Adult-FanFiction.org : Harry Potter

Of Lions And Lambs - Part Four	By : Marblez Category: Harry Potter Crossovers > Slash - Male/Male Views: 9326 -:- Recommendations : 1 -:- 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
- 16
- 17
- 18
Chapter Sixteen

            “Aro will want us incapacitated before he attacks,” Edward explained softly as everyone echo had been invited to attend the meeting regarding possible tactics made themselves comfortable in the Cullen’s living room the following day. “Jane and Alec will try and take me out first because I can anticipate their moves.”
            “Of course, because that would be cheating…” Draco muttered sarcastically.
            Garrett looked across at Bella who was sat stiffly at her husband’s side.
            “Too bad we don't all have your shield,” he muttered, his words causing Bella to shift uncomfortably as she answered, her voice filled with distress,
            “Doesn't help me fight though.”
            “No, but it could help the rest of us,” Tanya announced suddenly, drawing all eyes to her as she fixed her own gaze on Bella. “If you could protect us.”
            “What do you mean?” Bella asked, her forehead furrowed with confusion.
            “I mean shield someone other than yourself,” Tanya explained simply, tucking a stray lock of her long blonde hair behind her ear.
            Bella’s frown depend as she turned her piercing gaze on Carlisle.
            “Is that possible?”
            “Gifts can be developed,” Carlisle admitted reluctantly. “Over time.”
            “Ah, time,” Draco sighed as he rubbed at a spot on his belly where a persistent fluttering feeling had been driving him mad for nearly an hour now. “Something which we don't have an abundance of unfortunately…and seriously, bump, would you please stop?”
            Despite the fact that his last statement had quite obviously, in his opinion, been aimed at his unborn child it still made several of the vampire’s present frown across at him in confusion before they caught on.
            “Is something wrong, Draco?” Esme asked worriedly, a second away from calling for Lucius and Narcissa who were not present at the meeting due to a need to practise a few of the more defensive spells which they hadn't used in years.
            After all, Death Eaters didn't defend, they attacked.
            Good thing they weren't Death Eaters any more though as defence was definitely the main item on their current strategy.
            Fighting was still and always would be the last resort.
            “No, Esme, nothing’s wrong,” Draco reassured her quickly, his hand still rubbing absentmindedly at the spot on his belly. “Just a certain someone deciding that now is an appropriate time to become a Quidditch player.”
            Jaspers hand covered his, pressing them both flat until they could both feel the tiny fluttering motions their child was causing. It wasn't anything pronounced yet, not the kicking which Harry had described, but it was definitely a sign of life.
            “How long have you been feeling this?” Jasper gasped in wonder.
            Draco smiled at his husband.
            “Just a couple of times over the last few days,” he admitted softly, pulling his hand out from underneath the vampires so that Jasper could feel every little movement. “I didn’t think anything of it at first, just thought it was wind or something so I didn’t want to get your hopes up until I was sure. Well, now I’m pretty sure that our child is either really, really impatient to get out into the world or is just unhappy not to be the centre of attention.”
            “Given who it’s mother, sorry, I mean father is I would definitely have to go with the latter option,” Jacob snorted loudly, earning a sharp glare from the blond wizard and a rather amused glance from everyone else, including his own mate who was bouncing JJ on his lap. “Come on, you were all thinking it. I just said it out loud.”
            “How long did it take all of you to learn how to control your gifts?” Bella asked softly, drawing the conversation back towards its original subject.
            “Years,” Jasper murmured softly, his voice filled with a multitude of sorrow as he met his sister-in-laws hopeful gaze. “It took me years.”
            “Edward?”
            Her husband sighed sadly before admitting,
            “Months.”
            “But you weren't in any rush to learn how to control it,” Kate murmured, leaning around Garrett so that she could make eye contact with Bella. “Your gifts were annoying and uncomfortable, sure, but they didn't hurt the people you love. I learnt to control mine in a few weeks.”
            “What do you mean?” Bella asked softly, her hope evident in her eyes.
            Kate held up a hand sparkling with controlled electricity.
            “At first mine was just in my palms,” she explained, turning her gifts off and resting her hand in her lap. “Now I can radiate it all over my body, if I want to, but I can also touch people without zapping them with enough electricity to kill a horse.”
            “How do you do it?” Bella all but demanded.
            Kate sighed, obviously struggling to come up with a suitable explanation.
            Bella, obviously not in the most patient of moods, reached out and grabbed hold of the other vampire’s wrist so tightly that even Draco heard it creak in protest.
            “Tell me.”
            Kate looked pointedly at her wrist,
            “Ow.”
            Bella flinched back, releasing the other vampire’s wrist instantly.
            “Sorry, I just…” she mumbled apologetically.
            “I understand,” Kate reassured her. “It's just…difficult to explain.”
            “Perhaps it would be easier for you to explain why you are doing as you are doing it?” Hermione suggested from her spot by one of the windows, smiling at her husband stood next to her. “Sometimes the only way to show someone who is doing something wrong how to do it right is to show them yourself whilst explaining it.”
            “Swish and flick?” he chuckled softly.
            She nodded, offering him a bright smile.
            “Swish and flick,” she echoed, much to everyone's confusion. Only Harry seemed to know what they were on about if his smile was anything to go by. “All I meant is that perhaps you could instruct Bella on controlling her gifts whilst demonstrating how you control yours.”
            Kate sighed.
            “Ok, I guess it's worth a try,” the beautiful vampire murmured, looking around the various faces in the room. “But I'm going to need a couple of volunteers to play target. Firstly for me to demonstrate my control and then to encourage Bella to protect someone other than herself.”
            “I'm sure most of us will be happy to volunteer,” Edward murmured before anyone else could speak up, ignoring the disgruntled looks several people shot him.
            “Vampires only,” Kate announced firmly. “Mortals are too…fragile.”
            Draco frowned.
            “I think you'd be surprised,” he warned her before letting out a deep sigh, resting back against the cushions behind him. “However in this case I will quite happily play the fragile little mortal as I don't fancy getting electrocuted…again.”
            “Again?”
            Draco grimaced.
            “Death Eaters are dangerous enough when they had something to do with their time,” he explained softly, rubbing at his shoulder as he spoke. “I'll leave it up to your imaginations to figure out what they were like when they were bored.”
            Hermione winced, her own hand moving to press against the scar left behind on her left forearm thanks to his twisted Aunt and her time spent torturing the young witch for information during the war.
            “…what's a Death Eater?” Tanya asked softly.
            Draco sighed, preparing to answer but Carlisle’s soft voice stopped him,
            “I will explain later,” his father-in-law reassured the confused vampires scattered around the large room, earning himself a look of thanks from not only Draco but Harry, Ron and Hermione as well. “For now shall we join everyone else outsider? If we’re going to be testing gifts I'd rather not have it take place inside with our priceless collection of delicate, breakable antiques.”
            Several of their group chuckled before obediently making their way out of the house, parting with nods of farewell as they split up once they were outside in order to join the other members of their covens who had spread themselves around the camp and were practising different fighting techniques with both the magical community and the shifters, both of whom seemed to have taken the vampires by surprise with what they were actually capable of.
            “You joining us, Draco?” Bella called out as she and the others began to head into the woods, looking for a suitable spot to begin her training.
            Draco shook his head.
            “I think we’ll check in with everyone else for the moment.”
            “Ok.”
            “I've asked Neville and Luna to do a couple of experiments for me, with the cooperation of the vampires in question,” Hermione explained as she led her husband, her best friend be his husband and her old rival and his husband through the camp towards a specific group. “I wanted to find out how well the Protego charm holds up against different types of gifts.”
            “It does bugger all to defend against mental attacks,” Neville reported grimly, gesturing towards a grinning Luna who was talking to something that wasn't there and an equally grinning Zafrina whose hand was outstretched towards to witch. “Physical attacks, however, produce the same reaction as hexes and curses.”
            With that he nodded towards Benjamin who instantly created an enormous fist out of the earth at his feet and swung it towards the young wizards head.
            At the last moment Neville raised his wand and cried out,
            “Protego!”
            A blue glow settled around his body like a second skin just as the giant fist made contact, disintegrating instantaneously and falling harmlessly at his feet.
            “Excellent,” Hermione reacted calmly unlike her companions who all looked a little shaken, each of them doubting whether or not they'd have had the guts to just stand there and take a hit like that without knowing 100% that they'd be protected from it. “Have you tried using Occlumency to block out the mental attacks?”
            “I haven't had any training in Occlumency,” Neville admitted apologetically, slipping his wand into his pocket. “And Luna has always said that her mind is a free spirit that should not be tamed in such a way.”
            Hermione huffed under her breath.
            “Fine, I'll…”
            “Occlumency will work against mental attacks,” Draco interrupted before she could volunteer herself as the next guide pig to be tested. “Trust me, Jane was pretty frustrated that she couldn't hurt me like she did everyone else the last time we met.”
            “How long have you been studying Occlumency?” Hermione asked eagerly, turning to face him. “And how strong would you say your mental shields are?”
            “They're strong,” Jasper answered before his husband could even open his mouth to speak. “He keeps Edward and myself out of his mind without even thinking about it. We found it incredibly frustrating when we first met, particularly Edward who had never encountered anyone he couldn't hear telepathically and within a single day had met two minds he couldn't read.”
            “I’ve been learning Occlumency ever since my magic started appearing when I was a toddler,” Draco answered her other question. “At first it was just lessons from my mother where I would learn to empty my mind, leave it a blank slate should anyone untoward try to read my thoughts. It wasn't until I began studying at Hogwarts that we began to work on forming my mental shields, allowing me to literally keep people out of my mind.”
            Hermione hummed thoughtfully.
            “We need to test someone with only a basic level of Occlumency,” she announced firmly, her gaze shifting towards Harry who began shaking his head even before she'd finished her suggestion. “We need to know if a basic grasp of the subject will be enough to stand up to the attacks, Harry, and unfortunately Draco is too advanced to tell us that.”
            “Nice back handed compliment there, Granger,” Draco snorted.
            “Weasley,” Hermione corrected for what felt like the hundredth time, not looking away from Harry. “Please, Harry? If you can resist it then all we have to is teach everyone a basic grasp of Occlumency rather than trying to teach people to build up their mental shields.”
            Harry sighed.
            “Fine,” he reluctantly agreed, passing little JJ who had been completely silent throughout the mornings discussion over to Jacob before stepping towards Zafrina. “But you should be aware that Professor Snape considered me to be the worst student of Occlumency he'd ever seen and that was before I pissed him off by accidentally looking in his pensieve.”
            “How do you accidentally look into someone's pensieve?” Draco demanded with a frown, his anger rising on behalf of his Godfather.
            Harry didn't answer him, only offered him a sheepish smile before nodding towards Zafrina who, after releasing Luna from what she described as an enchanting vision, turned her gifts on the young wizard before her.
            It took only seconds for Hermione to get her answer.
            “Either I'm as bad at this as Snape always said I was or basic levels of Occlumency won’t be enough,” Harry announced, his eyes glazing over as he studied the vision he was being shown. “Is this where you come from? Is this your home?”
            “Yes. This is home.”
            “It's beautiful…” Harry sighed, turning on the spot. “And so peaceful…”
            Hermione sighed sadly.
            “So we’ll have to find out how many people have had any training in Occlumency and see if we can work at building or strengthening their mental shields,” she concluded sadly, as aware of their lack of time as everyone else. “Draco? Would you be willing to help?”
            Draco blinked in surprise.
            “Sure,” he finally responded, leaning against his husbands side. “I've never tried to teach anyone anything before now but I'm more than happy to give it a go.”
            Hermione sent out a quick spell requesting their rest of the magical contingent join them and within minutes they were surrounded by their friends, their family and the complete strangers who had all answered their call for aid.
            “It has been discovered that Occlumency shields have the ability to keep out mental attacks,” Hermione announced once everyone had quiet ended down. “How many of you have ever studied the art of shielding your mind?”
            Unfortunately for them not even half their number raised their hands in answer to her question and yet unsurprisingly of this group all bar four of them were Slytherins, the exceptions being Arthur and Molly Weasley, their son Bill and Astoria Greengrass who, much to her family’s “shame” had been sorted into Ravenclaw thanks to her unstoppable thirst for knowledge.
            “Ok…” Hermione sighed, trying not to let her disappointment show and failing miserably. “And who amongst you have achieved a more advanced grasp of the subject? By that I mean the ability to erect effective mental shields rather than simply being able to empty your mind of thoughts.”
            This time there were significantly fewer hands raised into the air.
            Draco's parents came as no surprise, the two of them having somehow managed to keep their private thoughts a secret from the Dark Lord and his loyal supporters for many years, even when they were forced to live under the same roof.
            Ron’s parents were something of a surprise until they explained quietly that all members of the original Order of the Phoenix had strived to become Occlumens, the proper term for a practitioner of Occlumency, so as to keep their secrets should they ever be captured during the First Wizarding War.
            Bill calmly explained that one of the requirements that came with working for Gringotts, no matter how important the position, was a “superior grasp of art of Occlumency” so as to ensure that “no witch or wizard would be able to reveal the secrets of the company for whom they worked for unknowingly.”
            Terence's explanation of his own advanced skills was similar to that of the eldest Weasley child in that,
            “I was encouraged to pursue a course in Occlumency in order to reassure any potential clients that their secrets would remain safe. After all, what witch or wizard in their right mind would trust a lawyer whose thoughts were an open book?”
            Theo explained softly that after receiving the same basic level of training as his fellow housemates, in keeping with an age old Slytherin tradition dating back to the founding on the school, he had done some independent study to further his abilities in what he called “an absolutely fascinating field of study.”
            It came as no surprise to learn that Astoria, the only Ravenclaw amongst the group, had also chosen to continue studying until she had reached the advanced level but her reasons behind her initial interest in the subject were surprisingly immature; a need to be better than her older, prettier, Slytherin sister.
            “And of the rest of you who has successfully managed to create a shield around your mind, even if it was only for a brief times?” Hermione asked, her brown eyes hopeful as she obviously began forming a training regimen in her mind.
            As one Blaise, Pansy, Flora, Hesta and Adrian Pucey raised their hands.
            “Ok…” Hermione sighed once more only this time it was definitely a thoughtful sigh, one to cover her rapidly forming thoughts until she was ready to speak them out loud. “Would those of you with sufficient mental shields be willing to help teach those who are less skilled? The more people's minds we can shield from all form of mental attack, the more chance we have of successfully standing against the Volturi should this come down to a fight.”
            Every single head nodded in agreement.
            “Mr and Mrs Weasley? Would the two of you, Bill, Theo and Astoria mind giving basic Occlumency lessons to those who have never tried it beforehand?” Hermione asked, gesturing to the rest of the larger group of witches and wizard who were still gathered around those who had been the main subject of their discussion. “I've read that some people have a natural gift for the subject and any training at all would be better than nothing, wouldn't it?”
            “Of course we don't mind, dear,” Molly responded instantly. “But how many times must I remind you that you're family now? Arthur and Molly will do fine, love.”
            Hermione blushed, smiling softly before turning her questioning gaze on Bill, Theo and Astoria, all of whom agreed without hesitation to her proposal.
            “This means that Mr and Mrs Malfoy? You, Draco and Terence can help those who have already learned the basics but need to work on building their mental shields,” Hermione concluded, smiling at the last group of people she mentioned.
            “This sounds worryingly like a plan,” Dean Thomas chuckled from his spot in the crowd, rubbing the back of his neck. “And a logical one at that.”
            “And what else would you expect from Hermione,” Seamus all but cackled, rubbing his palms together as he turned to face his group of teachers. “So, who wants to teach me to protect my filthy mind? I promise, you'll enjoy what you get to see in the meantime. You would not believe the positions we've managed to–”
            Dean silenced his boyfriend with a hand across his mouth.
            “Sorry,” he muttered, his cheeks burning brightly. “We’re working on his brain to mouth filter but unfortunately such extreme procedures take time.”
            Molly smiled brightly as she approached the young couple, coming to stand directly in front of the muffled Irishman with her hands on her hips.
            Everyone watching them expected her to chew him out for his behaviour.
            Everyone watching them was wrong.
            “I’ve been married for thirty-two years, Mr Finnigan, and in that time I’ve given birth to seven healthy babies, three of which were conceived in a public place. I dare you to try and shock me.”
            “Mum!”
            The various reactions of the Weasley siblings present were quickly drowned out by the loud collection of guffaws, chuckles and ever outright cackles, Draco’s voice blending in with the rest as he struggled to control his laughter.
            It took a while for things to calm down after that, Ron demanding loudly that his mum never speak of those things again, much to everyone’s amusement but eventually everyone was in a suitable state to begin their lessons.
            Draco found himself paired up with Blaise and Pansy for which he was rather grateful as he didn't really fancy probing into the minds of any of the others.
            At least with his friends he sort of knew what to expect from them although there was one warning he had to give before they begun,
            “Either of you show me your sex lives and I'll share those memories around this campsite before you can even blink.”
            “No worries, Draco, I'm a changed man,” Blaise responded with a deep chuckle, smiling across at his young mate who was hovering towards the edge of their chosen practise area in wolf form beside Pansy’s much larger mate. “Although I can't help it if you catch glimpses of some of my previous partners. You know how many there've been, takes up a lot of room in here. My Little Wolf, however, will remain firmly tucked away for private viewing only.”
            “Thank Merlin for small mercies…”
            He turned to face Pansy who made a show of leaning back against the tree directly behind her, her arms folded across her chest as she offered him a perfectly sculptured eyebrow raised in dissatisfaction.
            “Draco, let me assure you that I'm about as interested in you seeing anything to do with my sex life, let alone my own memories, as you are in viewing them,” she scoffed loudly. “I may be a flirt who is more than happy to flash a bit of thigh when the time is right but even I have a line that I will not cross. Exhibitionism, however strangely done, is definitely not my cup of tea.”
            Draco couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief as he drew his wand from the special pocket in his jeans and prepared to test his friends who had both claimed to be able to create shields, all be it brief ones.
            “Which of you wants to go first?” he asked calmly as he flicked his wand back and forth between the two of them.
            “Oh, ladies first, of course,” Blaise chuckled deeply, actually turning to offer Pansy a deep bow, earning himself an exasperated eye roll in response.
            “Pansy?”
            “Fine. Let's get this over with,” Pansy sighed, pushing away from the tree and preparing herself to repel the attack which Draco was about to send her way, squaring her shoulders and planting her feet in the ground. “I should want you that I only succeeded in creating a shield once and it was during a moment of great stress.”
            “When was that?” Draco asked as he aimed his wand at her forehead.
            “During the Battle of Hogwarts,” she answered. “I'd tried before and I've tried since but only time it worked was when I was scared out of my mind.”
            “That's not too surprising, actually,” Draco murmured. “Genuine fear can strengthen a defensive spell like you wouldn't believe. Now, this might hurt a little bit. I'm not as practised at Legilimency as I am with Occlumency. Legilimens!”
            Pansy’s gasp of pain would have brought her mate charging over had a Jasper not reacted quickly, grabbing the giant wolf around the neck and pinning the almost feral beast to the floor, just managing to avoid the creature’s sharp teeth.
            Probing deep into her mind Draco was relieved to find that, while the shields he'd passed through had barely been strong enough to register, her mind was completely blank as it should be when suffering a mental attack such as this.
            He ended the spell with a flick of his wrist, moving forwards to steady his friend as she stumbled, a hand moving up to press against her forehead.
            “Sorry,” he murmured. “That was good, though. I felt your shields. We just need to strengthen them a bit. Nice blank mind, however, exactly how it should be.”
            “I could make a distasteful comment about a certain someone's reputation as an airhead being true after all but I think I'll resist the temptation,” Blaise announced as he stepped forwards. “I would however just like to check something before we continue, something which just popped into my brain. Draco, my friend, should you be doing magic in your condition?”
            “Shit!” Pansy gasped sharply, her eyes dropping to his stomach as she stepped back from him. “I hadn't thought of that!”
            “Small, sporadic bits of magic are fine,” Draco reassured both of them, his free hand moving to rest on his stomach. “This spell isn't difficult to create, just to control and that's a mental complication not a magical one. I can't cast big spells, obviously, and I can't spend all day casting little ones either. But the odd spell won't do me or the baby any harm. I've checked.”
            “That's alright then,” Blaise said, gently moving Pansy out of his way so that he could take her place directly in front of Draco. “Might want to go and reassure your wolf that everything's fine, Pansy, before Jasper loses an arm or something.”
            Pansy sighed, muttering under her breath about idiotic wizards and overprotective mutts as she crossed to rest her hand on Paul's large snout, leaning her body against him as Jasper released the wolf.
            Shooting his husband a quick smile, receiving a stunning one in response, he turned back to his old friend and after quirking his eyebrow asked softly,
            “Ready?”
            “Ready.”
            “Legilimens!”
            Grunting in pain Blaise stumbled backwards uncontrollably, his foot catching on a prominent tree root and sending him falling back onto his backside even as the assault on his mind continued and Draco was impressed by the fact that his friends shields held for almost a full minute before they collapsed, shattering inwards like breaking glass and allowing him instant access to the other wizards mind.
            Unlike Pansy’s mind which had been completely blank Blaise had focused his mind on one particular memory from his childhood in order to keep him away from the rest of his memories, leaving Draco to watch in shock from the perspective of a six year old peering through the elaborate bannister as his mother slowly descended the grand staircase towards the crumpled body of his father, lying upside down across the bottom few steps with his head twisted almost all the way round, his mouth moving pathetically as he struggled to take in the air he needed to survive.
            “Mummy?”
            In the memory Blaise’s mother paused on the stairs, looking up at him.
            “Your father has had an unfortunate accident,” she announced calmly. “Go back to your room. Mummy will deal with this. Mummy always deals with this.”
            The memory faded as little Blaise hurried back to his room, crawling under his bed with one of his pillows clutched in his arms to muffle his sobs and Draco took this opportunity to pull out of his friends mind, stumbling backwards in shock.
            “Blaise…”
            He'd heard the rumours.
            They'd all heard the rumour.
            Seven rich husbands, seven mysterious deaths, nothing ever proven.
            “It was an accident,” Blaise grunted, his voice trembling as he climbed to his feet and brushing the dirt off of his trousers. “I didn't mean to show you that memory...it…it was an accident…”
            “Blaise…”
            Blaise shook his head, turning away from his friend and stalking towards his mate who was whining softly, his concern obvious for all of them to see.
            “It was an accident.”
            Stumbling into the woods, his mate following him, Blaise ignored both Draco and Pansy who tried to call him back, both of them concerned for their friend.
            “What was that about?” Pansy asked, leaving her mates side to return to Draco, closely followed by a Jasper who pressed up against Draco's back, wrapping his arms around his husbands waist and silently offering him the support he needed.
            “Nothing…” Draco mumbled, unwilling to break Blaise's confidence. “Just…a rather emotional memory from his childhood that he didn't intend to show me…”
            “Will he be alright?”
            “Seth will look after him,” Draco said, trying to reassure himself as much as her. “They're good for each other. He’ll…he’ll come back once he's calmed down in a bit. In the meantime how do you fancy working on your shields some more?”
            “How could I turn down such a delightful offer for another round of horrific mental pain?” Pansy snorted, tucking her hair behind her ears as she returned to her previous spot facing him, her hands coming to rest on her hips. “Go on then. Paul knows what to expect this time so there's no chance of him attacking you…”
            Paul growled loudly.
            “…less chance of him attacking you,” Pansy corrected herself with a smirk, blowing a kiss towards her mate. “Come on then.”
            Jasper released his hold on Draco, pressing a soft kiss to the back of his neck before planting himself between the large wolf and his pregnant husband.
            “Ok, this time you need to fight against me,” Draco instructed her, aiming his wand at her forehead for the second time. “And try and relax. I know it sounds crazy but the more you think about it the harder it will be. It's all about emptying your mind, remember. That goes for the shield as well.”
            “Yes, because that sounds so simple,” Pansy muttered. “Just do it.”
            “Legilimens!”
            They worked together for nearly half an hour, by which time Pansy’s shield was able to hold up against his mental attack for almost a whole minute which was an impressive improvement although it did leave her pale and shaking.
            Blaise had yet to return.
            “Shall we take a break?” he suggested, tucking his wand away in his jeans. “I don’t know about you but I could definitely do with a cup of tea.”
            Pansy laughed breathlessly.
            “Yes, a cup of tea sounds–”
            “Uncle Draco!” Renesmee’s high pitched interrupted his friends response moments before her small body collided with his legs, her arms wrapping around his thighs as he desperately tried to regain his balance. “You have to come now!”
            “Oh, I do, do I?” he chuckled, placing his hand on the back of her head as she blinked owlishly up at him, a cheeky smile on her pretty little face. “And where’s Teddy? I thought the two of you were baking cookies with Esme?”
            Renesmee giggled, reaching up to rest her hand on his cheek and showing him an image of Teddy eating too much cookie dough and making himself sick once he’d lowered his mental shields to let her into his mind.
            He chuckled,
            “Poor Teddy…”
            Renesmee nodded seriously before taking hold of his hand and pulled him towards the treeline, holding her other hand out for Jasper to take and, due to her unnatural strength, Draco really had no choice but to go with her.
            “Where are we going?” he asked, looking back over his shoulder at Pansy who was now being steadied by a very human and very naked Paul, mouthing an apology to his friend before focusing his attention on not tripping up.
            “To watch mummy,” Renesmee asked simply. “She’s getting better.”
            “Your mummy won’t want you there, sweetheart,” Draco murmured worriedly, thinking of how difficult and possibly distressing the young girl would find the training sessions. “She doesn’t want you to get upset…”
            “I already know what’s happening, Uncle Draco, I can hear it,” Renesmee responded in such a calm and logical manner that it was like hearing Edward or Carlisle speak out of a little girl’s body. “I want to be there when she gets it right.”
            “…you’re talking is getting better and better with each passing day, you know that?” Draco mused, allowing himself to be pulled further into the woods.
            Renesmee smiled proudly up at him.
            “…not ready to do that yet,” Bella was protesting frantically just as they finally came within seeing distance of the group, Renesmee coming to an abrupt halt and holding a finger to her lips as she nodded towards the group of vampires.
            Edward let out a grunt of pain as his hand was grabbed by Kate, a bolt of electricity shooting up his arm and driving him to his knees on the damp ground.
            “I'm sorry!” Bella cried out, obviously distressed by the sight of her husband in pain and Draco couldn’t blame her, imagining Jasper in his place. Renesmee, strangely enough, seemed entirely unaffected. “I said I wasn't ready!”
            “Dude, you're not motivating her,” Emmett pointed out from where he was stood beside Garrett with his arms folded across his broad chest.
            “You want to try?” Edward suggested.
            Emmett’s reaction was instantaneous, his hands coming up in a silent sign of surrender even as Bella made a show of preparing herself for the next attack.
            She nodded once, Kate grabbed Edward by the shoulder and a fraction of a second later he was crumpling to the ground once more with a cry of pain.
            “Kate!” Bella protested, stumbling towards her husband in concern.
            A light pressure came to rest against his leg and Draco looked down to find Renesmee leaning her entire body weight, tiny amount that it was, against him as she watched the scene playing out in front of them.
            “You seem to lack incentive,” was Kate's response, her voice betraying nothing of the obvious discomfort she was feeling being forced to hurt someone whom she considered to be family. “Should I go and see if Renesmee's awake?”
            Draco's hands tightened protectively on Renesmee's shoulders even as her mother cried out sharply in protest to that particular suggestion,
            “Are you crazy?”
            Jasper let out a soft huff of amusement beside him.
            “Kate knows that the only way Bella is going to advance quick enough to make a difference is for her to feel threatened, to feel backed into a corner with only one way out to protect those which she loves the most,” the tactician murmured softly, reaching out to squeeze his husbands shoulder reassuringly. “You know she'd never actually hurt Renesmee, Draco.”
            “I know.”
            That didn't mean he was going to loosen his grip on her delicate little shoulders any time soon.
            Renesmee smiled up at him suddenly.
            “Mummy will do it this time,” she announced softly. “Watch.”
            “Alright, Bella, this ones on full power,” Kate warned them both softly as she reached out to take hold of Edwards wrist once more, her whole arm seeming to crackle with electricity just as she made contact.
            Bella flinched, her whole body tensing as her fists clenched at her side.
            They all waited for Edward to cry out in pain, Draco sucking in a sharp breath of air, but all the handsome telepath did was grunt softly in discomfort.
            Eventually Kate let go and for the first time since they walked up Edward was left standing on his own two feet, if a little unsteadily.
            “It's painful,” he announced, his voice betraying that fact. “But it's bearable.”
            Bella literally sagged with relief before smiling brightly.
            “Ok, we should go again.”
            Edward sighed, shooting his brother a somewhat hopeful look.
            “Emmett?”
            “No, I'm good,” Emmett refused firmly. “Thanks for the offer, though.”
            Renesmee giggled loudly, betraying their presence.
            “Renesmee!” Bella gasped loudly, her eyes widening as she caught sight of her daughter who had taken hold of Draco's hand once more, this time so that she could hang from it in an affectionately childish manner. “What are…Draco?! What were you thinking, bringing her out here? You know I didn't want her to see…”
            “Hey! Don't try to blame this on me!” Draco protested instantly, giving Renesmee a gentle shake which caused her to let out another bright giggle. “We are here at this one’s insistence. I don't know if it's come to your attention yet, Bella, but you and your husband have successfully created a rather bull-headed creature.”
            Instantly Renesmee's smile was transformed into a pout.
            “Hey, did I make that sound like it was a bad thing? I didn’t mean it as a bad thing,” Draco countered, offering the little girl a genuine smile. “Some of the best people I know are incredibly bull-headed.”
            “Jasper?”
            “Ask your husband,” the southern vampire murmured, resting his hand on the back of Jaspers neck and squeezing reassuringly. “He knows everything I know?”
            Bella looked across at her husband, rolling her eyes over towards her daughter when Edward smiled and nodded in confirmation of their explanation.
            “Renesmee, this isn't a place for little girls to be,” she sighed, moving across to kneel in front of her daughter, tilting her head so that they could make eye contact. “It's too dangerous.”
            Her daughter shook her head in response.
            “Yes, it is,” Bella insisted, reaching out to stroke her thumb over her daughter’s smooth cheek. “Even for strong little girls like you.”
            Renesmee sighed, pouting across at her mother.
            “Thank you, for wanting to come and support me, but I'm going to ask Uncle Draco and Uncle Jasper to take you back to Esme until everything has calmed down out here,” Bella instructed firmly, looking up at the two men in question from her kneeling position. “No more battle training.”
            “It's not like I had much of a choice…” Draco brush to protest before sighing deeply, knowing he'd never convince his friend of this while her maternal instincts were in overdrive. “Fine. Yes, no more battle training for Renesmee.”
            Draco was forced to hide a smile behind his hand as Renesmee folded her arms across her chest, her lower lips beginning to tremble as she offered her mother one of the most impressive pouts he’d seen in weeks.
            Thankfully they were saved from a tantrum such as only a hybrid can throw by her Uncle Jasper who, acting quickly, reaching down to pluck her out of her mother’s hands and settled her up on his shoulders, her hands automatically taking hold of his air as he locked his arms down across her legs to hold her in place.
            “Come on, trouble,” he chuckled up at the little girl who was obviously trying to maintain her pout but struggling given her new position. “Let’s go find something fun to do until your cookies are ready to eat.”
            Turning away from the group they began to make their way back towards the house, Draco tucking his hand into the back pocket of his husband’s jeans in lieu of holding his hand, both of which were busy holding on to Renesmee’s legs.
            As they walked they tried to come up with things to entertain the little girl for the rest of the day, ideas that would hopefully brighten her now slightly dampened spirits after her own plans for her day had been “ruined.”
            “Why don’t you get out your art things?” Jasper suggested, wiggling the legs he held in his hands so that her little feet wobbled back and forth. “I’m sure Esme would love to help you paint something while your cookies finish baking.”
            “We did painting yesterday,” Renesmee sighed. “I wanted to watch mummy.”
            “I know, sweetheart.”
            “Why don’t you do some practise on the devil?” Draco suggested, using the little girls nickname for the grand piano she’d begun having lessons on a couple of days ago, much to the pleasure of both her parents who loved music.
            Renesmee, as the nickname suggested, had not been as pleased.
            “It makes my fingers hurt,” she whined, sounding every bit the child she appeared to be, something which she didn’t often allow herself to do as she wanted to appear as grown up as possible. “And the music’s really boring…”
            “I’m sure we can find something more fun for you to play,” Jasper reassured her, tilting his head up to look at the little girl still perched on his shoulders. “And then perhaps you can surprise mummy and daddy this evening with a new piece?”
            Renesmee hummed thoughtfully for a moment before eventually nodding.
            It was just as they were about to step back into the camo which stood between them and the house that they came across a couple of vampires in a rather compromising position, the majority of their clothes scattered around their feet as they seemed intent on exploring the inside of each other’s mouths with their tongues, their hands continuing to work at stripping off the last of their clothing.
            Jasper cleared his throat loudly as Renesmee let out a loud giggle, causing Peter and Charlotte to spring apart with enough force to land a good few feet away from each other, their hands rapidly moving to adjust their remaining clothing.
            “Jasper!” Charlotte gasped loudly, shifting uncomfortably as her hands fluttered across her exposed body, trying to hide the multitude of scars covering her pale skin in a manner similar to those that covered Jaspers body. “We…I…”
            “Little eyes,” Jasper chuckled, balancing Renesmee on his shoulders as he picked up her white t-shirt and threw it towards her. “And little ears.”
            “I’ve heard worse,” Renesmee announced proudly. “Uncle Emmett is loud.”
            Draco guffawed loudly, moving to help gather the rest of the female vampires clothing and pass it over to her even as her partner hurriedly pulled on his own things, pausing every now and then to toss something of hers across to her.
            “We haven’t been able to find some alone time since we got here,” he muttered towards his old brother-in-arms as he buttoned up his jeans, yanking his belt through the buckle a little too roughly. “And with the possibility of…”
            “I understand,” Jasper responded with a smile, reaching up to tickle Renesmee’s side eliciting a loud giggle in response. “It’s just this one’s got us in enough trouble with her parents today, don’t need to add anything more to the list.”
            Peter chuckled.
            “Causing trouble are you, little one?” he asked the little girl with a rather dazzling smile, receiving a sharp nod followed by pretty smile in return. “Good girl! We’ve got to keep this lot on their toes or they’ll get soft.”
            “Don’t encourage her!” Draco scolded the vampire who reminded him so much of his husband, unsurprising given how much time they had spent together in the past although he had never been tortured by the “gift” of empathy.
            Charlotte, who Draco had found to be unusually quiet, moved to stand beside her mate fully dressed once more (apart from her tights which Draco noticed hanging from the back pocket of her shorts) but still looking more than a little bit rumpled, a fact which he found slightly amusing as he had concluded, after years of semi-serious study, that all vampires seemed to possess a magical ability to remain completely unruffled no matter what the situation presented.
            “Nice tights,” he couldn’t help but comment and he was pretty sure that had it been physically possible the female vampire would have been blushing. “I imagine they can be rather annoying. How do you get them off when you’re…in a hurry?”
            “You don’t,” Peter snorted loudly. “You just rip them.”
            “…that makes a lot of sense actually,” Draco mused, ignoring his husbands disapproving look. “Although it must be a pain buying so many pairs of tights.”
            “They don’t last long anyway,” Charlotte admitted. “They’ve always been ridiculously fragile things, even back when they were stockings rather than tights but at least back in the day you could darn them to cover up the holes. Nowadays they’ve so flimsy you’ve got choice but to throw them away and buy a new pair.”
            “…I think that’s the most I’ve ever heard you say,” Draco mused, pushing Renesmee’s hands away from his head gently when she tried to play with his like she had his husbands. “I can’t pull off the braids look like the two of you can.”
            Renesmee pouted, brushing her fingers across the braids she'd put into Jaspers hair almost mournfully before eventually reaching up and setting to work on her own auburn hair, twisting the long strands around her agile fingers.
            Peter snorted loudly,
            “It's a good look on you, Jasper.”
            “I'm just getting in practise for when our own child reaches the hair braiding stage,” Jasper responded, shooting Draco a soft smile and not making any move to rescue his hair. “And given how much my husband worries about his appearance I don't think we’ll be waiting very long fit that stage to arrive.”
            “I don't know what you're trying to imply,” Draco responded with a smile, brushing his fingers through his hair so that it shifted ever so slightly until it hung artfully across his forehead. “I mean it’s perfectly obvious that I just woke up this way this morning. There was no extra work necessary. I swear.”
            “Oh, I know exactly what you mean, Draco,” Charlotte giggled softly, adjusting the edgy cut of her fringe so that it pointed towards one eye more than the other. “Completely natural.”
            Peter let out a ridiculously fake sneeze, rubbing his nose with the back of his hand as he turned to his mate and announced brightly,
            “Sorry, I'm allergic to bullshit.”
            “Charlotte, the last time I saw the two of you your hair was down past your waist and almost as pale as Draco's,” Jasper pointed out, arching an eyebrow in her direction. “You do realise it'll never grow back, right?”
            “Yes, I am aware that our hair is as dead as the rest of us and that it won't magically reappear like it does in that, shall we say interesting film, Interview with a Vampire,” Charlotte muttered, running her fingers through the short dark locks on the back of her head. “It wasn't exactly by choice, you know? We had a bit of a close call and half my hair got singed off, practically to length it is now. This seemed like the best solution at the time.”
            Jaspers body stiffened noticeably.
            “What, exactly, do you mean by a bit of a close call?” he demanded, his voice deceptively soft as both of his old friends shifted uncomfortably before him, their hands linking seemingly of their own accord. “Peter? Charlotte?”
            It was Peter who finally answered,
            “We were relocating a little while back when we ran into a spot of bother. Hunters. Three of them. Nothing we couldn't handle…eventually. It was just a little closer than we would have liked.”
            “Hunters?” Draco repeated. “...like in Supernatural?”
            “Not nearly as good looking,” Charlotte scoffed instantly. “Or as competent. If those Winchester boys were real we'd all be in a great deal of trouble.”
            Draco hummed in agreement.
            Supernatural was one of those American shows he had found himself falling in love with since his arrival in Forks, especially during his months of depression when pretty much all he could manage to do was sit up in his bed and work his way through his growing collection of DVDs.
            “Dean or Sam?” Charlotte asked suddenly.
            “Dean,” Draco answered. “Although I quite like Castiel as well.”
            “I agree. I like Sam but there's just something about Dean…” she trailed off with a sigh, sharing a look with Draco who nodded in agreement. “Although thinking about it, it might just be the arms…”
            “Should we be feeling jealous?”
            Draco smiled across at Peter who had voiced the teasing question before sharing a pointed look with his husband who, after watching only a single episode with his husband, had become instantly as addicted had his own favourite character.
            “Well, seeing as I'm a Dean fan myself I don't think I have a right to be jealous about this particular subject,” he chuckled deeply, his shoulders bouncing and wobbling Renesmee so much that she let out a high pitched shriek and clutched at his head. “I'm not going to drop you, sweetheart,” Jasper promised, squeezing her legs to put his point across. “I'd fear for my safety if I ever did - your mother is a truly terrifying woman who I would rather not get on the wrong side of.”
            “I heard that, Jasper Whitlock…sorry…Malfoy-Whitlock,” Bella muttered as she emerged from the woods, her eyes looking a little bit strained and in her hands an unhappy looking owl, a small envelope clutched in its beak. “Draco, this owl arrived a couple of minutes ago with a letter for someone but we can't tell who because every time we try and take the letter it attacks one of us.”
            Stretching out his left arm Draco issued a sharp whistle from between his teeth, smirking across at his friend when the owl immediately fought its way out of her hands only to land gently on his outstretched hand a moment later.
            “I apologise for the way you've been treated,” Draco murmured, reaching out to stroke the feathers on the back of the owls head, smiling as it pushed back against his gentle fingers. “I’m afraid that my friends aren’t quite used to our method of communication yet and don’t know how to behave properly.”
            If possible the owl seemed to let out a huff around the envelope.
            “Uncle Draco, why are you talking to a bird?”
            “Post Owls are no ordinary birds, Renesmee,” he answered simply, taking hold of the corner of the envelope and pulling gently, smiling as it slid free of the birds sharp beak without any form of protest. “They're highly intelligent creatures and deserve to be treated accordingly.”
            The envelope itself turned out to be slightly heavier than he had expected it to be which probably meant that there was more than just paper inside it.
            “Thank you very much for delivering the letter,” Draco murmured, returning his attention to owl sitting on his hand. “However I’m afraid that I don’t have any owl treats on me at the moment but I expect that if you find either Molly or Hermione Weasley they’ll have a treat or two for you.”
            Again it sounded as though the owl let out a huff, dislodging Draco’s hand by giving its entire body a brief shake in order to readjust its pleasantly ruffled feather before hopping off his harm and flying towards the centre of the camp.
            A quick glance down at the envelope told him instantly who the letter was from, the elaborate swirls and delicate penmanship leaving him with no doubt at all.
            “It's for you and Edward, Bella, and I think we can safely assume that it's from Alice,” he announced as he handed it over to his friend who chuckled in agreement upon seeing the artistic creation that took up most of the envelopes front.
            Working carefully she opened the back of envelope, taking care not to rip it any more than was necessary and took out a small sheet of parchment, covered with the same decorative handwriting with a border of hand drawn flowers.
            “Bella and Edward,” she read aloud softly, leaning into her husband sides as he moved to stand close to her upon his own arrival at the group. “We are sorry we had to leave you like we did but it was imperative that we begin our journey as quickly as possible. Please find enclosed an International Portkey that my darling Charlie has ordered on your behalf. Promise me you will use it should the need arise. It will take you and anyone else touching it directly to Hogsmeade should you utter the activation code.” Pausing for a moment Bella tipped up the envelope into her hand and out slid a large old fashioned brass key with a little luggage label attached to it. “We have attached the activation code we decided upon to the Portkey. Stay safe. Your loving sister, Alice.”
            “What's the activation code?” Edward asked with a frown, taking the key from his wife and looking closely at the small label. “Super–”
            “Don't read it out loud while you're holding the Portkey!” Draco gasped, stumbling across to snatch the key out of the vampire’s hand as though it were about to explode. “Not unless you want to make an unplanned trip today.”
            Pulling off the label he handed it to Edward but kept hold of the Portkey.
            Looking slightly chagrined Edward continued to read out the activation code,
            “Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious.”
            “…yes, that's sounds exactly like something that Alice would choose,” Draco chuckled, turning the key over and over in his hands for a moment. “It's a good idea, actually, having a back-up plan to get certain important individuals away from the fighting, should there be any.”
            Bella hummed in agreement, taking the key from him and holding it like the treasured item it was, her fingers stroking the decorative handle.
            Draco wasn't surprised to see the key hanging from a black ribbon around Renesmee's neck when everyone settled down around the massive campfire for dinner that evening, followed by a rather messy pudding of marshmallow s’mores.
            The children loved it, of course, although more chocolate ended up on around their mouths than in their bellies and their fingers were sticky with melted marshmallows although this was eventually licked off.
            Over the next few days as their various training sessions continued and even in some cases intensified, everyone wanting to be ready should the worst come to pass, a group that had become known as “the Mothers” set about preparing the camp for Christmas between their own training/teaching sessions.
            Narcissa and Molly worked together to turn the open space between the Cullen’s house and the large campsite into a suitable location, Narcissa using her surprisingly skills in Transfiguration to create an enormous floating marquee out of a couple of bedsheets whilst Molly conjured up four long tables out of the earth, the roots of the trees shifting and moulding at her will to create not only the tables but the stools which eventually ran the full length of each long table on either side reminding everyone of Hogwarts great hall.
            “Well, where do you think I got the idea?” Molly had asked brightly when questioned about this fact whilst creating a high chair for JJ, twirling her wand this way and that to encourage the rapidly growing tree roots to create a stunning pattern. “It was the only way we'd all have room to sit down together on Christmas Day without anyone being squished.”
            Decorations had been left mostly to Fleur although Narcissa had insisted upon decorating the marquee herself, the pair of them creating what could only be described as a winter wonderland although neither of them touched the house.
            The house was Esme’s domain and, between cooking enough muggle food to feed their considerable numbers, the motherly vampire had brought out the Cullen family decorations and had set to work transforming the house with hundreds of decorations, some dating back over a century.
            There had been some debate about finding a suitable tree to put up at one end of the marquee with numerous suggestions being made by all involved in the Christmas preparations until eventually Seth had stepped forwards and announced that his mum would like them to use one of the trees growing on their families land on the reservation which would be, in her words, “perfect.”
            Seth and Blaise were dispatched and returned with a truly perfect tree.
            It was quickly erected in a large ceramic pot filled with soil and decorated in a similar style to that of the marquee, Renesmee being floated up to the top of the tree by Fleur so that the little girl could place the star on top of the large tree.
            Christmas Eve came upon them quite suddenly and Esme, Molly and Narcissa were nowhere to be seen, Esme and Molly slaving away in the kitchen to create both magical and muggle food, all kept from spoiling under a decent preservation charm.
            Narcissa’s location was a mystery until she walked into the kitchen with four large crates floating along behind her, each one stamped with the words “Property of the Romanian Dragon Sanctuary” with a large “SOLD!” crossing them diagonally.
            “…what's with all the crates?” Draco asked with a frown as his husbands strength was utilized to tuck the crates into a corner of the busy kitchen, a warming charm surrounding them and leaving them hazy, almost out of focus to the human eye. “We’re not eating dragon meat again are we? I don't think some people would approve of that particularly rare delicacy, mother.”
            “No, Draco, we are not eating dragon meat, nor will we ever eat dragon meat again,” Narcissa reassured her son with a full body shudder. “We wouldn't have eaten it all those times before were it not for my disgusting sister and her twisted tastes. She'd have eaten it raw, you know? I had to insist that such a thing was too barbaric for civilised witches and wizards.”
            “Ew,” Draco muttered, scrunching up his face in disgust before frowning once more in confusion. “But if it's not dragon meat then…”
            “You’ll just have to wait and see, Draco, just like everyone else,” Narcissa ordered her son before heading across to test her group on their improving Occlumency skills, attacking them without warning and congratulating them loudly when they instinctively fought against her mental presence.
            Draco sighed.
            His own Occlumency lessons had been less successful.
            Pansy was a willing and eager student and she could now hold up against him for a full five minutes before her mental shields crumbled but Blaise had refused to let anyone, let alone Draco, anywhere near his mind with an announcement that he would take his chances as he was.
            It had hurt Draco to think that his best friend didn't trust him to keep out of his private thoughts and memories whilst helping him to strengthen his mental shields or, should he accidentally see something, to keep it a secret.
            “It's not you, Draco,” Blaise had tried to explain, his eyes shifting nervously from Draco's piercing gaze to his own feet and back. “I just…don't want to risk you seeing some…some things that would make you think less of me.”
            “Blaise, I would never think less of you…”
            “Yes, you would,” Blaise had insisted almost tearfully which had deeply shocked his friend. “This isn't…this isn't about the people I've slept with or…or the deprived things I've done whilst under the influence.”
            His hands had been shaking as he'd reached up to rub at the back of his neck.
            “It's bigger than that…” he'd sighed, actually flinching and clenching his eyes shut as he remembered whatever it was that he was determined to keep secret. “It's something I've never told anyone. It…it would change the way you think about me.”
            “…is it something to do with the memory I accidentally saw?”
            He hadn't been at all surprised when Blaise literally flinched away from him.
            “I wasn't expecting you to be so strong,” Blaise had admitted sheepishly. “I thought…I thought I'd buried those memories deep enough and I’d cleared the rest of my mind. No one…no one else has ever…”
            “I promise, Blaise, that nothing I see will ever make me think any less of you,” Draco had promised, hoping to convince his friend to let him try and help him shield his mind. “And I promise that anything I see will remain between us. I promise.”
            “I…I can't, Draco…” Blaise had literally sobbed, shaking his head. “I'll just…take my chances and…and maybe if we survive this I'll look into getting professional lessons. I just…I can't let you see what I…what happened and…”
            “We've all got things we'd much rather forget, Blaise,” Draco had sighed sadly in response, numerous examples of his own less than pleasant memories coming to the forefront of his mind. “But it's your choice. If we get out this and you do want to try again I'll be happy to help you or recommend someone else.”
            Draco had his suspicions about the secret his friend was desperately trying to keep, after all his friends mother had earned herself a reputation for being a bit of a black widow, all of her husband’s meeting suspicious ends before their time and leaving her and her only son with all of their wealth and riches.
            People had long suspected something foul was behind the deaths but nothing could be proven, not even when the Ministry had opened up an official investigation.
            He wished his friend wasn't hurting so much behind his carefree façade.
            “Draco?”
            His husband’s concerned voice, accompanied by a gentle touch on his arm, broke him free of his pain filled thoughts and brought him back to the present.
            “I'm fine,” he murmured, turning to step into his husband arms, burrowing into the vampires chest right there in the middle of the kitchen with “the Mothers” still bustling about. “I was just thinking about Blaise. I wish he would confide in me.”
            “He will do, love,” Jasper reassured him, pressing a kiss to the side of Draco's neck which sent an unexpected shiver of arousal shooting up and down his spine thanks to his over sensitised skin, yet another side effect of his pregnancy. “When Blaise is ready he will tell you.”
            “But he's in pain…” Draco sighed sadly, subconsciously tilting his head to one side to allow his husband lips to have better access to his vulnerable throat.
            “When you were in pain because of your memories who did you turn to?” Jasper queried softly, his lips brushing against the hot skin of jugular which for any other human would have been an incredibly dangerous place for him to be but for his husband it was one of the safest, most intimate places he could be without being in the privacy of their own room.
            “No one,” Draco gasped softly, his hands fisting the soft fabric of Jaspers shirt. “I couldn't…I couldn't burden anyone else with the things I had seen…”
            “And yet eventually you told me,” Jasper pointed out. “And Bella. And Harry.”
            Draco gasped as his husbands deadly teeth nipped gently at his smooth skin, the sharp points managing to excite him in ways that they really shouldn't, given that a simple slip could be the end of his life.
            “What changed, my love?” Jasper pressed, his hands slowly moving down Draco's trembling sides to pull their hips together. “Why did you tell me, Draco?”
            “Because I trusted you,” Draco somehow managed to gasp out, rational thought getting more and more challenging with each passing second. “Because I needed you to understand. Because I was ready.”
            “So doesn't it stand to reason that when Blaise is ready he’ll be more willing to talk to someone,” Jasper suggested logically, his hips beginning to rock subconsciously against his husbands. “That he’ll open up to the people he loves and trusts, like Seth, and that on that day you’ll be there to support him alongside his mate and I'll be there to support you?”
            “Yes…yes, you're right…” Draco gasped out sharply, breaking off into a whimper as their groins came into contact. “Jasper…”
            As one three voices cleared their throats loudly, startling the couple who were a fraction away from taking things entirely too far for such a public place.
            “Just because I know about the intimate relationship you share with your husband does not mean that I want to witness it, Draco,” his mother pointed out, crossing her arms across her chest and arching a sculptured brow in his direction. “I had expected you to know better.”
            Draco gasped, pulling away from his husband.
            “Oh, don't tell me you and Lucius weren't the same when you were pregnant,” Molly Weasley chuckled with a knowing glint in her eye. “Why, I could hardly keep my hands to myself whenever I was pregnant. Increased hormones, or something, my healer said when I asked her about it the first time.”
            Narcissa flushed almost guiltily and even Esme let out a little titter, hiding her smile behind her hand as she too remembered the strange feelings her body had put her through for the duration of her own pregnancy back when she'd been mortal.
            “Oh, I did not need that mental image thank you very much,” Draco grimaced as he realised just what Molly was implying about his parents intimate relationship.
            He did not want to think about that.
            In fact he preferred not to think about his parents doing that at all.
            Rather he preferred to think that his arrival as a baby had been a miracle not preceded in any way by his parents doing…that.
            All three of “the Mothers” chuckled loudly, recognising the tell-tale signs of someone choosing to deny the events leading up to their conception and creation.
            “Perhaps you should take Draco up to your room, Jasper,” Esme suggested kindly, her normal smile fixed on her pretty face when she finally removed her hand. “We've still got quite a bit to be getting on with in here and I'm sure the two of you would prefer to continue without any distractions?”
            Draco suspected that had it been physically possible Jaspers cheeks would have been as red as his own.
            Clearing his throat loudly Jasper nodded once in his adoptive mothers direction before taking hold of Draco's hand and leading his mortal husband out of the kitchen without a word, the pair of them grimacing as they heard the almost childish giggles start up as soon as they had left the room.
            “Well, that was awkward,” Draco muttered as he slipped into Jaspers old bedroom which they had moved into upon returning to the Cullen’s house. “Seriously. I did not need to know any of that. Ugh! Talk about mental scarring. I think that's up there with the rest of it.”
            Jasper couldn’t hold back a chuckle of his own as he stepped forwards to gather the wizard into his arms once more and silenced whatever else his husband had been planning to say with a passionate kiss, both of his strong hands coming up to gently cup the back of Draco’s head, holding him in place as he attempted to devour the startled wizards mouth.
            Grunting in shock Draco blinked for a long moment before returning the kiss with equal amounts of passion, his hands clutching almost desperately at the swell of his husbands arse, “accidentally” grinding their hips and everything in between together sparking off twin moans of excitement.
            “I'm mostly annoyed that they're right,” he gasped as soon as his lips were released, moving obediently when his husband released his gentle hold on his head and began to silently strip them of their clothing. “This whole pregnancy thing does seem to be having some…interesting side effects…fuck…”
            A moment later his husband teeth were back at his neck, now given free reign thanks to both the privacy of their room and his lack of shirt, his bare torso on display and aching for attention and Draco's brain seemed to short circuit when his husband set about sucking like a man possessed, obviously intent on marking the wizards skin in whatever way he could.
            “Define…interesting…” Jasper eventually ordered between nips and kisses, keeping his teeth firmly under control.
            “My…my nipples…” Draco reluctantly answered, his soft words instantly drawing the vampires attention to the hard buds. “They've been so sensitive lately I could barely stand to wear a tight fitting shirt…”
            An actual honest to Merlin scream escaped his lips when his husband leant down suddenly and took his right nipple between his lips, his tongue flicking experimentally against the bud and drawing out a series of incredible whimpers that sent a familiar heat pooling in his belly.
            “Jasper!” Draco was finally forced to cry out when the sensation became too much, his hands pushing at Jaspers shoulders as the sensation passed from pleasurable to painful and his husband pulled back instantly. “Oh…fuck…”
            His legs were trembling, actually trembling and he offered no protest when Jasper swept him off of his feet and carried him swiftly across the room in order to deposit him in the centre of their bed, taking a moment or remove the Wizards shoes and socks but leaving his trousers in place…for now.
            “What else?” the vampire all but purred as he climbed onto the bed, straddling his husbands thighs so that their jean clad groins were pressed together.
            “Fuck…” Draco gasped, actual flashes of light appearing behind his eyes as he struggled to keep some semblance of control over his body. “I'm horny. I am so damn horny all the fucking time and I just want you to…to rip my clothes off and make love to me until I can't think straight let alone worry about the future…oh…oh…fuck…Jasper…”
            “And apparently being unusually horny gives you a foul mouth as well, my love,” Jasper teased him, leaving down to press a series of gentle kisses across the growing swell of Draco's stomach, his fingertips trailing across the sensitised skin. “Do you have any idea what the sight of you like this does to me?”
            Draco could barely manage to offer his husband a negative response, his mind having been reduced to mush by his desperate need for more.
            “It makes me want to rip your clothes off and make love to me until you can't do anything but whimper my name,” Jasper grunted softly, a wicked gleam appearing in his eyes when Draco did just that, desperately pushing up against him as he whimpered the vampires name. “Yes, just like that…”
            “Well then I'm glad we’re in agreement about that,” Draco somehow managed to gasp out. “So let's do that. Please…please, Jasper, make love to me until I can't remember my own name?”
            “Yes…”
            To describe Draco as triumphantly sore the following morning when they emerged for breakfast was an understatement and he didn't care that everyone seemed to be shooting him knowing looks as he wished everyone a “Merry Christmas” before slipping carefully onto one of the breakfast stools in the kitchen, offering Esme a thankful smile when a large plate of English pancakes covered in a healthy sprinkling of sugar was placed in front of him.
            “Looks like someone had a good night,” Emmett snorted loudly, finally saying what Draco suspected everyone was thinking and he couldn't help but respond.
            “Well I would say it takes one to know one but it doesn't look like you were lucky last night, Emmett,” he teased his brother-in-law as he calmly rolled up one of his pancakes before biting into it, moaning in pleasure at the perfect taste. His mouthful finished he returned his attention to the still smirking Emmett. “What was the problem? Couldn't get it up? I've heard that can happen to a lot of men your age. How unfortunate for you Rosalie...”
            Rosalie let out a genuine laugh as her husband face morphed into one of outrage, his manhood having been blatantly challenged and found wanting.
            Upon finishing his breakfast they all headed out to join the madness that was quite possibly the largest gift exchange Draco had ever soon, owls swooping into the camp every now and then to drop of another present for someone.
            “Unca Dwaco!” Teddy screamed excitedly when he saw him, running across to throw his arms around the blonde wizard’s legs. “Thank you for my presents!”
            “You’re welcome, Teddy,” he responded with a bright smile, kneeling down as quickly as he could manage to admire the boy who was already proudly wearing the miniature set of Quidditch robes Draco had bought him.
            Well, one of the sets anyway.
            He'd bought him two, one in Gryffindor colours and one in Slytherin colours and surprisingly Teddy was currently wearing the latter set of robes.
            “Did you like Uncle Jaspers present as well?” Draco asked, noticing the toy broom clutched tightly in one hand and connecting it to the bruise he could feel appearing on his thigh from where it had struck him during the enthusiastic hug.
            Teddy nodded dramatically, turning to throw his arms around Jaspers legs and giggling when he was plucked up off the ground and set on his shoulders.
            “I'm just glad you didn't get him a real broom,” Harry announced as he caught up with his eldest child, his youngest sleeping soundly in his baby carrier which the wizard carried with what could only be described as practise ease. “And for future revenue, no, he can't have a real one until he's five.”
            “Children's brooms have an age limit for a reason, Potter,” Draco scoffed loudly, reached up to tickle Teddy’s side. “Even I'm not that stupid.”
            Harry chuckled,
            “Merry Christmas, Draco.”
            “Merry Christmas, Harry.”
            It was a bit manic after that with well wishes and presents being given out and collected at the same time, the various family groups naturally grouping together as the wrapping paper was removed and gifts were examined either enthusiastically or dutifully.
            Draco was unsurprised that the majority of his gifts were either pregnancy orientated or baby orientated with only a couple of people breaking the mould and buying him something just for him; a rare potions book from Ron and Hermione, of course, and the complete collection of CSI Las Vegas, CSI Miami and CSI New York from Emmett and Rosalie.
            “Thought you might be sick of getting baby stuff by now,” Emmett had chuckled when the enormous collection of DVDs had been revealed. “I know you enjoyed watching NCIS the other day so I think you'll like them.”
            “I’m sure I will,” Draco had responded with a genuine smile. “Thank you.”
            Even Jasper had ended up getting his husband pregnancy or baby themed gifts, not that Draco blamed him, and he adored each and every gift he received from his husband (a partially filled in photo album entitled “From Bump to Birthday” which actually managed to make Draco tear up for a moment, a large bar of “pregnancy approved chocolate” and a collection of maternity tops with humorous slogans on them including “The force is strong in this one…” and “Baby loading, please stand by…” although Draco's favourite one was the one with “Yes, I'm pregnant. No, you can't touch.” which he could see himself wearing a lot towards the final few months of his pregnancy.)
            He did receive one gift from his husband that wasn't quite so obviously baby related as the others, at least not at first glance anyway.
            “Is that…?” he mumbled as he opened a stylish folder with a glossy picture of his namesake on the front along with the words ‘Star Dedication.’
            “It's not quite complete, I'm afraid,” Jasper admitted somewhat apologetically. “At the moment I've only reserved a star in the Dragon Constellation, as they called it because I thought it might be nice to name the star after our child and for the dedication date to mirror their date of birth. I know both of the names we've chosen are already constellations in their own right but this way they will be forever linked to you, Draco, the dragon.”
            “Jasper…” Draco all but whimpered, dangerously close to tears thanks to a combination of the love that had been put into his final gift and his rapidly fluctuating hormones. “This…”
            He was completely lost for words, something that was a rather unusual experience for the wizard but his husband didn't seem to mind, waiting patiently for whatever he wanted to say.
            “…my gifts are going to look completely rubbish now…” were the words that eventually came out of his mouth almost like a sob, his tears spilling over briefly before being quickly wiped away by his own shaking hands.
            Jasper chuckled, taking him into his arms.
            “Nothing you could give me would look rubbish,” he murmured reassuringly, holding his husband close and rocking him gently from side to side. “You've already given me the best gift imaginable – your love and a child born of that love.”
            “…since when did you get so romantic?” Draco asked weakly. “And soppy…”
            “I've always been a romantic,” Jasper answered him with a smile. “As for when I became soppy…I have a feeling it was probably the day you found out you were pregnant. How's that for soppy?”
            Draco chuckled, attempting to feign disgust.
            “Absolutely sickening…” he muttered, giving a fake shudder that made a few people around them who had been listening in on their conversation chuckle. “Right…so, you’ve been forewarned that my gifts aren’t going to seem quite as impressive as yours, especially that last gift, but here you go.”
            Biting his lip nervously Draco watched his husband as he carefully unwrapped the three gifts by order of size, smallest to largest, beginning with the decorative cufflinks he had bought his husband to match his own favourite pair, a wizarding set where the delicate looking snake would adjust position on command with his husband initials engraved on the locking mechanism.
            “I love them, Draco,” Jasper murmured genuinely before setting them aside carefully so that he could unwrap his next gift, something Draco had actually spent time carefully making himself. “Is this…?”
            “It's our wedding album,” Draco confirmed as Jasper started flicking through the large pages covered with a mixture of Wizarding and Muggle photographs. “Well, truthfully I suppose it could be called our relationship album as it goes right from the beginning up to now.”
            He'd included copies of every photograph he had of them together as well as ones of them with their families and friends and had carefully arranged them in chronicle order, including several moments like ticket stubs, some casual sketches Jasper had done and even the ribbons from his graduation gifts.
            One thing he'd been very careful to do was not make a big deal of the months which they had spent apart after the “incident” and in fact there was no reference to it in the album, the only evidence that something had happened during the missing months shown in Draco’s dramatic weight loss in a few of the photographs.
            “I don't know what you meant by this being a rubbish gift, Draco Malfoy-Whitlock, because it's absolutely wonderful,” Jasper murmured as he reached the photographs charting their wedding in Las Vegas and their honeymoon, smiling as he studied each captured moment as it played out over and over again. “When did you find the time to make this? I mean, I had no idea…”
            “It hasn't been easy with you hovering like a mother hen these last few weeks,” Draco admitted with a chuckle. “But I managed somehow and there's room at the back to add more when we need to.”
            “It's perfect.”
            His last gift for his husband was another wizarding photograph, this one enlarged by a professional company in Diagon Alley and framed in an absolutely stunning frame so that it wouldn't look out of place were it ever to be hung in Malfoy Manor alongside the ancient portraits.
            It was Draco's favourite picture from their entire honeymoon, taken whilst they were at the Grand Canyon by a passing muggle tourist using Draco's magical camera and it showed the couple standing perhaps a little too close to the edge, arms around each other's waists and every five seconds or so they look away from the camera to gaze into each other's eyes.
            “Oh, Draco, that's absolutely stunning,” his mother murmured as Jasper pulled the large picture out of its careful wrapping, holding it up for everyone gathered at their end of the first of the long tables to see. “What an absolutely beautiful picture of the two of you.”
            “And you called me a soppy romantic,” Jasper chuckled, obviously feeling more than a little bit emotional himself but luckily for him he was physically incapable of crying, his words earning him a half-hearted slap on the arm from his husband. “Thank you, Draco.”
            After sharing a soft kiss Draco asked his mother to banish their gifts inside, not wanting to strain his magical core more than the last few days of training already had and then all too soon it was time for the incredibly large and diverse group of people to sit down for their Christmas Dinner.
            Charlie and Sue, looking very much in love with each other, had of course joined them by then and Renesmee was delighted to show of her mountain of presents to her grandfather and continued to explain each and every one to him in detail throughout the delicious meal.
            It was after the food had been served using a series of complicated spells that Narcissa’s absence the day before was finally explained when a large goblet of warm blood appeared in front of each and every vampire.
            “You offer us blood?” Vladimir frowned deeply, picking up his goblet in order to inspect its contents more closely. “This is not human blood. How disappointing…”
            “I’m afraid I don’t recognise this scent,” Eleazar murmured as he inspected his own goblet closely, his frown one of confusion rather than disgust. “From which animal did this blood come from?”
            “Wait…” Draco gasped, his brain suddenly making the connection between the goblet his husband was holding and the crates in the kitchen. “It's dragon blood.”
            “I am told that dragon blood is almost as nourishing as human blood,” Narcissa announced to the large gathering, her voice remarkably calm even as she rose from her seat to face them all. “As well as being closer to human blood in taste than any other animal, muggle or magical. A small group of vampires in the Wizarding World have even begun a study about its nutritional value.”
            “You didn't have a dragon killed just for us, did you?” Bella asked, her voice filled with concern as she hesitated moments before taking a sip of the warm blood.
            “No, I did not. Killing a dragon is illegal in the Wizarding world,” Narcissa reassured her simply before launching into an explanation of where the blood had come from. “You can buy dragons blood from all good apothecaries, although usually in much smaller quantities than I ordered. I merely requested a fresh batch from one of the most reputable suppliers.”
            “But it's warm…” Kate murmured in wonderment having already tasted hers and finding it to be every bit as delicious as advertised, by far the tastiest thing she'd fed on since turning away from the blood of humans. Nothing in the human world compared. “How can it still be warm?”
            “Heating charms are wonderful things.”
            “Thank you, Narcissa,” Carlisle spoke up softly after taking his first sip in time with most of the other vampires. “This was a very thoughtful thing for you to do.”
            “I just thought it would be nice if we could all have Christmas a Dinner together,” Narcissa responded with an elegant smile before dropping back down into her seat and helping herself to some roast potatoes.
            “I recognise this…” Jasper murmured as he sipped at his own drink. “Vegas.”
            Draco nodded.
            “It’s also one of the most popular flavours of blood pops which you’ve had a couple of times before,” he explained, noticing out of the corner of his eyes that even the carnivorous vampires seemed to be enjoying their goblets of blood, including Vladimir and Stefan. “Oh, you’ve got…”
            Reaching out to wipe the trickle of blood at the corner of his husbands mouth Draco gasped softly when the vampire turned to suck his blood coated thumb into his mouth, warm tongue caressing his skin to remove every droplet of blood.
            “Waste not, want not,” the southern vampire murmured.
            “R-Right…” Draco muttered, glaring down at his lap where the evidence of his sudden arousal was trying to make itself known through his trousers.
            Seriously, having blood licked from his thumb should not be so…
            Light hearted conversation dominated the rest of the meal with everyone getting into the spirit of the season and wearing the elaborate paper hats that came out of their crackers and of course because they were wizarding crackers, supplied by Weasley’s Wizard Wheezes, the presents and jokes that came out of them were significantly more creative and interactive than usual and let to many an amusing situation, most notably when a paper toad hopped on top of Neville’s head from one of the other tables and was quickly and unanimously christened,
            “Trevor!”
            The light-hearted atmosphere continued after their meal was finished, the empty plates spirited away by magic and the tables being moved to the edges of the marquee to create a decent sized dance floor which for the majority of the afternoon was used as the location for the traditional silly games.
            Draco's pregnancy spared him from having to join in with most of the games, particularly the livelier ones, but even he couldn't get out of all of them and eventually found himself playing his first (and hopefully only) game of charades after having the rule explained to him twice by Bella.
            It didn't help that he wasn't familiar with the book/film he'd drawn out of the hat Rosalie had offered to him and could only take from the words their literal meaning and act those out to the best of his ability.
            In the end it was Bella who correctly guessed ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ which allowed him to step down and avoid his next turn by making an emergency dash to the toilet, blaming the baby despite the fact that he didn't need to go at all.
            Their evening meal was a buffet laid out on the tables which people picked at, mostly still full from the large Christmas Diner they'd eaten earlier and then someone conjured a magical radio set and the dance floor was put to its proper use.
            “It's snowing again,” Draco mused as he watched the snowflakes falling outside the marquee behind here George and Lee were having some sort of a dance off. “It never used to snow this much back at the Manor. Hogwarts, now that was a different matter entirely but whenever I went home for Christmas it never snowed.”
            “It didn't really snow much down in Texas when I was growing up either,” Jasper admitted, chuckling under his breath as George attempted to pull off some strange move involving grabbing his foot with one hand and the back of his neck with the other while thrusting his hips only to end up over balancing and falling on his ass.
            “I was waiting for something like that to happen,” Draco chuckled as George was helped off of the dance floor by an almost hysterical Lee, thumping his friend on the back once he was standing once more. “Although I half expected it to be…”
            “Seamus! Get down!”
            “Speak of the devil and he shall appear,” Draco muttered, turning along with everyone else to see what the young Irishman was doing now. Apparently he was trying to climb up on one of the tables, a half empty bottle of alcohol in one hand and a sausage roll in the other. “Huh.”
            “This isn't going to end well,” he heard Ginny Weasley mutter uncomfortably as an obviously intoxicated Seamus called out for everyone to shut up for a minute. “I didn't think he'd actually do it…”
            Draco was about to ask what she meant by that when Seamus burst into song, his voice carrying over the music still coming out of the magical radio as he used the sausage roll like a microphone, moving precariously along the table as though he were on a stage, occasionally pausing to take a gulp of his drink.
            It wouldn't have been so bad if he were singing an upbeat song.
            Instead what came out of his mouth was a song all Hogwarts students had heard many times before around this time of year being sung by the school ghosts.
            “Merry Christmas, Merry Christmas,
            Ring the Hogwarts bell.
            Merry Christmas, Merry Christmas,
            Cast a Christmas spell.
            How wondrous the ways of Christmas,
            Have a merry Christmas Day.
            Move around the sparkling fire,
            Have a merry Christmas Day.
            Find a broomstick in your stocking,
            Singing you the magic of this place.
            Join the owls in joyous flocking,
            On this merry Christmas Day.”
            By this point in the song it was painfully obvious that Seamus was not only determined to sing the song in its entirety but that he was also going to imitate the various ghosts who usually sang it, his voice fluctuating between deep and booming to shrill and warbling with alarming ease.
            To say his boyfriend looked completely mortified was an understatement.
            “Ding Dong, Ding Dong,
            Ring the Hogwarts bell.
            Ding Dong, Ding Dong,
            Cast a Christmas spell.
            Ding Dong, Ding Dong,
            Make the Christmas morning bright.
            Fly high across the sky,
            Like the Christmas night.”
            Taking his bow, his audience actually applauding and even cheering his drunken performance, proved to be too much for Seamus who would have plummeted head first into the ground were it not for his partner’s quick reflexes.
            And that pretty much set the bar for the rest of the night.
            No one was safe from being “helped” up onto the table that was from that moment on treated as the stage, a set of steps eventually being conjured up, and ordered to entertain the masses with either a song or a dance.
            Or a poem, in Carlisle’s case, who after politely declining to sing recited “I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud” by William Wordsworth in an almost melancholy manner, lost in a memory from his long life.
            When his wife was helped up onto the “stage” moments later she held his hand as she brought the mood back up with a hilarious version of a muggle Christmas song Draco had never heard before but fell in love with instantly – “All I Want for Christmas is a Beatle” – whilst also showing all present a brand new playful side to the Cullen matriarch.
            It was Jasper who first noticed that Draco's back was starting to play him up not long after the children had been taken to their various beds, the party obviously set to continue for quite some time, when he caught his husbands hands as he subconsciously rubbed at an ache building towards the base of his spine, immediately taking over the gentle massage.
            “I think it might be time to head inside,” he murmured in his husband’s ear.
            Draco pouted.
            “See, now this just isn’t fair…” he whined as he allowed himself to be manoeuvred out of the busy marquee and back towards the house. “First I get the extreme morning sickness and now I get early back ache? I mean, seriously, I’m definitely not big enough to be getting back ache yet.”
            “No, but your body is changing, love, and you've been on your feet for almost six hours now,” Jasper pointed out as he held the door open for his husband like a true southern gentleman before following him inside. “Plus it was already aching earlier from our…activities last night.”
            Draco chuckled, ducking his head as he gave in to his husband’s logic and allowed himself to be led upstairs to their bedroom where Jasper proceeded to gently strip him of his clothes and guide him into bed in nothing but his boxers.
            Seconds later an equally naked vampire joined him and they spooned together, listening to the sounds floating in through their bedroom windows.
            “I love you, Jasper,” Draco blurted out softly. “I really do.”
            “I love you too, Draco,” Jasper responded softly, his hand moving to rest on the gentle swell of his husband’s stomach. “With all my heart.”

A/N a Writing a Christmas themed chapter in July would have been incredibly weird were it not for the fact that I've been trying to find the right audition song for my next show for about a month and have had “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” stuck in my head for almost as long. Hope you enjoyed this rather fluffy chapter. Shall we call it the calm before the storm that we all know is coming? Lol. Comments and Suggestions welcome as always. X
- 16
- 17
- 18
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 Four