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Warning: swearing


James,

There is no easy way to put this, so I'll just come out with it.

My family support Voldemort.

I, on the other hand, am starting to doubt whether we are on the right side. Yes, I want the equal rights for magical creatures, and I understand the worries of muggles knowing about the wizarding world, but I detest the way Voldemort went about it. When Harry Potter finally killed him, I was actually really relieved. I wanted no further part in the war, but with my family I had no choice.

If you are against Voldemort's ideas and his death eaters, then I ask for your help: I can't defy my family alone. Although I think Esme may be having similar thoughts, but I can't be sure right now.

If you are not on my side, and are to be my enemy, then I just beg that you don't tell my family: Carlisle would have me killed instantly.

Edward.

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Sirius paled dramatically as he looked at the crumpled paper. "Could it be a trap?" he asked fearfully. He desperately hoped that Esme was on their side. She was starting to feel almost like a friend, and god knows he needed one now that Remus was gone.

His godson needed a true friend too, so he desperately hoped for his sake that Edward was being genuine.

"We said we'd tell the truth when we wrote those notes, and I believe him."

"Harry, sometimes you can be too…" Sirius trailed off, unsure of how to say what he wanted without offending him.

Sighing, Harry asked, "Trusting? Naïve?" When his godfather looked like he was about to object, he insisted, "I believe him Siri. Please just trust me on this."

Sirius felt his resolve waver as he saw the determination in Harry's face. He replied, "Okay, I'll leave it. Just please promise me that you'll be careful?"

"Constant vigilance." Harry agreed, grinning as he recited Mad-Eye's favourite phrase.

Sirius echoed his godson's grin. As much as Mad-Eye Moody had lived up to his name, he had definitely given good advice.

Noticing the time, Harry got up and started getting the ingredients ready for dinner. He still didn't expect Sirius to help, and to be honest his cooking tasted much better than his godfather's terrifying concoctions. Just when he'd started making the garlic mushrooms, Sirius spoke up. "Do you think Esme is on our side?" he asked fearfully.

"I really don't know. I can ask Edward when I see him, but even he isn't sure."

Sirius worried his lip. She seemed far too nice to be on Voldemort's side, but then you could never tell. Take Snivellus, for example: he had been a greasy git and the resident dungeon bat, but was apparently one of the good guys.

"Right well, I can always try and drop some hints at work, and see what happens." He murmured, thinking aloud. Running his hand through his hair distractedly, he read over the notes once more.

Noticing a sentence he hadn't before, he laughed. "Oh Harry, I think you're his hero!" he exclaimed in a sickly sweet voice. His laughter quickly died down when a piece of limp, wet lettuce slapped him in the face.


Edward reached into his pocket for the sixth time, fingering the piece of paper sitting in it. He desperately needed to know what it said, but if he was to lose James now, he wanted them to have a few more minutes of being friends before everything shattered. Had James opened the note he was given? Would it have made him relieved? Or would he be furious that he was defecting?

Finally, sick of the unanswered questions constantly revolving in his head, he pulled out the bit of paper. Lying back on his bed, he unfolded it with bated breath.

Voldemort killed my parents. I saw him torture and kill so many people that I knew, and I heard about many others. He destroyed so many lives and even now that he's gone, his death eaters are still destroying more.

Having said that, I think you can guess which side I'm on.

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Shit. Well that certainly explained a lot.

He wondered when James' parents had been killed. Maybe that was why he moved to Forks in the first place. If that was the case, he could empathise as he'd lost his own parents aged 17 too. For someone who had seen so much pain, James was surprisingly strong. He would probably be a mess if he'd been through all of that.

This made Edward more certain than ever that changing sides was the right thing to do. He couldn't work alongside people who had hurt James so badly.

Despite the sadness washing over him because of James' situation, he couldn't help but feel a flood of relief. As ridiculous as it was after only having known James for a week, he knew he would have been upset to lose their friendship. Since he was turned he had never really been close to anyone outside of his vampire family. Now that he was turning away from them, James was all he really had left.

He didn't know what he would have done if he'd been a Voldemort supporter.

Edward needed to see him. Grabbing his phone he hurriedly entered and saved James' number, before shooting off a text.

Meet me after school tomorrow?

As the seconds dragged into a few minutes with no reply, Edward started to get nervous.

Maybe he didn't want to remain friends with him after all. Or was he scared of his family? Or him? He just hoped that James believed him.

When his phone bleeped, he instantly pounced on it.

When and where?

As desperate as it might seem, he wanted the other boy to meet him straight after school finished. He didn't want to creep James out though, so maybe he should suggest a little bit later…

He also needed somewhere private and shady to meet James, and clearly his house was out. Of course! His meadow! That would be perfect so long as they stuck to the shady areas. He quickly sent off another text.

5? Just inside the national park?

This time, a message came back almost immediately, and he sighed in relief as he read the text.

Okay. I can apparate. Do you have coordinates?

Apparition coordinates?! Edward hoped that GPS used the same system, otherwise he had no clue. He quickly looked them up on the internet, and after committing them to memory, he exited the webpage and sent them off to James.

Fiddling with his fingers absent-mindedly, Edward started to think about what he should say to the other boy when he met him.

However, before he came up with anything concrete, he heard Esme calling him from downstairs. After hurriedly hiding the note under the mattress of his bed, he hurried downstairs to see his family sitting around the dining table yet again. Family meetings were starting to feel like the norm in this house!

From Carlisle's smug expression, Edward could only assume that it wasn't about something he was going to like. Hearing Carlisle's equally smug thoughts, he groaned inwardly.

"We have our orders for the attack on Seattle." Carlisle announced. He watched as Alice and Jasper grinned at each other, and held back a laugh when Emmett excitedly held his hand out for a high five and Rosalie just looked at it disdainfully. He cleared his throat in order to gain their attention. "We will leave mid-morning on Sunday, and we must have good news to report back to the Carrows on Monday."

Emmett whooped. "Yes! Only a few days to go!"

"I think we should feed every day from now until then, including Sunday morning." Jasper suggested. "It'll help to make us the strongest we can be, and then there will be no chance of failure." His time working with Maria's army had ensured that he knew all the best ways to attack others. When he had something to offer that would help, he actually felt like part of the family.

Carlisle nodded in approval. "I want you all to remember that the primary goal is to kill. Everyone must die."

"We can torture them though can't we?" Rosalie checked. "The humans deserve to suffer."

Carlisle suppressed a grin. If only all his children were so bloodthirsty. "Of course, just don't make it obvious that it was a vampire attack."

Turning to his wife, he asked, "Esme, did you ask Mr Black about working?"

"Yes, he's agreed to work all day." she replied. Seeing her husband smile approvingly, Esme relaxed. She was incredibly grateful that she was allowed to stay behind, as trying to hide her horror at the torture and death would have been too difficult. Carlisle would have been furious if she'd failed to hurt anyone.

"Excellent." He smirked. "We have no idea how powerful he could be, so we need to make sure that he and his godson don't suspect a thing."

Rosalie snorted. "Pfft. Powerful?!"

"Don't make the mistake of thinking wizards are like humans, Rosalie." Carlisle warned. "Even those with little magic can be a threat, so those who are powerful enough can kill us instantly."

Edward watched as she sat back looking suitably chastised. It was nice to see his perfect sister be taken down a peg or two. Turning his thoughts back to the matter at hand, he wondered what he should do when they all went to Seattle. He'd need something to occupy him so he wouldn't just sit there feeling guilty about not being able to stop the attack.

"Carlisle?" Edward asked hesitantly. When the older vampire nodded, he continued, "Should I ask James if he wants to do something on Sunday?

'I'm starting to think you actually like that disgusting human.' Edward cringed inwardly as he heard Rosalie's malicious thoughts. He fought to keep his face straight, and attempted to match her sneer to give her the impression that he was disgusted by the idea.

His attention was brought back to the elder vampire when he replied, "Good idea Edward. That way, neither of them will have any cause to be suspicious."


Lying in bed, Harry tossed and turned desperately trying to get to sleep. As much as he tried to make his brain shut up, it just wasn't happening. He really needed tomorrow afternoon to come so that he could talk to Edward.

It was vital that he found out the whole story about why he was turning from his family. If he was being sincere, he hoped that he'd be able to help him. He knew only too well how death eaters treated people who defected to the light side.

He knew Sirius would understand how Edward felt, and he was reasonably certain that if Esme changed sides too, his godfather would be willing to help them both. After all, he'd turned from his own family, so he'd be more help than Harry who'd never really had one.

By now it was the early hours of the morning, so Harry grabbed a dreamless sleep potion from the bathroom, as he knew he wouldn't be able to function properly the next day without it.


The morning passed by in a dazed blur for Harry. In every lesson all he could focus on was his meeting with Edward. Each teacher gave up on him after a few minutes of failing to make him pay attention. Happy to be left alone, Harry immersed himself in his thoughts, running over what he wanted to say later.

When it came to lunch time, Harry headed to a secluded bench around the back of the school and pulled out a sandwich he'd hastily thrown together that morning. Obviously Edward wasn't there to sit with, and he didn't want to face Jess and Mike. It wasn't that they intimidated him; they were just a complete pain in the arse and he really didn't feel up for dealing with them today.

Biology without Edward wasn't quite as bad as it could have been, thanks to the tutoring, and he made it through gym, miraculously without even a scratch.

When he walked out of the school gates, he still had half an hour before he was supposed to meet Edward. Deciding it wasn't worth going home just to head out again almost straight away, he decided to walk to the national park to meet him. It would kill time, and if he got lost he could always use the apparition coordinates.


Sirius was bored. He'd found a crossword in the back of a newspaper, but as he knew next to nothing about muggle culture, he'd only been able to put in three words, and even now he wasn't certain that they were right.

Knowing that he wasn't going to be at work until Sunday made him feel ridiculously restless. Aside from the fact that it was a good hiding place, Forks really had nothing to offer.

He was almost tempted to walk around the town centre, but as stupid as it sounded, he didn't want to risk running into Ethel or any of her equally horrendous friends.

It was times like this that he missed Moony with every bone in his body. Everyone had always thought that he and James were best friends, but in reality he'd always been closer to Remus. He had always been there for him. When he'd been disowned by his family, Moony had understood, as his own family was horrified by his affliction. Even when he'd been in Azkaban, his old friend hadn't deserted him.

Seeing Fenrir Greyback tear him limb from limb had felt like his heart was being ripped out. Of course, he'd killed the bastard instantly, but even his revenge couldn't bring Moony back.

Desperate to clear his thoughts before he sunk too far down into his misery, Sirius transformed into Padfoot and rushed out of the door.

Running always seemed to clear his head.

He ran until the outskirts of Forks were far behind him, but still he pushed on. The sun on his back was a welcome change from rain, and encouraged him to pick up his speed.

Suddenly, when he sniffed the air smelled salty. Sticking his nose up in the air, he followed the scent curiously.

Spotting the sea in the distance, his ears perked up. He slowed his pace while running to the beach, taking his time to enjoy the scenery. He hadn't been seen the sea since he was a child, having been too wrapped up in the Order to take a relaxing holiday anywhere.

Once he was close, he trotted eagerly to the edge of the water. Because of the lack of clouds the sea was a beautiful blue, but Sirius knew better than to go in and get wet. Harry hated it when he made the house smell like wet dog.

As he sniffed the air, he caught an odd scent that he didn't recognise. Shrugging it off, he snuffled around the beach, enjoying the feel of the fine sand under his paws. He mapped out a large stretch of the beach, trying to memorise it for future reference.

Finally, exhausted after the running and exploring, he flopped down behind a large piece of driftwood in an attempt to shelter himself from the heat of the sun.

The surprising warmth of the air and the soft sounds of the waves lapping relaxed him, and he let his eyes shut lazily.


Edward stood under the shade of the trees waiting for James to appear. Looking at his watch, he realised that the other boy was a few minutes late. He really hoped he'd given him the right coordinates, otherwise they might never find each other in the forest.

Just as he was about to reach for his phone, a small popping noise behind his made him turn around. James was grinning at him sheepishly, and he relaxed.

"Hi Edward." he said shyly.

Edward shot him a crooked grin. "Hi yourself."

Harry opened his mouth, but promptly shut it again as he realised that he didn't know what to say. As if realising his dilemma, Edward took charge.

"We should go to a meadow that I found so we can talk. No-one ever makes it that far into the forest, so we won't be overheard or seen."

"Is it far?" Harry asked.

Edward hesitated. If they hiked it would be at least an hour, if not two before they got there. It would be much quicker and easier for the other boy to get on his back, and for him to carry him there. However, he couldn't see James being happy with that idea somehow.

"Not for me." He started. Thinking carefully about the wording of his offer, he said, "I know it's probably not an appealing idea to you, but… if I sprint with you on my back it will take minutes rather than hours."

To his astonishment, James' eyes instantly lit up. "I've ALWAYS wanted to know how fast a vampire can run! I guess this is my chance!"

To cover his confusion, Edward turned around, and gestured for James to clamber up.

Were all wizards like this? He had known that James didn't judge him for being a vampire like most of the wizarding world seemed to, but to actually trust him this much, and to be excited about going at vampire speed? He was truly lucky to have stumbled across someone so unique and accepting.

Harry looked up at Edward's back and gulped. After his years at the Dursleys, he was quite a bit shorter than most of his peers, Edward included. He was going to have to jump, but he didn't want to hurt him. Finally remembering the vampire's strength, he took a deep breath and launched himself at the older boy.

Realising that he was dangling off, as he only had one arm loosely around Edward's neck and the opposite leg half around his waist, Harry scrambled around trying to secure himself further. Falling off in the middle of the forest was not something that he was eager to try out.

Edward reigned in his laughter as best he could as he felt James trying to secure himself on his back. After a mess of pointy elbow jabs and small kicks, he finally felt that it would be okay to run. If he had still been human, he knew he would have been covered in small bruises by the morning. He took a moment to revel in the smell of the other boy, glad to be able to enjoy such a delicious scent without any bloodlust.

Suddenly Harry realised just how close he was to the vampire. He could feel the hardness of Edward's chest where he'd wrapped his arms around him. His front was pressed completely up against the taller boy's back, and he could feel the muscles rippling as he prepared to run.

"Ready?" Edward murmured over his shoulder. The physical contact was slightly throwing him. He couldn't remember the last time he'd been this close to anybody. Nonetheless, he had to admit that it was nice to have something more than the occasional hug from Esme or a pat on the back from Emmett.

Harry tightened his grip. "Ready."

In an instant, the trees turned into an insane blur of green and brown as they streaked past. The wind whistled past them, causing Harry's unruly locks to whip around him. It was certainly faster than riding on a broom, but with his seeker's sight he was just about able to make out a herd of wild deer scattering off to their right. The small splinters of sunlight falling through the gaps in the trees flickered around them, making the forest look almost magical.

The pressure on Harry's ears was becoming immense, so he rested his head wearily on Edward's shoulder. He felt rather than heard the vampire chuckle.

Up ahead a clearing was swiftly becoming visible, so Harry lifted his head to enjoy the final few seconds on the run. When they reached the edge of the meadow, Edward stopped abruptly, so he relaxed his grip. "Wow." He mumbled, attempting to disentangle himself from the vampire.

To Harry's surprise, Edward slowly and carefully knelt down, meaning that it was easy for him to just step off.

"Wow." He repeated. "Can we run back when we're done?"

Edward chuckled and sat down on the ground, settling himself against a tree in the shade. It wasn't as if he needed to sit down, but he didn't want James to feel uncomfortable. When the other boy continued to stand there, he gestured for him to sit down.

Arranging himself next to Edward, Harry struggled to think of something to say. All the ideas he'd had during the day had deserted him. Luckily, it seemed that Edward knew what he wasn't to talk about.

"James, my family are planning an attack on Sunday. Your godfather is going into work with Esme, and I'm supposed to see you, so you don't get suspicious of us."

Shocked, Harry gasped, "What!?" When he recieved no reply, he pushed for more information. "Who are you attacking? And why didn't you tell me before?"

Weighing up his options, Edward decided that in this situation honesty was the best policy. "My family is to go to the wizarding settlement in Seattle and kill everyone who is there." he said, in an apologetic tone.

"No they bloody well won't. Not if I have anything to do with it." Harry muttered. Pushing himself away from Edward, he demanded, "How long have you known about this?"

"Less than a week."

Harry glared at the vampire. "I can't believe you didn't tell me about this sooner! We have to stop this!"

Edward tried to put his hand on the other boy's shoulder, but was angrily shoved off. He took a calming breath, and said, "James. As much as I don't want this to happen, it has to." Seeing the fury in James' eyes, he swiftly elaborated. "My family are the only people, apart from the Death Eaters, who know about the attack. If someone intervenes, they will realise that someone has betrayed them. Because of our reluctance to join the attack, Esme and myself will be under suspicion."

As Edward explained, Harry felt his anger dim as he began to understand the repercussions that interfering would bring. Although he was desperate to stop it, he had to admit that it would be impossible to do so without bringing Edward into suspicion. Biting his lip, he tried to resign himself to their fate. Edward's first statement suddenly sunk in, and he asked, "You're not going with them?"

"Esme hates violence, and so do I, so Carlisle let us stay here. Although obviously you know that my personal reasons have more to do with disagreeing with their principles and the way they go about achieving their goals."

Regarding the vampire, Harry asked quietly, "You really want to go against them?"

Edward nodded solemnly, "Will you help me?"

"Of course I will. I'll do whatever I can." Harry assured him.

"My family really can't find out. If Carlisle doesn't kill me, then the Carrows will."

Harry ground his teeth. He had been sure that they'd been put in Azkaban, but that clearly wasn't the case. "If the chance arises, they are mine." he growled. At Edward's confused expression, he clarified, "They tortured the students at Hogwarts for an entire year, hurting everyone I knew. I never got to finish them off at the final battle."

James had been at the final battle?! Edward had heard stories about it, and all of them made it sound horrendous and bloody. However, he was sure that they were nothing compared to the horror of actually being there. He looked over and saw that James' emerald eyes had clouded over. Unsure what to do, but not wanting James to feel like he was suffering alone, he tentatively put an arm around the younger boy's shoulders and squeezed lightly.

Taking both himself and Edward by surprise, Harry leaned into the embrace and rested his head on other boy's shoulder. It was comforting to be held like that; he hadn't been held by anyone in months. Sirius liked to think he was too manly for hugs, and everyone else had deserted him.

Edward slightly tightened his grip on the smaller boy, enjoying their close proximity. For some reason he felt oddly protective of James, and he found it hard to see him upset.

After a few minutes, Harry pulled away, embarrassed. "Sorry." he mumbled. As nice as it had been, he didn't want to make Edward uncomfortable, and he felt self-conscious showing his emotion in front of others. He wracked his brains for something to talk about, and then said, "In your note you mentioned Esme. Do you know…?" He trailed off, unsure how to finish the question.

"I can't say for certain James. It's incredibly difficult to get her on her own and her thoughts are quite quiet."

Harry furrowed his brows, trying to think of a way around it. "Sunday! The rest of your family will be away! We can meet up with Esme and Paddy, and find out the truth."

Edward nodded, and asked sadly, "What if she isn't with us?"

"If the worst comes to the worst, I suppose we can always obliviated her." Harry said grudgingly. In response to the questioning look Edward gave him, he explained, "Remove her memory of the conversation."

As much as Edward disliked the idea of messing with Esme, he understood the need for secrecy. He also had to admit that it was the best plan they had.

Harry suddenly realised that while they'd been talking, the sun had been rapidly sinking in the sky. It was getting quite late, and he panicked after casting a quick tempus. "Shit Edward, I need to go. Sir-Paddy will probably be panicking about where I am."

Swallowing his disappointment, Edward asked, "Do you want me to run you back?"

Harry really did want him to, but he knew that he needed to get back straight away. Shaking his head, he said apologetically, "Sorry, not tonight: I need to get home."

"Okay." Edward agreed. "See you on Sunday?"

Harry nodded. "See you on Sunday." He smiled at Edward, thinking how he looked even more like a model when the light was fading. Forcefully focusing his thoughts on home, he apparated away.

Edward stood staring at the spot that James had been occupying only seconds earlier. With a small sigh, he turned around and started to run home.


Sirius was wrenched awake with a start.

A wet snuffling noise close to his ear made him jerk around, and he came face to face with a wolf. For one stupid instant, his heart leapt: Moony!

Then he came to his senses and abruptly pushed the thought away, trying to stay calm. He was pretty sure this was no ordinary wolf, although it didn't smell quite like Remus used to. Despite that, he was reasonably certain that it was a werewolf.

He groaned internally. How could he have let his guard down like that? The wolf could so easily be dangerous, and he'd just fallen asleep outside with no protection. He felt like such an idiot sometimes.

Apprehensively, he clambered to his feet and faced the huge creature in front of him.

Experimentally, he raised one doggy eyebrow, to test his theory that it wasn't a wild wolf. To his complete surprise, it gave a loud barking sound, which sounded almost like a laugh. As it moved, the sun glinted of its russet fur, momentarily blinding him. Dazed, he blinked. Should he transform back into a human? Actually, maybe not: he didn't particularly feel like getting eaten today. And Harry would kill him.

He watched as the creature suddenly tensed and pricked its ears, as if being called. Sirius shifted nervously from one paw to another, having no clue what would happen next.

The wolf threw back his head and gave one long howl. It turned to Sirius and bowed its head, before running off into the forest.

Sirius hadn't realised that it was so late, until he noticed the dark sky. Shivering slightly, he sprinted into the forest. Harry would have been home hours ago, and would almost certainly be worried sick. Transforming back into his human form under the cover of the trees and wrenching his thoughts away from the wolf, he apparated home.


Carlisle looked up at the sound of knocking on his office door. "Yes?" he called, just relieved that it hadn't been the floo.

He was only mildly surprised to see his eldest son sticking his head around the doorframe. He shoved his mountain on paper work to one side, motioning for him to come in and sit down. "Edward." he said welcomingly. "What can I do for you?"

"I know which side of the war James is on."