A.N

OMG! So sorry that I haven't written in so long for anyone following, I hope you all have found sufficient reading material whilst I have been mucking about not updating this story. I, hopefully, am going to cover a few things in the coming chapters, so hold on to your Stetson's folks; we're in for a bumpy ride!

Chapter ___

Wolves at the Door

Harry heard Edward's teeth grinding against his jaw, even though the heavy set oaken door to the study was closed. The sound made Harry think of iron crushing against iron, or a steel knife being sharpened on a cold shrop. The vampire's spoke so softly that even if his ear was pressed hard against the wood, he would not hear a single word that passed between them. Occasionally, there was a slightly raised voice, normally either Edward's or Alice's, but that was all that Harry could make out. Carlisle was clearly not speaking at all, or at least speaking very little. Shutting his eyes and leaning against the wall, Harry let himself slide to the comfortable floor, where he rested in nervous anticipation for the next round of questions, answers and explanations. It had been only an hour ago that Carlisle had howled like a wounded animal at the thought of losing Esme, a woman Harry new to be his life partner and mate; Esme was also foster mother of Edward, Alice and the other two vampires, Eamon and Rosemary, or something along those lines. As well as this, Edward had burst into hysterical babbling about his wife and child who, unbenounced to the Cullen clan, had been abducted by some homicidal vampire (one of many, it seemed) with a power wish. Holding his head against the wall outside the study, Harry allowed himself this brief moment to slip into a calm and dreamless sleep, his waiting for a Cullen appearance being pointless as they had all seemed to forgotten his existence anyway. He opened one eye suddenly, pulling himself away from his rest, as a thought jolted him awake. Why wasn't he running? Why was he sitting here, patiently waiting for the vampires to turn him into kibble? What was it keeping him here?

Harry ran through every moment with Carlisle, the animal cry screeching through his head like a banshee. There had been, since that conincidental meeting with Draco in the alley, an intense sense of belonging eminating from Carlisle that Harry could not break from. Feeling that pull, that forceful aching need to be with him, to be controlled by him and to control him all at once, that bursting passion deep within his soul, made Harry want to fly away and stay in his chosen seat on the floor all at once. What was going on in his head?

Then it slowly dawned on him, first as a whisper in the very back of his subconscious, then as a creeping vine through his thoughts, culminating in a frustrated and confused shout in the very front of his mind. He was in love with a vampire.

'How on earth can that be? Don't think nonsense! It's just your inquisitive nature! You want to feel something for this creature, nothing more', said a very small, and somewhat Hermione sounding, part of his brain. Then, to Harry's shock, a Ron sounding side of his mind awoke, and began to argue the opposing side. Harry shook his head in belief, trying to knock the ringing voices from his ears.

'Well mate, he isn't that bad looking really. And at least he isn't Draco who, yes, is on the good side but is also a weasly, slimy, two-timing hussy-bag. Maybe you fancy him and the strong connection between you both is destiny. Maybe it's fate?'

Harry felt his mouth drop open, he couldn't contemplate why the Ron sounding arguer was at all taking the emotional side of the argument, whereas the Hermione was fighting the logical side.

'BUT he is a VAMPIRE! Vegetarian or not, he is a head of a coven on the cusp of being classed as rebellious. He has been through all this with you! You're definitely just feeling some lusty feelings towards the unknown, that in no way constitutes love. It's all just in your head and loins, that is all there is to it. Just like we are in your head Harry'.

'Yeah, mate, it's time for you to wake up now, I think Edward wants a word with you…No, no, don't try and speak, you'll look daft in front of Malfoy's mum, alright mate'.

At that point Harry saw, swimming behind his slowly lightening eyelids, the two smiling faces of his friends, Ron's big and beaming proudly at him, whilst Hermione's smile was cautious and did not reach her big brown looked scared for Harry, and although he knew it had all been a strange dream, he knew that she was right… Or to be more precise he knew that side of his mind was right.

Chuckling to himself at his own ridiculous assumption that he, for a split second, thought he loved Carlisle, he rose from his nook on the floor and walked to the kitchen, where he saw a horrific sight.

*

Edward had moved like a shadow through the house, quickly darting from room to room, trying to think over what had to be done. Talking with Carlisle had been fruitless, and recapping what Alice had seen had only served to be more confusing. As the seconds ticked into minutes, he felt chunks of him being torn from his flesh and bones as he tried to plan their next move. Bella and Renesme were, to Alice's knowledge, at the second relatively safe. For a reason unfathomable to Edward, this Elizabeta wanted Renesme for something, and needed Bella to keep Nessie calm. Then a thought slowly dawned on Edward and he dashed down through the winding corridors of the Heights to seek out the glimmer of hope in the darkness. Silently he reached and slipped into the room in which Harry had chosen to sit and take respite. He saw the cherub-like face of the sleeping wizard and felt a judder of intrusiveness rattle inside him. Waving a hand in an empty gesture he swept the cobweb of guilt aside and began probing Harry's mind, listening for any information that he may use to piece together the puzzles that lay in the confines of the dark house. Hearing some of the thoughts he felt most private, he retreated, his eyes growing large and sad as he watched for a brief moment the boy asleep. Sweeping over the poor body, he noted every scratch, scar and flaw, every cut and scrape. From what he had learned from Carlisle, Harry had been through a great many hardships and had seen many terrifying things. No human should see their parents destruction, or see magic used to bend and twist and cause such horrendous pains. All of Harry's tell was yet to be told, and Edward knew that, when the time came, they all would be able to organise the strange connection between Carlisle and Harry.

Leaving Harry to his dreams, Edwards flitted from room to room, following the second scent of magic in the house. In the kitchen, Edward found what he was looking for. Narcissa stood with her back to the door, starring out the large windows onto the strange mixture of Richmond Park's beauty and the distant movement and vibrancy of the metallic London City. Without a word or a sound, Edward slipped calmly into Narcissa's thoughts and there he found what he was looking for. He saw the terrible thoughts in Narcissa's head, and a rage fell upon him like a crashing wave against the steady cliff. Within a moment, he was upon her, holding her by the throat against the wall. He heard behind him the others who, on hearing the noise of crashing pots and other paraphernalia Narcissa had knocked to the floor in her struggle to free herself from the vice-like grip, had dashed to the kitchen to pry Edward from the almost purple woman's neck. Edward, realising his hasty attack, dropped Narcissa roughly on the kitchen's marble floor, where she floundered for a time, gasping for breath.

"You should keep you son on an iron leash, Carlisle", Narcissa gasped and, when breath was fully regained, she sat sprawled on the floor, looking both terrified and infuriated at such a slight as being nearly choked by a filthy blood sucking creature.

Edward seemed to struggle against himself, pulling himself back from another attack on Narcissa. Narcissa pulled herself to her tallest heights and pulled her wand from her cloak she screamed shrilly 'Crucio!'. The spell bounced off of Edward's chest and ricocheted around the kitchen, to alls surprise.

"Narcissa! Edward! Enough!"

Carlisle stood in the kitchen doorway, his whole body looking thin and frail in the bright yellow lights of the lamps. He seemed to be almost hollow, his eyes solemn and his voice cracking feebly. Narcissa dropped her wand and starred at him indignantly, whilst Edward silently fled from the room in his rage.

"Squabbling won't help anybody. We need to find out where they are. Narcissa can you remember anything about the location of that place? Anything at all?"

Narcissa thought for a moment, her cold expression reminding Harry so much of Draco that a knot formed in his stomach at the memory of hugging her.

"I don't remember much, and even if I did, what would it do for me to give all the information I have at once and receive nothing in return?"

Oh yes, she was a Malfoy to the core, Harry saw it all. From the haughty upturn of the nose to the calculating tone of the voice, Harry saw why she had fit so well in the family, moving gracefully from Black to Malfoy.

"What is it that you want, Narcissa?" Alice, who had been quiet throughout most of the evening, looked at Narcissa's determined face and cocked her head to one side, like an inquisitive cat eyeing up the fish bowl.

"What all mother's want. Protect my son!"

Harry had heard this all before, and it had cost a great man a great deal to keep his word. He watched Narcissa, as did everyone else, and felt inside him a pang of disappointment. It wasn't her son that would need protection if Lucius found out what she had done. Then a thought sprung into his head, a thought which had not occurred before. What would Lucius think?

Edward, reading Harry's mind, entered the room and, nodding both to Harry and Carlisle, advanced towards Narcissa.

Within a heartbeat, Alice was floating between them as some kind of referee.

"What about your husband? He'll kill you for this betrayal and you know it. He doesn't want you anymore."

Edward's words were harsh and cold, but meticulously planned.

"What is a life without ones family?"

Narcissa looked at Harry and, without missing a beat, Harry saw the cracks in this strong woman's bravado. Her eyes seemed to be red and fearfully close to tears. She knew exactly what she was doing. She may be a Malfoy, but what is a name to a woman with a baby.

"I want Draco to be safe, from what is coming and what is to come. I have no real information of use, but what I do know I will share with you now. If we could all please go into the study and take a seat, aside from Edward, who probably knows what I'm thinking."

Edward nodded but joined the group in their march to the study, taking a seat on the arm of Carlisle's chair.

"Lucius was released from Azkaban on the assurance that he was under some form of trance. All that the Dark Lord had done to our family seemed to comply to this reasoning. But it was not the case, far from it. We were the laughing stock of the Death Eater's, and we had lost all of our power and influence. We, the Malfoy's, had become the butt of every joke, and that made us useless to the Dark Lord. We were weak, until our son, Draco, decided to join forces with Dumbledore's Army, for reasons, we later discovered, not wholly without merit…"

Narcissa broke in her speech, surveying the room and dramatically removing hair from her face. Harry glowed brightly under the remark, and heard Edward snort casually at the thoughts that briefly ran through his mind.

"When Lucius returned he was…different…he seemed to want nothing to do with either Draco or myself. Draco dealt with it through his affair with Harry, but I stayed. I sat with Lucius each night and watched as he slowly pulled away from me. He never told me what was going on, but later I was to find out. Whilst in Azkaban, a wizard known a Krapinsky told him of a way that he could claim the seat of the Dark Lord, in exchange for something I know not what..."

At this Edward, who had been idly listening to the flow of speech, sat up and looked at Narcissa, who seemed to shift oddly in her chair and turn, if possible, even paler than before. He seemed to look on her with pity, and his cold, harsh lined face softened. What had he heard? Harry curiously watched the wordless exchange before Narcissa continued once more.

"There was news in the underground that a powerful vampire was trying to arrange a rebellion, but she was in need of help. This is when Lucius was, supposedly, to hear of Elizabeta, or at least that is how I was told. When Lucius joined Elizabeta's cause, the other ex-Death Eater's flooded to his side. Elizabeta wants the throne of the Volturi, and Lucius wants the Ministry under his rule. They both seek incomparable power, and they have…joined forces…to achieve it. I believe they need your daughter as a weapon or something. That is as far as I know".

A look of bewilderment crossed Edward's face, but Carlisle seemed to grab the answer immediately. Harry thought of a possibility but, on the realisation, he turned green with the idea.

"So, they are going to cross breed?"

Carlisle said it. Harry thought it. Edward feared it. And Narcissa nodded.