AN: A shorter chapter, but this story is almost over. It's been a ride, and I think it's good to end on a high note. Epilogue to follow.

(Jacob's POV)

"Great practice, Jake!" Adam, my teammate on the Forks High School football team, called from across the parking lot.

"You, too!" I shouted back, unlocking the Rabbit. It had been quite the scandal when, the day that school started, Seth, Embry and I showed up at Forks High with our parents to enroll. Whispers had run amok around the town, how we had enrolled right after the Cullens had left town, but the whispers all but stopped when we all quickly gave in to Coach R's request that we immediately join the football team, a minor scandal in and of itself seeing as we had missed the so-called mandatory tryouts and practices. At times it was hard to remember to keep our speed and strength in check, and no one was complaining when Forks was suddenly top of our division. Last night we had easily won our first playoff game, and Coach was now demanding six day a week practices. It was nice to have a way to get out my energy that didn't involve patrolling around La Push in canine form, patrols which I had suspended once several boys who were close to their first transformations hadn't phased. It was a sign our vampire problems were over, and I thought after so long everyone could use a break.

Seth climbed into the Rabbit with me, excited for that night. It was Saturday, the day before our one day off from practice, and Halloween to boot. Hermione was throwing a costume party, both because it was Halloween and because she had completed her autobiography, which she said called for a party. So we bid goodbye to Embry, who was going to come by later, and pulled out of the parking lot.

"Are you going to the college fair next week?" Seth asked as I drove through the town.

"I don't know," I replied honestly. "Hermione wants me to, she thinks it would be good for me to keep going with school, but I can't really think of anything I really want to do except work on cars, and I could learn that locally."

"It wouldn't hurt to look," he pointed out.

"It wouldn't," I agreed, though I don't think any college would be willing to sway me, no matter how big a football scholarship they were offering, and the offers were coming in for Embry and I, with scouts waiting impatiently for Seth to be ready to start shopping for a school. If I wanted I could go to any one of several different colleges and not worry about having to pay, but there were problems with this, the main one being that Hermione had established herself and didn't want to move, though she didn't see this as a big deal at all considering she could easily be at any college nearby within seconds, and any friends I got would never know she still lived near Forks.

I turned onto the side road and accelerated, anxious to see Hermione. She and Snape had been out of town for the past week, with her turning in her manuscript, and both of them filing the paperwork to start their business. Snape had been able to quit teaching when some teacher called Slughorn had volunteered to take over and spend the rest of the year training his replacement, which had been coerced by the headmistress after Snape giving a class a record number of detentions for a group of Gryffindor and Slytherin first-years. He had forced them to sit together, an ill-advised mixing of two hostile houses which came to a head a few weeks before, when the deliberate sabotaging of potions resulted in several cauldrons exploding simultaneously, which in turn resulted in a variety of different maladies and a ceiling permanently stained bright purple. When no one was willing to confess to what happened Snape had assigned them Saturday detentions for the rest of their time at Hogwarts, and took every single house point, which involved him striding to the hourglasses in the middle of dinner, counting each emerald or ruby, and deducting exactly enough to leave the glasses empty loudly in front of the class. He was offered early retirement, became a hero for Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw, and happily left the greatest tale of teaching meltdown in the history of Hogwarts in his wake. When told the story Hermione laughed and said the students were lucky that they must have caught Severus on a good day, since he didn't physically harm or mentally torture any of them. And she was excited, since it meant getting their business together sooner than she expected. She has been worried about having down time after finishing her book. Because taking some time off with nothing to worry about is, in itself, something to worry about in Hermione's book.

It's been over a month, and I still have to bite back a quick wave of nausea when I pulled into the long driveway, but it was gone long before I pulled up to what had formerly been the garage that housed around half a million dollars worth of cars. It had been closed off, save for a solitary heavy door, made into a dungeon-like room with a solitary brass plate on the door that said 'S. Snape- Master of Potions'. I looked up at the large house that once held the family of vampires. The upper levels had been divided into two living spaces so the business partners could live in the same dwelling as their business, but not have to feel like their living space was completely entwined. They agreed to leave the bottom level untouched, so the kitchen and large living areas were open to entertaining, though I suspected Snape had put his own kitchen in somewhere, since I often didn't see him for days, and I was over more often than not.

Several large pumpkins had been carved and placed around the driveway, lit by lanterns instead of candles. When we walked up the stairs to the front door a group of bats took flight from the bush next to the door, fluttered around our heads for a moment, then landed back in the bush.

Seth jabbed the doorbell, which started playing a funeral dirge before a skeleton hand shot from the wall and grabbed onto his wrist with a shriek. I chuckled. Hermione had warned me George was doing the decorating for the party, and to stay out of his way lest something terrible be directed at me. This must be one of many surprises this party is going to bring.

Entering the house I found George putting the finishing touches on a large spread of food, casting a creepy blood-colored mist over it, and I wondered if any of the food was actually safe to touch. He was dressed in a toga, and I would be willing to bet there was a large amount of unpleasant surprises hidden it its folds.

"No entrance without costumes!" he barked at us with a smile.

I saluted, held up the bag containing my 40's gangster costume, and hurried into the bathroom to change. Hermione had to stretch the costume to fit my height, but she did a good job despite what she says is her 'lack of housekeeping skills'. When I emerged Seth was walking downstairs from Hermione's side, wearing a vampire costume.

"Really?" I sighed while looking at him.

"Really," he beamed back, fake fangs and all. "Where's your girlfriend?"

"Coming!" Hermione called from upstairs, and a second later she appeared wearing a sexy little dress, holding a basket, and changing one of her cloaks to red and throwing it around her shoulders.

"Hey there, Little Red Riding Hood," Seth waved at her.

"You sure are looking good," George added with a sinister smile.

"Anyone who starts singing is going to get smacked on the side of the head!" Leah's voice warned from upstairs.

I opened my mouth to reply, but found I wasn't brave enough to send a retort her way. Soon after Snape moved into the house Leah came over to talk to me, they met properly, one thing lead to another, and the end result was the most unholy union known to man. I guess it fit in a way. Both were surly, but only on the outside. They were quick-witted and had sarcasm down to an art form. Even the age difference didn't bother me much anymore. Leah was cautious, but I could tell she was happy with him. She hadn't phased in over two weeks and was actually being nice to me. Still, I'm scared of both of them, and moved a little further away from the stairs as she and Snape appeared atop them. She was dressed like Wednesday Addams, but he didn't look much different- he had put on a big, billowing robe atop his usual high-necked suit.

"Aren't you supposed to dress like something you're not?" Seth asked him.

"I am no longer a teacher," Snape shot back. "And as I believe Halloween is more for frightening people..." he trailed off with a pointed look at George, who gulped and looked momentarily terrified.

"I feel like I'm going to wind up losing points from Gryffindor," he murmured. "Or earn a detention, or get smacked in the back of the head with a book, or..."

The phone rang, and George scurried to the other room with the distraction. Hermione rushed to the kitchen, the phone would only be ringing for her, and came back a few moments later with a smile.

"Could you take a walk with me, Jacob?" she asked, holding out her hand.

"Seriously?" Leah said with a look of disgust at me. "You can't wait until the end of the party?"

"What my lady wants," I shrugged. Hermione and I walked to the back door where I paused, felt a mischievous smile cross my face, and turned back towards Leah. "You're everything a big bad wolf could want!" I sang, and had to duck the popcorn ball she aimed at my head.

"Must you provoke her?" Hermione sighed as she steered me towards the darkening woods.

"It's so fun and so easy. You should try it sometime."

"I much prefer staying on Severus' good side, which a sane person would think involves keeping his girlfriend happy," she shook her head. We walked out of sight of the house and came across a small stream. Hermione perched on a boulder and scanned the woods, but apparently didn't see what she wanted to, so she wrapped her cloak around her against the dropping temperatures and appeared to settle down for a wait.

"You know, if you're cold, I know a way to warm you up," I smirked, taking her into my arms and pressing my body against hers.

"Are you bragging about body temperature or skill?" she shot back with a playful smile.

I gave her a peck on the lips. "I was saying my constant fever, I'll let you comment on the skill," I murmured against the skin of her neck before gently sucking on the spot where her neck meets her shoulder.

"In most situations I would be happy to indulge you, but I brought you out here for something," she said, gently pushing me backwards.

"Are you sure it's not something that can be postponed for a few minutes?"

"It's something I'm sure is watching us right now," she replied, studying my face.

"What...?" I started, but I stopped dead when I smelled it. Instinctively I turned, blocking Hermione with my body, crouched down and ready to phase. But I recognized that scent.

"You're pushing your luck, leech," I growled to a spot across the stream.

"I was invited, mutt," Jasper hissed back, stepping out from behind a tree. He was dressed up as a Revolutionary soldier, which was completely unsurprising but infinitely more annoying than just seeing him wearing street clothes.

"You need to warn me if you're going to let bloodsuckers stop by," I shot over my shoulder at Hermione.

"You never would have agreed, and I was going to do it anyways," she said, kissing my shoulder. I'm not about to admit out loud that she's right, and probably avoided a major argument by doing it her way.

"Yeah, but I could have decided that staying inside was a much better option."

"Why don't you shut up?" Jasper sighed in annoyance. "I'm just here as a guard."

"A guard for what?"

"You'll see. I'm going to make myself scarce. You always hated me more than anyone but Edward, if you haven't attacked by now I think you'll be fine."

"Care to join the party?" Hermione asked, sliding off the rock.

"Need an escort?" he asked, jumping across the stream, walking around me, and offering Hermione his arm.

"Gladly. Your eyes are better out here. I'm going to have to use my wand if I don't have someone preventing me from falling."

Irritated I watched him leading her away, but before they could disappear into the night I heard a soft voice behind me.

"Jacob?"

I closed my eyes, back going straight, air filling my lungs though I suddenly forgot how to expel it back out. I knew that voice. I had heard it on the phone, in all it's wrongness, and it sounds even worse here. Slowly I turned around, afraid of what I was going to see. She was standing on the other side of the stream, and I suppose she would have been more beautiful than I had ever seen her if her eyes weren't a strange mix of gold and crimson.

"Bella," I managed.

She smiled, the same slightly crooked smile she had while human. "It's good to see you again, Jacob."

I couldn't return the sentiment, not with her like that, so I grunted.

"I know this isn't how you wanted things to turn out with us..."

"There was never an us, Bella, and you should be happy for that. It would have been really bad had there been an us when Hermione showed up."

"I know," she smiled. "Things worked out in their own strange way, didn't they?"

"If you call that working out," I replied with a vague gesture at her newly immortal form.

"I do. I don't have to worry about getting hurt anymore, Jacob."

"You were always quite good at that," I was unable to suppress a small smile, which earned me a large one in return.

"I need to thank you..."

"Don't start. Please."

"Jake..." she smiled, shaking her head.

"Really, Bella. I don't need you thanking me, alright? I didn't do it for you. I did it for myself."

"I believe you, but it doesn't mean I didn't benefit from it."

"I told Charlie about you. Not everything, but enough. You should go see him."

"I was going to. Tomorrow, on his day off. Tonight I was going to spend with my best friend."

I looked at her and sighed. I missed having her as my best friend. I wish she had been more accessible when I was going through everything with my imprinting, someone to support me for the sake of wanting me happy. It would never be as close as it had been, but that doesn't mean we still couldn't be friends.

"You look like a freak show," I commented.

She smiled widely. "You should talk," she shot back, nodding at my costume.

"It's Halloween. Mine can and will come off at the end of the night. You're stuck looking like that."

"Will come off, then?" she cocked an eyebrow. "Things are going well with Hermione, I take it?"

"It'll stay on if she wants it on," I shrugged.

"Is she enjoying the house?"

"She loves it. I'll love it better when I move in at the end of the school year."

"Graduation present?"

"Exactly."

"Have you asked her to marry you yet?"

"Geez, Bells, it's only been a few months. Give her some time to prepare for it."

"But you're going to marry her," she said with a protective frown.

"Yes, boss," I nodded. She'd have to say yes, of course, and I'm going to wait a while to ask to give her some time for her crazy life to die down a little bit, but I have every intention of being at the end of the aisle when she walks down it to say her vows.

"Jacob..." she growled warningly.

"Just because you're older, and right now probably stronger doesn't mean you get to tell me what to do. You might be married and immortal, but I've still got a good ten years on you at least."

She laughed. "Now how do you figure that? My marriage has to count for, like, fifteen years."

"Fifteen!" I feigned horror as I reached out for her hand, and I didn't even flinch as her icy fingers wrapped around mine. We started walking towards the house, and her other hand came over to grab onto my arm as if she were still at risk for falling over nothing. "If anything you get like, five, and I get ten for my imprint."

"Five? You're crazy."

"Have you seen the success rate for teen marriages? You're crazy for getting married so young."

"Our marriage is different."

"Okay, I'll give you seven."

"Ten, at least. There are other things that come with a marriage that I'm now doing, and that should count for something."

"Any years you get for that I'm also going to get," I pointed out.

"Touche. What makes you think you get ten for the imprint?"

"I'm already thinking about what our babies are going to look like. I'm kind of wanting one."

"Don't you dare, Jacob Black. Marriage first, and you should probably be done with school..."

"Yeah, I know. Hermione isn't going to want one for a few years, anyways. But I'm starting to look forward to when it's going to happen."

"And you're going to practice until she agrees."

"Every chance I get."

We got to the house and stood outside the window, looking in at the party which was now in full swing. Hermione and Jasper were the hit of the moment, with him leading her in a swing dance, though to her credit she was keeping up with little problem. I think she likes someone else taking the lead on occasion, even if it is just for a dance. I realized that I was never going to get rid of the Cullens, that they were always going to be part of my life, and it wasn't just because of Bella. Hermione didn't put her trust and her efforts at friendship into just anyone, and when you get past the leech problem they aren't that bad a group of people.

"She looks happy," Bella commented.

"She just finished writing a book, starting up a company, and moving halfway around the world. She'll be going on a book-signing tour as soon as it's published, which is exciting to her because she gets to see the world and meet new people, then come home and think of her newest project to keep her insanely busy."

"I'm betting you're a big part of that look," she whispered.

"I hope so."

"I don't want to hate each other, Jake. I don't want to sit around and wonder what your life is like, I want you to be able to tell me. I want to see you when you finally get around to marrying her. I want to see your kids if you have any, at least pictures. I don't want to leave here tonight and think that's it."

I squeezed her hand. "It's not it. Maybe, over time, it'll get close to what it once was. Maybe it'll even get there. It'll take time, but this isn't it, Bells."

She hugged me before I could stop her. "I love you, Jake."

"I'd say it back, but you just made me stink," I frowned. "Does your husband know you hug me like that?"

"Under the circumstances I don't think he'll mind," she replied, squeezing me one more time before letting me go.

"Where is he?"

"He decided to stay away, he thought you might not be as willing to talk to me if he was there."

"He was right."

She sighed, annoyed.

"I mean it, Bells. I'll be able to deal with you long before I'll be able to deal with him, because I still hate him for what he did to you. I understand why he did it, but that doesn't mean I like it or I'm condoning it."

"Do you think that one day...?"

"It'll never be friendship, but one day I'll probably be able to look at him without the instant desire to kill him."

"I guess it's the best I can ask for."

Inside the music stopped, and Hermione, panting, collapsed into a chair, pretending to swoon. Jasper grabbed her hand and kissed it, then bowed and tipped his hat. She's gained a friend for life, and for a second I felt relief that he's already happily married. But then Hermione started looking around the room, eyes not stopping until they found mine. She smiled and beckoned me with a crook of her finger. And I smiled back, a lost man, hopelessly in love with the witch in front of me. And it felt pretty damn good.