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: A thank you
to my beta once again for finding my stupid little errors and making
these chapters readable. I hope that you enjoy this chapter. God
knows it dragged along for me and could have been longer.
-
Chapter Thirty-Three
The Four Shrines
-
Harry paced the room he had been given in the
great library. Angry, he fought back the urge to shout, preferring
instead to let his emotion boil beneath the surface. It wasn't
fair. His father locked him in his room. Saying it was to keep him
safe. Just remembering the fight from two days before was enough to
send a surge of energy through the summoner's body. He wondered
briefly if he could use his magic to get out of the room, of course,
if he did that, there was a chance of destroying something and he
didn't want to do that.
With a frustrated sigh, he collapsed back onto his bed and stared blankly at the ceiling. What would the others say? Would they even care that he was going to be staying behind in Ravenclaw? Had they all ready left? Would Severus care? He rolled over onto his side, curling his knees up toward his chest, not bothering to fight back the wave of insecurity that had suddenly washed over him.
He heard the lock in the door click and bolted up, instantly on his feet as the door opened. Instead of his father, Remus was at the door, looking amused at Harry's battle ready stance. Immediately, the summoner stood up.
"Remus! You cut your hair," Harry said. "Did Sirius break you heart?"
"Hardly," Remus said softly. "Sirius told me that your father had locked you in here. I'm helping you escape. You're going to come with us."
"What?" Harry asked, running toward the prince. "But my dad's coming with you."
Remus shook his head.
"He's staying behind in Ravenclaw to watch you," he explained. "Hurry, we're leaving soon."
Harry grinned.
"You know, this isn't very prince-like behavior," the summoner said cheekily as he crossed the room again, slipping into his black cloak and grabbing his staff while Remus stood in the door, looking up and down the hallway carefully. The short hair suited him, Harry decided. The shorter strands framed his thin face, drawing attention to the delicate bone structure.
"Yes, I don't suppose it is," Remus said quietly, looking at Harry who was standing in front of him, head tilted as he looked up at him. "What?"
"Your hair looks nice," Harry said with a smile.
"Oh. Thank you," there was the sound of footsteps and Sirius appeared in the doorway, looking annoyed. He was dressed in black trousers and a matching shirt, the outfit suiting the thief better than the robes he had been wearing before, though Remus still missed the leather he was used to seeing Sirius wear.
"Come on, we've got to get moving. James is on his way," he hissed.
"All right," Harry grinned, "let's go."
-
"We ready to go?" Severus asked, looking up from where he was standing on the inner deck of Albus' new airship, the Athena, as the door into the helm opened. Sirius and Remus had disappeared some time ago and forced them to wait.
"Severus!" a small body dressed in a black cloak and hooded came barreling across the small helm. The hood fell down onto thin shoulders as Harry levered himself up to kiss the mage. With a sound of surprise, he wrapped one arm around Harry's waist, lifting him from the ground so that he could kiss him properly.
"Sheesh, I feel left out of this love festival," Sirius said with a grin and he promptly turned toward Remus and took the prince's hand. "Permission to kiss you, my prince?"
Before Remus had a chance to do more than flush with embarrassment, Weasley had appeared, scowling.
"We're leaving," he said sharply. Sirius released Remus' hands and turned away.
"Yes Sir!" he said cheerfully crossing the room to where Ginevra and Narcissa were standing beside each other, leaning against the wall, their arms crossed over their chests. The two looked surprisingly alike, one in flattering yellow leather armor, the other in revealing black leather.
"Ready for the next adventure?" he asked. Narcissa arched one blonde eyebrow at his sudden cheerfulness.
"I guess," she replied. "What's wrong with you?"
"You're cheerful to the point of worrying me," Ginevra answered for the bounty hunter, her blue eyes alight with amusement. "You seem to have gotten a weight off your chest."
"Which is exactly what I've done. Not that it's any of your business," Sirius answered, clapping his hands. "All right. Let's go."
-
A long, narrow staircase went from the ground to the entrance of the castle sitting atop the section of rock. Sirius gazed at the castle before them in amazement. It was for all appearances a castle made of the gray stones that Gryffindor castle was made of, but it was upside down. Or rather it appeared to be upside down.
"I'll take three of you with me," Sirius announced quietly, his mood dampened by the strange appearance of this place and what had happened the last time they had ventured into a strange location. "The rest of you will secure this spot."
Narcissa scoffed.
"So who's going to save your ass this time?" she demanded. Sirius scowled at her, one hand absently pressing to the scar that the copy had left and Remus had been unable to heal.
"Severus, Ginevra, and Harry," he said lightly.
"I'm going as well," Narcissa said lightly. "I'm going to prove to you once and for all that I am stronger than you by finding a way to break the seal on the Veil first."
"Coward!" Weasley snapped, as the bounty hunter started up the stairs alone.
"Let her go," Sirius said quietly. "We'll beat her at her own game."
-
The castle was easy enough to make their way through and they had one encounter with a peculiar creature that had started to turn Severus into stone, but Harry had managed a quick spell that had reversed the effects, but the mage had suffered, his casting hand still stiff from the curse. Other than that they had traversed the castle with ease, finally discovering a lift that took them up and into a small room that was glowing with soft blue light. The wall was a map of Gaia, drawn with great care and detail. Embedded into the wall, four mirrors with different colored frames. Red, green, yellow, and blue like the jewels that Harry and Remus still had used to summon Hogwarts.
Narcissa was reclined against this wall map, her arms crossed easily over her chest. She looked up, smirking as they entered and Sirius cursed.
"You're late, Sirius," she said casually, "I won."
"Have you figured out how to break the seal?" Sirius asked.
"Not my problem," she replied. "I proved my point. I don't need to follow you around anymore. I'm going to find my son. Next time we meet, we may be enemies."
With that, she stood and walked out of the room. Ginevra watched her go, a mixture of pity and sympathy on her fair face.
"Come on," Sirius said slowly, frowning just slightly. He had liked Narcissa. She was fiery and strong and she had saved his life. She was part of the team and she had chosen to leave it.
Approaching the mural, Sirius reached up and pried the red-framed mirror from the wall. Harry was suddenly at his side, taking down the blue mirror while Severus and Ginevra removed the green and yellow mirrors. Turning the red mirror over in his hands, he gazed at the words engraved on the back.
My power is protected high atop a fiery mountain.
Fiery mountain?
A volcano?
"I can't read what is says," Ginevra said softly. "Sirius, can you read it?"
The thief nodded, gazing up from the back of the mirror to the wall to the words writing across the top.
One is all. All is one.
"Let's get out of here. This place gives me the creeps," he said suddenly, ignoring the discomfort at this strange language from another world. Why could he read it?
-
"You won, Sirius," Remus said with a smile as Sirius, Ginevra, Severus, and Harry appeared from the castle and made their way down the long flight of stairs. "You made it out first."
"What? What happened to Narcissa?" he asked. "She was waiting for us at the top of the castle. Left as soon as we got there. I thought she took off."
"She must still be inside," Severus said impassively. "It seems that she didn't win after all."
"I'm going to go find her," Sirius said, turning back toward the staircase.
"Wait! I'll go with you. She might be hurt," Remus said softly, grasping his wrist. Sirius glanced at the prince for a moment and then nodding, led him inside to find Narcissa.
-
She wasn't hard to find. A trap door had opened beneath her on her way down and she had fallen through to the main floor, behind a pillar near the entrance that was hidden in shadows making it so they had missed her when they left. As Sirius approached her, he noticed the blood.
"You broke your leg," he said as Remus knelt down beside her and began to examine the break.
"Why'd you come back?" Narcissa demanded, her voice laced with pain.
"What happened?"
"Trap door, dropped me down here. Broke my leg in the fall," she snapped. "Answer my questions. Why'd you come back?"
"Remus told me you hadn't come out so I came back to look for you," Sirius answered.
Narcissa gasped in pain as Remus reset her leg, the sound sending a shiver up the thief's spine. The prince cast a few murmured healing spells and sat back with a smile of satisfaction.
"We don't have anything to do with each other," Narcissa said, rubbing her leg. "You have nothing to gain from this. I don't understand you."
"Who cares what I have to gain. You needed help," Sirius explained.
"You don't? You're putting yourself at risk to save me. Putting him at risk," she motioned to the prince.
"I'd die to save Remus' life, he's fine," Sirius said sharply. "This is about being part of a team. We're a team. You, Remus, the others, and me and that's all that matters. That's why I came back for you."
"And that's what being part of a team means?" Narcissa asked, speaking more to herself than to the others in the room.
"Isn't it?" Sirius asked, curiously.
"You've changed," Narcissa said sharply. "You weren't this smart before. What happened?"
Sirius shrugged.
"I guess I grew up. Come on, we've got to get out of here."
-
My power is protected behind a tornado.
My power is protected under the shaking ground.
My power is protected high atop a fiery mountain.
My power is protected underwater, surrounded by the earth.
All is one. One is all.
-
"Each mirror," Sirius explained easily, sure that he had figured this out correctly as he unrolled a large map of Gaia with Harry's help, pinning it to the corked wall of the small planning room on the airship with his dagger. Harry did the same with a small blade that Severus had given to him, "represents a location. A location that when the mirror is returned there will unlock the seal so we can cross through the Veil to Terra."
"But what locations?" Ginevra asked from where she was sitting at the large table.
"Protected behind a tornado," Sirius said, gazing at the map. "The Burrow."
"But it was destroyed. There isn't a tornado there anymore," Weasley said looking a bit worried.
"The tornado started up again," Hagrid rumbled. "Just as Ginny and me were leaving."
"So it's probably underground. Where the roots of the tree are. I mean, the roots survived, didn't they?" Sirius asked hopefully. Ginevra nodded and he sighed with relief and turned his attention to the next mirror, the one with the green frame. "Protected under the shaking ground."
The room was silent and Sirius frowned at the map, trying to think where there were earthquakes.
"I know!" Harry said, pointing to a small section of Durmstrang Continent on the same portion where Regulus' palace was located. "There are earthquakes in this area all the time. I bet that's where it is."
"Okay," Sirius picked up the quill that Severus had provided and circled the Burrow and the place that Harry had pointed out. "Next."
"Protected high atop a fiery mountain," Remus said from his chair. "It could be Mount Philosopher."
"It's the only volcano I've ever been to," Sirius muttered, marking it off on the map. "So that leaves underwater, surrounded by the earth."
"A lake?" Severus suggested. "There is a library on the edge of an underwater lake on the Unnamed Continent. I studied there when I was still a student."
"Where is it?" Sirius asked.
The mage stood up, plucking the quill out of Sirius' hand as he passed him and circled a small area on the southern half of the Unnamed Continent. It was a small island west of the fortress that Regulus had sent Sirius to when he had held them prisoner at his palace.
"What about the rest of it; the part that was on the mural. All is one. One is all," Harry asked.
Sirius frowned.
"It means we have to take on the locations at one time," he announced. "Two to each location."
"I want to go with Remus," Harry said.
"What?" the prince looked curiously at the summoner.
"Summoners first," Harry explained. Remus nodded, a faint smile on his lips and he nodded to Sirius.
"Okay, so the closest location is the water," Sirius paused, looking for a word, "shrine, so we'll go there first. Harry and Remus can take that place, I know Remus can handle a little water."
Remus smiled as Sirius looked at him from across the room. Yes, he could. He had Leviathan for that.
-
The library that Severus had been speaking about was massive, built into the upper level of the underground cave; it was almost deathly silent as Sirius led Harry and Remus toward the lift on the back wall that would take them down to the lake. People were sitting at tables scattered about across the marble floors. It was oddly calming.
"Are you sure you'll be okay?" Sirius asked as he stepped off of the lift onto the shore of the underground lake, the area lit only by the light of several small fires along the edges of the water. Out in the middle of the water, he could see in the shadows a hulking building that glowed with blue energy.
"You're the one that wanted to split up," Remus said easily, following him out to the lake's edge, Harry at their heels.
"I know," Sirius said, scowling.
"You just wanted to go with Remus," Harry said cheekily.
"Shut up," Sirius snapped.
Remus shook his head, clasping his hands in front of his chest and closing his eyes. A moment later, the energy in the room shifted. A soft wind picked up suddenly and Sirius watched in amazement as the water before them flashed powerfully and a huge blue and green serpent appeared from the water, it's body glowing with power.
"Nice," Sirius said with a grin.
"Who're you going to drop off next?" Harry asked.
"I'm going to have Ginevra and Hagrid take on the volcano," the thief answered. "All right, you two be careful."
"No problem!" the summoner said with a grin, grabbing Remus' arm and pulling him toward the water where Leviathan was waiting to take them to the shrine. Sirius shook his head and walked back toward the lift.
"Finally," Harry said, stepping into the water, pulling Remus along with him and soaking the lower portion of the prince's robes. "I thought he'd never leave. Since we've got to stay there all night and wait until morning, I've got a few questions to ask you."
"Questions?"
-
"If you bring it any closer, we're going to overheat!" Severus snarled, sweat dripping down the side of his face as he watched Sirius lower a ladder down to the rock ledge that housed the fire shrine.
"All right, it's okay," Sirius said, pushing a thick strand of sweat drenched hair from his eyes. "Ginevra. Hagrid. Good luck."
"Not needed," Ginevra said, lowering herself down onto the ladder and disappearing. Hagrid followed a few moments later.
"Where do we go from here?" Weasley asked.
"The Burrow," Sirius replied. "You and Narcissa."
"What?" Narcissa snapped, looking up from her examination of her nails.
-
"The wind is too strong!" Weasley shouted over the howl of the tornado. "We won't be able to get through."
"You'll just have to keep trying!" Sirius shouted. "You've got until dawn. There's plenty of time!"
Weasley gazed up at Sirius still standing on the upper deck of the airship, holding onto the ladder as Narcissa climbed down, dropping into the sand beside the knight. Her boots disappeared in under the sand and she cursed, grabbing his arm. He pulled her out and nodded to Sirius as the ladder was pulled back up and the airship backed away from the massive tornado.
"Shall we?" Weasley asked.
-
"It would have been better if we had split Harry and Remus up. Regardless of their summoning abilities, they are both white mages. If something happens they may have trouble defending themselves," Severus said dryly as he followed Sirius down the steps of the earth shrine.
"Probably, but Harry wanted to go with Remus. I don't see a point in fighting it. They're old enough to make their own decisions," Sirius replied, holding the green-framed mirror carefully in his hands. He wasn't about to let how just how worried he was for the two summoners. "It's nearly dawn. We need to get moving."
They reached the bottom of the stairs, a faintly lit tunnel stretched out before them. The two stood at the tunnel entrance for a long moment as it stretched into darkness. Finally, Sirius stepped forward. Almost immediately the floor shook. Jumping back, the thief nearly ran into the mage standing near him.
"What the hell?" he muttered, starting forward again. The ground shook gently and then suddenly the wall shifted. He felt hands on his shoulder, shoving him forward and the thief rolled a few feet forward and pushed himself to his feet, turning around to look at the mage as a portion of the wall slid over and blocked the exit.
"Shit," Severus cursed.
Sirius opened his mouth to say something, but another section of wall was moving now, this time dropping down from the ceiling. Grabbing the mage's arm, Sirius pulled him from harms way.
"This way," he said, twisting away as another section of wall made to crush him. The mage appeared a second later as it drew back, looking a bit surprised.
"This is insane," he said harshly, following Sirius as they dodged and avoided the crushing weight of the walls as they moved, sometimes barely avoiding it.
"But it's interesting," Sirius gasped, his breathing harsh as he ducked and rolled out of the way.
-
Leviathan waited patiently in the water as Remus and Harry went into the shrine. It was a small place, lit by a few well-placed torches. Harry was holding the blue-framed mirror while Remus followed him into the shrine toward a small altar at the center. They stood in the empty room for a moment.
"This place is empty," Harry pointed out.
"It's too quiet," Remus said softly, watching as Harry set the mirror down onto the altar at the center of the room.
"They probably got scared and ran away," Harry said with a cocky smile.
The prince smiled indulgently.
"One can only hope," Harry groaned.
"I hate when you fret like that!" he said loudly, looking as if he were going to have a temper-tantrum. "That's why I all ways worry about you!"
"What are you talking about?" Remus asked, looking at Harry in surprise. Harry flushed in embarrassment.
"Nothing," he said quickly. "I've just got a lot on my mind."
"I've been waiting for you."
-
Narcissa's eyes widened in surprise as a slim figure appeared out of the darkness, dressed in drastically cut yellow robes. The sleeves and bodice were black. Her hair was a deep honey yellow, pulled softly from her face by a spidery yellow gold crown. Her eyes were a sharp blue color and she smiled wryly at them.
"Just as Regulus said," she said gently, her soft voice contrasting against the dangerous look in her eyes. "Though I was expecting eight of you."
"Sorry to disappoint, it's just us two," Narcissa snapped.
"Ah," the woman nodded. "You're trying to conquer the four shrines all at once. How noble."
-
The man was dressed impeccably in forest green robes, hemmed with silver. His black hair hung to his chin as he stood before them.
"Are you under Regulus' command?" Sirius demanded.
The man in green scoffed.
"Hardly," the man said with a smile. "We are the guardians of Terra."
"What?" Sirius asked.
-
"We are the guardians of Terra," the woman said silkily, her blue robed body twisting almost wraith-like as she walked up to them. "Filled with the power of Terra itself."
"Rowena Ravenclaw," Remus breathed.
"Not quite, mortal," the woman said. "We are manifestations, taking the physical form of mortals."
"Are you going to fight us?" Harry asked.
"No. My place is as a guide. I defend this place against those that would destroy it. You do not seek to destroy this place therefore I am only here only because I wish to be."
-
"What do you want?" Ginevra asked, gazing at the man dressed in red and gold.
"Regulus told us that you were going to go through the Veil," he answered regally. "He asked that we stop you, but I and my fellows see no reasons for doing so."
"May I ask why?" Ginevra asked.
"The Lord wishes to allow you through," the man answered. "We follow our Lord before Regulus."
-
It shouldn't have been so easy, but it was. The mirror was in place and Harry and Remus sat carefully on Leviathan's neck as she slid easily across the water back to the other shore. Harry was staring off into space, looking conflicted. Finally, they reached the shore.
Remus' boots made a soft thump as they hit the sand, Harry right behind him. Turning, he raised a hand and Leviathan disappeared with a flash of cerulean energy and a crash of waves that soaked the hem of his robes. Harry's eyes widened and he grabbed Remus' arm.
"What?" Remus asked.
"There's a question that I wanted to ask you. I wanted to wait until we were alone and I completely forgot!" the summoner looked a fit fretful.
"What is it?"
"Promise you'll give me an honest answer," Harry said.
"You have to ask the question first, Harry," Remus said gently, "or I can't answer."
Harry nodded.
"Do you love Sirius?"
"What?" the prince realized that was the third time he'd asked that and promptly shut his mouth. Harry huffed in annoyance.
"You have to answer me," the summoner said. "Do you love him or not?"
Remus swallowed, bowing his head. He wasn't quite sure he had an answer to that question.
"You guys going to stand there all day, or what?" Remus visibly relaxed at the sound of Sirius' voice. The thief was stride across the beach toward them, grinning. "Come on. We've got to get going. Regulus awaits."
Remus nodded.
"Hey!" Harry protested, chasing after the two. "You never answered my question."
"What question?" Sirius asked.
"Silencio," Harry scowled at the prince and Sirius' eyes widened in surprise. He hadn't even known Remus knew that spell.
- Author's Note: -cackles madly- Finished. Not with the story, but with this chapter. Seven pages! Seven!
