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: Thanks again for steady readers! So far, I like where the story leads me ;) I hope you, too.

Chapter 9: A Night Out

It was late in the night when Alice finally came home. She had hoped that no one would be waiting for her, but there was still light in the sitting room. She mentally braced herself and went inside.

Edward was sitting on the couch, reading some magazine, Carlisle and Esme where talking about something, standing by the far wall.

All their heads turned as she entered. Edward raised his left eyebrow, "had fun?"

She knew she would have to tell them, eventually, what she found out tonight, but she had hoped for a bit more time to prepare for it. "Sorry, I have had to get some things off my mind. I hope you haven't been worrying too much."

"No," Edward answered. "But still, it's been some time, and it's not you. So..."

She steadied herself and could see Edward stiffen in the couch before she even started talking, but he remained silent.

"I have visited Draco's place and looked around for some information."

There, she had said it. She didn't have to wait long for the outcry.

"Alice," Carlisle shook his head in disbelief, "that's very reckless of you! Why would you do that? Did he see you?"

"Relax," she answered. "He was sleeping when I came in. He was too busy with a nightmare to notice me. And when he awoke from it, I was already gone. No danger there."

"Still..." Carlisle mused. "We usually try to keep a low profile, in case you forgot," he said with just a hint of disapproval.

She looked at him, and her eyes were full of anguish. "I had to know more. I need to know who this person is I will lose my Jasper to. I could not forgive myself if he got hurt."

Carlisle looked perplexed. "This is the first time I hear of this, Alice. Explain?"

"I didn't want to unsettle you more than I had to. Let's just say that I knew Jasper and me were never meant to be forever. I have seen him with someone else in the future. And I am sure it will be this Draco."

"You kept all this secret for so long? From us?" Carlisle looked hurt.

"I didn't want to hurt anyone," her voice was pained. "I didn't want to lie. I just lied to myself. That I have seen the wrong future. That I could change it, somehow make it change. I couldn't..."

"But we are family, Alice, we-"

Esme put her hand on Carlisle's right arm. "She knows that, my love. Don't make it any harder on her. She's making it hell for herself, as it is. She needs our love, not reprehension."

Carlisle looked at Esme, then at Alice. "I am sorry, I didn't want to sound like an overbearing fool. I can understand how painful it must be. But you are really, really sure? I mean, this would change our situation a lot."

"I am sure. Painfully so. He will be the one for Jasper. And Jasper for him. How, why, I don't know. I just had hoped for more time before it happened."

Esme walked over to Alice and hugged her. Alice just let herself go in the embrace and sobbed.

"It's all good," Esme said softly. "Just give it some time..."

When she felt better, Alice sat down on the couch. "I haven't told you yet, what I found in his room, though."

Carlisle, Esme, and Edward looked at her with apprehension. "You did?"

She told them about the room, the moving pictures, and the book. Edward looked thoughtful, Esme a bit shocked, Carlisle seemed to have slipped into deep thoughts.

"What is that all about, really?" Edward asked no one in particular. "The way you describe it, it points to vampires from a Hollywood movie, not us. But still... Who writes a book about, what was it? 'Dark Arts'? That's so weird!"

"It couldn't be..." Carlisle whispered. When he realised that the rest where looking at him, he chuckled. "It's nothing, really. Just some fairy tales I heard when I still was mortal. I mean, my father and I had hunted vampires, witches, monsters. We killed a lot of innocents these days," he said apologetically, "but rarely found the real deal. And like rumours about vampires, there were those who said there are true witches and magicians, wielders of magic. I never found one, but maybe, after all those years...?"

"You can't be serious," Edward blurted out. "Magic? How ridiculous is that?"

Carlisle looked at him and chuckled. "As ridiculous as people think the idea of vampires is?"

"Touché," Edward said with a hurt smile. "But even if... What do we do? 'Hello Draco, are you a magician? We are vampires'?"

"Maybe not," Carlisle said thoughtfully. "But if I understand Alice correctly, we will have basically no other choice and will find out one way or another soon, right?"

Alice nodded. After what she had seen in Draco's room, the idea of magic wasn't far off. Surely, technology could do marvels of its own, but it hadn't felt like it. She tried to grapple the thought, but still she couldn't imagine it. There must be a different explanation for it...

"I need to think about it," Carlisle said with a finality that ended the talk. "We will find a way to get through this without turning it into a major incident. We need to tell also Emmett and Rosalie, but maybe better tomorrow." He walked towards his room.

Edward looked at Alice, and shrugged. "I need some time, too. You'll be OK?" he asked warmly.

"I will, don't worry," Alice nodded.

"Then till tomorrow," Edward said and went to his room.

Alice was happy it was over, and truth to be told, she needed the time to think herself. Though she didn't quite understand why she hid the wolf incident, but it seemed the best thing to do at the time. One crisis after the other...

Draco woke up late on his first Saturday after school. The nightmare had cost him a lot of sleep, but he had somehow managed to sleep again after waking up in the middle of the night.

He stretched and went for a shower. It felt incredibly relaxing as the hot water flowed down his back and a nice lavender smell filled the bathroom. When he was finished, he dressed in some slacks and a sweater and wanted to go down to the kitchen for some breakfast when his mobile phone chirped. He got it from his desk and looked at it. Martha had insisted that it was an essential tool in the Muggle world and had given him one. He still felt awkward when using it, it was so strange. A text message from Mike asked if he wanted to go to movie tonight in Port Angeles. His first reaction would have been to simply decline, but with all his mind recently busy struggling over Jasper, he thought he could use a detraction, so he said yes. My first all-Muggle night out, Draco chuckled. I came a long way...

The remaining day, he helped Martha a bit with the chores. He really wished for some house elves to do that. He never had had to do that back at home, and it was a part he really missed. Still, he took it as a measure of change and it helped that Martha was keeping her good mood through it.

Later that afternoon, he took some time to wander around Forks, taking in the small town. It felt...quaint. It lacked the buzzing activity of London, or the grandeur of Malfoy Manor, but it allowed him to breath, to relax his mind somehow. When it was about time, he apparated back home and changed for cinema.

When Mike came to pick him up, he was ready. He was actually smiling and felt a bit anxious. It was his first time out with...friends he was a bit shocked to admit. Sure, sometimes they were annoying, but they also had been accepting and he was thankful for the opportunity.

"Hello Draco," Jessica almost threw herself at him. Wearing some black shirt of sorts with a lot of cleavage and tight trousers, she caused a lot of stares from guys in the cinema's lobby. Draco, on the other hand, was not so hot – quite literally – on her.

"Uh, hi," he manage to squeeze out as she was rubbing her chest against his. He blanked out the rest of her chatter and just nodded here and there. He got some sulphurous stares, but he couldn't just shout out to those guys that they could have her. Or could he? He tried to stay polite and was relieved when Angela managed to get the seat next to him. Jessica was fuming some seats to his left.

"You should tell her," Angela whispered. "She won't relent otherwise, you know?"

Draco looked back at her nonplussed. "Tell her what?"

"Come on, Draco," Angela nudged him into his rib cage. "It's so obvious. The way you look at Jasper, your fashion sense, I haven't seen you look at a girl, not even Jessica in that way..."

Draco swallowed hard. "I don't know what you mean."

"You can trust me, Draco," she whispered. "Promise."

"OK, maybe," Draco whispered almost too faint for her to hear, "maybe I am not fully interested in females."

"We call it 'gay', dude," she chuckled as Draco was looking around shocked, but no one noticed.

During the movie, which was boring enough, he whispered some more with Angela.

After it, he felt the need for some time alone, just a short walk for fresh air.

Edward kept hidden throughout the evening and just observed. How he laughed with Mike, Jessica, Eric and the rest. How he took part in a popcorn fight – though he seemed not to enjoy it that much. The movie was some generic Hollywood rubbish so it was not hard for him to keep his attention on Draco. He looked happier, more relaxed throughout the evening, but if you looked closely you could see that it was just a thin veneer over a troubled soul and the slightest disturbance could send him back into anguish and self-hate.

Jessica was particularly disturbed that - despite her best efforts to dress as tantalising as she could – Draco didn't pay any more attention to her than he did Lauren or Angela. Edward chuckled as he listened to Jessica's silent fuming. Just a bit more, and she'll burst into flames.

Edward was curious when Draco left the group for a little walk after the movie, while the rest went to a café for some after-movie fun.

He followed him as Draco walked aimlessly around, lost in thoughts. Edward was so concentrated, he missed a small twig on the ground. The sound of the breaking wood made Draco look around. Edward was sure he didn't recognise him under the black hoodie, but it was enough for Draco to walk quicker. Edward followed. He heard a faint cracking sound, and as he walked around a corner, he was amazed when he couldn't see Draco anywhere. He followed the lingering smell but at one point it just stopped. He looked around, smelling the area, but he couldn't pick him up.

Dissatisfied, Edward called it a day and got to his car, driving home.

At the same time, Alice had gone to the same spot she was last night. She didn't know why, really, just some weird feeling. Sitting on the same rock, she listened to the sounds of the forest. Trees swaying in the wind, the rustling of leaves, all the little animals living their lives around her.

Suddenly, the sounds of the animals stopped and she heard something big approach. Then she smelt it. Something musky, brute, manly. And then she saw it – it was the same wolf as the other night. Impossibly large and gangly, the light fur shining brightly in the moonlight. It was beautiful in its grace, she thought.

This time, it didn't growl or barring its teeth. It just sat down, looking intently at her. She looked back, and had to smile. Not just some fake smile like she had a lot lately. But one from deep down, an heart-felt smile. It was weird, but she wasn't afraid as she should be. Werewolves were, after all, their enemies. Part was that right now, she just didn't care. But on the other hand, she was...intrigued.

"Couldn't sleep, huh?" she asked the wolf and chuckled. It just cocked his head and studied her. She felt as if it looked right into her soul. When it didn't answer, she went on talking. About nothing in particular, but it just sat there, listening.

She had to admit, it felt good...