Journal entry the fifth

Amsterdam is quite a lovely city, truly it is. Perhaps, once a few recent events fade from public memory, we will return. As tolerant of, shall we say, quirky individuals as the city is, however, I am certain that there is a limit, one that I am not willing to test. Before we wear out our welcome, it was more or less unanimously decided that perhaps we should move on. I will deny that our choice had anything to do with the fact that the mounted statue of Queen Wilhemina decided to try cantering around town shortly after our group passed through. Pure coincidence, that.

Feeling the need to head about as far away as we could, and not looking forward to a repeat of our last airplane experience, I proposed the idea that we should head to Amsterdam's lovely hidden-in-plain-sight magical district and pick up a long distance portkey. Tom immediately agreed with my proposal, with the three remaining tricksters shrugging and nodding with approval.

We entered the nearest magical shop, where I immediately approached the clerk with an inquiry about ready-made, long distance portkeys. Perhaps sensing my desire to move on with our travels, or rather observing three largely unsupervised tricksters playing with some of his more esoteric wares, he quickly pulled out a selection and offered our choice of the lot, for free if we chose one in the next few minutes. After hearing a brief description of each portkey, inspiration hit and I chose the one that was not only the furthest away from our present location, but to a destination I was somewhat familiar with and was reasonably sure that Salazar at least had never explored.

Gathering up our motley group, which is a bit of a task when surrounded by a large quantity of shiny objects, I actually managed to surprise everyone when I simply activated the portkey without revealing our destination. I have definitely been corrupted by this lot, for I enjoyed seeing the looks of mixed surprise, confusion, and awe directed at me by some of the most legendary pranksters to exist.

The portkey ride was smoother than most, perhaps it's purely a British thing to make them feel like a tilt-a-whirl inside a kaleidoscope. Upon our arrival, it was hard not to cackle with glee as the rest of my party gazed in awe at our surroundings. I've only been here a couple of times, but for sheer spectacle it is hard to compare with Kabukichō, Tokyo at night, especially the magical version. As an added bonus, while our party would stand out virtually anywhere, in Kabukichō hardly anyone bats an eyelash, so used to the strange and eccentric they are.

Out of curiousity, I turned to Salazar to ask his opinion and was momentarily struck dumb by the almost childlike wonder radiating from his expression. Smirking slightly, I leaned in and gave him a gentle peck on the lips to snap him out of it. "Appreciate the view, love? I thought this might make a nice surprise, show you someplace new."

Salazar turned to me with a wide grin and a wink. "I always appreciate the view, Sev, but you are right, I never did make it to Japan." Grabbing my shirt playfully, he pulled me in for a more extensive kiss. "And the surprise factor, my my Sev, someone's naughty."

A snicker from behind us halted our impromptu make out session as we turned to see three sets of amused eyes and knowing grins. Rolling my eyes, I turned to them and saw that while my erstwhile familiar and Anubis were practically vibrating with the need to explore, I was surprised to see Tom with a similar reaction. "Hm, while this isn't a challenge, I doubt that there is anything you couldn't get away with in magical Kabukichō, so why don't we meet up in a few hours." Figuring that our party would be hard to miss even if they ventured into non-magical Kabukichō, I opted against a designated meet up spot. Until recently, I never appreciated how liberating it can be to just relax and let the cards fall where they may.

Hardly needing the encouragement, the rest of our party let loose with a war cry and threw themselves quite literally into the throngs of people. I would love to know who introduced Anubis to crowd surfing. Salazar, meanwhile, simply laughed at their antics, a sound of pure joy that still surprises me. Not too terribly long ago, this same man was ravaged by disease and met with hatred everywhere he turned, and yet he not only emerged unscathed, but unburdened by the many crimes committed against him. Turning to me, he must have read this in my expression, for his smile turned soft and he leaned in for a gentle kiss, pecking me playfully on the nose before pulling away.

Giving me an amused glance, he shook his head slightly. "Now Sev, correct me if I'm wrong, but did you just unleash a hyperactive god with no shame, his shapeshifting partner in crime, and a former Dark Lord upon the good people of Kabukichō just to get some private time with me?" Peering into my eyes, he started laughing again. "Oh wow, you did, didn't you? Priceless, just priceless." Taking me in his arms, he nuzzled my neck while still chucking. "Well, I'm certain you have some kind of wicked plan for me inside that delightfully twisted mind of yours, so I'm more than game. I am curious, however, as to what brought you to Japan in the first place."

Returning the embrace, I chuckled lightly to myself. "During the post-Voldemort years, did you think I really stayed cooped up in Spinner's End during the summers?" Shrugging slightly, I pulled back and flicked his nose playfully. "Besides, I *am* a Potions Master, and you would be amazed at the ingredients you can find here at a fraction of the cost you would find back home, and of much higher quality."

Shaking his head, Salazar grinned and sighed. "I should have known, although I certainly can't argue. Just from here I can spot a couple interesting vendors." Raising an eyebrow, Salazar eyed me with amusement-tinged suspicion. "You have more in mind than supply shopping, don't you? Well, I'm all yours Sev, do with me what you will."

Biting back a groan at the images his last statement triggered in my mind, I took him by the arm and began to guide him through the crowds. Honestly, I had not quite thought of what I had intended to do by bringing Salazar here beyond a new experience, but I had a flash of inspiration upon arrival. This thought in mind, we made our way to the well-hidden but impressive Hanazono Shrine, a rare piece of elegance amid debauchery. Not that the debauchery had any less appeal, but there was something I wished to do first.

Leading Salazar through the gardens, I used the tiniest bit of wandless magic to let any passersby ignore us, not that there were many but better safe than sorry. Salazar simply raised on elegant eyebrow and looked at me with curiousity. Steeling myself, I took his hand in mine and turned my gaze out to the gardens, savouring the serenity before speaking.

"When we were in London, shortly after the car incident, I had an interesting encounter during my food run." Seeing that I had his attention, he nodded his head for me to continue. "I was in fact accosted briefly in Hyde Park by a non-human who wished to talk specifically to me and me alone." Turning to face Salazar, I looked into his eyes and started to caress his hand. "She was a half-elf, half-Maenad with blood red hair and emerald eyes." Salazar sucked in a breath at this revelation, eyeing me with concern for a moment.

"You met my mother?", Salazar gasped slightly. "Honestly, I had no idea she was still alive, let alone coherent." He shook his head in wonder before beckoning for more.

"Yes, she was surprisingly lucid, but only for a short time. She apparently wished to meet her son's mate." Snorting softly as the memory replayed in my mind's eye, I decided to continue. "That wasn't all she wanted, though. She knows you to be mostly immortal, whereas I am but mortal flesh. She wasn't looking to approve of me, but to ask me which I would choose, an immortal life at your side or to live out my natural span."

Looking up, I quickly pulled Salazar into a tight embrace, not wanting to see that flash of panic cross his eyes as he realized that, as of the moment, I am in fact mortal. "She must not have been watching me all that closely to even ask that question. I will always choose you, Sal. Once her question actually penetrated my brain, I didn't hesitate that I would always choose immortality with you at my side." Pulling back to meet his shining emerald eyes, I smiled gently. "I could never leave you alone after just having found you, and I hardly care for my own life. If not for you, I would simply be a bitter, miserable husk of a man, and would welcome a mortal existence." Leaning in, I tenderly kissed him, channeling as much of my emotion into it as I could, and I could feel Salazar relax slightly against me.

"Having told her that, she grinned and stated that she would look for a way for me to gain immortality so that I would continue to make her son happy." Smirking slightly, I shook my head. "Out of curiousity, you can counter your mother if she gets angry, right? She asked me not to tell you, but I just couldn't keep this from you."

Chucking to himself, Salazar nodded. "I can keep her at bay, never fear. I don't think she truly meant for you to keep this from me, though. Not her style, she's just not that sneaky."

Sighing in relief, I took Salazar into my arms and we just stood there for a moment, savouring each other's presence. Salazar then withdrew slightly, meeting my eyes. "Thank you for telling me Sev, honestly I'd temporarily forgotten that you were still mortal." Smiling at me tenderly, he continued. "If that is what you truly wish, I'm certain that we can find some solution to your pesky mortality between us. Much as I adore my mother, and as much as I know she cares for me, I'm honestly in a better position to find a solution. Between us, nothing is impossible."

Chuckling to myself, I leaned forward to nuzzle Salazar's neck. "Mm, I look forward to it, as long as we don't justify the rumours of my vampiric status." Laughing, the sound of joy resonating through the shrine, Salazar met my gaze and before I knew it my own laugh, a bit rusty from disuse, joined his.

Duty done, I decided that it was time for some fun, so once more I took his arm and began leading him towards the infamous Golden Gai for a bit of debauchery, although the thought of one or more of the Love Hotels also sprung to mind. Upon entering the Golden Gai, however, a couple tourists suddenly ran towards us, squealing and gesturing enthusiastically. Taken aback, for while we were definitely not locals we were still in normal clothes, not a hint of wizarding eccentricity to be found, I looked to Salazar with an inquisitive look.

Shrugging and shaking his head in confusion himself, he held a hand out to momentarily silence the pair. We knew they were native english speakers, likely American from the accent, so we waited for them to collect themselves. As it would seem, Salazar's current body is a spitting image for that of his rock-music alter ego, and the pair that accosted us were fans of his music. It was hard to discern at first due to their energy and speed of speech, but apparently they wanted to show us a small karaoke bar they had discovered.

Having nothing better to do, we followed the bouncing pair to a small karaoke bar with an open patio. Seeing them struggling with explaining that we were a group and that they wanted Sal to perform, I rolled my eyes and stepped forward. After explaining in Japanese to the doorman, he gladly let us in, and I could tell that he was somewhat impressed with a gaijin's knowledge of his language. Salazar could hardly contain his amusement, and threw himself on my arm as we paid the seat charge.

Apparently this particular karaoke bar was lacking in brave souls to go up and actually sing, so the owner, who came out to greet us, was thrilled to have an actual rocker performing, even if he didn't know who Sal was. Shaking his head in amusement, Sal got up and, giving me an affectionate peck, slipped into the bathroom.

While waiting for my dear partner, I decided to make a bit of small talk with the owner, telling him that while I'd never seen a live show, that Sal was a hell of a performer. I was interrupted in this by a series of high pitched squeals rising from the crowd. Looking to see what the cause of the ruckus was, my mouth went dry as I saw Sal. He had decided to switch into this rock star gear, which was even more impressive on his current body than his previous one. The squealing had apparently attracted attention from passersby, for a crowd had begun to gather.

A wicked gleam clearly in his eye, Salazar first sauntered over to where I was sitting, briefly straddling my lap as he kissed me passionately, much to the seeming pleasure of the crowd. His mission done, he smirked and glided over to the modest stage, gaining more applause and audience members. He briefly perused the selection before deftly picking a song roster. Apparently Sal was in the mood for Queen, for he opened up with one of the most powerful and hardest to sing songs in their repertoire, The Show Must Go On.

Seeing him perform on the bootleg DVD was powerful, but a live performance put the DVD to shame. Even knowing what to expect, his energy, vitality, and charisma just took my breath away. If ever Salazar wanted, he could easily make a living with his musical talents.

The crowd was growing even more, turning into an impromptu small concert, as Sal gleefully sang his way through not only Queen, but several Bowie songs and even touching on the Stones. I was more than content to sit there, nursing my whisky and basking in my love's radiance, but then he decided to mix things up a bit. Apparently he inserted some of his own original music into the roster, which stunned the crowd as they realized that this wasn't just some talented foreigner but the actual rocker himself. His original songs were hauntingly beautiful, and were met with impressive applause. His grand finale blew us all away, however, for he saved the song dedicated to his Dark Prince for last, and as he sang his now trademark song, he walked towards me until he was leaning up against our table, staring into my eyes as he finally got to sing me the song that he wanted me to hear all that time ago.

It took a good amount of willpower to not ravish him right then and there, but the heated look I gave him was returned full force, promising a fun night later. Finishing his set, he bowed to impressive applause and returned to his seat, still in his rocker gear. The owner came and thanked us profusely, apparently he was able to sell drinks to most of the guests watching and made quite a profit.

Finishing our drinks, we decided to resume our wandering, although we did have to use a notice-me-not charm to escape the crowd of Salazar's admirers. Laughing, we resumed our aimless path through the debauchery, enjoying the liveliness and colours everywhere we turned.

This, of course, lasted only until we saw a large group of people staring up and one of the most notable attractions of Kabukichō, Ambassador Godzilla. This would not be out of the ordinary, it is hard to ignore a gigantic radioactive dinosaur statue, but there seemed to be something off. Looking up ourselves, everything made perfect, crystal sense.

I've seen quite a few things in my life, both good and bad. Even I, however, stared in confusion and amusement at the sight of Tom Marvolo Riddle, former Dark Lord and Heir of Slytherin, dressed as a Gothic Lolita schoolgirl chasing an ancient god, who himself was dressed in full yankii gear, complete with pompadour, up and down Godzilla's head on a bosozoku-style motorcycle. Well, I suppose I did challenge them, but true to my word their antics were simply being treated as part of the show. Looking at each other, we simply shrugged and took in the show ourselves, only retreating when we felt it was time to find a hotel.

Rather than deal with the love hotels at the moment, we returned to the magical area and quickly found a couple of rooms, not attached but well suited for our purposes. Realizing that perhaps our companions should be told of our lodgings, I began to summon my Patronus only to be stopped by Salazar.

"You know, Sev, I have yet to cast a patronus since waking up. Let's see what I end up with, hm?" Rolling my eyes slightly, I couldn't help but chuckle as I waved my hand, encouraging him to get on with it. Smiling, he concentrated for just a moment before summoning a wandless, non-verbal corporeal patronus. I don't think he was expecting the stag, but even I was stunned to see Hedwig duplicated perfectly in patronus form. Tearing up for just a moment, Sal smiled and relayed the information to his patronus, sending it on it's way. Unlike most patronii, however, Hedwig first flew to Sal and gave him a head nuzzle before flying on her way.

Seeing my love in slight distress, I lead him to our room and held him as I closed the door. "Sal, I can't say I'm completely surprised by your patronus, you loved her and she obviously decided that you can't go anywhere unsupervised." I felt him smile at this as he nuzzled my neck, working his way up to my lips. "Mmm, but enough of that, I've wanted to ravish you since you first walked out in that ensemble."

Salazar chuckled and flopped back on the bed, waiving his hand and removing all of his clothes in the process. "Well, Sev, you naughty boy, I'm all yours."

With that challenge/offer on the table, what else could I do but pounce on my playful lover, taking just the barest moment to appreciate the prize I somehow managed to win before showing him exactly how naughty I was, repeatedly, until we both passed out from exhaustion. I perhaps should be concerned that our companions have not yet returned, and are still wreaking havok, but I simply can't be arsed to care as I lay wrapped in Sal's arms, basking in true happiness that I had never felt before he came into my life. Ah well, they can take care of themselves well enough. This is our moment, our night, and I wouldn't trade it for anything.

Author's note: I know it's been ages since I've done anything with this story, but for some reason my muse woke up and, having reread my own stuff, I realized it would be a shame to not continue playing in this world I created. I do have more planned for this story, although I doubt it will be as long as the previous.