Chapter Three: The Dream
Sadly, the speed I upload these chapters is going to slow now that I'm out of prepared and edited chapters. I promise this story will be finished.
James was balancing at the deck of a ship, much like he had on top of the train compartment. The sun was setting and reflecting beautifully off the water, but in the distance he could see storm clouds and a flash of lightning.
"Sir!"
James jumped as the loud and strangely familiar voice sounded. He had thought that he was alone.
Right behind him was a trio of sailing ships, the strangest he had seen. One was a sailboat, picture perfect as it skimmed the waves. The other was merchant ship, laden with goods. The third was an old exploration vessel, looking uncommonly like a pirate ship as it rocked in the waves. Each ship had a captain at the bow and a shadowy crew, but the faces of them were unclear.
The sun's light changed suddenly from orange to red, and the faces of the captains came clear. James gasped in spite of himself. Rose Weasley, Albus Potter, and Scorpius Malfoy sat calmly at the helms of their vessels. They looked different, somehow. Rose's hair was longer than James remembered, and she was wearing unfamiliar clothes. Behind her, the shadow crew resolved themselves into her friends from the train compartment. Albus sat calmly on the bow of the merchant ship, his Weasley sweater bearing the emblem of aurers. Scorpius wore a long tan overcoat over his other cloths, and an unbelievably long Griffindor scarf was wrapped around his neck. The left side of his face was in shadow, as he turned the explorer's ship until he and James were sailing side by side.
"There's a storm up ahead," He commented casually, "What shall we do sir?"
James, for a second, considered turning around and avoiding it, but another part of him warned that the path out was smooth and easy but without joy.
"Straight ahead, sail straight ahead."
Scorpius looked like he wanted to argue, but instead he turned and barked out orders to his crew. Now that the course was set, James felt his eyes wander and they fell upon the name of Scorpius's ship. Frostbane. For some reason that name caused shivers to slip up his spine.
"That's an interesting name," he commented to Scorpius, who simply looked doubtful.
"Perhaps, but the old captain, The Frost Bringer, was evil. Beware him," And with those cryptic words Scorpius turned back to the helm, and was soon lost in mist.
James floated deeper into the mist, until everything became obscured. The wind had picked up, and lightning flashed more than ever, although it never hit the ship. All of his companions had vanished, and even though some of them *cough-Scorpius-cough* were not generally pleasant, companionship would have helped. The blank mist and the silence except for waves lapping against the boat and the occasional crack of lightning was unnerving.
Then the splashing was getting louder, and James released that another ship was approaching. He turned to greet the person and froze. The boat was battered and old, falling apart at the timbers. That wasn't what drew his attention, however. The boat was halved. A draug boat, a death omen for all at sea. There were two people on the boat, fighting with swords that were merely blurs as they met again and again. The half-boat sailed closer, and James saw the name on the prow. Frostbane. Scorpius Malfoy's ship. Malfoy himself was one of the fighters, wielding a deep gray sword. Or was it a length of pipe? Whatever it is it met the sword of the Frost-Bringer (for James was sure he was the other fighter) with so much force, that if it hadn't been a dream James knew the swords would have shattered. As it was, the combatants were not escaping unharmed. The Frost-Bringer, who was almost as old as James father, was bleeding badly from a deep sword wound to the arm, while Scorpius's face was covered in blood that pulsed from a deep slash.
The battle was reaching its climax, when the hold of the half-boat banged. Two yellow eyes glanced out the grate, before black claws extended, and ripped it right out, spilling Scorpius and the Frost-Bringer into the sea.
A hideous black dragon crawled out, shaking a broken chain from its neck. The exploration vessel had a live cargo, and you can bet it was in a hurry to get out. A massive black bird flew out, vanishing on the horizon line in nearly an instant. A roc? A thunderbird maybe? There were smaller animals occupying the hold, and they followed the path of their bigger fellows. So many that James was sure they could have never fit back in, but still more spilled out. Most notable were the only animals who stuck together. A flash of red, and a mongoose, a snake-fighting cat, jumped into the water and swam, rapidly getting away. A jackal, the Egyptian devil dog, followed it, rapidly catching up. Last of the strange trio a medium-sized bird flew out, to settle on the back of the jackal. A mongoose, a jackal, and a rooster. What an odd trio.
James had been so busy watching the animals that he hadn't noticed that someone was holding onto the rail of his ship, pulling themselves aboard. He finally turned to see, just as the person hauled himself halfway onto deck, gasping.
"Scorpius!" James shouted, shocked at the kid's condition. He may not like the twerp, but he was only a first-year. Scorpius Malfoy was dripping with blood that poured from not one, but three slashes around his left eye. His coat was ripped and bloodstained, and his scarf was so bloody that it no longer had any traces of yellow. James quickly offered his hand, Malfoy didn't look up to hauling himself all the way on board. Strangely enough Malfoy ignored the had James had offered, and instead stared off somewhere into the middle distance.
"To face a snake king, now listen close
Needing heart and joy, but courage most
A brothers loyalty shall never end
But beware the Wolf, who shall never be a friend
Trust the trio, doubt the twin
Until you enter the Chamber again
Leave the sorrow, leave the fear
Or our journey shall end here
Weasel-bane, blood tongue
Fears the sound of bells rung
Toad true, rooster gone
There is a friend who stood by all along"
Scorpius, after completing his little rhyme, let go of the rail and dropped like a stone. James wanted to help him, but the air was blurring, blurring and the dark was sneaking in, claiming his vision.