This is one of my favorite chapters, especially the second part. Enjoy.

This chapter is dedicated to Daydreaming, who found her muse.

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The Book of Carmen

Chapter XV: Orballa

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The next few days were very busy at Hogwarts. Each person who had been in Dumbledore's office had been given certain tasks to perform before and after the students arrived back at school. McGonagall was busy contacting the other professors and relating, in part, what was going to happen when they returned to the school and asking them to brush up on defense spells. Hagrid spent most of his time in the Forbidden Forest rounding up the last remaining unicorns and good-natured beasts that dwelt within the wood. He was also supposed to meet with the centaurs and try to convince them to leave the forest, if only for a short while, until the danger had passed. Harry guessed Hagrid was somewhat nervous about the latter task because he had heard him practicing his speech to the centaurs several times under his breath.

Remus' sole task was to get back to full health. Although he had contended that he was absolutely fine and that he could help with the preparations, Dumbledore insisted that he remain in the hospital wing under the care of Madam Pomfrey, until all of his injuries were completely healed. So for the remaining few nights before the students returned, Remus sat in the hospital wing alone, except for a shaggy black dog that would appear every night and sleep in the bed opposite Remus, until his friend had healed.

That was the most that anyone saw of Sirius during those few days. Even though Harry saw him more than the others, their visits would only last a couple of hours. Sirius would check in on Harry throughout the day and help him with whatever he was doing. They also ate their meals together, but conversations between them were brief. Harry could sense that there was something that Sirius wanted to tell him, but wasn't able to find the words. Harry didn't mind much, he enjoyed the time they spent together, even if it was tainted under the dark threat of the Book. No one knew where Sirius was when he wasn't with Harry. Most of the group believed he was with Dumbledore, but Harry had seen Sirius many times walking outside in the gardens or up and down the halls with the great sword in his hands.

Dumbledore had said that once he dropped the magical defenses that protected the castle not only would Selene and the Book be able to get in, but also all of the creatures that made up her dark entourage. Therefore, most of the rooms in the castle had to be closed off from the beasts. Professor Snape had been working nonstop on a potion that prevented her Dark creatures from entering a room, so he was rarely seen by anybody. Not that this bothered Harry any. However, if the potion should fail Dumbledore instructed that the rooms that held the more precious and rare magical objects were to be emptied, and their cargo placed in the vaults, deep under the castle's foundation. This job was left to Harry and McGinn. They had already emptied the Great Hall as well as most of the classrooms. Today they had spent the better part of the afternoon emptying the library. They had finished emptying the main section and had progressed to the restricted section, where Harry was being extra careful not to open any of the books, remembering all too well the screaming book that he had encountered during his first year. Harry picked up a slim green book and examined its cover where he found no title, "What is inside of this book?" he asked.

He handed the book over to Will who inspected it with care, "I believe that book discusses the many uses of dragon intestines."

He handed the book to Harry who scrutinized the cover. "How do you know that? The book has no title."

"Because that is what the cover is made of." Will said and smiled as Harry flung the book on top of the cart and wiped his hand on his robes. The book sat on top on the pile for a few moments before sliding off and hitting the floor. A few seconds later several other books followed suit.

 "The cart looks pretty full. I think it is time we took the load down to the vaults," Will said. Harry nodded and together they restacked the cart and headed down the hallway. They turned a corner and were surprised to find Dumbledore headed in their direction.

"Headmaster," Will said in greeting.

"Good afternoon William. I gather that you are taking these books to the vault. Am I correct?"

Harry and Will nodded.

"Well if you don't mind, I'll accompany Harry this time."

Will nodded, "Of course. I'll return to the library and continue our work there."

Harry and Dumbledore continued their way to the vault. After they had deposited the books Harry started to walk back the way they had came. "Wait a second Harry, there is something that I would like to show you," Dumbledore said and turned down a different path. Harry followed as the old wizard took him up several staircases and down several hallways. Eventually Dumbledore stopped in front of a large wall. Harry was about to ask why they had stopped at that specific moment when Dumbledore said, "Mooncalf." The walls began to separate and a large statue emerged from where the wall had been.

Harry's face must have revealed his amazement because Dumbledore smiled at him and said, "It is rather impressive, isn't it?"

The statue was that of a sphinx. "Harry, do you know what happens to sphinxes who run out of riddles?" Dumbledore asked.

Harry looked up at the great stone beast, "Er…they turn into stone?"

"Yes. But even as stone they remain the best guardians. Stone sphinxes are very rare. If you ever run across one know that there is something very special in its keep." Dumbledore raised his arms, "Laeve Rru Oyterces." Harry watched as the stone eyes of the sphinx began to lift, revealing a bright yellow light. Dumbledore turned around and Harry followed suit. Where the light from the eyes of the sphinx had struck the wall behind them there was now a doorway. Harry followed Dumbledore through the doorway and as he stepped into the dark hallway he heard the sounds of scraping stone as the giant sphinx disappeared into the wall.

Dumbledore whispered a few words and suddenly the hallway was full of light as the torches that lined the walls began to light themselves. "Where does this lead?" Harry asked.

"To a very special place." Dumbledore said and Harry left it at that. They walked for what seemed like hours to Harry who was anticipating seeing what was at the end of the tunnel. Finally, the tunnel widened into a large set of stone doors.  Dumbledore reached into his robes and pulled out his large ring of keys. Harry recognized the golden key used to unlock the silver cabinet in Dumbledore's office. However, it was a large stone key that Dumbledore now singled out, "no one has entered this room in over a hundred years," he said and then slipped the key into the keyhole. The entire tunnel groaned as the massive lock unlatched. The doors opened and a burst of air blew Harry's hair about his face. Harry expected the air to be stale, but instead it was warm and fresh.

Harry stepped into the room, his footsteps echoing behind him. The room was massive, almost twice the size of the Great Hall. There were some sort of carvings that lined the walls, but the light was too dim to make them out. What was amazing was that the entire room had a golden luster to it. It was if someone had thrown buckets of glitter onto the floor, ceiling, and walls. Harry put his hand to one of the walls and was shocked to find that the surface of the stone was transparent, and that the glowing originated beneath the surface rather than on top. Dumbledore stepped back into the tunnel and took one of the torches from its holder. He handed it to Harry, "Touch the fire to the wall."

Harry did was he was told. As the flames licked the surface of the wall the glowing that was underneath the flame grew and then began to spread across the wall and unto the others. It swept across the ceiling and the floor. Harry looked down at his feet. It looked as if he was standing upon thousands and thousands of stars. With the added light Harry could see the carvings clearly. Each carving was not a separate piece of art, but a continuous one that wrapped the room with stories of the wizarding world. Harry followed the adventures of ancient Celtic, Greek, and Chinese wizards as his eyes traversed the wall in front of him. He examined the carving closest to him. There was a great wizard there, and next to him was a large stone that read,

I am hight Escalibore, Unto a king fair tresore.

 "What is this place?" Harry asked.

"It is the very heart of Hogwarts. It is the center of its magic and its power."

"Who made the room? Who carved these statues? Was it the founders?"

"No. These walls were born long before Hogwarts was constructed. The founders of this school found this room and realized that it was a place of immense goodness and wisdom. They built the school around it and named the room Orballa. As for the sculptor, no one can say for sure. But whoever it is continues to sculpt. Let me show you something," Dumbledore said and led Harry over to the far wall and told him to examine one piece of the intricate stone story.

A young mother held her small child in her arms. The baby was smiling and looking back at her. In the next panel the child was alone in his crib, looking wide-eyed at a dark figure in the room. Harry looked eagerly at the next panel. The robed figure pointed his wand and a small wisp of carved smoke seeped out of it. In the next panel the robed figure was gone, leaving only the small weeping child with a scar on his forehead. Harry stood back from the wall and placed a hand to his own forehead. He realized that he was looking at himself on the wall. "I thought you said that no one had been in here in a hundred years," he said.

"No one has. Our artist resides within," Dumbledore said motioning towards the walls and ceiling.

"But why me?"

"This room is in itself a history of magic, more specifically it relates the events of when good conquered darkness. Is it now any surprise to you that you are counted among its records?"

Harry said nothing, his eyes going back to the first panel. With a lazy finger he traced the outline of the mother, his mother, on the wall.

"This is not the only reason I brought you here," Dumbledore said. "This room will soon hold more than history, but all the staff and students of this school. The entity that has taken control of Selene will not be able to pass through that door, because this room was constructed by pure magic, untainted and unaltered over the centuries. It is the antithesis to the being that lives in that Book. It fears this room and what it represents and it is that fear that keeps the evil from entering." Dumbledore paused for a moment, "Myself, Sirius, Remus, and William will remain outside of these walls in an attempt to demolish the evil in that Book. I brought you down here to offer you the choice of joining us or remaining within these walls with your classmates."

Harry looked at Dumbledore bewildered. Although he had wanted to help Sirius, he had never thought that he'd be offered this kind of opportunity. Not to mention that he had no idea what he could do to help the others, "What could I do to help?" 

"The entity within the Book is not a fool. It will try to divide us, turn us against each other and ourselves. Harry, you are living proof that evil can be overcome. I know you don't relish in hearing it, but you are The Boy Who Lived, and that fact alone adds strength to our efforts. Understand that I am not trying to pressure you into doing anything. I'd prefer that you would stay here, where it is safe. But I know that you are growing up and it is your choices that will determine what kind of man you will become, so I'm offering you this choice. There is honor in whatever decision you make as your classmates will need you as well."

Harry stood silent for a few minutes. He wasn't pondering his answer as much as he was thinking about how no adult had ever treated him as an equal, not to the extent that Dumbledore had just done. Harry felt himself stand a little straighter and hold his head a little higher as he said, "I want to stay with Sirius."

~*~

Remus had to admit to himself that he was more than a little drunk. It was the eve before the students came back to Hogwarts, the eve before they openly invited evil into the school. Considering they were all likely to die very unpleasant deaths in the next twenty-four hours, Remus had deemed this a perfect time to raid Snape's liquor cabinet. Remus was currently attempting to find Sirius, and his impaired senses made his task very difficult.

Remus found his way into the gardens and found his old friend sitting on a stone bench and the great sword lying beside him. "Beautiful night, don't you think?" Remus said gesturing to the waning moon above them.

Sirius raised an eyebrow at his friend, "Better than tomorrow will be I expect."

Remus raised his bottle, "I'll drink to that."

Sirius watched as Remus lifted the wine bottle to his lips and gulped down several swallows. "That hits the spot." Remus said, swaying slightly on his feet.

"How much have you had?" Sirius asked.

"Enough that I no longer care how much I've had," Remus answered.

"Perhaps you should sit."

"Good idea," Remus said and tried to sit beside Sirius on the bench, but his eyes fooled him and he miscalculated the edge of the seat by about five inches. Sirius reached out to grab his friend, but Remus fell anyway, landing on a soft patch of grass in front of the bench. Instead of getting up and trying again, Remus made himself comfortable on the grass.

"You never could hold your liquor," Sirius said, smiling for the first time in days.

"I'll have you know that my blood is still heavy with all those potions Pomfrey forced down my throat. If it weren't for them I would be absolutely fine," Remus said, emphasizing the last two words with broad gestures with the wine bottle, spilling a few drops on his hand and Sirius' shoes. Sirius took the bottle from Remus and examined the label.

"This is a pretty nice wine. Snape's office?"

Remus nodded.

"Second closest …" Sirius started.

"Fifth cabinet on the right." Remus finished. His tone turned serious as he looked up at his friend, "I wanted to thank you for staying with me the last couple of nights."

"I didn't think you realized that I was there."

"Of course I did." Remus sat back and rested the back of his head on the edge of the bench, "It felt almost like old times."

"Almost." Sirius responded.

Remus' eyes drifted to Sirius, "He's with us you know."

"That's what they tell me."

"Of course he is. I can see him in Harry, and I'm not just talking about his looks. He has James' spirit, his passion for life."

Sirius nodded.

Remus continued, his tone somewhat lighter, "Sometimes I can almost hear James whispering in my ear, trying to convince me to join in on the next crazy stunt or rattling off about Lily or Harry. In fact, I believe that he is whispering to me right now."

"That's the liquor talking."

"No…no…He's telling me that you, my friend, need a drink," Remus said rummaging through his robes.

"Thanks, but I'm not that fond of red wine."

"I know. That's why I brought this," Remus said pulling out a bottle of firewhisky.

Sirius smiled, "Well, as long as it's Snape's." Remus smiled and nodded handing Sirius the bottle. Sirius sniffed the amber liquid and then took a long drink. He felt a wave of warmth as the alcohol flooded his stomach and his senses. His eyes strayed to the sword and he picked it up, watching the stars dance upon the blade.

Remus watched his friend, "Can I ask you something?"

Sirius nodded.

"Why are you wielding the sword? I mean, why does it have to be you? Where's Dumbledore in all this? It is a lot to ask from anybody, let alone from the man that loves her. Why doesn't Dumbledore kill it?"

"I chose to do it."

"Why?" Remus asked climbing onto the bench.

"You said it yourself, because I am the man who loves her. I am her husband, and therefore it is my responsibility to free her, or as the case may be, kill her. I will not put that weight on anyone else's shoulders."

"Then know that your friends are with you Sirius," Remus said, putting his hand on his friend's shoulder. "Whatever you decide to do, whatever outcome is to be, I am with you, Harry is with you, and I know Selene is with you."

Sirius inhaled deeply, letting the air out in long slow sighs. Remus took the sword from him and laid it aside and raised his wine bottle once more, "To laughing in the face of danger."

Sirius raised his bottle and he knocked it against Remus'. After they both drank Remus said, "Women. They have you head over heels for them one minute, and then threaten to expunge your existence the next."

Maybe it was the alcohol, maybe it was the way Remus said it, or maybe he just needed it, whatever the reason Sirius started laughing uncontrollably. Remus also started laughing which ended ultimately in his falling off the bench again. Together both he and Sirius drank Snape's liquor and laughed until dawn, forgetting what lay only a few hours away, and comforted by the other's friendship.

~*~

Orballa is a combination of Gaelic words meaning "gold" and "wall."