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 must apologize for the long wait between updates. I've
been terribly busy with work as of late since I am now on fulltime.
Yeah for me! Of course, working eight hours a day, five days in a row
makes one sleepy and I've had precious little time to write, but I
am trying.
-
Chapter
Seven
Hogsmeade
-
Walking
swiftly up the stairs, Rosmerta carried an armload of sheets that had
just been washed and needed to go into the linen closet at the end of
the hall on the second floor. As she turned down into the hall, she
was greeted with perhaps the most confusing sight she had ever seen.
The man that had come in the night before with the black mage was
leaning against the door of room six, a sheet wrapped around his
shoulders. He was obviously asleep, though Rosmerta decided that it
had to be the most uncomfortable position.
As she walked nearer, full intending to wake the man, the door behind him opened. She suppressed a giggle as the dark haired man fell backward to land at the feet of the knight. Said knight looked down at him in surprise. Than, he said, "Why, in the name of the Abyss, are you sleeping in the hall?"
The man got to his feet, and was about to open his mouth when he saw Rosmerta standing at the end of the hallway, gaping at him.
"Good morning," he said cheerfully and pushing past the knight into the room, he closed the door.
Rosmerta shook her head. Some things she just didn't need to know about.
-
Ronald gaped at Sirius as he stood in the middle of the room wearing only a sheet that was wrapped carefully around his waist. He had in the last two days; dealt with many things, but a half naked anything standing so very near the prince was the last straw.
But, for all his anger, Ron, knight of Gryffindor, could only gape at the thief as he walked over to the door that adjoined the two rooms. The door opened and he entered the room, completely ignoring the knight. A moment later, he was back, looking livid.
"He's gone," he hissed.
Ron glanced over at the sleeping prince to make sure that he hadn't awakened, and then he turned back to Sirius.
"What?"
"The mage, he's gone," the knight's blue eyes widened in surprise and he rushed over to the door (his movements uninhibited by his armor which was leaning against the wall) and looked into the room that the mage and thief had been sharing.
"That bastard, he kicked me out of the room last night and disappeared," Sirius growled.
"Where did he go?" Ron asked, gazing at the empty bed.
"Into town probably," was the grumbled response. Ron gazed at him for a minute, and then looked at the prince, sleeping peacefully in his bed.
"I shall go after him, you get clothes on and keep watch over the prince," the knight said gruffly and he set about putting his armor back on.
"We can't be calling him that anymore," Sirius said, glancing at Remus, "he's Moony now, remember?"
"Of course I remember," Ron snapped. "I refuse to call the prince by such a name; he does not need to be sneaking around."
Sirius scowled.
"Fine, do what you like, just find the mage, okay."
-
He stood in the shadows of an alley, gray eyes narrowed in concentration as he watched the people of the village, studying them as they walked past his hiding place. He was standing at the entrance to a small alley behind the bakery, in plain view of the citizenry. But, he had cast a spell and was invisible to them.
His black robes fluttered about his ankles as he leaned upon his cane. It was not obvious, but, in retribution for his magic, he had suffered a crippling injury that required the use of a cane. Everyday, he cursed the injury that had aged his body.
His eyes narrowed further as he spotted the one he had been stalking, exit a nearby shop. This man wore the black robes as well and held in his left hand, a wooden staff, useful, but of little value. It was a typical weapon befitting a magic user and far more useful than a wand. The robes this person wore beneath their well-worn travel cloak were plain and unadorned. His own robes were marked with gold runes along the hems. Defensive spells to protect oneself against attack.
He smirked. The simple robes his fellow mage wore would make grabbing him so much easier. Stepping out into the crowd, he reached out with a skeletal hand and grasped the younger mage by the arm.
The reaction was instantaneous. The younger mage, realizing his danger, twisted the staff he carried, swung it in a low arch, and hit the older mage across his shins. There was a crackle of power and the young man cried out in pain as a bolt of lightning lashed up his arms while his attacker remained standing.
The village people gazed in alarm as the mage crumbled to the ground. The older mage removed his hood to reveal a cold, aristocratic face and smile at those nearby.
"Trying to get the boys attention," he said cheerfully. "He's young, doesn't realize his elders are so well protected."
With a nod of his head, he grabbed the mage's arm and dragged him to his feet, pulling him into the alley while those on the street shook their heads, said a few choice words about magic users, and returned to their daily tasks.
"You should know better than to attack someone without your own defense, you idiot boy!" his hissed as he released the younger man. "Damn it, Severus, you're slacking."
"Lucius," Severus spat out as he straightened up and grasped his staff tightly in his hands, glaring angrily at the un-hooded mage standing before him.
Lucius, a high-level magic user in the conclave, had been a handsome young man in his youth. Now, he was a bitter mage of some forty years of age, crippled by a magical wound and aged prematurely by a miscast spell. His once white-blonde hair had turned a steel gray; the long strands hanging down his back to fall loosely at his waist. His eyes, a pale blue, were as clear and cruel as they had been in his youth.
Despite his age and his injuries, Lucius was a powerful man.
"Where is the prince?" Lucius demanded, ignoring the young man's hateful glare.
He knew quite well that the brat blamed him for his having to wait an extra year before he could take his test. Severus was quite right to think it, because Lucius had convinced the leader of the conclave to wait another year before allowing the boy to test. His reasons were simple; the boy had shown too much magical strength for sixteen. Lucius had been afraid that the boy would gain favor in the eyes of the conclave.
So far, Lucius had kept that from happening.
"Why should I tell you, it was my job to retrieve him?" Severus demanded.
Lucius smirked.
"Our master needs the prince, not you," he said casually.
Severus' black eyes narrowed suspiciously.
"Why, why does he need the prince?" he demanded. Lucius watched him for a moment, his gray eyes narrowed in dislike.
"That is none of your concern," he said coldly. "I had a few of my apprentices at the inn where you are staying. They will retrieve the prince as soon as I return to my own rooms at the Hog's Head. You are no longer of any importance to the master. You've done your job."
"What?" Severus gazed at him in surprise. "Not important? He–"
Lucius smirked.
"He lied."
Severus' grip on his staff tightened so that his knuckles turned white and his face flushed with anger.
"No, I won't let you take him."
Lucius sighed.
"Severus, do not force me to kill you," he warned.
"I'll kill you first."
Lucius smiled. He had been waiting for the opportunity to fight the boy since he had passed his test. This was the chance he had been looking for that would gain him favor in the eyes of his master. The little mage would be left dead in this alley and he, he would gain the glory of retrieving the prince.
"So be it."
It wasn't until too late that he saw the knight.
-
Sirius, bathed and dressed, gazed at the sleeping form of the prince and shook his head. The job that Aberforth had given them had become far too dangerous. If what the mage said was true, they probably had the entire Gryffindor army on their tail. Sirius had never been one to back down from anything, but he promised himself that he would do his job, get the prince to Ravenclaw, and never see him again as long as he lived.
That was if he ever managed to make himself stop worrying about the younger man.
With a sigh, he sat down on the edge of the bed and looked up at the ceiling. Remus lay on his side, his brown hair fanning out on the pillow. His breathing was soft and even, a good sign that he was back to full health.
"You have no idea how much trouble you're causing," Sirius whispered. "I bet you think this is some sort of pleasure cruise, don't you? This isn't, you know. People could get killed and my own friends could be dead now. I mean, we left them back in the Forbidden Forest."
He looked down at Remus to find the prince was stirring in his sleep. A strand of hair had fallen across his eyes. Instinctively, Sirius reached out and pushed the long strands back with his fingers. Remus' amber eyes fluttered open and Sirius pulled his hand away.
Remus took note of this simple gesture, but chose not to say anything.
"You're up," Sirius said cheerfully. "How do you feel?"
Remus nodded.
"Fatigued, but I am otherwise all right," Sirius smirked at him as he said this and he scowled. "What?"
"Exhausted to the point of collapse and you still talk like royalty," he answered with a grin, "I'll have to break you of the habit."
"Excuse me?" Remus' amber eyes narrowed slightly.
Sirius started to explain before the prince could start acting like a prince again and he had to slap him again.
"Talking all proper makes you look funny and until we get to Ravenclaw, you don't want to be noticed."
Remus eyed him speculatively for a moment, before his eyes shuttered closed and he nodded. Sirius had the distinct pleasure of proving a point when the prince said softly, "How is it that I find it very nearly impossible to say no to you?"
He gazed down at Remus is surprise and the prince's eyes opened once more to gaze curiously at him. For a moment, they stayed like that, gazing at the other, Remus' eyes full of a curious sort of irritation and Sirius', simple surprise.
Remus gathered up his energy to say something sharp to the man hovering over him, or at least ask him where Weasley and Severus had gone. But, he was stopped when Sirius leaned down and kissed him.
He was completely unprepared for anyone to kiss him in his current state of exhaustion. Especially someone who had kidnapped him from his home, saved him from certain death at the claws and fangs of a Werewolf, and a dragon, and had somehow had managed to slide his tongue into his mouth.
A jolt ran through his body, similar, he thought, to electricity, and he jerked away from Sirius, panting and gazing uncertainly at him, his body tingling. It wasn't exactly unpleasant, but the sensation was something he was unfamiliar with and he shivered. Sirius sat back, closed his eyes, and sighed.
"I probably shouldn't have done that."
Remus closed his eyes.
The door opened and Severus strode in, his robes fluttering dangerously about him as he gazed at the two on the bed. Sirius coughed nervously as Weasley entered behind the mage. The knight looked quickly from Sirius to Remus and frowned.
"Did you do anything to the prince?" he demanded.
Remus blushed furiously and sat up as Sirius gave a sharp retort of, "What do you take me for?"
"If you did, so help me," Ron stepped forward menacingly, his hand going to the hilt of his sword.
"Weasley!" Remus said sharply. "He has done nothing."
"It doesn't matter, we need to get out of here, now," Severus growled, glaring at the three of them.
It was than that Sirius noticed the mage's pale countenance and Weasley holding his sword firmly in hand. With a frown, he stood up and crossed the room to where Remus' things were lying. He picked them up.
"No," Severus snapped. "He can't be seen wearing those clothes, they'll recognize him immediately!"
"Who?" Remus asked, holding the blanket of the bed around him as he stood up. He collapsed almost immediately and Sirius' strong arms caught him easily.
"We can't leave now, Moony can barely walk," Sirius said, easing the prince back onto the bed. Remus sighed and accepted his clothes gratefully.
"Mages," Severus answered, ignoring Sirius' comment on Remus' health. "Lucius and his apprentices are looking for the prince."
Sirius scowled.
"Well, you should be out greeting them since you need to bring Moony to Slytherin," he growled. "Don't expect me to go down without a fight though, y–" Severus cut him off.
"I wish to go with you to Ravenclaw," there was silence from Sirius as the mage crossed the room to the window and looked out into the street. Ron thought it best if he explained the situation to the thief.
"The mages want to kill him too, seems he's lost his usefulness," he said slowly.
Remus nodded and he stood up once more, holding Sirius' shoulder for support.
"I shall dress and we'll leave as soon as possible."
Severus turned back to them.
"You can't be walking around in those clothes, they'll recognize you immediately," he said. "It would best if," he frowned, "I have spare robes that you may wear."
"He's not wearing black mage robes," Weasley grumbled.
-
Ten minutes later, three people exited the Three Swords and made there way down the street toward the edge of town where they hoped to catch a passenger train to the Dragon Gate of Ravenclaw. One of the figures, dressed in leather pants and shirt, was holding gently onto the elbow of a small black mage.
When they arrived at the station, another black mage was standing near the ticket window, looking ready to blast all three of them. He gestured irritably to the other three as they approached.
They managed to get their tickets with money from the dark haired man who was supporting the mage, and it was with some relief that they took a compartment near the back of the train.
"I'm never coming to this town again," Sirius grumbled, pulling the curtains down.
-
Author's
Note: As you all should understand, magic users in this AU must
take a test in order to receive the title of mage. Sometimes the test
can result in injuries or even death, thus explained by Lucius'
injured leg and his premature aging. It is a small salute to my
favorite fantasy series, Dragonlance. Anyone who has read this series
shall have a good old time pointing out any other references that I
decide to put in here.
Next chapter: The group arrives in Ravenclaw. There they meet Prince Remus' uncle, the Emperor of Ravenclaw...
