AN: This tale is not beta'ed as of yet - but if you come back and see it changed, then Yen or SuNoYo might have taken a comb to it. Yen did help with the memory sequence.

Schatten, here is part 1 of the Immortality Plant's tale.

Honouring Requests

Doing his best not to show his racing thoughts, Severus waited as the other Death Eaters left the meeting. It was not often that Voldemort requested him to stay behind, but when he did the orders were typically some of the most difficult to accomplish.

"You shall create and brew me a potion, Severus." Voldemort folded his hands on top of the table, his wand loosely clasped in one of them, its tip pointing at Snape.

Even if Severus harboured any foolish idea of refusing, which he was decidedly not foolish enough to do, he would have reconsidered. "What do you wish this potion to achieve, My Lord?"

"Immortality."

The smile curving the Dark Lord's lips sent a chill down Severus' back because it clashed with the glowing red eyes. Voldemort stood abruptly and signalled for Severus to follow him into the dilapidated study. Severus knew better than to delay, and when he crossed the threshold, he carefully held his face blank as he took in the mess that filled the room. Books, magazines, parchment scrolls, and tiny scraps of parchment covered every conceivable surface. Voldemort had obviously been researching something.

"This potion shall be a one time dose. A true potion of immortality not like the Philosopher Stone's attempt at it. You shall only make one draught and destroy all your notes on it." Picking up a clipping from some paper, Voldemort handed it to him. "I believe you should work around the Immortality Plant – Jiaogulan."

Severus looked at the name wondering where the Dark Lord had discovered its existence.

"You may go. I expect something by the beginning of next summer."

Severus rushed out the door, knowing it was going to one of the few times this summer he would be free of punishment.

§§§῏ᵕ῟§§§

Severus sank into his arm chair and dropped his head back against the seat cushion. 'How'm I supposed to create - in one year - what noone has succeeded in creating since potions were being brewed?' The idea of attempting to be creative – dangerously so – while students were running about and able to witness him blowing up cauldron after cauldron did not appeal to him. That reduced his time to this summer.

Opening his eyes, he stared out the window. Rain was slashing against the panes of glass, washing the grime away to mix with the oil floating on the road. Tomorrow morning the street will look washed clean. Shoving his musings aside, Severus glanced over at the old leather journal sitting on his desk. He needed to write Kasem to let him know that he would not be coming this year.

Pulling himself out of his seat, he mumbled under his breath. "No time like the present."

It only took three steps to have him at desk, and just half a second to have the journal opened. The words etched on the pages made a small smile curl his lips. The committee from the International Potions Association wished they had never put them together, but they had also never thought the diverse group could ever make it. Not one of them spoke the same language, and that was only the first barrier. Types of ingredients, brewing techniques, and cultural beliefs were also used to their advantage instead of the disadvantage they poised to other groups.

The memory of that first meeting pulled him back in time, back to the summer after the downfall of the Dark Lord the first time.

memory ˉᵕˉlane

Severus stared about the large hotel ballroom where the International Potions Association was holding its annual summer convention. The portkey to Calcutta and the convention had cost a good chunk of his saved funds but the escape from Britain was needed. The country was still reeling from the death of Voldemort and the imprisonment of the Death Eaters. The lower level Death Eaters were still being tired and the Daily Prophet was filled with the news, albeit on the middle pages instead of the front one.

Crossing the room, he found a small table near the back of the room where he could see everything and still be able to hear.

"You can't sit here."

Severus looked at the thick set man who spoke, doing his best to decipher his thickly accented English. "Why not?"

When the man spoke again, Severus decided that the accent was Italian. "This table is reserved for speakers. You must sit with a group of other Potions Masters." The man waved Severus to follow him while his dark eyes scanned the room. A brief smile flickered across his face when he spotted what he was looking for.

Severus followed him across the room while attempting to determine what caused the man to smile.

The Italian pulled out a chair and directed Severus to take it. "Here, sit with them. They also did not have group to join, and you would be the last one needed to round out their numbers."

Settling into the seat, Severus looked at the four other members at the table noting all four were of at least Asian descent if not Asian in origin. Nodding to them, he determined his ability to see and hear.

A tap of a hand on the table drew his attention to the man sitting across from him.

The man rested his fingers on his wand as he looked from one to the other. "Araseo?"

"Nǐ tīngdǒng ma?" It was the man to Severus' right who answered, but Severus could tell the language was different.

The man on Severus' left answered, but once again, Severus was positive they were not speaking the same language. "Khâo jai mái khrap?"

The man sitting between the first two speakers spoke up, looking at everyone as he did so. "Wakarimasen. Wakarimasu ka."

The puzzled look on all their faces assured Severus that no one understood the other. "I take it none of you speak English either."

Four sets of dark eyes looked just as blankly at him as they had done for each of the other speakers.

The first speaker held up one finger, his dark blue robes draping back across his arm, and then touched it to his lips and then his ears. He then picked up his wand, looked at each of the table mates, and cast a spell so quickly none had a chance to counter it. "Do you understand me now?"

Severus felt his eyes widen as he nodded with the others. "Can you understand me now?"

The man nodded. "I am glad the translating charm works. I have been working on it for years but never had a chance to truly test it. I am Tchai Jin-sun, from Korea."

The last man to speak stood and bowed slightly to them all. "It is nice to meet you. My name is Chiba Kenji. I am from Japan."

As he sat down the man on Severus' right raised his hands and clasped them at his chest, his pale green robe changing to a dark green as he moved. "I am Hsieh Zhu of China. It is my pleasure to make your acquaintance."

Nodding to the others, Severus introduced himself. "I am Severus Snape from Britain."

"I am Kasem from Thailand." The man on Severus' left watched as the others gave him a puzzled look. "We do not typically use surnames in Thailand, but mine is Chaidee. Please call me by Kasem."

Tchai leaned forward, pitching his voice soft enough not to carry past the edges of the table. "They knew we could not communicate. It is almost as if they intended us not to be able to do whatever they have planned for the rest of the convention."

"They shall be sorely disappointed." Chiba moved slightly, blocking the view of the people at a nearby table who were staring at them. "As long as all of us are willing to prove them wrong that is."

Hsieh pressed his lips together, frowning at the rest of the room. "It maybe because we are new? I know this is my first year here."

Severus nodded toward Hsieh as he chimed in. "Mine as well."

The rest of the table nodded. Kasem searched their faces and grinned. "I had originally thought they were grouping us based on what they thought our nationalities were until they brought Severus." He shot a worried look over at the British Master. "Or do you prefer to be called Snape?"

Severus considered the man for just a moment before deciding. "As it is your country's custom to only use first name, Severus will be fine."

"Thank you, Severus." He stopped speaking when one of the IPA's committee members walked up.

"Excuse me." The man motioned to Severus. "You should not be at this table. There is another, just over there," he pointed to a group of obvious Europeans across the room, "that has a space."

Severus narrowed his eyes before blanking out his expression. "A member from the IPA told me to sit here, and here I will stay. I refuse to be moved again."

"But... but..." The man's French accent was more prominent as he became flustered. "how can you talk to them? They will not be able to understand you?"

Severus stifled his reaction to look at Tchai. "We will work it out. We are Potions Masters after all, used to solving near impossible problems."

memory ˉᵕˉends

It was by the end of their first convention that Chiba suggested they become a permanent group. All five of them agreed. Kasem was the one who charmed the journals and sent them to everyone. Picking up his quill, Severus studied the four other languages that graced the pages. Touching his quill to the first empty line morphed them into words he could understand.

'I'm sorry that I will not be able to meet up with everyone this year. I don't even know if I can make it to the IPA convention.' As soon as he finished writing, Severus moved to shut the journal, not expecting a reply until morning. He stopped as Thai words formed under his. Touching the page, he read.

'What's happening, Severus? I'll help pay for the portkey if you need me to. I'll put you to work in the fields to pay me back like the first time we met here.'

Severus remembered the first summer they met up before going to the IPA convention. It was his second time going and he could not afford the portkey to Thailand and the convention. Kasem covered part of the cost and Severus worked most of the early mornings and late evenings in the potion ingredient fields around the Thai's house. He learned a lot about Thai potion ingredients that week. That was also when they learned about his affiliation to Voldemort. It only takes one exploding cauldron filled with a corrosive potion to have all the covered Potions Masters in the room to strip out of every splattered piece of clothing. The Dark Mark was only one of the things discussed as they cleaned up. Kenji had burn marks on his upper arms from tending a sacred fire in his family's shrine. Kasem had marks across his back that no one knew what made them – he had purposefully oblivated the knowledge from his head – Severus was pretty sure it was a whip. Zhu had a dragon tattoo covering his right shoulder. Jin-sun had scars from a potion accident that occurred when he was an apprentice across his left knee.

Picking up his quill, he started to write Kasem back when Chiba Kenji joined in the conversation.

'You will be there, Severus. I'll chip in to cover the cost if need be. I need some British grown potion ingredients you can bring me to cover the cost. We have too much to discuss, and you promised us you would show us a new way of extracting the essence from dragonfly wings.'

'I can afford the trip. It is the Dark Lord I told you about – he is demanding I make an impossible potion and I have to focus on it. I do not want to detract from our planned potions, but if I am there, I know I would end up being in the way. Kenji, what ingredients do you need? If I can get them, I'll ship them to you.'

Tchai Jin-sun's reply came fast, as if he did not wait for Severus to finish writing. 'All the better reason for you to come. We are good at solving impossible. What does he want you to brew?'

Kenji's answer was right after Jin-sun's. 'I'll tell you once you promise to be at Kasem's.'

Rolling his eyes, Severus wrote quickly. 'A potion to make him immortal, and it has to include Jiaogulan. Kenji, just write up the list and I'll see what I can get to you. I will not promise to be there.'

Hsieh Zhu's distinctive handwriting flowed across the page as soon as the plant's name appeared. 'The Chinese have been attempting to make an immortality potion with that plant for thousands of years. Severus, come to Thailand and hide. We will find somewhere to keep you safe from that madman.'

Severus considered the Chinaman's words for a moment before making a decision.'I will not hide from him. I couldn't even if I wanted to, but I will come just to see what your people, Zhu, have done so far so I do not duplicate it. Kenji, your list.'

'I'm putting it together now, Severus. I am glad you are coming. Research should appease the madman.'

The other three added their agreement to Kenji's thought. Severus was personally glad they were most likely right.

§§§῏ᵕ῟§§§

The portkey landed him near a field Severus was intimately acquainted with. Insects and frogs were filling the twilight with noise. Once upon a time it had made him nervous, but now it made Severus relax. A quick wave of his wand transfigured his heavy robes into lighter ones. Taking in a deep richly scented breath, Severus headed towards Kasem's house.

The light spilled out from the windows and through the cracks around the door greeting Severus as he walked up the hard dirt path. A head was silhouetted in the window and then the door was jerked open.

"Severus! Come on, dinner's being served." Kasem stepped back, allowing the taller Potions Master through.

The greetings that resounded throughout the room as Severus entered were accompanied by the smell of noodles and spices. Sitting down to an authentic classic Pad Thai brought a smile to his face. No matter how the restaurants around his home tried to make Pad Thai, they never succeeded in making it like this.

After the last dish was washed and put away, Jin-sun faced Severus. "Let's see it."

Severus raised an eyebrow, inquiring what the Korean wanted to see.

"The Dark Mark. You said it changed." Jin-sun was joined by the others, each one with a burning curiosity in their face. "We need to see it."

"Need?" Severus shook his head slightly. "I don't think you need to."

Zhu folded his arms and glared at Severus while Kenji spoke. "It became darker when the madman returned, he summons you through it, and now this madman wants you to make him immortal. We would like to see it and determine if there is a way he can use it against you."

Severus searched their faces, looking for their true thoughts. Sighing slightly, he saw what he knew he would. Curiosity, of course, but it was tempered with the willingness to help. Zhu was honest about wanting him to flee the UK and the madman and the others were ready to help as well. They all honestly thought that seeing the Mark would give them some sort of insight on how to proceed. Rolling up his left sleeve, he held his forearm, displaying the black skull and snake. Four heads leaned forward, five wands were held ready just in case, and five minds were whirling about attempting to solve the mystery of the Dark Mark.

Zhu frowned and then sighed. "I need to look at it closer, Severus. Tomorrow morning would be best. There has to be a reason that the madman wants you to only brew one draught and not keep your notes. He can't think he would die if you made it wrong. It is like he thinks that he will survive enough to punish you."

Kenji's eyes glazed over as he thought. "He has to have something tying him to this plane. That is the only way he could have survived and came back. Whatever it is will keep him alive if the potion fails. Then he will kill Severus." Focusing on the others, his expression was extremely serious. "That is something we cannot allow to happen. We all know an immortality potion will not work, so we need to create one that will appear to as to buy Severus time to escape."

Zhu nodded. "And he will flee to one of our homes, or to one that we find for him. Either way, it will be somewhere that the madman can't find him."

Severus knew where each of their houses were, just as they knew where his was. Over the last several years they had alternated which house they met at the week before the convention. If he had to chose a house, he would pick Kenji's – the shrine had several extra rooms and he could work there to pay his way easily.

"Which means that we need to know more about the connections that he has with Severus." Jin-sun could see the acceptance in Severus' face.

"And that means we all have an early morning. Some of us will be harvesting ingredients and some of us will be researching this Mark." Kasem waved them back towards the sleeping areas. "Good night."

Shaking his head slightly, Severus allowed himself to be sent to bed.

§§§῏ᵕ῟§§§

Zhu, Kenji, and Severus crossed the fields to find a place that met everyone requirements. Zhu and Kenji wanted peaceful and full of strong energy. Severus wanted a place far from Kasem's house just in case the Dark Lord learned something of what was happening and decided to track them down.

Zhu spotted just the spot near a small stream under a stand of willows. There was even a rock to sit on. "Here. Severus, just sit on the boulder and we will get started."

Settling, Severus looked at his two friends wondering what they were going to do and what they might find.

Kenji walked the perimeter shaking a long stick with two zigzagged shaped paper streamers hanging off of its top. When he finished, he hung a series of white rectangles with kanji inscribed on them. As the last one fluttered in the light breeze, he nodded to Zhu.

Raising his wand, Zhu drew a circle in the air, making a mirror that showed ghostly reflection of Severus and ribbons streaming from him. "These are all the connection you have with others, living and dead. They are ties that bind your soul either for good or bad. They have been forged by relationships, promises, and desires. The darker the ribbon, the more harmful the connection."

Severus' eyes widened as he took in the number of dark lines. Kenji stepped next to him holding a white rectangle in his grip.

"I used the shide," he nodded towards the stick, " to purify the area to keep out any evil influences." Holding the rectangle up, he read the kanji on it before speaking. "This is an ofuda, a part of a kami resides inside. I will use it to help break the harmful connections, if you are willing."

In the mirror, Severus could see the ofuda glowing a soft white. "Will I remember the reason for the harmful connection?"

Zhu nodded. "You will, but you will no longer have the gut deep emotions that come with them."

"Allow me to decide for each one before it is destroyed. Some may need to stay." At their surprised looks, he smirked. "I do need to keep up the appearance of a Death Eater, and to do so, I need those emotions."

"I will. I cannot tell what the connections are, but you will when I touch it. If you wish me to cut it, focus on the positives the relationship had so you do not lose the positive as well as the negative." Kenji reached out and touched an old black ribbon. "This one?"

Memories of his father swamped Severus, taking his breath away. Blinking, he made a cutting gesture with his hand as he focused on the happier memories.

Kenji pressed the edge of the ofuda to the black ribbon, mumbled a nine word prayer, and pushed the paper through, cutting the ribbon in two. The cut ribbon dissolved, and Kenji moved to the next one.

Tears sprang to Severus' eyes as thoughts of Lily filled him again. His betrayal of her and her betrayal of him were so intertwined that there was no way of separating them. He almost decided to keep this ribbon, but part of his soul, the one that ached for release from the pain, caused him to make a cutting motion with his hand. He held on tight to his childhood memories as the ofuda sliced the ribbon and it disintegrated into dust.

Kenji touched a thick plait ribbon that was a black as midnight. Shuddering, Severus knew he could not let that one be destroyed. He needed his hatred of the Marauders to convince the Dark Lord that he was loyal. Shaking his head no, he saw the doubt in Kenji and Zhu's face. "It allows me to pretend to be a Death Eater. We can cut it later, if you still wish too."

Understanding flooded their expressions and Kenji moved to a dark grey one. Anger and aggravation at Dumbledore came to the front of his mind. A quick cutting motion had Kenji destroying it.

And so it went on. The negative ties to Harry Potter were destroyed; the ones for Lucius and other Death Eaters drifted away like dust; his anger at his mother faded. Eventually there was only the thick ribbon and one black cord left.

Even as Kenji's finger came close to the cord, Severus shook his head no. "It is connected to the Dark Mark. He will know if you touch it."

Zhu stepped forward and waved his wand over the line. "It is a direct link to the madman. It needs to be destroyed Severus."

Severus curled his hand into a fist and glared at the cord. "Only when I leave his service, then it can be banished as the others."

Zhu shook his head. "But … he can pull your power out of you... he can destroy your soul using it."

Severus knew his eyes widened as he blanched. "We can't. I have to be able to answer his summons. He cannot think that I am not loyal. How else can we poison him?"

Kenji pressed his lips together into a thin line. "You need a way to break it quickly, and not just the connection on you, but his connection to everyone of the ties he created to keep him alive. He cannot be allowed to destroy anyone's soul."

"And to do that you need a guardian. A dragon preferably." Zhu cancelled the mirror. "There is only one way to gain a guardian as powerful as you need. Your ancestors must give you them."

Severus snorted and looked at the two men. "I do not have an ancestral shrine."

Kenji's lips tugged up slightly to one side. "You will have to make a temporary one. You have two days to write down every ancestor's name you know. Then we will pray and hope."

§§§῏ᵕ῟§§§

Severus carefully placed the joss sticks into the holders under the names of his ancestors. The others were impressed by the number of names he knew on both sides of his family, but they did not know of the years of researching to find at least one relative that would show that he was fit to be in Slytherin. He wrote the names on rectangles of white rice paper which now hung from two ropes, one for the Snape side and one for the Prince side, that draped on either side of the small wooden building that Kenji had made into a temporary shrine.

Lighting the sticks, he retreated to the centre of the room and knelt down in a ring of protective ofuda, holding a lit joss stick. Kenji, Zhu, Jin-sun, and Kasem all knelt behind him holding their own lit incense sticks surrounded by their own ring of ofuda. Kenji was not trusting that Severus' relatives would be happy about being disturbed as they were not used to being called upon.

Chanting the names of his ancestors in his head, Severus prayed they would answer his call and help him.

For the first several minutes nothing could be felt in the newly made shrine but the tension from the five men. The smoke from the joss sticks were curling slowly towards the ceiling, swirling around the names as they rose. Just as Severus decided his relatives were going to ignore him, the Snape family papers began to flutter. It only took another minute before the Prince family papers did the same.

The joss stick smoke on the Snape line speared over towards the Prince line as if it was attempting to attack them. The Prince line's smoke became a shield and then tangled with the Snape's smoke, soothing it. Severus watched as the two smokes then spiralled towards the ceiling together, and placed his request in the forefront of his mind. He was taken aback by the anger that began to swell on both sides of the shrine. The wind picked up and more smoke swirled about the room caught in the angry gusts.

Severus could feel the uncertainty and protectiveness radiating from behind him and knew his friends were just as worried as he was about what was happening. Even though the anger didn't feel as if it was directed at him, he knew quite well it could easily be released upon him.

The wind began to shake the roof, raining bits of wood down on all the potions masters. Then it vanished, leaving a feeling of resolved intent in its wake.

Raising his eyes to the ceiling, Severus watched as the drifting smoke cloud clung to a form moving through it. There were glimpses of a long tail, a bit of a beard, long antlers, claws, and tips of wings. Eventually the form left the smoke cloud and began its descent to the floor, the smoke still clinging to its scales and outlining its shape. Its front paws touched the floor, one in front of the oldest ancestors of each lines names. Its wings were fanned out, its head stretched out looking at Severus in the face while the rest of its body flowed up the wall, its tail still cloaked in the joss smoke cloud. One front paw moved forward, each of its five claws sounded on the wood individually. As the other paw moved, the dragon seemed to shrink. Another step, and the tip of its tail was now halfway down the wall, and its head was now the size of the largest cauldron Severus had ever seen. Two more steps and the smoke covered dragon curved its neck around the ofuda circle and peered at Severus once again in the face, its neck and front limbs behind him, its claws walking on the ofuda without piercing them. Its body curved and waved until its back legs were on the floor; its tail still trailing up the wall. The dragon continued to wrap around the ofuda circle until Severus became surrounded in its smoky coils, and it looked down on the man's head.

Severus gazed up into the dragon's eyes, knowing he was being judged and hoping that he would be found worthy.

"Severus Snape, child of the Prince and Snape families, bearer of their skills and powers, you have placed yourself into a difficult situation." The dragon shrank even further as it uncoiled from around the kneeling man. Eventually it was only ten feet long and was once again at Severus' eye level. Raising its right front paw, the dragon rested it over the man's heart, its five claws flexing slightly, almost piercing through the dark robes even though they appeared only to be smoke. He swished his tail towards the other four as they leaned forward as if attempting to pull Severus away from him.

Refusing to flinch or drop his eyes, Severus answered truthfully. "Yes, I have. I made a terrible mistake in my youth, and now I am paying for it."

Moving, the dragon twisted its body around Severus' again, this time it was pressed against his robes, its front claws clasping his right shoulder and arm while its belly was against his back. Dark eyes, ones that seemed to see forever, peered straight through him as the head craned about to once again be in his face.

"You request help, not for yourself, but for others. Ones who will suffer because of the man you chose to serve." The dark eyes narrowed, gazing deep into Severus' soul as if hunting the answer to an unspoken question. "But the man is an oathbreaker. He is a lord that does not keep his promises and treats his warriors cruelly and unjustly. He has tied you with bonds you did not agree to."

The wings opened and the smoke dragon flew off of Severus and settled coiled up in front of him. "You tried to make amends for the mistakes you have made, you have worked around the unknown and unjust bonds that tie you admirably, just as your ancestors have done so. The Snape family is filled with warriors, some who fought in the front lines, other who have fought behind the lines, finding information for their kings. The Prince family, descendants of Merlin's forgotten son who took the surname of Prince because he was called the Prince of Magic before he passed unremembered into history, have always been strong in magic, but their true skills lie in the ancient arts such as potion making. Merlin's line has fought against the unjust and unworthy using spells and potions for as long as they have been on this Earth."

Tilting his head slightly to the side, the dragon gave Severus a chance to absorb the knowledge he had just imparted before continuing. "I will accept the task of protecting you."

Relief and joy flooded through Severus quickly followed by suspicion. "What is the cost to me? What do you wish in return?"

The dragon laughed, one of its feet coming to rest on Severus left shoulder. "Ah, you are a wise one. You have learned from your past, this greatly heartens me." The dragon's tail moved, encircling Severus, covering the ofuda. "You shall grant me a reprieve from my boredom. I am an old dragon with no Emperors to advise." The five claws on Severus' shoulder flexed slightly. "You shall also bear the mark of a Shen-lung upon your person, and you must carry me until the task is completed."

"Carry you?" Severus almost didn't care about another mark on his body, at least this one wouldn't be cursed. The Chinese dragons were known to be benevolent.

The dragon nodded. "There are two connections that must be destroyed at the time your task is completed, and to do so I must be touching them. So, you shall carry me. Also, I am a dragon whose phoenix has flown and not returned. While I am with you, you cannot have a relationship – an intimate romantic relationship – with another. I will not agree to my phoenix being disrespected."

Severus blinked, trying to understand what was being said before a memory surfaced. While at Zhu's house he head read the Chinese dragon lore. The Imperial Dragon was paired with a Phoenix as life mates. "My phoenix has flown as well, never to return to me. I can agree to those terms."

The dragon blew out a soft sigh causing the smoke to swirl about them. "I do wish to be around children though. I miss children."

Severus felt a grin curve the edge of his lips. "I do believe I can guarantee children around at least most of the year."

"Then we have a deal, Severus Snape? I protect you and help you with your task. You shall bear the mark of a Shen-lung, carry me, refrain from intimate relationships, and bring me around children. This shall be done until this task is complete, except the mark – you shall bear it until your death."

"We do."

"Stand up, Severus Snape." The dragon waited until he was on his feet and then rose high enough to look him in the eye once again. "You shall call me Yu." He turned his head and peered at the four loyal friends. "You also have permission to call me Yu."

Severus considered Yu before nodding. "Yu, please call me Severus."

Zhu stepped forward. "I am Hsieh Zhu, I would be honoured if you would call me Zhu."

Kenji moved to stand near Zhu. "Chiba Kenji, please call me Kenji."

"I am Kasem." He gestured towards Jin-sun. "And this is Jin-sun."

Jin-sun bowed slightly. "Tchai Jin-sun, call me by whichever name you wish, Master Yu."

Yu peered at all of them as his tail enlarged, flowing around them, encircling them much as he had done just Severus earlier. "Severus, Zhu, Kenji, Kasem, and Jin-sun. Your loyalty and friendship holds you in great stead. Hold true to it and all will be accomplished."

Turning his focus solely on Severus, Yu moved, wrapping himself around the tall man until his head rested on Severus' left shoulder, his body looping around his chest, and his tail wrapping tightly around Severus' left leg. Each dark connection was clasped between a set of claws. His wings then flapped once as he blew out a cool breath. A rain cloud formed near the roof, and a light drizzle fell, settling the smoke and putting out the joss sticks. Yu vanished from sight.

Zhu stared at Severus, his eyes wide. "Severus?" He looked at the last place he saw the dragon and then back to Severus' face. "He is still there?"

Severus raised an eyebrow. "Yu said he would be. Yes, he is still here."

The other three walked over, closing the distance and carefully surrounding Severus. Zhu shot a wondering look at where Yu must be. "An Imperial Dragon? I know we were hoping for a dragon to guard you and help you, but an Imperial one? They only chose the most worthy … one fit to rule."

Severus gave a quick negative shake of his head. "You heard him, he said he was bored. That is the only real reason he opted to come along. Must be because there are no current Emperors in China, so he decided to go travelling."

The others just nodded, not positive what to think.