Disclaimer: The Harry Potter series belongs to J.K. Rowling, a much better writer than I, and the Twilight Saga belongs to Stephenie Meyer, who I shall say no more about save that I too hope that I can make millions by putting crap on paper and passing it off as literature someday.
Warning: AU! This takes place a whole year after Breaking Dawn, somewhere in 2007, and everything past the middle of OotP did not happen. Slash and Cullens, both of which deserve warnings.
Gadarene
Chapter 1: Heedless of Defenses
The meeting of two personalities is like the contact of two chemical substances: if there is any reaction, both are transformed.
-Carl Jung
"Are you sure this needs to happen?"
There was a long, weary sigh that sounded like static over the old telephone before the response he dreaded came.
"Yes, Billy. The Ministry is going crazy in the wake of the war; they've demanded that all other nations catalogue all magical creatures so that a – what was the word Hermione used? – ah! A database could be formed."
Billy Black, current chief of the Quileute tribe, frowned, not liking the worry lacing the other man's voice. "You all really have that much influence?"
Remus chuckled tiredly, and Billy could almost imagine his old friend running a hand through his hair. "British magical society, statistically, is the largest, which does hold some weight. Not to mention that right now, we have many of the other countries lining up at our doorstep, ready to do whatever is necessary to get on our good side."
"That doesn't sound like politics as usual," Billy groused. "What do you have that has everyone running to you? A weapon? A lord?"
Remus paused, and Billy wondered if he had said something wrong. His worry only multiplied as Remus continued, his voice heavy with regret.
"You could say so, Billy," Remus said, and Billy swallowed, not liking the tone the conversation had taken.
"You said someone would be coming to the Reservation? Kind of like a census?"
"Yes," Remus replied, some of the weight lifted from his voice. The werewolf cleared his throat before continuing. "You have nothing to worry about; I know the man who is coming very well. He is one of the most unbiased men I have ever known, and he will treat you with the respect you earn. "
"Sounds like his parents raised him right," Billy mused, hands clenched tightly around the armrest of his wheelchair. Remus' words were certainly easing some the tension he felt about the whole situation, but he was still a little nervous. Why would they need to be censed now, especially be some magical government they have never been in contact with before?
"No, he… He is a man who is who he is today by his strength alone," Remus murmured.
"Remus…?" Billy questioned.
"It's nothing that is my right to say," Remus said, and Billy frowned. He'd try to keep an open mind for when he actually met the guy, but he already had one strike in his book; anyone who hurt Remus did. "In any case, he should be there in two days; more than enough time to gather who you need to."
"If that son of mine actually listens to me, that is…"
Remus hesitated before asking concernedly. "Is something wrong with Jacob?"
"He's been torn up lately," Billy confessed, tapping his fingers agitatedly. "Girl he liked ran off with someone else – a vampire."
"Ah." There was not much more Remus could say, and he felt a bit awkward about stepping into such murky waters.
"It gets worse," Billy said grimly. "Somehow, the leech got her pregnant."
Billy smirked, almost imagining his friend's wince. "I'm sure that went over well with everyone," Remus said dryly.
"If you think trying to kill the baby and its mother is 'going over well,' then yeah, it did."
"What did Jacob do?" Remus asked quietly, and Billy grinned proudly.
"Defended them, against orders of Uley. He's an Alpha in his own right."
"And?" Remus asked, intrigued by the odd tale and feeling, strangely enough, as if was bearing witness to one of the overdramatic soap operas Sirius loved so much. The werewolf snorted softly; his mate would undoubtedly be salivating if he was listening in, begging for more juicy details.
Billy grimaced. "And that's it; the girl, Bella, had her kid, and everything has settled down to normal, save for Sam still being restless over its presence. The vamp turned her, but he had my son's permission, so there's nothing Uley can do about that."
"What about Jacob?"
"He comes around every once in awhile," Billy said. "He's not exactly a welcome face; Sam and his pack are still upset with them for not allowing them to take the 'newborn threats' out, so he mostly keeps away, staying with the vamps and his pack most of the time. It won't be for long; Jacob won't stand for Uley's shit much longer."
Remus hummed, and Billy could hear some shuffling over the phone. "So, you don't think Jacob will come back to the Pack?"
"Not for something like this," Billy said confidently, knowing his son inside and out. "He doesn't see a reason to. He won't return until he thinks he needs to, and not a second before that."
"You said he's staying with the vampires?" Remus asked, and Billy almost envied the casual way the werewolf could speak of his race's supposed mortal enemies. Even though they were the source of his broken heart, he knew that Jacob was making an honest attempt to make amends with the Cullens, and Billy's hesitance to do so was driving a wedge between them.
Billy smiled sadly, wondering when he had grown so old that the next generation had surpassed him without his knowledge.
"Yeah," he answered. "He is."
"Give me their address then," Remus requested. "I'll send Harry to their place first, and he can stop by the Reservation later. That way, you won't have to deal with any tension between the packs; or, at least not yet."
"Thank you," Billy said with a small chuckle. "This Harry guy; is he the one you were talking about?" Remus hummed affirmatively. "Will he be safe among so many vampires?"
Remus laughed, honestly and freely, and Billy was taken aback by his usually calm friend's mirth.
"I worry less about Harry and more about the vampires and your son. Harry can take care of himself." Remus paused before saying lowly, soft enough to almost escape his enhanced hearing, "he is our savior after all."
For once in his short life, Jacob Black was on the same wavelength with Rosalie Hale, and though the blonde had softened slightly after Renesmee's birth, he was sure that nothing good could come from such an odd occasion.
"You're telling me magic… exists?" The blonde vampire asked, echoing Jacob's thoughts perfectly, and the shape-shifter nearly bashed his head into the wall at that realization. He knew, just knew that he had been around these l-vampires too long, and now he was going as crazy as the rest of them.
Carlisle nodded, not a flicker of irritation in his eyes at his daughter's incredulous question. "It does indeed. Entire governments have formed around and because of it, and there are magical societies all around us, merely hidden from view."
"I've never seen it," Rosalie said stubbornly, arms crossed over her chest.
"Technically, you are a part of it," Carlisle replied. "Vampires are classified as 'non-wizarding, part-humans' according to the pamphlets Mr. Potter sent us in advance, though apparently there is a petition underway for a different classification."
Jacob inched away from Rosalie as Emmett shifted closer, both wary of the blonde's flared nostrils and downright furious glare.
"What do you mean classified?" Rosalie hissed. "What gives them the right to classify us as if we were some kind of beast?"
Carlisle's only reaction to the blonde's outburst was to blink and shuffle through the many papers the family had received by way of, oddly enough, a pristine white owl that Renesmee had been enchanted with on sight.
"Here we are…" Carlisle glanced through the sheet before reciting what had been written. "'I apologize if what I have written has offended anyone, but I refuse to tell anyone anything less than the truth. This worldwide census is an unprecedented event that has left many confused and wary. Though I am not in full agreement with the procedures being put into effect, it is my hope that by being upfront and honest, that this process might be as simple and clean as possible.'"
Rosalie snorted, looking away and ignoring the arm Emmett wrapped around her shoulder comfortingly.
"It is my belief," Carlisle began, "that we trust in Mr. Potter. I have been talking with your father, Jacob, and he has assured me that a friend of Mr. Potter's has said nothing but good things about him."
That in and of itself was good enough for Jacob, but hardly enough for the others. Leaning against one of the living room's walls, Jacob observed the subtle emotions passing over the others marble faces, rubbing his nose irritably with the back of his hand. He didn't know what it was but something just seemed off and for the life of him he couldn't figure out why, and it was leaving him tenser than usual.
"Have you seen anything about him, Alice?" Edward asked softly, getting right to the heart of the issue. The seer nodded hesitantly, and the bronze-haired vampire tightened his grip on his wife and child.
"Just a few things; blurry flashes at most. I mean, from what you've said, he's human, but not exactly. A wizard, right? I've never been a – a witch, I suppose, so maybe that's why nothing's really clear." Alice looked down at her lap after she had finished, the tight grip on her skirt the only indication of how difficult her clouded sight was affecting her. Sensing his wife's distress, Jasper sent a calming wave of emotion in her direction, which she smiled gratefully at.
Edward glanced at her, and she was quick to assuage his troubled thoughts.
"It's not like with Nessie; I don't get headaches trying to see him. It's just… Nothing works. I can't see any more, no matter how hard I try."
"Do not worry about it, then," Edward said, and the rest of the family groaned, knowing that one of their telepathic conversations had occurred. Seeing Alice's smile grow slightly brighter though, their complaints soon ceased.
No other questions were asked, so Bella took the chance to ask what she had been wondering ever since Carlisle had called them all together.
"When will he be here?" As one, the other vampires and the lone shape-shifter glanced at her before shifting their gazes to the head of the coven.
Carlisle grinned mischievously, an odd expression that somehow seemed to compliment him more than his usual slight smiles, and glanced at the grandfather clock. "Ah, by now, it should be ten minutes…"
"Ten minutes?" Rosalie and Esme shrieked. The mother immediately leapt off the arm of the chair Carlisle had been sitting in, muttering about preparing something for the man coming to visit, but Carlisle caught her wrist gently and shook his head silently. Rosalie, on the other hand, was furious once again, as she hated being unprepared for anything, a corollary to her dislike of not being in control.
"Ago."
Silence overtook the household, sweeping up the bustle of activity that had begun to spring up and leaving everyone frozen. An airy laugh shattered the silence like glass, and in unison they all, save Carlisle, who was smirking in a way that just did not fit with his kind father image, whirled to face the intruder.
Jacob's breath caught in his throat, freezing there as sure as his heart stopped beating and mind stopped working. Every thought he had ever had, every feeling - love, heartbreak, betrayal, laughter, terror - flashed through his mind and came up wanting to the sheer immensity of the emotion that stormed through him. His very consciousness fled him, taking with it sight, hearing, every sensation, stripping him of everything mercilessly, until he was sure that his very existence had ended with his first glimpse of…
Emerald eyes. A pale, slender nose, braced between two high cheeks touched with the most miniscule of stubble; he had shaven just that morning, Jacob knew that, knew it like he had been born with that knowledge and had only just remembered it. Two ears came into focus, both pierced twice, and framed by unruly, messy, perfect black hair that draped over the man's shoulders. A lock of hair brushed against pink lips that were curled into a relaxed smile, and a pale hand brushed it back to tuck behind an ear, and Jacob watched each inch it travelled as if it was the most fascinating process possible.
His whole world shook, uprooting everything he was, down to his very core, the seismic quaking only coming to an abrupt halt as those eyes, those green eyes, locked with his own, and…
Jacob only realized he was literally shaking when he heard, on the fringes of reality, Bella whispering his name in concern, but he found that he couldn't, didn't want to, look at her. He was too enthralled with the dawnlight piercing through the windows behind the man, making auburn streaks dance through his hair and lighting him up like he was an angel, redefining beauty in every way, shape, and form and leaving Jacob breathless.
The man grinned, a lengthening of his lips as he prepared to speak, and Jacob lurched forward, as if summoned by the voice he had yet to hear, and Bella was alarmed by his behavior, he knew she was, but he didn't care, because-
"That was a cruel prank, Carlisle. I didn't expect that from you."
The clear tenor, soft-spoken yet filled with confidence, rushed through his veins, and Jacob was struck with arousal, not just sexual, but as if he was suddenly filled with a form of awareness he had never felt before, and everything was clearer and brighter and better than it had been before.
"Hesitance promotes second thoughts, Mr. Potter," Carlisle replied, his gold eyes steady on Jacob's tense form, somewhere half-way between amused and content. "In some cases, a headlong approach is just what is needed."
Harry nodded in agreement, glancing from form to form unconcernedly, his eyes revealing nothing. He ended with Jacob, peering curiously into eyes alit with dark fire, before grinning quirkily at them all, his arms outstretched as if to embrace this new world he had, unknowingly, just become a part of.
"Harry Potter, head of the British Auror Division. It is a pleasure to meet you all."
Dammit, I was hoping I could go through at least half the alphabet before I was forced to repeat a series (I was under no illusion that I could successfully write twenty-six oneshots, each with a different series to crossover with Harry Potter), but inspiration struck and I couldn't help myself.
I suppose this is a prequel to Alacrity, but, like so many other prequels out there, it can be read on its own. I really tried to do something original and not alter the timeline per usual (Harry's like a whole decade older than Jacob! Weird, but I do have a fetish of sorts for younger!seme works), but… Well, I tried as a hard as a person who has never read any of the saga could. Forgive me for OOC-ness, timeline issues, et cetera. I did try to do some research though (I really did – freakin' Twilight Saga Wiki)!
Continuing that line of thought, there will be at least one other oneshot in this 'series' that will clear up some of the hanging threads, like, "why is Alacrity set in the Reservation when Jacob doesn't live there anymore?" or "why does Alacrity state that Harry only met Bella once when Jacob is in such close contact with the Cullens?" There are answers, and they shall be revealed in a future drabble – probably M or N since I already have ideas lined up for H through L. If you have any questions though, feel free to ask, and I shall reply posthaste!
On a side note, I made a Livejournal account for myself! I set it as my homepage on my profile and, though it's a little underdeveloped currently, feel free to check it out if you feel the strange urge to know some of my deepest and most random thoughts.
With that said, I leave you, hoping quietly for a review, and even more so that you enjoyed my story.
Ciao,
Ariaeris~
Ps: I did make up the word dawnlight, but goddammit, if daylight, nightlight, and twilight can be words, then so can dawnlight! (Has copyrighted that word now)