CHAPTER IX
FASCINATION AND FEAR
...Seattle's Police Department has yet to comment about the wave of citizen disappearances as well as the rising homicide rate in recent weeks in the capital. Some media vehicles speculate if the crimes are somehow connected , but the police public relations sector refuses to provide more information than the ones already given: that the crimes are being investigated and that nothing for the time being will be disclosed to not compromise the integrity of the investigation. We have to wait for the best and hope for everything to work out. Then, another selection of our most played songs -
Edward turned off the car radio as he drove to school, his brow furrowed in concern.
Since Carlisle had told him about the wave of disappearances/homicides in the region, he began tracking the news on the media to get more information. Technically, disappearances and homicides were common things to happen in metropolises like Seattle, but when you know the existence of supernatural creatures, you begin to realize that certain "disappearances" or "homicides" are actually traces left by actions of vampires who have a more "traditional" diet.
Not that he was sure that this was a vampire's action, but he still suspected it.
The vampire community - in the absence of a better words to designate them - had as maximum law instituted by the Volturis to keep the secret: keep the secret of their existence from humans, avoid the maximum on getting attention, avoid leaving traces that could lead to them. Long before, they were a real threat to humans, but after the Law of Secrecy it took centuries for vampires to become simple characters of myth and folklore to humans as well as pop culture, such as gnomes, fairies or... Well, witches.
Edward laughed with himself.
For a moment he thought about what creatures he considered to be just a myth and was in fact just real and palpable as him. When he had the opportunity, he would ask to his magical friends about it.
Parking his silver Volvo in the students' parking lot, Edward quickly spotted Emmett's jeep in which his siblings headed toward the school building, just as he had seen the wizard's black Mustang. Hermione was the first to descend along with Ron, both with a frowned faces followed by Harry, who appearing to be much more serene. Turning as he closed the car door, the wizard had spotted Edward and smiled slightly as he waved his hand to him. The vampire waved awkwardly at Harry and then lowered his head with an inexplicable sense of shyness.
Maybe because he remembered the photo that Jasper took and that served as a new source of speculation for his family, especially Esme and Alice, whom started fantasizing about things that were completely nonexistent and impossible.
Things like the possibility that he and Harry might in the future be a cou... Edward shrugged as if to get rid of those thoughts so inappropriate to the green-eyed boy.
Picking up his backpack and closing his pea coat, the vampire stepped out of the car as he crossed the parking lot under a thin rain of the leaden gray sky of Forks.
.
________
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The first classes had passed with surprising agility, and the vampire was grateful that he had only a few hours to complete that day and be able to return home.
Walking to his locker to exchange the books, Edward casually watched the school hallway for a few students in that place, in low conversations of trivial matters, occasional laughter and uninteresting thoughts ... Looking ahead, he had seen Harry at his locker, picking up his books and stuffing his backpack brutally with a facial expression that resembled frustration and irritation; The vampire smiled discreetly at himself as he saw how lovely Harry looked when he was angry.. Lovely? It was not an adjective that Edward commonly used to describe other boys, but there was no other term better than this in describing the wizard at that moment.
Edward was unable to avoid a mental comparison of a kitten posing as a lion.
Lovely.
Watching the scene again, Edward debated inwardly whether or not to talk to Harry. His rationale part told him to leave him alone and respect his private moment, but his stubborn and curious part spoke louder and when realized, he was already leaning against the side of the wizard who when tilting the door of the locker, took a fright when he saw Edward standing with arms casually crossed against his chest.
"Hey..." Edward murmured, making his voice sound velvety.
"WHAT THE BLOODY HELL DO YOU WANT?!" Harry snarled as he slammed locker's door, catching the attention of some students who were already leaving the hall.
The vampire frowned and looked down, terribly sorry for trying to interact with the other at that moment that was certainly not the most appropriate.
"I'm sorry, I didn't want to bother you..." Edward replied shyly as he turned in the opposite direction and left the other alone.
"No, Edward, wait!!!" Harry called to him, causing the vampire to turn toward him.
Harry took a deep breath, tilting his head down as he placed both hands on his face. His shoulders rose and fell for breath as his racing heart gradually calmed down.
"I'm so sorry..." Harry finally whispered in a quieter voice, revealing his flushed face and brow furrowed. "I shouldn't... I shouldn't have yelled at you..."
Edward put his hands in his pockets, looking down.
"That's okay, it happens..."
"No... It's just... Urgh..." Harry lightly punched the locker and ran his hand through the mass of his dark hair "Hermione and Ron are driving me crazy with this treatment of completely ignoring me."
The vampire frowned.
"Since last week?" Edward shrugged.
It had been a few days when the two wizard seemed to have distanced themselves from Harry, giving him reproving looks.
"Yes!" Harry said indignantly as he zipped the backpack "They simply refuse to accept what I decided, as if I hadn't thought well before... Bloody idiots."
"Oh...
"Anyway, Edward, I'm sorry I yelled at you." Harry sighed.
"No problem... Do you... Hmm... Do you want me to escort you to your next class?" The vampire offered.
"No, I'm going to walk around... If I stay another minute at this school, I go crazy..." Harry murmured.
"Walk?" Edward blinked his eyes "But..."
"I need to be distracted... Walking or driving helps me, but I'll have to leave the car for the two of them to come home. Anyway, sorry again for my behavior... I wasn't angry at you, you know..." Harry started to walk quickly.
Edward grabbed his own backpack, not even needing to use his supernatural speed to reach the smaller boy.
"Harry, wait... Do you... Do you want to go to my home?" Edward asked uncertainly.
"Hmm, excuse me?"
Edward bit his lower lip.
"Well... It's better than wandering aimlessly in the city at risk of getting rain..." He replied gently.
"I don't think it's proper for me to break into someone else's house."
"No, not to go alone... Go with me..." Edward stated as his voice grew low as he said the words. "There's no one there for now. My siblings are here, just like Carlisle's at the hospital and Esme's in Port Angeles."
"Oh... But... But what about your class?"
Edward put a hand on the back of his neck.
"Well, it's not like I'm going to lose something I haven't seen yet..." Edward said honestly.
Harry stopped walking, looking at the vampire's face with an unintelligible expression. The vampire quickly looked away, aware that Harry could read his mind.
"I don't know... I don't think it's a good idea..."
"Then at least let me leave you at your home." Edward insisted.
The dark-haired boy popped his tongue into the roof of his mouth and shrugged as he had been convinced.
"Well... Alright, let's go to your home... I'd better go there than mine." He nodded at last.
Edward smiled at his small victory as the two walked down the empty corridor in a comfortable silence. Across the parking lot, the rain had passed, but the wet, cold wind still blew through town, forcing Harry to button his red woolen coat up to his neck.
As he got into the car, Edward turned on the heater while Harry fastened his seat belt, frowning as the other boy did not do the same.
"It's not like I'm going to die or something like that." Edward shrugged.
"If you say so..." Harry concluded.
As he reached the road on the way home, Edward had stepped on the Volvo's accelerator, causing the engine to roar muffled as it turned into a silvery blur for any human eyes to see.
"You know Edward, we're both immortals, but that doesn't mean I cannot suffer any kind of damage in an accident..." Harry said worriedly as he stared at the speed on the dashboard.
Edward laughed softly.
"Don't worry, we won't suffer an accident."
"What makes you so confident?!"
The vampire looked at the wizard with a smile.
"The speed perception of vampires is different from humans, Harry... We're at 190km/h and for you everything seems like a blur... For me it's like we're 20km/h."
"Oh..." Harry whispered.
"Calmer now?" Edward looked at Harry while took his hands off the wheel.
"Fuck, Cullen, look forward at least!!!" The wizard exclaimed with wide eyes full of terror.
"Language Harry!" The vampire scolded laughing as he still stared at him as if it was a challenge.
"This isn't funny your bastard! Unlike you, I can still get hurt!!!" Harry said with a scowl.
"Harry, you don't need to worry... I would never put you in a situation that could hurt you." Edward said in a spontaneous protective manner as he turned his face forward and put his hands back on the wheel.
Edward looked at him out of the corner of his eyes and saw that Harry was staring at him, his cheeks slightly flushed.
"Hmm..." The wizard murmured, looking ahead as he relaxed in the leather seat of the car.
The trip to the vampire house was quick and filled with a comfortable silence.
Edward was the first to get out of the car, quickly opening the car door to Harry, who only slightly frowned at the act, but thanked him with a subtle smile. Edward noticed that he never acted with such chivalry to the other guys, but when he was with Harry he couldn't stop to act like this... It felt automatic to him.
The Cullen house was spacious, enlighten by large glass windows overlooking the forest, with light colors scheme, modern furniture and decorations of different styles, origins and periods, from Chinese coromandel screens to African tribal masks, almost all of which were accumulated acquisitions over the decades and could become a mess if it were not for of Esme's decorative sensitivity.
"Your home is really beautiful... Especially during the day..." Harry said, looking around as he unbuttoned his red coat.
"Esme has a good eye for these things... Oh, allow me..." Edward said as he took the wizard's coat and smiled back. "This is the only place we can be ourselves."
"I know how it feels." Harry smiled politely, still looking around.
Edward was shy of their silence, not knowing how to act now that they were both at home.
Alone.
"Are you hungry? If you want, we can get something in the kitchen..."
"Oh... Do you guys have human food at home?!" Harry asked incredulously.
"Yeah... To maintain the appearances... You know, it would be strange if we never bought anything at the grocery store in this city..." Edward explained as he led Harry into the kitchen.
"And what do you do with the food after?"
"We don't throw it away. Esme makes some dishes with them and we donate to charities in Port Angeles." The vampire smiled as he opened the refrigerator. "You can take whatever you want."
Harry frowned in amusement and picked up a red apple.
"Thank you." He replied with a bite.
The two boys walked into the living room, sitting on opposite sides of the sofa in awkward silence.
"So..." They both spoke at once and laughed uneasily.
"You first..." Harry nodded.
Edward smiled shyly.
"Do you want to talk about the situation with Ron and Hermione?"
Harry paused for a moment, seeming to be thinking about the subject as a crease of frustration was visible on his forehead.
"I just wanted them to understand me..." Harry whispered looking forward. "They've been my friends for over 70 years..."
"Hmm... And what exactly are you asking of them?" Edward said casually, trying not to show the immense curiosity he possessed.
Harry sighed.
"I cannot tell... It's complicated, it involves so much..." The wizard said wearily as he rubbed his face with his hands. "Honestly, I wanted to forget about it, at least for now."
Edward looked down, concentrating on the dust particles on the carpet in the room.
"Do you want a full tour of the house?" The vampire offered. "The last time you were here, you didn't see much."
Harry smiled a little.
"Sounds good..."
Edward led him through Carlisle's office, showing some Italian works of art he had been gifted by the Volturis, in which Harry was particularly amazed to see an original Caravaggio and Rembrandt, as well as rare books in which the wizard was sure Hermione would love to read. Climbing up the stairs, he showed Alice and Jasper's bedroom which was relatively small compared to the monstrosity that was the girl's closet, crammed with designer clothes and different types of shoes, many of them still in the shopping bag with the tag. Edward explained to Harry that Alice was responsible for the wardrobe of everyone in that house, acting almost always as a fashionable dictator.
They went into Rosalie and Emmett's bedroom, larger than the first one, in which had a huge king-size bed as well as an immense gold-framed mirror and smaller ones in some corners - Harry was impressed by the abundance of the object in that place, a clear signal of Rosalie's huge self-esteem.
Esme and Carlisle's bedroom was relatively simple, a full-size bed, a dressing table with a vase fulfilled with fresh roses, a divan positioned next to a bookcase packed with books. Everything looked simple and tasteful.
The last door to the hall was the bedroom of the last remaining member.
"This is my bedroom." Edward said casually and somewhat embarrassed as he opened the door revealing his secret hideaway. "Sorry for the mess... I don't get frequent visitors..."
Harry laughed softly.
Edward's bedroom was the smallest of them, with a whole wall being a huge glass window overlooking the forest while the opposite wall was a bookcase crammed with CDs with a state-of-the-art sound system alongside with old-vinyl records. Harry could also see an old but well preserved wooden radio, probably from the 1940s in a corner of the room, as well as piano music sheet scattered around the desk and some on the floor, creating the impression of an organized mess.
A controlled chaos.
"No bed..." Harry said with a half-smile at the absence of the furniture.
"Well... It's not like I need to sleep, you know..." Edward replied with a shrug.
"But then why the rest of the rooms hav... Ohhhhhhhh... I understand..." Harry blushed as he laughed nervously and Edward would have flushed too if he could.
Edward watched Harry approach his bookshelf and CDs, his hands behind his back as he looked closely one by one. The vampire was squirming with curiosity to know what was going on in the wizard's mind.
"What are you thinking?" Edward whispered beside him.
"You get to know a person well when you see their bedroom... But I prefer to know their musical tastes." Harry said, smoothing the CDs covers with his index finger.
"Oh I see." Edward smiled. "Music is my passion-obsession."
Edward smiled as he put Clair de Lune, the soothing notes filling the ambient.
"Debussy is one of my favorites." Harry smiled at the sound system.
"I know..." He murmured thoughtlessly as he looked at the wizard.
Harry looked at him curiously.
"I mean, I... It's my favorite too... You know... Hmm... Debussy is really nice..." Edward stammered somewhat embarrassed. God, what was wrongwith him?
Harry laughed as he looked down at his feet.
"So..." The younger boy went on. "What kind of music do you like?"
Edward breathed a sigh of relief at the change of subject.
"Well... Almost everything in fact... Classical, jazz of course, like Sinatra and Ella Fitzgerald... I like rock, punk and alternative... I don't like country." Edward began to ramble on his favorite subject. "I prefer indie rock than mainstream..."
"I say the same!" Harry said in surprise. "What are your favorite decades?"
"I like the 50's better than the 60's..." The vampire laughed as he saw Harry's expression betrayed by the statement. "It's not that I don't like the 60's, but the 50's were better!"
"Seriously, Edward? I thought you had good taste..." Harry shrugged and continued in a tone of reverence. "We had The Zombies, The Ronettes, Rolling Stones, The Beach Boys, The Beatles, all this only in the 60's!!!
Edward shrugged.
"You like it better because it was from your generation Harry..." He justified with a smile. "Were you a Beatlemaniac?"
"Of course!" Harry replied as if it were obvious. "I even wore glasses that looked like John Lennon's one..."
"That's what I thought." Edward laughed.
"Haha... Very funny." Harry narrowed his eyes in amusement. "Go on."
"I don't like the '70s."
"Fair point." The boy nodded.
"The 80s music, opposed to the fashion, were tolerable."
Harry frowned.
"'Tolerable', bitch please... The fashion of that time was really crap, but 80's music were great..." Harry defended.
Edward laughed with the other's facial expression.
"So at dawn, do you stay in your no-bed-room, listening and composing music?" The boy asked.
"Yes, as well as drawing and read... This is my private place, where I can be alone... I mean, not completely alone, because I can still hear the thoughts of my family members, even unintentionally..." Edward replied.
"If you want, I can do a spell to make this room soundproof..." Harry looked around. "Just as the thoughts of those out of the room."
Edward's eyes widened.
"That would be wonderful... Not only for me, but for them as well."
"Abafiatto!" Harry said to quickly move his hand.
Edward waited for some change, but nothing happened.
"You'll only feel the difference when everyone's here." Harry explained at the other's confused facial expression.
"Oh..."
A silence settled between them being interrupted by the melodious notes of classical music.
"Edward?"
"Yes?"
"What is your history?" Harry asked, looking at him. "I don't think we ever talked about it..."
"Oh... Well... There's not much to say, particularly..."
"I doubt it." Harry insisted.
Edward looked at the wizard for a moment and gave in.
"Humm... Let me see... I was born on June 20, 1901 in Chicago as Edward Anthony Masen Jr..." Edward frowned as he recalled these long-buried facts in the depth of his mind, almost as if he had drawn a thick layer of dust and cobwebs over these memories. "My father, Edward, was a renowned lawyer, but a little distant of me because of his job and my mom, Elizabeth, was a lady of high society. We were very close, because I was their only child... It was she who taught me to play the piano... I can say that my childhood and adolescence were quiet. I remember that I dreamed of being a soldier at the time of the First World War and that I wanted to complete 18 as soon as possible, so that I could become a soldier even if the war was over before it... But obviously, I never completed 18 years..."
Edward smiled bitterly as he received a sympathetic look from Harry.
"What happened?"
"There was a pandemic of Spanish Flu. My father was the first to die. My mom and I contracted the disease next... I should have died just like her, but before this could happen, she had made Carlisle promise that he would save me by any means possible..." Edward rambled on with his vague memories "I think deep down she knew he wasn't a common man... Or even human."
Harry nodded sympathetically.
"And he obviously turned you..."
"Yeah..."
"How was... You know... The transformation?"
Edward couldn't contain a grimace on his face.
Even after more than a century since he had become a vampire, he could still remember that awful, miserable pain.
"It was horrible. It was an excruciating pain... It's like you being mutilated and burned alive, I wasn't able even to scream or move a single finger..."
"And then?"
"After two days I woke up..." Edward murmured. "Carlisle explained to me what he was, or rather, what we were, as well his philosophy of surviving without the need of human blood. He welcomed me as his own son."
Harry smiled at him.
"I'm glad it worked" The wizard whispered. "How does it feel to be a vampire?"
Edward took a deep breath.
"You can hear things from miles away, as well as have a sharp sight... Your smell sense is also potent, you can pick up tiny odors from incredible distances... Our body is extremely strong and resistant against damage... We are fast. Very fast."
"And you sparkle in the sunlight."
"And we sparkle in the sun." The vampire gave a small smile and then became serious. "But that doesn't change the fact that it all makes us monsters... Killers."
Harry looked down and sighed.
"Humans are also capable of committing monstrosities Edward, and they don't even need of supernatural skills to do monstrous acts."
The two were silent for a few minutes, Harry staring at his hands as Edward stared into the forest, both lost in thought. A sudden thought seized the vampire.
"I have an idea!" Edward got up from the sofa, looking at the glass door leading to the forest. "Come on, I'll show you."
"Huh?"
"Come on!" The taller one insisted, watching the other rise reluctantly.
"You do not think I'm really going to jump off the second floor, do you?" Harry asked incredulously as he looked down.
"I take you there. Hold on my back."
"Hm, what?!"
"Come on Harry..." Edward insisted.
"No way... What if I fall?"
"I'll never let you fall! I'll protect you."
Harry looked at him suspiciously and something made him flushed slightly, but relented.
Shyly he hugged behind Edward's shoulders, jumping on top of him as he wrapped his short legs around the hips of the taller boy. Edward had a short circuit as he felt Harry's hands lodge on his shoulder and chest as well as feel his chin near his neck. The vampire took a deep breath as his lungs filled with the sweet scent of the wizard's skin and blood that made his throat burn and his mind sink into pleasure.
"Where are we going?" Harry asked quietly, causing the vampire to almost moan in response.
"T-to a meadow at the top of a mountain, where the sun can pierce the clouds." Edward answered, stopping at the edge of the door. "Trust me?"
"Hmm... Should I be honest or I it's better to give an educated answer?"
"That's what I thought." Edward laughed and jumped.
Harry let out a grunt of surprise as the vampire raced through the forest, occasionally jumping over twenty yards and advancing without ever colliding with any tree or rock. Edward was always the fastest in his family, including Jasper and Emmett, who always lost on their bets or when they played baseball.
Edward ran up the mountain, holding Harry's legs firmly, who was, in response, hugging him even more. The vampire stopped running when he reached his secret spot: a small meadow, perfectly circular covered by a rug of dark green grass, with countless wildflowers ranging from blue, lilac to pale pink.
"Harry, we're here."
Silence.
"Harry?" Edward asked, turning his eyes to the side to watch the boy.
Harry had hidden his face in the vampire's shoulder, his arms and legs locked as he gripped Edward's cold body, his heart racing at a rate that made the scent of blood stained by the smell of stress hormones and dread.
"Oh, you're in shock..." Edward whispered worriedly, taking care that his voice sounds caring. "Hey, Harry... Open your eyes... We're here..."
The wizard slowly let go of Edward, sitting on the lawn still with his eyes closed. Edward knelt in front of him, seeing the boy's face drained of any color, white as porcelain, like a ghost or better yet, white like him.
"I t-thin-k I'll p-p-puke..." Harry whispered weakly.
"Sorry..." The vampire felt regretful.
"Gi-ve m-me a s-second..."
Edward patiently watched Harry inhale through his nose and inhale through his mouth as his heart rate slowly stabilized. The vampire watched the micro blood vessels beneath the wizard's pale skin begin to receive blood flow, causing them to gradually dye their cheeks in an almost appetizing way. Harry opened his eyes and saw that Edward was looking at him in apprehension.
"That was definitely an experience." Harry said with a half-smile.
"Next time, it's better close your eyes..." Edward replied with a crooked smile.
"Next time?! Don't be presumptuous!!! I'll make sure you'll pay me for this Cullen!!!" Harry laughed softly.
Harry looked sideways as he analyzed the place where they both had a smile on their lips.
"What place is this?"
"This is one of my favorite secret places..." Edward said looking away.
"Secret?"
"You're the first person I brought here..." He explained.
"Oh why?"
"Well... If you ever want to be alone to think..." The vampire muttered as he took the petals out of a flower. "I realized that, just like me, sometimes you like to be alone... You know... Like that day, on the beach..."
Harry looked at Edward as he tentatively bit his lower lip.
"Thank you." The younger one whispered. "That means a lot to me."
The vampire smiled and then saw a crack of sunlight stream through the clouds and bathe a part of the clearing.
"And I brought you here because I wanted to show you something." Edward said, standing up and walking toward the light, opening his pea coat and exposing his skin on sunlight "You wanted to know what happens when the sunlight hits us... Well... That's it..."
Edward's skin began to cast beams of light and sparkles as if studded with tiny diamonds of infinite facets. Harry's eyes widened and Edward interpreted it as repulsion...
He would too.
"I know... It's the skin of a killer." Edward frowned as he looked down in embarrassment.
And he would have kept staring had it not been for Harry to start laughing.
The vampire looked up and saw the wizard laughing wildly.
"What?!"
Harry continued to laugh.
"I'm sorry... I laugh when I get nervous..." The boy said as he tried to control himself. "It's because this isn't exactly the thing that comes to my mind when you said about 'the skin of a killer'..."
Edward frowned as he watched the boy stand up and walk toward him.
"I'm glad that I'm amusing you." The vampire said dryly.
"Actually, I don't think it's bad or grotesque... It's a fascinating effect to see... It's like..." Harry murmured in fascination as his own skin was softly lit by the reflection of Edward's glow. "It's like you're made of light or something like that..."
"Oh..." The vampire was somewhat embarrassed by the boy's words that seemed more like an admired praise than a joke or criticism.
"Hmm... Can... Hmm... Can I... Can I touch your skin?" The wizard asked.
The bronze-haired vampire smiled softly, rolling up the sleeves and moving his forearm toward the other. Harry brought his hand up to Edward's pale, glistening wrist, his fingers caressing the surface of the cold, incredibly smooth and hard skin as if it were marble covered with satin, tracing a way along the lilac vein visible beneath that skin. Edward sighed as he saw Harry join their hands, making the vampire feel the warmth and softness of the wizard's palm as well as noticing how small Harry's hand was in comparison his own, with delicate fingers and short nails. Edward held his breath as the wizard gently intertwined their fingers. The vampire felt dislocated, stunned and, to his complete surprise, comfortable and completely satisfied.
He felt the impulse to kiss softly Harry's hand... But what he would think about him doing that? Would Harry be disgusted by the touch of his cold lips? But why the hell he wanted to kiss the boy's hand for the first matter?
"What are you thinking?" Edward whispered after a few minutes.
Harry reacted in surprise, as if he had awakened from a reverie and separated his hand from Edward's, who internally became sad at the interruption of the contact.
"To be honest, I was daydreaming." Harry murmured looking at Edward, his face flushed. "Sorry..."
"There's nothing to be sorry for..."
Harry turned his back and walked back to where he was, sitting on the dark grass as he splashed a grass. Edward followed him and sat down next to him.
"I did something wrong?" Edward asked looking at him.
"No, no!" Harry denied it. "You didn't do anything!"
"So why are you sad?"
The boy sighed.
"I'm not sad, I'm just... Melancholic, you know... About Hermione and Ron. That's all..."
"Oh..." Edward wasn't convinced.
The two were silent as a gentle wind swayed the branches of the trees as well as the flowers. Harry finally lay down on the grass, placing his hands on his belly while Edward did the same.
"Harry?"
"Yeah?"
"I told you about my story... Or at least part of it..." The vampire said, avoiding a grimace as he remembered that he had hidden the period in which he had fed on humans in the late 1920s.
"And?"
"And... Well... I wanted to hear yours." 'Desperately to be honest', Edward's mind completed.
"Oh... What do you want to know?"
"Whatever you want to tell me..." Edward lie down beside him, face turned toward him.
The boy seemed to ponder for a moment.
"Okay..." Harry said looking at the gray clouds in the sky. "My parents are James and Lily Potter. The two had known each other since they were teenagers but only got together in 1865... Initially they didn't want to have children, because they wanted to reach their goals on their own work career, but after a time, especially after the end of World War II, they changed their mind... You know, England was destroyed, deaths and losses everywhere... Our Community also suffered greatly from the war... So my parents decided that it was a good time for them to start a family, to have a new beginning..."
Harry smiled softly.
"I was born on the night of July 31, 1947, coincidentally during a Blood Moon, in a small town in England called Godric's Hollow... I'm an only child to this day, even though I begged my parents to give me a brother or sister... But they told me that I was already perfect enough for them. As for my childhood, I think I can consider it as normal... I learned the basics of magic at home, because my father is a teacher of Occult Arts, while I attended a muggle school. When I turned 17 in 1964, I ... How can I say..."
Harry paused for a moment as his fingers played with the bird's pendant.
"I accepted my 'gift' as a wizard, if I can use that term... As I told you, it wasn't what I wanted, but... It was necessary." The wizard paused for a moment, and then continued. "In the same year I went to Hogwarts together with Hermione and Ron and we left there in 1968. After that, not much happened to be honest... I moved to other countries, sometimes I went to school, again and again... Everything so boring, as you and your siblings should know..."
Edward was silent, knowing that the other had much more to tell, but did not want to force him.
Harry turned his face to Edward, his green eyes staring at him softly and calmly.
"I'm sorry I didn't tell you everything, Ed... One day... One day, when I can, I'll tell you everything... Just not now."
The vampire smiled at the boy for the sweet and caring way his nickname sounded in that voice.
"Friends tell each other everything..." The wizard whispered. "I just need some time."
"Are we friends, Harry?" Edward whispered, somewhat moved by the idea.
The dark-haired boy blinked his eyes.
"I'd hate to think we're not..." His voice sounded fragile.
The bronze-haired vampire gave the boy a huge smile.
"So we are friends..." The vampire reaffirmed. "And... How is to be a wizard?"
Harry looked at him and wetted his lips.
"It's to be powerful, but at the same time, being weak... It's you being constantly flirting with the danger and darkness..."
"How much danger and darkness?" Edward asked.
"Well, what I can say is that good boys go to Heaven... Bad boys go to Hogwarts." Harry said with a dark twinkle on his eyes.
The two of them began to talk about their past, just as they knew each other more. Edward asked Harry what his parents and family were like, what his hometown was like or about the magic school he attended, as well as other additional details that he gladly spoke about. Gradually the vampire was constructing a mental mosaic with the little information he had about the mysterious wizard, who, even telling him about his life for him, still seemed to keep secrets behind his emerald green eyes.
At some point after yawning, Harry closed his eyes, his breathing soft and his heartbeats gradually slowing. He was falling asleep. Edward watched silently in that scene, for sleeping was for him one of the few human attributes in which he envied (the ability to dream was fascinating), but now he was grateful that he was not capable of it, for he could admire Harry's face without fear of policing himself.
He was lovely in every way.
Edward looked at that youthful pale face with a slightly rosy complexion... The beautiful and proportionate nose... The long, dark lashes, the eyebrows that stood out against the skin and just above them, the curious ray-shaped scar in which was partially covered by the dark hair... His cheeks flushed... His lips... Oh... The tender, soft-looking lips that were now smiling sweetly, probably dreaming of something, with a delicate dimple in the corner of his mouth... A smile full of secrets... Edward could receive from those lips the worst curse in the world and yet he would only contemplate their beauty.
He was still asleep, his breath calm and sweet, surrounded by flowers and face illuminated by the soft light of the sun.
It could be a thousand years and Edward would never forget it.
"Ed-ward, hmm ... What... What happened?" Harry whispered sleepily at one point, still with his eyes closed.
The vampire's eyes widened.
'I'm contemplating you'
"I... I was wondering about what it's like to sleep..." Edward lied. "And dreaming..."
Harry opened his eyes to him.
"Oh... you want to sleep too?"
Edward smiled wistfully.
"That wouldn't be possible, I suppose..."
Harry closed his eyes again.
"Not if you listen to the song of... The Song of Morpheus..." The wizard yawned. "Close your eyes... And focus only on my voice..."
Edward did as the boy said, but partially doubting it would work.
With closed eyes, he focused on Harry's voice and the rhythm of his heartbeats, which began to hum a melody he had never heard before, in an unknown tongue that sounded ancestral to his ears, which brought him the sense of peace and tranquility.
Gradually Edward began to feel his body get heavy, as if he were stuck in the grass by a powerful gravity... His limbs becoming lethargic, as if a cloud of torpor had touched him, thoughts increasingly out of order and confused... Harry's voice sounded distant, as if it were in another dimension...
For the first time in over a hundred years as a vampire, Edward Cullen had fallen asleep.
.
_____
.
The first thing Edward noticed as he slowly opened his eyes was that the sun was already setting and the meadow was bathed in a cold blue light from the full moon that was beginning to emerge.
The second thing - and this was definitely the most surprising and shocking - was that Harry was on top of him, his head and hand lodged on his cold chest, still asleep. Edward had noticed later that his arms were around the boy's waist, keeping his body close to his own. The vampire stood motionless, just feeling the Harry's warmth warm him up as he felt the soft breath the other made.
Edward debated whether he should wake Harry or whether he should let him wake up naturally. Opting for the second alternative, Edward gave short breaths again, making sure that the sudden movement wasn't to wake the other as he felt Harry's sweet scent invading him, causing his throat to contract and burn from thirst, but he'd discovered he was strong enough to ignore... It was easier. Approaching with care, he leaned his nose against the soft, rebellious dark hair of the other, intoxicated with the scent that came from it.
'Sublime...' was the only word his mind, still cushioned by sleep, was able to produce.
Edward wondered if Harry didn't mind the hardness and coldness of his body, but apparently not, for he was completely comfortable with what made a part of his mind commemorate - but he did not know why.
Seeing that it was getting late, Edward brought his fingers up to Harry's face, gently pulling a lock of hair from his eyes.
"Harry... Wake up..."
The boy made a sound of discontent.
"Hmm... Hmm... More ... F-five minu-tes..." Harry flinched in the vampire's arms.
Edward laughed softly.
"Come on..." He whispered again, his voice muffled by the other's dark hair.
"Just... Five more... Minutes, C-ed!" The wizard complained.
'Ced? Who is Ced?'
Edward frowned as he pondered what he had heard.
Maybe he got it wrong.
Maybe Harry wanted to have said 'Ed' and not 'Ced'.
Harry finally groped Edward's chest, raising his head to look around. Turning his face up, he saw the vampire's golden eyes gazing at him warily. The wizard stared back to the other with his eyes full of sheer terror while he became cient what was going on , getting up off the vampire with a quick and awkward moviment.
"Oh shit... Edward... I'm sorry, I'm sorry..." The wizard he stammered nervously.
"No... It's okay..."
"No, it's not, it's not... Oh shit, shit, that couldn't have happened..." Harry repeated, hiding his flushed face with both hands.
Edward stood up from the grass, walking up to the smaller boy and placing his hands on his shoulders.
"Hey... Hey, look at me... It's okay... Seriously... You didn't do anything I didn't do either..." He stated in his velvety voice.
Harry looked down, still flushed.
"I'm so ashamed..."
"I repeat, it's all right, Harry..." Edward smiled affectionately at him. "So... Ready for another race?"
Harry paled.
"OH NO!"
Edward laughed.
"Let's apparate... Hold my arm." Harry said, still embarrassed.
The vampire smiled and touched the wizard's arm, the two disappearing from the meadow.
________
When Edward realized, they were already in the living room of his house with his whole family together, surprisingly with Ron and Hermione.
"Harry!!!" Hermione grabbed his friend in a tight hug, hiding his face on the wizard's shoulder and then looking at him angrily, slapping his shoulders "HARRY JAMES POTTER, HOW YOU DARE TO DISAPPEAR AND MAKE ME WORRIED FOR HOURS!!!"
"Ouch, Mione..."
Ron approached his friend, hugging him too, but looking much more relieved and calm.
"For the Mephistopheles' horns , Harry, don't give us a fright like that!" Ron exclaimed, letting go of the other.
Edward raised his eyebrow at Ron's strange exclamation.
"Where have you been?!" Hermione demanded looking at Harry and then at Edward with an inquiring look.
"Well, I... I was with Edward in a part of the forest... We were talking and we fell asleep..." Harry shrugged.
Hermione gave Edward an irritated look.
"One moment, did you sleep too, son?" Carlisle asked.
Edward shrugged in confirmation.
"Harry sang a magic song that made me sleep too."
Carlisle's golden eyes flashed and his brothers exchanged conspiratorial looks, especially Alice and Emmett.
'Ohhhh, slept together, huh?! Eddy, your little shameless!!!' The muscular vampire joked mentally as he looked at the telepath brother.
Edward growled to Emmett, who laughed in response.
"Why didn't you tell us? We were worried!" Hermione continued to talk to his friend.
"Oh, as far as I can remember, you two were ignoring me for days until few hours ago." Harry countered bitterly.
The witch looked down in embarrassment, as well the redhead wizard.
"Harry, look... I'm sorry... It's just... You have to understand that what you ask of us..." Hermione sighed.
"My decision. Respect!" Harry scolded hard eyes.
Ron bit his lower lip and nodded, while Hermione sighed, glancing quickly at Edward and then at Harry.
"I'll try..." She whispered.
They were all silent for a brief minute.
"Well, since it's all right now and they're all here, why don't we watch a movie, huh?" Alice jumped on their side.
Hermione sighed wearily.
"Unfortunately we cannot Alice... Tonight is full moon and the boys and I are celebrating a Sabbat." The witch explained.
"Sabbat?" Edward frowned, remembering the macabre painting of Francisco Goya.
"It's... It's like going Sunday morning to church." Harry explained quickly.
"Oh..."
Violently the room window broke when something was thrown against it, scaring everyone there.
It took Edward three seconds to figure out what it was: a black bat, floundering on the ground with its skeletal wings and red eyes. He frowned in disbelief, for he had never seen a bat be able to break a reinforced glass window only by his flight. Looking up, he saw that the three wizards had gone pale as if they had seen something terrible.
"Mione, quick!!!" Ron exclaimed to the witch.
"ABSIT OMEN!!!" Hermione shouted, pointing both hands at the bat that had levitated and burned in red-scarlet flames until it was reduced to nothing.
The Cullens were frightened by this, for that was a serious thing for the three teenagers.
"What... What the hell was that?!" Rosalie asked in a low voice.
Harry stood for a moment and looked at the blonde.
"An omen of doom and destruction..." Harry whispered, making the vampires momentarily paralyzed in shock. "A curse."
"A curse?" Esme put her hand on her chest. "Someone cursed my home?"
"Or at least tried" Harry said lividly. "But thanks to Hermione, it could not succeed...
"Praise Satan!!!" Ron said breathlessly in relief. "That was close..."
All the vampires turned to the red-haired wizard with wide eyes as Hermione nudged his abdomen followed by a nervous laugh.
"Hm, excuse me, what did you say?!" Jasper said with wide golden eyes.
"Oh, Ron, you're a clown even at times like this..." Hermione laughed nervously, but her eyes were rigid for her boyfriend.
"Yeah... Black humor... You know..." Ron said with a giggle and looked down with a frown.
Edward ignored the topic.
"Harry, can you come here for a moment?" Edward turned to the smaller wizard, pulling him into a corner.
"Yes..."
"That was definitely the work of another wizard or witch, wasn't it?" The vampire asked.
"Yes..." Harry shook his head, his face serious. "That's the confirmation of the signals I've received before, remember what I told you?"
Edward confirmed.
"After the Sabbat, I will 'communicate' with the forest serpents to see if they have any answers." Harry said. "Until then, I'm going to put protection spells in your house, so it won't be attacked."
"Tell me what you find out later... Someone is trying to hurt my family." Edward grunted.
Harry nodded at last and walked over to the rest of the Cullens and their friends, who by now had already repaired the broken window glass.
"I will cast a protection spell with Mione and Ron to raise a shield in your home before we go." Harry looked at Carlisle and Esme. "Anyone who intend to invade your home with bad intentions will be violently repelled, just as if they try to beg for curses..."
"I would be eternally grateful..." Esme replied worriedly as her arm was caressed by a livid Carlisle.
Harry waved to his friends and the three of them walked out of the house while the Cullens looked at them in silence through the glass window.
Edward watched the three of them raise their arms up and begin reciting spells like a mystical mantra.
"Protego Maxima..."
"Fianto Duri..."
"Repello Inimigotum..."
"Salvio Hexia..."
The Cullens watched a thin, fluid translucent membrane, probably invisible to human eyes, down around the house, enveloping it like a huge shield. The three wizards finished performing their spells, giving to the vampires a quick wave of their farewells, disappearing shortly thereafter.
Edward looked at his parents and siblings, rummaging through their minds and realizing that everyone had a sense of anxiety, distrust, disbelief and fear.
"Edward... What... What could that mean? I didn't see anything like this coming..." Alice asked frightened her brother, making everyone look at him as if searching for a plausible answer for the last five minutes.
The vampire took a deep breath, staring at the protective membrane that billowed like a thin cloth and the dark forest, which before he supposed his species was the only real danger to hide in it, but now not so much.
"Something wicked this way comes." Edward recited the passage from Macbeth almost like a prophecy and everyone, including him, felt an awful shiver down the spine.