Xithion's Gift

Xithion's Gift

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Chapter 4:

Vampirity

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Sirius blinked as he forced his eyes open. The light was far too bright for his eyes. He heard somebody moving nearby, and then the light dimmed a bit. "Ummm... Where am I?" he asked wearily.

Now, Poppy Pomfrey's familiar form gave to view as his eyes got used to the light. She smiled soothingly at him and said, "In the Infirmary, dear." Fussing around him, she then continued, "It's well about the time you came around, you've been out for four days already. Your friends are worried sick."

Again, Sirius blinked, then attempted to sit up but found himself too weak to do that. "What happened?" he asked, trying to recall the events before he'd lost his consciousness -- could it truly have been four days ago already? "I only remember that it was night. I ran outside after -- after seeing Remus with Malfoy." The young wizard had to suppress a groan. That was something he did not want to remember, yet he simply couldn't forget it. "Then, something jumped from the bushes... And I don't remember anything else."

Now, Madam Pomfrey sighed, looking concerned for some reason. "You were attacked, Sirius."

"Attacked?" echoed Sirius, confused. He didn't remember anything like that. "By whom?"

"By a vampire," replied the mediwitch. She looked very serious.

Sirius gasped. "Malfoy?!" he asked. He'd known that bastard couldn't be trusted, he'd just known it!

However, his suspicions were put down by Madam Pomfrey's next statement. "No, dear Merlin!" she exclaimed, looking shocked. "In fact, he was the one who saved you from the other vampire. He claimed you as his servant's pack member, then fought with the other vampire and finally killed him. That made Remus able to bring you back to the Infirmary. At least that's what we've gathered -- Lucius hasn't been very eager to talk about it, and your friend is nearly in hysterics whenever the fight is mentioned. You really should thank Lucius; he lost a whole lot of blood in the fight, enough to make him fall into a coma, too."

Sirius snorted dryly. Thank Malfoy? "Blood which he soon took back from Remus, I'm sure," he snapped.

The mediwitch, however, shook her head. "Only some of it," she said. Then, she continued very seriously, "Sirius, a vampire may never drink more blood from their servant than they absolutely need to stay alive. And the servant must always give their blood willingly. They cannot be forced to serve their master, not even under a spell, or a bond won't be born between them. You absolutely must understand this."

The young Animagus raised an eyebrow. "And why must I understand that?" he asked sharply.

Madam Pomfrey sighed. "Because you were in very bad condition after the other vampire drank from you -- you almost died of lack of blood. There were no options. Lucius had to Turn you to save your life."

At that, Sirius couldn't say anything. He just stared at her, too shocked to say a word.

The mediwitch gave him a compassionate look. "I'm sorry, Sirius. Believe me, I truly am."

Sirius was still too stunned to say anything. At last, however, he managed to say, "...I'm a vampire." But he couldn't be. That couldn't be true. Vampires were Dark and evil, weren't they? And he wasn't that!

...But then again, werewolves were supposed to be Dark and evil, too. And Remus was certainly neither.

"Unfortunately, yes," Madam Pomfrey confirmed with a sad nod. "But you must not blame Lucius for this," she reminded then sternly. "He Turned you only to keep you alive long enough to get you here."

"I'm a vampire... like Lucius Malfoy." No! No! He wasn't like Lucius Malfoy, not in any aspect! He couldn't be like Lucius Malfoy. That guy was the epitome of Slytherin. And Sirius would never be in Slytherin, so he couldn't be like any Slytherin, either.

"Very much so." The mediwitch nodded. Seemingly he had got the point.

Sirius licked his lips nervously. As he did this, he noticed that instead of his usual, small human canines, he now had lengthened, sharp fangs. This startled him. Curious and a bit fearful, he asked, "Do I have to drink blood now?" At the same time, he willed the picture of Malfoy sucking Remus's neck to leave his mind.

However, to his great relief, Madam Pomfrey's answer was negative. "No, thank Merlin -- and Sebastian Malfoy," she said. "Lucius's father developed a very special potion as soon as his son was Turned -- he was only nine back then." Hey -- wait a minute. Nine? Malfoy'd been just a kid when he had been Turned? Merlin, that was sick. How could anybody do that to a child? "With the potion, you don't have to drink blood and you can stay in sunlight, although you probably won't feel comfortable in daylight ever again."

At this, Sirius nodded slowly, thinking about it. "So Malfoy's also drinking it?" he asked then.

Now, however, he got a brief smile in response to his question. "In fact, no," Madam Pomfrey said, shaking her head. "Not anymore, anyway. After Remus became his servant, he hasn't needed the potion. Remus's blood keeps the bloodlust away, and as Remus is willingly offering his blood, he can also live in daylight. Their feeding bond has about just the same effect as the potion, actually."

"Oh," was all Sirius could say at first. Then, he sighed resignedly. "Very well. Is there anything about being a vampire I should absolutely know?" He might just as well live with it, if he couldn't escape it.

Again, the mediwitch sighed a bit, then turned serious once again. "Well, Lucius has promised to tell you the basics," she told him. Oh, joy. "What I'm going to tell you is that you cannot eat garlic, it'll make you sick even in small amounts. Any more of it, and you will die. Is that clear?"

Sirius nodded. He'd known that already. "Crystal."

"Fine." After a moment of what seemed to be hesitation, Madam Pomfrey then continued, "Also, if you find a servant, you must be sure that you want to spend the rest of your life with them. The bond created between the servant and the vampire is very strong, also in romantic purposes."

"Oh... I understand." At this, the teenager nodded.

"Good." Madam Pomfrey now smiled briefly, looking almost mischievous. "And, once you find your servant, you must prepare to one certain aspect of the blood bond."

"What's that?" asked Sirius, curious.

Now the teasing smile was definitely there as she said with perfect calmness, "After you've fed off your servant, you'll most probably feel great sexual desire that must be satisfied as soon as possible. Therefore, it'd be the best if you only fed in private."

At that, Sirius could say pretty little anything. So, he just blushed.

The mediwitch chuckled at his reaction. "No need for blushing, my dear boy," she said. "It's completely normal, especially if the vampire is such a young one like yourself, or Lucius."

Now, that was something he did not want to know. "Malfoy? You don't mean that he and Remus... ergh."

"Oh, of course!" Madam Pomfrey rolled her eyes towards the ceiling. "It's just natural, Sirius. That's one of the reasons why you must feel comfortable with your servant; most probably you'll become lovers."

Sirius shuddered a bit. Then he muttered, "Better choose carefully, then."

She smiled at him, chuckling again a bit. "That's for sure. Well, now I'll leave you to rest -- you certainly need that, you're still lacking a lot of blood. Lucius will come later today to tell you whatever you have or want to know about a vampire's life. And tomorrow, you'll meet Severus Snape."

This certainly startled Sirius. "Snape?!" he exclaimed. "Why is he coming here?"

"Because he has to," was the answer he got. "He's the one who's been brewing the potion for Lucius -- even though Lucius himself is a skilled brewer, he's not even near to match young Severus's skills. He has -- a bit grudgingly, I must admit -- agreed to brew the potion for you, but the Headmaster wishes that he and you talk properly at first. It'll do no good if you don't trust the person your life and sanity depend on."

"You're asking me to trust Snape?" asked Sirius, disgusted. Never in his life would he do that.

Madam Pomfrey sighed again, looking a bit frustrated. "Oh, don't give me that face, boy. Of course you have to trust him, just as well as he has to trust you. Now, I don't want to hear any more protests. Take this lollipop, and try to sleep. I'll wake you when Lucius arrives."

Sirius took one look at the offered sweet, then grimaced. He'd tasted a lot of things in his life, and tasting that was one of the experiences he didn't want to repeat. "But that's a blood lollipop. They taste gross."

Madam Pomfrey just nodded, always just as patient. "So they do, to a human, or even to a vampire's servant. You, however, are a full vampire. Try it at least."

Rather hesitantly Sirius reached out a hand to take the lollipop. Then he gave it a tentative lick with the tip of his tongue. To his great surprise, it tasted simply delicious. "Mmm... It's good."

The mediwitch smiled warmly. "You see? Trust me in things like this. Eat it, and rest. You need it."

And, with that, she left the Infirmary.

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