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: OK, sorry guys for the longer wait, but work was a bit more stressful, and then there is the impending Christmas... ;) Still, I hope you're still with me on this one. As some asked, I will again move it in a more action direction, so something soon Is Happening. And if there are Sam-lovers out there, sorry, but I need someone to pose as a bad guy ;)

Chapter 15: Revelations

The next morning, just a few people were watching Draco get out of Jasper's car. When Jasper put his arm around his shoulder, smiling like the Chesire cat on drugs, and walked with him from the car park to the school, almost all were looking, whispering, pointing.
Draco had the feeling that by lunch time the whole school would be gossip about him and Jasper. But, much to his surprise, Draco found out that he just didn't care – If he got any happier, he would probably explode. Jasper was almost physically radiating happiness, though there was still a lot of pain in him, Draco mused, but to him it was as if Jasper was slowly accepting that he was happy.

And Draco found out another thing about his new relationship with Jasper, and the Cullens in general. He felt like the other students were ever so slightly more reserved, like he was suddenly not one of them – at least not completely. The fact that Jasper was looking at almost anyone who showed only a passing interest in Draco like he would rip them apart and eat the remains if they did the wrong move didn't help that much, Draco thought dryly.

He tried to calm Jasper, but he would only bend so much. At heart, he was incredibly protective of what he considered family. Draco still didn't know how he should feel about it. On the one hand, it was comforting to know that you had someone behind you, come what may. On the other hand, it was weird to be so protected and controlled, as if he was some little child. He probably would have to decide later...

Also, after yesterday night, the Cullen family had opened up their respective shells and included him, even though he suspected it was just for Jasper's sake. They all seemed to care deeply for each other, regardless of how they showed it. Like a family should.

He felt most comfortable with Carlisle and Esme. They were simply the warmest, kindest persons he had ever met, not caring about black marks on a person's history. In a way, he wished his parents had been more like them, apart from being dead, obviously. More accepting, more open to difference, more kind. But his parents probably would have called that weakness, a sign of the lower classes. Still, one could dream...

At lunch, he observed the family as they chewed critically on sandwiches they had brought with them. It had been his way to help them. The magic wasn't extremely complicated, if you knew your way around transfiguration; it turned animal blood into sandwiches. But as soon as they entered their stomachs, they would slowly revert back to their original bloody state. Carlisle was somewhat ecstatic when he first saw and tasted it. It gave them an additional prop to appear human, Draco thought. Maybe it had been wrong to use magic for that, but he ignored that and helped them. In his way, Draco tried to prove his worth to them.

Looking at them, he chuckled. A weird group they are, all things considered.

Rosalie... Well, Rosalie was very much Rosalie. But he had seen through her icy armour for a brief moment and there was a caring, loving person hidden inside, like a little girl scared by the outside world. From what little they talked, he had the feeling she was a bit resentful at what she was, missing the fleeting existence of a human.

Emmett was more or less a jock. He may be of less than genius-level intellect, but Draco was sure you could rely on him to back you. And, given his physique, that was quite a lot. He didn't talk that much with him, he was not the talkative guy, Draco thought, and was more into fighting wrestling matches with Edward or Jasper – which did look impressive, Draco chuckled.

Alice, well, it's hard to not like her, with all her bubbly personality and cheerfulness. It must be hard for her, seeing Draco with Jasper after their shared past. Though, Draco felt that there was something else that helped her ease the pain. Whatever it was, he was happy for it, since she could have made this new thing with Jasper a lot more problematic. And he had someone to talk about proper clothing and styles, though Draco wasn't sure Alice advice went too well with his style. Still, it gave them a common topic, for which he was grateful.

Edward...

"Yes," Edward suddenly said from his chair besides him, "what about me?"

Draco looked at him disapprovingly. "You know that mind-reading is considered impolite in some parts of the world?"

"It's not like I can switch it off," Edward shrugged. "And as far as you go, I only hear only fragments of thoughts. And I heard my name..."

"Well..." Draco said thoughtfully, "I was just thinking a bit about all this. I may be used to more bizarre things like your standard Mug- human. But still, it feels a bit weird, you know?" Edward raised an eyebrow, and was about to say something, when Draco raised his hand. "No, no. I don't want to change anything right now. I actually feel happy. It's just that I need time to accustom myself to it. And you're not the only ones keeping secrets and fearing to be revealed."

Edward looked at him a bit longer, then shrugged. "I think I understand you. Even though I have a bit more experience at life than you, it still is not something you experience every day. I guess we just have to do it step by step." His eyes suddenly shifted to the entrance of the cafeteria, and when Draco looked there, he saw Bella come in with Mike and Eric in tow.

"She's interested in you, you know?" Draco smirked. "You should just accept that you are, too."

Edward's face got a pained expression. "It's more than just...interesting. It's her smell... I am afraid I can't control it around her."

"Much like Jasper and me, huh?" Draco chuckled. "He manages, you should, too. If you keep angsting about it, it's not going to make you feel any better."

"But I could kill her, just like that," he snapped one of his pencils in two. "I can't risk it..."

"OK," Draco nodded. "I understand that fear. But basically, you have two options. You can keep that thought and be all emotional about it, or you think positively and accept your feelings..."

"I will think about it," Edward answered and his gaze drifted back to Bella and followed her dreamily.

Before lunch break was over, he walked over to Bella and the others and waived shyly hello.

"The lost son returns," Bella chuckled. "So, you and him?" She pointed at Jasper.

Draco nodded proudly.

"Didn't take you long," she winked at him.

"Nice of you to still mingle with the mere mortals," Jessica snapped dryly. "Now that you're part of the Cullens, or something."

"Frustrated much?" Draco shot back. "Is it so hard for you to accept someone else being happy?"

"Don't go all emo on me, gay boy" she glared at him.

"I am sorry that you know have to find someone else to fawn over," Draco's regarded her cooly. "Bella, I'll see you around," he nodded and walked away.

Before he was more than a few meters away, Bella got next to him. "I am happy for you," she said , "if it makes you feel better," she smiled weakly. "And sorry for Jessica. She will get over it eventually..."

"Sorry," Draco regarded her warmly. "I just don't understand her, really. I didn't do it on purpose..."

I know," she nodded. "I really do. But you have to see it her way. She has a fancy for Edward and he rebukes her. She fancies you, and you turn suddenly out to be gay. She's just covering up her insecurity. She'll turn around."

Draco thought about it for a second. "Maybe... I'll be there if she does, anyway."

Kevin Ulan stepped through the rubble the late Trevor Hanson's cottage. The fire had only left the stones of the walls and a lot of burnt wood and ashes from the furniture. He never was a fan of these remote, picturesque cottages – even though his wife was still pressuring him to move to one – but it was still sad to see it destroyed in a rage of wanton destruction and fire.

If it had been closer to anything noteworthy, it might have been seen earlier. Unfortunately, Mr Hanson had preferred it remote, and so no one came to rescue him. And no-one would have missed Hanson if he had not been missed at the Ministry.

When the first messages went unanswered, an assistant from the Ministry was sent, and when he saw a body, he called for help.

And that's how Kevin ended up here. He was member of a new task force in the Auror Office, created after the War. Though a case like this usually didn't light up alarms.

"What do we have, Alfred?" he asked his assistant, Alfred Keller. A rather young wizard, he was still struggling with not being a student any more and he tried to overplay it by appearing tough and rugged. Well, maybe he'll grow it out soon, Kevin chuckled.

"Trevor Hanson, assistant under-secretary in the Temporary Organisational Office, age 47, died around yesterday in a fire accident."

"Fire accident?" Kevin raised an eyebrow. "Why do we suddenly deal with accidents?" He said more to himself than to Alfred.

"I was only told an hour ago by the Boss that you should take a look. He says it fits with some other accidents in the last weeks."

Kevin walked towards the middle of the former house, where under some rubble the burnt remains of Hanson had been found. He knelt down and studies the corpse.

"Merlin, I feel like CSI:Cornwall," he chuckled.

"CSI...what, sir?" Alfred looked at him with a bland face. "It's one of these Muggle things, right?" he asked hopefully.

Kevin shook his head and smiled sadly. "Yes, a Muggle thing," he answered. He never hid the fact that his parents were Muggles, and his wife, too. Despite being a Wizard, he was quite rooted in Muggle society. Most of his colleagues thought he was a bit too eccentric because of that, still thinking Muggles were something weird and uninteresting. It was moments like this when he hoped the Wizarding World would finally open up a bit to the universe around him. Until that time, he had to breathe deeply quite often. He shrugged, and continued looking at poor Trevor.

What's this... he looked at the right hand, where he saw something like a cut in the hand. He waved his wand in an intricate pattern and a bright line appeared in the remains of Trevor.

"Accident?" Kevin whistled, "I think not. That has been caused by metal. A knife or something like it." He waved the pattern wider, and more bright lines appeared.

"He has been killed, and not painless," he stated the obvious. He stood up again. "He had family?"

"No," Alfred shook his head. "And barely any friends. He was keeping it pretty close to himself."

"If you kill someone like this," he pointed at Hanson's body, "you want the victim to feel the pain, to torture. It doesn't look like a passion murder, that's for sure. You mentioned the Ministry. What was he working on, exactly?"

"Oh, nothing fancy, really," Alfred looked at his notepad. "He was in charge of the relocations of suspected dark wizards from the War, managing the rebuilding of damaged Ministry property in the South-West, a Census-." Alfred stopped when he saw Kevin tweaking his thick black beard, deep in thoughts.

"You think it has something to do with his work?"

"It is a possibility," he nodded. "Remember our last case? A scribe from the trials last week near Glasgow, and that interrogator in London a week ago? All were dealing with the Dark Wizard suspects one way or the other. Usually, we get only the dead relatives of Dark Wizards. What if someone took it to another level? What if he was looking for someone that the Wizengamot deemed innocent?"

"He must be pretty determined then, if he goes through all of this hassle."

"Or pretty crazy, Alfred. Never rule that out," he walked away from the corpse. "We have to review all his files, maybe we spot some correlation to the other murders..." He walked back towards the portkey, a rusty bucket lying outside the former house. "Let's leave the rest to the cleaners. I have seen all I need to. Let's be off."

Alfred and Kevin touched the bucket and vanished into thin air.

Seth dreaded the pack meeting immensely. For the last days, he had avoided his sister and fellow pack members as much as possible, and they started to get curious about his strange change in behaviour. He wanted to be with Alice, and it hurt him like a knife stabbed through his heart every time he had to say good-bye after their secret meetings. It took all his willpower to keep his imprinting secret and all that went with it. He was afraid Sam would hear it in his thoughts, if he wasn't careful. So far, he was sure he had didn't know. Seth knew it would not be something that won him the hearts of his fellow pack if they found out, but what could he do?

He's been through this, a lot, and from all the angles he had thought about it, he was screwed. Would they exile him, or accept him? Somehow the latter seemed impossible to him, with all that hatred towards vampires.

Now, he sat there, just in shorts, with all the rest of the pack intently listening to Sam prattle on about being vigilant or something. After his imprint, he somehow realised that Sam often bored him. Suddenly, though, it seemed to turn interesting.

"-the leeches have ensnared a human," Sam said, his broad chest glistening in the warmth of the fire burning in the fireplace behind him. "There's a new guy at their school, and they took him in. Wonder what they do with him! They clearly spit on our agreement!"

A rumble of agreeing went through the assembled pack. Seth only did a token effort.

"And I heard reports of unsolved 'animal' attacks not that far off from Forks. I just don't buy that. I say we should stomp them out, once and for all! Right now, they could be dining on a human,

breaking our treaty, spitting on our forefathers! How long are we going to put up with that shit?" He spat, and Seth wouldn't have been surprised to see Sam frothing at the mouth.

"Sam," Jacob stood up, and looked around the pack, "aren't you overreacting? I don't like them, either, but for all the time, they kept their promises. Why should they suddenly attack humans? That does not make any sense."

"They are not human," Sam almost shouted, "why do you think they are bound by the same logic as we? To them, drinking human blood makes perfect sense!"

He's crazy, Seth thought. Or fanatic. What I have seen of them doesn't look so bad. Clearly he's overreacting.

Suddenly, he felt like someone was pushing his brain slightly. "Oh, Seth wants to contribute to this debate, I think," Sam said scathingly. "Stand up! I heard your thoughts. Thought you could hide them, from me?"

"I don't- I mean, I didn't-" he stammered as he got to his feet, almost forced by his obedience to the pack leader.

"Speak like a man!" Sam snapped. "We are all listening."

Seth looked around the pack and all were looking at him expectantly. "I just thought that you're overreacting, we never had problems with them, so we should not rush-"

"Problems?!" Sam shouted now. "Why do we have to wait for something to happen? They get stronger while we wait and do nothing to help clean the world of those abominations. Nothing! And Seth here thinks it's OK! What's next? Invite them over for a coffee?"

"I never said-" Seth tried to say, but a sharp pain in his forehead stopped him. It felt like someone was drilling a hole in it with a dull pencil. "You met one!" Sam screamed and the next thing Seth felt was being pushed to the far wall by Sam, his hand throttling him. His face was a mask of fury.

"I-I didn't," Seth gargled, his vision getting blurred. The pain returned, stronger this time.

"You imprinted on a leech?!" Sam said incredulously, and let go of Seth's throat, more out of sudden shock than because he changed his mind. Sam looked weirdly around the pack, then his head snapped around, facing Seth again. "You blood traitor! You're scum!"

Without forewarning, Sam's fist hit him on his jawbone. Blood welled up in his mouth. Another hit, this time his nose, more blood. Seth tried to fight back, but somehow some part of him felt like he shouldn't, like Sam was influencing his mind. He struggled ineffectively as more and more blows hit him all around the face and body. Before he almost lost consciousness, he stopped.

Seth looked up and through blurry eyes, he saw Jacob restrain Sam's arm, the massive muscles of Jacob bulging from the effort.

"You'll kill him!" He roared.

"He's a traitor!" Sam shouted and struggled with Jacob, trying to get free. "We cannot allow that!"

He turned towards Jacob, and concentrated on him. "Let me go!"

"No, I won't until you come to your senses again!" Jacob turned to Seth. "Leave! Just go and we will sort it out later," Jacob said through clenched teeth, working hard against Sam.

Seth didn't need more motivation, and half stumbled, half crawled out of the room.

Bloody and in pain, he stumbled on through the night, his mind struggling to find a place to run to.

Alice... She would help me, he managed to get a thought together. He stumbled on, quicker now, his gait slowly stabilising with new-found strength. Alice...