Written for The Quidditch League Fanfiction Competition
[Season 8] - Semi-Finals: It's the end of the world as we know it (and I feel fine)
Team: Chudley Cannons
Position: Beater 1 - [Steampunk] Steampunk merges the science fiction genre with alternate history and the design aesthetic of the 19th and early 20th Centuries. The basic idea is the introduction of modern (or futuristic) concepts and technologies into an earlier setting, or vice versa.
Prompts:
9. (object) Antique Compass
12. (character) Sirius Black
13. (colour) purple
Purple means ambition.
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Written for Chudley Cannon Team Challenge
Prompt: Your story must include a broomstick
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Thanks to Fire the Canon for betaing!
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As Sirius opened the door, he was met by the familiar smell of metal and dusty air. He breathed in slowly, letting the scent calm him. The laboratory was like a second home to him, or rather, his flat was second home. After all, Remus and Sirius both spent more time here than anywhere else.
He stepped past the curtain designed to keep the curious gaze away, after all, all their projects were secret.
Sirius saw Remus in the middle of the room sweeping with a broomstick, then smiled. Remus wore a purple top hat which held his goggles, designed with a built-in microscope, and a white shirt with a brown vest. Both were filthy with dust. He also wore brown and black striped pants and long boots. His fingers were dressed in leather fingerless gloves.
Remus turned around and smiled as he spotted Sirius, quickly walking up, grabbing his hand and dragging him through the room. The tables were set up like a labyrinth and had projects in progress, parchment and loose material spread out all over the place.
Sirius was dragged to Remus' desk where tons of parchment and books were spread out, though this wasn't out of the ordinary. Remus called it his 'creative phase'. He pushed some parchments out of the way and pointed at an open book with an illustration of a compass.
"The Compass of Misdirection?" Sirius frowned. "It's said to lead sailors to their doom, why were you looking at that?"
Remus quickly fished out a compass and magnet from his skin pocket attached to his belt and held the items next to each other causing the compass to spin around.
"You think someone tampered with the compass?"
He nodded quickly, picking out another book from the mess, practically shoving it into Sirius' face. It was a book of some of the very first, and best, pirates to sail the seven seas. The stories say they could find any treasure quicker than other pirates could leave the docks - all because of a magical compass. Well, that was until the ship and all its crewmembers sunk in a storm.
Sirius huffed. "Did you hit your head, Remus, because you must truly be becoming mad. It isn't possible that the Compass of Misdirection, an actual ancient artefact, is the same as some imaginary compass sailors used a thousand years ago."
Remus nodded enthusiastically. He found a blank piece of parchment and quickly began scribbling. Sirius stood next to him and read the words:
If the Compass of Misdirection only ever served that purpose, why are all pirates out to get it?
Sirius stood still, trying to put the pieces together. "You're saying it's the same compass?" He got a nod from Remus. "But that means…" Sirius lit up. "That means the magical compass from the stories is real!"
Remus hastily continued scribbling on the parchment, most of the words were barely readable, but excitement filled Sirius deciphered Remus' messy scrawl.
Some pirate ships have their own rules, and these rules allowed slaves to be equal to all the other pirates. Some of the first pirates found gold to buy and free slaves. This means the compass doesn't necessarily lead to treasures. Older stories talk about a compass which leads you to greatness - to the thing that will help complete your goal. I think they are all the same compass.
Sirius grabbed Remus' arm tightly, his smile was growing steadily. "We can finish our work!"
Often, children were forced to work in narrow underground roadways, to transfer coal. They wanted to build a machine that could navigate, was small enough to fit the space, yet strong enough to pull.
They wanted to remove children from the workplace.
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Sirius breathed in the cool air as the airship flew through the wind. There was nothing like it. Yes, the laboratory was home to him, but it wasn't quite as adventurous as this. Flying over open sea, watching the land disappear behind you. Preparing for the journey.
He watched in awe as the crew walked around, making sure everything was working properly, tightening or loosening some ropes here and there as the wind got a grip on the sails.
Remus wasn't a big fan of heights, so he had gone to the cabin. He was probably checking their map and notes for the one-hundredth time.
There hadn't been any stories of the compass in a very long time, and there hadn't been of any pirates who got many treasures or disappeared mysteriously either. They assumed it had been buried and were pretty sure where.
The Majerg Mountain.
It was said to be cursed. No one had visited in centuries. There were treasures deep within the mountain, in a hidden cave called Isvule. The entrance was at the very top.
Sirius couldn't wait to find the compass. If it led them to the objects which could help finish their goal, they could do so much good in the world.
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Sirius stood in the cabin, about to put on his shirt when Remus entered. They froze, staring at each other, till Remus closed and locked the door behind him. Sirius' smile widened as Remus walked over, gently cupping his face and bringing their lips together.
Sirius put his arms around Remus' neck, their noses bumping. Remus pulled back, took Sirius' hand and brought him to the desk where he sat at the chair, pulling Sirius onto his lap. He opened the drawer and pulled out a tiny piece of machinery.
It was a small version of the design Sirius and Remus had been working on.
Remus used a wind-up key to make the machine drive. Sirius' eyes followed eagerly as it drove around the table. They were so close. Soon, it wouldn't be a dream, but reality.
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Sirius struggled against the ropes, while quickly scanning the deck, looking for a possible way out. His eyes searched, but all the pirates were staring at them, holding their swords ready.
How had they been discovered? They'd been asleep one moment, and next, they were being ambushed by a bunch of wayward pirates, kidnapped and tied up on another ship.
Now their lives were in danger — all over a possibly non-existent compass.
Something stopped the pirates from killing them, though. Sirius tried turning his head to see. A pirate carrying an air of authority, walked towards Remus, sword in hand and a devious expression on his face.
The captain wore a long black leather jacket, reaching below his knees, with buttons all the way down. Underneath he had a tight north-western purple vest, a leather belt and black pants. His skin was dark, and his hair was one big black mess.
He gestured to one of his crewmates, who walked over to Remus. Sirius couldn't see what was going on, but he felt a shiver down his spine.
The captain spoke with a dark voice.
"Where's the gold?"
There was no answer. Sirius quickly began fighting against the ropes in his mouth. The other crewmates snickered. He could already feel the sweat dripping down his forehead.
The captain spoke again.
"Tell me where the gold is, or you'll meet the tip of my sword." As the captain began counting down from ten, Sirius tried harder, only managing to get free as the captain said one, yelling as loud as he could.
"He's mute!" There was a long silence, the only sound being Sirius' panting as he struggled against the ropes.
"What?" It was the captain.
Sirius took a deep breath. "He's mute. He can't talk."
The captain walked over, his boots making a muffled click-clack sound on the wooden airship. He faced Sirius, lifting his sword, pressing the flat side under his chin.
"It seems as if you can, so tell me: where do you hide the gold?"
Sirius closed his eyes. "We don't have any."
"I know you have. So where is it?" He lifted his sword, causing Sirius to lift his head up. The cool metal did nothing to calm his nerves.
"I swear we don't have any gold."
The captain scoffed, taking a few steps back. Sirius gasped. He gestured to one of his crewmembers. "Peter. Give me the other guy."
"What?" Though no one answered him. Sirius turned his head, trying to find out what the Peter-guy was doing to his Remus.
Peter un-tied Remus from the mast, then tied his hands together on his back and pushed him towards the captain who grabbed him by the collar of his shirt, moving towards the edge of the airship.
"No, please!" Sirius instantly began struggling to get free. His wrists were bloody, but it was pointless anyway - he couldn't get free. "Please don't! I swear- please!" The captain didn't even hesitate as he held Remus over the edge, ready to let go. "I'll tell you where the gold is!"
The captain turned his head slowly, smirking. Sirius noticed a big red mark on his left cheek. "So?"
"Get him away from the edge and I'll tell you."
The captain threw Remus on the ground, who then quickly scooted himself to sit next to Sirius. He was shaking. Once Remus was safe by his side, he looked at the captain, who had his eyebrow raised.
"In the cabin, by the desk, there's a hidden room under the floor."
"You better be telling the truth, or it'll be worse for him." The captain pointed his sword at Remus, then walked over the edge on the other side, boarding their airship which was attached to the pirate airship.
Remus glanced at Sirius; his eyes were wide. Sirius sank and leaned his head against Remus', hoping he could somehow calm, or reassure him.
A minute later, the captain jumped onto his ship, a bag of gold in his hand, held high above his head and cheered loudly. His crewmates quickly joined him.
The captain handed the gold to a crewmember, who disappeared, presumably to hide it. The rest of the crew danced a little, celebrating their victory. A few minutes later, the captain spoke again.
"Gideon, burn the airship and we'll be on our way."
Sirius perked. "What?"
Again, everyone ignored him. Remus sat up straight beside him, staring at Sirius with alarmingly big eyes.
"Captain!" Sirius said, hoping to catch his attention, though the pirate easily ignored him. He watched in horror as a red-haired crewmember prepared to light their ship. "We have something valuable on there."
This caught the captain's attention. He held up his hand, efficiently stopping Gideon, then stepped forward, hand on his sword in the sheath, though not drawn.
"What?"
"Research."
The captain snorted, turned around on his heel and made a sign to Gideon to start again.
"It's important research," Sirius insisted. "When we finish, we'll be able to decrease the use of child labour."
This made the captain stop in his tracks. "How?"
"We're working on a machine which can pull coal in the mines, so children won't have to do it."
The captain said nothing. Meanwhile, the crew waited, staring at him in anticipation. He appeared to be thinking hard. His fingers were fidgeting. Finally, he pointed at a red-haired crewmember.
"Fabian, release that guy and keep a good eye on the mute one. Black-hair and I will board their airship to collect the research. If he tries anything, throw Mute overboard."
Fabian untied Sirius from the mast, who then quickly massaged his wrists. Though slightly baffled, he smiled reassuringly at Remus and stood up, but not before squeezing Remus' shoulder slightly.
Hesitantly, Sirius boarded their airship. The captain was following close behind. Sirius walked to the cabin, quickly grabbing all they needed, and also a few personal belongings, hoping the captain wouldn't notice, or at least, wouldn't mind.
He started when the captain spoke.
"What will you do after?"
Sirius turned around slowly. "After?"
"After you've helped the children, what will you do then?"
He shrugged, wondering why the captain was even interested. He hadn't ever wondered what they would do after. "We'll probably continue building machines which can help other people."
"Which kinds of people?"
It took Sirius a second to realize what the captain was asking him. Neither he nor Remus ever thought of it, or even mentioned it as an option, but he supposed they could help the Native Americans and Africans from slavery.
"Anyone who needs it."
The captain nodded approvingly.
They left the cabin and stepped back onto the pirate airship. Fabian was standing next to Remus. The captain told him to release Remus and then for both of them to follow him into his cabin. Though firstly instructed his crew to begin flying again.
It was slightly smaller than theirs. There were big windows furthest from the door, a hammock on the left side, a cabinet on the right and a desk in the middle. The captain took the chair by the desk, leaning slightly back.
"My name is James Potter, and you can call me James."
Sirius and Remus stared at each other. "Er, I'm Sirius Black and he's Remus Lupin."
"So, what do you need to finish your machine?" James noticed their confused expressions. "I'm going to help you, so tell me what you need."
Hesitantly, Sirius laid all the papers on James' desk, looking for the illustration of the compass. "We are looking for the Compass of Misdirection. We have reason to believe it's the same compass as the first pirates used."
James rolled his eyes. "Obviously."
"Wait." Sirius' eyes widened. "You knew?"
"Most pirates do. It's common knowledge." He let his look wander them up and down. "Common pirate-knowledge at least, we don't have many chances to share our discoveries with you lot. But it doesn't matter, no one knows where the compass is."
Sirius smirked. "Remus does. The compass has connections to a third compass, which was last heard of a few centuries ago. The pirates who had it, buried all their treasures in Majerg, but no one ever found it."
James nodded approvingly. "That makes sense."
Sirius found a map. "On top of Majerg, there's a cave called Isvule. The treasure is hidden there."
"Hm, not a chance." James studied the map intensely. "You said a few centuries ago. Not everyone had airships back then and certainly not pirates. Even if they did, it's difficult to park the airship up there."
Remus gently hit Sirius' arm. He hated being corrected on a well-thought-out theory. Sirius squeezed his arm and turned back to James.
"If it's not in Isvule, then where?"
He smirked, pointing at the map. "Here, behind the waterfall. I bet there's a secret entrance."
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Sirius stood beside the captain as Majerg came into view. Remus stood by his side, holding on tightly. He had tried convincing him to go into the cabin, but Remus insisted on being there.
James threw orders around, telling the crewmembers what needed to be done. It was like a well-functioning machine - a truly marvellous sight as they did as ordered. The ship slowly neared the surface of the water. Sirius was interrupted as Remus, who was now pale, held on even tighter than before.
He put his hand on Remus' and smiled carefully. Though his heart was beating faster than usual. If they found the compass, they would be able to finish the machine and help so many people.
It gave a slight jolt as the ship hit the surface. The airship skidded across the water a few seconds before stopping. One of the crewmembers threw the anchor down.
Sirius, Remus, James and the crewmember called Peter got into a boat which was then lowered into the water. Peter rowed all the way to the shore and waited in the boat as James, who held the map, led them to the waterfall.
When they entered the forest and were out of view, Sirius grabbed Remus' hand.
They heard the waterfall long before seeing it, although it was a sight to behold. The water fell down the mountain, causing rainbows. Meanwhile, birds were tweeting.
James led them on a path which circled behind the waterfall. James inspected the walls with Sirius and Remus. Suddenly, Remus tucked at his arm and pointed upwards.
Sirius frowned; he couldn't see anything; in fact, it was all black.
Remus then pointed at the wall at eye height. Because of the water and the light from outside, the walls were slightly blue. He then pointed at the same place as before. It suddenly dawned on Sirius.
"James, there's a cave up there."
James came over, stood on his tiptoes and stretched his arm, using the lantern to light the small cave.
"Help me up," Sirius said. James held his hands out for Sirius to step on. Remus offered his hand to help him keep his balance. Sirius reached for the darkness and grabbed the edge. With the help of James, he pulled himself all the way up.
Sirius reached down for the lantern, and mere seconds later he lit up the small cave. A chest was standing in the middle. Excitement filled him.
The lock was old and rusty. A few kicks made it fall off. He hastily opened the chest. In the middle was a compass. The purple colour was peeling off, and the glass was dirty.
"I found it!" Sirius said breathlessly. He secured it safely in his belt and crawled back to the edge, where James and Remus helped him down.
Sirius carefully handed the compass to Remus, who took it, then sat. He inspected it for a few minutes before pulling out some tools from his belt.
James gasped as Remus removed the bottom. He carefully picked out the magnet and threw it far away. Immediately, the arrow pointed in a different direction. James took out his compass to compare. They didn't point in the same direction.
Sirius and Remus smiled at each other. They had found it!
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Word count: 2990