Magical Twilight

AU. POSSIBLE SLASH.

Harrry switched off the powerful engine and pulled his helmet off, looking around at the town he found himself in. He shook his head as he felt the rain begin to soak his shoulder length hair. Brilliant. Why did he have to stop in the rainiest town he’d seen since leaving Europe? He got off his bike and quickly moved inside the cafe he’d parked in front of. He found an empty table and shrugged out of his black leather jacket, hanging it on the back of the chair opposite to the one he sat down in. He ordered a coffee and then sat and simply watched the people around him. So far he didn’t think much of Forks and who names a town after a piece of cutlery anyway? He had originally planned to stop in Seattle but perhaps a smaller town was better, especially one that was definitely not a tourist attraction. With only around three thousand people and with the highest rainfall he’d seen in America it could be the perfect place to hide. He smiled as he finished his coffee and stood to leave, looked like Forks now had one more resident.

Finding a place to live hadn’t been too hard although his age had raised a few eyebrows, especially with the way he looked and the money he had easily parted with. Most eighteen year olds didn’t have money to throw around the way he could but then again most eighteen year olds weren’t wizarding war veterans trying to run from their memories.

Few people who knew him as a first year would recognise him now. He’d finally managed to reach a respectable height of five foot nine and his hair had lost the Potter wildness with the weight provided by the extra length. As he’d gotten older he’d started to resemble James less and Lily more in the face, his features now far more delicate looking and he had kept a seeker’s slender build making him seem far weaker than he was, something he’d used to his advantage often during the war.

His glasses were long gone, replaced first with contacts and then his vision corrected by a rather illegal potion brewed by Severus himself. But glasses and even contacts had been too much of a liability in battle and had needed to go. As he’d begun to look more like Lily Snape’s hatred had slowly tempered until he was almost another godfather to the young hero. It had been nice to have the older man not belittling him 24/7 since they had had to work closely together especially towards the end and Severus’ death still made his chest tight when he thought about it. It was one of the many factors that had led to him packing a bag and vanishing into the night two months after the mop up operations had finally finished.

The final battles and following clean up operations had been hard on everyone as the lists of dead and missing had grown ever longer. So many people had died on both sides, most of his year mates among them. Of his dorm only Harry himself and Dean Thomas were left. Of the girls only Hermione though did it count when she had been driven mad by Draco? The day he’d finally found Ron’s body in the dungeons of Malfoy Manor was the day Harry begun planning to leave England. He knew that despite their best efforts there were still at least some unmarked supporters out there, maybe even some who bore the mark although not in England since they had found a way to scan for it through anything. Between them, the continual hounding by the Ministry and the press, and the attitudes of those who had lost family to the war he had realised he would have no peace as long as he remained there. So one night he had slipped from Grimauld Place and caught the ferry across the channel to France. From there he had wandered most of Europe and into Asia before finally heading to America. He’d had the occasional run in with the magical world, especially in the first few months but since then he’d gotten rather good at hiding from them.

There was no real concentration of wizards in Washington State and he had subtly scanned Forks the day he rode in, happy to discover he was the only wizard although he had detected some magical beings. They didn’t bother him, most sensed his power and stayed away, those that didn’t were usually simply curious so he let them be. Since the local concentration of beings seemed to be on the local reservation he doubted he’d run into any especially since they had their own. The thought of school made him shudder but it couldn’t be helped. The tutoring he’d received was well and good but he still needed to graduate if he wanted to go to college or get a good job. Despite his money he wanted to work. Idleness would drive him batty within months; he knew it from summers spent locked in the smallest bedroom of his relative’s house. So he had no choice but to complete his final year of high school and it seemed that Forks High was the lucky school. He just didn’t know whether or not he should pity them for his being there or not.

The house he’d bought was largish and rather open. While he wasn’t claustrophobic or anything he did like to have space when he could. Sure it was big for one person but maybe he’d get lucky and make some new friends so he wouldn’t always be the only one in it. It was also outside of the town itself so he had no really close neighbours. According to the real estate agent his closest neighbour was a Doctor Cullen and his family and they were several miles further from town than he was. But then she had said they had left the day he signed the final paperwork. The land backed onto the forest so he had plenty of room to roam when he felt like walking on four legs rather than two or when he simply wanted a less risky hike than the ones he used to take through the Forbidden Forest. He’d put some basic wards up around the borders of his property once he’d found them so he’d know as soon as someone stepped onto his land in case he was using magic or doing something muggles shouldn’t really see. And they’d be good warning of anyone from home managed to track him down.

Harry claimed the largest upstairs bedroom for himself and turned the next largest across the hall into a library. The remaining bedroom was turned into a potions lab. Although he would never reach Severus’ level he had become proficient at brewing the potions most commonly needed in the home or on the battlefield and he didn’t like to buy them. He avoided all the house colours while decorating, using mainly creams and browns, except in his bedroom where he used mainly blue and green, with silver thrown in now and then. Gryffindor red and gold was still too painful but blue had been Ravenclaw and Green and Silver Slytherin. He’d long ago accepted his Slytherin side and blue always reminded him of Luna’s uniform. She was the only living person he’d miss and he’d left Hedwig with her, oddly enough the two of them got on splendidly.

Downstairs he set up a home office in what was meant to be the formal dining room with all the muggle things he could need. He was keeping the ground floor completely un-magical as it was where any guest would be, no one would be allowed upstairs. The kitchen was very modern and he was looking forward to cooking what he wanted in it. He’d always enjoyed cooking and now he could do so in his very own kitchen. The living room was set up with numerous very comfortable couches and recliners, several grouped in front of an entertainment unit with a large TV. Artwork gathered from his family vault was displayed on the wall; apparently a Potter somewhere in the family tree had taken a liking to muggle art so it had saved him having to find some for himself and quite a few were originals now worth thousands, maybe millions. There were a few bookshelves along the walls as well, mainly filled with paperback novels but there were a few more academically minded ones as well. The large attached garage swamped his bike but he’d need to get a car for the winter, he didn’t want to freeze on the ride to school and he was not going to rely on heating charms to get there without getting frostbitten.

All in all he was very happy with his new home. And thanks to a little bit of magic it hadn’t taken very long at all to get set up. He’d need to set up a greenhouse at some point for potions ingredients but that could wait.

Someone was shouting her name. It was muted, muffled by the wet growth that surrounded her, but it was definitely her name. She didn't recognize the voice. She thought about answering, but she was dazed, and it took a long time to come to the conclusion that she should answer. By then, the calling had stopped.

Sometime later, the rain woke her up. She don't think she'd really fallen asleep; she was just lost in an unthinking stupor, holding with all her strength to the numbness that kept her from realizing what she didn't want to know. The rain bothered her a little. It was cold. She unwrapped her arms from around her legs to cover her face.

It was then that she heard the calling again. It was farther away this time, and sometimes it sounded like several voices were calling at once. She tried to breathe deeply. She remembered that she should answer, but she didn't think they would be able to hear her. Would she be able to shout loud enough?

Suddenly, there was another sound, startlingly close. The familiar sound of clothing settling as if it’s owner had been moving extremely fast. She looked up, hope flashing through her for a second but it wasn’t him. She wondered if she should feel afraid. She didn't–just numb. It didn't matter.

"Bella." A familiar tenor called out and the vampire knelt beside her.
"Are you hurt?" He asked despite the fact he would be able to smell any blood.

“Jasper.” She gasped out, reaching blindly for him. They’d never been close, she hadn’t even seen him since Phoenix and Edward had always said he was dangerous but right now he was familiar and that was all that mattered. Cold, hard arms wrapped around her and then they were moving fast.

“Chief Swan.” Jasper called out but she didn’t move to look.

“Bella!” She heard Charlie scream and then warm hands were on her.

“She’s alright sir, just cold and wet.” Jasper spoke over her head and she curled closer to him.

“How did you find her?”

“I was out walking, I only just arrived and wasn’t ready to see my family yet. I heard the shouting and then I found her in a clearing.” Jasper explained and Bella felt them moving again and then he was lowering her and trying to put her down. Bella whimpered and clung tighter.
“It’s alright Bella, I’m just putting you on the couch so the doctor can look you over.” Jasper whispered soothingly. He stepped away and an older man moved closer.

"Dr. Gerandy?" She asked and he nodded, smiling.

“That’s right dear. Are you hurt Bella?”

“No.” She whispered. He couldn’t do anything for what had hurt her. She saw Jasper frown and then a wave of calm washed over her.

“What happened to you? Did you get lost in the woods?” Dr. Gerandy pressed.

“Yes, I got lost.”

“Are you tired?” She nodded and the doctor stood.
"I don't think there's anything wrong with her," Bella heard the doctor mutter to Charlie after a moment.
"Just exhaustion. Let her sleep it off, and I'll come check on her tomorrow," he paused. He must have looked at his watch, because he added, "Well, later today actually." There was a creaking sound as they both pushed off from the couch to get to their feet.

"Is it true?" Charlie whispered. Their voices were farther away now. Bella strained to hear even as Jasper moved closer to her again.
"Did they leave?"

"Dr. Cullen asked us not to say anything," Dr. Gerandy answered. "The offer was very sudden; they had to choose immediately. Carlisle didn't want to make a big production out of leaving."

"A little warning might have been nice," Charlie grumbled.

Dr. Gerandy sounded uncomfortable when he replied. "Yes, well, in this situation, some warning might have been called for." Bella saw Jasper frown and look at her and she realised Jasper didn’t know what had happened. They sat silently as the search parties broke up and went home until it was just Charlie and them left.

“If you just got back then I suppose you don’t know what has been going on with your family?” Charlie asked and Jasper shook his head.

“I haven’t had any contact since...” Jasper trailed off and Charlie nodded. Bella struggled to sit up and Jasper helped her automatically.

“Bella.” She looked at Charlie.
“He left you alone in the woods?” She nodded slowly.

“How did you know where to find me?” She asked, moving slowly closer to Jasper, seeking comfort and she relaxed as another wave of calm hit her.

“Your note.” Charlie handed a piece of paper over and she saw Jasper frown at it.
Going for a walk with Edward, up the path, it said. Back soon, B.
"When you didn't come back, I called the Cullen’s, and no one answered," Charlie said in a low voice. "Then I called the hospital, and Dr. Gerandy told me that Carlisle was gone." Jasper’s attention had gone back to Charlie.

"Where did they go?" Bella mumbled.

"Didn't Edward tell you?" Charlie asked, staring at her. She shook her head and gripped Jasper’s arm as tight as she could trying to fight the pain.
"Carlisle took a job with a big hospital in Los Angeles. I guess they threw a lot of money at him." She exchanged a look with Jasper. Sunny LA was the last place they would have gone.
"I want to know if Edward left you alone out there in the middle of the woods," Charlie insisted.

"It was my fault. He left me right here on the trail, in sight of the house… but I tried to follow him." Charlie started to say something; childishly, she covered my ears. "I can't talk about this anymore, Dad. I want to go to my room. Jasper please." Before Charlie could answer, she scrambled up from the couch and lurched her way up the stairs, pulling Jasper along even though she knew he was coming of his own will. She could not move him if he didn’t want her to.

Someone had been in the house to leave a note for Charlie, a note that would lead him to find her. From the minute that she’d realized that, a horrible suspicion began to grow in her head. Bella rushed to my room, shutting and locking the door behind Jasper before she ran to the CD player by her bed. Everything looked exactly the same as she'd left it. Bella pressed down on the top of the CD player.

The latch unhooked, and the lid slowly swung open.

It was empty.

The album Renee had given her sat on the floor beside the bed, just where she'd put it last. Bella lifted the cover with a shaking hand. She didn't have to flip any farther than the first page. The little metal corners no longer held a picture in place. The page was blank except for her own handwriting scrawled across the bottom: Edward Cullen, Charlie's kitchen, Sept. 13th. Bella stopped there, sure that he would have been very thorough.

It will be as if I'd never existed, he'd promised her. She collapsed, hugging the album to her chest as she sobbed. Cold arms wrapped around her even as a feeling of warm comfort enveloped her.

Bella half turned and buried her face in Jasper’s chest. He was all she had left of the Cullen’s now and he didn’t even know what was going on. Fresh grief for Alice hit her, dear Alice would never have left her.

“Bella? Please talk to me. I need to know what happened.” Jasper’s smooth voice called to her and she slowly looked up into concerned butterscotch eyes.

“There...there was an accident. They threw me a party for my eighteenth and I cut myself. It was only a paper cut but....”

“Someone attacked?” He asked, obviously not surprised and she nodded.

“It wasn’t his fault. I know that, Emmett would never hurt me. Only Carlisle was able to stay. E...” She gasped in pain at the thought of his name but took a deep breath and pressed on.
“Edward pushed me out of the way and I crashed into the table. The plates shattered and my arm was cut up.” She showed him the bandage.
“They all had to leave while Carlisle stitched it up. After that Edward took me home and he was the only one I saw. He was...distant but I figured he was just trying to get over what had happened.” She paused and Jasper sent another wave of calm which made her smile shakily.

“What happened today?” He asked softly.

“Edward wanted to talk to me. He said...he said the family was leaving and I asked where we were going but...but he didn’t mean me. He said he didn’t love me, that I was a distraction. And that the others were already gone. I tried to follow him but he was too fast.” Jasper tightened his arms around her.

“I’m sorry Bella.” He whispered and she nodded.

“Are you okay with this? I thought you, well...” She trailed off and he smiled slightly.

“It’s alright, I’ve been working on my control since...” He trailed off uncomfortably and she hugged him again.
“I don’t know if I could handle an open wound but this is fine. I fed earlier too.” She nodded and relaxed against him.

“Will you be leaving soon?” She asked and he looked down at her.
“To find the others?”

“No. I will stay as long as you need me to Bella. Edward should never have left you like that. Victoria is still out there and may come for you.”

“Thank you.” She smiled and slowly she began to drift off to sleep.

Jasper stared at Charlie as the man made coffee. He felt...awkward sitting in the Swan kitchen with Bella’s family. He’d never been inside the house before and now he’d spent several hours in Bella’s room with her and now he was faking drinking a glass of water in her kitchen with her father. He needed to hunt but he couldn’t leave until Charlie was done with him. His own emotions were all over the place and what he was getting off the sleeping Bella and Charlie was not helping his control. He couldn’t believe Edward had been so callous in his treatment of the girl Jasper knew he loved.

“How....how have you been since...” Charlie started and Jasper nearly jumped at the sudden sound.

“I stayed with some old friends down south.” Jasper explained and it was the truth, Peter and Charlotte had been all too happy to give him a place to stay.
“It was too hard, staying with the family without her.” Jasper explained and Charlie nodded.
“Chief Swan what happened?” He wanted to get Charlie’s take on the situation so he’d know how much the man knew.

“I don’t know. Your family threw Bella a Birthday party and I think something happened. She was agitated when she got home and she’s been on edge the last few days but she wouldn’t talk about it. I got home today...yesterday I guess and found the note. I waited but when she didn’t come back I called out a search party. You found her and know the rest. Thank you for that, if you hadn’t been out there I don’t know when we would have found her.”

“It’s no problem Chief Swan. Bella did not deserve whatever my brother said or did. Edward can be very...stubborn. Bella told me there was an accident at the party, brotherly shoving that got out of hand and she was pushed into the table with glass plates. Add that to her fall in phoenix that Edward blamed himself for and Edward would see it as him putting her continually in danger. It may not make sense to us but Edward...Bella was his first girlfriend.”

“Doesn’t mean I won’t shoot him if he comes round again.” Jasper smiled slightly and nodded, he couldn’t blame Charlie for being protective of his daughter.
“Will you be staying in Forks or following your family?”

“I’ll be staying. I need to look the house over, hopefully they didn’t pack my belongings. I’m eighteen so I don’t need a guardian. I’ll go back to school to finish since I missed the end of last year.”

“That will put you in Bella’s year. Don’t...don’t get too close unless you really plan on staying. I don’t want her hurt by two Cullen’s.” Charlie threatened.

“Alice was my life sir and Bella was her best friend. She’d find a way back from the dead to kill me herself if I hurt Bella. We both need a friend right now.”

“Good. You can take the couch for what’s left of the night. I don’t want you driving this late.”

“I’ll be fine Chief.”

“Humour me.” Jasper nodded and went to make up a bed on the couch for show.

Harry frowned as he looked over the shelves. He could feel people staring and gossiping about him, he’d always been overly aware of when people were looking at him and the war had just made that ability stronger. Though he had overheard another piece of gossip, apparently the police chief’s daughter had been dating a Cullen and he hadn’t exactly let her down gently when the family moved. She’d been found hours later in the woods. If he’d known what was going on he would have helped, he’d gone into the Forbidden Forrest enough that he was a fair navigator in the trees. But he lived far enough out that the commotion hadn’t reached him. Maybe he should have looked for a place closer to town? No, he needed the space.

And he was starting high school the next day. Surrounded by the press of teenagers, he would need the sanctuary of the forest to relax and let go of his wartime instincts. Oh yes, school was going to be such fun when he was constantly looking to be attacked. Could he relax enough to even try and make friends here? No, he would not let the past rule his life, he was going to make friends and he was going to enjoy a whole boring year of high school. He hoped.

“Good morning Bella.” She stumbled on the stairs slightly in surprise but then looked up and smiled slightly at Jasper.

“Hey.” She answered, heading for the kitchen.

“Are you alright?” He asked, following her.

“You’re the empath, you tell me.” She shot back, not worried since Charlie had already left for work. Jasper sighed and sat down at the kitchen table.

“You don’t have to bury your pain Bella. What Edward did was cruel and dangerous but I know he loved you. I felt it, felt him fight it at first and then slowly give in after the van incident. And I can feel how much you returned that love.” Jasper pushed, knowing she couldn’t just shove those feelings deep down and ignore them, not without consequences.

“It’s...” She trailed off, hands gripping the counter tight enough for her knuckles to go white.
“It’s not just him. They left without saying goodbye. Carlisle and Esme and Emmett and Rosalie, I didn’t see any of them after my Birthday. They said they loved me! That we were family and they just...”

“Abandoned you.” He finished and she nodded, trying not to cry.
“Wait...Rosalie?” He questioned, surprised. Rosalie had never tried to hide her feelings toward Bella so what could have changed.

“Yeah, when...when we came back from Phoenix she apologised, started hanging around more. Edward said that I’d impressed her...during the fight.” The last bit was a painful whisper and Jasper swallowed, trying not to wallow in the pain those memories caused.

Seeing his beautiful Alice like that made the pain feel so fresh again, like it hadn’t been nearly a year since Victoria had killed her. But Rosalie seeing Bella in the fight? And then he remembered something he’d been too rage consumed to notice at the time. Despite being in agony from James’ venom Bella had dragged herself across the studio floor to grab onto Victoria’s leg and try to stop her from hurting Alice.

If only they’d had more warning. They’d been handling James fine until Victoria had shown up out of nowhere and attacked Alice. Rosalie and Esme hadn’t been far behind and it had been Rosalie that had torn the redheads head from her shoulders. Esme had gone straight to Bella to try and help her, Carlisle quickly joining her as the nomads were subdued. He knew Edward had managed to suck the venom out of Bella’s wound and then there had been the heat of the fire, the mad rush to get Bella to a hospital and then he had run. Unable to deal with their grief on top of his own he had run until he had found himself outside of Peter’s place.

He’d finally decided to come back to Forks but hadn’t been ready to see any one yet. That was why he had been in the forest. He’d heard people shouting for Bella and had become worried when he’d felt their panic. Luckily he had picked up on her emotions and scent very quickly. Seeing her like that had hurt. It had also made him very curious as to where his family was but then he’d heard her whispering ‘he’s gone’ over and over and he had had a very bad feeling. Sure enough Edward had been an idiot again.

Jasper couldn’t believe his brother had been so cruel to the girl he loved. And there was no way Edward could have fallen out of love with her so quickly. He could feel how badly Edward had crushed her with whatever he had said to break it off. It would take time for her to recover, if she ever fully did.

“What did Edward say Bella?” He asked softly, sending out gentle waves of calm.

“He said he was bored, tired of pretending to be human. That I was a distraction and he’d find another one quick enough. Made me promise not to do anything stupid for Charlie’s sake. It hurts so much Jasper. I love him!”

“I know.” He hesitantly reached out to her and she flung herself into his arms, clinging to the offered comfort. His control was holding though he doubted he’d be able to handle it if she bled, he didn’t blame Emmett for attacking when she did though he knew Emmett would blame himself for nearly hurting his little sister.
“Do you want to skip today?” He finally asked and felt her shake her head against his chest.

“Gossip’ll be bad enough today.” She whispered.

“Okay. Go get ready and I’ll drive you.”

“What will you do all day?” She asked, drying her eyes and standing.

“I’ll be working on getting re-enrolled. We’ll be in the same grade since I missed too much last year.” He took a deep breath before offering, not sure how much she would want him around.
“I could see how many classes I can get the same as yours? If you want.” He looked at her and she actually smiled slightly as she nodded.

“I’d like that.”

“Alright then, go get ready.” He couldn’t help grinning as he heard her trip slightly on the stairs.

Jasper walked beside Bella towards her first class. He was going to drop her off there before heading to the office. Everyone in the parking lot was staring at them until the rumble of an approaching motorcycle caught their attention. He turned with Bella as the bike pulled in and parked. The leather and denim clad rider stretched and then removed his helmet revealing shoulder length black hair, pale skin and piercing emerald eyes. Jasper could hear the many female gasps as the teen got off his bike and grabbed a backpack. He wasn’t as tall as any of the Cullen males but he had a runner’s lithe build and almost feminie features. All in all was a very fine looking young man and Jasper was almost overwhelmed by the lust pouring off all the female and even some of the male students.

For one second emerald met topaz and widened in shock before moving on. Jasper frowned in confusion as he felt the human’s emotions. Shock, concern and then forced relaxation. He watched the boy walk towards the office and realised why the way he moved seemed familiar. He moved like a soldier, like someone expecting an attack at any moment, the same way Jasper himself often walked. Who was he? Not for the first time Jasper almost wished for Edward’s gift.

Harry turned his bike off and yanked his helmet off. He tightened his mental shields as he slowly dismounted and grabbed his backpack. He could feel the stares and whispers and felt himself tense as he looked over the parking lot. He froze as topaz eyes met his. Vampire. He noticed the girl next to him was human and seemed to know him well so he forced himself to ignore the vampire and move on. Topaz was the sign of an animal eater after all but he would keep an eye out none the less. He took a deep breath and headed for the office. So much for thinking the school year would be normal and boring.

Harry walked into the office and smiled at the woman behind the desk. He mentally groaned as she blushed before handing over his schedule. Why him? Didn’t she realise he was more than a little too young for her? Mentally complaining he headed for his first class of the day and found his thoughts wondering to the vampire he had seen. His eye colour and the girl standing so close indicated he was an animal drinker so no worries there, although he could always slip up. Why hadn’t he sense him when he scanned the town? Was he new? Or maybe he had been away for a bit. He would just have to keep an eye out for any suspicious deaths and be careful himself when he decided to go for runs through the woods, he’d hate to be mistaken for dinner.

He handed his note to the teacher and slipped into an empty chair, ignoring the stares as he pulled out his things. Taking a deep breath he forced his muscles to relax only to tense again as the vampire entered the room. Brilliant. No, he wasn’t going to assume anything. He would ignore the vampire and try to make some friends in the class.

“Hi.” Harry fought not to cringe at the overly sweet voice while turning to face the speaker.

“Hello.” He answered, assessing the girl for threats quickly.

“I’m Jessica, you’re Harry right?” He nodded.
“Welcome to Forks. Is it true you’re from England?” She batted her eyelids at him and he fought the urge to gag. Apparently she was only a threat to his sanity. Catching a glimpse of the vampire out of the corner of his eyes he could swear he saw a flicker of amusement and sympathy cross the pale face.

“That’s right.” Where was the teacher?

“I could show you around if you’d like, show you all the fun places to go.” Why didn’t she just offer to take her top off instead of trying to sound seductive?

“No thanks, I can manage.” What did it take for her to get a clue?

“Are you sure?” Was she trying to purr? And apparently pushing your chest into someone’s face was meant to be subtle.

Jasper watched as Jessica tried to talk to the new boy and had to fight not to laugh. Poor kid. He could feel his horror and disgust from across the room. Trying to politely turn her down wasn’t working much to the boys’ frustration. And Jasper had thought class would be boring. Maybe he should help? Because the new kid, Harry, seemed minutes from doing something regrettable. He got ready to send a wave of calm when Harry reached boiling point.

“Look, I’m not interested in a slag like you so sod off.” He snapped and the room fell silent. Jasper had the feeling that no one really knew what Harry meant but he did. There was no way Jessica would take being called a tart very well so it was good that Harry had used a term less likely to be known. She knew what sod off meant though.
“Well?” Harry drawled, exaggerating his accent.

“You....you.” She sputtered and Harry stared at her. Jasper frowned as she suddenly backed off, what had caused the spike of fear?

“Bloody twit.” Harry muttered but Jasper was easily able to hear it. He decided to watch the new boy to find out what had made Jessica scared of him. He would not let the boy endanger Bella.

Bella winced and shut her eyes as she stumbled on the stairs, waiting for the pain of hitting the concrete but it never came. Opening her eyes she found herself staring at a green shirt so she looked up to see even greener eyes staring at her in concern.

“You alright?” A soft voice asked and she nodded. He helped her straighten up and then stepped back.

“Thanks for that. I’m Bella.” She held out her hand and he took it.

“Harry, though I think the whole town already knows that.” He grinned and she laughed.

“I was the new one last year, don’t worry the fascination will pass eventually.” She told him and he gave a relieved sigh.

“Good to know.” He suddenly looked past her and stepped back.
“Looks like someone’s waiting for you. Maybe I’ll see you round.” With a last smile he slipped past her into the building. Bella turned and smiled as she saw Jasper. How had harry known Jasper was waiting for her? Shrugging it off she headed over to him and smiled wider when Jasper rested a hand at the small of her back.

“Are you okay?”

“I’m fine, Harry caught me. I get the feeling he likes attention as much as me.” Jasper smirked and she arched an eyebrow.

“Keep an eye on Jessica. History this morning was rather...interesting.”

“So you didn’t have any trouble re-enrolling?”

“None at all, they were very happy to help.”

“And you had nothing to do with them being happy?” She asked and Jasper shrugged.

“Maybe a little.”

Bella let Jasper carry her tray as they headed for the table the Cullen’s had always sat at. It was hard but not as hard as it could have been. They sat down and Bella occasionally grabbed something of his tray to make it look like he’d eaten something. The room fell silent and then exploded with whispers as Harry entered the room. Green eyes scanned the room warily before the teen headed for the one empty table left only to be sidetracked by Mike Newton. Jasper tensed at the feelings of hostility rolling off Mike and Bella gripped his hand.

“Can I help you?” Harry asked and Mike balled his fists.

“You can apologise to Jessica for being rude.” He snarled and Harry arched an eyebrow.

“Why should I? It’s hardly my fault if she can’t understand someone asking to be left alone until it’s stated forcefully.” Harry answered, sounding almost bored.

Harry wanted to hit something, preferably the boy in front of him but he was fighting that urge. He was trained to kill, he couldn’t risk getting into a schoolyard fight. What felt like a wave of calm hit him and he felt his body relax a little. Glancing around subtly he spotted the vampire sitting nearby with Bella, both watching worriedly. So the vampire was one of the ones with a power. He’d have to thank him at some point for trying to help. Despite looking away he still managed to dodge as the boy took a swing at him, grabbing his wrist and using it to spin him around, pinning the arm to his back.

“Back off. I don’t want to fight.” Harry demanded, his magic reacting to the fight adding power to his words. He released his grip and the kid staggered away. The room was silent as everyone stared at him and Harry growled under his breath, perfect. So much for fitting in. He picked his bag up from where he’d dropped it and turned to leave.

“Harry!” he turned again to see Bella waving at him and then push out a chair at her table. He hesitated, looking at the vampire who nodded so he walked over and sat down.

“Thanks.” He muttered as he pulled out a sandwich.

“No problem. Harry this is Jasper.”

“Nice to meet you.” Harry offered with a small smile and Jasper nodded.

“So what did you say to Jessica?” Bella asked and Harry blushed slightly, staring at his food.

“He basically called her a prostitute though I doubt anyone else understood since he was using slang.” Harry looked up as Jasper explained and shrugged.

“She was being rather obvious.” He defended and Jasper nodded.

“You called her a...” Bella trailed off laughing which made both males smile. It was good to see her smiling. Harry didn’t know why she was so sad but if his actions made her happy then so be it.

TBC.....

Part 2

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