AN: For a sneak-peak at Big Brother Irvan go read Lady Esired's Monster (link under my favorites) This will likely be the last post until August something as I'm dealing with tests and moving. Enjoy.
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Chapter 35 ............................................
Severus was not suppose to have this book. Irvan was not suppose to be reading it. And nothing was going the way things were suppose to go. Both the Trees of Life and Knowledge normally ignite a vampire to ashes upon contact. He just happened to be a member of the only family able to make contact with pieces of those trees, but he still would never attempt to touch the live wood. As it was, instead of rendering him to a cinder, the wood branded onto his skin whatever design had been carved upon it. In this case, the required symbols to read the texts of the oldest book in existence. With a continuous updating of spells of and relating to vampires along side some of the more terrible spells and potions.
The only consolation to reading the text was that if there was a counter to the problem it would be stated in full detail. Otherwise it was merely an education on death and destruction. He had not over reacted when he refused to read it. He had no interest in knowing the number of ways to kill his species and keep them alive long enough to feel the pain. There were too many in mainstream knowledge to comfort him.
And now that his grandparents, his father's parents (his mother's parents were exterminated in the early stages of the Roman Empire's destruction), were ashes, and his nephew was nowhere in the vicinity, he was left with the responsibility of keeping the book from enemy hands. Enemies which included every other living being, even when most could never understand the languages with the key much less without. The key was locked safely away in Severus's box made from the Tree of Life, and another likeness branded on the palm of his left hand. The safest locations possible.
At the moment, Irvan was standing at a podium staring at the obscene object. It didn't even have a name. At least the vampires refused to give it a name. Humans were of the opinion everything needed a name and referred to the bound pages as The Apocalyptic Text. Accurate title. And he was suppose to read the text and see if there was any mention of the curse plaguing Sirius Black. Which meant starting from the beginning. If the counter curse or any relevant information had been written down it would appear in the Text. That was the nature of the magic surrounding the book. Give it the word to search for new information and nothing could hide from its search.
Quietly he shut the large volume. He had found something that might assist in creating a counter curse but nothing solid. Not to mention he learned far too much about everything else. He could not for the life of him think of a way to stave off depression.
"Did you find anything interesting?" Damn werewolf.
"As a matter of fact I did. I learned some very interesting information concerning werewolves. And how they are nothing more than a failed experiment." He felt malicious. Share the pain and all that. "A wizard millennia ago observed that wolves could detect a vampire where normal wizards' spells failed. So he decided on combining a wizard and a wolf since is very difficult to train a wolf to hunt on command. At first he thought it worked, but the experiment took place after a full moon, so the next month he was surprised to find that instead of a man, he met with a wolf. It can be estimated that several wizards were bitten that night including the creator. Oddly, only two were killed before the wolf was subdued. But they didn't kill it.
"The next month he changed again, this time in a cage. But the others transformed as well. Did you know they could have stopped the threat with them if they had called that line of experimentation a failure and never looked back. Isolated the werewolves from then on. But they were considered too valuable in human form. And they thought the threat could be contained or eliminated. But it got out of control. One broke out, and was never found. It was the creator. The remainder were exterminated. But from one rouge a new race was born. Ironic that what was created for the good of wizarding kind only to be regulated as a Dark Creature."
The expression on the werewolf's face was priceless. This story reaffirmed what vampires had always known, but it felt good to be able to share positive knowledge of their enemy's creation. Lupin's face was somewhere between shock, horror, disgust and anger. "Impossible," Remus breathed.
"Hardly," Irvan snorted. "At least your creation was intended to be a benefit, despite the desired outcome centering on the extermination of another species."
"How about vampires? How did they come to be? Did they just arrive on earth like humans or were they created by them?" Irvan frowned. The werewolf recovered too quickly.
"Veelas," he began sullenly. He shouldn't be relating this information to anyone, but he was loathed to keep it to himself and be the only one to suffer. "Wizards wanted to know how that species had such long lives. Wanted that type of immortality for themselves. This was long before written documents, only recorded once a writing system was developed. Veela and human offspring were more Veela than human, but did not live as long as Veela. Humans were successful in isolating what allowed the Veela to be long lived. They managed to find a way to transfer that trait to half Veela. The transfer worked, but made them extremely sensitive. To everything.
"The Halfs evolved differently, and quickly. But it was their descendants that became vampires, correcting for the inefficiencies of the Halfs and adapting to their sensitivities. Vampires evolved, but their origins were from an experiment. That is the history of Born Vampires. Turned Vampires were humans but now with enhanced senses and different magicks." He found a seat. He had depressed himself further. "Though I still don't understand how we are regulated as monsters. Just like any animal we are working towards our own survival. Turning a human can be avoided if it is drained to the point of death, retains too much blood for the chemicals to overcome, or the vampire learns how to block the release of those chemicals. There are too many accidental turnings. All by Turned. Those make up the bulk of our population. Most under a thousand years.
"Even with all of the accidental turnings, our population is small. The longer a race lives the less likely it is to reproduce. The few times it is able to reproduce. Our females are usually only capable once a year, sometimes less often. If she is born, she has to be one thousand or older. If she is turned, it usually takes one hundred years for her body to adjust. A vampire can turn the day we are born, but it is unlikely. Most only turn those they care about and do not want to lose. We do not go searching for humans to turn. In fact most don't take enough blood to cause the victim harm. Only those that were unhappy with their human society.
"And that book is filled with nothing but ways to destroy us. Extermination. Demoralization. Dismemberment. General suffering of masses. I suppose werewolves have an easier time of it. At least there are those who are working to ease your problem. True, there are many more who want elimination, but most are working for regulation. Not appealing, but they are not killing you off in droves. Or creating knew and better ways of providing death. They seem to just stick with silver for you. Haven't search for less expensive methods. Shows where they put their focus. What they deem more dangerous. What to we have against us? Wooden stakes. Holy Water. Sunlight. Unicorn blood. Normal methods of death, either magical or physical. And the dozens of special curses and potions meant to be rid of us.
"For the most part silver will kill you outright. Only the younger of us have sunlight. The rest take time. Have you ever seen Holy Water work? They put a special charm on the water. When it touches our skin it burns, even if it is chilled. Flesh bubbles, muscle tissue is destroyed, and the wound can never heal naturally. We created a potion to help, but the scars never disappear. And do you know why we never hold a wooden wand? Normal wood is no threat unless it is impaled through us. No, wands hold magic and are weaker versions of the Tree of Knowledge.
"There are too many ways to die a slow and painful death. Too many ways to kill large numbers in one go. Do you know why a werewolf bite will kill a vampire? It is toxic. The chemicals in the saliva increase the heart rate and blood production. While good for a werewolf and its need and method to heal quickly, it is detrimental to us. Our heart beats fastest right after feeding, but it is still considered slow compared to the average human. Twenty maybe twenty-five times a minute. Our hearts cannot handle the stress of any faster rate. It fails long before the blood reaches an intolerable level. It was once surmised that increasing the blood flow would cure a vampire. It would make sense if you consider the fact the chemicals can only overcome a low amount of blood. But it doesn't work the same with one who is already a vampire. We don't know why, but if too much blood is injected into our bodies, we begin to bleed at the pores, dispelling the extra. But we never stop and bleed to death. so I suppose it is better to die of heart failure than slowly losing all your blood. Even our victims we decide to kill are unconscious long before they feel the suffering.
"It's all in that book. All explained in gory detail. More so than my descriptions. There are pictures and diagrams in some places where the author felt more explanation was needed. Too many."
The vampire fell silent and Remus watched on. It was a wealth of information Irvan had shared but none of it was uplifting. He could understand how the vampire felt. It had already known what could kill him, he didn't need the detail of how. However, even as a werewolf he had not known his bite would kill a vampire. Nor had anyone known how werewolves came to be. The knowledge was shocking but not entirely surprising. But was he going to inform the world of the truth. Unlikely. He would not be believed and no vampire would back him up. Irvan was in a similar position, but it seemed his revelations would be received as truth if received coldly.
"You are worried about your friend," Irvan began again, "but there is nothing in that book to help him. Just as I said. There is nothing new about that curse written. And unlikely to be after it is finished searching. Nothing I hadn't told you before. That's not to say it is not in existence, just that no one has written it down." This time the vampire dropped his head to his hands and stared blankly at the floor.
"Is he all right?"
"He's depressed," Remus answered.
"Who wouldn't be if that was what you've been reading for two days straight."
"How much did you overhear, Bill?"
"Most of it," it was Charlie who answered. Both of the older Weasley brothers were standing behind the werewolf, watching the vampire. "That's not normal, is it?" Leave it to the dragon handler to recognize the odd reactions of Irvan.
"Not as far as I know," Bill answered. "Do you think he can hear us?"
"Likely. Irvan? Irvan, come on, we're going for a walk."
"Why would I voluntarily place myself in your company," Irvan mumbled, not looking up.
"I don't have a very good answer to that," Remus responded perhaps more cheerfully than the situation called for, but it elicited a reaction from the vampire. He actually turned his head to face them, waiting for the werewolf's explanation. "It is either come with us to get a drink and try to forget the worst of it, or stay here and brood over possibilities you may never see, much less experience for you could only experience one in most cases, correct? Then you can go complain to Severus how we interrupted your work." And he waited. Irvan would either agree or ignore them.
The vampire surprised them all when he stood. "You were correct in saying your answer was not very good. However, it was realistic. And I am not one to neglect an opportunity to converse with remotely interesting company." Once Irvan stepped over the threshold of the library into the hall, his demeanor changed dramatically. He raised an eyebrow at the redheaded men, "And how was dinner with Severus?"
Bill looked over at his brother Charlie and they shared a small laugh. "I think," he started explaining, "the twins would be the best ones to ask about that. Mom was scolding them for stuffing the goose with some of their jokes. They were just lucky it was the Headmaster who did the carving." A small smile drifted across Irvan's face as he imagined the scene.
"Come on, we're all going to need hide from Severus shortly." Remus didn't know why he was suddenly taking the time to actually know the vampire, but he figured it had something to do with the knowledge just imparted to him. Or just the troublesome tone in which he related the facts. "I'd say Cicero's Keep but, everyone else is there right now."
Irvan spoke up, offering a change. "There is room that I have never known Severus to frequent. Nor to my knowledge has it been used since Sabrina Olosus Snape."
"When was that?"
"She was head of the Snape family in the 1500s. I believe she was the one who purchased that Ward Guardian out front. I also believe she was related to the Black family. But seeing how the Blacks and the Snapes have never really enjoyed each other's company, she would not be discussed much."
"What do you mean the Blacks and Snapes do not get along?" Remus questioned. "Severus and Phineas seem to talk together quite nicely."
"Phineas is a portrait. And while a good one, not the absolute best at representing the person's personality. You will understand when you meet the other portraits in Sabrina's Study."
"Are all of the rooms here named after some relative of Snape's?"
"No, only most. Here we are." Irvan pushed against a section of wall which slid away to reveal a hidden room. Remus noted how very quickly Irvan seemed to change from a manic-depressant to his more normal self. One where he seemed to enjoy conversation for conversation's sake, not the sake of the company.
The room was unlike the ones Remus had spent time in, granted those were few in comparison to the size of the estate. It was far from formal, most unlike what he had expected from a sixteenth century style. The room more resembled an artist's studio than a library. Sketches strewn in every corner available, drawing utensils scattered in various containers.
"I though you said this was a library," was Charlie's first impression.
"You were under the misconception that libraries contain only books," Irvan returned condescendingly. Turning to an empty frame, he said, "Sylvester?" And a sever man dressed morosely stepped into view. He reminded Remus more of a seventeenth century Puritan, than a man from somewhere in the eighteen hundreds.
"What is it Irvan? You have a nasty habit of arriving when I least desire it." Sylvester Snape spoke crisply and agitatedly, as if being pressured into something.
"That is only because you never desire anything." The response was bland. It must have been a typical exchange. "Has Severus visited this room lately?"
"No. That boy refuses to come here. Never gave a reason. Fine by me, the less time he spends here the more I have for solitude."
"Doesn't mean much if you are gallivanting around in other portraits."
"I do not gallivant. Now why are you here?"
"To use this room and hide from Severus, I believe. I'm sure you have better things to be doing. I'll just let you continue." The portrait did not grant Irvan a response which Irvan apparently did not mind. The vampire turned to a bookshelf sprawling with loose papers and scrolls. After shifting many piles, he seemed to find what he as looking for. A small circular handle. When the vampire pressed it, the circle grew into a small hole in the wall. He turned around with a clay bottle in one hand and four shallow bowls. "But we came for the drink." Setting the bowls on a small table between some chairs, he poured each of them some thick red liquid.
Irvan slipped into a chair as he watched the three humans eye the drink curiously and warily. He picked up his glass and began sipping from his shallow clay bowl. Remus having suggested the trip out of the library, lifted the vessel before him gingerly. His sense of smell told him it was not wine. Nor blood. But he did not know what it was. The only way left was to taste the red liquid. Without paying much heed to Irvan or the Weasleys, Remus took a swallow.
His face lit up in puzzlement at the taste. Cool, almost cold, slightly sweet and without the bitterness of alcohol. Yet there was a quality he could not explain, did not recognize. A tangy bitterness that vanished almost as soon as he thought he tasted it. Overall he could find no fault with the cold, thick liquid, despite not knowing what it was.
"What is it?" he asked curiously, looking from the red drink to Irvan quietly sipping his own, lost in thought.
"Are you sure you want to know?" was the reply, a small smirk playing on the corners of his lips. From the other corner of the room the Weasleys were not as accepting on hearing this. Charlie looked ill and Bill seemed to be choking by the way he was coughing and beating his chest.
"It's blood" Charlie managed in a hushed tone, afraid of the answer.
"Nonsense. Blood does not keep well after leaving the body." The words were those of an explanation to a child, but the vampire's grin betrayed genuine amusement. "It's from a plant we have hidden from humans and it does a remarkable job of looking and tasting like blood. But nowhere near as good as the real thing. And this does take at least a thousand years before it is ripe for drinking."
This time Remus barely held in his portion and started coughing violent as the drink slid down the wrong pipe. "You mean this is over a thousand years old?"
Irvan raised an eyebrow as if considering the statement odd. He then lifted the clay bottle as if to read the label. "Some dialect of cuneiform. The date is fairly useless now that the Christians have changed the calendar. Though regardless this is more than three thousand years old."
This time Charlie was choking so hard his brother had to pound him on the back to make sure he was all right. Over Charlie's dry retching, Bill managed to swallow his shock and ask, "Three thousand? That shouldn't be possible."
"I assure you this drink can last favorably for at least five thousand years. Six if the brew is particularly fine. Which I suspect this is. It has kept the coldness quite well. Some of the weaker versions will warm up to room temperature too quickly and spoil the drink." Irvan sipped his beverage and lapsed into silence.
Several moments ticked by and Remus braved more of the strange liquid. Knowing it was not blood helped in keeping his squeamishness aside and wondering again at the vampire. Who had just pulled a prank on them all, and seemed oddly pleased with the outcome. The Weasleys however did not seem to have the same luck. Bill had abandoned his drink on the table, though Charlie was still attempting, admirably so, to get past the thought of it appearing like blood.
Bill was the first to breach the almost comfortable silence. "That book, would it really have an answer to Sirius's problem?" The vampire frowned and stared into his drink. The older Weasleys had been told of the issue with Sirius and the mind controlling potion and curse. Dumbledore had wanted more eyes on the animagus and Harry just in case something odd occurred. Yet from Irvan's pensive face, this was the last subject he wished to discuss over a drink. And it had actually been Remus's plan to avoid the topic for as long as possible. He couldn't understand it, but he did not think a depressed Irvan was going to be productive in helping find a cure for Sirius.
"There is that possibility," Irvan said quietly to his drink more than the people in the room. "However. it is highly doubtful. While both the curse and potion once had a side intention of reclaiming humans under vampiric mind control, neither ever worked. It would seem Voldemort has found a way to successfully combine them. Thus since it would be a new development, it would not have any counter to it."
"Surely if we new the spell used we could come up with a counter-curse. Right, Bill?" Charlie had finally given up and placed his vessel of drink on the table. Now it was only Remus and Irvan who held theirs, yet Irvan did not appear to be interested in drinking anymore.
"Possibly," the other redhead answered slowly. "While I might be a good enough curse breaker for the Goblins to keep hanging around, dealing with curses on humans is not my field of expertise. Especially not dealing with the mind. I won't say I won't try. But... Are you sure there will be nothing?"
"No, I'm not sure," Irvan snapped. After a visible effort to calm himself, the vampire set his vessel down and leaned forward. A face looking no more than twenty but strange eyes betraying countless centuries stared unblinkingly at them. "There are a great many things in that book and I have no desire to learn about any of them."
"You aren't interested in finding out how to cure Sirius?"
"Sirius is not my concern. I am only doing this to keep Severus out of more trouble than he already is."
The Weasleys shared a look and Bill turned back to the vampire. "Perhaps more heads will help in solving this problem." Remus knew the brothers were more interested in finding a cure for Sirius than giving any assistance to Snape.
As though anticipating the request, Irvan interrupted saying, "You are unable to read it. No translation charm you know will enable you to read it."
"That doesn't mean that we could be of help," Charlie defended just as quickly as Irvan shot them down.
"It means humans are not suppose to know about the book, much less about what is inside. If you think I'm going to allow you free reign, you are sadly mistaken."
"I don't think that is what they are asking, Irvan," Remus volunteered, to Irvan's further annoyance. "Perhaps you just need to translate the more relevant texts. The ones that they might be able to create something useful from. I don't mean any offense, but I doubt you're very good when it comes to creating counter curses. And that's Bill's job. Give him a chance."
Irvan just frowned and stared blankly at them for a few moments, sighed and picked up his drink again. "What's the point," Remus thought he heard the vampire say before Irvan drained his vessel. After a moment of watching the dregs settle, Irvan placed the bowl on the table and refilled it. "I came to forget. If you are still intent on this subject later, we'll see."
That seemed to be as positive a response as they would receive from Irvan at the moment. Remus continued to sip at his drink, wondering what else was in that book Severus called the Apocalyptic Text. And how Severus was handling the news of having the entire Weasley clan, minus Percy, under his roof. Dumbledore had seemed to have trouble keeping the Potions Master from exploding at the Dinner. Though thinking about it, it was probably the fireworks in the goose.
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Chapter 35 ............................................
Severus was not suppose to have this book. Irvan was not suppose to be reading it. And nothing was going the way things were suppose to go. Both the Trees of Life and Knowledge normally ignite a vampire to ashes upon contact. He just happened to be a member of the only family able to make contact with pieces of those trees, but he still would never attempt to touch the live wood. As it was, instead of rendering him to a cinder, the wood branded onto his skin whatever design had been carved upon it. In this case, the required symbols to read the texts of the oldest book in existence. With a continuous updating of spells of and relating to vampires along side some of the more terrible spells and potions.
The only consolation to reading the text was that if there was a counter to the problem it would be stated in full detail. Otherwise it was merely an education on death and destruction. He had not over reacted when he refused to read it. He had no interest in knowing the number of ways to kill his species and keep them alive long enough to feel the pain. There were too many in mainstream knowledge to comfort him.
And now that his grandparents, his father's parents (his mother's parents were exterminated in the early stages of the Roman Empire's destruction), were ashes, and his nephew was nowhere in the vicinity, he was left with the responsibility of keeping the book from enemy hands. Enemies which included every other living being, even when most could never understand the languages with the key much less without. The key was locked safely away in Severus's box made from the Tree of Life, and another likeness branded on the palm of his left hand. The safest locations possible.
At the moment, Irvan was standing at a podium staring at the obscene object. It didn't even have a name. At least the vampires refused to give it a name. Humans were of the opinion everything needed a name and referred to the bound pages as The Apocalyptic Text. Accurate title. And he was suppose to read the text and see if there was any mention of the curse plaguing Sirius Black. Which meant starting from the beginning. If the counter curse or any relevant information had been written down it would appear in the Text. That was the nature of the magic surrounding the book. Give it the word to search for new information and nothing could hide from its search.
Quietly he shut the large volume. He had found something that might assist in creating a counter curse but nothing solid. Not to mention he learned far too much about everything else. He could not for the life of him think of a way to stave off depression.
"Did you find anything interesting?" Damn werewolf.
"As a matter of fact I did. I learned some very interesting information concerning werewolves. And how they are nothing more than a failed experiment." He felt malicious. Share the pain and all that. "A wizard millennia ago observed that wolves could detect a vampire where normal wizards' spells failed. So he decided on combining a wizard and a wolf since is very difficult to train a wolf to hunt on command. At first he thought it worked, but the experiment took place after a full moon, so the next month he was surprised to find that instead of a man, he met with a wolf. It can be estimated that several wizards were bitten that night including the creator. Oddly, only two were killed before the wolf was subdued. But they didn't kill it.
"The next month he changed again, this time in a cage. But the others transformed as well. Did you know they could have stopped the threat with them if they had called that line of experimentation a failure and never looked back. Isolated the werewolves from then on. But they were considered too valuable in human form. And they thought the threat could be contained or eliminated. But it got out of control. One broke out, and was never found. It was the creator. The remainder were exterminated. But from one rouge a new race was born. Ironic that what was created for the good of wizarding kind only to be regulated as a Dark Creature."
The expression on the werewolf's face was priceless. This story reaffirmed what vampires had always known, but it felt good to be able to share positive knowledge of their enemy's creation. Lupin's face was somewhere between shock, horror, disgust and anger. "Impossible," Remus breathed.
"Hardly," Irvan snorted. "At least your creation was intended to be a benefit, despite the desired outcome centering on the extermination of another species."
"How about vampires? How did they come to be? Did they just arrive on earth like humans or were they created by them?" Irvan frowned. The werewolf recovered too quickly.
"Veelas," he began sullenly. He shouldn't be relating this information to anyone, but he was loathed to keep it to himself and be the only one to suffer. "Wizards wanted to know how that species had such long lives. Wanted that type of immortality for themselves. This was long before written documents, only recorded once a writing system was developed. Veela and human offspring were more Veela than human, but did not live as long as Veela. Humans were successful in isolating what allowed the Veela to be long lived. They managed to find a way to transfer that trait to half Veela. The transfer worked, but made them extremely sensitive. To everything.
"The Halfs evolved differently, and quickly. But it was their descendants that became vampires, correcting for the inefficiencies of the Halfs and adapting to their sensitivities. Vampires evolved, but their origins were from an experiment. That is the history of Born Vampires. Turned Vampires were humans but now with enhanced senses and different magicks." He found a seat. He had depressed himself further. "Though I still don't understand how we are regulated as monsters. Just like any animal we are working towards our own survival. Turning a human can be avoided if it is drained to the point of death, retains too much blood for the chemicals to overcome, or the vampire learns how to block the release of those chemicals. There are too many accidental turnings. All by Turned. Those make up the bulk of our population. Most under a thousand years.
"Even with all of the accidental turnings, our population is small. The longer a race lives the less likely it is to reproduce. The few times it is able to reproduce. Our females are usually only capable once a year, sometimes less often. If she is born, she has to be one thousand or older. If she is turned, it usually takes one hundred years for her body to adjust. A vampire can turn the day we are born, but it is unlikely. Most only turn those they care about and do not want to lose. We do not go searching for humans to turn. In fact most don't take enough blood to cause the victim harm. Only those that were unhappy with their human society.
"And that book is filled with nothing but ways to destroy us. Extermination. Demoralization. Dismemberment. General suffering of masses. I suppose werewolves have an easier time of it. At least there are those who are working to ease your problem. True, there are many more who want elimination, but most are working for regulation. Not appealing, but they are not killing you off in droves. Or creating knew and better ways of providing death. They seem to just stick with silver for you. Haven't search for less expensive methods. Shows where they put their focus. What they deem more dangerous. What to we have against us? Wooden stakes. Holy Water. Sunlight. Unicorn blood. Normal methods of death, either magical or physical. And the dozens of special curses and potions meant to be rid of us.
"For the most part silver will kill you outright. Only the younger of us have sunlight. The rest take time. Have you ever seen Holy Water work? They put a special charm on the water. When it touches our skin it burns, even if it is chilled. Flesh bubbles, muscle tissue is destroyed, and the wound can never heal naturally. We created a potion to help, but the scars never disappear. And do you know why we never hold a wooden wand? Normal wood is no threat unless it is impaled through us. No, wands hold magic and are weaker versions of the Tree of Knowledge.
"There are too many ways to die a slow and painful death. Too many ways to kill large numbers in one go. Do you know why a werewolf bite will kill a vampire? It is toxic. The chemicals in the saliva increase the heart rate and blood production. While good for a werewolf and its need and method to heal quickly, it is detrimental to us. Our heart beats fastest right after feeding, but it is still considered slow compared to the average human. Twenty maybe twenty-five times a minute. Our hearts cannot handle the stress of any faster rate. It fails long before the blood reaches an intolerable level. It was once surmised that increasing the blood flow would cure a vampire. It would make sense if you consider the fact the chemicals can only overcome a low amount of blood. But it doesn't work the same with one who is already a vampire. We don't know why, but if too much blood is injected into our bodies, we begin to bleed at the pores, dispelling the extra. But we never stop and bleed to death. so I suppose it is better to die of heart failure than slowly losing all your blood. Even our victims we decide to kill are unconscious long before they feel the suffering.
"It's all in that book. All explained in gory detail. More so than my descriptions. There are pictures and diagrams in some places where the author felt more explanation was needed. Too many."
The vampire fell silent and Remus watched on. It was a wealth of information Irvan had shared but none of it was uplifting. He could understand how the vampire felt. It had already known what could kill him, he didn't need the detail of how. However, even as a werewolf he had not known his bite would kill a vampire. Nor had anyone known how werewolves came to be. The knowledge was shocking but not entirely surprising. But was he going to inform the world of the truth. Unlikely. He would not be believed and no vampire would back him up. Irvan was in a similar position, but it seemed his revelations would be received as truth if received coldly.
"You are worried about your friend," Irvan began again, "but there is nothing in that book to help him. Just as I said. There is nothing new about that curse written. And unlikely to be after it is finished searching. Nothing I hadn't told you before. That's not to say it is not in existence, just that no one has written it down." This time the vampire dropped his head to his hands and stared blankly at the floor.
"Is he all right?"
"He's depressed," Remus answered.
"Who wouldn't be if that was what you've been reading for two days straight."
"How much did you overhear, Bill?"
"Most of it," it was Charlie who answered. Both of the older Weasley brothers were standing behind the werewolf, watching the vampire. "That's not normal, is it?" Leave it to the dragon handler to recognize the odd reactions of Irvan.
"Not as far as I know," Bill answered. "Do you think he can hear us?"
"Likely. Irvan? Irvan, come on, we're going for a walk."
"Why would I voluntarily place myself in your company," Irvan mumbled, not looking up.
"I don't have a very good answer to that," Remus responded perhaps more cheerfully than the situation called for, but it elicited a reaction from the vampire. He actually turned his head to face them, waiting for the werewolf's explanation. "It is either come with us to get a drink and try to forget the worst of it, or stay here and brood over possibilities you may never see, much less experience for you could only experience one in most cases, correct? Then you can go complain to Severus how we interrupted your work." And he waited. Irvan would either agree or ignore them.
The vampire surprised them all when he stood. "You were correct in saying your answer was not very good. However, it was realistic. And I am not one to neglect an opportunity to converse with remotely interesting company." Once Irvan stepped over the threshold of the library into the hall, his demeanor changed dramatically. He raised an eyebrow at the redheaded men, "And how was dinner with Severus?"
Bill looked over at his brother Charlie and they shared a small laugh. "I think," he started explaining, "the twins would be the best ones to ask about that. Mom was scolding them for stuffing the goose with some of their jokes. They were just lucky it was the Headmaster who did the carving." A small smile drifted across Irvan's face as he imagined the scene.
"Come on, we're all going to need hide from Severus shortly." Remus didn't know why he was suddenly taking the time to actually know the vampire, but he figured it had something to do with the knowledge just imparted to him. Or just the troublesome tone in which he related the facts. "I'd say Cicero's Keep but, everyone else is there right now."
Irvan spoke up, offering a change. "There is room that I have never known Severus to frequent. Nor to my knowledge has it been used since Sabrina Olosus Snape."
"When was that?"
"She was head of the Snape family in the 1500s. I believe she was the one who purchased that Ward Guardian out front. I also believe she was related to the Black family. But seeing how the Blacks and the Snapes have never really enjoyed each other's company, she would not be discussed much."
"What do you mean the Blacks and Snapes do not get along?" Remus questioned. "Severus and Phineas seem to talk together quite nicely."
"Phineas is a portrait. And while a good one, not the absolute best at representing the person's personality. You will understand when you meet the other portraits in Sabrina's Study."
"Are all of the rooms here named after some relative of Snape's?"
"No, only most. Here we are." Irvan pushed against a section of wall which slid away to reveal a hidden room. Remus noted how very quickly Irvan seemed to change from a manic-depressant to his more normal self. One where he seemed to enjoy conversation for conversation's sake, not the sake of the company.
The room was unlike the ones Remus had spent time in, granted those were few in comparison to the size of the estate. It was far from formal, most unlike what he had expected from a sixteenth century style. The room more resembled an artist's studio than a library. Sketches strewn in every corner available, drawing utensils scattered in various containers.
"I though you said this was a library," was Charlie's first impression.
"You were under the misconception that libraries contain only books," Irvan returned condescendingly. Turning to an empty frame, he said, "Sylvester?" And a sever man dressed morosely stepped into view. He reminded Remus more of a seventeenth century Puritan, than a man from somewhere in the eighteen hundreds.
"What is it Irvan? You have a nasty habit of arriving when I least desire it." Sylvester Snape spoke crisply and agitatedly, as if being pressured into something.
"That is only because you never desire anything." The response was bland. It must have been a typical exchange. "Has Severus visited this room lately?"
"No. That boy refuses to come here. Never gave a reason. Fine by me, the less time he spends here the more I have for solitude."
"Doesn't mean much if you are gallivanting around in other portraits."
"I do not gallivant. Now why are you here?"
"To use this room and hide from Severus, I believe. I'm sure you have better things to be doing. I'll just let you continue." The portrait did not grant Irvan a response which Irvan apparently did not mind. The vampire turned to a bookshelf sprawling with loose papers and scrolls. After shifting many piles, he seemed to find what he as looking for. A small circular handle. When the vampire pressed it, the circle grew into a small hole in the wall. He turned around with a clay bottle in one hand and four shallow bowls. "But we came for the drink." Setting the bowls on a small table between some chairs, he poured each of them some thick red liquid.
Irvan slipped into a chair as he watched the three humans eye the drink curiously and warily. He picked up his glass and began sipping from his shallow clay bowl. Remus having suggested the trip out of the library, lifted the vessel before him gingerly. His sense of smell told him it was not wine. Nor blood. But he did not know what it was. The only way left was to taste the red liquid. Without paying much heed to Irvan or the Weasleys, Remus took a swallow.
His face lit up in puzzlement at the taste. Cool, almost cold, slightly sweet and without the bitterness of alcohol. Yet there was a quality he could not explain, did not recognize. A tangy bitterness that vanished almost as soon as he thought he tasted it. Overall he could find no fault with the cold, thick liquid, despite not knowing what it was.
"What is it?" he asked curiously, looking from the red drink to Irvan quietly sipping his own, lost in thought.
"Are you sure you want to know?" was the reply, a small smirk playing on the corners of his lips. From the other corner of the room the Weasleys were not as accepting on hearing this. Charlie looked ill and Bill seemed to be choking by the way he was coughing and beating his chest.
"It's blood" Charlie managed in a hushed tone, afraid of the answer.
"Nonsense. Blood does not keep well after leaving the body." The words were those of an explanation to a child, but the vampire's grin betrayed genuine amusement. "It's from a plant we have hidden from humans and it does a remarkable job of looking and tasting like blood. But nowhere near as good as the real thing. And this does take at least a thousand years before it is ripe for drinking."
This time Remus barely held in his portion and started coughing violent as the drink slid down the wrong pipe. "You mean this is over a thousand years old?"
Irvan raised an eyebrow as if considering the statement odd. He then lifted the clay bottle as if to read the label. "Some dialect of cuneiform. The date is fairly useless now that the Christians have changed the calendar. Though regardless this is more than three thousand years old."
This time Charlie was choking so hard his brother had to pound him on the back to make sure he was all right. Over Charlie's dry retching, Bill managed to swallow his shock and ask, "Three thousand? That shouldn't be possible."
"I assure you this drink can last favorably for at least five thousand years. Six if the brew is particularly fine. Which I suspect this is. It has kept the coldness quite well. Some of the weaker versions will warm up to room temperature too quickly and spoil the drink." Irvan sipped his beverage and lapsed into silence.
Several moments ticked by and Remus braved more of the strange liquid. Knowing it was not blood helped in keeping his squeamishness aside and wondering again at the vampire. Who had just pulled a prank on them all, and seemed oddly pleased with the outcome. The Weasleys however did not seem to have the same luck. Bill had abandoned his drink on the table, though Charlie was still attempting, admirably so, to get past the thought of it appearing like blood.
Bill was the first to breach the almost comfortable silence. "That book, would it really have an answer to Sirius's problem?" The vampire frowned and stared into his drink. The older Weasleys had been told of the issue with Sirius and the mind controlling potion and curse. Dumbledore had wanted more eyes on the animagus and Harry just in case something odd occurred. Yet from Irvan's pensive face, this was the last subject he wished to discuss over a drink. And it had actually been Remus's plan to avoid the topic for as long as possible. He couldn't understand it, but he did not think a depressed Irvan was going to be productive in helping find a cure for Sirius.
"There is that possibility," Irvan said quietly to his drink more than the people in the room. "However. it is highly doubtful. While both the curse and potion once had a side intention of reclaiming humans under vampiric mind control, neither ever worked. It would seem Voldemort has found a way to successfully combine them. Thus since it would be a new development, it would not have any counter to it."
"Surely if we new the spell used we could come up with a counter-curse. Right, Bill?" Charlie had finally given up and placed his vessel of drink on the table. Now it was only Remus and Irvan who held theirs, yet Irvan did not appear to be interested in drinking anymore.
"Possibly," the other redhead answered slowly. "While I might be a good enough curse breaker for the Goblins to keep hanging around, dealing with curses on humans is not my field of expertise. Especially not dealing with the mind. I won't say I won't try. But... Are you sure there will be nothing?"
"No, I'm not sure," Irvan snapped. After a visible effort to calm himself, the vampire set his vessel down and leaned forward. A face looking no more than twenty but strange eyes betraying countless centuries stared unblinkingly at them. "There are a great many things in that book and I have no desire to learn about any of them."
"You aren't interested in finding out how to cure Sirius?"
"Sirius is not my concern. I am only doing this to keep Severus out of more trouble than he already is."
The Weasleys shared a look and Bill turned back to the vampire. "Perhaps more heads will help in solving this problem." Remus knew the brothers were more interested in finding a cure for Sirius than giving any assistance to Snape.
As though anticipating the request, Irvan interrupted saying, "You are unable to read it. No translation charm you know will enable you to read it."
"That doesn't mean that we could be of help," Charlie defended just as quickly as Irvan shot them down.
"It means humans are not suppose to know about the book, much less about what is inside. If you think I'm going to allow you free reign, you are sadly mistaken."
"I don't think that is what they are asking, Irvan," Remus volunteered, to Irvan's further annoyance. "Perhaps you just need to translate the more relevant texts. The ones that they might be able to create something useful from. I don't mean any offense, but I doubt you're very good when it comes to creating counter curses. And that's Bill's job. Give him a chance."
Irvan just frowned and stared blankly at them for a few moments, sighed and picked up his drink again. "What's the point," Remus thought he heard the vampire say before Irvan drained his vessel. After a moment of watching the dregs settle, Irvan placed the bowl on the table and refilled it. "I came to forget. If you are still intent on this subject later, we'll see."
That seemed to be as positive a response as they would receive from Irvan at the moment. Remus continued to sip at his drink, wondering what else was in that book Severus called the Apocalyptic Text. And how Severus was handling the news of having the entire Weasley clan, minus Percy, under his roof. Dumbledore had seemed to have trouble keeping the Potions Master from exploding at the Dinner. Though thinking about it, it was probably the fireworks in the goose.