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: Well...two chapters in one update. Not quite a record, but
it makes me happy. In addition, you guys can stop asking now.
-
Chapter
Eighteen
Uneasy
Alliance
-
Blonde
hair fell easily down her back, as she was Apparated onto the deck of
the Red Rose by one of the black mages. Jerking her arm from the
mage's clutching fingers; she walked toward the door that the mage
pointed to, leering at her as he did. She was surprised to see
another person already waiting.
Stepping into the shadows, she studied this other person. A man, he was dressed in simple dark green pants and tank top, his feet covered by brown sandals and hands protected only by a pair of leather fingerless gloves. His arms, tanned by the sun, were bare except for the green band around his left upper arm. His hair was a white blonde color, cut short so that it did not fall into his face. She recognized him easily and took a moment to school her emotions.
"Draco," she said, stepping out of the shadows.
Gray eyes snapped to her, taking in her black bandana that kept her own white blonde hair from falling into her blue eyes, black leather top with straps that rested easily off her shoulders, elbow length black leather gloves, tight black leather pants, and knee high black leather boots. From her waist, a belt hung cockeyed, her sword's sheath attached so that it hung across the back of her legs, the hilt in easy reach of her right hand.
"Narcissa," was the offered reply, cold and unfeeling.
Keeping herself from saying anything more than usual business to her son, she looked to the door.
"Cornelius called you here as well?" she said.
"Yes," Draco answered.
An awkward silence fell between mother and son and Narcissa leaned against the wall, her clothes, travel worn and fitted perfectly to her movements, were silent.
"What have you been doing?" she asked.
"Why are you suddenly taking an interest in my activities?" Draco snapped, gray eyes flaring with anger.
"I have always taken an interest," Narcissa managed.
"Certainly, until I sought out Father," was the bitter reply.
"I told you it would only bring grief if you went in search for your father. He abandoned you as a child, what could you want with a man like that?" she demanded.
"Acknowledgment," Draco answered. "He's dead you know."
"Yes, I heard from my sister, she has been keeping an eye on you."
"I know!" her son growled glaring furiously at her. She ignored him, gazing at the floor of the airship, and enjoying the breeze.
"I am not saddened by this news. If I ever meet this Severus I will thank him," Draco sent a glare her way just as the door opened and a soldier stepped out into the hall.
"His Majesty will see you now," the two strode gracefully into the room, Draco taking the chair across the desk from the Gryffindor king while Narcissa leaned casually against the wall, wondering vaguely where she had gone wrong with her son. She was far too young, only thirty-three, to be dealing with the angst of a sixteen-year-old. It would have been best if she had drowned him as the doctors had told her.
"Draco the Dragon and the Black Blade, I couldn't ask for two better people for this job," Cornelius said, setting aside his papers and smiling at the two.
"And what job is that?" Draco demanded.
"It's quite simple really," the Gryffindor king replied, standing up. "I want you to kill my son and bring me the jewel that he is wearing."
"Is that all?" Narcissa asked, amazed. She had been expecting a much harder task.
"Not quite; he is traveling with a black mage and a thief, both of whom have caused me trouble. They have turned my General and Captain against me," the king glared at his desk, "but those two will be killed when they are found. They mock me by escaping from Gryffindor under the eyes of one of Regulus' most trusted mages. Now, they are going to Durmstrang to escape me."
"So you want them killed," Draco clarified.
"Yes!" Cornelius' eyes widened with fury. "The reward for whichever of you kills him, will make it so you are set for life and," he looked to Narcissa, "it will clear that name of yours is you so desire it."
Narcissa's head spun. Her name would be cleared if she killed the Gryffindor prince. She had wanted one thing in the years since before her son's birth. Her name would be tarnished no more by the terrible mistakes of her past.
"It will be done, Your Majesty," she said, bowing her head.
-
It took them nearly the entire day to reach the southern beach of the northern continent. Crossing the ocean had been a tireless campaign and they had rested once on a tiny island that had turned out to be the home of several very irritable fiends that Severus had labeled as Tonberry.
Remus had called them death in cute packaging. Small, green turtle-like creatures in brown robes, they had carried lanterns and knives as they moved slowly toward the group. It hadn't been until the first one had smashed his lantern (the light blinding them all) and stabbed Sirius in the leg that Severus had realized what the things were.
Hours later, Sirius sat before the prince while he healed the wound, his pant leg rolled up for easier access. The Pegasi were resting nearby, panting still from the long day of hard labor.
"You let that thing stab me on purpose," Sirius accuse as he rolled his pant leg down, glowering at Severus from across the fire.
"I certainly did not," the mage snapped.
"Did to," Sirius said with a scowl.
"Can't you two try to get along?" Remus asked irritably gazing down at his now gray robes. The two jewels had come out from beneath the collar of his robes and they glimmered brightly in the firelight. "We need to figure out where to go from here."
Sirius shivered suddenly and he leaned closer to the fire, clearly trying to set his loosely hanging black hair on fire.
"I saw a village just a bit north of here," Severus said, scowling at the thief. "Not used to the cold?"
"Snow is the one thing that I am waiting for. I have never seen snow," Remus said absently, gazing up at the sky. "The stars have moved now that we are further north."
"We're too north to see the Hunter," Sirius noticed. "Shame really; I like that one."
"You would," Severus growled.
"Excuse me?"
"Shut up, I heard something," Remus hissed, standing up.
Indeed, the prince had heard something. Stepping out of the darkness were five figures dressed in brown fur-lined coats and carrying spears. The leader, a large man with fiery brown eyes and long brown hair, yelled something to them that sounded suspiciously like gibberish.
"Hello," Sirius said as he stood up, hand falling to his weapon while Severus used his staff to push himself to his feet. "We're new here and we–" one of the spear-carriers shoved the edge of the weapon in his face and he fell back a step. "–are going to die."
"Wait," Sirius sighed with relief as a voice spoke his own language. The person that was speaking stepped forward. It was a female, her thick eyebrows stitched together. "What are you doing here?"
"We're looking for something," Sirius answered.
"Not anymore," the woman said sternly. "You are under arrest."
"What for?" Sirius demanded.
"This is holy land," was the muttered reply.
"This?" Severus whispered with a dry laugh.
"Silence!" the woman shouted as she turned to the others and said something to them in her garbled language. After a moment, the man that had his spear to Sirius throat, made a rough gesture with the weapon, and said something.
"He says that if you do not move, he will not hesitate to slit your throat," the woman explained.
"I'm moving, I'm moving," Sirius growled. The man stepped forward suddenly, lifting his spear. With a downward strike, he hit Sirius across the temple. The thief crumbled to the ground, unconscious.
"Sirius!" Remus stepped forward just as the butt end of a spear flew toward him.
Severus watched the prince fall to the ground, blood staining the sand. The fire flared suddenly, flying toward the two fur coated people that had attacked Sirius and Remus. They fell back; yelling in surprise and the woman stepped forward and lifted her spear, pressing it to the prince's throat.
"Stand down," she said, "or I will skewer him."
Reluctantly, the mage stood down, glowering at the barbarians.
-
Severus bit back a sigh as he sat inside the tiny cell of the village prison. He had been forced to walk the two miles to the village and the Pegasi had been freed to go where they pleased. They were trapped on this continent. Sirius had been the first to wake. He had come to just before they had been thrown into the cell and had gotten himself a broken jaw for trying to attack the man that had thrown Remus' unconscious form into the cell.
Now, the thief was silently nursing his newly healed jaw while Remus gazed silently out of the cell toward the opposite wall where their bags and weapons hung. The jewels thankfully hadn't been taken, but they had no way of knowing what was going to happen to them due to the simple fact that they didn't speak whatever language these people did. Not that anyone was around to talk.
"Do you think they'll come back?" Sirius asked.
"Probably," Severus growled, "so they can kill us."
Already edgy, the mage wasn't expecting a hand to grab his shoulder. There was a flash of gold light, a soft crackle of lighting, and a soft curse in the strange language that the barbarians spoke.
"Severus," Remus whispered, looking toward the mage as he twisted to his feet to find out who or what he had attacked.
Crouched down in the hallway, a dark figure nursed a wounded right hand and wrist.
"I'm only trying to get you out of here," the figured whispered, their voice soft enough that Severus had difficultly deciding if it was male or female. "If you're going to be that way," the figure waved their uninjured hand toward Severus, "Silencio."
The mage opened his mouth to say something scathing. His mouth moved, but nothing came out and Sirius, having seen the entire thing, burst out laughing. Severus glared impotently at him and then turned black eyes to the person that had managed to silence him despite his immunity to the spell.
"You said that you would get us out of here," Remus said, moving toward the bars as the figured straightened and the moonlight, still strong despite it being half waned, fell across their face.
Green eyes filled with fire gazed at them from beneath a fringe of messy black hair. The rest of the black strands fell in a sort of waved tangle to their waist. The features were neither masculine nor feminine though now that Severus was looking for it, he could see nothing distinctly female beneath the black cloak.
"Yes," the person whispered. "But only if you help me."
"What sort of help?" Sirius asked.
"I want you to help me find my father," Severus made a sound in the back of his throat.
"We don't have time to find your dad kid," Sirius said, standing up. "We have our own problems to deal with."
"You're looking for this," reaching into the front of his robe, the kid pulled out a silver chain. Remus reeled away from the bars as if he had been burned, gold eyes flashing. Sirius looked back at him in wonder and then back at a fang shaped dark green emerald jewel that hung from the chain.
Severus' black eyes widened in surprise.
"How did you know about the jewels?" Remus asked, curiously, still keeping his distance from the boy on the other side.
"I saw you when you were brought into the village," was the reply.
"What's your name kid?" Sirius asked finally. Green eyes narrowed slightly and the kid looked toward the wall, lost in thought.
"Harry," he said finally.
"I am inclined to think that you're lying since it took you so long to answer that," Sirius said sharply.
"I'm not lying!" Harry snapped, glaring at the thief. "I don't know if I can trust you."
"Sirius, shut up," Remus said sharply. "Now, Harry, we'll help you find your Father, we promise, but you have to help us first, okay?"
Harry gazed at the prince for a moment, brows knitted together in thought. After a moment, he nodded.
"Okay," pulling the key from the inner pocket of his cloak, he unlocked the door and pulled it open. "The guards are busy now, there's a game going on down at the pub, but we've still got to be careful."
Sirius picked up his weapon, attaching it back to his belt while he watched Remus shoulder his bag. Severus grabbed his staff and bag, and glowered at Harry as he strode quietly down the hall toward the heavy wooden door. Leaning against it, he listened intently for sounds.
"Remus, what happened?" Sirius asked quietly, grabbing the prince's arm and keeping him from following after Harry. "You freaked out back there."
"Silver," Remus answered just as softly. "I'm a werewolf, remember."
No, actually, Sirius thought grimly, he hadn't remembered. Now that he had been told outright, he felt as if he had been punched in the gut. How close was the next full moon.
"So where are we going?" Remus asked, effectively cutting off Sirius' thoughts, though his eyes did flash toward him as if he had had a sudden thought.
"My village," Harry answered. "It lies north of here beyond the pass."
-
Surprisingly, they weren't caught leaving the barbarian village. The streets were almost empty, most of the people at the pub or home. Once, they had stumbled across a drunk happily lurching his way across the street, but he had not noticed them due to Harry using his own staff, made of oak wood and topped with a red crystal, to strike the man to the ground.
"Now we're going to have some trouble," Harry said as he led them down a winding path just as snow began to fall.
Remus started to shiver suddenly in the cold. Sirius was about to do something but Harry, beat him to it, pulling off his cloak and handing it to the prince. Sirius scowled at him in irritation, but he simply adjusted his bag and continued to walk beside the prince. Beneath the cloak, Harry wore tight black pants, black combat boots similar to those worn by the Gryffindor knights, and a tight black tank top. He wasn't tall like Sirius, but he was thin, making him appear taller than then the thief was. Of course, Sirius admitted to himself, he had more muscle then the kid, but that came with age.
"Why?" Sirius asked.
"We're going through the Sanctuary," Harry answered.
"The what?"
"The Sanctuary," Harry repeated. "The barbarians think it's some sort of holy ground, holier than that beach you guys were found on. They have two guards at the pass so we're going to have to fight them."
"Damn!" Sirius said.
"What?" Harry asked.
"You'll have to let him talk again," he jerked his head toward Severus. The mage was glowering at Harry, his staff held menacingly in his hands as he walked. "He can't use very powerful magic if he can't talk."
"Esuna," Severus' broke into a fit of coughs that quickly dissipated.
"I'll kill you!" he grabbed Harry around the throat and pulling him off his feet. Sirius made a note that the mage had several inches on the boy and a good few inches on him and the prince as well.
"Severus!" Sirius yelled, trying to pry the mage's hand from Harry's throat. "Let go of him!"
"Severus," Remus pleaded.
The mage released Harry with a growl, letting him fall back onto the snow-covered ground. Stepping over him as he coughed, Severus nodded to Remus.
"Keep out of my way," he snapped as he stalked down the path toward the dark shapes of the mountains that the pass went through.
"Shit," Harry gasped, running a hand over his throat. In the moonlight, purple marks where Severus' fingers had been were slowly starting to appear.
"Let me heal that for you," Remus said dropping down beside Harry but he waved the prince off, shaking his head.
"Don't worry about it," Harry said quietly.
"That moron," Sirius growled, glaring after Severus. "He should know better than to choke people, especially kids."
"I'm not a kid," Harry grumbled, using his staff to stand. "I'll be eighteen in two months."
"You're still a kid," Sirius said as he started after the mage. Remus stared after him in confusion.
"I suppose now would be a good time to tell you that Severus doesn't like being made fun of," Remus said vaguely.
"Actually," Harry said, grinning cheekily, "that was sort of fun."
The prince cocked his head at him and Harry set off after the other two. Remus followed, still wondering what he had missed. When they arrived at the pass, it was to a still glowering black mage and a scattering of ice chunks stained with blood. When Harry opened his mouth to say something, Severus had glared so fiercely at him that he had actually taken a step back.
"This just got a whole lot more interesting," Sirius said absently when he noticed Remus staring at him again. "What?"
"We need to talk," the prince said, gold eyes flashing in realization and narrowing.
"What now?" Sirius asked, looking over at Severus and Harry. The mage looking as if he was going to kill all of them and Harry as if he was finding this whole thing entertaining.
"No," Remus said lowly, "when we get to the village."
Sirius nodded.
-
Author's
Note: Two chapters in one weekend. I'm on such a roll its not even
funny. But, it might be more than a week before I get the next
chapter up due to my classes so I apologize in advanced.
It's nice that I don't have to worry about people asking me where Harry is now...you know, I realized just now that this bloody fic has taken steps away from its origins in Final Fantasy IX and turned into something of its very own creation. Of course, it may diverge once more with its FFIX cousin. We shall see.
As usual, reviews are appreciated.
Next Chapter: Harry's village brings new troubles...
