Title: Saishū Yume
Author: Ex-Professor Remus Lupin
Rating: R
Genre: Action/Adventure/Alternate Universe/Romance
Era: None
Pairing(s): Remus/Sirius, Severus/Harry
Summary: It starts, as a simple kidnapping. It will become an adventure unlike any other as a group of mismatched heroes find themselves drawn into a war for not only their lives, but also their very souls.
Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.
Author's Note: It makes me proud to know that this story is spilling out of my brain. I have to thank my muse, the goddess, Cerridwen, for the inspiration. It can only mean its something worth writing. I hope.

Also, I apologize for Remus's behavior in the last chapter, but you have to remember he's a prince and he's being raised by Cornelius Fudge, what can you expect right. That's why we have Sirius around.
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Chapter Three
The Forbidden Forest
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Severus awoke with a start as some unnamed creature gave a menacing squawk and took off from the branches of a nearby tree. Sitting up, he groaned as pain lanced through his body from his movement into a more dignified position. It would not do to be seen sprawled out upon the ground.

He closed his eyes and leaned forward, trying to gather himself together and feel his surrounding. From the deadly silence that surrounded him, he could ascertain one thing. They were in the Forbidden Forest. That was most certainly not a good thing.

"I see you have awakened," a soft voice spoke from somewhere nearby.

The black mage opened his eyes and looked up to find Prince Remus standing nearby looking calmly down at him. His clothes, made of some rare and expensive white material, were shredded and burned from the crash. Any wounds he may have suffered seemed had already been healed. He looked simply tired and worried.

"I am thankful I found you so quickly. The wounds you suffered could very well have been fatal," the prince said kindly.

"Do you expect a thank you?" Severus growled as he struggled to his feet. Now he owned the prince a life debt. Perfect.

"Certainly not," Remus answered, smiling knowingly.

"Where's the thief?" Severus demanded.

"Sirius," the prince corrected looking worriedly around the clearing as if he expected the thief to appear from behind a bush. "I am uncertain, but he could be nearby, were he not thrown far from the ship."

Severus hummed in agreement and cracked his neck.

"I see, well, we should get going, my master is not a patient man," Severus began walking toward what he could only hope was a path that would lead to the end of the forest.

"What is your name?"

"Severus," the mage snapped irritably, "now, may we go?"

"Certainly, I have no doubt that Sirius will stop you from taking me very far," the prince bowed his head and Severus turned to look back at him, scowling.

He had ever intention of stunning the impertinent teen where he stood and simply apparating to Slytherin, if he could manage it that was. As his ebony eyes fell upon the prince he noticed something coming from the woods just beyond his shoulders. Something covered in thick gray fur with glowing amber eyes.

His heart leapt to his throat and the mage froze.

Remus, bemoaning the state of his robes, saw the black mage freeze up as he lifted his head. He wondered for a moment if he'd done something to merit an attack. Then, he heard the growl. He turned. A large gray wolf with glowing gold eyes and sharp, deadly looking fangs gazed hungrily at him from just beneath the shade of a tall oak.

"It's just a wolf," Remus said quietly.

"The moon," Severus whispered. "That isn't a wolf."

The prince's eyes traveled away from the Wolf only for an instant, but he saw the brilliant full silver moon shining in the night sky. The thing standing before him was indeed something far worse than a wolf.

It was a Werewolf.

The creature snapped its jaws and with a snarl, attacked. Remus screamed as the sharp fangs tore into his flesh.

-

"Oi, Sirius, wake up!"

Gray eyes blinking open wearily, he found himself looking into the pretty face of one Nymphadora Tonks, Dora to most of the crew, as she gazed worriedly down at him.

"D-Dora," he stuttered.

"Hey! You're awake, drink this," a small vial was dangled above his head, its blue contents shimmering in the moonlight. Sirius sat up and ripped it from her hand. As he down it, she said, "For all you know, that could've been poison."

"You wouldn't poison me, Dora, you like me too much," Sirius said, waiting out the medicinal rush of the potion before he struggled to his feet, feeling her waist for his daggers.

Dora handed them to him, having pulled them out of her own belt.

"We found the knight, he's causing a ruckus over there," she jerked her head to the left and Sirius looked to find the knight yelling at Kingsley.

"We must find the prince at once! I demand that you assist me!" the knight hollered.

"I'll help if you shut your mouth, you're attracting fiends," Sirius snapped, running over to them, Dora at his heels.

The knight stopped in his tirade to look at him, shocked.

"Fiends?" he demanded.

"Yeah, it's a full moon," he pointed toward the sky. "Werewolves and the like are probably wandering around looking for something to snack on."

The silent night was pierced by a harsh scream somewhere south of where the airship had crashed. Sirius grabbed the potion bag from Dora's hand, tucked one dagger into its sheath on his hip and left him using his left hand for the dagger, the other holding the bag. Without a second glance to the knight, he took off running. The knight yelled something indistinguishable and followed.

-

Sirius skidded around a tree, very nearly taking his own head off with the low hanging branches. The knight was clanking behind him, faster than Sirius had expected him to go, but still too slow for the thief's liking. Shoving through a thorn bush, he bit back the hiss of pain as the thorns dug painfully into his skin, blood welling up quickly to trickle down his arms and face.

Then, he saw it coming at him, gold eyes glowing fiercely. He slid to a halt just before the black mage standing his ground before a crumpled, bleeding form lying behind him. A magical fire erupted from the mage's hands and knocked the Wolf back a few paces, setting its fur on fire.

The Wolf ignored the pain as it launched itself once more at the mage. Before Severus could dodge the attack, the Werewolf was stopped halfway as a large black dog bowled it over and sent it tumbling into a tree.

"A Werewolf!" the knight said astonished as he watched the black wolf struggle to its feet and attack the black dog that had become another obstacle to its meal.

"An animagus, the thief is an animagus," Severus breath in awe, staring at the huge black canine as it managed to get its immense jaws around the Werewolf's neck and with a quick shake of its head and a loud snap, killed the creature.

-

The strong, metallic scent of blood filled the air of the tiny cabin as Sirius tended to the vicious wounds that decorated the prince's left arm and shoulder. Flesh had been torn away in strips to reveal pink, fleshy muscle and the white bones beneath. Blood poured onto Sirius's hands and soaked into his clothes and hair as he reached up to brush a strand of hair from his face.

The bed was soaked through with blood and the prince was white as a sheet, staring at the floor as Sirius uncorked a healing potion and dumped the liquid onto the wound. Remus drew a sharp breath as the blue fluid worked its way into the flesh of his arm and began to mend and grow scar tissue before Sirius's very eyes.

Severus sat nearby, nursing a burnt hand and a few bruises, his dark eyes on the two sitting upon the bed, but mostly on the prince.

"Dress that wound, thief," the mage said crossly as he dabbed a burn potion onto his skin and watched the flesh turn pink and raw.

"I will," Sirius snapped.

"You needn't get angry at me because he's bleeding everywhere," the thief leaned down to retrieve the bloodstained rag from the bucket at his feet and proceeded to clean his hands.

"I'm not the one that couldn't kill a Werewolf," he grumbled.

Severus looked sharply at him for a moment and than with a grunt of irritation and a once over of his healed hand, leaned back to watch as Sirius bandaged Remus's semi-healed arm with care.

"You know this means that he's a Werewolf," Severus pointed out casually after several minutes. The prince winced, and it seemed that for a moment, he was going to be sick, but the look faded and he went back to staring at the floor.

"I know that!" Sirius said sharply.

He finished dressing the wound and sat back, shaking dark hair from his eyes and wishing that he would never have to look, smell, or touch blood again.

Severus said nothing, his shrewd gaze upon Remus as he gazed intently upon the floorboards of the airship, lost in thought. He had read enough in school to recall the results of a bite from a Werewolf to know that it would be best if he and the thief retreated from the cabin and left the prince to his own devices for the next few hours while the virus worked its way through his system.

"It would be best if we left, thief," the mage said as he stood, tucking his hair behind his ears.

"Why?"

"Because, you great idiot," Severus sneered, glad to have another point on the man, "the virus has yet to work completely through his body. Once it reaches a certain point, we–" it was at that moment, that Remus let out a soft, keening sound and stumbled to his feet, jerking his bandaged arm from Sirius's grasp.

Sirius leapt to his feet, reaching out to see what was the matter with the prince when, with a growl, Remus lashed out at the thief, nails drawing blood as they swiped across his wrist. With a mumbled curse, Sirius backed away, bumping into the mage. Severus grabbed his arm and dragged him bodily from the room, slamming the door behind him just before Remus had thrown himself against it.

Sirius shuddered as an inhuman howl filled the air.

-

Bloodshot eyes stared helplessly at the doorway as something fell to the floor with a thud on the opposite side. Whatever it was on the other side, growled and fabric tearing was the next sound heard. Severus leant casually against the wall of the ship as Dora tried to coax him to eat something. He was far from interested.

"Is he going to kill himself?" Sirius asked softly. Severus shook his head.

"No, the virus is race through his body now, changing his genetic structure. I imagine it must be a most terrible sensation," Severus answered conversationally. "Werewolves don't transform on the full moon they are bitten, instead they're body takes a few hours to adjust itself to this new virus."

Sirius gazed over at him.

"You seem to know an awful lot about the dark magics and Werewolves."

Severus sneered.

"I am a black mage, of course I would know my own title and the knowledge that it entails," Sirius glared back at him, finding the mage's attitude very inappropriate for the moment.

"You're a real bastard," he said absently. "He's been turned into a Werewolf and all you can do is make sarcastic comments."

"Yes well," Severus tilted his head to the side, "it would appear that this took less time than I thought."

Whatever had been on the other side of the door was silent finally.

-
Author's Note: A bit shorter than the other chapter, but not by much.

Next Chapter: The group leaves the woods and heads to Ravenclaw...