I'm doing NaNoWriMo again which is the only reason why this chapter is so short. I was feeling super bad that I was working on my novel but I hadn't posted in a long time. On that note . . . I may have left this on a really bad cliffhanger . . . oops? Okay, I might be a teeny tiny bit evil. But hey, at least you have a chapter. :D

Pairings:

Harry/Edward (duh!), Alice/Jasper, Esme/Carlisle, Rosalie/Emmett, Draco/Jacob, Paul/Luna/Seth, Bella/Blaise, Neville/? (I'm allowed to keep some pairing secret)

Disclaimer:

This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling and Stephenie Meyer, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, MT Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, Little, Brown and Company, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.

Chapter 15

The day of the attack, Harry met up with Bella and Edward at the Cullen household, where Bella had spent the night before. She was all dressed up in a thick winter jacket and hiking gear when Harry caught sight of her. He almost laughing at how uncomfortable she looked.

"All ready to go?"

"Shut up," Bella snapped when Harry failed to keep the humor out of his voice. "Alice said that it would snow in the mountains."

Harry simply held up his hands, his lips twitching in amusement. Bella glared at him so he turned to look at Edward instead.

"Would you like to travel with us? I figured Apparating into the clearing would help speed things up."

"Really," Edward inquired, his expression holding excited curiosity. "Can you take more than one person?"

"Well normally side-apparating more than one adult body is difficult, but I doubt I'd be able to splinch you," Harry told him with some amusement.

"Splinch," Bella echoed, her expression worried. "What's that?"

"It's what happens when a person Apparates wrong. They sometimes leave a part of themselves behind. I remember this one girl in my year left behind her leg when we were practicing back in school."

Bella's face paled, all the blood seeming to drain out of her already white face.

"But don't worry," Harry rushed to reassure. "I've been Apparating adults since I was sixteen. It's all about intent and I've never splinched anyone."

Bella got a little bit of the color back into her face, but she still looked somewhat unsure. Harry held out his hands towards them. Edward grabbed hold immediately, threading in thin fingers through Harry's.

"Trust me," Harry asked Bella when she simply stared at his hand. The brunette took a deep breath before nodding and grabbing hold.

"Okay. On three. One. Two. Three!"

And the trio disappeared with a loud crack.

They appeared on the edge of the clearing and Bella immediately dropped to her knees, looking rather green in the face. Even Edward looked a little unsteady.

"Yeah," Harry said one a sigh. "The first couple of time aren't all that pleasant."

"You think," Bella moaned, rubbing at her stomach. "I don't know how you guys can get used to that."

"Well its one of the fast forms of travel we have," Harry pointed out. "But I supposed it's an acquired feeling."

Bella muttered something else, but Harry chose to ignore it for the time being. He looked around the large clearing with a critical eye before turning to look expectantly at Edward. Bella did the same, arching her brow questioningly.

"Right," Edward said with a nod, turning to the task at hand. "Just walk north for a ways, touching as much as you can," he instructed Bella. "Alice gave me a clear picture of their path, and it won't take long for us to intersect it."

"North," Bella asked, innocently puzzled. Harry almost snorted, before he realized that normal people didn't have an internal compass in their heads.

Edward smiled charmingly before pointing out the direction Bella was supposed to take. Bella followed his finger before nodding her head, a determined look coming onto her face.

She took her steps slowly at first, as if she still wasn't sure where she was supposed to go. But after a couple of minutes, she seemed to gain her confidence and set out at a more normal pace – well normal for her anyways.

Harry and Edward walked parallel to Bella, almost twenty yards away so that they wouldn't affect that trail. Harry had been curious to know that wizards gave off a kind of electrical sent that was off-putting to most vampires.

The sky was baby blue over their heads, only a few clouds lingering here and there from what Harry could see through the trees. If Harry hadn't scented the snow in the air, he wouldn't have believe in Alice's foretelling of it. But it was there and coming in strong. This was just further supported by the fierce wind whipping through the woods.

It was cold enough that Harry could feel it. And if he could feel it then Bella most certainly could. Harry could spot her rubbing at her arms every now and then.

"Am I doing this right," Bella called out suddenly, her tongue tucked between her lips as she tried to keep in a steady line. It made Harry think that she was trying to cross a tightrope.

"Perfectly," Edward called back.

"Will this help," Bella then asked, running her fingers through her hair and trailing the strands over the bushes she passed.

Edward gave an inaudible sigh before calling back with, "Yes, that does make the trail stronger. But you don't need to pull your hair out, Bella. It will be fine."

"I've got a few extras I can spare."

"We'll see how much extra when you're bald," Harry joked when Bella's next finger run ended up getting tangled in her hair. The girl yanked her fingers free before shooting Harry a mild glare.

The rest of the walk was done in silence. Harry was pretty much enjoying it. He could almost pretend like he was just having an innocent walk through the woods with the guy he liked. It helped that he and Edward were standing so close together that their hands brushed ever so often. Harry was tempted to take it . . .

"Ouch! Oh fabulous," Bella's voice suddenly cut through Harry's daydream. His head whipped around to see the girl had almost stumbled into a rather large tree. A strong breeze brought with it the metallic scent of blood.

"Are you okay," Harry called out with some panic. He was too far away to tell how injured Bella was. She looked alright for now.

"I'm fine. Stay where you are," Bella told them, her voice just a little high pitched. "I'm bleeding. It will stop in a minute."

Edward apparently didn't care because he was suddenly at Bella's side. Harry started forward also, but the thought of completely messing up the plan had him hesitating.

Edward didn't look all that concerned, so Bella couldn't be that hurt. And it didn't really hinder the plan if Edward's scent got mixed in. These newborns were expecting that.

Harry shifted uncomfortably as Edward tried to clean Bella's cut.

"Wait a second," Bella stopped him. "I just got another idea."

And then Bella reached out and pressed her injured hand against the ground beside her.

"What are you doing," Edward demanded, and there was that alarm.

"Jasper will love this," Bella murmured as an answer. She pulled herself up and started heading out again, making sure to trail her injured hand against whatever came into her path. Harry bit down on his lip to keep himself from commenting on how idiotic this 'idea' was.

She was sure to get some kind of infection, rubbing an open wound in the dirt like that.

The broke through the trees, coming out in the clearing that the fight would take place in. It was different looking at this place in the day. It certainly looked large enough to hold a battle.

"The newborns will be frantic, and Jasper will be very impressed with your dedication," Edward was telling Bella in a level tone. Harry had apparently missed out on part of the conversation.

"Good," Bella said with a nod, finally allowing Edward to take up her hand.

"Yes. Good." There was clear sarcasm in Edward's tone, but Bella seemed to be ignoring it.

"Oh, would you let Harry do it, please," Bella asked, tugging her hand back slightly as Edward began to rummage through the bag he was holding.

"This doesn't bother me anymore, if that's what you're worried about," Edward told her absently. He finally pulled out a first-aid kit and started cleaning Bella's cut with the precision of a trained doctor.

"Really," Bella asked skeptically. "Why not?"

Edward shrugged and smoothed a bandage over Bella's palm before saying, "I got over it."

"You . . . got over it? When? How?"

Harry also wanted to know and he stared at Edward's face. Edward pursed his lips as he searched for the words to explain.

"I," he began, shooting Harry a look before dropping his gaze to the first-aid kit. He started fiddling with it, a clear sign of nervousness. "I lived an entire twenty-four hours thinking you were dead. It . . . changed the way I look at things."

There was silence through the clearing. Bella's eyes were now fixed on Harry, the brown orbs glowing with concern.

It took Harry a moment to realize that this conversation was treading into territories he didn't understand. Clearly, Edward's enlightenment had happened when he was still involved with Bella, and it was this fact that was causing his nervousness

Harry shifted uncomfortably, not sure how to handle this type of situation. He was saved from having to think of anything by the timely arrival of Blaise.

The black Italian Apparated right beside Bella, the loud crack of his appearance causing the girl to actually jump and nearly fall to the ground. Blaise reached out in time to grab hold of her arm to keep her steady.

Harry wondered if it had all been planned when the other wizard pull Bella into an almost embrace.

"Hello," he greeted casually. "You ready to go camping?" He was speaking more to Bella than anyone else, which had the girl blushing a dark red. She gave a nervous chuckle and then squeaked when Blaise pulled her even closer to him.

"Alright. Hold on tight."

"Blaise," Harry called out to stop him, but the teen was already turning on his heel. With a sharp crack, the pair disappeared. Harry sighed heavily and shook his head.

"How are we supposed to follow them," Edward asked after a minute had passed.

"I'll have to track his magical signature," Harry gritted out. Because the plan had been for them to all Apparate together, but Blaise didn't seem to like following plans when Bella was concerned.

"Come on before he does something he shouldn't."

Edward nodded stiffly, scooping up Harry's hand before he could offer it. Harry closed his eyes, concentrating on the residual magic in the area. After catching hold of it, he turned on his heal, pulling him and Edward into the tight fold that was Apparation.

Harry tapped his fingers against his thigh irritably, barely listening to the play by play of the battle happened hundreds of feet away. His whole body was coiled like a spring, adrenaline pumping furiously through his veins. He hadn't felt this . . . useless since the battle of Hogwarts, and then he had been on a mission to kill Nagini.

Now he was stuck up here, crouched down on a slab of rock, listening to Edward's voice as he recounted the battle. Bella was curled into a ball in the far corner of the small tent, rocking back and forth as the very picture of worry.

It took Harry a moment to acknowledge the sudden silence. It was deafening, pressing down on Harry's ears in a highly ominous way.

"What—" Harry broke off as light suddenly flooded his eyes. He blinked rapidly against it and found his vision obscured by sandy brown fur. Seth was crouched there, staring deeply at Edward as if the two were talking. The sun shattered off Edward's skin and sent sparkles dancing across Seth's fur.

And then Edward whispered urgently, "Go Seth!"

Seth swirled around then disappeared into the shadowed forest. Harry stared after him in confusion. It had all happened so fast.

Harry opened his mouth to demand to know what was going on, but with a simple displacement of air, he suddenly found himself pressed into the wall of the cliff face. A small 'oomph' right beside him, suggested Bella had received the same treatment.

"What the bloody hell," Harry muttered, narrowing his eyes at Edward's crouched position in front of him. It was a defensive position and so Harry's eyes trailed anxiously over the trees.

"Who," Bella whispered beside her and her voice sounded strained and tinged with fear.

"Victoria," was Edward's answer, and his voice came out in a snarl, echoing loudly around them. Harry tensed and he flicked his wrist, releasing his wand from its holster. His eyes continued to trace the tree line, Mad-Eye Moody's voice in his mind yelling 'Constant Vigilance'.

"She's not alone," Edward was still saying. "She crossed y scent, following the newborns in to watch – she never meant to fight with them. She made a spur-of-the-moment decision to find me, guessing that you would be wherever I was. She was right. You were right. It was always Victoria."

Bella let out a tiny breath, one that sounded suspiciously like relief. Harry's mind churned. It wasn't like Bella to believe so fully in a person's strength – not when it came to a fight. So why was she relieved?

Edward shifted just the tiniest bit, edging closer to Bella. Harry's eyes snapped over to that direction and then he saw them.

They came from the forest like they were taking a simple walk, streaks of rainbow's shattering against the skin in the sunlight. The two of them edged around the clearing, one going for Edward's left and the other from the right.

Victoria took up the side closest to Bella, her dark eyes focused solely on the girl with an intense focus of a person performing Legilimency. She had Weasley hair, as bright as a flame and almost blinding to look at in the sunlight. Her body was coiled tight like she was ready to pounce at a moment's notice, but she linger in the background as her friend continued to stalk forward.

He was big and blonde and couldn't have been any older than that eighteen when he was turned. His eyes, a vibrant red deeper than blood, were focused on Edward.

Their plan was simple. Blondie would detract Edward and Victoria would go for Bella. Too bad Victoria didn't factor Harry into the plan.

A long, low howl rented the air. The boy looked at Victoria, a fool awaiting his command. Victoria jerked her chin forward.

And then Edward spoke.

"Riley," he called, his voice soft, pleading, musical. The boy froze, his eyes widening in alarm. "She's lying to you, Riley. Listen to me. She's lying to you just like she lied to the others who are dying now in the clearing. You know that she's lied to them, that she had you lie to them, that neither of you were going to help them. Is it so hard to believe that she's lied to you, too?"

Harry's brows shot upward. Was that Edward's tactic? Talk the newborn down and then attack Victoria.

Emotions flashed across Riley's face and Harry could see him starting to doubt as Edward's hypnotic voice washed over them.

Harry found his eyes drifting towards Victoria now, confident that Edward had the newborn under control. The red-haired woman was still staring at Bella with an obsessed focus. For the first time Harry found himself wondering what Bella did to incur this woman – hunter's wrath. It had to have been big, nothing really bothered a vampire this point of vengeance.

Or maybe this vampire was just really vindictive.

It was only because Harry was staring at her that he heard her speak – and it really wasn't like him to have his thoughts wonder when he was in danger. . . . Actually, maybe it was just a little bit.

"He's the liar, Riley," Victoria said, and he vice was almost babyish in tone. She kind of sounded like a child, a whining child – only her voice also that the alluring musical quality Muggle vampires seemed to possess.

"I told you about their mind tricks. You know I love only you."

Harry's eyes snapped over to Riley and just like that, it was over. Every shred of doubt Riley had disappeared at Victoria's words – as if that was all he had needed to hear. The poor, poor fool of a boy.

Harry's shoulders tensed as Riley braced himself to attack. He clutched his wand tight in his hand, feeling the reassuring thrum of magic spike through him.

There was a moment's pause – just enough time for Bella to draw in a sharp breath – and then chaos issued.

Harry's wand was pointed, the bright streak of light leaving its tip before he even consciously acknowledge the action.

In the same moment Riley took a minute step forward, before jerking backward as Harry's spell hit him.

And a snarl ripped through the air before Seth flew from out of the tree, crashing into Riley's stone body and the two flew to the other side of the clearing.

"No," Victoria cried, her voice impossibly shrill.

Harry started forward to try and help, but the two were tumbling over each other so quickly that it would have been impossible for him to get a shot in. Edward twitch a little at Harry's move and Harry scowled but decided that just this once he would sit back and protect Bella. The wizard shifted back again, moving over until his arm brushed against Bella's.

She reached out immediately at took his hand and it was only then that Harry could feel her shaking – just tiny little trembles as if she were merely cold.

The was as sharp crack and then sound of stone hitting stone as something smacked into the rocks at their feet.

"No," Victoria sad again, through her teeth, as Edward started to move towards her, blocking her path to Harry and Bella. She looked so upset, Harry wouldn't have been surprised if she threw a Myrtle-sized tantrum.

It was pretty much as stalemate now. Edward wasn't going to let Victoria past, and from the look in the vampire's eyes she wasn't going to give up so easily.

Harry found his eyes drifting from his mate to Seth, who was fighting viciously a couple of feet away. He seemed to be holding his own for a young shifter and then Harry winced as he heard bone snap.

Seth let out a low pitched wine, backing off to circle around although he was limping from where Riley had kicked him in the shoulder. That hit seemed to improve the newborn's confidence, because he was grinning now.

Harry squeezed Bella's hand before dropping it and turning slight towards Seth. He narrowed his eyes, focusing as if he were searching for the snitch, and the let lose an easy jinx.

Riley fell flat on his face with a startled snarl and Seth leapt at him. There was the keening tearing sound and a bright white object flew into the forest. Riley jumped back up looking furious and took a swipe at Seth but the young wolf was lighter on his feet than one would assume.

Edward was talking again, although Harry was concentrating too hard on Seth and Riley's fight to understand what he was saying. He could only feel the low tenor of Edward's voice brush against his subconscious in a way of familiarity allowed.

Riley and Seth were almost playing tag now, darting in and out as they tried to get in another good hit. Harry focused in again, looking for an opening. And then Riley caught Seth on the flank, a solid hit that Harry swore he almost felt.

Seth backed up immediately, making the whining sound dogs produced when they were injured. Harry's body jerked forward, sparking catching at the end of his wand before another flash of light jetted out – another unconscious spell. It was pure magic that just seemed to force Riley back and have him stumbling.

But he was quickly back up, snarling and closing in on Seth. He was driving the wolf back, closer and closer to where Harry and Bella stood. It was only a slight shake of Edward's head in Harry's peripheral that kept Harry from lighting the vampire on fire right there.

He wasn't sure what Edward had planned, but Harry trusted him. And if anything got too dicey, well Incendio was the second year spell.

Now that Riley was winning, Victoria seemed to gain back her original swagger. She crouched down low, all intentions of fleeing gone as she snarled at Edward.

Was this what Edward had wanted? For Victoria to feel like she was wining?

She was darting fast, in and out, trying to get around Edward. But Edward was just as fast, and he was a mind reader. He managed to counter ever move Victoria took, but to the red-heads ire. Finally they closed in on each other, sharp crunches and cracking reverberating off the cliff face.

And Harry found his attention split.

Realistically he knew Edward could hold his own, but his instincts kept screaming at him to do something. That his mate was in danger and that he should be helping.

But at the same time Seth wasn't looking so hot against Riley. He managed to chew off another piece of the newborn, but Riley bellowed and backhanded Seth in the chest. Seth fell backwards, crashing into the rocky wall above Harry and then dropping to the ground like a discarded toy.

Bella let out a low whimper and slid down until she was kneeing, staring around with eyes so wide, they looked like they might swallow her face.

Harry shifted, squishing down in baseline instincts as Riley settled his unnerving red eyes on him. Harry felt a glare settle over his face and he twitched hit wand with a well-aimed Bombarda.

It hit Riley solidly, but had less effect than the wild magic. The newborn shook it before suddenly lunging forward. Harry gritted his teeth, barely registering the sound of something snapping from the other side of him, before mouthing "Bombarda Maxima."

There was as sharp gasping sound from Bella and then an almost exasperated sigh from Edward. Harry's eyes flickered down in the same second, catching sight of Bella with the ragged rock pressed to her arm, and he knew what Edward was going to do.

"No, keep fighting," Harry whispered lowly before the vampire could attempt to deviate away from Victoria.

The spell had hit Riley now, smacking into him like a truck and knocking him right into Seth, who had leapt suddenly to his feet. Riley was disoriented enough that all Seth had to do was attack.

Everyone saw it coming.

Seth's large teeth sunk into Riley's shoulder, tearing past the marble skin and ripping the entire limb off.

"Victoria," Riley called out with a tortured plea.

Victoria not only didn't care, but she was still occupied with Edward.

Seth barreled into Riley, the force knocking them both into the trees where they disappeared from view. But one could not mistake the sound of Riley being pulled apart, or the fact that the newborn's screams had suddenly cut off.

Riley's absence seemed to hit Victoria after a second and she hesitated, her eyes flickered towards Bella with longing before she started to retreat.

"No," Edward crooned, her voice so seductive it sent a shiver down Harry's spine. "Stay just a little longer.

Victoria didn't bother to acknowledge him, aiming for the safety of the trees. But Edward was impossibly faster, streaking forward faster than a Snitch.

Harry blinked and pretty much missed it. One minute Edward was right at Victoria's back and the next a Victoria's head was rolling towards the forest, separated from her body.

Harry let a smile grace his lips before rolling his eyes to look disapprovingly down at Bella.

She still had the terrified, wide-eyed look on her face and that jagged rock was clutched tightly in her hand.

"Bella," Harry called to her softly, and she jerked violently before her eyes snapped up to his luminous green ones. Harry crouched down and held out his hand. "Mind giving that to me?"

Bella stared at his hand like there was something wrong with it before she seemed to regain her sense. A dark blush stole across her cheeks before she opened her fists and let the rock drop to the ground.

And then she burst into tears.

Harry started, rocking away from her in alarm before reaching out tentatively for her. Bella collapsed against him, holding on to him tight as she sobbed into his chest. Behind him Harry could hear Edward instructing Seth to gather all the pieces of vampire.

Harry glanced over her shoulder at them before twisting his hand to light the pile of vampire parts. Seth jumped back as the flame flashed to life and then turned to glare at Harry. Harry gave him a sheepish shrug before turning back to Bella who had managed to pull herself back together.

"I'm fine," she gasped. She shook her head, wiping at her tears before saying, "I'm okay. Just freaking out a little bit."

"We're all entitled to a little freak out every now and again," Harry murmured sympathetically with a small smile.

Bella let out a watery chuckle before making a move that suggested she wanted to get up. Harry stood smoothly before pulling her up also, letting her lean against him when she was little wobbly on her feet.

"Here," he said, reaching into his pocket and pulling out a tiny square of chocolate. He pressed it into Bella's hand. "Eat that. It should make you feel a little better."

Bella arched a brow skeptically before shrugging and popping the piece into her mouth.

"What the hell were you thinking," Edward demanded, his eyes blazing as he stared at Bella. Bella blinked slowly, once, twice, her confusion clear. Edward groaned and rolled his eyes. "The rock Bella. The rock."

"Oh," Bella intoned, looking suddenly sheepish. "I . . . I just wanted to help. Seth was hurt."

"Seth was only feigning that he was hurt, Bella. It was a trick," Edward said evenly.

"And if Seth was hurt," Harry added with an equally stern look. "I could have handled Riley. No one was in any serious danger."

Bella pouted but she looked suitably admonished. Seth let out an annoyed huff that made Edward smirk, and that was the end of the matter.

"Wait a second," Bella suddenly spoke up. "Didn't you say something earlier, about a complication? And Alice needing to nail down the schedule for Sam. You said it was going to be close. What was going to be close?"

Edward's eyes flickered back to Seth and they exchanged a loaded glance. Harry arched his brow and crossed his arm, waiting patiently for an explanation. He could vaguely remember Edward's words before all hell had broken loose and he wasn't about to let the vampire avoid answering.

"It's nothing, really," Edward said quickly, avoiding Harry's eyes completely. "But we do need to be on our way . . ."

"Define nothing," Harry demanded and found himself echoed by Bella.

Edward looked between the two stubborn faces tilted towards him before letting out a low sigh. "We only have a minute, so don't panic. Okay?" He was looking mostly at Bella when he said this.

Bella swallowed thickly before nodding.

"No panicking. Got it."

Edward hesitated a moment more as if he were trying to decided what exactly to say. This careful though made Harry uneasy, and his hands clenched tightly at his side.

Suddenly Edward's head snapped over to Seth.

"What is she doing?"

Seth whined, a tiny anxious sound. And before anything else could happen, Harry disappeared with a sharp crack.

Harry Apparated on the edge of the clearing, already in motion and moving towards where a vampire was nearly choking one of the wolves. They were a few yards out from the clearing where the battle had happened and Harry could hear heavy footfalls coming their way.

But he had gotten there first.

In a burst of uncontrolled magic, Harry blasted the vampire away from the wolf. The vampire snarled viciously, moving rapidly toward Harry with speeds he hadn't expected from a newborn.

Harry raised his arm, his hand already moving in the motion for an Incendio when the vampire was suddenly on him. It was a jarring impact as her hand smashed into Harry's chest. The force of the blow was enough to break past Harry's rips and he blinked rapidly as he gazed down at the limp sticking out of his chest cavity.

Harry could feel his body protesting the act of violence, wanting to shut down so that it could repair itself. Harry forced the clawing darkness back, pulling his body away before finally managing to set the vampire on fire.

She scream a high pitched sound, running around as if trying to put the flames out.

Harry dropped to his knees. Something was burning up his throat and he coughed, not surprised to see blood splatter onto the grass before.

The darkness was coming faster, closing over him in a wave.

And Harry allowed it while an enraged roar filled his ears.

See . . .slightly evil. But I don't mean to be! Honest! Anyways, there like one or two more chapters and then the Epilogue, and don't worry, I won't leave any loose ends. At least I hope I don't. But you know, something always slips through the cracks.

Anywho. Review please, please, please. It's the only way I know people are still reading. . . . And it's the only thing keeping me alive. Food for the starving writing . . . lol!