I forgot to make an apology last chapter so I'll do it now. Regarding the French from Chapter 9, I apologize. I speak no French myself and thus used an online translator. If I offended anyone with my terrible French I'm sorry.

So far no one had gotten it yet. Though some of you have had some awesome ideas I may use in future stories. And some of you actually guess the forms for other characters.

Keep trying loves. I think that after this chapter someone should. It seems pretty obvious to me.

But I am the writer so I'm probable biased in that opinion.

I hope you lot like the form I chose. If not, oh well.

Disclaimer- "…"

~HPT~

Chapter 11- Mysteries Without Answers

As the sound of the song began to repeat itself Harry closed the egg. He pushed himself up and took a great breath of air as his head came out of the water.

He heard a chuckle. He turned quickly, barely paying attention to the extravagance of the prefect's bathroom as he took in the sight of Cedric leaning against the wall.

He blushed and put the egg down between his legs, trying to hide his nakedness between that and the soapy water. "What are you doing here?" He was proud that his voice didn't shake.

Cedric smiled. "I came to take a bath with you Harry."

The younger teen reddened even more as the handsome Hufflepuff boy began to remove his shirt and slacks. He looked away when he saw the other boy grip the waistband of his pants.

Bill had told him he wanted to be with other people. So he could grow up more. But he still wasn't sure…

He gulped when he heard and felt the water shift with Cedric's entrance into the bath. He had to admit, the older male was attractive. But he didn't want to cheat on Bill.

He sighed to himself. It was hardly cheating if Bill had told him to be with other people. And as handsome as Bill was, he was probably going to be with others too…

He felt something clench painfully in his heart at the thought.

"Harry."

He looked up, just now realizing how close the other had gotten. Harry's eyes were level with his bare chest and he was close enough to touch. Cedric reached up to brush Harry's messy wet hair from his eyes. Harry swallowed, nervousness setting in at the reminder that they were both naked.

Cedric leaned down, and before Harry knew what was happening his lips were on Harry's. He froze in surprise.

But then Cedric's lips were moving and his tongue was invading Harry's mouth.

And he would be a liar if he said it didn't feel nice.

It was different than kissing Bill. But it was still good. So instead of fighting it Harry reached up, wrapped his arms around Cedric's neck, and pushed against him.

He would be with someone else.

Like Bill wanted.

Just this once.

~HPT~

The agreement was simple, Seth thought.

He had decided to stick with Jake. If only so that he wouldn't be stuck as a lone wolf. Leah planned to stay with Paul for the same reasons, saying "Somebody's gotta keep his pissy ass in line."

They would be like a meshed pack. Two separate packs but they would keep close to each other. Share territory. Work together against any rouges. Go to each other for any issues.

But neither side would take orders from the other.

It would be a delicate sort of balance. But simple.

Seth liked it.

He could stay close to his sister without having to hear her thoughts, and as a beta, he wouldn't have to deal with Paul very much.

Not that he had a problem with Paul.

He just kinda scared him a bit is all.

Now all they would have to worry about was dealing with Sam and his pack.

~HPT~

The rest of the school day Harry and his brother and sisters were in a much better mood. Aside from that, the day progressed normally.

At least until the day ended and they came out to the parking lot.

Standing near the Volvo was a shifter. But rather than it being Jacob as it usually was; this time it was Paul.

Harry's eyes raked over him.

Something was different.

But what?

Harry looked him up and down; creating a mental checklist.

Same tan sun kissed skin.

Same confident posture.

Same thick muscles stretched over a tall frame.

Shirtless. As always.

Same handsome face.

And same… Ah ha! There. The eyes.

Harry paused before him, looking up into Paul's eyes and contemplating the change a moment before speaking.

It wasn't a really noticeable change. Not a visual one at least. To most, Paul's eyes would look the same as they had when Harry met him on the beach. But there was something in those so-dark-they're-almost-black brown eyes of his that hadn't been there that night at the beach.

Something dark and feral and wild.

Something purely animal.

Harry smirked in appreciation. He liked this change.

"Hi Paul, where's Jake off to?" He asked him.

Those wild eyes flicked behind him a moment to Harry's family before he spoke.

"Jake and Sam got into a bit of a fight. He's still licking his wounds is all."

Harry's eyes narrowed slightly in thought. His voice had changed too. It was barely noticeable and very slight a change. But a change none the less. His voice was a tiny bit rougher. A little bit deeper. His words ending with the smallest hint of something different.

What happened?

"Is he alright?" Paul looked at Hermione. Her eyes were wide with worry though the rest of her expression was controlled.

"Yea. It's just a scratch. He'll be fine by tomorrow." She nodded.

Paul's eyes were back on Harry after that. He seemed more focused on him.

Harry liked that.

"I was wondering if you wanted to come cliff diving again this weekend."

Harry blinked, a smile lighting up his face. That invitation had been directed at him.

Just him.

"Hmm… It depends on if the rest of my family needs me this weekend or not. If you come back tomorrow I could let you know?"

Paul nodded, smiling slightly.

Once again, Harry thought he looked much better smiling.

~HPT~

Luna watched them. Harry hadn't told the rest of the family about finding his soul mate. Just Sirius, she knew. But Luna had known that night on the beach. She had seen the change in Harry. In his magic. But she had sensed a sort of… wariness? From Paul. Or something similar. Almost as though he was afraid to get too close to Harry.

It had been there, hiding under his smiles as he and Harry talked by the bonfire. Under the happiness at getting to know her green-eyed brother.

It was still there.

But now, it was…

Weaker?

Yes. Weaker.

She noticed the change in his eyes and voice, though Draco and Hermione seemed to pay no mind. The vampires looked at Paul oddly but didn't comment. Their senses were more powerful than a human's, so it was only natural that they note the change.

And of course she knew Harry had noticed.

It made her happy to see that fire in his eyes that made her think of before.

Before the war and the death and the pain.

Before the blood and betrayal.

Before Bill.

Back when Harry was kind of shy. When he was innocent in some ways. Back when there were moments that the shyness and innocence would take a backseat to the mischievousness that could only come from a Marauder.

When the twins would bow down in awe to Harry after seeing Snape walk down the hall with a nasty scowl and bubblegum pink hair. All because he had insulted Hermione or Luna.

Harry never did care what the dour potions master or anyone else had to say about or to him. So long as his friends were left alone.

Even the twins knew better than to play too harsh of a prank on Ron; out of fear of suffering Harry's wrath.

She missed those days. When her brother's anger was vented through embarrassing and hilarious pranks.

Now his anger was vented through…

Well, she felt bad for whoever he vented his anger on now.

But that fire in his eyes when he looked up at the shifter was so much like the old Harry it filled her with hope and longing.

He acted like he was fine. Like nothing was wrong.

But she knew better. They all did.

They heard him wake up from nightmares. Not always screaming like the rest of them. Sometimes just with tears and he would go out on the balcony.

They saw how every once in awhile he would get this weary far-too-old look on his face or his eyes would go blank; seeing things that were no longer there.

But after that night on the beach it was as though the heaviest of the weights on his shoulders had been lifted. He seemed just a little bit happier. Just a little bit lighter.

Just a little bit like the old Harry.

She really hoped he stayed that way.

~HPT~

That night, the vampires, shifters, and the elders of the Quileute people gathered in a large building on the reservation. Alice looked around at all the faces and sighed. She had known a split in the pack was coming; but it had been vague, Alice unable to see how the pack split or the circumstances regarding it.

She hadn't expected a three-way break either.

But here they were.

Sam had called the meeting. No one else knew what was happening and as he was the one to call in he was the one to speak first.

"Last night there was a disagreement within the pack." He spoke formally and respectfully; his attention focused mainly on the Elders and Carlisle, who sat with them. "The pack has split up." He paused at the instant murmuring that brought on before resuming. "Jacob Black was always meant to take the position of alpha but chose not to when he first joined the pack. He has now decided to claim his heritage."

Alice noticed that Billy looked proud at the thought.

"However, it appears that Paul Lahote is also an Alpha." The elders looked gob smacked at the notion and shot surprised looks over at Paul. "It's unreasonable to expect for three Alphas to coexist comfortably in a single pack. As a result, the current pack has been split into three. Myself, my beta Jared Cameron, Embry Call, and Quill Ateara make up the main pack. Jacob Black and Seth Clearwater have made a second pack, and the third is Paul Lahote and Leah Clearwater."

Sue was looking disapprovingly at her children. Jake and Paul sat next to each other with their betas at their sides. Alice could tell none of them really wanted to be here.

It was Billy who spoke next. "Can nothing be done to put the pack back together?"

"No." Billy looked at his son, who sighed. "My pack and Paul's have agreed to share territory and work together. But neither of us is willing to do the same with Sam's. The only way we could go back to being one pack is for one of the three of us to take over while the other two are no longer Alpha's of the pack… The problem…" He hesitated and Paul chose to pick up, crossing his arms and scowling.

"We're Alphas by nature. It's a part of each of us. Me and Jake suppressed our nature before, but now that we're both in an Alpha position we wouldn't be able to give it up."

"And you two?" Sue spoke, looking sternly at her kids.

Leah straightened up in her seat. "I'm loyal to Paul as a beta. Seth is the same with Jake. Besides, if we hadn't followed them then they would have become lone wolves."

Quill senior frowned at that.

There had only been one case of a lone wolf in their history.

It had not ended well.

Not at all.

Carlisle spoke next, causing the others in the room to pay attention. They had only had a couple of meetings since befriending them that had involved the vampires and Carlisle commanded attention each time he spoke.

"Then the only real issue is the distribution of territory and a new treaty to account for the different packs. If I may however, you said that up until now you both were able to suppress your wolf's dominant nature. So what was it exactly that changed that?"

Jacob and Paul looked at each other and Paul shifted around nervously. He had looked very confident until then.

Surprisingly it was Sam who answered the question.

"It was my fault. Paul…" He cleared his throat. "Paul imprinted on someone… different, and I argued against the validity of it. He was angry, understandably. Leah calmed him down then and they left the pack. I lost my temper and Jacob kept me from pursuing them. He and Seth chose to leave then as well."

Sue nodded, no longer seeming quite as stern about the situation. Wolves were very sensitive in anything regarding their imprints. A bad reaction to something like that was expected.

Billy looked up from his chair. "I wasn't aware you had imprinted at all. Who is it?"

The tension between the wolves was palpable.

~HPT~

The big man smirked to himself as he entered Edinburgh International Airport. He had hidden out in the muggle world a time or two so he knew the way some things worked.

He had already purchased the tickets so all he had to do was check in.

He looked around for the check in for his flight, getting in line and trying not to draw attention to his hulking frame. He smirked when he felt his companion come up behind him.

The other man was a bit shorter than he was. And with a more average bone structure. But he was intimidating in his own right. His presence caused those around him just as much unease as the larger man's physical appearance.

When it was his turn he smiled his sharp-toothed smile as he handed over the fake passport.

Roughly thirteen hours from now the pair would be landing at LAX in California. They would get a hotel, rest, and then plan their next move.

After all, now that they knew where Potter was, they had no need to rush.

~HPT~

Harry woke up in tears that night. No noise escaped him. Not that it mattered. It was almost three in the morning.

He had dreamed of Bill.

Not the Bill that had betrayed them all. But the good Bill. The one from before.

The kind one who would hold him close and whisper sweet nothings in his ear.

To Harry, those were nightmares worse than his memories of being tortured.

His Bill was dead.

His Bill had died long before he killed his physical being.

His Bill had died the day he was bitten.

Harry closed his eyes; wiping his tears and shoving the memories away.

He got up and went to the balcony; looking up at the night sky. It was cloudy, blocking out the stars. He knew he wouldn't get any sleep, and he needed to move.

The urge to go up high; high above those clouds filled him.

This was yet another reason they had chosen Forks.

Harry climbed up onto the railing of the balcony.

He jumped.

As he fell his form shifted and then he was no longer falling.

His massive wings spread wide and whisked him up high above those clouds until he could see the stars.

He was silent as the night itself despite his size and he relished in the felling of the wind and flying and freedom. He felt his muscles relax and his troubles melt away as he twisted and dove and did every move he could think of; some he had learned from flying on a broom.

A broom had nothing on this though.

He stayed well above the clouds so the muggles wouldn't see him. Spending hours in the sky until the clouds began to lighten, the sun coming up over the horizon.

Only now did tiredness claim him, and rather than return home he flew low. Sweeping down back below the clouds and keeping close to the tree tops, scanning about for a place to rest.

There was a small cliff face with a large cave near the bottom of the mountain.

He glided towards it, not bothering to change back as he entered the cave and fell asleep.

It had been awhile since he had flown in this form. Since he had been in this form at all. Not in months. Since before the final battle.

It had been awhile since he had dreamed of the old Bill too. Maybe he would take the day for himself.

Be selfish just this once and forget about school.

As he fell asleep, he thought of Paul.

~HPT~

Luna laid awake a moment when she heard Harry go out to the balcony and then a faint whooshing sound she knew well.

He wouldn't be back tonight. She knew it.

She smiled sadly to herself before turning over.

She would just have to tell Paul he brother accepted his invitation for him.

~HPT~

Red eyes saw the flying creature as it dived from above the clouds and was lost in the trees and the owner cocked their head to the side in curiosity.

How interesting…

~HPT~

Ok so some important things will be happening next chapter. First of all being the elder's reaction to Paul's imprint. Then Harry going cliff diving with Paul. A couple of flashbacks. More on the big man and his companion. Neville's shop opening up. Some other things… So yea. There will be a lot. It might take a couple more days than normal to post it. Maybe. My muses re partying right now so you never know.

Review for me people!

Keep up the guesses!

Oh, and one more thing before I forget. I know that a lot of you have wicked ideas so if you have any suggestions for something that you think would be cool to happen in this story I would love to hear it.

See you all next chapter!

Respectfully,

Mr. Hate