Sirius Black had been staring at the quiet boy by the window in the compartment across from the one he shared with his best friend James Potter for twenty minutes.
"Why don't you go ask him his name?" James suggested with a laugh.
"I will, I will...I’m just waiting for the right moment."
"You're not going to get a more right moment. He hasn't moved since he got on the train. Go invite him to join us."
"Um...well...alright I can do that." As usual Sirius went from uncertainty to certainty in five seconds. Unfortunately, those five seconds were plenty enough. Just as Sirius moved to get out of his seat, three other boys entered the compartment across the isle and shut the door.
Remus was waiting for his friend to locate him, or the train ride to end, whichever came first.
"There you are, Remy. I've been looking all over for you. Where have you been anyway?" Scott, his long time friend asked with a smile.
"Here, waiting for you..." Remus said turning, then he caught sight of the other two boys standing in the hallway. "Umm...hi...?" they smiled warmly and stepped into the compartment, the last shutting the door. Remus surveyed the two suspiciously. One had long platinum blonde hair and the other had only slightly shorter coal black locks.
"Oh, Remy...this is Lucius Malfoy and Severus Snape. Severus is a first year like you and Lucius is in my year." Remus turned to Lucius; he looked far older than thirteen.
"Nice to meet you." then he extended the same greeting to Severus. To his credit, the black haired boy smiled and took a seat next to the other boy.
"What house do you think you're going to be in?" he asked softly. Remus decided that he liked the other boy's voice; it was soft, and deeper than most eleven-year-old boys.
"I hope I'm in Ravenclaw with Scotty,” he answered.
"I'm going to be Slytherin." Severus answered confidently. Remus nodded slowly.
"Is that a good house?" the compartment erupted in soft laughter.
"Of course Slytherin is a good house." Lucius answered, his crystal blue eyes glimmering. "That's the house I'm in,” he continued. Scott laughed suddenly at Remus' uncomfortable expression.
"Oh, come here sweetie." still looking a bit confused and a lot uncomfortable, Remus carefully crawled onto Scott's lap. "It's okay, doll. Don't be afraid, they don't bite." as if to be contradictory, Scott buried his nose into Remus' neck and bit softly. This drew a startled giggle out of Remus, and the compartment was filled with soft smiles. "I have lots to show you this year, m'puppy." Momentarily ignoring the compartments other occupants, Remus agilely swiveled in Scott's arms.
"What kind of stuff?" he asked curiously, giving Scott his best puppy-dog face.
"Lots of fun stuff." Scott promised evasively.
Remus parted from Scott reluctantly, his expression begging his friend not to leave him.
"Don't worry, puppy. You'll be fine," Scott promised, gently stroking Remus' cheek. Lucius nodded to him politely, no longer smiling or even looking friendly. Remus shrank slightly, wondering if he'd done something to anger the third year. Scott smiled at him one more time and promised to see him in a little while. Remus nodded reluctantly and watched him leave.
"Come on," Severus urged, taking the shorter boy's hand and pulling him toward a dock where a very big man was calling 'first years this way!' and waving his big hands, the lantern he held dwarfed by his giant hands. Remus watched the surrounding students nervously, his fingers unconsciously intertwined with Severus'. They boarded small wooden boats that moved by themselves and headed toward the other end of the lake. Remus sat next to Severus and clung to the other boy's arm-he *hated* water. Severus seemed mildly amused by this but only patted Remus' head encouragingly.
The Great Hall was lit brilliantly, the rafters mirroring the sky and hundreds of little candles were floating in the air. Remus was once again clinging to Severus, eyeing the room nervously, his cocoa eyes darting quickly between the many unfamiliar faces; he had never been in a place with so many people and he was extremely frightened. So frightened in fact, that he didn't notice Scott or his shocked expression.
Scott began looking for his childhood friend as soon as the double doors opened and he was shocked to see Remus clinging to Severus desperately; the boy was a shy one and didn't generally let anyone touch him with the exception of Scott, and he certainly didn't touch anyone else. Severus looked amused and kept patting the frightened boy's hand while they made their way between the Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw tables. Scott tossed a glance at Lucius who shrugged at him subtly from the Slytherin table. Scott had been under the impression that Severus Snape was not the touchy-feely type either; in fact, Severus was rumored to be a very distant, quite type. Certainly not one who was known for comforting people.
McGonagall stood before them with a long scroll, her eyes roaming over the group before her as she called out names. So far there had been a Slytherin, two Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs, but Remus was too caught up in trying to make himself as small and unnoticeable as possible to notice the goings on of the Sorting. He was thus startled by a hiss from Severus.
"What?" he asked quietly, his voice low and frightened; had he done something wrong?
"Sirius Black is in Gryffindor...that’s preposterous. The Black's have been in Slytherin for generations...." Severus explained, his irritation plain in his voice.
"Are Gryffindors bad?" Remus asked carefully. Severus gritted his teeth.
"Quite the contrary. They are 'good.'"
"So...why is Black's being in Gryffindor a bad thing?"
"When I say 'good' I mean self-centered, pompous, goody-two-shoes," Severus explained, nodding when a guy named Marcus Parkinson was sorted into Slytherin then growling when a girl was put in Gryffindor.
"You hate Gryffindors?"
"Hate is too lenient a word," Remus clutched the other boy tighter and buried his face in the black fabric of his robes.
/Please don't let me be in Gryffindor.../ he thought desperately.
"Remus? Remus? Your turn," Severus said, shaking his arm slight. Remus looked up at him in horror.
"I don't want to...,” he whimpered.
"Nonsense, go on," Severus scoffed, untangling his arm gently and pushing the short boy forward. Remus walked slowly to the hat, shying away from McGonagall’s encouraging smile. He clutched the wood of the stool desperately and screwed his eyes shut, tucking his legs in the rungs of the stool as McGonagall slowly lowered the hat onto his head.
"Ah...Remus Lupin.... what should I do with you?"
"Don't put me in Gryffindor!" Remus thought back hurriedly.
"Oh? Where do you think you should go?"
"Slytherin."
"Slytherin, eh? No, I don't think so...definitely not Slytherin."
"Ravenclaw then?" Remus asked hopefully.
"Hm....Ravenclaw? Maybe, maybe...let's see here. You have a brave, loyal heart Remus Lupin," The Hat observed. Remus shrank into the chair, his heart beating so hard against his chest that he thought his ribs would break. "I think the place for you is definitely...GRYFFINDOR!" Remus was quiet for several unbearably long seconds, then the Hat was lifted off his head and the sound of applause flooded his ears. His eyes sought Severus first; the boy's face was settled into a look of shock. Then Scotty; his friend was blinking up at him with something resembling confusion and that same shock. Remus eyes darted to Lucius and it was the look of disappointment and slight disgust on the face of a boy he barely knew that broke him. He began to cry. Habitually, he cried softly, tears streaming down his face and half-formed choking sobs barely pressing past his lips. He didn't know how long he sat there, but it was McGonagall’s arms around him that snapped him out of his daze. People didn't touch him. He fought out of her embrace and fell to the floor where he promptly backed away from her, his eyes wide with fear.
The room watched the display in varying degrees of confusion, sympathy, and finally, shock as the boy fought wildly against the kind professor McGonagall, throwing himself out of the stool and backing away from her as though she were the monster under his bed. It was Scott who finally jumped out of his seat and pushed past the first years, falling the floor and crawling toward his friend carefully; Remus had an amazing amount of super-natural strength, and Scott didn't want to frighten his friend into doing something violent.
"Come here, Remy.... it’s just Scotty...and look, Severus is here too...come here..." he cooed, glancing at Severus who was standing a few feet away, his expression unreadable. He glared at the other boy and Severus slowly came forward, heading straight for the other boy; by no means was Severus Snape going to crawl on the ground. Scott caught him by the ankle and shook his head wildly, pulling him down insistently. Severus growled at him warningly and got a firm glare in return. He sighed and settled his weight. Scott held his gaze for another second, then released him and turned back to Remus; the other boy had his head tucked into his knees and was rocking slowly.
"Remy? Come to Scotty..." Scott pleaded, moving slightly. "Come here, puppy..." at the sound of his pet name, Remus lifted his head and his brown eyes met Scott's. "That's it, puppy...it's okay..." Moving with a remarkable amount of speed, Remus shot himself into Scott's arms. Scott stumbled back slightly and regained his balance before tightening his hold on his fragile friend and rocking him softly.
"I told it not to...I swear I did!" Remus told him, his voice habitually low, like all the times he came to Scott after a full moon and cuddled into his blankets.
"It's okay..."
"Now your friends are going to hate me!" Remus declared, pulling at Scott’s robes, his face buried in the other boy's shoulder. His head suddenly snapped up. "You don't hate me do you?" Scott smiled at him.
"Of course I don't hate you. I couldn't hate you; you're my first and best friend. We're two of a kind, you and I. And Severus and Lucius don't hate you either."
"But..."
"No buts. Come on, stop crying in front of all these people and come sit down," Scott urged. Remus seemed to remember he had an audience and blushed scarlet, his tears evaporating quickly. Scott laughed heartily and pulled his friend up. The Great Hall was filled with quiet laughter as Remus hid behind Scott's robes, peaking out under his arm, his face bright red.
"Why don't you let him eat with you tonight?" Dumbledore suggested quietly. Scott nodded and pulled Remus forward. For his part, Remus only clutched Scott tighter, as though he were attempting to melt into the other boy's body.
"Come on, Puppy, you're okay," Scott insisted quietly, prying his friend off his side and pushing him toward the table. Scott's friends quickly made room for the first year and Remus immediately burrowed into Scott's side, refusing to look at anyone.
After a minute, McGonagall continued, shaking her head slightly. Remus didn't look up until Severus was called forward. The boy moved with a sort of natural captivating elegance, then sat with the same elegance and confidence.
"SLYTHERIN!" The Hat called after a few seconds of deliberation. Remus turned his miserable gaze back to the table.
"Hey, cheer up, Remy. He doesn't hate you," Scott told him. Remus nodded for the sake of agreeing, but didn't believe his friend. Scott hadn't heard the tone of voice Severus used when describing a Gryffindor.
Remus sat and stared at his food for most of the meal, until Scott began feeding him. At first he eagerly ate the morsels from Scott's fork, falling into the rhythm they had at home. Then a sixth year girl had to spoil it.
"That's so cute. You're a shy one aren't you?" Remus blushed and immediately turned away from the piece of chicken his friend was offering. Scott sighed and put his fork down. He glared at the girl who looked at him in confusion before slipping a hand under the table and clutching Remus hand. Remus looked up at him and he made a slight gesture toward the door. Remus nodded eagerly and they stood, leaving their half-eaten (and in Remus' case, mostly untouched) food behind as they walked out of the hall hand-in-hand.
Scott led Remus to a hidden, long forgotten room on the fourth floor. Scott immediately walked across the room and slid to a rug before a long unused hearth.
"Come here, puppy..." Scott said, beckoning to him from across the room. Remus eagerly undid his robe and pulled his shirt off, nearly ripping it in his haste.
"There's my good puppy," Scott cooed as Remus lowered himself to the other boy's lap. Remus shivered as Scott stretched his neck, his tongue coming out to lick Remus' sensitive neck. Remus relaxed even further as the familiar tingling sensation of Scott's saliva softening and sensitizing his skin sent shudders up his spine. Scott gave no warning as he suddenly sunk his teeth into his young friend's neck. Remus hissed softly at the accustomed first puncture-pain, a soft cry fighting past his lips as Scott's sharp canines sank deeper into his artery. Scott rubbed his back in comforting circles until he felt his regular teeth settle flush against Remus' neck. Remus sighed as Scott retreated from the puncture and set his lips to the openings, his tongue darting forward to lave the tortured flesh as he sucked Remus' blood from the two small holes. Remus moaned and smiled, his arms wrapping around Scott's head and holding him firmly against his neck, his whole body infused with pleasure that he might have compared to an orgasm, except he had never experienced one, not even dream or self-induced.
"Oh.... Scott...." Remus breathed, tipping his head back further, granting his friend complete access to his life substance. Scott gently lowered him to the ground, not saying anything as he continued to suck the sweet warm copper straight from the source, a single moan stirring deep in his throat as Remus continued to moan wantonly. After several minutes of Remus' moans covering the soft sound of Scott's sucking, the older boy pulled away, his mouth leaving the reddened flesh with a soft pop. Remus whimpered in protest and Scott smiled, supporting the other boy's head as he gently laved the tiny punctures, sighing as they closed under his tongue and he licked the last of the spilled blood away. Remus blinked up at him dreamily and he smiled down at his friend.
"Feel better, puppy?" Remus nodded slowly and Scott pulled something out of his pocket and enlarged it. He offered the bag to Remus who slowly withdrew the loaf of bread and glared at his friend.
"Was this a ploy to get me to eat?" He asked.
"Well, it worked didn't it?" Scott returned; Remus was always hungry after a feeding. Remus shook his head, but ate the bread quickly anyway. Scott watched him in amusement for a minute before stepping across the room and picking Remus' discarded clothing up.
"You had better get back to the Great Hall before your housemates leave you behind. You don't want to get locked out of your dorm do you?" He asked, helping the younger boy in to his clothes. Remus' face fell and he set what was left of the bread aside. "Oh, Remy, there's nothing wrong with being a Gryffindor! Most people don't want to be Slytherins. Not that there's anything wrong with being Slytherin either-I rather like most of them...Remy!" Remus was starring at the floor dejectedly, his eyes welling up with tears again. "You'll see...it's not as bad as you think. You'll be fine." He would have liked to keep Remus with him, comfort him, but the fact was the younger boy did need to get back to the Great Hall before dinner ended or they would both be in trouble, and the staff would most likely find out about his Vampirism; even if it was mostly subdued and certainly harmless, he would be expelled.
"I can make it back myself," Remus assured him quietly when he moved to escort the first year back to the Great Hall.
"Okay...I'll see you tomorrow morning, okay?" Remus nodded and smiled at him sweetly before embracing his friend and carefully slipping out of the room. Remus used his perfect memory and sense of smell to lead him back to the Great Hall. When he re-entered he was much more confident, externally at least, than he had been when he left, but no one had much time to notice this as the tables were empting and everyone was heading to the dorms for the night.
Scott watched the closed door for a minute, his heart aching for his young friend.
"I've never seen you feed before," someone observed from behind him. Scott smirked but said nothing. "He looked like he...enjoyed it." Scott slowly turned to face Lucius Malfoy, his arms crossing over his chest.
"Are you admitting that it wasn't quite as disgusting a sight as you thought it would have been?" Lucius returned his lover's smirk.
"I will admit that I am...curious, as to how being bitten could be pleasurable," Lucius returned, leaning against the frame of a hidden passage. Scott stepped toward him slowly.
"Because my Vampirism is not the most common form that everyone is aware of and fears," Lucius snorted; he feared nothing. But Scott only chuckled softly and continued his advance. "Because the nature of my Vampirism *is* pleasure."
"Tell me, what is the 'most common' form?"
"Unable to stand sunlight, sleeps up-side down in the form of a bat, sucks the life out of poor defenseless women, and passes the Vampirism on to their few victims that manage to remain alive. The only reason it's the 'most common' is because it's the only form most people-wizarding and Muggle alike know of. Aside from that, it's actually the least encountered form," Scott explained, now inches from his blonde lover. Lucius tipped his head to one side and regard him sideways. Scott slowly lifted one of the boy's aristocratic hands, removing the black leather glove with his teeth, all of which were now straight and normal once again.
"How curious are you, Lucius Malfoy?" He asked, his tongue running across his lover's palm. Lucius stiffened.
"Not that curious," he said, and Scott knew he was frightened.
"It won't leave marks...,” he promised. Lucius pulled his hand away from the other's mouth. "Scared?" Scott challenged. Lucius glared at him and promptly offered his hand up. Scott smirked and allowed his canines to drop again, his saliva infusing with the natural aphrodisiac created by a gland on the roof of his mouth. Lucius stifled a moan as the flesh at the base of his thumb was slowly softened and sensitized.
"This will sting a bit..." Scott warned briefly before sinking his teeth into warm flesh for the second time that night. Lucius hissed and tried to pull away, but Scott held his hand firmly until he made the puncture. Lucius cursed and Scott pulled out, fastening his lips to the wound and sucking lightly. Lucius tasted different than his sweet Remus; where Remus was all sweet copper, Lucius was earthy, tangy, sour-sweet. He listened to his lover's soft moans for a minute as he slowly filled his mouth and swallowed, once, twice, once more and then withdrew and slowly healed the wound.
"Why did you stop?" Lucius inquired, inspecting his palm to make sure no marks had been left. As promised, his skin was unblemished, though a little red.
"Because I wasn't hungry," Scott explained. Lucius snorted softly and pushed his lover against the wall.
"Have you taken the boy yet?" He asked into Scott's neck.
"'The boy' is only eleven," Scott reminded him.
"And how old were you when I first had you against the wall?"
"Eleven," Scott conceded. "And you were far too experienced for an eleven year-old."
"I did lose my virginity at six..." Lucius said off-handedly, working to remove Scott's robe. Scott shook his head; he had of course known about Lucius sexual history, but it still panged his heart to hear it.
"Your father is sick," he said simply, moving away from the wall just enough to allow his robe to fall to the floor.
"My father is a Malfoy," Lucius said as though it explained everything. /Just as I will be when I have children, / he finished mentally. He'd only he'd mentioned that inescapable fact to Scott once, and hadn't since as his lover had refused to see him for three months.
"Remus is just too young and naive for that kind of thing..." Scott breathed, allowing Lucius to lower him to the floor, relishing the feeling of the cold stones to his back and Lucius' warm body to his front.
"Please don't reject him," Scott said suddenly, running his fingers through Lucius' hair. They were lying naked on the floor, Lucius head pillowed on Scott's chest. He moaned non-committally. "He has so few friends, but he's such a sweetheart," Scott continued, his eyes unfocused and his voice distant. Lucius nodded against his chest and snuggled further into his side. Scott smiled and gazed down at his lover; who would have thought that Lucius Malfoy loved to cuddle? Closing his eyes, he allowed himself to drift off to sleep for a few precious hours.
Remus followed the Gryffindor house prefect through the halls, politely ignoring the two boys he was walking next to. They were obviously curious about him, but both gave him his space as they walked to the dorms. When he reached the room, he immediately went to his trunk and got his pajamas out. He was trying to decide if he should go to the bathroom to change, or crawl into the bed and shut the draperies when one of the two boys he had walked beside wandered over. He immediately recognized Sirius Black from the sorting and shifted uncomfortably from one foot to the other. Sirius threw his pajama bottoms on to Remus' bed and reached down to pull his shirt up.
"So, why don't you want to be in Gryffindor?" He asked through his shirt. Remus grew red and turned his face away from the spectacle of Sirius' torso. There was a sudden laugh from behind him and he turned to find himself facing the other boy he had walked beside.
"Sirius, I think you’re scaring him!"
"What?" Sirius asked in confusion, pausing in undoing his pants.
"Perhaps you should do a bit of study in the art of modesty," The boy suggested. Sirius glared at him and scooped his pajamas and shirt up. Mumbling to himself irritably and holding his pants up with one hand, he stomped to his bed and hopped up, pulling all the draperies shut.
"Sorry about Sirius...he was just showing off. Don't mind him. I'm James Potter by the way," Remus looked up at him, took in his unruly black hair, brown eyes and round glasses. He carefully took the hand that James offered and shook it quickly.
"Remus Lupin," he supplied, pulling his hand back. "I-I should be getting to bed...we have classes tomorrow," Remus said a bit uncomfortably.
"That's a good idea," James agreed smiling at him brilliantly. Remus nodded and slowly turned to climb into bed, securing the heavy winter draperies around the bed.
"He's an odd one, huh?" He heard Sirius say quietly some twenty minutes later.
"He's just shy. I like him," James answered. Sirius said something else unintelligible and then they both fell quiet. Remus sighed and squeezed his pillow tightly to his chest, a single tear escaping his eye to be swallowed hungrily by the cotton pillow.