Summary: Sirius has done that most terrible of things: Told Snape where Lupin can be found. Now, with the Maruaders fractured, a prank war getting out of hand, and Severus intrigued by Morrigan Le Fay, Hogwarts is a place of chaos in the Marauders' sixth year. Outside the Dark Lord is rising and an even worse evil lurks behind closed doors and within dreams. Everyone knows what they want, but is it what they need?
Disclaimer: The persons, indices, places, and other published works are the property of JK Rowling and Warner Bros. No infringement is intended, and no money is being made from this work.
Beta: Half-Drowned Dracula.
Pureblood Dreams, Halfblood Nightmares
Part One
Chapter One
by Lilybet
Three thousand years ago, somewhere in Cornwall...
The closing sound of swords clashing drove the witches to work faster. Getting the exact placement of the stones was imperative. One mistake could undo all the years of hard work and make a folly out of all the lives lost to get to this point. The witches closed their ears to the sound of screams and chanted over the last six white stones. Wild magic closed in around them and was channelled inwards to light each pebble with a different colour, giving them each a different property. Then the magic faded and the sisters shared a last look, a last word before racing off in different directions. The fighting was on the brow of the hill now.
Jeni ran across the shifting sands, the tide sweeping in. It was her duty to lay the heart stone in the temple carved deep into the rock. It had taken hundreds of men working in secret to create the immense space, and many lives had been bound into the stone as the wild magic commanded blood to be spilt. The stairs rose before her and Jeni hitched up her skirt, her bare feet slipping on the wet stone as she climbed.
She stood on the top of the storm wracked peninsula and cast one sweeping gaze over the world before her. The flash of bronze and cries were so close now as the men forced the retreat of the elves. Too long had they been bound by the magical creatures, too long had the strongest men and most fertile women been taken in the night. Now, with the wild magic theirs to control, the humans were taking the land for their own. Jeni saw the white banner of the King of the elves falter and fall. A great wave of joy swept her up and she shouted in glee, her hand tightening over the stone as she leapt in celebration. Then she turned and plunged into the rock.
The tunnel was dark, the stone steps slippery, but Jeni wasn't going to fail now. Before her lay the great chamber, and her feet slowed in the weight of magic. Here lay the last great rip in the world, one which led to the world beyond. A world in which no corporal being could live. In that world the elves would be condemned to live as pure energy for eternity, never again to plague Albion. Jeni stumbled as she walked up the few steps to lay the stone before the tear.
Here she had no need to search inside herself for the magic, it lay all around her. So she reached out and incanted the last of the chant which her sisters had begun, weaving magic into a discernible pattern. She felt her sisters, beyond the walls, doing the same. The net was made; now they tightened it. Suddenly a bright green light flared and Jeni cried out, closing her eyes.
When she opened them she saw the world from above. She was a spirit flying high. Below the men corralled the elves within the lodestone barrier. She saw her sisters bring their arms up and speak the last words. The elves cried out, and most fell to the ground. But three remained standing, the brothers of the fallen king. They stood straight and declared that they would return, that Albion would pay. The net of woven magic closed and the heartstone drew them in. Turned to immortal energy, the elves were banners in the breeze. The wind grew and the blue energy swept inside the stone and through the rip. There was a great sound of closing doors and they were gone.
A cheer went up, but not for Jeni. She watched as her body was found lying next to the new golden doors, a key clenched in her hand. Her life would be the last lost in the battle with the elves but as her sisters gathered she knew that the lives of generations to come would be spent guarding these doors. The humans of the world, led by the family of Le Fay, had won.
Beyond the doors a thought whispered: We will return. Beware the Elven King.
XOXOX
Modern day...
James stared, open mouthed, for a moment before turning and sprinting from the dormitory, pausing only long enough in the common room to throw a wand at Lily Evans.
"Don't let him out!" he yelled as he exited through the portrait hole.
Hurtling down flights of stairs he avoided a broken neck only by sheer luck, the uncanny reaction times that made him famous in Quidditch matches coming into play. As he jumped the last few stairs into the entrance hall the litany in his mind became audible.
"Stupid Sirius. Save Snape. Stupid Sirius..."
Flying out of the front doors James coaxed a bit more speed out of his tired legs, tumbling over the bumpy lawn towards the Whomping Willow. Though James had done some pretty terrible things to Severus Snape over the years, he would never have dreamed of doing what Sirius had just done.
"I can't wait to see his face."
"Why? What have you done?"
"Oh, just told him how to get past the Willow. He'll get a good scare and... what? What are you looking like that for? James?... Hey! Give that back! James! James! Let me out of here!"
Even the incident not three days past, when the last exams were done and they had been lounging out by the lake, could top Sirius' unthinking idiocy this time. Then Sirius had been bored, Snape more irritating than usual and James had been unable to contain himself. The look on Lily's face when Snape had called her 'Mudblood' was enough to throw him right over the edge, even though he had probably blown his chances with her as he hoisted Snape into the air.
He had tried to maintain a relaxed attitude when it came to Severus Snape and the whole pranking thing; all due to a deal he had cut with the beautiful Miss Evans. If, she had promised, he stopped pranking and became Head Boy, then she would go out with him. Which was at least partly why he was stumbling towards the Whomping Willow to save his enemy.
There was a part of him that wasn't concerned with deals and dates, however. All he knew what that if Snape saw what was at the other end of the tunnel under the tree all hell would break loose, and his enemy and his friend would be sharing more than a taste in books. So James was now racing through the late summer light across the lawn, pulling his wand from his pocket as he went. He had to stop Snape before he went down the tunnel.
Summoning a broken branch, James poked a knot near the base of the trunk, stilling the whipping branches. Diving down the tunnel he lit his wand quickly with a whispered, "Lumos!". Snape was nowhere in sight. Cursing fluently, James ran as fast as he could down the earthen tunnel, towards the Shrieking Shack in Hogsmeade.
XOXOX
Back in the fifth year boys dorm, Sirius Black paced back and forth, occasionally stopping to kick his trunk or hurl an innocent book across the room. He was muttering under his breath, ranting to himself alternately about his own stupidity, Snape's existence, and James Potter's habit of locking his friends in their dormitory.
Furious, he kicked his trunk hard, shifting it from where it sat. Yelping, he realised that kicking a heavy trunk in a bad mood was probably a bad idea. Sirius slumped onto his bed, nursing his stubbed toe, and picked up his rant again; which now included cursing his trunk.
A light tap at the door stopped his flow of words. A small frown appeared as he limped over to the firmly locked door.
"What?" he asked tersely.
"It's Lily." came the cautious voice on the other side.
"Lily, darling!" Sirius perked up immediately, "I don't suppose you'd be a doll and open the door would you? Only, a certain black haired Chaser has walked off with my wand."
"I know. No. And don't call me 'darling'." Lily said, exasperated.
Sirius' face fell, and he leaned against the very locked door.
"What did you do to deserve having your wand taken off you, and being locked inside your dorm?" Lily asked.
Though she had seen James or Remus take Sirius' wand from him before (usually just before he did something stupid), she had never seen James as furious as he had been when he had thrown her the wand.
Listening through the door, Lily heard a muffled reply, "What was that?" she asked.
"I told Snape where to find Remus, alright!" snapped Sirius, sliding down the door to sit facing the dorm. He winced again, this time with the thought of what Remus was going to say when he found out.
"Why?" came Lily's angry, yet confused response.
"Because it seemed like a good idea at the time." muttered the boy, before adding louder, "Because I'm an idiot with no sense?"
"Huh. Really. I never would have guessed that." Lily said sarcastically, "I suppose you think that Remus is just going to forgive and forget!"
"Er..." Sirius hesitated. To be honest he hadn't really thought through the plan beyond scaring Snape. Belatedly, he realised just how much trouble Remus could actually get in if James didn't get there in time.
"He's not and he'll be right not to! This is the most irresponsible thing you have done. Ever."
"I know, and I'm sorry." he said, real regret and self-loathing filling his voice.
There was no sound from the other side of the door, and Sirius wondered if Lily had stormed off, disgusted at what he'd done.
"Stupid, stupid, stupid." he said, punctuating each repetition by hitting his head against the door behind him.
"You won't make yourself any smarter by doing that." Lily said, a note of amusement filtering in with the anger, "You had better hope that Dumbledore goes easy on you, and that Remus is still around to listen to your apology."
"I...Oh Merlin. What have I done?" Sirius said, blanching as his imagination suddenly conjured the worst case scenario: Snape bitten by a raging werewolf.
"You think about that. I'll be back in a second." Lily replied, suddenly realising that she needed to tell someone what was going on. She had to get a message to Dumbledore, but although she was still furious at Sirius she didn't particularly want to leave him.
"I did it partly for you." Sirius admitted softly, his voice sounding more muffled than the door could make it.
Lily paused and leaned into the door, "What?"
"What he said to you after the Defence exam," Sirius explained, "It just got to me. No one should call you that. So I just thought, if you can call it thinking, that if he wanted to be all dark Pureblood fanatic then he should get to see a dark creature."
Lily took a shocked step back. She had never thought that Sirius would think that the danger which he had placed Snape in was justified. Replying as softly, she said "Maybe you should have been thinking less about revenge and more about the consequences of your actions. I'm sorry, Sirius, but I think this time you deserve punishment."
Sirius lifted his head from his hands, knowing that with those words Lily had left him to think about what he'd done. Standing up he started pacing again, this time with thoughts of what could have happened in the shack running round his head.
XOXOX
The summer light was filtering through the spaces between the boards on the windows of the Shrieking Shack as Remus sat in the middle of the floor waiting. Focused on his breathing, his ears pricked up as he heard someone coming through the tunnel into the shack. Sighing in relief, he let himself relax as much as he could; the rest of the Marauders had arrived.
Remus couldn't tell the others to stay away, even though this full moon the wolf was bound to be more vicious, lashing out as the worry about the holiday months flooding through Remus was felt by the animal. Their support meant so much to him; especially since they had started accompanying him on the full moons in their animagi forms. To be away from them for even a few months was not ideal, but they had no choice if they were to keep their illegal transformations secret.
He frowned lightly when his sharp hearing didn't pick up more than one pair of feet make their way to the front room. Lifting himself painfully from the floor he headed towards the ajar door. As he did the first of the moon's full rays crept over the horizon, lost in the daylight but still felt by the wolf. Doubled over in pain, Remus tried to warn the person outside the door, but his voice was lost in a grunt of agony. Falling to his knees, his attention turned inwards as he fought with the wolf pushing its way to the surface.
Occupied with the moon-induced pain Remus didn't notice as the door opened revealing Snape, though the wolf caught the scent as his muzzle cracked into existence. Lunging towards the one who smelt of fear and food, the half-transformed werewolf howled in fury when, unseen and unsmelled, his pack-mate slammed the door in his muzzle. The wolf forced the human deep inside and howled as the transformation completed.
Remus, his consciousness crushed under paw as the wolf gained full control, felt a last moment of anger and fear – betrayal – before the world as he knew it went black. This night was the wolf's now.
XOXOX
Pulling a white-faced Snape from the tunnel under the willow, James tried to still his shaking hands. That had been close, far too close. Another few seconds and ... James shuddered at the thought. Snape was unresisting as the two shaken boys made their way over to the main entrance, no real thought in his head aside from the need to get away from the creature in that room. The further the better.
James looked up, taking his eyes off the corrugated lawn, and his heart stopped in his chest, the absence of a beat making him feel like it had left. There, in the light spilling from the entrance hall, were Professors McGonagall, Slughorn, and Dumbledore. The Headmaster looked far from pleased, the normal twinkle in his eye replaced with a stern look.
"Follow me, gentlemen." he said.
A flood of emotions ripped through James, before settling on fear, not just for himself, but for Remus and even a little for Sirius too. This was not like other times when the Marauders had been disciplined; this time was deadly serious. Numbly he followed Professor Dumbledore, only half listening to McGonagall's tirade as they headed to the Headmaster's office. Behind him Slughorn was trying to rouse Snape from his fear-induced stupor, though the Head of Slytherin did not seem to be having much luck.
Reaching Dumbledore's office, James paid no attention to the fascinating spinning silver objects or to the ever-sleeping portraits which normally captured his attention on visits to the room. Instead, his gaze was fixed on the floor, his shaking hands clasped in front of him.
"I was most disturbed to learn that Mr. Snape had been informed of the method by which Mr. Lupin could be reached on full moons, though I was relieved to discover that actions had already been taken to avoid permanent damage to all parties." said Professor Dumbledore, a severe look overtaking the usual geniality as he sat behind his desk, the two boys in front of him.
"However, there is information I am still lacking. Who set this unfortunate chain of events in motion? Would either of you care to enlighten me?" Dumbledore looked over his half-moon glasses at the boys in front of him.
James fidgeted, throwing a glance at Snape, certain that the Slytherin would betray Sirius in an instant, yet at the same time unsure about whether he should turn his friend in. After all that had happened, and however angry he was at Sirius, it still seemed like it was their problem, not something to be dealt with by the teachers.
"Mr. Potter?" speaking softly, Dumbledore's eyes fixed on the boy, "Loyalty is wise, but this is a time for honesty."
The words cut through James' hesitation, "I'm sorry, sir, I ..."
Snape's head snapped 'round as the sound of James' voice broke the spell which seeing Remus transform had placed upon him. A look of pure hatred passed over his face before he turned to Dumbledore, sneering, "It was Sirius Black, sir. He told me where to go."
James closed his eyes, not wanting to see the looks on his Professors' faces. He knew what they would be anyway. Sure enough, when he opened his eyes again, Dumbledore was wearing that disappointed look, McGonagall looked furious and Slughorn was shocked.
"I see. Minerva, if you could fetch Mr. Black. I believe you will find him locked in the boys dormitory." said Dumbledore sadly, "Horace could you take Mr. Snape here along to the Infirmary, I believe Poppy is awaiting him."
"Yes, Headmaster." replied Horace Slughorn in a shaking voice, "Come along m'boy, let's get you checked over."
"What's going to happen to him? Sir?" Snape asked, slipping out of Slughorn's reach, "What's going to happen to Black?"
"That is what I shall have to decide." Dumbledore nodded slowly, as they left the room leaving James alone with the Headmaster. "Have a seat, Mr. Potter."
Sitting down, James waited for Sirius to arrive, trying to ignore the feel of Dumbledore's gaze.
"Mr. Potter, that was a very brave thing that you did. You should be proud of your actions tonight. Though Mr. Snape may never admit it, you saved his life." Dumbledore voice had warmed, and James relaxed the tiniest amount.
The door opened behind him, Professor McGonagall following Sirius into the room. Sirius looked completely downcast, whilst the Head of Gryffindor held his wand in her hand. All the anger James had felt when Sirius had told him what he'd done came flooding back, and he had to look away, clenching his fists tight to stop himself from yelling at the boy.
"Mr. Black." Dumbledore greeted severely, "Do you understand the consequences your actions could have had?"
"Yes, sir." said Sirius gravely.
"Since we are only a few days away from the end of term, and the fact that this is more serious than breaking a few school rules, I must inform your parents of this." Dumbledore fixed Sirius with a look which told him that the Professor knew about the uncomfortable situation at home, and was aggrieved that this had to be done, "For these remaining days you are confined to the Gryffindor tower and forbidden from performing any magic. To this end I shall hold onto your wand. It shall be returned to you on your departure from Hogwarts. Any other disciplinary measures I shall leave up to your parents."
"Thank you, sir." said Sirius, so relieved that he almost missed Dumbledore adding:
"I would also like you to apologise to Mr. Snape."
XOXOX
The morning dawned bright and clear, and the train was waiting in the station when Sirius finally boarded. The last few days had been sheer hell for him; not only had he had to apologise to Snape, which he had done very reluctantly, but Remus had been completely ignoring him. Sirius had been expecting the werewolf to shout at him and tell him he was an idiot, but the stony silence and refusal to even look at him was painful. James hadn't been much better, avoiding him when he could and not talking to him otherwise; even Peter had taken Moony's side in things.
Sirius wandered down the corridor, the cheerful noise coming from half full compartments making him even more depressed than he already was. Looking in each one, he was searching out his fellow Gryffindors. Would he even be a part of the Marauders any more? he wondered, or would he be exiled from the only group of friends he had known at Hogwarts.
Glancing into the final compartment in the carriage before he made his way into the next, Sirius finally spotted the other Marauders. Opening the door he felt unaccountably nervous as all eyes turned to him. His stomach fell through the floor as Remus quickly turned back to his book.
"What do you want, Black?" James said harshly. The tension in the carriage had gone up to a critical level as soon as Sirius had walked in. Now you could cut the pain and anger with a blunt spoon.
Sirius winced internally, he had never liked his last name and James knew it. "I...I..." he stuttered.
"Well?"
Swallowing his pride, Sirius spoke clearly into the space, making sure that everyone could hear what he said, "Mr. Padfoot would like to apologise for the incident of three nights past. If he had known that such damage would have been caused he would never have done it." Sirius paused and then, in a quieter voice continued, "I'm really sorry, Remus."
Closing the door behind him, Sirius walked down the corridor, his head hanging. All he wanted now was a place to hide until he got home, then he would try to avoid his mother for the next six weeks. He sighed; it was not looking like a fun summer ahead.
XOXOX
"You leave this house, boy, and you leave this family." his mother hissed.
For the first fortnight Sirius had had to put up with his mother's attentions; over the last five years he had grown used to her nasty comments and snide remarks. It was almost a ritual that he would get the whole 'disgrace to this noble house' and 'blood traitor' bit at least twice a week during summer.
When he had arrived home this summer, things were different; she had been praising him for coming up with a plan to 'rid the world of filthy half-bloods', showing him off to friends and relations, conveniently overlooking the whole Gryffindor issue for the first time ever.
Then his brother had come home from their cousin's. Regulus had had a quiet word with their mother and everything had changed. Sirius wished he knew what had been said, because the last week had been hell; instead of contenting herself with commenting on the shame that was Sirius, Walburga Black had been using her wand on the unfortunate boy.
All of which had led to where Sirius was now; standing at the front door of 12 Grimmauld Place, trunk floating serenely beside him, being threatened with disinheritance if he stepped out of the door.
"Thanks for the offer, mother dearest, but I'd rather fight a rampaging Hippogriff than remain where I'm not wanted." Sirius spat, "I've had enough of your backwards pureblood ideals, over inflated egos, and distorted values."
"You are no child of mine!" screeched Walburga.
"Too true." retorted Sirius, glad to be finally free of his hated family, "See you at school, Reggie."
With those words Sirius Black turned his back on centuries of pureblood heritage and left his only living family for good.
Throwing out his wand hand, Sirius summoned the Knight Bus, its lurid purple colour bursting into view seconds later. Getting on board, Sirius felt a wrench deep in his gut; he had always known somehow that it would come to this, but he hadn't thought it would be so soon.
"Godric's Hollow." he requested, fighting the tightness in his throat.
The journey was punctuated by lurches and general bad driving, throwing the confused boy from his seat more than once before they reached his destination. Leaving what felt like his last link to a previous existence, Sirius walked through the village, dusk slowly settling around him as he made his way to the Potter's.
Looking up at the small but well-kept house, Sirius was glad that he had friends, even if he was wary of the reception he would get from James. After knocking, the door was opened by Mrs Potter, a middle-aged woman with dark brown hair and an open smile.
"Sirius! What are you doing here? Come in, come in." she said, ushering the lad into the hall before calling up the stairs, "James! Sirius is here!"
In the face of Maria's natural kindness Sirius felt the barriers he had put in place when he had made the decision to leave suddenly fall. It hit him hard, his vision clouding for long moments as he tried to come to terms with it all; he had left home. So caught up in his emotions, he failed to hear James' heavy footsteps on the stairs, or the feel of Maria Potter's arms as they wrapped around him. Tears trickled down his face, and he struggled to catch his breath against the unexpected sobs shaking his body.
"Padfoot?" the soft voice of James broke into his distress, "What happened?"
"Left...disowned...nowhere else..." Sirius hic-sobbed, not caring that his best friend was seeing him in such a state.
As Maria murmured words of comfort in his ear, letting him release all of the last weeks of anguish and tension, Sirius couldn't help but cling to the woman who he had always felt was more of a mother to him than his own. Slowly the tears let up, leaving him dry-sobbing as he attempted to bring his emotions under control.
James placed a comforting hand on his shoulder saying with a faintly joking tone, "Mr. Prongs accepts the apology that Mr. Padfoot gave on the train, and invites Mr. Padfoot to stay for as long as he needs. On the condition that he stop the caterwauling." James turned to his mum, adding, "If that's alright, mum?"
"Of course it is." Maria said, shaking her head lightly in amusement.
Sirius untangled himself from James' mum and gave the other boy a serious look, "Are you sure? Even after...everything?"
"Wouldn't have said it otherwise."
XOXOX
Sirius played with the quill as he thought, the parchment laid out before him ready for his words, but he couldn't find the right ones. This wasn't the first time this summer he'd tried to write to Remus, and each time he'd failed to construct a single sentence that didn't sound stilted and formal. He knew the sentiment he wanted to get across, yet somehow he didn't think writing 'Stop being an idiot and forgive me' would have the effect he wanted. Besides, Remus wasn't the idiot, he was.
Telling Snape the way past the Whomping Willow and exposing him to a transforming Remus was quite likely the most stupid thing he was ever going to do in his life. It was certainly the worst to date. Not mentioning the consequences for him, the effect on the Marauders' friendship had been devastating. If Sirius hadn't left his family and blubbed on Maria Potter's shoulder the moment he got to Godric's Hollow it was likely the situation would still be as bad as when they left school. James had, thankfully, forgiven him, though Sirius believed his hair was going to remain yellow for the rest of the summer. Peter had come around quickly, though being a follower rather than a leader that was pretty normal for him. Remus though...
If Sirius couldn't find a way to write to him and rectify the situation before their sixth year at Hogwarts things wouldn't be pretty. Who knew what the werewolf would do. Would he continue to ignore Sirius? Or would Sirius start having to watch his back inside Gryffindor Tower as well as outside? What ever happened wouldn't be pleasant, which was why he had to write this letter.
Dear Remus... Well, that was a good start.
xoxox
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