Naked in a Vampire's Shower
The sun was starting to dim as Remus wriggled through the small hole in Sirius’ fence. As he crawled, flat against the ground, the sharp, rusty metal scratched against his back. He swore, but kept going. Crawling in the mud, using his cane to help him along.
Once inside the grounds, he used his hand to feel his back. Blood spilled onto his hand and he wiped it on his trousers. He grabbed his tshirt, ripping off the lower half and tying it around his torso to stop the bleeding.
He started to regret going through the trouble as the rain hit heavier, drenching him when he still had a long walk to go till he got to the nearest ground level window. It was hard to walk through the wet mud, his cane and boots getting stuck in every step.
Remus knew Sirius would open the gates for him at the front entrance, but he was a hunter, he wasn’t showing up at a vampire’s house to hang out. This was a stakeout. Gathering more information in order to devise what to do next.
A bit of mud, rain, and blood wouldn’t stop a hunter.
As he finally reached the stone castle, he fell to his knees and searched for a large rock to break the window. It took a while, but he heaved it up and chucked it through the window. The glass shattered, and Remus climbed through the opening, hoping Sirius was on the other side of the castle.
Remus tried to step over the glass, but tripped from the mud. He fell on his side, glass cutting into his leg, arm, and hands. He quickly got out and away from the glass, carefully pulling out every shard that stuck into his skin. He didn’t have enough plasters in his pockets so left it for now, the cuts were small after all.
He grabbed the doorhandle, and entered the large hallway. It seemed eerily quiet and dark, as expected in a vampire household. And then- music. A piano started to play, a soft, sorrowful piece. Followed by a voice singing in French. The song picked up, getting louder, heavier, and sadder. He could feel his heart beating in time with it, tears pricking his eyes to lyrics he couldn’t understand. But the voice- full of mourning and heartache.
His feet followed the sound on its own will.
He found himself moving along the narrow hallways, lost in the mansion like a maze, but bring guided by that voice. And then he stood behind a closed door, light was seeping through the bottom of it, and music swam across it.
Remus’ hand reached for the doorknob and it creaked open. He stepped inside the room, a large ballroom filled with instruments, and boxes covered in dust.
Sirius’ hands stopped, and Remus deeply regretted not waiting by the door until the song was over.
“Mon chasseur? What has happened to you?”
Remus frowned, and the corner of Sirius’ mouth lifted as they gestured to Remus’ body. He looked down, remembering the mud and blood he had aquired trying to get into the castle.
“Not great weather today.”
Sirius barked a laugh, closing the piano behind them, and crossing the room to where Remus stood.
“You are funny, mon chasseur”, they reached up and stroked Remus’ cheek before letting go and showing a small shard of glass between their fingers, “I do have a door.”
“I’m a hunter, we don’t go through the door.”
Sirius grinned, “Then at least write to me before you come over so I may open the window for you. All these broken windows are creating a draft. And James keeps getting cut on the glass when he clears it up, it makes it very hard to resist and I don’t think either of us want me killing him.”
Remus placed a hand on the stake in his belt, “That would ruin the element of surprise.”
Sirius grabbed Remus’ wrist, the one holding the stake, and spoke in a flirtatious tone, “But what if I’m indecent?”
“Let go.”
A nail dug into his skin, and a drop of blood spilled onto Sirius’ finger. They let go to lick it off, their eyes widening at the taste.
“Your blood isn’t human.”
Remus frowned, “You knew that already. The blonde vampire made that clear.”
Sirius’ eyes drifted to the stake, still tight in Remus’ grip, “Why do you hunt?”
“What?”
“You’re a hunter. You kill, you hate monsters. But you are a monster. So why do you hunt us?”
Remus gulped, “I don’t kill.”
Sirius huffed in disbelief.
“I don’t kill humans. I never have. That’s the difference between me and… your lot. I hate who I am, I don’t embrace it like a savage. What you lot do is wrong, immoral. I hide what I am, I would do anything to be normal. And monsters that don’t, that think they can kill and do whatever they like, that live openly and embrace their immoral nature, need to stopped.”
Sirius took a step backwards, their arms coming to wrap around themselves, “You need a shower. James is just at the end of the hall on the right, ask him to show you where the bathroom is. Then he can take you home.”
They swiftly left the room, and Remus followed after a moment. The hallway was empty, and Remus walked in the directions Sirius had told him.
He knocked on the wooden door, and James voice called him inside.
The room was filled with books, large windows sat on the far wall, with small nooks beside them. Bookshelves seemed to lay in neverending rows, and various desks were scattered around the room.
“Sirius?” James’ voice called from around the corner, “I’m just writing to Regulus, but I was thinking we could go down to the pub tonight? I think Remus might be softening up to you, and I thought we could all get drunk and have a good time, yeah?”
Remus turned the corner, seeing James on a bright red beanbag, a quill and piece of paper in his hands.
James looked up, “Oh. Why are you here?”
Remus awkwardly shrugged, “Sirius said to ask you to show me where the bathroom is so I can shower, and then to take me home?”
James’ eyes widened and he stood up, “What happened?”
“Nothing. I was just here for some recon.”
James held Remus by the shoulders, “You pissed Sirius off.”
“So what? They're a vampire.”
“What did you say to them?”
Remus groaned, “I don’t know, it doesn’t matter. Can you just show me the shower, please?”
“Fine”, James grabbed the letter he was writing and gestured Remus to follow him.
As they walked through the halls, James kept turning around, glancing at Remus with worry. They reached a bathroom and James held the door open for him.
Before leaving, James glanced to Remus again, “Just be careful, alright?”
Remus looked inside the bathroom before turning to his friend, “I think I’ll be fine.”
James nodded, like Remus hadn’t really gotten what he meant, and walked back down the stairs.
He locked the door and started the shower, glancing at himself in the mirror. Blood had started staining onto his arms, his cuts still bleeding slightly, and mud covered every inch of his clothes.
He stripped, folding his ruined clothes into a pile, and a separate pile for his weapons. Remus got into the shower, letting the warm water run over him, and rubbing the stains from his body. It was strange. He was completely naked, vulnerable, in a vampire’s home. Sirius could easily knock the door down and turn or drain him. But somehow he knew Sirius wouldn’t do that, even after James’ warning to be careful. Of course, he didn’t trust the vampire. Not in the slightest. And Remus couldn’t begin to explain how he felt being naked in a vampire’s home. He should feel fear, unsettled or uneasy. But it was just… weird. An almost laughable situation. He probably would have laughed right then, if the memory of Sirius’ sudden coldness wasn’t occupying Remus’ thoughts.
About an hour later, he felt clean again, and grabbed a red towel hanging from the wall to wrap around himself. He couldn’t much put his clothes back on again, so he left the bathroom in search for James.
He walked slowly down the stairs, holding the towel around his waist. And in a quiet voice, started to call out for James. He tried to make his way back to the library, but hadn’t quite remembered right and was now aimlessly walking.
He spotted the wide entryway, large doors leading to the garden and front gate. Remus walked closer to it, and threw open the doors.
The sun was going down, but the rain was still heavily pouring. He could see the gates in the distance, and the woods beyond.
“I don’t think that's quite the appropriate attire to be running in the rain in. I mean, you’re not even wearing any shoes.”
Remus turned to see Sirius leaning against the banister, a pile of clothes and a pair of shoes in their hands.
“I was looking for James.”
Sirius gestured to the leftside of the house, “He’s making dinner. In the kitchen.”
“Right.”
Sirius’ eyes drifted to the clothes in their hands and back to Remus. He understood the gesture, and slowly walked towards the vampire.
Once close enough, Remus held out his hands to accept the clothes.
Sirius stood upright, and promptly dropped the pile onto the floor before turning away, and disappearing down the hall.
Remus leaned down to grab it all, before getting changed right there. He knew he’d never be able to find the bathroom again.
The clothes were Sirius’, tight black trousers, a white, practically see-through shirt with a frilly collar and cuffs, and underwear that Sirius seemed to have sewn in their own initials onto the back of. The shoes were back boots, with a small heel and were a little too tight. Sirius had also left a black cloak, since it was rather cold. But Remus refused to put that on- cloaks were a staple of vampires.
Once dressed, in what Remus could only describe as a ‘vampire stripper’, he tried to find the kitchen.
Sirius’ directions had been extremely vague, so Remus tried to rely on his sense of smell. He hated using it, feeling inhumane when he did, but it allowed him to easily locate the kitchen.
He opened the door, and the smell of chana masala hit him. James used to make it a lot when they were in training together.
He turned from where he stood, dishing the curry up.
“Hey, come sit down.”
Remus sat at the small wooden table, and James placed the bowl in front of him.
The other he placed in the seat next to Remus, and a different dish- salad and black pudding, he placed in the seat opposite him.
James opened the kitchen door and called down the hall, and a moment later, Sirius was there.
“Remus, did you want a drink?”
Remus didn’t take his eyes off Sirius, who slumped into the seat opposite and poked their salad with their finger, “Just some water, please.”
James came back over with two glasses of water, and one wine glass.
All three started eating in silence, until James grabbed a shark knife and cut his arm just over the empty wine glass.
Remus stared in shock, as James allowed his blood to drop into the glass. He stopped once it was half full. Sirius then took the knife and pricked their finger with it, letting James drink a droplet of their blood, James’ cut healed up immediately.
Sirius picked up the wine glass and started to drink, eyes glaring at Remus as they did so.
Remus’ hand shook and he dropped his fork.
James turned to him, “You alright?”
“I’m not really hungry anymore.”
Sirius took another sip from the glass before lowering it, “I think Lupin, here, just doesn’t like to eat with immoral savages such as ourselves.”
James frowned, turning to Sirius, “What are you on about?”
Sirius’ eyes stayed on Remus, “Would you feel better if I starved myself? Maybe if I locked myself in a cage and fed only on rats that scurried by? Or perhaps it would be best if I just set myself on fire since I’m such a monster, anyway.”
Remus grit his teeth, and spoke to James without turning to him, “James, could I please talk to you for a moment, in the hallway?”
“Sure”, James replied, eyes drifting between the two, uncertainty through the tension.
Remus left first, and James followed behind. The door swung shut behind him.
“You never told me you let them feed from you! And then you drink their blood just so you heal quicker? What if you died before it left your system? You’d be a fucking vampire, James! And what if you’re there one day, squeezing out your blood for them, and they can’t resist the smell of your blood and start drinking you until you die? I can’t believe you’re doing something so reckless! It’s against everything we've learnt!”
James folded his arms, “What did you say to Sirius earlier?”
“That doesn’t matter, James! What matters is your carelessness, I mean befriending a vampire is one thing, but willingly letting them feed from you? What are you? Their familiar?”
James’ mouth twitched, and Remus knew he was right.
Sirius had said James was the one to clean up the broken window, James had cooked dinner, he had let them feed from him. Sirius hadn’t said James would take him home because he was Remus’ friend, but because he was their servant.
“We became friends, and I realised Sirius was rather shit at living alone so I offered. I cook them actual meals, tidy up a bit, and in return they heal my injuries and are helping to set me up with my crushes. But we’re friends first before all that vampire and familiar stuff, alright?”
Remus swore, “The other day you said you weren’t planning on coming home with me… Sirius is going to turn you, aren’t they?”
James nodded slightly.
“James!”
He ran a hand through his hair, “My parent’s are ill, Remus. God, they’re dying and when they’re gone I’ll be alone until I die too. And that’s miserable! But Remus, Sirius wants to turn me. And one of the people I have a crush on is a vampire, so we could be together. And I could stay here. It’s like defying death, it’s beautiful, it’s eternity with the people you love!”
“You’ll be a monster, James.”
“I’ll be loved and I’ll love forever. That’s worth being a monster for.”
Remus turned away, “Take me back to the Pettigrew’s, please. Now. I don’t think I can be here much longer.”
James touched his shoulder but Remus flinched away, “We’re still friends, yeah?”
Remus folded into himself, shivering in the cold hallway, “I want to go now.”
James nodded, holding back a sob as Remus took another step away from him.
“Okay, yeah. I’ll take you back… I love you, Remus.”
Remus didn’t acknowledge him, his arms wrapped around himself, walking as quick as he could to get out of the damn castle.