Blood! Blood! Blood!
Why would Sirius befriend two human vampire hunters? Because they’re an idiot, Marlene decided. Sirius Back was the stupidest, most suicidal, reckless, dumbass that did not think about their best friend’s feelings and uncontrollable bloodlust.
They turned her. They were responsible for the fact Marlene wanted to, no needed to, bite into the human’s necks. It was utterly irrelevant that she had asked them to turn her, because they could have refused and she wouldn’t be sitting here, using every last shred of her self-restraint to stop from lunging at Sirius’ new boyfriend. They should be thanking her really. And yet, Sirius was unreasonably glaring at her. Glaring at her! They shouldn’t be glaring at her! And the fact they think a simple glare from the unscariest vampire ever would refrain her. The only reason she isn’t trying to bite them has nothing to do with Sirius’ oh-so-terrifying glare, and everything to do with the fact that their hunter boyfriend is packed full of weapons ready to kill her and he’s wearing a jacket that she can’t get her teeth through.
She’s got to admit he’s smart. Much smart than James; not a weapon on him and his entire collarbone is on display. As if he wants her to bite him. She won’t. Lily and Regulus would probably kill her. And they’re a lot scarier than Sirius.
Dorcas leaned against her at that moment and Marlene felt her hunger wither slightly, her focus shifting to heat and weight leaning against her left side.
“Is Regulus coming?”
Dorcas frowned slightly before they replied, “Not today.”
Marlene turned her head, “It’s been a while, hasn’t it? A couple of weeks at least. And wait- You never told me why he wrote to you.”
Dorcas flicked their eyes to Sirius, sitting mere metres away, happily flirting with the new hunter and cracking jokes with James.
“Regulus is fine, he was just bored. But he hasn’t come here for a while because with Narcissa’s wedding soon, he’s swamped.”
Marlene noticed Dorcas’ heart rate quicken, she narrowed her eyes but Dorcas’ focus was still on Sirius. Sirius, who, Marlene turned to see, had turned their head slightly and held their jaw tensely. They had noticed Dorcas’ heart rate too.
Marlene stood up, making her way to the fridge, past where Sirius sat.
“Calm down, I was just touching their thigh”, Marlene whispered to herself, just as she passed them.
Sirius barked a laugh. And their hunter boyfriend coughed, blushing and seeming to be forcing himself not to turn to look at her. Curious, Marlene thought. A human definitely couldn't hear that well. James was much closer to her than the boyfriend, and he was completely oblivious to her words.
Curious.
She walked further away, to the other end of the long room and whispered again, “Lupin, was it?”
James, Alice, and Peter, humans, didn’t turn. Lily and Mary, witches, didn’t turn. Frank, only a ten-year-old vampire, didn’t turn. Sirius did, tilting their head in confusion. And the new hunter…
Didn’t.
Instead, he whispered back.
“Remus Lupin, you’re Marlene Mckinnon, right? I hear you want to kill me.”
Marlene smirked, a mug of blood in hand as she walked back to the group.
Remus Lupin was not human. Remus Lupin was a supernatural monster and hunted supernatural monsters. How ironic.
She could feel Sirius turning between her and Lupin, whirling in complete confusion. She brought the mug to her lips and caught the eye of Remus.
Marlene whispered as quietly as she could, “I’m drinking your mum’s blood.”
Remus scowled, “Funny,” he whispered back.
Sirius turned between the two, utterly bewildered. Frank looked up, as if heard a quiet noise but couldn’t quite place it.
Sirius huffed, leaning back in their chair, and joined the whispering, “You two are infuriating. How in hell can you hear us, my hunter?”
Remus looked at them with a small smirk but didn’t reply.
Marlene visibly gagged; whispering, she spoke, “You call him your hunter? You’re nauseating.”
“I made you”, Sirius pouted.
“Please, you let me drink your blood, you’re not my mother or some God you like to think of yourself as.”
Remus smiled, “How obnoxious are you, vampire?”
Sirius laughed slightly, “Very.”
“Mother, may I have some more to drink?”
Sirius ignored her.
“Mother, I’m thirsty.”
Remus snorted. Sirius ignored her still.
“When’s dinnertime, Mother?”
Sirius turned away from her, glaring at Remus for laughing.
“I’m bored, Mother!”
Sirius turned to her, sharply, “Stop calling me that!”
Everyone turned to them, Sirius glaring at Marlene’s smug, satisfied face.
“Are you two talking to each other again?” Mary huffed, folding her arms, “I hate it when you do that.”
“Make a spell that gives you big ears then”, Sirius cackled, leaning their head on James’ lap. Their feet stretching over the arm of the chair and dangling next to Remus.
Remus whacked them off the armrest.
Sirius’ feet hit the ground, and they turned to Remus, “Comment osez-vous? Si grossier, mon Chasseur.”
Remus’ eyes widened, mouth slightly agape. He wrapped his arms around his chest, a slight pinkish tinge spreading across his cheeks.
“You’re French?”
Sirius’ lip twirled upwards in a smirk, revealing a fang, “Oui.”
“I didn’t know that”, Remus turned to James, “Why didn’t you tell me that?”
James looked over in surprise, “Why would you want to know that?”
Remus sat, gaping, for a moment, before answering, “You need to know everything about your enemies.”
Marlene leaned forwards with a wide grin, both fangs on display, and a hunger for something shone heavily in her eyes.
“Could I count you as an enemy of mine, then? Vampire, Hunter”, she waved her hands between the two of them, “Enemies since the beginning of time… well, other than us and werewolves, of course.”
Remus’ face remained blank, but his heartbeat picked up. Sirius frowned.
“Of course, we both want to kill each other after all.”
She clapped her hands together with a grin, “Fantastic. So then, since you claim we should know everything about our enemies. What are you?”
“What is that supposed to mean”, Remus laughed.
“What are you? It’s a simple question, Remus. It means that because you’re not human, you must be something else. And I’d like to know what.”
Remus leaned back in the chair, “What makes you think I’m not human? I’m a hunter, we’re all humans.”
She clicked her tongue, “Human, huh? Awfully good hearing for a human.”
He smiled, “Thank you.”
“And your teeth, so sharp.”
Remus tilted his head to the side, “Genetics. My father’s whole family have quite sharp teeth.”
James sighed, laying his head on Sirius’ shoulder, “Stop…”
Marlene turned to him, a smirk slowly getting wider, “You know what he is, James. Of course, you know.”
He glared at her, “Fuck off, Marlene.”
“I just think Remus here shouldn’t be so judgy off all us monsters when he’s just like us. Maybe worse; pretending to be human. Living with them, working with them, working with them against us.”
“Stop, Marlene.”
Remus shook his head to James, and leaned forwards, staring at Marlene as she continued.
“You come here acting as if you’ve got some moral high ground because you help the humans murder us? Because you’re ashamed of who you are? A queer monster.”
Remus smiled tightly, veins seemed to be protruding from his skin. His eyes grew more amber, bright, and beast-like. He laid his hands on his knees, tight knuckles clutching the cheap fabric. His smile widened with every second, pearly white canines on display.
He took in Marlene’s anger, and turned to the ceiling with a small laugh.
“At least my mother isn’t Sirius Black.”
Marlene shook her head in laughter, the room filling with drunk-like giggles from almost every person and monster in attendance. Sirius threw their glass, now empty of blood, at the wall.
“Please do not make that a thing. Turning someone does not make me their parent!”
Sirius crossed their arms, pouting as they sulked.
Marlene turned to Dorcas, poking their arm when she spotted they weren’t laughing, seemingly stuck in thoughts. She turned to Sirius, making sure they wouldn’t be listening- they were now putting on a lock on their refrigerator as Peter pointed out they gave Marlene her meals every day.
“Is something wrong with Regulus?”
Dorcas gently touched Marlene’s cheek and nodded.
“He’s planning something terrible.”
“Can he be stopped?”
Dorcas frowned, a tear sliding from their eye as they clutched Marlene close, “No.”
Marlene had never quite liked Regulus. The man was too somber, too serious, too bitter. She, in return, was disliked by him. Less to do with her personality, but more with what she represented. Sirius leaving home, Sirius finding companions in others, and Sirius allowing this line of dark immortality to go on. But Dorcas was fond of the man, finding a likeness in him. Regulus was Dorcas’ closest friend, their confidant. Regulus was Lily’s heart, the love of her life. Regulus was Sirius’ brother, and their sense of responsibility and hope.
Regulus was hope, heart, and trust to the people who loved him. And without that, everything would blacken and burn.
Dorcas touched her shoulder, “I’m lost. I can’t help him.”
Marlene placed her hand over theirs, and looked around the room, at the collection of people she hated to love and loved to hate. They remained in her heart, no matter where they stood. She couldn’t imagine losing any of them. Her life meant immortality, and she craved that, she sought that. She knew she’d lose the humans she loved, that she’d see thousands upon thousands of deaths in her existence. Her family had long died- but they were no family. This town, and the people in it, were her family. She couldn’t turn them all into vampires, she knew. She would experience the death of many loved ones. But Marlene looked around the room, her eyes drifting to Lily, to Mary, to Peter, and to Alice. Four was acceptable, right? None of them could die, she wouldn’t be able to handle that. Lily and Mary didn’t want to turn, they were witches. Turning would mean losing their craft. But it meant immortality- never dying- and that was the most important thing. Peter had been angling to get turned for a while, but his mother’s despised the idea. Well, fuck that. Peter was old enough to choose for himself. And Alice- she was married to a vampire. Why hadn’t Frank turned her? They could be in love forever, That was the dream- Dorcas and her would be together for eternity. Nothing was more romantic than immortality.
Dorcas spoke again, “He’s going to die.”
Marlene frowned, her hand squeezing Dorcas’.
Vampires weren’t meant to die. And Regulus was still so young. She felt her forgotten humanity creep in and shuddered. Her life suddenly felt so temporal.
She grabbed her mug, stared into the human blood, and glugged it all.
Vampires were immortal. Vampires didn’t hold stupid perishable bodies. She was a vampire. Regulus was a vampire.
No one was fucking dying.