Adult-FanFiction.org : Harry Potter

Of Lions And Lambs - Part Three	By : Marblez Category: Harry Potter Crossovers > Slash - Male/Male Views: 5221 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 2
Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or Twilight and I will not make any profit from writing this story.

Chapter List
- 13
- 14
- 15
Chapter Thirteen.

"Maybe we won't have to. Does it occur to anyone else that the only possible threat in the area that would call for the creation of an army is…us?"

Someone in the room gasped in shock.

"That is the conclusion I have come to," Jasper agreed with his brother.

"Tanya's family is also near," Esme said slowly, her voice shaking.

"The newborns aren't ravaging Anchorage, Esme," Edward pointed out. Jasper nodded in agreement, his expression serious. "I think we have to consider the idea that we are the targets."

"They're not coming after us," Alice insisted, defending the fact that she hadn't seen anything. "I would have seen it. Unless…unless they don't know that they are coming after us…"

"What is that?" Edward asked sharply, "What are you remembering?"

"Flickers," Alice said, "I can't see a clear picture when I try to see what's going on, nothing concrete. But I've been getting these strange flashes. Not enough to make sense of. It's as if someone's changing their mind, moving from one course of action to another so quickly that I can't get a good view…"

"Indecision?" Jasper asked in disbelief, "Alice, are you sure? If these newborns have no leader, or worse have a leader who has no control over them…no plan…then this is worse than I thought…"

"I don't know…"

"Not indecision," Edward growled, "Knowledge. Someone who knows you can't see anything until the decision is made. Someone who is hiding from us. Playing with the holes in your vision."

"Who would know that?" Alice whispered.

"Aro," Edward growled, "He knows you as well as you know yourself."

"But I would see if they decided to come…"

"Unless they didn't want to get their hands dirty."

"A favour," Rosalie suggested, speaking up from the first time from where she stood with Emmett. "Someone in the South…someone who already had trouble with the rules. Someone who should have been destroyed is offered a second chance – if they take care of this one small problem…that would explain the Volturi's sluggish response."

"Why?" Carlisle asked in obvious shock, "There's no reason for the Volturi…"

"It was there," Edward disagreed quietly. "I'm surprised it's come to this so soon, because the other thoughts were stronger. In Aro's head he saw me at one side and Alice at his other. The present and the future, virtual omniscience."

"He wants Edward and Alice?" Draco asked his boyfriend in shock.

"He has for years," Jasper answered with a tense nod.

"The power of the idea intoxicated him," Edward continued, "I would have thought it would have thought it would take him much longer to give up on that plan – he wanted it too much. But there was also the thought of you, Carlisle, of our family, growing stronger and larger. The jealousy and the fear: you having…not more than he had, but still, things that he wanted."

"This is all about one man's jealousy?" Draco asked.

"It could be," Jasper said softly, "But…I don't know…"

"He tried not to think about it, but he couldn't hide it completely," Edward continued once more, "The idea of rooting out the competition was there; besides their own, ours is the largest coven they've ever found…"

"They're too committed to their mission," Carlisle interrupted, "They would never break the rules themselves. It goes against everything they've worked for."

"They'll clean up afterward. A double betrayal," Edward said in a grim voice, his arm tightening about Bella's shoulders. "No harm done."

"No, Carlisle is right," Jasper said from beside Draco, shaking his head. "The Volturi do not break rules. Besides, it's much too sloppy. This…person, this threat – they have no idea what they're doing. A first-timer, I'd swear to it. I cannot believe the Volturi are involved. But they will be."

"Then let's go," Emmett's voice thundered around the room, breaking the moment of silence that had followed Jasper's serious statement. "What are we waiting for? We need to go to Seattle and…"

"We'll need you to teach us, Jasper," Carlisle said after sharing a look with Edward, "How to destroy them…" Carlisle winced as if in physical pain. Draco winced in sympathy. It was evident in everything he did that the eldest vampire hated violence of any kind and found any un-natural loss of life disgusting.

Coming to this decision must have been so hard for him.

"We're going to need help," Jasper said softly, "Do you think…"

"Well, we can help," Draco interrupted whatever his boyfriend was going to say. Jasper's head snapped round to stare at him, his gaze filled with fear. "Me and Harry. I mean, the way you've been talking about them they're not gonna be very smart vampires, just…strong vampires. They probably won't know about the existence of Wizards and…having a surprise up your sleeve is always a good in a battle…especially a battle where you are the smaller group…"

"I don't want to involve you…to risk you…in this," Jasper said softly to him.

"Um…already involved. You know, seeing as how I'm your boyfriend," Draco pointed out, "And you've seen what I can do. I've already turned one vampire into ash for crying out loud…wait…"

Everyone stared at him in worry and confusion as he trailed off, his eyes going wide with shocked realisation and what little colour he had had left after hearing Jaspers story draining out of his face. The vampire he had turned to ash had been one of a group and with this group had been…

"Victoria," Edward growled as the thought entered Draco's head. "No. She wouldn't have the nerve to organise something like this and Alice…you've been keeping an eye out for Victoria, right?"

"Yes," Alice nodded, "Of course I have but I haven't seen…"

"She knows about your gift, doesn't she?" Draco asked, "Isn't there a possibility that she is behind all of this? I mean…doesn't she hate you?"

"Victoria doesn't have the knowledge or the…the skills to organise something like this," Jasper said, shaking his head softly, "But…you are right, she does hate us. She blames us for the death of her mate…"

"So it could be Victoria behind all of this?" Bella asked.

"Or the Volturi," Edward murmured, his voice filled with even more fear and worry, "They both have the motivation and the means to do this but…until Alice sees something concrete we have no way of knowing, no way of being 100% certain."

"I'll…I'll try harder to see something," Alice said, sounding half apologetic, half embarrassed. "I'm sorry…"

"It's not your fault, Alice," almost everyone said at once.

"No matter who it is that has organised this we will still need more help to defeat the army of newborns," Jasper said softly, turning to Draco as he continued to speak, his voice tense, "I am…unwilling to let you risk yourself but…you are right. You and Harry would be a great benefit. But if it looks like things are going badly I want you to promise me that you'll leave, that you'll stay safe…"

"We can talk about that later," Draco said softly, unwilling to agree to those terms (he would stay with his mate no matter what) but he knew now was not the time to start an argument. Jasper sighed, nodding in agreement before looking back at his family, speaking in his serious voice once more,

"Even with Harry and Draco we still need more numbers if we are going to survive this thing. Do you think Tanya's family would be willing…? Another five mature vampires would make an enormous difference. And then Kate and Eleazar would be especially advantageous on our side."

"We'll ask," Carlisle answered.

"We need to hurry," Jasper said, holding out his cell phone.

Sighing deeply Carlisle took the phone and walked over to the large glass window. Hesitating briefly he dialled a number from memory and held the phone to his ear, leaning his hand against the glass as he stared out into the foggy morning, pain and sadness etched into his handsome features. They all listened to the one sided conversation as he greeted Tanya and explained the reason for his call.

"Something's wrong," Draco murmured as he watched Carlisle's expression darken even further. Jasper hummed in agreement as Carlisle spoke again, his voice filled with pained surprise,

"We didn't realise…that Irina felt that way."

"Damn it," Edward cursed suddenly as he heard something in his fathers thoughts, "Damn Laurent to the deepest pit of hell where he belongs."

"Laurent?" Bella whispered, causing Edward to pull her into a gentle hug.

"What about Laurent?" Draco asked.

"The wolves killed him when he tried to attack me, back when the Cullens weren't here," Bella explained softly across the room.

"You never told me," Draco grumbled loudly.

"I thought Jacob would have told Harry…" Bella mumbled, obviously realising that her excuse sounded quite pathetic. "I'm sorry."

"There's no question of that," Carlisle's stern voice carried across the room and everyone turned to watch him in silence. "We have a truce. They haven't broken it, and neither will we. I'm sorry to hear that…" He cut himself off with a wince, the person he was speaking to obviously interrupting him quite loudly as the rest of the Cullens growled softly in anger.

Obviously they could hear whatever the other person had said to the kind hearted doctor and were less than impressed by it.

"Of course. We'll just have to do our best alone," Carlisle said and hung up without giving the other person a chance to answer. He sighed deeply, leaning forwards and resting his forehead against the glass. Esme moved over to her husband, sliding her arms around his waist and offering him silent comfort.

"What's the problem?" Emmett asked, directing the question to Edward.

"Irina was more involved with our friend Laurent that we knew. She's holding a grudge against the wolves for destroying him to save Bella. She wants-" he paused, looking down at his girlfriend.

"Go on," she urged him, her voice trembling slightly.

"She wants revenge. To take down the pack. They would trade their help for our permission," he explained softly.

"No!" Bella and Draco gasped in perfect timing, both thinking of the same particular wolf but for different reasons – Bella for her close friendship, a friendship that had saved her life back when thing had gone topsy turvy and Draco for Harry. Loosing Jacob would be too much for Harry.

"Don't worry," Edward said quickly, his voice flat and almost emotionless. "Carlisle would never agree to it. Now would I. Laurent had it coming and I still owe the wolves for that."

"This isn't good," Jasper said worriedly. "It's too even a fight. We'd have the upper hand in skill, but not numbers. We'd win, but at what price?"

Bella gasped loudly and Draco wondered if the rather naive muggle had just realised what he'd known along. Some of them might not survive the battle. After all it wasn't only the "baddies" that suffered in a war…

There was silence for a few moments as everyone lost themselves to their own thoughts, worrying about what the future would bring for each other them.

"Can…can we not tell my parents about this?" Draco asked suddenly. "I mean…it's just…it's just that they've already survived two wars and…I don't want them involved in this unless there is no other way…"

"It's ok," Alice said, her voice sounding far away as she recovered from the quick vision. "You Aunt is going to invite them to stay with her for a couple of weeks. They'll be in England at the time of the battle."

"Did you see when that would be?" Jasper asked.

"No. They'll be leaving for England shortly after Graduation but I still haven't seen a date for the battle," Alice said apologetically.

"It's ok, Alice, it's not your fault," Carlisle comforted her softly. "Edward, you'd best take Bella home now. And Jasper…"

"They'll get in trouble for skipping if they go home now," Alice said quickly, shaking her head as if to clear her mind of the extra quick vision.

"Well then I guess that means you two are staying for the rest of the day," Esme said, smiling at the two humans as she used their presence as an excuse to push the oncoming battle to the back of her mind.

"Draco?" Carlisle asked softly from across the room. Draco turned his attention from his boyfriend to the head of the family. "What did you mean when you said that your parents had already fought in two wars?"

"Oh…" Draco mumbled, his skin turning positively ashen as everyone in the room turned their attention on him. He couldn't blame them wanting to know, he'd been deliberately vague up until now but…maybe it was time to come clean about the past…about his past…"Well…I guess it's about time I told you a bit more about my story," Draco said softly, pulling away from Jasper so that he sat alone, his hands clenched together in his lap to stop them trembling. "I've told the basics about my life and my world but I've always left out my past…

"Everything actually started before I was born when a powerful wizard who called himself Lord…Lord V-V-" he broke off, clenching his eyes shut and biting his lip before he managed to force the name out of his lips. "Lord Voldemort and he wanted to purify the Wizarding World. He hated muggles and muggleborns and squibs and anyone with 'dirty' blood…he only tolerated werewolves and vampires because he knew they could be of use to him."

"He sounds…awful…" Esme shuddered.

"He was," Draco confirmed, "He targeted them randomly at first, mostly muggleborns, people who he believed weren't worthy of magic. He killed them without mercy…he made sport of it. He tortured them and had his followers; his Death Eaters do the same. My…my parents were purebloods. Both sides of my family can be traced back to the time of Merlin. This made them very…desirable to Lord…to the Dark Lord. It was join or die so…they joined and my father was named the Dark Lords right hand man.

"The first war came to an end when I was a baby, younger than Teddy is now. A Seer made a prophecy, a prophecy that changed everything. It told of the one person of the one person who could defeat the Dark Lord – Harry Potter."

"But…isn't he younger than you?" Esme asked in shock.

"Yeah, he's a few months younger than me. So when the Seer made this prophecy it was about a defenceless baby but that didn't matter to the Dark Lord. It wasn't a defenceless, it was a threat. So he went to kill…to kill him," as Draco continued to speak, his voice sounding more and more choked with each sentence, his body trembling almost violently. "He killed the Potters, Harry's parents but when he went to kill the little boy who was supposedly going to destroy him the spell backfired…and killed him instead."

"How?" Bella asked.

"Harry says it was love, the love his mother showed him when she sacrificed herself to save him," Draco explained, sighing deeply, "So that was the end of the first war against Lord V-Voldemort and for ten years everything was fine, the Wizarding World ticked on by, the Muggle World thrived and the Dark Lords followers, his 'Death Eaters' were either arrested like my Aunt Bellatrix or went into hiding like my parents."

"What changed after ten years?" Carlisle asked.

"He came back."

"How?" Bella asked, "That's not…possible."

"Unfortunately for someone as insane as he was…it is," Draco answered. "There is a…spell that can separate your soul into two identical pieces so that if one is destroyed the other can take over. It's a spell to cheat death but it has a cost…to split your soul you have to kill someone. This is where you'll really begin to understand how evil and sick he was…when he was sixteen years old the Dark Lord created his first Horcrux, the first copy of his soul. Before he was killed the first time he created six more."

"Seven?" Carlisle gasped, "He killed seven people to extend his own life?"

"Yes. He was a monster. Now…as to my part in the second war…" his throat closed of it's own accord, choking him of his words and bringing tears to his eyes. "I was the son of a Death Eater and form an early age I was groomed to be a Death Eater. Not by my parents, by others. I was taught to think like they did, to believe in everything they did…but…I hated it. I hated being so cruel and heartless and…"

His tears spilled over onto his cheeks and he rubbed them away.

"I didn't have a choice, any more than what my parents did. We were given orders that we obeyed or we died. When I was sixteen…the Dark Lord wanted to punish my father for failing in his mission to bring him the full prophecy. His idea of punishment was to initiate me into the Death Eaters and give me an order that could go both ways – I could have refused and been killed there and then as a traitor or I could have accepted and…and destroyed whatever innocence or goodness I had left.

"I accepted the mission.

"I was ordered to kill my headmaster – Albus Dumbledore. He was the most powerful Wizard who ever lived, far more powerful than the Dark Lord; some have even speculated that he was as powerful as Merlin himself. I don't know if that's true but what I do know he had to kindest soul I have ever seen. He was always there when a student was in trouble, always happy and comforting. He was…good. So very…good. And I had to kill him.

"I tried sending him a cursed necklace but a girl touched it first. I nearly killed an innocent girl. So I tried poison…and nearly killed Ron Weasley, Harry's best friend," by now Draco had given up wiping away his tears, they were streaming down his cheeks uncontrollably as he trembled. "In the end I…I was forced to confront him with my wand…face to face…

"He didn't beg for his life after I had disarmed him…he just stood there and told me about a boy he had once known…a boy that he said was like me and…and had made all the wrong choices…

"I didn't want to kill him. I didn't want to kill anybody…but when I lowered my wand my Aunt entered the room. My Aunt was evil and insane and loved the Dark Lord like no other. She would have gladly killed me if I had failed her master."

"Did you kill him?" Bella asked softly as he gasped for breath.

"No. My Godfather…my Godfather did it for me. He cast the spell before I could so that I wouldn't become a murderer…I found out later he was spy for Dumbledore…always had been since the time he joined the Death Eaters. He killed the man who gave him hope for a better future to save me and…and because Dumbledore asked him to…

"After his death I was taken back to the Manor, brought before the Dark Lord for not completing my orders. But…my Godfather stepped in and told his version of the story, how he had been overcome by anger at the old man that he killed him before I had the chance. He saved my life.

"For the next year the Dark Lord lived in our Manor. He turned it into his headquarters. People were brought there…good people who were just going about their lives and they were tortured for fun…killed in horrible ways…and we had to watch. It was his idea of entertainment.

"Nothing was the same when I returned to school for my final year. Dumbledore was gone and there were Death Eaters as teachers. They tortured students…I tortured students and…and Harry wasn't there. It's stupid but the fact that Harry Potter wasn't there, the beacon light…that just made it even worse."

"So what happened?" Carlisle asked, his voice barely above a whisper.

"Harry. It was a holiday…I can't even remember which one but I was home and they brought these three people into the room. Well one was undeniably Hermione Granger – muggleborn best friend of Harry Potter. My Aunt took great pleasure in torturing her for information.

"The others…well…I was called on to identify them…and beneath the disguises I could see exactly who they were. Harry Potter and Ron Weasley. I have no idea where the courage from but…I lied. I told the Dark Lord that I didn't recognise them. He put them in the dungeons under the manor and focused his attention on Hermione, hoping to extract his enemy's location from a seventeen year old girl.

"I was…relieved when Harry and Ron burst into the room that evening having escaped form the dungeons. I didn't even fight…I let Harry disarm me…let him have my wand…and I let them go…

"The Dark Lord was very angry that night. We were all punished, each and every one of us. He used the Cruciatus, a curse that creates unbearable pain and if held long enough…can eventually drive a person mad. "

Jasper reached out to him, offering him comfort but Draco shook his head.

"I need to finish this…" he whispered, hoping that his boyfriend would understand. If he gave in and allowed himself to be held by the vampire he loved so much he would be reduced to a hysterical wreck and no more would be told. "I returned to school…and it was at school that everything finally ended.

"The Battle For Hogwarts is what they call it now. Harry and his followers, mostly students, fighting against the Dark Lord and his evil Death Eaters. I started on the wrong side…obeyed my orders and saw one of my friends die…and then I just…stopped. I sat down on the steps and I cried…I cried and cried…

"People were dying all around me…people I knew…people I didn't know and for what? One mans disgusting vision of the future…

"I was sat there in the corridor when this little girl came running towards me…blood streaming down her face…and on her tail was a Death Eater. I didn't know him, not personally…but I recognised the girl – a sweet little Hufflepuff that wouldn't say boo to a goose. A muggleborn.

"He yelled for me to kill her…"

"But you couldn't do it…" Jasper murmured form beside him, his voice filled with torture and pain as he felt every single emotion his love was feeling.

"No. I couldn't kill a fifteen year old girl…I didn't want to kill anyone…I didn't want to become what everyone already thought I was…so I stunned him…knocked him out, grabbed the girl and ran…ran and ran…

"Eventually we reached the Hospital Wing and I told the girl to stay there with the others who were treating the wounded being brought in from the…from the battlefield and then…then I went to try and find my parents…

"It was over by the time I got outside."

"How?" Emmett asked, remarkably softly for the usually loud vampire.

"Harry sacrificed himself to kill the Dark Lord."

"But…Harry's alive," Esme murmured in confusion.

"Magic. He died…to save the world…apparently the world thought it owed him for that and brought him back. Which was lucky because it was after he came back that he actually killed V-Voldemort," Draco explained, determined to say the name he had been taught never to speak.

"So what happened then?" Jasper asked.

"What always happens after a war?" Draco asked, "The guilty are held accountable for their crimes. The Death Eaters who didn't die in the battle or…or commit suicide after the death of their master were…were tried for treason against the Wizarding World and sentenced to life imprisonment in Azkaban."

"You were…?"

"I was imprisoned like all the others…stripped of my freedom and my dignity…and my sanity…I fully expected to waste away in that prison…I expected to die and for no one to give a damn…but of course I'd forgotten about Harry and his Gryffindor sense of right and wrong.

"He freed us. My mother first, then me and eventually my father…he was convinced that if…if things had been different we would never have followed him…and as per usual he was right. The general public didn't agree…they hated us and they showed it…so we left…"

"And came here," Alice murmured.

"Yeah. We fled to a town in the middle of nowhere with no magical signature…as far away from the Wizarding World as we could manage…or so we thought…" he muttered, wiping at his cheeks. "So there's my story…and I fully understand if you never want to speak to me again…"

As soon as those words left his lips Draco found himself enveloped in a tight hug by Jasper, Esme, Carlisle and Alice, all of them squeezing him tightly and whispering a mess of words to the contrary.

"I was so broken when I came here…" he laughed softly through his tears, finding himself manoeuvred so that he was curled up in Jasper lap with his head resting against his boyfriend's shoulders. "Who know it would only take a town full of muggles and a family of vampires to help me heal?"

"I'm glad you came here…I'm glad I found you…" Jasper murmured in his ear. "And I wouldn't change anything about you. You are…strong and you are good…"

"I'm not…" Draco whimpered.

"Lesser men would have given up...would have died or given in and become what they wanted. You didn't. You got lost but you found yourself in time. You redeemed yourself," Jasper said, his voice sincere. "I love you."

"I love you too…" Draco whimpered. "Merlin…I haven't cried this much in years…" he muttered, wiping away his tears as the hug was disengaged, the other three vampires stepping back to allow Jasper to comfort him. "See Bella…I told you my story was complicated…"

"Yes, you did…" Bella mumbled softly, obviously shocked and still processing everything she'd heard. Draco felt a bit sorry for her actually, his story combined with Jasper's story was a lot to take in all in one go. "I'm sorry for what happened to you but…I'm glad you ended up here."

"So am I," Draco replied, pressing his face into Jasper's neck as his body continued to shake from his tears. Now that he'd started crying he couldn't seen to stop. "I'm so glad that I found you…" he repeated his boyfriend's earlier statement, "But you have to admit…we do make quite a pair…tortured souls and painful histories and all that…"

"Yeah, we do," Jasper chuckled softly, kissing Draco's hair. "Why don't we go upstairs so that you…so that we can calm down a bit?" Draco nodded against his shoulder and Jasper easily held him in his arms as he stood elegantly from the sofa. He nodded to his family before heading up to his room, cradling his emotional boyfriend to his chest all the way until he was sat on his own sofa.

And once there he rocked Draco in his arms as he wept some more, for the pain of his past, for the pain of his boyfriends past and Jasper…Jasper would have been weeping if it had been possible for him to do so.

"You can't be serious," Bella said in disbelief as the group sat down at their usual table to eat their lunch. Alice had just announced to the table that the amazing lights she had ordered for the party had arrived that morning and she was going to start putting them up that night. "You've completely lost your mind!"

"Say whatever you like about me, the party is still on," Alice answered calmly. Bella's jaw literally dropped open ain shock. Draco snorted into his can of Coca-Cola, rolling his eyes at his boyfriend. Of course Bella would react this way, she'd probably thought she'd found the perfect excuse to get the dreaded party cancelled. "Oh, calm down, Bella! There's no reason not to go through with it. Besides, I've already given out all the invitations."

"But…the…you…I…insane!" Bella spluttered, literally lost for words.

"You've already bought my present," Alice reminded her with a laugh, "Come on, Bella, you don't have to do anything but show up."

"With everything that is going on right now, a party is hardly appropriate," Bella spoke softly in that tone of voice that implied Alice should know better. Draco was going to point out that it was Alice; she knew everything when the vampire spoke up for herself and her cause,

"Graduation is what's going on right now, Bella, and a party is so appropriate it's almost passé and before you ask Draco passé means unfashionable."

"I know what passé means, Alice!" Draco protested, flushing a little bit. Ok, so he had had a brief memory block but he'd remembered literally just before she explained it to him. "I also agree, it would be terribly passé not to have the party."

"Alice! Draco!"

"There are a few things we need to get in order now, and that's going to take a little time," Alice sighed deeply, looking suddenly serious. "As long as we're sitting here waiting, we might as well commemorate the good stuff. It's your first graduation, Bella. It's your only graduation as a human. You don't get to be human again, Bella. This is a once-in-a-lifetime shot."

"I don't know what your problem is, Bella, I'm really looking forward to graduation," Draco said as Alice and Edward had a silent argument about the small vampire saying too much in such an exposed setting. Alice ended the argument of course…by sticking her tongue out at her brother. Who was going to hear her soft voice over the normal din of the busy cafeteria?

"It's just…ugh!" Bella grumbled in frustration, looking at Alice and her boyfriend as she changed to subject. Draco chuckled, sometimes Bella was so predictable. "So what is it we need to get in order anyway?"

"We need to train," Alice said calmly.

"I'm going to teach everyone how to fight newborns," Jasper explained softly, taking Draco's hand in his and giving it a gentle squeeze. "Once we've agreed on a date I'll let you know. You and Harry will need to be there if you're going to fight with us." His face hardened at the thought of his mate fighting – they still hadn't talked about that but he had a feeling there was nothing he could say that would stop Draco from fighting along side him.

"You know…I could help," Bella said softy.

"That really wouldn't be helpful," Alice answered as Edward hissed loudly.

"Why not?" Bella argued. "Eight vamp…eight of you is better than seven. There's more than enough time…"

"There's not enough time to make you helpful, Bella," Alice disagreed, "Do you remember how Jasper described the young ones last night? You'd be no good in a fight. You wouldn't be able to control your instincts, and that would make you an easy target. And then Edward would get hurt trying to protect you."

Bella sighed deeply but didn't press the subject any further.

Edward looked relieved.

"Oh!" Alice gave a sudden noise of protest. "I hate last-minute cancellations. So that puts the party attendance list down to sixty-five…"

"Sixty-five!" Bella practically screamed in shock.

"Alice, it's hardly a last minute cancellation if you've seen it happening before the message has been sent," Draco pointed out logically, earning him a playful glare from the female vampire.

"Who cancelled?" Edward asked.

"Renée."

"What?" Bella gasped in shock.

"She was going to surprise you for your graduation, but something went wrong. You'll have a message when you get home," Alice explained apologetically.

"Maybe it's a good thing she's not coming," Draco put in softly. Bella frowned at him. "What with everything happening around here…well I wish my Aunts invitation for my parents would arrive sooner rather than later, that's all I can say."

"Hey guys," Jessica greeted, sounding a little bit stressed as she and Angela joined the five at the round table, setting their trays down before them. Angela immediately pulled out another stack of graduation invitations.

"Merlin, Angela, how many people are you inviting?" Draco snorted loudly.

"As many as my mum orders me to," Angela sighed deeply, "But I'm shouldn't complain - I've already received fifteen apologies and with them $60."

"Wait, people give you money?" Mike asked in shock as he and Eric dropped ungracefully down into the two remaining seats at the table. Angela rolled her eyes in his direction and focused on her next batch of invites.

"Hey, what's up?" Bella asked, noticing that Jess was unusually quiet and her expression was quite serious and thoughtful. She sighed deeply and shrugged.

"She's worrying about her speech," Angela explained.

"I just don't want it to suck," Jess explained. Bella nodded slowly in understanding. Jess had been chosen to be the valedictorian and ever since then she had been agonising over her speech, re-writing it again and again.

"It won't suck," Angela said reassuringly.

"Angela's right," Bella agreed. "Your speech will be great – it'll be epic."

"You sure?" Jess asked, uncharacteristically nervous and unsure of herself.

"Jess, it's just talking," Draco pointed out, "And who in our year, no, in this school can talk better than you?" That got a giggle out of the girl and eventually a nod of agreement. "Trust me, you'll be fine."

By the time he arrived home that afternoon his parents had received the invitation to go to England from his Aunt. He tried (and somehow managed) to hide his relief from them as he encouraged them to take her up on her offer whilst at the same time declining his own invitation;

"I think it's a great idea for you to go and catch up with Aunt Andromeda. I'm sure you must have dozens, hundreds of things to talk about."

"Yes, it sounds like a lovely idea but the invitation is for all three of us…"

"I'll just get in the way, mother," Draco had argued his point softly, "You'll be talking about things that happened before I was born and I'll feel…well…I'll feel out of place and…well to be honest I'd rather just spend some time with Jasper."

"Well…if you're sure…"

So whilst his parents collaborated together in writing a reply to his Aunts letter accepting her invitation, Draco and Jasper joined Harry in his bedroom and discretely explained the full story to him. His first reaction was to offer his services just like Draco had known he would and his second reaction was to rush into the living room with the suggestion that Lucius and Narcissa take Teddy with them to visit his grandmother in England.

"Well, why don't you come with us dear?" Narcissa offered.

"I was actually hoping to spend some time with Jacob and the pack," Harry lied quite effectively, nervously rubbing his neck. "There's a council meeting Jacob wants me to attend and I'd like to get to know the new members of the pack…and...er… I was actually going to ask you if you wouldn't mind watching Teddy for a few days so this just makes it a bit more special for him…"

"I'm sure Andromeda would love to spend so time with her grandson," Narcissa smiled warmly in understanding, "We'll take good care of him."

"I know you will," Harry nodded.

"The pack…" Draco gasped softly, causing Jasper to frown at him in confusion as the three of them left his parents to re-write the letter. "Harry, do you think…do you think Jacob and the pack would be willing to help?"

"Their numbers would make the fight a great deal more even," Jasper murmured, ever the tactician. Harry hummed thoughtfully.

"I mean, it's not just the Cullens that are in danger here. If they…if they loose then the newborns will turn on the town and the reservation. No one would be safe," Draco explained softly. "I know it's a lot to ask and there's a huge chance that they're going to get hurt but…"

"Well I can ask Jacob, see what he says," Harry offered.

"Thanks," Draco said, "We can talk about it at the party. Alice did remember to put a 'plus one' on your invite didn't she? Wait…I forgot who I was talking about. Of course she remembered to put a 'plus one' on your invite."

"Yeah, she did," Harry confirmed unnecessarily, "And of course we'll be there. I'll warn you now we might have a couple unexpected guests tagging along with us. They're…curious but I'll make sure that they behave themselves. Jacob can give you the packs answer then."

"That'll be great, Harry, thanks," Draco said, resting his hand on Harry's arm gently before taking Jaspers hand in his own. "We'll leave you to…whatever you were doing before we got home."

Harry nodded, smiling warmly at the couple before heading into his room. Draco led the way up to his room, closing the door softly behind them. He'd spent the night before at Jasper's simply because his boyfriend hadn't had the heart to wake him after he had cried himself to sleep in his arms.

"How do you feel now?" Jasper asked, slipping his arms around his boyfriend so that they stood together in the middle of the room, holding each other close.

"Better," Draco sighed, nuzzling his face into his boyfriend's neck. "You?"

"Better," Jasper echoed.

They both felt a sort of relief at the fact that they had told the stories of their dark histories and no one had judged them, no one had run from them or turned away from them. Everyone had accepted them for who they were now rather than who they had been. But the most important thing that they were both most relieved about was the fact that the revelations about their pasts hadn't ruined their relationship, on the contrary, both of them felt that it was stronger than ever.

"But we still need to talk about your part in the battle," Jasper warned his mate softly, his tone filled with displeasure. "I am not comfortable with the idea of you risking yourself. I would much rather-"

"Can we talk about this later?" Draco interrupted softly, tightening his arms around his boyfriend and leaning against him almost completely, allowing the vampires strong body to support his weight. "Once graduation is over and my parents are safely in England?"

"All right," Jasper agreed to the compromise softly, "But there'll be no getting around it then. We will talk about this." Draco nodded, resting his head on Jasper's shoulder with a happy sigh and allowing himself to enjoy the feeling of simply being held by the one he loved.

Draco had forgotten how much he loathed final examinations.

He'd never sat his NEWT's; they'd been cancelled because of the war so the last exams he'd sat were his OWL's when he was fifteen and although he had received top marks in all but one of his classes (the one being Muggle Studies which at the time he had thought was a complete waste of time) it had been tough and he had hated every minute of it.

Just like he had hated every minute of the finals he had just sat.

"I am so very glad that those are over," Draco said, his voice filled with relief as he and his fellow students exited the last of the examinations. Bella nodded in agreement. "So what are you doing tonight while Edward and the others are out of town?" he asked, having been informed by Jasper that the entire family was going on a much needed hunting trip.

"I'm going over Jacobs," Bella answered, "I haven't hung with him for a while and Edward still doesn't really trust those shields you had Harry put up around my house. He wants me with someone he knows will protect me."

"Don't I count?" Draco asked, pretending to be hurt.

"Alice said you had plans already," Bella explained why she hadn't asked to hand out with him, "She said something about shopping and…well you know how much I hate shopping…"

"I was only teasing," Draco reassured her, "But Alice was right, I am going shopping for Graduation gifts for everyone. You wouldn't enjoy it at all, despite the fact that I'm going to a magical shopping centre."

"Jasper's letting you go shopping alone?" Bella asked in surprise.

"Yes, on the condition that I keep my wand with me at all times and wear my ring…if I can find it," Draco muttered the last part to himself. He'd had a quick look for the ring his father had spelled to keep vampires away from him that morning but he hadn't been able to find it. If he'd lost it he would be killed for two different reasons – for loosing a means of protection and for loosing a family heirloom.

"You know you don't have to get me anything for Graduation, right?" Bella asked as they both spotted their boyfriends and Alice waiting by the shiny Volvo.

"I know you'd prefer if I didn't but I'm going to get you something anyway," Draco answered happily, stepping into Jasper's open arms and pressing a kiss to his lips. "You all set to go on your little trip?"

"Yeah. You all set for your shopping expedition?" Jasper responded.

"Almost," Draco answered honestly as the five of them climbed into the car, Jasper for once taking the middle seat in the back so that he and Draco could continue their conversation without talking over Alice, "Just gotta grab a few things when I get home. What time do you lot think you'll be back?"

"I don't know," Jasper replied honestly.

"Well, whatever the time I'd better wake up with you there," Draco warned his boyfriend, smiling to show he wasn't being nasty, just playful. "I don't like waking up without you any more."

"I'll be there," Jasper promised.

So the Cullens went on a much needed hunting trip, Bella spent a surprisingly enjoyable evening watching ridiculous movies with Jacob, Harry and Teddy and Draco spent three hours shopping in the nearest Wizarding Mall, purchasing little gifts for everyone in his circle of friends. Of course he was careful not to get anything outrageously magical for his muggle friends. He agonised long and hard over what to get Jasper and in the end it was only by pure chance that he found the perfect gift for his lover – a book of the American Civil War from point of view of the Wizards who had fought secretly in it.

Jasper would love it.

The remaining days before Graduation flew by and somehow, Draco wasn't quite sure how, but somehow Bella managed to break her hand whilst hanging out with Jacob on the reservation. He'd offered to give her potion to heal it straight away but she had declined, allowing Carlisle to treat it the good old fashioned way for no reason other than she was stubborn and didn't trust the foul smelling potions.

Sunday, the day before Graduation was spent choosing a suitable outfit to wear, a process which literally took him all day – he wanted to look good even if it was only underneath those awful robes he was going to have to wear. Jasper found his search for the perfect outfit highly amusing, relaxing on the bed and offering a comment when his opinion was required. Thankfully Alice had already picked out his outfit, an outfit which she had assured him would go well with the one Draco would eventually settle on.

"Morning, my love," Jasper whispered softly as Draco woke the following morning, stretching in his usual manner before settling back against his boyfriends chest, a happy and content smile upon his face.

"Mornin'," he mumbled, "What time is it?"

"We've got an hour before we need to leave," Jasper answered with the information he knew Draco really wanted to know. His boyfriend smiled at him in a sleepy but thankful way, breaking off to yawn before he rose from his bed, stumbling towards the bathroom. Jasper followed him, catching Draco in his arms before he could disappear into the room for his morning shower. "I need to head home and get ready, if that's ok with you?"

"Um…yeah…" Draco nodded, rubbing at his eyes sleepily.

"I'll be back in an hour," Jasper promised.

"Ok," Draco said, leaning up to kiss his boyfriends soft lips. "Oh, I forgot to ask. How are we getting there? Is Edward picking us up?"

"Nope," Jasper said, a slightly wicked grin spreading across his face, "I thought we'd arrive in style. How do you feel about arriving on the bike?"

"The bike?" Draco asked, fully awake all of a sudden. "Oh yeah…"

Their arrival on the bike cause quite a stir…but it was nothing compared the stir his own parents caused when they walked into the auditorium. Draco was sure some of his fellow students had gone into shock, Mike being one of them.

His father looked elegant and handsome, dressed in a muggle suit (designer of course) that suited him every bit as well as his Wizarding robes did. And his mother was as beautiful as ever, dressed in a floor length dress made of the slinkiest silk. She carried with her the camera Jasper had taught her how to use, being ever so patient with her until she completely understood everything she needed to know about the muggle invention.

"Draco!" she called out when she saw him, waving at him and giving him a smile filled with pride as she and Lucius took their seats beside Carlisle and Esme, the next best dressed people in the room. Neither of them seemed at all bother by the amount of attention they were receiving, they were quite used to it after all.

"Dude! That's you mum?" Mike asked in shock as everyone started taking their seats ready for the ceremony to begin.

"Yes," Draco chuckled whilst giving Jess, sat on stage by herself a thumbs up. She smiled nervously back at him, giving their group a little wave before going back to fiddling with the piece of paper holding her speech.

"She's hot!"

"Mike!" Angela scolded, punching him in the arm. "Don't be so disgusting."

"How is it disgusting to say his mum's hot?" Mike asked, rubbing at his arm and looking both confused and annoyed, "I was just stating a fact. It's not like I called her a MILF or anything."

"Do I even want to know what a MILF is?" Draco asked slowly.

"Um…it means Mum-I'd-Like-to-Fuck," Mike explained with an embarrassed blush. "And I would like to point out that I didn't call her a MILF. Come on guys, I might be a bit…outspoken but even I'm not that bad."

"If I hear one person calling my mother a MILF I'll-"

Luckily the ceremony beginning interrupted what would no doubt have been a very interesting threat and as the students began to collect their diploma's and their yearbooks. Draco muttered angrily to himself about disgusting muggles until the first of their group, Alice was called up by the Headmaster.

"Wasn't her boyfriend supposed to be here?" Angela asked in confusion as Alice skipped happily onto the stage. "She told me the other day her boyfriend from England was coming all this way to see her graduate."

"His flight got cancelled," Jasper explained/lied. "He'll be here for the party."

"And the real reason is?" Draco asked softly as Edward was called up next, moving at a much more sedate pace than his sister.

"She had a vision this morning that he would be caught up with something at home and will arrive tonight bearing gifts and many apologies."

"Oh," Draco chuckled, his good mood now fully restored as the students continued to be called in alphabetical order, something the muggles in their group were complaining – their surnames were all at the end of the alphabet.

"Jasper Hale," the Headmaster called out and Jasper removed his arm from where it had been resting casually about his boyfriends shoulders before heading up to the stage. Draco felt pride swell in his chest as Jasper collected his diploma and yearbook even though the vampire had done this dozens of times before.

"Hey, dude, why weren't you in the same year as your sister? I've been meaning to ask for, like, ages," Mike asked as Jasper returned to his seat, holding the yearbook and diploma casually in his lap as he focused his attention of putting his arm around his boyfriend once more. "I thought you were twins."

"No, just siblings," Jasper corrected with a soft shake of his head, "She's a year older than me but for some reason people always assume we're twins. I think it must be that either she looks a year younger than she is or I look a year older."

"Oh," Mike mumbled in slightly confused understanding, returning his attention to the stage where another of his classmates was receiving her diploma.

And then it was Draco's turn. He rose slowly, adjusting the weird looking cap he had been forced to wear and walked calmly towards the stage. There was no way he was going to rush through this like some of the other students had. The Headmaster offered him a somewhat genuine congratulations, Draco got the feeling he was bit bored of saying the same thing over and over again but he couldn't blame him – there were a lot of students in his year.

Accepting the diploma and the handshake he continued across the stage and took his yearbook from Jessica, giving her another thumbs up of encouragement for her speech later and returned to his seat.

"What do you think of the yearbook?" Angela asked as he flicked through it.

"It's cool," Draco answered with a smile before he suddenly stopped, looking shocked, "Angela, why is there a two page spread about me?"

"Um…" Angela mumbled, looking slightly embarrassed, "Well…it was the committee's decision and…I don't know if you noticed but the committee was made up entirely of girls. Basically, you were new kid so they'd already considered doing something on you and they thought you were hot."

"Oh."

Mike hurried up to the stage when it was his turn, laughing loudly as he took the diploma and turned to the audience so that he could give a deep bow and begin to imitate an actor receiving an Oscar. He was hurried along by the chuckling headmaster who knew they were pressed for time.

Jessica was the next from their group to collect her diploma, walking the short distance across the stage and then back to the table of yearbooks. She didn't give herself one as that would have looked totally stupid; she would just take the one that was left over at the end.

Bella was the next person called up to collect her diploma, looking awkward and uncomfortable with all the attention focused on her. Her dad obviously didn't have a problem with attention as he had jumped up to his feet the moment his daughters name was called, watching her with watery eyes filled with pride.

Angela received her diploma with a beaming smile and Eric collected his with a victory dance of epic proportions which was sort of appropriate seeing as how he was the last student on the list.

And then it was time for Jessica's speech. Taking a deep breath she walked across the stage and took her place behind the podium with a nervous little smile and then and after a brief cheer of encouragement from the group of friends she began her much worried about speech,

"When we were five they asked us what we wanted to be. Our answers were things like astronaut, ? or in my case – a princess. When were ten they asked again and our answers were things like a rock star, ? or in my case – a gold medallist. But now they want us to give them a serious answer. Well here's one – who the Hell knows?" Jess asked, earning a cheer from her classmates. "This isn't the time to make hard and fast decisions; this is the time to make mistakes. Take the wrong train and get stuck somewhere. Fall in love – a lot. Major in philosophy because there is no way to make a career out of that…"

"I don't want to fall in love a lot," Draco murmured in Jasper's ear as the humorous speech continued to bring laughs from the students and relatives sat in the auditorium, "I'm quite happy with the love I've found."

"I'm glad to hear that," Jasper responded, pressing a soft kiss to Draco's lips before the couple turned their attention back to the speech which was just finishing.

"Make plenty of mistakes now because then when they ask us again we won't have to guess – we'll know!"

(A/N I know there's a couple of word's missing from the speech and a couple of sentences might be slightly different but I wrote this from memory after watching the film three times – LOL!)

"Oh Draco, I'm so proud of you!" his mother cried as she and Lucius hurried over, both of them pulling him into a hug. Draco wasn't the only one being hugged though; students all around the room were being caught by their emotional parents. "Stand with Jasper, dear, and both of you show us your diploma's," she ordered, putting the camera up to her face so that she could see the image on the digital screen. "What was that muggle phrase I heard…oh yes, say cheese!"

"Why?" Draco asked.

"It makes you smile," Jasper explained softly.

"Well can't we just smile?" Draco asked.

"But where's the fun in that?" Jasper asked with a laugh.

"Fine," Draco sighed deeply. "Cheese!"

And there began the seemingly never ending photo session…

A/N D'you know I'm seriously impressed with myself for getting this written so quickly because MY COMPUTER DIED! And I mean properly died. "Corrupted hard-drive" resulting in a loss of EVERYTHING died! I had to buy a whole new hard-drive and I cried my eyes out. Now I'm backing everything up onto an external hard-drive. Thankfully a lot of my notes were on paper so I can still get on with this story. My other stories however…well that's going to take a while. R & R with suggestions and comments, all are seriously welcome at the moment.
- 13
- 14
- 15
You need to be logged in to leave a review for this story.You need to be logged in to leave a review for this story.
Report Story

Of Lions And Lambs - Part Three