Title: Memory
Author: Remus J. Lupin-Black
Rating: R
Genre:
Action/Adventure/Alternate Universe/Romance
Pairing(s): Harry/Luna,
Remus/Sirius, Ron/Hermione
Summary: In a world on the
verge of destruction, they will come together to save it.
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. This
story is based on characters and situations created and owned by
Square Enix. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark
infringement is intended.
Author's Note: I must
apologize for the length it took for this chapter to be written, but
I am trying for quality, not quantity. I do hope that I have
succeeded. Also, translations are available in the author's note at
the end of the chapter.
-
Chapter Two
Ruin
-
When he awoke, it was to the sound of water lapping gently against some surface nearby, the cold feeling of water on his legs, and the sharp cry of gulls. Harry groaned, his body protesting his return to consciousness. Forcing his eyes open, he found himself eye to eye with a dirty gray gull perched on a jagged section of rock attached to the smooth surface that he was lying on.
He moved his left arm, intent on getting it beneath his body and pushing himself up onto his knees so that he could see his surrounding better. Instead, he realized too late that the stone he was on was covered with algae and with a cry of surprise; he slid backwards into the cold water.
Sputtering, he surfaced and grabbed desperately onto the stone, trying to pull himself from the deep water. It was nearly impossible and he only fell under again as soon as he had managed to get any sort of grip onto the stone's smooth sides. Finally, he managed a half grip for a few moments. Coughing, he looked up to see the gull still sitting on the stone, looking at him with beady, black eyes.
"What are you looking at?" he demanded.
The gull squawked loudly and took off into the sky. Harry followed its flight with his eyes and watched it swoop down toward a dark shape on the horizon. A building. He slid back into the water, weighed down by his sword and clothes, and started swimming through the deep water toward it.
He barely made it and trembling and coughing, he crawled up the steps before the massive building. He stood precariously, his clothes wet while his hair dripped water down the sides of his face and neck. Wringing his clothes out, he looked at his surrounding. The area he had just swum through was filled with the scattered remains of columns.
"What is this place?" he asked aloud, turning back toward the building. The sky was dark and the building just barely visible in the limited light.
Shivering, Harry moved toward it and watched as a stone walkway over more water appeared. The stone was white, but dirtied by footprints. Harry followed them with his eyes as he walked across it toward the building. He stopped at the top of the walkway and looked down. Under the water, covered in seaweed, algae, and worn away by time, the remains of what Harry could identify as a temple. There was an idol near the surface of the water, but it wasn't anything he could identify.
He shuddered and cursed Sirius under his breath for disappearing. Likely laughing at him for wanting to just find a good place to cry. He didn't recognize this place, Hogwarts had been attacked by some water bubble monster thing, and he was seeing things like little children telling him not to cry. Stupid kid. He could cry if he wanted.
The stones beneath his feet lurched and then collapsed. He cried out and fell, stones falling around him as the walkway collapsed into the water. Stones rained down on him as he surfaced again, coughing, and he felt a rise of relief that none of them had struck him. He put everything into keeping his clothes and sword from dragging him under the water and looked around.
An entrance near the idol statue could logically lead to finding some shelter and drying off.
He started swimming, moving slowly through the water and trying to keep himself from going under. He was tempted to throw the sword from his back and just be done with it, but he couldn't be sure that he wouldn't run into some sort of monster like those that had been in Hogwarts.
It was slow going and he had to duck under, sure for a long moment that he would be unable to surface, but as his feet hit the hard, stone surface and he found himself walking up a long stairway, avoiding large pieces of the walls that had fallen out, it was clear he would avoid that fate for now. He stopped at the top of the stairs before a massive set of doors. Reaching out, he ran his fingers along the stone, feeling the strange symbols in the dim light that filtered from below. He couldn't place its source.
"I can't read this," he said, quietly.
Shaking his head, he pushed the doors inward, surprised that they fell open so easily at his touch, and stepped into the room beyond. It was a large, circular room consisting of two levels. The first floor, in which Harry was standing, was bare and without decoration, save for rather crude looking creatures carved into the walls and pieces of stone littered about on the floor. The second was only a balcony that surrounded the first floor. Harry gazed up into the dark recess of the balcony, but could see no sign of anything living. He shivered.
"Cold," he said to himself, glad for the reassurance of his own voice as he walked into the room. "I need a fire."
He was tempted to give up on such a thought and perhaps find a dry place to curl up and sleep, but the fear of freezing in the night was pressing and kept him moving across the room toward a set of doors. The stairs beyond were also littered with rubble, but he maneuvered easily through it as the stairs hugged the wall, going up to the second floor balcony. There he found nothing of importance except for a few more strange pictures on the walls. He turned to the main room then and sat down in the middle of the room, shivering and exhausted.
-
He awoke with a start, a sudden sound alerting him to the presence of something in the room. Somehow he had fallen asleep, but as luck would have it, he had woken up before he could freeze to death. Getting quickly to his feet, he looked around the room. Nothing. A small rock fell from the balcony behind him and Harry turned around and looked up. Perched on the edge of the balcony, yellow eyes narrowed at him, was a large equine creature with clawed feet.
Harry took an unsteady step back and then remembered the sword that Sirius had given him. His hand went for it just as the creature jumped, landing about ten feet in front of him, hissing. Fingers closing around the hilt, Harry removed the sword with the soft slide of metal on metal. The creature struck, leaping into the air. Harry fell back in surprise and grabbed the sword with both hands, striking out blindly.
The creature fell back with a hiss and Harry saw that he hadn't even come close to hitting it. His grip on the sword hilt, made for only one hand, tightened as he moved forward and swung again. This time, the blow landed. Blood poured from its shoulder onto the floor. Harry cried out as the creature returned the blow, striking his left thigh. Blood welled up and stained his Quidditch uniform as he fell back, his sword falling from his hands to the ground.
The creature moved forward for another strike and Harry put his arm up. The ground shook and the creature stopped, falling back with a hiss. Harry blinked in surprise and then shouted as another set of doors that he had failed to see, were blown into the room. The two stone doors slid across the floor and dust filled the air.
Coughing, Harry watched as a group of people, dressed in brightly colored clothes, walked into the room. They were led by a woman wearing a skintight green body suit with a belt holding a number of tools around her waist. Her dark red-orange hair was pulled into a high ponytail that fell to her shoulders while a pair of goggles, the lenses colored so that Harry couldn't see her eyes, covered the top part of her face.
Harry gaped at her as the others, all men, remained in the doorway while she strode forward, pulled something off the belt around her waist and tossed it over Harry's head toward the creature.
"Tilg (i)!"
"What?"
The object that the girl had pulled off her belt exploded. Harry yelped and fell to the ground, covering his head. He looked up a moment later to find the creature on its side, dead. Grinning, he stood up and turning to the girl. "Thanks!"
One of the men standing behind the girl moved forward, the strange gun in his hands suddenly at Harry's throat.
"Fro yna oui rana (ii)?" he demanded.
"What?" Harry repeated.
"Fyed! Ra tuach'd ihtancdyht (iii)!" the girl shoved the butt of the gun away from Harry's throat, looking furious.
"Lynavim, Ginny, ed luimt pa y fiend (iv)," the man protested. "Fa cruimt gemm ed (v)."
"E vunpet ed (vi)," the girl answered sternly. Harry watched in confusion, "Fa pnehk ed fedr ic (vii)."
The man stepped back, nodding his assent and the girl turned to Harry. She pulled the goggles away from her eyes and let them fall down around her neck. Her eyes were a startling green color, not unlike Harry's own and a spattering of freckles covered her cheeks. Harry hadn't noticed them before.
"Cunno (viii)," she said softly and before Harry could protest of ready himself for the blow, she struck him in the stomach. A moment before he lost consciousness, he had the sudden thought that this was becoming a pattern.
-
He woke to the sound of talking. Blinking wearily, he sat up, his hand falling immediately to his sore stomach. He looked around, taking in his surroundings. The girl was standing a few feet away, leaning against a railing. Looking past her, Harry could see the ocean. His eyes widened in surprise and he lurched to his feet, looking wildly around.
A group of people stood a few paces away, deep in conversation in the strange tongue that they had been speaking before. The boat itself was large, it's upper deck filled with a variety of strange equipment.
"Ed ec yfyga (ix)!" Harry jumped as a gun was shoved into his face, held by one of the men from earlier. He had removed his helmet, allowing his green eyes and red hair to be seen. Harry didn't bother trying to protest.
Harry gazed blankly at him as he handed the gun off to a man standing beside him and started speak. After a few moments, the man stopped and glared at him.
"I don't understand," Harry said.
"Ehcumahla (x)!" the man with the gun said and he cocked the weapon. Harry winced.
"Fyed (xi)!" a hand was suddenly on his arm and Harry found himself looking into the brilliant green eyes of the girl that had saved his life before. She was watching him, smirking at him. "He says that you have to help us."
"You…you understand me?" Harry asked in amazement. One of the men standing nearby shoved the butt of his weapon into Harry's back and he keeled over onto the deck of the boat. "Okay! I get it! I'll help!"
The girl started speaking to the others near her and they backed off suddenly. She grabbed Harry's arm and pulled him to his feet.
"We've been looking for these ruins for a while now. We just stumbled upon them only a few miles away from where we found you. We're going to go down and hook up the crane," here she motioned to the massive crane at the center of the ship and it was then that Harry saw that there were five other boats as well. "Hopefully we'll be able to salvage it."
Harry nodded, gazing down into the dark water.
"How are we supposed to breathe?" he asked.
"Those," the girl motioned to some strange tanks sitting nearby. "They should last us a couple of hours."
"Right," Harry nodded, doubting that anything like that could really help him breathe underwater. He noticed the girl's narrowed eyes and nodded. "Right! Let's get going."
-
It turned out that the tanks did indeed allow him to breathe underwater and he returned to the surface, the ships crane chain attached to the massive object beneath the water. The girl was at his side as she climbed up the ladder onto the deck, removing the tank and mouthpiece and tossing them aside. She broke out into a grin as the men on the boat approached.
"Dra naluntc fana nekrd. Ed ec yh airship (xii)," one of the men said excitedly.
Harry climbed up the ladder after her, removing the tank and mouthpiece carefully, still unnerved by the strange equipment. He didn't pay attention as the rest of the ship's crew spoke excitedly. He didn't understand a damn word they were saying anyways. There was little point in trying to listen. His stomach lurched unexpectedly and he realized with a start that he was starving.
"Hungry?" he looked over to find the girl standing in front of him, the others on the ship having disappeared below deck.
"Starving," he said taking the tray of strange food and sitting down to eat. The girl laughed and crouched down in front of him, her arms crossed so that they rested on her knees. She watched him eat in silence and as he swallowed the last bite, she grinned.
"Water?" she asked, offering a metal container. Harry accepted it with a nod and downed its contents, nearly choking on the sharp taste.
"It tastes funny," he said finally, swallowing and making a face at the strange taste in his mouth now.
"There's iron in the water. You get used to it," the girl said, straightening up. "What's your name?"
"Harry," he said, setting down the canteen and standing up to stretch. "Who are you?"
"Ginny," she replied easily.
"You really do understand me!" Harry laughed happily and then pulled himself up onto the railing of the deck, looking curiously at Ginny.
"My father taught me," she explained.
"So who are you guys?" Harry asked.
"We're Muggles," she gazed nervously at him. "You're not a Muggle-hater are you?"
Harry shrugged.
"I don't even know what a Muggle is," he said exasperatedly, kicking his legs absently and examining his ruined Quidditch robes, the material was frayed and water stained. He wondered if there was a chance of getting something from Ginny.
Ginny was watching him curiously. She cocked her head to the side and asked, "Where are you from?"
"Hogwarts," Harry answered, still gazing at his robes so that he didn't see her shocked look. "I'm a Quidditch player for the Hogwarts Dragons."
When Ginny didn't say anything, he looked at her curiously.
"Did you hit your head?" she asked as Harry huffed in irritation.
"You guys hit me," he said.
"Oh yeah," Ginny bit her lip. "Well, what do you remember before we found you?"
So, Harry told her about the game, his hands making wide sweeping gestures as he tried to explain Sin's appearance and the destruction of the stadium. He told her about the attack on the city, about the light that engulfed him and Sirius and about waking up in the ruins. He said things as they came until finally, he fell silent and turned back around to find Ginny standing behind him, her arms folded, a look of concern on her pretty face.
"Did I say something wrong?"
"You said…you were near Sin," she said quietly. "They say that your head gets funny when Sin is nearby. Maybe…maybe you had some sort of dream."
"You mean I'm sick?" Harry asked.
Ginny nodded.
"Yeah, because of Sin's toxin," she said easily. "You'll be better soon."
"How do you know?"
"There is no Hogwarts," she said smoothly. "Sin destroyed it a thousand years ago. So…no one plays Quidditch there anymore."
Harry stared at her in shock, his legs felt weak suddenly.
"What do you mean?" he demanded. "I saw Sin attack Hogwarts! I was there! That can't have happened a thousand years ago!"
Ginny turned her back on him, her arms still crossed beneath her small breasts. She tapped her foot impatiently for a moment and Harry resisted the urge to shake her. Finally, she turned back to him.
"You said that you play Quidditch, right? You should go to Perth then. Maybe someone will know you or you'll find someone that recognizes you."
"Perth?" Harry asked. The name meant nothing to him. Ginny groaned in frustration and turned away from him, one gloved hand on her forehead. Harry watched her as she paced.
"Leave it to me!" she said suddenly, clapping her hands. "I'll get you to Perth. Promise."
"But…" Ginny arched an eyebrow at him and he shook his head.
"You don't want to stay here, do you?" when Harry shook his head, she nodded, turning toward the stairs to the lower deck. She put her hand on the railing there and then turned to him again. "Don't tell anyone else that you're from Hogwarts. Voldemort says it's a holy place. You'll offend someone."
She turned her back to him and disappeared down the stairs under the ship, leaving Harry on the deck alone. He stared off silently at the wiring gears of the crane. Hogwarts was a holy place? Yeah right. Voldemort? Who was he? Sin? Perth? He sighed heavily and gazed up at the dark sky, searching for something familiar. He had thought that Sin had dropped him off somewhere and that he could be able to get home in a few days. Was he really a thousand years in the future?
With a cry of rage, he leapt off the railing and kicked it. The ship lurched and he nearly fell over into the water, catching himself on the railing at the last second. His green eyes searched the water as it churned. People ran out onto the deck, yelling to each other. Harry looked for Ginny, but the girl didn't reappear as the ship lurched again. Gazing down into the dark water, Harry saw the massive shape moving beneath the waves. He swallowed.
"Sin!"
"Ihtan ic (xiii)!"
Water flew high into the air, falling down onto the deck and washing people into the water. Ginny suddenly appeared, clutching tightly onto the railing at the stairs just as another wave of water washed across the deck. It soaked her through and she cried out in surprise, holding onto the railing with both holds. Harry wasn't so lucky. The water washed him off deck and into the cold water. He felt himself being pulled down as he struggled to escape. His body fought desperately for air and just as he opened his mouth, water rushed into his lungs. He blacked out.
-
Author's Note: Translations. All of you were ready to choke me weren't you?
i "Tilg!" – "Duck!"
ii "Fro yna oui rana?" – "Why are you here?"
iii "Fyed! Ra tuach'd ihtancdyht!" – "Wait! He doesn't understand!"
iv "Lynavim, Ginny, ed luimt pa y fiend." – Careful, Ginny, it could be a fiend."
v "Fa cruimt gemm ed." – "We should kill it."
vi "E vunpet ed." – "I forbid it."
vii "Fa phehk ed fedr ic." – "We bring it with us."
viii "Cunno." – "Sorry."
ix "Ed ec yfyga!" – "It is awake!"
x "Ehcumahla!" – "Insolence!"
xi "Fyed!" – "Wait!"
xii "Dra naluntc fana nekrd. Ed ec yh airship." – "The records were right. It is an airship."
xiii "Ihtan ic!" – "Under us!"
