Chapter Text
This is a work of fanfiction that uses characters from the Harry Potter world, which is trademarked by J. K. Rowling and from the Anita Blake world created by L. K. Hamilton. All characters belong to their respective authors as stated above and I claim no ownership over them or the 'world' that is stated in the authors books. The story and situation I am creating is my imagination and is not part of either authors official story plot. This work is only intended for entertainment and I am not profiting financially in any way from the creation and publication of this story. I am so grateful to both L. K. Hamilton and J. K. Rowling, whose stories have inspired and inflamed the imagination of so many people including myself. For without their work, mine would not exist.
Harry leant against the kitchen counter and counted to ten. The vampire sitting at the table gave him a blank look and simply waited with an ease that made it obvious that he had nothing to fear from Harry. It was infuriating. He’d never really managed Occlumency and even he could admit his temper could get out of control. But how could people expect him to keep calm when he’d only been in Saint Louis three days, and they already wanted him to leave.
“Can you at least tell me why?” So much for America being a fresh start. Four years after Voldemort’s defeat and he still had problems like this. The Order and their allies still praised him as The-Golden-Savior. But they treated him with a reverence he didn’t deserve, and that was something he couldn’t accept, even from them. After Ron and Hermione had been married there was nowhere else for him to belong. They had asked him to stay with them; but he couldn’t be a third wheel in their marriage even for a day.
“All preternatural beings who wish to reside in his territory must first seek out an audience with the Master of the City. To not do so is a direct challenge to his authority and power.”
What? Harry couldn’t help but blink in stunned silence. They didn’t want him to leave because of who he was? He felt hope fill his chest with a warm glow. Or better yet, perhaps it was as Hermione had suggested, and America was too far away to feel the full effects of Voldemort’s reign of terror.
“So, if I get permission from this Master, no one can tell me to leave?”
“As long as the Master rules this territory and he permits you to stay, no preternatural force has the authority to ask you to leave. The humans, however, are another matter altogether. You must obey preternatural and human laws while you are here. Unless the Master wishes something from you exclusively, those are usually the basis of the agreement.”
“So, who is this Master of the City? And why does he think I’m a preternatural being?” And how much does he really know about me? Harry thought as he ran his eyes over the vampire and tried to memorize everything about him. He was tempted to reach out with his magic but didn’t want to give himself away in what could end in a fight. The vampire reclining on his wooden dining chair was dressed in a smart charcoal suit with a white shirt and grey silk tie. His hair was tight black curls cut close to his head set against pale skin and brown eyes. He almost looked Latino if he hadn’t been over six foot five tall. Maybe that was why he’d chosen to sit down; to keep from intimidating him. Even though he was 21 now and the war had been officially over for 3 years he was only 5ft 7 and still gangly with knobby knees he hides by wearing jeans.
“Mr. Potter, my Master sensed your presence within his city and wished to meet with you. Tonight. I have been asked to escort you to his business so that the two of you can become acquainted.” The bland smile didn’t quite hide the implied threat he felt from the words, although he’d be hard put to pinpoint exactly why he felt threatened. There was a part of himself that wanted to rail at this vampire. To demand who this Master thought he was dealing with and to hurt him for taking Harry's freedom for even a few hours.
But the words that came out of his mouth were "Alright." It seemed the more impulsive part of himself had spoken before he could think of a way to avoid the whole issue. Damn. Now there was no choice but to meet this vampire. Not that there had been much of one to start with. He would head to his Haven and preform several dampening spells on his person. The only danger would be the minute he cast any spell the illusion would be shattered. And he had a feeling that if he had to use a spell tonight then things would be heading in a very bad direction. Health wise.
Keep moving forward, no matter what.
"Give me 15 minutes to get ready and I'll come with you." He almost expected the vampire to deny him or to follow him until he was ready to leave. So it was with some surprise that he smoothly stood to his full height; gave Harry a formal bow and announced he would wait outside with the car. Before Harry could blink the vampire was simply gone from the kitchen. No bang of apparition. Just gone.
Sweat broke out under the collar of his polo shirt. Knowing that vampires were faster than humans were one thing but to see them vanish in front of you was quite another thing. There was no spell he knew of that could make him as fast as them nor any way for he to see them move without a spell to slow them down. That was too obvious. And if the more powerful a vampire dictated their speed it wouldn't help him much. he'd have slow motion vampires and fast forward ones running around a room.
The visual was almost enough to make him smile if he wasn't dreading tonight. Besides such a spell wouldn't hold for long. Hmm. If he couldn't match their speed maybe he could make himself untouchable? Was there such a shield to stop violent attacks that was passive and undetectable until activated? How long could it withstand an attack and what if he was unconscious? He did not want to be bitten or bonded to a vampire. He would have to stick with the dampening spells and be very careful until he either found or invented the spell himself. If he was going to live here then he refused to be vulnerable.
Satisfied with his plan he hurried to have a shower and get changed in the 10 minutes left. He would need to dress fancy. He hated dressing fancy.
Sliding onto the expensive white leather seats of the waiting limousine made him extremely grateful he had dressed the part carefully. A tailored black suit with an embriordered green vest bordered in gold threads. It was beautiful but not the most comfortable thing he owned. The only other time he had worn it was to Hermione and Ron's wedding to the great delight to Mr Weasley.
The vampire quietly shut the door behind him and Harry looked up only to realize that the partition between him and the front was tinted and he couldn't see the driver. Uneasiness crept into his mind and he couldn't stop the flinch as the other door open and he watched as the vampire slid in and knock on the glass to signal the driver. The quiet hum of the engine and it pulled away from the curb.
"Where are we going?" Stupid. He should had asked that before he got in the car. A few dampening spells was not much protection and he was intensely aware that the threat sitting not four feet away from him could crush his throat before he even saw him move.
"To the Circus of the Damned to meet with the Master." Both body language and tone was bored and indulgent as the vampire reclined against the leather and fixed his gaze on Harry.
Well if that's the case then maybe he would finally get a name. After all he couldn't keep thinking vampire when he looked at him.
"May I have your name? You do know mine after all." Know his name yes but hopefully not who he is or his history. There was little chance that any vampires here knew a witch that had chosen the break the Act and had gone unpunished by the American Ministery. He found very little comfort in this fact and tried to reassure himself once again that nothing would happen because his facade is a mild-mannered man with little magic and nothing interesting at all about him.
"My name is Arnao." Nothing else was added and no last name. Did vampires have last names or did just they forget them as they got older? It probably wasn't polite to ask though and he didn't really want to know. He felt a need to fill the silence between them by inane talk or questions. He wasn't usually a nervous talker, but voluntarily walking into the proverbial lions den was almost insane. A little chat would help him feel a little steadier even if it was with a vampire - er - Arnao. But they had nothing to talk about and most definitely nothing in common. Best just to stick with common courtesy then.
"Thank you. Umm. For telling me your name." Great. Now he could definitely see amusement on that marble face. "Oh, never mind." he muttered before looking out the window. Instead of the view of passing streets he expected he instead saw his reflection on the darkened window. The windows were tinted as well. Why would someone pay so much for a car and be unable to see outside on a drive?
Or maybe it's so you don't see where he's really taking you. Great. Now the thought had entered his head he couldn't seem to get rid of it. He took calm even breaths and tried to clear his mind just like Snape had taught him so long ago. If he could stop thinking that terrible things were going to happen maybe he wouldn't bugger up tonight and he could be left alone. Right. A meeting for an hour wasn't so hard. He'd done worse things like the Last Battle, Ministry balls and even a divorce. Especially when that divorce was with Ginny. Actually, maybe that was worse than the ministry balls. Although that was with her too. Ugh. No. Bad thoughts again. Calm. He needed to be calm and collected.
"Mr. Potter?" His eyes flew open and flickered to where Arnao was sitting. Only he wasn't there anymore. Tension crawled across his shoulders and the tense muscles in his neck made the movement jerky as he turned his head to the door beside him where Arnao was holding the door open for him. There was no amusement on his face now, only those copper eyes had any heat to them, and he turned his head away before he could read what was in them. He had a feeling he wouldn't like what he found.
He said nothing and just stepped from the car and followed him through the most strange and colorful place he had ever seen. Large striped tents of all colors laid out in rows with men and women in costumes handing out flyers and exchanging money for tickets to see the shows inside. Arnao had begun walking a little fast now they had left the carpark and were walking through the crowd. He had to pay a little less attention to the crowd and the interesting sights and more to not getting left behind. By the time the last line of tents was passing they were almost at a full run and only stopped when they reached a steel door set in the side of the large building.
Arnao had his head down and was leaning one hand on the door but wasn't moving. Harry had a feeling he wasn't breathing either.
"I wasn't going to get distracted, you know!" Maybe a little but he was miffed that the vampire thought he had to run through to keep him from stopping and looking around.
The vampire slowly straightened and his hand on the door swung down. Maybe that wasn't the best thing to have said. The tension from before hadn't left his body entirely and he could feel something inside him say he was in danger now. He felt two hands grasp his upper arms and he was suddenly slammed against the door. It must have been reinforced since it didn't even shudder at his weight. He expected to feel fangs tear his throat, but nothing happened. The arms holding him were still and when he looked up he could see why.
A sharp hunger had turned those eyes almost red and twisted his face into an almost animalistic expression. But there was also fear there. Probably because of the petite lady in leather holding a gun to his head.
"You're on a short rope Arnao and it's getting shorter every night. We have a special guest and you're threatening him." Her voice was light and a little husky, a perfect matching to her appearance. Dark curls barely held back by the pins restraining them back from her face and cascading down to her waist was the first thing to catch his gaze. Her skin was pale and offset by the crimson of her leather corset and lips. But those eyes. Large and dark with enough anger behind them to make him hesitant of moving and drawing their attention. They reminded him of Snape's eyes.
"Let. Him. Go." Those words were cold and willing to inflict pain to get obedience. Snape would have been impressed by her; he knew. Or maybe just seen her as a threat. Her aura was certainly impressive and nothing he could imitate. It made her seem more than what her appearance suggested, and he knew that it would be a bad idea to forget that.
Arnao looked like he had just realized the same thing and slowly let go of him and took a step away from him and the lady in red. When he did Harry realized there was a quiet blond man with her, but he was drawn back to the lady when she began speaking.
"You have already been warned now you have no more chances. Return to your post and if you misbehave again you get to see me and next time you won't like me so much."
It didn't look like he liked her now. That fear was leaving his face and now Harry could see the anger that had been there. Was that what had been keeping him on edge when with this vampire? Was it normal for vampires to be like that? The only vampires he had heard of was the mass slaughter one called Dracula had made in England. Apparently, he had gone crazy, but what if that insanity was because they were undead?
And he was meeting with the Master of the whole city in a few minutes.
He couldn't stop the groan that escaped him and drew the attention of the lady and her friend. Arnao was gone and Harry told himself to stop being careless. No wonder he was attacked. Probably too easy of a target to resist.
"Is that the normal reaction to being saved?" The blond man had spoken and now Harry had the chance to see him properly. He was the same height as the lady which still made him three feet shorter than him. His eyes were light blue and with his short blond hair and playful expression he looked almost... sweet. Leather chaps with a glittering blue thong and fishnet shirt topped with leather gloves and a floppy hat with blue feathers was eye catching certainty but seemed a little out of place.
"He seems a little shell shocked but maybe you've just overpowered him." When he turned to her, she smiled and held her hand out to shake. "My name is Anita Blake and the flashy one beside me is Jason Schuyler. We're attending the meeting too so you can go with us. Good thing for you we were late."
Her hand was warm and her grip firm. Somehow it was comforting even with the gun now strapped to her hip and knives on her forearms. Her gaze was less severe than when talking to the vampire but no less steady and focused.
"Nice to meet you, my name is Harry Potter. Thank you for helping me and I'd be glad for your escort. Somehow I thought all the excitement would happen indoors and he caught me off-guard."
This was a surprise to the lady but the man - Jason - threw his head back and laughed.
"Not as shell shocked as he appeared after all. He kind of reminds me of you Anita."
Jason laughed again, this time at her somewhat sour look. She walked past him and knocked sharply on the door and he could hear bolts being thrown back and then it swung open to reveal a non-descript man in black holding the door open for them. Anita swept by with a nod to him and gestured impatiently for him to follow when he didn't move.
Jason nudged him and whispered, “The only person worse than keeping the Master waiting is her."
"I heard that, Jason!"
Jason's face was a perfect blend of impishness and innocence. The twins would love this one. Best not to tell them about him or the city could be in serious trouble. Just imagining the kind of mischief that would ensue with this one to encourage them made him wince and step through the door and walk to where she was waiting with impatience.
"Just because you were lucky, we were late doesn't mean he's going to be happy. If I have to sit through one of his speeches about proper etiquette, I'm going to shoot someone."
Jason chuckled.
"You were the reason we're late though. I told you not to help Nate get ready for his show tonight. You know where that leads though I guess you did prep him for the stage."
It sounded innocent enough, but his tone was both lecherous and cheerful and Harry felt amazingly relaxed because of it. Maybe it was the resemblance to the twins. He always felt like he fitted in perfectly with them too, sometimes even more so than with Ron.
His third step down made him gasp as he misjudged the height of the step and jarred his ankle.
"Yeah, be careful about the steps, they're not very even."
Jason's voice came from behind him, and he even sounded solicitous.
The steps in question were all of different widths and heights spiraling along a wall until a curved corner cut his view downwards. He only noticed now that it was all dark stone walls and stairs with a line of lights set in the wall illuminating the way down but were dim enough that their light didn't penetrate the darkness overhead and only just touched the stairs themselves. That was probably why he didn't notice the odd construct of them.
"So, I see." he couldn't keep the incredulity out of his voice.
He'd never seen anyone purposely sabotage visitors by creating a trick stairway. He began following Anita again but this time paying careful attention to where he tread so it was a bit of a surprise when about five minutes later when they reached a landing and Anita turned to him.
"Another flight down and we'll be directly under the Circus, and you can meet Jean-Claude there."
He stepped onto the landing and moved aside so Jason would have room too. Anita was standing under one of the lights installed into the wall and it shone off her black hair. She was really quite pretty up close and with no gun in her hand. She looked impatient again and he realized that she was waiting for a response from him.
"Umm, ok?" he didn't know what she wanted him to say. A vampire turns up at his house and pretty much orders him to the Circus then attacks him only to be ordered off by Anita who leads down a set of dark stairs and expects him to - what? What else was there to say?
She apparently isn't satisfied by the answer and opens her mouth to say something to him when she's cut off by Jason walking by them.
"Jean-Claude is getting pretty grumpy. We're all late now." He throws them a grin and begins walking down again without them. Not wanting to stay there with Anita he hurried to follow Jason down and consequently almost tripped over his own feet when he saw Jason's outfit from the back.
"I can see your arse in those pants!" Was that his voice? Oh god he sounded like a ninny. He knew Jason was only wearing chaps and underwear but from the front you could only see a thin line of flesh at his hips and thighs. The back was another view entirely. The back of the chaps only came to the back mid-thigh and showed a lot of leg and his entire bottom. The blue underwear he'd tried not to look at before was obviously a G-string and with the see-through shirt he could see almost everything.
Jason cocked his hip and put one hand dangerously close to his own bottom and threw a grin over his shoulder and those sky-blue eyes looked flirty.
"Baby you ain't seen nothing yet. You should come to my show sometime."
That choked sound behind him may have been stifled laughter, but Harry didn't want to turn around to find out. Before he could try to find something to say in response, something Anita said a few minutes ago finally caught up with him.
"Wait, you two are coming to this meeting too?" Please say no. This is supposed to be a normal meeting, right? Something everyone does, an agreement to follow the rules and such not whatever this was turning out to be. He's never seen so many weapons, leather and skin as these two had going on.
"Of course we are. Anita is his Servant, and I live here so we were both supposed to be there already." Jason started down the stairs and Harry followed this time reluctantly.
"What kind of kinky meeting is this going to be? I thought it would be simple. Easy. Just a hello, I'm moving here to live, nice to meet you and leave kind of thing."
That choking sound again. At least Anita was pretending not to laugh at him. Jason had no such reluctance, and his laughter echoed off the walls and made Harry groan.
What had he gotten himself into now?