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 once again for catching all of the stupid grammar and spelling errors that I make. Reviews are loved.
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Chapter Thirty-Two
Confessions
-
"So, what'd he say?" James looked up from his examination of his blood red robes marking him as a red mage. Harry was sitting on the edge of the bed, looking expectantly at him and James frowned.

He had told Harry to stay in the village and Harry had disobeyed. Admittedly, if James had wanted Harry to go wandering about the globe with anyone, Sirius and his friends were at the top of the list, but that was beyond the point. Knowing that he would have done the same if in his son's place, the red mage kept from reprimanding his son and sighed.

"He told me everything," James replied. "What he has planned…it's like something out of a nightmare."

"What?" Harry asked.

James frowned.

"Harry, you're not going with us, so you don't need to know," Harry jumped up, green eyes flashing angrily. James was reminded strongly of his wife.

"That's not fair! I've helped Sirius! I can fight!"

"I don't want you to get hurt," James said.

"I won't get hurt. I want to help Sirius beat Regulus. He killed Remus' father," Harry said angrily, hands clenching into fists.

"Harry. I just want to keep you from further harm. You could have died–"

"But I didn't and I've proven myself in a fight. You're going to help the others fight Regulus, but you won't let me. I've been fighting him. I've seen what he's done," the summoner protested.

James cut him off with a glare.

"So've I," he said sharply. "I've seen him bring four kingdoms to their knees. He isn't someone to be taken lightly. You can't understand that."

"But Remus can. He's only a couple years older than me, father. Severus isn't even that old," Harry said. "I'm not that young."

"But you're my son," James said finally.

-

"Sirius."

"Remus?"

"Sirius, Sir."

"Why are you calling me Sir?"

"James has called a meeting in the conference room. You need to wake up," Sirius sat up with a start, gazing at the Ravenclaw knight for a moment before he realized that he had been dreaming. Shaking his head, he pulled back the covers on his bed and slid out from beneath the blanket, glad that he had put on the sleeping pants that had been given to him.

"Give me a few minutes," Sirius said, tucking a strand of black hair behind his ears and stretching.

"Certainly," the knight left the room and Sirius dressed in the clothes that the castle had provided. Ravenclaw was a city of magic users, so the thief was forced to wear dark blue robes cinched at the waist by a silver cord until he could get his own clothes. Standing awkwardly in the long robes, he sighed and pulled his boots on, lacing them tightly and slipping his dagger into one before he stood. He managed one step before tripping on the hem of the robes.

Pushing himself back off the floor, he grumbled and tried again.

"You'll spend the rest of the day on the floor if you walk like that," Sirius glared up at Severus as he stepped into the room.

"Yeah well, I'm not used to wearing dresses," Sirius growled, standing up and gazing down at his robes in frustration.

"It is a robe, not a dress," Severus said smoothly. "Try walking like a normal human being instead of stomping about as you are wont to do."

Sirius glowered at him, but he took a smaller step and didn't fall.

"Oh, so that's the trick," he said with a grin.

-

Entering the conference room, making sure to keep his steps small – though he had forgotten several times and had fallen to the floor – Sirius looked around the room. Weasley was standing near the door looking anxious. Dressed in his steel armor, the Gryffindor knight cut an impressive figure compared to the leather armor of the Ravenclaw knights. Ginevra was seated at the table, dressed in her honey yellow robes. Her hair was bound in the bun that she usually only wore with her armor, but had the effect of giving her presence at the large table, even though she was sitting next to the leather clad Hagrid.

Narcissa stood, leaning against the wall, her arms crossed beneath her breasts. She was examining her nails in interest, her sword leaning against the wall on her left side. She had throughout this time managed to keep her original clothes, but it was clear by the shine of the leather that she had cleaned them. At the end of the table, James was seated, dressed in red robes now. The red suited him better, Sirius decided as he sat down in one of the empty chairs, Severus sitting in an empty chair on the other side near James.

"Where's Remus?" Sirius asked.

"He seems to have wandered off again," everyone looked toward the doors as Emperor Albus entered the room, looking as jovial as ever in bright blue robes with silver stars along the hem. "Weasley, if you could go find him."

"Certainly," the elf saluted and disappeared into the hall, the doors shutting behind him.

Albus clapped his hands together.

"James called this meeting together to make you aware of Regulus' plans," Albus said as he sat down in the silver throne at the end of the table.

"Wait," Severus said, "where is Harry?"

"He's in his rooms. I have no problem with you guys going off to fight Regulus, but I won't have my son going," James replied coolly.

The mage's black eyes narrowed.

"He's proven himself more than capable of helping us in a fight," Severus said.

"I'm sure he has, but he is my son," the red mage explained.

"How does he feel about this?" Severus demanded.

"I had to lock him in his room," James replied calmly.

Severus looked ready to slap the older mage. Instead, he gave a curt nod and looked down at his hands as they rested on the table.

Sirius coughed, "So what did Regulus talk to you about?" he asked.

"This may seem hard to believe, but bear with me," James said lowly, looking gratefully at the thief. "Regulus plans to used this world to acquire a greater power."

"Greater power?" Ginevra breathed. "What does he plan to do with it?"

James shrugged.

"I don't know, but he made the implication that he wasn't from this world," the room was silent, digesting this new information, finally Hagrid spoke, "What?"

"We call our world Gaia," James said as everyone nodded in agreement. "He called his home Terra."

"Terra," Ginevra said softly.

-

Dora yelped in surprise, jumping back as an imposing figure in steel armor appeared from around the corner of the street. She fell backward, landing with a splash in the water that still covered the cobbled streets of the theatre district.

"Watch it," she said, standing up and gazing down at her soaked clothes.

"I apologize," the man looked at her and his blue eyes, visible through the space in his helmet, widened in surprised. "Dora, is it not?"

The thief nodded, her blue eyes narrowing suspiciously.

"What's it to ya?"

"I am Captain Ronald Weasley, of Gryffindor," the knight removed his helmet revealing familiar blue eyes and red hair. Dora grinned.

"Fellow captive of the Lady General," she said. "What are you doing here in Ravenclaw? You still traveling with Sirius?"

"Yes, but I am at the moment hoping to locate the prince. He was not in the library so I thought that I would check the city," Dora shook her head.

"You go back to the library, let me handle it," she smirked at the look of confusion on the knight's face. "This city is my backyard. I'll get the rest of the Marauders and we'll find him."

Weasley smiled, bowing his head to the thief.

"You have my gratitude," he said humbly.

Dora laughed.

"No problem."

-

"If he's from a different world then how did get here?" Narcissa asked, brushing a strand of blond hair from her eyes.

"He said that the gate to his world lay through the Veil," James answered, looking uneasy.

"So," Sirius frowned, glaring at the table, "we might be able to find him if we go through the Veil."

"The only problem," James said, "is that you can't just waltz through it."

"Of course not," Narcissa said sardonically. "If you could, we would have discovered this other world by now."

James nodded.

"He mentioned that the key to opening the Veil was located in a castle on the Unnamed Continent," the red said simply. "I don't know much about it, but it's on the coast, on the top of the cliffs."

"How do you know so much about it?" Severus asked, black eyes narrowed.

"I had access to Regulus' library," James explained.

"Then you can read the texts there?" the mage demanded.

James shook his head.

"No. I could only read what was written in the language of our world."

"Damn," Albus raised an eyebrow at Severus' sudden outburst. The mage glanced at him and then nodded. "I took one of the books from Regulus' library. It seem there is little chance of finding out what it says now."

Albus nodded.

"Can I see it?" Sirius asked quietly.

Narcissa and Ginevra shared knowing looks as Severus opened his bag and pulled out the heavily bound leather tome. Passing the book down the table, everyone watched as it finally reached Sirius' hands and he accepted it, staring intently at the blank cover. After a moment, he opened to the first page. Symbols were written across the page, unreadable to the rest of the table.

"The Flora and Fauna of Our Noble Terra," he read softly, his gray eyes narrowed in confusion.

"Have you studied this language?" Albus asked curiously.

Sirius shook his head.

"No," Sirius said, looking lost. "I've never seen this stuff before, but I know what it says."

"Well, you may find some answers if you go to this castle and find a way through the Veil to Terra," James suggested.

"Did you ask Regulus this stuff?" Ginevra asked.

James sighed.

"He told me all of this of his own free will," the red mage answered. "When he spoke, he became very," he struggled for words, "passionate. He volunteered a great deal of information even when I didn't ask for it. I think he felt that since I was helping him, it wouldn't do any harm to tell me."

Sirius nodded.

"So we know where to go, it's just a matter of getting there. If there are cliffs, there's no way we can take the boat," he said.

"I have a crew working on building a new airship. They have been working on it since the destruction of Ravenclaw. You may take that, along with a crew of course," Albus said with a smile.

The doors of the conference room burst open and Weasley came running in, looking out of breath. Everyone gazed at him as he stopped at the end of the table.

"I cannot find the prince anywhere in Ravenclaw. I even had the Marauders aiding me and we yielded no results," Weasley explained.

"Where could he have gone?" Albus asked. "There is no way to leave the city. Are you certain you looked everywhere?"

Weasley nodded, taking deep breath.

"Not quite," Sirius said, standing up. "I'll be back."

"Oh, Sirius," the thief stopped, looking at the emperor as he stood in his chair and walked around the table toward Sirius. "General Granger sent this too me some time ago. I feel that it belongs in Remus' hands."

Holding out his hand, Albus set a dark red colored stone into Sirius' hand.

"What is it?" Sirius asked, examining it.

"It is a garnet. The only stone capable of holding Bahamut's destructive powers," Sirius nearly dropped the stone as it pulsed with energy in his hand. "I think Remus will want Bahamut return to him."

Sirius nodded absently.

-

Sirius stepped out onto the balcony at the top of the library. His gray eyes narrowed as he gazed past the city walls and to the wide plains of the cliff. The wind was blowing from the north and it blew his hair across his face, whipping the blue robes he was wearing about his legs.

He turned. There, leaning forward slightly so that his elbows rested on the balcony railing was Remus. His sandy blonde hair flew across his face in the wind and he reached up and tucked it distractedly behind his ear. It was quickly caught once more by the wind. Sirius crossed the large space and leaned casually against the railing.

"You've got everyone looking for you, Remus," he said softly, gray eyes on the slim, white robed frame of the prince of Gryffindor.

"Sirius!" the prince turned, amber eyes widened in surprise at the thief's intrusion.

"You can talk again," Sirius pointed out with a smile. Remus nodded, a sad smile on his face as he looked away again.

"I've been thinking," the prince said quietly, gazing down at his clasped hands, "since the disaster. I've been thinking that I have to become king and restore peace to Gryffindor."

Sirius nodded. He'd suspected as much. Resisting the urge to fight Remus' decision, to force him to stay, he sighed.

"That's good," he said quietly, more to himself than the prince.

"I wanted to apologize for my actions in Slytherin and ask that I accompany you," Remus paused, pushing his hair from his face, "and the others in confronting Regulus."

"What?" Sirius looked up in surprise. "You don't need apologize for that."

"I do," Remus insisted. "It was rash and stupid of me. I want to thank you for not taking advantage."

Sirius scoffed.

"I care too much about you to do that," the prince's eyes widened in surprise and Sirius shook his head, looking away. "Don't let it get to your head."

Remus smiled, shaking his head before he leaned back onto the stone railing once more.

"May I come with you?" he asked quietly.

"Can I ask why?" Sirius asked, looking at the prince's long hair fluttering in the wind. It really was far too high up for an outdoor balcony. There was too much wind.

"When my father was still alive, my primary concern was how to speak and act like a prince. Those were the only things on my mind," Remus sighed. "That didn't change when my father died and I was preparing to become king. I could only think about how to act and speak like a king. I don't think the people will accept me as their king. I know they are prepared to accept me as a werewolf, but they would not accept me as I am now."

"How's that?" Sirius asked.

"Confused. I cannot even make a decision regarding my personal life. I have no right to make decisions that affect the lives of thousands. I have no right to rule."

Sirius sighed, not quite sure what to say in reply. He fiddled with the jewel that Albus had given him.

"I almost forgot. Granger sent this for you. Your uncle asked me to give it to you," he said, offering the jewel to the prince. Remus reached out for the jewel, his fingers closing over it for a moment before he opened them again, gazing down at the blood red stone in amazement.

"Is this…a garnet?" he asked softly.

Sirius nodded.

"Yeah. Pretty isn't it?" the thief asked with a grin.

"Beautiful," Sirius smiled and leaned toward the prince, tapping the stone absently.

"That jewel used to be just another ordinary stone. Did you know that?" he asked. Remus shook his head, a faint smile gracing his features. Sirius nodded. "The stone made a wish," he continued, catching the prince's gaze and holding it. "'I want to shine.' So that stone traveled from person to person, in keeping with its wish and now…now it's shining in your hand, Remus. If you're willing to make an effort, you'll shine. You all ready are if you ask me, but there will come a day when Gryffindor needs you. There isn't any rush. The important thing is to have the desire."

"Sirius," Remus said softly. "Thank you. So, does this mean I can stay?"

Sirius laughed.

"Course you can," he said affectionately. "Wouldn't have it any other way."

"Sirius," the prince stopped, glancing out toward the mountains in the distance. "You mean a great deal to me and I…I have not been terribly honest with you about my feelings."

"Look," Sirius held up a hand, "I don't want you to say you feel anything just because you feel like you owe me something."

Remus nodded.

"Sirius. Do you have a dagger?" the thief dropped his hand onto the railing, looking at Remus in surprise.

"Yeah, the one I usually carry around with me. Why?" he asked, gray eyes narrowing.

"May I borrow it? Only for a moment," bending over slightly, Sirius lifted up the hem of his robes and pulled the small dagger from its casing in his boot and offered it to the prince, hilt first. Remus placed his hands over Sirius' on the hilt, looking the thief in the eye as he took it from him.

"Sirius," he paused, swallowing, "remember the way I was."

"What?" Sirius asked, confused now.

"Please. For me."

"Wait!" Sirius reached out for the dagger, but Remus had stepped away from him, raising the steel blade up and letting it catch the sun for a moment. Sirius stopped, his hand dropping to his side as Remus reached back, talking hold of his hair, the nearly waist length strands fluttering in the wind. With a quick slip of the sharp blade, the strands were cut and the prince was left holding his hair in this hand.

Letting the strands fly away in the breeze, Remus shook away the free strands watching as they floated away before he turned to look at Sirius. His mouth dropping open, Sirius stepped forward, taking his dagger back as Remus offered it to him. The once long strands were short and choppy, the bangs falling easily into the prince's amber eyes while the sides hung nearly to his chin, the back cut to reveal the back Remus' neck.

"Well?" the prince asked uneasily, running his fingers absently through the short strands.

Sirius nodded, smiling fondly at Remus and reaching out to touch the shorter strands. Remus smiled in relief, leaning toward the thief.

"Sirius?" he asked, his voice suddenly nervous.

"What?" Sirius asked, his smile twisting into a grin.

"I…" Remus stuttered over his words, flushing with embarrassment. Smile fading, Sirius moved closer, cupping Remus' face in his hands and pressing his lips to the prince's, not bothering to ask permission as Remus had told him to do. With a soft, barely perceptible moan, Remus deepened the kiss, allowing Sirius to push him backwards until he was leaning against the railing.

They lost themselves for a moment, Remus' hand clutching Sirius' forearm tightly, and then Sirius pulled back, his hands moving down to Remus' throat, fingers tracing the prince's pulse. Remus took a few deep shuddering breaths and attempted to pull the thief back into the kiss, but Sirius resisted, his face impassive.

"I love you," Sirius said gently. "I have since before the disaster. Since…I don't know. I love you."

Remus' stomach clenched and his chest tightened. He swallowed, and his eyes widened as he struggled for a response. Did he love Sirius? Was that what he felt? Before he could do anything but stare at the Sirius in surprise, the thief had dropped his hands back to his sides, emotions guarded.

"Don't say anything until you're sure," he said and then with a nod, Sirius turned toward the door and Remus, confused once again, followed him back inside.

-
Author's Note: Six and a half pages in Word. Oy. There was going to be more to this chapter, but it seemed an appropriate place to leave it.

Next Chapter: The group leaves Lindblum for the castle on the Unnamed Continent in the hopes of finding a way through the Veil…