Chapter 28: Go and talk to him

The sun had been up for several hours, but Jasper still hadn't moved. He didn't see the point, not if Harry rejected him. Members of his family had come to see him, had tried to get him to move, but nothing had helped, he needed to see Harry.

After visiting him at first light, Edward hurried to Ron and Hermione's house. The young woman, her features drawn and her hair a mess, opened the door.

"I need to see Harry," declared the vampire.

Without a word, or a thought, she shifted and pointed to the kitchen with a sweep of her arm.

"You look like hell," Edward observed as he entered the room.

Harry was sitting at the kitchen table, his complexion pale, his eyes rimmed, his hair a mess, a cup of coffee in his hands. In his mind, looped the memory of a dark-haired man with crazy eyes who passed through an arch and disappeared, followed by the shrill laughter of a woman after whom Harry ran and tried to cast a spell.

"I've never been able to use revenge as a driving force, I've tried and either failed or regretted it."

"You should talk to him."

"I don't want to be in a relationship with someone who plans to kill for revenge, risking his own life and those of his loved ones."

A pain, which he tried to hide, gripped his heart as he spoke these words, but neither Edward, Hermione nor Ron, who had just entered the room badly awake, missed it.

"Dude, you gotta stop that, I don't know him well, but I'm sure it wouldn't be Edy in the kitchen this morning if your guy could get out of Zabzab's."

Hermione protested at her boyfriend's nickname for Blaise, Edward winced at his own nickname, but it all had the effect of making Harry smile. The young man turned his gaze to the telepath, unable to formulate his question aloud.

"Yes, Ron's right, if he could he'd be here. He would have even come last night. And the pain you feel every time you push your bond away, he feels it too."

Harry was horrified to hear these words, at no time had he wanted to hurt Jasper. He loved him, he was afraid of seeing him run to his doom and he'd considered pushing him away before it was too late, but never had he meant him harm. He wondered what would happen to them if he decided to leave Jasper, but a sharp pain in his heart interrupted his reflection.

"Go and talk to him, Harry," Edward pleaded again, having followed his thoughts.

"Harry, you and George have already made the mistake of not talking and look at the consequences." added Ron.

Hermione and Harry looked at him, surprised.

"It was George who told me after you left the studio. He was in the back that night, he needed to talk."

The man concerned didn't know where to put himself, and was afraid his friend might be angry with him.

"That's your story, not mine, but frankly if I did to Hermione what you're doing to him, she'd rip me to shreds!"

"Eh!"

The wizard laughed, he agreed with his friend, Hermione could be very scary and he declared that he was going to go and talk to Jasper, much to the relief of the other three occupants of the room.

"Don't waste time, go and see him! We'll drop by after our classes to catch up." urged Hermione, glancing at her boyfriend.

Harry understood that she wanted to have a couple's chat and offered Edward a lift.

"Thanks. He must still be on the pontoon."

Harry nodded and apparated them a few yards away from Jasper. The empath didn't react to their arrival; he was sitting at the end of the pontoon, in the same position he'd adopted in his cell in the Department of Mysteries. The sight made Harry feel even more guilty.

"He's afraid you'll be there to say goodbye," Edward explained, following both their thoughts.

"Why is he afraid of this?"

"Your emotions and the pain he's been feeling since yesterday."

"I'm a moron," Harry concluded as he walked toward his soulmate.

His heart was tight, love and guilt suffocating him. He wondered how he'd ever seen a future without him and blamed himself for hurting him.

Jasper didn't lift his head until he was beside him, he couldn't untangle the emotions he was picking up from Harry and after hours of feeling the young man push away their bond, he had no hope left except that the parting would be frank and swift.

The sadness the wizard read in the amber eyes wiped away all his resolve to discuss with the vampire. He couldn't bear to see him this bad, and even worse, to be the reason for it. As so often, he let his instincts guide him, dropped to his knees beside Jasper and kissed him full on the lips. He poured all his love, all his guilt and all his hopes into this exchange. The empath was not an easy man to surprise; his vampire and empath powers enabled him to anticipate what was going to happen, at least with humans. However, it took him half a second to realize what was happening and to respond to the kiss. He kissed him desperately, for him it was like drinking after not being able to do so for too long. Jasper placed his hands in the curve of his wizard's back and pressed his pelvis to him with authority, determined not to let him go again. His fear of him leaving him faded as the kiss dragged on, he felt more and more that his feelings for the young man had been returned to him and it was as if a love ointment had been passed over his bruised heart.

They kissed for long minutes, until Harry ended the kiss and came to nestle his head in the pale neck, squeezing the hard body against him.

"I didn't mean to hurt you," he whispered.

"Did you want to leave me?"

Harry felt sick at these words and he knew Jasper was picking up on it, so he decided to be as transparent as possible with him.

"I was afraid to watch you die."

The vampire held back from saying that he already was, the fear and sadness emanating from Harry prevented him from doing so. He held him a little tighter as he replied.

"I'm not going to die."

"If you take revenge by killing them, you will. I don't want to leave you, but I can't accept watching you run to your doom."

Jasper knew at those words that his mind was made up, he just needed to make sure his tormentors paid, his vampire and his memory would never leave him in peace without it.

"Are you sure they'll be convicted?"

"Many people are doing everything they can to make sure they spend the end of their days behind bars."

"Okay, we'll do it your way, but I want them to pay."

"Give your memories to the aurors then, that's the best way. Trust us."

"I trust you."

Harry kissed him again before settling back into his arms. Jasper hugged him, soothed. He felt the young man fall asleep on his shoulder and didn't try to stop him; he'd noted his pale complexion and drawn eyes, his looks added to the pain that had bruised his heart all night, he understood that his wizard hadn't sleep. He waited until he was in a deep sleep before getting up and carrying him to the room they shared. Without ever waking him, he lay down with him in bed and settled him back into his arms.

Edward checked on them to make sure they were all right, and Jasper reassured him that he would do as the wizards planned. The telepath said he understood and would inform the rest of the family before leaving the room.

Jasper concentrated on his soulmate's breathing to ward off his anxiety at the thought that he would have to rehash all his memories to give them to the wizards, that everyone and especially Harry would discover the worst hours of his existence, that people would judge the seriousness of what he had suffered. Ginny Weasley had set fire to Harry's house to provoke him and gotten off with a slap on the wrist. Would it be possible for his tormentors to have the same leniency? Jasper wasn't sure how he'd react if they weren't going to spend the rest of their days in a cell.

The door opened on Alice again.

"A wizard will be here in two minutes to talk to you," she whispered.

Jasper sensed his sister's apprehension, which raised his own. He replied that he was on his way and set about waking Harry.