Title: Qye
Author: Shades
Rating: PG-13
Pairings: DM/HP/OC, RW/HG, SF/DT
Summary: Fifth Year has come around for Harry Potter, one summer since the tragic events of the Triwizard Tournament. He has become quiet and withdrawn, keeping his gloomy thoughts to himself. But he will not have the time to be concerned about outside worries like Voldemort, not when he has to worry about his own problems at Hogwarts. Because with Fifth Year comes a woman, a vampire woman, DADA teacher and with her she brings out odd feelings and odd people. Indeed, Harry is in for another life-turning year at Hogwarts.
Warning: PS/SS, CoS, PoA, GoF. NO OotP! I will NEVER acknowledge that book as part of HP world! Do you hear me Rowling?!? *shakes fist* Fifth book never came out for me! There might be some similarities between the stories but I will NOT follow that thing called the fifth book! There is slash however so if that isn't your cup of tea, please leave and don't flame me. Thanks!
Disclaimer: *glowers* No, I don't own Harry Potter or all it's characters. *hisses* I do, however, own all the original characters – such as Lest and Marylin – in this story. *eye twitches* And just to let everyone know, I don't own the name Lestat. Nope, that belongs to the great writer Anne Rice and I have simply borrowed the name. The character, Lest, however is my character. I simply say this because I have been accused of plagiarism. The Hammer, I am truly sorry and offended you would think I would plagiarize. *sigh* ; - ; There, I think that takes care of all disclaimers. Continue reading.
------- = Change of Scene
~~~~~ = Flashback
::Bold/Italic:: = Harry to Qye
::Bold:: = Qye to Harry
~*~*~*~*~*~
Chapter Eleven~*~*~*~*~*~
Must be quiet,' the young one thought as he carefully entered his victim's room, his padded feet making no sound on the carpeted floor. He closed the door partway behind him, making sure that it would be easy enough to fling back and escape through. After all, he needed an escape route as soon as his task was completed.
Gliding quietly across the room and to the occupant's bed, he pondered whether if what he was doing was right or wrong. On his right shoulder, his little angel was frantically waving its arms and wings, scolding him for thinking of doing this. On his left shoulder, his little devil wagged its tail and smirked while giving him all the reasons of just exactly why he was doing this. He silently listened to each of them as he approached the bed.
He looked down at that sleeping boy and weighed his weapon in his hand. The angel was shouting desperately now, shouting out all the reasons of why this was a bad idea and what the consequences would be if he would go through with it. The young boy hesitated, drawing back his weapon.
The devil said, "Tutu."
The boy raised his weapon and threw it down at the unsuspecting vampire.
"AAAAARRRRRRRRGGGGGGG!!!!!"
The devil on his shoulder danced with glee.
Qye smirked as Lest lurched up in his bed, gasping and shivering as the water balloon exploded on him. Ice cubes and pink paint were thrown everywhere on the covers and sheets and the teenaged vampire blinked rapidly, wiping the paint out of his face and hair. Lest yelped as a couple of ice cubes fell loose from his collar, sliding down the back of his shirt.
"Pink looks good on you, Lest," Qye said in a too-cheerful voice. The vampire's eyes narrowed and a low growl came from his throat.
"Tell me this is washable, Qye," Lest said through gritted teeth, his dark blue eyes flashing dangerously.
Qye placed a finger on his lips, a mock-thoughtful look on his face. "Oh, darn," the younger boy said fretfully, his eyes dancing with laughter and mischief, "I think I might have accidentally put in the permanent pink ink rather than the washable kind." Qye looked down innocently at the still teenager and asked sweetly, "Is that ok?"
Lest was silent, his face blank as he stared at the younger boy. Qye took this chance to whirl around and dash out of the room before the vampire could regain his senses.
He was at the top of the stairs by the time the blonde, now pink-haired, teenaged boy understood.
"GET BACK HERE YOU LITTLE BRAT! I'M GOING TO KILL YOU!"
Qye laughed.
-------
"Harry! Wake up!"
The dark-haired teenager stirred, curling up further in his bed. "Go 'way, Ron," Harry mumbled as he buried his face in his pillow. "Wanna sleep…"
"Oh no you don't, we have Quidditch practice," the redhead growled as he tugged at the covers hiding his best friend. The young Weasley frowned and let go for a moment, looking at the bundle that was Harry. "What did you do last night to make you this tired?" Ron asked, his blue eyes looking worriedly down at the smaller boy. "Everyone's down at the Pitch already. Merlin, even I'm all ready!"
"Good for you," came the muffled response from under the covers. "Let me sleep."
Ron rolled his eyes and tugged fruitlessly at the red blankets once again. "If I have to get up this early, then so do you, mate," he growled, struggling to pull the covers from his friend's bed. For such a small boy, Harry sure had a lot of strength.
He finally gave up as Harry just wrapped himself in his blankets even more. Throwing his hands up in the air, he shouted, "Fine! I give up!"
Harry let out a satisfied murmur.
"That doesn't mean you're skipping practice, Harry," Ron said, narrowing his eyes at the bundle in the bed. He jabbed a finger at it. "If you don't get up this minute, I'm calling Hermione."
The bundle froze.
Ron smirked as he crossed his arms. "I bet she'd like to know why you're so tired as well," he said lightly. "Maybe you're coming down with something, you've been acting all funny lately. I should probably go talk with Madam Pomfrey as well."
"You wouldn't dare," Harry replied in a threatening voice from beneath the coverlet.
The redhead spread his hands in front of him, smiling. "I'm just thinking in your best interests," Ron said innocently. A mutter came from beneath the blankets. "What was that?"
A long suffering sigh came from beneath and the covers were flung back, revealing an irritated Harry Potter who was glowering at him from beneath messier than usual black hair. He groped around for his glasses and put them on, bright eyes coming into focus as they continue to glare at the redhead.
"I'm up," growled Harry as he stood up from his bed. Ron watched as the smaller boy walked to his trunk and pulled out the Gryffindor Quidditch robes.
"So are you going to tell me?" Ron asked as he leaned against one of his bedposts, already dressed in the ruby-red robes.
"Tell you what?" Harry said absently as he picked out some socks.
"Why you're so tired," Ron said irritably, crossing his arms across his chest. "You went to bed at the same time I did; Mione made sure of that." He narrowed his eyes suddenly. "Unless you got up in the middle of the night…"
"I was in bed all night," Harry mumbled, changing into his robes. Ron noted that the other boy was hiding his face from him.
"Then why are you so tired?" demanded Ron, looking at his best friend. A sudden thought occurred to him and he paled slightly. "You…you didn't…have one of those…those dreams…did you? I mean, about…about…"
"Voldemort?" Harry said quietly as he buttoned up his shirt. Ron shivered. "No Ron, I haven't had any of those dreams for a while now." The redhead saw Harry shiver a bit.
"Well, that's good, I guess," Ron said, slightly relieved but still looking concernedly at his friend. Harry was silent, his back turned to the Weasley boy and Ron sighed. "You haven't answered my question of why you're so tired."
Harry shrugged as he put on his pads. "I don't know," he said softly as he tied his boots.
Ron stared at his best friend, a bit of hurt rising in him. There was something wrong with Harry. Ever since that potions accident – hell, from before – the green-eyed boy had been acting oddly. Harry hardly ever spoke even more and only when Hermione piled up his plate did he eat enough. He still smiled but that familiar grin was dull and forced now, like Harry thought he had to smile all the time, like everyone wanted him to smile even when he didn't want to.
Hermione and him had tried every method to find out what was bothering Harry, her with her badgering, Ron with giving Harry space and waiting for him to tell him what was wrong. Neither way seemed to work though. Harry just continued to keep to himself, spending too much time by himself in the Library. He didn't even seem to care about anything anymore, not even Quidditch. He acted like his once favorite pastime was now a requirement of him.
As Harry picked up his broom, Ron looked down at the ground, playing with a loose thread on his robe. 'Why won't you talk with Mione or me?' he thought, frustrated. 'Merlin, Harry…I've been giving you your room since the beginning of the year and you still won't say anything. Why won't you tell us what's wrong?'
Maybe Hermione had the right idea. Ron really didn't want to force Harry to tell them anything he didn't want to but he didn't think Harry should keep everything to himself. It would get the smaller boy into trouble. But Harry seemed to think like it was best, ignoring their attempts at trying to help. Ron's hand curled into a small fist and he inaudibly thumped it against the bedpost. They were his best friends, damnit! They just wanted to help.
"Well? Aren't you coming?"
Ron blinked and looked up to see Harry standing by the door, his Firebolt slung over his shoulder and his eyebrow raised.
"You made me get up. The least you can do is make sure I don't sneak off to go to sleep somewhere else," Harry grinned, his green eyes seemingly dancing slightly with laughter but he saw right through that. Ron looked with a slightly bitter gaze at the forced cheerfulness and the tired and dull emotions behind the façade.
The redhead snorted and picked up his Cleansweep, walking over to the other boy. "I suppose I better," he sighed exaggeratedly, wearily playing along with Harry's charade. "For all I know, you probably have your own hidden room somewhere in the castle just for the purpose of sleeping."
"Maybe," Harry smiled, moving so Ron could leave the room first. Before the redhead could exit though, he grasped his arm gently. Ron turned to look curiously at him, the smile gone from Harry's face, replaced with a sincere look.
"I'm really okay, Ron," Harry said quietly, his green eyes looking seriously at him. "I'm just a little tired, alright? It's nothing to worry about."
"Yeah, right," Ron replied back just as quietly. Harry sighed and ran a hand through his hair.
"I…I've just been tired lately," the other boy mumbled. "With school and stuff. I just need a bit more sleep, that's all." Ron shook his head wearily, feeling the hurt rise a bit more. That wasn't all. There was more and Harry wasn't telling.
"Really, I'm fine Ron," Harry said, catching the redhead's headshake. Ron looked him in the eye and he blinked. Something seemed to have flashed in Harry's eyes, something that looked to be behind the emotions, both fake and real. Something that didn't seem to belong to Harry. He frowned.
"Ron?"
He continued to stare into the green eyes but the flash didn't come again. 'Did I imagine it?' he wondered, searching them but unable to see anything besides Harry's concern. He sighed.
He turned and left the room. "Sure," he murmured. "You're fine, Harry." He turned around and forced a grin at the smaller boy. "Come on, let's hurry up or we'll having Katie channeling Wood again."
"Don't insult Wood," Harry mumbled, quickening his steps. "Even he wasn't this bad. We didn't have those once a month things to deal with when he was Captain."
Ron snickered as he followed Harry out of the Gryffindor Tower and to the Pitch. On the inside, he was thinking. 'There's something wrong with you, Harry,' he thought as he playfully shoved Harry. 'I don't know what it is or what caused it or why you're not even telling Mione or me.'
As Harry shoved back, his green eyes sparkling with false mirth, Ron thought, 'But I intend to find out.'
-------
Marylin stared hard at the letter. She closed he eyes, rubbed them with her hands, and then reopened them again. But it continued to say the same thing.
She sighed and leaned back in her chair, rubbing her temples while still staring at the letter.
'Lest,' she thought wearily for Hélène knew how many times, 'you are an idiot. And you're going to be the death of me one of these days.' She sighed and closed her eyes.
The letter was the first from her brother since the winter break.
~~~~~
"I'm home!" Marylin called out in their tongue as she closed the front door behind her. Setting down her luggage next to her, she took off her coat and set it on the coat stand next to the door as her mother glided in from the living room.
Cerena Opacre smiled warmly as she embraced her taller daughter and Marylin hugged her back gratefully, having missed her mother from her few months away from home.
"Welcome home, my Myn," Cere, as she liked to be called, murmured softly as she moved back, looking at Marylin with gentle eyes.
She smiled at her mother, her light blue eyes glowing. The smile and glow faded as she noticed the slight tightness in her mother's eyes and hidden worry in their normally kind look.
"Mother?" she questioned worriedly, grasping the older woman's hands in her own and looking at her with concern. Her heart skipped a few beats as she frantically thought of all the things that could have happened while she had been away.
Her mother patted her hand reassuringly. "Everything is fine," she said soothingly but Marylin could still see the worry in her eyes. This wasn't exactly the welcome back she had been hoping for.
"What's wrong?" she asked firmly, meeting Cere's eyes with her own firmly. Her mother hesitated then sighed.
"Talk with your brother, Myn," the older woman said quietly, not even trying to mask her worry anymore. Marylin's own concern grew as she saw the hidden sorrow revealed in those usually glowing eyes. "He's in the library."
Marylin lifted her head to look down the hall, frowning slightly. She sighed and looked down at the older vampire comfortingly.
"Alright, Mother," she said quietly, squeezing her hands gently and smiling reassuringly. "Don't worry. Wrinkles don't suit you." Cere laughed quietly at this as she dropped her daughter's hands and moved back to the living room but Marylin could still sense the anxious feelings emit from her.
The younger woman watched her go before sighing and walking to the right of the giant staircase in the middle of the entrance hall. She walked down the small hallway until she reached a door with oak framework and she quietly opened it, slipping into the room.
She spotted her younger brother immediately, leaning against the fireplace with a roaring fire in it. The flickering flames were the only source of light in the room, creating shadows that jumped across the room and giving the grand library an eerie look. Silently closing the door behind her, she crossed the room silently and joined him, leaning on the left side of the fireplace. She watched as he watched the fire, his dark blue eyes betraying nothing.
"Mother sent you, did she?" he finally said as she remained silent, not lifting his eyes from the burning logs. "I suppose she wanted me to tell you."
"Hello to you too, Lest," she said calmly. "I'm fine, thank you for asking. My trip here was excellent, I'm not at all tired or anything. You've always had the best manners in the family."
The corners of Lest's mouth twitched upward slightly and he finally lifted his eyes to look at her. His blond hair glimmered with the firelight, as her own probably did as well.
"Who has time for manners?" he drawled, laying one arm on top of the mantel, his eyes looking at her nonchalantly.
"Who doesn't?" she said, raising an eyebrow. He snorted and dropped his eyes back down to the fireplace. She sighed in annoyance as he went silent again.
"Lest, I'm quite tired," she said irritably, crossing her arms and standing up straight. Her blue eyes flashed at her younger brother, who kept quiet. She growled slightly. "Listen, unlike you, I don't have all the patience in the world at the moment. I just came back from a school filled with teenagers after three and a half months and I only have two weeks before I have to return to that again for another six months so I would like to spend my time relaxing, and not - "
"I went to pick Qye up."
She froze.
"The Dazains are almost reduced to nothing," he said softly, still looking into the fire. "Everything seems to be returning back to normal. I…I thought it would be okay if I brought him back. So I went to his house a couple of months ago, late at night when no one would notice me gone." He smiled faintly. "Like I used to do when I visited him."
A fierce hopeful joy had risen in her for a moment when she had heard that he had gone for their little Qye. A little flame that had gone out when she realized that Mother would never have been worried or depressed if Qye had returned. And Lest wouldn't have been alone by himself in the library if Qye had been back.
Hundreds of worse case scenarios flashed through her mind as she frantically wondered what could have happened. Shaking slightly, she licked her lips and looked at the still figure of her brother.
"W…what happened?" she whispered hoarsely.
"Went in," he said quietly. "His uncle wasn't been pleased with me, thinking me some common hoodlum." He smiled humorlessly. "I shut him up quick enough, along with the rest of his family." Marylin shivered slightly. "Looked through their minds, made sure they hadn't hurt him while I had been gone. They surprised me; they only partially broke their promise instead of fully. Pity," he sighed, closing his eyes, "I wanted a reason to hurt them some more." Marylin shivered again.
"The barrier broke," he continued quietly, his eyes still closed and his body unmoving. "I saw that they were going to start to scream but I didn't want them to wake him. I half-crushed their vocal cords," he murmured. "They'll never scream again."
Marylin gripped the fireplace.
"Walked over to his room," he said softly. "Or rather, his cupboard. Opened it." He shivered slightly. "I panicked when I just saw brooms in there. His things were missing. Gone, all o it. I didn't even think of searching their memories to see if they gave him another room. I just Videte the entire place, felt in every space. He wasn't there.
"I lost my temper a bit," he continued, not giving her a moment to say anything. "Shouted at them, lost control. I think I might have broken a few things." He smiled humorlessly. "Maybe I scared them a bit."
Marylin shivered again, wrapping an arm around her middle, feeling cold. "Where is he?" she whispered.
He was silent.
"Lest," she said, her eyes widening a bit in fear, "You do know where he is, don't you?"
"He's at a boarding school," he said flatly. Marylin blinked. "His parents apparently paid for it when he was little. He's been going the last four years, only coming home during the summer break."
She sagged in relief, her eyes closing. "Do you know what boarding school?"
Her brother made an affirmative sound and she sighed in relief. Then she tensed up again, opening her eyes and staring at him.
"What's the problem?" she said in a hard tone of voice.
"What makes you think there's a problem?" he replied coolly.
"Lest…" she growled, her eyes flashing and hands tightening. He opened his eyes, turning his head to look at her. A crooked smile came upon his face.
"Could never hide anything from you," he laughed mirthlessly. The smile turned cold and he murmured, "Why should I get him back?"
Marylin's eyes widened.
"It's been five years, Soror," he said coldly, his winter eyes freezing her slowly. "Five long, damn years. He probably has an entirely new life by now. New friends even, if he's at a place where no one can pick on him. He doesn't even know me. Why the hell should I go get him?"
"You can't be serious," she whispered.
"Why wouldn't I be?"
"Because you can't just abandon him!" she screamed at him. His eyes widened, the ice in them fading away. But she was angry to notice. She strode over to him and grasped him by the front of the shirt.
"Damn it, Lest," she hissed, her nails ripping into his black shirt, her blue eyes burning into his startled ones furiously. "You left him years ago because you and Father were so stupid and rash to not think up of a better solution. Oh no, he's your Carus, you get to protect him and you get to decided what to do with his life. You didn't even let him have a say in the matter Lest!
"Now you just want to leave him on his own again!" she snarled, shoving him away, causing him to grasp an armchair for balance. "You're just going to let him continue to live his lie of a life because of what? Because he doesn't remember you!? Burn me, Lest, make him remember! The memories are still there! He still has them! But don't be surprised if he wants your blood once you do that," she snapped. "I wouldn't blame him if he wanted to kill you. I'll help him if he does want that. What you did was cruel and stupid and the most - "
"Shut up Marylin."
Quiet. Soft.
She shut up.
"Do you think I don't feel bad enough for what I did without you telling me more about it?" he continued in his quiet voice. "Do you think I don't hate myself enough? Do you think I don't know how upset he'll be with me? I don't need you telling me what I already know."
"I need to if you're just going to leave him alone," she said in a tight voice. "I can't believe you're even considering doing that to him."
"He's probably happy right now," he said softly, lifting his calm eyes to her furious ones. "What right do I have to disrupt that?"
"Stop being stupid," she snapped, taking a step towards him. "You know as well as I that even if he is happy right now, he won't be forever. In case you might have forgotten, he's your Carus. He can't have a life without you."
His eyes closed and he whispered in a pained voice, "I know…"
"Then don't even think about not going back for him!" she snarled.
The fire crackled. Silence stretched in the room.
Marylin struggled to keep her anger but it was fading away at the sight of her brother's tired, defeated look. He was already carrying so much at so young. And now he had to deal with Qye. She sighed as the last of her fury drained away.
Wearily, she walked over to him and embraced him gently, running a hand through his tousled hair. He wrapped his arms around her, his head dropping on her shoulder, leaning into her comforting touch.
"You know I do miss him, don't you?" he whispered painfully, his face buried in her neck. "You know that, don't you?"
"I know, Lest," she said softly, running a soothing hand down his hair. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to get so upset at you. But…"
"I know," he mumbled. "I know you're right. I know I just can't leave him alone, for his sake or mine. But…" He shivered and drew away from her. He covered his eyes with his hand and let out a long, shaky breath. "I need more time to think," he said softly. "I didn't do that last time and that's what got me into this mess in the first place." He dropped his hand and Marylin's heart clenched painfully at the sight of the familiar mask of coldness in his eyes.
"I'll tell you when I make a decision," he said quietly, moving past her to leave the library. Marylin watched until he reached the door before calling out to him. He turned his head over his shoulder to look at her, an emotionless face.
"Lest…" she said hesitantly, wondering whether she wanted to know or not. She licked her lips. She didn't want to but she had to. "Lest, what did you do to his relatives?"
"Think I killed them?" he said mockingly. Her brother let out a harsh laugh, a humorless smile growing on his face.
"Did you?"
The smile faded from his face and Marylin let out a silent cry of pain as she saw a flash of hurt and self-hatred streak through his eyes.
"Have I become so evil that my own sister thinks me a monster?" he murmured bitterly, something she didn't think she was meant hear. Before she could say anything, he continued in a normal, flat tone of voice.
"I didn't kill them." He smiled bitterly. "I admit to wanting to but Qye made me promise years ago that I wouldn't. So I didn't."
Marylin felt a small bubble of relief and disappointment.
"So, what did you do to them?" she asked, slightly nervous but morbidly curious.
He smiled coldly. "Enough," he laughed softly. "They already wish they never touched him. It's better than death." His smile hardened. "Now that I think about it, death would have been too nice for them. I much prefer what I did to them." He gave her one last mirthless, bitter smile before leaving the room.
She watched her younger brother leave, closing the door behind him. Then she slowly turned back to look at the fire. She watched the flames flicker. Thoughts moved her mind, thoughts about how things had been and how things were.
Then she picked up a vase and threw it into the fire before collapsing into a chair.
Silent sobs wracked her body as she thought about her two young boys, her brother and Qye.
~~~~~
Marylin sighed again and opened her eyes, looking down at the letter. Her suspicion of Harry being Qye was flawed now. She had heard, at the end of October, of the death of his relatives. And when Lest had told her he had gone to see them and had gotten angry with them…it seemed to almost prove that Harry was indeed her little Qye.
But Lest hadn't killed Qye's relatives. She knew he didn't lie to her, could see it in his eyes and could tell from the hurt when she had indirectly accused him. So Qye's relatives had to be alive. Hélène only knew their condition while alive, but still alive. And Harry's relatives were dead.
Her brow furrowed slightly. But maybe… maybe Qye's relatives had been killed after Lest had left. Maybe someone else had killed Qye's relatives. Harry could still be Qye then.
Her head started to pound from thinking about the what ifs and she sighed, rubbing her temples again. She had to stop thinking about it, now wasn't the time. She glanced down at the letter. Oh yes, now was very much not the time to not think about it.
Sighing, she stood up from her chair. Grabbing her cloak, she wrapped it around herself before leaving her office, a slightly grimace on her face as she headed toward Headmaster Dumbledore's office. She had some news to tell him.
The wind came in from the window next to her desk and the letter shifted slightly, revealing the words.
Marylin –Things are smooth. Dazains are down. Negotiations are up. I think it is time I did more than lounge around the house and bark orders for others to do things rather then doing them myself. Our conversation in the library is still in my mind. I've decided. But I cannot let what has happened with Qye affect me too much. I still have my responsibilities to deal with. I must deal with both of them at the same time. I have to accept things the way they are.
Expect me the first of March.
Your Brother,
Lest
~*~*~*~*~*~
Author's Notes: *smiles* Hee. What you all want is coming up. Or rather, part of it. *rubs hands in anticipation*
(Lest) *mumbles* About bloody time.
(Shades) *eyes muse* Why are you glad about this? I figured you'd be scared as hell.
(Lest) *mutter* I am. *shivers*
(Qye) *smirks*
(Shades) *shakes head* And you call me crazy. *sighs and looks at reviewers* Hoped you liked the chapter, I thought it turned out well enough considering how I was this week. Baaad. But I'm half over it now. *nod* Sorry for the long flashback. o_o I didn't mean for half this chapter to exist, it isn't even in my outline! It just popped out of nowhere! I hoped you liked it though, I certainly did for once. And sorry for any formatting errors! FFN.net doesn't seem to accept italics and whatnot very well. - - ;
Anyway, keep reading! And please review! *gives puppy dog eyes* I really need nice, good reviews right now opposed to ones where you all want to kill me, though you have just cause. ^^; But if that's all you can write, than write it. Any review is better than none. *hugs all reviewers, giving brownies and cookies* I love you guys!!
See you next week!
