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: We take a
breath from action and adventure and return to Gryffindor. I've
been messing with my calendar and come to the conclusion that it is
the twenty-ninth of March as this chapter begins. Not even a month
has passed since our group left Gryffindor that first time.
-
Chapter Twenty-Four
Silence
-
Dora sipped carefully at her beer, her long legs
crossed beneath the table and blue eyes on her companions. Kingsley,
Peter, and Alastor were all sitting at the round table as well.
Kingsley, dark-skinned and dressed in black leather clothes, had a
bowl of soup before him and he was eating it carefully, black eyes
flitting between the fifth at their table and the rest of them. Peter
sat beside the huge man, his tiny body wrapped in cotton clothes of
deepest green. His dirty blonde hair hung into his beady black eyes
as he nervously tapped the table. Alastor was the calmest of them,
his one eye on his meal and the other moving between everyone at the
table.
"Sirius," Dora said, running her fingers through her short pink hair as she set down her beer. The thief continued to push his food around on his plate, shoulders and head bowed in what was the worse fit of depression that Dora had ever seen on a person.
"I doubt he can hear you, he's too deep in his own misery," Alastor said gruffly.
"What's wrong with him?" Peter asked.
"Guess," Kingsley said stealing Sirius' plate before he could stab a hole through the metal.
The fork continued its downward motion into the table. Dora rolled her eyes.
"I've never seen him so depressed over a guy before," she said. "Our little oddball seems to have developed a heart."
"Don't tease him," Kingsley said.
"Sorry," Dora bowed her head slightly and she reached out and placed a hand comfortingly at Sirius' shoulder. "Don't worry about it, there are plenty of other fish in the sea."
"You were an idiot anyways, letting yourself fall for the Dolphin. Best to just stick with the Minnows, they're more within your grasp," Alastor growled, grabbing the fork from Sirius' hand and leaving him to do nothing but stare blankly at the table. "Pathetic, getting so worked up over some royal trollop."
Sirius' shoulder tightened imperceptibly beneath Dora's hand.
"Alastor!" Dora cried. "Don't cheapen it like that."
He shrugged.
"Don't make much difference now," he explained. "He didn't stand a chance anyways."
-
Harry, holding onto Severus' hand as the mage led him down a street with Dobby trailing along silently, was in awe. He had never seen such grand buildings and everyone was dressed so nicely, even if they were all wearing black. It was such a nice change from Godric's Hallow.
"Where are we going?" Harry asked as Severus tried once more to pry his hand loose of the summoner's tight grip.
"I am going to the potions master, I need to get potion supplies," Severus growled, giving up for the third time and continuing down the street. Several people stared at the sight of the black mage dragging the pretty dark haired stranger dressed in cloak and robes. If the mage was thankful for one thing, it was that most of them would think Harry was a girl.
"You make your own potions?" Harry asked, jogging a bit to keep up with the mage's long strides.
"Yes," he answered curtly. "I find that if I make my own, they work far better than the ones you would buy."
"Oh."
They had arrived and stepped into the small, dark building. Harry gazed around and dropped Severus' hand as he began to examine the delicate looking bottles on the shelves nearby. The mage reached out and grabbed his hand again, pulling him back to his side.
"Don't touch anything," Severus growled.
"Yes sir," Harry said, mock saluting.
"I am Horace, how can I help you?" the potion master appeared from behind a shelf of ingredients; his wide body taking up far more room than Severus thought possible. Harry stepped back into him and he placed a hand on Harry's shoulder.
"Severus. I am in need of several potion ingredients," the potion master's eye lit up and he nodded.
"Certainly, and who is this pretty young lady?" Harry's eyes widened in surprise and he blushed, taking another step away from Horace as he winked at him.
"Uh…" he stammered a bit and fell silent.
"My apprentice," Severus said dismissively, moving past Harry and toward the potion master.
"Ah of course," Horace nodded, eyes still twinkling. Harry glared at the both of them as Horace led Severus down the aisle to get whatever it was that Severus needed.
-
Sometime later, Tonks leaned casually against the railing outside of the Potion Master's. Alastor was inside getting something for Aberforth leaving the other three outside to wait for him. They had left Sirius back at the inn to wallow in self-pity. Peter was perched on the railing, whistling to himself.
"Sirius' really done himself in this time," Kingsley said finally.
"Yeah," Tonks breathed. "But, this about it. He's never been in a serious relationship before. I bet he's got no idea what to do with himself"
"Well, he is in love with a king," Peter interjected absently.
"I'm sure that's the only thing he's thinking about right now," Tonks said. "That's why he's so depressed right now. I mean, the kingdom is already all a flutter over their next king being a werewolf. What would they say if he was gay, too?"
"This is something he's going to have to deal with alone," Kingsley said sagely. "This'll make him stronger. You'll see."
-
The window was open, looking out across the water and onto the city. A small island in the middle marked the graves of the past rulers of the kingdom and their loved ones. Remus pretended for a moment that he could see his mother's headstone nestled beside his fathers. It worked for about half a minute, before he turned from the window.
"Your Highness?" Remus looked toward the door of the small room to find Weasley standing in the door, Albus standing behind him.
"Weasley," Remus sighed. "I'd like to talk to Sirius."
"Your Highness, you have more important matters at hand," Albus said gently as they stepped into the room. "There will time for such things later."
"You live in two different worlds," Weasley drove the point home and Remus closed his eyes, nodding.
"There is something that I must give you, Remus," Albus stepped forward, holding three stones in his hand, colored black, red, and yellow. "These stones contain the Eidolons which your father – " he waved his hand dismissively. "Well, that is all in the past."
"Please, I want to see Sirius," he repeated, the words falling past his lips before he had even realized he had said them.
"Now may not be a good time," Granger said, placing a hand on Remus' shoulder.
"Even you agree with them?" he looked at his uncle and Weasley.
"Your Highness," Remus shook his head, cutting Weasley off before he could saying anything else.
"I know," he said softly. "It's okay."
-
Harry sighed with relief as he followed Severus out of the small shop and back out onto the street. That Horace person had been leering at him most of the time and as fun as it was to see Severus' eyes narrowing in anger, it was getting irritating because he wasn't a girl. A point he had been ready to express when the mage had grabbed his shoulder and steered him out of the shop.
"Oi! Severus right, I met you a while back?" Harry jumped as a woman with bright pink hair appeared, grinning at them. She turned stunning blue eyes on him, "Who's the bird?"
"Bird?" Harry asked.
"She means girl," a dark skinned man said with a kind smile. "I'm Kingsley."
Throwing a furious glare at Tonks, Harry threw his hands into the air.
"I am not a girl!"
Tonks' mouth dropped open in shock. Kingsley's eyes widened and Peter goggled as Alastor appeared from inside the shop just in time to see Severus start laughing. Harry glowered at him.
-
The robes were startling clean. Even after numerous baths while back in the city, Remus still felt as if he were dirtying the white material as it fell easily from his shoulders. His fingers played nervously across the gold leaves on the belt resting across his hips as he stared out the window. His hair was loose now, hanging freely down his back. Weasley had made a remark about cutting the long strands and he had sent the knight from the room, furious.
"Granger?" he asked, his hands falling to the Gryffindor and Ravenclaw stones hanging from around his neck.
"Yes, Your Highness?"
"You served my father for twelve years, correct?" he noticed how easy it was to slip back to his old speech patterns.
"Yes, Your Highness," his amber eyes narrowed slightly.
"Perhaps you can tell me what happened thirteen years ago," there was a soft sigh and he heard the chink of mail as Granger relaxed slightly.
"I suppose you're talking about the fact that you aren't King Cornelius' son, then yes, I could tell you," her voice was surprisingly soft. "Your mother and father's child had been sick for many years. I can't be sure of the details; I was only a new recruit at the time. The day before the storm, their son had died, leaving them childless. Queen Elizabeth went into shock and confined herself to her chambers. I – I was on leave that day and had gone down to the beach. There was a boat – it had obviously been run up onto the beach by the storm."
Remus turned watching as the general's face softened with emotion as she dragged back the memories of that day. She seemed softer in the moment, hardly the merciless knight that he knew her to be.
"There was a man, he had to have died only recently and a child, twelve or so," she sighed. "He looked so much like the prince, it was startling, except the eyes. The eyes were blue; the prince's eyes had been brown. There was this creature with him. I'm not sure what it was, but it was like a lizard of some kind, black. Like a dragon I suppose, but only about the size of a dog. It nearly didn't let me near the boy. But, I had to help him. He was sick – dying maybe. So I – I took him to the castle and the healers cared for him. The king. Your father demanded to see him. Rumors had already started going around about this boy who looked so much like his dead son."
"Granger?"
"When King Cornelius saw the boy, he said that he would take him as his son and raise him to take the throne. Queen Elizabeth had just died and he was grieved, knowing that he could never remarry. He came to love you in his own time, we all did. But, we've always known Your Highness. Most of the residents in this castle have always known that you were not King Cornelius' birth son."
She crossed the room, dropping down onto her right knee, her sword still held carefully in both of her hands as she bowed her head.
"It does not change anything now that you are aware of this truth. My allegiance to you remains the same, if not stronger."
"Granger," Remus breathed. "Thank you."
-
Sirius glared at the table as if it had offended him greatly. Perhaps it had. He wasn't really sure and he doubted he was thinking straight at the moment. The others had left some time ago, his misery bringing down their good moods. There was to be a party in a few days to celebrate the coronation of a new king. He stabbed said table viciously with his dagger at this thought.
A hand slammed against his back and he lurched forward a few inches as Kingsley's deep voice filled the quiet pub. "Cheer up," the dark skinned thief said as he sat down beside Sirius.
"I don't want to cheer up," Sirius said darkly, glaring at Kingsley and contemplating whether or not he should lock himself up in the room he had gotten for the night.
"He's right you know," Tonks chirped, appearing on his left and taking the seat there.
"Why are you still moping?" Alastor's gravely voice demanded as he entered the room and sat down near Kingsley.
"It's not like you," Peter put in taking the chair beside Tonks.
"Stop it," Sirius growled. "You don't understand."
He stood up, pushing his chair back from the table with a sharp grinding sound of wood on stone. Turning, he found Harry and Severus standing there, both looking at him; Harry with a mixture of annoyance that only a child could pull off and his usual optimism. The mage on the other hand just look irritated.
"What the hell do you want?" Sirius demanded.
"We ran into them outside of the potion place," Harry explained.
"Yeah," Tonks said with a grin. "I called him a girl and he had a fit."
"Congratulations," Sirius made toward the stairs, but the mage's hand caught him by the elbow.
"We're going to the castle to see Remus," he said. "I would suggest that you come with us. If only to say goodbye."
Sirius nearly growled as he pulled his arm from Severus' grip. Tonks was shaking her head at him and Kingsley and Alastor were both looking grim. Peter just looked lost. He looked at Harry, the summoner's green eyes had softened and he was nearly pleading. He looked as if the 'No fucking way' on Sirius' lips would make him cry. With a heavy sigh, he nodded, noticing Harry's expression clear. Little bastard. He would make a good actor.
-
Ginevra sighed, relaxing fully as she leaned casually against the sun warmed barrier at the small dock. Dressed in a bright yellow dress, her dark red hair pulled up into a lovely twist, she looked every bit like the princess she was. If not for the spear that she was holding she would have passed.
"Nice weapon," the elf looked up sharply to find a human standing nearby, dressed in leather pants and top, her long blonde hair hanging down her back loosely. She had a sword attached to her belt and was looking at the spear with interest.
"I suppose," Ginevra said carefully. She had heard that this outlaw had helped Sirius and Remus when they had been on Durmstrang. Even so, she doubted the woman's motives of honor and life debts.
"Narcissa."
"Ginevra," the two women gazed at each other for another long moment.
"What are you doing here?" Narcissa asked.
"I was invited to the castle," Ginevra said testily. "The prince asked to see me since I was in the area. I am merely waiting for a companion. He has not yet arrived."
"Sirius?" Narcissa asked, looking about for a moment.
"No, though he is a friend. The person I am waiting for is a giant. He saved many of my people when the Burrow was attacked."
Narcissa's eyebrows, white blonde like her hair, shot up in surprise.
"Hey!" Narcissa jumped, glaring, as Sirius, Severus, and Harry appeared, walking down the steps to the dock. It had been Harry that had spoken, his green eyes lighting up with interest as he looked between Narcissa and Ginevra.
"Ginevra," Severus greeted politely.
"Severus," the elf's blue eyes softened for a moment as she looked at Sirius, who looked if at all like a beaten dog and the young girl in a long black cloak. "I'm glad to see you again Sirius, who is your friend?"
"Harry," Sirius answered, tonelessly. "When's the boat get here?"
"Soon enough," Severus replied.
"Harry," Ginevra allowed the name to roll off her tongue. "It's a strange name for a girl."
"I'm not a girl!" Harry said, sitting down as Severus smirked.
"What?" Ginevra blinked. "I would have thought. The way you carry yourself is very ladylike."
There was a moment's silence. Harry fuming as the other three looked at the elven princess in shock. Narcissa snickered and it set off a quick chain that led to Harry glowering at them all as he threw his hood up to cover his face. By the end of it, even Sirius had a small smile on his face.
"Have you found out anything about Regulus?" Ginevra asked suddenly.
"'Not much," Sirius answered.
"The only thing we should worry about is if he'll come after Remus again. I mean, he's already killed King Cornelius, what's to stop him from killing the new king?" she said.
Sirius scowled.
"I know that. I don't even know if I could protect him. Besides, he's got all the guards he needs, he won't need me," he muttered.
"But I bet Remus wants to see you," Harry said brightly.
Sirius shrugged.
"Yeah, but we're leaving as soon as we're done."
-
"So, who are you exactly?" Ginevra asked, gazed curiously at Harry as he jumped from the boat onto the dock outside of the castle.
"Harry," he replied. "I'm from Godric's Hallow."
"I have never heard of it," Ginevra said.
"Really? Well Godric's Hallow is–" Harry was cut off as a heavily armored man appeared from the castle archway, his face blocked by the helmet he was wearing.
"What are you doing here? You ruffians do not belong here," he demanded, approaching them.
"Sir Weasley," Severus said smoothly. "We came to see the prince."
"Master Severus," Weasley stopped, nodded politely, and turning blue eyes on the rest of the party, eyes narrowing on Sirius and Harry, his face still covered by his hood. "I can arrange a brief meeting."
"Oi, you lot, wait for me," they turned as a second boat pulled up to the dock, carrying a man far too large to be allowed.
"Sir Hagrid," Ginevra said warmly.
-
"Master Severus, Princess Ginevra, Sir Hagrid, Narcissa, Harry, and Sirius have come for a brief meeting with you, Your Highness," Remus looked up at the last name to find said people standing awkwardly on the other side of the room. He had been lost in thought, his mind supposedly on the important trade papers in his hand.
Setting aside the parchment, he jumped to his feet.
"I must apologize," he said hurriedly. "I've had a great many things to deal with these past few days. I'm happy to see all of you."
"It's fine," Ginevra said, waving her hands absently. "I'm just glad that we were able to speak to you, if only for a moment."
"Yes, well," Remus looked over the group. "Why on earth do you have your hood on, Harry?"
"Because everyone keeps saying I'm a girl," Harry said moodily as he pulled the hood back. Remus gazed at him uncertainly. With a grumble, Harry pulled the hood back up and edged closer to Severus who was smirking.
"Well, I suppose," he stopped, shaking his head. "Hagrid, I'm glad to see that you made it out of the Burrow alive."
The giant grinned.
"Yeh, well, I managed tah save a lot of Ginny's people so she was kind enough to make me her personal guard," Hagrid explained cheerfully.
"Your Highness, I'm afraid I have to ask your friends to leave, you have a few private matters to go over," Minerva said as she walked into the room.
"Of course," Remus nodded, glancing uncertainly at Sirius as the others prepared themselves to leave. He had yet to say a word and was absently toeing the carpet, head bowed and dark hair veiling his face from view.
"Remus, is this the last time we'll see each other?" Harry asked suddenly, moving quickly across the room.
"No, of course not," he answered. "I just won't be able to go with you when you leave. I'm afraid that my journey ends here."
"Remus," Harry bit his lip. "I want us to stay friends."
"Of course," the prince smiled. "Here," reaching up he unclasped the steel chain from around his neck. Taking Harry's hand in his, he pressed the sapphire hanging from it into Harry's palm.
"Then you take this one," Harry said, taking off the onyx jewel and handing it to Remus. "This way they're still safe."
"Goodbye Harry," and Weasley was shuffling them out of the room, the prince watching them for a moment before he collapsed back into his chair, burying his face in his hands.
Out in the hallway, Severus looked carefully at Sirius.
"Why didn't you say anything?" he asked.
"I–" Sirius shook his head. "I don't know. I tried."
"And?" Ginevra asked curiously.
"I couldn't okay," he snapped, glaring at them. "What was I supposed to say? Good luck, Remus. Have a nice life."
"That would have been kind," Severus said darkly.
"Well, it would have been a lie," Sirius growled. "That's not how I feel," his voice lowered, loosing its anger and his sighed. "That's not how I feel at all."
-
Author's Note: Thus ends chapter twenty-four.
I'm amazed at how far along I've gotten with this fic. I'm
still going to which astounds me. I usually give up after only a few
chapters. I plan to re-edit some of the earlier chapters soon since
I'll be linking them at my LiveJournal. Of course that's if I can
get the cuts to work properly. Reviews of course are appreciated.
Next Chapter: Two days before Remus' coronation the group travels to Slytherin…
