Adult-FanFiction.org : Harry Potter

A Curious Nature	By : CondemnedForLife Category: Harry Potter Crossovers > Slash - Male/Male Views: 28002 -:- Recommendations : 1 -:- Currently Reading : 5
Disclaimer: I do not own the Harry Potter world or its characters, or the Twilight world and its characters, and I make absolutely no profit from writing this story.

Chapter List
- 5
- 6
- 7
Summary: For the Black-Lupin family, Forks is a second chance at life and at love for a group of war-damaged teenagers and their parents. Post-War. Harry/Jacob

Pairings: Jacob/Harry, Remus/Sirius, Seth/Draco, Embry/Theo, Hermione/Blaise, Ron/Neville.

Category: Harry Potter/Twilight

Genre: Romance/Family

Rating: M/NC-17

Warnings: Mature themes, slash, gay (male/male) relationships, some angst, drama, gay sex, crossover.

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or Twilight and make no profit from writing this story.

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"He imprinted?"

"Yes."

"On a boy?"

"Yeah."

"Who's part of the new family who just moved in?"

"Yup."

There was a moment of silence before. . .

"So he's imprinted?"

A series of groans met Sam's repetitive question and Quil let out a frustrated huff, trying not to get angry with his alpha. "For the fourth time: Yes. Embry imprinted. On a boy. Whose name is Theo from what we heard. And he was with one of the men we saw last week so I presume he's part of their family."

Sam looked thoughtful for a moment before. . . "And you're sure he imprinted?"

This time Quil did looked annoyed. "He did. I recognised it from when I saw Jared imprint on Kim. You'll see for yourself when he shifts."

"If he ever comes out of this that is," Jake reminded them from where he was kneeling beside the couch where they had put Embry.

"Why is he like this again?" Sam grimaced at the glares he received. "I'm sorry. I'm still trying to get over the whole boy thing." His answer received a general roll of eyes.

Jake was the one who answered him. "The other boy who was with his imprint wrapped his arm around him." He frowned when he remembered he action. "He only did it after he saw Embry looking at Theo and it seemed it was more for show than anything else but-"

"Embry probably thinks they really are together," Sam finished and Jake nodded.

A snort had most of them turning towards Leah who had been silent since Quil had carried a catatonic Embry into the house.

"You think this is funny?" Paul snarled taking a step towards her.

He received a dirty look in return and another snort. "Yes actually. Look at you all. You're acting like somebody died."

"Emily," Sam's tone was patient and calm. The rest of them just wanted to punch her. "This is serious. Embry needs-"

"Oh, come on," she scoffed. She strode over to the couch and pushed Jake, who landed on his butt for the second time that day, out of the way. Grabbing Embry's face in her hands she brought her hand up and gave him a sharp slap across the face that had all the men wincing.

Embry came out of his stupor with a cry and reached his hand towards his face. "What-?"

Leah huffed and leaned forward still holding his face in her hands. "Embry, listen to me. You listening?" He gave a small nod. "Good. Yes, you imprinted. Yes, it was on a boy. And yes he was with someone else." Embry winced at the reminder and a look of pain crossed his face. "But that does not mean that you can't be a part of his life. He's your imprint. Your soul mate. And no one in the world will be as perfect for him as you are. Ok?"

Embry nodded quickly and bowed his head to hide his wet eyes. The wolf girl stood and glanced around at the gaping men. "Morons," she muttered with a roll of her eyes.

Sam looked pained and took a tentative step towards her, his hand outstretched. "Leah. . ." She stepped back from him.

"No Sam don't, just. . . don't. Wouldn't want to leave Emily, your soul mate, waiting for you, would you?" Without looking at the rest of them Leah ran out the door and they heard the ripping sound of clothes being destroyed that indicated shifting.

They all, with the exception of Sam, turned back to Embry having become used to Sam and Leah's little fights a long time ago. It was merely another part of pack life.

"You ok?" Jared gave Embry a friendly clap on the back that probably would have broken a human's back.

Embry looked up at them and nodded. "I'm alright. Imprinting though. . . its something else."

Jared, Quil and Paul nodded in agreement while Jake just looked on feeling slightly isolated. The way they all spoke about imprinting was as though nothing else mattered anymore. Jacob had seen what his pack mates had gone through when they imprinted, but he had never actually felt it. It was something that every wolf of the La Push pack longed for, to find your imprint, your soul mate and it was supposed to be something rare. But by now over half of the pack had imprinted with only Seth, Leah and Jacob having yet to.

While the entire pack had been shocked that Embry had imprinted on a boy, an imprint was for life and was sacred to the pack making the shock disappear quickly. Jake watched with a he grin as his best friend was thoroughly congratulated with slaps on the back and handshakes. He pulled Quil off him and pulled Embry into a hug, thumping him on the back as he did.

"I'm happy for you man," he whispered, letting go after a second and he received a bright grin in return, followed by words that had the rest of the pack groaning.

"Isn't Theo just the most beautiful person you've ever seen?"

Of course, 'the honeymoon phase' as it was referred to by the La Push pack was the first few hours, sometimes days after a wolf had imprinte,d in which they constantly praised their new 'mate'. Quil's honeymoon phase had nearly driven them all crazy and Jake didn't think he'd be able to make it through another one. At least not sober anyway.

"I'll get the beer," Jake grunted. He hoped he could come up with an answer when Embry's mother would want to now why they wanted so much alcohol when they bought it from her shop. Especially sonsidering that the poor woman didn't know a thing about the La Push pack or that her son was a shapeshifter.

"I'll come with you," Jared yelped, eager to escape when Embry launched into why Theo was such a perfect name.

"Bring food too," Sam called after them. He had grown accustomed to their imprinting and didn't look nearly as bothered by Embry's mooning.

"And his eyes, did you see his eyes. . ."

Yes. Lots and lots of alcohol.

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Harry drummed his fingers on the glass while he looked out the sitting room window where he could see the rain pouring down in an attempt to flood the world and drown them all. He sighed. Sirius and Remus had both agreed that they could go out whenever they wanted now providing that it wasn't raining so hard that they would be coughing up water when they came back in. Harry believed that this was one of these times.

"Yes! Boo-yeah!" Ron's shout had him turning around in time to witness a victory dance that involved the redhead pulling his shirt over his head. Something that Harry was sure Dean had taught him.

Blaise and Ron wereonce again testing out the PS3 Sirius and Remus had bought for them and were quickly becoming addicted to the games console.

"You cheated," Blaise hollered, hitting him over the head with the remote.

"I did not!"

"Did so."

Harry turned away when they began to beat each other up with couch cushions. Again. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Theo entering the room. The Slytherin sat on the other side of the window seat Harry was on and pulled his knees up towards his chest. His face was puzzled, something that the rest of the house had become used to seeing lately. Ever since Remus, Blaise and Theo had returned from La Push two days ago the latter had become even more withdrawn than usual. It was something that happened a lot if Theo was having very bad nightmares but the look of confusion accompanied hisdistance made Harry think it was something else entirely.

The ex-Boy-Who-Lived extended his foot and poked his brother in the leg. Theo looked at him as though only just realising he was there.

"What?"

"I'm here if you want to talk," Harry said simply. He wasn't going to push Theo to talk. Merlin knows he hated it when people did it to him.

After five minutes of looking out the window and following the trails the rain drops made on the glass, Harry heard a throat clearing. Theo looked both nervous and excited at the same time. He threw an anxious glance towards the couch where Ron and Blaise had been joined by Neville and Draco who were taking their own turns on the game. Satisfied that they were all occupied Theo opened his mouth to speak.

"O-on Tuesday when I went into the town with Remus and Blaise I-" Theo paused and looked away from Harry. "There was a group of boys, young men really, outside the shop and they were all shirtless."

Harry's eyes widened, knowing that Greyback's pack were not overly fond of clothes. They found them too human and restricting.

"I-I was frightened at first," Theo admitted. "I could only see him. But then I saw one of the boys and he-" Theo took an shaky breath and Harry felt anger rise in him.

"What? Did he do something? I swear-" Harry cut himself off surprised by Theo's laughter and the hysterical note it contained.

"No, nothing like that. He was just looking at me." Alright, Harry could freely admit to being confused now but seeing Theo's face he stooped himself from speaking.

"He was looking at me like I was the most important thing in the world and I felt," Theo blushed and ducked his head, "warm, really warm. And there was this feeling in my stomach like. . ." He trailed off there, his expression one of embarrassment and shame.

The dark-haired wizard could understand why. Theo had felt desire. He had felt attraction to another boy and it had clearly scared the crap out of him.

Harry scooted over on the seat and grasped Theo's hands in his, feeling how much he was trembling. "Theo, it alright," he whispered, desperately wishing he was better and comforting people. "You know what you felt was desire right?"

The brown haired boy gave a shaky nod and a soft hiccup when tears began to trickle down his cheeks. Harry's glare had anyone who had turned around at the sound focusing their attention back on the huge plasma screen. He pulled Theo closer to him and the other boy's head fell onto his shoulder, tears soaking through his Gryffindor-red shirt.

"I've never felt anything like that before," Theo whispered and Harry stopped himself from starting in shock. Never?

"I thought that Grey- that he had broken me too much to ever feel anything for another person. That I would never feel desire or attraction. That I would always be alone."

Harry held back a growl at the mention of that monster. He had to concentrate on Theo right now.

"Were you upset when you felt attraction to that boy?"

Theo pulled back, wiping his eyes with the back of his hand. "What?"

"Did feeling desire make you upset?"

Theo frowned, then shook his head slowly. "It-I was confused for a while and then I panicked a bit, but it made me feel happy I guess." Theo's blush spread over his cheeks and nose. "It didn't remind me of him at all because I was never happy in his presence. Not once." Tears spilled down his cheeks again and Harry had a feeling that they had just overcome something huge.

Not knowing what else to do the black-haired boy quickly transformed into his animagus form and crawled onto Theo's lap. He whined a bit when the crying boy held him close and cried into his fur, licking Theo's face while he did. The former Slytherin quickly cried himself out and lay back on the window seat feeling drained, with Harry curled up on his chest.

Harry awoke suddenly and immediately crouched into a defensive position on top of Theo's chest. He blinked rapidly trying to wake his sleepy mind up quickly so that he could defend his brother.

"Cub, its just me." A hand was held out to him which Harry sniffed thoroughly, recognising the scent of his guardian.

Yawning and no longer ready to attack, Harry jumped off his sibling's chest and onto the ground where he transformed. Sirius and Remus were standing by the window seat, both looking concerned.

"I'm alright," he reassured them, "But you might want to talk with Theo in the morning."

Both men nodded in understanding and Remus moved around Harry to pick up his still sleeping son. "I'm going to put him to bed," Remus mouthed and Sirius nodded, his worried gaze following the two out of the door.

Harry cast a quick tempus which showed that it was ten at night. They had only slept for an hour or so. The sitting room was quieter now with only Harry, Sirius and Draco there. Everyone else must already be in bed.

"Come on then," Sirius sighed, putting his hand on the nape of both boys' necks and giving them a small push. "Bedtime."

Harry and Draco bid him goodnight and left the room. The black haired boy yawned and stumbled up the stairs.

"I told Remus and Sirius that Theo had been upset earlier and that you were both asleep in the sitting room," Draco whispered. "I hope you're not mad."

Harry shook his head. "No, they should know that he was upset. I would have told them myself. When I woke up," he added dryly prompting a laugh from the blond.

"Do you still have that book I lent you?"

The brunet frowned in puzzlement. "The one by Townsend?" At the other's nod he continued," Yeah, I think so. It should be in my room, come on-" He stopped dead in the entrance to his doorway eyes widening in shock.

Ron and Neville were in a rather compromising position on the former's bed with the latter straddling the redhead's lap. Ron's hands were holding Neville's hips while the brunet had his own hand's wrapped in a Weasley sweater. Both boy's were looking at them in surprise which was quickly turning to embarrassment. Harry tried to avoid noticing their panting breaths, flushed faces and swollen lips and had to hold back a laugh at Draco's scandalized expression.

"Fuck!" Ron's word accurately summed up the situation.

Harry and Neville snorted. Trust Ron to remain articulate in such a situation. With the ice slightly broken, Draco moaned in horror.

"Bleach," he cried, lurching out of the room clutching his eyes. "I need bleach."

Rolling his eyes at the dramatics of the blond Harry stepped into the room and closed the door behind him. "You might want to lock the door if you're going to be doing that. You're so lucky it wasn't Sirius or Remus or you'd both be getting Sex Ed 101," Harry said, crossing over to his side of the room and collapsing on the bed. "Congratulation by the way. I'm really happy for you both." He grinned at the two blushing boys who returned his smile.

Harry turned away to give the two some privacy when they went to say goodnight to each other and tried to ignore the pang of envy he felt for their happiness. Getting up and searching for nightclothes seemed like the best way to block out the sound of kissing and he let out a sigh of relief when he heard Neville leave. He was happy that his friends were together but in no way did he need to see any exchange of fluids between them. Ever.

Ron yelped when a pyjama bottoms hit him on the side and he growled at Harry who just waggled his eyebrows.

"You look ridiculous," Ron laughed, throwing the pants back across the room. The brunet caught them and pulled them on.

"When did that happen then?" Harry asked casually. He could tell Ron was nervous about Harry would react. His fidgeting was enough to give it away.

"Two days ago," Ron whispered, plucking at his bright orange duvet. "Nev came up to our room after dinner and he just told me. I've never seen him look so determined."

Harry nodded but didn't speak. That was the same day he and Neville had had their chat in the garden. Perhaps it had done some good after all. Neville wasn't exactly the type to confront somebody, particularly about something like this.

"Then he just kissed me." Ron's voice still sounded disbelieving.

"What?" Harry blurted out. That sounded so different from typical Neville.

"Yeah," Ron sighed, looking blissful. "It was great. Just like I'd always imagined." He blushed then and Harry choked back a laugh with difficult.

"You're ok with this then?"

The brunet started at the question and whirled around to give Ron a bewildered look. "Course I am. Why would you ask that?"

Ron shrugged looking uncomfortable. "I dunno. Some guys wouldn't want to share a room with a gay and you grew up in the muggle world too so you wouldn't have our beliefs."

"Mate, I grew up with the worst muggles possible. Do you really think I listened to anything they spewed out?" Harry chuckled, remembering some of the more imaginative things that Vernon and Petunia would ramble about. "Plus it would be sort of hypocritical of me as well."

Ron looked relieved. "I kind of guessed about-about well you? I thought Draco and you had something for a while after the war."

That was a rather embarrassing memory for the former Boy-Who-lived. He and Draco had both needed comfort after the war and had turned to each other. The only problem was that they both needed something that the other couldn't give: Someone to lean on. After spending the war defending the Wizarding World and having everyone depend on him Harry needed someone that he could rely on, who could be strong for him and Draco was the same. They had had a mutual understanding and had broken up after a very short time. Ron was sympathetic when Harry told him but it was obvious that he had no worries that the same thing might happen in his and Neville's relationship.

When he lay in bed that night Harry mused over something very strange. For once in his life it seemed that he was the one envious of Ron rather than the other way around.

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"Sirius, come back here now. Sirius!"

The young wizards and witch sitting around the kitchen table stifled their chuckles as their werewolf guardian chased their temporarily dog guardian around the kitchen. It had been decided earlier on that morning (when Draco had threatened Padfoot with a bath) that the Black-Lupin's would be leaving the estate together for the first time that day. As expected they were all delighted to be able to explore their new place of residence more thoroughly.

Remus had decided to stay behind and it was clear to them all that he needed the rest. The dark circles under his eyes proving as much with the full moon only a few days away. Sirius on the other hand was surprisingly enthusiastic about going out, especially for someone who had practically wanted to put bars on the windows and locks on the doors (not a great reminder for a certain someone) only a few days ago. The ex-convict however had one requirement for them being allowed to leave the house. Something that in his eyes was perfectly acceptable. He wanted to go as Padfoot and not as Sirius. His reasoning to this was that as Padfoot he could jump into the sea all he wanted while to most it would look rather strange for a nearly forty year old man to be frolicking in the water.

That this made perfect sense to everybody, was a reminder that they had spent far too much time around Sirius. Their werewolf guardian agreed but had a condition of his own. One that he and his spouse did not agree on for one simple reason. Padfoot hated wearing a lead and collar.

"Padfoot you have to wear it," Remus huffed, trying to keep a hold of his untoward mate with one hand and slip the collar on with the other. "Very few people allow their dogs off of leashes nowadays if they can't trust them not to run off." Remus levelled a look that had the black dog whining. "And the kids will let you off it once you reach the beach."

The teenagers all called their agreement but Padfoot remained steadfast in his refusal. He was not a pet, goddamnit and he would not were that thing. Now if he was human and Remus wanted to play well that was another thing entirely. . .

"Alright, enough is enough," Hermione said standing up and casting a summoning charm.

Padfoot's nose twitched when the big, juicy bone came flying out of the pantry and hovered over his head. No! They were trying to trick him with his appetite and his canine love for skeletons. Well, it wouldn't wo-Oh no. It was swaying over and back now. Over and back. Over and-got ya! And Remus had the collar on him. Oh well, it was totally worth it. Now where to hide this so no one can find it?

"Who wants to take it?" Remus held out the leash that had a happily chewing Padfoot at the end.

Harry got a sense of déjà vu. He was back in third year when Hagrid had asked who wanted to ride Buckbeak and everyone had stepped back except or him. He shot his ex-siblings a dirty look over his shoulder. Bloody traitors. Reluctantly he stepped forward to take the end of the leash. The brunet could understand why they hadn't wanted to walk Padfoot. The wizard 'appeared' to be deaf in his animagus form and words such as 'stop', 'no' and 'bad dog' were completely beyond his comprehension. Walking also seemed to be another thing beyond his grasp. Running, bounding and even leaping: yes. Walking: no.

"Fine," Harry huffed, snatching the lead up and yanking on it. "Come on Snuffles."

They all snickered at the muffled growl Padfoot managed around a mouthful of bone. Remus walked with them until the gates where, after making sure they all had raincoats on and their wands with them, he saw them off. "And Sirius to try not to get into too much trouble," he called after them. The last thing they needed was for the muggle police to get involved if his spouse did something inappropriate in public again.

Straining against the pull of the lead in an attempt to keep his arm connected to the rest of his body was not one of Harry's more enjoyable pastimes. Even digging his heels into the ground didn't prevent Padfoot from slowing down and to passer-bys (and his siblings) Harry knew that it looked more like the black dog was walking him than the other way around.

"Slow down!" The green-eyed boy yelled. "Two legger here!"

Padfoot paid no heed to him as he continued to bound along the road that led down to the beach. They had left the rest of them behind them shortly after leaving the house but Harry knew that they wouldn't be too far behind them. The war had left them slightly paranoid and going outside, even into the muggle world, was making them all edgy.

Blinking through the drizzling rain, Harry was glad that he taken Draco up on that offer of an eye-correction potion. Trying to see with glasses in this kind of weather was hazardous to his health. He breathed a sigh of relief when the sea he had been spotting through gaps in the dense forest appeared along with the beach.

Despite that it wasn't the stereotypical beach with a sunny sky and women in bikinis, Harry felt a smile drift across his face when he took in First beach. The sand stretched for several miles and was surrounded by towering cliffs. It had something about it, something wild�

A loud whine brought Harry's attention back to the hyper-active dog at his feet. He had somehow managed to either lose or hide his bone on the way down which had Harry frowning because they had never stopped moving. Rolling his eyes, the young wizard bent over and unhooked the lead leaving the collar in place. The dog was off like a Firebolt, galloping head first into the swash on the beach.

His godfather's almost tangible happiness and excitement had Harry laughing although there was no way he was diving into those waves. According to popular belief, pneumonia was not good for you.

By the time the rest of them made it to the beach Padfoot was already soaking wet and seemed thrilled about it and Harry had his shoes and socks off with his toes curled in the moist sand. Ron and Neville, with their fingers intertwined, reached him first and dropped onto the sand beside him.

"Sup," Ron greeted him, red hair hanging in his face.

"You've all been disowned," Harry snapped, still not ready to forgive them for leaving him with Padfoot.

Ron merely laughed and clapped his friend on the back with his free hand. "Its called survival of the fittest mate." Harry's reply was a sharp kick aimed at his groin which Ron dodged by an inch, looking horrified.

"That was way out of line mate. Imagine if I could never get it up again? You'd feel guilty wouldn't you?"

Harry snorted when Neville slapped his boyfriend over the head, a blush colouring his face.

"Yes, my heart would bleed for your lack of a sex life," Harry replied mock-seriously turning away from the Gryffindor when he spotted Draco stumbling his way towards them.

"I can't believe I'm wearing a raincoat?" The horror in his voice was evident. "I feel like such a-a-"

"A muggle?" Neville supplied helpfully.

"Yes! A muggle! Its so unflattering as well. Why couldn't we have just put rain repelling charms on our clothes?"

Harry and Neville exchanged exasperated looks at Draco's naïve behaviour concerning all things non-magical. "I think the muggles might get a bit suspicious when the rain just bounced off us."

"Well my fashion sense shouldn't have to suffer just because muggles haven't learned how to stay dry yet." With visible effort the others remained silent, knowing that they could never win an argument with Draco where clothes were concerned. Besides how were you supposed to answer that anyway.

A few minutes later had Hermione, Blaise and Theo joining them and Harry saw Neville and Ron pull their fingers apart. So they hadn't told the rest of their siblings yet? Had they even told their guardians? Sure, they had only been going out for a few days yet but keeping secrets from each other was not the way to ensure peace in the family. Actually he was pretty sure that Remus and Sirius would be upset to know that their adopted children hadn't trusted them enough to tell them that they were in a relationship. Hermione would likely have a slap or two to give out as well.

A glare directed at the two earned Harry some shamed and embarrassed faces that had him feeling slightly satisfied. He had no plans to out the two. The Gryffindors should have more than enough courage together to do it themselves.

Feeling restless and bored with sitting down, Harry put back on his socks and shoes so that he could explore and the others followed his example. After casting an unnoticeable water repelling charm on his socks and shoes Harry joined Sirius and walked through the waves as they hit the sand.

It was peaceful here, Harry mused. The beach wasn't packed with people which he presumed was because of the weather. An excited bark had him turning towards Padfoot, only to see a blur of black fur speeding towards him.

"Padfoot don't-" Harry never finished his sentence because the manic ball of fur jumped on his chest, knocking him backwards and happily depositing a slimy pile of seaweed on his chest. Seemingly happy with his achievement Padfoot took off again, presumably to search for more of the stuff.

"Eww," Harry muttered, pulling the disgusting plant off him. "Yeah, yeah laugh it up." This comment was directed at Ron and Neville who were laughing hysterically even as they approached him.

Harry honourably resisted the urge to pull Ron to the ground with him when he was offered a hand and instead accepted it. Neville had picked up the seaweed from where Harry had flung it.

"Did you know that seaweed has highly revered properties that allow. . ." Harry blocked Neville's lecture out. It was easy after years of practice with Hermione and the black-haired boy really didn't want to know what sea algae was used for.

A sharp sting on his behind had Harry whirling around hand clutched to the abused area. "What the fuck?" he yelped, glaring at the piece of seaweed that Ron was swinging like a whip while grinning like an idiot. The redhead's boyfriend held his hands up as though in surrender.

Smiling sweetly at his best friend Harry gave a quick glance around, making sure that they were still alone on the beach which they were and cast a summoning charm on a the seaweed still in Neville's hands who backed away when he saw the looks on Harry and Ron's face. With a battle cry both boy's lunged forward, seaweed as their only weapons.

Almost an hour later all of the Black-Lupin siblings had been roped into the seaweed war with Ron, Draco and Blaise on one side and Harry, Hermione, Neville and Theo on the other. Padfoot had claimed neutrality but continued to bring them fresh supplies of seaweed.

Harry and his team were crouched behind a sand dune and playing their next plan of attack against the other team. Rubbing the welt on his neck Harry was grateful for the raincoats they were wearing. It saved them from the direct pain caused by the seaweed lashing against your skin.

"Alright new plan," Harry whispered, flicking his long, wet bands out of his face in annoyance. Their first plan had ended up with Hermione and Harry being tossed into the sea after trying to sneak up on Ron's team. "Hermione you distract Blaise, Neville you take Ron. Theo, you and I will be going after Draco. He's the sneakiest and the hardest to catch." The young wizard levelled a discreet wink at Hermione and Neville, both of whom blushed heavily. Hopefully they would figure out how to properly distract two hormonal teenage boys.

"Go!" Harry shooed them and then gestured to Theo to follow him around the dunes. Peeking out and trying to see through the rain which had become much heavier, Harry managed to spot an unmistakeable head of blond hair. He smirked at the sight as it appeared that Draco was the other teams lookout.

Turning back to his companion, Harry whispered the plan to which Theo smirked and nodded. With a finger to his lips Harry crawled out from behind the dune and began to pull himself across the sand using his forearms, keeping close to swash where it would be harder to see him. A soft noise from behind him indicated that Theo was following and he hoped the other boy was staying low as well.

With minimal difficulty (they had been trained to crawl over soil, not sand) the two allies were able to position themselves behind the former Slytherin. Harry held up three fingers to Theo who nodded.

"Three. . .two. . .one," Harry mouthed and shot up from his crouched position to lasso their opponent while Theo did the same on the other side. Surprisingly, Draco gave up quickly though not before he had gotten a few whacks of his own in with the seaweed. Harry was pretty sure that he had only surrendered in the hopes of salvaging his nearly destroyed designer jeans.

The three collapsed on the sand completely winded which surprised Harry. He had often gone days without sleep or food because they had another battle to plan or someone new to train and he had learned to adjust, to keep going even when he was on the brink of exhaustion. To feel out of breath from just messing around with his siblings brought a smile to his face because it was normal. He was normal. He wasn't the Boy-Who-Lived anymore he was Harry Black-Lupin. The feeling of being an ordinary teenaged boy was overwhelmingly delightful and had him laughing happily.

Draco and Theo exchanged bemused and slightly worried looks over the giggling boy between them unsure of whether or not they should be concerned. Harry batted away the hand that moved towards his forehead to check his temperature and sat up. He shook his wet bangs out of his eyes and blinked through the rain which seemed to be calming down again.

"Where are the others?" Theo and Draco glances as though only realising they were missing more than half of their family.

While brushing the sand off his jeans when he stood up, Harry spotted Padfoot still gambolling in and out of the waves further up the beach and grinned. It was only fair that Sirius should enjoy his freedom as much as possible after spending twelve years in prison after being falsely convicted.

Ron and Neville appeared after a few minutes looking blissfully happy and mussed. Obviously the smaller boy had been successful in distracting his taller boyfriend if their appearances were anything to go by. Harry gave Neville a discreet high-five behind his back when the two joined them.

"Has anyone seen 'Mione or Blaise?" Draco asked, huddling into himself. It was getting colder now, the wind was harsher and they were all wet.

His question received negative replies. "I haven't seen her since she was planning to ambush Blaise," Neville replied through chattering teeth.

The rest of them frowned, "Which way did she go?" Harry was beginning to get worried. Paranoia was a major part of war and his 'constant vigilance' was beginning to get angsty. What was taking them so long?

After a few minutes his nerves had reached their limit and his old war voice emerged when Harry ordered them all to take out their wands but keep them hidden. There was no reason for their siblings not to be back by now. The possibility that their new whereabouts had been leaked were possible but not likely. Harry wasn't taken any chances though. "Come on."

Less than two minutes later found Hermione and Blaise standing shamefaced while Harry berated them for having worried them. They had found the two in a rather intimate position against a tree with Blaise trying to get his tongue as far down Hermione's throat as possible. The others stood frozen in shock as they stared between their adopted siblings.

Draco's cry of "Sweet Merlin, not again" was what had broke them apart and after getting over his initial shock that that the two of them were finally together, Harry told them off for worrying them all.

"We're really sorry," Hermione apologized, clutching Blaise's hand tightly. "We just lost track of time, we didn't mean to worry anyone."

Harry gave them his best glare which them both flinching. Satisfied that they were properly reprimanded he gave them a beaming smile and skipped forward to hug them both.

"I'm really happy for you both," Harry told them and they could see his sincerity. Relieved smiles broke out over both their faces and they hugged him back.

"Thank you, Harry," Hermione breathed, clutching his raincoat in her hand.

"Yeah, thanks Harry. We weren't really sure how you all were going to react," Blaise said.

Harry laughed. "They'll be fine." He glanced back at his siblings. "In a minute or two."

Ron was gaping at them with his eyes taking up most of his face. His boyfriend looked torn between shock at them and amusement at Ron's face. Theo was glancing rapidly between the two as though trying to work out some kind of puzzle and Draco was nowhere in sight. The green eyed boy was sure he had heard something about drowning himself in the sea to get the images out of his eyes. . .

One by one, with Ron being last, the rest of the Black-Lupin's came around and happily congratulated Hermione and Blaise on getting together. Ron alternated between patting Blaise on the back and threatening him with bodily harm if he ever hurt 'Mione. The redhead hugged his bushy-haired friend before turning to Neville with a determined glint in his eye.

Unable to hide his smile, Harry was able to stop himself from jumping up and down on the spot excidely when Ron grabbed Neville by the wrist and tugged him into a passionate kiss. A moment of dead silence was broken by a wolf whistle from Harry, followed by catcalls from the Blaise, Hermione and Theo.

Ron pulled back from the kiss just in time to catch Hermione, who was practically bouncing in excitement, in an enthusiastic hug. Not wanting to let on that he had known before them, Harry congratulated his adopted brothers with everyone else, giving Ron and Neville a hug.

"Thank you," Neville whispered in his ear. At Harry's questioning look, he elaborated. "For your advice the other day." Harry brushed aside his thanks with a smile.

With a hand wrapped tightly around their significant other, the two couples walked ahead of Theo and Harry who straggled behind, giving them privacy. "Did you talk with Remus and Sirius?" Harry asked casually, cursing under his breath when he slipped in the sand.

Theo chuckled and pulled his brother upright again before sighing, a frown crossing his face. "Yeah, I did. They were really good about it. I could see how much it hurt Remus to remember him though." His pale face was taut with pain and hate when he mentioned Greyback.

Harry could still remember how terrified Theo had been when he had first discovered that Remus was a werewolf. Not only that but he was also Greyback's childe. They had had to sedate Theo and none of them had ever seen Remus look so hurt before. The two had remained wary and anxious around each other until the day Blaise was tortured by Bellatrix and her Death Eater minions. Both had refused to leave Blaise's hospital room and therefore had to put up with each other. Days of looking after the injured boy had done wonders for their relationship.

After two days spent in near silence, Theo had cautiously asked Remus about his encounter with Greyback. The werewolf, though surprised, spoke with him openly about the incident, having become reconciled to his past a long time ago with help from his mate. And for the first time since he had left Nott Manor with Blaise, Theo spoke of his past and Greyback. His tale was delivered in a monotone voice with a solemn face, but when Remus had pulled the small boy onto his lap, sobs and cries had broken forward and Theo had allowed himself to grieve for his lost youth for the first time.

Blaise had awoken to see them both asleep in one of the uncomfortable hospital chairs. Although their pasts were less than pleasant, it had brought the two together and cemented a strong bond between them. Something that had been refined when Remus had killed Greyback on the battlefield. Harry personally believed that Remus and Theo had had their own private celebration about that particular death.

Theo sighed deeply. "They told me that they were glad that I had felt, well, you know," his cheeks flushed pink, "and that if I wanted to pursue a relationship with someone that they'd support me every step of the way. Though Sirius didn't look too happy about that last part," he added.

Harry laughed. "We're Sirius' babies. He wants to mother us for as long as he possibly can." He shook his head. "With the everything that's happened I don't really blame him. Hopefully he'll loosen up soon enough. That's what Remus is for after all."

"Harry!" Theo didn't know whether to be amused or disgusted. He settled on punching his brother in the arm. "That's gross!"

"Come on guys!"

The two looked ahead to see that they had fallen behind and the others were waiting for them at the edge of the beach. With a quick glance at the other and a shout of "Race ya", the two boys took off towards their siblings with Harry reaching them just before Theo did.

"No fair," Theo gasped, bending over his knees and glaring at a smug Harry. "You're a seeker. It's like built in your genes or something to be fast."

The emerald eyed boy shrugged. "Technicality."

"Draco and Sirius are waiting for us up ahead," Hermione pointed out where Draco was throwing a stick for Sirius to run after.

"Good boy," Draco cooed, rubbing Padfoot between the two ears and accepting the saliva-dripping stick from him. He received a canine grin and a wag of the tail in return.

"Ready?" He straightened up, holding the stick above his head.

Padfoot barked and leapt around the sand. Pulling his arm back Draco threw the stick as far as he could and watched with a smile when Sirius tore off after it. His parents, if they were here, would have been horrified to see him playing a muggle game of fetch with a dog. To see him wearing muggle clothes and standing on a muggle beach and for one of the first time in his life actually enjoying himself. Then again, Draco didn't think he had ever seen Narcissa Malfoy smile more than three times in his entire life.

Draco sighed and then blinked at the sight of Padfoot bounding him towards him at a terrifying pace. Alarmed, the blond began to back away hoping to avoid being crushed by his pseudo-dog guardian. He yelped tripped over something, pain radiating up his right leg.

"Shit," he hissed between clenched teeth, closing his eyes against the darts of pain in his limb.

"Hey! Are you ok?"

The young wizard opened his eyes and then blinked. There was three boys standing over him. Three very tall, very muscular, very half-naked boys and one sheepish looking animagus who he was going to murder when he was able to stand without crying.

"You don't look so good." The first who had spoken was now on his knees beside him, his face twisted in concern.

"Well, people tend to look like this when they're in pain," Draco spat.

Far from looking offended, the boy grinned causing the blonde's breath to stutter for a moment.

"True enough," he agreed. "I'm Seth by the way."

Draco tried to glare at him, he really did but another dart of pain shot up his leg causing his to blink back tears.

"Draco," he whispered. At the other boy's confused look he elaborated. "My name is Draco."

"Cool," Seth said and looked like he truly meant it. "I'm not sure how bad your leg is but if you'll let me I'd like to take a look."

The wizard glanced at him and could see only concern in those tawny eyes. Closing his eyes, Draco nodded and gave a whispered, "Ok."

"What the hell?"

Ron's mutter had them all looking up only to see Draco on the ground surrounded by three large boys. They all started to speed up, reassured that their sibling wasn't in any danger due to Padfoot's relaxed position beside him but not wanting to take any chances anyway.

Theo gasped when they got closer and Harry glanced at him out of the corner of his eye.

"What?"

The curly-haired boy shook his head but his cheeks were flushed and Harry quickly put two and two together. "Is one of them him? The boy who was look-"

"No," Theo whispered, "they were with him though."

Reaching the fallen blond, Harry could see that he had tripped over a piece of driftwood and from the looks of the gash on his leg that one of the boys was examining he had cut himself pretty bad.

"It's pretty deep," the dark-skinned boy told Draco. "You'll probably need stitches."

"Great," Draco groaned. "That's just great."

The boy grinned at Draco. "Ah, don't worry about it. I need stitches all the time."

The glare he received did nothing to quench his grin, something Harry found very amusing. Very few were able to hold up under Draco's 'death glare'.

"That's very reassuring," the fair-skinned boy snarled.

"It should be. It means you're in the hands of an expert."

There was a round of laughter from both the natives and the siblings at that and even Draco cracked a smile along with a blush. He rolled down his pant leg and made to stand up only to find an arm wrapped around his back and a handsome face inches from his.

"Wouldn't want you to hurt yourself," Seth smiled and Draco barely withheld a shiver when he glanced into those bright eyes.

Satisfied that Seth was looking after their brother, the Black-Lupin's turned their attention to the other two boys.

"Hey," Ron greeted. "Thanks for looking after our brother. Don't think we got your names?"

"I'm Jared, that's Jacob and the one on the ground is Seth," Jared introduced and Jacob gave them a bright wave. "Your brother? I'm sorry but you-"

"Don't look anything alike?" Hermione finished, smirking. "That's because we're all adopted. The one on the ground over there is Draco as you probably know. I'm Hermione, this is Blaise," said boy gave them a tight smile and a nod, his eyes trained on Seth's arm around Draco, "Ron and Neville," an arm still wrapped around the other, both wizards waved, grinning at the curious looks they received, "Theo," gave them a small wave and a shy smile, "and that's Harry."

Harry grinned at them brightly, opening his mouth to say something when he met the chocolate brown eyes of Jacob. His stomach jolted and his breath caught, while those intense eyes widened and then Jacob began to sway.

"Whoah Jake man, you ok?" Jared put a hand on Jake's shoulder to steady him.

The shape shifter shuddered and then with a shake of the head he seemed to steady. "Just got a bit dizzy."

"I'm not surprised," Hermione replied, eyeing their naked torsos. "You must be freezing!"

Both Jacob and Jared grinned. "Nah, we're used to the cold weather. It doesn't bother us at all. So you're part of the new family right? The ones who moved into Old Willows?"

"That's us," Neville replied cheerfully.

"So how many of you are there?" Jared seemed to be holding the conversation as Jacob appeared unable to take his eyes off of a flustered and blushing Harry.

"Just us and our parents." Theo seemed to have finally recovered his voice, but he blushed again when Jared's eyes turned to him.

"Sirius and Remus right?" The siblings simultaneously rose their eyebrows when Jacob spoke.

"We met them last Tuesday, outside the café here," Jacob explained, though he seemed to be speaking only to Harry.

An annoyed voice broke into their conversation. "Enough of the inane talking. Cripple over here." Draco waved at himself, ignoring the boy supporting him who seemed as though he could stay there all day.

"We should be heading back now anyway," Blaise said, glancing at watch. "Remus. . . and Sirius will be expecting us back for lunch."

Ron and Neville threw one of Draco's arms over each of there shoulders and led him away from Seth who looked rather disappointed. All the same he held his bright grin.

"It was great meeting you."

"Yeah," Jared added. "You should all come into the town someday. Old Willows is a bit isolated from the rest of the town. We'd be glad to show you around."

Jake and Seth both nodded frantically in agreement.

Hermione, Harry and Theo grinned back at them, while Blaise try to hold in his scowl.

"We'll make sure to do that," Hermione replied warmly.

A loud bark from up ahead distracted them and they turned to see Padfoot tossing a fish into the air.

Harry groaned and pulled the leash out of his coat pocket. "I'll get him."

"I'll come with you," Jacob blurted out quickly and was thankful for his dark colouring when he felt his cheeks warm.

The former saviour glanced at him, then looked away again and cleared his throat. "If you want," he replied hoarsely, feeling uncomfortably happily when Jacob beamed at him.

They walked side by side in silence for a few moments. It was exactly an awkward silence, but Harry couldn't have labelled it as comfortable either.

"So your from England right?"

Harry flinched at the sudden question and then chuckled. "What gave me away?"

"Well, your accent-" Jacob cut himself off when he saw Harry's smile. "You're teasing me aren't you?"

"Just a little bit." Harry smiled shyly at him, hoping he wasn't offended and Jake felt his heart beat faster having that smile directed at him.

"No! No, I wasn't offended," he replied quickly, struggling to keep his thoughts on the conversation when his wolf was doing a happy dance inside his head, its mantra something along the lines of 'my mate, this is my mate, I found my mate'.

"So what made you move to Forks of all places?"

Chuckling, Harry glanced around. "Yeah, its not exactly the first place you think of when you decide you want to move."

Nodding in agreement, Jacob waited for an answer.

"I'm not sure," the wizard replied finally. "I suppose the familiarity of the weather was the reason that we moved here. I know that sounds strange but. . ."

"Not, it doesn't actually," Jacob replied softly. "Humans like familiarity. It makes them comfortable. They feel safe. Protected"

Harry stopped and stared at the tall, muscled boy for a moment.

"What?" Jacob shifted uneasily. "Do I have something on my face?"

"No," Harry said softly. "Its just you said exactly how I feel when its raining. Some people associate rain with being unhappy, but for me it prevents a shield against the rest of the world. A sense of safety." Harry laughed self-consciously. "Sounds stupid when I say it out loud."

Jake reached a hand out and it hovered over his imprint's shoulder. "It doesn't sound stupid at all."

Harry gasped softly at the intense look in those chocolate eyes. He guessed this was the feeling Theo had described when Embry looked at him. The pleasant warmth spread from his toes to his fingertips. It was all encompassing.

Jake shivered and held back a growl when he saw the red colour creep over those beautiful pale cheeks. Those striking emerald eyes called to him and he knew then that his imprint, that Harry was everything to him. He would do anything, be anything, as long as it made Harry happy, that was all that mattered.

"Snuffles," Harry murmured, pulling his eyes away. "I have to get my dog. My family will be waiting for me."

"Sure, sure," Jake agreed readily.

'Snuffles' swallowed down the last of the fish he had caught feeling quite pleased with himself. He didn't particularly like the taste of fish but it was the principle of the thing. He had caught it so he had to eat. Bones were much nicer though.

Glancing up, the animagus saw one of his pups and a stranger walking towards him. He considered running for it, not feeling in the mood to be on the leash again. When his pup laughed though Padfoot's ears perked up at the sound and he wagged his tail. It felt wonderful to hear Harry laughing again.

Deciding to investigate, Padfoot bounded up to the two and yelped to get their attention.

"Hey boy," Jake greeted him, reaching down and rubbing his ears.

Yes, Padfoot definitely liked this human.

"Snuffles is kind of a weird name a dog like him," the Native American observed.

Harry chuckled. "Yeah, I thought so too."

'Snuffles' whined at the mocking of his name. Alright maybe he hadn't thought it the whole way through when he had suggested that Snuffles could be his fake name, but he had never thought that the name was going to stick.

After tugging on the dog's collar Harry soon had the leash reattached, much to Padfoot's displeasure. He sniffed the air as they began to walk back to where he could see the rest of his pups.

At once he identified the stranger's scent as the boy whose motorcycle he had been interested in last week. A beautiful piece of metal. Not as beautiful as his own though. Another peculiar scent was bothering his nose. It was vaguely recognisable, something he had smelt on his pups before. What-?

Oh no, no way. The boy, Jacob, was aroused. Because of Harry. Padfoot growled and then sniffed again. And Harry felt the same. Ugh! He butted between the two of them, forcing them further apart and listening to their conversation.

"So your um brothers, Neville and Ron? Are they. . . together?"

Harry nodded slowly, unsure of how this virtual strange would take that.

"But- isn't that a bit weird?"

The black-haired boy stopped and Padfoot growled. "Why?"

Jake took one look at Harry's angry expression and hurried to explain. "No, not because they're both boys. I have no problem with that, it would be a bit hypocritical if I did," Padfoot wondered if he was the only one to noticed the relaxing of Harry's shoulders or the slight smile on his face, "It's just that they're brothers."

"But we weren't brought up as brothers," Harry smiled and began to walk on again. "We've all known each other for a long time and been friends for years as well, but it was only in the last summer that Sirius and Remus adopted us. Hermione and Blaise are together too by the way."

"But why did they adopt you all?" Jacob looked puzzled.

They had finally reached the rest of the Black-Lupin's, as well as Jake's friends.

Harry turned and smiled shyly at the shape shifter. "Maybe I'll tell you sometime Jacob-"

"Jake."

"Sorry?"

Jake looked embarrassed. "My friends call me Jake."

With a bright smile and a twinkle in his eye, Harry nodded. "Jake," he whispered and Jake knew that his name had never sounded so good until they came out of those lips.

With one last wave the wizard rejoined his family, practically bouncing while he did so and dragging a disgruntled Padfoot along with him.

Yes, Padfoot definitely hated that human.

----------------------------------------

Thanks everyone so much for the response to the last chapter! It was completely overwhelming but fantastic to see how much you all liked it! Hope you liked this one just as much. :D

Please review, they inspire me to write faster!
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A Curious Nature