For Megan, who'll know just the CD I mean!! Please review!
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It was Edward who found the note. Harry had wanted to listen to some music and had asked the vampire what he should play; muggle music had never really been on Harry's agenda. Before Hogwarts he hadn't had the money to spend and at Hogwarts there hadn't been any time for buying CDs. Edward had a few albums in mind and decided to find them while Harry went out to buy some food for his evening meal. Edward enjoyed the experience of mingling with the warm blooded locals and had offered to go but he sensed that Harry wanted some time alone. He smiled to himself, thinking how comfortable he was with the boy wizard. He hadn't worried about Harry's desire to be alone. Alone time meant they could enjoy being together so much more. And anyway they HAD to have something to talk about sometimes. He grinned
At first, Edward thought the note was the one Harry had left for him on their first night together, first official night he corrected himself smiling again. Then he realised that that note was still carefully placed between the pages of the book he was reading, he'd read it again only this morning. Anyway this paper was much too thick and luxuriant and the handwriting too ornate and spidery. Surprised that the outside of the paper bore both their names he was just unfolding the paper when Harry came through the door carrying two grocery bags. He grinned.
'Did you find us some music?' he asked, putting down the bags. 'Try not to pick something connected to old girlfriends.' He rolled his eyes at Edward. But Edward was frozen, the note open in his hand. His eyes, unseeing, staring down. 'What?' Harry asked, alarmed by his lover's reaction. 'What's that?'
'Nothing.' Edward hastily tucked the paper into his trouser pocket. Harry scowled.
'We're not doing that,' he said forcefully holding out his hand for the note.' We're never doing that.' His green eyes bored into Edward's. Sheepishly Edward nodded.
'You're right,' he admitted, 'an old habit to break.'
'No secrets, ever.' Harry kissed him passionately. Cold lips crushed against his soft mouth.
'No secrets.' Edward agreed pulling the paper from his pocket and handing it to Harry. He watched Harry open and scan the note. He looked questioningly at Edward.
'Someone wants to meet us?' he questioned, as though Edward would know more. Edward nodded mutely. 'Who knows we're here? Who knows us?' he amended the question. Edward shrugged. 'Why were you going to hide this?' Harry's eyes narrowed.
'It's written by a vampire,' Edward explained and carried on as he saw Harry's next question forming in the boy's frown. 'That style of writing hasn't been taught in schools for a hundred years at least,' he continued,' and the paper itself smells of an old one. It's a scent I caught in this room last night,' he smiled, 'but then you distracted me.' Harry smiled in reply, curling his hand around Edward's and his magic, sensing his concern, curled around them both like a protecting hand.
What does it smell like?' he looked up into Edward's eyes and suddenly realised how much older than him Edward was, even though they looked the same age.
'Roses. Old blood.' Edward replied taking the note from Harry and turning it over in his own hands. 'Vampires always smell of blood. The older the vampire, the older the smell. It's not something you'd notice.' He smiled at Harry's wrinkled nose as he sniffed at Edward's shoulder. 'Only a predator would pick up this scent.' He frowned suddenly. 'You're second question was the right one Harry, who knows us? Would you have been able to sense someone watching us Harry? Would your magic have picked it up?'
'Yes, I think so,' Harry frowned, 'unless they were using magic themselves to hide from me. They'd have to do that deliberately, it's not something a wizard can do by accident. Even distracted,' he grinned at Edward, 'I'd have known they were there.'
'An old vampire using magic?' Edward's eyebrows knitted together. 'Can you think of anyone or anything that might fit that bill?' Harry shook his head. 'Me neither. I don't like that.'
'So, what do we do?' Harry looked at the note and then back at Edward. 'I think we should meet them. They know about us and now we know about them. They're an old vampire who can use magic. Well, so are we.' He smiled at Edward.' And there's two of us.' Edward nodded slowly, still looking at the note.
'I'm not as old as this one, Harry,' he murmured, 'they could be very strong.'
'Then we'll be prepared,' said Harry firmly, confidently.
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They spent what was left of the afternoon distracting themselves from thinking about the meeting to which they had been summoned. Both of them felt the unspoken command in the short note, the power behind the spidery writing. Harry had gone to look at the place they were meeting; a small cafe in a quiet street. It didn't look as though it would be crowded at night. An elderly woman mopped the floor and glanced curiously up at him as he held his hands to the glass and peered through the window. The walls were painted back with silver and red lilies painted on in bold, swirling strokes. The tables crowded together and some red leather booths in the corner looked like the right sort of place for a midnight meeting, Harry mused to himself as he walked back to the house.
When he came in he realised Edward had been out too this afternoon. Four or five shopping bags lay on the floor near the stereo. The logos on the bag testified to the expensive nature of the shops that Edward had visited. He came in from the kitchen, towelling his hair so that it stood around his head in the golden halo which was becoming so familiar to Harry. He brushed cold, damp lips across Harry's mouth as he gestured with the hand holding the towel.
'Clothes,' he stated. 'I thought we should dress the part. Those two bags are yours.' Harry reached into the first bag and found a white, tailored shirt. It had a mandarin collar and was immaculately pressed. Underneath it in the bag was a pair of black denim jeans, also very well made and underwear and socks. The other bag held a grey leather jacket; it too had a mandarin collar with a pewter buckle fastening which matched the pewter zip up the front. The leather was soft and the stitching was obviously hand done. 'These are yours too.' Edward passed Harry a box. Inside was a pair of black leather Chelsea boots. They were just the right size and the small pewter buckle around the heel glittered in the fading sunlight coming in the window.
'Thanks.' Harry smiled at Edward. He'd never had such nice clothes. Just Dudley's cast offs and his wizarding robes. Edward smiled back, obviously enjoying Harry's pleasure in his gifts. He'd never understood Alice's enjoyment of shopping before. Maybe he'd just never had the right body to dress. He grinned wider. 'What've you got?' Harry asked and Edward dragged his mind back to the afternoon's shopping. Edward handed Harry his bags.
A grey, fitted t shirt, a black jacket, the darker twin to Harry's, the same black, denim jeans and bigger heavy boots with the same beautiful stitching and buckle. Obviously Edward knew how to dress himself. 'How did you know my size?' asked Harry suddenly self conscious of his scruffy appearance. Edward stepped towards him and held his face in his cool fingers.
'I felt my way around.' He grinned and kissed Harry passionately. Harry sucked in his breath and Edward laughed. Edward strode away across the room, his finely muscled torso and low slung, baggy jeans making Hurry's heart pound painfully. Edward switched on the stereo and Harry heard the whirling sound of the disc in the machine before the music started up. Electronic chords swelled from the speakers, plucking the air around them. Harry moved to stand behind Edward and put his arms around the cold, beautiful body. His fingers reached up and gently stoked Edward's hard nipples and rubbed along the vampire's muscles. Edward leaned back into Harry's arms. A low, British voice began to sing from the speakers. 'I'm waiting for the night to fall.'
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The CD had played three times before they had finished with each other's bodies. Harry knew it would now be part of his memory of their lovemaking. The feelings of the music had been amplified by their own emotional intensity. His magic had played the words and notes around their bodies, building the sensation until it had almost been unbearable. Harry had not been able to discern where his skin ended and Edward's began, despite their difference in temperature.
'Clean, the cleanest I've been,' the voice from the speakers had breathed,' an end to the tears, to the in between years, to the troubles I've seen.' Harry had felt the words go through him as Edward shuddered under his touch, felt himself clean of the troubles of his past as though he had written those words. Later, lying over Edward's cool, hard body, looking deep into those topaz eyes now slitted shut in orgasm, the words of another song registered in Harry's mind. 'That's all there is, nothing more than you can feel now, that's all there is.' And it was true, Harry mused. No matter what happened tonight in this strange meeting, this was all there was.
Harry turned the CD cover over in his hands, not really reading the sleeve notes. The picture on the front was a single red rose on a black background. The image reminded him of the walls in the cafe where they were to meet this old vampire. What would he look like Harry wondered. What did he want?
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Edward marvelled at the body of his lover as Harry bent over the claw footed bathtub running the hot water. How could this boy still arouse so much desire in him? How long could this feeling last? The feeling of needing to touch, to caress and kiss which almost instantly built into fierce wanting. How often had they made love? The question was immaterial, he decided, any number of times would not make the need go away. As soon as orgasm had rushed him on like a tidal wave, the second of its ebbing became the beginning of a new wave. If Harry hadn't needed to sleep and eat Edward was sure that they could have carried on exploring each other for days, weeks. He chuckled to himself. Would Harry be old and Edward still want to hold him, still want to make him come, wordlessly staring into his green eyes? Harry had suggested his magic could keep him young or at least appear to but Edward could not imagine this feeling changing as Harry changed. Even though they had known each other only a few days Edward still wondered what he did before Harry? Had he really felt anything? He thought of Bella, how convinced he'd been of his love for her but next to this profundity of emotion Bella paled into insignificance. Harry stood up, breaking Edward's thoughts. He stepped into the warm water, easing himself gently down until his chin was level with the edge of the tub. He sighed and closed his eyes slowly. Edward walked over, Harry didn't open his eyes but his hand stroked Edward's marble thigh absently.
'Coming in?' he smiled. Edward lifted one leg and placed it in the water. The heat stung his skin and he felt his body begin to warm. The bath was dangerously full and he stood very still, one leg in the water and one foot resting his weight on the edge of the bath while the water spilled out through the overflow. Harry opened his eyes and laughed at Edward's calm position as he waited for the water level to accommodate him. 'You're so still!' exclaimed Harry, taking in all of Edward's body as the water sloshed over the edge of the bath with Harry's laughter.
'I am dead you know,' commented Edward wryly raising an eyebrow.
'Not completely,' was Harry's answer as he slid down the bath and reached up to touch Edward. He laughed. 'Nope. Not completely dead.'
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Edward unfastened the top and the bottom two buttons on Harry's white shirt. 'Like this' he smiled at the smaller boy, 'and this.' he added as he untucked the shirt from the black jeans. 'There,' he stepped back admiringly, 'perfect.' Harry blushed and smiled at the compliment. It was hard to get used to someone as gorgeous as Edward feeling attracted to you he decided. The rush of arousal he felt when Edward looked at him wasn't just because Edward was heart -stoppingly beautiful but also because of the way he looked at Harry as though he thought the same thing about him. Harry shook his head and laughed.
'What?' Edward turned from the mirror where he was arranging his hair so it looked like it had when he'd just got out of bed; Harry blushed again at the thought.
'Just getting used to having a drop dead gorgeous boyfriend' He laughed again, nervous about using the word.
Edward's grin was radiant and he raised an eyebrow. 'Not completely dead' he smiled.
'Mmmm' was Harry's answer as he kissed Edward's full mouth.