Wish Upon A Star

Chapter 4 – A Trip to Edward's Inner Eye

"I have seen many stars in my life, but you remain the brightest of them all put together."

/Edward\/Harry\

"Is all of this necessary?" Edward asked, cocking an eyebrow.

When Harry appeared mere hours ago offering to find his mate, Edward had been skeptical. In fact, even now he remained a bit iffy on the whole situation. After they returned from their enlightening shopping excursion, Harry immediately demanded that Edward go out and buy two dozen roses, sixteen long white candles, a very expensive cologne that took three hours to track down, and a book of sappy poetry that seemed to be more trouble than it was worth.

Harry glanced up from his place on the floor. Truth be told, the star didn't require everything he had asked for. That didn't mean he couldn't have a little fun. "It sets the mood," Harry explained with a smile. "Have you ever tried to answer questions and found that you couldn't?"

Edward nodded his head. "I don't see how performing this…er…ritual will help me any," he said disbelievingly.

Despite his ignorance concerning rituals and séances and other voodoo crap, Edward severely doubted that the moves Harry had taught him earlier had anything to do with finding his mate. The steps to the ritual seemed more provocative and…sexy…and distracting. He was fairly certain there had never been a case of a vampire with memory loss, but for the life of him, he couldn't remember the stupid moves. All he could think of were Harry's hips and the way they moved, along with the shapely bottom that enchanted his eyes.

It made him feel like he betrayed his mate, despite not yet knowing his significant other.

Harry continued to light the candles, oblivious to Edward's plight as a wide smile stretched across his face. "The ritual is to provide the perfect ambiance," he replied, patting Edward on the back in reassurance. "When the conditions are right, it becomes so much easier to open your Inner Eye and see your mate. Not only that, but when you perform the last half of the ritual, the candles, roses, cologne, and that book of poems all come into play and makes the effects of the ritual that much stronger."

"What is the accuracy rate on performing such a ritual?" Edward asked curiously.

"Your chances of finding your mate go up by seventy-four percent," Harry said helpfully. "C'mon, Edward, what do you have to lose?"

"If you're sure," Edward said skeptically.

"Positive," Harry replied, the twinkle in his eye more prominent. "I'm a professional."

Edward stared at him for minute longer before the suspicious gaze finally disappeared. He took a deep breath before stepping into the circle of lit candles and sitting down. He blocked out his surroundings, more-than-thrilled that he had locked the door to his room, and closed his eyes.

As he began to relax, everything seemed to fade away. He could smell the waxy scent of the candles and the burnt scent of the lit wicks, but it strangely didn't bother him as much as it normally did. The animals in the forest continued on their merry way, but their prattle seemed too low for even him to pick up on, which was an amazing feat with his supernatural hearing. Everything was so quiet and peaceful that Edward was caught off-guard when Harry began to speak.

"Concentrate on the sound of my voice," the star murmured softly. "You're very calm and relaxed; your body is weightless, and you feel like you're floating. Now imagine that you're on a beach."

Edward gasped silently as he was suddenly transported from his room and landed on a tropical island. The sun beamed down on him, causing his body to glitter and sparkle. He glanced around at the people somewhat nervously, and was pleasantly surprised when the humans acted as if it was an everyday occurrence—like he was someone walking by with red hair or well-defined muscles. He looked down, experimentally wiggling his toes in the sand, and completely relaxed.

"Mmmmm," Edward unconsciously moaned, a sigh escaping his lips.

"The waves are crashing on the beach," Harry said quietly, "there's a beautiful sunset on the horizon, and there are families laying in the sand and playing in the water. Everybody starts leaving and soon you're alone."

Edward glanced at the happy families and watched with no small amount of dread as they faded from view. Like Harry said, he was alone, and he didn't like it one bit. Already for so long he'd been alone, and he was so tired of it. He needed the hole in his dead heart filled; he needed his mate.

"No," Edward muttered.

Harry caressed his face gently, soothing the distraught vampire though Edward was too lost in his subconscious to feel the gesture or even be aware that Harry had made it. He then lay his hand on Edward's bicep, ignoring how nicely toned it felt, and squeezed it reassuringly. "Walk down the beach," he cooed gently. "There's someone special waiting for you."

Edward was more-than-happy to oblige. The blurry figure on the beach proved Harry's words to be true. The vampire's pupils dilated slightly as he softly uttered, "Mate."

Harry smiled. "Exactly," he chirped. "What does she look like?"

"Not a she," Edward replied dazedly, a small smile spread across his face.

"He then," Harry amended. "What does he look like?"

"Handsome," came the soft murmur. "The most handsome blur I've ever seen."

Harry had to try really hard to keep his snort of amusement to himself. Without realizing it, he began to softly rub his thumb across Edward's hand as he continued, "That doesn't tell me what he looks like, Edward. What color is his hair?"

Edward tried to run to his mate, but his supernatural abilities weren't any help at closing some of the distance between them. He reached out, wanting his mate in his arms more than anything. When his mate began to fade, Edward remembered Harry's question and tried to answer.

"Dark hair," he said lowly. "He's leaving. Wait!"

"Focus, Edward," Harry demanded, taking Edward's face into his hands and staring at the closed eyes. "What else can you give me? How tall is he? What's the color of his eyes?"

Edward struggled to see, the frantic and panicky feeling in his chest only increasing by the second. He tried to run faster, but his effort was futile. "I can't," he began.

"Focus, Edward," Harry repeated sharply. "Tell me anything you can about him."

"Uh, he has green eyes. Or blue, I can't tell," Edward said hurriedly, still subconsciously trying to run to his mate. Soon, though, the figure faded and his surroundings began to disintegrate. "H-he's somewhat pale—not like my kind, but at the same time too pale to be human. I ca—he's gone…gone…"

Harry smiled somewhat sadly as Edward opened his eyes and glanced around his room almost desperately as if his mate had appeared by his side. "Well, that's a start," Harry said softly, patting Edward on the shoulder.

"How are we going to find him?" Edward asked eagerly.

Harry moved to sit on the couch and stretched languidly. "Since you opened your Inner Eye, it will be that much easier to find your mate. Before, you had no clue what he looked like or that he was even a he for that matter. Now, we know he's pale, not human, has dark hair, and blue or green eyes. That narrows our search significantly. The more you open your Inner Eye and become accustomed to having it open, you'll be able to find your mate like BAM!" The star snapped his fingers for emphasis.

Edward startled briefly before he nodded his head, still feeling anxious and saddened by his mate's absence. "My mate isn't human," Edward began. He stood up and started to pace, expertly dodging the music books thrown haphazardly around the circle and taking care not to catch fire. "That'll be easy to explain my whole being a vampire thing, but how are we supposed to look for someone who isn't human? I don't suppose they have secret underground lairs or anything."

Harry laughed. "You'd be surprised," he said thickly.

Edward looked at the star. "What do you mean?"

Harry seemed fascinated with the fabric of his jeans and started to play with them. He seemed to prepare himself for something, though Edward didn't know what or why, and looked around the room. The star finally spoke up just before Edward was about to repeat his question. "You surely know that you're not the only supernatural being on this planet, right?"

Edward frowned slightly. "Well, we know about the shape shifters," he replied, a hint of disgust in his voice.

Harry let out a snort. "That all? Wow, you're seriously deprived."

Edward scowled, offended. "We may not be knowledgeable about other—"

"It's probably a good thing," Harry interrupted, cutting Edward off from his (rightfully) indignant speech. He stood up and walked over to Edward's bookshelf, running his hands along the spines with a nostalgic smile. "Ignorance isn't always bliss, but I guess this case is one of the exceptions."

"I don't follow," Edward admitted, staring at Harry with some amount of worry and hesitance.

"You know all of that mythical bullshit? Fairies, leprechauns, mermaids, trolls, ogres, and all kinds of magical creatures you read about in fairy tales?" Harry watched as Edward nodded slowly. "Let's put it this way: it's not bullshit. Those magical creatures all exist, and not all of them are as accepting as Carlisle."

"I…" Edward paused. "Are you sure? I haven't seen any other—"

"Just because you can't see something doesn't make it less real," Harry interrupted. "Humans don't see vampires, yet you're real. You had your preconceived notions about stars, yet here I stand before you, obviously not a ball of fire and trying to help you find your mate."

Edward nodded slightly, his eyes understanding yet still disbelieving. "If all of those creatures do exist, how am I going to find my mate? Who knows how many men with dark hair, pale skin, and blue or green eyes there are in the world?"

Harry scowled lightly. "Stop being such a wet diaper," he scoffed. "I already told you that the more you open your Inner Eye, the more you'll be able to see your mate. The reason why his image was so blurred was because your Inner Eye's vision wasn't exactly 20/20. It was the first time you opened your Inner Eye, so your vision is still that of a newborn's. We also have to wait twenty-six hours before we try to open your Inner Eye again or there could be some…ugly…side effects."

Edward cocked an eyebrow, but didn't ask. "Alright," he said finally. "You're the professional here. What do we do right now?"

Harry smirked, relaxing his shoulders and strolling over to the couch once more. "You haven't finished the ritual," he replied innocently.

Edward involuntarily groaned, his lips twitching downwards. "Are you sure this is necessary?"

"I'm a professional," Harry repeated. "But, if you don't want to find your mate…" He made to stand up.

"No!" Edward cried, gently pushing Harry back down on the couch. "Alright, I'll do it."

"Think of this as part of a test of your character," Harry attempted to assure. "Doing this part of the ritual will tell me more about you."

Edward frowned. "I guess…"

Harry barely contained a giggle as Edward stepped into the still-lit circle of candles. Edward really didn't need to "perform the second part of the ritual" because, honestly, there wasn't any ritual. With the right instruction, anyone could open their Inner Eye. Harry made up the ritual because he needed to be sure that Edward was prepared for the battle and would be willing to do almost anything for his mate. Edward running out to buy all of the "necessary ingredients" for the ritual proved that he was making a tremendous effort. However, would he be willing to make a total idiot of himself trying to find his other half?

Harry didn't know why, but he felt his heart warm when he thought of Edward doing anything for his mate. It wasn't every day he met someone with total devotion to their other half. Harry turned his attention to Edward, who had begun to slowly dance whilst the star was lost in thought.

Watching the slow, sensuous movements made Harry reconsider his idea. He could see the muscles in Edward's body flex and relax, making him swallow thickly. At the back of his mind, the star knew he was probably eyeing Edward like Harry was the vampire and Edward a tasty lamb. He hadn't anticipated on his plan backfiring on him in such a horrible way. Harry was supposed to be and remain completely professional and helpful during this mission, and that was that.

"That's good enough," he croaked, stopping Edward from his task of bathing in the rose petals.

Edward didn't question him, happy to stop the embarrassing and somewhat seductive dance. "Are you okay?" he asked when he noticed Harry's eyes glowing.

"Fine," Harry squeaked, sitting upwards quickly. "I'll just be going downstairs now. Bye!"

Edward blinked in confusion as Harry left, a sparkly trail of stardust in his wake.

Harry sighed and slumped against the bathroom door. Having an attraction to his "client" was not good; not good what-so-ever. He stared at the sink in quiet pondering. Taking a deep breath, he stood up and washed his face. Staring at the mirror, he came to a decision. He'd continue to help Edward and be friendly, but he'd keep an emotional distance. It wouldn't do any good to fall for someone who was destined to be with someone else. Besides, he didn't know for sure, but he could feel that some time after this mission, his Rebirth would happen.

No use falling for someone when he wouldn't even exist anymore…right?