Now I'm finally going to get the chance to introduce you to Starch.
The introduction of Starch is dedicated to Sunna. The first link here is to a spoof. It is not what I meant, These next two links are to Sunna's drawings of Starch http: //www .side7. com /cgi-bin /S7SDB /DisplayImg.p l?INO =255138 and http: //www .side7. com /cgi-bin /S7SDB /DisplayImg .pl?INO =255305
I should think that by now you can tell what is mine, and what is still the property of J. K. Rowling…
Anthropocentric is a word that means: viewing the world through human values and experiences.
-Chapter Nineteen-
The door to the lab swung open and Sirius caught his breath at the wave of cold that rushed out to meet them, "You work in a giant refrigerator?" he almost joked then, remembering that it was Snape, decided to just snicker to himself. 'Snape surrounded by leftovers! Gotta tell Remus about that one when I get the chance.'
Walking in and setting his cloak back on the stool it had been on, Snape started tinkering with the insides of a beige colored metal box on one of the tables.
Without looking at the sleeping form, tightly clutching a robe that had been improvised into a blanket, Snape began a list that had been originally invented for Lupin. "Everything here is mine. Do not touch my things. You may sit on that," he pointed to a stool to the left of the slab, "and you may move it anywhere you like. So long as it stays where it is."
"So you just left Remus here to freeze?!" righteous indignation flared in his Gryffindor heart.
"He is a werewolf. An hour in a cold room is not nearly enough to kill him. I will be leaving just after sunset and you may do anything you like from that time, until I return." A malicious gleam entered his eye. He amended, "Provided you do it silently and remain seated."
Black rolled his eyes but sat as instructed. Looking around the room he was awed. Due to a rather strong partiality for muggle movies and television he was able to recognize several of the apparatus, "Is that an electronic IV pump?" he gaped, "How do you get all of these muggle electronics to work down here? "
"I don't. Well not in the case of the pump anyway."
"What's with the restraints?" he eyed the thick leather straps with suspicion.
"I'm into bondage."
The simple answer, without any sneering addition or insulting comment drew Sirius' attention. He looked up in time to see Snape tuck a small phial into the shirt he wore under his robe.
He could only stutter a few whu-whu sounds. Sirius thought his jaw might have dislocated from dropping so fast. Then something that he had never dreamed possible happened. Snape quietly laughed. It was obviously at his expense, but it was a laugh none the less.
"What happened to you?" Lupin's voice was rough with sleep and as he sat up he glanced from Sirius' scratched face to the wall clock, "It's six o'clock."
"So?" Not willing to accept that Snape had just pulled one over on him, Sirius shifted slightly to see the clock over his shoulder.
He winced when the fabric of his robe brushed at a scratch on his neck, one of the thorn bushes had gotten him good, "That reminds me," he glanced at Snape then returned to Lupin. "Remus, what would it indicate if a Succubus did not respond to a person?"
"I don't know." he yawned, "I thought you got over that stupid riddle phase when you were twelve."
"I thought you liked my riddles." There was a slight pout in his voice.
"Yah, like I liked a pop-quiz."
"Well this isn't a riddle," Sirius huffed.
"Fine. Uhhhm," Lupin closed his eyes in mock concentration, "If one of them is dead?"
"Come on."
"Why?"
"Because Snape and I met in a clearing. A Succubus came up, just looked through him and left. So, oh professor of the Defense Against the Dark Arts, what does that mean?"
"That he is a heartless jerk who doesn't love anyone. But we knew that back in school." Remus started to lay back down. The sun was slowly setting and he could feel it.
"Who was she?" Black turned and demanded of Snape.
"Who?" Lupin asked, not following the wild line of thought that his friend had run down.
Without looking away from Snape he indirectly answered, "She must have been something special, to kill whatever heart you had. Did she die, or just leave you?"
"Sirius!" Lupin cried in shock, "I can't believe you're saying-- That is disgusting- to suggest that a live woman would have him!"
A long silence followed.
"This is not a conversation that I will entertain." With a great deal of effort he kept his voice under control and finished the adjustments to the machine he was working on.
Lupin found his voice first and innocently asked, "Okay, who was he then?"
With a low growl Snape stood and grabbed his cloak, "Not even if you strapped me down and forced me to swallow Veritaserum, would I have this conversation with you." He checked the fluid bag attached to Lupin's IV and paused halfway out the door, "I will be back within the half hour." He then closed the door and headed back to his bed to sleep off the Plasti-juice.
In the midst of the growing darkness, the sun cut a last piercing swath through the clouds in his mind and Remus sat up quickly turning to face Sirius, "Do you think he could really beat the serum? I mean that's what he said, right?"
"I don't know." Black kept his voice low, "He opened a padlock without a key or his wand or anything, and well, you remember what they used to say about him." He shrugged uncomfortably, "Maybe he could."
~
Half an hour later Snape slowly pried his eyes open and began to pull himself to his feet, 'Gotta get more sleep soon. Maybe I should try the Dreamless-sleep potion, or the Deep-sleep potion.'
*If you took enough of either one it wouldn't mater. *
Still rather foggy when he reached the lab it took a few seconds to remember what the extra body was doing there.
"It's almost sunset," he announced staring for a moment at Black before snapping on a pair of rubber gloves.
"Ya think?" Lupin faked surprise.
Sirius watched silently as Snape injected a clear liquid into Lupin's IV.
"It's a mild sedative," Snape hadn't had to look up to know that Black was watching his every move. "I need to strap you down now." He addressed Lupin, who was not looking very well all of a sudden, "You won't be able to hold still enough for the EKG, and I don't have the battery power to run the test twice."
Closing his eyes Lupin lay back and once again trusted himself to Snape's theoretical mercy.
"It's ok Lupin," Snape sounded almost reassuring. Which of course only worried him all the more. As the straps were cinched down on his ankles and thighs Snape whisper low enough that Sirius could not hear, "You were right and I know it. It's ok, really."
"Right, about what?" Remus cautiously opened his eyes.
Carefully tightening the strap across Lupin's chest Snape did not answer. Instead he frowned slightly and closely watched the rise and fall of the WereWolf's bare chest.
"Wha—"
"Sh." Snape cut him off.
Becoming increasingly nervous under the Potion Master's gaze, Lupin began to strain against the strap across his chest taking sharp breaths of air. When he felt Snape's cool, finely boned hand spread over his heart Lupin struggled harder, "Loosen the strap… I can't breathe!"
"No."
Sirius could not hear the word as it left Snape's mouth, but he could read it on his lips. "What is going on?" he was becoming rather worried now too.
Swiftly closing the valve on Lupin's IV Snape reached for one of the wickedly long needles on the tray beside him. "He is having an allergic reaction," he plunged the needle straight into Lupin's heart and released the drug it contained. Pulling the needle out he flung it to the other side of the room with a snarl and slapped Remus' face as his eyes rolled back. "I need you to stay awake." Neither his tone nor his touch were gentle. He got the desired result anyway.
"Can't… breathe…" Lupin gasped.
"The drug will keep your heart beating, but I can't do anything about your lungs." He knew it was not a comforting thing to hear, but time was slipping by, "Once you shift to your wolf form the allergic reaction should end." At Black's disbelieving look, which he again did not need to see to know, he sighed, "There are very few drugs that affect people and animals in precisely the same way. The amount of sedative that I used could not possibly affect a wolf. I hope," he added under his breath.
"Well what are you going to do now?!" Sirius was nearly beside himself with impotent rage. Unable to help his dying friend and wanting to seriously throttle the only one that could, he nervously bit his lip and drew blood.
"Oh great," Snape hurriedly found a gauze pad and handed it to Black. "You just had to bring the scent of fresh human blood into this didn't you." Jabbing a finger in the direction of a bio-hazard-red trash bag he spoke harshly, "I can't do anything until he stops breathing. Then, I think, I can keep him alive until he shifts."
They watched as Lupin strained harder and received less for his efforts with each passing minute.
Snape stepped forward as Lupin opened his mouth and gaped like a fish. No air filled his lungs and only his heart moved in his chest, "I'm truly sorry for this," he whispered. Looking into Lupin's fearful eyes he leaned in closer, "I don't have the right equipment to do anything else."
'What the hell?!' Lupin screamed without a sound, 'What is he going to-' cool firm lips pressed down on his own and a breath of already warm air forced its way into his body.
Re-injecting the chemical-blocker into the struggling heart every five minutes, for nearly half an hour he breathed life into Lupin. Now Snape was seeing black spots, and feeling dizzy. As the sun and moon traded places on the throne of the sky, he released the bonds that held Lupin down.
"Holy Merlin! Are you crazy?!" Not having a death wish of his own, Sirius changed to his Animagus form.
"As a dog you are safe," he continued to undo the straps, "and if I leave him tied, as he shifted he would be fatally injured." Deftly he slid a muzzle onto the emerging WereWolf's snout, "I have been commanded to search for a cure for him, I don't think death is what the Headmaster had in mind."
Yawning slightly Snape took up his cloak again. "I will be back shortly after midnight. I still need those samples, and I think he should rest a bit after all of that, er- trauma." He exited without the exhausted WereWolf noticing.
Sirius lay down on the stone floor and prepared for a long boring wait.
-Chapter Twenty-
If Starch comes off as anything other than straight, it's Sunna's fault! Sunna, you have been a wonderful boost for my confidence as a writer, and a great sounding-board. But I still blame this on you!
With sureness borne of familiarity, the cloaked figure swiftly made his way to the proper door and silently let himself in without knocking. Closing the door he turned to scan the dimly lit examination room/research lab. Keen eyes pierced the darkest shadows, searching for the room's rightful occupant.
Strong arms came up from behind him, encircling his waist and pulling him tight against a cool, well-muscled chest.
Arching his back and tilting his head so that his hair fell away, he bared his neck, "Take me now," he managed to purr.
A soft laugh sent puffs of cool air against his skin, as the invitation to nuzzle his neck was playfully accepted.
"I have not bitten anyone for nearly half a millennium," the gently accented voice caressed his ear. "But I would go back on all of that now, if you really meant it." Starch breathed the question across the warm temple before him, "Do you?"
For a one-thousand-year-old Vampire Starch was remarkably emotionally healthy. He looked as though he must have been in his mid twenty's when he had 'crossed over' as they put it. His accent had definitely become English over the centuries. But when he was really engrossed with or excited by something a slight hint of Greek would creep back into his words. Clear grey eyes spoke of a kind but troubled heart. It was his hair though, that set him apart. A rather eighty's style, uneven thatch of white hair interspersed with grey, spots.
"No" murmured the warmer of the two, dropping the pseudo-seductive behavior. Turning around so that he could return the embrace his voice was slightly muffled by a supportive shoulder, "Why do I do this?"
"You need unconditional acceptance, I provide that for you," Starch spoke softly and stroked the head that was burying itself into his shoulder.
"Why?"
The sincere confusion that he heard tore at his still heart. "Are you sure you want to hear the truth? I have no idea how or why they did what they did. But I do know what they did, did to you." He waited, but there was no response.
"That night, my clan turned against me," Starch stepped back and forced his friend to face him. "They sought to end my quest for mortality and tied me with silver chains to a memorial cross in the graveyard. The silver burnt my flesh and sapped my strength, leaving me helpless to the coming dawn. You released me. You drug me to the safety of a dark crypt. You poured out your own blood to give me the strength to survive." His voice, normally calm and soothing, was charged with emotion, "When I drank your blood I tasted your inner being. I know what has been done to you. Are you sure that you want to know?"
After several precious minutes had gone by he felt a slight nod and continued.
"Everyone needs love." He decided to try starting with a basic truth, one that every child knows instinctively. One that his friend had no grasp of. "You are not whole, you require someone else. I offer a hug and emotional support. You understand manipulation and falsity but not friendship. So you try to relate to me in a way you do understand, something safe."
"My Master…"
Taking the face before him between his hands Starch silently begged for the right words, "He sees you but dimly, and even then his sight is clouded by his own desires." 'Please, I have tried so hard and for so long. And he still can't even understand the difference between love, lust and a strategic alliance.' "I have drunk of your blood, your essence. I have tasted of your inner being. I have accepted all of you."
After a few more minutes, minutes that they both knew could not be spared, the intruder began to pull away. "It's almost eleven-thirty I should go now. I know that you have an appointment in an hour." He could not look into the eyes that tried to offer a comfort he could neither accept nor comprehend. He had been told the truth though, and that he could understand. "Just make sure that the results get to the right man."
As swiftly and silently as he had come he departed, and the vampire was left to await his first scheduled patient of the night.
~
"Ah, Severus how nice to see that you remain as punctual as ever. Even with the new trouble you seem to have found." The slight jab was softened by a friendly smile.
"Did you manage to get the records?" Snape ignored the baiting.
"You know I would not be in this business if I could not steal a simple patient's record from Mungo's," Starch scoffed at Snape's apparent lack of faith.
Snape arched a coal black brow, " Technically you're not in business."
Matching his friend's smirk, Starch handed him a set of hospital pajamas, "Lets see if I can't manage a better job than Doctor Merkowitz, hmm?"