Up After Hours
By: La Femme Fatale
Disclaimer: Sadly, I still don't own a thing.
To Achintya: Please don't strangle me! I promise I'll write a sequel!
A/N: If you notice me writing Seveus or Siruis at some point, try to forgive me, for I make such typos even when I write with a pen. I try to proofread these as well as I can, but while my Microsoft Word refuses to check the spelling (It keeps claiming that it has no such language as English installed, even though it's been checking the English text properly until last month, when it announced it can't understand a word I'm writing. Ooh, I'm going to kill Bill Gates) and I'm only a human, I can't guarantee I can spot every typo I've made.
Thanks to EVERYONE who reviewed. I must say that when I wrote to a different section of the site (nope, I won't tell what my name was nor what I wrote) I barely got two reviews in a week. Now my story hadn't been up a whole twenty-four hours, and I already had four reviews. And to think this is slash, and not everyone really want to read it. I like how actively you people review. Here, have a Ton-Tongue Toffee. Or… *looks about nervously and sees some irritated readers* …never mind, I'll eat it myself. *Eats the toffee* Enfoy! *waves*
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That Friday, it was the Christmas eve, and because of the rather big amount of students staying over the holidays, there was a feast in the evening, making it rather easy for two people known to hate big crowds be absent, especially as the other had no friends present to celebrate with and the other had been permitted to leave the castle grounds, for it was full moon.
In the audience seats of the Quidditch field, no one could be seen, which was actually pretty understandable, for special charms had been cast over the field to prevent it from being covered under snow, and it looked rather black. No wonder it was hard to see the character in the teacher's seats. After all, he was completely dressed in black. The figure's head turned in a blur of movement, spinning the greasy locks around. There was somebody coming towards on a broomstick.
"Sirius!" Severus called, "Over here!" Sirius waved his hand and landed beside the Slytherin. They kissed and Severus noticed how the right sleeve of Sirius' robes was shredded and the skin showing from underneath was covered in blood.
"You were in the Shrieking Shag with the marauders, weren't you?" he asked, not at all spitefully or angry, but with a tingle of worry in his voice.
"Cut it out, will you? So Remus is a werewolf, but he's OK." Sirius snapped
"I know he's OK. Dumbledore wouldn't let anyone - or anything – truly dangerous at Hogwarts. Now let's take a look at that arm." Severus reached his hand at Sirius' arm. Sirius pulled his arm away.
"Don't touch me." He hissed.
"You used to like when I touched you."
"I never said I didn't like the idea of you touching me. Do you realize I was bit by a werewolf?"
"So you'll rather accompany him in the Shrieking Shag every month from now on? And don't look at me like I just insulted you or your friend. You know perfectly well what a werewolf bite does."
"What could you do about it?"
"I could prevent that from happening. Even though what the consequents might be."
"What do you mean?" Sirius' eyes widened.
"Oh, nothing for you to worry about, really. You are in the worst danger if you decide to go into the Shrieking Shag with another werewolf. You two just might rip each other into ribbons." Severus looked at the direction of Hogsmeade and Sirius outstretched his arm.
"A wise choice", Severus said, "Now this will hurt a bit, but I must ask you not to move." Sirius nodded, but his face was somehow twisted. By fear, as it occurred to Severus. He removed the ripped clothing that was left of the right sleeve of the Gryffindor's robes. Severus took a hold on the arm, looked hesitant for a moment, and then pressed his mouth over the wound and started sucking the blood. Surprisingly, as Sirius realized, it didn't hurt a bit.
"What do you think you're-", Sirius started
'Don't move!' commanded Severus, and it took a moment for Sirius to realize the taller boy could not have spoken it aloud; He'd been talking inside Sirius' head! Suddenly the suck on his hand started to hurt, and as if the other boy had sensed it, he stopped and rose his head, spitting over the audience's edge and wiping the blood around his mouth on his sleeve. The wound on Sirius' hand was no more there.
"There", Severus said, "The bad blood has been removed." Sirius merely stared at him with an expression of fear, mixed with something that could only have been disbelief.
"What –" Sirius started, but Severus interrupted him again
"…Am I?" he finished and Sirius nodded.
"I'll tell you. If you promise you'll listen till the end, that is. Will you listen?" Severus looked at the Gryffindor. His eyes wore an impression of safety, and all Sirius could do was nod.
"I am a vampire, Sirius." Severus said, his voice a bit croaky.
"You're a what?" Sirius exclaimed. He sprang on his feet, but Severus was faster; He'd pulled out his wand and shouting 'accio', he'd taken possession of both Sirius' wand and broomstick.
"You promised you would listen till the end", Severus said, looking at Sirius sadly, like a baby animal, "I promise you'll get these back unharmed when I've told you the whole story."
"You – you hypocrite!" Sirius heard himself shout, "You believe you have the right to get educated in Hogwarts, and yet you'd have turned Remus in! If it wasn't for Dumbledore - !"
"He only forbad me from telling for the impression. He knew I understood that young Lupin has every right to be here just as much as I do. He knew I would never have told anyone."
"But if he knew you were a vampire – you wouldn't be here. Vampires are dangerous every time of the month and day!" Sirius shrieked. Severus looked at him in puzzlement.
"But surely you know – Unless…", he stared deep into the other boy's eyes, "…you're muggleborn, aren't you?" he then said. It wasn't a question.
"I – I was raised by a muggle, ever since my parents died when I was an infant, but I'm a wizard with as pure blood as you have!"
Severus shook his head, "Then, my friend, your blood wouldn't be very pure." He whispered.
"I'm not your friend." Sirius said. Amazed of how calm his voice was.
"You've got it all backwards. I would seem a pure-blood -" again the way of spitting a hated word out, "To the sorting hat, other wizards and most probably to Salazar Slytherin himself." He paused, and gazed up to the sky, "But no one really knows. Apart from me, my mother, you, and Dumbledore, that is. I suppose it's too late to back out now, so I'm just going to tell you the whole story." He looked at Sirius again, this time so much agony and hurt feelings flowing in his eyes that Sirius, despite his newfound hatred and fear towards the other youth, wanted to catch the Slytherin in his arms and embrace him as tight as he could manage. But he fought the urge and remained seated a couple of benches away from Severus.
"You see, in the beginning, 'vampire' was a race of wizards that, alike animagi, could turn themselves into an animal. But unlike animagi, they could always choose what they wanted to turn into, be a bee on one day, and a bear on the second. They didn't need to learn the skill, as they were born with it. They also possessed the ability to bond with animals. A vampire would always find his or her animal, that fit them the best."
"Nocturne." Sirius said quietly.
"Exactly. Now then, these vampires also had the rare gift – or curse, if you prefer it that way – to remain young. The only problem was that they needed blood – lots of it – to maintain their youth. So some of them, corrupted by the thought of immortality, started to attack their fellow people and draining their blood. They transformed their teeth sharp so they could easily pierce the thin skin around the neck artery. That's how the vampires both the wizarding world and the muggle world know, were created, or created themselves. Now there are these silly beliefs that the vampires can't take garlic or sunlight or sacred things. That's not true. Sure, a stake through the heart kills them, but so far I haven't heart of a creature that would remain alive with heart ripped to pieces.
"The other vampires, though, did nothing alike, and continued their lives in peace. As centuries passed by, they lost the ability to use blood as rejuvenation serum and the natural gift of transfiguration started to fade. There are many vampires of that kind walking around, blending in, as they don't harm other people. The only abilities they possess anymore are the ability to find and form a bond with their designed animals, the reformed telepathic skills, occasionally the ability to morph into an animal and the immunity to any disease that spreads by blood. My mother was a vampire of that kind and my father was a Death eater. Not exactly the family tree to brag about."
"So you're half vampire?" Sirius asked, in not at all friendly tone.
"The vampire blood doesn't work that way. It refuses to grow thinner. It blends into the blood it's mixed with as if it belonged in it. I'm a pure-blood because my father was. I reckon that's why he brought me to Voldemort when I was just a baby. To be marked. Neither of them knew I could suppress the Dark Mark, to make it go away. But I could. And I did" Severus concluded his story, unable to look at Sirius. Nocturne circled over their heads and then landed in between them, wondering what could be wrong.
Severus quietly gave Sirius back his wand and broomstick. He took them from the black-haired youth, mounted his broom and flew off, into the night. He'd need to be alone. Several minutes later Severus mounted his own broom and left toward Hogwarts.
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Hey, what the - ? This ain't how it was supposed to go! Why aren't my hands writing what I want them to write?
I am very aware that I have plot holes in this chapter, as the full moon had come again so fast, but it was necessary. And I really don't mean to break them up permanently, although it might take them over sixteen years to reconcile. This is the end of this story, but even as the third chapter turned out to be nothing like I'd planned, I think I could write a sequel as to what happened when they left Harry in the hospital wing after he'd duelled Voldemort in the graveyard.
And come to think of it, I've subconsciously written it so that it all makes sense. I mean, After graduating Sev went back to Voldemort, since he no longer had any point in acting good. When he heard about Voldemort being after Potters, he turned back to the light side and tipped him off to Dumbledore. He didn't get rid of the mark this time, since he was acting a death eater as he was a spy. He was so angry at Lupin mainly because he was the cause of Sirius leaving him, for had old Remus not bitten Sirius, Sevvie's little secret would have gone unknown to Sirius. Then he was so keen on giving Sirius to the dementors for the obvious reason; as the years passed, he'd learnt to hate him. And the two weren't too happy to make up for their past hatred when Dumbledore made them to. See? I actually have a story that doesn't crash the plotline in the four books. Is Rowling a witch? Did she Imperius me to write it this way? What a genius I am to have discovered the truth!
Ps. I've always been good with the conspiracy theories. I'm paranoid, I know, but it's fun!