~*~

The Book of Carmen

Chapter XIX: A Martyr's Mark

~*~

"Well that didn't go very well," Remus said picking himself off of the floor, cradling his left arm. He walked over and knelt beside Sirius and Harry, "Are you two okay?" Sirius and Harry nodded.

"What happened?" Will asked, "Why did Selene…Voldemort…whoever…react to Sirius' curse the way she did, when she shook off all of ours?"

"I think I may be able to answer that," Dumbledore said, dabbing at his cuts with a freshly conjured bandage. "Sirius, am I correct in remembering that your original wand was broken when you battled the Death Eater last November?"

Sirius nodded.

"And you purchased your second wand at Ollivander's?"

Sirius nodded again.

"Do you remember anything that Ollivander said about this wand, anything that struck you as peculiar?"

Sirius started to shake his head, but stopped,  "He wouldn't let me pay for it, Ollivander, he said he felt very odd charging me for this wand."

Sirius saw the twinkle return to Dumbledore's eyes, "And what is the core of your new wand?"

"Unicorn hair."

"And what was the core of James' wand?"

"Unicorn hair, but what does that…" Sirius stopped mid-sentence and looked very carefully at his wand. He knew that he had felt a special connection with it but he never would have guessed the reason.

"Are you implying that his wand belonged to James Potter?" William asked.

"Impossible," Remus said, "James' wand was destroyed when he was killed."

"Yes, but its core was not," Dumbledore said. "The wand was shattered, but the strands of unicorn hair were intact. I returned them to Ollivander to see if they could be rebound into a new wand. I believe that new wand found its new home with Sirius."

"Even so, how does that explain what happened here?" Remus asked.

"James died fighting to protect his family. He died a martyr's death, protecting those he loved from the evil that sought to destroy them. Just as Lily's love permanently left a mark on Harry, James' sacrifice permanently marked the core of his wand with the power of his sacrifice. The Book can not understand that power and therefore can not repel it."

"Is the wand's power enough to destroy the Book?" Sirius asked.

"No, the evil has become too great to be destroyed by Sirius' wand alone. Sirius' attack surprised the entity. It has gone to lick its wounds, but it will return."

"Then we are back were we started," Will said picking up the fallen sword.

"You can forget that," Sirius said, "things have changed. I will not use that sword to harm my wife or my child."

Will nodded, "Very well, I'll do it."

"Like hell you will!" Sirius exclaimed. "I will kill you before I allow you to touch her."

"You don't even know for sure if she is pregnant. Voldemort could have lied just to get to you."

"For once, I believe that Voldemort was telling the truth," Dumbledore said, interrupting the two men. "I also believe that his revelation cost him more than he realized."

"What do you mean?" Sirius asked.

"I had believed that Selene, what is left of her spirit and mind, would be weak and fragile, too much so to help us. However, if she retained enough of her power to protect her child, that magic could be called upon and it could be used to set her free."

"It would destroy the Book and keep her safe?" Harry asked.

Dumbledore nodded, "the child as well."

Remus shifted uneasily on his feet, hating to play the devil's advocate, "What if Selene wasn't able to protect her child. I mean…what if her magic isn't as strong as you believe it to be?"

Dumbledore shook his head, "I don't think that's the case. If the Book had been able to consume all of Selene's magic then it would not have been as affected as it was by Sirius' wand."

"How do you propose that we help her?" Will asked.

"The stronger Selene's magic is, the harder it is for the Book to maintain a hold on her. If we can strengthen her magic then she might be able to break away from the Book for a short time, during which we destroy the actual book that holds the entity. Without Selene or the book to hold its spirit, the entity, along with Voldemort, will not be able to maintain any hold on of the physical realm and would dissipate."

"How can we strengthen her?" Sirius asked.

"There is a spell, a very old and ancient spell. I believe it is still in my office."

"Well let's go get it," Will said hurrying towards the door. "We don't know when she'll come back."

"Have patience William. I do not believe that Selene will return tonight. I must see that my students and my staff are well and inform them on what happened here tonight. Besides it will do us all some good to rest and eat something before we confront Selene again."

The tired group nodded, as their adrenaline stopped and they realized how exhausted they were. Dumbledore placed his hands on the doorknobs and then turned around to face the others, "Although Selene may not return, I would not be surprised if some of her pets were still lurking the halls. Be careful."

~*~

Ron almost cheered out loud as he watched all five of the remaining figures in the room begin to leave the Great Hall. "Do you think this means that it's over?" Hermione asked.

Ron shook his head, "I don't know, but at least they're all alive."

A few minutes later they heard a scraping sound coming from the door. Several students gasped, thinking that it was the monster again, but Ron and Hermione knew that it was merely the key. The door swung wide and revealed a smiling Dumbledore, who didn't seem to notice the long jagged cuts that ran down his face. Behind him was Will who looked paler than Ron ever remembered seeing him. Another man entered, his face obscured by his hood, and whom Ron assumed was Remus. The last two members of the party entered, Harry followed by a very large dog.

Harry ran to meet Ron, Hermione, and Ginny. The latter two received great hugs, while he and Ron exchanged looks of relief at the other's well being. "Here," Ron said handing the Marauder's Map back to Harry, "this belongs to you."

Harry shook his head, "No, keep it for now."

"You mean that it's not over?" Hermione asked.

Harry shook his head. The cowled man and the dog approached the small group of friends.

"Siri-" Ron began, but Hermione cut him off.

"Snuffles!" She exclaimed, throwing Ron a don't-forget-why-he's-a-dog look. She then bent down and patted Sirius on the head. "We're glad you all are okay."

Sirius gave a friendly bark, which caught the attention of a couple of students, but after the last few hours, a great black dog in the middle of a glowing room did not seem that out of the ordinary.

"We are glad to see you are safe as well Miss Granger," Remus said beneath the hood of his cloak. He tilted his head up to look at the ceiling. The soft glow of the room illuminated his face faintly, but it disappeared when he looked down again, "This is quite an impressive room. I can't believe something as great as this slipped under our noses while we were here."

Sirius barked again and pulled at the hem of Remus' robes with his teeth in the direction of where the professors were now talking with Dumbledore. "Alright, I'm coming," Remus said. "We well see you later," he said to Harry and then walked back towards the professors.

As they walked away Harry heard Remus say, "Padfoot, heel," which was followed by a low growl from the dog. "Sorry, I was just going for authenticity," Remus said, causing Harry, Ron, and Hermione to laugh.

Remus listened to the laughter behind him, glad that his attempt to lighten the mood was well received. As he and Sirius approached the staff of Hogwarts he was able to discern some of the conversation, "…can't be possible…the door…wide open…lost an eye…."

Dumbledore looked up as they approached and smiled, "You all remember Remus Lupin," he said as an introduction. Several of the professors gasped and Remus himself was surprised at how casually Dumbledore introduced him. The group was silent for a few moments as Remus waited for the inevitable question. It came from a professor that Remus did not recognize.

"Headmaster, do you think it is wise to have a…a…werewolf in here with the children, especially now?" His hood obscured Remus' vision, but he knew that if he had looked he would have seen a large smile on Severus Snape's face.

"Just a little while ago Remus came face to face with the monster that attempted to get in here, as we all did. He exhibited great courage and strength of will as he battled the creature both physically and mentally. I assure you that the children are in more danger without Professor Lupin's presence," Dumbledore said.

Remus felt very grateful for Dumbledore's words. The words seemed to appease the other professors as well as comfort his own mind. Also, Dumbledore had called him "Professor Lupin," he had forgotten how much he had liked the sound of that.

"Well, if that's the case, why the hood?" Snape asked, looking for a way to chew through Dumbledore's praise.

Remus cleared his throat, "For the sake of the students. They have been through enough tonight and I do not wish to add any more stress to an already intense situation. They may not be as inclined to trust me as my former colleagues," Remus said, very aware of the slight bitter tone in his voice. He was glad when no one pressed the matter, and even more glad when no one mentioned Sirius' presence. He assumed that Dumbledore felt, and he agreed, that the professors would be less inclined to trust Sirius than himself.

"So what's the plan?" Remus asked, trying to get the conversation in a new direction.

"In a few minutes I will be returning to my office to fetch the document that contains the spell we hope will destroy the entity that resides within the Book of Carmen. After which I will return here and we will wait until the creature returns."

"If you don't mind headmaster, I would like to accompany you. I would like to survey the damage to the doors and reapply coatings of the salve," Snape said and Dumbledore nodded.

Sirius nudged Remus' shoe, but Remus was already talking, "We, my dog and I, would like to come as well."

"Why?" Snape sneered.

"Dumbledore said that there might still be dark creatures wandering the halls," Remus said, "I figure there's safety in numbers."

Dumbledore nodded, "Very well."

The students all turned their attention to the door as it opened once more. Dumbledore and Sirius had already gone back into the tunnel, with Snape following closely behind. Remus was about to join them when he saw Harry running towards him. "Are you going to Dumbledore's office already?" Harry asked. Remus nodded. "I want to come with you," Harry said.

Remus shook his head, "Not this time Harry." Harry looked like he was about to protest. Remus held up a hand, "Stay here with your friends. We'll be back in no time. I promise."

Harry nodded and reluctantly returned to his friends and Remus turned and walked reluctantly out of the room. He had volunteered to go, but Remus did not kid himself by thinking that he wanted to leave the safety of the glowing room for the uncertainness of the dark tunnel. He caught up with the others, and was slightly surprised to find three men, instead of two. "Heel? Really Remus, when did you ever know me to heel?" Sirius asked.

Remus pulled his hood down and smiled, "I was trying to lighten the mood."

"For some reason I don't quite believe you," Sirius said. Remus cocked an eyebrow but said nothing.

"Would you two stop babbling like two old hags and keep an eye out for danger," Snape hissed.

Sirius and Remus glared at Snape but said nothing, and continued the walk to Dumbledore's office in silence. Snape split from the group and returned to his office. Dumbledore had suggested that Remus or Sirius accompany him, but Snape refused any company and had walked off hurriedly. As they reached the entrance to Dumbledore's office they heard a low growl and then bright green sparks coming from the direction they had left Snape. "Severus is in trouble," Dumbledore said. "Go help him."

"What about you?" Sirius asked.

"I'll be fine. Severus needs your assistance now, not me."

Before Remus or Sirius could protest Dumbledore went up the stairs and into his office. Sirius and Remus exchanged quick glances and then ran to find Snape.

Dumbledore hurried up the stairs, mentally scanning through all his books for the one spell that he needed. On the surface his office seemed to be empty, since Harry and William had taken all its contents to the vaults. However, there were certain volumes, certain ancient volumes, which still remained in the office. Dumbledore pulled out his large set of keys again and singled out a very plain looking copper key, which he tapped seven times on one of the walls. The stone creaked in response and opened to reveal a hidden compartment of books. Dumbledore singled out one of the dusty volumes and closed the small door. He flipped through its brown and stiff pages until his long fingers found the page he was looking for. His eyes glanced over the spell and the corners of his mouth turn upwards in the making of a smile. For the first time since he had brought the idea up to the others he found himself believing that it was actually going to work.

A cloud passed by the window, darkening the room slightly. Dumbledore brought the book closer to his face to read the small writing, but the closer he brought the book, the darker the room became. He looked out the window and realized that it was no cloud's shadow that had darkened the room. Slowly, he set the book down and withdrew his wand from his robes.