The first thing that Remus did was cast a magical barrier around the room.
He wanted no interruptions during the energy transfer. This shield was not
a standard one. Being one of his personal creations; it was designed not
only to protect an area from spying and magical look-ins, it also
suppressed the magical signature of the caster. It was a very complicated
and even draining spell, but Remus had no choice. Contained inside the
school were many locater objects, including his very own Marauder's Map. He
could be tracked down. Some curious individual could discover his location
and decide to see what he was up to. If he was distracted, it could spell
disaster. He was taking no chances.
He also placed a ward upon the door. Remus was less sure about the effectiveness of this spell; the room was always open to those that needed it. But it was worth an attempt, and perhaps it would discourage any unwelcome visitors.
He moved one of the armchairs closer to the center of the room with a flick of his wand. This was going to drain him utterly. It he ended up collapsing, Remus wanted it to be in a soft chair, as opposed to the cold stone floor.
Remus positioned the chair so that the orb would be within reach, and then sat down. He studied the orb; it really didn't look like an object of great power. It was much smaller than a crystal ball, easily held in the palm of one's hand. From far away, the orb had appeared to have a smoky color, as if it had been made with some form of impure rock. From closer observation, Remus discovered that this effect was caused by the tiny string-like tendrils interconnecting inside the sphere. It looked almost exactly like a large jumble of spider webs, except for the fact that each of the small lines was glowing faintly.
And the lines were not fixed in place. They were moving slightly, changing direction and rejoining with other strands. It looked like a living, breathing creature.
Remus had never seen anything like it before.
He stared, fascinated, at the orb for a moment longer. Then he closed his eyes and began to focus his energy.
He forced himself to relax, letting go of all anxiety and worrisome emotions. Control was essential here. It took a while, but he felt the tension slowly seep out of him. When he finally thought he was in a good enough mind-set to handle the transference, he placed his finger-tips upon the orb. The book hadn't mentioned this, but he thought it would help give him a better focus.
This was it. There was no turning back.
Remus took a deep breath, and invoked the orb.
Sirius Black.
He felt a jolt of energy grab at his fingers, rooting them to the orb. It prickled, and burned with its intensity, but Remus barely had time to notice. He was concentrating on Sirius as hard as possible, forcing his mind to think of nothing else.
Sirius' face, conversations, childhood pranks, the animagi transformations.all of this flashed through his mind. Remus gasped with the pain of forcing his awareness through memories he had long tried to forget, but he didn't stop. He didn't dare.
Still more. His first meeting with Sirius, their creation of the Marauder's map, his reunion in the shrieking shack, Sirius' body falling to the floor in the Ministry of Magic.
Tears were rolling down Remus' cheeks. Still he focused as hard as possible, every fiber of his being used in concentration. He was latching on so hard that he began to feel light in the head.
But no, it wasn't just his head that was beginning to hurt. He was losing sensation in his legs and arms as well. He felt tired, exhausted. Almost like.
Like his energy was being drained from his body.
It's working!
Remus pushed that miniscule cry of happiness as quickly as possible. Focusing on anything else right now would mean failure and possibly death. He had to be intent on his memories of Sirius.
And so he was. Even though it hurt, he allowed thoughts about nothing else.
Sirius.Sirius.Sirius.
The energy drain was more pronounced. If he hadn't been sitting down, he definitely would have fallen. Remus felt like the only thing that was holding him up was his physical attachment to the orb. Perhaps it was.
Still he concentrated on Sirius. How he laughed, the savage look in his eye when he was angry, the gaunt, animal-like creature he had become while in Azkaban. Everything he loved about Sirius, and everything he disliked, Remus took it into himself, and used it as energy to feed the transfer.
But the orb was still leeching his energy away. Remus had never felt so drained in his entire life. The process was consuming him alive, stealing reserves that Remus didn't even know he had.
And it didn't stop. If Remus had had any energy to spare, he would have panicked. He was going on empty, and still the orb wanted more.
But he had no energy to spare. He was still intent on Sirius. He couldn't think about anything other that Sirius. Remus didn't even remember who he was anymore. He was focusing on the only thing that mattered, and that was Sirius.
More and more and more.
Still the orb was consuming his energy. Remus (or what remained of Remus) began to lose consciousness. For the briefest second, Remus' concentration faltered. He was losing. He was going to die, and he would never see Sirius again.
No!
The ferocity of that thought gave him access to the little bit of strength that he had left. With an inhuman effort, Remus thought about Sirius again, and his need for him. The transfer resumed. He was giving the last dregs of his life energy to the orb, but he didn't care. If he had to die.at least it was in the attempt of finding his beloved.
The draining slowed, and then stopped.
His fingertips slid off the orb. Now that he was no longer being held in place, he really did collapse. He leaned feebly against the arm of his chair, feeling weaker than he ever had in his entire life. He didn't even have the energy to tremble from exhaustion. But he had to know, had to see. With a superhuman effort, Remus opened his eyes.
The orb was glowing.
He was too tired to know if this was correct reaction from the orb. At least he had gotten a response.
Remus assumed that the orb was using his life-energy to search the spirit plane for Sirius. There was nothing he could do but wait. He closed his eyes and rested. Or perhaps he lost consciousness; it was difficult to tell.
He didn't know how much time had passed before he was roused. Something, a light noise in the background, attracted his attention. He stirred, and opened his eyes.
Snape was standing in the doorway.
For a second, it didn't register. And then, it did.
Snape was standing in the doorway.
He was taking in the situation: Remus, looking drained, leaning weakly against a chair. The carpet with runes. The glowing orb in the center of the room.
And there was a strange light reflected in his eyes that made Remus go cold with dread. Remus tried to speak. He opened his mouth and formed words, but nothing came out. Commanding his tired body to work for a little longer, he tried again.
"What.what are you doing here, Severus?"
Snape smiled a smile utterly devoid of warmth. There was something here.and he knew it.
"Such a curiosity, Remus. I was working in my office, and I discovered that a certain room on the seventh floor, this room actually, mysteriously disappeared off magical radar. Quite puzzling, you must imagine. There was a seal on the door, can you imagine? And when I broke it down, the door opened..and I found you."
With his nostrils flaring, Snape gave the distinct impression of a mad bull, readying itself for a fatal charge.
"Perhaps you would care to explain.all of this, Remus?"
Remus was too tired to rack his brains for a good excuse. He had prepared for the possibility of intrusion, but for that person to be Snape....This was beyond abysmal.
He would look for the slightest excuse to tarnish Remus' already dingy name.
"Severus, please. I will try to explain. You see -"
But Snape wasn't listening to Remus. His eyes were focused on something else. Remus followed his gaze, and discovered that he was looking at the orb.
And with good reason. The orb was losing its glow, but silver mists where exiting the sphere. It kept transferring, until the orb was the original color of dull white. Hovering around the orb of Amina, the cloud began to shape itself into a strange form. At first, Remus thought it would become a person, but it soon folded over and became more compact.
Almost like..a very large dog.
Remus felt like crying with relief. It had worked! It really had. He could talk to Sirius now, and he wouldn't be so alone.
Snape however, obviously perceived the unfolding events differently. He was breathing shallowly, and his eyes were beady with suspicion. He looked wary, and furious, with perhaps a touch of fear as well.
"What have you been doing, Remus? This room is full of dark magic. Do you think I am a fool, and wouldn't notice?"
Remus shook his head, and quickly wished he hadn't. He was so weak. "Not black magic, Severus.. Calm down for a minute and list-"
"I told Dumbledore you were not to be trusted.I have always known. But he had faith." Snape spat the word. "That you, the tame werewolf, were on our side. But now- I have proof! You will be exiled, and everyone will know that I was right!"
Snape pulled out his wand and pointed it directly at the orb.
"But first, I will put an end to your treacherous magic."
Remus felt sheer panic. Snape couldn't destroy the orb! He had given up so much of himself in order to power the sphere.to have it taken from his grasp, when he was so close! He couldn't allow it.
"You can't do that, Severus."
His fear gave him the strength to rise out of the chair and start towards Snape. Clearly taking this action as a threat, Snape readied his wand. His eyes were wild, and he looked dangerous.
"I can.and I will."
"No!" cried Remus. But it was too late.
Snape was already uttering a spell. A blue light shot out of his wand and struck the sphere directly in the center. The orb absorbed the energy, turning a pale shade of blue in the process. And then.the light strengthened. It began to grow brighter and brighter, until it was almost painful to look at.
Snape was clearly taken aback.
"What is this, Remus?!"
But Remus didn't know. He couldn't take his eyes off the orb. Whatever was happening though, it wasn't supposed to.
The light began to move beyond the boundaries of the orb. It reminded Remus of the auras he had glimpsed during his magical studies.except this one was far more powerful.
The light stopped moving. It gave off the appearance of pure, crystallized energy. For that one moment, it hung there, radiating enough power to eclipse a small moon.
And then, the crystal shattered.
It was as if a rubber band that had been holding the orb in place had been released. The concentrated light had diverged into smaller beams, and was hurtling everywhere, rebounding off the walls. It was incredible.
Four beams of light converged into a larger one and headed directly towards Remus. He stood, rooted to the spot where he was standing. He couldn't move. The light went directly into him; Remus couldn't tell if it had been absorbed by his body, or if it had simply passed through.
Remus watched as Snape set up shield charm in defense against the ricocheting beams. It did absolutely no good; the light moved as though it wasn't there. The light was converging on Snape now, there was no doubt about it. More and more beams were focusing on him, merging into a shining lattice.
And then, something inside Remus snapped. The last of his energy was gone. He fell on the floor, his head turned to the doorway.
The last thing Remus saw was the look of horror upon Snape's face as the multitude of energy beams surrounded him, drawing tightly together like a noose.
And then, the darkness rushed up. Remus knew nothing more.
He also placed a ward upon the door. Remus was less sure about the effectiveness of this spell; the room was always open to those that needed it. But it was worth an attempt, and perhaps it would discourage any unwelcome visitors.
He moved one of the armchairs closer to the center of the room with a flick of his wand. This was going to drain him utterly. It he ended up collapsing, Remus wanted it to be in a soft chair, as opposed to the cold stone floor.
Remus positioned the chair so that the orb would be within reach, and then sat down. He studied the orb; it really didn't look like an object of great power. It was much smaller than a crystal ball, easily held in the palm of one's hand. From far away, the orb had appeared to have a smoky color, as if it had been made with some form of impure rock. From closer observation, Remus discovered that this effect was caused by the tiny string-like tendrils interconnecting inside the sphere. It looked almost exactly like a large jumble of spider webs, except for the fact that each of the small lines was glowing faintly.
And the lines were not fixed in place. They were moving slightly, changing direction and rejoining with other strands. It looked like a living, breathing creature.
Remus had never seen anything like it before.
He stared, fascinated, at the orb for a moment longer. Then he closed his eyes and began to focus his energy.
He forced himself to relax, letting go of all anxiety and worrisome emotions. Control was essential here. It took a while, but he felt the tension slowly seep out of him. When he finally thought he was in a good enough mind-set to handle the transference, he placed his finger-tips upon the orb. The book hadn't mentioned this, but he thought it would help give him a better focus.
This was it. There was no turning back.
Remus took a deep breath, and invoked the orb.
Sirius Black.
He felt a jolt of energy grab at his fingers, rooting them to the orb. It prickled, and burned with its intensity, but Remus barely had time to notice. He was concentrating on Sirius as hard as possible, forcing his mind to think of nothing else.
Sirius' face, conversations, childhood pranks, the animagi transformations.all of this flashed through his mind. Remus gasped with the pain of forcing his awareness through memories he had long tried to forget, but he didn't stop. He didn't dare.
Still more. His first meeting with Sirius, their creation of the Marauder's map, his reunion in the shrieking shack, Sirius' body falling to the floor in the Ministry of Magic.
Tears were rolling down Remus' cheeks. Still he focused as hard as possible, every fiber of his being used in concentration. He was latching on so hard that he began to feel light in the head.
But no, it wasn't just his head that was beginning to hurt. He was losing sensation in his legs and arms as well. He felt tired, exhausted. Almost like.
Like his energy was being drained from his body.
It's working!
Remus pushed that miniscule cry of happiness as quickly as possible. Focusing on anything else right now would mean failure and possibly death. He had to be intent on his memories of Sirius.
And so he was. Even though it hurt, he allowed thoughts about nothing else.
Sirius.Sirius.Sirius.
The energy drain was more pronounced. If he hadn't been sitting down, he definitely would have fallen. Remus felt like the only thing that was holding him up was his physical attachment to the orb. Perhaps it was.
Still he concentrated on Sirius. How he laughed, the savage look in his eye when he was angry, the gaunt, animal-like creature he had become while in Azkaban. Everything he loved about Sirius, and everything he disliked, Remus took it into himself, and used it as energy to feed the transfer.
But the orb was still leeching his energy away. Remus had never felt so drained in his entire life. The process was consuming him alive, stealing reserves that Remus didn't even know he had.
And it didn't stop. If Remus had had any energy to spare, he would have panicked. He was going on empty, and still the orb wanted more.
But he had no energy to spare. He was still intent on Sirius. He couldn't think about anything other that Sirius. Remus didn't even remember who he was anymore. He was focusing on the only thing that mattered, and that was Sirius.
More and more and more.
Still the orb was consuming his energy. Remus (or what remained of Remus) began to lose consciousness. For the briefest second, Remus' concentration faltered. He was losing. He was going to die, and he would never see Sirius again.
No!
The ferocity of that thought gave him access to the little bit of strength that he had left. With an inhuman effort, Remus thought about Sirius again, and his need for him. The transfer resumed. He was giving the last dregs of his life energy to the orb, but he didn't care. If he had to die.at least it was in the attempt of finding his beloved.
The draining slowed, and then stopped.
His fingertips slid off the orb. Now that he was no longer being held in place, he really did collapse. He leaned feebly against the arm of his chair, feeling weaker than he ever had in his entire life. He didn't even have the energy to tremble from exhaustion. But he had to know, had to see. With a superhuman effort, Remus opened his eyes.
The orb was glowing.
He was too tired to know if this was correct reaction from the orb. At least he had gotten a response.
Remus assumed that the orb was using his life-energy to search the spirit plane for Sirius. There was nothing he could do but wait. He closed his eyes and rested. Or perhaps he lost consciousness; it was difficult to tell.
He didn't know how much time had passed before he was roused. Something, a light noise in the background, attracted his attention. He stirred, and opened his eyes.
Snape was standing in the doorway.
For a second, it didn't register. And then, it did.
Snape was standing in the doorway.
He was taking in the situation: Remus, looking drained, leaning weakly against a chair. The carpet with runes. The glowing orb in the center of the room.
And there was a strange light reflected in his eyes that made Remus go cold with dread. Remus tried to speak. He opened his mouth and formed words, but nothing came out. Commanding his tired body to work for a little longer, he tried again.
"What.what are you doing here, Severus?"
Snape smiled a smile utterly devoid of warmth. There was something here.and he knew it.
"Such a curiosity, Remus. I was working in my office, and I discovered that a certain room on the seventh floor, this room actually, mysteriously disappeared off magical radar. Quite puzzling, you must imagine. There was a seal on the door, can you imagine? And when I broke it down, the door opened..and I found you."
With his nostrils flaring, Snape gave the distinct impression of a mad bull, readying itself for a fatal charge.
"Perhaps you would care to explain.all of this, Remus?"
Remus was too tired to rack his brains for a good excuse. He had prepared for the possibility of intrusion, but for that person to be Snape....This was beyond abysmal.
He would look for the slightest excuse to tarnish Remus' already dingy name.
"Severus, please. I will try to explain. You see -"
But Snape wasn't listening to Remus. His eyes were focused on something else. Remus followed his gaze, and discovered that he was looking at the orb.
And with good reason. The orb was losing its glow, but silver mists where exiting the sphere. It kept transferring, until the orb was the original color of dull white. Hovering around the orb of Amina, the cloud began to shape itself into a strange form. At first, Remus thought it would become a person, but it soon folded over and became more compact.
Almost like..a very large dog.
Remus felt like crying with relief. It had worked! It really had. He could talk to Sirius now, and he wouldn't be so alone.
Snape however, obviously perceived the unfolding events differently. He was breathing shallowly, and his eyes were beady with suspicion. He looked wary, and furious, with perhaps a touch of fear as well.
"What have you been doing, Remus? This room is full of dark magic. Do you think I am a fool, and wouldn't notice?"
Remus shook his head, and quickly wished he hadn't. He was so weak. "Not black magic, Severus.. Calm down for a minute and list-"
"I told Dumbledore you were not to be trusted.I have always known. But he had faith." Snape spat the word. "That you, the tame werewolf, were on our side. But now- I have proof! You will be exiled, and everyone will know that I was right!"
Snape pulled out his wand and pointed it directly at the orb.
"But first, I will put an end to your treacherous magic."
Remus felt sheer panic. Snape couldn't destroy the orb! He had given up so much of himself in order to power the sphere.to have it taken from his grasp, when he was so close! He couldn't allow it.
"You can't do that, Severus."
His fear gave him the strength to rise out of the chair and start towards Snape. Clearly taking this action as a threat, Snape readied his wand. His eyes were wild, and he looked dangerous.
"I can.and I will."
"No!" cried Remus. But it was too late.
Snape was already uttering a spell. A blue light shot out of his wand and struck the sphere directly in the center. The orb absorbed the energy, turning a pale shade of blue in the process. And then.the light strengthened. It began to grow brighter and brighter, until it was almost painful to look at.
Snape was clearly taken aback.
"What is this, Remus?!"
But Remus didn't know. He couldn't take his eyes off the orb. Whatever was happening though, it wasn't supposed to.
The light began to move beyond the boundaries of the orb. It reminded Remus of the auras he had glimpsed during his magical studies.except this one was far more powerful.
The light stopped moving. It gave off the appearance of pure, crystallized energy. For that one moment, it hung there, radiating enough power to eclipse a small moon.
And then, the crystal shattered.
It was as if a rubber band that had been holding the orb in place had been released. The concentrated light had diverged into smaller beams, and was hurtling everywhere, rebounding off the walls. It was incredible.
Four beams of light converged into a larger one and headed directly towards Remus. He stood, rooted to the spot where he was standing. He couldn't move. The light went directly into him; Remus couldn't tell if it had been absorbed by his body, or if it had simply passed through.
Remus watched as Snape set up shield charm in defense against the ricocheting beams. It did absolutely no good; the light moved as though it wasn't there. The light was converging on Snape now, there was no doubt about it. More and more beams were focusing on him, merging into a shining lattice.
And then, something inside Remus snapped. The last of his energy was gone. He fell on the floor, his head turned to the doorway.
The last thing Remus saw was the look of horror upon Snape's face as the multitude of energy beams surrounded him, drawing tightly together like a noose.
And then, the darkness rushed up. Remus knew nothing more.