~ Compelling Thoughts ~

Summary: Everyone believed that Carlisle was perfect. He had never attacked a human in blood-lust and only ever turned those on death's door. However his biggest mistake would haunt him for eternity.

Warning: Slash, Bella-bashing, bitter-Harry

Pairings: Edward/Harry

Disclaimer: Obviously, I take no credit for either Harry Potter or Twilight… only the plot for this story.

Legend:

'Thoughts'

~Parseltongue~

~ Chapter One ~

Desperate times often called for desperate measures. Not many people would agree with this, especially when the measures resulted in working alongside shifters to eradicate the newborn vampire army Victoria was creating just outside of the small town of Forks, Washington.

Carlisle sighed. Throughout the many decades of life as a vampire, he had always taken one thing as his top priority. He didn't care about whether people were envious of his family or the fact that they gossiped behind their backs. No, what mattered to Carlisle Cullen was keeping his family safe from humans and other supernatural creatures he hadn't informed them of. However over the past two years he hadn't been so successful.

Fortunately or not, his family weren't the direct cause of this problem. This had all started with Charlie Swan's daughter moving back to Forks. Their little family had been solid and safe until then. Sure Edward wasn't as happy as he could have been since in over one hundred years he hadn't found his mate but they were peaceful. They lived together and managed a normal, peaceful life regardless of the fact they were vampires.

Then Bella had arrived and their little world shattered. Isabella Swan was Edward's singer, the one person whose blood called to Edward and brought forth the beast that they worked so desperately to control. She had been the one thing in the entire world to separate their family.

Edward had initially desired to kill her and drain her dry. Then he had miraculously pieced himself together within a week and began to date the one human that he could not read. Her thoughts were barred from his talent and that made her something that only drew his son in more. It was difficult for him to control his thirst but so far he had managed to keep under control. Still it wasn't something Carlisle approved heavily of.

Jasper had a difficult time controlling himself around humans as it was. To have Bella in the house made him work even harder. When her blood was spilt, he couldn't help the blood lust that consumed him. Then there was his constant need to analyse her like he did as a soldier.

His son had confessed that he hardly felt emotions from Bella. Whether this was because of her ability to block Edward, he didn't know. However it was highly disconcerting considering the girl didn't feel anything apart from apathy. He had confirmed that she often felt puppy love for Edward and annoyance at Rosalie however there weren't any strong emotions. Rage or love just didn't exist in Bella, according to Jasper and it worried him greatly.

In contrast to her mate, Alice seemed to love having Bella in the family and loved having a human friend. Whether this was a novelty or not for his daughter, Carlisle couldn't tell. She often went shopping for her friend or with her friend. Alice was simply ecstatic to have a friend outside of the family, someone she didn't have to hide from.

Emmett could have cared less. He didn't like Bella yet he didn't dislike Bella. He spent most of his time either around Rosalie or playing with Jasper. Emmett it seemed was on Jasper's side. He was cautious of her but didn't allow it to show. Simple enough, he didn't care if Bella became a part of their family or not as long as Edward was happy.

Rosalie however was different altogether. His daughter despised the human girl for reasons even Edward couldn't understand. Rose simply refused to acknowledge the emotionless girl and nothing anyone said could make her agree otherwise. His daughter spent most of her time around her mate and remained as far from the girl as possible.

Then there was his beloved Esme. Esme was happy as long as their children were happy. If they were happy and if Carlisle was pleased, she would accept anything into their lives. The only problem was Rosalie wasn't happy… and neither was Carlisle.

Bella was a nice girl however Carlisle didn't think it wise for Edward to fall in love with his singer. She wasn't his mate and in time (especially if she was turned) Edward would come to realize this. The call in her blood would disappear and her certain ability to block Edward's thoughts might also disappear. She would just be another vampire to him and he would not feel the need to be by her side anymore. Bella would become unimportant and only a burden on their family.

The second problem was also a huge concern for them. The girl herself was a magnet for trouble. Anything supernatural appeared to be drawn to her. Whether this was vampire or wolf shape shifter it didn't matter. They were drawn to her like a moth to flame.

In the past two years she had been attack by several vampires. Both rogue vampires and the Volturri alike. Then there was this army that wanted her as well for revenge against James. Of course add that to the wolves in the reservation and it could hardly be called normal.

She was simply dangerous for them to be around. Not because they could harm her but because she could attract something that would place them in danger.

However Carlisle hadn't said anything yet. The human girl was too deep into their politics and lies to simply leave behind and what with their current situation it would only be a disaster. The newborn army would attack whether they were present or not all to get to Bella. The likely outcome of that would be the entire town destroyed. Forks would be wiped off the map.

Carlisle sighed as he placed his head in his hands.

He needed to make a decision. His family's safety rested on this. Right now they were all waiting on what he planned to do. He was their sire after all. However making this decision could likely tear his family apart. He couldn't make a decision that would please everyone. Yet he knew that his decision would affect everything they did from now on.

They only had two choices in reality. Ask for the help of the shape shifters or take care of it on their own. Leaving wasn't an option any longer. They had attempted that but that only forced Edward to do things that was out of character and harmful. So he was left with two options and both were looking bleak.

Carlisle sighed again as Jasper entered the room. Jasper was the only one that would provide an unbiased opinion on this disaster in the entire household.

"Carlisle, we must do something about this. A newborn army is a difficult thing to take care of without attracting the notice of the humans. It will be highly likely that we'll have to relocate after this to avoid suspicion. I don't mean to rush you but a decision must happen soon."

"I know. The choices however aren't those that are likely to work in our favour." Carlisle admitted.

Jasper chose to sit before his sire. It was obvious that this decision was tearing the man apart.

"Carlisle, you are the most compassionate person that I know. You will choose the decision in everyone's best interests."

However as he spoke, Jasper felt an odd emotion from his sire when compassion was mentioned. It was unsettling because he'd never felt this from Carlisle before. The emotion could only be described as a twinge of regret but that didn't pinpoint it accurately enough. It was almost akin to a mix of regret and failure. How those emotions were stirred by what he spoke of, Jasper didn't know.

"Of course, your right, I need to make a decision either way."

Carlisle allowed his eyes to shut in thought. Taking care of it without aid would more than likely be disastrous. Their family was small and could only handle small affairs. An entire army of newborn vampires was entirely out of their range. That left them with asking for aid.

The shifters would do anything to uphold the treaty and keep unknown vampires from entering and hunting on their lands. Yet the thought alone of asking a pack of wolves to aid them wasn't very appealing. Carlisle would never be able to trust them with the lives of his family. There was however one person that he would trust to take care of his family without thought as he'd been doing the very same thing for years.

Jasper felt his sire's emotions as he sat in thought. It was a mix of weariness and determination. Yet at the end was that twinge of something he couldn't quite pinpoint as anything but failure. He wasn't going to mention anything of it knowing it would make Carlisle uncomfortable. He already felt nervous merely thinking about whatever it was that was on his mind.

"Come, we have to call a meeting with the shifters."

Jasper stood and followed his sire out, knowing that everything was about to change.

x-x-x-x-x

The Treaty Line was something Carlisle thought very little of. It wasn't that he cared if the line separated them from the shifters. That was something he was alright with. Vampires and wolves were very territorial creatures so it made sense to mark their territory so to speak. No it was what the line represented that was the main dislike. It represented the distrust the wolves had with them.

Sure it was natural to distrust ones natural enemies but in this event it was just foolish. With a vampire willingly turning everyone in sight creating a small army it wasn't exactly the best time to be distrustful of those that could aid them. Distrust only bred more distrust and in this case that much was true. Jasper could sense their distrust and immediately believed they were hiding something. That didn't make the greatest of impressions.

No one from the Cullen Clan wanted to work with wolves now especially Rosalie and Jasper. However their situation was tight and they couldn't accurately capture Victoria without their aid because of the Treaty Line.

Though he had tried, no amount of pleading had tempted the wolves to allow them to cross the line whilst hunting Victoria. No they upheld the treaty with such reverence it might as well have been scripture. Killing Victoria would be more difficult for this reason alone. That was why Carlisle had decided to bring someone else in to join on this hunt, someone he hadn't spoken with for a lengthy period of time in many years.

"For this meeting it might be more beneficial for you if you were in your human forms." Carlisle suggested lightly as the wolves gathered.

He knew they disliked being in human form around vampires but he needed to speak to Sam directly not through Edward like they usually did. This wasn't a topic they should dance around.

Sam gave a low growl but could sense that Carlisle grew tired of playing games. This wasn't going to be a usual meeting and by the appearance of the entire clan plus Bella this wasn't something well known to them either. Whatever Carlisle was hiding was his secret alone to tell.

"Very well," Edward translated.

In seconds the wolves trotted to the bushes and shifted. They covered their modesty with jeans and returned to the meeting with their heads held high. They were rather proud creatures. Carlisle couldn't help but compare them with a preening cat at times though he would never speak it allowed.

"This situation with Victoria is getting far out of hand." Carlisle began. "Even with the aid of the shifters we can't be sure that we will win this battle. As it is Victoria's army grows stronger and we can't seem to even pinpoint her location. Nor it seems can we take down a newborn without reinforcement. As such I believe we should ask for more help."

The last sentence sent snarls through the pack. They didn't like the idea of more vampires in their area when they couldn't watch them and they wouldn't abide by the Treaty set down. No, they wouldn't have more vampires within their area.

"They don't like the idea of having more vampires in the area." Edward said.

"Thank you Edward however I want to hear it from them. The reason I suggested you shift is because we need to speak of this and gather all of our plans." Carlisle answered facing the pack.

This wasn't something they could do. Days of beating around the bushes were over. They needed a solid strategy to win this and if the wolves didn't cooperate then they would need to alter their own plans.

"More vampires around here would only mess with the natural order even if they only fed on animals like you lot." Sam stated.

It wasn't much but at least they had started somewhere. Carlisle was glad that Sam had even dignified to respond to him in such a normal way. His words weren't spat out like some of the others wolves often did.

"Of that I do agree. We could travel further to feed if more vampires were to come however that would only place Forks at more risk since we wouldn't be able to travel back in time to other any assistance."

Many of the shifters growled though in human form causing the Cullen Clan to tense. They disliked the idea of having more vampires in their area that much was obvious. However they needed to do something to change this. They needed help with Victoria's small army. A pack of shifters and a clan of vampires weren't going to be enough to bring them all down.

"We don't need more help. We can do this on our own just fine." Jacob said stubbornly.

Carlisle shook his head sadly. Jacob hadn't really been very sympathetic to their plight since Bella had chosen Edward over him. He didn't blame the boy. Bella was human and Edward… Edward wasn't something she should be with. A human and a vampire never worked out well in the end for anyone involved. However they did need help. They needed it desperately and Carlisle was going to show them today why that was so.

"Unfortunately we aren't doing anything to stop them. Even as we attack the few she sends here Victoria creates more to take the place of the one. She continues to grow her army whilst our defence remains the same."

Sam shifted his gaze towards his other pack members silently communicating with them. Edward would have been able to hear everything should he attempt to do so. However that would have been rather rude considering it was them that had called the meeting in the first place. No, Carlisle waited patiently for the pack to come to a decision on his words.

"How do you propose we deal with this then?" Sam questioned though Jacob looked to be glaring off into the distance.

"We need more aid. The lack of people that can help us with this is small and that isn't even our main concern. If the Volturri hear of this newborn army they will send vampires here and they don't feed on animals like we do. They don't care for your laws either. They will simply come to eradicate the newborns and return without any care." Carlisle instructed.

Sam nodded, accepting this as the truth. They had heard of the governing vampires from Italy. It was said they were ruthless and cared little for humans. They couldn't be allowed to come here. Too many questions would be asked by the authorities if such a large number of people were suddenly to make this their travel destination. Though he didn't like what Carlisle was suggesting, it was something that couldn't be bartered on. Together they were strong and weak while apart.

"As I said previously, what do you propose we do?"

Carlisle stopped himself from frowning but knew that Jasper would pick up on the same emotions he had felt once before in his study. He couldn't stop his emotions from showing so he allowed them to fly free whilst his face remained as emotionless as possible before the wolves.

"I have said that we need help with dealing with Victoria. However you don't wish for me to contact another coven of vegetarian vampires. That I can understand," Carlisle began. "However I know of someone else that will be able to help us. He is a… friend of mine and not a vampire. This should make it easier for us to remain in contact with each other if he is permitted to cross the Treaty Line."

Frowning, Sam had to wonder who exactly Carlisle was speaking of. Sure the man might have known a few humans that were still alive but that seemed unreasonable since they didn't go around announcing what they were to mortals. That only led to the belief that this person wasn't really human. If this person wasn't human or vampire what was he to cause this vampire to consult with him?

By the looks of the remainder of the Cullen Clan, they didn't know either. Whoever this person was, Carlisle was protecting him from everyone including his own family. Sam narrowed his eyes.

"Carlisle, why haven't you ever told any of us about this person? Why haven't we met them?" Edward asked reading the thoughts of the wolves.

Their own sire had hidden this from them. All of their thoughts were in disbelief. They couldn't quite handle that their sir had kept information from them when they had all been so open and honest about their past lives. At one time Carlisle had told them about his past, the way in which he had been turned. However they had never realized that Carlisle might keep things from them, things that should have been out in the open for their own safety.

They had so many questions. Who was he? Where had Carlisle met the guy? What was he? Yet by Carlisle's mind Edward knew that these answers wouldn't be given to them until he was ready.

"He isn't someone I wanted you to meet."

Anyone listening would automatically assume that Carlisle was protecting them. The tone however suggested that it wasn't for their protection but for the person Carlisle refused to name. Whoever this person was, Carlisle protected them more fiercely than his own clan. That was the last words Carlisle would speak on the matter. He didn't want to give them any more information about him. No, that he certainly wouldn't allow. The child had to be protected for as long as possible.

"Will he be able to aid us if he isn't one of you?" Sam enquired cautiously.

He didn't want to offend Carlisle when he was acting this defensive. If he had to liken it to something, Sam would almost swear it was like a mother protecting its cub.

Carlisle nodded. "He is more than capable of taking care of himself Sam. I would not call him if I thought that I was placing him or I in any danger."

That sentence confused everyone gathered. How would bringing him into this not place him in any danger? With a newborn army it was probably more dangerous than staring down the gullet of a hungry lion. What was Carlisle thinking and how dangerous did it have to be for Carlisle to keep him away?

"Why is that?" Jacob couldn't help but ask.

Carlisle's warm eyes turned steely.

"I will not leave him. I promised that he would never be alone."

Jasper and Edward winced and they weren't the only ones. Everyone who had a mate or destined one flinched. That speech was almost a declaration of love and to have ones mate nearby whilst uttering it about another, a man no less, had to be difficult. Poor Esme was feeling crushed by that sentence alone yet she had a motherly feeling as if Carlisle was merely defending one of his children.

Sam growled and shifted. Not satisfied by the display but accepting nonetheless.

"He says very well but they will meet him before he is allowed to cross the border." Edward translated.

Carlisle accepted this. "He will meet with you but I will also be there."

The wolves were restless and displeased by that however they allowed it and trotted off into the night. Carlisle knowing that his family had many questions simply took off for home. He didn't want to answer any of them not when he knew what position he was placing him in. However, if he arrived after the call then they both would have a lot of explaining to do.

"Carlisle, who is this person?" Alice pestered racing in the door after him.

The others followed with Edward and Bella bringing up the rear. They were all gathered around waiting patiently for him to answer in the belief that he hadn't wanted the wolves to hear. In truth it was Bella, he didn't want to have his knowledge bestowed upon. She wasn't part of their family yet and if she was ever turned, he rather doubted this would be a topic he would still allow her to listen to.

"I believe it is time for Bella to return home."

Alice, Edward and Bella all frowned. Carlisle would never normally turn Bella away like this. It was odd that one person could so drastically change the man. Bella however gathered her courage and stepped forward to speak.

"But Carlisle surely since I'm going to be eventually turned-"

"This business is not your own Miss Swan I am asking you to leave." Carlisle snapped, causing them all to jerk away suddenly.

Carlisle was known for his polite, calm presence. This person however really had him on the defensive. A vampire on defence wasn't a pleasant person to be around. They snapped all the time and defended the person to the point of hiding them away in everything they did. It was entirely likely that Carlisle had tons of information on this person just not where they could reach.

Edward knew that pushing him wouldn't turn out well so he ushered Bella to the door and out to her truck. There he waited until she was out of their driveway before returning to the house. Closing the door, Edward turned to Carlisle. In the entire time he had known the man, he had never mentioned or met anyone that he had seemed particularly attached to. It only further confirmed that this person wasn't human or mortal and Carlisle would do anything to keep them safe.

"The Volturri don't know about this person, do they?" Edward enquired.

"No, if they did, he wouldn't be permitted to live a normal life, a free life."

"Carlisle, who is this person?" Esme asked gently.

The answer shocked them.

"Someone I long ago did a great injustice to."

Carlisle walked away all the while leaking a few thoughts unintentionally.

Edward caught a glimpse of something in his sire's mind.

-x-

"Please… why…" a voice in the darkness cried weakly.

His sire entered the cellar and walked down the wooden stairs each groaning beneath his weight. Screams echoed in the background. Smoke smothered the air and you could feel the fire in your face. Green eyes stared from the darkness sparkling unnaturally in the dim light.

"What is your name?" Carlisle asked.

"Harleigh Jamison Potter."

-x-

Edward had always thought his sire, his father, was perfect. The man could never do any wrong what with how he chose to abide by the laws of the Volturri but reject their beliefs at the same time. But as the scene continuously replayed within his mind, certain things began to jump out at him.

Carlisle wasn't a vampire. In fact he appeared younger than he had ever seen him.

The person, Harleigh, was barely a teen and he was tied to the floor in a cellar.

The biggest shock however was the pentagram that was painted on the floor beneath the child.

He didn't know what to make of it but it all certainly didn't hint at anything good for Carlisle. The human Carlisle had been through many things, his father, Edward knew, had headed many of them but Carlisle had participated on occasion when forced. It wasn't something that Carlisle was particularly proud of which explained the emotions he had been feeling recently.

And yet, all this time he wondered, what was it that Carlisle had done to the poor child?

This is just a chapter to capture interest. If you want me to continue this story soon then you'll have to vote for it in the poll on my profile page. The other stories will also have chapters posted to capture interest so if you want more of thsi vote.

~MidnightEmber