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: I'm glad that someone liked the idea of Severus and Ron being elves. After all this is a fantasy story and as with most fantasy tales, elves are integrated somewhat into the tale. For those of you just joining us, good luck because this is going to be a long, bumpy ride.
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Chapter Six
The Three Swords Inn
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Standing in the warm sunlight just beyond the cold grip of the Ice Cave, Sirius labeled the cave as such on his map before he crumpled the parchment into a ball and threw it angrily back into his pack. He looked up to find the other three gazing at him.

The knight's expression from beneath his helmet was if anything annoyance that he had put the prince's life in the hands of someone clearly incapable of the job. The prince, past the point of exhaustion as he was supported by Weasley, did not seem to notice and the mage, his body still wracked with spasms of pain from the incompletely healed wound, was smiling derisively.

Sirius scowled at him and turned away angrily as he tossed his pack once more on his shoulder and looked across the grassy plains that lay between them and the cozy looking village of Hogsmeade. The tall grass was tipped with frost in the early spring morning chill.

Hogsmeade lay just beyond the Ice Cave, a tiny village that utilized the land around it for farming. Gazing at the village, Sirius could recall only one thing: the renowned Three Swords Inn. The inn was the center of the town where one could gather information. Many people passing between the five Kingdoms frequented it.

"The sun feels good," Remus said weakly.

"Yes, well, we need to get to the village before nightfall," Sirius motioned to the sun already on its way toward the horizon.

"Yes, we should," the prince said.

"Wait!" Sirius remembered something. "We have to be careful. By now, your father has sent people looking for you. You need," he struggled for the words, "a new identity."

"The prince has no need to sneak around. We will return to the castle as soon as possible," Weasley said sternly.

"If the prince does not sneak around," the mage spoke, his voice soft, but the others quieted, "he will be discovered and all of us will be killed."

"Nonsense!"

"Weasley," Remus said softly, "Severus is right. I need a new name. I can not have you calling me Your Highness or Remus any further," the prince seemed lost in thought, his eyes looking toward the darkening sky and the waning moon.

The four were silent, Ron fuming at this new development while Sirius and Severus thought up some name for the prince to use. After a moment, Sirius smiled and he looked up at the moon and said one word.

"Moony."

-

The owner of the Three Swords Inn, Rosmerta, had lived in Hogsmeade since she had been a girl of seven. Her mother had brought her here to live with her aunt when she had gotten sick. Two months later, when her mother had died, Rose (as she came be called by her aunt) found herself working at the Inn alongside her older cousin, Lilia.

Lilia had been killed when Rose had been twelve in a barroom brawl that had gotten out of hand. Five years later, she inherited the Three Swords from her aunt. Now, ten years later, she looked sternly at Katie as she knocked over a tray of mugs, sending the amber liquid and glass across the floor.

She sighed.

"How many times has it been this week, Katie, three?" she asked exasperatingly as she watched the barmaid clean up the mess with a rag. "You've got to watch where you're going and try not to get so spooked, their lot have been coming here for a while now; you should be used to it."

As she said these words, she jerked her head toward a table near the fire. Around said table, two men and one woman sat whispering quietly to one another. They were a normal sight at the Inn now, seeing as how they were staying there, but their presence still frightened Katie.

The fact that they were dressed in black hooded robes marking them clearly as black magic users was a factor. But, it was not just that. The black mages seemed to radiate some sort of frightening energy that had many of the patrons to the pub on edge.

There had been rumors of war across the sea and rumors of war here on Hogwarts, coinciding with the Gryffindor kings strange behavior in the last few months and the alarming growth in black mages. Rosmerta scoffed at the idea of these frail looking mages bringing anything but business.

It was well known that magic users were weak of body (and the mind some would say), but it was made clear when these three had come into town. They appeared in good health, well except for the one who was using a cane, but it was clear they could not withstand simple physical attacks. It was also well known that magic users were gifted with great power, but, like all power, it came at a price. The price was usually in the form of the use of the magic draining the body of its energy and leaving the mage vulnerable. As if was, these mages avoided confrontation like a plague.

The door burst open. Several patrons jumped and Rose saw few go for their weapons. Katie shrieked and dropped the broken mugs she carried. Rosmerta turned dark blue eyes to the doorway.

A handsome young man, dressed in leather, looked carefully at the patrons before he stepped into the warm firelight. His dark hair, falling to the middle of his back, was tied back into a ponytail leaving a few shorter strands to fall into his gray eyes.

Behind him was a knight of Gryffindor, as revealing by the lion emblazoned in gold upon the form fitting steel armor. He carried on his back a two handed sword, sheathed and ready to be drawn. He also carried a bow and quiver, but it was unlikely that he used them because the bow was not the weapon of a soldier.

The knight was helping another male, this one dressed also in fitted leather, though the shirt beneath the tunic seemed too large for him. His face was downcast, his mid-back length sandy brown hair falling freely to hide his features. The man seemed ready to collapse, and he did so into the chair near the fireplace in the back of the room.

The last figure that entered the Three Swords made Katie cry out and several people looked wary. The man was a black mage, dressed in flowing black robes cinched at the waist by a silver rope. The black cloak covered most of his body but his face, not hidden by the hood, was white, framed by a curtain of black hair. His eyes, as dark as coals, were cold and unfeeling as he walked into the room.

At the last moment, his mask broke, and with a pain-filled gasp, he stumbled. A few people were surprised when the gray-eyed man caught his arm and hauled him roughly back to his feet, whispering a few words that had the mage glaring at him, hatred clear in his dark eyes.

Rosmerta gazed at them for a moment as they settled themselves at the table near the fire on the back wall. The mages nearby looked at them for a moment before they began to whisper amongst themselves again.

She stepped out from behind the bar and approached the table. "Anything I can get you?" she asked politely, directing her question at the gray-eyed man.

"Ale," he answered, "for me and the knight, water for the others."

She nodded and disappeared back behind the bar to fulfill the orders. When she returned, the man had pulled out his money purse. He paid for the ale, the water being free, and asked her quite simply, "How much steel would it cost for the four of us to stay the night?"

Rosmerta added the figure in her head and remembering how many rooms were available and how many could be given away.

Finally, she nodded, "I've got two rooms you can take for the night at twenty coins all together," she said smiling.

The man looked to his companions. Odd companions, Rose thought for a moment. The knight nodded, his eyes on the brunette who had lain his head upon the table and was slumbering, his water untouched. The mage said nothing, his long fingered wound tightly around the glass he was holding, drinking the water in smooth sip.

"Whatever you say," he answered.

The gray-eyed man scowled, but he counted out the coins and handed them to her before she went to get the keys to the rooms. When she returned to the table, she found the knight already waking the brunette while the mage struggled to his feet, his face as smooth as marble.

"Rooms four and six," she said softly as they retreat upstairs.

-

Severus eased himself slowly onto the bed furthest from the door, pain lancing through his body as he stretched the healing muscles and skin of his belly wound. His robes were torn and falling to reveal the white, bloodstained bandage that wound around his stomach. He grimaced at this and made the decision that he would buy new robes tomorrow at the magic shop. Despite the fact that black mages were feared, magic shops always had the necessary colored robes for each branch of magic.

"Who's sleeping in which rooms?" Sirius asked.

"I shall sleep here, whichever one wishes to risk it may take the other bed," the mage said sardonically as he removed his cloak and began to take off his robes not caring about the others.

The knight flushed as he carefully led the prince through the door into the adjoining room. The door closed a moment later and Sirius was left alone with the mage. He glanced over at the mage as he disrobed and then with a scowl, set about removing his own accoutrements. It was too late and he was too exhausted to start anything with the mage.

Dressed only in his trousers, he pulled back the blanket on his bed and crawled beneath it to bury his face in the cool pillow. The candle on the table between the two beds glowed steadily, burning on his eyelids and with a growl; he sat up and leaned over to blow it out.

Severus spoke, "Not yet."

Gazing across the room at the mage, Sirius's mouth fell open in shock. The mage had disrobed and he sat upon his own bed, his back facing the thief. Scars, old and new, marked the pale flesh.

"What happened to you?" Sirius asked, the question tumbling past his lips before he could stop himself. Severus looked sharply at him from over his shoulder as he changed the bandage over his stomach.

"Like most mages, in order to gain magical knowledge, we gave up trying to enhance our strengths in the physical ways of battle," he answered simply. "When in battle, we rely upon our mental strength and so our defense to those creatures who do not use magic is greatly decreased."

"Oh," Sirius breathed.

"Is there anything else?" Severus asked.

"No."

"Good, because I would have put you out into the hall," Sirius scowled at the mage and proceeded to tuck himself further into his bed.

"And how would you propose to do that?" Severus glared at him momentarily, and then with a smirk, he waved his hand.

Sirius had just opened his mouth to make another comment only to find himself talking to a door. He looked around. Sure enough, he was standing out in the middle of the hall. With a growl, he grasped the doorknob. It was locked.

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Author's Note: I'm quite happy with the pace this story is setting for itself. Expect another chapter up within the next week. Also, because I would never forget a birthday, Happy Birthday Harry Potter and a belated one to Neville Longbottom!

Next Chapter: Another day in Hogsmeade reveals that Sirius and Severus are not the only ones with interest in the prince...