Title: Eyes of the Chosen
Author: Emcee
Summary: To find out about the murder victim, Sirius must revisit the
people he left behind fourteen years ago.
Author's Note: Thank-you to my muses, Rae and Fre and my beta and Pablo.
This story is AU to "Order of the Phoenix". It is the sequel to Labyrinth
of Illusion.
Disclaimer: "Harry Potter" and the characters, places and things
related to it do not belong to me. They are from the brilliant mind of JK Rowling.
They belong to her and her publishers. I am not making any profit from this
fan fiction.
CHAPTER FOUR
The Gypsies of the Forest
"What do you mean you had a vision about her?" Sirius demanded. He
strode to Ron, grabbing him by the shoulders. "You're having visions?"
"Sirius!" Sakura stepped forward. "Don't be so hard on him."
Sirius turned to Sakura, snarling. "This doesn't concern you, Sakura. Stay
out of it!"
Sakura drew back, lowering her head.
"I've only had two." Ron whispered. "I mean, it could have been
a fluke. The first one didn't even come true!"
"But this one did Ron," Harry stared down at the girl. "Do you
guys know who she is?"
Remus ushered Ron, Hermione and Harry into the hallway. Sirius followed close
behind. Sakura brought up the rear, shutting the door behind them.
"She's Romany," Remus said, "Judging from the tattoo on her arm,
she's one of the Kalderasha. We don't know her name though."
"But the Kalderasha would," Sakura added, "We should go see them.
Find out who's gone missing from their camp. Even if they don't know why she
was killed... They would appreciate knowing."
"I don't understand." Hermione looked up at Remus. "Why would
a Kalderasha Gypsy be killed on Hogwarts grounds?"
"The camp in very near here," Sirius murmured. He let go of Ron, his
thin fingers wrapped around his own forearm. "They try not to come out
a lot, prefer hiding. I'm sure you've seen a few of them in the village. Their
main camp is in Forbidden Forest."
"The Forest?" Ron sputtered. "Why-why would anyone live there?"
"Because no one wants to go in the Forest," Remus explained. "They
can live in peace, without the persecution they've suffered for centuries. The
only sentient beings they have to deal with are centaurs. They've lived there
for over fifty years, since fleeing Romania."
"Dumbledore said she had been carrying bags back," Sirius' eyes looked
hollow, his body completely still. "She was probably coming back from the
village, cut through the courtyard to get to the camp. That's when she was jumped
by the Death Eaters."
"But that's doesn't explain why they did it. Why they cut out her eyes."
Sakura shuddered at the thought.
"I think we should find out," Remus nodded, "The Kalderasha know
who she is. They might know why the Death Eaters would want her dead. So we
should go see them."
Sirius tightened his grip on his forearm. "You and Sakura go. Dumbledore
and I will make arrangements for a funeral pyre."
Remus let out a laugh. "You know it's not that simple, Sirius. You expect
me to just go to the Kalderasha camp and have them to listen to me? I'll be
lucky to even get passed the barriers they have set up."
"Then get Dumbledore to go!" Sirius barked. His fingers were clenched
so tightly around his arm, his fingers were turning white. "The Kalderasha
will do anything for him! He's their saviour, after all!"
"Sirius..." Remus brought his hand to clasp Sirius' shoulder.
Sirius just shrugged him off, striding away. "I don't know what you're
expecting me to do Moony. They don't want to see me."
He transformed in mid-step into the large, black dog. He continued down the
hall, not missing a beat.
Harry looked to his friends, then to Sirius. He didn't even say good-bye; he
just raced after his godfather.
"Wait!"
The dog didn't stop. He ignored Harry, not even flinching.
"You know I'm going to keep following you!" Harry yelled. "I've
got the Map, I can keep track of you where ever you go on Hogwarts grounds.
And you can't go very far. Too much risk of being seen! You might as well tell
me what's going on."
Sirius transformed back and turned to Harry. He blinked, then nodded. "Come
on, Harry."
Harry ran to meet up with Sirius. Sirius sighed, leaning against the wall and
sliding down slowly. He leaned himself against the large suit of armour next
to him. Harry sat beside him.
"What's going on, Sirius?" Harry asked simply.
Sirius licked his lips, lowering his head. His long hair swept in front of his
face, shielding his expression. He rolled up his sleeve, turning his arm over
to show off the black mark on the inside of his forearm.
Harry stared at the mark. It was very much like the Dark Mark. Except, instead
of a skull and snake, it was a moon surrounded by stars. It was identical to
the tattoo the dead girl had.
Sirius ran his fingers over it, laughing. "Didn't know I had this, did
you? Not many people did. The guys, Dumbledore did-- the Ministry, eventually.
My connection to the Kalderasha wasn't talked about a lot."
"You're a Gypsy?" Harry stared as his Godfather, trying to see some
sort of expression through the curtain of black hair.
"No. I'm a Merlin through-and-through." Sirius laughed. "Oh,
wait... You probably don't know that term. It's what the Romany call us. You
know, wizards who study at Hogwarts, wave a wand and do spells in Latin."
He rolled his sleeves back down. "They're all different, Wizarding cultures.
You can see it with Sakura, how she uses a fan and Japanese spells. She must
have picked that up when she moved back to Japan. Sure didn't do that when she
was studying at Hogwarts."
"I don't understand. What does this have to do with that dead girl?"
"The Kalderasha-- they came to England after Griendelwald nearly decimated
them."
Harry nodded, keeping quiet. He was sure Sirius was going somewhere with this
story.
"They were more open about themselves back when I was in school. They interacted
freely with the population in Hogsmeade. They were great-- really fun. I liked
being around the Gypsies. They accepted me as one of their own. I didn't have
a family. My parents... They weren't very nice people. Pureblood maniacs, it
was such a disappointment when I got sorted into Gryffindor. Then I--"
Sirius paused, his mouth open slightly, as if he were ready to say something.
"Then I left home. I stayed with your grandparents for a while and then...
Then there was the Romany-- the Gypsies. They gave me a place to live. They
accepted me as a member of the clan. I wasn't born as one of them, but I became
one. Then..."
"Then..."
"Then I went to Azkaban," Sirius replied dully. "And if there's
one thing the Kalderasha don't stand for, it's a traitor."
"But you're not."
Harry and Sirius looked up at Remus He was standing in front of them, a mild
look on his face. "You're no traitor, Sirius. They have a right to know
the man you really are. And you made an obligation to them when you joined their
family. You promised to protect them. If Voldemort is targeting the Kalderasha,
you have an obligation to protect them."
"I can't do it, Remus." Sirius shook his head. "They don't want
to see me."
"How do you know that?" Sakura approached now, placing a hand on Remus'
shoulder. "Because of what Yasha told you within the Labyrinth? Because
they rejected you? That was your fear. You know Yasha lied using your own insecurities.
Do not let them suffer because of what your mind tricks you to believe."
"Don't you two understand? I can't--"
Remus crouched down on the ground. "How can you protect Harry if you can't
even protect your own family?"
Sirius growled, standing up. "That was a low blow, Remus Lupin."
He pushed passed both Sakura and Remus, transforming back into his dog form.
Harry was about to go after him, when Remus stopped him. "Let him go, Harry."
"You're really sending Sirius? What if they turn him in?"
"Don't worry, Harry." Remus watched as Padfoot disappeared down the
corridor. "She won't turn him in."
Sirius' paws crunched into the brittle snow in the courtyard. With his thick
fur, the cold didn't bother him. He kept himself focused.
You're protecting them, you're protecting Harry, you're protecting Dumbledore,
you're protecting them...
He didn't even flinch as he entered the Forbidden Forest. How many times had
he used this path during his youth? He had always managed to avoid the dangerous
creatures. He still remembered exactly how to get to the Kalderasha camp.
He felt his heart begin to race as he got closer and closer. The landmarks were
all the same. Even a decade and a half had not changed this Forest. It was still
his home.
But it wasn't. It hadn't been for a long time.
They wouldn't accept him back. They never would. Why should they? For all they
knew, he was still a traitor. They didn't know about Wormtail. They wouldn't
know until he was able to bring that little rat to justice.
But he had to continue! A girl was dead. Who knew how many more would follow?
The next one could be...
He sped up, racing through the forest. He darted between the trees, blood thundering
in his ears.
There it was! The camp was ahead! He knew it was! He remembered this all so
well, crossing the threshold of the camp.
Sirius threw himself forward. His body was flung against an invisible wall,
thrown backwards. He yelped, hitting a tree. He crumpled into a heap on the
tree roots, transforming back into human form.
He looked up to the barrier, seeing a hooded figure approaching him. He froze,
staring at the shrouded person. It looked almost Dementor-like as it glided
to him.
But no, a hand was peeking through. It wasn't rotten like a Dementor's. It was
smooth and pale.
The hand reached up, yanking off their hood.
Sirius stared at the woman underneath. Her face was lined with fury. "Oh,
son of a bitch! What are you doing here?"
Standing up slowly, Sirius stared at the woman. "Machka? Is that you?"
"What, Sirius?" Machka snarled, dark brown eyes flashing. "Don't
you recognize your ex-wife?"