Zigzag

Zigzag

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Chapter 5

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The next morning, six Remuses and Severuses and two Luciuses woke up to find their memories updated by the events in their own universe. Of course, the others noticed some of these changes as most of them gathered to the hall where they'd been collected in the beginning, and where house-elves were now serving breakfast in long tables.

"I have to find Keith," whined Father Remus, looking almost scared. Glancing warily at Lucius Snape and Severus Malfoy, he asked, "You are in the group that kidnapped him, aren't you? You have to tell me where he is!"

"Two things, Lupin," said Severus Malfoy calmly. "First, whatever we tell you here won't affect your other self in our universe. He wouldn't know if we told where your son is. And secondly, no, we're not in that bunch of child-tormentors. Lucius is doing his best to keep them from harming your son --" at this, the young father flinched "-- and I promise we'll return him to you soon. But you have to be patient, there simply hasn't been a possibility to do that yet."

"You'll bring him back?" demanded the werewolf with teary eyes. "Promise?"

The Lucius of his world sighed and rolled his eyes towards the ceiling. "Yes, Lupin, promise," he said. "We maybe do not like you, and we're Slytherins, but we're not going to stand anybody risking a child's life in their games!"

"Why would you care about a child?" asked Sev, who was sitting with Rem near them. Even though neither of them had yet approached anyone, they seemed to feel more comfortable with their younger replicas than the older ones. "It's not even yours, and for anything I know about the Lucius in my world, about everything would have to change before he'd risk anything to help anyone else's child, leave alone two Gryffindors'. No offense, but it's true."

"Let's just say that we have personal reasons," replied Lucius Snape. And then, the conversation ended.

There weren't many people in the hall yet. They saw Werewolf Severus and Turner Remus entering, then carefully taking seats in separated tables. That was surprising. Even though they weren't the best friends, they had been getting along better than their replicas in many other universes. Something must have happened in their universe, but it was certain that neither was going to tell about it. There had been an update to the two, that they knew for sure -- Werewolf Severus's eyes had turned grey, though whatever was the reason for that, they did not know.

And then, the Lionsnakes entered, talking animatedly. "How could you, Severus?" whined Remus Lionsnake. "None of all this shit happening to you is your fault! You should not hurt yourself for it!"

"It is my fault," said his dark-haired husband quite calmly, taking a seat further along the table where Father Remus, Lucius Snape, Severus Malfoy, and Rem and Sev were currently eating. Father Remus's and Rem's sharp werewolf eyes saw a barely healed wound going around the base of Severus Lionsnake's forefinger, and both shuddered, guessing what must have happened. How desperate could a man be to try to cut his own finger off?

"It is not," said Lucius Lionsnake firmly, sitting down next to his werewolf husband, who'd sat down opposite to the last Lionsnake. "We will not discuss this further. It'll do no good to our baby if Remus gets upset. And you," he said, pointing at his Severus, "will tell me the next time you feel like hurting yourself. I'll kill you myself rather than let you do it." And after that, he started to calmly eat his breakfast. Neither of his husbands, however, seemed to have much appetite, which of course made Lucius frown at them, especially at Remus, who should have thought about his baby.

Seemingly he wasn't the only one with that problem, even. From another table they heard Remus Black's worried voice, "But you should eat more! Think about what you're doing to your baby!"

"I need no advices from you, Remus Black," came Severus Baby-Black's sharp reply. "I'm not hungry. In fact, I feel quite ill." With this, he pushed his plate away from himself. Only a few noticed Thin Remus doing the same next to him.

"Oh, are you having morning sickness?" the other universe's Remus realized. "I know, it can be bad, and I don't always want to eat, either. But there's a potion that can help, you know, and I really think you should --"

"Let him be, Black," Severus Snape said with a bored voice. "His husband will look after him when he arrives."

"I'd almost forgotten," muttered Rem, suddenly paling. "Merlin, Siri will be so mad at me when he finds out..."

"That we're friends?" asked Sev. As his friend nodded, he continued, "Well, if he cannot tolerate you having friends outside your little Gryffindor circle, then he doesn't deserve to be your friend at all."

"Sev's right," called Wounded Remus from some way afar. His wounded shoulder had now been bandaged, but he looked rather wary, glancing around himself all the time. "If he judges you by your other friends, he's not a true friend."

"And you've been an expert in this subject since when?" Severus Shacklebolt asked calmly from his side.

The wounded werewolf rolled his eyes towards the ceiling. "Well, I did not abandon Kingsley when I found out he's sleeping with you, now did I? So yes, I know at least something about this subject."

"Typical Gryffindor logic," huffed a Severus -- which one of them, nobody cared to find out. Almost all of them were thinking the same right then, anyway, so it hardly mattered who had voiced these thoughts.

"Ah, it is nice to see you have all settled in," said a cheerful voice from the doorway. As they turned to look, they saw Albus Dumbledore standing there, along with their originals -- well, minus the original Lucius, of course. "Are you all ready for the summoning of even more replicas?" Numerous 'yes's and 'no's rose from the crowd.

Remus was walking towards the table with the youngest replicas. "Good morning, you two," he said, smiling at Sev and Rem. As they nodded warily in greeting, he continued, "You know that there's a couple of replicas in that other room, right? Well, the Remus there would love some company, but he cannot come here, as he's afraid of all the Luciuses. Could you probably stay with him for some time after you've eaten your breakfast, at least until we've explained the Sirius of your world what has happened?" Both boys nodded, Rem looking relieved, Sev merely glancing warily at his friend. With a beaming smile, Remus straightened his back. "Thanks a lot, boys. That's very kind of you."

Lucius Snape snorted at this, receiving a sharp gaze from the original werewolf. He didn't say anything, however, as the two youngest boys finished their breakfast and then vanished somewhere to the direction of the "saferoom".

"Well, at least it was kind of him," observed Remia quite calmly. "Now the boys won't feel like they were hiding from their universe's Sirius." Then she locked her eyes at the Headmaster, who was still standing in the doorway, having watched the interaction between Remus, Rem, and Sev. "When are you going to summon them, anyway? Right now?"

"Patience, my dear girl," chuckled the Headmaster. "I'll summon them in half an hour. However," he added, raising his hand as various sounds rose from the tables, "You won't meet them immediately. As the worlds have gone so differently, those who aren't sure if their Sirius did betray the Potters or not will have to come to pick these men apart so we can question them with Veritaserum before letting them free." A couple of people nodded slowly at this -- more precisely, Father Severus and Remus Snape did. In their universe, Sirius was still in prison.

Then, Dumbledore's expression turned even more cheerful than usually. "But until then, do eat!"

*

A bit less than an hour later most of the replicas had gathered to the hall again, all slightly nervous. Some were avoiding everyone's gazes, looking at anything rather than the other people -- these were usually Remuses, from the worlds where Siriuses had died. Like they'd discovered, that had happened in four worlds. Most of them were staring at the door that led to yet another hall, one being now full of Siriuses, and the one behind it full of Harries. They'd decided to wake the Siriuses first, and right now, Albus was giving them all an explanation as of how they'd ended up there.

Then, however, the door was suddenly opened, and thirteen Siriuses started to march in, in a line. "Snape!" one of them called out the moment he crossed the threshold, looking around the hall. "Snape, are you here?"

"I'm here," replied the nameless Severus coolly, giving him a calm gaze. "I see you decided to arrive at last, then."

"And I see you haven't changed at all," the Animagus replied cheerfully. "Have you killed anybody yet?"

"I'm sad to disappoint you, but no, I haven't," said the Severus levelly. "Although I have to admit I've been tempted to do so." At this, his eyes flickered towards the people who'd questioned him the previous night. Then he turned back towards the other man. "They don't know what to call me yet. Therefore, I'd like you to introduce me."

"What?" Everybody noticed that this Sirius looked startled. Now everybody, even those who'd been too involved in their discussions with their own Siriuses, turned to look at them, curious.

"You know what I mean," the nameless Severus said steadily. "It'll come out sooner or later. I'd rather deal with it right now than to wait and then suddenly take all the crap that is sure to come at the time of the revelation."

"Well, if you're sure..." Now this Sirius turned towards the other people in the hall, all of whom were curious, even though a couple of them already knew what to expect. "Hey, you all. Needless to say, I'm Sirius Black," he started cheerfully, then turned serious. "I'm from one of the universes where I fell through the Veil. However, five years after that, something pulled me back. This 'something' was a certain bond." Now drawing a deep breath, he turned to nod towards the Severus of his world. "I'd like to introduce you Severus Snape, my... slave."

Now, most stared at him like he'd been insane. The Severus -- or, Slave Severus, like everybody already knew he'd be called -- turned his eyes away, unable to meet all the stares despite his seeming calmness. Most Severuses looked horrified, like did some Remuses, the rest looked compassionate and a few even pitying. Those who pitied him where the ones whose gazes Slave Severus wanted to avoid. He could take a lot, but not a Severus could bear being pitied.

"Moreover," continued Master Sirius -- he, too, had his title agreed on without any further talking, "anybody saying a bad word to him, or treating him in any way inappropriately, will be personally dealt with by me. I don't know about your universes, but in ours, it is the Master's duty to punish their slave's offender or leave them unpunished. And even if it means that I have to kill half of my replicas and half of the others, I will punish those. Understood?"

Only mutual nods met his gaze everywhere.

One of Severuses wasn't watching him, however. In fact, this man was only vaguely aware of the fact that something important had just been revealed to them all. Severus Black's eyes were fixed on the ground, his expression unreadable. Remus Malfoy and Cane Lucius were both eyeing their friend worriedly but unable to help.

"Severus Black," Albus said quietly, making the man's eyes shot up to him. "Your husband is waiting for you."

The dark-haired wizard nodded briefly, then stood up and followed Albus out of the room. Very few seemed to notice this. When he returned, however, all chatter that had only just began again was suddenly stopped for another time. On his arms lay yet another Sirius, the oldest of them like everybody in his universe was older than their replicas, unmoving. Everybody made silently way as Severus Black, looking as if his face was made of stone, carried his comatose husband through the crowd and towards his room.

"Ziwiuz!" An enthusiastic giggle broke the silence that had suddenly fallen after Severus Black's departure with his badly injured husband. "Many Ziwiuzez. Wemuz Ziwiuz! Wemuz Ziwiuz come Wemuz! Wemuz happy! Yay!" The one of the Remuses that was destined to a wheelchair most probably for the rest of his life was beaming at the Sirius of his universe.

"I'm glad to hear that, Remus," this Sirius -- or, rather, Ziwiuz -- said, smiling as he knelt down next to his former lover's wheelchair. "Has anybody taken care of you? Severus, perhaps?" Oddly enough, the Potions Master's first name did not sound too forced when it escaped his lips. A few people raised their eyebrows at this.

"Yeah! Batty care Wemuz!" announced the childlike werewolf. "Batty give Wemuz pwetty flowewz! Lotz flowewz!"

"Thank you, Snape," said Ziwiuz, nodding briefly towards Batty. "I hope he hasn't been too much of a burden."

"Oh, not at all," the Potions Master replied dismissively. "Remus has been quite a nice little werewolf."

"Yay! Batty zay Wemuz nize!" the werewolf announced, clapping his hands together. Then, raising a pair of hopeful amber eyes to Ziwiuz, he asked, "Wemuz nize. Ziwiuz take Wemus zee Hawwy?"

"You'll see Harry soon enough," promised Ziwiuz. "At first, however, we need to find some names to all us Siriuses, so your pretty little head won't get too confused." With this, he ruffled the werewolf's light brown hair.

"Oww! Ziwiuz mezz Wemuz haiw!" Wemuz glared angrily at Ziwiuz, while everyone around chuckled.

"So, where's Remus?" demanded one Sirius from the only still nameless Severus, who had seemingly trusted his Remus to Rem's and Sev's hands. "Where have you hidden him?"

"He's through that door," said the Severus almost boredly. "Come on, I'll take you there." And thus, they both left.

The other reunions were all more or less emotional. Remia's boyfriend whirled her around in the air, the girl giggling and shrieking. Father Remus's young husband, however, merely held his lover as they were both worried for their kidnapped little son. Wheelchair Lucius's husband -- another thing Blind Severus and Remus Pettigrew were shocked to find out -- embraced the blond tightly until his husband told him rather calmly though breathlessly that he'd rather not get suffocated. Severus Potter's husband kissed him, Remus Black's embraced him, and Severus Baby-Black's asked worriedly whether he'd been eating well. At Remia's comment that he hadn't, this Sirius immediately turned determinedly towards Dumbledore and asked whether some house-elves could bring something for his husband to eat. The Sirius from Danpa's universe -- and not a few others -- laughed out loud when he saw the panda and Cuddler on this "Severus's" side, and Wounded Remus's lover kept asking if he was all right until the werewolf finally snapped that yes, he was all right, and that Sirius should be more worried about himself -- he was currently innocent and arrested by the Aurors, after all. The Lionsnakes all embraced and kissed each other, making various people around the hall shudder. Sure, very few of them actually disapproved of this big family, as they could well understand somebody being another's soulmate, but seeing, well, themselves kissing three other men one after another was rather disturbing.

And, after some time, the Siriuses had all been named. They had Sirius Snape, Sirius Malfoy, Siri, Prisoner Sirius, Coma Sirius, Innocent Sirius, Sirius Lionsnake, Protective Sirius, Carer Sirius, Sirius Lupin, Straight Sirius, Ziwiuz, Sirius Black, Laugher, and, of course, Master Sirius. Protective Sirius was the one from the scared Remus's universe -- and, as they were at it, they decided to call the scared Remus just that, Scared Remus, and the Severus in his company Spy Severus. Like it had turned out, even though the older Severuses all had been spies at some point, none of the others was still working in that position. Well, so Severus Baby-Shacklebolt was, but like he said, it hardly mattered anything.

...Of course, not all names were accepted so easily.

"But I'm not straight!" argued Straight Sirius. "I'm bisexual, you dafts!"

"Well, you're the only one of us here who's involved with a female," said Sirius Snape cheerfully. "All the others are either not involved, or with a man, so you're logically the only even seemingly straight one here. So, accept your name!"

This, of course, earned him a glare, but nobody cared about this. Instead, they were excited -- well, at least the older ones were. After all, Harries would be woken up now.

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