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beren_writesWanted to get this posted today, because what could be more fluffy than Johnny Weir? ;)
Title: Salchows and Serendipity 01/03
Author: Beren
Fandom: Harry Potter/Winter Olympics 2010 RPS
Pairing: Harry/Johnny Weir, Harry/Draco, Johnny Weir/Evan Lysacek, Apolo Ohno/J.R. Celski (side pairing)
Rating: NC17/18
Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended. The real people in the fic are owned by themselves and this is pure fiction, it did not happen.
Warnings: vampires, explicit sex
Summary: When Harry realised his life was nothing that he wanted he reinvented himself, which is how he ended up in Vancouver on the British Winter Olympic team.
Author's Notes: I offer no excuses, my muses dragged me kicking and screaming into this fic and so here it is :). I hope you enjoy reading it. Thanks to Soph for the beta.
Word Count: 26,993
Other Parts: ch 1 | ch 2 | ch 3a | ch 3b
My Fanfic Listings (LJ) | My Fanfic Listings (DreamW)
 |  |
| Johnny Weir | Evan Lysacek |
 |  |
| Apolo Ohno | J.R.Celski |
Chapter 1 Of All the Luck
Harry was just twenty years old when he realised his life was anything but what he wanted it to be. His fame made it hard to go out and he had retreated to the life of a virtual hermit. He'd broken up with Ginny, because their every move seemed to be printed in the Prophet and it had put such a pressure on the relationship that it hadn't been able to last.
For a while there, stuck in his little flat, he had considered simply ending it all and letting the world go on without Harry James Potter, but he hadn't quite been able to bring himself to do it. It would have devastated his friends and surrogate family and he couldn't do that, not even when he found their love as stifling as the rest of the Wizarding world. Everyone saw the saviour, they did not see him and he could not cope with it anymore.
That was why he had decided to take drastic measures. Harry Potter was not going to die, but he was going to disappear, possibly for a long time. His childhood had been taken from him and Harry had heard of something that might be able to give it back. It was not legal and could possibly kill him, but given the alternatives he was willing to take the risk.
He had arranged all his finances and created a whole new identity ready to step into, which just left the spell ritual itself. It was part potion, part spell and part will. He was sitting, naked in a cast circle in his living room, a piece of parchment in one hand and a small bottle in the other. It was time to say goodbye to Harry Potter.
Lifting the parchment, he read the words over one more time; they were not English and they were not Latin, but he had learned them phonetically and he knew he could read it perfectly. The parchment was more of a security blanket than really necessary. Taking a deep breath, he spoke the first three words and felt the circle take up his magic.
Looking at the bottle he knew this was it, once he drank it there was no turning back and, feeling little more than a fraction of a second's regret, he downed it in one. It burned his throat and tasted foul, but he could feel it beginning to work instantly. The magic seeped into his cells and he spoke the last four words of the spell before his voice was taken away.
His whole body froze and he focused his mind on his eleven year old self. He knew how he wanted to be and he had to keep it right there at the front of his thoughts. For a moment it was as if his life had simply stopped, maybe it had, but then it was as if he was being crushed by an enormous force. It was as if a black hole had opened at the centre of his body and was sucking the rest of him in and he choked out a cry.
He had never felt anything so excruciating and he couldn't breathe. He could feel himself shrinking and changing and all he could do was force his mind onto the image of himself the day before he ever heard of Hogwarts. In the end everything went black and with consciousness went Harry Potter.
====
When he had regressed himself to just under eleven Harry had never expected to end up where he was now. James Black had gone back to school in the Muggle world and pretended to be a normal little boy. When he needed parents he had hired some from a very discrete agency who didn't ask questions, but by the time he had hit fourteen that had been moot and he pretended to be an emancipated minor.
He had been twenty two in the body of a twelve year old when he had discovered ice skating and it was as close to flying as he had been able to get without pulling out his broom. Being hidden he had to be very careful about his interactions with the Wizarding world and so flying with anyone else was out.
With makeup to hide his scar, contact lenses instead of glasses and a cut and dye job on his hair to change it completely, he had entered his first competition at the physical age of thirteen and had never looked back. Now, in the body of a twenty year old and with the mind of a twenty-nine year old, he was actually at the Olympics. It was amazing and the only danger to his person was that which he and all the other skaters risked when they tried to pull off a quad jump. He did have a quad in his arsenal, but he wasn't about to use it in competition unless he wanted a fifty fifty chance of ending on his arse. This time he wasn't a medal contender, but he was doing well and he was enjoying life to the full. Being rampantly bi-sexual was one of the things he was really having fun with.
Reliving his teenage years with a much more mature mind had been an eye opening experience and he might have, possibly, started having sex at what looked like a rather young age. At fourteen, with his hormones going mental and an adult mind to help along his fantasies, he had leapt into sex with both feet. She had been seventeen and thought he was cute and had been very happy to pop his cherry for the second time, as it were. Then at fifteen he had discovered boys and he had realised he had discovered his second favourite thing next to skating.
He hadn't really believed it when his teammates who had been to the Olympics before had told him that getting laid in the Olympic village was about as easy as ordering lunch. Harry hadn't actually slept with anyone yet because he wanted his mind firmly on the competition, but he had been propositioned several times and he had every intention of taking someone up on an offer the moment his discipline was over. For now all he wanted to do was get in some practice and make sure that when he stepped onto the ice he didn't make a complete idiot of himself.
The first thing he had to do was find his way to the right rink and he was all turned around and had no idea where he was supposed to be. He had a map in his hand, his bag over his shoulder and he had about five minutes to find the right place before his coach would start yelling at him. He really didn't want that on his first day on the ice in Vancouver. The problem was, he was so intent on the map that he wasn't really looking where he was going and walked slap bang into someone.
"Oh shit, I'm so sorry," he said instantly, reaching out to grab the person he had almost knocked flying to steady them.
He still had Seeker reflexes and he was quick enough to not only stop the person falling, but the catch the sunglasses he had managed to dislodge off the person's face. It was only as he handed them back and finally actually looked at the man he had accidentally assaulted that his mouth went dry and his thoughts came to a grinding halt. Looking back at him was Johnny Weir.
Normally Harry didn't do star struck; he had spent so long as a child with people fawning over him that he refused to do it to others, but Johnny Weir was the exception to the rule. Johnny Weir was possibly the exception to every rule. Harry admired many skaters, but Johnny was his idol. The man strove for individuality and had a grace on the ice that Harry only dreamed of having.
"Sorry," he all but squeaked a second time and handed Johnny back his glasses.
"You said that already," Johnny said, smirking just a little and Harry was sure the other skater could see straight through him, "and no harm done. Nothing broken I don't think."
Then Johnny did an overdramatic check of himself as if to make sure and finally Harry stopped being terrified and couldn't help smiling. He had never met any of the big skaters from outside Europe before, since the Olympics was only his second big international competition, and he had no idea what to expect. Two years ago he had found himself a new coach and his skating had gone from 'don't give up you day job' to 'might actually have a chance' and he had kind of come from nowhere. If he knew anything it was that the press lied and so he had no idea which reputations were deserved and which weren't. He was just rearranging the ideas in his head about Johnny when his watch beeped.
"Oh shit," he said, looking at it; his coach was going to kill him.
"I know that look," Johnny said and rather surprised him, "you're about to be late and you're lost."
"That obvious?" Harry asked, feeling just a little helpless.
Johnny smiled at him.
"This place is a nightmare," Johnny replied in a very friendly tone, "where are you supposed to be."
Harry showed his companion on the map in his hand.
"You've gone right past it," was the instant conclusion. "Come on, I'll show you where it is, can't have the cute half of the English men's team going missing on his first day."
When Johnny slipped an arm through his and began to drag him in the right direction, Harry just went because he was honestly stunned. Not only was Johnny Weir helping him, but the man knew who he was. In fact he was so stunned that he made it through Johnny depositing him with his coach, deciding to call him Jimmy and inviting him to meet up later without noticing something that was very obvious when they did finally bump into each other again the following evening.
"Jimmy," he stopped when he heard his name being called and turned to find Johnny waving at him, "come and meet Tanith."
Since he had just come down after freshening up from his afternoon practice and was looking for something to do, Harry was more than happy to oblige. He smiled back at the other skater and walked across the room, accepting the double air kiss from Johnny as if he was continental rather than from uptight Britain. It was then that he noticed the collar around Johnny's neck; it was about half a centimetre wide, made of gold and silver and was really hard to look at. It didn't take a genius to realise there was a disillusionment charm on it, a very, very strong one. Harry looked away before he became cross-eyed trying to see what it was.
"Jimmy, Tanith, Tanith, Jimmy," Johnny introduced and Harry reached over to shake hands.
"James," he said sending a sidelong glance at Johnny, who just grinned back; he had no doubt Johnny would still continue to refer to him as Jimmy.
"Nice to meet you, James," Tanith said and smiled at him; "I do hope you haven't been letting Johnny bully you."
Johnny put his hand over his heart in mock shock and made Harry laugh.
"He saved me from the wrath of my coach," Harry replied with a grin, "I owe him my soul."
That made Tanith laugh and Johnny gave him a very interesting look; clearly they all knew about the wrath of coaches.
"Ooh," Johnny said and wiggled his eyebrows, "I might have to collect on that."
"Not until after the competition," Harry replied instantly and waggled his eyebrows back.
That made Tanith all but fall off her stall laughing.
"Your shy little Englishman isn't so shy," she said, still giggling.
"You have shattered all my illusions," Johnny wailed with true dramatic timing, "and I was thinking more of a slave to do all the fetching and carrying; with those lovely green eyes you'd go beautifully with my living room."
Harry couldn't help himself, he laughed again; he had never met anyone quite like Johnny.
"I'm not wearing an apron," he said and sat down on the nearest available stool.
He was absolutely sure they were flirting, but what he couldn't work out was whether it was serious flirting or just a game to fill in time. It was going to take a while to figure out and what he really wanted to do was make friends; he had so few and Johnny had gone from idol to really nice guy he would like to be friends with in his head. Of course the flirting was fun too, especially when, after a while chatting and just getting to know both Johnny and Tanith, he started to flirt with Tanith as well. Johnny turned it up a notch after that and Harry decided that maybe it was serious flirting, but of course they had the competition to worry about first.
For the next two days he threw himself into training and ignored everything else; he was, after all, a serious athlete. He was going to be ready for his event and he focused on it completely just like all the other competitors. It was only when he dragged himself back towards his room after trying to make sure his triple triple would actually come off on the big day that he met Johnny again.
The first thing he noticed was that Johnny was looking very pale and although his friend smiled, there was something not quite right.
"You okay?" he asked without even bothering with a hello.
If Johnny was ill it could spell disaster for his Olympic bid and Harry wouldn't wish that on any of his opponents and especially not a friend.
"Of course," Johnny said, giving him a bright smile and seeming to light up, "why would you think not?"
There was something almost shiny about Johnny's eyes and Harry felt the hair on the back of his neck stand up. For the first time in a long time he almost reached for his wand that was strapped to the inside of his wrist and it was an instinct he had almost forgotten. Then Johnny's smile faded for a moment and the other man looked almost grey; Harry reached out without thinking about it and placed his hand under Johnny's arm. He could almost see the choker like band around Johnny's throat then and he thought he knew what it might be.
"Let's get you where you were going," he said quietly, "and then you can tell me what that necklace is all about."
Johnny looked startled, but didn't resist as Harry gently guided them both in the direction Johnny had been going. As he expected, Harry found that they were going to Johnny's room and he didn't bother waiting to be invited in, he just followed the other man in once they reached it. Tanith was actually there and stood up the moment she saw Johnny, quickly walking to his side and making him sit down on the nearest chair. Harry could tell that Tanith knew what was going on, but that wasn't so unexpected since they had mentioned they had been friends for a very long time.
"Thanks," Johnny said shortly, "you can go now."
It was a dismissal, but Harry was not about to obey it; he'd never really been a follower of instructions.
"Yeah right," he said and rolled up his sleeve to show his wrist holster, "what do you need?"
Both Tanith and Johnny looked shocked.
"I didn't know there were any wizarding competitors in the figure skating this year," Johnny said, clearly very startled.
"Yes, well I keep it very quiet," Harry said, very concerned with how pale Johnny was, "I left the wizarding world a long time ago and I don't plan on going back. I'm registered and all my stuff has the correct charms to make sure I can't cheat, and I have a very well paid PR guy who makes sure no one finds out. Now, can I help?"
Johnny shook his head.
"Actually," Tanith said, "how are your shield charms?"
Johnny looked aghast.
"You're not looking very good, Johnny," Tanith said in explanation, "backup would be safer, besides which, Jim isn't blind."
Tanith had settled for calling him something between what most people called him and what Johnny called him in an attempt to keep the peace. However, he could see that Johnny was completely against whatever Tanith was thinking. However, it looked very much like his help was needed and Harry might have lived his childhood all over again, but he was still a Gryffindor.
"Okay, let's make this easier; I'll tell you a secret and you can tell me yours," he said making a split second decision. "I'm not twenty, in fact I'm almost thirty. I got to twenty the first time and hated my life so much I illegally regressed myself to eleven and reinvented myself."
He hadn't thought Johnny's face could look any more shocked, but he had been wrong.
"Wow," was what Johnny said.
"Yeah, well it was that or suicide," Harry said with a shrug, "and that would have been too much like giving up. So can I help now?"
For a second, Johnny looked at him and then blinked.
"I'm a vampire," Johnny said and he didn't look totally sure, but then Harry hadn't been completely sure either, "this necklace suppresses that part of me so I'm almost totally human while I wear it, only I need to feed and I've left it too long. I need to take it off and do what I need to do," he pointed at the tiny fridge next to the couch, "and Tanith's one of our magically challenged brethren," 'squib' Harry translated in his head, "but has been acting as my channel for the shields I put up to make sure I can't get out of hand. If I'd had my own room I'd have put them up permanently as soon as I got here, but the powers that be messed that up and we improvised."
It was short, to the point and explained everything, Harry pulled out his wand.
"'k," he said with a nod, "shield charms I can do."
He had left the wizarding world behind, but he had not left the magic as well. Since he was an adult, even though he had been in a child's body, his magic had been unmonitored and so he had been free to practice what he liked. The little Slytherin part of him that he had come to realise had not been all Voldemort, was paranoid enough to make sure he kept up with his spells, just in case. It took him only a few moments to silently cast the shields.
He found both Tanith and Johnny watching him when he was done.
"I've never seen that done like that before," Tanith said and sounded amazed, "even my Dad can only cast simple stuff silently."
"Paranoid teachers," Harry said with a shrug.
Johnny seemed to have decided that shock was passé, because he took that at face value and reached up to take off his choker, which became properly visible as soon as he touched it. Harry could tell the moment the clasp was undone because Johnny paled even more and, as he watched, he saw the internal struggle in his friend. Johnny closed his eyes and breathed deeply, open mouth showing the hint of long fangs as he appeared to go through some mental routine. When Johnny opened his eyes again, Harry could see the red tint to them and it was more than obvious how hungry Johnny had to be.
"God I hate this thing," Johnny said and dropped it onto the table next to where he was sitting.
Harry could feel the hum of power in the room and he was pretty sure that Johnny was controlling himself very carefully.
"Won't be a minute," Johnny said as if he was talking about doing his hair or something and leant down to the small fridge.
He pulled out two things; a small decorative bottle with flowers on it and a straw, a long pink straw with hello kitty on it. The straw was quickly put in the top of the bottle and then Johnny downed the contents with a few sucks. If it hadn't been a hello kitty straw it might have been obscene and Harry was stuck somewhere between amused and aroused. Only Johnny Weir would drink blood through a pink straw.
"What were you expecting," Johnny asked with a perfectly innocent expression when he noticed Harry's amusement; "me sticking my fangs into a blood bag? I might get blood on the carpet and do you know how difficult it is to get that stuff out?"
That made Harry laugh.
"I've had to get it out of clothes a few times," he said, grinning back, "so I can empathise."
The colour was already returning to Johnny's face and he seemed a lot more relaxed now that the feeding was out of the way and Harry hadn't run away in disgust. Harry knew all about preconceived notions and how they affected people, so he was not about to judge Johnny.
"Do you want me to drop the charms now?" he asked, since the crisis seemed to be over.
He immediately saw Johnny's eyes go to the necklace sitting on the bed and his friend deflate a little.
"Or I can leave them as long as you want," he added, not wanting to force Johnny back into the necklace so soon.
"Would you mind?" Johnny asked, looking brighter, "just for a little while?"
Harry smiled and threw himself into a chair.
"My pleasure," he said with a smile, "as long as you don't mind being stuck with me and no one needs to go in or out."
Shield charms were tricky like that when they weren't anchored and had to allow access to more than one person.
"I think we can put up with you for a while," Tanith said and gave him a friendly pat on the shoulder. "Would you like something to drink, we have a ton of softdrinks stashed around here somewhere?"
"Do you have any water?" he asked, since he was still parched from training even though he had drunk about a gallon already.
"Be right back," Tanith said and disappeared into one of the bedrooms.
When Harry looked back at Johnny, his friend was playing idly with the necklace.
"You should only have to wear that for competition, shouldn't you?" he asked, going over the rules in his head. "Why do you wear it all the time?"
Vampires were quite capable of controlling themselves amongst humans, Harry had met more than one in his time, so he couldn't work out why Johnny would wear something he hated all of the time. Johnny looked at him a while clearly contemplating the question.
"Ask me again when we know each other better and I might tell you," Johnny told him eventually and Harry just nodded; that seemed fair.
"Mind if I ask how long you've been a vampire instead?" he asked with a small smile, not sure if he'd get an answer to that either.
This time Johnny smiled.
"Oh," Johnny said and did a diva pose, "I am one of the rare few; I was born this way."
After regressing Harry had discovered that his third favourite thing in the world was books and he had read a lot, so he had heard of born vampires, he had just never been sure if there were any around at the moment.
"That is rare," he replied with what he thought was due reverence and accepted the bottle of water with a thank you to Tanith as she came back in from the other room.
"Johnny's always been a special snowflake," Tanith said teasingly.
"Hey!" was Johnny's response and he pouted.
Harry had to shift in his seat; he rather liked the pout and the way Johnny looked at him he was sure the vampire knew exactly what physiological changes he was going through at that moment.
"One of my ancestors," Johnny said, waving his arm to indicate what Harry thought meant a long time ago, "was bitten while she was carrying her baby and her magic protected the child, but added vampire to the line. Every now and then in the family we breed true; lucky me."
"Oh I don't know," Harry said with a wicked grin, "I've heard things about vampires."
And they were back to the flirting.
"You probably haven't heard half of it," Johnny replied with an equally wicked smile.
"Oh god," Tanith said and shook her head; "I'm going to die of exposure to UST overload before the competition is over."
Johnny threw a cushion at her.
"So," Johnny said, rolling his eyes at his friend's antics, "are you going to tell us who you were before you were James Black?"
That was a question and a half, but Harry realised he should have expected it. He smiled a little, remembering back; somehow it didn't seem so overwhelming now.
"Ask me again when we know each other better and I might tell you," he said, sending Johnny's words right back at him and his friend accepted them with as much grace as he had.
For a moment there was silence.
"I've heard Ohno has finally gotten around to banging Celski," Johnny suddenly decided to re-launch the conversation, "anyone know if it's true?"
"It's about time," was Tanith's comment.
Clearly the US skaters knew things Harry didn't, so he settled in to find out all the gossip.
End of Part 1
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<center><b><font size="+1"><a href="http://fyredancer.livejournal.com/744051.html">♥Fluff Friday♥</a></font></b>
Wanted to get this posted today, because what could be more fluffy than Johnny Weir? ;)</center>
<b>Title:</b> Salchows and Serendipity 01/03
<b>Author:</b> Beren
<b>Fandom:</b> Harry Potter/Winter Olympics 2010 RPS
<b>Pairing:</b> Harry/<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johnny_Weir">Johnny Weir</a>, Harry/Draco, Johnny Weir/<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evan_Lysacek">Evan Lysacek</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apolo_Ohno">Apolo Ohno</a>/<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J._R._Celski">J.R. Celski</a> (side pairing)
<b>Rating:</b> NC17/18
<b>Disclaimer:</b> This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended. The real people in the fic are owned by themselves and this is pure fiction, it did not happen.
<b>Warnings:</b> vampires, explicit sex
<b>Summary:</b> When Harry realised his life was nothing that he wanted he reinvented himself, which is how he ended up in Vancouver on the British Winter Olympic team.
<b>Author's Notes:</b> I offer no excuses, my muses dragged me kicking and screaming into this fic and so here it is :). I hope you enjoy reading it. Thanks to Soph for the beta.
<b>Word Count:</b> 26,993
<b>Other Parts:</b> <a href="http://beren-writes.dreamwidth.org/150039.html">ch 1</a> | <a href="http://beren-writes.dreamwidth.org/150464.html">ch 2</a> | <a href="http://beren-writes.dreamwidth.org/150574.html">ch 3a</a> | <a href="http://beren-writes.dreamwidth.org/150981.html">ch 3b</a>
<a href="http://beren-writes.livejournal.com/485699.html"> My Fanfic Listings (LJ)</a> | <a href="http://beren-writes.dreamwidth.org/130047.html">My Fanfic Listings (DreamW)</a>
<lj-cut text="Piccies of the Skating boys (shirtless)"><table><tr><td><img src="http://pics.livejournal.com/beren_writes/pic/0009eyke" width="200" height="200"></td><td><img src="http://pics.livejournal.com/beren_writes/pic/0009d859" width="200" height="200"></td></tr>
<tr><td>Johnny Weir</td><td>Evan Lysacek</td></tr>
<tr><td><img src="http://pics.livejournal.com/beren_writes/pic/0009fd2h" width="200" height="200"></td><td><img src="http://pics.livejournal.com/beren_writes/pic/0009c5ay" width="200" height="200"></td></tr>
<tr><td>Apolo Ohno</td><td>J.R.Celski</td></tr></table></lj-cut>
<lj-cut text="Chapter 1 Of All the Luck"><b>Chapter 1 Of All the Luck</b>
Harry was just twenty years old when he realised his life was anything but what he wanted it to be. His fame made it hard to go out and he had retreated to the life of a virtual hermit. He'd broken up with Ginny, because their every move seemed to be printed in the Prophet and it had put such a pressure on the relationship that it hadn't been able to last.
For a while there, stuck in his little flat, he had considered simply ending it all and letting the world go on without Harry James Potter, but he hadn't quite been able to bring himself to do it. It would have devastated his friends and surrogate family and he couldn't do that, not even when he found their love as stifling as the rest of the Wizarding world. Everyone saw the saviour, they did not see him and he could not cope with it anymore.
That was why he had decided to take drastic measures. Harry Potter was not going to die, but he was going to disappear, possibly for a long time. His childhood had been taken from him and Harry had heard of something that might be able to give it back. It was not legal and could possibly kill him, but given the alternatives he was willing to take the risk.
He had arranged all his finances and created a whole new identity ready to step into, which just left the spell ritual itself. It was part potion, part spell and part will. He was sitting, naked in a cast circle in his living room, a piece of parchment in one hand and a small bottle in the other. It was time to say goodbye to Harry Potter.
Lifting the parchment, he read the words over one more time; they were not English and they were not Latin, but he had learned them phonetically and he knew he could read it perfectly. The parchment was more of a security blanket than really necessary. Taking a deep breath, he spoke the first three words and felt the circle take up his magic.
Looking at the bottle he knew this was it, once he drank it there was no turning back and, feeling little more than a fraction of a second's regret, he downed it in one. It burned his throat and tasted foul, but he could feel it beginning to work instantly. The magic seeped into his cells and he spoke the last four words of the spell before his voice was taken away.
His whole body froze and he focused his mind on his eleven year old self. He knew how he wanted to be and he had to keep it right there at the front of his thoughts. For a moment it was as if his life had simply stopped, maybe it had, but then it was as if he was being crushed by an enormous force. It was as if a black hole had opened at the centre of his body and was sucking the rest of him in and he choked out a cry.
He had never felt anything so excruciating and he couldn't breathe. He could feel himself shrinking and changing and all he could do was force his mind onto the image of himself the day before he ever heard of Hogwarts. In the end everything went black and with consciousness went Harry Potter.
====
When he had regressed himself to just under eleven Harry had never expected to end up where he was now. James Black had gone back to school in the Muggle world and pretended to be a normal little boy. When he needed parents he had hired some from a very discrete agency who didn't ask questions, but by the time he had hit fourteen that had been moot and he pretended to be an emancipated minor.
He had been twenty two in the body of a twelve year old when he had discovered ice skating and it was as close to flying as he had been able to get without pulling out his broom. Being hidden he had to be very careful about his interactions with the Wizarding world and so flying with anyone else was out.
With makeup to hide his scar, contact lenses instead of glasses and a cut and dye job on his hair to change it completely, he had entered his first competition at the physical age of thirteen and had never looked back. Now, in the body of a twenty year old and with the mind of a twenty-nine year old, he was actually at the Olympics. It was amazing and the only danger to his person was that which he and all the other skaters risked when they tried to pull off a quad jump. He did have a quad in his arsenal, but he wasn't about to use it in competition unless he wanted a fifty fifty chance of ending on his arse. This time he wasn't a medal contender, but he was doing well and he was enjoying life to the full. Being rampantly bi-sexual was one of the things he was really having fun with.
Reliving his teenage years with a much more mature mind had been an eye opening experience and he might have, possibly, started having sex at what looked like a rather young age. At fourteen, with his hormones going mental and an adult mind to help along his fantasies, he had leapt into sex with both feet. She had been seventeen and thought he was cute and had been very happy to pop his cherry for the second time, as it were. Then at fifteen he had discovered boys and he had realised he had discovered his second favourite thing next to skating.
He hadn't really believed it when his teammates who had been to the Olympics before had told him that getting laid in the Olympic village was about as easy as ordering lunch. Harry hadn't actually slept with anyone yet because he wanted his mind firmly on the competition, but he had been propositioned several times and he had every intention of taking someone up on an offer the moment his discipline was over. For now all he wanted to do was get in some practice and make sure that when he stepped onto the ice he didn't make a complete idiot of himself.
The first thing he had to do was find his way to the right rink and he was all turned around and had no idea where he was supposed to be. He had a map in his hand, his bag over his shoulder and he had about five minutes to find the right place before his coach would start yelling at him. He really didn't want that on his first day on the ice in Vancouver. The problem was, he was so intent on the map that he wasn't really looking where he was going and walked slap bang into someone.
"Oh shit, I'm so sorry," he said instantly, reaching out to grab the person he had almost knocked flying to steady them.
He still had Seeker reflexes and he was quick enough to not only stop the person falling, but the catch the sunglasses he had managed to dislodge off the person's face. It was only as he handed them back and finally actually looked at the man he had accidentally assaulted that his mouth went dry and his thoughts came to a grinding halt. Looking back at him was Johnny Weir.
Normally Harry didn't do star struck; he had spent so long as a child with people fawning over him that he refused to do it to others, but Johnny Weir was the exception to the rule. Johnny Weir was possibly the exception to every rule. Harry admired many skaters, but Johnny was his idol. The man strove for individuality and had a grace on the ice that Harry only dreamed of having.
"Sorry," he all but squeaked a second time and handed Johnny back his glasses.
"You said that already," Johnny said, smirking just a little and Harry was sure the other skater could see straight through him, "and no harm done. Nothing broken I don't think."
Then Johnny did an overdramatic check of himself as if to make sure and finally Harry stopped being terrified and couldn't help smiling. He had never met any of the big skaters from outside Europe before, since the Olympics was only his second big international competition, and he had no idea what to expect. Two years ago he had found himself a new coach and his skating had gone from 'don't give up you day job' to 'might actually have a chance' and he had kind of come from nowhere. If he knew anything it was that the press lied and so he had no idea which reputations were deserved and which weren't. He was just rearranging the ideas in his head about Johnny when his watch beeped.
"Oh shit," he said, looking at it; his coach was going to kill him.
"I know that look," Johnny said and rather surprised him, "you're about to be late and you're lost."
"That obvious?" Harry asked, feeling just a little helpless.
Johnny smiled at him.
"This place is a nightmare," Johnny replied in a very friendly tone, "where are you supposed to be."
Harry showed his companion on the map in his hand.
"You've gone right past it," was the instant conclusion. "Come on, I'll show you where it is, can't have the cute half of the English men's team going missing on his first day."
When Johnny slipped an arm through his and began to drag him in the right direction, Harry just went because he was honestly stunned. Not only was Johnny Weir helping him, but the man knew who he was. In fact he was so stunned that he made it through Johnny depositing him with his coach, deciding to call him Jimmy and inviting him to meet up later without noticing something that was very obvious when they did finally bump into each other again the following evening.
"Jimmy," he stopped when he heard his name being called and turned to find Johnny waving at him, "come and meet Tanith."
Since he had just come down after freshening up from his afternoon practice and was looking for something to do, Harry was more than happy to oblige. He smiled back at the other skater and walked across the room, accepting the double air kiss from Johnny as if he was continental rather than from uptight Britain. It was then that he noticed the collar around Johnny's neck; it was about half a centimetre wide, made of gold and silver and was really hard to look at. It didn't take a genius to realise there was a disillusionment charm on it, a very, very strong one. Harry looked away before he became cross-eyed trying to see what it was.
"Jimmy, Tanith, Tanith, Jimmy," Johnny introduced and Harry reached over to shake hands.
"James," he said sending a sidelong glance at Johnny, who just grinned back; he had no doubt Johnny would still continue to refer to him as Jimmy.
"Nice to meet you, James," Tanith said and smiled at him; "I do hope you haven't been letting Johnny bully you."
Johnny put his hand over his heart in mock shock and made Harry laugh.
"He saved me from the wrath of my coach," Harry replied with a grin, "I owe him my soul."
That made Tanith laugh and Johnny gave him a very interesting look; clearly they all knew about the wrath of coaches.
"Ooh," Johnny said and wiggled his eyebrows, "I might have to collect on that."
"Not until after the competition," Harry replied instantly and waggled his eyebrows back.
That made Tanith all but fall off her stall laughing.
"Your shy little Englishman isn't so shy," she said, still giggling.
"You have shattered all my illusions," Johnny wailed with true dramatic timing, "and I was thinking more of a slave to do all the fetching and carrying; with those lovely green eyes you'd go beautifully with my living room."
Harry couldn't help himself, he laughed again; he had never met anyone quite like Johnny.
"I'm not wearing an apron," he said and sat down on the nearest available stool.
He was absolutely sure they were flirting, but what he couldn't work out was whether it was serious flirting or just a game to fill in time. It was going to take a while to figure out and what he really wanted to do was make friends; he had so few and Johnny had gone from idol to really nice guy he would like to be friends with in his head. Of course the flirting was fun too, especially when, after a while chatting and just getting to know both Johnny and Tanith, he started to flirt with Tanith as well. Johnny turned it up a notch after that and Harry decided that maybe it was serious flirting, but of course they had the competition to worry about first.
For the next two days he threw himself into training and ignored everything else; he was, after all, a serious athlete. He was going to be ready for his event and he focused on it completely just like all the other competitors. It was only when he dragged himself back towards his room after trying to make sure his triple triple would actually come off on the big day that he met Johnny again.
The first thing he noticed was that Johnny was looking very pale and although his friend smiled, there was something not quite right.
"You okay?" he asked without even bothering with a hello.
If Johnny was ill it could spell disaster for his Olympic bid and Harry wouldn't wish that on any of his opponents and especially not a friend.
"Of course," Johnny said, giving him a bright smile and seeming to light up, "why would you think not?"
There was something almost shiny about Johnny's eyes and Harry felt the hair on the back of his neck stand up. For the first time in a long time he almost reached for his wand that was strapped to the inside of his wrist and it was an instinct he had almost forgotten. Then Johnny's smile faded for a moment and the other man looked almost grey; Harry reached out without thinking about it and placed his hand under Johnny's arm. He could almost see the choker like band around Johnny's throat then and he thought he knew what it might be.
"Let's get you where you were going," he said quietly, "and then you can tell me what that necklace is all about."
Johnny looked startled, but didn't resist as Harry gently guided them both in the direction Johnny had been going. As he expected, Harry found that they were going to Johnny's room and he didn't bother waiting to be invited in, he just followed the other man in once they reached it. Tanith was actually there and stood up the moment she saw Johnny, quickly walking to his side and making him sit down on the nearest chair. Harry could tell that Tanith knew what was going on, but that wasn't so unexpected since they had mentioned they had been friends for a very long time.
"Thanks," Johnny said shortly, "you can go now."
It was a dismissal, but Harry was not about to obey it; he'd never really been a follower of instructions.
"Yeah right," he said and rolled up his sleeve to show his wrist holster, "what do you need?"
Both Tanith and Johnny looked shocked.
"I didn't know there were any wizarding competitors in the figure skating this year," Johnny said, clearly very startled.
"Yes, well I keep it very quiet," Harry said, very concerned with how pale Johnny was, "I left the wizarding world a long time ago and I don't plan on going back. I'm registered and all my stuff has the correct charms to make sure I can't cheat, and I have a very well paid PR guy who makes sure no one finds out. Now, can I help?"
Johnny shook his head.
"Actually," Tanith said, "how are your shield charms?"
Johnny looked aghast.
"You're not looking very good, Johnny," Tanith said in explanation, "backup would be safer, besides which, Jim isn't blind."
Tanith had settled for calling him something between what most people called him and what Johnny called him in an attempt to keep the peace. However, he could see that Johnny was completely against whatever Tanith was thinking. However, it looked very much like his help was needed and Harry might have lived his childhood all over again, but he was still a Gryffindor.
"Okay, let's make this easier; I'll tell you a secret and you can tell me yours," he said making a split second decision. "I'm not twenty, in fact I'm almost thirty. I got to twenty the first time and hated my life so much I illegally regressed myself to eleven and reinvented myself."
He hadn't thought Johnny's face could look any more shocked, but he had been wrong.
"Wow," was what Johnny said.
"Yeah, well it was that or suicide," Harry said with a shrug, "and that would have been too much like giving up. So can I help now?"
For a second, Johnny looked at him and then blinked.
"I'm a vampire," Johnny said and he didn't look totally sure, but then Harry hadn't been completely sure either, "this necklace suppresses that part of me so I'm almost totally human while I wear it, only I need to feed and I've left it too long. I need to take it off and do what I need to do," he pointed at the tiny fridge next to the couch, "and Tanith's one of our magically challenged brethren," 'squib' Harry translated in his head, "but has been acting as my channel for the shields I put up to make sure I can't get out of hand. If I'd had my own room I'd have put them up permanently as soon as I got here, but the powers that be messed that up and we improvised."
It was short, to the point and explained everything, Harry pulled out his wand.
"'k," he said with a nod, "shield charms I can do."
He had left the wizarding world behind, but he had not left the magic as well. Since he was an adult, even though he had been in a child's body, his magic had been unmonitored and so he had been free to practice what he liked. The little Slytherin part of him that he had come to realise had not been all Voldemort, was paranoid enough to make sure he kept up with his spells, just in case. It took him only a few moments to silently cast the shields.
He found both Tanith and Johnny watching him when he was done.
"I've never seen that done like that before," Tanith said and sounded amazed, "even my Dad can only cast simple stuff silently."
"Paranoid teachers," Harry said with a shrug.
Johnny seemed to have decided that shock was passé, because he took that at face value and reached up to take off his choker, which became properly visible as soon as he touched it. Harry could tell the moment the clasp was undone because Johnny paled even more and, as he watched, he saw the internal struggle in his friend. Johnny closed his eyes and breathed deeply, open mouth showing the hint of long fangs as he appeared to go through some mental routine. When Johnny opened his eyes again, Harry could see the red tint to them and it was more than obvious how hungry Johnny had to be.
"God I hate this thing," Johnny said and dropped it onto the table next to where he was sitting.
Harry could feel the hum of power in the room and he was pretty sure that Johnny was controlling himself very carefully.
"Won't be a minute," Johnny said as if he was talking about doing his hair or something and leant down to the small fridge.
He pulled out two things; a small decorative bottle with flowers on it and a straw, a long pink straw with hello kitty on it. The straw was quickly put in the top of the bottle and then Johnny downed the contents with a few sucks. If it hadn't been a hello kitty straw it might have been obscene and Harry was stuck somewhere between amused and aroused. Only Johnny Weir would drink blood through a pink straw.
"What were you expecting," Johnny asked with a perfectly innocent expression when he noticed Harry's amusement; "me sticking my fangs into a blood bag? I might get blood on the carpet and do you know how difficult it is to get that stuff out?"
That made Harry laugh.
"I've had to get it out of clothes a few times," he said, grinning back, "so I can empathise."
The colour was already returning to Johnny's face and he seemed a lot more relaxed now that the feeding was out of the way and Harry hadn't run away in disgust. Harry knew all about preconceived notions and how they affected people, so he was not about to judge Johnny.
"Do you want me to drop the charms now?" he asked, since the crisis seemed to be over.
He immediately saw Johnny's eyes go to the necklace sitting on the bed and his friend deflate a little.
"Or I can leave them as long as you want," he added, not wanting to force Johnny back into the necklace so soon.
"Would you mind?" Johnny asked, looking brighter, "just for a little while?"
Harry smiled and threw himself into a chair.
"My pleasure," he said with a smile, "as long as you don't mind being stuck with me and no one needs to go in or out."
Shield charms were tricky like that when they weren't anchored and had to allow access to more than one person.
"I think we can put up with you for a while," Tanith said and gave him a friendly pat on the shoulder. "Would you like something to drink, we have a ton of softdrinks stashed around here somewhere?"
"Do you have any water?" he asked, since he was still parched from training even though he had drunk about a gallon already.
"Be right back," Tanith said and disappeared into one of the bedrooms.
When Harry looked back at Johnny, his friend was playing idly with the necklace.
"You should only have to wear that for competition, shouldn't you?" he asked, going over the rules in his head. "Why do you wear it all the time?"
Vampires were quite capable of controlling themselves amongst humans, Harry had met more than one in his time, so he couldn't work out why Johnny would wear something he hated all of the time. Johnny looked at him a while clearly contemplating the question.
"Ask me again when we know each other better and I might tell you," Johnny told him eventually and Harry just nodded; that seemed fair.
"Mind if I ask how long you've been a vampire instead?" he asked with a small smile, not sure if he'd get an answer to that either.
This time Johnny smiled.
"Oh," Johnny said and did a diva pose, "I am one of the rare few; I was born this way."
After regressing Harry had discovered that his third favourite thing in the world was books and he had read a lot, so he had heard of born vampires, he had just never been sure if there were any around at the moment.
"That is rare," he replied with what he thought was due reverence and accepted the bottle of water with a thank you to Tanith as she came back in from the other room.
"Johnny's always been a special snowflake," Tanith said teasingly.
"Hey!" was Johnny's response and he pouted.
Harry had to shift in his seat; he rather liked the pout and the way Johnny looked at him he was sure the vampire knew exactly what physiological changes he was going through at that moment.
"One of my ancestors," Johnny said, waving his arm to indicate what Harry thought meant a long time ago, "was bitten while she was carrying her baby and her magic protected the child, but added vampire to the line. Every now and then in the family we breed true; lucky me."
"Oh I don't know," Harry said with a wicked grin, "I've heard things about vampires."
And they were back to the flirting.
"You probably haven't heard half of it," Johnny replied with an equally wicked smile.
"Oh god," Tanith said and shook her head; "I'm going to die of exposure to UST overload before the competition is over."
Johnny threw a cushion at her.
"So," Johnny said, rolling his eyes at his friend's antics, "are you going to tell us who you were before you were James Black?"
That was a question and a half, but Harry realised he should have expected it. He smiled a little, remembering back; somehow it didn't seem so overwhelming now.
"Ask me again when we know each other better and I might tell you," he said, sending Johnny's words right back at him and his friend accepted them with as much grace as he had.
For a moment there was silence.
"I've heard Ohno has finally gotten around to banging Celski," Johnny suddenly decided to re-launch the conversation, "anyone know if it's true?"
"It's about time," was Tanith's comment.
Clearly the US skaters knew things Harry didn't, so he settled in to find out all the gossip.
<b>End of Part 1</b></lj-cut>
<a href"http://beren-writes.dreamwidth.org/150464.html">On to Part 2</a>
Wanted to get this posted today, because what could be more fluffy than Johnny Weir? ;)</center>
<b>Title:</b> Salchows and Serendipity 01/03
<b>Author:</b> Beren
<b>Fandom:</b> Harry Potter/Winter Olympics 2010 RPS
<b>Pairing:</b> Harry/<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johnny_Weir">Johnny Weir</a>, Harry/Draco, Johnny Weir/<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evan_Lysacek">Evan Lysacek</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apolo_Ohno">Apolo Ohno</a>/<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J._R._Celski">J.R. Celski</a> (side pairing)
<b>Rating:</b> NC17/18
<b>Disclaimer:</b> This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended. The real people in the fic are owned by themselves and this is pure fiction, it did not happen.
<b>Warnings:</b> vampires, explicit sex
<b>Summary:</b> When Harry realised his life was nothing that he wanted he reinvented himself, which is how he ended up in Vancouver on the British Winter Olympic team.
<b>Author's Notes:</b> I offer no excuses, my muses dragged me kicking and screaming into this fic and so here it is :). I hope you enjoy reading it. Thanks to Soph for the beta.
<b>Word Count:</b> 26,993
<b>Other Parts:</b> <a href="http://beren-writes.dreamwidth.org/150039.html">ch 1</a> | <a href="http://beren-writes.dreamwidth.org/150464.html">ch 2</a> | <a href="http://beren-writes.dreamwidth.org/150574.html">ch 3a</a> | <a href="http://beren-writes.dreamwidth.org/150981.html">ch 3b</a>
<a href="http://beren-writes.livejournal.com/485699.html"> My Fanfic Listings (LJ)</a> | <a href="http://beren-writes.dreamwidth.org/130047.html">My Fanfic Listings (DreamW)</a>
<lj-cut text="Piccies of the Skating boys (shirtless)"><table><tr><td><img src="http://pics.livejournal.com/beren_writes/pic/0009eyke" width="200" height="200"></td><td><img src="http://pics.livejournal.com/beren_writes/pic/0009d859" width="200" height="200"></td></tr>
<tr><td>Johnny Weir</td><td>Evan Lysacek</td></tr>
<tr><td><img src="http://pics.livejournal.com/beren_writes/pic/0009fd2h" width="200" height="200"></td><td><img src="http://pics.livejournal.com/beren_writes/pic/0009c5ay" width="200" height="200"></td></tr>
<tr><td>Apolo Ohno</td><td>J.R.Celski</td></tr></table></lj-cut>
<lj-cut text="Chapter 1 Of All the Luck"><b>Chapter 1 Of All the Luck</b>
Harry was just twenty years old when he realised his life was anything but what he wanted it to be. His fame made it hard to go out and he had retreated to the life of a virtual hermit. He'd broken up with Ginny, because their every move seemed to be printed in the Prophet and it had put such a pressure on the relationship that it hadn't been able to last.
For a while there, stuck in his little flat, he had considered simply ending it all and letting the world go on without Harry James Potter, but he hadn't quite been able to bring himself to do it. It would have devastated his friends and surrogate family and he couldn't do that, not even when he found their love as stifling as the rest of the Wizarding world. Everyone saw the saviour, they did not see him and he could not cope with it anymore.
That was why he had decided to take drastic measures. Harry Potter was not going to die, but he was going to disappear, possibly for a long time. His childhood had been taken from him and Harry had heard of something that might be able to give it back. It was not legal and could possibly kill him, but given the alternatives he was willing to take the risk.
He had arranged all his finances and created a whole new identity ready to step into, which just left the spell ritual itself. It was part potion, part spell and part will. He was sitting, naked in a cast circle in his living room, a piece of parchment in one hand and a small bottle in the other. It was time to say goodbye to Harry Potter.
Lifting the parchment, he read the words over one more time; they were not English and they were not Latin, but he had learned them phonetically and he knew he could read it perfectly. The parchment was more of a security blanket than really necessary. Taking a deep breath, he spoke the first three words and felt the circle take up his magic.
Looking at the bottle he knew this was it, once he drank it there was no turning back and, feeling little more than a fraction of a second's regret, he downed it in one. It burned his throat and tasted foul, but he could feel it beginning to work instantly. The magic seeped into his cells and he spoke the last four words of the spell before his voice was taken away.
His whole body froze and he focused his mind on his eleven year old self. He knew how he wanted to be and he had to keep it right there at the front of his thoughts. For a moment it was as if his life had simply stopped, maybe it had, but then it was as if he was being crushed by an enormous force. It was as if a black hole had opened at the centre of his body and was sucking the rest of him in and he choked out a cry.
He had never felt anything so excruciating and he couldn't breathe. He could feel himself shrinking and changing and all he could do was force his mind onto the image of himself the day before he ever heard of Hogwarts. In the end everything went black and with consciousness went Harry Potter.
====
When he had regressed himself to just under eleven Harry had never expected to end up where he was now. James Black had gone back to school in the Muggle world and pretended to be a normal little boy. When he needed parents he had hired some from a very discrete agency who didn't ask questions, but by the time he had hit fourteen that had been moot and he pretended to be an emancipated minor.
He had been twenty two in the body of a twelve year old when he had discovered ice skating and it was as close to flying as he had been able to get without pulling out his broom. Being hidden he had to be very careful about his interactions with the Wizarding world and so flying with anyone else was out.
With makeup to hide his scar, contact lenses instead of glasses and a cut and dye job on his hair to change it completely, he had entered his first competition at the physical age of thirteen and had never looked back. Now, in the body of a twenty year old and with the mind of a twenty-nine year old, he was actually at the Olympics. It was amazing and the only danger to his person was that which he and all the other skaters risked when they tried to pull off a quad jump. He did have a quad in his arsenal, but he wasn't about to use it in competition unless he wanted a fifty fifty chance of ending on his arse. This time he wasn't a medal contender, but he was doing well and he was enjoying life to the full. Being rampantly bi-sexual was one of the things he was really having fun with.
Reliving his teenage years with a much more mature mind had been an eye opening experience and he might have, possibly, started having sex at what looked like a rather young age. At fourteen, with his hormones going mental and an adult mind to help along his fantasies, he had leapt into sex with both feet. She had been seventeen and thought he was cute and had been very happy to pop his cherry for the second time, as it were. Then at fifteen he had discovered boys and he had realised he had discovered his second favourite thing next to skating.
He hadn't really believed it when his teammates who had been to the Olympics before had told him that getting laid in the Olympic village was about as easy as ordering lunch. Harry hadn't actually slept with anyone yet because he wanted his mind firmly on the competition, but he had been propositioned several times and he had every intention of taking someone up on an offer the moment his discipline was over. For now all he wanted to do was get in some practice and make sure that when he stepped onto the ice he didn't make a complete idiot of himself.
The first thing he had to do was find his way to the right rink and he was all turned around and had no idea where he was supposed to be. He had a map in his hand, his bag over his shoulder and he had about five minutes to find the right place before his coach would start yelling at him. He really didn't want that on his first day on the ice in Vancouver. The problem was, he was so intent on the map that he wasn't really looking where he was going and walked slap bang into someone.
"Oh shit, I'm so sorry," he said instantly, reaching out to grab the person he had almost knocked flying to steady them.
He still had Seeker reflexes and he was quick enough to not only stop the person falling, but the catch the sunglasses he had managed to dislodge off the person's face. It was only as he handed them back and finally actually looked at the man he had accidentally assaulted that his mouth went dry and his thoughts came to a grinding halt. Looking back at him was Johnny Weir.
Normally Harry didn't do star struck; he had spent so long as a child with people fawning over him that he refused to do it to others, but Johnny Weir was the exception to the rule. Johnny Weir was possibly the exception to every rule. Harry admired many skaters, but Johnny was his idol. The man strove for individuality and had a grace on the ice that Harry only dreamed of having.
"Sorry," he all but squeaked a second time and handed Johnny back his glasses.
"You said that already," Johnny said, smirking just a little and Harry was sure the other skater could see straight through him, "and no harm done. Nothing broken I don't think."
Then Johnny did an overdramatic check of himself as if to make sure and finally Harry stopped being terrified and couldn't help smiling. He had never met any of the big skaters from outside Europe before, since the Olympics was only his second big international competition, and he had no idea what to expect. Two years ago he had found himself a new coach and his skating had gone from 'don't give up you day job' to 'might actually have a chance' and he had kind of come from nowhere. If he knew anything it was that the press lied and so he had no idea which reputations were deserved and which weren't. He was just rearranging the ideas in his head about Johnny when his watch beeped.
"Oh shit," he said, looking at it; his coach was going to kill him.
"I know that look," Johnny said and rather surprised him, "you're about to be late and you're lost."
"That obvious?" Harry asked, feeling just a little helpless.
Johnny smiled at him.
"This place is a nightmare," Johnny replied in a very friendly tone, "where are you supposed to be."
Harry showed his companion on the map in his hand.
"You've gone right past it," was the instant conclusion. "Come on, I'll show you where it is, can't have the cute half of the English men's team going missing on his first day."
When Johnny slipped an arm through his and began to drag him in the right direction, Harry just went because he was honestly stunned. Not only was Johnny Weir helping him, but the man knew who he was. In fact he was so stunned that he made it through Johnny depositing him with his coach, deciding to call him Jimmy and inviting him to meet up later without noticing something that was very obvious when they did finally bump into each other again the following evening.
"Jimmy," he stopped when he heard his name being called and turned to find Johnny waving at him, "come and meet Tanith."
Since he had just come down after freshening up from his afternoon practice and was looking for something to do, Harry was more than happy to oblige. He smiled back at the other skater and walked across the room, accepting the double air kiss from Johnny as if he was continental rather than from uptight Britain. It was then that he noticed the collar around Johnny's neck; it was about half a centimetre wide, made of gold and silver and was really hard to look at. It didn't take a genius to realise there was a disillusionment charm on it, a very, very strong one. Harry looked away before he became cross-eyed trying to see what it was.
"Jimmy, Tanith, Tanith, Jimmy," Johnny introduced and Harry reached over to shake hands.
"James," he said sending a sidelong glance at Johnny, who just grinned back; he had no doubt Johnny would still continue to refer to him as Jimmy.
"Nice to meet you, James," Tanith said and smiled at him; "I do hope you haven't been letting Johnny bully you."
Johnny put his hand over his heart in mock shock and made Harry laugh.
"He saved me from the wrath of my coach," Harry replied with a grin, "I owe him my soul."
That made Tanith laugh and Johnny gave him a very interesting look; clearly they all knew about the wrath of coaches.
"Ooh," Johnny said and wiggled his eyebrows, "I might have to collect on that."
"Not until after the competition," Harry replied instantly and waggled his eyebrows back.
That made Tanith all but fall off her stall laughing.
"Your shy little Englishman isn't so shy," she said, still giggling.
"You have shattered all my illusions," Johnny wailed with true dramatic timing, "and I was thinking more of a slave to do all the fetching and carrying; with those lovely green eyes you'd go beautifully with my living room."
Harry couldn't help himself, he laughed again; he had never met anyone quite like Johnny.
"I'm not wearing an apron," he said and sat down on the nearest available stool.
He was absolutely sure they were flirting, but what he couldn't work out was whether it was serious flirting or just a game to fill in time. It was going to take a while to figure out and what he really wanted to do was make friends; he had so few and Johnny had gone from idol to really nice guy he would like to be friends with in his head. Of course the flirting was fun too, especially when, after a while chatting and just getting to know both Johnny and Tanith, he started to flirt with Tanith as well. Johnny turned it up a notch after that and Harry decided that maybe it was serious flirting, but of course they had the competition to worry about first.
For the next two days he threw himself into training and ignored everything else; he was, after all, a serious athlete. He was going to be ready for his event and he focused on it completely just like all the other competitors. It was only when he dragged himself back towards his room after trying to make sure his triple triple would actually come off on the big day that he met Johnny again.
The first thing he noticed was that Johnny was looking very pale and although his friend smiled, there was something not quite right.
"You okay?" he asked without even bothering with a hello.
If Johnny was ill it could spell disaster for his Olympic bid and Harry wouldn't wish that on any of his opponents and especially not a friend.
"Of course," Johnny said, giving him a bright smile and seeming to light up, "why would you think not?"
There was something almost shiny about Johnny's eyes and Harry felt the hair on the back of his neck stand up. For the first time in a long time he almost reached for his wand that was strapped to the inside of his wrist and it was an instinct he had almost forgotten. Then Johnny's smile faded for a moment and the other man looked almost grey; Harry reached out without thinking about it and placed his hand under Johnny's arm. He could almost see the choker like band around Johnny's throat then and he thought he knew what it might be.
"Let's get you where you were going," he said quietly, "and then you can tell me what that necklace is all about."
Johnny looked startled, but didn't resist as Harry gently guided them both in the direction Johnny had been going. As he expected, Harry found that they were going to Johnny's room and he didn't bother waiting to be invited in, he just followed the other man in once they reached it. Tanith was actually there and stood up the moment she saw Johnny, quickly walking to his side and making him sit down on the nearest chair. Harry could tell that Tanith knew what was going on, but that wasn't so unexpected since they had mentioned they had been friends for a very long time.
"Thanks," Johnny said shortly, "you can go now."
It was a dismissal, but Harry was not about to obey it; he'd never really been a follower of instructions.
"Yeah right," he said and rolled up his sleeve to show his wrist holster, "what do you need?"
Both Tanith and Johnny looked shocked.
"I didn't know there were any wizarding competitors in the figure skating this year," Johnny said, clearly very startled.
"Yes, well I keep it very quiet," Harry said, very concerned with how pale Johnny was, "I left the wizarding world a long time ago and I don't plan on going back. I'm registered and all my stuff has the correct charms to make sure I can't cheat, and I have a very well paid PR guy who makes sure no one finds out. Now, can I help?"
Johnny shook his head.
"Actually," Tanith said, "how are your shield charms?"
Johnny looked aghast.
"You're not looking very good, Johnny," Tanith said in explanation, "backup would be safer, besides which, Jim isn't blind."
Tanith had settled for calling him something between what most people called him and what Johnny called him in an attempt to keep the peace. However, he could see that Johnny was completely against whatever Tanith was thinking. However, it looked very much like his help was needed and Harry might have lived his childhood all over again, but he was still a Gryffindor.
"Okay, let's make this easier; I'll tell you a secret and you can tell me yours," he said making a split second decision. "I'm not twenty, in fact I'm almost thirty. I got to twenty the first time and hated my life so much I illegally regressed myself to eleven and reinvented myself."
He hadn't thought Johnny's face could look any more shocked, but he had been wrong.
"Wow," was what Johnny said.
"Yeah, well it was that or suicide," Harry said with a shrug, "and that would have been too much like giving up. So can I help now?"
For a second, Johnny looked at him and then blinked.
"I'm a vampire," Johnny said and he didn't look totally sure, but then Harry hadn't been completely sure either, "this necklace suppresses that part of me so I'm almost totally human while I wear it, only I need to feed and I've left it too long. I need to take it off and do what I need to do," he pointed at the tiny fridge next to the couch, "and Tanith's one of our magically challenged brethren," 'squib' Harry translated in his head, "but has been acting as my channel for the shields I put up to make sure I can't get out of hand. If I'd had my own room I'd have put them up permanently as soon as I got here, but the powers that be messed that up and we improvised."
It was short, to the point and explained everything, Harry pulled out his wand.
"'k," he said with a nod, "shield charms I can do."
He had left the wizarding world behind, but he had not left the magic as well. Since he was an adult, even though he had been in a child's body, his magic had been unmonitored and so he had been free to practice what he liked. The little Slytherin part of him that he had come to realise had not been all Voldemort, was paranoid enough to make sure he kept up with his spells, just in case. It took him only a few moments to silently cast the shields.
He found both Tanith and Johnny watching him when he was done.
"I've never seen that done like that before," Tanith said and sounded amazed, "even my Dad can only cast simple stuff silently."
"Paranoid teachers," Harry said with a shrug.
Johnny seemed to have decided that shock was passé, because he took that at face value and reached up to take off his choker, which became properly visible as soon as he touched it. Harry could tell the moment the clasp was undone because Johnny paled even more and, as he watched, he saw the internal struggle in his friend. Johnny closed his eyes and breathed deeply, open mouth showing the hint of long fangs as he appeared to go through some mental routine. When Johnny opened his eyes again, Harry could see the red tint to them and it was more than obvious how hungry Johnny had to be.
"God I hate this thing," Johnny said and dropped it onto the table next to where he was sitting.
Harry could feel the hum of power in the room and he was pretty sure that Johnny was controlling himself very carefully.
"Won't be a minute," Johnny said as if he was talking about doing his hair or something and leant down to the small fridge.
He pulled out two things; a small decorative bottle with flowers on it and a straw, a long pink straw with hello kitty on it. The straw was quickly put in the top of the bottle and then Johnny downed the contents with a few sucks. If it hadn't been a hello kitty straw it might have been obscene and Harry was stuck somewhere between amused and aroused. Only Johnny Weir would drink blood through a pink straw.
"What were you expecting," Johnny asked with a perfectly innocent expression when he noticed Harry's amusement; "me sticking my fangs into a blood bag? I might get blood on the carpet and do you know how difficult it is to get that stuff out?"
That made Harry laugh.
"I've had to get it out of clothes a few times," he said, grinning back, "so I can empathise."
The colour was already returning to Johnny's face and he seemed a lot more relaxed now that the feeding was out of the way and Harry hadn't run away in disgust. Harry knew all about preconceived notions and how they affected people, so he was not about to judge Johnny.
"Do you want me to drop the charms now?" he asked, since the crisis seemed to be over.
He immediately saw Johnny's eyes go to the necklace sitting on the bed and his friend deflate a little.
"Or I can leave them as long as you want," he added, not wanting to force Johnny back into the necklace so soon.
"Would you mind?" Johnny asked, looking brighter, "just for a little while?"
Harry smiled and threw himself into a chair.
"My pleasure," he said with a smile, "as long as you don't mind being stuck with me and no one needs to go in or out."
Shield charms were tricky like that when they weren't anchored and had to allow access to more than one person.
"I think we can put up with you for a while," Tanith said and gave him a friendly pat on the shoulder. "Would you like something to drink, we have a ton of softdrinks stashed around here somewhere?"
"Do you have any water?" he asked, since he was still parched from training even though he had drunk about a gallon already.
"Be right back," Tanith said and disappeared into one of the bedrooms.
When Harry looked back at Johnny, his friend was playing idly with the necklace.
"You should only have to wear that for competition, shouldn't you?" he asked, going over the rules in his head. "Why do you wear it all the time?"
Vampires were quite capable of controlling themselves amongst humans, Harry had met more than one in his time, so he couldn't work out why Johnny would wear something he hated all of the time. Johnny looked at him a while clearly contemplating the question.
"Ask me again when we know each other better and I might tell you," Johnny told him eventually and Harry just nodded; that seemed fair.
"Mind if I ask how long you've been a vampire instead?" he asked with a small smile, not sure if he'd get an answer to that either.
This time Johnny smiled.
"Oh," Johnny said and did a diva pose, "I am one of the rare few; I was born this way."
After regressing Harry had discovered that his third favourite thing in the world was books and he had read a lot, so he had heard of born vampires, he had just never been sure if there were any around at the moment.
"That is rare," he replied with what he thought was due reverence and accepted the bottle of water with a thank you to Tanith as she came back in from the other room.
"Johnny's always been a special snowflake," Tanith said teasingly.
"Hey!" was Johnny's response and he pouted.
Harry had to shift in his seat; he rather liked the pout and the way Johnny looked at him he was sure the vampire knew exactly what physiological changes he was going through at that moment.
"One of my ancestors," Johnny said, waving his arm to indicate what Harry thought meant a long time ago, "was bitten while she was carrying her baby and her magic protected the child, but added vampire to the line. Every now and then in the family we breed true; lucky me."
"Oh I don't know," Harry said with a wicked grin, "I've heard things about vampires."
And they were back to the flirting.
"You probably haven't heard half of it," Johnny replied with an equally wicked smile.
"Oh god," Tanith said and shook her head; "I'm going to die of exposure to UST overload before the competition is over."
Johnny threw a cushion at her.
"So," Johnny said, rolling his eyes at his friend's antics, "are you going to tell us who you were before you were James Black?"
That was a question and a half, but Harry realised he should have expected it. He smiled a little, remembering back; somehow it didn't seem so overwhelming now.
"Ask me again when we know each other better and I might tell you," he said, sending Johnny's words right back at him and his friend accepted them with as much grace as he had.
For a moment there was silence.
"I've heard Ohno has finally gotten around to banging Celski," Johnny suddenly decided to re-launch the conversation, "anyone know if it's true?"
"It's about time," was Tanith's comment.
Clearly the US skaters knew things Harry didn't, so he settled in to find out all the gossip.
<b>End of Part 1</b></lj-cut>
<a href"http://beren-writes.dreamwidth.org/150464.html">On to Part 2</a>
