Chapter One
Of Wizards, Princes, and Thieves
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He sat in the chair, his back ramrod straight, hands in his lap, and head bowed forward so that his long brown hair, unbound at the moment, fell over his shoulders to veil his face. His left hand went to the claw shaped ruby hanging from a gold chain around his neck. It pulsed comfortingly beneath his fingers and he took a deep breath and brushed his hair from his face, wiping away any trace of tears.
His composure regained, he bound his hair back from his face with a white hair tie and stood. Pulling back the curtains from the large windows, he unlatched it and pushed it open, gazing out across the castle grounds and to the city beyond the walls. An airship could be seen on the horizon, it's hull dark against the setting sun. He sighed. It was nearly time.
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Entering the city had been easier than Severus had anticipated. He had always heard stories of the power of Gryffindor's army, but upon entering the city, he had just been waved through the gate with barely a glance. They had been paying more attention to the crowd of nobles from Ravenclaw. He adjusted his hood and proceeded down the street into a crowd of people. He didn't blend in particularly well, but a simple cloaking spell, muttered under his breath as a young woman gazed curiously at him, handled that little problem quite well.
The Kingdom of Gryffindor was the largest of the five kingdoms on the continent of Hogwarts; it's territory including the Forbidden Forest and the expansive land beyond leading to the Mist Cavern. The main city was built around the grand palace in a style that seemed to have been pulled out of a medieval fantasy than any sort of real design. Classic style building of gray stone and yellowing plaster made up most of the homes and businesses.
To Severus the place seemed to glow with color and light, a strange turn from Slytherin, the City of Eternal Night. Perhaps it was more than just the architecture, he thought, but the lack of poverty and dark magic that made the city seem so much more wholesome.
Severus found the whole thing irritating at best and wanted to be gone from the city and the kingdom as quickly as possible. He had been ordered here and as soon as he had completed the task assigned to him, he would leave.
Gryffindor was a city devoted to war. It had been nearly two centuries since the last war, but Gryffindor had honed her skills. They excelled in the art of weapons, their creation, use, and mastery. If one wished to master the use of a spear, one had only to come to Gryffindor and they were sure to find someone willing to take on the task. It was here that the continents most powerful swordsman lived, the great General Granger, leader of the Gryffindor army.
Severus had been certain to learn all that he could about the great kingdom before he had come. If one came to a city with the purpose of stealing a prince, one had to know what he would need to do in order to not get caught stealing said prince.
Apparently it was going to be easier than he had imagined. What a shame.
Too busy thinking about his ruined plans to kidnap the Gryffindor prince, Severus nearly didn't see the man dressed flamboyantly in orange and blue standing only a few feet away, an amplifier to his mouth.
"…in honor of Prince Remus' seventeenth birthday, a performance of 'I Want To Be Your Canary' by Sir Wilhelm of Ravenclaw by the Marauder theatre troupe has been arranged! The play will begin prompt at eight!"
Severus didn't bother stopping to listen to whatever else the man was shouting. He moved with a group of people through the castle gate. The two soldiers standing at attention didn't even glance at him. Smirking, he shook his head; this was really going to be too easy.
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"Where the hell have you been?" Dora asked looking up from the deck of cards she was shuffling absently. Sitting back in her chair, she had her feet up on the table. Her pink hair was spiked, a few strands falling into her blue eyes.
"Checking out security," Sirius answered with a grin, leaning against the door jamb.
"And?" Aberforth, standing at the far end of the dimly lit room, asked. He was dressed in a flowing robe and holding a fake gold crown in his hands.
"It'll be easy."
Alastor snorted.
"Don't get your hopes up, boy," he growled. "We ought to make sure we've got the plan down."
"We went over it an hour ago!" Dora whined.
The cards in her hands exploded and she yelped in surprise, falling backwards onto the floor. Rolling back onto her feet, she coughed, brushing soot and burnt card pieces from the wine red suit she was wearing for the play. Kingsley, standing a few feet away laughed and she glared at him while Sirius and Emmeline, sitting in the chair closest to Dora, exchanged shared looks over amusement. Emmeline was wearing a dark green dress with a shawl draped over her shoulder.
"I'd say we need to go over it again," Aberforth said easily.
Dora sat down again and everyone turned their attention to their leader who was still fiddling with the crown in his hands.
"All right, let's go over this step by step," he said. "Once the plays start, Sirius and Dora are going to sneak into the castle. That'll be easy enough. From there," he pointed to Sirius and Dora, "you'll have about twenty minutes between the duel and the final scene to find the prince and get him alone. That'll be the hardest part, but Dora mentioned something about using Puffskeins to get the royal family off of the balcony. You'll drug the prince and bring him to the airship. We'll leave as soon as the curtain falls."
"It sounds easy," Alastor said lowly, "but I'm betting something will go wrong."
Dora sighed.
"You say that every time we take a job and nothing ever goes wrong."
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Captain Ronald Weasley stood on the left side of the massive doors leading from the balcony into the royal chambers. He gazed over at General Granger standing on the opposite side. One of Granger's hands was resting easily on the hilt of her great sword, her brown eyes watching the king and prince carefully, her brown eyes narrowed. He followed her gaze to the prince and his eyes widened.
The prince had his head bowed forward and from his angle, he could see that the prince wasn't even watching the stage, his hand clutched tightly around the Lion's Claw hanging around his neck. He frowned. King Cornelius was clapping with the rest of the crowd, oblivious to his son's inattention.
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Aberforth walked out onto the stage and held up his arms to signal quiet from the crowd. He smiled serenely and straightened up slightly before he spoke.
"Ladies and Gentlemen, tonight's performance is a story that takes place many years ago. A tale of star crossed lovers torn apart by our heroine's father, King Leo. Our story begins on the night of the lovers meeting. A tale of love and tragedy, we present to you on this most auspicious day of Prince Remus' seventeenth birthday, 'I Want To Be Your Canary'!"
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King Cornelius was enjoying the play, his eyes watching the actors move around on stage carefully while Remus kept most of his focus on his lap. He wouldn't have much time to sneak aboard the airship before it left. Only a few minutes perhaps. It wouldn't do for them to discover they had a stowaway until it was too late to turn back. He sighed, shifting impatiently in his chair and looked up toward the stage.
One of the characters, a dark haired man, was talking passionately to a smaller male with pink hair. Both of them held swords. Remus paid only the smallest bit of attention to what was being said. He knew when the final scene would begin and he knew exactly when he would be able to excuse himself from the balcony.
"Consider this, Zidane! If Princess Cornelia were to marry Prince Snyder, peace would reign over both their kingdoms!" said the pink-haired woman.
"'Tis foolishness!" the dark haired man snapped. "If all were so easy, why none would suffer in this world!"
Remus' eyes narrowed and he stood slowly. That was his cue.
"I shall be back in a moment, father," he said quietly, hoping that perhaps his father wouldn't notice him leaving.
He didn't.
With a sigh of relief, Remus made his escape, ignoring the fact that Weasley and Granger both looked after him in some confusion.
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The swordfight had been carefully planned. They had fought their way through the crowd, exchanging blows and words, and then disappeared into the castle just as the scene ended. Dora was a few paces ahead of Sirius in the hallway. She found the guards first and took them out, with a well-placed knock to the head from the hilt of her dagger. They both fell to the ground, the metal armor making a loud crash as it hit the stone floor.
"Sorry," Dora whispered, looking apologetic as Sirius neared.
"Doesn't matter. Let's get moving. We haven't got much time."
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Really, it was too simple. Severus stood easily in one of the dark hallways of the castle, his black eyes looking back and forth carefully. He had been hoping for something interesting, a few guards at the very least. This wasn't going to be nearly as fun as he'd hoped.
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If Remus had been anyone else, he would have screamed. Or maybe if he hadn't seen his attacker a few seconds before he had been grabbed. He was pulled tightly against an armored chest. Was this one of the knights? He realized with a start that he was having trouble breathing and struggled for a moment. A dagger was pressed to his throat. He froze.
"Well, we were going to drug you, but this works too," a voice spoke in his ear. "Come on Your Highness."
"I would suggest that you release him," a cold, angry voice said from the end of the hallway.
Remus' eyes widened in surprise as a tall, imposing figure walked down the hallways toward them: a Black Mage. Remus cried out in alarm and attempted to move closer to the man who was holding him.
"What are you going to do to me, huh?" the man holding Remus demanded. "You're weaponless."
"I don't need a weapon," the hooded figure said, lifting his right hand up quickly.
Flames erupted from his extended palm, forming a brilliant orange flame that rested in the mage's hand, flickering and radiating heat. Remus closed his eyes and concentrated on his own magical reserves.
"You wouldn't dare," the man growled. "I've got the prince."
"Who said I needed him unharmed?" the mage asked and he threw the ball of fire toward them both.
"Protego!" there was a burst of red magic and a blast of hot hair brushed over Remus and then disappeared. He fell to the floor, the man behind him falling over as well, and watched as the fire spell hit the sparkling red barrier hanging between him and the Black Mage.
"Nice," looking back, Remus saw the armored man grinning at him. His skin was tanned from prolonged exposure to the sun and his black hair fell loosely down his back nearly to his waist. He certainly didn't look like a kidnapper. "Guess you're not as weak as I thought."
"I will have you know tha-," Remus started, but the black haired man reached down and hoisted him to his feet, urging him to the other end of the hallway where a pink haired woman stood waiting for them.
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Severus gazed after the two armored figures as they forced the prince down the hall and around a corner. The prince tripped once, but the black haired thief only pulled him up and forced him to walk faster. Before the barrier fell, they were out of sight. With a growl of frustration, Severus started after them. It was going to be a much more difficult task then he had thought. Good.
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Next Chapter: Exiting Gryffindor proves more difficult then one would hope...