Chapter 21:

"What? Next time Harry falls asleep here you can keep him!" Alice argued, hands on her hips as she pouted up at Edward.

"If you'd remember, Harry happens to have a father who's a cop. I don't believe he'd be happy with his underaged son staying at his boyfriends house overnight," Edward pointed out dryly. Despite his argument though, he couldn't argue that the idea of Harry staying over appealed to him deeply.

"Alright, fine," Alice sighed. "We won't get a bed yet. But don't think this discussion is over, Edward Cullen. I know that you secretly want it and are just trying to fool yourself."

Edward growled lowly at that, but didn't try to argue. If he were being honest, the only thing stopping him from running to the store right now and buying a bed was the knowledge that he'd want Harry to sleep over every night, and surely James wouldn't be pleased at that. Though perhaps he would be able to convince James by bringing up the recent murders. Surely the police chief would be more comfortable with Harry sleeping around others rather than alone in an unprotected house…

He heard tinkling laugher to his left and immediately turned to glare at Alice and Esme, who were both smiling widely at him and singing the alphabet in their minds to keep him out of their thoughts.

"What?" He grumbled sullenly.

"Just wondering what you're so deep in thought about, sweetie," Esme said in a motherly voice. "Now when are we going to see Harry again? It's been a whole day."

"He's been studying today with Neville," Edward sighed. "I tried to convince him to stay with me, but he couldn't be swayed."

"Ah, Neville's a sweet boy though," Esme commented.

Edward just hummed noncommittally in response. "I'm going to go hunting," he offered, knowing that both had recently fed anyways. As expected, they both just waved him out the door.

As soon as he had left and was out of earshot, Esme and Alice turned to talk once again about their plans. Even Rosalie joined in after a few minutes of hearing their discussion, and so they set off to accomplish as much as they could in the time they had.

As Edward was off hunting for various wildlife, Harry was driving home from his study session with Neville. He hadn't really needed to study for the history test, he had spent a few hours when he was sick studying, but he had wanted to hang out with his friend even if it meant spending some time away from Edward. That boy had been occupying nearly every thought of his and the intensity would be concerning if other factors hadn't been into play.

For example, Edward's overprotective nature, Harry thought wryly as he looked down at his phone to see Edward's caller ID flashing on the screen.

"Why, hello," he answered happily, grinning when Edward answered with his own affectionate greeting before warning him that he wouldn't see him until tomorrow because he was going a bit further to hunt. Apparently there was a shortage of mountain lions in the nearby area, and while Harry was bummed to hear about Edward being gone, he couldn't pretend to be upset about the lack of big cats prowling around in his backyard.

Now he had to figure out something to do with the rest of his night though…

Harry thought hard for a few seconds before deciding that he would visit his dad and bring him some lunch, knowing that if he didn't, his father would either skip lunch entirely or eat something quick and not at all nutritious. He could easily recall that one time he'd stopped by a week or two ago and found candy wrappers around James' desk, and honestly, who could even eat that many KitKats in a row?!

His dad could, apparently. It was always his dad, he thought with a sigh, as he quickly prepared a somewhat nutritious sandwich and some snacks to bring to the station. He bagged them up in a brown bag and carefully set it in his passengers seat before making his way over.

"Carebear!" James said, delighted when Harry came into view carrying the bag. "Is that food?"

"It is food, something which I'm sure you haven't seen in ages," Harry laughed.

Unable to refute it, James simply took the bag with a thanks and lead them both back to his office where Harry was instantly greeted with a mess.

"Wow."

"Yea," James rubbed the back of his head and gave a half laugh. "This case is driving me a bit mad, yea?"

"You could say that," Harry grimaced as he took in the pin board in the corner that barely even had an inch of corkscrew left, the rest covered in people and clues and pictures Harry really wished he hadn't seen. That wasn't even mentioning the mess of files, papers, and old coffee cups covering his desk.

"Do you want me to help you clear up a bit?" He offered hesitantly.

"To be honest, I'm not even sure you can. Except for the coffee, all of this is still being studied. I've already gone back several years into the old case files and I'm not even halfway done studying them all. I just can't find anything that is helping me," James moaned, frustrated at the lack of progress.

"Was Doctor Cullen any help?" Harry questioned.

"Not much, though he did agree with our early assessment that there wasn't one unique hit that stood out as the initial strike. At this point I'm just leaning towards the theory that they all simultaneously got hit by a rockslide while standing upright. And let me tell you, that's not even the most ridiculous theory that's been thought up." James stepped towards his desk to rifle quickly through some papers before finding the one he wanted and pulling it out. "This was the last body, see how all the marks seem to have been make at relatively the same time? The bruising is the same all around the body…"

Harry took a quick look at the picture and immediately blanched. "That's interesting," he said, voice taking on an interesting quality as he tore his eyes away from the image.

"Isn't it? Notice those cracked ribs? And that bruise that looks like a hand formed it. The chances of a handprint being caused by anything other than a hand are just so astronomically low. It has to be a person. I can't even imagine how much this must have hurt."

Harry could definitely imagine, and looking at the pictures of the quite familiar injuries just cemented that thought in his mind. He was crazy for thinking it, he knew, but the cracked ribs, bruising, and injuries were so exact, down to the unhealed scratches on the upper thigh and lower waist, that it just couldn't be a coincidence. Oliver wasn't here though, and while he knew the man was violent, he also couldn't imagine him responsible for so many murders.

"You okay?" James asked concernedly, looking up to find that Harry was a little pale. "I suppose I should've asked you before showing you a dead body," he laughed a bit nervously, his concern turning to guilt. "Please don't tell your mom?"

Harry looked up at that and offered his dad what he hoped was a reassuring smile. "I'm fine, it just amazes me how people can do these things," he said easily, finding that it was easier to tell a half truth than a lie. "So what's your gameplay then? Other than just searching through old info to see if anything matches."

James winced at that, "All I can do is keep looking and hope something is found, sooner rather than later."

"Yikes."

"No kidding."

"Well, will you be home for dinner?" Harry asked after a brief few seconds of silence.

"Definitely not," James shook his head and rubbed tiredly at his head again, ruffling his already messy hair up more. "I'm honestly not so sure I'll be home tonight at all. It will depend on how many of these cases I can get through tonight. I'll give you a call either way though," he promised.

Harry tried to pretend like being home alone all night wouldn't bother him, but truthfully he was a bit unnerved, especially after seeing that picture. He briefly thought about calling Jacob but immediately threw that idea out of his head. The Blacks would doubtlessly take that as an invitation to drop by whenever they wanted in the future, and while he could definitely grow to consider Jacob a friend, he was still unsure about Sirius. Besides, Edward probably wouldn't be the happiest about him having Jacobs number and calling the teen for help instead of him.

On his way home from the station he pulled into the grocery store quickly to pick up more coffee, and it was there that he decided. What better way to make sure no one broke in and murdered him than pulling an all-nighter? Genius, he thought. Make some coffee, put on some enjoyable TV, and try to make his brain forget the haunting image that was still flashing around his brain.

Sure enough, it was 2 hours later that Harry got the expected call from James telling him he wouldn't be home, asking if he was fine being home alone, and even offering to call someone to watch the house. Harry dismissed the concern easily enough, even promising that he would have a nice, boring night in doing laundry and other forgotten chores that tended to pile up when you had two busy people living in the same house.

He hung up the phone and flopped down on the couch, already looking towards the clock hanging on the wall.

"Coffee," Harry muttered himself, pulling the TV remote next to him. The news had been on when he turned on the TV, but that was quickly shut off in favor of something a bit more heart warming.

The pattern of getting up for a cup of coffee and changing the channel lasted until roughly 2am, at which point Harry found himself simultaneously bored of watching TV but tired enough not to want to do anything else. Though, he supposed if he were already up he might as well get something like homework accomplished.

He was in the middle of pulling his math book out of his backpack when a noise to his left startled him out of his sleepy stupor. He jolted upright and let out an embarrassing yelp of terror as he flew around to face the noise, only to find a frowning Edward standing at the couch.

"Jesus, you need to wear a bell," Harry accused, heart still pounding exceedingly fast even as he allowed Edward to step closer and wrap him in a hug.

"What're you doing here?" Harry asked once his heart rate had calmed down enough for him to speak without being breathless.

"Alice told me you were awake and worried," Edward murmured, allowing Harry to step away only so he could survey him quickly with concerned eyes.

"I am not worried," Harry protested, but Edward saw through the lie in an instant. Instead of calling him out for it, he just offered a small smile and held out a hand for Harry so he could lead him back to the couch.

"Well regardless, I'm here now," Edward said smoothly as he pulled Harry down to sit with him, wrapping a blanket across Harry's shoulders so he wouldn't be too chilled.

"You better not have cut your trip short for me, Edward Cullen," Harry threatened.

"I didn't, I had plenty of mountain lions," he promised, quirking a grin at the relieved smile that came across Harry's face upon hearing that. What a curious little thing his human was.

"Hmm," Harry just hummed at that and snuggled deeper into the blanket, finding that his sleepiness was quickly overtaking him now that he knew Edward was with him. Stubbornly, he forced his eyes to remain open, but Edward seemed to understand what he was doing because not even a second later he found himself sitting on his bed.

"Hey!" He grumbled but Edward simply shushed him and pushed him down under the already pulled back covers.

"I'll watch over you," the vampire promised quietly, watching as his human settled down into bed with an adorable pout still planted firmly on his lips.

"I don't need you to -"

" - I want to," Edward interrupted with an affectionate, albeit exasperated, smile, "Now go to bed, you stubborn little creature."

Harry grumbled but obligingly snuggled under the sheets and exhaled a big sigh as he tried to release the day's tension, finding it much easier to relax once Edward climbed behind him and took him in his arms.

Unfortunately, Harry's peacefulness didn't last long, and soon after falling asleep he found himself dreaming of the disturbingly familiar pictures that he had seen in his fathers office.

Green trees passed by him quickly, surrounding him and appearing to almost converge upon him. Breath was being forced out of his lungs as he tried to run just a little faster, the awful feeling of being chased making the hair on the back of his neck rise and his legs pump just a little bit faster still.

He felt it getting closer and he made a break for the opening of the trees up ahead, only to stop in his tracks as he came upon the familiar body. The same one that was plastered over the sheriffs office in card-stock and flashing across every local news network along with the other bodies recently discovered. As he stared, the body slowly morphed into what had been haunting him all day. Instead of the long haired blonde woman lying prone on the floor, it was now his face staring back at him, eyes wide and empty as the recognized wounds covering his body slowly began to darken with blood.

Harry didn't realize he was awake again until he heard Edward's voice in his ear gently shushing him as a hand carded through his hair, bushing out the tangles that had recently accrued and smoothing the frown lines on his forehead.

"Are you okay?"

Harry just stared up at him owlishly before grimacing and shaking his head slightly. "Just a nightmare," he answered quietly.

"You mentioned a picture?" Edward questioned, expression still concerned even after Harry offered him as much of a smile as he could manage in that moment.

"I don't really want to talk about it," Harry sighed after a few more seconds of Edward staring silently at him. He sat up a bit more in bed and moved to lay his head on Edward's shoulder, shivering in a mixture of cold and pleasure when Edward wrapped an arm around his shoulders and pulled him closer.

"Alright," Edward hummed.

They sat like that for a few more minutes, Harry simply lying there in Edward's arms and breathing in the lightly scented smell of the vampire, finding it was helping sooth the rest of the dream away.

"The picture today just surprised me, I think," Harry finally spoke up after a few more long seconds of silence. "James showed me a picture of one of the bodies." Seeing Edward about to speak, Harry cut him off. "That's now what bothered me. It was just…some of the stuff…" Harry hesitated before breaking off his sentence.

"What?" Edward urged.

"Just a lot of it looked familiar, okay?"

"Familiar?" Edward asked with furrowed eyebrows. His expressional abruptly light up with realization after a few seconds, only to darken immediately. "Familiar in what way?"

Harry cringed at the dark tone and looked at Edward from the corner of his eye. "I think we both know how."

Edward growled lowly and tightened his arm to pull Harry closer to his body as if he could shield Harry from his past. "I'll kill him."

"I'm more curious about who killed her," the raven-haired boy admitted before resting his head on Edwards shoulder and blowing out a lengthy sigh. "I would suggest going back to bed, but you don't sleep and I can't sleep," he admitted.

"And I would suggest you try anyways, but I suppose it's close enough to the morning," Edward replied with a small grin playing around his lips.

"Well I suppose we'd better get ready for the day then, hmm," Harry sighed and quickly glanced at his clock, seeing that Edward was right and it was nearing 5am. Undoubtedly still early, but late enough that he could justify just getting up and ready.

Edward rolled off the bed and met Harry by his side, pulling him in his arms. "I'll pick you up around 7?"

Harry grimaced, "I guess so, partner. I'm not quite sure I'm ready for it to be Monday again though."

Edward chuckled lowly and framed Harry's face in his heads. "Me neither, partner," he grinned and pressed a kiss to Harry's forehead before stepping back towards the window. "Enjoy your shower," he winked.

Harry shook his head in amusement as Edward vanished out the window, cheeks pink after the parting message.

If Edward could blush, he would have had pink cheeks too after this parting message. Not because of embarrassment, but rather because of the enticing images that filled his mind. Those thoughts occupied his mind while he ran home, reaching his house in a manner of seconds only to find a suspicious lack of family members greeting him as he walked through the front door.

He hummed thoughtfully and tried to listen for any movement before giving up and walking upstairs to his bedroom, intent on getting ready for school himself.

Instead, he opened up the door to his room and stopped in his tracks.

"Do you like it?!" Alice bounced up to Edward, grinning exuberantly, backed by Rosalie, Esme, and the rest of his family.

Edward stared speechlessly at the bed that had replaced his couch. "James is going to kill me."

"What James doesn't know won't hurt him," Rosalie winked.

Edward was torn between being angry at his family for interfering or gleefully happy for their addition to his room. "Harry's going to think -"

"- nothing of it." Esme interrupted with as smug of an expression as a mother could have. "Besides, don't you think that I don't know you spend every night with him in his own room already."

Alice and Rosalie snickered as Edward glared at them. Still though, he couldn't help but hum appreciatively as he noticed the care they had taken while choosing the bedding. It didn't matter much to him, but he appreciated the thought that went into making Harry comfortable.

"The poor babe was afraid last night," Esme murmured in a motherly tone. "Surely he would feel safer sleeping here."

"I'm not even going to touch that bit of irony," Edward shook his head and trailed his fingers over the soft comforter before walking over to the nightstand. As he got closer, he could see the girls exchange secret looks which only built his curiosity. Though when he opened up the drawer, he almost wished he hadn't been so curious.

"Alice!" Edward hissed in embarrassment as he pulled out a bottle of lube that had been carefully placed inside the drawer, glaring at his siblings when they laughed at his discovery.

"It wasn't me!" Alice sing-singed before pausing for a second as her mind wandered to the future. "But if you're curious…"

"Don't say another word," Edward threatened, feeling embarrassment well up inside him at the knowledge that this discussion was happening right in front of his pseudo parents whiles singling laughed. The images flashing in Alice's mind weren't helping him hide his arousal either.

"I'm going on a hunting trip after school if anyone wants to join," Emmett called out loudly, winking at Edward then laughing when the younger sibling just growled and threw a pillow at him.

Unlike Edward, Harry's morning was filled with a little less laughter. For one, he stubbed his toe walking into the bathroom and spent the new minute hopping on one foot and growling out curses. Then, his shower was abruptly cut short when he heard the front door opening and nearly had a heart attack in his speed to get out and dry off so he wouldn't have to fight an intruder naked. It ended up just being his dad, but his mantra was always better safe than sorry.

By the time 7 rolled around, Harry had brushed his teeth twice, eaten breakfast, and two cups of morning coffee, and talked to his dad about the case for a solid few minutes. So by the time Edward' Volvo rolled into his driveway, he was more than easy to actually start school.

"I don't know how you do it," Harry gave an overly dramatic sigh as he climbed into car. "I only woke up 2 hours early and I already feel bored with the day. How do you deal with having so much free time?"

Edward laughed and whipped his car into reverse, backing out of the driveway so quickly and smoothly Harry could only blink in awe. "My family has accumulated quite a collection of masters degrees if that tells you anything."

"Mhhh," Harry agreed with a small smile.

"So where's your cup of morning coffee?' Edward asked curiously, seeing that Harry's hands were missing his always present thermos of coffee.

"I already had two cups this morning!" Harry groused. "I was just trying to kill the time, and I would've had another if I weren't worried about having a caffeine overdose."

"Smart choice," Edward agreed, looking over to smile affectionately at his grumpy human.

Harry stared out the window as they pulled into the parking lot of Forks High School, seeing that they were early enough that there was hardly a car in the parking lot.

"Esme misses you," Edward said in the following silence, smirking at the pleased look that came across Harry's face.

"She makes me miss my mum," Harry said wistfully, smiling as he remembered the Cullen matriarch. "She's a sweetheart. Can I come over after school?"

"I think everyone would enjoy that," Edward agreed, trying not to think about why that might be. He knew that Emmett was going to have a field day when he brought Harry home. That was, if he didn't take that impromptu hunting trip he volunteered for this morning.

"At least that will let me avoid Jacob and his dad for a bit longer if they decide to drop by the house today."

At that, Edward turned into his seat to level Harry with a stern glare. "Speaking of that, Alice told me that she had a vision of you calling Jacob last night instead of me," he said in a tone that bordered a growl.

"Ah, well…" Harry rubbed the back of his neck and offered up a sheepish grin. "I didn't want to bother you if you were hunting?"

"Next time you call me. It's my job to protect you, not his."

Harry raised an eyebrow at the overprotective tone but nevertheless agreed with a nod. "Sure thing, partner. Next time I fear being murdered, you will be the first person I call."

Judging from the still present glare, Edward didn't appreciate his humor, but Harry didn't let that affect his bright grin.

"I'd not let you out of my sight, but unfortunately we have different class schedules," Edward grumbled but even his expression brightened at seeing Harry's happiness. "I love you."

"I love you more."

"Don't you start that," Edward warned, laughing when Harry just scrunched his nose at him in defiance.