crossoverfic | Always Expect the Unexpected -- Part 6

Title: Always Expect the Unexpected
Part: Six
Fandom: HP/Twilight
Pairing: At the mo' I'm leaning towards Draco/Jacob, but haven't really decided!
Rating: T for now.
Warnings: None really, for this chapter. Pretty much just setting everything up! Obviously AU for both series. That should be clear just because it's a crossover!
Timeline: Begins right after Draco's sixteenth birthday, so end of OOTP. HOWEVER, I am going to ignore the years given to us by J.K. Rowling and have them coincide with Twilight's time line. Twilight-wise, this picks up after Twilight and before New Moon.
Summary: Draco Malfoy has always expected he would become a Death Eater upon reaching his sixteenth birthday. He did not expect to discover that his mother had kept a rather large secret from him: she is part-veela, and so, in turn, is he! When the Dark Lord reveals his scheme for the new veela, mother and son flee to the muggle world where Draco encounters the thing he expected least of all: love.

Disclaimer: I feel the need to emphasis. THIS IS ALTERNATURE UNIVERSE -- FOR BOTH HARRY POTTER & TWILIGHT. That being said, I WILL deviate from canon. Mostly by timeline. My biggest complaint about the Twilight books is that they happen so fast. Therefore, I am playing with the time line to suit my needs. Breaking Dawn didn't happen. Period. End of discussion. Twilight happened. Draco enters the scene at what would be Bella & Edward's senior year aka New Moon.

Chapter Six
In which Draco discovers that denial is not just a river in Egypt

The ensuing silence seemed to stretch out for minutes. Draco's body was tense and poised for an attack. He didn't look at Severus -- he dare not lest he hex the man where he sat -- so great was his anger at that moment. He had trusted Severus! How foolish of him. How utterly foolish of him. His father would be disappointed -- if he weren't already so! How many times had he warned Draco against Severus. His father's words echoed in his head. He's not to be trusted, Draco. He's far too slippery, far too slippery. His mother had trusted him, however. Always. It was that that stayed his hand. Well, that and the fact that he couldn't actually do magic -- and hide from the Dark Lord, that is. Slytherins -- and Malfoys -- thought of self-preservation first and foremost.

"A veela," murmured Edward, his golden eyes studying him. Draco did not like that at all. He felt naked underneath his gaze. He felt exposed, vulnerable. "A male veela," Edward continued on. "No wonder you are frightened of us."

The rest of the vampire family -- Draco wanted to laugh at that ridiculousness of that -- watched Edward. They trusted him, for some odd reason, Draco realized. Carlisle may have been their leader, but they would not go against what Edward said, whatever his judgment was.

Draco watched as Edward gave Carlisle an almost indiscernible nod. If not for the quick eyesight afforded to him by his inheritance, he would have missed it.

Carlisle cleared his throat, bringing attention back to himself. "We will, of course, respect the treaty, Draco," began the vampire, softly. "None of us would force themselves upon you, and as you can see, all of my children -- as well as myself -- are already involved with significant others -- happily so. You are quite safe with us."

But Draco did not relax, not when Edward's eyes were still on him, not when he could feel Jasper's -- the odd blond vampire -- eyes on him. Or, at least, he tried not to relax, but just as before, a calming sensation washed over him, and he began to relax against his will. He let out a breath he hadn't even known he was holding.

"Very well," Severus said, at last. "We, in turn, will keep your existence from the muggles. We ask that you do the same. We are not here merely on a whim, you must know that. It would not be beneficial to us in the least if attention was drawn to you. By the Volturi or any other such organization."

Inside, Draco agreed with him. If the Cullens forced their hand, the Volturi would honor the treaty, but at what price? They were in an alliance with the Dark Lord, Draco felt quite certain he would discover their location. Draco shuddered lightly. No, no, no! That wouldn't do at all! Outwardly, well, Draco wasn't really one for cooperation with beings inferior to him -- and that definitely included vampires.

"Also," added Severus, casting a sideways glance at his godson. "It would behoove all involved if your... children... kept their distance from Draco. Their presence bothers him, and there is no reason for him to be bothered needlessly."

Edward's mouth tightened into a hard line. His eyes were narrowed in anger, but at what, Draco wasn't sure. "He shares nearly every class with us... how are we to stay away from him?" He said, finally.

Draco shrugged. He didn't care how they complied with Severus' request -- only that they did comply.

Carlisle stood, a reassuring word on his lips and a kind smile on his face, but Draco wasn't fazed. He knew exactly what lay beneath that calm, paternal, exterior. Didn't Drao know, after all, just what a father were capable of doing? His own had sold him out, for Merlin's sake!

"Edward and Alice will not, of course, inflict their company on you if you prefer they not, but is it not possible, Draco, that you could find a certain camaraderie with them? I think you will find that you have quite a bit in common with them," Carlisle told him.

Draco sneered. "I think not. I know very well what vampires are capable of. My father was well acquainted with Aro. As well as with Alec and Jane, so forgive me if I choose not to associate with you. Perhaps you have been domesticated, but I still do not trust you. You are first and foremost predators. To spend more time than necessary with you is folly."

Rosalie was seething, Emmett looked slightly confused -- as if he didn't know whether to be angry or not, but it was Alice, Edward, and Jasper that caught Draco by surprised. Edward looked almost as if he would have agreed with Draco. His eyes flitted over to where Bella still sat, quietly, watching the exchange. Alice had a glazed sort of look on her face for a moment or so before her eyes returned to their normal quality. A frown settled on her lips after that. Both Edward and Jasper turned towards her, confused -- and concerned? looks on their faces. Draco watched this small sequence take place with great interest. He was not the only one that noticed, Severus also watched on avidly.

Sensing his children's discomfort, Carlisle gave the two wizards an apologetic smile. "I see we are at an impasse, then. If there is nothing further, perhaps it is better that we part ways."

Severus rose and Draco followed his lead. "I agree," said Severus with a small -- almost inaudible -- sigh.

They weren't even out the front door before Draco heard Bella ask what a veela was. The ride home was... uncomfortable... to say the least. Draco wouldn't even meet Severus' eyes, and though he began to relax within moments of pulling away from the Cullen house, he was still tense when he pulled into their drive.

"Draco," began Severus when they were inside.

"Don't," Draco said, his voice devoid of emotion. "It's done, and it can't be taken back -- ever. I'm going to bed."

Severus sank into a chair as Draco walked from the room. He let out a sigh and dropped his head into his hands. He wasn't cut out to be a parent, or guardian, rather. He never had been. He abhorred all children, Draco being the only slight exception. He was a fool if he thought himself capable of doing this. Severus was pouring himself a cup of tea when there was a knock at the front door.

It was Agent Collier, and he looked none too pleased.

"We have a problem. There's been a break-out in Azkaban, and Lucius Malfoy was among the escapees."

Severus heaved a heavy sigh. "What do we do?"

It was raining when Draco woke the next morning. He had hoped it would be sunny so that he wouldn't have to see the vampires. He came downstairs, dressed impeccably in a pair of gray Prada trousers and a silver Harrison cashmere v-neck sweater. He left his blonde hair mussed up as seemed to be all of the rage now, at least according to the fashion sites Draco found on the internet. The internet, Draco thought, was truly a marvelous thing. Everything -- absolutely everything -- you wanted to know could be found on the internet. In fact, he thought it so marvelous, he wondered why there wasn't a wizarding equivalent.

When he entered the dining room, he felt an eerie sense of deja vu. Both Agent Collier and Severus were sitting at the kitchen table, half-drunk cups of coffee and tea sitting around them and papers spread out over the remaining portion of the table. When Draco entered the room, Severus began shuffling the papers into a stack.

"Breakfast, Draco?" asked Severus, indicating the plate of fresh fruit and croissants on the counter and the pot of porridge cooking on the stove.

Draco raised an eyebrow, but then his eyes narrowed. "What I want is for you to tell me what is the matter. You've never once prepared breakfast for me since our arrival, and now -- funnily enough -- you've prepared all of my favorites!" Draco said as he popped a brilliant red strawberry in his mouth.

It wasn't Severus who answered, but Agent Collier. "Your father has escaped from Azkaban."

Draco was still facing away from them, lingering near the fruit plate, when he heard. His back tensing slightly was the only reaction they could see. If they could have seen the expression on his face, however, they would have been surprised. Draco's pale face blanched further, and his blue-gray eyes were wide. He took a deep breath and squared his shoulders. When he turned around, he looked almost bored. He spread orange marmalade onto a croissant and loaded a plate up with fruit before sitting in a chair at the table. He waited until he had poured himself a cup of tea before speaking. When he did so, his voice only wavered slightly.

"Do you expect him to attempt to enter the country?" he asked, lightly.

The two men exchanged a look. "He's already made an attempt early this morning," Severus answered, reluctantly.

"Well, that's that, then, I suppose. Shall I ready myself for the Dark Lord's arrival?" his tone was dry and cutting.

Severus looked highly affronted. "Of course not, Draco. Don't be absurd."

"You're perfectly safe," Collier assured him. "As long as you follow the safety instructions I dictated to Severus, I suspect you'll be as safe as you were before his escape."

"What sort of safety instructions?" asked Draco, warily, heaping porridge in a bowl and pouring maple syrup on it.

"Nothing to be too concerned with," Severus said, quickly. "We can discuss this after school. You best not be late."

Draco rolled his eyes and continued eating his porridge. He was careful not to show the unease he felt. He told himself he wasn't too terribly surprised that his father had escaped. He had expected it, after all, hadn't he?

Finally, he finished and placed his breakfast dishes in the sink .He quickly grabbed his lunch out of the ice box and gave Collier and Severus a curt nod before leaving the house. When Draco pulled into the Forks High School parking lot, he wasn't surprised that Edward and Bella were standing near the silver Volvo. Sneering, Draco walked passed them, ignoring the questioning look on Bella's face.

Class period after class period, Draco took his neat, precise notes, ignoring every beseeching look that was directed his way. He wrote the lecture written nearly verbatim in an attempt to fill his time. All throughout the day, Draco found himself looking over his shoulder. He half expected -- most of the time -- to see his father when he turned around, the other half of the time, he expected to see the Dark Lord. What he saw was... nothing -- well, nothing of any importance. Mostly it was just other students.

The Cullens and Bella seemed to have accepted the fact that Draco wanted nothing more to do with them, but the same could not be said for the others. Mike, in particular, seemed to have become his shadow. He no longer attempted to touch Draco -- which Draco was ever so glad for -- but he now felt that Draco was the one to imitate. What a ridiculous concept! As if he could ever be half as good as Draco was -- in looks or anything else for that matter. He'd also accrued some shadows of the female variety. Lauren, in particular, seemed to think that Draco was quite a catch -- and also that she ought to be the one that caught him. Draco had never met a more vapid narcissist than her -- including himself -- and that was saying something as he included in that number his own mum and dad along with Pansy.

The safety instructions turned out to be unneeded. They included things such as not to wander about alone -- Malfoys did not wander about aimlessly -- Not using magic -- how repetitive these were! They already couldn't use magic -- But the one that Draco felt he could not abide was that Agent Collier was going to stop his importing of wizarding goods.

"What?" he'd snapped, angrily. "I've told you, Severus. This is more than about me being frivolous. My system simply cannot process these heavily processed foods that the muggles are so fond of!"

Severus looked unconcerned. "Be that as it may, you will simply have to make do with what is available. Agent Collier says there is a natural food store in the little village of La Push. It a bit away, but as you've a car, that shouldn't be a problem. Not to mention you have more than enough here, really. With the preservation spells in place, it could be months before you need ever worry about that."

"Fine," he sniffed before exiting the room.

One day became two and two became a week and then a week became two. Lucius Malfoy was still at large, and Severus' temper was as tetchy as ever. Not only that, but Draco thought he might actually go mad with the boredom. He never thought he would say it, but he rather thought he missed Harry Potter. Since the meeting at the Cullens, they had kept their word -- and their distance. He found himself becoming lonely though. He almost wished Potter were here for Draco to taunt. He'd even entered English with a sneer on his lips, hoping to entice Edward Cullen into the verbal sparing that he so needed only to discover Edward was staring duly at the front of the classroom, his face listless and devoid of all emotion save utter agony. Bella's face was an absolute mirror of his. Whatever. He cared not what was amiss with the seemingly golden couple of Forks High School. Only... only... he found that he did care. For some reason, unknown to him, he was bothered by the fact that Edward Cullen seemed to look as if someone had happily murdered his pet keazle in front of him. How unexpected. How fascinating.

Indeed, it was absolutely fascinating. The couple that could hardly dare to be parted for mere minutes was now seating as far away from each other as possible. It was... unexpected. Not as unexpected as Draco's interest in said matter, but unexpected nonetheless. So fascinating was it that instead of taking his meticulous notes as always, Draco's notebook remained closed for the duration of the lesson, and his gaze never left Edward. He was uneasy so often now with his father's escape and the escalating war, that it didn't matter if he was near the vampires or not. And if he could succeed in taunting the vampire... well, then, he'd risk it. He knew Edward's type.. noble, courageous -- he'd heard from Mike how Edward had been next to Bella the previous year and had been able to pull her to safety when she was nearly hit by a car -- morally righteous. He was very much like Harry Potter. How very fun this would be.

"What?" hissed Edward, his voice low enough so that the humans would not be bothered by their conversing.

Draco shrugged elegantly, his face the look of innocence. "Whatever do you mean?"

"You're staring -- why?"

Again, Draco shrugged. "Are you really so arrogant as to think that I was looking at you?"

"You know very well that you were looking at me. My previous question remains -- why were you staring at me?"

"Such a temper," murmured Draco, shaking his head. "As for why I was staring at you, I was simply trying to diagnose your ailment. You look dreadful, quite an accomplishment for an immortal being whose characteristic trait is unbelievable beauty... In fact, you look like some killed your puppy, and I know that couldn't be further from the truth. You haven't a puppy at all... No, we both know that a puppy wouldn't stand a chance in your house." Draco smirked, feeling quite satisfied with himself. This is what he had been missing! Perhaps not as satisfying as bothering Potty Scarhead, but it would certainly do.

Edward's eyes went black with fury and his hands clenched into tight fists, one of which he slammed onto his desk, causing a loud thud to be heard throughout the room and a crack to appear on the desk.

The rest of the class, who had missed their silent exchange, whipped their heads around at the noise.

Edward murmured an apology to the teacher before claiming he felt ill and fleeing the classroom. Beside Edward's empty seat, Bella let out a sigh, her eyes lingering on the doorway.

Well, Draco thought, when the class was over and he was packing his belongs. How fun was that.

Apparently, it was a little too much fun -- for Edward at least. Edward wasn't in any of their other classes. Bella was, and it was almost worth the distraught look she gave when she realized that Edward wasn't coming to class to have run him off. Every class it was the same -- she would eagerly watch the doorway until class began, and then she would give a desolate little sigh and turn her attention to her notebook leaving Draco throughly entertained.

By the time Draco returned home, he was feeling quite content. Until, at least, he noticed an odd automobile in their drive. A black Mercedes, to be exact, was parked next to Severus' automobile. Perplexed, Draco hurried into the house -- only to find himself face to face with Carlisle Cullen.

"I suppose I'll see myself out," Carlisle told Severus. "It truly was a pleasure to meet the both of you. Unfortunately, the situation being as it is... well, I'm sure you understand."

Severus nodded curtly. "Of course."

Draco hadn't even time to spare the man a greeting -- not that he would have, mind. He just liked having the option -- before Carlisle was leaving.

"So, what did the good Doctor have to say?" asked Draco, helping himself to a cuppa and a biscuit.

Severus narrowed his eyes, but at Draco's raised brow, stopped. "It seems there was an... incident with one of his children and the muggle girl. They've decided to leave town, or rather it was the mind reader, Edward, that decided they should leave. Carlisle was good enough to warn me. He's worried that with them gone, Bella might take finding them into her own hands. Apparently, she is quite inventive when she puts her mind to it. He wanted to be sure we wouldn't disclose any information -- especially information regarding the Volturi. Since our previous encounter, she has apparently been rather inquisitive about it."

Draco hummed noncommittally as he added a more than generous amount of cream and sugar to his tea. He ignored the sickened look Severus gave him at that. Severus was far too uptight. He was more of a no cream or sugar, if you please, because it isn't proper tea if it isn't bitter and nearly inconsumable man. So, the Cullens were leaving... well, at least that explained why Edward looked the way he did, and he supposed it explained Bella as well. She fancied herself in love with him, and -- Draco assumed -- fancied him in love with her. What a riot! A vampire in love with a human... how utterly ridiculous. It was like... well, he supposed it was quite like the prey being in love with the predator and vice versa. Like a little rabbit being in love with a fox or something else equally asinine.

"You won't tell her anything, will you?" prompted Severus, breaking him out of his thoughts.

Draco let out a long suffering sigh before sneering at Severus. "Why, for Merlin's sake, would I speak to her, if it wasn't absolutely necessary? And do you really think me so foolish to tell her anything other than what she already knows -- if I did speak to her, which I is a moot point since I don't?"

At last, Severus conceded with a nod.

It turned out that all of their worrying was for naught. Because when Draco returned to school that Monday, Bella wasn't there at all. In fact, she didn't return for an entire week, and when she did return, she didn't speak to anyone least of all him. In fact, she seemed to go out of her way to avoid him, and on the rare occasion that she did happen to be close to him, she would visibly flinch. Just like in Hogwarts, Forks High School had a prolific gossip scene. According to them -- them meaning Jessica and Lauren -- Edward leaving had caused Bella to have some sort of mental breakdown. It wasn't too far from the truth, Draco thought. He couldn't find it in himself to care, though. With the vampires gone, he had one less thing to worry about.

As the weeks passed by, in fact, Draco became rather complacent. His father hadn't made an another attempt at entering the country, and since Agent Collier had ceased his visits, they were bereft of news from the wizarding world. Surrounded by muggles as they were, it became quite easy for Draco to forget that there was a war going on beyond the little bubble of school and home he and Severus had created.

Until, that is, the war came knocking at their door. So to speak, of course.