Chapter 6 – Runaways
The study of Lucius Malfoy was dark and cold, just like the rest of the castle. It consisted of many bookshelves and strange, magical objects. There was no window, but a large gap on the very top of a wall closed off by iron bars. There was a fireplace, but it was almost never in use, for the occupant of the room preferred the icy chill rather than the comforting warmth.
The said occupant of the room was currently sitting behind his desk, speaking with an ominous figure covered in black cloak. They have been conversing since evening, speaking conspiratorially about a plan that had been forming over many months.
As the light was steadily replaced by an eerie darkness, the cloaked man raised his hand and waved absently, causing a green fire to ignite from the hearth of the fireplace that sent sinister shadows creeping across the room made of stones.
Lucius, apparently having to deal with this kind of magic daily, was not impressed. However, he stayed quiet and waited for his guest to speak.
"We have an agreement, then," he finally said, his face hidden unseen behind the hood.
"Yes, the changes will be put in motion immediately, and you will be able to enter Gryffindor without trouble," Lucius said stiffly. Although he was a man who didn't fear much, Lucius still couldn't shake off that very feeling whenever he was around the presence of this person.
"I have another favor to ask of you," he said, and Lucius shuddered at the strange iciness that swept across him when the stranger spoke.
"Ask, then, and I will do anything I can for you."
The man asked and watched with a quiet smile as disbelief etched itself onto Lucius's face.
-
Remus was with Dumbledore practicing his magic when it happened.
Loud and clear as if it was right next to his ears, trumpets and horns blared violently into existence across the place, which, of course, got Remus distracted, causing the fires that were hurling toward him to burst into ashes along with the table behind it.
"No worries, dear," Dumbledore said when he saw that Remus was about to apologize. "It happens."
With a smile he crossed the room and looked out the window. "Ah, as expected, the daughter of Emerlia Evans is here."
Remus quirked his head in curiosity. Many people have been coming into the palace lately and no such welcome was seen. "Is she a very important person, sir?"
Dumbledore chuckled. "I suppose so." But before Remus could ask more questions, the wizard said, "I think that's enough for today, Remus, you may go."
Remus looked at him questioningly, but he could sense that Dumbledore wanted to be alone. Feeling a bit confused, Remus left the wizard's office.
As Remus descended the tower, he marveled at the control he was having over his newly discovered magic. It had been three days, and he was getting better and better at it. The thought lifted his spirit somewhat, and with a smile, he sprang down the last few steps and ran out into the main garden, oblivious to the disapproving looks the people in the halls gave him.
Remus wondered, as he made his way through the throng of people, why, in nearly one week he had been here, no one beside Sirius, James, Molly, and Dumbledore would talk to him. He had tried a few times to make conversation with some servants, but they all seemed to be avoiding him. Being ignored was something he was quite used to, but it still smart.
Speaking of being ignored, the prince seemed to be refusing to speak to him, too. It would have been fine, except that Sirius was everywhere he went... literally. When Remus was going with Molly to the main kitchen, he saw Sirius following them from a few yards behind. When he was practicing magic in his room, he saw Sirius standing right in sight outside of his window, pretending to be fishing. When he was reading outdoor, he saw Sirius looking at him from a far away distance, but what was worst, was when they were in the same room.
Remus remembered about a day ago, when he, James, and Sirius was in the courtyard together. He had been trying to learn how to play Quidditch, a game that resembled soccer a lot, when James suddenly got called away, leaving Sirius and Remus there.
Alone.
It had been the most awkward moment in his life, Remus decided. Sirius had abandoned all the pretense of playing and moved onto staring at him instead. Remus, on the other hand, was kicking a ball into one of the three loops on the ground a few feet away and kept on missing it. He had been doing just fine when James was there, since then it was easier to ignore Sirius' gaze, but now, it was almost hard to breathe when all Sirius did was staring at him. Remus could almost swear the prince would eventually burn a hole through him with all that intense looks, so he tried to strike up a conversation with him.
Which turned out to be a wrong move, because when Remus asked him "Do you want to play together?", Sirius turned alarmingly red and, to Remus' horror, had a massive nosebleed.
Needless to say, Remus pretty much stopped trying to talk to Sirius after that.
Now, as he looked down the path to where a woman and a very important looking man were walking, he couldn't help but feel that he shouldn't have stopped speaking to Sirius. Really, Remus thought, Sirius isn't so bad. Just the other day he showed me the library of the palace, and gave me full permission to take out any book I want, though I wonder why. I never told him I liked reading.
Remus didn't tell Sirius he liked reading, but Molly did. Over the past week, Molly had become someone like Remus' sister. He had told her a lot of things, including the place where he came from. Molly didn't seem to understand that there were no magic or kings there, but she listened, and Remus was very grateful for that.
Murmurs all around brought him out of his reverie, and along with eager faces he turned to the object of all the commotion.
Next to the man in blue was a girl about his age looking around very haughtily. She had long, light brown hair and small, watery blue eyes. She was speaking to the porky little man, seeming very irritated for some reason.
Remus tugged on the sleeve of an elderly man next to him. "Who's that girl over there?" he asked.
"Her?" the man stared at him in disbelief. "She is the princess of Ravenclaw! She's rumored to be the most beautiful daughter of all Queen Evans' daughters."
"The rumor proves false, then," another man snorted. "She resembles a horse." Remus privately agreed with him.
"Restrain yourself from badmouthing her," the first man warned. "If anyone hears, consider yourself in big trouble."
"I'm not afraid of her."
"You should well be, man, she is engaged to the eldest prince of Gryffindor. I was at the engagement party few years back. She was very pretty then. One could only wonder what's happened to her."
"No matter. The only thing I'm curious about is why the king engaged his son to such a hideous person. She looks so unpleasant."
"It isn't about looks. She has a gift. It's known all in Ravenclaw that Princess Lily is an expert at charms, and she's only seventeen."
"No wonder she was chosen. The king wants her power."
"Be that as it may, the king won't be using her power anytime soon. It'll be Prince Sirius who is."
"Why?"
"Well, it is always a tradition for the eldest prince to inherit the throne once he turns eighteen, but first the prince must prove that he is a capable heir -"
"How's he going to prove that?"
"You are not from Gryffindor, are you? Well, no matter, I shall tell you our tradition. Ever since the Black dynasty began its reign, Gryffindor has become a dark and sinister place. They're not very close with Slytherin though, mind you. Those Slytherins are too sneaky and dishonest for the Gryffindors' taste, and we all must remember the story of the Founders. No matter who rules Gryffindor, the old rivalry between the two kingdoms will never cease to exist." The old man shook his head.
"Get to the point, man."
"Yes, right, there' is a ritual that will be held on the prince's eighteen birthday, a ritual that has been passed on in the Black family for many generations. It is the most terrifying, brutal thing anyone could ever do. If anyone is capable of doing such deed, then they deserve worse than hell."
"What? What is it?"
The old man opened his mouth to answer, but he was interrupted by a loud, ear-piercing shriek blasting across the air. When they looked up to see what happened, they saw the princess being attacked by a large, eagle owl.
While people murmured and pushed each other out of the way to see what was going on, no one noticed a blond boy disappearing through the crowd.
-
It was hard for Remus to explain why he felt so disturbed knowing that Sirius had a fiancée. Really, he had only discovered that Sirius was engaged, not dying, so why was there this insistent, thumping pain in his chest that just refused to go away?
He knew why he was feeling this way though; he just didn't want to understand.
He had just found out that the guy who'd appeared in his dream every night for the past seventeen years was now getting married to some buck-toothed princess that resembled a horse more than human. And that Remus had, for some reason that didn't matter to him anymore, believed the words that were spoken in the dream.
My savior...
When Remus was young, he had wondered what the word savior meant. He'd asked Frank about it, and Frank had told him. Remus had been giddy - delighted, even - knowing that he was so important to someone, even if that someone was from a dream. He had always looked forward to nighttime, so that he could see the man that looked at him with anguished eyes and spoke in wonderment when he said Remus was his savior. It was something of a consolation for Remus, living that dratted place with nearly everyone looking down on him.
But more than that, Sirius was a comfort to him. He had grown up seeing Sirius' face every night, dreaming of touching the face that had became very familiar to him, wanting to put his arms around that beautiful body. Sometimes, the dream got so vivid that Remus didn't know which was reality and which was just a flash of his unconsciousness, and frankly, he didn't really care. All he knew was that once he was fast asleep, falling into the mercy hands of oblivion, he was approaching the object of his happiness... the one who called him savior.
As Remus grew older, his childhood belief remained behind, but the comfort his dreams brought never left him. After a long day of working his hands raw, of listening to older kids teasing him and watching younger ones being too afraid of trouble to come near him, it would bring a smile to Remus' face whenever he imagined Sirius saying savior as he looked at Remus with hope in his eyes, grasping Remus' hand, gently guiding Remus' face toward his...
It was a sweet feeling, a dream though it was, and Remus would feel much better about himself when he remembered it. Even though he told himself that dreams weren't real, deep down inside he still believed that Sirius was a reality.
When he was transported here, seeing Sirius face to face for the first time, all those feelings - longing, comfort, happiness, the feeling of belonged - resurfaced in him and he believed those words in his dream all over again.
But then, Sirius turned out to be someone he hadn't expected at all. His eyes weren't full of anguish when they first locked with Remus'; they were cruel and arrogant, like the eyes of an antagonist who held no one in esteem. Sirius' voice was like a snowstorm – cold, strong, and worst of all, Sirius never said those things he said in Remus' pretty dreams.
He never thought disappointment could feel so horrible. Then again, reality had always been a slap to his face, except this time, it stung pretty badly.
His disappointment, however, had vanished quickly when he saw the other, more familiar side of Sirius.
Sometimes, when Sirius' guard was down, Remus saw intense, unspoken things behind the dark blue eyes. He saw an innocence that still should be with Sirius, a soul deprived of love and affection, but most importantly, he saw Sirius. The Sirius that was trapped in a cage made by his family to keep him in his place, a cage with haunting words that shaped Sirius' behavior and reminded him of what he was.
Whenever Remus saw Sirius like that, it urged him to put his arms around Sirius and tell him all sorts of good things. He never had the chance, though, because Sirius was always quick to hide himself behind his barricade, leaving Remus facing a fierce tempered man with cold, cruel eyes.
Nevertheless, Remus knew what he saw, and he felt much happier now that he was near the man in his dream.
And now said man was engaged.
For some obscured reason, Remus felt betrayed.
God, I am so stupid, Remus thought, shaking his head and slowing down his pace as he walked. They were dreams, and just because the man in those dreams happened to be Sirius doesn't mean anything special.
Remus wasn't sure why he was surprised. In all the stories he'd read, the prince always married the princess and lived happily ever after, so it should fit that Sirius married a princess and lived happily ever after, too.
But Sirius wasn't happy, that he knew for certain, and no one could have a happy ending if they were miserable.
-
Severus was wandering the garden, deep in his own thoughts, when he saw a figure in servant clothes lurking around the bushes. He would have turned and walked away, had that person not whispered strange words to a piece of paper, which then curled itself into a ball and disappeared.
A witch in the palace, Severus mused, walking quietly toward her. How interesting.
"You, girl!" The girl jumped guiltily and spun around to look at Severus.
At this angle, Severus could see her face clearly. She was very pretty, with flowing hair like the red dawn and eyes like precious emeralds carved into a lovely face. On her white and brown dress, he saw the Ravenclaw seal.
"What are you doing here, servant?" Severus demanded, crossing his arms and looming down over her with a hardened face.
The girl looked a bit bewildered at first, but then, she gave him a long look and drew herself up high. "That's none of your business, is it?"
"Such an insolent way to speak to a noble," Severus sneered. "Who do you serve?"
The servant looked hesitant, as if she was weighing her option as to whether she should tell him or not.
Or rather, Severus noted, she is debating whether to tell me the truth or not.
Severus always praised himself on his ability to read people easily, and he could read that this girl was not what she seemed to be.
With a sudden movement Severus took a step closer to the servant and took her by the wrist. "Who are you?" he hissed.
"Let go of me!" she said angrily, trying to pull her arm away. "Let go, or I'll yell for help!"
Severus ignored her annoying shrilling and snatched the papers he saw her holding earlier.
They were all blank sheets of paper, the kind that students would use to write with. There was nothing special about them, and yet, Severus had seen her do magic with them.
Opening his mouth to further interrogate her, Severus found that he was interrupted by voices coming near them.
"... can't believe you'd do that, Sirius! Did you see her face?"
"Oh, yes, like a horse got kicked in the rear! After this, I'm going to give Aleron a very special treat."
"That's one useful owl you have, Sirius. Personally, I think Petunia is even worse than that stupid redhead..."
The girl yelped and stomped her foot on Severus's. He cursed, letting go of her hand. There was no time to yell at her, though, the prince and his companion were fast approaching.
Sirius and James stopped dead in their track when they saw Severus standing next to a crouching servant, who had her back to them.
The smile on Sirius' face disappeared immediately when he saw Severus. "Who are you?" he asked hostilely.
Severus did not answer. Instead, he stood and observed the infamous prince for the very first time. He looked exactly like how Severus had imagined him: tall, dark, handsome, and utterly arrogant.
"He's a Slytherin," James said, giving Severus a very disparaging look.
Indignation rose quickly in Severus' heart at the way he said Slytherin.
"What are you doing here in the private garden of Lady Narcissa? And without an escort?" Sirius demanded, grinning maliciously.
Severus, however, was not easily scared. "Lady Narcissa gave me her permission to be here." He fervently hoped that Sirius wouldn't ask his cousin about him.
"Hmph," Sirius said, his eyes falling to the figure that was still on the ground. "Who's that?" He pointed at the girl.
Severus glanced at her. "I don't know nor do I care. I saw her lurking around here when I passed by."
Without a word, James marched over to her and grabbed her arm, spinning the girl around to face them all.
Severus was surprised and amused when he saw that she had smeared her face with dirt, leaving it completely unrecognizable saved for those green eyes.
She seemed to be avoiding Sirius' gaze, resolving to glare at James instead. "I advise you let go of me," she said coolly, and then added, "I have a contagious disease, you see."
James immediately let go of her.
Severus saw the servant smiling secretly to herself, and decided that he had had enough of all these people for today. Quietly he moved out of sight, knowing that their full attention was on the servant girl.
"What's your name?" Sirius asked, looking at her suspiciously.
"My name... is... Liana."
"Well, then, Liana," James said slowly. "Why don't you tell us why you're here?"
"Er... um... I got lost," she said. "I went to fetch the princess some water and..."
"Princess?" Sirius interrupted. "What princess?"
"It's not Lily Evans of Ravenclaw, is it?" James said witheringly. "She's not here too?"
For some odd reason, Liana seemed very annoyed at their attitude. "Yes she is," she snapped. "She's here and she's waiting for the prince." Liana smirked at Sirius' unhappy face.
"Fine, she can wait all she wants, but I'm not meeting her," Sirius said stubbornly, crossing his arms. "She's a conniving little witch."
"You're just afraid she's going to hang you in the air for hours and won't let you down," Liana shot back.
Sirius narrowed his eyes. "How'd you know about that?"
"The princess told me. She told everyone she knew, actually," she said delightfully.
Sirius turned red around the ears, and swore that the next time he saw Lily Evans, he was going to do more than terrorized her like he had when they were little.
-
Remus was lost.
He had ran blindly for a while, blurring across some guards and trees and now he was standing in a sort of maze, surrounded by high walls of bushes with lots of colorful flowers.
Remus was beginning to hate flowers.
He looked around helplessly. He was lost, tired, and hungry. This could not get any worse, Remus thought, turning around a corner and fell down a pit.
Feeling absolutely terrified that he was plunging downward, Remus forgot about using his magic to help himself up until a few moments later, in which his logic kicked in. Closing his eyes tightly Remus willed himself to rise up.
Apparently he was concentrating too hard on getting himself up, because not a second later Remus felt himself shooting upward. He wasn't sure which was more terrifying, falling down or rocketing up, and decided that he was too scared to care.
When Remus's feet found solid ground a few seconds later, he promised himself that he would never wander the palace without a guide ever again.
Finally regained his wits, Remus looked on and saw that he had fallen into a very large pit extending five feet across. Angrily he wondered who would build such an ugly hole in the ground and try to kill innocent passersby with it.
Marching to the opposite direction, Remus came across a very interesting sight.
On each side of him were tall bushes carved into shapes of knights, standing with both of their hands resting on the hilt of their sword. They looked very real, Remus noted as he passed them.
Strange rustling sounds behind Remus made him pause in his track. Feeling a sick sense of foreboding, Remus turned around -
And came face to face with the same four knights that had been standing still just a moment ago. Their swords were raised, ready to strike.
You cannot be serious. Remus ran, turning corner after corner, hoping to lose those knights. All his hoping was in vain, though, because they were catching up to him, and Remus, to his dismay, came to a dead end.
Remus turned around, feeling apprehension gripping his insides as green figures came marching up to him. He hesitantly raised his fingers toward them, but the nearest knight brought his sword down and any closer he would have had Remus' hand.
Whoa, close, he thought, ducking and rolling away as another blow landed at the place where he'd been. Determinedly Remus flicked his fingers toward one of them, and with a swishing sound the knight burst into flame. He repeated the motion until all that were left of them was a pile of ashes on the ground.
Remus shook his head and began walking.
-
After she was escorted back to the Guest Hall by James, the girl called Liana was in a bout of indignation. It was hard not to be, when James had taken to ridicule her all the way from the garden back, which was a pretty long way.
If I ever see him again, I'm going to put the strongest Tickling Charm I know on him and never take it off, she swore heatedly as she stormed down the hall. He's worse than that dog of a prince!
"Lily! Is that you?"
Hearing the familiar voice, Liana turned and came face to face with a very sweet looking girl. "Alice!"
"What have you done to yourself? You're covered in dirt!" Alice scolded.
"Never mind that. Where were you?"
"I was packing!" she said earnestly, holding up a bag full of clothes and another one full of food, and then a few more other bags full of things that Lily knew weren't necessary.
"Alice, we're running away, not going on a pleasure trip," Lily said, hiding a smile. "We won't be needing that much."
Alice's face fell. "But... princess --" Lily looked at her warningly. "I mean, Liana, surely we'll be needing all this. I mean, you can't possibly be thinking of sleeping in some cheap inn without your favorite blanket or drinking out of those dirty cups and not your pretty ones?"
Lily flushed. "I'm not a snob that's going to die if I don't live with my er, pretty things, Alice. Anyway, we're just going to leave for a while, until this whole engagement thing is over. We'll be back soon."
Alice still looked upset. "Are you sure you want to do this, Lily - Liana? I mean, the queen will be furious when she finds out you use a Memory Charm on everyone to make them believe Petunia is you. Really, what if she marries Sirius?"
"It's only temporary, Alice. Besides, even if the charm is permanent, then I have done Petunia a favor, and myself. Sure, mother will realize that it's Petunia, and yes, she'll be furious, but she'll understand and cancel the engagement. If not, then Petunia gets her wish and marries Sirius. It's a win-win situation." Seeing Alice's dubious face, Lily became exasperated. "Come on, Alice. You don't want me to marry that spoiled, inconsiderate, insolent, bad-tempered, loud-mouthed idiot, do you?" Lily gave her friend a pitiful look. "Do you?"
Alice looked at Lily with an unsure expression, and then sighed dejectedly. "Alright, but we're taking lots of papers just in case you're in trouble, and if the queen finds out, I'm blaming everything on you."
Lily brightened. "Of course, so, when are we leaving?"
"It's too crowded right now, but we can sneak out after dark," Alice said. "How's your Sleeping Charm?"
"It's pretty good," Lily said eagerly. "The last time I used it the man only slept for a week."
"As long as people don't think they're dead and try to bury them," Alice said meaningfully. Lily, at least, had the grace to blush.
"It was months ago, Alice!" Lily said. "And besides, I got punished for it."
"Yes, well, that wasn't very fun, either." Shaking her head, she took Lily's arm. "Let's go and get some rest, Lily. We only have a few hours of peace before dusk falls."
"Okay, and you better get the papers with good quality," Lily reminded her. "I'm sick of trying to will my magic into the cheap ones and having them dance around like rabbits."
"But you like rabbits!" Alice giggled.
"Not if they keep interfering with my magic," Lily retorted. "Anyway, let's go back to our room and see if I can make a really strong Tickling Charm." Seeing Alice's confused look, she added, "As a gift, in exchange for Gryffindor's extravagant welcome."
-
Just where the hell am I? Remus thought, breathing heavily.
After rescuing himself from falling into a bottomless pit, burning funny looking green knights, passing a path full of shooting arrows, running away from horrific singing sculptures, having a nearly headless ghost trying to engage him in a conversation about his death, and still clueless of his whereabouts, Remus' patience was wearing very thin.
It was getting dark, the sky turning from a steady gray to inky blue. Molly must be worried, Remus thought with dismay. He wondered if Sirius would lose his head at him like the last time if he came back late, and realized that thinking about Sirius gave him an aching feeling inside, so he tried to think about something else.
But that wasn't an option, either, since there were voices speaking around a corner Remus was walking toward.
His first instinct was to ask them to help him get out, but his second instinct told him that he could get in trouble. They might think he was an intruder, or worse, a spy. Remus shook his head and decided that he would wait to see what kind of people they were before revealing himself.
Slipping quietly between a gap in the bushes, Remus crouched down and listened.
"... the Order has been very active for the past two weeks. Thrice we have resorted violence, and once they came very close to the gate. The loss isn't excessive, but it still lowers the number of the palace guards more than necessary. I also think that there's a spy within our walls, your majesty." With wide eyes, Remus recognized the voice as James' father's, and... was he speaking to the king?
"Then deal with it. I want Sirius' birthday to go smoothly and without trouble. There are many important figures from all over the land, not just the main kingdoms. I do not want any unexpected surprises. It would be too much to worry about, with all the chaos going on right now."
"Yes, your majesty. There's also the guest from Slytherin. He told us that Lucius was unable to come because he just took over the throne -"
"He's lying," the king interrupted. "I know Lucius. He wouldn't miss a chance to see Narcissa. He must be up to something. Contact Persephone immediately and see if she knows what's going on. Meanwhile, keep an eye on that Slytherin guest. Oh, and I heard that the son of Magnus Snape is here."
"Severus Snape is rumored to be the greatest potion maker in Slytherin."
"Take good care of him, then, and see if you can get him to make a few useful potions for us. Make sure to not be so obvious. I think Dumbledore will be able to talk him into it."
"I'll see to it right away, and also, your majesty, Princess Lily of Ravenclaw is here, and she is complaining that someone had set an owl after her. She is also demanding that we pay for her ruined dress."
"Sirius must be up to his usual tricks again. I have to talk to him after this, though I cannot blame him wholly. Lily Evans is getting very obnoxious and... unattractive. I'm actually reconsidering the idea of this marriage. It is unacceptable for the future queen of Gryffindor to be so distasteful. She was quite pretty when I last saw her. I guess it is incorrect to believe that people only get prettier, not uglier," he said all this in a very serious voice.
Remus heard Mr. Potter coughed quietly. "Indeed, my king, and I shall ask the palace's tailor to design another dress for her."
"Speaking of Sirius, I haven't seen him lately. Is he with James and that boy again?"
"He is very busy with his practices and schooling, but he does spend time with James and Remus."
"Remus? Is that his name? Well, it is very undignified of him to be friends with a slave." I am not a slave, Remus thought crossly. "I am hearing some questionable rumors concerning him and the boy. I do hope he has not forgotten his position as the heir to the throne." His voice held a warning.
"I am sure he has not forgotten, your majesty. The prince is very diligent in his studies and he is following everything according to your wishes."
"And yet he still defends that commoner. Doesn't Sirius know that the boy is nothing but trouble for him? Does he even listen to what people are saying about him? I am not sure how many have died these past few days for speaking ill of him, and yet he acts as if he couldn't care less. The queen is also very unhappy, complaining to me about Sirius' improper behavior. She is maddening me with her talks. Apparently Narcissa is displeased because of Sirius' lack of attention. I do not blame her, even I feel my patience wearing thin at Sirius' ignorance. The rumors do nothing but to make me more determined to get rid of that boy. Really, Sirius could do better. If he wants a playmate, then he can have anyone he wants. Why must he be so stubborn and refuse a little favor I ask of him? If only he let Narcissa dispose that Remus boy, then I won't have to listen to those women badgering me about it days and nights."
There was a pause. "Perhaps... perhaps Sirius is wanting him as more than a playmate."
"Do not say such a thing." The voice was sharp. "Sirius may not be hardened enough under my care, but he still has his standards. He will never fall in love with someone inferior to him. They are two different worlds. Water and mud. Diamond and stone. I'd rather die than to have my son love someone like that."
There was a long silence, in which Remus felt his heart tightened painfully in his chest. There were roaring sounds in his ears, and Remus was blinded by what he'd heard. He felt like he was in a waking dream, listening to this conversation, listening to the king belittling him.
But that didn't matter. He'd dealt with much worse. What hurt was... was...
There was a gentle tug on his sleeve, and dazedly Remus looked down at his arm.
There was an animal's paw resting on it.
"Oh," Remus said softly, gazing up at a big, black dog. For some odd reason looking at it gave him the urge to cry.
The dog quirked its head at him, then gently nudged his hand and disappeared through the bush full of thorns.
Remus watched, feeling a bit hazy and uncertain, when the dog emerged again and gave Remus a look that said, "Follow me."
Hesitantly Remus pushed his hand through the bush, and watched in amazement as it slipped through easily. Feeling a bit hopeful, Remus followed the creature.
The dog, it appeared, was leading him somewhere. Preferably out of this place, Remus thought as he walked through a sheet of falling acid right in front of his face. It didn't hurt, but gave him a tinkling feeling.
After a while Remus came out of the maze, smiling at the dog. It was wagging its tail at him, and Remus felt his anxiety ebbing away slightly. He reached out and scratched the dog behind its ear. "Thanks, boy. You're one smart dog."
Remus wondered if he should go back, and felt surprised to know that it was the last thing he wanted to do. Hours ago he was hungry and tired, but now, all he wanted was to get as far away from here as possible.
Looking up at the velvety black sky, Remus remembered his past, when he would lie outside and watch the stars winking at him, thinking if people would one day see him as who he was.
Water and mud. Diamond and stone...
"No," Remus said out loud, then turned to look at the dog. "I can't stay here. I have to go."
The dog stopped wagging its tail abruptly, but Remus didn't pay any attention to it. "I have to go," he said, more firmly. He gave the dog a pat on the head and smiled softly. "Thanks for your help." A pause. "You have eyes just like him - makes me want to hug you." So Remus dropped to his knees and gathered the dog into his arms.
The creature gave a startled whimper, but before it could do anything else, Remus had let go and was running to the gate.
Shocked, the dog could only stare after the boy with golden hair as he vanished into night.
-
"James!" Sirius shouted, slamming the door to his friend's bedroom open.
"Sirius!" James yelped, jumping off his bed and throwing his book into the air. "Don't scare me like that!"
"Shut up and come with me," Sirius growled, throwing James' clothes at him.
"What's going on?" James said, shrugging on shirt. "You look horrible."
"Remus is running away," Sirius told him. "He was in the maze -"
"He was what?"
"- and heard my father and yours talking. I don't know what they said, but he looked upset, and when we got out, he said he couldn't stay here and then - er, ran away."
"Is he okay?" James asked as they made their way to the gate. "I mean, that maze is full of creatures and enchanted objects."
"He's fine," Sirius said. "He probably used his magic, but what I'm worried about is getting to him. If he gets too far, then there's a possibility that we may never find him again."
"Shouldn't we call some guards? I mean, it's not exactly safe out there right now, and if anyone recognizes you..."
"James, it's after dusk, no one's going to be lurking around hoping I'll come out now. It's not like they make a profession out of murdering conceited princes, you know?" Somehow, James doubted that very much.
Looking at Sirius now, with his hair blowing wildly against his face, staring determinedly into the darkness, James wondered what Sirius truly felt about Remus. Having known him all his life, James had never once seen Sirius acting so unlike himself. James saw him stare off into space more times than he could count, stammer as he spoke to Remus, and even blush like a little boy, and even as a little boy, Sirius rarely blushed.
James recalled their last conversation, as they sat under the shades of the cherry tree and listened to the wind rustling calmly in their ears, and smiled. He had gently turned the subject from dueling to Remus, watching as many odd emotions flickering across Sirius' face when he asked, "Do you love him?"
Sirius had looked away from him and did not answer until very later.
"If I love him, then he will die."
"James! Look!"
James jerked out of his thought to see Sirius pointing at the guards on each side of the gate.
They were snoring very loudly, hugging their weapons close.
Cautiously James came closer and poked one of the men. He did not move.
"They've being drugged," Sirius stated when James turned to look at him.
"Do you think it's Remus?"
Sirius shook his head. "I don't think so. This is not his field of magic. It must be some kind of Sleeping Potion."
"Or Sleeping Charm," James said. They looked at each other significantly.
"You don't say..."
"It's possible."
Sirius looked doubtful for a short moment, then gave a frustrated sigh. "It doesn't matter. I don't care what she does, just as long as she doesn't get in my way. Come on, James, let's go find Remus." Then he strode past the guards and out of the already opened gate.
"You know, that Lily girl is pretty helpful, casting a Sleeping Charm on them. This way we won't be missed until morning," James said, giving the snoring men each a kick before moving on.
He had always wanted to do that.
-
A few minutes ago...
Severus was dully bored, so he decided that a walk would do some good.
It was supposed to be a quiet walk, giving him some peace in his own thoughts about the events in the past few days, except that he was seen by the ever nosy rat, Peter.
"Severus! What are you doing here?" Peter asked eagerly, running toward him.
Severus mentally cursed his bad luck, then turned around and said, very pleasantly, "I was taking a walk, and what are you doing here?"
"I saw you from inside, so I thought that you might want company." He looked at Severus hopefully.
Damn him, Severus thought. "Of course."
So they walked in silence, with Peter squealing once in a while at something he saw. Severus was getting quite fed up with it when Peter exclaimed, "The Bloody Baron!"
Severus looked up ahead, and saw a figure with red hair running toward the entrance of the palace, with another person behind her.
Quickly Severus grabbed Peter and moved out of sight. "You idiot, the Bloody Baron is a ghost! That's a solid figure."
Peter laughed weakly. "Oh."
Cautiously they looked at the shadows moving swiftly away from them, and with a jolt Severus recognized her as the girl he saw this morning. The bright, long red hair was not something so easy to miss, or forget.
Severus saw her did something similar to what she did this afternoon, whispering to some papers, and then pleasantly began talking to the two guards, who took the sheets, and, to Severus and Peter's surprise, fell to the ground.
"She killed them!" Peter said hoarsely, panicking.
"Hush," Severus hissed, watching as the girl and her companion opened the gate with much effort, and disappeared out of sight.
"Severus, what do we do? She killed them! We have to tell someone!" Severus ignored him. Instead, he approached the supposedly dead men with caution.
As it turned out, they weren't dead, just sleeping very contentedly. "Peter, come here."
The boy did come, but with reluctance.
"They're not dead," Severus said exasperatedly. "They're sleeping, see?" He pointed at the guards who were drooling like little babies. Looking at them, Severus really wished they were dead.
"Who were they, Severus, the ones who sneaked away?"
Severus didn't answer him right away. He was thinking about the girl. In the short moment in which he observed her reaction when she saw Sirius and James, she had seen something in her eyes, a sort of horrified recognition, and then she had splattered her face with dirt. For what?
To fool the prince and his friend was the conclusion Severus came up with. Therefore, she must have done something bad, something that could put her in danger, but no... he'd seen the proud look she gave them, and the way she spoke, clearly and unafraid.
He'd also seen the suspicious look the prince gave her, as if he vaguely recalled seeing her somewhere but couldn't quite remember. It was almost as if she was trying to avoid the prince.
For the first time since he'd been here, Severus smiled genuinely. He had always loved riddles and puzzles of any kinds, and this was just like a riddle - the signs were there, and now he only needed the last missing clue to understand what was going on between her and Sirius. Perhaps, if he was lucky, he would uncover a clandestine affair between a servant and the prince, who had left her for many other women and now she was back to get her revenge.
These kinds of thoughts, Severus thought sourly, come from many nights of reading useless romance stories instead of learning all I need to know to become an ambassador. If only father had allowed me to his secret library so I could read about the making of potions! Why is he so set on me following his footstep?
"Peter, I'm going after her," Severus said. It was better than staying here doing nothing but overlooking a bunch of useless gossipers. And anyway, he was feeling rebellious. He imagined his father's face, infuriated when he found out his son left while on his first trip as an emissary for Slytherin, leaving no trace as to where he went. Feeling more determined than ever, he told Peter, "You can stay here and help me look over the others."
"Wait!" Peter said in his annoying voice and clung onto Severus. "I'm going with you! No one's going to listen to me, and I can't handle them all. If you're going, then I'm going."
Severus looked at him, deeply irritated. "Very well, you can come with me, but I don't know when I will be returning, alright?"
Peter looked worried, but nodded firmly. "Okay, but can we get some money first? I don't fancy going out there without a Knut in me."
Severus admitted that he had a point. "Why don't you go and pack us a bag, and then come back here?" he suggested, and Peter was only too willing to comply.
When the boy was gone, Severus smiled to himself. If he had his way, he would travel the country for at least a month (preferably following that girl, since he had no idea of the ways in Gryffindor), enrage his father, then come back to Slytherin and please the man by agreeing to be the next ambassador, forever locked away in politics and boredom.
Severus' thoughts were diverted when another figure came running out of the gate, never once noticing him or the sleeping guards.
It took sometime for realization to dawn on him. That's... not the boy with golden hair they were all talking about, was it?
The only thing he could think of after that was whatever happened, this was going to be interesting.
-
To be continued...