Chapter 37: Running away

Jasper wasted no time after the golden trio left, despite the tugging he felt in his heart. Keeping busy, planning, acting was the best thing he could do to keep himself from worrying about Harry and to keep his mind clear, which in this case was essential.

He had a lively discussion with Carlisle, Andromeda and Bill, at the end of which they concluded that the Cullen house in Forks was certainly the best place to hide out until the wizards returned. It was close enough to Bill's house that it was accessible by road, but not connected to the grid. Harry and Charlie had never been there and if they didn't use magic to get around, it would be very difficult for the wizards to follow their tracks.

Bill and Jasper's nerves had been strained during this group conversation and had made this initial decision making laborious. The redhead's resentment for the vampire added to the already strong feelings around him and titillated his control, so the empath took the redhead aside. The two of them isolated themselves in front of the house, protected by a privacy and heat spell cast by the wizard. Jasper immediately felt the redhead's anger and distrust grow and huffed in annoyance.

"I don't intend to hurt you," began the vampire, who really needed to lighten the mood.

"You already have, though," Bill spat bitterly.

"Because you consider letting Harry make his choice between your brother and me to be hurting you?"

Bill answered nothing, but his anger increased noticeably.

"Look," Jasper continued. "I know it's been hard on your brother, but hating me won't change Harry's decision or your brother's pain. It only keeps us from getting along and slows down your family's move to safety."

Bill huffed. Jasper waited patiently, he had almost added that he too had suffered and was still suffering from this situation, that even though he had won Harry's heart, for now it was still not final and that he had had to endure the images and feelings of Harry having sex with Charlie. He had come close, but it was held back, sure that it would only add fuel to the fire he was trying to put out.

"Ever since I was hurt by a werewolf, it takes me hours, even days to stop being angry."

"I can help you…"

"How?"

"I'm an empath, I can send you waves of calm to help you come down."

The wizard took time to think, Jasper felt he was wary of him, he couldn't blame him, but really hoped he would agree, it was hard for him to stay by someone who gave off so much hate, especially when almost everyone else in the room was swaying between pain, sadness and despair.

Finally the spellbreaker nodded and Jasper sent him small waves of calm, not wishing to get him high, only to allow the redhead to think without the filter of hate. Once he did, Bill nodded his thanks and headed back to the cabin. The empath took a deep breath of fresh air and followed him. The two of them would certainly never be friends, but if they could tolerate each other and work together, that was something. Jasper whispered in a very low voice to his father and brother, so that only they could hear, that he was doing well before starting the discussion about their evacuation.

They decided to leave the cabin in several groups. Rosalie, Alice and Percy left in the blonde's car, taking the children with them, as soon as Edward had dropped the wizard off at their house. It had not been easy to convince Fleur and Bill to let their daughter out of their sight, but they had been persuaded. Indeed, attacking a moving car would be complicated and Percy was a good fighter, especially since he had only been slightly injured by the explosion. Not to mention Rosalie, who would never let anyone touch one of the children's hairs and Alice's ability to see the future. They had a day's worth of travel ahead of them, but at least the children would be safe the entire time, virtually untraceable.

Carlisle then took a road trip with Arthur and Esme to open the house to welcome everyone. The father of the family was dead inside, overwhelmed with sadness and unable to cope with the two new deaths in his family and the disappearance of his second son.

Edward and Emmett unlocked a door in the house and placed Draco on it. They strapped him down to help him stand for the trip, and then the two vampires and their wounded man slowly entered the van. Edward tried to activate the magical transport, but nothing happened. They had to wake Draco up and let him throw the powder and state their destination.

Andromeda first went through their belongings and gathered all the documents that had to be kept hidden from the English. She had just left when a dozen wizards appeared. Some of them had transited outside the cottage while others had managed to materialize inside, between the three remaining wizards, Jasper and the fireplace. Bill, George and Fleur drew their wands out, ready to defend themselves, while Jasper tensed, letting his senses expand. He released his gift, sending a strong sense of desperation to the intruders.

"Leave," he said to the Weasleys, not wanting to risk his companion losing any more of his family.

"Do you want Harry to rip our heads off for leaving you behind? You're dreaming!" George replied, stunning one of their attackers.

Bill and Fleur followed suit, both attacking with powerful spells. Jasper was quite impressed with the magical battle that was taking place before his eyes, but he didn't lose sight of their goal: to get out of there alive and whole. It was obvious that the vampire would not be able to leave without one of the wizards, Edward and Emmett had already experienced this, so they would have to fight their way out to the fireplace. Jasper's gift was effective, none of the wizards he directed the despair at were able to defend themselves or even react. However, more came at the vampire's back. He didn't have time to extend his gift before a magical fire hit him. He screamed in pain, felt the venom boiling in his veins and thought he was going to die, but suddenly everything stopped. It took less than a second for Jasper to come to his senses and stop thinking about what had just happened. He saw that Bill had come between him and the wizard who had tried to kill him, holding back the fire with an invisible shield from his wand. George was a little farther away battling two wizards, while Fleur, on the other side of the room, was battling three. Bill's shield was tiring, the flames licking at its ever-shrinking contours. Jasper wasted no more time and used his vampiric speed to slip behind the one who was still throwing fire. With a quick movement, he snapped his neck. The eyes of the vampire and the spellbreaker met, the two men nodded their thanks, both aware that they owed each other their lives.

"Stop the vampire, but don't kill him," ordered one of the wizards. "And I want the pair of hybrids alive!"

"You go first, I'll go with George," Jasper ordered again, understanding that Bill and Fleur were in particular danger.

This time Bill nodded and made his way through the rain of spells, effectively making them, to his wife. Jasper rushed at George's assailants, decapitating them without qualms. He could feel some of the spells bouncing off his back without having any effect on him. So he made a barrier of his body to the redhead who was counter-attacking with rage. Both of them slowly approached the fireplace. Bill and Fleur disappeared into it. George and Jasper were only two steps away.

"Avada Kedavra!"

A green beam blinded the room and struck Jasper before George's panic allowed him to react. Darkness fell around the vampire, who heard the redhead screaming from a distance, then whispered the name of his destination and the fire in the fireplace started. Jasper fell to the ground, unable to move a millimeter, a feeling of hatred filled him and then a fire ignited inside his body. He wanted to scream in pain, the fire he felt inside him was far worse than his memory of the transformation, the worst torture he had ever known. The vampire inside the statuesque body shell was struggling, screaming in pain, wanting to end it all, but he could do nothing about it. Only his connection to Harry kept Jasper somewhat sane, hoping he wouldn't die, but that was all he had left. He was no longer aware of the outside world, he was just a burning shell.