Title: Opacre
Author: Shades
Rating: PG – 13 with maybe some R
Summary: Harry Potter had no friends until Hogwarts…or so he thought. Darkness engulfs Harry at age 5…but not evil. This is the past, and of a secret Harry held close without knowing it…SLASH
Disclaimers: Do I need to tell you that I do not own Harry Potter or any of its characters? I do? Well, it belongs to J.K. Rowling, a wonderful author. I only own Lest Opacre, his family, and anything related to him. The rest belong to her.
Author's Notes: This will be slash. Between two boys. Not the shagging kind, all sex but feeling. Harry will be 10 when feelings of that sort come around, but nothing before that. NO NO NO! No pedophile!! No shagging in this story! Clear? No flames against that, OK? Flames against plot maybe but none of pedophile because I don't endorse that, constructive criticism and reviews welcome.
------- = Change of Scene
~~~~~~ = Flashback
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Chapter 13
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Lest watched amusedly as Myn squealed and tugged the squirming form of Harry into her lap as she resumed her seat in her red beanbag.
"Oh, aren't you the cutest little boy I've ever seen?" she cooed. "You have that adorable little poor orphan air around you, and that messy black hair, and those sweet green eyes" –Lest snorted; she never saw Qye glare and look nasty – "and that little pink flush on your lovely pale cheeks and that lovely, wicked scar on your forehead…I could just hug you forever!" Myn momentarily beamed at Lest. "You finally brought me a prettier doll than you."
"Myn, sweetheart, don't overwhelm the young boy," his mother said mildly as she returned from the kitchen with a platter of sweetbreads and fruits. "You're going to scare him off before we have the chance to talk with the dear." She smiled kindly at Harry and set the platter on the table carefully.
Lest smirked and plucked a piece of apple from the platter. "He can handle it," he drawled as he chewed on it. He raised an eyebrow at his mother when he tasted the lemon-and-honey syrup that his mother poured on fruit on special occasions so it wouldn't spoil. She just returned his questioning look flatly. He grinned at her.
Lest had seen the look in her eyes when she glanced Harry over, and knew that Harry had not seen it. He had only seen that look a few times in his life but he knew it well. He had seen it when Myn or he were not eating right or were feeling sickly. The minute Lest had recognized the look, he knew that his mother had taken Harry under her wing and would not allow him to continue in such an unnutritious way.
He really loved his mother sometimes.
"SPIDER!"
His eyes widened and he immediately leapt from his seat, searching out the arachnid. "Where??" he cried out, looking frantically. He stopped looking when he heard Harry's snickers and Myn's giggles.
He turned his glare on the smirking black-haired boy who had settled down comfortably in his sister's lap. Harry just looked innocently at him as he munched on a piece of sweetbread. "What?" he said around a mouthful of bread. "You weren't listening."
"That wasn't funny," Lest growled as he lowered himself back into his seat. "You call me a git." He grabbed a piece of pear and viciously took a bite out of it. "What do you want?"
"Me? I just want world peace." Harry laughed at his low growl. "Myn was trying to get your attention."
Lest raised his eyebrow at Harry before turning his gaze to his giggling older sister. 'He's calling her Myn now?' he mused silently. 'That was quick. It took him almost two months to get him to call me by my name.' He felt a small stab of…something…in his chest before he brought his attention back to his sister.
He blinked.
She had stopped giggling and was now smiling in an odd way, a knowing look in her eyes. He furrowed his brow and looked puzzedly at her.
"Jealous, brother?" she said in their language. Harry paused in eating a second piece of bread and looked in confusion at them, not understanding the language. The young boy shrugged and resumed chewing happily on the sweetbread as he listened to their mother talk softly about their home.
Lest frowned and raised an eyebrow. "About what?" he replied in the same language. It took him a moment to realize she had read his mind.
He looked in annoyance at her. "Quit that," he snapped. "And I'm not jealous. Just because he calls you by your name on the first day doesn't mean I'm jealous. I could give a beast's ass about it really." He slumped back into the cushions of the armchair and tore a piece of orange viciously. "Is that all you wanted to know?"
Myn just shook her head and continued to look at him with that irritating knowing look in his eyes. "No, that wasn't what I was going to ask," she grinned. "I was going to ask what the name was of this cute little munchkin."
"Why don't you ask him?" he replied sourly. "Surely you're not that stupid?"
"I love you too, Lestie," she said sweetly but a gleam had appeared in her eyes. Lest allowed himself a moment of satisfaction. On the surface, Myn was all bubbly and cheerful and kind but below it…her sly and cunning mind had helped him a lot in his pranks in his younger years and her temper had saved him from numerous older vampire boys. It took a lot for that gleam of temper to appear in her eyes. "However," she continued, eyes still gleaming, "he seems more comfortable when he thinks we know all about him. You barely told us you had a Muggle friend coming over last night." She paused.
"All those nights you disappeared, claiming you had business," she said slowly. "You were going to his house, weren't you?"
Oh yes, her bubbly exterior hid the intelligence and cleverness beneath.
"Yes," he said shortly. "Have a problem with that?" His eyes flashed challengingly.
His sister shrugged indifferently and continued to play with Harry's hair. "Not at all," she sniffed. "You know no one in our family are like the Dazains." A moment of mutual disgust and contempt passed between them. "Anyway," she continued after the moment had passed, "are you ever going to tell me the cutie pie's name?"
Lest frowned for a moment and looked down at Harry, who was chattering contently with his mother. The young boy seemed completely at ease and it would never seem that two hours ago, he had been dreading coming here. It would be dangerous to tell his real name since anyone – particulary a member from the Dazain family – could mindsearch their minds and hurt him.
"Qye," he said slowly, meeting Myn's eyes. Myn searched his eyes and realization that Lest was holding back something appeared in her eyes. She looked questioningly at him and he signaled with his eyes that he would explain later.
'There's two much danger, sis,' he thought solemnly, knowing that Myn was reading his mind. 'As soon as the Dazains are taken care of, I'll tell you everything.'
Myn nodded and looked down Harry, who had turned his attention reluctantly away from Cere when his nickname was said.
"What?" he asked curiously as he looked back and forth between the two teenage vampires.
Lest raised an eyebrow at him. "What what?" he replied smoothly, falling back into the English language.
"You said my name," Harry said as he looked curiously at him. "What are you saying about me?"
"You've gotten a big head Qye," he grinned and leaned forward to pat the small boy's head. "You automatically assume that everyone talks about you when they mention your name."
Harry batted his hand away and glared at him. "Well, if they're using my name they have to be talking about me," he said huffily. "Why else would my name be mentioned?"
"You're not the only person with that name," he replied blandly. "And you forget that 'qye' means questioner in our language. We could be talking about a questioner."
"Are you?"
"No," Lest said offhandly as he picked a piece of kiwi and bit into it. "But we could be. Sod off."
"Whatever happened to manners?" Harry grumbled and he brushed some crumbs off of him.
"What indeed?" a new, cool voice said from the doorway.
Lest froze.
He slowly turned to the doorway.
A tall, slender man with light blond hair and serious dark blue eyes looked impassively at them with a stern air around him. In his left hand he held a manila folder and in his right, his glasses dangled from his long fingers. Behind him, the left door had opened to reveal a large oak desk, leather armchair and bookshelves.
Lest swallowed painfully. "Father," he managed to croak out hoarsely. "Good evening."
Behind him, Lest heard his sister and mother murmur greetings and he heard Harry's small whisper of 'Hello,' in the dead silence that had engulfed the living room. Lest swallowed again and shakily got to his feet.
His father, Hades Opacre, looked over his shoulder and he knew that he was studying Harry. The silence stretched for a few minutes, where his father studied his friend emotionlessly. Lest began to sweat and he surreptitiously wiped his palms on the sides of his trousers. The small movement seemed to have caught the elder Opacre's attention and his father turned his cool sapphire eyes onto him.
"Hm," his father said softly. "I was not aware that you were bringing a friend over Lest. Did it perhaps slip your mind to inform me of his coming?"
"I'm sorry, father," he replied near-soundlessly, his voice sounding nervous even to his own ears. "I didn't think you would mind and I didn't want to disturb you since you're so preoccupied with - "
"I'm not so preoccupied with work that I do not have time to give some attention to my family, Lestat," Hades Opacre interjected softly but with power behind his voice. Lest cringed at his father's use of his formal name.
He didn't know what to say to that statement so he remained silent and standing. He could dimly hear Harry moving uneasily behind him but he didn't look behind him or read his thoughts. His father would sense him using his abilities if he tried to and he didn't think it wise to turn his back on his father in the current situation.
His father frowned slightly, tapping the folder on the side of his thigh. "Why don't you come into my office for a moment Lest?" he finally said, still using his soft voice. "I'm sure Marylin can entertain your guest while we have a little chat."
With that, he turned and strode to his study, obviously expecting Lest to follow him. 'Well, who would dare go against his wishes?' Lest thought miserably as he followed his father, only taking a small glance behind him. Harry was wide eyed and had his hands tightly clenched in his lap. Myn was whispering comforting words in his ears and standing up, obviously intent on leading Harry to her room to calm his frazzled nerves. Harry just swallowed and shakily followed her, his green eyes connecting with Lest's for a minute, showing his terror and worry, before he turned back to Myn.
Lest looked back at his mother. She had not moved from her spot on the couch and she just gazed serenely back at him. Before he closed the door of his father's study, she gave him a small reassuring smile and he felt a moment of warmth before he was encompassed in the coldness of his father's study.
-----
"Will he be ok?" Harry asked nervously as Myn lead him up to her room. He kept glancing over the railing of the stairs and peered at the left door but it was closed now. He bit his lip and looked up at Myn with some worry shining in his eyes.
"Of course he will," Myn said dismissively. "Father isn't going to kill or dismember him just because he didn't tell him you were coming." She paused then continued, "Well, he won't do any injury that will be permanent at least."
Harry felt his eyes widen. "Permanent?" he asked faintly as they reached the end of the hallway. Myn smiled kindly at him and he felt his anxiety lessen slightly.
"Yes," she said as she opened a red door with a bronze plaque reading 'Myna' in burgundy letters. "Lest is his son afterall. What father in his right mind hurt his own flesh and blood?"
Harry remained silent as he followed her in. 'I wouldn't know,' he thought bitterly as she closed the door behind him. 'I just have an uncle. Would he be like a father figure?' Harry let out a silent, humorless laugh. 'No, he beats me…'
A sudden crash made him jump and he whirled around. Myn was looking down a broken bottle of perfume lying on her floor.
"Sorry about that," she murmured as she bent down to retrieve the pieces of glass. "I guess it was slippery from my lotion."
Harry went over and knelt down beside her, helping her pick up the pieces. "It's ok," he said, smiling slightly. "I hope it wasn't expensive." He was inwardly relieved that she had missed his dark moment.
Myn smiled at him and stood up, placing the pieces carefully on top of her bureau. "Not at all," she said cheerfully. "It was just a little thing I bought in Paris a few years ago." She sat him on an oak stool in front of a large mirror and began to bustle around her drawers.
"You've been to Paris?" Harry asked in surprise as he watched the vampire girl move around.
"Mmhmm," she said absently. "My family and I travel whenever we can. My parents did more traveling when they were younger – hence our names – but we still manage to see some of the world at least once a year."
Harry tilted his head and held a brush as Myn handed it to him. "Your names?" he asked curiously. "What about them?"
Myn paused in her search. "Our names, Lest's and mine," she replied in an off-hand tone. "Lest's name come's from the name Lestat – actually, that's his real name on his birth certificate but he doesn't like it so we call him Lest – who was a vampire from the stories of Ann Rice."
"Interview With A Vampire," Harry said slowly as Myn resumed her search. She paused again and looked in surprise at him.
"Yes," she said, surprise still on her face. She was silent for a moment, looking curiously at Harry for a moment before shaking her head and continuing. "Anyway," she said, smiling slightly and looking pleased about something, "my name as you know is Marylin. My parents and Lest both shortened it to Myn since Marylin is such a mouthful and long names are really a bother. Well, some years ago, when Lest was…hm…four, I think, we went to London for a short trip. I stumbled across this nice vampire novel in a Muggle shop – Dracula, you might have heard of it – and I thought it amusing for my mother to read so I bought it and gave it to her."
She said all this rapidly without pausing in bringing things out of her drawers. As she took a moment to catch her breath, Harry acknowledged the talent with awe.
"Anyway, making long things short," she continued after taking a long breath, "my mother read it and was terribly amused when she read the name of one of the young maidens. 'Sweetheart,' she told me, 'Mina is so much like your name, isn't it amazing? If you replaced the 'y' in your name with an 'i' and added an 'a' at the end, it would be exactly the same.' Well, I liked the name – isn't it pretty? – but I didn't want to lose my 'y' so I just added the 'a.' I mean, 'y' and 'i' have close sayings, so it would be the same, wouldn't you agree? Green or blue?"
Harry nodded dazedly at the question, slack-jawed at her ability of talking so much and so rapidly that he almost didn't catch the second question. "Sorry," he said, shaking his head. "What?"
"Green or blue?" she repeated. "Which would you prefer?"
"Um…" he said, still in a daze. "Green."
"I agree, it would match perfectly with your sweet green eyes," she said merrily as she placed some green make-up materials in his arms. He blinked down at the assortment before looking up at her in confusion.
"Pardon?"
Myn smiled, her white teeth and extended canines glinting in the light. "Why, Qye," she purred sweetly. "Why do you think I brought you to my room and locked the door?"
Harry blinked before realizing with dawning horror that she had locked the door. He looked fearfully up at the smiling girl.
"Now, Qye," she said, her eyes glinting with determination. "If you don't move, this will go by very quickly."
Harry mentally cursed Lest for not telling his father about his arrival.
-----
"I'm extremely sorry for not informing you sooner, father," Lest said solemnly as he sat in front of his father's desk. "I realize my mistake and I can assure you that - "
"What mistake?" his father said softly. "I haven't accused you of making any mistakes Lestat." Lest winced again.
"But…isn't that what you wanted to talk to me about?" he replied, swallowing. "I mean, aren't you going to lecture and punish me for bringing a Muggle into our home without informing you?"
Hades Opacre looked expressionlessly at him. "Do you think I should, Lest?" he finally said, still using his soft voice. "That wasn't my original intention for bringing you in here. I just wished to know if the boy was trustworthy."
Lest swallowed again. 'I seem to be doing that a lot,' he thought dimly in the back of his mind. He shook his head and answered. "Of course he is," he said confidently. "I trust him with the ways of our people, Father."
Hades looked at him with those serious eyes. And then he did the oddest thing.
He smiled.
Lest stared. He blinked.
His father hardly – never would be exaggerating but not too much – ever smiled. It was well known that Hades Opacre was true to his name's way. A smile from Hades was said to be a sunny day in hell. Not that he was cruel or cold; emotions just weren't his way.
His father looked down at the folder and the smile fled from his face, surrendering to the usual indifferent look on his father's face. 'What's going on here?' Lest thought uneasily as he shifted in seat uncomfortably.
"The night is getting late, Lest, and the boy is no vampire," Hades said abruptly, looking up from the folder and staring at Lest with dispassionate eyes. "You best return him home before his family begins to worry. Or have you told them as well?" his father asked softly.
"No sir," Lest murmered. 'And fat chance of them worrying,' he thought sarcastically. Then he remembered his father could be reading his mind and looked up quickly.
Hades seemed to have already lost interest and had his glasses back on, writing on the papers from the folder. "You're dismissed," he said absently.
Lest let out a relieved sigh and stood up. "As you wish Father," he said quietly and silently left his father's study. He took one last look at the writing figure of his father before closing the door.
'I wonder why he smiled,' Lest mused as he rapidly went up the stairs to save Harry from whatever Myn was doing to him. 'Does he approve of my friendship? Or is it something else?' He pushed the thoughts away for later consideration when he reached Myn's closed door. 'Better not appear worried or Qye'll be crawling up the walls,' he thought as he opened the door.
He stopped in the doorway.
He stared.
-------
"You're a complete and utter arsehole, Lest," Harry snarled as they sneaked back into his cupboard. "And stop laughing! It wasn't funny!"
'I dunno,' Lest thought to himself, silently laughing. 'The look on your face was pretty entertaining.' He had walked into his sister's room to find the room in shambles, brushes and some of his old clothes strewn all over the place and Harry and Myn right in the middle of it. Myn had been extremely reluctant in giving up Qye, now that she had found the make-up and clothes to match him. But the terrified and pleading look on Harry's face convinced Lest to drag the poor boy away from his disappointed sister.
"Course not. I told you it wasn't," Lest snickered as he followed the scowling boy in. "But you didn't believe me."
"I didn't say that," growled Harry as he began to shimmy out of his clothes. "But you had no right to laugh while your sister did that. And you had no right leaving me with her!"
Lest rolled his eyes. "I didn't have much of a choice. I like to see you say no to my father."
Harry paused in changing to his nightclothes. "How did that go, by the way?" the black-haired boy asked uneasily, looking up at him.
Lest grinned. "You don't have to worry about him tearing your throat out, if that's what you're thinking."
Harry glared at him but the relief shown clearly in his eyes. He settled down into his cot and yawned. "Thanks for taking me, Lest," Harry mumbled sleepily, closing his eyes. "It was…interesting, meeting your family. Your clothes are folded right there, by the way."
"Keep them," Lest said, putting the clothes in the panel where he knew Harry hid his prized possessions. "They don't fit me and they were a gift to you. You're welcome by the way."
There was no answer and Lest peered at Harry. The seven-year-old boy was sound asleep. Lest smiled and brushed a stray lock from Harry's face.
"Night Qye," he whispered and silently left the cupboard.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
AN: *sings* Nine to go, nine to go, only nine more to go and this nightmare's gone! *peers at chapter* Wow, this was supposed to be two chapters but got converted into one. *grins* Yay! Less work for me!
*Lest and Draco are cowering in a corner as Myn towers over them, smiling widely*
(Harry) *watches amusedly* Hey, you know this could all stop if you two agree to stop fighting and aggravating Shades…
(Lest & Draco) *squeaking* We agree! We agree!
(Shades) *sighs unhappily* Awww…you ended my fun too soon…Myn, you can stop scaring them.
(Myn) *cheerfully* Ok! *pounces on Harry and drags him away* Come on dolly!
(Harry) *blinks as he is dragged into a room* Wait…wha…huh…bu…o-o
(Lest, Draco, and Shades) o_O
(Myn) *cheerfully sings as she locks the door*
*remaining three look at each other*
(Shades) Well, ain't one of you going to save him?
(Lest) Hey! You love him too! Why don't you?
(Draco) Err…you guys should act quickly…
(Lest and Shades) Why?
*Harry's muffled screams of terror are suddenly heard*
*three stare at each other again*