Disclaimer: Harry Potter and all characters, places et al. are owned by J.K. Rowling. Also Twilight and all characters places et al. are owned by Stephenie Meyer

A/N: A new chapter after a nice, relaxing weekend trip. Hope its length is more appreciable to the reader ;) Will try to get more chapters this week. Enjoy!

Chapter 8: A Closer Look

Edward waited until lunch time to start a conversation with Draco, who was just about to get his food and was separated from his usual support group. A perfect opportunity.

As he and Alice got closer, he made some last minute observations. He wasn't sure, but Edward had the feeling that Draco was having some hard times lately. He was still impeccably dressed, but he was more fidgety than the last days, and there were shadows under his eyes. Speaking of which...

He doesn't look good, he mentally sent to Alice. Look at the eyes... Something is haunting him.

He took a quick glance at Alice, and so far she was holding up pretty well. Still, he wasn't sure if it was such a good idea for her to join him, but she had insisted. And he could just not say no to her in that moment.

You're right, she sent him. If it has something to do with the whole situation?

Maybe, Edward answered sceptically, but let's find out, shall we?

As he got closer, he concentrated even more on the murky mind of Draco and got the same white noise filled with the odd word here and there. Suddenly, though, a picture flashed into his mind. He saw Draco, standing in the middle of a burning forest, eyes blazing and shouting around. But before he could see more, the picture was gone as quickly as it appeared, to be replaced by that damnable white noise. So frustrating!

"Hi," Edward said as he and Alice stood next to him. Like almost all humans, Draco was startled by the silent approach of Edward and Alice. But Edward noticed something weird. It had been too quick to see for human eyes, but when Edward spoke, Draco's right hand – just for a second – twitched as if trying to grab something in his pocket. He had seen Draco do that when he was startled or surprised but didn't have an idea why.

"We want to apologise," Edward continued. "We haven't introduced ourselves properly and you're already the not so new guy at school," he smiled crookedly. "I am Edward," he pointed towards Alice, who managed an almost completely sincere smile, "and this is my sister Alice." He offered his hand and waited.

Draco was getting quickly over his initial surprise and took the hand. Edward observed him and was surprised when he didn't flinch when his cold hand touched Draco's. He just cocked his head slightly to the left. Cold! flashed through Draco's mind.

"I am Draco. Draco Malfoy," he smiled, "but I guess you alreay know that."

Edward chuckled. "Guilty as charged. We're sorry, really. But we are a bit on the reserved side when it comes down to meeting new people. Let's just say we've been burned in the past."

"Oh, I completely understand that," Draco said knowingly.

"You want to join us for lunch," Edward asked. "If you're allowed to get away from Jessica, that is?" And from what Edward could hear, Jessica was positively fuming that another possible conquest was scooped up by the Cullens. Just for that, it was worth it, Edward thought.

Draco tried to hide a pained expression, but failed. "I think they can spare me for a few minutes."

"This is Emmett and his girlfriend Rosalie," Edward introduced the rest of the family sitting at the table.

Draco set his plate down on the table and nodded towards Emmett and Rose. They clearly were not completely sold on the current proceeding but faked smiles and went along with it, silently stabbing what little food they had on their plates.

"And your other brother?" Draco asked. "Jasper, right?" It was funny; Draco was trying to hide his eagerness, while it was more than obvious to him that he was more than just casually interested in Jasper. Is this thing mutual between him and Jasper? What are the chances...?

"He doesn't feel so well," Edward said, and it wasn't even lying. "He might be sick for the next days." As he said it, he could see Draco's smile waver for a fraction of a second, but it steadied quickly again.

"I hope he gets well soon," Draco answered.

They turned more towards small talk, but there was always a weird subtext, or at least Edward thought there was. He heard Vampire spike through the mental fog of Draco, but he didn't react in a way Edward was hoping for. Normally, humans tended to ignore any signs of abnormality that went along with being a vampire. And if they were feeling something that they couldn't explain, they went for the answer that assured them in their simple and easy world-view. The human mind was funny in that regard. Even in the eye of something completely out of their everyday lives, they would still cling to the illusion of normality. This made it easy for vampires like them to live with and among humans. But Draco didn't show the usual reactions humans so often showed. He wasn't scared around them, he didn't close up, either.

Edward was almost sure know there was a lot more about this kid than he let on. Whatever he was, Draco wasn't what Edward would consider a normal human.

At dinner time, Draco was still processing the peculiar talk over lunch. He had been surprised when they started talking to him. Edward and Alice had been open and friendly, but Draco had the feeling they were not just interested in small-talk, but also sounding him out. He only told things as close to the truth he could get with Muggles – which wasn't very close. But he also got something in return. They had quite cold hands, far below normal. Their eyes all had a peculiar golden colour. And all moved with grace and surety as if they had all the time in the world to plan and think every movement. Draco still had the faint idea that they are vampires. But they didn't fit with what he was taught and knew about them. Should check my books again, Draco thought.

And, what pained him to admit, he had been disappointed that Jasper had been sick. Parts of him died to meet him, to be close to him. But it wasn't meant to be. Draco sighed.

"What's wrong, my dear?" Martha asked concerned. "You don't look well."

Draco shook his head. "No, no, everything's OK. Just not my day, I guess."

Martha didn't seem to be convinced. "Yesterday you looked a lot happier. Is it a girl?" Martha inquired.

"No," Draco said hoarsely. "No girl."

"A guy?" Martha asked nonchalantly.

He gulped, and his pulse raced. For several seconds, he just sat there, unable to move.

"Darling," Martha smiled, "I may be old, but I am not stupid, you know? Just spill it out!"

"It is a guy," Draco said, his voice wavering, unsure how to react. He had never talked about this secret, this hidden longing.

"Oh shoo," Martha put her hand on his, squeezing slightly. "It's OK, really. Nothing wrong with loving someone." She looked into his eyes with warmth, understanding, caring. Something he hadn't seen very often in the past. She seemed to look deeper, then suddenly her eyes turned sad.

"It's all this pure-blood nonsense, is it?"

Draco just looked at her, unsure what to say and simply nodded.

"My dear," Martha's voice was pure compassion. "Toss those thoughts into a trash bin. Rise above them. By wizarding standards, you're a grown-up, able to think for himself. You shouldn't let some tradition stand in your way of happiness."

"But, I...they..." Draco stammered. "They gave their live for me. I must repay that. What son am I if I just piss on their graves?"

"Draco, trust me, I've had my share of bad decisions in life, and I found out that it is a bad thing to stand in your own way. You have all your life ahead of you, it's too valuable to throw it away for some bigoted, stupid tradition. You want a guy, so what? If it makes you happy, go for it!"

He let the words race through his mind for a while, and he understood what she meant. Still, parts of him felt it was all wrong. It was hard for him, so hard, to get his feelings sorted out.

"I will think about it," Draco smiled weakly. "It is just not easy, you know? I always denied this part of me. I never could let anyone know. Ever. But now, maybe I can..."

"Just take your time, Draco," she smiled. "I'm sure you will find a way. But who is it, anyway?"

He looked pained. "Jasper, from the Cullens."

"Huh boy," she whistled. "You don't go for the easy ones, do you? Tell me more..."

Alice still wasn't quite sure it was the sane thing to do, but she needed to know more, needed to see for herself. Edward would probably not approve, but what he didn't know...

She listened closely, and when she was sure no one was awake, she climbed up the house and carefully opened the window to the room.

After she entered, she stood in Draco's room and looked around. It certainly was no normal teenager room, she thought. The rich mahogany parquet looked beautiful in the moon light through the window, and the walls... The stone walls were emanating a faint reddish light, almost not visible, casting the whole room in an aura of warmth. She stepped closer to the wall to her right, but she couldn't see anything that allowed her to see how it worked.

She silently walked over to the bed and took a look at the sleeping Draco. He sure is beautiful... But also conflicted. He twisted in his bed and was sweating heavily. His bare chest and muscled stomach were glistening from the sweat. She listened carefully, and he whispered in his sleep.

"Mother, no...", he gasped. "Just let me-", his head flipped to the other side, "Jasper..." he pleaded.

The last word hurt, deep inside her. She stepped away from the bed and looked around the rest of the room. She found nothing she would expect from a normal teenager boy, as if he's just pretending to be one...

When she stopped at his desk, she was almost startled to see movement through the faint light. Pictures, with people waving in them. Walking, smiling, doing everyday things, printed on paper in black and white. She has heard of some new electronic gimmick that allowed moving pictures on thin surfaces, but this... What was it? She tried to touch one when her eyes fell on a book on the desk. It looked like handwriting or with a pen or a quill, on some old parchment. What she read made her shudder.

Vampires – How to discover them and protect against them

She read more in the faint light, but what she read didn't make sense. Garlic? Sunlight? But no mention from their reaction to sunlight? She took a look at the cover.

Defence against the Dark Arts

Which didn't make any sense, either. Before she could read more, the nightmare Draco had been in obviously had been too much for him and he snapped awake. While she was not as fast as Edward, she still was quicker out of the room than lightning.

After her escape, she ran, she ran as fast as she could. She needed to sort out her thoughts. What she had seen in that room had disturbed her. Whatever he was, Edward was right. He was not just any normal human. How could she let go of Jasper for him, if he was dangerous? She needed more time, more knowledge...

When she dropped out of her daze, she was deep in the forest. She sat down on some bolder and tried to relax her mind. It wasn't easy, she needed to speak with Edward.

She heard rustling and then a deep growl. Slowly, a large wolf peeled himself out of the thick brush-wood. Any other day, she would have been startled or tried to get away as the wolf came closer. He was large, but gangly and had a light fur. No normal wolf, he thought. Quileute then.

She just looked at him, almost defiantly. Right now, she just didn't care. Her life – or un-life – was breaking apart all around her. It was weighing on her like a mountain, and one werewolf more or less wasn't going to cut it today.

Then something strange happened. The wolf let out a surprised yelp, and stopped growling. He sat down and just stared at her, his head cocked to the left. A few seconds later, he turned around and vanished again into the darkness.

Fantastic, Alice thought scathingly. Now even wolfs run away from me. Is everything against me now, huh?