Well, it was about time I posted something new. Enjoy!

…

Unforeseen

Chapter 4: The other side of the looking glass

…

Harry awoke to the smell of breakfast in bed and the sight of Gabriel sitting in a chair in the corner of his bedroom, looking at him silently. Anyone else would have freaked out at this but for Harry it was a common occurrence. "Good morning Gabriel. Did you want to come with me today?"

The Wizard sat up in bed and dove in the common breakfast; eggs, bacon, toast and pumpkin juice courtesy of the Vampire's House Elf.

The silver haired Lord shook his head. "No, I have other things to do and my appearance would certainly stir up the locals. Do you think you'll need back-up? I could order a few of my guards to follow you."

"I don't think I'll need help. I'm big enough to take care of myself," Harry joked, "besides, the Cullens will be there."

"And this should appease my mind why?"

Harry blinked and looked at his frowning friend. "What are you on about?"

"Oh please, as if you hadn't noticed the young mind reader's attentions. He wasn't being very subtle about it, wasn't he?"

Harry chuckled. "No. I must admit he overwhelmed me a lot. I'm not used to being treated like this, much less thinking about having a soulmate somewhere on this Earth." Harry felt Gabriel sit beside him on the bed and a much bigger hand than his ran through his wild hair soothingly. He closed his eyes.

"Don't think like this. I couldn't find a person more deserving to have a soulmate than you, you selfless brat."

Harry leaned on Gabriel and the Vampire let him, encouraged this show of emotion, even. "But don't think I won't test him. He –may- be your soulmate but he'll still have to prove his worth. I can't believe it would be a Muggle Vampire, of all people." The Lord muttered.

Harry sent him a deadpan look and got up, getting the last of his things ready for his visit to the school. "If you think I'll just become a damsel in distress around that guy you got another thing coming. I won't deny the attraction, heck he's hot as Hell even you have to admit, but I won't just fall into his arms without getting to know him first. But I'm sure you won't just stay put as I ask, so don't torture him too much when you corner him, hm." Harry sent him a roguish grin and walked out the room.

Gabriel snorted and snatched a piece of leftover bacon. "Cheeky brat knows me too well."

…

Harry walked down the stairs and nodded to the numerous Vampires that crossed his path, although most of those of lesser ranks quickly scurried out of his way. Asmodeus, Castor and Pollux were waiting for him at the entrance. "Do you need an escort? We could have a car and guards ready for you in minutes," Castor offered with a gentle smile.

Harry smiled back and shook his head. "It won't be necessary but thank you for the thought. I already have a vehicle and I've located the school when I went flying yesterday in recon. I'll go alone; an escort would bring too much attention anyway."

"Surely you won't fly there?" Asmodeus joked as he opened the door for the Wizard.

Harry walked out and snorted softly, deciding to ignore the subtle way the American Lord inhaled when he passed beside him. Then, his green eyes softened as he took something, a box, from his pockets and looked at the content in it with fondness. He put it on the ground. "Engorgio."

Asmodeus whistled. "This the infamous motorcycle of that Godfather of yours? Nice piece of muggle machinery, I must admit."

Harry got on the old padded leathery seat with a big stride, the motorcycle's width and height almost drowning his smaller stature. But he loved it oh so much. It had been modified so much by Sirius that he didn't even consider this a muggle machine anymore; it didn't even run on gas but on magic but to a muggle's eyes it appeared like an ordinary motorcycle, albeit a very old model. A very old, heavily modified model but held in pristine condition with care.

Harry gripped the handles and closed his eyes when he started the ignition, the great roar of the machine drowning the rest of the world's noises. He could almost see Sirius working on it diligently, Remus scolding him playfully for looking at the thing as if it were a human lover and Sirius replying some nonsense with a grin of his own.

He gave one last pat at the aged leather and sped away, leaving the mansion behind in a cloud of dirt and dust.

…

School was already in session when he arrived and he parked his motorcycle beside the only car he recognized; Edward's shiny silver Volvo. There was a police car parked nearby and a policeman, Billy Black's friend, he surmised, was waiting for him at the school's entrance with Forks High's Vice-Principal.

"I would have never thought you to be a hunter if my friend Billy hadn't called me yesterday night. He was right: you are young. Are you even legal? I've never seen you in this town before."

Harry didn't quite know what to answer without sounding affronted but looking at the man further he could tell the other was a good man at heart. "Appearances can be deceiving, Chief Swan, right? Bella Swan's father? And for your information I'm emancipated. I'm Harry Potter, you can call me Harry. I can assure you that I've dealt with this kind of problem before and that I'm more than qualified for the job."

'If he doesn't let me in I can use a little manipulation spell…' Harry thought while the chief gave him a look-over.

Charlie Swan had the decency to look apologetic. "Ah, sorry. Yes, I'm Charlie Swan."

He turned to the Vice-Principal and exchanged a few words and the other just sent an unconvinced look at Harry before slowly going back inside to his office.

"Sorry about that. The Vice-Principal only wanted to see who was going to snoop around in his school. He always has to report everything that goes on in there, you know?"

Harry nodded. "Understandable. Shall we go?"

Charlie opened the door and Harry walked in; the corridors were silent and their footsteps echoed in the long hallways. The younger man could hear occasional sounds coming from the various closed classrooms; loud students or incomprehensible mathematical equations explained by a teacher. He shuddered, only too happy to not have to go to muggle school. The only muggle education he had stopped when he was ten, before he entered Hogwarts.

He caught Charlie Swan looking at him from the corner of his eyes various times and called him on it. "Is there something wrong?"

"Oh, no, not really. It's just, the kind of clothes you're wearing is not really commonly worn by kids here. Is this a fashion trend where you're from? They must have cost a fortune."

Harry blinked and looked down at his clothes. It's true that he looked like a wealthy kid wearing these modified Vampiric clothes but he had gotten used to them so he didn't even think about that anymore. "Ahh, not everybody wears that. Only…"

He scratched his chin, thinking of a way to say it.

"Where I'm from back in England I kinda have this title of Lordship. My parents left me quite a bit of money when they died but I've never truly acted upon my status until very recently. My Godfather, who also had a title of Lordship, gave everything to me included his title and a letter of emancipation when he died a couple years back. I just couldn't ignore who I was anymore after that."

Charlie looked impressed. "A title of Lordship? Those still exist for real and have real significance even in our days? Wow…"

Harry shrugged, a little uncomfortable about the subject. They remained silent for the rest of the way, Harry faking looking at everything that could let a beast in easily. After all, nothing could really stop a Werewolf from breaking in. The forest was going to be more interesting to look at. Charlie had done the same but on the other side of the corridor. They joined an hour or so later in the empty cafeteria.

"So, what do you think?"

Harry looked around. "The only compromising thing I see for the students' safety is that forest nearby. The windows look sturdy enough", he left out the fact that it wouldn't stop an enraged Werewolf, "but if there's something lurking around and a student gets near the forest…"

Charlie immediately understood. "What do you propose we do? This forest is huge; we can't just send people in there nor put a fence big enough to stop whatever is threatening the townspeople. Do you even know what we're dealing with?"

He watched as the young man's eyes narrowed.

"I have a fair idea. Leave it to me. I'll check the forest and put on some traps. If anything gets near the school I'll be immediately alerted of its presence." He carefully left out what kind of traps.

Charlie didn't look convinced to let him go in there alone but Harry told him that he should tell the Principal not to let any students get too near the forest for a while, at least until they could be sure no one was in any kind of danger anymore. As Charlie nodded the school bell rang loudly, making Harry jump in surprise and the cop look at his watch. "Well, how time flies by. It's already time for lunch. We have permission to eat at the cafeteria since we're stuck here for a while. I'll eat in the teachers' lounge. Do you want to come too, or do you prefer to eat here?"

Harry shrugged. Charlie repeated the move, he knew when to stop prying, and he went to the lunch lady to get something to eat. Just in time too, because as soon as he left Harry's side a sea of students burst noisily in the cafeteria, either going to their usual seats with their lunchbox or getting in line to get their tray of cooked food. A lot of them froze when they saw the Chief of Police in the room and quite a few stares were directed in Harry's way.

Rumors were already starting to fly and Harry sighed, frowning. He walked to the window and leaned on it, choosing to ignore the not-so-quiet whispers and outright questions, and gazed outside in the forest's direction. He didn't miss that sort of noise.

He heard people trying to call him over.

His eyebrow twitched. No, he didn't miss this at all.

…

Bella finished her morning classes and joined her friends to get something to eat when she froze at the entrance of the cafeteria. Her father was there with a lunch tray and walking out with it. Her friend Tyler was quick to get out of the man's way, with what happened not too long ago when he almost killed Bella by accident with his van.

"Dad? What are you doing here?"

The man said hello and quirked his lips up, decidedly feeling out of place in the sea of boisterous students. "Work. We're here to inspect the school and its grounds because of the wild animals that killed people in the Quileute's reservation. Harry thinks the beasts might come near the school. You can tell your friends that the forest is off limits for a while. The Principal will also make an announcement later. I'm off to the teachers' lounge to eat. Remember to be careful." He gave one last look-over at his daughter and walked out, the incoming students giving him a wide berth.

"Harry? Who's Harry? Hey, who's that?"

Bella blinked.

Mike was pointing at a guy their age leaning on one of the windowsills. Eric leaned on Mike's shoulder to get a better look, to the other's displeasure, and after a short moment he shook his head. "A new kid? I've never seen him here before!" He looked angry at himself. "I always know everything that goes on in here, why have I not been told there was going to be a newbie?"

Bella stayed silent and kept her eyes riveted on the young man. Angela put a hand on Bella's arm. "Bella, is something the matter?" she asked, clearly worried for her friend.

"Ah…That's the 'Harry' my dad was talking about."

Eric jumped on her. "You know that guy? Is he a new student?"

She hesitated while her friends all gave her wide-eyed looks that were pleading for her to elaborate. She didn't know what she could actually tell them, that was the problem. Her father probably didn't even know the guy all that much, too.

"Hum…I don't really 'know' him personally. I've just seen him briefly at the reservation."

'And I don't want a repeat of THAT', she thought with a mental shudder.

"I know he's not a student, though. He's here to help with the investigation, I think."

"What? But he looks our age!" Tyler exclaimed. "Maybe even younger!"

Mike lifted an eyebrow. "And he looks like a rich kid. I mean, what the Hell is he wearing?"

"I think it makes him look downright sexy. He's probably loaded, or his parents are." Jessica licked her lips and leered at the fresh meat.

Bella and the others rolled their eyes. The girl nearly flew to the black haired young man before anyone could stop her, the only one to actually have the guts to get near him.

She couldn't see this ending well.

"Hi! My name's Jessica Stanley! You must be Harry, right? You're here to protect us? It's so brave of you!"

Harry mentally shuddered. Merlin, the girl's simpering voice grated on his nerves. He turned around, careful to leave his facial expression blank.

"Oh wow! I love your eyes! Oh, what's that scar on your forehead? I love your clothes! Where did you get them? Or were they tailored especially for you?"

He looked behind the girl where her friends caught up with her and made her back up and shut up for the moment. There was one face he vaguely recognized and he nodded to the now blushing brunette, who waved back shyly.

"You are Charlie Swan's daughter and Jacob Black's girlfriend, am I right?" He asked softly and nearly winced when Jessica squealed and cooed over his 'super sexy English accent'.

"Sorry about her. She's always…excited to meet new faces."

"I see."

"Hum…I'm Isabella but everyone calls me Bella. How…How is the investigation going?" She was choosing her wording carefully, being the only one here beside maybe the Cullens who knew he wasn't as normal as he appeared.

Harry gazed at the forest and then back at her. "I still have to check the surrounding woodland but right now it's going well enough."

"Oh, okay. That's good, I guess."

Silence.

Harry fidgeted slightly, uncomfortable with all the looks he was at the receiving end of. How awkward that he couldn't even hold a civilized conversation with a person who was about his age. The Cullen children didn't even count; they were all over fifty. Damn, what a fucked-up social life.

Talk about the devils, the five Cullens kids walked in the cafeteria at about that same moment and their gazes immediately zoomed in on him. Edward was the first to reach him, nearly pushing Mike and Jessica out of the way in the process.

"Hey! Watch it Cullen!" Mike threatened.

Edward didn't even acknowledge him.

Emmett put a hand on the blond boy's shoulder and gave him 'the look'. Mike shuddered and they all backed off quickly, leaving the place for the Cullens who obviously knew the British boy. Alice saluted Bella with a wide smile and ignored the questioning look the curious girl sent their way.

"Hello Harry. I wanted to see you sooner but I wasn't able to convince the teachers to let me go. How are you today?"

Harry took a few steps back; Edward didn't seem to have set any personal boundaries between them, which made Alice and Rosalie smirk at his discomfort.

He rasped his throat. "Hi. It's okay, nothing really interesting happened."

Edward led him to 'their' table and urged him to sit while they went to get their usual food tray. Harry lifted an eyebrow when they sat back down. "Ingenious, pretending to eat to appear human. But it must be frustrating not being able to eat like everyone else."

Emmett shrugged. "You get used to it but I admit I'm jealous of your friends; they're like us but they can eat. They can do even more than that!"

"There is a big difference between the two species." Harry acquiesced. His lips quirked up when Edward surreptitiously slid his tray over for him to eat. He mouthed a thank you and helped himself to a shiny red apple.

Emmett made kissy faces to Edward while Harry wasn't looking and he got a firm kick in the knee under the table in reward.

The large Vampire bumped it in reflex and let out an expletive when the table shook at the hit.

A couple of students looked their way when they heard the usually mellow guy cuss but a good glare from Rosalie quickly made them look away.

Harry looked on, amused by it all. "You got quite the interesting family."

Edward didn't know whether to be embarrassed or pleased. "They're a weird lot but I love them nonetheless."

Harry gazed away from the intense golden eyes locked onto his and swallowed; Merlin, his face felt hot and he was starting to sweat. "Did -hum- did they start the heating? It's really hot in here." He cursed the slight tremble in his voice.

Edward moved in his seat towards him and only stopped when their faces were inches apart. "No."

Oh God, how could a voice sound so enthrallingly hushed?

"Do you need to go outside? I can accompany you. Come on."

Without really waiting for a reply, the bronze haired Vampire took Harry by the hand and practically hauled him outside while the bell started ringing indicating the start of the afternoon classes, which apparently the former didn't have any intention to go to.

The rest of the Cullens got up, smirked as if sharing a private joke and walked to their classes, knowing Edward wouldn't be showing up for the rest of the day.

…

"So, what were you going to do now?"

Harry blinked out of his Edward-induced daze and the Vampire chuckled. "Oh, yes, right. I was going to set wards in the forest." He thought about something for a few seconds and came to a decision, taking Edward's hand in his and tugging him towards the woodland. "Come with me. I want to show you something."

The Vampire followed dutifully, only happy to have Harry willingly take his hand and not flinch at the coldness. He was finally going to be alone with the Wizard! A dreamy smile lit his face until Harry let go of him.

They were in the forest.

He watched the Wizard look around until the younger male came to rest beside him. "Harry, I wanted to tell you how glad I am that you're here with me," Edward choked out, suddenly shy.

The boy locked his green eyes with the Vampire's golden ones and smiled. "Me too."

They spent a few minutes in comfortable silence, having too many things to tell each other but not enough words to express their thoughts. Thinking it was too soon to tell the boy his feelings, they had only just met, for God's sake!, he decided to change subject. "What did you want to show me?" Edward asked, genuinely curious.

"Ah yes! Let me put up the wards first then I'll introduce you to my world."

Edward didn't quite know what he meant by that so he let the other boy walk to different trees and carve something in the bark after a few muttered Latin incantations he didn't understand the meaning of. The trees all glowed and something like a shield erupted between the lines of trees around the school before it disappeared. "What was that?"

"It's a ward. If something or someone not supposed to be there bearing ill intentions shows up and passes that line, I will immediately be made aware of it. I made the runes on the trees fairly small because I know Greyback has good vision and would spot them straight away."

Edward nodded. "Can everyone from the Wizarding world do that?"

"Not everyone. You have to have special knowledge of runes and ward-making and you have to be powerful enough to maintain it. There are wards even more powerful than that one but I don't need so much. I don't want to 'scare' Greyback away. I want him to believe he'll be safe even if he comes out in the open. It would be better to trap him out of the forest, you know what I mean?"

"Yeah."

Harry smiled and took Edward's hand in his once more, leading him further away in the thick forest. The Vampire stopped breathing again and was only too happy to let himself be led away. "Where are we going?"

Harry looked back at him. "I want to show you something but we have to go deeper in the forest first."

"Oh? Well why didn't you say so? I can give you a lift!" The older boy smirked when he received a puzzled blink and in an instant he was on his knees in front of the Wizard and pulling the surprised boy on his back. "Hold on tight! Tell me when you want to stop!"

He didn't run at full speed but fast enough that to the human the scenery would start to become blurry. He laughed breathlessly when Harry let out a surprised "Bloody Hell!" and gripped him around the neck tightly, his legs also wrapped up securely around his waist.

But after a moment the boy let out a slight whoop at the moderately fast speed, not scared in the least by the fact that he was at the mercy of the one who was carrying him.

It also gave Edward the time to bask in their closeness without Harry being none the wiser. He could practically feel the boy's body heat against his cold back, feel his warm breath against his neck each time the other laughed, and feel the strength of his legs as they tightened around his torso. He was deceptively well-built for someone who appeared small and somewhat frail looking.

Edward couldn't stop the image of those slim legs wrapped around him, urging him on, those hands gripping his shoulders in bliss, those piercing green eyes gazing at him feverishly before closing in ecstasy, the strong back arching to meet him, delicious neck offered for him to lick and suck on possessively…

Aw shit, he really had to stop daydreaming or his eyes would darken even more and he would just turn the human in his grip so he faced him and just ravish him then and there. He breathed in and out slowly even though it was pointless just to calm his growing ardor.

He was brought back to reality when Harry squeezed his shoulder to tell him it was far enough. He stopped gradually, not wanting to jostle the human too much and finally, reluctantly, let go of him. Edward enjoyed the light blush that graced Harry's cheeks and looked around to see why Harry had decided to stop here. There wasn't anything really interesting to see here except trees, more trees, a small stream and oh! even more trees.

Harry, though, seemed to look around and notice really interesting things judging by the smile he wore. Edward called him on it; a little frustrated he didn't appear to be able to see what Harry was seeing, whatever it was.

The Wizard didn't look upset for Edward's case and walked behind the Vampire, silently asking for his trust as he put his hands in front of Edward's eyes to hide his vision. Edward shifted a bit and became slightly nervous when his sight was cut off. His other senses were screaming at him; he could smell the vegetation and the alluring scent of the boy behind him, hear the wind rustle the leaves around them and hear the soft breathing behind him. "Harry? What-"

"Shhh." Harry alleviated the other's unease with a comforting voice. "Don't worry. Believe in me?"

The bronze haired Vampire relaxed and nodded automatically in response, making Harry momentarily lean his cheek on the cold one's shoulder in gratitude. Oh how Edward wanted to run his hands through the messy dark strands of hair currently tickling his neck! But he refrained, choosing to wait patiently and bask in the reward of being close to his Chosen.

Harry murmured a few words, still standing on tiptoes just to keep his hands on Edward's eyes.

Suddenly, the Vampire's senses started to detect new and foreign smells and sounds. Some of them didn't sound very safe either.

Was that a neigh?

He jerked at the sound and Harry chuckled behind him, backing them up slowly and silently for some reason. "Easy Edward. You'll have to stay silent; they don't like to be disturbed in their natural environment. One wrong move and they could scamper away. I'll let go of you now, open your eyes slowly and don't speak too loud." Harry whispered gently.

The warm hands retreated and he blinked. His eyesight was fuzzy for the first time in a hundred odd years and he looked around, trying to clear his sight. Had there been as much vegetation before Harry did whatever he did? He didn't think so.

He also saw two big blurry shapes near what he knew by sound was the water stream. It wasn't hard to miss even with his faulty eyesight; the big blurs were a glaring shade of silver and smelled sickeningly sweet, like too much sugar in a cake. It wasn't all that bad but he knew just by the smell that he would never be tempted to feed on whatever it was.

Finally, after a minute or so, his eyesight adjusted and he was barely able to conceal his astonishment. "Are those really…?" he breathed.

"Unicorns? Yep. They're quite skittish so we have to stay hidden. It's been a while since I've seen one…alive, that is. They truly are magnificent and pure creatures." The other answered wistfully.

Edward's golden gaze swiveled to him. "You've seen a dead one? I can't really imagine that, for some reason," he said, not quite yet believing what he was seeing with his own two eyes.

Magical creatures just like Harry and Gabriel described! And living in the forest hidden from anyone's view but also in plain sight! But how had they never noticed? Maybe it had something to do with what Harry did to him and the few words he had heard his Chosen mutter. Well, he wasn't one to look a gift horse in the mouth.

"You're completely right; Unicorns live for a long time and you'll never see a dead one out in the open, kind of like how you never see a dead bird. But in my first year of school a megalomaniac, who was at that time but a ghost of his past self, was after me and killed one in the magical forest near my school. I was serving detention in the Forbidden Forest that night and wandered too far away from my friends; I found the Unicorn, slaughtered, and that evil spirit was drinking its silvery blood to keep itself alive."

This apparently wasn't one of Harry's fondest memories and something that just wasn't done judging from the sickened and hate-filled expression etched on the boy's face. Harry looked up at Edward with a serious gaze. "You must never drink Unicorn blood. It's so pure it's cursed; it'll heal you and you'll stay alive, delaying your time to leave this plane, but you will live a cursed life by losing a piece of your soul in the process. To do this is punishable by death in my world."

Edward nodded. "Don't worry about me or my family, if you ever chose to do to them what you did to me. They're beautiful creatures but their smell is off, too sweet. I don't think we'd be able to handle it even if we tried."

Harry looked relieved to hear that and they went back to Unicorn-watching.

"Still, it looks like you had quite the adventurous childhood. You got me curious; you'll have to tell me more about it, about you. And about that…megalomaniac." His golden eyes darkened.

"Oh don't worry about him; he's dead now. I'm afraid I didn't have much of a childhood but I could tell you some things my friends and I did at Hogwarts, though." Harry evaded the subject.

Edward couldn't hide his amusement and raised an incredulous eyebrow at the school's name. But silently he vowed to know more about said childhood and that mad man, though. If Harry wasn't going to talk, he may have to speak with Lord Gabriel; he would respect the green eyed boy's privacy but would just make sure Harry wasn't in any danger anymore.

"Ah, they're going away. Something must have frightened them." Harry said, finally moving to get up.

Edward followed suite, standing beside the Wizard and looking at the strange new vegetation for the first time. Some of those plants didn't look safe at all. And did that tree bark on the ground just move or was it just him? He was about to ask Harry about it when something very sharp poked them both in warning; Harry at his back and Edward at his neck.

"Move and I'll pierce a new whole in your friend there," a harsh voice threatened, directed at the Vampire.

Edward snarled but obeyed; he was very fast but he didn't know who or what was behind him and wasn't about to risk Harry's life to guesses. What if it was faster than him?

"Well, well, well, what do we have here?"

…

To be continued

Author's note: I can't believe what's happening to Japan right now. I'm a fan of just about everything there, from culture to language to anime, and I've always wanted to go there. I encourage people to give a little something to help them, I did, and I hope I'll be able to go there in the near future to visit. I guess it'll be a while, though, between the tsunami ravages, the nuclear power plant explosions and the Shinmoedake that may be awakening again... My heart is with them, always.