Chapter 18: Relax

Remus had actually taken Sirius up on his offer of a place to stay, though it wasn't clear if it was simply because he wanted to spy on Sirius or because he wanted to spy on Sans. That's what Sirius joked, anyway.

Although Sans was pretty sure both of those things were actually true.

Regardless of reason, Remus's presence meant that Sans would have to keep his glamour up virtually all the time. Not that he was particularly against the other man discovering his skeletal-ness, but, not to be contrary, he rather liked Remus not knowing. It might have been a while since the last timeline where they all ended up on the surface, but Sans keenly remembered how humans treated monsters: fear or detached fascination, typically. Certainly not like fellow people, most of the time. So it was nice to be treated as just Sans, secrets and quirks and all.

Of course, with Remus being a werewolf (and thus almost a monster himself), he probably wouldn't be species-ist or anything, but Sans didn't see any reason why he should risk it.

Besides, it was kinda funny watching the man try and figure him out.

A few hours ago, Remus had gone back to his apartment to grab his things. This meant, of course, that Sirius and Sans were currently free to do whatever without their soon-to-be roommate demanding answers.

And Sirius knew just what he wanted to do.

As soon as Remus walked out the door and Apparated away, Sirius spun around to Sans with a scheming grin. "Guess what?"

"oh no." Sans knew that look. "what's the plan now, paddy-paws?"

"Nothing new, don't worry."

Sans let his glamour drop—knowing he wouldn't get too many chances later—as he followed Sirius back to the drawing room. If the not-new plan in question was what he thought it was, then Sans was admittedly interested. "is this about that magic type thing?"

"Yep!"

Since Sirius seemed more interested in sitting himself on the edge of the newly made hole in the floor, legs dangling down into the dining room below, Sans had to prod, "…so what about that magic type thing?"

"Well, that should be obvious," he replied, leaning back on his hands. "I want to see if you can cast spells."

"thanks for spell-ing it out for me." Sans, in a remarkably fluid motion for being all bones, flopped down beside his friend. "how?"

The wizard paused, thinking for a moment. Then he went with a most remarkably simple answer, "You try to cast a spell, I guess."

"in case you somehow missed it, the last time i used a wand it exploded."

"'Exploded' is a strong word." Sirius waved the issue away. "Besides, wandless magic is totally a thing. Even if most people can't do it. And you already do stuff without a wand, so, I mean, you can just wave a stick or whatever and pretend."

"just any ol' stick?"

Spinning his own glorified stick as he thought, something occurred to him: "Best we avoid Ollivander anyways." Sirius nodded to himself, sagely adding, "That man knows things."

"speaking of knowing," Sans interjected, "i know no spells."

A shrug. "We'll start simple, obviously. Like, uh, 'Lumos'. That's pretty much the first charm you learn at Hogwarts, anyway." After another moment's thought, he added, "Wait, haven't you already done a light spell thingy before?"

Sans nodded and absentmindedly kicked his feet as they dangled, then said, "you're dead set on this plan, aren't ya."

"Yep!" Sirius said again, with the same eager cadence as before.

The skeleton heaved a put-upon sigh, even if it was mostly just for show. "if i must, then."

"Fantastic!" With a flourish—Sans wasn't sure there was any other way, at this point—Sirius held his wand at the ready. "So, since you've already got a light spell, let's try… uhm. Oh bugger, you've got a float-y spell too. Maybe 'Incendio'?"

"that sounds like burning," Sans said, and he gave a pointed look to the hole: a stellar example of damage he could cause with magic. "not so hot on that idea."

Sirius had to agree, and so he went back to the mental drawing board. Then, rather swiftly, he exclaimed, "I know!"

With a flick of his wand, the glass case that had held the Horcrux flew over to him. It was a pretty piece of glasswork, if perhaps a bit simple. The edges of the case were beveled, and the base had a delicate outline of curling vines carved into its sides. Sirius held it up, appreciating how the glass glinted in the light.

He proceeded to drop it down the hole. It shattered rather spectacularly on the table a few meters below.

"what?"

"There," Sirius said, sounding satisfied. "Now we can have you fix it. The spell's 'Reparo', by the way."

Sans leaned forward, looking down at the shards of glass. "could i maybe get a demonstration?"

Cue dramatic scoffing noises. "I suppose."

Very deliberately tracing out a spiral triangle in the air, Sirius spoke the name of the spell and then let the magic do its work. On the table below, the lid of the case reformed, pieces moving about as if the world was suddenly being rewound. Sans tracked the magic, watching the invisible layers of magic flicker through sequences of colors and saturations. The repaired lid clacked gently against the tabletop once the magic finished its work.

"Ta-da!"

There was no response from Sans, as he was too busy twisting his magic around to notice. Mentally tugging what colors he thought he might need from the swirl of magic in his SOUL, he sent it cascading down in the same pattern he had seen. A few of the larger glass pieces twitched toward each other, and two that were rather close fused together. Then the shards fell still again.

Sans huffed, slightly annoyed at the result.

Sirius, on the other hand, whooped and gave the short skeleton a congratulatory pat on the back. "You see that?! Ha-HA, I knew it!"

The skeleton gave the wizard a skeptical look. "you did, did ya?"

"Er… I hoped… it?"

Mentally shuffling out the colors again—choosing more shades of greens this time, since he thought it might help—Sans again settled his magic over the broken case. And indeed, more pieces clicked together. He kept the stream of energy slow but consistent for a second or two, slightly adjusting colors and patterns, until he felt something almost to fall into place: like stumbling across the key to solving a tough puzzle.

The rest of the shards swept together and, all at once, the case was restored.

Spell complete, it was obvious what Sans should say: "ta-da?"

"Perfect!" Sirius actually dropped himself down through the hole, falling into a crouch on the table with a loud thud. He poked the newly repaired glass case with an excited smile. "Do you know what this means?"

Sans took a shortcut directly into sitting on one of the chairs, and he regarded his friend with an almost wary interest. "what?"

Taking a seat himself—still on the table, of course—Sirius replied, "We need to get you a stick and a letter."

"or i could just, you know…" The skeleton snapped his fingers with a click and a bone appeared in his grip. It was about twelve and a half inches, slightly tapered, and not perfectly straight.

It did look a bit like a white wand.

Sirius made a grabby gesture, wanting to look closer, and Sans obligingly handed over the bone. As Sirius turned it over in his hands, he noted that, strangely enough, it had a triangular cross section. The tips both ended as expected for a bone—bulging slightly where it would meet a joint—but with a flick of his own wand he smoothed the thinner end into a clean taper. While it still wasn't perfectly straight, it definitely looked like a proper wand now. He gave it an experimental swish and flick, as if it were a real wand.

Though the wizard didn't notice, the grand piano lurched slightly, rose maybe an inch into the air, then quietly settled back down. Sans, however, gave the instrument a suspicious look. Perhaps his fake wand would be slightly more kosher than expected.

With yet another flourish, Sirius passed it back to Sans. Once it left his hand, he noticed something like a comfortably magical tingle fade away; it felt very much like handing off a real wand, but, since that made no sense, he ignored it. "And that's that! Now I just need to pester Perkins into getting your name on the Ministry list!"

"what list?" Sans asked, curiously inspecting his magic-made bone-turned-wand.

"Student list," Sirius answered with a shrug. "The Ministry finds muggleborns the same way they detect underage magic, basically, so they're in charge of making up a list of new students and sending it to the headmaster. Then he sends out the acceptance letters."

Sans tucked his new 'wand'—and maybe he didn't really need to use the quotes—up his sleeve before saying, "that seems kinda, i dunno, overcomplicated. with all those steps, how can it be performed to the letter every time?"

As he prepared to go into what little detail he knew of the system, Sirius realized the question was probably more for the sake of the pun: Sans probably wasn't actually all that interested in how it works. Before he could think up a pun reply of his own, the pair of them heard the front door groan open.

"Remus must be back!" Excitedly hopping off the table, Sirius rushed to the door.

"if that's not him i'd be pretty concerned." Sans flicked on his glamour and, of course, elected to take his own shorter route.

Opening the door just as Sirius was about halfway down the hall, Sans stepped aside. Just in case Sirius decided to— and yes, there it was: a spell flew past that, to Sans, felt like giggles. Well, it flew past them both. Sirius had tripped up on the old carpet, sending his hasty prank spell sailing harmlessly through the air over their heads.

"Good to see you too, Padfoot." Remus had a clearly shrunken chest at his feet and a small bag over one shoulder. He levitated his luggage over the threshold with a swish and flick of his wand and let the door click shut. "You might want to work on your aim, though."

Sirius pouted. "That would have been dead on if this bloody carpet hadn't—"

He stopped, dropping the conversation entirely in favor of something he was frantically trying to fish out of a pocket. It was a mirror, apparently, and Sans could tell that it had the same sort of echo-y magic as the little black notebook Perkins had given them. Sirius turned and headed back toward the dining room, Remus and Sans hurrying a few steps after him.

"Is that what I think it is?" asked Remus.

"i couldn't tell ya."

Then the magic in the mirror almost seemed to flip, and Sirius cheerily greeted, "Hey, Harry!"

=X=X=X=

Harry was sitting on his bed, an unwrapped package resting on his lap. It wasn't a very large package, containing only a very brief letter and a small mirror, but he regarded it like a great treasure. Although, to be honest, he wasn't quite sure what sort of treasure it was. The short not-nearly-clear-enough note was not very helpful, and reading it over again didn't really help at all.

"But how do I…?" He flipped the paper over to see if there might be anything else on the back. Nothing, and back to the front to continue staring at the single sentence. Aloud, he read: "'It's a two way mirror, so just give me a call whenever you want to talk'. It'd be helpful if I knew how to!"

His own reflection stared back at him from the small mirror, and he gave it a somewhat annoyed glare.

It, obviously, just continued mirror-ing.

Hedwig hooted at him, and Harry had the sneaking suspicion that she was having a bit of a laugh at his expense. He gave her a petulant look: it wasn't his fault that he didn't know how to use the darn thing. At least being completely stumped gave him a weak excuse as to why he didn't contact Sirius as soon as he received the gift the day before; in reality a good portion of that time was spent completely oblivious to the fact that he had gotten anything. He had only found the package when he woke up, apparently having slept on it.

"Well?" he asked the bird, and he wasn't quite sure how rhetorical he was being. "Do you have any ideas?"

Another hoot and a ruffling of feathers was his answer.

Harry nodded anyway, as if his owl had just delivered some sage advice, and turned his attention back at the mirror. "I see, I see. Now if only I knew Sirius's phone number, then—"

He was cut off as the mirror in his hands suddenly grew very warm. Its glassy surface looked, for a single moment, as if it was made of water. Ripples cascaded across Harry's reflection, and with each passing shimmer his own face was replaced by another. In complete open-mouthed astonishment, Harry found himself staring down at a smiling Sirius.

Sirius waved, though it was a bit more like excited flailing. When he spoke, his voice came from the mirror with perfect clarity. "Hey, Harry! I was wondering when you'd call!"

"Sirius!"

"That's my name, don't wear it out," he joked, his eyes lit up with good humor. The image tilted wildly as Sirius shifted his mirror, and Harry thought he caught sight of something—someone?—bluish white in the background before it quickly ducked out of sight. His godfather shot a look over his shoulder and grumbled something about reflexes before returning his attention to Harry. "How's it going, pup?"

Harry couldn't help but smile, a warm feeling settling in his heart. "Well enough, I suppose. Though I did just spend the better part of an hour trying to figure out how to call you with a mirror."

Someone out-of-frame remarked, "i told you your note was too vague."

Another voice—one Harry distinctly recognized—asked, "Did he write more than one sentence? Because I doubt it."

"Wait a minute…" Harry frowned, somewhat confused. "Was that Professor Lupin?"

"That it was," the voice replied, and the image reflected in the mirror again turned at a crazy angle as Sirius adjusted to include Harry's smiling professor in the call. Or rather, Harry supposed, his ex-professor; he still thought that that was unfair.

Professor Lupin grinned, and Harry noticed rather abruptly how different he looked when compared to the glum man he had said goodbye to before heading to the Hogwarts Express. The man seemed far more at ease with himself, unburdened. Or, well, as unburdened as a werewolf is likely to ever get. And even though there were still dark, sleepless circles under his eyes, Lupin's smile lit up his face and shone with a reawakened sense of mischievousness.

Suddenly the mirror spun again, and again a bluish white blur slid away.

Sirius addressed the blur, complaining, "Oh, come on, Rattles! If you're planning on making background quips, you should at least introduce yourself."

Harry knew that name, obviously, since it was attached to the biggest mystery of the past month. He immediately tried to spot the illusive 'Rattles' in the scene: uselessly craning his head side to side, as if that would somehow actually turn the image.

"how about… i don't do that thing you just suggested?"

"Tough luck, Rattles." Sirius turned to Lupin. "Help me catch the bugger?"

"My pleasure."

The squawk of sudden alarm startled a laugh from Harry, and, after carefully propping the mirror up against something on a table, both Marauders took off. He could hear the noises of them chasing after someone he couldn't see from his limited perspective. Then they both dashed through the frame again, chasing that blur.

Out of sight, Sirius called, "Remember, no shortcuts!"

"What do you mean by 'shortcuts'?"

"i'll flee how i wanna flee, thanks."

Harry, to the open air in front of the mirror, remarked, "Why run away at all?"

The noises stopped.

"Yeah, I mean, you're going to meet him when you go to Hogwarts anyway."

"oh, so that's official now?"

"Yep! …Kinda?" Sirius returned and reclaimed his seat before whispering conspiratorially to Harry, "He hasn't got the letter yet, but I'll figure out something."

Next to reappear in the mirror was Lupin. Well, Lupin and the individual who must be the ever-mysterious Rattles. Hilariously, in order to be able to bodily haul Rattles into the magical call, Lupin appeared to have captured him by the scruff of his jacket and now held the kid squirming a good foot and a half above the floor. The kid. Now that caught Harry off guard: Rattles looked to be a few years younger than Harry himself!

"And this is…?" asked Harry, trailing off for somebody to fill in the answer. Because sure, he thought the short, white-haired boy was Rattles, but part of him—most of him, to be honest—needed to hear it confirmed aloud.

Still being held aloft, the boy raised a nonchalant hand in greetings. "i'm rattles. also known by my actual name: sans."

"Now was that so hard, Sans?" Lupin chided, finally lowering the pale kid back onto his own two feet.

"yes."

Sirius snorted in amusement.

Harry was still kinda reeling from the realization that Rattles was a kid like him. "Aren't you a little young to be helping convicts escape from imprisonment?"

"aren't you?" Sans returned with a cheeky grin.

"…Touché."

And so the conversation went, from joke to joke to story and so on. This was probably the happiest Harry had been all summer, and it showed in every easy smile and relaxed laugh—though he did try to keep quiet to avoid disturbing his aunt or uncle. Or Dudley, perish the thought of him finding out about the mirror: the bully'd break it, guaranteed.

Sirius, at one point, had even gotten up and walked around his safe house where he had been (and would be) hiding, turning the mirror away from himself to show off the place. It was a bit gloomy—though Sirius claimed they had been working on that—and just generally old looking, but it was a sight better than the leaky Shrieking Shack or some random cave would have been. Harry had, admittedly, been somewhat worried about that, so he was happy that his godfather had somewhere safe and dry to sleep.

He was even happier when Sirius promised that he could come visit—maybe even live there, if he wanted—just as soon as they swept out all the lingering dark magics.

"How long should that take?" Harry asked.

Taking a distracted moment to calculate possible timeframes, Sirius very nearly stumbled and fell down what appeared to be a very random hole in the middle of the floor. Remus caught him in time, having been watching for that very event. From wherever he was out of frame—unseen seeming to be his most natural state of being—Sans chuckled.

"man, harry." Sans's face poked up in the corner briefly to flash him a quick grin before ducking away again. "he must be giving you his hole attention, i guess."

Sirius, who had by now successfully maneuvered around the hole and out of the room entirely—Harry still had no clue why there was a hole just… there—sounded slightly salty when he said, "Oh no, are you jealous, Rattles?"

"i don't need your sar-chasm right now, paddy-paws."

"Puns." Lupin shook his head in mock disappointment. "It seems I shall never escape them. Sirius, Sans… Even your father, James, wouldn't pass up a good pun if the chance presented itself."

Harry blinked. "Seriously?"

"Well, naturally!" His godfather, grinning broadly, began to say, "It's very Siriu—"

He was swiftly cut off. "No, please, not this one again."

"do it," urged Sans.

There was a moment of silence—Harry tried not to snort at the apparent standoff happening on the other end of the mirror call—and then, very quickly and nearly under his breath, Sirius finished, "Very Sirius business."

Remus smacked himself on the forehead, but he was smiling as widely as the rest of them.

Yes, Harry grinned to himself. This was definitely the happiest he had been all summer.

Author's Note:

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or Undertale.

Happy Halloween!
May your spooks be spooky, your tricks be tricky, and your treats be… treat-y?

And so it seems that Sans is capable of wizarding magic: all he has to do is play with the pretty colors until it matches up just so. He even gets a magic stick!
If you're curious how his summoned bone can work as an actual wand, it's because magic. More specifically, it's because it's made of magic. Typical wands have a magical core surrounded by a magically compatible wood. His bone, in essence, has a magical core surrounded by more solidified magic. Pretty neato, if I do say so.
And I do, 'cause I just did.

Reviews are always appreciated, and I read every single one! If you have a comment, question, or critique, please leave a review. Thanks to everyone who has read and enjoyed, and special thanks to those who have favorited, followed, or reviewed!

mdmpinkie9088: Unlike the case with Gaster—who was likely pulled in against his will, teared apart, and forgotten by the world at large—Sans had a safe entry point to the void: through Chara and Frisk going to the reset 'screen'. Thus people still remember Sans, he's just gone missing.

Nyx the Author: I had considered placing the Underground somewhere in the world of Harry Potter, but decided that wouldn't be possible. When Sans left the void, he couldn't return to his own timeline(s) because it would restore the resets. Even following Sirius, if they shared the same world then every point Sirius would remember would also restore the resets (even though he wouldn't have known they had been happening).

See ya on the flipside, everyone!