WILD & WICKED / © yllwjckts
015 ⸻ Midas Touch

Hey baby, I've been watching
The sweet danger that unraveled you
Hey baby, I'm so toxic
The more dangerous, the more fun, It's alright

- "Midas Touch", Kiss of Life (English translation)

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .*:☆ﾟ. ───

content warning: sexual content, not a sex scene but still more racy than previous chapters

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .*:☆ﾟ. ───

October 4th, 1977 ✦ Hogwarts

Lux wasn't sure what to expect from Sirius Black the next day, but it certainly wasn't for him to seemingly pretend as though she didn't exist. Gone were the chipper greetings, the obnoxious nicknames and the overwhelming displays of affection. Instead, he seemed dead set on flirting with a girl a year below them, who was wide eyed and eager as he made conversation with her at the Gryffindor table during breakfast.

Her fingers dug into her palms hard enough that blood began to bead from the crevices she was making in her skin, but she kept quiet anyways, focusing her attention elsewhere even as her heart pounded with furious anger.

Had yesterday been nothing to him? What was the point in perusing her for a month if he'd move on as easily as if she was some passing girl?

The girl Sirius had his attention on let out a loud, high pitched giggle, to which he smirked at, accomplished.

Lux glanced down at that tattoo inked on her wrist, watching as the magical sun seemed to wither about with the same anger that consumed her. Well, she supposed there was a bright side in it all. She'd been foolish, yes, but at least it hadn't gone beyond a simple kiss.

Even so, her insides churned at the sight before her, and she found herself releasing a sigh of relief when Lily tapped on her shoulder, asking if she wanted to go to class with her early.

"I've got a question on the essay we were assigned last class," she explained as they poured out of the Great Hall, linking her arm with the vampire's. "Your father doesn't get annoyed with questions, does he? I haven't had to ask him about an assignment yet and I'm worried he'll snap at me like Professor Adair used to."

She shook her head, though the mention of Fulk had the same internal reaction as seeing Sirius with that girl had - a jolt in her stomach, a sick feeling that lingered even as the topic of conversation changed. At least her date with Sirius had been good for one thing; getting her mind off of that argument with Fulk.

Never before had something felt as permanently marred into her flesh as his words, not the scars on her back nor the tattoo on her wrist.

He didn't so much as spare a glance in her direction when they entered the classroom, Lux making a beeline for her typical chair as Lily approached him at his desk, finding his eyes locked on the redhead.

Good, Lux told herself firmly as she stiffened her posture. She didn't want him to look at her. She didn't want either of them to acknowledge the other's existence. Maybe it would be best if they brushed off the past twenty years, severed the rope holding them together, and committed to living the rest of their eternal life without the other.

Just as the class began to pour in, she went to stare out the window, at the rising sun and the billowing hills visible from this end of the castle, but an odd rumbling sound caught her attention. Pivoting her head towards the source of the noise, she frowned as her eyes made contact with a cupboard in the back of the classroom, jerking around frantically as though something was trapped inside.

Lily took a seat next to her, eyes also fixed on the cupboard. "Do you suppose he's trapped something in there?"

"Seems about likely," she murmured in response, watching as the cupboard rattled about. Pixies, was Lux's first thought - those things were a nuisance, and small enough to fit inside the cupboard. She doubted anything the size of a human was behind those doors.

Fulk began the class once the rest of the students were at their seats, notably not once glancing in Lux's direction as he paced around the room, explaining the lesson for the day. Part of her found comfort in it, the lack of attention on her, the lack of acknowledgment and thus not addressing the hard issue at hand, but another part of her wanted to rip her hair out and scream from frustration. Who was he to avoid her, after he'd been the one to hurt her, bring up the man who had haunted her since her escape, and imply she owed him something for actions he chose? Who was he to give her the silent treatment? That should've been her!

"I can only guess you're all wondering what's inside the cupboard," Fulk began, eyes sliding towards the rattling furniture. Before anyone could give an answer, he finished, "It's a Boggart. Professor McGonagall found it lurking about her classroom, and I thought it a good teaching moment. Boggarts are learned about in a much younger year, so I presume you all are already aware of what they are and how to repel them."

Lux gulped, turning to Lily and preparing to ask her. She'd heard of Boggarts before, somewhere in the crevice of her mind it rang a familiar bell, but she couldn't recall exactly what they were. Something she'd been taught about during her first stint at Hogwarts, no doubt. Something that in the chaos of the past three hundred and some years, had slipped her mind.

Lily, however, had already risen to her feet alongside the rest of the student, folding into a line as Fulk instructed them. Lux found her tongue stilled, anxiety bubbling in her at the concept of seeming like a fool in front of Lily Evans. She'd already embarrassed herself enough with Sirius, who was still not giving her the time of day, busy goofing off with the other Marauders. She didn't need an extra dose of humiliation on top of it.

No, Lux would be able to gage whatever it was this so called Boggart was on her own, moving into the middle of the line.

A Ravenclaw boy she didn't recall the name of was first, a wavering look on his face as he glanced back to meet Dorcas's eye, who hovered behind him, before facing the closet. Fulk waved his wand, causing the door to fly open, and out stepped a creature covered in fur, snarling and hissing at anything that its yellow eyes seemed to come in contact with.

Lily jumped backwards, stepping on Lux's toes in the process, before whipping around with apologetic green eyes.

"Sorry!" She whispered loudly, drawing Lux's attention away from the events in front of them and towards the redhead. "I don't particularly like werewolves. They scare the hell out of me."

Lux nodded in agreement, gaze shifting back just as the Ravenclaw boy waved his wand, and a party hat appeared on top of its little head. As the werewolf stumbled backwards with shock, laughter erupted throughout the classroom at the sight, the only person holding back from showing amusement being Lux.

"Good job, Benjy!" Lily smiled at the boy as he passed them, moving to the back of the line. He responded with a grin and a thanks.

Dorcas was next, looking far more certain than Benjy had, her jaw clenched with determination and a look of fire in her dark brown eyes. Tossing her braids over her shoulder, she lifted her wand just as the werewolf morphed into a massive wasp, larger than the size of her head.

The wasp flew towards Dorcas's face, which she managed to dodge just in time and cast the same "riddikulus" spell as Benjy had. The wasp's coat was suddenly painted pink, and once again, everyone but Lux laughed.

This went on over and over again, students facing odd sorts of creatures that the Boggart morphed into, as Lux slowly but surely recalled what it was she was facing and what to do. A Boggart, a worst fear, as she remembered from her first stint at Hogwarts, only defeated by the power of laughter.

As she grew closer and closer to the closet, preparing to fight her own Boggart, her mind churned as she struggled to figure out what her worst fear would be.

Fire, she assumed after a few minutes of contemplation, a shudder running down her spine at the mere thought. It had to be fire. There were plenty of other things that frightened her, of course, but nothing sent a bone chilling burn through her skin at the simple idea. Her worst fear had to be fire, and that was an easy enough thing to make humorous. She'd take one out of Dorcas's book, and have it dyed a pastel pink. Or have it explode into confetti. Anything to distract herself from the flames, even if they were overall harmless.

Lily was up after a few minutes, gritting her teeth as she eyed what had currently taken shape as a grizzly bear whose growls had been turned into high pitched whines. The moment she was fully in front of the Boggart it began to transform, within moments taking the form of a human.

No, not a human, Lux understood as she looked closer, squinting to fully take in what was in front of her. It was akin to one, though, with skin the shade of parchment, adorned in an old fashioned suit and a top hat, concealing midnight black hair. What stood out to Lux was not this, nor the red eyes, but the fangs peaking out from his slightly parted lips, and the blood dripping down his chin.

A vampire.

Oh.

Lux didn't have time to be offended by the horrific stereotype presented to her, too busy focusing on the way her heart seemed to drop to her stomach.

She watched, more horrified than the pale Lily, as the creature was altered as quick as it had first materialized. The blood that seeped from its mouth became confetti, in a way that Lux nearly stumbled back from.

Part of her wanted to be annoyed that Lily had subconsciously stolen her idea, on how to defeat the fire. But she had worse things to deal with, an emotional crisis peaking out from within her conscious.

Once again, she was the only one amongst the students that didn't laugh as the vampire spit out pieces of confetti until he was nearly choking on them. Sparing a glance at Fulk, even he was chuckling, unaffected by the display in front of them.

Of course, he hadn't a single reason to be upset, not like Lux did. It wasn't like Lily Evans was his closest friend. It wasn't like he was craving her, despite everything. No doubt Fulk was genuinely amused by Lily's fear, while all it did to Lux was make her want to run out of the classroom and find a place to hide.

Turning around, Lily gave Lux a reassuring smile she found herself unable to even attempt to mirror. There was no point masking the horror eating away at her insides, the dread and anger and regret that she'd accepted Dumbledore's offer in the first place, uprooting what had been a peaceful life where her only thing concerning her was her next meal.

Things were simpler when it was just her and Fulk. Now, she didn't even have him.

It took a moment for her to register the Boggart was shifting again, though its general features remained human. Red hair, with freckles dotted across pale cheeks, a few inches taller than her. The blood, which had resided in the vampire's mouth, now poured out from this creature's neck at a far greater rate than the prior had.

It was most certainly not a fire, Lux came to understand as the shock wore off and the truth of what she was looking at.

It was Elias, the night of his murder.

Her wand slipped from her grasp, landing on the floor with a dull thud that she barely heard over the ringing in her ears.

A moment passed in which no one seemed to breathe, herself included. She could feel the eyes of every single classmate on her, burning holes into the back of her head as they waited for her to pick up her wand, to fight, to do anything, but all she could do was stare as Elias took a step towards her. Despite the bleeding in his neck, his movements were surprisingly fluid, the only sign that this was not in fact really him.

Then, he spoke, tone thick with venom. "This is your fault, Lux."

She was silent, eyes wide, heart beating.

Another step. "Are you not sorry? You did this to me, Lux! Look at what you did to me! You got me killed!"

"Lux, the spell," she could vaguely hear Fulk call out from his position near his desk, but she may have very well imagined it.

Elias had never once been angry with her, not in the forty days they'd lived together in his tiny apartment. They'd had disagreements, yes, but he'd never been angry with her, never so much as raised his voice, but now, all she could see in those hazel eyes that had brought her so much comfort was an unrelenting hatred.

She couldn't even blame him. There was perhaps no one who hated her more than she did herself.

"The spell!" Fulk urged again, harsh enough this time that it jolted her out of the semi-trance she'd fallen into.

Shaking her head, she could feel nausea build up in her stomach. Lux stumbled backwards, one step, two, three, as Elias hurled more accusations her ways, professions of his hatred and blame towards her.

Abandoning her wand on the wooden floor of the classroom, Lux spared a final glance at Elias and the wound she'd been the cause of, before fleeing the classroom.

She only just made it into the girls lavatory when she heaved up the contents of her stomach, filling the toilet bowl with the evidence of her inner turmoil. Wiping her mouth with the sleeve of her robe and steadying her frantic breath, she flushed away the signs of her being sick.

Leaving the lavatory was a task she had no desire to partake in. Perhaps she could live inside it, spend the rest of her eternal life hidden inside the stall, sleeping on the tile floor and scaring anyone from entering. It would be easier to slowly rot away, it seemed, than to return to Lily and Fulk and the rest of the students who had witnessed her fumble.

Tears bit at her eyes at the reminder of what had just occurred - a confrontation, masked in humiliation. If Elias had survived Philip's attack, she supposed he had every right to behave as the Boggart had towards her. The creature had been correct; Elias's death may have been at the hands of Philip, but it was she who was covered in his blood.

Lux didn't bother with pretending, not this time. She was alone, there was no use holding her agony back. With a shaky breath, she let a sob rip through her, a hand against her mouth to keep herself from making a sound.

It didn't work. Her cries bounced off of the walls, two decades worth of agony she'd kept hidden inside her.

Minutes went by with Lux comforted only by the sensation of her own sobs, when a gentle tapping on the door to the stall she'd caved herself into brought her back into reality.

There was no use pretending she wasn't inside. Whoever hovered behind the door must've heard her pathetic whimpers. So, she cleared her throat and sucked in a breath. "What do you want?"

"You dropped your wand," a familiar voice said, voice slightly distorted from the barrier between them.

Lux stiffened, brow furrowing together. "Remus?"

She heard a soft movement, as though he was moving his position. "Er...yeah. Again, you dropped your wand." A silence, then, "Can I come in? Or are you...indecent?"

"You can come in," she answered with a sniff, if only to confirm to Remus she wasn't currently on the toilet.

The door was pulled open, revealing an uncomfortable looking Remus. In his hand he held two wands, hers and his own, and his weight continued to shift from foot to foot in the passing seconds of silence.

Seemingly remembering why he was there in the first place, Remus blinked rapidly, stiffened, then reached down and handed her the wand she'd left behind. "Here."

Gulping, Lux tentatively reached out and held onto her wand, moving it onto her lap. "Thank you."

Remus's jaw shifted as his eyes settled on her wrist - no, her tattoo, the little sun she shared with him and Sirius. Despite Sirius's odd behavior this morning, Lux found when she remembered the tattoo existed, she had no regrets regarding it.

Soon after, his eyes flickered towards the ground next to her, and before she could understand what he was thinking, he asked, "Mind if I sit?"

She paused, then nodded. "Go ahead."

He slid down against the wall, body a few inches from hers.

When he opened his mouth, she expected a plethora of different questions. She expected him to ask her who Elias was, why he was screaming at her, why it was her worst fear. She expected to have to lie her way out of this conversation, find a way to shut it down before she said something about her past she could not make him forget.

What Lux didn't expect was for him to ask, "What's going on with you and Sirius?"

"I don't...I don't know what you mean."

Remus tilted his head towards her, giving her a look. "Don't play dumb, Lux. You know exactly what I mean."

She paused, inhaling a deep breath to steady her still racing heart and aching stomach as she considered his question. Once again, she felt the urge to cry slam into her, less strong than before, but still there nonetheless.

"I don't know," Lux admitted after a long silence, before recalling whom she was speaking to. "And it's not really your business, is it?"

Remus exhaled a breath, clearly trying to hold back his own annoyance. "That's the problem, isn't it? I don't want him to get hurt."

"Why would you assume I'd be the one to hurt him? Maybe he'll hurt me."

She felt stupid even as the words left her mouth, felt stupid and hypocritical. Remus had every right to assume she'd hurt Sirius, even if he didn't know it. He was miserably correct in his presumption that she was dangerous.

If only Elias had possessed the same caution.

"Sirius is more sensitive than he seems," Remus pressed, jaw moving. "Just...I don't like how you're messing with my best mate. If you don't fancy him, you've got to stop. It isn't fair for anyone involved."

"Why would you assume I'm messing with him?" She blinked. Any anger, either directed at him and at herself, melted away as confusion replaced it. "You do realize he's the one who's been avoiding me all day, right? Flirting with that girl at breakfast in front of me, not so much as looking at me - it sounds like your 'best mate' isn't sensitive like you seem to think, he's a fucking arsehole."

Lips curled up with irritation, Remus opened his mouth, prepared to go to battle for his friend. Before he could get a word out, however, the door to the lavatory swung open, and both of their heads turned towards the source of the interruption.

Fulk stood in the doorframe, icy eyes narrowing in on where they sat in the stall. For a moment, Lux held his gaze, forcing herself to stare at him even as her skin began to burn from the contact. Only when Fulk spoke did she finally look away, reverting her attention towards her shoes.

"Is there a reason you two both decided to leave my class without permission?" He inquired, arms folded over his chest, a dull sort of irritation on his expression.

Lux kept quiet, as a frown spread across Remus's face. "I was just bringing Lux her wand. I was going to come right back."

Fulk clicked his tongue. "You are not responsible for Lux's mistakes, Mr. Lupin. Do not take it upon yourself to fix actions she commits."

"She was frightened by the Boggart," Remus argued, though Lux wasn't quite sure what had prompted him to. Jumping to her defense seemed to be the last thing Remus Lupin would ever do, yet here he was, standing up for her to a professor. "All she did was leave a class. You're acting as though she did something grave."

Fulk paused, gaze scanning the pair, scrutinizing them. Remus, a look of determination on his hardened jaw, and Lux, tears once again welling in her eyes. Eventually, he broke the silence with a cold, "Detention, then. Both of you. Tonight in my office, during dinner."

"You can't possibly-" Remus began, but Lux jammed her elbow in his side, hard enough to send a wince through him.

"Leave it, Lupin," she murmured, shoving herself up onto her feet, waiting for Remus to do the same. When they were both level standing up, she said, "Go back to class."

Remus's eyes flickered between her and Fulk, hesitancy written into them.

It was only when Fulk added, "Leave us," did he shove himself out of the stall, flashing Lux an oddly apologetic glance before turning the corner and vanishing down the hall, leaving the pair of vampires alone.

Lux didn't waste time before stepping up to Fulk, holding her chin high. It was impossible to read his expression as the distance between them shortened. He could've been feeling anything, thinking anything, and she wouldn't have a clue. Typically, Lux had a general idea on how to read Fulk, but it was clear he was icing her out.

It wasn't fair, she wanted to scream. What reason did he have to ice her out, when he'd been the one to be cruel to her? He should be on his hands and knees, begging for her forgiveness! Instead, Fulk was proving her choice to evade trusting him had been the correct one.

The anger that had been rising in her since their fight two days ago hit a boiling point as she stopped less than a foot in front of him. Then, she lifted her hand and struck him clear across the face.

It was stronger than she intended, causing his eyes to bulge as his head shot to the side. Her rage had not only been directed at him, but all the other people she felt wronged by, all of it coming out in that slap. Because she couldn't hit Remus, or Lily, or Philip, or even Elias, for putting himself in a position where he'd gotten killed.

But the moment his blue eyes met hers again, any sense of anger vanished, replaced by primal fear, a chilling cold rushing through her veins.

She stilled her movements and held her breath, prepared for him to strike back. But he didn't. Instead, Fulk tilted his head backwards, a loud, boisterous laugh rushing through him unlike anything she'd heard from him before. She'd heard him scoff, she'd seem him smirk, but never before had he appeared to lose himself, his control and composure in the throw of amusement.

Part of Lux itched to hit him again, if not only to subdue this reaction. Instead, what slipped from her lips before she could realize how pathetic and childish she sounded, was a demand. "Stop laughing! This isn't funny!"

This only intensified his laughs, until Lux couldn't bear it anymore. It was mocking and infuriating and cruel, sending an ache directly into her chest. So she wasted no time, shoving past Fulk and storming down the halls, until his chortles were only distant echoes.

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .*:☆ﾟ. ───

"Are you alright?"

Lux looked up from the book she'd been hunched over, paging through and struggling to retain the words being thrown at her. She'd chosen a wizarding classic, knowing the phrases would be complicated and overwhelming enough to demand her full attention, and thus distracting her from the events of the day.

Lowering her book ever so slightly, she shifted her position on the bed as her eyes met Lily's. Her expression shone with concern, head tilted to the side and hands placed in front of her stomach, held together.

"I'm fine. Why wouldn't I be?"

"You weren't at lunch. Or any of our other classes." The redhead pressed her lips together, weight moving from foot to foot as she mentally debated what to say. "And...you left Defense Against the Dark Arts in a hurry. You seemed ill."

"I'm fine," Lux insisted once more, moving to place the book back in front of her face, as to shut Lily out.

But she was nothing if not persistent. Moving through the otherwise empty dorm, she sat down at the edge of Lux's bed, green eyes scanning her up and down. "You can talk to me, Lux. I'm not going to be weirded out, or dismissive. I promise."

No, Lux thought bitterly. You won't be weird or dismissive, but you will be very, very afraid.

"Who was that man? Your Boggart, I mean. Who was he?" Lily asked when Lux went back to reading her book - or pretending to. This time, not a single word stuck in her brain. She might as well have been reading in a different language.

Silence.

"For fucks sake, Lux!" Lily let out a long, frustrated sigh, fingers digging into the blankets atop the bed. "Why don't you ever want to talk to me? Why don't you make an effort? I'm trying so bloody hard to be your friend, but it's like you don't want me in your life. Whenever things get hard, you just shut down, when I'm giving you a space to talk about it. Why don't you trust me?"

Lux thought about Fulk in the forest two days prior, asking the same question, the same hurt in his tone that currently rang in Lily's. But it was her turn to be hurt, because her presumptions had been correct. Out of every horror in the world, it was vampires that struck the most fear in Lily Evans's human heart. She had been right to assume the worst.

"You aren't earned trust simply by asking for it," was what Lux came up with, though even as she said it, she sounded uncertain. Despite the hurt that flashed over Lily's eyes, she pressed further, "I don't trust you because I don't know you. It's been little over a month since we've met, and all you've done is nag me. Why would I divulge anything of importance to you?"

"Nag you?" Lily repeated, face burning red as she rose back onto her feet, taking several steps backwards. For a moment, Lux thought she was going to shout, but to her surprise, her voice was relatively stable as she said, "You clearly have a very skewed perception of what a friendship is, if you deem the act of someone caring about you as nagging."

Lux let out a scoff, shaking her head. "What else would you call it? Pressing and pressing me to talk about shit that isn't any of your fucking business. How many times have I asked you to stop, have I told you I don't want to talk about something, just for you to insist and insist? You think you're some sort of saint, Lily, but you're not. You're fucking annoying, and I pity James Potter for having to put up with your savior complex."

Tears of both anger and hurt were building in Lily's bright green eyes, that she swiftly blinked away as she spat out, "This is why you're going to end up alone. You'll die someday, Lux, sad and alone and miserable, and wishing you'd been kind to at least one person."

Another shake of her head and purse of her lips, watching with seething anger and agonizing hurt building in her chest as Lily whipped around and stormed out of the dorm, slamming the door behind her.

Only when she was completely alone did Lux stare down at the book she held, before throwing it across the room with as much strength as she had, watching it bounce off of the wall and land onto the ground with a dull thud.

Then, she grabbed a pillow out from behind her, shoved it into her face, and screamed.

An hour of misery went by before Lux collected herself, straightening her robes and wiping away any stray tears before she exited the dorm room, headed towards Fulk's office for her detention. Part of her considered skipping it entirely, let Remus do their tasks on his own and piss Fulk off even further, but she decided against it last minute.

Instead, she took a deep breath, shoving through the halls, and eventually pushing open the door into Fulk's office just as the clock hit six. Remus was already there, seated on the very chair Lux had slept in when Pomfrey had inadvertently given her the potion laced with allicin. Fulk hovered behind his desk, standing with his hands pressed against the wood. Any remnants of her slap on his cheek had already faded, his skin as pale and clear as ever, and his eyes slid towards her as she shut the door behind her.

"Take a seat," Fulk instructed, and she did, moving towards the other available chair. "I'm having you two sort through old detention records. I want them sorted by date, rather than alphabetized as they are now." His chin jerked towards several boxes of small slips of parchment, stacked up on the floor.

Lux glared at the boxes as though they had feelings that could be hurt by her furious stare, while Remus's irritated gaze was directed at the professor.

Fulk stepped around the desk, making his way towards the door. "I have a meeting with the Headmaster I need to attend to. I trust that you two do not need further aiding in your task, nor a reminder of what will happen if you lose focus."

"Yes, Professor," Remus answered, though his tone was thick with annoyance.

When the door shut behind him, Remus turned to Lux. "Shall we get started, then?"

"I suppose," she grumbled as she rose from the chair, moving to sit on the stone floor, grabbing one of the boxes labeled 1880-1890, and began sifting through the array of papers. How she was supposed to begin to arrange them, she hadn't a clue, already feeling overwhelmed just at the sight before her.

Remus did the same, taking a seat on the floor and taking hold of a box. For ten or so minutes, a silence fell between them, before he deemed it needing to be broken.

"Your father is an arsehole."

Lux snorted, not looking up from the parchment she was navigating through.

"Seriously," he continued, and when she spared him a glance, his fingers were digging into the slips of parchment hard enough that it was creasing. "Not just because of this stupid detention. Who would think it's a good idea to put a bunch of teenagers against their worst fears? It's humiliating."

"What was your worst fear, then?" Lux asked, though she wasn't quite sure why. She shouldn't pry - she'd shouted at Lily for the same reason just an hour prior, yet something had spiked her curiosity.

He lifted his shoulders in a shrug. "Not sure. I left before I could face it. Went after you instead."

"I see," Lux left out a gentle scoff. "You didn't bring me my wand back out of the goodness of your heart, you did it to avoid the so called public humiliation you were ranting about."

Remus pressed his lips together, but didn't deny her accusation. To his credit, he also did not inquire on Elias, and that bizarre fear that made little sense to anyone but her and Fulk.

"These are quite interesting," he continued after another ten or so minutes of quiet between them, filled only by the sound of the pieces of parchment brushing against each other. "I'm going through the sixteen twenties. Apparently Jude Greengrass got in trouble for charming Lionel Prestley's nose hair to grow and grow until it reached the floor. Sounds like something James and Sirius would get up to, honestly."

Lux's head shot up, dead heart seizing in her chest as the fragment of a memory slammed into her. "Did you say...Jude Greengrass?"

He nodded absentmindedly, moving onto the next parchment. Then, as he scanned it, a frown made its way onto his expression. "What the fuck?"

She already had a guess as to what was written on that slip of paper, her entire face going white as a sheet as the blood drained from her veins, but she tried to keep it cool as she asked, "What is it?"

"The name on here is Lux Erzsebet. Detention for speaking out of turn in Charms class." He looked up, brown eyes searching her. "Why the hell is your name on a detention slip from sixteen twenty six?"

She shrugged despite the nervous bundle forming in her stomach. "How would I know? It must be an ancestor of mine."

"Lux isn't a common name, though."

"It is in my family," she sputtered. "It's...it's Fulk's mum's name."

His frown increased even more, an accusation written into his otherwise befuddled expression. "But you said Erzsebet is your mother's last name. Your father's last name is Ingelger."

She could've kicked herself at her own stupidity. "That's what I meant. It's my mum's mum's name. Not Fulk's. I mixed them up. I do that a lot."

"Right..." he clicked his tongue, turning back to the paper, then up at her again. "This other Lux Erzsebet was a Hufflepuff, apparently."

"Interesting..."

"What house was Professor Ingelger in? And your mother?"

"Hufflepuff."

"Professor Ingelger was in Hufflepuff?" Remus asked, dumbfounded as she dug herself deeper and deeper into a hole she knew she couldn't crawl out of. Keeping silent, he rolled his eyes. "Bloody hell, why are you so pale right now? You look like you've seen a ghost."

"Maybe because you're hounding me with questions!" She declared, louder than intended. Her voice echoed off of the office walls, and she gulped as she turned back to her parchment.

"You're so defensive, and for what?" Remus pressed, shoving his box to the side to rise to his feet. "What have you got to hide, Lux? What am I missing?"

"I'm not hiding anything," she insisted as she too jumped to her feet, tilting her head slightly upwards to meet his eye. "You're just paranoid."

"Oh yeah?" He cocked an eyebrow. "Then why did Lily Evans come running into the common room in tears an hour ago because you'd yelled at her for asking a simple question? That's not the behavior of someone who doesn't have a thing or two to conceal."

"She was being annoying," Lux insisted, though even as she spoke, she knew her words would fail to register. Nor did it help that she was beginning to feel the first affects of guilt, nipping away at her skin.

Remus shook his head. "She was asking if you were okay, and asking about your weird Boggart. I fail to see how that's a crime."

"I don't want her in my personal business, nor do I want you!" She insisted, voice cracking as it elevated to a new volume, and angry tears shot to the front of her vision. "So just stop, leave me the fuck-"

Her protest was cut off, not by one of his own, but by Remus Lupin surging forward and slamming his lips against hers. Any argument died, their mutual animosity morphed into a shared desire for the other that they couldn't put off any further, couldn't abstain from even if Christ himself descended from the heavens and commanded them to.

Lux was a woman possessed, from the moment his touch found hers without any rhyme or reason. Instead, her body shook with passion, with zeal as she melted into his rough touch. Hands found their places in the other's hair, gripping tight as they pushed themselves onto each other as though their opposite might run away if they did not.

It didn't make much sense, but Lux found she didn't care about that part, the logic of it all that typically was what she sought out. Remus Lupin was not fond of her, she was well aware of this, but his lips felt so good against hers that his personal opinion on her mattered little in the moment. All she cared about was the craving inside her that he was slowly satisfying with every passing second.

He was nothing like Sirius, who had been gentle and soft and patient in the kiss they'd shared two days prior, nor Elias, who hadn't had much of a clue what he was doing, and seemed to be afraid of hurting her. No, it was as though Remus was a starving man, and she was a freshly cooked meal, with the eagerness in which he devoured her.

Then, without so much as a warning as to why, he pulled away, cheeks flushed and breath heavy. She imagined she looked the same, disheveled and overwhelmed by what had only been a kiss, yet full of a passion she'd yet to experience in her eternity of life.

Running a hand through his hair, his eyes were wild as he glanced towards the door, as though confirming no one could've seen, and letting out a breath of relief when he realized it was still shut.

"Why'd you stop?" Lux asked through her own deep inhales, grasping at the breath Remus Lupin had taken away from her.

"Sirius..." he sputtered, gulping. "Sirius will be so upset, fuck. I shouldn't have done that, shit. I'm sorry. Merlin, Sirius..."

"Fuck Sirius," Lux proclaimed as she took a step towards him, meaning every word she said. "There's nothing going on between him and I, not to mention that he's been a right arsehole to me all day. He deserves it."

Remus didn't appear convinced.

"I don't want to hurt him," he said with the shake of his head, but Lux gathered there was something else beneath the surface, something he wasn't telling her.

Not that she cared all too much. She was alight with a mixture of emotions, of cravings and revenge and lust, all directed at the boy in front of her. Anything else was of little consequence to her.

Sirius didn't matter, not in this room, not with them. Not when he'd kissed her just to pretend she didn't exist, just to go back to a lifestyle he must've led before he'd met her. Nor did her typical fear of Remus mean anything - in fact, excitement had been taken from her fear, molded from something that attempted to push her away into a reason to be as close to him as possible.

Like her kiss with Sirius, this time Lux made the first move, stepping up to Remus and slamming her lips into his again. Remus didn't hesitate before kissing back, evidentially having shoved any thoughts of Sirius to the side the moment their bodies collided.

A tongue coaxed her mouth open as an arm wrapped around her waist, and never before had she felt so warm. Every nerve in her seemed to have become little balls of fire, itching to explode from from her, send her bursting into flames, yet she pressed forward anyways.

"Tell me to stop," Remus said as he pulled away, a plea in his eyes. "Lux, tell me to stop."

She frowned, lowering her hand from the place it had found, gripped in his hair. "Are you not enjoying yourself?"

"That's the problem," he admitted with a deep exhale. "This is far too enjoyable."

A smirk slid onto her lips. "I have to agree with that."

"You're insufferable," he groaned with irritation, though instead of either backing away or moving to kiss her again, his hands were now fumbling around with the buttons that kept her shirt together. He was two buttons down, struggling with the third when he seemed to give up entirely, simply grabbing at each side of the collar and ripping it open with enough strength that even Lux found herself impressed. Buttons flew across the room as Lux sucked in a breath.

"You've ruined my shirt." She glared at him as she shrugged her arms out of the sleeves, letting it fall to the ground. In a simple black bra, she felt awfully exposed, but the thrill of what they were doing and where they were doing it had fully seized her, pushing away any discomforts or doubts. Instead, all she could focus on was the racing of her dead heart and the pounding in her core.

"Reparo is a very handy spell," he mused, though his own shirt didn't come off. When her hands went to grab the hem and tug it over his head as well, he stopped her by shoving himself onto her once again, lips mashing together.

In between a jumble of limbs, groping and squeezing and moving, Lux wound up seated atop Fulk's desk, thighs parted with Remus pressed against her.

"Tell me to stop," Remus requested once again, in between harsh kisses he left against her jawline, trailing down to her neck. One of his hands was on her waist, holding her close to him, while the other explored her body, never settling on one place for too long before moving to another.

Her lips parted, but all that came out was a distorted, pathetic sort of moan when he chose that moment to dive his hand under her bra.

"If you really want me to get you off of me, you're not being very convincing," she muttered after regaining her ability to think beyond the physical sensations ailing her body. Remus responded by placing his lips on her collarbone in a way she worried may leave marks.

Then, she yelped, as his teeth pressed into her skin in the slightest of movements, indenting into her clear skin in a way that had pleasure surging through her body. Her lips parted, prepared to ask him to repeat the action, but suddenly, his entire body stiffened.

Remus jerked backwards, stumbling away from her, until she was fully able to close her legs once more.

Lux blinked rapidly, hating the way the cool air sunk into her skin without Remus's body close to hers. "What's happened? Why have you stopped?"

Her vision was blurry as she spoke - it was always blurry, to be fair, but something about the way she could barely make out Remus's expression despite his close proximity towards her had her frowning. On her collarbone, a stinging sensation radiated from the very spot where Remus had dug his teeth into her flesh, no longer a pleasant sensation.

"I...fuck, I bit you, oh shit, oh fuck, I..." He sputtered, the outline that Lux could make out of his beginning to pace back and forth, a hand running through his hair.

She slid off the desk, not bothering to mask her disappointment as she prepared to retrieve her wand and shirt, but the moment her feet hit the ground, she paused. A wave of dizziness slammed into her as quick as Remus had when initiating their kiss, and she gripped onto the desk to keep herself from toppling over.

Remus, it seemed, didn't notice her plight, too busy consumed with his own bizarre breakdown to so much as glance at Lux.

"Something's wrong," she said under her breath, too quiet for Remus to hear. Nor could she hear her words herself, as ringing flooded her ears just as she began to speak.

Her eyes flickered once more to Remus, watching as he paced back and forth, incoherent rambles coming out of him. Had he drugged her somehow? Had he...had he...

Lux's thoughts began to trail off, as did her body, tingling and numb as she could no longer maintain her upward stance. Her conscious was the last to go, slipping out of her just as she found herself on the floor of the classroom.

ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ

ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .*:☆ﾟ. ───

so in case it wasn't clear, Lux passed out due to Remus biting her and the whole werewolf bites being lethal to vampires thing. obviously, he isn't in werewolf form so she won't die, but some interesting stuff is coming up :)

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .*:☆ﾟ. ───