Title:
Saishū Yume
Author:
Remus J. Lupin-Black
Rating:
R
Genre:
Action/Adventure/Alternate Universe/Romance
Pairing(s):
Remus/Sirius, Severus/Harry, Hermione/Ron, Albus/Minerva
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: Thanks to my beta for reading through this and finding my
stupidest errors before I send it your way. I'm not too happy with
this chapter, but it'll do. Enjoy.
-
Chapter Thirty-One
Animagus
-
They had
been unable to keep Regulus' airship in site, loosing site of the
Invincible just as an odd looking structure loomed up onto horizon.
The trip from the Durmstrang continent had taken nearly a full day to
complete and it was nearing sundown of the second day. Everyone had
taken a chance to get some well needed rest, Sirius especially, his
wound healed, but still tender to the touch. Remus had driven himself
to the point of collapse and had slept for most of the journey.
Severus, on the other hand, hadn't slept at all.
Gazing out across the water and shivering in the rapidly cooling air, Sirius spotted an iceberg floating near the ship.
"We can't cut though the ice if it gets any thicker," Weasley said worriedly as they moved past a sheet of ice bobbing across the surface of the water.
"We can try," Sirius muttered, shivering in the cold. It started snowing suddenly and he watched the heavy flakes fall, before he turned from the ship's railing to look at the knight. "What the hell is Regulus up to? What's he want Harry for?"
"Harry is a summoner," Sirius looked up to find Severus coming up out of the warm interior of the ship, his robes blowing in the wind as several snowflakes caught in his black hair.
"That's it isn't it?" the thief asked as Remus and Ginevra appeared behind the mage. "He wants Harry for the same reason he wanted Remus. To extract the Eidolons."
The prince's amber eyes widened in concern and he gazed at Sirius, trying to express what he could no long say. Sirius moved toward him, placing a comforting hand upon his arm.
"Don't worry, Remus," he said soothingly. "We're not going to let him have his way."
The prince nodded, smiling faintly. Sirius grinned in response, remembering still the first time they had spoken. It was surprising that his protectiveness for him had only tripled since that first incident. He looked away, out across the water toward the structure in the distance.
"Regulus has a lot to answer for," he said finally.
-
The ice had frozen the water solid for nearly a mile from the structure. Leaping off the deck of the trapped ship, Sirius's boots thudded loudly on the ice. There was a crack and he jumped forward to keep from ending up in the freezing water. Severus Apparated nearby, gazing shrewdly at him.
Remus dropped down a half second later, stumbling as the ice beneath their feet cracked. Reaching out, Sirius caught him, pulling him close as Weasley joined them, his armor removed, and a heavy coat in its place. It had been decided that only four of them would go after Regulus and Harry. Weasley had another coat, this one lined with fur that he offered to Remus. The prince shook his head, but Sirius took it from the knight's gloved fingers and tucked it tightly around Remus' smaller framer.
"You're wearing the least weather resistant clothes," Sirius explained at the curious look from the prince. "Besides, I made it my job to take care of you, remember?"
"If we can stop with the love confessions," Severus growled, making Remus flush with embarrassment and Sirius send a sharp look the mage's way, "I would like to attempt to save Harry."
Despite the mage's casual tone, it was clear that the mage was holding back his own fears over the summoner's safety. Sirius nodded, "All right, let's go."
-
The structure was nestled between two mountains. A massive staircase led from the icy ground into a candlelit circular room. At the center of the room stood a shrine to a dragon. Stepping through the doors from the outside into the darkly lit room, Sirius' gray eyes fell upon the open door on the back wall. Sunlight filtered through it from the outside.
"What are you beggars doing here?" the group gazed at a tall, slender woman with silver blonde hair dressed in silver robes. Her skin was pale in the candlelight and her blue eyes icy as she gazed down at them. "You are in a holy place."
Ignoring her question, Sirius stepped toward her, "Have you seen a man with long dark hair in black robes? He had a younger man with him, dresses in black as well."
The woman's blue eyes widened and she stepped back, a hand pressing to her chest.
"How dare you address me in such a way. You speak to the High Priestess of Beauxbatons. This is holy ground upon which you stand. Watch your tongue," she narrowed her eyes at them. "Are you in league with him?"
"Tell me where they went!" Severus growled, stepping forward. "The boy's life is in danger!"
The priestess turned her blue eyes onto the mage and then she turned away to gaze at the shrine.
"All life is equal. The living shall return to the stars through the Veil," she turned back around and gazed momentarily at Sirius and then her gaze flickered to Severus.
"What are you talking about?" Sirius demanded. "Did he come through here or not?"
"A priestess should not turn her face from evil," Weasley said harshly.
"I merely watched them," the priestess said softly. "They did nothing wrong and so, I was not concerned. They went to Mount Philosopher."
"Mount Philosopher?" Severus asked. The priestess gestured to the open doors behind them.
"It is a volcano that went extinct many generations ago. Legends say that the Red God," she motioned to the statue behind her, "lived in its depths, but that was many years ago. No one has entered since it was sealed a century ago."
"So he took Harry to Mount Philosopher," Sirius said, grinning.
"You're real upset aren't you?" Weasley asked.
"Well, now we know where to go. Come on," Sirius said, jerking his head toward the open door behind the Red God.
The high priestess watched them go, her white face impassive as one of the nuns approached her, bowing before she spoke.
"The volcano has been unsealed, should we send someone to investigate?"
"No," she replied, shaking her head. "Legends tell of the mountain being reopened. This is the return of the Red God."
"Of course, Milady," the nun straightened. "Shall we prepare for the full moon?"
"Yes."
-
Outside once again, Remus shivered as he followed behind the others as they descended the stairs on the backside of the temple down to a circular platform below. As the staircase twisted, the prince gazed out at the water. Trapped in the ice near where the ship was, a series of small stones stood in the water. Stopping for a moment, Remus watched as air between the curved stones shimmered.
"Remus," looking away from the sight, the prince gazed at Sirius. The thief was watching him carefully from the bottom of the steps while Weasley and Severus neared the door leading into the volcano.
Shaking his head, Remus followed Sirius to the doors of the volcano. Made of marble, the stone doors were set into the side of the volcano. They had been opened and Severus gazed into the darkness beyond, frowning.
"He's brought him here?" Weasley asked. "Why?"
"The Red God, maybe," Sirius suggested.
"It doesn't matter," Severus snapped, walking forward. "We have to save Harry."
-
The interior of Mount Philosopher was a mess of bridges and structures built into the rock that made up the volcano. The center was opened, leading into a deep pit of darkness, but here and there, Remus could pick out the setting sun reflecting on rock walls and walkways. Picking up a piece of wood, Severus lit it with a Fire spell and handed it to Sirius. The thief nodded, leading the party to the right. There seemed to be only one way to go and that was down.
Stepping into the ramshackle remains of a home, Sirius took a moment to examine a partially collapsed wall. Rubble was scattered across the wooden floor at his feet and the wall seemed to have been knocked in.
"I don't like this place," Weasley said quietly. "It feels evil."
A shadow shifted above them and the sound of wings filled the air. The group stopped, looking up through the caved-in ceiling. Nothing. Whatever it had been was gone.
"Let's keep moving," Sirius said quietly, urging the others onward.
Nearly every time they stopped, they heard something near them. It seemed, to Sirius at least, that they were being followed, though by what, Sirius didn't have the courage to say. It had left them all nervous and jumpy. Weasley had drawn his sword and was searching even the smallest of shadows for something. Remus and Severus walked side by side between Sirius and the knight. The prince looked pale and he stumbled several times, only to be caught by the mage. By the time they were getting nearer to the lower levels of the bridges, Severus was frowning as he helped the prince stand once again.
"What's wrong with him?" Weasley asked worriedly.
"When is the next full moon?" Severus demanded. Sirius frowned. It had been a number of weeks since he had last seen a lunar chart of their planet, but it should only be a few days.
"Tomorrow," he said slowly. "Maybe the day after."
"Then that is why. His body is preparing for the transformation," the mage said at the prince's wild-eyed stare. Remus opened his mouth to speak, but words failed him and he shook his head and turned his attention back to not falling, his face white and tinged with green.
Sirius was tempted to stop and send Remus and Weasley back, but they would need the both of them. If Harry was injured, Remus would have to heal him and Weasley's strength was an asset in any fight. In fact, he had saved their lives a few times too many for Sirius to discount him now.
They moved downward again. At the bottom of the stairs, the torch had burned away enough that Sirius dropped it and reached for another length of wood. Instead, he found a small portable torch. It was a crude example, but it would work. He offered it to Severus and the mage lit it with a wave of his hand.
The wall to their right trembled as something crashed into it. Cursing, Sirius put himself between Remus and whatever it was behind the wall. Another loud thud and the wall disappeared as a massive shape crashed through, sending pieces of wood across the room. Rolling out of the way of sharp yellow teeth, Sirius removed Angel Bless from its position on his back and stood. A red dragon was attempting to break through the wall toward them. Weasley had charged the beast and blood stained the wood as his sword bit into the dragon's neck.
Gazing around, Sirius spotted Remus on his knees at the back of the room, the mage at his side. He had left Remus unprotected. Cursing, Sirius started toward them, but the dragon's claw lashed out at him forcing him to leap back to avoid being hit.
"Severus!" Sirius yelled. The mage looked up.
"Tonight!" the mage shouted, standing up and backing away from the prince. He looked afraid. Something that Sirius hadn't seen before. "It's tonight!"
"What?" his question was answered as Remus' body shuddered violently and he heard over the sounds of leathery wings and sword on scale, bones breaking. He'd been wrong.
The dragon lurched through the wall toward him, knocking Weasley onto his back. With a cry of surprise, Sirius leapt away, his weapon catching the massive claws before they could strike him.
Twisting Angel Bless, he felt flesh and sinew give away beneath the weapons force and warm blood rained down on him. With a roar that overpowered the howl that came from the back of the room, the dragon moved to bite. Weasley appeared, back on his feet and his sword buried deep in the flesh of the dragon's neck. It turned its attention away from Sirius to the knight.
"Firaga!" Sirius stumbled forward as Severus cast a powerful fire magic spell. The smell of burnt fur filled the room and he turned.
"Don't attack him!" he shouted as Weasley struggled with the dragon.
"He's going to kill us before the dragon does!" Severus shouted back as he readied another fire spell as the tawny werewolf lunged for them again.
"No!" Sirius moved between the mage and Remus, his body twisting and reforming before he had even realized it. Angel Bless clattered the floor.
A moment later, a large black dog had tackled the werewolf, knocking it to the floor. Severus, satisfied that he wasn't going to be disemboweled by that creature any time soon, spun around, concentrated, and sent a blast of ice mage toward the wounded dragon.
"Blizzaga!" flesh cracked and peeled as the ice warped a path across the dragon's flesh. With a cry of pain, the red dragon retreated back through the hole it had creature and into the darkness. Weasley gasped for breath, whipping sweat and blood from his brow.
"Come, we have to get out of here," Severus said, grabbing the knights' arm and pulling him from the room across another rope bridge.
"But the prince!" Weasley shouted, looking back just as Remus and Sirius tumbled to the floor, biting and scratching at each other. His blue eyes widened in surprise and he nearly fell. Severus pulled him toward the back of the small landing they had just arrived at. A single piece of rope led down into the darkness.
"We can't do anything for them now," the mage gasped, grasping the rope between his hands, "except go on and pray that they don't kill each other."
-
"You can't!" the voice echoed through the darkness as Weasley slid down the rope, his feet slamming onto the ground at the base of the volcano. The ash layered thick across the ground muffled the sound. Severus was standing a few feet away, climbing carefully over the rubble of a collapsed portion of the well wall toward what appeared to be a room.
"I can, now back away before I break your other arm," came the scathing reply. Weasley recognized Regulus' voice, but he couldn't place the other.
"What's going on?" Ron asked, moving slowly after the mage onto a dark alcove above a massive room behind the wall. It was similar to the courtyard in Hufflepuff, except for a few minor details. Harry lay unconscious on the ground at Regulus' feet. Two black mages stood nearby, holding back a struggling man in black robes. It was the man that they had seen in Gryffindor, the one that was working for Regulus.
"Please," the man was begging now, fighting the strong grips of the two men that kept him from moving.
"Quiet," Severus hissed.
Regulus ignored the man, turning his attention to Harry. Closing his eyes, he began to speak softly to himself, his hands hovering over the summoner's body. The man – Ron could not remember his name – was still fighting.
Light flared momentarily as Regulus' chanting continued and then suddenly it stopped.
"What did you do?" he growled, looking at the man.
"He's too young. You will not be able to extract the Eidolons without killing him," the man said, ripping his arm from one of the mage's clutching grip and motioning to Harry's unconscious form.
"I don't care what happens to him. I need those Eidolons," Regulus snapped, as he began chanting again. Severus started to get up from his crouching position, but a sudden flare of green light from the other side of the room had him back on the ground, pushing Ron down as well.
A moment later, Severus released the knight and cautiously sat up. The man had used the Death spell on the two black mages that had been holding him back.
"I won't let you harm my son," the mage growled.
"Come on," Severus muttered, jumping over the balcony and down into the volcanic courtyard. Ron followed after him, crashing to the floor beside the mage, just as he felt another ripple of magic pass over his body. Pulling his sword from its sheath, he looked around the room. Regulus was staring at the place where the other mage, James, had been standing, shocked. In place of the mage that had just moments before claimed Harry as his son, was gone. In it's place, a stag.
"You!" Regulus hissed, backing away as the stag stepped forward, it's head low in an attempt to make him back away. "You're an Animagus."
"So there are two then," Ron said as Severus rushed toward Harry's unconscious form. Regulus backed away, laughing.
"How? He's an Animagus!" the black mage said, his gray eyes flashing. "That's all it is! Anger! It's not the will to live or the desire to protect another! It's simple rage."
"He's lost it," Severus muttered as he attempted to roused Harry.
The summoner's green eyes opened and he gazed up at the stag standing beside him in surprise.
"Father," he whispered quietly, struggling into a sitting position.
Regulus, standing a few feet away, continued to laugh.
"That means that if I need a powerful enough soul! The soul doesn't have to be my own! And I can find it there!"
"Regulus! What are you plotting?" Ron demanded, readying his sword as he stepped toward the mage.
Regulus' gray eyes lost all humor and he smiled dangerously.
"I'm done with you," he growled.
Severus got to his feet, energy swirling suddenly into his hands.
"Not even close," he said threateningly, moving toward Regulus.
Regulus waved his hand dismissively, red sparks of magic moving from his fingertips and knocking Severus back into Weasley. Then, flicking his long hair off of his shoulders, Regulus turned and strode from the room, leaving Severus nursing several first-degree burns and the stag that had just collapsed to the ground no long able to support himself on a broken leg. The stag's body shifted and the mage was kneeling on the ground, clutching his broken arm, his eyes closed with pain.
Harry was conscious and clearly uninjured as he sat up, reaching out and touching the injured mage's arm. The Animagus, Weasley reminded himself as Severus pulled away from his grip and moved toward the other mage.
"No!" Harry shouted as Severus' hand twisted into the front of the Animagus' robes, lifting him from the ground until he was stranding.
"Why?" Severus demanded.
"Someone had to find out what he was doing. Someone had to stop him," the other mage said faintly. "Do you really think I'd trust a bunch of kids to do it? Harry, stay out of it."
Severus was aware that Harry had gotten to his feet. He felt the summoner's hand on his arm.
"Severus, let him go," Harry pleaded. Narrowing his eyes, Severus released the Animagus and he fell to the floor. "You didn't have to drop him!"
"Do you know what he's planning?" the mage asked, ignoring Harry's interjection.
"Yes. I can tell you everything as soon as we collect the rest of your friends, Harry," the Animagus answered, hazel eyes lined with worry.
-
"Do you think they're all right?" Harry asked a little while later, his voice filled with worry.
Sitting on the bottom step outside of the doorway into the volcano, the summoner was using the tip of his finger to draw invisible patterns onto the stone. Weasley stood at the entrance to the mountain while the high priestess, looking angry, spoke to a handful of nuns that had come with her when Severus had Apparated them out of the volcano. It had been several hours and the sky was all ready tinged with purple and pink.
"We'll go in if they don't come out in an hour," James said, looking gratefully at his son for having healed his broken arm. Severus had yet to speak to him since they had been outside and it seemed that he wasn't planning on it.
"Yeah?" Harry looked up and grinned.
"You bring a monster into my temple and then set it loose in the mountain," the high priestess said harshly, her attention on Weasley and Severus. "By the laws of our people, we should put you on trial."
"If you hadn't let Regulus into your temple in the first place, that monster wouldn't have had to come in," Severus snapped irritably.
"Don't worry about it, we're leaving," said a tired voice.
Everyone was one their feet, eyes at the two figures that had just appeared from the door, covered in blood. Sirius, sporting several deep and irritated looking claw marks across his arms, including one rather vicious mark running along the side of his neck. In his arms, leaning heavily against him; Remus, his body covered by the heavy cloak. The prince seemed ready to collapse, his smaller frame shaking in Sirius' arms.
"Let me heal you both," Harry stepped forward. Sirius held up a hand, shaking his head.
"We're fine for now. Just…" he stopped, his gray eyes unfocused for a moment. Weasley reached out and grasped his arm, steadying him and Remus shivered in the cold air, pressing closer to Sirius.
"Are we free to leave or are you going to hold us here?" Severus growled, turning to the high priestess.
"You are free to go, but never come back here. We will not tolerate his kind," her eyes landed on Remus and held. Sirius, catching the direction of her gaze, glowered.
-
Author's
Note: Reviews are appreciated.
