Use Somebody

A man clothed in all black stands by the windowsill at midnight. He's anxious, obviously. For what? He moves from the window and back to his desk. He nervously fumbles with a vial of an unknown liquid. His mind, however, is very far off. In his minds eye, he sees himself, but not alone as he is now, but accompanied by another man. Long, platinum blonde hair falls down his back and on his broad shoulders like a seductive silk waterfall. In comparison of physical features, he is much lighter than his seemingly shadowy friend, the black clothed man. The man in all black has black hair that hangs...

As soon as they leave the Hall of Chronicles, the birds take wing toward the white-stone home of Brother Perdurabo. Except, that is, for Alphion. Snape watches him peel away from the flock and head north. You are not accompanying us to Ironwood? he asks Cambion's brother, and the raven replies, I tell my kin you know now. He feels Elsbet and Malfoy behind him, feels their gentle touches, and watches until the raven disappears from sight.

Severus? Malfoy thinks, resting his hand on Snape's shoulder, and the ebon-haired wizard turns slowly to his partners. There is much more to that bird than...

As Remus has his experience, Tonks has hers...

Tonks smiles up at the figure at the top of her fountain. It's a dancer, slender, elegant, and graceful; Tonks laughs because the dancer's face and hair resemble hers, and she is none of those things. She watches a butterfly, ghostly white and fragile, alight on a dry patch on the rim of the fountain. "Wotcher, flutterby," she says softly, then laughs when the tiny thing flits up and lands on her shoulder. It's there for only a second or two, just long enough to uncoil its tongue, then coil it up again. She barely has time to smile at it and then...

When Malfoy emerges he catches Snape's eye, but before he can communicate anything to his Dark lover, Elsbet happily wraps her arms around him and asks if they had a nice chat. He forces the best smile he can muster and tells her that they did, and he knows what he, Snape, Therion and Layne are doing. Keeping Ellie, Remus and Tonks ignorant of the Old Man's fate. In a way, they are his Secret Keepers, and it hurts. Being open-hearted hurts...he remembers how it was when he felt nothing for anyone but his wife and child. It was so much easier then...he kisses the top of Elsbet's head and hugs...

Remus and Tonks find the Teller's Court full of music, with Dance and Sing in the center, entertaining those gathered. They are graceful, their movements reflecting both the appreciation of the musicians' skills, and their love for each other. As the werewolf and his Auror wife take the space Snape and Malfoy made for them, the performance ends, and Dance and Sing bow to one another. For some reason, there seems to be a strange air of discomfort, and the four companions look at each other questioningly. As Snape is about to speak, they hear shouting from behind them and the Dark wizard is the...

Remus and Tonks follow Cilantro hand in hand into a lovely gated area. It's lit by shimmering little bugs, casually going about their business sipping nectar from the asphodel blossoms.

"This is a very special place," she says, pausing to push open the gate. "Enter with care," she looks at them both meaningfully, "for you will see only what you take in with you." She steps away and with a nod from her, Remus and Tonks venture forth side by side. It is peaceful here, it feels mystical, just as in the rest of the Garden of Dreams, but here, there something... more. This feeling grows as they near...

Snape is aware that he is not alone, but he does not allow it to disturb his meditation. He has no idea how much time passes before the visitor speaks, nor does he care. His only concern is that it does not cause him to question his resolve.

"It happens to us all, you know, death."

Snape's brow rises, but he doesn't bother to open his eyes. "Perhaps," says he, "but that need not happen to them now. Nor to me."

There is no sound from the visitor, no indication that they have moved, yet Snape senses that they have. "And you believe, do you, that you have control over their fates? That you can keep...

Therion moves silently, carefully, through the Petra, listening to the soft voices of the stones. They call to him as he passes them, wishing to impart to him their secrets, for they know he appreciates such things. Though he would dearly love to do so he does not stop; no...he is searching for something so near his heart that he dare not even think of it, and he will not be delayed. Elsbet spoke of a 'before-time', when this was but a tiny haven...he hopes to find books set to stone from that time... He is so deep in thought that he arrives at his fondest wish, his heart's one desire at this...

Malfoy sits with his feathered friend, both of them enjoying the Harper's skill. He asks her if she would sing the song that she had sung earlier and she grins widely. "Of course, Lucius, I would be happy to. Now," Chanteuse says, nodding to her Piper companion, "it will be even better." As they begin, another musician, this one with a bodhrán, asks if he may join them and they welcome him warmly. With harp, pipes, Irish drum, and the lady Harper's beautiful voice, the experience could not be more magical.

"Ride it on out like a bird in the sky ways
Ride it on out like if you were a bird
Fly...

"So," the Old Man says as Bea helps him sit up in his chair, "how did it go?" He's grinning impishly at them, and Remus chuckles. "You already know, don't you?" Perdurabo shakes his head. "No," he grins widely, "I was napping actually." They tell him what transpired in the Dragon's Chamber and he is quite pleased. "Well then, the last working stone in our world is safe. What will you do next?" He looks questioningly at them and Snape accepts the case that now holds the Orthanc-stone. "I believe we shall be taking these gifts home, and--" Perdurabo smiles. "Severus, you know what I mean." Snape...

Perdurabo suggested that Snape and his family go down into the Dragon's Chamber on their own, because the experience would be far more profound that way. Capadocius and Thelonius escorted them to the stairway that leads down into the chamber and told them that if they needed anything, they need only to think it, and it would be done. So the family passed through the simple doorway and made their way down the stairs, some of them marking the change in temperature as they went. The birds either hopped down the steps or were carried, as Loki, Johnny Rook and Whiskey Jack were, none of them making...