snupin_mods (snupin_mods) wrote in lupin_snape, @ 2010-06-22 23:15:00 |
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Entry tags: | exchange: remix |
Snupin Remix: Story Gift for Ellid
Title: Pilgrimage (The Two Men on a Train Remix)
Author: Busta Remix
Summary: Severus joins Remus in a pilgrimage on the search for healing.
Rating: G
Original Story: Great Amphitrite by ellid
Disclaimer: Owned by JK Rowling.
Notes: One of the great things about stories written as drabbles are all the tantalising glimpses of detail that never get fully fleshed out. It was wonderful to have the opportunity to explore some of the unanswered questions ellid's story prompted for me. I think my version ended up being quite episodic as well. ellid, I hope you enjoy this. Thanks to f for the beta.
London was as large as ever and Remus was surprised at how out of step he felt. It had been twelve years since the end of the war and he'd spent most of it in a wolf preserve and lycanthrope retreat in the wilds of Minnesota. It was always so empty and he never saw anyone he didn't know. But here, in London, there was no one he knew. He was surrounded by strangers.
He moved slowly through the crowd, clutching his side as he prayed that the blood wouldn't seep out of the magical bandages. His ticket to Greece was tucked securely into his satchel. Two more sleeps, he told himself. Two more sleeps and he’d be on the last leg of his journey.
Someone jostled him as they rushed past. He rested for a moment, back against the brick of the store. It was then that he saw someone familiar through the crowd. Twelve years had changed him. His hair was more gray now than black. The wrinkles around his eyes and mouth seemed to emphasise that unmistakable nose. And he sat, stiffly, in a wheelchair. Remus watched as the crowd parted for Severus Snape, as it always had.
It was a face he'd never thought to see again. When the war was over Remus had run away and Severus was still in St Mungo's fighting for life. He pushed away from the wall and followed the chair that was moving slowly towards the tube station.
The chair stopped in the middle of the footpath and Remus stopped as well a couple of steps behind the chair.
"I may look like an invalid, but I'm still very handy with a wand." The chair turned slowly. "Lupin?"
"Hello, Severus."
Remus followed Severus into his home. He still couldn't believe that he'd received an invitation. Perhaps Severus had changed since the war. Or perhaps he recognised the same desperation that he’d once lived with every day.
Remus walked up the ramp leading to the door. "Is this a side-effect of your war wound?" Remus asked.
"No."
Remus didn’t know why he expected a more detailed answer.
"I offered you a place to stay, Lupin. I didn't offer you my life story."
"I'm sorry." And he was. Lupin knew that instinct for preserving privacy. He stepped into the room and felt his legs buckle under him.
“Lupin?” He heard the wheels of Severus’ chair moving across the floorboards and then the pain was too much and he passed out.
When he next opened his eyes Remus was lying on the overstuffed couch. He turned his head, searching for his benefactor.
“There’s a potion on the table beside you. Drink it.”
Remus swallowed the familiar-tasting potion. A blood-replenisher.
“What’s this?”
Remus squinted to make out what was in Severus’ hand. Once this was all over he’d need to look at getting glasses as well.
“Is it a ticket to Greece?”
“Yes. It is. For two days hence.”
Remus let his head fall back on the pillow. “What of it, Severus?”
“You can’t make it from one side of London to the other without collapsing on my floor, and you expect to travel overland from England to Greece? With a wound that won’t close? I thought the reason you were still alive after two wars was because you had a modicum of intelligence."
“I’m dying, Severus. Greece is my only hope.”
“Whoever is there can come here.”
“It’s not a person. It’s a place. I’m going to visit the temple of Amphitrite.”
Severus snorted. It was the same reaction he’d received from everyone he’d told of his pilgrimage.
“We see magic every day, Severus. What makes this magic so different?”
“You’re not talking about magic. You’re talking about miracles. And I don’t believe in those.”
From the moment Remus had seen Severus on the street his days hadn’t been going as planned. For example, he was meant to be boarding the train and moving to his solitary seat near the front. Instead he was following a porter who was pushing Severus’ chair through the almost-too-narrow passageway to a sleeper cabin. There were single beds against each wall and Remus was grateful that Severus had insisted on it for his own comfort. He’d fought hard against the shorter train ride – it was far too expensive and most of his money was used on medical bills in America – but he rather thought Severus had insisted on this little room more for Remus’ comfort than his own. He smiled as he remembered Severus’ haughty tone and his realisation that it was a salve to his own pride.
"Sit down before you fall down, Lupin."
He wanted to argue, but decided he was in too much pain to bother.
"I've told the porter that neither of us is well. He's arranging for meals to be brought to us here."
"Would you be offended if I said you're handling this with remarkable dignity?"
"You were expecting me to be a surly, foul-tempered old git?"
"It's certainly how you've behaved towards me."
Remus was surprised to see a rueful smile cross Severus' face. "I suppose I should apologize. Seeing old enemies seems to have brought back old behaviours. I've found that in this chair people have enough reason to dismiss me without my adding rudeness to the mix. It took almost forty-five years but I finally learnt to keep my rude comments to myself."
"You shouldn't have told me that, Severus. Now, no matter how rude you are to me, I'll know that there's a polite and friendly person inside."
"It's the other way around Remus. No matter how polite I am to anyone else, you should know that there's a rude and obnoxious person inside me, hoping to get out."
"So you feel comfortable enough around me to be yourself?"
"Something like that."
Their cheap, roundabout tickets took them through eight different countries and Remus watched the scenery pass by in all of them. They rarely moved from their sleeper, and Remus felt himself get weaker and weaker. Even the magical bandages didn't hide the stains. He knew that he might not even make it to the Greek border, let alone to the coast where the temple was hidden.
Despite the increasing pain, the way it felt like the curse was eating his insides, Remus could only be thankful for the trip. It was as painful as a pilgrimage is supposed to be, and it felt like it was leading to redemption. Perhaps it was because of how close to death he was, but Severus didn't mind talking to him about anything. They talked about Lily and Harry, about James and Sirius. Severus even told Remus how he came to join the Deatheaters, and why he left.
One night, when the moon was only a sliver in the sky outside their window, Severus told Remus about his accident.
"Stupid, really. If I'd been paying attention I could have stopped the car, softened the landing. Instead I just walked out into the street and..."
They both sat quietly. The train's horn floated through the air, bouncing off the mountains they were moving through.
"You should go to the temple."
"What?"
"Even if I don't make it, Severus. Amphitrite might be able to help you, too."
The silence stretched for so long that Remus turned his head. Severus was staring at the scenery that was moving past, a pained look on his face.
"We don't have that much longer to go, Remus. You'll make it."
As if to emphasise how unlikely that was, the train moved through a sharp turn and Remus let out a low hiss of pain. He took a deep breath before speaking again. "Promise me you'll go. That you'll finish the journey." His eyes were squeezed shut as he struggled with the pain. He felt fingers brush his hand and suddenly the breath came easier. "Even if I make it, bathe in the waters. Promise me."
"I promise. Now drink this, and get some rest."
A vial was pressed into his hand and he fell asleep within seconds of finishing it.
The end of their journey seemed like both blessing and curse to Remus. They had barely left their sleeper for three days and all he wanted was some fresh air. On the other hand, the trip felt like time out of time. Here, in the confined space of their cabin, Severus was no longer an enemy.
Remus knew that Severus' patience most likely stemmed from the fact that he didn't believe the temple would work. He knew that he only had to put up with Remus for a short time. Still, if Remus had tried to undertake this pilgrimage alone, he would probably have passed away painfully in a seat by himself at the front of the train. Even if he lived the full complement of years as a wizard, he would never be able to repay Severus.
"I don't have a will."
"What are you on about, Lupin?"
"If it doesn't work, the temple -"
"Remus, you have had faith enough to get from Minnesota to London. You have had faith enough to take on a pilgrimage from London to Greece against all odds. You can't lose faith now."
"You're the one who didn't believe in miracles."
"I don't have to believe. You do."
The steps leading down to Amphitrite's temple were carved directly into the cliff. Remus could tell that floating his chair down the steps was a strain for Severus, but unfortunately he was too weak to help. He was leaning heavily against their guide.
"A few more steps," she told him. "Just a few more steps and you can be healed in the Goddess' embrace."
The stone gave way to marble as they stepped in to the temple built directly into the side of the cliff. It was shabby now, visited only sporadically by the very desperate. A pool of sea water lapped at her feet. He leaned heavily on Severus' chair as their guide moved past him to lay an offering at the Goddess' feet.
"Well?" he asked Severus. He could see the doubt in Severus' face.
"We've come all this way. London to Greece is a long way to go to just turn around."
"Are you ready?" Remus turned at the sound of the guide's voice. He took a deep breath.
"Remember, Lupin. Faith."
Afterwards he couldn't explain it. There was burning pain, then ice filling his veins before a sense of peace encompassed him. But that was nothing compared to how he felt seeing Severus walk out of the waves. They stood facing each other, both naked. Both reborn.
"You will need to eat and drink," the guide said, cutting through the silence.
Severus nodded, and Remus followed him slowly as they both climbed up the steps.
"My son, he has a taverna. Come get some food."
It seemed natural to spend their days together walking through the steep streets of the village. With each slow step Remus found his strength returning. They shared secrets and memories. They laughed about their forays into non-fiction writing. One night Remus watched the full moon rise over the ocean and he realised that he truly was cured. Amphitrite had taken away the scar, the wound, the curse, the disease. She had left only freedom.
That was the night they shared a kiss.
The next morning they left their history with the Goddess.
It was a lack of money and magic that had led to their train ride to Greece. It was Severus' wish to experience flying the muggle way that led to them sitting in front of Rosemary and her friend on a flight from Athens to Heathrow.
"I'm telling you, Marcia, they must be boyfriends."
"I think they call them life partners these days, Rosemary."
Severus leaned towards him. "Merlin, Remus, please don't tell us we're life partners now."
Remus smiled as thin fingers slid into his own. "You can be my boyfriend. We can go steady."
"See?"
Remus smiled at Rosemary's hissed question. Amphitrite gave him health. She gave him freedom. But her most precious gift was sitting beside him.
End