Two Ravens in a Hospital
‘I’m sorry, she’s a what now?’ The statement Sirius made baffled Remus. He actually felt faint and the look Sirius gave him didn’t help. Sirius looked at him, completely unaware that he just shifted the world on his axes for his friend. He nodded with a big smile and turned around, walked over to his bed and sat down.
‘Do you think you uhm…could elaborate?’
Sirius chuckled. ‘What part needs clarification? She. Is. A. Raven…in the Dreamlands…what? Did I stutter?’
‘Siri, what the hell are you talking about?’ shouted Remus. Oh Merlin, Sirius was insane. Panic threatened to overtake him, he was on the verge of calling for a nurse, until he remembered what Lucius had said not too long ago, and also what Minerva and Severus had experienced in the bank…he deflated and looked a bit lost. He blinked at Sirius, who gave him a shit-eating grin.
‘I am talking about the fact that my Goddaughter is not dead, and that she is a raven. She sorta made a deal with Death and now works for a dude named Morpheus. He is also the one who made sure Amelia Bones took another look at my case…or lack thereof.’
She sorta made a deal with Death…okay…Remus slumped down in one of the chairs, processing the information he was given. He swallowed a couple of times before he found his voice again. ‘This…Morpheus…he helped you then?’ Sirius hummed in agreement. ‘Bit of a creepy fellow, sorta appeared out of thin air in my cell, talked about Regina, told me he could help me, I think he also threatened me a bit but hey, beggars can’t be choosers, so, I am all good.’
‘I see,’ said Remus weakly. ‘Have you, uhm, seen him since?’
‘Nope. But I owe the dude a favor, so I guess I will see him again.’ Sirius shrugged while saying this. It was quiet for a few moments until Remus mustered up the courage to apologize. He opened his mouth, but Sirius cut him off with a hand motion. ‘Save it Moony. I know what you gonna say, and it’s fine. I don’t blame you for believing I had betrayed James and Lily. It was my own bluff that lead to this mess.’
Remus shook his head. ‘No, it’s not all right. I blindly trusted that arsehole. I should have done more, should have made sure it was done properly, but…I was…’ he could not finish the sentence, for Sirius had walked over to him and embraced him. Both men hugged each other tightly. ‘It’s fine. I am out, I will be fine…it’s okay.’ Sirius mumbled into Remus’ hair. Remus grabbed him tighter and at that moment the door opened, revealing the Mind Healer that Sirius was expecting earlier. ‘Oh, I am sorry, I can come back later, mister Black?’
Ending the hug, both men had tears they quickly wiped away. ‘No, no it’s fine Lori, please come in. This is Remus Lupin.’ The Mind Healer, a redheaded witch called Lori, smiled pleasantly and introduced herself. Remus agreed to come back the next day and left Sirius in the care of the Healer. He walked out of the room and went over to the Apparition point to get back to Hogwarts.
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
When Reggie woke up, she ate some fruit while talking to Matthew and Lucienne. When she was done, she went over to the throne room, Matthew following close behind. He was still snickering over the story he was told about a certain king and red glitters. This kid was a hoot.
‘Greetings this fine morning, your Majesty!’ he shouted merrily at Dream, who arced an eyebrow. Matthew swore there was a red glitter on it, but wisely thought it would be in his best interest to not mention it. Reggie noticed it too and chuckled softly. ‘Goodmorning. I have a task for you…in the waking world, you must acquire the wand of Albus Dumbledore. It is in the hospital where he is admitted. Get it and bring it back to me.’
Matthew spread his wings, just as Reggie and both took off. ‘Oh and Matthew, please look after her!’
‘Will do sir!’
The ravens took flight and Dream created a portal for the birds to fly into. Several moments later they were flying over London. ‘So kiddo, do you know why the king send you with me?’
‘Because you cannot see the hospital and I can?’ Matthew snickered. ‘No cheeky…because…’ He was going to say because he was an experienced raven and she was not until he realized she could be right. Matthew was a Muggle in his human life, so there was a chance he could not see the hospital. Damn it. ‘Because…?’
‘Working on it!’ Reggie laughed. She was completely at ease with Matthew, who acted like the older brother she never had. However, lucky for them, Matthew was wrong and he could see the hospital. They flew over a part of the city when he spotted a man and a woman, who looked like they stepped through a store window. That must be the place.
Both ravens landed on the sidewalk, gaining some attention. Ravens were not a common sight in London, so a few people pointed at them and a little girl that wanted to pet them was taken away by her mother.
‘What now?’ asked Reggie. Matthew hopped closer to the window and tapped on it with his beak. The mannequin in the store moved her head to look at him, causing Matthew to ruffle his feathers. This was beyond creepy.
He looked over at Reggie, who looked at the mannequin with keen interest. ‘Can we go through?’ she asked Matthew. ‘I have no idea, let’s try.’ He tapped the window again and suddenly he was sucked in. Moments later Reggie appeared beside him. ‘That felt really weird.’ He agreed.
Since they were not invisible, people looked over at them. ‘What do we do?’ Reggie asked. ‘When in doubt, act as if you belong here.’ Matthew hopped over to the registration desk and flew on it, so he could see the witch that was stationed there. ‘Hello, there was an incident involving a spell and me and my sister need help.’
The witch didn’t blink an eye at the talking raven and told him very politely that they could go to level 3.
Arriving at the elevators, Reggie and Matthew saw that the long-term patients were at level 5, so they hopped in the elevator when it came and Matthew once again talked to one of the people. ‘Would you be so kind as to press the button for the fifth floor?’ The man he asked nodded, pressed the button and focused his attention on the folder he was reading.
Matthew winked at Reggie. So far, so good. When the elevator stopped, both ravens hopped out and looked around. ‘Any bright ideas?’ Reggie asked him. ‘Nope…but give it time,’ Matthew quipped. There was no one at the desk, so Reggie decided to fly around, to see if she could find someone. Matthew did the same. Suddenly, a voice in Reggie’s head spoke to her.
‘Go to the next door on your left.’
Reggie screamed in terror, forgot to flap her wings to stay in the air and landed with a dull thud on the hospital floor. ‘What happened, are you okay?’ Matthew came at her at full speed and landed, but still had some speed, causing him to slide over to her. ‘There is a voice in my head!’
Ah…wonderful. ‘That would be Dream…I told you, remember, he can see through our eyes.’ Reggie squinted, trying to remember that little piece of information. ‘Sir?’ she tentatively asked. ‘I am sorry child, I have forsaken to inform you. My apologies.’ The voice of Dream spoke once again. ‘It’s uhm…it’s okay, sir…’
Dream watched through her eyes. Matthew looked very concerned, so he switched. Now that he could see through Matthew’s eyes, he saw that Reggie was startled, but otherwise fine. ‘Dumbledore is in the room to your left.’ He said.
Both ravens went into the room and there, on the bed, was Dumbledore. Mumbling, trashing, but sound asleep. Reggie was curious about this man and hopped on the bed. She hopped over until she was sitting on the man’s chest. She looked at the man who was responsible for putting her with the Dursleys. He looked old and frail. He was thin and pale, his hair was unkempt. He was trashing around, begging something to stop and leave him alone, and she felt a twinge of pity. Dream noticed this, because Matthew was looking at her.
Dream switched back again. ‘You feel sorry for him?’ He could not help but ask. ‘Uhm, sort of sir. Sorry sir.’ ‘We will talk about this when you have returned.’ Once again he switched to Matthew. ‘Is it there?’
‘Not on the nightstand, let me see if I can open the drawer.’
Alas, no such luck, the drawer was shut tightly. ‘Looks like I can not open it, My Lord.’ Dream sighed. This was unfortunate, but not all was lost. Time to call in a little favor from another resident of the hospital.