...
Chapter 5 - Remus' Power
Sirius woke up.
It was noon, and the air was stuffy and uncomfortable. Lying on the silk-covered bed, Sirius stared up at the white ceiling and remembered blood. His body was soaked in sweat, but he didn't care, just silently lying there and thinking of his approaching birthday, thinking of the most sinful, dreadful thing he must do. A rite of passage, if one will.
He had known, for a long time, that before he became king and ruled Gryffindor, he had to prove his worth, his ability to be cold and merciless, but it still didn't make it easier for Sirius to do what he was going to do. Perhaps if he had grown up to be like Regulus, slightly mad and power-hungry, then he could do it without feeling corrupted and evil.
Sirius sat up and got out of bed, his naked body glistening in the sunlight as he walked to the closet and opened it.
After he finished dressing, Sirius left his room and made his way to James' place, feeling like he was bathed in cold water and yet, couldn't seem to muster enough will power to care.
James was sitting in the garden, reading a red, leather-bound book called Politics: Why We Must Deceive or Die and chuckling to himself when Sirius came in, tall and glorious in the sunlight. The servants bowed to him, but he walked past them like they weren't there at all.
"James," Sirius said, and James looked up from his reading, smiling at his friend.
"Good morning, my prince." James stood up and set aside his book, waving for the servants to leave them. "How are you?"
"As usual," Sirius said, almost distractedly. "Where's the boy?"
"Remus? He's in his room, I believe," James said. "Do you want to visit him?"
Sirius didn't answer, just began walking. Frowning, James followed him. "Are you alright?" he asked.
"I had a dream," Sirius said flatly. "I killed my father."
James faltered, and his eyes became understanding. "Sirius..."
"It doesn't matter," Sirius interrupted. "The sooner he's gone, the better this world will be."
Walking through the corridor decorated with paintings of wars and knights, the pair stayed quiet until a servant with red hair came running toward them, her face flushed with fear and worry.
"My lords," she said when she came near, bowing respectively.
"Molly?" James asked, surprised. "What are you doing here? Where's Remus?"
"That's the problem, my lord," she said, eyes flickering to and fro Sirius and James. "He isn't in his room."
In the next instant Molly was on the ground with a furious Sirius looming over her. "Where is he?" he hissed, and Molly cowered away.
"I-I don't know, my prince," Molly said tearfully. "I told him not to go anywhere before I went to fetch some food, and when I came back, he was gone."
Sirius was looking as if he didn't know if he wanted to strike the woman or run and find Remus.
"Sirius," James said slowly. "It wasn't her fault. I'm sure Remus isn't in any danger..."
"You of all the people should know how dangerous the palace is, James," Sirius said in an eerily calm way and left, his strides quick and long.
James glanced at Molly, and then ran after Sirius with a deep sigh. Why is it that I'm always the one running after him?
...
Narcissa watched Remus, her gray eyes seemingly benign and sweet, when in actuality she was seething hatefully inside. She'd heard about Remus' arrival at the court, and she had also heard about Sirius killing the warden for this mysterious, pitiful looking boy. Narcissa wasn't a fool; she had grown up with Sirius, and she knew that Sirius would never kill for another person unless they meant something to him.
So why should this time be any different?
Narcissa stared at the boy and felt a deep resentment bubbling to the surface like boiled water. She loved Sirius dearly, with all her heart and everything more, and she could obviously see that Remus meant something to the prince, something that could destroy all her hope to be with him for eternity. He had only been here for two - three? - days, and Narcissa could see how his presence affected Sirius. Her cousin had barely spoken two words to her, and every time she saw him he was looking into the distance with a gaze full of longing, and, knowing Sirius all her life, he never ever wore that expression on his face. Narcissa had discreetly asked around, and soon she found out the reason of Sirius' strange behavior: Remus.
Even his name sounded horribly wrong in her ears, Narcissa thought, slowly walking up behind Remus.
Remus, on the other hand, was oblivious to his surrounding, too fascinated in the arrangement of herbs to notice anything else.
Narcissa glanced at her servants, who immediately nodded in understanding and walked away, leaving her there with a dagger in her hand.
Remus' back was facing her; it would be so easy, so very easy just to kill him and walk away. No one would know, and even if they did, they wouldn't dare speak against her.
The silver dagger gleamed malignantly under the glaring sun, and with a swift movement Narcissa brought it down on Remus.
"LADY NARCISSA!" a voice boomed out of nowhere, startling both Remus and Narcissa, who deftly hid her weapon away and smiled amicably at the white figure walking toward them.
"Dumbledore," Narcissa acknowledged, mentally cursing him with all her might.
"Beautiful day, isn't it, m'lady?" Dumbledore said cheerfully, gesturing to random places.
"Oh, very beautiful indeed." Narcissa saw Remus watching them curiously, and grasped his arm. "Dumbledore, I don't think you've met Remus before."
Dumbledore squinted his eyes at Remus, who smiled awkwardly at the old man. "Hello," he said politely.
"Remus!" Dumbledore said heartily. "Why, you're here! A bit late, but here nonetheless. You should've come and seen me before wandering about without a guide! Come now, we'll talk in my room..."
Narcissa frowned. "Do you know him, Dumbledore...?"
Dumbledore laughed as if that was the most hilarious thing he'd ever heard in his life. "Know him? He's my cousin's sister-in-law's nephew!" Remus stared at Dumbledore while Narcissa scrunched her face up in thought. Cousin's sister-in-law's nephew... so he has a cousin, who has a sister-in-law, who has a nephew, which means...
"Well, well, enough chatting." Dumbledore's eyes were twinkling as he grabbed Remus' arm, much to the boy's mortification. "I shall be going now. We have much to catch up on, haven't seen him since he was a babe. It's lovely to see you, Lady Narcissa. Please do inform your father that I will not be able to attend to the feast tonight. Good bye now!" And with that, he dragged a confused and unresisting Remus after him, leaving a very puzzled Narcissa behind.
It was very later that she realized Dumbledore had no relatives beside his twin brother.
...
"Excuse me, er, sir?" Remus said as he walked alongside of the strange old man, who still hadn't let go of him yet. "I'm sorry for asking, but where are you taking me?"
Dumbledore abruptly stopped, causing Remus to nearly fall over. "I'm surprised you followed along with my lie," the old man commented, seeming very pleased for some reason.
"Er..."
"Well, no worries!" Dumbledore wrung his hands up the air, that bright smile coming back to his face. "My apologies for taking you away so abruptly from the lovely Lady Narcissa, but it is better... yes, better..." Remus wondered what he was talking about.
"So, Remus," Dumbledore began, beaming at Remus as if he was his favorite grandchild. "Tell me, how'd you manage to transport yourself to this world?"
Remus stared at Dumbledore, surprise written all over his face. "How did you...?"
"Why, it's rather obvious." Dumbledore looked as if Remus had pointed out that the old man's hair was white. "Everyone's been talking about you ever since you turned the prince mad enough to murder someone, and you don't seem to me like you've been living here all your life." Dumbledore squinted at him curiously. "Or have you?" Remus quickly shook his head. "Yes, so tell me, dear boy, what brought you here?"
Remus had wondered about it before. How did he get here? He supposed he should have been more scared, and he was, but everyone he'd seen so far had been very nice, beside that horrid man in the dungeon, so he didn't worry much.
But now...
Dumbledore was waiting for him to answer, so Remus said, "I don't know, sir. I - I was in the shower," feeling sorry for myself, Remus thought silently, "and then I felt a pull and was here in the next moment." Dumbledore was gazing at him with unfocused eyes, deep in thought. "Do you... do you know how I got here?" Remus looked at him hopefully.
Dumbledore was silent for a while, scratching his beard. "Hmm... perhaps..." He stared at Remus some more, much to the boy's discomfort. "Remus, could you do me a favor and cut off those flowers for me?"
Remus looked at the flowers and hesitated, remembering the girl who had threatened him. "And I will take the blame if word ever got out," Dumbledore said, blue eyes twinkling in amusement.
Feeling like he had no other choice, Remus approached the bush and made to pluck the flowers -
When they shot up the air and attacked him.
I'm going to be molested by a bunch of plants was the only thing that came through his mind as Remus raised his arms to protect himself.
A small explosion was heard and Remus saw the flowers bursting into tiny, glittery dust before his eyes.
Oh, my, god. Remus stared, because the thing that had caused the explosion was a red beam shooting out of his right hand.
It was Dumbledore's satisfied laugh that brought Remus out of his shock. "Just as I thought!" he said, pleased. "Remus, it appears that you have magical power!"
Remus looked at him as if he'd grown an extra head.
...
Severus Snape was the son of an ambassador, and seeing as the birthday party of the Gryffindor prince was quickly approaching, his father decided it was best that Severus went and represented Slytherin in his stead.
As it is a great opportunity for you to expand your knowledge before taking up the position I am carrying now, Severus' father had said, with such pride and expectation that Severus could only nod and give him a strained smile.
So to Gryffindor he went, with much reluctance and defiance, and now here he was, twirling a quill between his index and middle fingers in total boredom. He was to check off the list of gifts they were to bring the prince at the feast tomorrow morning, but Severus supposed Wormtail could do this for him. After all, the little boy was always complying and submissive enough, even though he came from a high and respectable family himself. Severus snorted. Wormtail was the very epitome of shame in the high classes of Slytherin. He was a follower, a coward - a manipulated fool. Though a fool does have his use at times, Severus mused.
Speaking of which, where did he run off to?
"Severus!"
Ah, here comes the rat.
Severus turned around and smiled pleasantly at Peter, or Wormtail, as Severus preferred that to his real name. Very fitting, really.
Peter was running toward him, panting and sweating like a pig that had been moving around for more than a minute and was already feeling the exertion the movement had caused it.
"Hello, Peter, enjoying your stay?" Severus asked conversationally, when a conversation was the last thing he wanted.
"You -" Peter wheezed, hands pressing against his knees as he tried to get back his breath. "You - would not believe what I've seen!"
Severus was sure that there was nothing Peter had seen that would interest him, but out of politeness, he said, "What is it?"
"Have you heard about the rumor of prince Sirius beheading a man in favor of a foreign slave? A man that had been serving his family for almost two generations?" Peter said, giddy with his own little knowledge.
"Yes," Severus answered. Really, how could he not know when that was all the servants here had been whispering about ever since he stepped foot into the palace? In all honesty, Severus was a bit curious. He had heard about Sirius Black - untamable, indifferent, and loved himself too much to care about anyone else. If that was the case, then who was this slave that made Sirius forget himself and go as far as killing? From what he knew, Sirius had never killed anyone; well, not directly, anyway.
Perhaps whatever Peter was about to tell him was not going to be so dull, after all.
"Well, I saw him!" Peter exclaimed.
Severus raised an eyebrow. "Really? And what did he look like?"
"He was the strangest sight! His hair was golden and so were his eyes, and, Severus, I have never seen anyone with golden hair before. Blond, yes, but Severus, his hair is like the color of the sun itself!"
Golden hair... Severus thought, now that's interesting. Gryffindor was a country that loved gold more than anything else. Perhaps his strange appearance was the cause of such interest in the young prince?
"And Severus, you would never believe who he was with!" Peter continued, his face flushed with excitement. "Lady Narcissa of the court! Oh, she is beautiful." A dreamy look passed over Peter's face.
Severus tensed visibly. "Narcissa Black, the woman our king has been trying to court all these years."
"I heard she's in love with Prince Sirius. Severus, Severus, is it true?"
Severus did not answer him. Instead, he absently walked over to the balcony that looked out into the garden. This Black family... everything here seemed very complicated. A woman that won the heart of the King of Slytherin was in love with her own cousin, who was, as he saw it, very smitten with a mere slave...
A slave with golden hair.
A smile graced Severus' face.
This visit might be worthwhile, after all.
...
When Remus came back to the Potters' place that day, he was, quite literally, assaulted.
The prince was sitting on his bed, along with James Potter. They both seemed to be deep in thoughts, except Sirius swayed a bit more into the anger category than the thinking.
Remus was a bit surprised at their presence, and realized, with mild embarrassment and guilt, that he wasn't supposed to leave at all. Though they couldn't blame him for being bored out of his mind, Remus protested silently.
"Hello," Remus greeted them hesitantly, and saw Sirius' head snap up like he'd been pulled by his hair roughly backwards. Remus didn't have time to care about that, though, because immediately the prince was on him, a hand grasping his hair with such violence that Remus couldn't help but let out a pained gasp.
"Where have you been?" Sirius hissed, his hot breath wafting across Remus' face. Almost unconsciously Remus noticed that Sirius smelled of spice and something intoxicatingly exotic. It made him slightly dizzy.
"I..." Remus murmured. Sirius really was merciless. His fingers were gripping hard at his hair, nails scraping his skull in a very unpleasant way, and still, he didn't tell Remus the reason why he was this mad. Hazily, Remus wondered where the man with the saddest, gentlest eyes that held his head so carefully yesterday had gone to.
"Did you not understand what it means by do not leave your room without permission?" Through all that fear he held for the prince, Remus couldn't help but feel indignant at being treated like a little kid. Really, he was seventeen, for god's sake. It wasn't like the whole palace was streaming with murderers that wanted his head or anything. Remus didn't know, at that time, how true the statement was.
Sirius gave Remus a long and intense gaze, as if he wanted to say something, but couldn't find the right words. For some odd reason, Remus was glad for his silence. He felt like Sirius was restricting him to this place. Hell, they didn't even know each other for that long, and Remus wasn't so sure that he wanted to know more about him, either. The man was like an unpredictable, ill-tempered dog that would bite when he was displeased. Which was almost all the time, in Remus' personal opinion.
For a brief second, Remus felt like he was back at the orphanage again.
James, sensing that something was amiss, quickly came over and took Sirius's hand away from Remus. "We were quite worried, Remus. You shouldn't run off like that without telling anyone. It's very dangerous."
Remus turned to smile wanly at James. "Thank you, and I'm sorry for any inconvenience I've caused." James felt a strange feeling that was akin to jealousy radiating from Sirius, and it was at that moment that suspicions rose in his heart.
"Are you hungry? Do you want anything? Molly can..." James asked kindly, grasping Remus' arm and leading him over to the table near the window, all the while feeling a bit afraid and curious at Sirius' reaction.
Sirius, on the other hand, was glaring at him hotly, jealousy burning through every vein in his body. What the hell is James doing?
"... in Lady Narcissa's garden." Sirius caught the last bit of information Remus was saying, and all at once a gripping sensation held his heart still. Narcissa...
In an instance, Sirius was standing right before him again. "What did she do to you?" he asked, looking at Remus as if he was about to die at any moment.
Remus couldn't begin to describe how uncomfortable he was feeling being so near to Sirius, out of apprehension and, well, their proximity was giving him strange flashes from his dream... a dream that he had last night, in which they had...
Remus flushed a shade of mauve, which didn't go unnoticed by James. "Nothing," he said softly, but he was looking straight into Sirius' piercing gaze, as if he was challenging him.
But challenging him to what?
James watched as their staring contest began, and wondered what Remus was thinking. At first, the boy struck him as a reticent, sweet young man who was very miserable and lonely, but he didn't think Remus would dare looking at Sirius like that. Most people would run really far away screaming when Sirius glared at them, but Remus...
Remus was staring right back, his golden eyes burning with intensity that almost matched that of Sirius', and with a pleasant surprise he saw that Sirius was a bit taken aback at Remus' behavior. James had never seen Sirius looking so flustered before, and it was a nice change to see him now; the prince, in all his glory, was suddenly blushing at Remus' stare and looking away as if he was embarrassed.
Yes, embarrassed.
"Lady Narcissa was very sweet and polite to me. She even insisted on showing me around her garden," Remus said slowly, all at once feeling very self-conscious. He couldn't believe he had just seen - a hint of blush creeping up Sirius' neck and spreading across his cheeks like a rose-colored shadow falling across the sky.
Remus found it very... adorable.
"I don't trust her," Sirius muttered, regaining his composure. "And so shouldn't you. She's not one to befriend. You'd be best to stay away from her." With that said, Sirius turned and walked out the door, his graceful and confident strides were now a bit unsteady, and for a moment James thought he was going to walk straight into the door. Thank God he didn't, otherwise James would have a hard time helping him find his pride.
When Sirius was gone, Remus spoke up. "Why must he be so spiteful and violent?"
James smiled at Remus and the boy relaxing slightly. "You must forgive him. He did not grow up learning to socialize properly. Violence is one of his ways to show he cares."
Remus looked like he wanted to say something, but he shook his head and looked up at James. "Thank you... James. You are very kind."
James was surprised at Remus' gratitude, and even more so when he realized it was the first time Remus had said his name. It was oddly pleasant to hear himself being addressed by his first name and not m'lord all the time by someone beside his family and Sirius.
"Don't worry about it," James grinned. "It's a delight to have you as a guest here." And I'm sure Sirius thinks so too, he silently added. James planned to have a talk with Sirius sometime soon, because it was apparent that the prince was completely smitten with Remus, and was having difficulty expressing his feelings, too.
"I'll be retiring to my room for now," James said, seeing Remus' stressful face. He smiled discreetly when he saw Remus sighing in relief.
Pausing at the door, James glanced back. "Remus?" The boy looked up. "Next time when you feel lackluster, come to me and I'll take you around town. There are many things outside the palace's walls that I'm sure you'll love to see. Besides, we don't want to send our prince into another one of his tantrums, do we?" James winked. Remus couldn't help but gave a small grin.
"Good evening to you then, Remus, and see you tomorrow."
Remus watched as the door closed, leaving him here alone, finally, in this large, unfamiliar room with nothing but his thoughts to keep him company.
The floor gave indistinct sounds as Remus' feet took him to the large window looking out into the river. The sky was dimming, and Remus could see the first glimmers of stars making their appearance. He gave a little sigh. It had been a very odd few days, adapting to his life here and learning little by little how restricted he was to this place.
It was terribly unfair and unreasonable of Sirius to blow up at him just because he didn't want to stay in this room, having nothing productive to do except sleep, eat, and daydream. He really didn't see any harm from going outside and walking around for a while. He knew, through Molly, that Sirius had commanded the guards to leave him alone for the most part, so why wouldn't Sirius let him go outside?
Remus picked at the seam of his sleeve distractedly, watching the sun losing itself behind the horizon. Everything was turning dark, and it made Remus feel like he being enveloped in darkness. It wasn't a pleasant feeling.
On the table was a small candle, and Remus looked at it, contemplating. Eventually his hand rose up, slender fingers extending toward the candle, and he waited, concentrating.
Soon enough, the candle lit up. Remus smiled, his hand retreating. It seemed like his lesson today with Dumbledore wasn't a waste of time, after all.
...
"Magic is rare, even in this world. Those who do practice it, however, have their own unique power; each is bound to one specific element."
Remus listened intently as Dumbledore paced his study and explained to him about his magical ability. After Remus had gotten over the initial shock the revelation of his power had brought in the garden, Dumbledore had taken him back to his study, determined to help him with his magic so he wouldn't inflict harm upon himself - or other people, for that matter.
"Take me for example. My magic is earth magic, which means that everything I do has to relate to nature. I have control over seasons, weathers, and anything nature-related, because my magic allows me to do so."
Remus was confused. "But aren't you the wizard of the court? Aren't you supposed to help the king keep the kingdom in peace and advise in warfare and such? How can you do that when your magic is limited to one specific field?"
Dumbledore smiled. "True, but you know, everything has a loophole, and it's up to you to connect it with your power and use it to your advantage." Seeing Remus' blank expression, Dumbledore continued, "Seeing is understanding. Look, here."
Dumbledore beckoned him over to the window, and Remus did. They were in the highest tower of the palace, looking down into Hogwarts River and almost everything else. "See the flag over there?" He pointed his finger to the golden flag that was whipping proudly on top of the west tower, judging from the point of the sun in the sky. "Now, with my kind of magic, I cannot directly take the flag out of its place, let alone summoning it, but if I do this..." Dumbledore flicked his fingers at the tree near the flag, and Remus watched, fascinated, as the branches on the tree twisted and wound their ways slowly up the tower. He couldn't believe his eyes when they began pulling the flag against its restraint and it actually fell away. Dumbledore made another motion with his hand, and the wind picked up the object and carried it toward them.
Remus looked at Dumbledore admiringly as he snatched the flag and showed it to Remus. "Do you understand now?" Dumbledore asked, but all Remus could do was stare.
"Sir," he said breathlessly, "that was cool."
Dumbledore beamed. "It was the first trick I learned a long time ago when I first practiced my magic."
Remus looked at the flag, which was floating back to its original place, and then up at Dumbledore, his expression genuinely interested. "Do you think... do you I can do that?"
"You can do anything, if you put your mind to it," Dumbledore said. "And I really do mean it. You need all the concentration you have in order to do this kind of thing without losing control. Doing magic is not easy, so don't take it lightly. And you shouldn't rely on it too much, because it can be very draining."
Remus then remembered the most important question. "Dumbledore, sir, if each person's magic is unique to themselves, then what kind of magic do I have?"
"Ah," Dumbledore said slowly, pouring himself a cup of tea. "Tea, my dear?" Remus shook his head. "I'm not so sure what kind of magic you have, but I'm willing to wager that yours is protection magic."
"Protection magic?"
Dumbledore nodded. "When I set those flowers off at you, I was sure your only thought was to defend yourself, am I correct?" Remus wondered if Dumbledore could read mind, and nodded. "I must say, I was quite impressed when you effectively prevented those flowers from attacking you and not burning your surrounding in the process."
Remus blushed, very flattered.
"But I am quite puzzled," Dumbledore said, rubbing his white beard thoughtfully.
"What, sir?"
"Why didn't you use your magic to fight off that man in the dungeon when he was hurting you?"
Remus was taken aback by that question. How did Dumbledore know that? "Erm... I'm not sure. I- I think, perhaps, I wasn't thinking of protecting myself, and, er, my hands were bound, and I still didn't know I could do magic."
"Hmm... I see..." Dumbledore seemed deep in thought.
"Um, sir?" Dumbledore looked at him. "May I ask you a question?"
"You already did," Dumbledore said, amused when Remus turned red. "But go on."
"How did you know that I was..." He gestured vaguely, hoping Dumbledore would understand. "That I was in the dungeon?"
"Ah, that, it's nothing complicated," Dumbledore answered. "News travel fast around this place, especially when it concerns the eldest prince."
Remus was puzzled by that fact. "Why him?"
Dumbledore let out a small laugh that sounded a bit forced, as if he couldn't believe Remus had just asked him that. "It's always Sirius, my dear child. He's... very important to our kingdom."
Remus wanted to ask more. He wanted to know why it was just Sirius, and not his younger brother. He wanted to know why Sirius seemed so sad, and yet he acted as if nothing mattered to him. He wanted to know why Sirius was so bipolar, for lack of better word. He wanted... well, he wanted to know a lot of things.
"Come now, Remus, I'm going to teach you how to use your power properly."
And their discussion ended there.
...
The sun had set, and as Remus sat there, his face illuminated by the soft, glowing candle, he wondered if he was better off living in the orphanage after all.
Because, back in the orphanage, despite how miserable he was, he knew that one day he would be free, but now, he wasn't sure he would ever be free at all.
...
To Be Continued...
...
Many, many thanks to my beta, Rynne, who did a magnificent job on fixing my endless errors.