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: Ooook, here I am again :) Sorry for the delay, but was a bit swamped with "normal" work, but now I got freetime again to write :) I hope you're still with me :)
Chapter 19: A small Trip
It still seemed like a miracle they made it to Seattle at all. And with an intact car, to boot! Jasper had been kind – or stupid, depending on your point of view – to let Draco do some driving under normal conditions. After almost hitting a tree and a very frightened looking deer, Draco thought he had it under control. Maybe high-powered sports cars were not exactly the kind of rides for learners it seems. He vastly preferred Apparition, even brooms, to car driving but he had to admit driving the car gave him a new kind of thrill.
But it didn't help one bit that his ordeal was obviously of infinite amusement to Jasper. He had laughed so hard he would probably have died were he still human. Given the rocky start, the trip took a bit longer than expected, but after almost 4 hours, they got to the outskirts of Seattle. They made a short stop there, mostly to change drivers. Draco didn't feel like driving into a bustling Muggle city in a car yet. While there, he admired the city, with its towers of glass, glittering in rare beams of sun in million shades of yellow and orange. It was not easy to admit, but refusing to leave the ancient heaps of stone English Wizards called home and go with the time was a mistake in his eyes. But he guessed it would never be...
He still smiled as they drove deeper into the city.
"What amuses you so much?" Jasper asked curiously while casually navigating the streets. He looked kind of cool in his black jeans, a heavy leather jacket with wicked red stripes running down the sides and black sunglasses. Draco had opted for a lighter garderobe, but then he didn't start to glitter like a disco ball when in the sun.
"Oh, nothing really," Draco answered softly. "It is just... This is so different from what I grew up with. And I never thought it could be so nice, so interesting. But you will soon see what I mean. Maybe you understand me a bit better then."
It was basically their first time away from his family. Their very first trip as a couple.
But they also had some other tasks to finish. Carlisle had given Jasper a short list of things he needed, mostly for his job, but also for their special...needs. Draco had some things to do himself, but for that he needed to go into the hidden Wizarding corner of Seattle, their little Diagon Alley. Taking Jasper with him was a calculated risk, but Draco needed him to see more of his world. Needed him to understand. Luckily, no one would suspect him to be a vampire, not in daylight at least so all should be good.
Draco followed dutifully as Jasper ticked off one item at a time. Normally he liked shopping, but weird medical equipment wasn't exactly on top of his shopping list. Yet he didn't show signs of boredom – which cost every ounce of acting ability he had – and tried to be cheerful. But part of his mind was already in the Wizarding quarters and he tripple-checked his shopping list – hopefully Seattle is as well equipped as Martha suggested.
In the end, it took no more than two hours for Jasper to finish. At that time Draco was quite prepared to watch paint dry, just for the thrill of it. He was that bored. He was startled when Jasper hugged him from behind and kissed his neck.
"Thanks," he whispered in his ear.
Draco relished it for a moment before slowly turning around. "Thanks for what?" He asked curiously.
"For going with me and trying to hide how bored you were."
Draco faked a shocked face, but Jasper playfully chided him. "You don't fool me that easily. I know my fair bit of human expressions, and I have seen 'bored, but trying to cover it' before."
"Sorry, love," Draco sighed. "It's just not quite my usual shopping experience, you know. It was all so...technical."
"Well, I forgive you," he chuckled. "And I'll probably have my comeuppance later."
"Speaking of which..." Draco said. "It's not far from here. Just remember to act as unsuspecting as possible. You'll enter the Wizarding world and a lot of people would probably kill you just for knowing about it. So, avoid being killed, yes?"
"I shall follow your lead, oh great wizard!" he answered and bowed, barely containing his laughter.
In a small road close to Pike Place Market Draco suddenly stopped and double-checked something on a note from Martha. To Jasper, they stood in front of an unsuspecting cracked door that looked like it had been there long before the building around it was built – as weird as that sounded. But by now he gave it the benefit of the doubt. Draco got his wand out and tapped the door twice on the frame and once on the door knob. At first, nothing seemed to happen, then suddenly the door swung inside, revealing a long tunnel.
Draco crossed the door and walked down the tunnel. Jasper quickly followed him, a bit afraid the door might close before he got in. After maybe fifty or so meters, the tunnel opened into what a sane mind could only have described as colourful and chaotic. Jasper barely managed to not look like a drooling idiot as he stared at people of all ages dressed in weird robes and cloaks, in colours that could probably burn an image into the eyes of a blind.
"Jasper!" Draco hissed, standing several steps ahead of him. He shook his head and crossed the distance.
"Sorry," he answered. "I never expected something like this," he whispered. "It's so..." he grasped for words. "So strange. Weird..."
"Welcome to my world," Draco answered with a chuckle. "Told you, it was something else entirely. Now, if we hurry, we'll be out of here in no time."
Draco dashed in and out of various shops, most of them selling things Jasper couldn't even describe. And owls everywhere. He never have seen so many owls zipping by just above their heads. Draco explained that they were their way of mail. A funny way to do that, in Jasper's opinion – he never found anything wrong with normal mail.
"Here, try that," Draco said in a astonishingly normal looking shop – almost like a candy shop – and handed him a small reddish bonbon.
"You know I don't eat, right?" he whispered.
"I know," Draco said. "Just try. Please?" and looked at him with big puppy eyes.
He looked at the bonbon and at Draco again, then just shrugged and popped it into his mouth. Immediately he felt a burning tingling in his mouth, growing stronger and stronger. Within seconds, it was too much to control and he opened his mouth as if to scream. Instead of his voice, though, only a lance of fire almost half a meter long emerged coupled with a lion's roar.
Jasper cleared his throat several times, then looked at Draco with fire in his eyes.
"Firepoppers," Draco chuckled. "Don't worry, it just looks like fire. It's quite harmless, the kids love those!"
"Just so you know," he said in a dry voice, "fire and me don't go well together..."
"Oh come on," Draco nudged him, "lighten up!"
He just snorted and shut up. He didn't mean him no harm, and he must admit the feeling in his throat was quite funny. It was just that 'lightening up' wasn't exactly him. Not since he became what he is now. In that sense, Draco already did him good, he felt that.
Before he could finish his thought, though, Draco was already out of the shop and dashing into a alley that, at first, looked like all the other little streets but soon it slowly changed into something starkly different. Dark, sinister, with shadows that flowed around his ankles like oily water and sent a chill down his dead spine.
"What are we doing here?" Jasper whispered as they walked past shady forms that could have possibly been humans. He wasn't quite sure, even with his senses.
"I need something important. I don't have the time to it myself if it should help Seth. But I am sure to find it here..." Draco didn't seem one bit phased in this shady environment. On the contrary, he moved purposefully, in control. Like he was born to this. And maybe he was, Jasper realised. He had told him about the darker parts of his past, and now he was believing it more than ever.
"What do you need?" Jasper asked, not because he was that much interested in the answer but to get his mind off the creepy street.
"It's called a Pollyjuice potion. It makes your form change, makes you appear as someone else. With it, Seth can move freely without being recognized. It's just that it takes a month or so to do myself, but a good Potion Master must have it prepared in stock."
Jasper shock his head in disbelief, now actually interested in the answer. "Change form? Seriously?"
"Yes, but only temporary. Trust me, it'll help."
Jasper looked a bit confused, but in his mind he could see how benefical it could be to their situation. Seth couldn't stay in Martha's house forever.
Draco stopped in front of a shop that looked even scarier than the others.
"Hello Draco," a female voice suddenly said from the shadows behind them, dripping with malice. "You can't imagine my pleasure of meeting you here..."