was completely illegal and Harry still had monthly probation meetings. Harry wouldn't be able to leave the house once he had an actual stomach, and there was a lot to plan…

"We live in a two bedroom house," Harry said once he saw their house in the distance. It was a nice house, Harry's home. But it was only two bedrooms and they had two babies inside of Harry.

Three kids couldn't exactly share one bedroom and Harry could only add so much to the house before it became suspicious.

"We do," Jasper said, he had probably already thought of that. Damn vampire super brain. "We can think of logistics tomorrow, you need to eat and sleep."

Harry wasn't particularly tired, but he was starving. He let Jasper start dinner while he sent a message to Hermione asking for books he might need. Then he sent another one to Jake, letting him know that he and Jasper were home early.

All good? Jake texted back.

Yeah

Harry hesitated, his thumbs hovering over the screen. Should he tell his cousin before he found out from someone else? It didn't seem fair that all of the Cullens knew before they had a chance to even tell Teddy or Andromeda.

Dinner at the Burrow on Sunday? Harry texted him. Molly had a standing Sunday night dinner, it might be a good time to tell the Weasleys all at once. Harry didn't think any of them would be fussed about the pregnancy being illegal, Fleur would certainly champion them if anyone said anything.

Sounds good bro

Hermione also replied before Jasper was finished cooking whatever it was that smelled amazing in the kitchen.

We're going home - Alice said that Edward will be home in the morning and I'd rather not be here for that. I'll gather books for you! I'm so happy for you both. Xx

"Edward's going to be home in the morning," Harry called to his husband. It was strange going from newly married to parents in such a short time frame.

"Excellent." Jasper joined Harry in the living room and pulled the coffee table up to where Harry was curled on the sofa. Harry peeked at the food he brought, a bowl of some sort of soup and a toasted sandwich.

"Your cousin apparently buys groceries as often as you," Jasper said. He kissed Harry on the head when Harry made for the food, "I'll buy more tomorrow."

Harry didn't usually like grocery shopping, but he thought he would prefer it to dealing with Edward returning home.

"I can't believe Bella married Edward," Harry complained. He got comfortable on the sofa and grinned at Jasper when he swung his legs over his lap. "I was really hoping she'd find someone else at the wedding."

"Ah, yes." Jasper started rubbing Harry's feet which was sort of heaven and made it hard to worry about eating. "I did see you pushing Isabella to a blonde woman. Incidentally, I think you might forget that some people aren't attracted to the same gender."

Of course Harry didn't forget that some people weren't gay, but Bella was attracted to blonde women. She told him so, in confidence, that she thought Rosalie was beautiful.

"That was Gabrielle, Fleur's sister," Harry said between bites of his sandwich. "I figured if I couldn't hook Bella up with Charlie Weasley that made it would work with Gabrielle."

"Matchmaking may not be your strong suit," Jasper said. If he wasn't turning Harry's body to goo with a foot rub, Harry might argue about it.

"I, however, am excellent at it," Jasper bragged. Harry's mouth was full of food so he raised an eyebrow in a pointed ‘explain' gesture.

"Jared and Draco Malfoy danced together the entire night. You didn't notice?"

Honestly? No. Harry had been plenty distracted by Jasper and being married and explaining too many times that he didn't care if Jasper was immortal. It would have been easier to tell his classmates that he wasn't going to age or die, but he assumed they would figure it out in a decade or so when Harry still very much looked seventeen.

Harry chewed and swallowed slowly while he tried to remember seeing Jared with Draco.

"I didn't even know Draco was gay," Harry admitted. Some friend he was. Not that he'd claim Draco as a close mate, but Harry thought he had a fuzzy memory of Draco hitting on a dancer at Ron's bachelor party.

"Darlin." Jasper sighed, always the more dramatic one, really. "I truly hope that our children don't inherit your observational skills."

While that was entirely fair, it was also rude.

Harry was still smiling anyway because they were having their children. It was unreal, getting everything he ever wanted was too brilliant for words. It very nearly made Harry forgive Dumbledore for setting him up as the Master of Death without Harry's consent.

It almost made him forgive Dumbledore.

"We have to name them," Harry realized abruptly. He looked at Jasper and knew he'd be feeling his sudden panic. "Jazz, we have to name them."

And that was a thing that would stick with them forever… They could be like Tonks and hate their name so much they never used it, or like Sirius and use their name to crack constant jokes.

"Mm, we do," Jasper says. He blinked and Harry took that to be his own show of surprise. "Oh, God… there's two of them, darlin. We have to name two children." Jasper looked about as sick at the thought as Harry suddenly was.

Bella was lucky, Harry thought. Sure, her pregnancy could kill her but if she didn't die then she only had to name one kid.

Chapter Text

Chapter Text

Chapter Text

Chapter Text

July 19

Hermione let go of Harry's hand and winked at Jasper before turning her heel again and disappearing.

Harry was frightened and hiding it behind an admirable face of bravado. Jasper didn't wonder why his wizard was fearful when he never was in the many dangerous situations he rushed into before, it was obvious as Harry had a wand in one hand and his other hand covering his stomach.

"No one is hurt," Jasper said, moving to cover Harry's eyes before he could see what Jasper needed to explain first. "Trust me, please."

Harry tensed for only a moment and then relaxed, every muscle in his body releasing their rigored tightness and his fear softening into confusion and a well-deserved touch of annoyance.

"If you are unhappy or dislike it, you only have to say so," Jasper said, looking past his love to the work that had taken only two days to complete. It was humbling what could be accomplished with magic and a pack of shapeshifters who would apparently do anything when bribed with food.

The pack was hidden at the Weasley home, watching through the windows undoubtedly as Jacob had started a betting pool amongst them on if Harry would cry.

It was a fool's bet, Harry would absolutely cry. Jasper's poor husband had his emotions all over the place and Jasper could only dampen them enough to prevent fires and flooding.

At least one of their twins was incredibly gifted with their magical levels. Molly Weasley had only assured Jasper of that seventeen times while she helped build. Apparently two of her children had caused intense bursts in magic during her pregnancy, though she refused to say which two.

The house that Jasper hoped they would grow up in was just as magical as Jasper's husband and three children were. It was a creation of love from Harry's incredibly large family. Jasper had a few surprises inside the house, but first he needed Harry to see it…

"Okay." Jasper kissed the top of Harry's head and prepared himself for a rainstorm. "Any changes you want, I will have done today."

Harry was curious, deeply so, but he nodded and Jasper moved his hand from Harry's face to wrap around his waist. And, as Jasper hoped, Harry's gasp was an immediate sound of joy.

The house was lovely, if dull by Weasley standards. Hermione and Ron had assisted Harry in purchasing his house in Forks though and they swore to Jasper that Harry loved the red brick exterior. The gold shutters were courtesy of Ginny, who said firmly that Harry would want to live in a house themed like his school.

"Don't be daft, Gin, Harry's not just making everything Gryffindor colored," George scoffed at his sister. "That'd be like darling Draco over there only wears green and silver."

Everyone looked to where Draco had been flirting with Jared. Draco went quiet when he noticed the eyes on him and even if he was embarrassed, he still raised a condescending eyebrow.

"What?" he asked.

Ginny snickered at the green shirt Draco wore and went right back to charming the accents all a golden yellow.

"Gryffindor was Harry's first home, feelings like that don't change," she said firmly.

It was why their doorknocker was a handsome brass lion. Jasper may have thought it was silly, but it was a gift from Minerva McGonagall and Jasper promised to attach it.

"Jazz…" Harry sounded completely stunned and Jasper kept his emotions in the very front of his mind, sifting through them constantly in case Harry didn't like a single thing.

"It's ours?" Harry asked.

"It is. And I’m going to turn you around, but I need you to not cry yet so your cousin loses a great deal of money," Jasper murmured. "Quick look and - there’s our neighbors."

Harry did excellent keeping his tears as bay when Jasper turned him so he could see that they were only across the lane from his family. The tears still made an appearance as soon as Harry saw the apple orchard beside their house, the quidditch pitch behind the house, and the furniture Jasper himself chose for their porch.

"Dad…" Harry traced the title carved into the head of their rocking chairs, placed on either side of the porch swing. "Is - damn it, Jazz." Harry blinked quickly and looked upward, admirably trying to remain stoic. "Is that Teddy's handprint?" he asked, pointing without looking at the splashes of pink that were added to the center of the swing.

Jasper loved Harry, truly, but his hormones were a mild source of amusement during a rather stressful time of his pregnancy. Jasper didn't need to change Harry's emotions with his gift, not when he could do it naturally.

"And here," Jasper pointed to the empty spaces on either side of Teddy's handprint, "are where we'll put the twins hands when they're born."

The rain began to sprinkle down on them and Jasper bit back a grin, sure Harry wouldn't appreciate it. It was endearing, that was all, Harry's emotions taking physical form from their intensity.

It was possible that Jasper only liked the rare marvel that was everyone sharing his gift in a way. There was no way to miss Harry’s moods, not when the twins manifested it.

"I hate you," Harry said, glaring at the smug gleam in Jasper's eyes. "Show me the rest of your stupid house."

Jasper let out a laugh and swooped to lift Harry in his arms, grinning down at him happily. "It's our stupid house, darlin. Here, admire the lion your teacher contributed."

The storm cloud bloated and more rain fell on them, following as Jasper carried Harry over the threshold of the home they would raise their family in.

"I am going to put a lid on the clouds, only because I'd hate for the contributions your family made to be rained on," Jasper said. Harry nodded distractedly, more interested in the photos that hung in their foyer, and Jasper lightened the joy to something reasonable, nothing that would cause the rain to continue.

Harry wriggled and Jasper obliged him by standing him up then taking his hand, leading him slowly through the foyer and to the living room. It was a gamble, Jasper's grand gesture, but he believed that he knew his wizard well enough to make design decisions for him.

"What's under there?" Harry asked, pointing to the covered painting above their fireplace.

"I'll show you in a moment," Jasper promised. "First, I wanted you to see this."

It was the bricks on either side of the fireplace, the ones that ran up the side and came together to form the chimney. Each one had a name on it, an idea Jasper truthfully took from Hogwarts, but one that was mildly less morbid.

Jasper had the names of every person in their families on the bricks, all of their loved ones mixed together in a subtle display for Harry. He had attempted to make a family tree of the bricks, but it was easier to mix them together. Especially as Harry's family outnumbered Jasper by an absurd amount.

Hermione had charmed the bricks so the names moved around on different bricks, preventing Harry from fixating on the bricks for his parents, Fred Weasley, or Teddy's biological parents. They were all there, many names Jasper didn't know and a few he didn't expect to add, but was outvoted by others into making.

Charlie Swan and Billy Black hardly needed bricks, though Harry was thrilled to see their names on there.

"Jazz…" Harry traced Sirius Black's name and shook his head. "I love it," he said. "This… it's perfect. It's - perfect," he repeated.

Stuttering and semi-speechless were nearly as satisfying as bursts of unexpected magically induced weather would have been.

"Can I see the rest?" Harry asked.

"In a moment," Jasper said. He wanted to give Harry the wedding present that he finally finished. It had been a risky painting, one that Jasper couldn't get just right until he changed the angle.

Then the lines came easily, the colors were perfect. Jasper wasn't as confident about the painting as he was the rest of their house, so if Harry hated it then it would be forgotten with their tour.

"I started this the day we met," Jasper said. "It infuriated me, how alive and beautiful you were and how perfectly impossible you were to capture in any form of art. Then I saw you flying and…"

And it had been the most alive Jasper's love had ever been. It was breathtaking, beautiful; Jasper was sure there would never be a being as captivating as Harry was when he flew.

"Tell me if you'd rather I moved it…" Jasper ripped the sheet off quickly, more in embarrassment than dramatics. If Jasper looked at the painting, he would only see imperfections.

If he looked at it through the muse, it was perfect.

"Jasper…" Harry smiled lightly as he reached up, his finger just ghosting across the lines of the cliff. "It looks so real. It's… Jasper, it's amazing."

"Beautiful," Jasper corrected Harry. He caught Harry's hand in his and kissed his knuckles, as awed as he would always be by his good luck in life. Harry looked away from the sunset, the eternally golden skies with Jasper's golden love flying through them, and their eyes met.

Harry's soft joy jolted and Jasper pulled him closer.

"You built a house for us," Harry said quietly, tucking his fingers in the waistband of Jasper's trousers.

There were many people who helped, Jasper didn't feel obligated to share the credit though.

"I did," Jasper said, placing his hand on the square of Harry's back reserved just for his touch.

"How many bedrooms?" Harry asked, deliciously breathless.

"In our house? Five," Jasper said. "The garage has a two bedroom flat above it for guests and Andromeda has a two bedroom cottage behind the quidditch—"

Jasper's truthful explanation was cut off by Harry's lips and the tour of the house was cut short when Harry demanded to see their bedroom.

Who was Jasper to not oblige him? Who was Jasper to not give in to Harry's every demand when there were literal sparks of magic emitting from his fingertips?

Jasper carried Harry up the stairs, past the framed photographs that decorated the walls, past the staircase to what would be Kreacher's attic, directly to their room. The wall of windows that overlooked the field where Harry would teach their children to fly was ignored, as was the small display of Jasper's medals, Harry's honors.

The magically enforced bed that took up a large portion of the room was not ignored, it was where Jasper laid Harry down and began savoring their first time together in their home.

Their home where Jasper didn't have to hide. Their home where Harry could be himself. Their home that would be filled with their children, their family, their love.

Their home where Harry refused to let Jasper take his shirt off him at.

"Just… leave it," Harry said when Jasper reached for his hem. Jasper would have thought it was impatience, Harry was demanding in the best of ways, if it wasn't for the red blush, the sharp sense of shame.

Jasper considered it in a fraction of a second's time. It wasn't the scars, Jasper worshiped every proof of Harry's invincibility. Which meant it was the seven pounds and half ounce Harry had gained in the last two weeks.

It hadn't bothered Jasper, but he did wonder why Harry no longer joined him in the shower.

Jasper waited, he waited to give himself enough time to think. Harry stayed startling still, one hand clenched on his shirt to keep it in place and the other one balled in a fist just behind Jasper's neck.

Shame filled the room and Jasper couldn't address it, he couldn't siphon it away, not until he was sure that he wasn't going to hurt Harry. And once Jasper thought he knew precisely what to do, he sat back on his heels and offered Harry a warm look.

"Stay here for two minutes, please," Jasper asked him. Harry's mouth opened and Jasper shushed him gently. "Trust me?" he asked.

To Harry's everlasting credit, he didn't hesitate to place his trust in Jasper. It was intoxicating, that trust from such a dangerous creature.

It was trust that Jasper didn't plan to abuse. He asked Harry for two minutes and it took him precisely one minute and eleven and a half seconds. Jasper would have been three seconds sooner, but Ron Weasley had been on quite the tangent about Harry's blood-relatives.

Harry had his pants back on, a shame, but a necessity for the time being. He had moved from the bed to the windows and Jasper was pleased that Harry was excited by their home.

"Did I say thank you?" Harry asked, humming contentedly when Jasper wrapped his arms around his waist. "Because… this is - it's perfect, Jazz."

"Do you want to know my favorite thing about that yard?" Jasper asked, looking over Harry's shoulder through the window. He pointed at the shed, the green shed that was meant to be a joke by Harry's brothers. "One day, we're going to be storing our children's broomsticks in that shed. And back there? See the brick chimney? That's where our kids will spend time with their grandmother."

"You're really happy, aren't you?" Harry twisted in Jasper's hold so they could see each other's eyes. Jasper didn't bother trying to hide his genuine joy, he didn't need to hide anything from Harry.

Just as Harry didn't need to hide a thing from him.

"Harry, I am so overjoyed about the memories we'll make here that I would sicken another empath," Jasper swore. "And now I wonder, darlin, if you'll come create a memory with me?"

Harry hesitated and Jasper knew his mind had gone to the shame he felt before, the unspoken ghost that Jasper was not going to let haunt their home.

"Sure." Harry took Jasper's hand and let him guide him out of their room, down the stairs. Jasper felt the difference in the floor of their stairs, the faint echo that hadn't existed before. Harry noticed nothing, nothing until Jasper stopped them right in front of the new door attached to a closet under their stairs.

"Jazz…" Harry's pulse picked up, erratic beats of fear. "Why - I don't think we need that."

"I agree," Jasper said calmly, softening the edges of Harry's emotions just enough to prevent odd bursts of magic from interrupting him. It was important, Jasper should have known it would be the moment he made their house multi-level.

Jasper handed Harry his wand, retrieved from where he tossed it when they had been undressing, and nodded his head to the closet door.

"This is your house, Harry," Jasper said slowly, calmly. "This is your home. We don't need a closet under our staircase. I wondered if you might get rid of it."

Harry looked down at his wand, then the door. Harry looked at Jasper, then his wand. There was a slow shift in the atmosphere, something heavy building inside of their home.

It would make them or it would break them and Jasper's wizard was invincible.

A rumble rolled above their heads and Harry's voice was a whisper.

"Bombarda."

The door blasted inside as lightning flashed above their head and Harry followed the blast with his wand slashing. Jasper didn't flinch, he didn't move. Jasper stood under lightning that didn't scare him and thunder that must have been cathartic as Harry destroyed every single inch of the closet Jasper had created just for that purpose.

Every splinter was hit with magic until it became smoke. Every emotion inside of Harry swelled with intensity, all of his shame, fear, humiliation. There was hurt too, a childhood's weight worth of hurt. It was hurt for himself, hurt that their children would never feel.

The walls of the house trembled although there were at least three Weasleys who swore it wouldn't crash on them. Lightning flashed again when Harry screamed, a guttural scream for the boy who must never have had a voice.

There were so many storm clouds filling the foyer, the entire main floor, that it looked to be black outside. Even Jasper couldn't find any sunshine through the storms.

And then, when Harry's emotions hit their crescendo, the rain fell.

Harry's knees shook and he dropped his wand, letting it clatter to the floor. Jasper moved before Harry dropped an inch, and had him on his lap before Harry could touch the ground.

There was nothing to do then but wait out the storm with Harry in his chest. Jasper's wet hair fell in his eyes, his wet shirt clung to him beneath Harry. Jasper stroked Harry's back and let him feel every horrible emotion until the rain began to lighten, until Harry's heartbreaking sobs slowed.

"Why couldn't they just love me?" Harry asked, holding Jasper like his lifeline. "Do you know how hard I tried? How - how many times I thought if I was just good enough, they'd change their minds about me?"

"I know," Jasper said softly, only an ear to listen. Jasper didn't know, but he felt it. Jasper could feel the ache that Harry must have carried his entire life, the ache of being told he would never be enough by the very people tasked with loving him.

It wasn't difficult to do, Harry inspired love. Harry inspired it and he returned it in spades. They had no idea what they missed out on, Jasper nearly pitied them.

"I didn't need a bedroom or - or food or anything new, it was… I was just alone. For years."

It would have been unbearable. Jasper had no idea how Harry grew to be someone so capable of love when it took ten years for him to ever experience it.

"I thought for so long that if I was small enough, quiet enough, if I mopped the fucking floors good enough that they'd wake up one day and decide I wasn't a waste of space."

Jasper would never have allowed it anyway, but there was a space in his mind where he stored information to never forget and the firm rule against Harry ever mopping their floors was stored there.

Harry sighed heavily and shifted, turning his head to rest on Jasper's shoulder while he stared sightlessly at the devastation he wrought upon the room from his childhood. A single raindrop fell on his forehead and it streaked slowly down his face, zig-zagging until it disappeared with the glistening tears that finally slowed to a stop.

"When I'd get to Hogwarts I was always excited to eat," Harry said flatly, possibly too emotionally overwrought to feel more than a dull embarrassment. "And I'd make myself sick if I wasn't worried people would laugh about me eating. Which sounds stupid, I know it, but - Hermione said something once, in our first year, about Ron eating like an animal. So I was careful, but…"

Jasper could guess, based on his education and experience in the medical field, how the story would end.

A starved body, especially the bodies of children, would forget how to be full after being starved for long periods of time. Their abdominal walls weakened, their muscles atrophied. The stomach would often bulge - not much, a small bulge, possibly the same size as a stomach would become in the early stages of a pregnancy with multiples.

It wasn't fat, it wasn't disgusting, it was only the response of a body to a war it shouldn't have fought.

"But I'd get this weird pouch," Harry said, not hiding the fact that he found it disgusting. "And now…"

"And now you have a weird pouch," Jasper finished for him after Harry trailed off, unable to put his own trauma into words.

Harry gave a broken laugh that sounded very much like a verbal flinch. "Yeah, now I have a weird pouch," he said, working hard to sound wry and failing quite spectacularly.

Jasper let him rest for a moment, he couldn't heal Harry's scars in an hour, after all. And when he thought Harry could handle it, when he knew the strongest man he had ever known could handle it, Jasper laid Harry down gently in the middle of the wreckage and grabbed his shirt hem.

Harry's eyes were nervous, Jasper gave him a taste of his own confidence.

"This weird pouch?" Jasper lifted the shirt, half an inch at a time, watching as every muscle in Hardy's body twitched. "This is our weird pouch, Harry. This weird pouch?" Jasper bent down when Hardy's stomach was exposed and held Harry's eyes as he pressed his lips above Harry's bellybutton.

"This isn't pain, darlin, this is love," Jasper said lowly, wanting nothing more than for Harry to trust his word. "This weird pouch? It's going to grow into the weirdest possible stomach, it's going to swell with our very weird children. When they're born, when we have our weird family all together in this home, we're going to give them ten times the affection you chased. And do you know what they're going to do to earn it?"

Jasper placed his hand on Harry's stomach and waited for Harry to shake his head in as much of an answer as he could probably give.

"Absolutely nothing."

Harry didn't say anything, he couldn't. Because Jasper put his hands on Harry's stomach and beneath his palms, something moved.

A flutter.

There was a flutter.

Jasper froze in shock just as Harry's eyes rounded out into his own perfect surprise.

For a beat in time, everything else disappeared. The wreckage they laid upon, the ghosts they slaughtered, even the water pooling on the floor. It was all gone as a flutter pushed against Jasper's hand before it was followed with love.

Not Jasper's love, not Harry's.

"They…" Jasper was the one choked, choked by the tears he couldn't shed, the emotions that nobody could siphon for him. Jasper shook his head, he tried to tell Harry what he could feel.

"Harry, they love you," Jasper said in a thick whisper, the most he could manage. Because it wasn't just Harry that they loved, it wasn't Harry's voice that sent little spikes of pure emotion through the air.

It was Jasper's voice. They loved Harry and…

And they loved Jasper.

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