Disclaimer: I own very little.

A/N: I apologize for taking so long to get a single HP update done. However, I make no promises as to when the next will be.


Xithion's Gift

Chapter 7:

The End of the Vampire


Sirius leant against a wall in a dark corner of the Malfoy Manor. He rested his head against the cold stone, shivering slightly at the chill. It was quite cold outside, and Sirius was yet to gain full vampiric resistance to changes of temperature.

His eyes slid slowly shut. It wasn't because of tiredness, rather just a sign of relaxation. For here he had truly been able to relax. Despite his initial fears, Lucius' parents had turned out to be wonderful people. He could freely stay up all night long and do his little sleeping in the day, not having to hide his nocturnal lifestyle, and he actually had others to share this rhythm. Unlike in Hogwarts, he didn't have to be careful with his vampiric habits. Lucius taught him to hunt properly, Remus helping in tracking down the game and Severus simply tagging along. They had lots of fun together, even more so than at school.

Right now, however, he was alone. Lucius and Remus were somewhere together, and he wouldn't have even dreamed of going to look for them lest he see something he'd rather forget. The first time had been bad enough. As for Severus, well, the Slytherin had managed to slip off somewhat undetected (not a very rare event, that) and he had no idea where the other was. So, he was simply enjoying the silence of the huge, ancient manor, not thinking about anything in particular.

Suddenly, however, he was snapped out of his relaxed state as his sharp ears caught the sound of footsteps. Faltering footsteps, to be exact -- ones that were approaching him. He went absolutely still, hiding in the shadows as his eyes were fixed to the direction from which the sound was coming from.

He was somewhat shocked to soon see Severus walking around a corner. Well, of course it wasn't much of a shock to see his friend there, as he knew very well that Severus was in the Manor. However, the state the Slytherin was in was definitely enough to shock him.

Severus, who always was walking with such confident strides, never letting anybody slow himself, now walked slowly, with carefully measured steps, one hand all the time trailing the rough stone of the wall. Once he stopped as if to catch his breath, then continued, still slowly.

Sirius backed further into the shadows. One of the vampiric skills he had managed to master was being unnoticed. He simply had to find a place with not too bright lighting and concentrate on not being noticed, and nobody but other Dark creatures could find him. This worked even on Severus, who usually could immediately see through any notice-me-not charm Sirius could come up with. They had agreed that such a trick would not be used on the Slytherin -- although it would have made for great prank opportunities, Sirius often found himself thinking -- but this wasn't just a usual case. This was important. Severus was obviously unwell, and Sirius knew he wouldn't have ever admitted to possibly not being absolutely perfect in every way.

He observed the Slytherin's way down the corridor. This did not look good. Just as he was about to reveal himself and ask just what the hell was wrong with his friend, Severus stopped again, leaning against the wall right beside Sirius. Shielding his eyes with one pale hand, Severus started to talk to himself. It was very quiet, hardly audible to usual human ears even so close, but Sirius' vampiric hearing caught it well enough.

"You can do it... no, you have to do it... Remus probably suspects something already, but you can't let Lucius know... or Sirius. Especially not Sirius." Severus sighed, pushing himself away from the wall. "Why must everything be so difficult?" he muttered.

Sirius almost asked what was difficult. He almost asked a great deal of other things, too. Like what exactly Severus was trying to hide from them, and why he especially wasn't supposed to know about whatever it was. However, he knew Severus well enough to know that such questions would make him shut up like a clam and not say another word. Watching quietly as the Slytherin slowly made his way down the corridor, Sirius realized that there was only one thing he could do.

He had to ask Remus to find out what was wrong.


"So you noticed it also." Remus definitely didn't seem surprised to hear what Sirius had to tell. "I sensed it a while ago but didn't tell anyone. If he'd wanted anybody to know, he would have told us. Severus can be stubborn like that."

"Well, what is it?" asked Sirius. "You seem to know what is wrong with him. I want to know!"

"It really isn't my place to tell you, but..." Remus hesitated for a moment. Then, he said, "As far as I can tell, he has Hemodia."

Sirius had no idea what that meant. "Yes?" he prompted.

"It's a strange magical illness," Remus sighed. "Some say it was originally created on purpose. Anyway, the basic idea is that your body produces more blood than you need. And more. And more. You get weak because all your body's resources go to the process of producing more blood cells all the time, your blood pressure builds up, and you look flushed all the time. And, in the end, the blood vessels start to burst. Death can be postponed by letting the blood out regularly, but even that can't help forever. It's incurable and almost always leads to death."

Sirius stared at Remus. Sure, he had guessed that something was wrong with Severus, but it had never even crossed his mind that it could be something this bad...

He tried to imagine life without Severus and found he couldn't. Not really. Sure, Lucius and Remus would still be there, and James and Peter, of course. However, it just... It just wouldn't be the same. Not at all the same.

If there wasn't Severus, who was he going to argue with? Who was he going to scare out of their wits, like with that bat trick of his? Who was he going to work with at school, and laugh, and talk and fight and just be together with? He'd become too accustomed to the Slytherin's constant presence to do without it. He needed Severus.

It was true, however badly he perhaps wanted to deny it. Severus was too important to him for him to die -- and that importance had very little to do with the potion he frequently brewed.

"Hey!" he exclaimed, suddenly remembering something. "You said it almost always leads to death, right? So there must be some way to save him!"

Remus sighed. "Yes, there is," he replied. "However, it's not simple. If such a thing was to be done, it would affect the rest of his life. Knowing Severus, he would rather die than accept it."

"Well, what is it?" asked Sirius impatiently. "What's so horrible that he would rather die than do it?"

"Not horrible, necessarily," Remus said. "I should know. However, it is binding." Giving his friend a serious gaze, the werewolf continued, "The only way to save him is to have him become a vampire's servant."

Sirius again went speechless, simply staring at his friend. Finally he asked, "How does that work?"

"Well, once they bond with a vampire, their blood production adjusts to fit the vampire's needs. Basically, their body will produce enough blood for two people. With the blood production under control, everything will be all right." The werewolf looked at him seriously. "He's never going to accept a bond with you, though. He doesn't want anyone's pity."

Sirius didn't say anything. Instead, he turned around and walked away.


"Are you sure you're all right, Severus?" asked Lucius, frowning. "You look a bit flushed."

"I'm fine, Lucius," the other Slytherin said. "Nothing's wrong."

Sirius didn't say anything. Instead, he watched Severus closely. His nose smelled blood -- more so than usually. And Severus did look a bit flushed...

He caught himself just before he started to lick his lips. Now, that would be the worst thing to do! He couldn't think of his friend as a snack! ...Or a dinner, like the case may be. There was probably enough blood in Severus now to satisfy his thirst for blood for a whole week.

There was no way he would do that, though. He couldn't harm Severus. And he wasn't going to say anything, either.

...But Severus was going to die! There must be something he could do! If only...

Sirius wasn't sure how he noticed it so fast. However, when Severus started to fall, he caught the other boy well before he hit the ground. Staring at the unconscious boy in his arms -- the smell of blood, so close, drawing him nearer, must resist -- he swore aloud. "Stupid, stubborn Slytherin," he muttered. "He could have just told us..."

"No, he couldn't," Remus said quietly. "He is Severus, Sirius. He couldn't tell us."

"No," Sirius sighed, "I suppose he couldn't." Looking at Severus, he smelled the blood. His fangs were coming out on their own now. From the corner of his eye he saw Lucius taking a step backwards and grasping Remus' arm. It must have been hard even for him, although he had a servant.

Firmly resisting the urge to simply sink his fangs into Severus' neck, Sirius started to carry the Slytherin. Remus attempted to take Severus -- perhaps he was worried Sirius couldn't resist the temptation -- but got an angry growl in response and backed off, recognizing a possessive predator when he saw one.

Sirius hadn't been able to help Severus now, and he doubted he'd be able to help Severus after this, either. For now, however, the Slytherin was his to carry, his to help, and he wouldn't let anybody else take that right from him.

With Lucius and Remus trailing after him, he headed towards the mansion.


Severus awoke slowly. He didn't remember much of what had happened just before everything had gone black, just that they had been outside. And he had collapsed in front of his friends. Splendid.

A vague image rose into his mind, though. Somebody had caught him, he realized. Just before he had hit the ground, somebody had caught him. And the only one who had been close enough to have any chance to do that had been Sirius. So, Sirius had caught him, then?

...Sirius had held him...

Much as he would have liked to deny it, the thought of Sirius holding him caused certain reactions. It was definitely not an unpleasant thought. Rather, he found himself hoping he had been awake to feel it.

He had come to terms with his feelings a while ago. Sirius, the insufferable annoying Gryffindor Sirius, was the one he had feelings for. Of course, he could never act on them, but fact was that he had a crush on Sirius. Was attracted to him. And, if he were to be blunt, he was in love with the Animagus.

There was no way he could tell that to Sirius, though -- now even less than before. It might scare Sirius away now that he had so little time left, and he couldn't bear that. Or -- and that was an even more frightening thought -- it might make him feel obliged to take him as his servant.

Make no mistake, Severus would have loved to be Sirius' servant. Under normal circumstances. However, he didn't want it if the vampire was acting out of pity, or just to save his life. If there was going to be a bond between them, he wanted it to be real, like with Lucius and Remus. But that wasn't going to happen now.

He hoped Sirius would find somebody to brew him the potion. Or a servant he liked. He wanted Sirius to be happy, even if it wasn't with him. This unselfish thought -- so much unlike him -- only proved his feelings.

He'd first become attracted when he had come to know Sirius better through their slowly developing friendship. He had to thank Lucius for that -- otherwise he would still hate Sirius. Before he had been content to be close to Sirius, to be his friend. Of course he had wished that Sirius could like him, too, but he'd known it couldn't happen. So, he had kept up the act, held his mask firmly in place, and dreamed.

Now he was going to die, and Sirius was going to live. All well and good, that. Unlike most people, he didn't have much of a problem with living no more.

He just wished he could have lived with Sirius.


Remus closed the door behind himself and sighed. Severus was badly off. The mediwizard Lucius' parents had arranged to come had set tubes into his arms to let the blood out, but that wouldn't help for long. Soon they would lose their friend.

"Well?" asked a quiet voice behind him, and he leant back into Lucius' embrace as inhumanly strong arms were wrapped around him.

"He's bad," Remus said quietly. "He still doesn't want to see anybody else, either. Although he does trust you, he knows it's difficult to you to be near him. And as for Sirius..."

"Does Severus fear Sirius couldn't control himself, not having a servant?" asked Lucius.

"No. Rather, he's afraid that Sirius would offer to take him as his servant." Remus turned around to look into his boyfriend's eyes. "You do know how Severus feels, don't you?"

"About Sirius? Yes." After all, Severus was his best friend. Such things couldn't be secrets forever. "But why would he resist?"

"If it happens, he wants it to be real." Remus bit his lip. "He'll rather die than have a bond with Sirius based on false feelings." Pressing closer to Lucius, he whispered, "I love you."

"And I love you, Remus." Lucius tightened his embrace, but his eyes stayed locked at the door to Severus' room.


Mixed feelings were coursing through Sirius as he stood behind the door to the room that held Severus' bedridden form. Only now, so close to losing Severus, he had finally realized just how deeply he cared for the Slytherin. And, according to Remus, with whom he'd had a long, serious talk, he should tell Severus, too.

This part, however, made him more nervous than he had been ever in his life.

Finally, however, he opened the door and stepped into the room. The first thing he sensed was the heavy scent of blood, assaulting him from every direction. He glanced only once at Severus, lying on the bed, unnaturally flushed, and at the buckets of blood on the floor, and felt his fangs popping out on their own.

"Severus?" he asked hesitantly. "Severus, I... I have to tell you something."

The Slytherin raised his gaze at him. "Sirius? What are you doing here?" he asked. "You... shouldn't be here..."

"I believe I should." Sirius crossed the room to Severus' bedside and crouched down next to his friend. "I'm not about to lose you, Severus," he said softly. "Not this way."

"Well, there is nothing you can do," Severus said quietly. "So let it be."

"No, I won't," Sirius said. "I can't let it be. I love you, Severus."

"What?" That certainly got the Slytherin's attention. Sharp black eyes were directed at Sirius. "What did you just say?"

"That I love you." Sirius swallowed, then went on, "I only just realized it when you collapsed there... For a moment I feared you were going to die, and I realized I couldn't deal with that. Even then I didn't dare to tell you, but Remus told me to do so." Gathering the last bits of his courage, Sirius gently caressed Severus' neck, the rapidly pulsing vein under the flushed skin. "Please, Severus... Let me save you."

Severus considered this. One part of him raged at Remus, wanting to know just what the werewolf had told Sirius, while one part doubted Sirius' motives. One part, however, saw the sincerity in the other's eyes, and wanted to believe.

"Yes," he whispered after what felt like an eternity to both of them. "Yes, Sirius."

A huge wave of relief crashed through Sirius' mind as he heard those words. A bit hesitantly, he leant forward and placed his mouth on the other teen's neck. Although he was confused at first, his instincts soon took better of him. His fangs, already aching because of the heavy smell of blood, sank into the no-more pale flesh, causing the Slytherin to whimper a little. Then Sirius found himself sucking, like a baby sucks its mother's breast, and he was practically in the Heaven.

If blood had been sweet before, now it was like the purest ambrosia. Sirius didn't know if that was because it was human blood or because it was Severus', and he didn't care, either. It was warm and sweet, with a bit salty taste, and if he'd had to use one word to describe it, he'd said heavenly. Thick and heavy, he wanted more and more of it, and didn't know if he could ever stop.

At last, however, he could not drink anymore. Drawing his fangs out, he licked the tiny wound, sealing it. Then he turned his now silvery eyes on the tubes on Severus' arms, janked them away, and sealed these wounds in a similar fashion. Then, feeling a very familiar and extremely intense feeling in his groin, he then reached to place a kiss on Severus's lips. A kiss that was returned eagerly.

"Lock the door," the Slytherin said breathlessly. "Otherwise, somebody might come in. I don't have my wand with me, you'll have to do it." Not hesitating one bit, Sirius reached for his wand.

A murmured locking charm and a silencing charm later, they were definitely alone.

And they made full use of this fact.


"Oi, Sirius!" James called out as he saw his friend in the corridor. "How was your -- ngk." He stopped like he'd run into a stone wall, staring at his friend. Or at least what he had previously thought was his friend. For surely Sirius couldn't be peacefully standing next to Snape?

"My Christmas break went well, thanks." Sirius smirked. "Oh, and I believe an introduction might be a good idea. Severus, this is James, my best friend. James, this is Severus, my boyfriend."

"Your WHAT?" Suddenly, James felt very faint.

"My boyfriend," Sirius repeated calmly. "We got together during the break."

"Well," said Severus a moment later, looking at the now very unconscious James on the floor, "although I still am not entirely sure about being open about it, I have to admit that was strangely satisfying."

"You would," Sirius chuckled, grasping his hand. Then, despite his boyfriend's protests, he started dragging Severus through the corridors towards the Gryffindor Tower. Remus laughed and followed them, leaving James to clear his head. From a side corridor he saw Lucius smiling, then disappearing from sight.

Maybe he'd had to wait for Professor McGonagall to tell them to come into the castle when he'd come back from the holiday. Maybe he couldn't eat quite as much as he was used to. And maybe he would never get a tan again.

But, at the moment, he felt almost like he could be grateful to Xithion.


END
A/N: This was the end of Xithion's Gift. If there's some other HP fic you'd particularly like to see updated, tell its name in your review -- it'll help me decide what to work on next.