Curiouser and curiouser

Regulus hated the feeling of falling. Even in his dreams, the fall was never pleasant. This however, wasn’t a dream and this was so far from pleasant.

The fall was no longer pitch black and instead, he fell past things. He saw a bookshelf and a piano, both of which he felt like he recognized. There was so much clutter, rushing past him and he was scared of getting hit. The feeling in the pit of his stomach was making him ill and all he could do was yell and try to grab onto something.

As he fell, he suddenly saw the bottom and braced himself for impact. When he hit the ground, the floor broke, throwing him into a weird room.

He groaned as he stood up, looking around. The room was full of doors. Each door was a different shape and size and as he went around to try and open them he discovered that they were all locked.

Looking around the room, he saw an old copper key lying on a small table. He went around to each of the doors trying to fit the key into one of them but the key didn’t work. On the far end of the room, he saw a curtain. When he pulled it back he didn’t see anything at first but when he looked down he saw a small door. The key fit perfectly and when he opened it, a burst of light shined into the room.

“What the hell?” He questioned. “Hello?” He yelled, getting frustrated. He shut the door and walked away

“Is anyone here? I need to get out of here!” He looked around the room once again and saw a small bottle laying on the table where the key had been.

It was glass with a cork and the liquid inside was clear. There was a small note on the side which read, ‘Drink Me’.

“Curious” Regulus mumbled to himself as he uncorked the bottle. He lifted it to his nose and griminced. The smell was bitter and off-putting. Regulus wished this was like his dream but he had never been trapped in his dreams.

Slowly, he lifted the bottle to his lips. He downed half the bottle before he started coughing rather violently. He set it back on the floor and suddenly he began shrinking. When he finished, he went back to the door.

He realized rather slowly that he had kicked the door shut out of frustration. Going back to the table he noticed that he was suddenly too large to reach the top of the table. The key was still up there. He jumped, trying to get a grip to climb on but he couldn’t get high enough. When he looked down, he saw a small pastry that said, ‘Eat Me’ on it. Cursing under his breath, he ate a small bite of the pastry and was suddenly growing. When he reached his full height again, he grabbed the key and downed the rest of the potion. Finally, he ran to the door, unlocked it and pushed it open.

When it opened, he let out a small gasp. “I must be dreaming.” He whispered, looking around. He couldn’t believe his eyes because he was seeing the land of his dreams. Slowly, he walked forward. There were flowers the size of houses and they were all different colors. He saw bushes shaped like animals and tall gates that seemed to serve no purpose.

He walked down a small staircase and through one of the gates. There were large bugs flying all over the place that seemed to look like animals.

A green and blue pig crossed in front of him and the flowers seemed to be growing faces.

“Curiouser and curiouser” He muttered, feeling a smile spread across his face.

As he turned around, he was met with the wolf that he had seen earlier, only this time he wasn’t alone. He was accompanied by a blue bird as well as a set of redheaded twins.

“See, I told you it was the correct Regulus.” The wolf said to his friends.

“Well, it would be rather embarrassing for you to pick the wrong one wouldn’t it?” His friend said. “There can’t be a lot of Regulus’s around and certainly not ones that bare such a strong resemblance to Siri-”

“Shut up Cas.” The wolf said.

“I’m still not entirely convinced Remus.” The girl spoke again. “He could be the wrong Regulus. I mean, he’s just standing there looking like an idiot.”

“I’m sorry, “ Regulus interrupted. “How on earth could I be the wrong Regulus when this is my dream? And if I may ask, who are you all?”

“Well,” The first boy said, “I’m tweedle-dee and he’s tweedle-dumb”

“Hey!” The boy exclaimed. “I thought I got to be tweedle-dee this time.”

The wolf sighed. “Gideon, Fabian, how about we give him our real names?”

The twins sighed. “Fine. I’m Gideon but you can call me Gid and that is Fabian.”

“Pleasure.” Regulus said although he sounded usure. “And what about you two?”

The wolf smiled. “All in due time, I'm sure. For now, we need to prove something so if you’ll please come with us to see Trewlaney we can get this all sorted out.”

“Oh, I’ll escort him!” Gideon exclaimed.

“No me!” Fabian yelled.

“No,” Regulus said. “I’ll escort myself if that’s very much all right.”

The wolf nodded. “Right this way then.”

The 5 set off into the brush that was full of human size mushrooms. As they walked, a green fog filled the air.

“Who exactly is Trewlaney?” Regulus asked.

“You’ll see.” One of the twins said.

As they got closer to the source of the fog, Regulus saw the outlines of a caterpillar. It seemed to be smoking from a bong.

“Who are you?” It asked when they got right in front of it.

“Regulus,” he replied.

“We shall see.” The caterpillar said.

“What exactly do you mean by that?” Regulus snarked. “I ought to know who I am wouldn’t you think?”

The caterpillar smirked. “Yes, you ought. Unroll the Oraculum please.”

Regulus walked towards a scroll sitting on a mushroom and unrolled it. “It’s a calendar is it not?”

“In essence yes but really, it tells of each and every day since the beginning.” The caterpillar said.

The wolf came closer and said, “Today is Griblig day in the time of the red queen but you ought to focus on the Frabjous day. That’s the day you’re destined to finish the final Horcrux and kill the king.”

Regulus did a double take. “I’m sorry, slay the what?”

The wolf pointed to a spot on the calendar. It looked like him with a few other people. He was holding a sword and the others all had weapons as well. He felt like he recognized the other people in the photo.

“Of course, the sword will have to be goblin made. Goblin forged steel is the only thing that will be able to slay Horcrux.” The caterpillar said.

Regulus looked up at him before saying, “This isn’t me. It can’t be. I don’t even know what a Horcrux is.”

The caterpillar smiled. “You are quite right. It is not you. At least, not yet.”

Regulus laughed. “Well if that’s not entirely vague and unhelpful then I don’t know what is. It doesn’t matter. This is my dream. I’m going to wake up and you’ll all be gone anyways.”

The wolf shook its head. “This isn’t a dream, Regulus. You can’t escape it and when you learn the truth, you won’t want to.”

Regulus shook his head, closed his eyes and pitched his arm. After a few moments, he opened his eyes again and saw he hadn’t gone anywhere.

“That’s odd. Pinching usually does the trick.” He mumbled.

He looked back down at the Oraculum and saw a new part of it. Off to the side, he saw him and a man with messy hair and glasses. Regulus knew he recognized this man. They were standing under some kind of arch and Regulus saw a man who looked like his brother standing off to the side with the wolf, smiling.

The man under the arch had appeared in these dreams before but Regulus had never truly gotten a good look at his face. Even on the Oraculum it was distorted but Regulus knew he recognized him.

Before he could ask about anything else on the Oraculum, there was a low growl before a large creature burst out from the mushrooms.

“Giants! Run!” one of the twins yelled out.

Regulus gasped and turned on his heel to run.

“Shit.” He heard the wolf call. “I’ll stick with him. If anyone has got a chance with him it’s me after all. Well, me and the other two. I’ll find you all soon.”

Suddenly, he heard footsteps behind him.

“Remus!” The dodo bird yelled. “Watch him! There’s dementors too!”

“Be careful Cas!” Remus called. “I’ve got him, don’t fret.”

Regulus couldn’t be bothered to think about what dementors could be. He kept running, his shirt ripping on twigs as he went.

He could hear the giant chasing him. The footsteps behind him were heavy.

Out of nowhere, he decided to stop. Slowly, he turned around. “This is a dream.” He whispered. “It can’t hurt me. This is a dream.”

“What are you doing!” the wolf shouted. “Run Regulus!”

Stupidly, Regulus stayed where he was. The giant caught up to him at the same time the wolf did. The wolf grabbed his arm and pulled him away right as the Giant grabbed at him. The giant's claws dug into his skin and he let out a pained shout.

“You bloody idiot!” The wolf said as they ran. Regulus couldn’t quite hear what it mumbled after that but it sounded like he said, ‘you’re almost worse than your brother.’

After what felt like ages, they got to a clearing and turned around. The giant had stopped chasing them.

“Oh shit.” the wolf said. “It wasn’t after us. It was after the Oraculum. Shit.”

“Okay, what is going on here?” Regulus asked “Who are you? Why am I here and why can I not wake up?”

The wolf sighed. “If I’m going to do this, I am going to have to change into something a bit more comfortable.

With that, the wolf morphed into a human. Not just any human but one that Regulus recognized.

“Holy shit, I am dreaming.” Regulus sighed, leaning against a tree.

“Regulus Arcturus Black, you are not dreaming.” The man said. “My name is Remus Lupin and we’ve been looking for you for a long while. For a little under two years you have been dreaming of this place and believe it or not, there is a reason. You see, every once in a while, the Oraculum will find someone in your world that is destined to save someone here in our world. In some cases, like this one, they find two people. The issue is, the first person came two years ago and we left you behind making it impossible for the first person to complete their task. I understand why you may think you are dreaming but let me assure you, this will all be much easier to accept if you toss that notion out the window. You are awake and that is all you need to know right now. Welcome to wonderland.”

Regulus stared at him for a moment. “Wait, you said two people. Is the first person my-”

“Like I said, you know all you need to know at the moment. The more I tell you, the more danger you are in. We need to get to a safe spot and then I won’t have to tell you, I’ll be able to show you. Until then, my only goal is to keep you alive.” Remus said. “How’s the arm?”

Regulus was confused for a moment but when he followed Remus’s eyes to his arm he flinched. The adrenaline had kept him from noticing the three gashes on his arm. “I’m fine. I’ve had worse.”

Remus nodded. “Okay well, we best be going. Stay close please.”

Regulus nodded and the two walked. They walked in complete silence for a long time through the darkening forest.

“It’s just,” Regulus said out of nowhere. “I am rather curious about one thing.”

Remus arched an eyebrow. “Just one thing?”

Regulus rolled his eyes. “Well, more than one thing but I think I can stick to just one question for now. What is a horcrux and why must I kill the king?”

“That is more than one thing you know?” Remus sighed. “And unfortunately, those are two things that I cannot disclose without the other two here.”

“Who are the other two?” Regulus asked

“I cannot tell you that either.”

“Can you tell me anything?”

“Yes Remus, can you tell the baby Black anything?” A feminine voice called out of the darkness.

Remus laughed. “Really Lils? Where are you?”

“Use your eyes Remus.”

Regulus looked around, confused. “Who’s that?”

“You’ll see. Give me just a moment.” Remus said, lifting his nose up and sniffing the air. Suddenly, he grabbed something.

Regulus couldn’t see anything but as he squinted her could make out a pearly white smile followed by the brightest green eyes he had ever seen.

“Show yourself lils.” Remus said. “It’s rude to not introduce yourself to our guests.”

Lily suddenly appeared in Remus’s arms. She was very short and had beautiful red hair. “Really Remus? I’ve seen the Oraculum. I know that he is our true-”

“Shut up Lily.” Remus said quickly.

Lily turned to face Regulus. “Oh. He doesn't know. You’re waiting to tell him with the other two then?”

Remus nodded and Regulus groaned. “Can somebody please tell me what is going on?”

Lily smiled. “Hi, my name is Lily Evans.”

“Yeah, I sort of gathered that believe it or not.”

With a snort, she said, “You must be Regulus Arcturus Black. It really is a pleasure to meet you even though you don’t know why. I mean, I suppose we’ve met before but I was in cat form and you weren’t completely lucid so it doesn't really count.”

Regulus reached out his arm to shake Lily’s hand. “Well, it’s a pleasure to meet you as well I suppose.”

Lily grabbed Regulus’s arm and looked at the cut on his shoulder. “What on earth did that to you?”

“Um, a troll or a Giant or something.”

“The trolls?! Well, I’d better have a look.” Lily said matter of factly.

She took a knife out of her pocket and cut off the rest of the sleeve, poking at the deep gashes.

“What are you doing?” Regulus exclaimed.

“It needs to be purified by someone with evaporating skills or it will fester and putrefy.” Lily said, smirking.

“I’d rather you didn’t. I’ll be fine as soon as I wake up.”

Remus groaned. “Regulus, I thought we were clear about this not being a dream.”

“You’ve given me no reason to think otherwise.” Regulus retorted.

Lily rolled her eyes. “If you won’t let me purify it I’m at least going to bind it.” Without waiting for an answer, she purified the piece of cloth she had taken off his shirt and tied it around the cut.

“I can’t prove anything to you until we get to camp.” Remus said. “When we do you’ll know for sure that this is all real.”

“Speaking of, it really is getting dark Remus. You ought to be on your way. The hatter isn’t far from here.” Lily said.

“Okay, yes you're right.” Remus said. “You have better night vision. Will you lead us?”

Lily nodded and set off skipping down the path, suddenly turning invisible.

“How are we to know where to go if she does that?” Regulus asked.

Suddenly, far down the path she reappeared, yelling, “Come on you two!”

Remus rolled his eyes and without saying a word, set out after her, regulus in tow.

_________

They walked the entire night. Regulus had to admit that he was feeling a bit tired but overall he was intrigued.

As the sun rose, they arrived at where Regulus could only assume they had been heading.

There was a large broken down windmill attached to a home and weeds all around. There was also a very long table set up in the middle of the seeds with a record player off to the side. There was some sort of haze around the entire thing but it looked peaceful. At the head of the table there was a large chair with someone sitting in it as well as two other chairs with people.

There were various candles, teapots, teacups and pastries around the table, no two were a matching set. Regulus smiled thinking about how much his mother would have hated it and even more so how Sirius would have adored it.

The person sitting in the large chair seemed to stir awake as Remus and Regulus approached.

Lily whispered something to Remus who nodded and then she disappeared into the haze.

The person in the large chair let out a loud cry. “Oh my god! It’s you!” she exclaimed. The girl had long, untamed blonde hair and big bright eyes. Her smile was so very large and welcoming.

“Is it really?” a man with sandy blonde hair and stunning blue eyes asked. “Pandy, are you sure?”

“Am I sure Evan?” she asked, climbing onto the table. “Well, of course I am!”

“Dora, it could be the wrong Regulus.” The other man said. He had dark hair and dark eyes and an air of rebellion surrounding him.

“It is absolutely the right Regulus!” The girl exclaimed, walking down the center of the table. When she reached Regulus her grin got bigger. “You’re absolutely Regulus. I’d know you anywhere.

“I’d know him anywhere!” she yelled over her shoulder to the two men.

Turning back to Remus and Regulus she said, “Well, as you can see, we’re still having tea. And it’s all because I was obliged to kill Time waiting for your return. You must know you are terribly late. Anyways, Time became quite offended and stopped altogether. Not a tick ever since”

Regulus turned to Remus who was smiling. “Well Pandora, had I known time stopped I would have gotten him here sooner.”

The girl, Pandora presumably smiled at Remus. “Yes, yes, of course Remus but no matter, because now you’re back, you see, and we need to get onto the Frabjous day.”

“Frabjous day!” Barty exclaimed

“It’s almost here my dear!” Evan said with a coy smile.

“No matter,” Pandora said, turning back to Regulus with eyebrows raised high. “You see, I'm investigating things that begin with the letter ‘M’. Have you any idea why a raven is like a writing desk?” As she spoke her eyes seemed to get bigger. “Dowal wyth noseles nogins”

Regulus blinked and turned to Remus “What?”

Remus laughed. “Lily interprets better than I do but I believe she said, ‘Down with the noseless noggin.”

“Way to go Remus. Yes, she said down with the noseless noggin” Evan said. “The noseless noggin being Voldemort of course.”

“Lily was here?” Pandora asked

Remus nodded. “Yes, she had to go attend some urgent business back at camp and alert them that we found him. She requested that we bring you three back with us to further plan Frabjous day and she wanted me to say something to you but I think it’s best if you hear it from her.”

Pandora let out a houndish laugh and said “What a joy she is. Come, come. We simply must commence with the slaying and such. Therefore, it is high time to forgive and forget or forget and forgive, whichever comes first or is, in any case, most convenient.” speaking to Regulus she asked. “Which will you do when you see him again? Forgive or forget. I hope you forgive, after all he tried going back for you many times. It just wasn’t possible to go either way until now.”

Regulus didn’t know what she was talking about but Remus seemed to. “Pandora, he doesn’t know yet. He only knows about those he’s met thus far.”

Pandora’s eyes saddened. “But he’ll know soon right? I just can’t bear the thought of the other still being separated from the current.”

Remus nodded.

“Well, when the time comes you will slay him and all will be right once again!” Pandora said decidedly. “Lily agrees with me.”

Barty laughed. “As if she can do anything but. Anyways, all this talk about slaying and sadness has put me off my tea.”

Pandora raised her eyebrows. “The entire world is falling to ruin and poor Barty is off his tea. Brother dear, might you talk to him? I can’t be bothered with his pessimistic attitude.”

“Brother?” Regulus asked.

“Pandora and Evan are siblings.” Remus explained. “They are the Rosier twins.”

“What happened to you Pandy? You used to be the life of the party.”

Pandora sighed. “When the crown falls from voldemort's head and on to that of RAB I will once again be the life of the party”

Remus’s eyes widened. “Pandora! A bit too on the nose.”

“Oh well, they didn’t understand anyhow. Besies, as you pointed out, only Lily and Evan can truly interpret all my riddles.”

Before Remus could respond there was a rather loud noise coming from the woods.

“Shit!” Barty exclaimed. “It’ll be the dementors and Malfoy.”

Pandora forced a liquid down Regulus's throat and Remus took it willingly. Once again, Regulus felt himself shrinking and before he could say a word, Pandora picked him and Remus up and stuffed them in a teapot.

“Do mind your head.” She said quietly, putting the lid on.

Regulus angrily banged on the pot. “Let me out!” he yelled before Remus covered his mouth with his hand.

“Shh,” Remus whispered. “We need to be quiet.”

Regulus nodded and peaked out the crack in the teapot.

Approaching the table were floating creatures with black cloaks and a man with blonde hair on horseback.

“Well well,” the man drawled. “If it isn’t the trio of freaks.”

“Care to join us Lucius?” Barty asked

“No, I don’t think I will.” Lucius laughed. “You see, we're looking for a boy called Regulus. We were able to see the Oraculum and saw that he plays a vital role in something upcoming and we would very much like to meet him before it happens.”

“Speaking of the king,” Pandora exclaimed, dodging the question. “Here is a little song we used to sing in his honor!”

Pandora seemed like she was going to conduct the three in a song before Lucius drew a sword to her throat.

“Let it be known that if you are hiding him, you will lose your heads!” Lucius said angrily.

Pandora simply smiled. “I thought you knew Lucius. We’ve already lost them.”

Lucius glared. “The dementors don’t seem to sense anything but know that we will return.”

“I’d expect nothing less Lucy.” Barty called as he left.

“You’re all mad,” Lucius yelled over his shoulder. “The three mad Hatters.”

“Don’t be silly Lucius.” Pandora said, “There is only one true mad hatter and that’s me! Now Evan, pass the crumpets.”

Many moments later, the lid on the teapot came up and Pandora lifted the two out.

“What do they want with me?” Regulus asked when his feet met the table.

“You know,” Evan said, “We really should take him to Dumbledore. He’d be safest there.”

Remus glared at Evan. “No one is truly safe with Dumbledore. He is simply a figurehead. He has no idea what it takes to win this war and we need to keep it that way.”

Pandora took off her hat and set it on the table. “You two best climb on. We should be heading off rather quickly. Unfortunately, I don’t have the pastry to make you grow but I know lily has some back at camp so we will have to wait until we get there. Besides, we all know the best way to travel is by hat.”

“Oh I love traveling by hat!” Barty exclaimed.

“Alas, I only have room for two.” Pandora said, putting the hat on and walking down a path. “Come on now boys. It’s time for us to go.”