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: Happy New Years everyone! Another year and another chapter
for you guys to read and do whatever it is you do with these things.
-
Chapter
Twenty
Overnight
-
Severus
stepped aside to allow Sirius past and into the other room. Which
meant he was left in the kitchens with Harry and the House Elves.
Rolling his eyes, he stepped further into the kitchen. It would do
him better to leave Sirius to the prince. Harry looked up at him as
he picked up a rag, drying the dishes that the female House Elf was
finished cleaning.
"Do you mind?" Harry asked.
"What?" Severus growled.
Harry looked at him in disbelief, and then picked up another rag and tossed the rag he had been holding toward him. Catching it with his left hand Severus looked at it questioningly and then at him.
"What am I supposed to do with this?" he demanded.
"You can help since you're loitering," he answered with a grin.
"I will not be reduced to menial labor," Severus growled.
"Well than get out of my kitchen," Harry said with a grin, turning back to his drying.
Severus contemplated going back out, or staying and choking Harry with the rag himself. It was better than going into the dining room and interrupting whatever was going on in there. Especially if the mage had been correct in assuming the prince was angry with Sirius.
With a sigh, he came up behind the summoner and took the dish he had been holding. Harry looked up at him in surprise.
"What?" Severus grumbled.
"Nothing," Harry replied quietly, taking his own dish and starting the drying process.
-
That was exactly how Sirius found them, a few moments later, though the peaceful aspect had been shattered. "I think I know how to clean a skillet, thank you," Harry was saying as he calmly set about cleaning out the grime inside of the heavy iron skillet still sitting on the stove.
"You know how to do it wrong," Severus growled. "You can't put water in it, you'll ruin it."
"I know that," Harry's voice was calm, but it had an edge that Sirius had yet to see. "I've been cleaning far longer than you have."
"I know that, but you're doing it wrong," Sirius leaning against the doorpost and coughed.
Both Severus and Harry jumped, looking around at Sirius.
"Remus and I are going to the Whomping Willow tomorrow," the thief stated, looking amusedly at the two. "If you two love birds would like, you can join us."
Severus glowered at him and without another word, dropped the rag he had been holding and stalked out of the room leaving Harry staring at his back in amazement. Once the mage had gotten beyond hearing distance, Harry shook his head.
"So I'm not the only one that likes pissing him off," he pointed out, gleefully.
"No, but you're the one that likes him," Sirius answered.
"True," Harry nodded absently. "So, you're going to the Whomping Willow?"
"Yep, at first light if we can."
"I'll go with you," Sirius nodded.
"Remus wouldn't want it any other way. He's never met another summoner before so he wants to keep you nearby," Harry grinned.
"That's good. Remus is quiet, but I'm sure once you get past all that, he's a really great person, right?"
"Yeah," Sirius replied, "I know."
-
The rest of the day moved by quickly, Remus and Severus spent their time pouring over Harry's spell books and trying to master a variety of spells. Remus had found a more powerful version of the cure spell that required a simple incantation of Cura in order to heal more than just minor cuts and such. It seemed this one was capable of healing small breaks and fractures as well.
Severus meanwhile, has discovered a rather interesting looking spell labeled Bio that would not only damage the person it was cast on, but poison them as well. It was the sort of spell a black mage would find extremely interesting and made the prince, a white mage to the end, frown.
Harry spent the remainder of the day at the Eidolon Wall. When Sirius had tried to approach the ancient looking structure, one of the House Elves, Dobby, Sirius thought, had blocked his way. So instead, Sirius had taken to wandering about the ruins aimlessly until nightfall when they had dinner.
Dinner turned out to be far less interesting than breakfast had been, or rather after breakfast had been. Too tired to even try to argue, Severus helped Harry in the kitchen by putting away the plates and other things that Harry had to use a chair to reach. Sirius and Remus watched in amazement as the mage did it without even uttering a word of protest.
"Maybe he's sick," Sirius said later as he and Remus set about getting ready to a good night's rest before heading off to the Willow in the morning.
Harry had one other bedroom room in his house and then a small and somewhat uncomfortable window seat in the dining room. Harry had given up his own room to Severus, who was planning to spend the night learning new spells, leaving him on the window seat. Which meant that Sirius and Remus had the guest room, which had bunk beds.
Remus shrugged, sitting down on the bottom bed and slipping off his boots. Sirius took to leaning against the wall, looking about the empty room as he tossed a peach up into the air, caught it, and then tossed it back up. This continued for a few moments until finally, he got bored with this game and took a bite. Stupid fruit, he thought with a curse as the juice covered his fingers and some of his hand.
"Damn it," Remus looked up from his unlacing of his left boot and watched, eye widening in surprise as Sirius slowly licked his hand clean. It was a rather interesting sight, gray eyes closed, oblivious to the fact that the prince was staring at him in shock.
Gray eyes opened slowly, meeting with wide amber ones from across the room. As the prince realized that he had been caught, he flushed with embarrassment, looking down at the floor and coughing. Sirius had the audacity to ask, his voice filled with fake concern and a heavy amount of concealed laughter, "Am I distracting you?"
"No," Remus snapped, far too quickly and far too loudly.
"You're other boot is still on," the thief pointed out. Remus blushed a deep shade of red and set about untying the laces, head bowed forward so that he didn't see Sirius until he was standing in front of him. Jumping back half an inch, he looked up at Sirius.
"What?" he wasn't surprised when long fingers threaded through his hair, untying the ribbon that still held his hair back, the strands came down, and Remus bite his lip, unsure as to what he should do. It was easy to tell Sirius to back off when he was being loud and in one's face, but at times like this, Remus found himself frozen, like a deer when it hears the hunter.
The fingers slid from his hair finally, and he watched in half relief, half-disappointment as Sirius stepped back, gray eyes still watching him, trying to gauge his reactions.
"Night," he said finally.
Remus swallowed, nodding silently as he watched Sirius hoist himself up onto the upper bed. Taking a deep, calming breath, the prince covered his face with one hand, closing his eyes and trying to gauge his own reaction. He had been expecting Sirius to kiss him and, if he was completely honest with himself, had almost been looking forward to it.
Why was he so disappointed if he'd told Sirius he didn't want to be kissed?
-
Harry shivered as he sat in the window seat, looking out of the glassless window at the ocean stretched out far below. It was a comforting sight, the waves crashing into the dock far below, but with the wind cut through his heavy comforter like a knife. Folding his legs, bare except for a pair of simple dark blue under shorts, up so that he could rest his chin on his knees, he tried to make the chill disappear.
It didn't help much, but he was certain he was starting to hear things now. His hand flew immediately to the emerald hanging from his neck and his eyes snapped open, expecting perhaps one of the House Elves to appear. Instead, he found himself staring across the room at Severus, who was standing in the doorway, watching him with his black eyes.
Harry smiled. "Still up?" he asked, swinging his legs off of the seat and standing up, leaving the comforter on the seat. "Are you thirsty? I could make something."
The mage watched him for a moment, black eyes narrowed and Harry waited for the sharp retort. Instead, "It's cold in here."
"Yeah, the sea breeze does that during the winter. You get used to it after a while," Harry said, walking across the room toward the dining room. Severus just watched him, following after him and watching him as he made tea. It was almost unnerving, but Harry hummed to himself to feel less self-conscious and finally handed a mug over to the mage.
"Thank you," Severus said, his voice low and hoarse.
"How did the spells work?" Harry asked, breathing over the hot liquid in an attempt to cool it.
"Better than expected," Severus admitted tiredly. "I seem to have the Bio spell mastered, though I've killed all of the plants in your bedroom. I apologize."
Harry shrugged.
"Don't worry about it," he said with a grin. "It's nice to have you not choking me."
Severus coughed, looking a bit uncomfortable talking about having tried to choke Harry only that morning. Harry's smile broadened as he watched the mage struggle with what he was about to say next.
"Apology accepted," Harry said finally, tilting his head slightly.
They stood in the middle of the kitchen, drinking tea and listening to the sound of the waves crashing below. Harry was humming quietly to himself as he set the empty cup into the small elf sized sink and looked back at Severus.
"What song is that?" Severus asked.
"It's an old summoner hymn. It's been in our tribe for generations. My grandmother said it soothes the soul."
"Fascinating," Severus said after a moment, gazing down at Harry from over the edge of his mug. It was difficult to tell his emotions, his eyes black voids. Finally, he finished his tea and set his own mug into the sink.
"Well," Harry said with a smile, stretching his hands over his head, "we should try to get some sleep. Busy day tomorrow."
"You'll freeze out there," the mage pointed out, black eyes narrowing slightly. Harry shook his head.
"No, I'll be fine, I've slept in worse conditions," he admitted, smiling reassuringly at the mage.
"I can sleep out here," Severus said. "Take your own bed back, I don't need it."
Harry huffed in obvious irritation.
"You're the guest, don't be rude," Harry said, pouting somewhat ineffectively. Severus couldn't help but feel it didn't help him look any more masculine than he already didn't, but chose at that moment not to say anything.
"You'll know when I'm being rude," he growled.
"You're being rude now and it's going to make me cry," Severus resisted the urge to throttle the younger man as he moved back toward the window seat, wrapping the comforter around himself and taking the spot stubbornly.
"Fine, freeze to death for all I care," Severus snapped, stalking out of the room.
Harry sighed dejectedly and fell back against the wall of the window seat, staring out at the ocean. That hadn't gone exactly as he had hoped, but it was certainly better than he had expected, which was saying something since he had expected much more than the cold shoulder from the mage, not that he was going to give up. It was well known that if he wanted something he was going to get it.
He nearly jumped when another blanket descended on top of him, obscuring his sight for a moment. With a muffled yelp of surprise, he pulled the heavy blanket – from his own bed he noted – and scowled. Severus stood, arms crossed, and one eyebrow arched in what was clearly a gesture of 'give it back and I'll snap your neck'. Harry didn't say anything, there wasn't anything to say, but he smiled warmly at the mage. Severus bowed his head and then returned to the room he was supposed to be sleeping in.
-
Morning came, and with it, an air of calm that seemed to be affecting them all as Dobby and Kreacher made food that would last them until they returned the next day, or even later, if their examination of the Whomping Willow wielded results. Winky had made herself coordinator and set about getting clothes and such for her master and his guests. Severus refused the clothes she had offered, preferring his black robes, cinched at the waist by a gilded white gold belt that seemed to offer some sort of magical defense, and his black boots over the black trousers and shirt. Of course, all of this had been cleaned sometime during the night, except for the shirt, which he had worn to sleep in.
Remus' robes had been somehow cleaned overnight while he slept in a borrowed nightshirt and the white material had been returned to a brilliant pure color, cinched by the gilded gold belt. His boots had also been cleaned as well and it was clear that the bath he had gotten had done a world of good. His light brown hair was, like the rest of the groups, cleaned of the dust and grime from so many days of travel. It hung loosely down his back and he stood to the side, fingering the white ribbon and lost in thought.
Sirius of course was still in his worn black leather trousers, sleeveless top, and boots, all beneath a heavy dark blue travel cloak. His dark hair was brushed now and it hung loosely as usual down his back. Remus contemplated the dark strands for a moment, and was reminded of Regulus in that single moment.
The last to join their group was Harry, decked out in dark red trousers and a matching tank top. His boots were the same ones he had worn before, black and shined nicely by one of the House Elves. Over this he threw his black cloak and took up the wooden ruby topped staff he had been using. Severus still had the silver, crystal topped staff, the pointed end still just as deadly. Sirius noted for the first time that Remus never did stand too close to the mage if he could help it. Absently, Sirius touched his own weapon.
"I have a better weapon for you and Remus, Sirius that I got a while back from one of the Barbarians," Harry said suddenly and he disappeared back into the house. He appeared again, holding a burlap wrapped object. In his other hand he held another bound in heavy white cloth, which he handed to Remus before giving Sirius the burlap bound one.
Sirius accepted it gratefully, holding it at it's middle where Harry had been holding. It was light, nearly as light as the wooden staff that Harry used. With a breath, he untied the twine keeping it wrapped and pulled the burlap away to reveal a stunning weapon of bright green metal. The double bladed weapon's grip was wide enough for two hands, but Sirius held it easily in one and the blade, as wide a those belonging to a Great Sword, were sharp and seemed to glow with power. It should have been heavy, Sirius thought, as he twirled the blade easily in his hands, righting it so that the one end hit the ground. It was six feet long and more usual than Sirius' Butterfly Sword, as it had been called, could ever be.
"How is it so light?" he asked.
"No idea, the woman that sold it too me said it was a holy weapon. She called it Angel Bless. I figured that since you were using the double sided swords, you would appreciate an upgrade," Harry answered with a grin.
"What in the world?" Remus had open the other weapon to reveal a slim staff made of a dark mahogany and topped with a curl of wood around a pale green stone.
"Healing Staff," Harry said with a smile. "Anyone you touch with it is healed, of course, it does take some energy and it doesn't heal much, but it's handy. I like my staff better though."
"Why, what does it do?" Sirius asked.
"Nothing really, just amplifies my magic, I figured Remus might want one too," the summoner said with a smile.
"Course, he can't use it as a weapon." Sirius pointed out, to that, Remus smacked him with said weapon and he winced, rubbing his arm where the crystal had hit.
"If I want it too heal," he pointed out, smiling at Sirius as he righted the staff one more. "Thank you, Harry. This is a gift that I will cherish greatly."
"Oh, no problem," Harry said. "So, we're off to the Whomping Willow then?"
"Yep, let's be off," and with that, they left behind the crumbling ruins of Godric's Hallow and headed back the way they had come.
-
Author's
Note: Yep, that's right, an entirely chapter devoted to a whole lot
of talking. I'm somewhat happy with this chapter and I had a lovely
time trying to figure out what Angel Bless looked like. Bloody stupid
sword with it's hard to find pictures and crap, making me resort to
fanart.
Next Chapter: The group finds more than they bargained for at the Whomping Willow...
