Fic: A Cure for the Common (Cold-hearted) Vampire
Title: A Cure for the Common (Cold-hearted) Vampire
Author: Jean
Pairing: Fred/George, Severus/Remus
AN: Thanks to Suemonroe and Wolfiekins for the beta!! This was originally written for PepperyLime for the hpvamp Vampentine fic/art-exchange on LJ.
Rating: NC-17
Word count: 6,256
Summary: Fred and Severus? Who would have thought?
Severus dropped the muggle he’d been draining. The woman fell like a sack of potatoes, the life completely drawn out of her. He was draped lethargically on his couch, enjoying the high the woman’s blood had given him. Fred sat across him, still enjoying his prey. A year ago, had you told either of them they would be together like this, you would’ve been carted off to St. Mungo’s sooner than you could say ‘riddikulus’. But here they were, nine months later, and closer than they had ever imagined.
In the height of the war, Fred had been captured by the Death Eaters and was thrown in a grimy cell with Severus. They’d been tortured to the brink of insanity for weeks. Voldemort had wanted them to suffer, Severus for his betrayal to the cause and Fred because he was a blood-traitor and Harry’s almost-brother. After days of being lambasted and mutilated, Voldemort decided to feed them Severus’ experimental potions, enjoying the irony of the Potion Master ingesting his own poison. They’d kept at it for days, at times bringing several different potions at once and laughing at the effects those potions would manifest on their prisoners.
Having the foulest potions in existence forced into him, Fred’s body was nothing more a puddle of blood and flesh and his mind was in a state of delirium. He often wished for death and drifted in and out of consciousness, the pain never leaving him. In moments of lucidity he fancied Severus was trying to calm him in his own gruff way, telling him to hold on for a bit longer, that Fred should stay strong for his ‘dunderhead brother’. His respect for Severus had grown so much during that time. Severus was fed the same potions as he was, but it hardly showed. Severus was almost collected in his anguish, occasionally crying out or convulsing. He never showed his distress and was punished severely for it by Death Eaters disgruntled by his restrain.
Unsurprisingly, they were rescued while Fred was unconscious. They were actually found by Kingsley and Draco, in the aftermath of Harry defeating Voldemort. He awoke in St. Mungo’s surrounded by half of the remaining Weasley clan, the other half visiting Ron and Harry, who were recuperating from the last battle in the same room. George had been next to his bedside of course, looking gaunt and bruised, but happy to see him awake nonetheless.
Everything was fine, they said, the healers just need to check a few things. But they were undermanned, with all the casualties coming in, it would take a few days, as they were working on those more lethally wounded. George had lightly traced over the still vivid scars over his face, which differentiated him from Fred. George joked about it melancholily, but the feel of his brother’s hands marking out their current differences while commenting on it only made Fred’s heart ache more.
He asked about Severus, but the wizard was still unconscious; he had been with Voldemort for a longer period than Fred, and his injuries had been more critical. They were still figuring out which curses and poisons were active in his body and it was better to keep him in a dormant state until they found out how to heal him.
Eventually, though it felt like forever to Fred, he was released from St. Mungo’s with a clean bill of health and Severus as well, a bit later. They celebrated, privately and publicly; it felt like the wizarding world couldn’t be more overjoyed. They mourned their losses; there wasn’t a single wizard or witch who hadn’t lost someone in the war, the Weasley clan in particular had lost Percy and Bill and Fleur, who had loved each other ‘till death.
Things eventually trickled back to post-war normality; Fred and George went back to creating jokes and managing their store. They were thinking of expanding, they had been very popular during the war and still were.
It took a while for Fred to notice something had transformed inside him. George had remarked on his change of behaviour; he had become more uninhibited, bolder to the point of callousness, whereas George used to be the brasher one. Fred had dismissed it as just living life to the fullest, because of his recent brush with death.
Mainly due to his influence, they began a new assortment of products that skirted the forbidden line. Amongst the new Wicked Wheezes range were products like Truthful Tea, which worked like a mild truth potion, Spy Scrolls, which were a mini variation of the Marauders Map, keyed to a single person and more specifically what they were doing at the time and Persuasion Pastries, which had a mild Imperio-like effect.
He was forced to admit something was wrong when, almost two months out of hospital, they went on their newly instated Friday night pub-crawl. It was more George’s idea than Fred’s, seeing as, unknown to his brother, Fred was head over heels with someone unattainable; George himself. While George sometimes found someone, either male or female, whom he actually liked for more than a fortnight, Fred just made do with a string of one-night stands.
The boys met up with Lee and Katie, who had linked up after working closely together as journalists for the Daily Prophet. They were in an open relationship, or so they called it, using the pub-crawl nights to hook someone to get drunk and play with for the night. The group ended up in a corner in The Strawberry Mooncalves, watching the dance floor, where witches and wizards were gyrating to the beats the house-dj was pumping out.
Everyone steadily became more smashed and boisterous as the night drew on, except for Fred. He felt hollow and anxious in a way he couldn’t quite explain. A loud thumping in his ears was clouding the voices and music around him. Eventually it was so bad, he could see his brother and friends talking and laughing, but he couldn’t hear them. He left for the loo, not even bothering to care if they noticed.
The urinals were blissfully empty and Fred splashed some water on his face, trying to catch his bearings. The place was dank and smelled of too much piss and liquor. The thumping got almost unbearably louder when this bloke entered the rest room. He was tall, blond and lanky, clearly drunk, wearing an open blazer, shirtless underneath it. With only a slight glance at Fred he moved to the last urinal and unzipped to relieve himself. Fred still wasn’t sure what happened, but one moment he was wondering what was going on with him and the next he was on the guy like a niffler on gold.
The blond was obviously caught off guard, but seemed to welcome the assault. Somehow they were snogging urgently, tongues anywhere they could reach, hands tearing off clothing as if the garments were deadly and needed not to touch any skin. Fred didn’t even consciously realise that the pulsation had receded and that the man fiercely groping and kissing him back was producing the most lustful moans and grunts. Fred’s whole being cumulated in sensation, his body heated up with arousal, his mind flooded with something feral, rendering him unable to think clearly.
He spun the guy around, pushed him against the wall opposite the urinal and tore off the remainder of their pants. He prepared the man swiftly and harshly, uncaring about the way this man was wantonly pushing back onto his fingers and groaning loudly whenever Fred brushed his prostate. It didn’t take long before his cock was slamming into the tight arse with quick and uneven strokes, no finesse or rhythm at all.
Fred wasn’t aware of the other man’s climax; he just kept driving in and out of him, his instincts urging him to claim his prize, to finish what he’d instinctively been hungering for. Just as he was about to come, fangs grew out of his front teeth and he innately pierced the vein in the blond bloke’s neck, the man didn’t even struggle. Surprisingly, a great deal of blood gushed into his mouth and once he started swallowing it, it lulled him.
He kept drinking, until his head cleared, as suddenly as it had clouded, leaving him disoriented for a few seconds. To Fred’s horror he noticed the man he’d just fucked, collapsed in his arms. The lanky man looked a sight, his clothes were torn apart, the visible parts of his body either bleeding or beginning to bruise, certain parts both. Worst of all was the punctured skin underneath his right ear, where the blood was still trickling down slowly. What terrified Fred most though, was the heady satisfaction he felt at having overpowered this wizard. The man was barely breathing, probably near the brink of death, and all Fred could think of was that amazing taste in his mouth, that smooth texture he literally wanted to drink forever and ever.
He stood there dazed for a moment, before the sounds of the bar penetrated his brain and he became aware of where he was. He quickly scourgified them both and obliviated the poor bloke, making sure to spell the puncture marks closed. After assuring himself the blond would be okay, Fred quickly apparated away to Severus Snape, the only one he knew could make sense of what had just happened.
Severus had spent a few days longer in St. Mungo’s than he had and afterwards they’d only seen each other in passing. Fred had heard Severus refused to return to teaching at Hogwarts, but had agreed to take on an apprentice for the position. He still presided as the Head of Slytherin though, taking care of the scant few Slytherins who’d survived the war and had not fallen to insanity or Azkaban.
Fred wasn’t sure anyone would be up that time of night, except maybe the ghosts, but he made sure to apparate as closely to Hogwarts as possible and hurried to the dungeons. He managed to reach Severus’ rooms unnoticed. It was just as well that the rooms were in a secluded corridor. It seemed as though Severus was waiting for him; he had barely knocked when Severus opened the door and led him into his living room without a word.
“What happened?” Severus asked after they were seated. Two glasses of Firewhiskey appeared before them and Fred thankfully sipped his. Everything seemed to pour out of him, how he’d been behaving and what he’d just ran from. Severus sat there stoically, not once interrupting him. When he finished with how he ended up at Severus’ door, Severus just nodded in understanding.
“While I was spying on Voldemort, I tried to create new potions that would help us in the war against him.” He told Fred, who looked confused.
“I thought we we’re talking about me, what does this…” he began, but wisely shut it when he noticed Severus’ glare. Severus went on.
“Most of the potions would’ve been considered Dark, which is why Voldemort’s hideout was a great place to develop and test them. Not to mention the ample amount of test-subjects I had access to. I often tested potions on the prisoners. When the potions worked, the prisoners usually had a good chance of escaping and surviving. If they didn’t, well, they would’ve been dead anyway.”
Fred looked at him incredulously for his indifference, but Severus just shrugged and went on.
“The one I worked on most was a potion to enhance both the physical and magical aspects of a person to their maximal capabilities. I tried boosting magical levels, but that turned out to be quite dangerous. When magical levels exceed a wizard’s limit, they lose their magic altogether in the best case and in the worst case they die.
I found one could get around that by adding another compatible magical essence that could be absorbed by the person’s own magic. There are numerous magical creatures that are companionable with wizardkind, even if the results are usually less than stellar. For example, when you mix a wizard and a werewolf, the wizard obtains the werewolf’s magic and magical abilities, such as enhanced smell and strength. Obviously, the downside is that the wizard himself alters into a werewolf every full moon.
“Vampires are the creatures that provide the highest magical boost without having too many negative qualities, so I decided to experiment with their essence. Only, I didn’t get very far. The first batch essentially turned the test subjects into vampires. The potion drained them of their blood and infused them with the vampire gene after they died. Further batches managed to turn them without their awareness, or anyone else detecting they were vampires, although the effects were noticeable. They didn’t die or lose their souls, but they lost quite a bit of their morality and the bloodlust was still very much in their system. Nevertheless, the potion did also triple, sometimes quadruple their innate physical and magical strength and acquired them abilities unique to vampires.
“When we were captured, they fed us the potion,” said Severus with a definite certainty. “As I’ve just told you, it’s undetectable, which is why the mediwizards didn’t find any trace while tending to us. The changes are such that you didn’t know you’d become a vampire until your hunger for blood threatened to consume you. Had you not drunk from the man, you might’ve torn the place apart in rage.”
Fred sat there a bit wide-eyed. He wasn’t stupid, he’d suspected he might be a vampire; after all, there weren’t any other creatures that liked to drain someone dry of their blood just for the hell of it. But having it confirmed was a whole different matter.
“Why didn’t you contact me sooner?” Fred asked accusingly. “You’ve obviously known all this time.”
Severus shrugged nonchalantly.
“I didn’t feel like it. There is no cure for vampirism and perfecting the potion I was working on won’t reverse the effects of the previous potion. More importantly though, I won’t be looking for a cure. I enjoy being a vampire. I’ve never felt so good in my life! Hunting is exhilarating and sometimes I get too carried away and someone dies, but so what? They’ll all die someday anyway. I knew that if you found out, you’d want a way out of it. And as I have no intention of doing that, there was no need of me actively going out of my way to inform you.”
Fred left Severus rooms a bit dazed, but a bit wiser nonetheless. Severus reluctantly agreed for them to meet up occasionally, which led to them hunting and feeding together more often than not. It helped keep Severus’ eagerness for hunting in check and Fred probably saved a lot of lives hunting with Severus. He reckoned that Severus had lost a lot of his restraint when he’d taken the vampire potion, because he had kept such a tight leash on it before. Severus didn’t seem to care either way.
Nine months on, they were so well adjusted to each other that they freely discussed whichever topic was on their minds at that moment. There wasn’t much they didn’t know about each other. After feeding on the two women (Fred was sure Severus’ prey had died, but he was too satisfied to care), they went on to their most favourite topic, the unreciprocated loves of their lives.
Severus told him about Remus Lupin. Everyone knew about their history, so it wasn’t surprising that Severus found it so hopeless. Remus had been reinstated as DADA professor. The regulations against werewolves hadn’t changed much, but Headmistress McGonagall had put her foot down and Deputy Headmaster Flitwick had backed her up. McGonagall had given Severus a monthly stipend to buy ingredients and prepare the Wolfsbane potion, after he had initially refused to make it for Remus. He wasn’t obligated to, because they weren’t in the Order anymore and Albus wasn’t there to gently strong-arm him into it. As much as he wanted the werewolf, he had vowed to stop getting himself pulled into things he had no inclination for. Making the Wolfsbane potion was a tedious and lengthy occupation that kept him from doing things he enjoyed far more. If it wasn’t for Remus coming over himself and practically begging him to do it and, of course, McGonagall’s more than generous payment, he wouldn’t have even bothered to agree.
He didn’t know when it was exactly, but somewhere along the line of their long history of animosity (which Severus could now admit to mostly single-handedly prolonging) he began to like Remus more and more. What completely switched him around was when, a couple of days before he was captured, Remus took him aside and apologised for the bad blood between them. He didn’t know how the war would end, he said, but if it ended in their favour, he wanted to make a fresh start with Severus and try to be closer. Severus had been gobsmacked. After everyone downplaying their history as just being schoolboy pranks and such, he’d never imagined getting an apology. He’d wanted one, of course, but hearing it, having it realised, lifted a weight he didn’t know he’d been holding. While imprisoned, it was mostly Remus churning in his head. It helped offset the physical pain when his mind was sensually unclothing a willing and eager Remus in a candlelit room on a silk-sheeted bed.
Severus loved arguing with Remus. He loved riling him up and getting riled up by Remus in his infuriatingly calm way. A few times since the term started, Severus had come quite close to slamming the poor man into the nearest wall and just snogging and shagging the life out of him. Remus seemed to either sense this mood, or mistake it for anger or something, and always escaped unscathed. Severus figured it was because of his heightened senses.
For now though, there didn’t seem to be any movement in their relationship. Remus was free, free as a phoenix; Tonks had apparently found him too boring for her tastes, so that wasn’t the problem. They talked, they argued, but Severus wanted the sex after the arguments. He even wanted the cuddling up against each other after sex. He firmy believed whatever issues still between them could be handled by a thorough shagging. Sadly he hadn’t been able to prove that yet.
Fred was another subject altogether. He’d known for ages and ages that he was in love with his brother. He knew George better than himself and if there was one thing he was certain about, it was that he wanted to grow old with George firmly by his side. So far it was going great, if you didn’t count Fred’s immense longing for intimacy. Fred did.
It was hell not being as close to George as he wanted to be, but trying to distance himself was even worse. Every time he slept with someone, the guilt of it not being George ate him up. He usually couldn’t stand to spend the night or let them stay over. It wouldn’t have been this hard had he fallen in love with some random bloke; he didn’t have a shy bone in his body and asking someone out was as easy as thinking it. But this was George. If he wasn’t absolutely, one hundred percent sure of a positive result, he would not only lose a love interest, he’d lose his brother. And that was the single thought that crippled him every time he tried to make a move, even with his new devil-may-care attitude.
Which was why he came up with an ingenious plan. After Severus fed and they disposed of their victims, the older man was usually really relaxed and contented. It was in these moments, Fred knew, that he could talk Severus into anything. The Potions Master had definitely become more easygoing during the last year, but he could be boorish when he wanted to be and Fred really wanted to initiate his plan. He was becoming desperate to be with George.
Just the night before he’d snuck up on George while he was showering. The water had been dripping over his freckled body and it was all Fred could do not to walk in there and lick every single wet freckle. It was funny, because he couldn’t stand his own freckles most of the time, but there was something alluring about George’s almost identical ones, almost as if they were calling him. He loved everything about George.
“Severus, I think I know of a way for us to get our mates.”
Severus slowly looked up enquiringly.
“We should polyjuice into each other and ask them out. If it works, we switch positions and go out with them and if it doesn’t we’ll tell them it was a prank.”
“Hmm.” Severus muttered, but that was an acceptance already. He wouldn’t get a sensible word out of him until the next day, so Fred left him to contemplate the idea.
He stewed over his idea all day the next day. He was working with George in the store, but George had to snap him out of distraction a couple of times. The more he thought about it though, the more he liked the idea. It was practically foolproof. Severus would do all the talking for him and he knew Fred well enough that he would say exactly what Fred wanted and vice versa. If he were to be rejected, it would hurt, yes, but not as much as it would if he’d had to see George’s face and if he’d lost his brother. This way, if George didn’t want him, all Severus had to do was wait until the polyjuice wore off and make some snarky remark implying a joke. Fred and George could laugh about the prank-gone-wrong- later and Fred could lament about it with Severus afterwards.
It had been a busy day at the prank shop, as usual, and while rounding up for closing, Severus came in. Fred had to admit he looked good. Well, for Severus anyway. His skin had lost its sallow tint and his hair couldn’t be called greasy anymore. Fred figured it was because he wasn’t constantly working with potions anymore. Either that or he had finally switched his body care products. He had asked about it a couple of months earlier, but the glare and vitriol he’d received in reply were enough to not mention it again.
The things that really changed Severus’ appearance were first his attire; gone was the drab black gazillion-buttoned wardrobe. It turned out Severus was more comfortable in muggle-wear, albeit not exactly comfortable with muggles, but hadn’t been able to indulge in that. It would’ve been a tad strange for a Death Eater to admire his adversary’s clothes. His palette had also upgraded to dark colours; navy, olive greens and bordeaux adorned the most decadent fabrics like acromantula silks and graphorn furs.
Secondly, and most importantly, there was the absence of the perpetual scowl on Severus’ face. It changed his whole appearance and it turned heads, as most people who knew him weren’t used to an open expression on his face. He was mesmerizing just for that reason.
Severus immediately walked towards Fred, giving George, who was behind the counter, a cursory smirk.
“You ready to go?” he demanded, more than asked.
Fred stared at him questioningly and Severus looked on in amused exasperation.
“The plans for Valentine’s Day? We need to prepare.”
“Oh! Right, we need to prepare!” Fred had known Severus would agree to the plan, but this was him being positively eager.
“Forge, I’ll see you later, okay?” He didn’t even know what he was shuffling into the storage room as he hurried to clean up and leave with Severus.
George frowned, but kept silent as they walked out of the store.
The two vampires ended up in the Shrieking Shack, where they usually hung out after hunting. Fred was keen to map out their strategy, but Severus halted him.
“I need to show you something first.”
Fred found that even though Severus always had a point at the end of the conversation, he usually didn’t make much sense in the beginning, so he calmed down and paid attention.
“You’ve got a good idea, but we won’t need polyjuice. We’ve got something better. I’ll need some of your blood first,” he said, while his fangs elongated.
Fred just tilted his neck in acquiescence. Severus only took a sip of his blood, but it was still uncomfortable. He made Fred sit down, while he stood in front of him. Very, very slowly, he began to see what Severus wanted to show him. Severus whole body was changing, morphing into Fred’s. It was really unsettling to watch someone turning into himself, but he couldn’t stop the amazement and hope filling him. This was even better than polyjuicing into each other!
“It’s pretty simple. If you’ve ingest someone’s blood, be it muggle or magical, you’ll be able to morph into that person,” Severus said after having completely morphed into Fred.
It was eerie; he even had the same voice. Severus went on while rapidly changing into various characters Fred recognised from their hunting.
“The key is to visualize; it’s a bit like preparing to apparate. Focus on who you want to be and then will it.”
He changed back into himself, conjured a floor-to-ceiling mirror and kneeled in front of Fred, his head tilted like Fred’s had been a few minutes earlier.
“Now you try.”
They practised all evening. Shape shifting took a lot more effort than Severus made it seem. When Fred became too tired to go on, they discussed their plotting.
It was decided that they would keep an eye out for their potential significant other’s Valentine appointments and thwart them. They would ask them out the next week, which was ironically Friday the thirteenth. Fred and George were working all day on Saturday, so Severus was allotted to decorate a place for the twins to have a romantic dinner.
He offered them a wing in his new mansion. Dumbledore had left Severus his estate in his will. Severus had turned it into a safe house during the war and kept it open for disowned and orphaned children, though he was still a bit biased to his Slytherins; the twenty kids residing there consisted mostly of Death Eater children, who had nowhere else to go. The wing in question was where Severus personally retreated and was closed off from the main building with a series of complex wards. There was a nice dining room in it, which Severus thought would be adequate for their dinner.
Severus planned to keep Remus occupied from morning ‘till night. They would have breakfast in a quaint little restaurant in Sheffield, after that Severus had reserved a portkey to Pompeii, the entirely wizarding city, where they would spend the night. They would return to Hogwarts the next afternoon.
Valentine’s Day was only a week away and aside from planning, Fred had something else to worry about. After seeing Severus shape-shift, it dawned on him that he knew next to nothing about being a vampire. He’d taken it for granted that being a wizard as well protected him from a few negative elements, such as walking in sunshine and aversions to garlic. As the vampirism wasn’t detected in St. Mungo’s, he also didn’t have to worry about the Ministry. Asking Severus about it only got him a few blasé shrugs and unhelpful advice.
He bought a few books in Flourish and Blotts and transfigured the covers to hide them. What immediately captured his eye were the parts about vampire’s mating habits. It seemed that vampires were incredibly promiscuous creatures, something Fred could attest to. But once they claimed their mates they would not only become monogamous, but the mate also had the power to calm their tempestuous nature. Their mates would also be responsible of feeding their vampires after claiming. Something about the couple bonding triggered immortality with the living mate and assured the pair that they would be with each other ‘till death.
It was all very vague in the books, there didn’t seem to be a universal standard for the mating process. Sometimes a vampire knew who his mate was, often they didn’t. The procedure of claiming a mate varied as well. It didn’t matter to Fred though, because after that, he realised an important fact that buoyed him; George was his mate.
Valentine’s Day was upon them before they knew it. Asking George out for Fred had been draining for Severus. It had taken a bit of Legilimency to find out what George’s feelings towards Fred would be and a bit of hypnotism to make him agree to the date, because George definitely hadn’t believed that he was Fred, but then again Severus hadn’t expected he would.
Breakfast with Remus didn’t exactly turn out as he hoped. Remus was silent practically the whole time, answering Severus’ questions with murmurs of assent or dissent. Finally Remus put his cutlery down and fixed a piercing stare at Severus.
“How’s Fred doing?” he asked.
Severus shook his head in confusion.
“He’s fine. Why would you ask?”
“Oh, I’m just wondering what your boyfriend is doing while we’re on a date. I can’t imagine he’s very happy with you asking me out on such a special day. I must admit, I agreed to your proposal yesterday, because I was sure it was either a prank or a purely professional date.”
“Fred and I aren’t dating.” Severus denied.
Remus scoffed.
“Right. I’m not stupid, Severus. Everybody in school knows you’ve been seeing each other for over a year, the professors have been gossiping about your much younger boy-toy since the term started. You’ve even changed your appearance for him. Harry’s even told me how Molly’s always trying to get Fred to invite you over for dinner. If that doesn’t mean you’re in a relationship with him, I don’t know what does.”
Severus tried to interrupt, but Remus was having none of it. His voice rose as he kept talking.
“Even if you weren’t dating Fred, why ever would you want me?! You’ve made it perfectly clear you don’t like me, we only ever argue and you’re almost always mad at me! And now you’re sitting there like I haven’t been waiting for you for more than a year now. How dare you make me into the other man!? I might not have much, but I do have my pride, Severus Snape!”
Remus was walking out of the restaurant before Severus knew what hit him. He hurriedly caught up with Remus just as he was about to apparate away and embraced him, holding him tight.
“Remus, please listen, hear me out,” he said, as Remus struggled in his arms. It was sexy as hell, but Severus focused.
“I am not in a relationship with Fred. We are just close friends; you can verify it with him if you like. I asked you out because I think I might be falling in love with you.”
Remus stopped struggling and turned to face Severus.
“Really?” he asked, hopeful eyes turned to Severus’.
“Yes, I know it might seem like I’m angry with you all the time, but that’s simply because I get so frustrated not being able to ravish you any time I want.”
Remus smiled. He stepped up to Severus and gave him a searing kiss.
“How about right now?” Remus asked huskily.
“I have the perfect place.” Severus growled as he pulled out the portkey to Pompeii. He had a feeling they wouldn’t see much of the city that day.
George had been quiet all day, occasionally giving Fred wary glances, but he had been too fired up to notice it. Due to his excitement, they’d closed the store in record time. Fred hurriedly changed and waited for George to get ready. George side-apparated with Fred into the manor, in the hall in front of the dining room, as Severus had instructed. Giving George a quick grin, he breathed out heavily and opened the door.
The place was done wonderfully, even better than Fred would’ve admittedly done himself. It was small, but cosy, dimly lit, tastefully decorated, giving it a romantic, and yet slightly sinister look. The low glass table was set with a pinkish-white rose petals sprinkled in-between the plates and cutlery and there were two lounge seats opposing each side of it.
He ushered George inside, but George just took a few steps into the room and looked around suspiciously.
“So,” he said, in a weary, angry voice. “Where’s Severus? Isn’t he in on this prank as well?”
Something snapped in Fred. After all their careful planning and execution, George wasn’t taking this seriously. He roughly turned George to face him and pulled him flush against his body.
“This is not a joke!” he growled and kissed his brother like he’d longed for.
Kissing George was unlike any kiss he’d ever experienced. It was hard and forceful, but it also made him feel serene in a way he’d never felt before. It wasn’t long before he noticed that George wasn’t kissing him back. Horrified, he stepped back. George was looking at him in shock and curiosity, not love and acceptance like he’d wanted.
George shook his head and moved to the closest seat to sit down. He sighed gravely and beckoned Fred to sit next to him.
“Could you please tell me what’s going on? Ever since…ever since you’ve been released from St. Mungo’s it’s like you’ve been leading this whole life I have nothing to do with. And I know it wasn’t you yesterday asking me out. I’ve tried to be patient and wait for you to tell me what’s been happening to you yourself, but I feel like…” George sighed again.
“I feel like we’re growing apart and then you kiss me out of the blue. I just want to know what’s bringing this on.”
He looked expectantly at Fred, who was wiping his face with his hands.
“I don’t even know where to start.” Fred said eventually. He knew what George was going to say, but waited for it anyway.
“Just start at the beginning, what’s going on in this double life of yours? What’s this thing you’ve been hiding from me?”
So, Fred told him. He told him about being a vampire and adjusting to life with his new revelation. About hunting and feeding from both muggles and magical people and how he tried his best to just obliviate and release them and not to kill them while feeding from them. How he’d both loved and dreaded having Severus as his partner in crime, because Severus was so out there, but sometimes he was too much and he went too far, even for Fred’s tastes.
He told George about his abilities and how he finally figured out that Severus was not going to enlighten him about anything, simply because he didn’t feel Fred was his responsibility to educate anymore even though they were friends and even though Fred found the reverse was true. Fred had researched things about vampires that he hadn’t even imagined, like the shape-shifting Severus had taught him and most importantly, about the mating and how he strongly expected it to be George, especially after the kiss they just shared.
“So this night, this asking me out is because of me being your mate, when you turned into a vampire?” George asked.
Fred shook his head vehemently.
“No! Not at all.” He tentatively put a hand on George’s thigh.
“Forge, I’ve felt this way for ages, I just, I guess I didn’t have the guts to tell you. You mean too much for me to lose over this and I was sure if you ever found out, I would lose you. But when I was captured, it was the thought of you that kept me from giving up. And I told myself to at least give it a try. It’s taken me this long to actually do something about it, but here we are.”
George smiled wistfully.
“I’ve been thinking about this as well, not as long as you have probably, but I guess when I saw you lying there in St. Mungo’s…” George paused. It was still hard for him to think about that time. He was so scared he would lose his other half, the memory still shook him.
“We’ll have to take it slowly, I want this too, but just ease me into it okay? Nothing drastic for now.”
Fred nodded. He could do that. He could do anything for his brother.
“May I kiss you?” he asked George.
He didn’t get an answer. What he did get was the sweetest kiss he’d ever received. Kissing George was even better when he was participating wholeheartedly. A hand touched his cheek and a tongue gently pried into his mouth, softly caressing his own tongue.
Fred didn’t know how long they spent snogging, he really didn’t care. All he knew was that he could spend an eternity doing this and he would move heaven and earth to keep it that way. They didn’t make love that night, but that was all right. They had the rest of his and George’s soon-to-be immortal lives.
“Gred?”
“Hmm?”
“Happy Valentine’s Day.”
Fin
Author: Jean
Pairing: Fred/George, Severus/Remus
AN: Thanks to Suemonroe and Wolfiekins for the beta!! This was originally written for PepperyLime for the hpvamp Vampentine fic/art-exchange on LJ.
Rating: NC-17
Word count: 6,256
Summary: Fred and Severus? Who would have thought?
Severus dropped the muggle he’d been draining. The woman fell like a sack of potatoes, the life completely drawn out of her. He was draped lethargically on his couch, enjoying the high the woman’s blood had given him. Fred sat across him, still enjoying his prey. A year ago, had you told either of them they would be together like this, you would’ve been carted off to St. Mungo’s sooner than you could say ‘riddikulus’. But here they were, nine months later, and closer than they had ever imagined.
In the height of the war, Fred had been captured by the Death Eaters and was thrown in a grimy cell with Severus. They’d been tortured to the brink of insanity for weeks. Voldemort had wanted them to suffer, Severus for his betrayal to the cause and Fred because he was a blood-traitor and Harry’s almost-brother. After days of being lambasted and mutilated, Voldemort decided to feed them Severus’ experimental potions, enjoying the irony of the Potion Master ingesting his own poison. They’d kept at it for days, at times bringing several different potions at once and laughing at the effects those potions would manifest on their prisoners.
Having the foulest potions in existence forced into him, Fred’s body was nothing more a puddle of blood and flesh and his mind was in a state of delirium. He often wished for death and drifted in and out of consciousness, the pain never leaving him. In moments of lucidity he fancied Severus was trying to calm him in his own gruff way, telling him to hold on for a bit longer, that Fred should stay strong for his ‘dunderhead brother’. His respect for Severus had grown so much during that time. Severus was fed the same potions as he was, but it hardly showed. Severus was almost collected in his anguish, occasionally crying out or convulsing. He never showed his distress and was punished severely for it by Death Eaters disgruntled by his restrain.
Unsurprisingly, they were rescued while Fred was unconscious. They were actually found by Kingsley and Draco, in the aftermath of Harry defeating Voldemort. He awoke in St. Mungo’s surrounded by half of the remaining Weasley clan, the other half visiting Ron and Harry, who were recuperating from the last battle in the same room. George had been next to his bedside of course, looking gaunt and bruised, but happy to see him awake nonetheless.
Everything was fine, they said, the healers just need to check a few things. But they were undermanned, with all the casualties coming in, it would take a few days, as they were working on those more lethally wounded. George had lightly traced over the still vivid scars over his face, which differentiated him from Fred. George joked about it melancholily, but the feel of his brother’s hands marking out their current differences while commenting on it only made Fred’s heart ache more.
He asked about Severus, but the wizard was still unconscious; he had been with Voldemort for a longer period than Fred, and his injuries had been more critical. They were still figuring out which curses and poisons were active in his body and it was better to keep him in a dormant state until they found out how to heal him.
Eventually, though it felt like forever to Fred, he was released from St. Mungo’s with a clean bill of health and Severus as well, a bit later. They celebrated, privately and publicly; it felt like the wizarding world couldn’t be more overjoyed. They mourned their losses; there wasn’t a single wizard or witch who hadn’t lost someone in the war, the Weasley clan in particular had lost Percy and Bill and Fleur, who had loved each other ‘till death.
Things eventually trickled back to post-war normality; Fred and George went back to creating jokes and managing their store. They were thinking of expanding, they had been very popular during the war and still were.
It took a while for Fred to notice something had transformed inside him. George had remarked on his change of behaviour; he had become more uninhibited, bolder to the point of callousness, whereas George used to be the brasher one. Fred had dismissed it as just living life to the fullest, because of his recent brush with death.
Mainly due to his influence, they began a new assortment of products that skirted the forbidden line. Amongst the new Wicked Wheezes range were products like Truthful Tea, which worked like a mild truth potion, Spy Scrolls, which were a mini variation of the Marauders Map, keyed to a single person and more specifically what they were doing at the time and Persuasion Pastries, which had a mild Imperio-like effect.
He was forced to admit something was wrong when, almost two months out of hospital, they went on their newly instated Friday night pub-crawl. It was more George’s idea than Fred’s, seeing as, unknown to his brother, Fred was head over heels with someone unattainable; George himself. While George sometimes found someone, either male or female, whom he actually liked for more than a fortnight, Fred just made do with a string of one-night stands.
The boys met up with Lee and Katie, who had linked up after working closely together as journalists for the Daily Prophet. They were in an open relationship, or so they called it, using the pub-crawl nights to hook someone to get drunk and play with for the night. The group ended up in a corner in The Strawberry Mooncalves, watching the dance floor, where witches and wizards were gyrating to the beats the house-dj was pumping out.
Everyone steadily became more smashed and boisterous as the night drew on, except for Fred. He felt hollow and anxious in a way he couldn’t quite explain. A loud thumping in his ears was clouding the voices and music around him. Eventually it was so bad, he could see his brother and friends talking and laughing, but he couldn’t hear them. He left for the loo, not even bothering to care if they noticed.
The urinals were blissfully empty and Fred splashed some water on his face, trying to catch his bearings. The place was dank and smelled of too much piss and liquor. The thumping got almost unbearably louder when this bloke entered the rest room. He was tall, blond and lanky, clearly drunk, wearing an open blazer, shirtless underneath it. With only a slight glance at Fred he moved to the last urinal and unzipped to relieve himself. Fred still wasn’t sure what happened, but one moment he was wondering what was going on with him and the next he was on the guy like a niffler on gold.
The blond was obviously caught off guard, but seemed to welcome the assault. Somehow they were snogging urgently, tongues anywhere they could reach, hands tearing off clothing as if the garments were deadly and needed not to touch any skin. Fred didn’t even consciously realise that the pulsation had receded and that the man fiercely groping and kissing him back was producing the most lustful moans and grunts. Fred’s whole being cumulated in sensation, his body heated up with arousal, his mind flooded with something feral, rendering him unable to think clearly.
He spun the guy around, pushed him against the wall opposite the urinal and tore off the remainder of their pants. He prepared the man swiftly and harshly, uncaring about the way this man was wantonly pushing back onto his fingers and groaning loudly whenever Fred brushed his prostate. It didn’t take long before his cock was slamming into the tight arse with quick and uneven strokes, no finesse or rhythm at all.
Fred wasn’t aware of the other man’s climax; he just kept driving in and out of him, his instincts urging him to claim his prize, to finish what he’d instinctively been hungering for. Just as he was about to come, fangs grew out of his front teeth and he innately pierced the vein in the blond bloke’s neck, the man didn’t even struggle. Surprisingly, a great deal of blood gushed into his mouth and once he started swallowing it, it lulled him.
He kept drinking, until his head cleared, as suddenly as it had clouded, leaving him disoriented for a few seconds. To Fred’s horror he noticed the man he’d just fucked, collapsed in his arms. The lanky man looked a sight, his clothes were torn apart, the visible parts of his body either bleeding or beginning to bruise, certain parts both. Worst of all was the punctured skin underneath his right ear, where the blood was still trickling down slowly. What terrified Fred most though, was the heady satisfaction he felt at having overpowered this wizard. The man was barely breathing, probably near the brink of death, and all Fred could think of was that amazing taste in his mouth, that smooth texture he literally wanted to drink forever and ever.
He stood there dazed for a moment, before the sounds of the bar penetrated his brain and he became aware of where he was. He quickly scourgified them both and obliviated the poor bloke, making sure to spell the puncture marks closed. After assuring himself the blond would be okay, Fred quickly apparated away to Severus Snape, the only one he knew could make sense of what had just happened.
Severus had spent a few days longer in St. Mungo’s than he had and afterwards they’d only seen each other in passing. Fred had heard Severus refused to return to teaching at Hogwarts, but had agreed to take on an apprentice for the position. He still presided as the Head of Slytherin though, taking care of the scant few Slytherins who’d survived the war and had not fallen to insanity or Azkaban.
Fred wasn’t sure anyone would be up that time of night, except maybe the ghosts, but he made sure to apparate as closely to Hogwarts as possible and hurried to the dungeons. He managed to reach Severus’ rooms unnoticed. It was just as well that the rooms were in a secluded corridor. It seemed as though Severus was waiting for him; he had barely knocked when Severus opened the door and led him into his living room without a word.
“What happened?” Severus asked after they were seated. Two glasses of Firewhiskey appeared before them and Fred thankfully sipped his. Everything seemed to pour out of him, how he’d been behaving and what he’d just ran from. Severus sat there stoically, not once interrupting him. When he finished with how he ended up at Severus’ door, Severus just nodded in understanding.
“While I was spying on Voldemort, I tried to create new potions that would help us in the war against him.” He told Fred, who looked confused.
“I thought we we’re talking about me, what does this…” he began, but wisely shut it when he noticed Severus’ glare. Severus went on.
“Most of the potions would’ve been considered Dark, which is why Voldemort’s hideout was a great place to develop and test them. Not to mention the ample amount of test-subjects I had access to. I often tested potions on the prisoners. When the potions worked, the prisoners usually had a good chance of escaping and surviving. If they didn’t, well, they would’ve been dead anyway.”
Fred looked at him incredulously for his indifference, but Severus just shrugged and went on.
“The one I worked on most was a potion to enhance both the physical and magical aspects of a person to their maximal capabilities. I tried boosting magical levels, but that turned out to be quite dangerous. When magical levels exceed a wizard’s limit, they lose their magic altogether in the best case and in the worst case they die.
I found one could get around that by adding another compatible magical essence that could be absorbed by the person’s own magic. There are numerous magical creatures that are companionable with wizardkind, even if the results are usually less than stellar. For example, when you mix a wizard and a werewolf, the wizard obtains the werewolf’s magic and magical abilities, such as enhanced smell and strength. Obviously, the downside is that the wizard himself alters into a werewolf every full moon.
“Vampires are the creatures that provide the highest magical boost without having too many negative qualities, so I decided to experiment with their essence. Only, I didn’t get very far. The first batch essentially turned the test subjects into vampires. The potion drained them of their blood and infused them with the vampire gene after they died. Further batches managed to turn them without their awareness, or anyone else detecting they were vampires, although the effects were noticeable. They didn’t die or lose their souls, but they lost quite a bit of their morality and the bloodlust was still very much in their system. Nevertheless, the potion did also triple, sometimes quadruple their innate physical and magical strength and acquired them abilities unique to vampires.
“When we were captured, they fed us the potion,” said Severus with a definite certainty. “As I’ve just told you, it’s undetectable, which is why the mediwizards didn’t find any trace while tending to us. The changes are such that you didn’t know you’d become a vampire until your hunger for blood threatened to consume you. Had you not drunk from the man, you might’ve torn the place apart in rage.”
Fred sat there a bit wide-eyed. He wasn’t stupid, he’d suspected he might be a vampire; after all, there weren’t any other creatures that liked to drain someone dry of their blood just for the hell of it. But having it confirmed was a whole different matter.
“Why didn’t you contact me sooner?” Fred asked accusingly. “You’ve obviously known all this time.”
Severus shrugged nonchalantly.
“I didn’t feel like it. There is no cure for vampirism and perfecting the potion I was working on won’t reverse the effects of the previous potion. More importantly though, I won’t be looking for a cure. I enjoy being a vampire. I’ve never felt so good in my life! Hunting is exhilarating and sometimes I get too carried away and someone dies, but so what? They’ll all die someday anyway. I knew that if you found out, you’d want a way out of it. And as I have no intention of doing that, there was no need of me actively going out of my way to inform you.”
Fred left Severus rooms a bit dazed, but a bit wiser nonetheless. Severus reluctantly agreed for them to meet up occasionally, which led to them hunting and feeding together more often than not. It helped keep Severus’ eagerness for hunting in check and Fred probably saved a lot of lives hunting with Severus. He reckoned that Severus had lost a lot of his restraint when he’d taken the vampire potion, because he had kept such a tight leash on it before. Severus didn’t seem to care either way.
Nine months on, they were so well adjusted to each other that they freely discussed whichever topic was on their minds at that moment. There wasn’t much they didn’t know about each other. After feeding on the two women (Fred was sure Severus’ prey had died, but he was too satisfied to care), they went on to their most favourite topic, the unreciprocated loves of their lives.
Severus told him about Remus Lupin. Everyone knew about their history, so it wasn’t surprising that Severus found it so hopeless. Remus had been reinstated as DADA professor. The regulations against werewolves hadn’t changed much, but Headmistress McGonagall had put her foot down and Deputy Headmaster Flitwick had backed her up. McGonagall had given Severus a monthly stipend to buy ingredients and prepare the Wolfsbane potion, after he had initially refused to make it for Remus. He wasn’t obligated to, because they weren’t in the Order anymore and Albus wasn’t there to gently strong-arm him into it. As much as he wanted the werewolf, he had vowed to stop getting himself pulled into things he had no inclination for. Making the Wolfsbane potion was a tedious and lengthy occupation that kept him from doing things he enjoyed far more. If it wasn’t for Remus coming over himself and practically begging him to do it and, of course, McGonagall’s more than generous payment, he wouldn’t have even bothered to agree.
He didn’t know when it was exactly, but somewhere along the line of their long history of animosity (which Severus could now admit to mostly single-handedly prolonging) he began to like Remus more and more. What completely switched him around was when, a couple of days before he was captured, Remus took him aside and apologised for the bad blood between them. He didn’t know how the war would end, he said, but if it ended in their favour, he wanted to make a fresh start with Severus and try to be closer. Severus had been gobsmacked. After everyone downplaying their history as just being schoolboy pranks and such, he’d never imagined getting an apology. He’d wanted one, of course, but hearing it, having it realised, lifted a weight he didn’t know he’d been holding. While imprisoned, it was mostly Remus churning in his head. It helped offset the physical pain when his mind was sensually unclothing a willing and eager Remus in a candlelit room on a silk-sheeted bed.
Severus loved arguing with Remus. He loved riling him up and getting riled up by Remus in his infuriatingly calm way. A few times since the term started, Severus had come quite close to slamming the poor man into the nearest wall and just snogging and shagging the life out of him. Remus seemed to either sense this mood, or mistake it for anger or something, and always escaped unscathed. Severus figured it was because of his heightened senses.
For now though, there didn’t seem to be any movement in their relationship. Remus was free, free as a phoenix; Tonks had apparently found him too boring for her tastes, so that wasn’t the problem. They talked, they argued, but Severus wanted the sex after the arguments. He even wanted the cuddling up against each other after sex. He firmy believed whatever issues still between them could be handled by a thorough shagging. Sadly he hadn’t been able to prove that yet.
Fred was another subject altogether. He’d known for ages and ages that he was in love with his brother. He knew George better than himself and if there was one thing he was certain about, it was that he wanted to grow old with George firmly by his side. So far it was going great, if you didn’t count Fred’s immense longing for intimacy. Fred did.
It was hell not being as close to George as he wanted to be, but trying to distance himself was even worse. Every time he slept with someone, the guilt of it not being George ate him up. He usually couldn’t stand to spend the night or let them stay over. It wouldn’t have been this hard had he fallen in love with some random bloke; he didn’t have a shy bone in his body and asking someone out was as easy as thinking it. But this was George. If he wasn’t absolutely, one hundred percent sure of a positive result, he would not only lose a love interest, he’d lose his brother. And that was the single thought that crippled him every time he tried to make a move, even with his new devil-may-care attitude.
Which was why he came up with an ingenious plan. After Severus fed and they disposed of their victims, the older man was usually really relaxed and contented. It was in these moments, Fred knew, that he could talk Severus into anything. The Potions Master had definitely become more easygoing during the last year, but he could be boorish when he wanted to be and Fred really wanted to initiate his plan. He was becoming desperate to be with George.
Just the night before he’d snuck up on George while he was showering. The water had been dripping over his freckled body and it was all Fred could do not to walk in there and lick every single wet freckle. It was funny, because he couldn’t stand his own freckles most of the time, but there was something alluring about George’s almost identical ones, almost as if they were calling him. He loved everything about George.
“Severus, I think I know of a way for us to get our mates.”
Severus slowly looked up enquiringly.
“We should polyjuice into each other and ask them out. If it works, we switch positions and go out with them and if it doesn’t we’ll tell them it was a prank.”
“Hmm.” Severus muttered, but that was an acceptance already. He wouldn’t get a sensible word out of him until the next day, so Fred left him to contemplate the idea.
He stewed over his idea all day the next day. He was working with George in the store, but George had to snap him out of distraction a couple of times. The more he thought about it though, the more he liked the idea. It was practically foolproof. Severus would do all the talking for him and he knew Fred well enough that he would say exactly what Fred wanted and vice versa. If he were to be rejected, it would hurt, yes, but not as much as it would if he’d had to see George’s face and if he’d lost his brother. This way, if George didn’t want him, all Severus had to do was wait until the polyjuice wore off and make some snarky remark implying a joke. Fred and George could laugh about the prank-gone-wrong- later and Fred could lament about it with Severus afterwards.
It had been a busy day at the prank shop, as usual, and while rounding up for closing, Severus came in. Fred had to admit he looked good. Well, for Severus anyway. His skin had lost its sallow tint and his hair couldn’t be called greasy anymore. Fred figured it was because he wasn’t constantly working with potions anymore. Either that or he had finally switched his body care products. He had asked about it a couple of months earlier, but the glare and vitriol he’d received in reply were enough to not mention it again.
The things that really changed Severus’ appearance were first his attire; gone was the drab black gazillion-buttoned wardrobe. It turned out Severus was more comfortable in muggle-wear, albeit not exactly comfortable with muggles, but hadn’t been able to indulge in that. It would’ve been a tad strange for a Death Eater to admire his adversary’s clothes. His palette had also upgraded to dark colours; navy, olive greens and bordeaux adorned the most decadent fabrics like acromantula silks and graphorn furs.
Secondly, and most importantly, there was the absence of the perpetual scowl on Severus’ face. It changed his whole appearance and it turned heads, as most people who knew him weren’t used to an open expression on his face. He was mesmerizing just for that reason.
Severus immediately walked towards Fred, giving George, who was behind the counter, a cursory smirk.
“You ready to go?” he demanded, more than asked.
Fred stared at him questioningly and Severus looked on in amused exasperation.
“The plans for Valentine’s Day? We need to prepare.”
“Oh! Right, we need to prepare!” Fred had known Severus would agree to the plan, but this was him being positively eager.
“Forge, I’ll see you later, okay?” He didn’t even know what he was shuffling into the storage room as he hurried to clean up and leave with Severus.
George frowned, but kept silent as they walked out of the store.
The two vampires ended up in the Shrieking Shack, where they usually hung out after hunting. Fred was keen to map out their strategy, but Severus halted him.
“I need to show you something first.”
Fred found that even though Severus always had a point at the end of the conversation, he usually didn’t make much sense in the beginning, so he calmed down and paid attention.
“You’ve got a good idea, but we won’t need polyjuice. We’ve got something better. I’ll need some of your blood first,” he said, while his fangs elongated.
Fred just tilted his neck in acquiescence. Severus only took a sip of his blood, but it was still uncomfortable. He made Fred sit down, while he stood in front of him. Very, very slowly, he began to see what Severus wanted to show him. Severus whole body was changing, morphing into Fred’s. It was really unsettling to watch someone turning into himself, but he couldn’t stop the amazement and hope filling him. This was even better than polyjuicing into each other!
“It’s pretty simple. If you’ve ingest someone’s blood, be it muggle or magical, you’ll be able to morph into that person,” Severus said after having completely morphed into Fred.
It was eerie; he even had the same voice. Severus went on while rapidly changing into various characters Fred recognised from their hunting.
“The key is to visualize; it’s a bit like preparing to apparate. Focus on who you want to be and then will it.”
He changed back into himself, conjured a floor-to-ceiling mirror and kneeled in front of Fred, his head tilted like Fred’s had been a few minutes earlier.
“Now you try.”
They practised all evening. Shape shifting took a lot more effort than Severus made it seem. When Fred became too tired to go on, they discussed their plotting.
It was decided that they would keep an eye out for their potential significant other’s Valentine appointments and thwart them. They would ask them out the next week, which was ironically Friday the thirteenth. Fred and George were working all day on Saturday, so Severus was allotted to decorate a place for the twins to have a romantic dinner.
He offered them a wing in his new mansion. Dumbledore had left Severus his estate in his will. Severus had turned it into a safe house during the war and kept it open for disowned and orphaned children, though he was still a bit biased to his Slytherins; the twenty kids residing there consisted mostly of Death Eater children, who had nowhere else to go. The wing in question was where Severus personally retreated and was closed off from the main building with a series of complex wards. There was a nice dining room in it, which Severus thought would be adequate for their dinner.
Severus planned to keep Remus occupied from morning ‘till night. They would have breakfast in a quaint little restaurant in Sheffield, after that Severus had reserved a portkey to Pompeii, the entirely wizarding city, where they would spend the night. They would return to Hogwarts the next afternoon.
Valentine’s Day was only a week away and aside from planning, Fred had something else to worry about. After seeing Severus shape-shift, it dawned on him that he knew next to nothing about being a vampire. He’d taken it for granted that being a wizard as well protected him from a few negative elements, such as walking in sunshine and aversions to garlic. As the vampirism wasn’t detected in St. Mungo’s, he also didn’t have to worry about the Ministry. Asking Severus about it only got him a few blasé shrugs and unhelpful advice.
He bought a few books in Flourish and Blotts and transfigured the covers to hide them. What immediately captured his eye were the parts about vampire’s mating habits. It seemed that vampires were incredibly promiscuous creatures, something Fred could attest to. But once they claimed their mates they would not only become monogamous, but the mate also had the power to calm their tempestuous nature. Their mates would also be responsible of feeding their vampires after claiming. Something about the couple bonding triggered immortality with the living mate and assured the pair that they would be with each other ‘till death.
It was all very vague in the books, there didn’t seem to be a universal standard for the mating process. Sometimes a vampire knew who his mate was, often they didn’t. The procedure of claiming a mate varied as well. It didn’t matter to Fred though, because after that, he realised an important fact that buoyed him; George was his mate.
Valentine’s Day was upon them before they knew it. Asking George out for Fred had been draining for Severus. It had taken a bit of Legilimency to find out what George’s feelings towards Fred would be and a bit of hypnotism to make him agree to the date, because George definitely hadn’t believed that he was Fred, but then again Severus hadn’t expected he would.
Breakfast with Remus didn’t exactly turn out as he hoped. Remus was silent practically the whole time, answering Severus’ questions with murmurs of assent or dissent. Finally Remus put his cutlery down and fixed a piercing stare at Severus.
“How’s Fred doing?” he asked.
Severus shook his head in confusion.
“He’s fine. Why would you ask?”
“Oh, I’m just wondering what your boyfriend is doing while we’re on a date. I can’t imagine he’s very happy with you asking me out on such a special day. I must admit, I agreed to your proposal yesterday, because I was sure it was either a prank or a purely professional date.”
“Fred and I aren’t dating.” Severus denied.
Remus scoffed.
“Right. I’m not stupid, Severus. Everybody in school knows you’ve been seeing each other for over a year, the professors have been gossiping about your much younger boy-toy since the term started. You’ve even changed your appearance for him. Harry’s even told me how Molly’s always trying to get Fred to invite you over for dinner. If that doesn’t mean you’re in a relationship with him, I don’t know what does.”
Severus tried to interrupt, but Remus was having none of it. His voice rose as he kept talking.
“Even if you weren’t dating Fred, why ever would you want me?! You’ve made it perfectly clear you don’t like me, we only ever argue and you’re almost always mad at me! And now you’re sitting there like I haven’t been waiting for you for more than a year now. How dare you make me into the other man!? I might not have much, but I do have my pride, Severus Snape!”
Remus was walking out of the restaurant before Severus knew what hit him. He hurriedly caught up with Remus just as he was about to apparate away and embraced him, holding him tight.
“Remus, please listen, hear me out,” he said, as Remus struggled in his arms. It was sexy as hell, but Severus focused.
“I am not in a relationship with Fred. We are just close friends; you can verify it with him if you like. I asked you out because I think I might be falling in love with you.”
Remus stopped struggling and turned to face Severus.
“Really?” he asked, hopeful eyes turned to Severus’.
“Yes, I know it might seem like I’m angry with you all the time, but that’s simply because I get so frustrated not being able to ravish you any time I want.”
Remus smiled. He stepped up to Severus and gave him a searing kiss.
“How about right now?” Remus asked huskily.
“I have the perfect place.” Severus growled as he pulled out the portkey to Pompeii. He had a feeling they wouldn’t see much of the city that day.
George had been quiet all day, occasionally giving Fred wary glances, but he had been too fired up to notice it. Due to his excitement, they’d closed the store in record time. Fred hurriedly changed and waited for George to get ready. George side-apparated with Fred into the manor, in the hall in front of the dining room, as Severus had instructed. Giving George a quick grin, he breathed out heavily and opened the door.
The place was done wonderfully, even better than Fred would’ve admittedly done himself. It was small, but cosy, dimly lit, tastefully decorated, giving it a romantic, and yet slightly sinister look. The low glass table was set with a pinkish-white rose petals sprinkled in-between the plates and cutlery and there were two lounge seats opposing each side of it.
He ushered George inside, but George just took a few steps into the room and looked around suspiciously.
“So,” he said, in a weary, angry voice. “Where’s Severus? Isn’t he in on this prank as well?”
Something snapped in Fred. After all their careful planning and execution, George wasn’t taking this seriously. He roughly turned George to face him and pulled him flush against his body.
“This is not a joke!” he growled and kissed his brother like he’d longed for.
Kissing George was unlike any kiss he’d ever experienced. It was hard and forceful, but it also made him feel serene in a way he’d never felt before. It wasn’t long before he noticed that George wasn’t kissing him back. Horrified, he stepped back. George was looking at him in shock and curiosity, not love and acceptance like he’d wanted.
George shook his head and moved to the closest seat to sit down. He sighed gravely and beckoned Fred to sit next to him.
“Could you please tell me what’s going on? Ever since…ever since you’ve been released from St. Mungo’s it’s like you’ve been leading this whole life I have nothing to do with. And I know it wasn’t you yesterday asking me out. I’ve tried to be patient and wait for you to tell me what’s been happening to you yourself, but I feel like…” George sighed again.
“I feel like we’re growing apart and then you kiss me out of the blue. I just want to know what’s bringing this on.”
He looked expectantly at Fred, who was wiping his face with his hands.
“I don’t even know where to start.” Fred said eventually. He knew what George was going to say, but waited for it anyway.
“Just start at the beginning, what’s going on in this double life of yours? What’s this thing you’ve been hiding from me?”
So, Fred told him. He told him about being a vampire and adjusting to life with his new revelation. About hunting and feeding from both muggles and magical people and how he tried his best to just obliviate and release them and not to kill them while feeding from them. How he’d both loved and dreaded having Severus as his partner in crime, because Severus was so out there, but sometimes he was too much and he went too far, even for Fred’s tastes.
He told George about his abilities and how he finally figured out that Severus was not going to enlighten him about anything, simply because he didn’t feel Fred was his responsibility to educate anymore even though they were friends and even though Fred found the reverse was true. Fred had researched things about vampires that he hadn’t even imagined, like the shape-shifting Severus had taught him and most importantly, about the mating and how he strongly expected it to be George, especially after the kiss they just shared.
“So this night, this asking me out is because of me being your mate, when you turned into a vampire?” George asked.
Fred shook his head vehemently.
“No! Not at all.” He tentatively put a hand on George’s thigh.
“Forge, I’ve felt this way for ages, I just, I guess I didn’t have the guts to tell you. You mean too much for me to lose over this and I was sure if you ever found out, I would lose you. But when I was captured, it was the thought of you that kept me from giving up. And I told myself to at least give it a try. It’s taken me this long to actually do something about it, but here we are.”
George smiled wistfully.
“I’ve been thinking about this as well, not as long as you have probably, but I guess when I saw you lying there in St. Mungo’s…” George paused. It was still hard for him to think about that time. He was so scared he would lose his other half, the memory still shook him.
“We’ll have to take it slowly, I want this too, but just ease me into it okay? Nothing drastic for now.”
Fred nodded. He could do that. He could do anything for his brother.
“May I kiss you?” he asked George.
He didn’t get an answer. What he did get was the sweetest kiss he’d ever received. Kissing George was even better when he was participating wholeheartedly. A hand touched his cheek and a tongue gently pried into his mouth, softly caressing his own tongue.
Fred didn’t know how long they spent snogging, he really didn’t care. All he knew was that he could spend an eternity doing this and he would move heaven and earth to keep it that way. They didn’t make love that night, but that was all right. They had the rest of his and George’s soon-to-be immortal lives.
“Gred?”
“Hmm?”
“Happy Valentine’s Day.”
Fin