Chapter Text
Sirius Orion Black was the eldest of the Black brothers and an heir to the title of French nobility. His family was eagerly awaiting a visit to the new American colonies to celebrate the alliance between France and America. The whole family had their finest clothes on and were preparing to board the boat that would take them to America. The Black brothers were losing their patience and were trying to find ways to amuse themselves in line.
"What do you think America will be like?" Regulus asked, the younger of the two. His close-cropped hair shone in the late summer sun.
"Probably full of rebels," Sirius joked, bumping his brother with his shoulder. "Watch out for them, Reg! Wouldn't wanna get kidnapped!"
"Shove off," Regulus scoffed, pushing his giggling idiot brother away.
"Control yourselves!" Whispered their father, Orion, harshly. His patience was also wearing thin, and he had a reputation to maintain.
Soon the family was aboard the boat and shown to their cabins. The space was cramped and ugly, and it would be their home for the next three weeks. It had several bunks, no windows, and one foot locker for every set of bunks. Walburga Black, Sirus and Regulus' mother was complaining fiercely to her husband and the crewman who was with them, demanding to change rooms.
"You are to share this space with another family," said the crewmate, ignoring Walburga and continuing his work. "They are only a pair, so you'll have plenty of space."
"Absolutely not!" Shrieked Walburga, pressing herself against the poor man. "I DEMAND we have our own seperate rooms!"
"There's nothing I can do about it, ma'am. It's already been decided." With that, the crewmate left, leaving them in the cramped, basement-smelling quarters.
"We're going to go abovedeck!" Sirius announced, grabbing Regulus by the arm and frantically walking away from his seething mother.
The boat had finally begun to move, and it was quite a sight to behold. The whole ocean, seemingly endless in front of them, the August wind blowing a salty sea spray into their faces, the sun glinting off the waves.
Sirius leaned over the edge of the boat, feeling as though he was flying, seperate from all his troubles. His brother, his best friend, was at his side and their laughter was carried away in the steady breeze. They had the whole world around them, headed toward a brand new land, the sun shining on their backs and the deepest reaches of the ocean beneath their feet. They felt powerful and free. It seemed as though nothing could go wrong.
"Boys! Get over here now!" The booming voice of Orion Black rang through the deck. A grimace painted itself on Regulus' face.
"Can't he let us enjoy one thing?" Regulus whispered angrily. Sirius shot him an apologetic look as the two moved through the crowd of nobility to their father's side.
"You make me look like a fool, acting so childish!" Orion scolded them, ushering them back to their rooms. "You are nobility. Act like it!"
"It was my fault, father. Don't punish Regulus for it." Sirius said softly, always the protector of his brother.
"I know very well who's fault it was. You are to remain in the room until we call for you. Is that understood?" Orion grabbed Sirius by the shoulder, gripping painfully.
"Yes, father," Sirius muttered, his eyes glued to the floor.
"I'm going to go introduce Regulus to the other nobles. At least he knows how to behave in public." Orion spat, and they both knew full well that he meant to say that at least Regulus wasn't the dissapointment child.
Sirius walked sullenly to the cabin, the cramped and airless space seeming to suffocate him. He knew it was unwise to disobey his father, so he remained in the room no matter how much it overwhelmed him. He tried to take his mind off of the opressive space by reading, and soon became wrapped up in his novel. So wrapped up, in fact, that he didn't realize there was an intruder in his room until they were already inside.
The creature was on him in a split second, pushing him into his matress and pressing their faces together. He could smell the coppery blood on his breath and knew instantly what it was; a vampire. Sirius had been told stories of the elusive creatures, the filthy, rotten animals that passed for humans and destroyed what it meant to be alive. Everyone knew that every vampire should be dead but their unholy existence dodged the inevitable through their bloodlust. France had had several vampire elimination expeditions since it became a country, but the creatures just kept coming.
And now, one was coming for him. He tried with all his might to push the disgusting animal off of him, fighting to keep his life and his humanity. The vampire's extraoridnary strength gave him an edge, another virtue of its disgusting inhumanity, and soon he had Sirius' hands pinned. Sirius was helpless as the creature's fangs sank into his neck. Despite his desperate screams of agony, he could feel that thing moaning against his skin and felt the evidence of his arousal against his thigh. Soon all of that faded away as the intense pain and bloodloss dragged him into unconciousness.
Sirius awoke to someone shaking him, his head pounding with every movement. As his vision came into focus, he saw it was Regulus who was violently shaking him. He weakly tried to push him away, his whole body aching. He momentarily forgot where he was and began to sob, sitting up slowly and hugging Regulus. Everything would be okay as long as his baby brother was there.
"What happened?" Sirius asked once he stopped crying. Regulus looked at him, panicked, and tried to take in the sight before him. His older brother looked terribly exhausted, his long hair matted with blood, eyes bloodshot and sunken.
"I was about to ask you the same thing," Regulus said, unsure of how else to respond. Sirius was a disaster, that much was clear. Regulus still wasn't sure what had happened to his brother but he knew he had to figure it out before their parents did.
"What happened to you, man?" Regulus asked, unsure how helpful Sirius would be in this condition.
"A vampire," muttered Sirius, resting his head on Regulus' shoulder. "Snuck in here like a bedbug while I was resting and fucking raped me. It got me, Reg. You have to kill me."
Regulus gently hugged his brother, taking a moment to think about their next steps. They still had several weeks above the boat before they reached land, and there would be no fresh blood for Sirius to feed on. If he lived. The turning is the weakest point in a vampire's life, when their bodies are still adjusting to their newfound status as undead and they are not yet cursed with the immunity to most natural weapons. Regulus knew if his father found out about Sirius' incident he would strangle him with his own two hands, and Regulus could not live a life without his big brother. He had to help.
"Let's clean this blood off you," Regulus whispered softly, grabbing a hankercheif from his pocket and wiping the congealed blood off of Sirius as well as he could. Regulus left momentarily and came back with a pitcher of water, using it to clean the matts out of Sirius' hair and clean out the small puncture marks on his neck. He didn't know if they could get infected or not but he decided it was better to be safe than sorry. The bite marks would scar over soon enough, so Regulus just had to hope they wouldn't stick out against Sirius' pale skin in the meantime. Sirius' hair was long enough to cover it up, more or less.
"I think that's the best we can do. How are you feeling?" Regulus asks tenderly. Sirius looks at his brother for a moment before answering.
"Like i'm dying. How are you?" Sirius replies, although the words lack his usual wit and charm. He laid down gingerly on the bead, his head pounding.
"You're not going to die," Regulus says, running his hands through his brother's hair to soothe the headache. In this moment, he wishes that he knew more about vampires so he could actually be of some help to his brother. The only thing he can really do now is try to keep him comfortable and keep the secret from their parents until they reach America.
"You need to eat," Regulus stated. "It'll make you feel better." Sirius looks at his brother sourly after he said that, wrinkling his nose at the idea of eating. The last thing he wanted to do right now was eat, despite being hungrier than he had ever felt.
Regulus wrapped his ill-looking brother in a blanket and then went in search of food, leaving Sirius to ponder his newfound existence. He felt human, alive and breathing despite how cold his skin felt and how much pain he was in. He didn't feel like a monster, but everything he had ever been taught proved that wrong. Vampires were wrong. They were evil.
But Sirius didn't feel evil.
A wave of exhaustion swept over him, so he laid down and let himself be carried into sleep.