768Standard Disclaimer: I own nothing in regards to Harry Potter or Pirates of the Caribbean. All properties therein are those of their creators. I am only a writer working on my skills with worlds and characters that I love.
Chapter Eleven - Reunions
Sirius was all set to start working on the barnacles with a bit of magic and elbow grease when a bell started ringing and he was ushered below and told to seek out Madi to get his wounds looked at. So as crewmembers bustled all around he followed the hectic directions he was receiving to a large room three decks down. It seemed his godson had made liberal use of space expansion runes on his vessel and the animagus was beyond impressed.
He was met at the door to the identified space by a beautiful dark skinned woman with close cropped black hair. "You must be Sirius." She said simply before pulling him over to a table and peeling his shirt and bandolier free to examine his scrapes. "Well, the paste did an alright job of halting the bleeding but you're gonna have some scarring. Hold still." She began applying a potion-poultice to the wounds and grinned softly at his pained grunts. "It's not so bad, you big baby."
"Say that when it's your back ripped open and-" Sirius was cut off as the door burst open and a dark skinned little boy with green eyes scampered into the infirmary and glomped himself onto the doctor's leg.
"Shay!" Madi giggled and pulled the boy onto her hip. "What are you doing down here? I thought you were learning to navigate in the crows nest with Jack."
"I was, momma," The little one chirped, "but then we saw a little boat in the water, Uncle Hector pulled us to a stop to investigate, and then daddy started cursing for five minutes straight so Auntie Anne told me," He scrunched up his face adorably and perfectly imitated an Irish brogue, "to avoid sullyin me poor ears like me philistine father and come see ye instead." The two shared a laugh and Sirius took a closer look at the child's features. Specifically the eyes. Eyes that were very, very, familiar.
"Sorry, kid, but who exactly is your father?"
The boy looked curiously at him. "Who are you, mister?"
"This is our newest crewmate." Madi ruffled his hair and answered the question for him. "If you are asking that question then you likely already figured it out. Shay Cormac Potter, say hello to Sirius Black. For all intents and purposes he's your uncle."
Topside
On the deck of the Freedom Harry quickly pushed through the crowd that was hauling the dingy onto his vessel so he could see for himself. "The fuck?" He and Anne quickly pulled the comatose blonde free and laid her out so they could examine her for any serious injuries.
"She has quite the bruise on her head, love." Anne noted as she ran practiced fingers down her torso. "Maybe a cracked rib but no internal bleeding." Madi had been sure to teach them all rudimentary first aid on more than one occasion for when she was otherwise occupied with patients.
"Think we can wake her up?" He asked as he readied the pistol on his bracer for an enervation charm.
Mary conked the back of her head with the flat of her hand and answered, "Don't be ridiculous. She could have a concussion. It's best we get her back to Nassau so the mind healers can ensure she won't have any lasting trauma."
"Shit…" Harry stared into the distance where the black sails he'd been tracking finally disappeared over the horizon. "I hate it when you're right. Fine then, drop sails and bring her about!" He ordered, sending the crew into a frenzy of activity. "We'll find the trail again later but for now we're setting course for Nassau!"
"Hazzah!" The crew cheered as one, though at the tail end of their exuberance the crack of a door slamming sounded and Sirius' voice ranted above all the others, "Harry! What's this I hear about you making me a grand-dog before I'm fifty!?"
The crew laughed and bumped shoulders fondly with their captain as he grumbled, placed a hand on the ship's railing, and willed himself into the crows nest to avoid dealing with his godfather. Yes, avoidance was definitely the right move for now. There was also the added benefit of ending up next to a pale boy with freckles, red hair, and green eyes.
"Hey there, Jack."
"Daddy!" The little one immediately jumped into his arms for a hug, dropping his sextant as he did.
Harry squeezed the little one and picked the object back up before passing it over. "I thought you were teaching your little brother how to navigate?"
"I was." Jack Ryan Potter answered easily. "But he went to see what the crowd was doing and mama told him to head below when you started cursing."
The wizard groaned at the thought and lamented his lack of control over his mouth. Mary had more than once gotten on his case for teaching the little ones bad habits. A part of him suspected her overprotectiveness came from the knowledge that she was the only one of his women to not have his child, no matter how many times they… practiced.
"Well that's all well and good, I suppose. Now why don't you show me how we can find north and from there we'll chart a course home."
Elsewhere
"It had been a rather unremarkable journey, for all the haste they'd made with a magic enhanced two-man crew, and they'd made it to the port of Tortuga in record time. As the duo walked down the gangplank to the dock, Jack Sparrow could be heard saying, "It's the best place in the world, love. A true hive of scum and villainy of the best sort."
"Don't call me love." Hermione grumbled as she followed the pirate down to stable ground once more. "Only one man is allowed to do that and you can't pull off a uniform like he can." During the journey she'd divested herself of her dress and donned a pair of far more practical pants, suspenders, and a buttoned shirt that she'd found in one of the crew bunks belowdecks. "And this hive of scum looks downright barren to me."
"Eh?" Sparrow had been so delighted to finally come back to his favorite haunt that he'd not even given himself the chance to look upon her beauty yet… but now he found himself utterly crestfallen. Where before there had been raucous cheering, bawdy songs sung loud enough to shatter eardrums, and the litany of gunshots paired with unfortunate sops begging for their lives, now there were naught but empty houses, a few ramshackle looking restaurants, and some trade shops such as a butcher and a blacksmith. "What the hell happened!?"
The pirate ran as if the hounds of hell were on his tail and it was all Hermione could do to keep up as the man ran from building to building, lamenting the apparent loss of taverns, brothels, and rum runners all in good measure until at last he stumbled to a halt outside of the butcher's shop. "I know that smell." He muttered, and then ran around behind the brick wall.
When the witch caught up to him he was standing outside a pig pen where a grizzled, rotund, man was currently slumbering next to the swine.
"Who the bloody hell is that?"
"Our Quartermaster." Sparrow's smile had returned upon finding the man. "Hold tight, love." The pirate moved to a nearby pump, filled a bucket, and launched the ice-cold liquid onto the slop-covered man in one fluid swing of the arm. The comatose man shot up at once with a serrated knife in hand and flailed about with it like a hog in shock until he finally noticed just who was standing over him.
"Jack? Blast my eyes, but you're alive!"
Sparrow took a moment to look down at himself, poked a finger at his chest, and offered, "Sure seems that way. Was I not supposed to be?"
Instead of answering, Gibbs muttered, "It's bad luck to wake a man so swiftly from deep sleep, you know. Frightful bad luck."
Sparrow huffed and tossed the bucket to Hermione. "I've never much cared about luck, old friend. How are you, Gibbs?"
"Better than some days and worse than others I suppose." The man slid his knife back into his belt. "Where have you been all this time, Jack?"
The other pirate shrugged. "Here and there, I should say. Most recently prison, but I'm currently aflight."
Gibbs frowned and slowly got up to his feet. "After the shit you pulled in Nassau I shouldn't be surprised. I suppose I'm-" He was knocked down by another splash of water impacting his face. "Blast it all, I'm already awake!" He squealed.
Sparrow turned toward the direction of the water flow and saw Hermione with the bucket he'd given her still raised from her swing. "That was for the smell. But, Jack, what did he mean? What exactly did you do in Nassau? I thought you didn't know where it was?" More importantly, if the man was some sort of fugitive to even pirates, then would being in his presence really serve any of her goals?
"I don't." Sparrow evaded the first part of the question and pointed at Gibbs once more. "I was… unfortunately displaced from the Republic of Piracy so I lost the secret of the place. Gibbs, though, is the local Chapter Head, aren't you, Gibbs?"
"After a fashion." The older man groaned, eyed the girl to ensure she wasn't going to splash him again, and got back up for the final time. "Pretty much everyone that wanted to head there already did though so I haven't had anyone to ferry over in weeks. You might have noticed how empty the old place is these days."
"Yeah, about that, what the hell happened here? Tortuga used to be so full of life! I just walked down the street and wasn't at all accosted by duelists, whores, scorned lovers, or even a promising rapscallion attempting to steal my purse. Where are the thieves? Where are the enterprising pirates? Where are the brothels!?"
Gibbs rubbed a finger in his ear to blot out the ringing that the last question's near scream had caused him. "Well, I'd think that was obvious, Jack. With Harry's crowd cornering the market on privateering and piracy there wasn't enough business or trade coming through here to support an independent enterprise. All the scum that called this place home started either going legit or moving to other locations. Can't say as I blame them considering Ms. Guthrie offers the best rates for stolen goods in the entire Caribbean. As for the whores, they all turned tail for Nassau the moment they heard there was medicine there that could cure venereal diseases."
"Shame. Gave them all character, that did." Jack grimaced. "Well, that burns something deep to hear."
"Phrasing." Hermione sniped.
"Moving on," Sparrow countered, looking back to Gibbs, "We find ourselves in possession of a ship but not so much a crew. I was hoping to stock up on manpower here in the port but now…"
"Say no more." Gibbs waved off his old pal's concern. "There's always at least a few rapscallions out and about looking for a bit of under the table work. I can find a handful for you by the morning; for old time's sake."
"I'm much obliged." Sparrow crossed the pen, gingerly dodging suspicious lumps in the muck, and wrapped an arm around the soiled man's shoulders. "Now, perhaps we might discuss what it would cost me to have you direct our little party to Nassau."
Gibbs blinked, tried to pull away, but found the wiry man's grip to be as tough as iron. That, paired with the hauntingly direct stare sent his way by the woman, forced him back to stillness, eliminating even the brief thought of escape. "Now, Jack, even our old times aren't good enough for that kind of favor. After the shit you pulled-"
"We don't have to get into all that." The pirate hurriedly cut the other man off before he could give voice to his myriad offenses. "I am well aware that my personage is persona non grata on the island, but my associate here," he gestured to Hermione, "is very motivated to find someone over there. What's more, I have reason to believe that the Pearl is in play somehow with the island. I need to seize on any lead while the winds favor my passage."
"Jack, no winds be favoring the passage of anyone that pokes the bear. The Pirate King will tear your innards out on sight, and the less said about what his wives will do to you the better."
Hermione, listening attentively to all of this, was very much curious about just 'what' could be worse than that, but before she could ask, an annoying habit she was seeing of her partner for interrupting any questions about his past activities, Jack cut in with: "Then I'll just be sure I'm not seen. At the very least I need a chance to recruit some more 'actually' experienced brigands for my hunt. There's nowhere else to get the best and against Flint I'm going to need them."
Voice turning a bit more playful, the pirate added, "And besides, after that business in Lisbon I'd say you owe me one last big favor. You remember that day? The angry mob, the tree with branches full of looted underwear, the goat…."
"Aye, that be fair enough." Gibbs seemed to think about it for a moment, and then he offered, "I'm planning on bringing some trade goods over on the barge in the morning. Get your ship ready, settle the newbies into their births, and I'll tow you behind."
"Thank you, old friend."
Gibbs finally succeeded in pulling free and shook his head. "I'd not be thanking me if I were you. Bringing you along is just as sure as signing yer death warrant; blast it but I owe you too much to flat out refuse, though. Just be sure that you're not seen by anyone when we make port. If asked, I never saw hide nor hare of ya."
"You are a gentleman and a scholar, Gibbs."
"I'm neither and you know it. I'm normally just too drunk to care either way."
"Fair enough."
The Next Day
Hermione didn't know what she'd expected of how Gibbs would guide them to the fabled Pirate Republic, but tying a rope as thick around as her neck to the masthead and being pulled along as if their war-class vessel weighed nothing was not it. Nor was she ready for entry into a sudden bank of fog that seemed to come from nowhere. One moment they were just entering the greater sea and exiting the harbor of Tortuga, and the next they were utterly blind.
"It's only the Fidelius Charm, love." Jack eased her worry as he leaned easily against the wheel of their great vessel. It's a bit off-putting but you'll get over it. Gibbs swore a magical vow not to reveal the location of Tortuga except but for those already within its waters. Once we're far enough in we'll be given the secret and this will all seem as if it were naught but a bad dream."
The pirate's words were as good as his apparently water-proof eyeliner as a short time later Gibbs rattled off the coordinates for the location of Nassau and Hermione found her jaw dropping near to the floor at the sight that instantly bloomed before her eyes. "W-W-What is all this?"
"This," Sparrow chuckled darkly as the beach came into view ahead of them, "is the Pirate Republic of Nassau. Come along, Love, and I'll show you around."
Elsewhere
The Freedom was nearing the waters of their home when its unexpected passenger finally awoke from her concussion-based slumber. As she sat up in her cot Elizabeth wondered at her current circumstance. She knew she should be terrified to have escaped the Black Pearl only to apparently end up in another vessel's crew quarters, but for some reason she felt… content. As if she was finally where she was meant to be; a feeling that she'd never known, even in Port Royale.
"Oh, you're awake." A new voice spoke up from behind her.
Elizabeth spun around, legs kicking out of the cot to facilitate the movement, and found herself looking at a dark skinned woman with closely cropped hair, sitting on a stool with a book in her lap. "Who are you? Where am I?"
"My name is Madi, and you are currently resting in the spare quarters of the Freedom. Do you remember what happened? How did you end up adrift in the middle of the Caribbean?"
The governor's daughter considered trying to think up a convincing lie, but then those words registered. The Freedom. That meant that somewhere on this vessel was the same man that had haunted her dreams for years. It really took the wind out of the 'misleading' sails, as it were. So the blonde told the other woman everything that had happened, and was more than gratified to see that she believed her.
"So," Madi tapped the book lightly against her leg, "Flint has finally shown himself again. I swear that man has been quite the pain in the ass over the last few years. Come on," She stood up, took the other woman's arm, led her up the stairs of the nearest entryway. "The Captain needs to hear about this."
"The Captain?" Elizabeth breathed, her head starting to get a little bit dizzy as those words registered. After all this time she was about to meet Silent Harry again…