~*Quarantine*~
Written by: Cisselah
(Beater 2)
written for Cearphilly Catapults in The Quidditch League Fanfiction Competition
Prompts: 1, 2, 5, 6 & 12
~*-.-*~
Lily isn't completely stupid. Her family might try to protect her because she's the baby of the family and you'll understand when you're older, Lily, but Lily will always find out. In the end, there's no secret too secret for Lily Luna Potter.
Not even this one.
Though she has to admit, they did a good job of trying to keep her out of it. They send her over to Grandma Weasley, pretending that the big secret Lily could smell from a mile away was a secret surprise party for her birthday (yeah, right... like any surprise party is really a surprise when it comes to Lily). She'd been fooled too, all until James - that prat - slips up in a rather revealing way.
Albus isn't coming to the party, he says when she asks him if her favourite brother is going to be there. In that sentence - that single, tiny, little sentence - there is a loaded gun.
The cat isn't out of the bag yet, but it sure is mewling like the audio feedback of a microphone pressed against a speaker.
The first sign something is wrong is that James calls their brother Albus. James never calls their brother Albus. It's always Al or Alby or Baby brother. Sometimes, if James is being particularly obnoxious, it's 'Sugar-bear baby'. But never Albus. Never ever Albus.
The second sign is that James never says things without joking around first. For him to answer Lily's question without any funny business isn't just suspicious... it's a sign of the apocalypse! Because seriously, James doesn't do serious and sober. James does irresponsible partying and long, ridiculous answers that make your brain run around in circles while he watches in amusement.
Also, James is good at lying. Like, really good. James can face down Minerva McGonagall and Hermione Granger at the same time and lie straight to their faces with such ease and conviction they actually believe him. James never makes amateur mistakes such as refer to their brother by his given name or go all blank and emotionless at the mere question of his locations.
And finally, but most revealingly; Albus would never miss Lily's birthday party. He'd come, even if he had to drag himself there on broken legs.
Something is wrong.
After she concludes that, all Lily has to do is wait until Dad visits, hijack the Floo Network, then backtrack the last trip made and viola! Lily is going to see her brother, whether her family wants her to or not.
The house she arrives to is dark and gloomy. All the curtains are drawn and there's dust everywhere. The burning wax candles are the only source of light. The room is furnished in dark and depressing furniture, engraved with a family crest that has dragons and snakes wrapped around a shield marked with the elegant letter 'M'. It looks like an old room, but it's so luxuriously designed and grand it can only be an old pureblood manor.
It doesn't take long before Lily finds him.
He's lying on the king-sized bed in a large bedroom and he looks... different. Too still. Too beautiful. Too scary. There's something wrong, something horribly wrong, because Albus isn't breathing and Albus isn't sleeping and Albus is sitting up and looking at her with eyes that are black and dark and scary and this is not her brother, this is not Albus, because Albus doesn't have teeth like that or eyes like that or a grin that makes him look like he wants to swallow her whole.
"Relax, sis, it's me. I'm not gonna hurt you. I'd never hurt you, right?" Albus says in a hoarse voice. He grins at her, all sweet and mischievous and sharp teeth. And at the sight of those sharp teeth, of those fangs, Lily knows this isn't her brother ranymore, but a monster in her brother's skin. She looks - she really looks - and she sees that his skin is too pale and the skin under his eyes is bruised and oh Merlin, is that chains?
"Lily. Lily, I'm- I'm just so hungry," Albus continues and before she can realize what he means he's risen and there's a blur and then the enchanted chains are taut and he's an inch from her nose, snapping his too sharp teeth and she's stumbling back and his eyes, oh Merlin, his eyes, his eyes are so black they don't even reflect the light anymore.
"Lily," a voice comes from behind them and Lily twists her head and he's there. Right there. "Lily, step away from-... Step away." Malfoy says. He looks sombre in the gloomy light of the wax candles. At the sight of his face, Lily feels something twist inside her. She averts her eyes back to her chained brother, who looks more and more like a rabid animal the more time passes.
This isn't right. Albus isn't meant to have such black eyes. His eyes are uniquely green, like emeralds.
Like green emeralds. Not like dark holes.
Never like dark holes.
~*-.-*~
"Al, I'm so, so sorry. I didn't want you to find out like this.
I never meant for it to happen."
~*-.-*~
Excerpt from A Narrative of Non-Wizard Non-Humans:
A wizard or witch who has drunk vampyr blood will experience heightened senses, a euphoric rush and sudden thirst for blood. If garlic solution is given within the first seventy-four hours, the wizard or with will return to normal. However, if the garlic solution is not administered within seventy-four hours of ingestion the wizards or witch will be subjected to changes of the body as well as the mind. During the next day and night, the wizard or witch will die or transform into a newly made half-vampyr and from that moment and forward be forever afflicted with the pernicious curse of a vampyr.
Non-magical humans will die immediately after ingesting vampyr blood.
~*-.-*~
"It's not his fault," Scorpius says after awhile.
The cutlery screeches against the plate.
"It never is," Lily mutters as she stabs a piece of salmon with more force than necessary. She glances up to see him sitting at the exact same place as before, perched on the kitchen counter in a ridiculous young manner, kicking out his feet as he stares at her in an unfathomable way that can almost pass for unmovable if it wasn't for the way his knuckles turn white where they grip the kitchen counter.
Scorpius has always seemed older than his fifteen years and it's easy to forget how young he really is. Maybe it's the way he carries himself, all tall and serious and mess-with-me-and-regret-it, maybe it's the studs in his ears or the piercings in his eyebrow or his lip ring or maybe it's the way his hair is bleached just a shade too blond or the old look in his silver eyes, but whatever it is... it makes him look old - too old - and dangerous - too dangerous.
Lily's father would never approve.
"How long?" Lily can't look at him for fear of seeing something unwanted in those silver eyes, but she sees him move in the corner of her eye.
"Too long," Scorpius says quietly.
They breathe in the silence, the only sound being the screeching of the cutlery and Lily's mechanical chewing. She reaches for the milk. The carton is empty, so she throws it at the trashcan.
The trashcan groans and falls over, spilling its nasty contents all over the floor.
"He's not coming to my birthday party, is he?" she asks her brother's best friend, feeling older than her thirteen years.
Scorpius doesn't answer. He jumps down, walks over towards her. Hands her a milk carton. She accepts it without a single sound and in silence she rips it open and pours some milk in her glass. It sprays in all directions, because her hand is shaking madly (it must be the cold - no other explanation).
Still completely silent, Scorpius wraps his steady fingers around hers and helps her pour. For a moment all Lily can do is sit there and stare at their entwined fingers - hers very colourful and his slender and warm.
"No." Scorpius finally says as he gently untangles their fingers and puts the milk carton down. "But I don't think you'd want him to"
~*-.-*~
"Nobody means for it to happen"
~*-.-*~
Excerpt from A Narrative of Non-Wizard Non-Humans:
The transition from human to vampyr is unpredictable. Some moments may be completely painless, others filled with suffering equal to the cruciatus curse. The transitioning wizard or witch will desire enormous amounts of human blood.
All cases of transitioning vampyrs must be reported to the Beast Division of the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures.
~*-.-*~
It doesn't take much to convince her family to let her stay in the gloomy manor. In fact, Lily almost thinks they're relieved not to have to babysit her instead of standing watch at Albus bedside (although not literally, because Albus bit Aunt Hermione when she tried that).
The next few days are the longest days of Lily's life. She sticks like glue to Scorpius, because she can't handle looking in her parents faces, knowing that they kept this from her (even though she knows they think it's for her own good), because this is her brother and he's in pain. When their parents arrived, they banned her from entering Albus's room, but that doesn't stop her from listening to his scream echo through the empty house.
The Weasleys drop by one by one, coming and going like in shifts. Even Mr. and Mrs. Malfoy drops by to see if they can help, although they're quickly chased out by a fuming Ron.
Lingering in the shadows, their mother cries soundlessly as their father brushes tear after tear from her cheeks. James just watches, so silent and sepulchral he can be mistaken for a ghost.
The only one that is crying or screaming or acting like Albus is already dead is Scorpius. He takes care of Lily, makes sure she has food to eat when her brother forgets, makes sure she isn't alone while her uncles holds down her screaming big brother and force-feeds him blood. When she scared or hopeless, he holds her tight to his chest and strokes her hair gently. He's funny too, all sarcastic jokes and razor wits, making dry comments that leaves her laughing until her chest hurts.
And then, when it's late at night and she can't sleep, he opens the door when she knocks and without a single word or judgement allows her to crawl into his bed so that she won't have to be alone with the nightmares that the screaming brings. He wraps his arms around her and her heart beats and her breath catches and she just lies there as still as she can so her heart can restart and thinks: it must be the stress.
~*-.-*~
"I swear, mate, I haven't touched her and I'm not going to, okay?
I wouldn't do that to you, Al. No matter how much I love her, I wouldn't."
~*-.-*~
"You must never tell anyone! Do you understand, Lily? This is important!" her father grips her arms so hard it almost bruises. He sounds so desperate it hurts Lily's heart. "You can never tell anyone about Albus. You hear me, Lily? Nobody. Not your teachers. Not your classmates. Nobody."
Lily nods and bites her lips and tries to blink away the sudden wetness in her eyes.
~*-.-*~
On the end of the third night, Lily overhears the grownups arguing.
"We cannot continue like this." Uncle Percy continues to insist.
"It's almost over." Uncle Bill answers, his voice pleading.
She peeks through the keyhole and sees her uncles standing there arguing. They're all looking tired and worn out and so, so sad. The healer that Lily's mother brought home on the second day when Albus screamed until his voice shattered is standing in the shadows a bit away, watching her uncles with narrowed eyes. He looks like he wants to say something and finally he does.
"Mr. Weasley's right," the healer rudely interrupts. "This is a serious matter. I'll have to contact the Ministry. That boy in there is turning into a vampyr. Infections of that kind has to be alerted immediately to prevent further spreading."
He immediately has everybody's attention.
"You didn't care before," Uncle Charlie says after a too-long pause.
"Before, I didn't think it would survive," the healer shoots back.
Something stubborn and arrogant shines in his eyes and stubborn and arrogant is always a dangerous blend in a man that thinks he's right.
"No." Uncle Percy says.
They all turn to look at him in surprise. He's standing there, in his dignified glory and with an expression on his face that Lily has never seen before. He looks like he can (and will) take on the entire world just stop the healer from turning Albus in, which is surprising considering two minutes ago he was trying to convince his brothers to do the exact same thing.
The healer gives him a superior look.
"I'm going to the Ministry," the healer repeats and from the tone of his voice, Lily knows he hasn't seen the wand yet.
"You are not," Uncle Percy calmly corrects him.
"You're a fool." he arrogantly tells Uncle Percy. "And I'm going to the Ministry right now to tell them you have a class XXXXX creature stashed in your guestroom"
He turns around to walk away, and that's the reason he doesn't see them until it's too late, because Uncle Bill is already blocking the way, looking very scary with his scared face. The healer tries to leave, but Uncle Bill is big and strong.
The healer turns around and the brothers descend upon him like a pack of hunting wolves, all silence and deadly precision. He tries to draw his wand, but Uncle George and Uncle Ron are fast and grab his arms to hold him between them as Uncle Charlie casually plucks the wand from the Healer's clenched fingers.
"I repeat; you are not," Uncle Percy says, and with her heart beating in her throat, Lily realizes that he's pointing his wand at the Healers heart.
The healer seems to realize he's not in control of the situation anymore.
"What do you think you're doing? It's a sodding vampyr! It's a monster! Release me, release me at once!" he screams, but the words only makes Lily's uncles grip him harder. He kicks out, but Uncle Charlie grabs his feet and he's held still by strong hands.
"He is also my nephew," Uncle Percy says, his eyes deadly sharp. "And to me, family is everything"
What happens next makes Lily turn her head away and scramble away from the door, needing to leave - right now - when suddenly steady fingers wraps around her shaking ones and she looks up it's (of course) him. He looks at her and he knows and he understands and he gives her hand a squeeze and leads her away from the secrets she can never speak.
He's so perfect - so very perfect.
~*-.-*~
"C'mon, Al, say something. Just say something. Say something - please!"
~*-.-*~
She knocks on his door and fidgets when he opens. He blinks and she thinks that maybe he thinks he's still dreaming because his best friend's little sister is standing outside his door in only a nightdress and she looks vulnerable and there's a blush staining her cheeks as she bites her lip. He blinks again, and she's still there.
"Lily?" he doesn't seem to believe his eyes, probably because it's obvious what she came for.
She blushes and smiles the smile that boys adore.
"It's my birthday." she says and he looks at her. His bleach blonde hair is sticking up in all directions because he just rolled out of his bed and he's wearing a grey t-shirt that loves his body and green boxers with silver snakes on and he looks at her. He looks at her... and she knows this will be the moment. The moment where he leans in and gives her the kiss of the kisses and steals her away to ride with into the sunset. The moment. She just knows.
Then he shakes his head as if to clear it and glances down the hall towards Albus's room. When he looks back at her, his eyes are very old and his face blank in a way that makes Lily's insides twist uncomfortably.
"Go back to bed, Lily." is all he says.
He turns around and shuts the door without waiting for a response.
~*-.-*~
Afterwards-Albus is almost like Before-Albus, only different. He's eyes are black instead of green, his teeth sharper than usual and he's still wearing the enchanted chains (although luckily, he's not trying to eat someone - unless they start bleeding), but it's still Albus. Just a slightly different version of Albus.
"Are you okay now?" Lily asks him quietly. She glances at the half-empty cup of blood in his hands, pointedly ignoring Malfoy's gaze, and she can't help but to think it must be so gross to drink blood.
"It was gross at the beginning, but you kind of get used to it..." he says as if he can read her mind (can vampires read minds?) and grins a grin that's an inch too sharp.. "Want a taste, sis?"
Lily narrows her eyes and wants to tell him to shut up, you prat, but then remembers he's now a blood-drinking immortal and reconsiders.
Albus shrugs and turns to Malfoy. His expression changes. Turns softer. More open. Almost apologetic in its nature.
They look at each other for a very long time, some kind of silent communication occuring that Lily can't decipher.
"I'm- I'm sorry, Scorp" Albus hesitates. "I know you'd never do something like that. Not to me." he breathes out and twirls the half-empty cup between nimble fingers. "Are we good?"
Malfoy clenches his jaw and looks away. There's a tension lying in the room, something so thick it's almost tangible, and Lily can't help but to feel like she's missing something, some secret kind of point that is going straight over her head. This is something important, she can tell by the way Albus nervously shifts (but stubbornly refuses to say something) and Malfoy looks away from his best friend as if he can't bear to look him in the eye.
Finally he turns back to Albus and nods.
"We're good," he says, and leaves the room without giving Lily as much as a second glance.
~*-.-*~
"You want me to say something? Fine. If it comes down to it, Scorpius, it's her over you.
After all, she's my sister."
~*-.-*~
A/N: Any thoughts?