Domitian
Severus takes one look around his desolate living quarters as he steps out of the fireplace and briefly considers returning to Grimmauld place for the first time since he’s known the infernal place.
That girl will be the death of me, he grins to himself as he walks to his bedroom.
A quiet, sinister voice in the back of his head tells him he should regret what happened with Lucienna tonight, but he simply cannot bring himself to accept the idea— which should also be cause for alarm. Yet he strips off his clothes with a satisfied smirk and crawls into his bed, wholly unfamiliar with the giddy lightness that now bubbles in his chest.
Phantom caresses of her soft skin haunt his flesh as he stares up into the darkened canopy above him, his mind running over again and again the way her toned yet plush curves melded perfectly against his body, the way her dark emerald eyes glinted in the firelight with burning hunger— for him.
No one in his entire life has looked at him like she has, like she can somehow see his every sin and wants nothing but to trace their jagged lines etched into his spirit with a knowing touch. Her words echo through his thoughts like some holy litany— ‘I know, so have I, so will I.’
“I know…” Severus whispers to the dark. He felt some deep part of him shifting at her words in that moment. Severus has always harbored some cognitive dissonance between his gnawing guilt and shame inspired by how others view his more unsavory life choices and his own perspective of his character. One part of him condemns the broken young man who set his fate in stone when he took that mark while another part seeks to forgive. But Lucienna challenged those contradictions within him tonight, confronting him with what he knows to be true and desperately wants to accept; that because of all that he has done— not despite it— he is an honorable man. Not by some sanitized, storybook definition couched in sentiments of light and dark like the dribble Dumbledore feeds his pawns, no. But the kind of honor that is found when one is forced to scrape and claw their way through all that fate has dealt them and still manages to cling to even a shred of belief that there is still good in this world worth protecting— that there is still good in himself worthy of maintaining.
Severus falls into an uncommonly deep sleep that night with a renewed sense of conviction to face whatever is to come. So many uncertainties still hang scattered in the stars of the future above his head, but Miss Fayne has thrown a wrench not just in his own life but in the entire cosmic war swirling around them all and he can’t help but sense his position slowly shifting as the chessboard adjusts to her presence.
***
Lucienna watches as the dawn slowly bleeds into the night sky outside her bedroom window, not even attempting to sleep as she contemplates the recent events between her and Severus. Her stomach flutters wildly when she recalls the feel of his calloused but smooth hands roaming across her skin, the way he groaned and writhed against her like he wanted to devour her just as much as she did him. For hours now, she has sat curled up on her bed, oscillating between that euphoric feeling welling inside her at the memory of his touch only for it to drop like a stone in the pit of her stomach as the current reality of her life seeps in again and again. She wants Severus— badly, painfully, more than she ever expected to feel for someone she’s known for not even two weeks’ time. Lucienna has no qualms about indulging in her sexual desires, but her draw to Severus has felt distinctly different than those she has felt in the past. Well, except for perhaps one other— and that one got me killed, she muses. Just like with Her, Lucienna can’t ignore the allure of mystery that shrouds Severus. One of Lucienna’s weaknesses— or possible strengths, depending on the context— has always been the strong tug of her curiosity in all things, from the seldom-studied parts of magic to similarly unconventional parts of humanity itself.
But where Severus differs is that she can also sense a vein of familiarity in him, which he solidified himself just hours ago with his confessions. His words— I’ve done unspeakable things, I’ve killed people, and I’ll do it again and again, if I must— sinfully whispered with a seductive conviction lay in stark contrast to his first confession that night; vile, he had called himself. He is both disgusted by what others often see him as and terrifyingly resolved in the path he has carved for himself. Lucienna knows that contradiction as well, sometimes dangling somewhere within the chasm between the two herself.
Yes, Severus is unmistakably different than any other person she has felt a connection with, and that is precisely what gnaws at her from the back of her mind despite the intoxicating realization that he clearly wants her, too. Depending on how things play out with both her position amongst the vampires and the current strife in the wizarding world, too much may soon be at stake for Lucienna to consider allowing herself to draw closer to Severus. Not to mention the pesky factor of her immortality and Severus’s lack thereof…
Oh, but if anything can make her forget all of that, even if just for a moment, it’s the sound of his deep, silken voice whispering filthy things in her ear as he touches her like he did tonight. Lucienna can’t help but grin wildly to herself as she finally stretches out and closes the curtains with a wave of her hand, determined to get at least some sleep before breakfast.
***
“Regretting your late-night party of one, Lucienna?” Sirius snickers as he sits across from her at the kitchen table.
Lucienna simply glares at him in reply, tiredly hunching over her coffee.
“What’s this?” Remus inquires, taking a seat next to Sirius.
“Nothing,” they reply in unison, Lucienna in exasperation while Sirius gives a lazy smirk.
Remus eyes them both quizzically, clearly not satisfied with their response. But before he can prod further, they all three jump at the sound of the front door banging open as what sounds to be a gang of wild banshees stampede down the hallway and spill into the kitchen in a matter of seconds. Seven sets of eyes, all relatively her age, freeze in their tracks just inside the kitchen and gape at her.
“Stop gawking and move out of my way, Potter. Unless you would like your first detention before term has even begun,” Severus snaps from behind them.
They all immediately start babbling again as they crowd around the table and find seats. Two redheaded twins fire a slew of questions at her that she can barely hear.
“Your first taste of life at Hogwarts,” Severus murmurs to her dryly as he takes his usual seat near her at the end of the table.
Lucienna smiles warmly at him before a hand is thrust into her face.
“I’m Fred!”
“No, I’m Fred,” one of the twins frowns, batting the other’s hand away and replacing it with his own. “He’s George.”
“Fred, George! You leave the poor girl alone,” Molly chastises as she bustles into the kitchen and immediately starts making more tea for everyone.
Lucienna laughs in astonishment at the chaos around her, while Severus rolls his eyes. Soon, she is introduced to the other two Weasleys, Ginny and Ron, as well as Harry and Hermione.
Ron is still looking at her with wide eyes as he asks, “So you’re… you…”
“Don’t be rude, Ronald!” Hermione snaps, giving him a light shove.
“Well excuse me, it’s not every day you meet a vampire, Hermione!” He retorts, practically whispering the word ‘vampire.’
Lucienna extends her hand to Ron with a grin. “Lucienna Fayne,” she says, formally introducing herself. He pales as he slowly reaches to shake her hand and Lucienna lunges forward, snapping her teeth at him in jest. He jolts away from her with a shriek, tumbling backward in his chair and the kitchen is soon filled with a chorus of raucous laughter.
“Serves you right,” Hermione scolds through her giggles.
Severus nudges her knee with his under the table in approval. Grinning, Lucienna chances a glance at him to see him hiding a smirk behind the coffee mug held to his lips.
Lucienna listens to her new acquaintances chatter excitedly, answering questions here and there, when the topic of what Hogwarts house she might be sorted in comes up. They soon begin placing bets after quizzing her about seemingly random things like her grades and hobbies, most of them ultimately landing on Ravenclaw or Gryffindor, with Ginny apparently making a risky choice of Hufflepuff.
“My money is on Slytherin,” Severus drawls, raising a brow as if daring anyone to disagree.
Sirius snorts. “In your dreams, Snape.” He says, rolling his eyes. “She’s spent weeks braving your company to help you brew potions— clearly a shoo-in for Gryffindor,” he finishes with a devious smile, throwing her a wink.
“Care to make that an official wager, Professor?” Fred (or maybe George) grins, waving the parchment with everyone’s bets in the air.
Lucienna raises her brows with an amused smirk as Severus eyes her with pursed lips before confidently declaring, “Ten galleons that Miss Fayne gets sorted into Slytherin.”
“Pretentious git,” Sirius grumbles under his breath. Lucienna can’t help but chuckle as everyone gasps and George (Fred?) violently scribbles down the professor’s bet.
“But if I win,” Severus continues, raising a hand to quiet the noise, “I get one whole year of immunity from twin antics.”
“Six weeks,” the twins barter in unison.
“One semester.”
Fred and George glance at each other before looking back to Severus with a shared, cheeky grin. “Deal!”
Lucienna meets Severus’s gaze as the others break off into several conversations at once, shaking her head with a smile at his smug expression. “A better plan would have been to bribe me with the ten galleons so that I would convince the sorting hat to place me in Slytherin,” she says quietly so only he can hear.
The tiniest grin tugs at the corners of his mouth. “If only it worked that way,” he replies just as quietly.
Just then, Kreacher pops into the kitchen right next to Lucienna, waving a letter in front of her nose. “Kreacher has brought a letter for Miss Queen!”
“Thanks, Kreacher,” she smiles, glancing at the familiar seal as she takes the envelope. She glances back up to see that Severus is now reluctantly roped into a conversation about upcoming classes with Remus (who has recently been hired as the temporary Defense Against the Dark Arts professor) and decides to open her letter while everyone is occupied.
My lovely Lucienna,
You know it wounds me so when you play coy with me— I expect you to divulge every detail of what you have really been up to once I’ve captured you in my den once again. Do not think I am above resorting to torture. You know me much too well for that.
We all anxiously await your return, your feline companion most of all. I have been forced to remove all of my curtains to spare them from her distress.
Forever yours,
Domitian
Lucienna rolls her eyes, amused by Domitian’s usual flair for the dramatic— a seemingly inevitable trait for those who have lived through several centuries, she’s noticed. She holds up the moving picture Domitian included, laughing softly as she watches him drag her stubborn cat from a curtain, dark brows furrowed, and then turning to smile brightly at the camera as he clutches the scowling ball of black fur to his bare chest.
“Who is that?” Ginny asks next to her, ogling the photo with wide eyes.
“My friend, Domitian,” she replies as she briefly glances at her. “He’s watching my cat while I’m away.”
Ginny snatches the photo before Lucienna can stuff it back into the envelope. “Sweet Circe. Hermione, look at this!”
“Oh!” Hermione squeaks. “Who is this?”
“Luce’s ‘friend’—“ Ginny air-quotes before whipping her head back to Lucienna to ask, “—can I call you Luce?” She turns back to Hermione before she can reply. “—Domitian,” she finishes, waggling her eyebrows suggestively.
“Ginny, he looks like he’s at least twice her age,” Hermione points out with an eye roll, still not taking her eyes from the photo.
“More than that,” Lucienna mutters, growing antsy as the rest of the group begin to turn their attention to Ginny and Hermione.
“What’s your cat’s name?” Hermione asks as she kindly hands the photo back to her.
“Lynyrd— hey!” She yelps as one of the twins snatches the photo from her grasp with a snicker.
“Well, well, brother,” one of them crows.
“Into vintage, are we, Luce?” The other adds.
“Give it here,” she orders with a scowl, stretching her hand out.
“Let me have a look,” Sirius says with a chuckle, snagging the photo. Lucienna huffs and flicks a finger at a mug near the twins and they both gasp as tea spews across their faces.
They blink up at her in shock before breaking into a grin. “Wicked!”
“Boys,” Remus scolds, plucking the photo from Sirius’s fingers and handing it over to her.
“Thank you,” Lucienna says sharply, shooting a disapproving look to the twins before stuffing the photo and letter back into the envelope. She catches Severus eyeing her with an inscrutable expression when she looks up and can’t help but flush with a hint of embarrassment at the whole fiasco. He sharply drops her gaze, turning his head from her.
She shifts uncomfortably as various conversations resume around the table. She halfheartedly listens as they talk about Hogwarts and other topics she has no clue about, nodding absently here and there. All the while, she keeps an eye on Severus’s stiffened posture in her periphery as Remus holds yet another one-sided conversation with him.
Severus takes the first opportunity to escape as Remus’s attention is called elsewhere and Lucienna quickly follows, equally desperate to escape the den of noise.
She furrows her brows as she realizes he’s headed for the front door. “Severus,” she calls, catching his arm. Her eyes widen slightly as he turns and simply arches a brow at her, his expression cold. “Are we not brewing today?”
“I do not have the time today,” he replies in a clipped tone.
Lucienna drops his arm, baffled by his stony demeanor. “Oh. Tomorrow then?” She asks, searching his gaze.
Severus presses his lips together and returns her gaze for a moment, as if considering. “Perhaps,” he finally drawls. And with a curt nod, he slips out of the house before she can think of a reply.
“Alright, then,” She mutters to the closed door.
***
Lucienna lounges in the sitting room with Remus and Sirius the next afternoon, trying very hard to read the book propped in her lap with little success.
Remus surreptitiously peeks his eyes over his own book to observe her. “No Severus today?” He finally asks with feigned indifference.
She throws a pointed look in his direction as Sirius snickers. “Apparently not,” she replies in a clipped tone. “Did he… I don’t know, seem off to you when he left yesterday?” She asks cautiously.
“On the contrary, he seemed more himself yesterday than he has in weeks,” Sirius quips from his place on the carpet, fiddling with some gadget he’s been attempting to crack for days.
Remus lowers his book. “Maybe it was too much company for him,” he suggests gently.
“Hm,” she hums absently. She knows Severus isn’t exactly a social butterfly— but that isn’t an excuse for him to act like an ass, she thinks to herself as her rising anger slowly simmers. What a cowardly way to reject someone, she huffs internally. And here she is, waiting around for him like some smitten, pathetic damsel.
Well, fuck that, she growls to herself and springs up from the sofa. Lucienna Fayne waits for no one.
“I’m going to my friend Domitian’s tonight,” she swiftly announces. “I need to catch up with the others before we go to Hogwarts.”
Lucienna narrows her eyes at Remus as he grimaces. “I don’t think that S—“
“Perfect idea!” Sirius interjects, jumping up and slapping a hand to her shoulder. “Shall I help you pack?”
She glances between them suspiciously before rolling her eyes with a grin. “How kind of you,” she mutters as she makes her way to the stairs. “And here I thought you might miss me, Dog.”
Soon enough, Lucienna is standing by the door with her shrunken trunk tucked into her pocket and hugging Remus and Sirius goodbye.
“We really are going to miss you, Luce,” Sirius murmurs sincerely as he draws her tightly to his chest.
“We’ll see you again soon enough, I’m sure of it,” Remus smiles warmly, giving her shoulder a squeeze.
“Don’t go all soft on me,” she mutters with a small chuckle as her chest wells with affection for the two. “I’m really grateful to have met you two,” she says softly, taking a step back. “I’ll see you Sunday, Remus.”
She slips out the door with a final wave and quickly makes her way beyond the wards before fishing a bronze medallion from her pocket. Smoothing her finger over its face three times, she blinks into oblivion and is soon spat back out onto Domitian’s long driveway.
She breathes in the cool night air as she strides down the dirt pathway, listening to the ancient trees whisper and sway as she walks. She has always found solace here since the first time she’d laid eyes on the place, Domitian always eager to make her feel at home. She breathes in a sigh of relief as the trees open around a circular courtyard and she quickly hops up the front stairs of the sprawling stone mansion. Langelo, one of the estate’s oldest house elves, promptly sweeps open the giant wooden doors as she approaches.
“Welcome, Miss Lucy! We are most happy to receive you,” he exclaims, bobbing his head happily.
“Thank you, Langelo,” She smiles, stepping into the warmth of the wide, dimly lit entryway. She glances up at the balcony before her just as Domitian’s broad form comes striding down one side of the double staircase with a wide smile. She takes in his disheveled appearance with a fond smile of her own, noting his tousled dark brown hair and his muscular chest bared by his unbuttoned ivory shirt— That spells trouble, she thinks wryly.
“My lovely Lucienna,” he beams in a rich voice, holding his arms wide. She laughs as he sweeps her up against him and twirls her around before setting her firmly back on her feet and grasping her upper arms. “How are you, my dove?” He asks warmly, searching her gaze with his deep blue eyes and a touch of concern.
“I’m fine,” she assures him with a smile. “Just needed a change of scenery, is all.”
“Well, I’m glad,” he replies, gently taking her wrist and tugging her up the stairs. “I’ve missed you desperately.”
She rolls her eyes with a grin and lets him lead her across the balcony and through a maze of hallways before he reaches the door to her usual room.
“We have much to talk about, darling,” he says as they enter her large, opulent room and he immediately starts rifling through her closet that he keeps well stocked for her visits. “But it will have to wait until tomorrow.” He peers over his shoulder with a mischievous glance. “I have guests over and you look as if you could sorely use a drink.”
“I don’t know if I’m in the mood, Dom,” She sighs, plopping down onto the bed in the center of the room. This is exactly the thing she expected upon seeing his appearance earlier and she isn’t exactly feeling up for his usual antics tonight.
“None of that now,” he lightly scolds, tossing a dress onto the bed next to her and pulling her up by her wrists. He pulls her in with a grin and lightly kisses her on the neck. “Get dressed. You know where to find us,” he murmurs softly before leaving her.
“Fine,” Lucienna mutters to herself as she undresses. She slips the sheer black lace over her shoulders and ties the silk sash at her waist with a sigh as the delicate fabric drapes across her skin and down to the floor.
Maybe this is exactly what I need, she thinks with reluctant acceptance as she smoothes her long hair down behind her shoulders and admires her figure in the mirror. For a split second, she wonders what Severus might think of seeing her in this before scowling at herself and gliding out of her bedroom, determined to push him out of her mind— if only for a little while.
She pauses just outside the door to the sitting room Domitian likes to use for occasions such as this one. She briefly adjusts her hair and dress before pushing open the door and sauntering into the room, raising her chin as her gaze flits across the various vampires and non-vampires lounging on plush sofas and chairs scattered about. A warm shiver creeps through her veins as the singular smell of blood and melting wax overwhelms her senses. Her eyes adjust to the dim glow of candlelight suffusing the room as Domitian steps from a shadowed corner and takes her hand, guiding her to the center of the room as the vampires begin to gather around her. They each greet her with a tender kiss to her neck while the non-vampires simply tip their heads at her in acknowledgement from their seats.
Lucienna once found this display of deferential greeting acutely uncomfortable, especially the first time she experienced it. But now she feels her blood rise with each caress of lips against her pulse point, a hushed roar drumming louder in her ears as she is drawn deeper into the hedonistic thrill that is always promised when Domitian hosts a horde of vampires.
Lucienna watches with half-lidded eyes as a curvy, stark-naked woman parts the loose circle of vampires still gathered and slips down to her knees before her. Lucienna smooths a stray tendril of the woman’s auburn hair back behind her ear as her bright green eyes, pupils blown wide with lust, meet her darker ones.
“What is your name?” Lucienna asks softly. Her teeth begin to ache as she caresses a feather-light touch down the smooth column of her neck and over her bare shoulder.
“Odette, my Queen,” she replies breathily, parting the slit of Lucienna’s dress and slowly but firmly running her hands up her legs.
Lucienna cups her face with one hand and traces Odette’s plump bottom lip with the pad of her thumb. “I’m not your queen,” she murmurs absently, too captivated by the sensual whimper that escapes from Odette as her lips part under her touch.
Lucienna feels Domitian’s hands grip her hips before he presses his chest to her back. “But you are our queen,” he says close to her ear. Goosebumps prickle across her skin as Domitian ghosts the tip of his nose own her neck, Odette’s hands moving higher up the backs of her thighs. “Such a privilege it is to kneel at your feet, Lucienna…” he continues in a dark whisper, and she trembles with pleasure as his warm breath fans across her skin. “… lovely Lucienna…” a hazy warmth thickens within her at his words, and she tilts her head back with a soft moan as Odette nuzzles her face against her inner thigh. The pulsing ache in her canines deepens, spreading lower and urging Lucienna to firmly grasp Odette’s chin. Domitian tugs the sash of her dress free, his hand roaming across her bare abdomen as Odette follows the direction of Lucienna’s pull upward. Lucienna draws Odette against her by her waist and threads a hand into her thick hair, tilting her head to the side to kiss along the most tender parts of her neck and savoring every sweet sigh and mewl falling from her lips as she tastes the salt of her skin on her tongue. “…pure…” Both women let out a hungry moan as Lucienna’s teeth finally sink into Odette’s neck and her rich, hot blood floods her mouth just as Domitian’s hand molds around her breast “…bliss.”