Note: It's been a while since I've read the Harry Potter books, and I've never read the Twilight series, so I'd like to apologize if I make any huge errors in regards to past events in either world. As this story is obviously AU from the end of Harry's fifth year on, I'm hoping that soon I won't have to worry so much about these things.

Anyway, don't be afraid to let me know if I made any major blunders and I'll see if there's a way I can redeem myself, LOL.

Chapter 2 – The Nature of the Beast

As Harry began to shiver from the chill of the night, Jasper all but begged him to go back to the castle. He could tell both from the boy's emotions and his demeanor, however, that the wizard was very reluctant to leave him. Placing the back of his fingers against his mate's cheek, the vampire did his best to reassure the other. "It's okay, Harry. I promise you that I'm never going to abandon you. I still have to feed and check on my house, but I can meet you back here whenever you like."

Harry blushed at the intimate contact and unconsciously leaned into the gesture of affection. He'd had too few comforting touches in his life and Jasper was determined to make up for it. "Your house? You live in Hogsmeade?"

Jasper chuckled. "No… it's a non-magical town about thirty miles from here. I just came here to find some larger prey. If I lived in a magical village I'd have to give up all my electronics, and it's hard enough for me to leave my cellphone behind when I need to hunt."

Looking imploringly at the vampire, Harry said, "I'm glad that hunting for animals brought you here Jasper, but I don't understand why you refuse to give your body what it craves. You've told me that human blood makes you stronger, faster, and less hungry all the time, so why in the world would you ever want to go back to barely sustaining yourself with deer and rabbits?"

Sighing, the blonde ran his hand through his hair. He, too, had this argument with himself on a regular basis and was unsure how best to answer. "After leaving Maria's army, I was so disgusted with myself, Harry. Because of my empathic abilities, I was cursed to feel every ounce of betrayal, pain, and fear that coursed through those vampires I killed and it made me feel like nothing more than a soulless monster. But joining the Cullen family gave me purpose again. For the first time since I was turned I felt like a magical being and not a murderer… I'm terrified to lose that feeling."

Harry placed a comforting hand on Jasper's shoulder. "I don't want you to ever be uncomfortable with who or what you are, Jasper. I just want you to be happy. What about the human you fed from before coming here… Edward's girlfriend. Did her emotions bother you when you were feeding?"

Shame crossed the vampires face. "No. Loathe as I am to admit this, I enjoyed her struggles and fear. And that scares me, Harry. It scares me more than I'd ever be willing to vocalize."

"Oh Jasper," Harry pulled his mate's face up until their eyes met, "You are a predator. You can't judge yourself for eating humans just because you were once one yourself. You're a different species altogether now, and it doesn't make you a cannibal or even a murderer to eat people. I enjoy eating meat… does that make me a heartless killer?"

Jasper snorted, "Of course not. But a human and a cow are hardly the same thing."

"Maybe not, but a cow can still feel pain and fear. Just because we humans think we're at the top of the food chain doesn't mean we are or even should be. By Merlin, we're the most destructive animal on the entire planet! Look – I get that Carlisle is a wonderful person who enjoys interacting with humans, and I think the world needs more beings with that level of compassion. But you need to find out who you are… what makes you content." Harry placed a hand over Jasper's. "I'm not trying to force you to eat humans… though I could come up with a long list of people I wouldn't mind seeing devoured," he added, making Jasper give out a surprised laugh, "but you are a vampire. You were built to hunt humans… there's a reason you're never completely full unless you ingest human blood."

Leaning forward, Jasper surprised Harry with a kiss to the forehead. "I hear what you're saying, and I promise I'll give it some thought, okay?"

Harry nodded. "Sounds good." He yawned and stretched. "I guess I'd better get some sleep. Something tells me I'm going to need to be fully rested in order to face tomorrow."

Jasper smirked. "Be sure to take your own advice, Harry. Be yourself… not what others want you to be. It's the only way you'll ever be satisfied."

The wizard gazed at him in surprise. "Wow… I did not realize how similar our situations were before, but you're right. We're alike in a lot of ways." Harry accepted the offered hand as he pulled himself off of the damp ground. He halfheartedly brushed the dirt from his bum, not that it did much good with him still looking like a mess. The wizard hesitantly asked, "So… I'll see you tomorrow night?"

The vampire chuckled. "Count on it, Harry. Now go get some rest," Jasper responded while pulling the shorter boy into a comforting embrace. "Sweet dreams!"

In a blur, Jasper ran from the area. He really needed to feed… and think.

A quick tempus charm told Harry it was half past two in the morning. He absently apologized to the fat lady for waking her before making his way toward the showers. He knew Pomfrey would be tracking him down tomorrow, knowing well his propensity to hide wounds, but there was no way he was in the mood for her coddling just now. Though he had to admit that he wasn't nearly as angry about his life now that Jasper had crashed into it. As he was scrubbing the blood and grime from his body, his thoughts kept travelling toward the gorgeous blonde with the intense red eyes.

Before they had met, Harry would have sworn that he'd be repulsed by anyone with a crimson gaze after having seen Voldemort in all his scaly glory. Upon seeing Jasper's, however, he could never consider those almost burgundy orbs to be anything less than beautiful. The wizard idly wondered, as he washed his hair for the second time, if it was because they were filled with love and devotion, or a result of the soul bond.

He'd never given any thought to having a soul mate. It had always seemed to be something that only happened to magical creatures and not humans, but whatever… he wasn't complaining. Even though he was terrified of once again being let down, Harry was going to hold onto this for as long as he was able.

What did he have to lose?

Just as Harry feared, the next day was fraught with endless questions from his housemates. He wished the twins were still in school so he could beg them for a pinch of the Peruvian Instant Darkness Powder they'd recently become so excited about. The fifteen-year-old briefly considered grabbing his invisibility cloak, but then decided that any attempt at subterfuge would only delay the inevitable and cause him to eventually explode. He instead chose to deliver clipped one or two word answers to any questions and completely ignore ones that required a longer response.

Jasper was right… he hated these people, so why in the name of Merlin had he always felt the need to cater to their every whim?

"Harry," exclaimed a voice that grated on his nerves like fingernails on a chalkboard, "oh thank Merlin you're okay!" Ginny Weasley went to fling her arms around him, but Harry quickly sidestepped her effort. The girl had been incredibly clingy lately, always feeling the need to touch him. She'd also taken to openly flirting with Dean Thomas, but Harry always caught her watching him as if waiting for him to have a negative reaction to it. He could be wrong, but it seemed as if she only threw herself at Dean in order to make him jealous. If that was the case, she'd be waiting an eternity.

Ginny frowned when he dodged her hug. Obviously thinking his hardened attitude came from seeing Sirius die, her eyes turned sad. "I'm so sorry about Sirius, Harry. If you ever need to talk about him… or anything, know that I'll always be here for you, okay?"

Harry stared at her for a moment, his eyes reflecting none of the disgust and anger he was feeling. Finally he nodded sharply and walked away, leaving the stunned girl alone in the corridor. The wizard knew he was pulling away from the war, but the fact that he'd just happily imagined Jasper draining Ginny in front of him was something that was new and more than a little frightening. As he continued on his way to the astronomy tower in a bid to get some peace and quiet, Harry began to wonder if having Voldemort in his head had affected him in ways he'd never before imagined.

After Jasper had left his beautiful Harry, he continued his hunt and soon located a deer drinking from a stream. As he stared at the animal from his hiding spot, the vampire was having a hard time convincing himself to go make the kill. Frankly, the thought of going back to being a vegetarian was turning his stomach, especially after he found out that his mate wouldn't be disgusted with him for hunting humans.

He thought of Bella Swan's last moments alive and smiled softly. Her normally dull brown eyes looked absolutely breathtaking once they became consumed by horror and pain. The sound of her pain-filled screams turned him on like nothing ever had before. He briefly imagined making love to Harry beside the body of one of his victims and felt his pants become uncomfortably tight.

Mind made up, Jasper made his way out of the forest. The forgotten deer continued to drink its fill, never knowing how close to death it had been.

Edgar Banton ignored the nip in the air as he left his automobile and made his way to the front door of his secluded home on the outskirts of town. He'd spent the day and most of the night at the office and he was more than ready to crawl into his warm bed and sleep. He was so glad that the boss had given him the next day off and he certainly wasn't planning to do anything that cut into his much-needed relaxation time.

A rustling sound caused him to pause in the efforts to unlock his front door. The keys jingled as he turned to peer in the direction in which he'd heard the sound. Hearing no further noise, the man shrugged internally and moved to resume his task. As soon as his eyes met a pale figure leaning casually against his door, Edgar gasped in fright and dropped his keys with a clatter. He didn't know who this bloke was, but he definitely hadn't been there a second ago!

The blonde stranger smirked at his reaction before swooping down on the businessman. As he felt teeth biting deeply into his neck, Edgar tried to scream for help. A strong hand immediately clamped down on his mouth, muffling the desperate cries. He never stopped fighting with every ounce of energy he had… even when the blood loss began making him lethargic.

Just before taking his last breath, Edgar Banton met the eyes of his killer and wondered what he'd ever done to deserve this end.

Jasper wiped the trail of blood from his mouth and stared down at the body of his latest meal. He had thought the guilt would return after taking the life of an innocent, but instead he felt almost giddy. The human's desperation had made him feel powerful and strong, and his blood made him feel almost alive. The vampire knew in that moment that he would never be able to return to hunting animals.

He remembered Carlisle's parting words when Jasper had broken away from the family. It was as if he'd known that his blonde son would come to this decision. Or maybe he'd just doubted whether Jasper would be strong enough to return to being a vegetarian after tasting human blood once more. Either way, he supposed as he began the process of disposing of the corpse, Jasper could only hope that the family would accept his return to his roots.

Once the cleanup was done, Jasper made his way to his house in the next town over and checked the phone he'd left charging in the window. There were two messages from Alice there. The first one stated how excited she was that he'd found his mate and let him know that she would be showing up one day to take the boy shopping for new clothes. Jasper snorted and made a mental note to warn his wizard. The second message made him pause in shock.

Alice had seen him feed, but her response to the vision threw him for a loop.

"I saw you and the man, Jasper and whatever you're feeling… know that everything is okay. Your family knows you better than you think and loves you unconditionally. Never be afraid to be yourself." Jasper closed his eyes in relief. He'd been terrified to lose them and Alice's words soothed an ache that he hadn't even yet noticed was forming.

Jasper began laughing when his phone buzzed from another text message came through. It was Alice again saying, "And Rosalie says to tell you to quit moping and go do something… or someone."

God he loved this family!

Thanks to all who've read and reviewed!