Boy it has been a while since I've updated. My deepest apologies for the wait.

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The Book of Carmen

Chapter XXII: Nameless Faces

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Sirius found himself in a dark room, without any idea how he got there. To call it a room was not entirely accurate, as it was pitch black and Sirius could not see his hands, let alone any walls, but yet he felt surrounded and trapped, nonetheless.

A faint light appeared in front of him, and he blinked to see if the light was real or a trick of his mind.... The light expanded and as it did Sirius saw three figures come into focus. He was stunned to see Remus, Harry, and Dumbledore now standing where the light had been. He ran to them and called their names, but they did not answer. Their attention was focused on something that he could not see. Suddenly the three in front of Sirius took out their wands and began to attack an unseen enemy. They fought without creating any sound, engaged in a ghost dance. "Harry?" Sirius asked, but Harry didn't respond, nor acknowledge his godfather's presence in any way. Sirius watched in confusion and saw Remus stop suddenly and look down at his chest. Sirius followed his gaze, and saw a red stain branch out on his robes. Remus touched them and pulled away two red fingers. He looked at them for a moment, seemingly confused, and then fell backwards, "Remus!" Sirius yelled and grabbed for his friend, but his hand found only air.

Remus laid back and clenched his fists. Once more Sirius tried to touch him, to comfort him, but his hand went through his friend. Remus blinked several times, each time leaving his eyes closed for a longer time, until he stopped and his eyes lay open and still. "Remus!" Sirius screamed, feeling helpless. He looked at Dumbledore and Harry still locked in combat. No sooner had he looked at them, then Dumbledore fell as Remus had, his twinkling blue eyes dulled.

Sirius got up and stood in front of Harry, now the lone player in the phantom battle. Harry raised his wand to Sirius and curses surged from his wraith wand and through Sirius, into whatever enemy Harry was fighting. Sirius watched him fight and then watched as he dropped his wand and clawed at invisible fingers around his neck. His attacker then lifted Harry from the ground and Sirius watched Harry gasp for air. Then his neck snapped to the side and he dropped to the ground, his ghostly glasses falling from his face and landing in front of Sirius. "No!" Sirius yelled. "What is this? Where am I?" he called into the darkness.

The three ethereal bodies vanished as a brilliant light appeared behind him and Sirius turned to see Selene standing behind him. Unlike the others, she was looking straight at him, with a half smile on her lips. "Selene?" he asked hesitantly, remembering the trickery of the night before.  She nodded and her smile deepened, revealing a hint of teeth. Sirius smiled, realizing that this was indeed Selene. She didn't speak, but nodded to the side, indicating for him to look down. Sirius complied and saw that in her hand, was the hand of a child who was hiding behind Selene's robes.

Sirius knelt down and pushed the robes away revealing the cherub face of a little girl, who clung tightly to Selene. He looked up, "Is this…" Sirius asked.

She nodded and bent down to whisper something into the toddler's ear. The little girl smiled and let go of Selene and reached for Sirius, but before she was able to touch him her hand grew faint and disappeared. Sirius looked up at Selene and saw her skin illuminated with thousands of tiny dots, which seemed to be moving towards the center of her body, as if he were looking at sand in a sieve. It was the same with his daughter. Sirius wanted to wrap his arms around them, but when he reached for them, their faint figures exploded with thousands of tiny lights. Sirius stood back and watched them settle to the ground, and stood amazed.  For whenever a tiny light touched the ground another figure appeared.

Sirius soon found himself in the middle of thousands of pale faces staring back at him. Some were adults, but most were children. Ron was there with Hermione, and the Weasley girl with Harry beside her. Remus stood beside Harry, the blood still on his robes. As Sirius stood looking at figure of his friend, a sensation hit him. It was a sensation that froze his senses and stilled his heart. It was death. Finally, he understood. All these people around him were dead, or would be if the Book of Carmen was allowed to manifest itself. He walked up to Remus' apparition, "You were wrong, my friend. These are not nameless faces," he said, and for the first time knew what he had to do.

Sirius awoke with a start and was surprised to find himself still concealed under the invisibility cloak. Remus was sleeping to his right, with his head resting on Sirius' shoulder. Sirius could feel his heart beating fiercely in his chest. He knew what he had experienced was much more than a mere dream. The sensations had been much too vibrant for it to be a mere product of his subconscious. He looked about the dark room, with Hogwarts' many students asleep in their sleeping bags. The only light was the faint luster of the carved walls. Sirius stared at the walls and their light reminded him of the tiny lights that had consumed Selene. He wondered if the magic of this room had something to do with what he had experienced.

He gently shifted Remus' head and laid it against the wall. The wizard stirred. Sirius stood and removed the invisibility cloak. He located Will's sleeping bag and began to walk towards it.

"Where do you think you're going?" Remus whispered.

"To finish it," Sirius replied.

"What do you mean by that?" Remus whispered, stepping over a sleeping Hufflepuff.

Sirius didn't answer, but continued to make his way over to Will. He leaned down and shook Will's shoulder, until the wizard awoke. "Where is it?" Sirius asked.

"What?" Will asked, moving out from Sirius' grasp.

"The sword!" Sirius whispered impatiently.

Will got up quickly and pulled the scabbard from underneath a spare sleeping bag and handed it to Sirius. Sirius pulled the blade out and then sheathed it and headed towards the door. Will looked at Remus for an explanation. Remus met Will's eyes and shrugged slightly. He then followed Sirius and once he caught up with him he laid a hand on his shoulder, forcing the other wizard to turn, "Sirius, you don't have to do this," Remus said, "we can find another way."

Sirius turned back towards the door, and closed his eyes, "There is no other way." Quietly he opened the door and turned back to Remus, "I have to do this," he said pulling the door behind him.

Remus caught the door before it shut, "Then I'm coming with you."

"As am I," Will said, pulling on his robes as he approached them.

~*~

Harry watched Sirius, Will, and Remus from a distance and although he couldn't hear what they were saying, he was sure he knew what they were doing. "Harry, what's going on?" Ron asked with sleep filled voice.

"They are going to stop her. Sirius has the sword," Harry said.

"What?" Ron asked, much more alert.

Hermione stirred, "It's five in the morning, go back to sleep," she said.

"Sirius left to stop Selene," Ron whispered to her and she sat up watching the three figures at the door.

"I'm going with them," Harry said suddenly, but Ron pulled him back down.

"Are you crazy?"

"Ron, I have to do this. Whatever happens, I'm already a part of it. I have to see this to the end."

Hermione wasn't buying it, "What good will you be to anyone dead, which is what you will be if you decide to go with them. Right Ron?"

Ron studied Harry for a moment and then let him go, "Alright, but I'm coming with you."

"Ron!" Hermione yelled. Then she paused for a few minutes before saying, "I'm coming too."

Harry smiled, "No. I have a feeling that you both will be needed here. Besides, you need to keep an eye on the Map."

Ron started to protest, but Harry stopped him, "Wish me luck?"

Ron smiled, "Good luck."

"Good luck," Hermione repeated.

Harry just managed to catch the door before it swung shut. He did not want to draw attention to himself, because he knew that if Sirius saw him, he would not allow him to go any further. He caught up the others, but held back and stayed just beyond the reaches of the light that the wizards' wands provided. He was, however, still able to hear their voices.

"I assume that you have some sort of plan?" Will asked.

"Not really," Sirius answered.

"Are we just going to stand around in the Great Hall and wait?"

"We are not going to the Great Hall," Sirius said, hiding the great sword under his robes.

"Then where are we going?"

"Up."

As the small group walked they passed by the Great Hall and many of the classrooms. Harry found it almost surreal to think that only a few weeks ago these classrooms were full of students, and now they were empty and dark. They passed by many paintings that had been shredded with claws and talons, some damaged beyond restoration. Harry felt a deep sense of sadness at the state of his school, his home.

When they began to climb the staircase north of Gryffindor tower, Harry knew where they were going. His suspicions proved correct when Sirius opened the door that led to one of the flat stretches of roof. Will shut the door behind him, but Harry opened it again and slid through, careful to stay in the shadows.

Sirius turned to Remus, "I need you to do something for me."

A pained expression crossed Remus' face, "You want me to bring her here."

Sirius nodded.

"I'll try," Remus said and sat down. He closed his eyes and tried to focus on all the anger and fear inside of him. When he thought that it would overwhelm him, he felt her presence. "She's near the castle," Remus said.

Will looked over the short wall bordering the roof, and Sirius did the same on the opposite side. "How close?"

Remus closed his eyes. The scratching voices inside of his head were growing louder, "Really close." He turned to Sirius, "Are you sure you want to do this?"

Sirius nodded. A noise alerted the group and caused them to whirl around with their wands pointed. "Selene?" Sirius asked.

"Um…no," Harry said stepping from the shadows.

"Harry? What are you doing here?" Sirius asked.

"I followed you."

"Harry, I left you in that room for a reason," Sirius said, but he never got to state that reason. A high cry was heard on the wind, and they turned to see Selene materialize in front of them.

"You called?" she hissed.

~*~

Ron and Hermione had been watching the Marauder's Map wordlessly. They had just seen Selene's dot appear on the page. Ron's stomach was full of butterflies, not so much because he was nervous or afraid, but because he felt like there was something that he should be doing. "I have a feeling that something bad is going to happen," he said loud enough to wake the others around him.

Hermione nodded, "I agree, but what can we do?"

"We have to get up there," Ron said, "and help them."

"We can't do this by ourselves."

Ron nodded and looked at his fellow Gryffindors who had just awoken, "Anyone up for an adventure?"

A few shook their heads, but most just looked at him with sleep filled eyes, "Go back to sleep Ron," one of them muttered.

"Listen, are we going to let something keep us prisoner in our own school?" Ron said, his voice stirring others awake. "Or are we going to fight back?"

"It's too dangerous," one girl said, "let the adults handle it."

Ron knew that he was losing the group's attention, and time was not on their side, so he took a chance, "Dumbledore's injured, did you know that?" Ron asked.

Several students gasped and some looked like they were about to cry. Ron wondered if he had gone too far. "How?" a Hufflepuff asked as he and few others joined around Ron and Hermione.

"A Dark creature," Hermione answered.

"If Dumbledore couldn't defend himself, how are we?" Susan Moss, a Ravenclaw, asked.

"In numbers," Hermione said. "There are enough of us here that we can…"

"You're crazy," another voice responded, "if you think that we stand a chance against that monster that tried to get in here." Several other people nodded in agreement and the crowd began to break apart.

"I'll help," a small timid voice said behind Ron and Hermione.

"Neville?" Ron asked, shocked.

Neville nodded, "What do you want me to do?"

The students who began to walk away came back, many muttering that if Longbottom wasn't afraid, then they weren't either. "Now all we need is a plan," Ron said and turned to Hermione, "Hermione, this is where you come in."

A little while later they had a plan, a very good plan Ron thought. The crowd had dispersed to wake the other students and Ron was feeling much better, now that they had a course of action. "Ron," Hermione said quietly. "For this to work we need all the students," she said motioning to where the Slytherins were still sleeping. "And to get the Slytherins…"

"I need to get Draco," Ron said. Suddenly the butterflies returned to Ron's stomach and he wasn't as confident in their plan as he had been only a few seconds ago.

~*~

Selene approached them and Sirius noticed that there was a large cut on her head where his curse had struck her earlier. "Have you finally come to your senses?" she asked. "Have you finally realized that the only way to get out of this alive is by handing over the children?"

"I will give you the children," Sirius said.

Will moved towards Sirius angrily, but Remus held him back, "Trust him," he whispered.

Selene smiled and glided towards Sirius, her ghastly cape wrapping around him, "What's your price? Your wife and child?"

"No," Sirius said. "I know that they are lost to me. I want something more."

Selene smiled wickedly, "What?"

"Power," he said, "And Voldemort. Give me the power to destroy Voldemort."

Selene laughed, "So hate is the high card. Very well Sirius Black, if you release the children to me then I will share with you my power and give you Voldemort to do with what you wish."

Sirius pulled Dumbledore's key ring from his robes and singled out the stone key, "Shall we?" he asked nodding towards the door.

Selene bowed as if he had just asked her to dance.

"But before we go," Sirius said and paused, "there will be professors guarding the students, I don't think that I could take all of them."

"I can defeat them easily."

"Yes, but the students won't come out if they know you await them. If you transferred just a small amount of your power to me, than I could kill the professors and force the children into the hallway."

Selene studied Sirius, and he could feel her eyes boring into his skull, "Very well," she said at last. "Come give your wife a kiss."