Disclaimer: It's all J.K. Rowling's.
Author's Note: Before I start...my condolances to the victims and the family of the victims from last week's tragedy, and a huge thank you to those brave souls involved in the rescue efforts. Seeing such selflessness really makes me proud to be an American. Now, for story-related things: A million apologies for the terrible delay. I know it's no excuse, but writer's block, camp, computer problems, FF.N being down and my cross-country move got the better of me. So sorry! And if there are and "Aftermath and Awakenings" readers here, I'm working on part 9, I swear I am. It should be out…soon. That's all I'm saying. Thank you to all of you wonderful people who reviewed the first part of this. *Please* drop a line telling me what you think! I love hearing input. I've outlined the rest of this series, which will have several parts. Also, here there is one "flashback within a flashback", so please don't be confused! I think it's pretty obvious where that is, though. A huge thank-you to Aria* for beta-ing. (Read her stuff if you want MWPP that's better than this.) That said, please enjoy.
Beyond the Sea of Time
Chapter Two
A Harry Potter Fanfic by Aira
***
"And what are we discussing today?"
Remus, who had just entered the kitchen where he and Harry had been sitting and talking, snapped Sirius out of the realm of his memories. Sirius grinned at his friend. "Just telling Harry about some of our famous adventures!"
"Infamous is more like it," Remus responded with a smile.
"Actually, I was just telling him about Professor Jones."
At this, Harry cleared his throat, and Sirius got on with the tale.
*
"I wonder what that was all about," Sirius mused to James, Remus, and Peter in their dorm later that night.
"The first key is finding out who 'Greg' is," Remus reasoned practically.
"Yeah, I reckon you're right."
"Jones and 'Greg' obviously have an intimate, if not somewhat strained, relationship," Remus continued sensibly. "Maybe he's her…brother? Friend? Husband?"
At the last suggestion, Sirius let out a snort. Who would want to marry a teacher? The look of disgust on James' face made it evident that he was in agreement, while Peter just appeared puzzled.
The four contemplated theories for the next half-hour, but none seemed likely. They were faced with the unpleasant truth: They had no real clues about what Jones had been talking about and had made no progress in unraveling the cryptic conversation.
"We'll just keep an eye out," James declared finally. "You know, watch out for any suspicious behavior."
Sirius went to sleep that night utterly perplexed, yet terribly excited to be involved in what seemed to be a real-life mystery. His thoughts were of fantastical nature as he imagined himself solving the enigma of Professor Jones.
But had Sirius been paying attention, he would have heard muffled sobs from the other end of the room.
A few days later, an event arose which put all investigation to a temporary halt. That is, James had his twelfth birthday.
Sirius, Remus, and Peter had the day beforehand researching charms to surprise James with. Sirius' lips curled slightly as he remembered that excursion…
*
"Look at this one!" Sirius proclaimed, pointing to a page in 'Birthday Magic-Charm Your Friends!'
Remus peered at the page, and gave a low chuckle. "Somehow I doubt that James will appreciate his own parade of miniature elephants singing to him. We're not advanced enough for that charm, anyway."
"You're no fun," Sirius grumbled.
Peter, who had been ignoring this exchange, suddenly cleared his throat. "How about this one?" he asked, pointing to a page in the book he had been reading.
Sirius and Remus looked over the page:
The Fiery Birthday Charm is a spell that nevertheless produces pleasing results. If performed correctly, the person who is having a birthday will awaken to a small, attractive, and entirely safe fireworks display that will end in the words 'Happy Birthday.'
"That sounds great! What a way to surprise, Jamesy, eh? Imagine his face when he wakes up to fireworks!"
Remus, on the other hand, was still reading. "This could be dangerous. 'However, if performed incorrectly, this charm can cause a small explosion or fire,'" he quoted.
Peter suddenly appeared very nervous. "Maybe this isn't the best idea-"
Sirius, who was most unconcerned, cut him off. "It says 'if performed incorrectly.' So we'll 'perform it correctly', no problem. We have nothing to worry about."
*
"Famous last words," Remus muttered as Sirius finished telling the story to Harry.
"Why?" Harry asked, shooting an amused glance at his godfather. "What happened?"
At this, Remus gave a great, loud chuckle, while Sirius turned slightly pink. "Oh, nothing, really…"
Remus laughed even more, and Sirius glared. "Oh, fine…"
And he was once again tangled in the past.
*
Several deafening 'bangs' awoke Sirius the next more. "Huh…wha…?" he murmured, still only half-awake.
He suddenly recalled the Fiery Birthday Charm he and Remus had set around James' bed the previous night, and that realization awoke him like a bucketful of cold water. Eager to see his friend's reaction, he turned his attention towards James.
James' face was a fitting combination of shock and amusement as multicolored sparks danced above his head. He laughed rapturously as they fireworks formed the words 'Happy Birthday', evidently pleased. Sirius whooped in delight at the success of the charm, and Remus and Peter, who were also awake, clapped.
The applause was premature, however. After the words were formed, the fireworks suddenly formed a medium-sized fireball. That in itself was not so terrible; after all, it was even kind of cool. Perhaps the fireball was simply an unmentioned aftereffect of the charm? But when the great ball began to soar through the dormitory at top speed, smoldering any object it came in contact with, things weren't quite so enjoyable. Not at all.
Peter, surprisingly, was the first to recover from the shock of their surprise gone wrong. He quickly pointed his wand out, quietly muttered something, and a small stream of water came streaming out. While this wasn't nearly enough to extinguish the fireball, Remus, Sirius, and James got the idea. All three quickly drew their wands and performed Extinguishing Spells simultaneously.
With a brief sizzling sound, the ball of fire quickly dissolved into nothingness, leaving the four friends with a few damaged belongings, a pile of ashes on the floor, and hurt pride.
Sighing, James, Sirius, Remus, and Peter began the task of cleaning up the ashes. Remus, in spite of the failed charm, was certainly looking quite smug about something. "I hate to say this, Sirius, but…"
"Don't you dare say 'I told you so,'" Sirius warned.
"I did tell you so," Remus finished at the same time.
At breakfast that morning, James received a multitude of packages. "Better start opening all these, mate," Sirius said cheekily, waving aside any feelings of envy that may have arisen at the sight of so many presents.
James' parents and assorted other relatives had given him: A large box of Chocolate Frogs, a book entitled So You Want to Turn Your Best Friend Into A Frog-Advanced Transfiguration for Beginners, various other sweets, and a large bag of an experimental product called "Dungbombs."
"I wonder what those do," James wondered thoughtfully.
"From the sound of them, they probably smell awful," reasoned Peter.
"Oh, wow! Can't wait to try these out on Snape, eh?"
While Sirius grinned at the thought of Snape inflicted by what was most likely an extremely foul odor, he noticed that one package remained unopened. "Hey, Jamesy, you forgot to open that one," he said, pointing.
His friend immediately grabbed the package and began to unwrap it. When James saw the contents, he gasped. "Unbelievable," he murmured. "Unbelievable."
"What is it?"
James grinned as he proudly displayed a light silver cloak. "It's an Invisibility Cloak," he said with great relish.
Sirius' jaw dropped. "Really?" Not waiting for an answer, he continued on hurriedly. "Amazing! Can you even imagine how much we could do with this thing? We could sneak around after curfew unnoticed, hex Snape, steal the teachers' lesson plans…"
He spoke with such enthusiasm and resolve that even Peter, who had appeared somewhat reluctant, appeared excited. Sirius beamed, his mind reeling in all of the exciting possibilities.
Before too long, Christmas holiday came, and with it the usual dose of homework, holiday cheer, and merriment. Peter had returned home for the holidays, but Sirius, James, and Remus had elected to stay here; James because he couldn't stand to spend Christmas with his older sister Christine, Sirius because he thought it would be a good chance to look for secret passages around the castle, and Remus because…well, he hadn't given a reason, actually.
And what a joyous holiday too. The days were long and relaxed, generally spent playing Exploding Snap and devising ways to torture Mr. Norris, Filch's cat. Sirius couldn't help but feel a pang as the final day of vacation approached. After the leisurely fortnight he had just experienced, regular class schedule seemed dull and monotonous. In the middle of a final chess game with James, he noticed that Remus was missing. "Where's Remus?" he asked absently, moving a pawn.
"I dunno. I haven't seen him since yesterday."
"Maybe he's in the hospital wing. We should go visit him."
And so they did, after Sirius annihilated James at chess. On the way to the hospital wing, however, the pair heard voices coming from an empty classroom…
"Let me make this simple for you: You give me the wand and live. Or you don't give me the wand, and you die and I get it anyway."
The voice was cold and devoid of emotion. Sirius gave a shudder. This had to be the "Greg" they'd heard a few months previously. And he had to be talking to…
"It's too dangerous a tool in-in his hands," spoke Professor Jones, trembling.
"I don't deny it. And yet what are you doing with the great Merlin's wand? Not a thing! You are a fool, Joanna. A hopeless, idealistic fool who doesn't even recognize true power when it's all within your grasp. You could do so much with such an artifact-and I'll wager you've never done more than touch the thing. You are hardly worthy of something so powerful! How it fell into your hands is beyond my comprehension. Now step aside and give the wand to those who want to use it."
"N-no, I-I won't."
A mirthless, chilling laugh. "Do what you like. But I give you warning that my Lord is not nearly as patient or as forgiving as I."
"Is that all that they said?" Remus inquired from the hospital bed on which he lay, appearing alarmingly pale and ill.
"Yeah, we think so."
"Hmm. Well, we certainly know more now than we did. So "it" is Merlin's wand. Interesting."
"So what do we do now?" asked a puzzled Sirius.
Even though he looked as though he might perhaps faint from exhaustion, Remus still managed to roll his eyes. "We research, of course. Find out just what this Merlin's wand is and what it can do."
"Oh. Right."
Several days later, Sirius found himself in the library, accompanied by Remus, James, and Peter, whom had been filled in on recent events. The group had started out their research crusade with all the vigor and enthusiasm of four adventurers beginning a new quest. After an hour of research with no luck, however, the fervor faded into nothingness as quickly as a Disappearing Chocolate Frog. Remus alone was still interested in their project, and insisted upon searching one more book.
"Here!" he proclaimed proudly, point at a page.
Sirius leaned over to read:
Merlin's Wand:
Merlin the Magnificent, considered by most to be the most powerful wizard of all time, arranged it so that his powers would not be lost upon his death. Legend has it that during his dying moments, he used his natural abilities to transfer his magical powers to his wand. It is said that any spell cast with this wand is a thousand times stronger than if it were used on an ordinary wand. Even Squibs can perform magic using Merlin's wand. In the hands of a powerful witch or wizard, the owner will be invincible. However, there has yet to be solid proof that such an artifact even exists, and most scholars say Merlin's wand is a wizarding myth.
Sirius thought back to the conversation he'd overheard. "It exists all right," he said softly.
***
Author's Note: Next part should be out…uh, whenever I finish it. J In the meantime, please keep in mind that I am very much motivated by reviews. *hint, hint*
Author's Note: Before I start...my condolances to the victims and the family of the victims from last week's tragedy, and a huge thank you to those brave souls involved in the rescue efforts. Seeing such selflessness really makes me proud to be an American. Now, for story-related things: A million apologies for the terrible delay. I know it's no excuse, but writer's block, camp, computer problems, FF.N being down and my cross-country move got the better of me. So sorry! And if there are and "Aftermath and Awakenings" readers here, I'm working on part 9, I swear I am. It should be out…soon. That's all I'm saying. Thank you to all of you wonderful people who reviewed the first part of this. *Please* drop a line telling me what you think! I love hearing input. I've outlined the rest of this series, which will have several parts. Also, here there is one "flashback within a flashback", so please don't be confused! I think it's pretty obvious where that is, though. A huge thank-you to Aria* for beta-ing. (Read her stuff if you want MWPP that's better than this.) That said, please enjoy.
Beyond the Sea of Time
Chapter Two
A Harry Potter Fanfic by Aira
***
"And what are we discussing today?"
Remus, who had just entered the kitchen where he and Harry had been sitting and talking, snapped Sirius out of the realm of his memories. Sirius grinned at his friend. "Just telling Harry about some of our famous adventures!"
"Infamous is more like it," Remus responded with a smile.
"Actually, I was just telling him about Professor Jones."
At this, Harry cleared his throat, and Sirius got on with the tale.
*
"I wonder what that was all about," Sirius mused to James, Remus, and Peter in their dorm later that night.
"The first key is finding out who 'Greg' is," Remus reasoned practically.
"Yeah, I reckon you're right."
"Jones and 'Greg' obviously have an intimate, if not somewhat strained, relationship," Remus continued sensibly. "Maybe he's her…brother? Friend? Husband?"
At the last suggestion, Sirius let out a snort. Who would want to marry a teacher? The look of disgust on James' face made it evident that he was in agreement, while Peter just appeared puzzled.
The four contemplated theories for the next half-hour, but none seemed likely. They were faced with the unpleasant truth: They had no real clues about what Jones had been talking about and had made no progress in unraveling the cryptic conversation.
"We'll just keep an eye out," James declared finally. "You know, watch out for any suspicious behavior."
Sirius went to sleep that night utterly perplexed, yet terribly excited to be involved in what seemed to be a real-life mystery. His thoughts were of fantastical nature as he imagined himself solving the enigma of Professor Jones.
But had Sirius been paying attention, he would have heard muffled sobs from the other end of the room.
A few days later, an event arose which put all investigation to a temporary halt. That is, James had his twelfth birthday.
Sirius, Remus, and Peter had the day beforehand researching charms to surprise James with. Sirius' lips curled slightly as he remembered that excursion…
*
"Look at this one!" Sirius proclaimed, pointing to a page in 'Birthday Magic-Charm Your Friends!'
Remus peered at the page, and gave a low chuckle. "Somehow I doubt that James will appreciate his own parade of miniature elephants singing to him. We're not advanced enough for that charm, anyway."
"You're no fun," Sirius grumbled.
Peter, who had been ignoring this exchange, suddenly cleared his throat. "How about this one?" he asked, pointing to a page in the book he had been reading.
Sirius and Remus looked over the page:
The Fiery Birthday Charm is a spell that nevertheless produces pleasing results. If performed correctly, the person who is having a birthday will awaken to a small, attractive, and entirely safe fireworks display that will end in the words 'Happy Birthday.'
"That sounds great! What a way to surprise, Jamesy, eh? Imagine his face when he wakes up to fireworks!"
Remus, on the other hand, was still reading. "This could be dangerous. 'However, if performed incorrectly, this charm can cause a small explosion or fire,'" he quoted.
Peter suddenly appeared very nervous. "Maybe this isn't the best idea-"
Sirius, who was most unconcerned, cut him off. "It says 'if performed incorrectly.' So we'll 'perform it correctly', no problem. We have nothing to worry about."
*
"Famous last words," Remus muttered as Sirius finished telling the story to Harry.
"Why?" Harry asked, shooting an amused glance at his godfather. "What happened?"
At this, Remus gave a great, loud chuckle, while Sirius turned slightly pink. "Oh, nothing, really…"
Remus laughed even more, and Sirius glared. "Oh, fine…"
And he was once again tangled in the past.
*
Several deafening 'bangs' awoke Sirius the next more. "Huh…wha…?" he murmured, still only half-awake.
He suddenly recalled the Fiery Birthday Charm he and Remus had set around James' bed the previous night, and that realization awoke him like a bucketful of cold water. Eager to see his friend's reaction, he turned his attention towards James.
James' face was a fitting combination of shock and amusement as multicolored sparks danced above his head. He laughed rapturously as they fireworks formed the words 'Happy Birthday', evidently pleased. Sirius whooped in delight at the success of the charm, and Remus and Peter, who were also awake, clapped.
The applause was premature, however. After the words were formed, the fireworks suddenly formed a medium-sized fireball. That in itself was not so terrible; after all, it was even kind of cool. Perhaps the fireball was simply an unmentioned aftereffect of the charm? But when the great ball began to soar through the dormitory at top speed, smoldering any object it came in contact with, things weren't quite so enjoyable. Not at all.
Peter, surprisingly, was the first to recover from the shock of their surprise gone wrong. He quickly pointed his wand out, quietly muttered something, and a small stream of water came streaming out. While this wasn't nearly enough to extinguish the fireball, Remus, Sirius, and James got the idea. All three quickly drew their wands and performed Extinguishing Spells simultaneously.
With a brief sizzling sound, the ball of fire quickly dissolved into nothingness, leaving the four friends with a few damaged belongings, a pile of ashes on the floor, and hurt pride.
Sighing, James, Sirius, Remus, and Peter began the task of cleaning up the ashes. Remus, in spite of the failed charm, was certainly looking quite smug about something. "I hate to say this, Sirius, but…"
"Don't you dare say 'I told you so,'" Sirius warned.
"I did tell you so," Remus finished at the same time.
At breakfast that morning, James received a multitude of packages. "Better start opening all these, mate," Sirius said cheekily, waving aside any feelings of envy that may have arisen at the sight of so many presents.
James' parents and assorted other relatives had given him: A large box of Chocolate Frogs, a book entitled So You Want to Turn Your Best Friend Into A Frog-Advanced Transfiguration for Beginners, various other sweets, and a large bag of an experimental product called "Dungbombs."
"I wonder what those do," James wondered thoughtfully.
"From the sound of them, they probably smell awful," reasoned Peter.
"Oh, wow! Can't wait to try these out on Snape, eh?"
While Sirius grinned at the thought of Snape inflicted by what was most likely an extremely foul odor, he noticed that one package remained unopened. "Hey, Jamesy, you forgot to open that one," he said, pointing.
His friend immediately grabbed the package and began to unwrap it. When James saw the contents, he gasped. "Unbelievable," he murmured. "Unbelievable."
"What is it?"
James grinned as he proudly displayed a light silver cloak. "It's an Invisibility Cloak," he said with great relish.
Sirius' jaw dropped. "Really?" Not waiting for an answer, he continued on hurriedly. "Amazing! Can you even imagine how much we could do with this thing? We could sneak around after curfew unnoticed, hex Snape, steal the teachers' lesson plans…"
He spoke with such enthusiasm and resolve that even Peter, who had appeared somewhat reluctant, appeared excited. Sirius beamed, his mind reeling in all of the exciting possibilities.
Before too long, Christmas holiday came, and with it the usual dose of homework, holiday cheer, and merriment. Peter had returned home for the holidays, but Sirius, James, and Remus had elected to stay here; James because he couldn't stand to spend Christmas with his older sister Christine, Sirius because he thought it would be a good chance to look for secret passages around the castle, and Remus because…well, he hadn't given a reason, actually.
And what a joyous holiday too. The days were long and relaxed, generally spent playing Exploding Snap and devising ways to torture Mr. Norris, Filch's cat. Sirius couldn't help but feel a pang as the final day of vacation approached. After the leisurely fortnight he had just experienced, regular class schedule seemed dull and monotonous. In the middle of a final chess game with James, he noticed that Remus was missing. "Where's Remus?" he asked absently, moving a pawn.
"I dunno. I haven't seen him since yesterday."
"Maybe he's in the hospital wing. We should go visit him."
And so they did, after Sirius annihilated James at chess. On the way to the hospital wing, however, the pair heard voices coming from an empty classroom…
"Let me make this simple for you: You give me the wand and live. Or you don't give me the wand, and you die and I get it anyway."
The voice was cold and devoid of emotion. Sirius gave a shudder. This had to be the "Greg" they'd heard a few months previously. And he had to be talking to…
"It's too dangerous a tool in-in his hands," spoke Professor Jones, trembling.
"I don't deny it. And yet what are you doing with the great Merlin's wand? Not a thing! You are a fool, Joanna. A hopeless, idealistic fool who doesn't even recognize true power when it's all within your grasp. You could do so much with such an artifact-and I'll wager you've never done more than touch the thing. You are hardly worthy of something so powerful! How it fell into your hands is beyond my comprehension. Now step aside and give the wand to those who want to use it."
"N-no, I-I won't."
A mirthless, chilling laugh. "Do what you like. But I give you warning that my Lord is not nearly as patient or as forgiving as I."
"Is that all that they said?" Remus inquired from the hospital bed on which he lay, appearing alarmingly pale and ill.
"Yeah, we think so."
"Hmm. Well, we certainly know more now than we did. So "it" is Merlin's wand. Interesting."
"So what do we do now?" asked a puzzled Sirius.
Even though he looked as though he might perhaps faint from exhaustion, Remus still managed to roll his eyes. "We research, of course. Find out just what this Merlin's wand is and what it can do."
"Oh. Right."
Several days later, Sirius found himself in the library, accompanied by Remus, James, and Peter, whom had been filled in on recent events. The group had started out their research crusade with all the vigor and enthusiasm of four adventurers beginning a new quest. After an hour of research with no luck, however, the fervor faded into nothingness as quickly as a Disappearing Chocolate Frog. Remus alone was still interested in their project, and insisted upon searching one more book.
"Here!" he proclaimed proudly, point at a page.
Sirius leaned over to read:
Merlin's Wand:
Merlin the Magnificent, considered by most to be the most powerful wizard of all time, arranged it so that his powers would not be lost upon his death. Legend has it that during his dying moments, he used his natural abilities to transfer his magical powers to his wand. It is said that any spell cast with this wand is a thousand times stronger than if it were used on an ordinary wand. Even Squibs can perform magic using Merlin's wand. In the hands of a powerful witch or wizard, the owner will be invincible. However, there has yet to be solid proof that such an artifact even exists, and most scholars say Merlin's wand is a wizarding myth.
Sirius thought back to the conversation he'd overheard. "It exists all right," he said softly.
***
Author's Note: Next part should be out…uh, whenever I finish it. J In the meantime, please keep in mind that I am very much motivated by reviews. *hint, hint*