julesnoctambule (julesnoctambule) wrote in lupin_snape, @ 2008-05-19 23:21:00 |
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Current music: | Magnolia Electric Co., 'Talk to Me Devil, Again' |
Fic: The High Cost of Living (13)
Title: The High Cost of Living (13)
Author: Jules Noctambule (werewolf_lib)
Rating: Hard R/soft NC-17 for sexual situations, language and referenced violence.
Pairing(s): Lupin/Snape, past Lupin/Black & Lupin/Tonks, Snape/others
Summary: After the war ends, a disgraced Snape turns to the world's oldest profession to make ends meet.
Disclaimer: If I owned them, the books wouldn't be suitable for children.
Warnings: Prostitution and some of the associated risks.
Notes: Written pre-DH, but I got a few things right so there are some minor spoilers.
Link to Part 1
Link to Part 2
Link to Part 3
Link to Part 4
Link to Part 5
Link to Part 6
Link to Part 7
Link to Part 8
Link to Part 9
Link to Part 10
Link to Part 11
Link to Part 12
Thanks to attic_plan and red_day_dawning for the betas! All remaining errors are either me being lazy or stubborn.
The results of a poll at the LJ comm indicate a desire to see the story cross-posted here; if anyone objects or would prefer my posting it in my personal IJ, just let me know.
The full moon’s light was shining brightly through the hallway window by the time the first sounds came from the other side of the door. At the initial scratching, Severus pulled Lupin’s wand from his pocket and held it toward the door, just in case. The scratching ceased after a few moments, whereupon it was followed by a creak and the heavy sound of the lock shifting. There was a dull thud and then the door began to open.
Severus gripped the wand tighter as he looked down at the large, blinking wolf in front of him, trying to ignore the metallic twinge of fear he tasted. The last time he’d seen this particular wolf, things had not gone so smoothly. ‘Lupin?’
His head moved in a way that could only be a nod.
‘You can understand me, then?’
Leaning back on his haunches, the greyish-brown wolf nodded a second time, making eye contact with him before looking at the wand.
Severus could see the intelligence in the wolf’s eyes and lowered the wand. ‘Am I to assume the sedative did its job?’
Again he nodded, this time with vigor.
‘Do you feel weak? Dizzy? Nauseated?’ Each question was answered with a shake of the wolf’s head and Severus was satisfied that his potion has worked as intended. ‘Well. . .so here you are, Lupin. And what should we do now?’
He’d hardly finished speaking when the wolf Apparated. A few moments later, a bark came from downstairs.
‘So much for communication,’ Severus groused to himself, following Lupin’s lead.
In the kitchen, he found Lupin with his face in the bowl of food he’d set out earlier, eating
heartily. He looked up when Severus entered.
‘The reddish sauce all over your maw is rather disturbing, you know.’
Lupin made a small, almost apologetic noise and licked his face clean before trotting through the room to the door leading outside, where he pawed at it as though aggravated and then sat down. If wolves could glare, this one certainly did.
‘Yes, I locked it – had you meant it to stay open?’
Lupin nodded, exhaling.
‘And I suppose you want me to let you out so you can strike fear into the hearts of small woodland creatures? Not a chance.’
The wolf stood, ears pointing back, and raised his leg.
‘Ah. In that case, it will be my pleasure.’ Severus pointed his own wand at the door and it swung open. He watched the wolf jog off to a far corner by the edge of the treeline, his fur illuminated by the glow of the moon. When his necessities were complete, the wolf took off in a trot around the border of the garden, pausing to sniff things once in a while and giving Severus a chance to admire his strength and form.
Far from being afraid as he had worried he would be, Severus found the transformed Lupin fascinating to see. Larger than an ordinary wolf in both frame and musculature, the creature’s proportions were still in balance and his movements fluid. As Lupin had already demonstrated to his satisfaction, there was clear intellect inside the wolf’s mind even if he couldn’t express it properly and that made the wolf all the more curious.
A sudden touch at his hand startled Severus, sending him reaching for his wand before he realised it was only Lupin. ‘I suppose you think that’s funny, sneaking up on people like that,’ he said, turning around to the wolf. The lopsided grin on his face made Severus sure he was right. ‘Finished watering the bushes? Good. Let’s go inside, then; I feel chilly.’
Lupin pressed himself against Severus’ side, eyeing him with a look of hope.
‘No, you will not keep me warm. I am going inside.’ He paused on the steps, adding, ‘And don’t try to charm me while you’re transformed. I find it distasteful.’
The wolf gave a heavy sigh and bounded up the steps, pushing open the door with his nose and making straight for the remains of his dinner.
Feeling a little peckish himself, Severus pulled his leftover sesame chicken from the refrigerator and polished it off. When he was finished, he poured himself a glass of wine from the half-full bottle on the counter and leaned against the wall opposite Lupin watching him lick every last drop of sauce from the bowl. ‘Appalling. It’s a good thing you have decent manners the rest of the time. Of course, I’ve never seen you eat when you’re on your own, so what do I know? It’s all takeaway eaten with your hands in front of the telly then, I imagine.’
Walking in the direction of said electronic device, the wolf made a noise that sounded curiously akin to laughter.
Severus followed him, settling down on the sofa and trying not to recoil too much when he picked up the remote control the wolf dropped in his lap and found it slightly damp. ‘Wolf saliva. Disgusting.’ He made a show of wiping it clean on the cushions. ‘Now, what button am I supposed to press?’
Lupin nudged the contraption with his nose.
‘And wolf snot as well. Which is it?’
The wolf gave a small jump then dropped down on his haunches, his front legs on the ground and his tail wagging.
‘There is no button for “Wave your arse in the air”, Lupin.’
He gave another laugh-like wheeze and then began to paw like a child with a balloon.
‘What? Shake? Mime? Play?’
At the last word he barked and sat down.
Assuming he’d found the magic word, Severus pressed the button marked as such and was rewarded with the whirr and click of machinery. The television screen filled with light and words scrolled across it. ‘ “Star Wars”,’ Severus read aloud. ‘At least it isn’t a nature documentary.’
Making a noise of disapproval, Lupin circled the area of floor to the right of Severus and settled down facing the television.
Halfway through both the remaining wine and the film, Severus almost forgot to pretend he wasn’t enjoying himself. For all that he liked to be disdainful of Muggle culture, even he had to admit there was something to the film. When the first tape ended, Lupin prompted him to replace it with the other and he did so with pleasure. When the second film ended, Severus looked to Lupin for instruction as to the location of the next only to find the wolf was in a heavy sleep. Just to make sure, Severus got up from the sofa and knelt beside Lupin. Thinking it best not to disturb the sleeping wolf, he only watched until satisfied that his deep and even breathing meant the sleep was natural and not an unforseen byproduct of the sedative he’d administered. With that clarified and nothing else to otherwise occupy him, Severus decided he might as well get some sleep before the moon set.
At roughly half-past dark in the morning, Severus came to with a start at the sound of something scratching at his bedroom door. His wand was at the ready and a vase from the bedside table was held aloft, just in case, when it occurred to him where he was and what was happening. He replaced the vase, pocketed his wand and opened the door for Lupin. ‘I suppose I should be grateful you didn’t choose to Apparate directly into my room,’ he told the wolf, stifling a yawn. ‘Is it time for your sedative already?’
The wolf nodded, looking as groggy as Severus felt.
Wrapping himself in a dressing gown, Severus ducked into his workroom to retrieve the potion before following Lupin down the hall. They went not to the shabby room this time, but to Lupin’s own bedroom. There, Severus conjured a bowl in which to dispense the needed dose of sedative. He set it before Lupin, who licked up every drop. He made to leave, but Lupin stopped him with a whine.
‘You’d rather I stay?’ Torn between good manners and desire to remain ignorant of the transformation process up close, he was disappointed when Lupin nodded. ‘Very well.’ He made himself comfortable in one of the armchairs by the fireplace, not far from the rug where the wolf was reclining. The animal’s heavy, steady breathing proved more soporific than he would have expected and before long, Severus was asleep again.
He was almost halfway through a curious dream about baskets and red hoods when he was jerked awake for the second time that early morning by a most unexpected sound. This time, he knew what it was even before he opened his eyes and after a moment’s thought, Severus decided it was best to keep his eyes closed. Lupin may have requested his presence, but the sight of him turning from wolf to man again was a thing more personal than Severus was prepared to share. He waited until the soft whimpers stopped. It seemed to take forever.
When Severus opened his eyes at last, he was greeted with the sight of a very human, very nude Lupin on the floor. A dressing gown lay draped at his side; presumably, he had meant to put it on but the sedative had reasserted itself on his now-human metabolism and knocked the poor man out cold. Severus knelt beside him to take a pulse. His hand was hot and the tempo in his wrist was scattered but seemed steady enough. Averting his gaze for decorum’s sake, Severus maneuvered the silky dressing gown over as much of Lupin as he could before bending and lifting him by the torso. It wasn’t easy work, as Severus had never been all that strong even at the best of times, but before long he’d crossed the room and even managed to get Lupin into bed without much damage.
With his patient secure in bed, Severus sagged down on the unoccupied side for a quick breather. When his own pulse had calmed, he reached once more for Lupin’s wrist. He was still warmer than Severus would have expected and slightly clammy as well, but as he had no idea if that was a regular side effect of transforming or due to his potion, Severus decided the smartest thing he could do was to keep an eye on the man.
He leaned against the wooden headboard, one pillow propped behind his back, kept a hand on Lupin’s pulse and promptly fell asleep for the third time.
The unfamiliar brightness of the sun shining against his eyelids woke him before the stiffness in his back could do the job. Severus stretched, frowning. Judging by the sunlight it was late in the morning but despite that, he was certain he could do with at least a few more hours of sleep. Only when he remembered whose bed he was in did he come fully awake, sitting up fast enough to make the muscles in his back complain and getting out of said bed as fast as his body would let him.
Lupin was nowhere to be seen, but the patter of running water and the puffs of steam gave some hint as to his location and state of being.
He was alive; that was good. Judging by the bits of song floating over the sound of the shower, he was in fine form as well. Severus, on the other hand, felt as if he had the sort of hangover that came after a long night of drinking but with none of the intriguing, half-formed memories. He spied a flask from the apothecary’s on the bedside table and made a move toward it. Round, white tablets, Lupin’s name on the bottle and a date of last week -- surely, these were his headache tablets. He had two in his hand and was about to pop them in his mouth when the bathroom door opened.
Lupin, much to Severus‘ relief, was decently attired in the same dressing gown as the night before. ‘Awake at last, I see. I though you were going to -- what do you have there?’
‘Your headache tablets. Surely, you won’t begrudge me such a simple thing after all the nursing I did last night?’
He shook his head, his teasing grin fading. ‘Don’t take those, Severus!’
‘And why not?’
‘They’ll make you ill.’
‘A simple headache remedy? I rather doubt it.’
‘That’s the thing; they aren’t a simple remedy. They’re formulated for werewolves, not for ordinary people.’
‘And what will they make me do? Lick myself clean and chase rabbits twice a fortnight?’
He didn‘t smile. ‘They contain foxglove extract, Severus.’
Foxglove extract. Now that was a curious thing. Severus replaced the pills in the bottle but didn’t bother asking what such an ingredient was doing in something that was supposedly a headache remedy. ‘I see you’re feeling well today.’
‘As well as I could expect to, thank you. That sedative of yours worked a trick, Severus! I hardly remember a bit of the transformation and I’m not nearly as sore as usual. I trust I behaved myself?’
‘Far better than I’d imagined you would. I was unaware that you could Apparate while transformed.’
‘Yes, so was I until I started taking Wolfsbane. It beats taking those stairs on four legs, I’ll tell you that! I can engage in a limited amount of magic when I’m a wolf; nothing involving major wand work, of course, but enough so that I’m not totally helpless.’ His expression of pseudo-boyish charm was back in full force now, his grin dazzling despite the dark circles under his eyes. ‘I don’t know about you, but I’m famished. Why don’t I get breakfast ready while you bathe?’
‘More like lunch,’ Severus muttered to himself, casting an eye toward the clock on his way out. It was half-past ten already, and unless Lupin had already booked him for the day, Severus would have to be back at Ella’s by one at the latest. Even that tight of a schedule couldn’t get him to rush his shower, though, and it was just after eleven by the time he joined Lupin downstairs.
The man was hurrying around the kitchen like a fidgety housewife, flicking his wand at a pitcher of juice with one hand while taking crispy rashers of bacon from a pan with the other. ’I hope you’re hungry,’ Lupin said, reaching around Severus to float the meat-filled plate to the table. ’There’s some fruit in that blue bowl and the rolls should be out in a minute.’
‘Bacon?’ Severus asked, wrinkling his nose. He hadn’t forgotten some of the previous night’s more illuminating discussion even if Lupin had.
‘Turkey bacon,’ he replied with a smile. ’All the salt of pork bacon, less of the fat and none of that troubling people flavour.’
‘I think I’ll just have a coffee.’
‘Have some grapefruit at least. I gather scurvy is a thoroughly unpleasant experience.’
Severus glared at him over the French press. ‘I can’t exactly linger, you know.’
Lupin paused in shuffling a stack of parchment beside his plate. ‘Why not? It’s a lovely day today, you’ve a fine meal before you and plenty of time to do whatever you like afterward. So why can’t you linger?’
‘In case you’ve forgotten, I’m only on loan. So unless you’ve booked me for the day, I’ll need returning by half-past noon at the latest.’
‘Well, I haven’t booked you, but you don’t need to worry about going back.’
‘Which means that yes, I do need to worry about going back. I have a contract, you know.’
Lifting a sheet of parchment from his stack, Lupin set it down in front of Severus, his eyes sparkling with all the anticipation of child on Christmas day. ’No, you don’t.’
Severus froze, one hand on his coffee cup. ‘Lupin. . .what is that?’
‘Your contract. I bought it from Ella last week. You never have to go back to that place again, not ever.’
When he found his voice again, it was cold and flat. ’You stupid man. What have you done?’