Birds of a Feather
Chapter 6: Song of the Phoenix
Summary: After Fawkes rescues Severus Snape in the Shrieking Shack, the phoenix decides to stick around.
The usual disclaimer applies. See Chapter 1
In the time that they'd been together, Fawkes had chirped, peeped, squawked, twittered, chortled, crowed, and even shrieked a few times, but this was the first time that Severus had heard him sing. It was like nothing Severus had ever heard before. It was haunting and strangely beautiful. It was also a bit hypnotic. The melody seemed to penetrate to his soul. The tension started to drain from his body. His mind began to drift. He began to dream.
He was back in King's Cross station again. Or maybe he'd never left. Light was pouring down from above, and a wizard in dark blue robes was standing there, looking at him. He knew it was Merlin. He'd always thought that Merlin would be much older, but he didn't know why. Time was such a funny thing.
"Is the train due yet?" Severus asked. "I should leave. I'm finished now." But where was he going? Who would be there? Suddenly he felt lost.
Merlin smiled, and it gave him a strange feeling of déjà vu. "Finished? Oh, no, I don't think so. As I've said, your train isn't due for quite a while yet. You could wait here, I suppose, but really, you ought to go back. There's so much to do."
"No one would want me back," Severus said sharply. He wondered why Merlin was speaking contemporary English, rather than ancient Welsh or Cornish or something.
"Well, you can be rather acerbic," Merlin noted. "However, one rarely sees such a fine example of courtly love these days. You took a rather ordinary young girl and made her into a symbol of everything that's right and good."
Courtly love? Severus nearly choked. He tried to protest, but the words wouldn't come. Remorse overwhelmed him. He'd been such a fool.
Merlin looked a bit fuzzy. Severus noticed that they were in a garden now.
"You've been so faithful to the ideals that she represents for you," the ancient wizard told him. "Just like one of Arthur's knights. You've tried to rectify the mistakes you made, you've shown great courage, and your soul has grown in the process. It's so nice to see. You still carry her tokens, do you not?"
Severus looked down, and the torn fragments of the letter and the photograph were in his hand. Lily waved at him from the photograph.
Merlin was starting to remind him of Minerva when she'd been reading those trashy romance novels. "I stole those," Severus told him, "and I doubt that there's anything left of my soul."
Merlin smiled. "Your soul certainly did suffer a lot of damage, and much of it was self-inflicted, as you know. But as I said, your soul has grown since then, battered and imperfect though it may be, and it will heal as you continue on your quest."
"My 'quest' is over and done with," Severus snapped.
Merlin smiled at him. "Well, that depends on what you think your quest is."
Now the man was starting to sound like Albus Dumbledore.
Merlin slowly faded away, except for his smile.
~~~~~
Severus awoke with a start. He was surprised to find that he'd drifted off to sleep. Fawkes was staring at him. He remembered the bird singing. Then he remembered the dream. He'd dreamed of Merlin again. In King's Cross station, of all crazy things. It was meaningless, of course. He did feel somewhat better, though. He must have needed the rest.
Severus reached over and gently stroked the bird's long neck. The red and gold feathers sparkled in the wandlight, and Fawkes closed his eyes and twittered happily. Severus frowned. The bird had better not want to sit on his shoulder or anything like that. It was almost as large as a peacock, and probably twice as heavy.
Severus tore out the Puzzle Page to give to the cook, and then he tucked the rest of The Quibbler into one of his magic pockets. His hand touched the pieces of the letter and the photograph. He'd always known that it was foolish, but the illusion that she'd loved him had given him the strength to carry on during those terrible days after he'd been forced to kill Albus. He'd been totally alone, struggling to protect whomever he could while trying to placate the Dark Lord. And all the while he'd been tormented by the certainty that he was doomed.
Severus pulled out the fragments, crushed them in his hand, and turned to the porthole to drop them into the sea, but a quick glance reminded him that the Knight Boat was currently submerged. Well, it could wait. He smoothed out the fragments and tucked them back into his pocket.
~~~~~
During the next few days, the Knight Boat stopped in Hong Kong, Detroit, Santiago, Melbourne, Lake Baikal, and several hidden places with names so secret that nobody knew them. Cargo was picked up and delivered. Passengers came and went.
Severus kept busy helping Katfish renew and strengthen the ship's many protective spells. There were spells to repel icebergs, charms to hide the ship from muggle eyes, spells to prevent leaks, and even spells against barnacles. The strongest and most complicated were the wards against sea monsters.
"We've gotta transfigure your clothes into something more suitable for seafaring," Kat declared.
Severus gave him a look that would have curdled milk. "They're fine the way they are," he growled.
Surprisingly, Kat didn't back down. He probably would have been in Gryffindor, had he ever been sorted. "We've at least gotta charm your boots so they stick to the deck better. Or do you wanna sleep with the fishes?"
Reluctantly, Severus realized that Kat had a point. It proved to be a slippery slope.
Kat had a large sea chest filled with muggle clothes and pirate regalia. The only clothes Severus had were the ones he'd been wearing when he fled from the shack. He'd been cleaning and repairing them with magic every night.
"Here," said Kat, tossing a pair of muggle jeans and a black t-shirt to Severus. He dug deeper into the sea chest and pulled out a turtleneck sweater, some rain gear, a pea coat for cold weather, and a tank-top for working in the tropics. "And here's a bandana to keep the sun off your neck." Kat assumed that Severus would actually want it to hide those nasty scars. It looked like someone had tried to cut the man's throat with one of those muggle chainsaw things.
Next came several packages of underwear and socks from a muggle place called Wal-Mart. "How about some pirate gear?" Kat asked, grinning. "You'd look kind of like Basil Rathbone in Captain Blood. That would be really cool. The ladies would love it!"
Severus had no idea what the young wizard was talking about. "Keep that up, and you're going to sleep with the fishes," he snarled, glaring at the clothes. He'd have to turn most of them black. Especially that stuff from Wal-Mart. He stalked off to change.
~~~~~
The trouble started one night when they stopped in Dublin and picked up a few passengers. It wasn't unusual for the boat to pick up dodgy passengers. Knight Boats are the favored mode of transportation for witches and wizards who want to travel long distances without attracting attention.
When they can't apparate because the distance is too great, most people go by portkey. It's fast and reliable, but it's also rather pricey, and the authorities keep track of all the comings and goings. By broom, there is always the danger of falling asleep and crashing during long flights across oceans. And to travel by muggle means, one needs muggle money and muggle identification. So Knight Boats are often the best option: they're affordable, reliable, and the crews don't ask too many questions.
Most suspicious travelers tend to keep to themselves because they don't want to be noticed. This bunch was different, however. They went straight up to the bridge, pulled their wands on the captain, and hijacked the ship.
To be continued …
Summary: After Fawkes rescues Severus Snape in the Shrieking Shack, the phoenix decides to stick around.
The usual disclaimer applies. See Chapter 1
In the time that they'd been together, Fawkes had chirped, peeped, squawked, twittered, chortled, crowed, and even shrieked a few times, but this was the first time that Severus had heard him sing. It was like nothing Severus had ever heard before. It was haunting and strangely beautiful. It was also a bit hypnotic. The melody seemed to penetrate to his soul. The tension started to drain from his body. His mind began to drift. He began to dream.
He was back in King's Cross station again. Or maybe he'd never left. Light was pouring down from above, and a wizard in dark blue robes was standing there, looking at him. He knew it was Merlin. He'd always thought that Merlin would be much older, but he didn't know why. Time was such a funny thing.
"Is the train due yet?" Severus asked. "I should leave. I'm finished now." But where was he going? Who would be there? Suddenly he felt lost.
Merlin smiled, and it gave him a strange feeling of déjà vu. "Finished? Oh, no, I don't think so. As I've said, your train isn't due for quite a while yet. You could wait here, I suppose, but really, you ought to go back. There's so much to do."
"No one would want me back," Severus said sharply. He wondered why Merlin was speaking contemporary English, rather than ancient Welsh or Cornish or something.
"Well, you can be rather acerbic," Merlin noted. "However, one rarely sees such a fine example of courtly love these days. You took a rather ordinary young girl and made her into a symbol of everything that's right and good."
Courtly love? Severus nearly choked. He tried to protest, but the words wouldn't come. Remorse overwhelmed him. He'd been such a fool.
Merlin looked a bit fuzzy. Severus noticed that they were in a garden now.
"You've been so faithful to the ideals that she represents for you," the ancient wizard told him. "Just like one of Arthur's knights. You've tried to rectify the mistakes you made, you've shown great courage, and your soul has grown in the process. It's so nice to see. You still carry her tokens, do you not?"
Severus looked down, and the torn fragments of the letter and the photograph were in his hand. Lily waved at him from the photograph.
Merlin was starting to remind him of Minerva when she'd been reading those trashy romance novels. "I stole those," Severus told him, "and I doubt that there's anything left of my soul."
Merlin smiled. "Your soul certainly did suffer a lot of damage, and much of it was self-inflicted, as you know. But as I said, your soul has grown since then, battered and imperfect though it may be, and it will heal as you continue on your quest."
"My 'quest' is over and done with," Severus snapped.
Merlin smiled at him. "Well, that depends on what you think your quest is."
Now the man was starting to sound like Albus Dumbledore.
Merlin slowly faded away, except for his smile.
~~~~~
Severus awoke with a start. He was surprised to find that he'd drifted off to sleep. Fawkes was staring at him. He remembered the bird singing. Then he remembered the dream. He'd dreamed of Merlin again. In King's Cross station, of all crazy things. It was meaningless, of course. He did feel somewhat better, though. He must have needed the rest.
Severus reached over and gently stroked the bird's long neck. The red and gold feathers sparkled in the wandlight, and Fawkes closed his eyes and twittered happily. Severus frowned. The bird had better not want to sit on his shoulder or anything like that. It was almost as large as a peacock, and probably twice as heavy.
Severus tore out the Puzzle Page to give to the cook, and then he tucked the rest of The Quibbler into one of his magic pockets. His hand touched the pieces of the letter and the photograph. He'd always known that it was foolish, but the illusion that she'd loved him had given him the strength to carry on during those terrible days after he'd been forced to kill Albus. He'd been totally alone, struggling to protect whomever he could while trying to placate the Dark Lord. And all the while he'd been tormented by the certainty that he was doomed.
Severus pulled out the fragments, crushed them in his hand, and turned to the porthole to drop them into the sea, but a quick glance reminded him that the Knight Boat was currently submerged. Well, it could wait. He smoothed out the fragments and tucked them back into his pocket.
~~~~~
During the next few days, the Knight Boat stopped in Hong Kong, Detroit, Santiago, Melbourne, Lake Baikal, and several hidden places with names so secret that nobody knew them. Cargo was picked up and delivered. Passengers came and went.
Severus kept busy helping Katfish renew and strengthen the ship's many protective spells. There were spells to repel icebergs, charms to hide the ship from muggle eyes, spells to prevent leaks, and even spells against barnacles. The strongest and most complicated were the wards against sea monsters.
"We've gotta transfigure your clothes into something more suitable for seafaring," Kat declared.
Severus gave him a look that would have curdled milk. "They're fine the way they are," he growled.
Surprisingly, Kat didn't back down. He probably would have been in Gryffindor, had he ever been sorted. "We've at least gotta charm your boots so they stick to the deck better. Or do you wanna sleep with the fishes?"
Reluctantly, Severus realized that Kat had a point. It proved to be a slippery slope.
Kat had a large sea chest filled with muggle clothes and pirate regalia. The only clothes Severus had were the ones he'd been wearing when he fled from the shack. He'd been cleaning and repairing them with magic every night.
"Here," said Kat, tossing a pair of muggle jeans and a black t-shirt to Severus. He dug deeper into the sea chest and pulled out a turtleneck sweater, some rain gear, a pea coat for cold weather, and a tank-top for working in the tropics. "And here's a bandana to keep the sun off your neck." Kat assumed that Severus would actually want it to hide those nasty scars. It looked like someone had tried to cut the man's throat with one of those muggle chainsaw things.
Next came several packages of underwear and socks from a muggle place called Wal-Mart. "How about some pirate gear?" Kat asked, grinning. "You'd look kind of like Basil Rathbone in Captain Blood. That would be really cool. The ladies would love it!"
Severus had no idea what the young wizard was talking about. "Keep that up, and you're going to sleep with the fishes," he snarled, glaring at the clothes. He'd have to turn most of them black. Especially that stuff from Wal-Mart. He stalked off to change.
~~~~~
The trouble started one night when they stopped in Dublin and picked up a few passengers. It wasn't unusual for the boat to pick up dodgy passengers. Knight Boats are the favored mode of transportation for witches and wizards who want to travel long distances without attracting attention.
When they can't apparate because the distance is too great, most people go by portkey. It's fast and reliable, but it's also rather pricey, and the authorities keep track of all the comings and goings. By broom, there is always the danger of falling asleep and crashing during long flights across oceans. And to travel by muggle means, one needs muggle money and muggle identification. So Knight Boats are often the best option: they're affordable, reliable, and the crews don't ask too many questions.
Most suspicious travelers tend to keep to themselves because they don't want to be noticed. This bunch was different, however. They went straight up to the bridge, pulled their wands on the captain, and hijacked the ship.
To be continued …