WILD & WICKED / © yllwjckts
031 ⸻ Must Come Down

December 25th, 1977 ✦ Potter Manor

"Are you two my boyfriends?"

It was late in the morning of Christmas day when Lux proposed this question, once again in Remus's bed, situated between the two boys. She supposed the rest of the Potter household may have woken up by now, but the three had no problem lingering in their bed, letting the time waste away.

"That depends," Sirius mused, a hand twisting through her hair. This time, her head was on Remus's shoulder, finger absentmindedly running up and down his chest, following the ridge of one of his elongated scars.

"Depends?" Remus frowned, turning his head to look at Sirius. "What do you mean? Depends on what?"

"On if Lux want to be our girlfriend," Sirius explained to Remus. "Like how you and I are boyfriends."

Lux thought for a moment, considering what it meant, then nodded. "I do. Just me though. We aren't...we aren't open to others, are we? It's just us three, right?"

"Just us three," Sirius confirmed, placing a kiss to the top of her head. "I couldn't ever ask for anything more."

She smiled to herself, then before she could fully think through her words, said, "I like the idea of being a girlfriend. Your girlfriend."

Peering down his chest, Remus asked, "Have you ever had a boyfriend before?"

"Once," she answered. "But it was different."

"What, there weren't three of you?"

She released a laugh. "Yeah, that's part of it."

"Was it Elias?" Sirius asked, the sound of his name on someone else's tongue sending momentary shock through her.

Eventually, she nodded against Remus's chest, inhaling the scent of his soap from the night before and calming the heart that had begun to race.

Though she wasn't looking at him, she knew Sirius was smirking. "Ah, the allusive Elias. I should've known. Are we allowed to know anything else about him, other than his prowess in bed and title as your first?"

"Someday," she lied.

Neither boy pressed her on the subject, Sirius continuing the stroking of her hair whereas Remus said, "We should probably get up soon. You know how James gets on Christmas."

"I don't know, actually," Lux said, turning her head upwards to look at him. "What's he like?"

"Mad," Sirius and Remus chorused.

She cocked an eyebrow, her interest piqued.

"It's his favorite holiday," Remus explained. "He woke us all up last Christmas, early in the morning. Nearly strangled him, I was so bloody tired."

Lux gulped, mouth gone dry. "If he's waking you two up at ungodly hours, do you think he's noticed Sirius and I are missing from our beds?"

"Only one way to find out," Sirius said with a shrug that told her he didn't quite care if James knew, pushing himself out of the bed. They'd all been naked underneath the blankets from the adventures of the night prior, and Lux didn't bother masking her interest as Sirius stretched out, pulling his clothes on over his toned body.

"Like what you see?" Remus said into her ear. He'd made a habit of that over the past few days, popping out of nowhere and whispering muses quiet enough that only she could hear, like a secret shared between them.

"Don't pretend you're not equally obsessed," she said back to him, loud enough that Sirius overheard, grinning to himself as he finished tucking his shirt over his abs.

The awkward shift Remus made in the blankets told all Lux she needed to know, and found herself suddenly thankful for being a woman, and thus having less noticeable signs of arousal. Even so, the look Remus gave her told her he could read her very thoughts as he too slipped out of the bed, giving her a show as he redressed.

Sirius tossed Lux the old t-shirt and plaid pajama pants she'd stripped out of, and she smirked, recalling the night prior as she covered herself.

Lux had known sex could be good, but she hadn't understood just how wonderful such things could make her feel. With someone as admittedly experienced as Sirius, alongside someone as well endowed and almost animalistic in bed as Remus, it was a new type of high she found herself riding on when she met those craved peaks.

It was after they'd finished, when Remus and Sirius were drifting off to sleep that Philip would enter her mind. At least he had enough sense to stay away during intimacy.

She'd have to tell them eventually, she'd realized that night, head on Remus's chest and thoughts a million miles away. She could withhold the vampire information for as long as possible, maybe get away with never telling them if the war stunted their relationship, but she knew the memory of Philip was a ticking time bomb.

They'd find out one way or another, and telling Lily about her abuse had gone well enough.

But it was Christmas, and they were in such good moods...

Tonight, Lux told herself as she looked at Sirius and forced a smile. She'd tell them tonight. Until then, she wanted a brilliant day with her boyfriends.

They had a plan, this time. They'd each wait five minutes before exiting the bedroom, as to not rouse suspicion on the coincidence of waking up at the same time. Remus slipped out first, followed by Sirius, leaving a kiss on Lux's cheek before shutting the door behind him.

Then, when the clock hanging on the wall read 9:35, Lux left the bedroom too. The scent of bacon filled her senses, followed by the sound of voices echoing from the parlor, one of them standing out amongst the others.

Her heart seized in her chest, a mixture of horror and giddiness consuming her as she attempted to tell herself how what she was hearing couldn't possibly be real. It couldn't possibly be...

"Fulk."

Her wispy greeting as she entered the parlor was said under her breath, not loud enough for any of the company to hear over their own conversations. Fulk was seated in the same chair she'd taken a fancy to, mid conversation with an engaged Effie, fitting right in within the aristocratic yet homey aura radiating off of the woman.

At her arrival, he was the first to notice, turning towards her. Effie began saying something, but it went in one ear and out the other as Fulk rose to his feet.

And suddenly, Lux was twelve years old again, returning home after nine months away in a foreign world, without the comfort of her parents. Her mother had waited outside for hours despite the blistering July heat, awaiting Lux's return. She'd run into her arms the moment her mother had come into her view.

Mary Erzsebet was dead, but Fulk was right there, and she wasted no time before doing the very same, running into his arms like the child she hated becoming, but still lived deep within her.

Fulk embraced her with a gentleness he so often kept reserved, only bringing out in the most important of moments. Only for her, only for when she so desperately needed it.

"Happy Christmas," he whispered just loud enough for her to hear before pulling away, turning back to the group of people in the parlor with them, that signature half smirk of his returning. "I apologize for any shock. Mr. and Mrs. Potter were kind enough to let me join you all for Christmas. I realized I couldn't bear celebrating the holiday without my daughter."

"We've got plenty of food, don't you worry." Effie grinned. "And I'm sure one of the boys won't mind doubling up on bedrooms if you'd like to spend the night."

"Such a kind offer to make," Fulk said, and Lux got the feeling that despite the coolness of his tone, he meant it. "Unfortunately, I had a meal before coming here, but I'd love to join you for the rest of the holiday."

"You're more than welcome to stay as long as you'd like," Effie assured him as she rose to her feet. "Come, come, I think the food is ready. Lux, please tell me you're hungry now."

Lux gave her an apologetic stare.

Effie turned to Fulk, seemingly appalled by this. "Your daughter's not eaten a thing since she's got here! I don't know how she's not wasted away by now."

"She's always had a small stomach. Takes after me in that regard, I believe," Fulk explained, glancing at Lux with a hint of amusement gleaming in his bright blue eyes.

At the table, Lux situated herself in between Remus and Fulk, the former searching for her hand beneath the table as he so often did. It seemed he enjoyed the reassurance that she truly wanted him as much as she craved physical touch.

She spared a glance at Sirius, to find he was already looking at her, grinning ear to ear. Though his attention was swiftly snagged away when James addressed him, asking him to pass the butter for his toast.

"You have a lovely home, Mrs. Potter," Fulk commented, drumming his fingers atop the fine wooden table and glancing around at the array of decorations surrounding the group.

"You're too kind! But please, call me Effie," she said with the wave of her hand. "We don't do formalities here."

Fulk smirked. "I see. Effie it is."

"Are you enjoying your employment at Hogwarts, Fulk?" Fleamont asked through bites of his porridge.

"Very much. It's been a joy and honor getting to educate the future generation."

Only Lux was able to pick up on the most subtle of sarcasm laced in his tone, the rest of the table nodding along with interest, taking his words for what they were. Part of her wanted to laugh at it, but resigned herself to a simple nonverbal exchange between her and Fulk, smirking to herself as they made brief eye contact.

"And how have my boys been behaving?" He continued, a hint of hesitancy in his tone this time, as if he knew the trouble his son and his best mate got up to. "James and Sirius aren't causing you any grief, are they?"

"Dad," James whined. Sirius simply grinned, knowing such a question was well deserved.

"They're perfect gentleman, and not to mention fantastic in the class. I dare say both could have a future in Auror training, if that's something either of them would be interested in."

"I might," Sirius said, whereas James appeared wary on the topic. "I'd love to go to head with Voldemort's followers, put them in their places."

"You'd be good at it," Remus agreed, to which Sirius beamed at.

Beneath the table, Lux squeezed down on his hand, wishing Sirius could be there too, already missing his touch from the morning. It had only been two days, but she found she couldn't fathom returning to Hogwarts, and to a bed not shared with them.

Her boyfriends, she thought to herself as a soft smile slid across her lips.

The breakfast table was cleared off by Banana once they'd all finished their meals, and Lux's stomach beginning to ache from lack of blood over the past few days. She made a mental note to find a time to slip out into the gardens, perhaps request Fulk distract everyone as she did.

It would have to wait, though, as they all poured back into the parlor. As they took their seats, James was going on and on about presents and how excited he was for Peter to open what he'd gotten him. Practically bouncing off the walls, he thrust a large wrapped box into Peter's hands the moment he was sitting down.

"You're going to love it, I know you will!"

"I'm sure I will," Peter agreed with an amused smile, beginning to delicately peel the wrapping paper off of the box.

"Mr. Potter is an enthusiastic gift giver, I take it," Fulk said to Lux, watching the scene go down with a pointed humor in his expression.

"It seems to be the case." Lux nodded in agreement, watching as a massive polaroid camera was revealed, much to Peter's pleasure. The boy was thanking James repeatedly, beaming brighter than Lux had ever seen him before.

"I have something for you," he began, reaching into the pocket of his robe.

Lux stared at him blankly, watching as he removed a small black box with a red ribbon holding it together. "We don't do Christmas gifts though."

Keeping his voice low, he explained, "We're no longer living alone in the woods, my dear. I may be on a teacher's salary, but you deserve something special."

With tentative hands, she reached out and accepted the box. Untying the ribbon and tucking it into her pocket, she pulled open the top to reveal a ruby gemstone hanging off of the edge of a golden chain necklace.

"It's beautiful," Lux breathed as she removed it from the box, twisting it about in her hand, watching it spin around in the air with the light from the window reflecting off of the red. "Thank you."

"Turn around," Fulk said, pulling the necklace out of her hands. "I'll put it on for you."

She did as he requested, spinning around on the couch and allowing him to reach around her. Waiting for the sound of the necklace clicking, Lux adjusted the gemstone against her chest, but a different noise captured her attention.

Her head jerked upwards, gaze narrowing in on Peter, who held his brand new camera up in her direction with a grin on his lips as the white polaroid slipped out from the slot.

She froze. All the muscles in her body seemed to cease their functionality, mind zeroed in on the camera, and what an image of her existing could possibly mean.

It wouldn't exist, she understood. Just like a mirror, she was certain nothing would come up.

"Give me that," Sirius said, snatching the rapidly developing polaroid out of Peter's hand. Lux held her breath, reaching behind her and searching for any part of Fulk she could hold onto, brace herself for the inevitability of what was to come.

But instead, Sirius beamed. "You look great! I'm surprised muggle photographs are this nice quality, considering they don't even move."

Her hands stilled their movement, blood draining from her face. "What?"

"I mean, it's still developing a bit, but..." He leaned across the room from where he'd been positioned on the floor nearby, stretching out the polaroid for her to take. "See for yourself. Fucking gorgeous, I'm telling you. And you look nice too, Professor Fuck."

"Sirius!" Effie scolded as Fleamont tilted his head back and laughed.

Not knowing how to conceal the trembles running through her, Lux took a hold of the polaroid, flipping it around as Fulk peered over her shoulder, the same piqued interest she held.

Her breathing stopped.

Buried beneath a monstrosity of blonde curls was a round, delicate face. A small, turned up nose and cheeks somehow tainted pink despite the lack of makeup she wore were what she noticed first. Her skin was a glossy sort of pale, light blue eyes large, cheekbones high and defined, and a soft yet strong jawline completed the memory.

Lux wasn't sure if she was pretty or not. But she was certain she liked what she saw, a sort of familiar contentment worming its way into her ribcage and settling within her heart, like a missing piece of a puzzle finally coming into place.

She turned to Fulk, who stared at the image with the same sort of distant awe. In the stilled frame, he hovered just behind her, staring downwards as he draped the necklace over her upper chest. Now, he watched the image with a passivity she couldn't imagine reflected the inner workings of his mind. While she'd gone three hundred years absent to her own reflection, he'd lacked the knowledge of his own appearance for a near millennium.

Lux was on her feet without commanding herself to do so, spinning around to face Fulk fully. "I need some air," she announced to no one in particular, a tremor in her voice. "I'll be right back."

"But your gift—" She heard Sirius call out behind her, but she paid him little mind as she slipped out of the parlor, muttering promises of her swift return.

Lux only found herself isolated in the confines of her room for a few tranquil moments before the door was opening without a knock. Half of her expected Sirius to barge in, given the sheer boldness of the movement, but surprise didn't strike her when her gaze settled upon Fulk.

"I said I'd return momentarily," she grumbled.

"I feared leaving you alone wouldn't be a good idea." He teetered across the floor as if it might cave in under his weight, taking tentative steps in her direction until he was hovering in front of the bed she'd situated herself on, hugging her knees to her chest.

"I'm not upset. Just...a bit caught off guard."

"I didn't suggest you were. May I?" He nudged towards a spot on the bed next to her.

She nodded, and he took a seat, the mattress sagging beneath him. "I'm sorry."

Lux didn't need to ask what he was apologizing for, nor why he'd brought it up in wake of something so entirely unrelated. Instead, she nodded. "It's half my fault. I'm sorry too."

"It's not your fault I withheld information from you that you deserved to know."

"No, but it's my fault I made you feel the need to do so. Ever since we've got to Hogwarts, I've been so...allusive. I see that now."

A hand fell atop her knee, gently squeezing down, before removing itself back to his side. "It's self preservation. I understand where it comes from, why you hold such guards up. But Lux, you can lower them with me. I swear to you, on everything I've ever held dear. I won't betray your faith in me, if you deign me worthy of it."

For a long moment, the pair were silent.

Then, "I once saw Philip as a father."

Fulk showed no reaction, though his outward apathy didn't fool her.

"He'd saved me," Lux explained, a shallow, shuddering breath releasing from her. "I'd been burned at the stake, and he'd brought me back. Given me a second chance at life. Provided me with a home, and a new family, and the briefest taste of power. I thought...I thought myself his prodigal daughter. I thought if I did what he'd said, he'd be proud of me. And he was. He was so, so kind at the beginning."

"I figured it was different."

"I wish it had been," she said, a newfound bitterness thick in her tone. "I wish he'd just got it over with. Hadn't wasted both of our time with the pleasantries, with building me up, making me feel safe. I know why he did, though. It took a while, but I understand. He wanted me to feel indebted to him. Like I owed him something. Like he was more than just a monster."

"I'm not Philip," was the weak response Fulk managed. When she spared him a glance, he looked ill.

"I know that. It was never anything you did. It was the anticipation for when the other shoe would drop, and I'd promised myself long ago that I'd never let something like that happen to me again. Never. But...I'm done sitting around, waiting to be proven right about people's intentions. I'm sick of playing games with those who don't even know they're being tested. I'm sick of it, and I'm so fucking tired."

"You can be done," he told her, collecting himself as he did. "Let me take the reins for a moment. Let me be the one to protect you."

While Lux had that instinct to protest, to bite back with how she could take care of herself, thank you very much, she didn't. Instead, she kept her lips locked, moving to place her head on top of Fulk's shoulder.

A pause, then a hand snaked around her waist, pulling her close against him.

"Am I pretty?" Lux asked in a pathetically small voice, breaking the peaceful silence that had fallen between the two.

"What do you mean?"

"The polaroid that Peter took of me. I think I like what I see, but I can't figure out if I'm pretty or not."

"You're the most beautiful girl in the world," Fulk promised without missing a beat. Then, he added with an almost proud, "You know, we look a bit similar."

Lux tilted her head upwards from its position on his shoulder, shifting against the arm he held her with. "Do we?"

"We have the same eye color," he explained. "And a similar facial structure, I'd say."

She nodded in absentminded agreement. "Maybe we're related somehow."

Fulk paused, thinking this over. "My sister had children. She was a squib, married a muggle man. Maybe one of your muggle parents descend from them."

Lux smiled to herself. "I think my life would be a lot easier if I was born an Ingelger, not an Erzsebet. A bit less fiery, to start."

For a moment, he didn't seem to understand her joke. Then, a twisted sort of expression flashed across his face, humor mixed with shock, like a child being told a dirty joke for the first time.

"For Merlin's sake, Lux!" He let out a laugh.

"Don't test me. I've got fire jokes for days."

"I'm stoked."

Lux choked a laugh of her own. Then, because a gust of wind had flung the doors open between them in a way she imagined wouldn't ever close again, she said, "I have news, by the way."

"Let me guess. You're with one of those boys. Black or Lupin."

"Which one?"

Fulk thought for a long moment. "Black, since he was insisting on giving you a gift."

A cheeky grin slid across her lips. "Maybe."

"I will say, I'm a bit offended that whichever one it was didn't ask for my permission first. Sure, it may be old fashioned, but it's important to me. I need to give him the typical father scolding."

"Them," Lux corrected before she could stop herself.

Fulk leaned away from her, moving to look her in the eye. "Them? You're with both of them?"

A blush crept across her cheeks, and she lowered her voice to a whisper, despite them being alone in the room. "You can't tell anyone. It's meant to be a secret."

He gave her a dumbfounded look. "Who would I tell?"

She shrugged, placing her head back on his shoulder, already aching for the contact. "You can't judge me, either. I'm happy, and they both care about me, and that's what matters."

"You'll face no judgment from me," he assured her, moving up a hand to gently stroke her hair. "I've seen far more unique relationships than what you have going on, my dear. After everything, you deserve love in the best way you can find it."

"I don't..." She began, voice trailing off. "Love is a strong word. We've only been together for two days."

"How did it happen, then?"

"Fast." Lux gulped, then added with a sly smirk, "In bed, mostly."

Fulk released a breath, not finding the same amusement in her words that she had. "You're being safe, I trust."

She frowned. "It's not like I can get pregnant. Can vampires get STDs?"

"I mean with your heart."

"Oh."

"If one of those boys hurts you..." It was his turn to trail off, shaking his head from where he rested it against her own. "I'll have a talk with them."

She pulled away, horror flashing over her face. "What? No, don't do that!"

He was dead serious as he said, "They're under the impression that they're dating my daughter. I won't embarrass you too much. Just threaten them a bit."

Groaning, Lux grabbed a pillow and shoved her face into it. "I never should've told you."

"Probably not," he agreed with a gentle pat on her back, before rising to his feet. "I'll be right back."

"Fuckkkkk."

Despite her horror at the concept presented to her, Lux couldn't help herself from the biting curiosity of what Fulk would say. Once he had slipped out of her bedroom, making a beeline for the two boys, she stood up and followed, careful to keep her footsteps quiet as to not alert him of her presence.

After asking Effie where they'd gone off to, she eventually found them in the kitchen, far enough away from the parlor that no one would overhear. Placing her ear against the door, she listened just in time to hear Remus say, "I thought we were keeping this a secret!"

Fulk responded with a simple, "You should know by now that Lux and I are a package deal. You can't alter her life and expect it not to get back to me."

"You can't tell anyone," Remus said, sounding awfully anxious. Lux's stomach twisted — had she made a mistake in telling Fulk? Had it been a betrayal of Remus's trust?

Though she couldn't see him, she knew Fulk was rolling his eyes. "Honestly, who do you all think I'd be telling?"

"Come on, Moons," Sirius urged in a chipper tone. "Professor Fuck is on our side."

"Not necessarily," Fulk said, earning a dead silence between the pair. "I will do my best not to take offense about not asking my permission to date my daughter. I suppose times have changed, and I must change with them. But that's not to say I won't rip you apart limb by limb if she's ever hurt by one of you."

"Professor Ingelger, I promise you, we have nothing but honorable intentions with Lux," Remus assured him. "We care about her a lot. We'd never want to see her hurt, or upset."

Fulk spoke as if Remus hadn't said a word. "She's been through a lot, my Lux. Stuff most people wouldn't survive, let alone begin to move on from in the way she has. She's the strongest person I've ever known. But strength has its limits. If I find out either of you so much as harm a hair on her head, you won't live to see another day. Understood?"

"Yes, Sir," Sirius said instantly, and the following swish in the air indicated that he had saluted Fulk.

When she heard footsteps headed towards the door she leaned against, Lux jerked away, swiftly rushing back to the parlor, announcing her arrival with an inconspicuous, "Back, sorry."

James gave her a look, but other than that, no one questioned her absence. Instead, he said, "I take it you and Professor Ingelger are back on good terms."

Lux didn't bother denying the blatant fact that they had not been. Instead, she nodded, sitting down on her chair. "We're brilliant."

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .*:☆ﾟ. ───

Neither Sirius and Remus seemed to be upset with Lux for divulging their relationship to Fulk, both of them communicating with her as normal throughout the day. At lunch, Remus held her hand from beneath the table, and Sirius wound up giving her a pair of ridiculously expensive earrings, of which she hadn't a clue how to go about thanking him when he told her that they were real diamonds.

"Why don't you put them on in the bathroom? Wouldn't it be easier in a mirror?" James frowned as she frequently stabbed the earrings into her ear, trying and failing at finding the little hole she'd had sliced through the bit of flesh when she was still a human.

She shook her head, her free hand still entwined with Remus's. The task would've been much easier if she could use both hands, but she didn't have it in her to let go. "I've almost got it."

"By all means, bleed all over the table," Peter murmured, more to himself as he fidgeted with his camera, having not released it from his grip all day. Even at the dinner table, he was taking pictures of everyone, handing them out and claiming they were late Christmas gifts. He, like Lux, hadn't gotten anything for anyone, though he didn't seem to share her guilt regarding it.

"Got it!" She exclaimed with triumph as the second earring slid through into her ear. Turning to Sirius with a bright grin, she tossed her hair over her shoulder and asked, "How do I look?"

The smirk he wore said all she needed to know.

A sudden knock at the door had Effie rising to her feet, muttering apologies to the table as she rushed to answer.

"Who the hell would be here at this time of night?" James asked to no one in particular, head turning towards the hallway, where the group watched Effie vanish down a corner towards the front of the Potter home.

"It's Christmas. Maybe it's some carolers," Fulk shrugged, though he too seemed unsure, also lifting himself up from the table.

Lux felt her hand slipping from Remus's grip, a sensation slamming into her gut as she watched Fulk make his way towards the hallway, just as Effie said a loud, "Yes, yes, come in!"

"Who is it, mum?" James called out to her, eyes flickering between Fulk and his father, as if one of them held the answer.

"A friend of Lux's," Effie explained as she stepped back into the kitchen, an oblivious sort of smile on her lips. Turning around to face the figure behind her, she said, "Mathilde, was it?"

Lux fell out of her chair.

"Lux?" She could vaguely hear Remus call her name through the roaring in her ears. "Lux, are you alright?"

She didn't give him an answer.

No. No. No.

Not here. Not now. Not with all these people, these good people who'd never done a thing wrong in their lives to get in the way.

A clattering sound suggested Fulk had taken hold of a piece of silverware, as Peter wondered out loud, "What kind of name is Mathilde?"

"Thank you for inviting me into your home, Mrs. Potter," the all too familiar voice echoed in a mocking tone just as Lux stumbled back onto her feet.

Then, emerging from the shadows, was the first face of the Coven that Lux had seen in twenty one years. Buried behind an array of dark curls framed an impossibly pale face, from what had to be at least a millennium in seclusion from the sun. Eyes dark, she didn't miss the sadism laced in her expression, no attempt made to mask her intentions now that she was within the home.

Fulk held a knife in his hand, hovering a foot or so in front of Lux, though she knew it wouldn't do any good. It would injure her, assuming he could get to her in the first place, but she was old enough to withstand any lasting pain a stabbing would provide.

"What's going on?" Sirius asked, the only one at the table brave enough — or stupid enough, to voice what they all felt. No one was dim enough to not guise that Mathilde's arrival was an unfriendly one, even Effie, whose face had fallen the moment she spotted Fulk's knife.

"I'm visiting an old friend," Mathilde said in that sickeningly sweet tone of hers.

"Now's not the time," Lux begged. She knew she sounded pathetic, even as she shuffled her body in front of Remus. But pathetic was the only thing she could be, bravery thrown out the window at the risk of anyone getting hurt because of her. "Please, Mathilde. Not now."

She shook her head, using an arm to shove Effie to the side.

"Hey!" Fleamont shouted, the only one with a wand handy. Even so, his priority was to rush over to his shaking wife, wrapping an arm around her.

"You had enough time to submit yourself to us willingly, didn't you? Had enough time to come and fight us, rather than running like a coward." Mathilde cocked her head to the side. "Where's that murderous side of you gone off to, Little Lux? Did the fight die in you over the past few years?"

"Get Dumbledore," Fulk ordered, attention shifting towards the Potters. It was no use, though, everyone knew it. The threat loomed in the space between the kitchen and the parlor, preventing anyone from leaving through the floo.

To apparate would be to start a fight, and they were too far away from James to grab a hold of him. No, Effie and Fleamont Potter would die rather than leave their son to fend for himself, a sentiment Lux felt bubbling in her as well.

Mathilde barked a laugh. "You must be the famous Fulk Ingelger. Philip was enamored with you, as I'm sure you know."

From behind her, Lux heard Remus stand, slowly enough to not aggravate Mathilde. At some point, Sirius, James and Peter had also stood, the latter slowly shifting back into the corner where the former two held their ground, expressions uncertain as they glanced around the room.

"Who are you?" Remus demanded, stepping around Lux.

"Remus, don't," she warned.

"Lux hasn't told you about me?" She held a hand to where her dead heart beat. "I'm wounded."

"Do you want money?" Effie stammered, reaching around her neck and pulling off the beautiful necklace she wore, before handing it to Mathilde. "Take it. Please, take it and leave us. It's worth a lot."

Mathilde did, grinning as she tucked it into her pocket, before focusing her attention back on Lux. "This doesn't need to become a scene, Lux. Come with me, and all your little friends will be fine."

Elias, she thought bitterly to herself, had not been given the same option, the same luxury.

In a way, Lux respected Mathilde for it, causing her to take an instinctive step forward.

"Like hell she will!" Sirius cried, shoving himself away from James and towards Mathilde. James called out a protest, but it fell upon dear ears as his best mate demanded, "Stay away from her!"

Mathilde's eyes glisened with amusement, head turning towards Sirius. "She's your girlfriend, then?"

Sirius's mouth opened, then closed, nothing coming out.

"Great girlfriend you've got, kid," Mathilde jested, letting a dry, harsh cackle rip from her throat. "Putting you all in danger, for a few moments of her own pleasure. You never change, do you, Lux? Still a selfish, conniving little whore."

Fulk lunged at her.

It was no use, Mathilde dodging him with ease. His knife instead flung into the wall, lodging itself in the wood.

"Get Dumbledore! And don't go outside!" Lux screamed to no one in particular, knowing he was their only means of saving, their only means of escape. If Mathilde was here, no doubt a dozen other vampires lingered just outside the Potter home, just waiting to feast on their unsuspecting blood.

A snapping sound indicated that someone had apparated, and when she looked, Peter had vanished. A voice echoed from within the home, somewhere buried in the parlor, as Sirius grabbed a plate and attempted to smash it over Mathilde's head.

It was seven against one, it should've been an easy battle. But most of them were useless without her wands, and Mathilde's strength was greater than even Fulk's, having spent so long within the plated prison of the Coven.

In the haze of panic, Lux reached down, pushing over one of the Potter's fine dining chairs, ripping the leg off with as much strength as she could find within her.

Fulk had proven himself to be Mathilde's greatest adversary, struggling against her own stake, which she held in her left hand and attempted to shove into his chest. He kept her restrained, hands wrapped around her wrists, though Lux noticed the tremors in his arms, a struggle to maintain his victory for long.

Mere seconds would be the difference between a life and death for Fulk, someone she'd just gotten back. Someone she wasn't prepared to lose, not like Elias. Not when she could help it.

Lux wasted no time.

Somehow, Mathilde had it in her to look surprised as the stake dug into her back, blood spewing out from beneath her white dress, coating the fabric crimson.

Fulk released her as she collapsed to the ground in a heap. Unlike Titus all those years ago, she died with ease, her conscious slipping away within moments, leaving a limb frame that once held a soul behind.

Lux gulped, the makeshift stake slipping out from her hands, landing on the wooden floor with a loud clang.

Then, as she stared down at the corpse of someone she'd at one point in life considered a friend, she leaned over and threw up, blood from earlier that day spewing out from her lips.

James was the first to break the silence, filled only with the sound of heavy breathing. "What the fuck?"

"Eloquently put, Mr. Potter," a familiar voice mused from behind Fulk, too calm for the current situation. When Dumbledore came into view, he flashed the gagging Lux a passive, almost relaxed sort of smile, before turning back to James. "I do imagine some explaining is needed. If you'd all do me the favor of coming into the parlor and entering the floo, I'd prefer we discuss this in my office while the Aurors take care of the vampire infestation lingering outside your doorstep. If you'd all come with me."