Title: Game of Houses
Author: Shades
Rating: PG-13, perhaps R later on
Pairings: DM/HP, RW/HG, SF/DT
Summary: AU In a world divided into four lands, in an era threatened by the rising threat of the exiled ones, two rival kingdoms start negotiations to find a truce between themselves after centuries of fighting, to stand up against the whispering threat of Lord Voldemort, King of the Exiles. What the people of Gryffindor do not know however, is that the Slytherin rulers have already chosen a side in anticipation of the beneath-the-surface war – and it is not theirs. In these most unfortunate and wary times, a surprise of love begins to blossom…will it be crushed by betrayal?
Warning: PS/SS, CoS, PoA, GoF suggestions. NO OotP! I will NEVER acknowledge that book as part of HP world! Do you hear me Rowling?!? shakes fist Fifth book never came out for me! There might be some similarities between the stories but I will NOT follow that thing called the fifth book! There is slash however so if that isn't your cup of tea, please leave and don't flame me. Thanks!
Disclaimer: glowers No, I don't own Harry Potter or all its characters. hisses This story is mine however, no matter how many times the idea has been used over and over again. rolls eyes MINE. Steal any of my writing and I will hunt you down with my army of rabbits, Canary From Hell – Kaiba – and the Mother of All Evil. Seriously
------- is Change of Scene
xxxxxx is Flashback
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Prologue
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He stood in the doorway silently for a moment, hidden in the shadows, listening to the soft noise of the crowd of people below the balcony, listening to the worried whispers, the anxious murmurs, the frightened breathing.
He had nothing to reassure them with.
Taking a deep breath, Sirius Black hid away his grief and pain and exhaustion, his own fear and worry, covering it with the needed calm to face the restless people of Gryffindor.
'James should be the one talking with them,' the young Black thought dully as he stepped out of the shadows and onto the lighted balcony. A flash of pain and shame flooded him and his mask slipped for a moment before he reigned in his grief once more.
The Gryffindorian crowd looked up and the soft talk rose in volume, rose in apprehension as they saw the kingdom's Master of Arms standing quietly on the gold glided balcony instead of their respected king, his normally mischievous blue eyes dull and smiling face strangely grim and tired. He raised a hand and the people fell silent as they recognized the sign for quiet. Their worry radiated heavily, expressed in their wide eyes in pale faces, in the families holding one another tightly.
Sirius swallowed painfully as he looked at the families.
Clearing his throat, Sirius pointed his wand at his throat, reciting the sonorous charm quietly. He took a deep breath and looked down at his people, at the people he had sworn to protect with his life, something he had never failed in before.
He had failed today.
"I'm sure most of you have already heard the rumors circulating in the city," he said quietly, his voice echoing througout the town square, his pale blue eyes locked onto the crowd, his attention on them as great as their attention on him. "And for those of you who have not…I am sorry for what I am about to do."
He watched as the people who had listened to the gossip grow paler and those who had been oblivious grow even more uneasy. He paused for a moment, his mouth uncertain, wondering how he was to break such news in an easy manner when there was none. He had never been the diplomat, that had been Remus and Lily's…
He closed his eyes.
He took another breath and opened them again.
"The King and Queen are dead."
The crowd froze.
"They were found this afternoon," he continued quietly, his voice echoing throughout the deathly silent square, taking advantage of the shock before the people dissolved. "They were both found dead in the middle of lunch, their goblets inches from their hands so we are assuming it was an assassination attempt." His eyes darkened briefly, with grief and guilt. "An investigation has already been launched, led by me, and we will do everything in our power to find that those culpable are brought to justice. All borders will be closed until further notice and no one is to leave the city."
Soft sounds of disbelief, whimpers and gentle sobbing, began to rise in the square and Sirius swallowed once again, hating himself and fighting not to break down with them.
"The…the Prince," he continued, blinking away the tears, "was also found unconscious with his parents." The fear grew and he quickly continued. "We are fortunate, as the Prince's goblet was almost full, suggesting that he did not imbibe much of the poison. At the moment, he is being treated by the best Healers in the land and word will be sent of his condition on further developments but the physicians say he has a good chance." He took another breath, unheeding of the small brief, breath of relief from the crowd. "As our ancient custom calls, when he recovers, he will immediately beginning his court training. When he finally comes to the appropriate age of ten, he will ascend the throne,accompanied with advisors chosen by the people, whom will guide him until he reaches the formal age of eighteen. Until then, Lord Arthur of the House of Weasley will act as Steward of Gryffindor and will maintain King James and Queen Lily's laws and edicts already in place."
There were few voices of dissent in the crowd, the House of Weasley being well-respected and slightly related to the royal family.
Sirius swallowed. "At the moment, that is all the news we have to offer you. Go home and grieve if you'd like, Gryffindor, or pray for the Prince, if that is your desire. But rest assured that your Servants will continue on and watch over you, that you can take comfort in. Neither death nor illness will stop that. Fare thee all well, Gryffindor."
As he turned around, the crowd beneath broke out, millions of questions clamoring urgently to be answered, heartfelt wailing coming from the women and children old enough to understand, soft crying unleashed by the older citizens and restricted tears from some of the men who held on to their weeping wives and families.
In his heart, Sirius grieved more than all of them.
He passed Arthur Weasley, dimly nodding his head to the Weasley head, who nodded solemnly back at him, his own blue eyes dull with sadness. As Sirius left, the Weasley walked out to the balcony, taking the task of comforting the crowd as best as he could.
The Weasley head knew too well that Sirius wouldn't be able too.
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Sirius walked numbly through the silent corridors towards the Prince's chamber, taking no notice of the servants running up and down, sometimes pausing to hastily wipe away the tears on their faces.
As he stood outside the quiet bedchambers, Sirius looked dully at the aspen door. He had been here just this morning, to the take the boy to his daily riding lesson and inside the room, the boy's sweet laughter had mixed with his mother's melodious giggling. But now…no child's room should be so silent.
The day had started so normally. The Master of Arms closed his eyes, remembering coming here, playfully slinging the small boy over his shoulders to take him to his lesson as the boy had laughed and shrieked, calling for his mother, who laughed at their antics. Sirius' chest tightened as he remembered her glowing green eyes smiling at him carting away her kicking and laughing son.
Lily would never see her son again. Lily would never laugh with him again.
His hand on the doorknob tightened, his head hanging down, a lone tear escaping his eye as he remembered the young Potter's cheer after the lesson, running to his father who had come to watch, launching himself into James' arms, both uncaring of the boy's dirty clothes and the King's royal robes. Sirius smiled nostalgically as he remembered cheerfully scolding them for getting filthy, then pleading for mercy as both black-haired males tackled him into the mud, him wailing as his prized hair was dirtied.
James would never play with his son again. James would never joke with him again.
He rubbed the tears on his face angrily away and took a deep, shuddering breath. He had to be calm…he had to be okay…he had to think about the present and grieve later.
As he opened the door, he felt a pang of guilt as he caught sight of the pale boy lying on the huge bed in the middle of the dark room. He had lied to the people, lied about the Healers saying the Prince would be fine. The heir of Gryffindor was ill, the unknown poison coursing through his veins and slowly robbing him of his life, stealing him…
Stealing the only real family Sirius had left.
Sirius closed the door quietly, shutting off the light. The figure beside the large bed raised amber eyes to look at him, his pale hand resting on the boy's sweating brow, the other holding a small hand in his own.
"How is he?" Sirius asked quietly, walking silently towards the bed where the young boy lay.
Remus Lupin, Master Scribe, sighed and pulled his hand away from the boy's forehead. Sirius watched as he ran the pale hand through his light brown hair, heavily streaked with gray, dark circles under his haggard and mournful eyes.
"The Healers say they have done the best they could," Remus said quietly, looking sadly down at the boy who breathed laboriously. "They've gone to the library to research anything else they can find because they've tried everything they know and it either does nothing or worsens his condition. They've managed to slow it down but…" The other man trailed off and closed his eyes, bending his head.
Sirius throat tightened and he walked shakily over to Remus. He dropped a hand on the shorter man's shoulder and the brown-haired man raised his own hand to grasp the other's tightly.
"He can't die, Remus," the black-haired man whispered, looking down at the ill child. "He…he can't…"
He shut his eyes tightly and trembled, remembering the afternoon, remembering walking in to tell James about the bottles of missing wine and to play with the young Prince a little.
He trembled even more and felt Remus gently rub his hand as he remembered staring, horrified, at the fallen royal figures, remembered suddenly screaming at the servants to bring Healers, bring them fast, bring them quick, and rushing over to James, terror filling him.
Remembered turning over the prone body, remembered staring at the glazed eyes of his best friend, James' pale face, remembered understanding what it meant. Remembered staggering over to Lily, falling to his knees to look at her half-open eyes, panic and pain and fear in her kind eyes and dead face. Remembered crawling to the fallen form of the small boy, crawling and pulling the cool body, to bring it to him, tears streaming down his eyes, horror and fear pounding in him as he turned to look at him…
"Padfoot?"
Sirius' eyes flew open as he heard the small, weak voice whisper softly from the bed. Blinking, he looked down to see two bright emerald eyes, the exact same of Lily's, looking tiredly at him from a pale, sick face.
For a moment, Sirius was tempted to throw himself at the pale, small figure on the bed, scream at it, tell it to go away and bring back the exuberant small boy it stole from him this afternoon, bring back his first and best friend, bring back his surrogate sister whom he loved dearly, bring back his family…
He banished the thought away and took a deep breath, reminding himself that this small, lonely figure was really his godson and not a figment from his nightmares.
Forcing a gentle smile on his face, Sirius looked down at his godson, pained and soothed by the exact duplicate of James in child form with Lily's eyes. Remus' hand tightened and it was Sirius' turn to soothe it gently.
"Hey kiddo," he whispered, leaning against his other best friend, one of the last remaining two of his family, smiling sadly at the other half.
The tired green eyes moved down slowly to look at the other man. "Moony…"
Remus smiled sorrowfully at the young boy, his unofficial godson. "Hello, poppet…"
The verdant eyes closed and Sirius felt a flash of panic, fearing the worst, before the boy spoke.
"Where's Mum and Da?" the boy whispered exhaustedly.
Sirius swallowed painfully and he thought he heard a soft sob from the man sitting on the chair in front of him. Taking another breath, he whispered, "They had to go somewhere, kiddo."
"Where?" the small boy whispered, eyes still closed.
"Somewhere far," Remus said softly, his hand gently rubbing the boy's. "You won't be able to see them for a while."
The boy was quiet for a moment. When he opened his eyes, they weren't the eyes of a child anymore, beginning to turn into the burdened eyes of an adult.
"Did they go to heaven?" the child whispered.
Sirius closed his eyes and tightened his hand with Remus, felt the other tighten back. "Yes."
The room was silent. Then the small boy whispered, "Will I be going too?"
"No!" Sirius and Remus both suddenly hissed vehemently, Sirius' eyes flying open, fear swirling in them as Remus trembled. The boy blinked tiredly and the godfathers, official and unofficial, took a deep breath.
"No, you're not going to heaven yet, kiddo," Sirius said softly, looking sadly down at the boy's eyes, pained by the fact that he had understood the implied deaths and by the maturing look in his eyes. His eyes hardened slightly. "I'm not letting you go there yet."
The small four-year-old boy looked at his godfather, a slightly hurt look in his eyes. "You won't let me go with Mum and Da?"
Sirius flinched and Remus leaned forward, dropping his best friend's hand to gently stroke the boy's face. "It's not that, poppet," the young Scribe whispered softly, sorrow underlying his words. "It's just that you're too young, it's too early for you to go yet. And we don't want you to go…we don't want to lose you too…"
"Have I lost Mum and Da then?" the small child whispered, a flicker of fear in his eyes.
"No, you haven't, kiddo," Sirius whispered firmly, moving to sit on the bed. The boy's eyes shifted to him and he smiled sadly. "Your parents will always be with you and they will always love you, even if you can't see or feel it. But they're there and you're just going to have to trust me. You'll go to them one day, one day far off, when you're nice and old and fat and losing all your hair and teeth."
The boy giggled weakly, a small flicker of life in his dull eyes and Sirius smiled back sorrowfully before continuing. "You'll be with them again, kiddo, but right now, it's too soon. Me and Moony need you here. Others need you. You have to stay, kiddo, so don't go rushing away from us just yet."
The green eyes looked up at him, tired and sick and maturing, and Sirius felt his heart break at them, his blue eyes meeting them sadly and painfully and guiltily. He sighed when the boy nodded slowly, his eyes prickling with tears once more.
"I'll stay, Padfoot," the young Prince murmured and Sirius smiled at him softly. "But…can I get a hug from both of you?"
Sirius' throat tightened and he heard Remus let out a shaky sigh. "Of course, poppet," the amber-eyed man murmured quietly, moving to sit on the bed and drawing the small child into his lap, his arms holding him closely. Sirius wrapped his arms around his best friend and godson, holding them both tightly to his chest.
Harry Potter, former Heir Prince and now future King of Gryffindor, rested between his godfathers, his soft emerald eyes half closed. "I love you Padfoot, Moony…"
"Love you too," the two whispered to their young surrogate child, holding him tightly. Sirius closed his eyes, breathing in their warmth and presence. 'I'm never letting either of you go,' Sirius thought fiercely to himself. 'I swear by both of you, whom I hold most dear, above Gryffindor and my life and everything else, I will never let anything happen to either of you. I will never let either of you go…'
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In another kingdom, far away, a white-blonde haired six-year-old boy looked up at the starry night sky, sitting down on his balcony with his knees drawn to his chest and arms wrapped around them. Bright silver eyes lit up and he smiled when he saw two unusual shooting stars, streaking across the blue-black night sky.
As he stood, dusting himself off, he smiled and wished for a pair of shining emerald stars like those.
xoxoxoxoxoxoxo
Author's Notes: Woo, this fic has been a long time in coming, I was almost beginning to lose inspiration. Yes, the title comes from a book series, if anyone can guess what series, I'll dedicate a chapter to them (it's really good, go read, hint hint). The next chapter is written but I won't post it yet cuz I have other things to write as well coughQyecough. I have no idea how this story will be written, it's all in my head, so don't expect consistent updates.
(Draco) You? Consistent?
(Harry) smacks blonde Shut up, don't make her mad! You've seen what she does to Lest!
(Draco) rubs head sulkily
…right. mutters Damn muses….sighs Anyway, til next time!