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 was surprisingly pleased with the results of the last chapter. However, now we've come to the more complicated bits of this tale and I can only hope I tell it well enough for you not to be confused.
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Chapter Twenty-One
The Whomping Willow
-
It took them until mid-morning to get to the base of the massive tree and even then, they couldn't go any further due to the roots. Of all sorts of sizes, the roots twisted for nearly a mile out from the Willow's base, making it impossible to get any closer after they had left the mountain path. Sirius had taken to exploring the dirt around the tree, searching the cracked and desert-like ground for a way to the base.

"We'll have to climb," he decided finally, clapping his hands together and sending dust flying into the air.

Remus and Harry, who had been examining an archway that stood at the edge of the root system some yards away, looked toward him. Harry nodded; eager to get any closer to the tree than they had already gone. Not only that, but the idea of climbing sounded quite fun to him. The prince looked more than a bit worried at this prospect.

"Won't that be dangerous?" Remus asked.

"That's half the fun," Harry said with a grin, looking decidedly cheerful about the idea of walking along a bunch of roots.

"The rest of the fun is in actually getting to the tree," Sirius supplied striding toward them.

Severus was standing nearby, gazing at the Whomping Willow, and muttering to himself. Harry went over to him, tugging on his sleeve to get his attention. Angry black eyes turned on him, and he smiled cheerfully.

"What are you doing?" Harry asked.

"I am trying to teleport into the tree, but something is blocking me from doing so," he growled in reply, pulling himself out of Harry's grasp. Remus grinned and looked pointedly at Sirius who was trying not to laugh at the mage's predicament.

"So we'll climb," Sirius said finally, and he stepped beneath the archway and jumped down onto the thick root beneath it. A moment later, Harry followed, laughing quietly as he gazed up at Remus looking down at them both as if they had gone mad.

"Come on Remus!" he shouted joyfully, running ahead and beginning the difficult climb over roots toward the tree.

"What if I fall?" the prince asked uncertainly.

"I'll catch you!" Sirius shouted back up.

Remus gazed uncertainly at the ten-foot drop between himself and Sirius. It was probably only a matter of a few feet, but it seemed longer. With a deep sigh, he jumped, closing his eyes and waiting for the rush of air that meant he had missed the root. He landed perfectly on the center of the wide root with a heavy thud. With a gasp, he fell forward in shock, right into Sirius' open arms.

Sirius grinned.

"Told ya I'd catch you," he said, standing Remus back up. The prince nodded and then jumped forward half a pace further into Sirius' arms when Severus landed just behind him, scowling deeply as he fell forward onto his knees.

"Sorry Harry isn't here to catch you," Sirius said stepping away from the prince and removing Angel Bless from the tie on his back and twirling the double-sided sword a few times. With a smirk, he turned and followed Harry. After a second, Remus and Severus followed as well.

-

It took most of the morning to find a way through the roots that would take them to the base. It seemed that some of the roots took sharp angles down that made them impossible to take. This led to retracing their steps and finding another path. Sirius was always ready to catch Remus when they had to jump, and he was equally as ready when needed to pull the prince up as well. Harry seemed eager to do everything on his own and Severus would never ask for help from anyone so it was a good system for the time being.

It wasn't until they had to climb up onto the topside of a root that stood over six feet tall. Severus was the only one that could reach it, and even then, just barely. With an easy boost from Sirius, he pulled Sirius up first. While Sirius hoisted Remus up onto the branch, he held out his hand for the shortest of the group.

"Thanks," Harry said, grasping the mage's hand. He was pulled up and onto the root, nearly tripping into the other man. Righting himself with a laugh, he started down the root whistling while the mage grumbled on about idiot summoners falling over while standing still.

"You guys gotta see this!" Harry's voice rose from beyond a mass of roots and the rest of the group ran toward him, down an easy slope onto a wide, almost circular platform glowing with bright green energy. Harry was standing on the furthest side of the circle, standing on a small outcrop of green.

"This isn't natural," Severus said slowly. "Someone built this."

"Harry have you ever been here?" Sirius asked, turning to the summoner. Harry shook his head.

"This is my first time inside the Whomping Willow. I've always been told that it was dangerous and because of the name, I figured it hit things or something.

"This place is ancient," Sirius said, satisfied with Harry's answer. Kneeling down beside the outcrop that Harry stood on, he tapped it gently with his finger and nearly jumped back when it flashed with green energy and moved some. Harry nearly fell over, but managed to keep his balance by grabbing Sirius' arm.

"Harry," the thief pulled him off the platform and then off his arm. With a shrug, he stepped onto the outcrop and as it flashed green, jumped when it began to move down. Grabbing for the edge of the platform, he hung precariously as the lift disappeared into the darkness below.

"Sirius," Remus said worriedly.

"I'm fine, just a bit surprised is all," Sirius said, watching for the platform as it reappeared suddenly. "It's coming back up now."

He waited a moment and then let go, falling the necessary six inches onto the platform as it rose up. With a look at the lift, he stepped back off.

"All right, everyone on."

The lift took them to another platform where a much large and brighter glowing lift waited. It was possible that this platform led to the bottom of the tree.

"What is this place?" Remus asked.

"No idea, but we're going to find out," Sirius answered.

Harry had jumped onto the wide lift, gazing uncertainly at it when it didn't budge. He tried jumping, but that didn't help and Severus wasn't going to be much help when he wouldn't do much more than glower at him.

"Sirius, it won't move," Harry called. The thief turned and began to exam the lift as Harry stood impatiently on it, huffing in irritation.

"Let's just see what happens when we all get on," he said.

Severus and Remus stepped onto the platform. It didn't move, or even glow with energy. With a shrug, and fully expecting that this was the end of their exploration of the Whomping Willow, Sirius stepped onto the lift. There was a hum of energy and a soft green light beneath their feet.

"I felt it respond," he said absently as the platform began to descend into the brilliant green light below. They covered their eyes for a moment. Glancing at the others it was clear that Harry was enjoying this immensely while Severus looked as irritated as ever. Remus on the other hand was deep in thought, gazing out into the green void in silence.

"You okay, Remus?" Sirius asked, placing a hand on the prince's shoulder.

"Yes, but I wonder where we are going," Remus replied softly.

"Who knows? We'll find out when we get there," he said soothingly.

"There's a lot of life here," Harry said finally. "It's all around us, but mostly I think it's coming from below," he motioned to the floor of the lift.

"I'm still wondering what this place is," Severus said. "We should all be; this isn't normal."

"I don't like how this place feels," Remus said uneasily. "It feels almost," he struggled for a moment to find an appropriate word, "evil."

They were silent until they reached the bottom.

"There's something down here," Harry murmured quietly, looking uneasily around him as they reached the wide, seemingly man-made platform at the bottom. Severus went to edge, gazing down into the bright green light from below. Harry went with him leaving Sirius and Remus next to the lift.

"Are you okay?" Sirius asked again. Remus looked a bit pale, staring out at the interior of the Whomping Willow.

"I don't like this place," the prince admitted. "I want to leave."

"Sure thing, let me get Harry and Severus," before he could take another step, there was a loud rumbling and the platform they were standing on shook violently, knocking Remus off his feet and into Sirius' arms. They fell to the ground at the same time Harry and Severus did the same. A black shape fell from the wall above their heads and came to rest before them.

Its body was shaped almost like a tree, branches long and whip-like. It seemed to look more like a miniature willow, though it still towered over Sirius and the others. It was unclear if the creature could see them.

"You are not Regulus," the creature said, the words echoing through their minds.

"You know Regulus. Where is he?" Sirius demanded, struggling to his feet and helping Remus to his. Severus was doing the same with Harry and both of them were gazing at the massive tree in awe.

"I do not know," the creature thought.

"What are you?" Harry asked softly.

"I am the runner of the machine," it answered.

"What are you doing?" Remus demanded, eyes wild.

"I am the collector."

"Collector," Sirius breathed.

"Yes. I am the Collector of souls such as your own."

"No," Remus said, stepping forward. "You must stop."

"I knew this day would come. You cannot stop me. It is futile even to try."

"Wanna bet?" Sirius growled, removing Angel Bless from his back and dropping down into a battle position. Remus did the same; taking the staff Harry had given him and charging it with white energy. Harry and Severus appeared, a bird made of fire hovering over Harry's head and Severus already holding a ball of fire magic.

"Foolish mortals," whip-like branches shot toward them, trying to find purchase.

They avoided the first wave of branches but the second caught them. Fresh wounds opened across arms chest and face, blood splattering to the ground as the tree pulled back and readied itself for another attempt.

"Reflect!" red light, identical to the red light that Harry's summon had created before appeared between himself and the creature. Severus seemed to find this useful as instead of casting the Fira spell on the monster, he cast it Harry.

There was a flash of light and suddenly fire crawled across the monster's body. There was a sharp snapping sound and Harry cried out as a deep gash appeared across his leg, ripping through his trousers and turning the dark red material black with blood.

"Phoenix!" Harry yelled. The firebird trilled and swirled up into the air, releasing a wave of fire onto the monster.

It was clear that the creature of heavily wounded as smoke curled off of it body. With a fluttering of gold and red light, Phoenix disappeared and the monster lashed out again, this time finding purchase with its branch and winding around Sirius' throat, pulling the thief off his feet and to the ground.

Angel Bless clattered to the ground and Remus summoned Ramuh to attack the monster, but he succeeded not only in damaging it, but also in leaving Sirius unconscious. The monster drew back as Severus cast another Fira spell on it, bouncing the spell off Harry's reflect shield and back onto the creature. The branch withdrew leaving behind a deep gash and bruise on the thief's neck.

Charging up the staff, Remus touched the crystal to Sirius' throat. Nothing happened.

"No!" Harry yelled, running toward them and receiving a sharp lashing across his back for his pains. He stumbled into Remus shoulder. "You have to revive him first or else healing won't work."

"I don't know any revive spells," Remus said hurriedly, tapping the crystal on Harry's back and healing the bleeding gash. He cried out suddenly as a branch hit him across the face, knocking him backward to the ground. Tasting blood, he could feel it as it ran down the side of his face. He gazed dazedly up at Harry.

"I do, help Severus," Harry said, pulling Remus to his feet.

The prince rushed toward the mage who had managed to get his last Fira spell to stick to the tree's body, slowly burning it from the inside out. There was a flash of green light from the monster and suddenly both Severus and Remus were engulfed in it, pulled off their feet, and then dropped onto the ground, gasping for breath and trying not to be sick.

"P-poison," Severus managed, struggling to his feet and casting a Fira spell on the creature before it could attack Harry. Its attention returned to the two mages.

"I have a spell," Remus said, closing his eyes and trying to remember the words, they came to him and he said them in his mind, ending the spell with one spoken.

"Esuna," white light spread over the mage's body and his face returned to a healthy tone, leaving Remus gasping. "Esuna," he managed, healing himself of the poison, before he struggled for the words to the Cura spell.

A moment later, he had figured them out and a few of the wounds on Severus' arms and torso disappeared. Severus called up his last reserves of magic and cast his newly learned Firaga spell, draining himself to the point of collapse, but successfully turning the monster into a pile of ash in a matter of minutes. The wave of heat washed over them both, bringing with it the smell of burnt wood and flesh.

Remus stayed on his knees, panting heavily, clutching his staff tightly in his hands and hoping for unconsciousness. None of this made any sense. What was going on? He felt a hand on his shoulder, shaking him so that he had to open his eyes. He gazed blankly at Severus.

"Stand up, we have to get out of here," he said roughly, grabbing Remus' arm, fingers unknowingly digging into one of the lashes from the creature. The prince cried out in pain and jerked away from the mage, tears welling up suddenly.

"Leave me alone," he gasped, stepping away from him, and falling back to his knees.

Severus shook his head. He wasn't going to deal with the prince if he was planning to have a nervous breakdown now. Turning away from Remus, he moved over toward Harry and Sirius. The summoner was casting low-level cure spells on the various wounds on Sirius' body as the thief stared dully at him.

"He'll survive," Harry said. "Though, that bruise on his neck won't heal with magic. For all I know, it was caused by magic."

"Can he get up; we need to get out of here?" Severus demanded, gazing over at the still crackling remains of the creature.

"Probably, his eyes aren't glazed over any more," Harry answered. As if on cue, Sirius groaned, gray eyes snapping shut and face twisting into a pain-filled grimace as he sat up, rubbing his throat gingerly.

"What happened?" his voice was raspy, as if he had something in his throat.

"Remus and I killed it," the mage answered. "But he's taking it badly."

"What?" Sirius gasped.

Severus turned back toward the prince only to find him standing right behind him, eyes red, possibly just from the smoke in the air, and emotions clearly in check.

"We should leave," he said carefully.

"You're bleeding," Sirius said, struggling to his feet and grabbing Remus' face in his hands, examining the slash that ran from his hairline down to his chin on the left side.

"I'm fine," Remus said, pulling away and moving back toward the platform. "Let's get out of here."

Sirius just gazed at his bloody covered hands in shocked silence.

-

Finding their way back to the outer rim of the tree was far easier then it was getting in and they managed to make it back shortly after noon with no luck on finding the Eidolon that had made the area its home. Harry swore he had felt the Eidolon's presence, as if it were following them but not doing anything.

They made their way to the pass and back to Godric's Hallow with no problems. It wasn't until they had reached the little village that anyone bothered to do anything. Harry insisted they go back tomorrow to see if they could find the Eidolon. Remus had reluctantly agreed, and after Sirius had finally shouted at him, he had relented to allowing Winky to clean the various lash marks on his skin.

Harry said simply that the wounds were too old to be healed with magic now. Severus hadn't said anything; though he did agree to lie down and rest for a few hours while Harry gave Sirius some home made cream for his bruise. It burned, but it made the ache easier to bear afterwards.

"I'm going to go pray," Harry announced suddenly as he stood in the center of the living room. His clothes were still torn open, but the wounds had been healed, leaving his clothes artfully ripped. If Sirius hadn't been distracted by Remus' odd behavior at the Willow, he would have told Harry the ripped clothes and messy long black hair was a good look for him; made him look older.

"You do that," Sirius said slowly as he watched the summoner leave the house. He sat in a chair at the dinner table, staring at his hands, still stained with blood. He should clean it off, but he couldn't bring himself to stand up. Angel Bless lay on the table before him, the green blades glimmering mockingly at him.

"Sirius," Remus appeared from the kitchen, his right arm bandaged. The lash on his face was stitched shut with small, precise stitches that would dissolve as the cut healed.

Sirius studied the prince as he sat down across from him at the table, it was clear that the cut would leave a scar. Though it could have been a lot worse, it was still a price to pay in battle. The thief felt just as guilty for this scar as he did for the bite mark that still marred the prince's left shoulder.

"You know, if you want to cry, my shoulder's available," Sirius said, smirking, hoping to break the ice.

"What about you?" Remus asked a faint hint of a smile on his face.

"Oh, me, well," Sirius stood up, walking around the table. Remus' eyes followed him, filled with suspicion, "I get really clingy."

With that, he wrapped his arms around Remus' shoulders and pulled him bodily from the chair and onto his feet. The prince made a sound of protest and made to move away from Sirius, but the thief tightened his hold. After a brief struggle, the prince relaxed, head bowed forward and listening to the soft breathing of the other man behind him. He could feel the stubble on Sirius' face, shaving having been forgotten since they had been imprisoned, and rough against the back of his neck.

"I'm glad you're okay," he said softly.

"Same here," Sirius whispered. They stayed like this for a few more moments, each lost in thought.

"You're hands are covered in blood."

"Sorry, I'm probably getting some of it into your robes."

"It's okay."

"You're not going to push me away?"

"You need a shoulder to cry on, I'm here," Remus placed his hand over Sirius' and sighed, closing his eyes.

There was a loud cracking sound and Remus jumped away from Sirius as if he had been burned. The thief shook his head and turned to see what had happened. There was a House Elf standing before them. Dobby, Sirius told himself as he gazed at the creature.

"What?" he asked, glancing at the prince out of the corner of his eye. Remus looked embarrassed as he gazed at Dobby curiously.

"You must help," the House Elf chattered nervously, fidgeting. "Harry is in danger."

"What!" Sirius grabbed Angel Bless from the table. "Wake Severus and go to the Eidolon Wall," he ordered Remus before instructing the Elf to take him to wall. Remus drew a deep breath, shook himself, and then rushed from the room to wake the mage.

-
Next Chapter: The group finally meet Draco and Narcissa…