Thea went home. The Aurors had come and gone, and she would much rather Orrin find her there. She had just gotten started cleaning up her apartment after the Aurors' apparent search, when Orrin and two others showed up. Thea looked over at them, resigned as to what was going to happen. "I was waiting for you," she said simply.
"Yes, you would have figured out that we were coming." Orrin offered her what most would consider a charming smile. Thea just felt sick. He offered her his arm. "Shall we?"
Thea looked over at him, confused. "You're not planning to take my wand?"
"Of course not," said Orrin. "You're one of us now."
Hesitantly, Thea took his arm, and they disapparated.
They reappeared in front of an old house. "Welcome to the home of the Elite," said Orrin, and they led Thea inside. "Nott will be assigned to you," Orrin explained, gesturing to one of the wizards that had come with him to find Thea. "Let him know if you need anything." And then Orrin showed her to a room. "This will be your room for the duration of your stay."
Thea didn't go in. "Why exactly am I here?"
"You want to get right to work then I see," said Orrin.
"Work?"
"Come with me," said Orrin, leading the way downstairs.
They were in a finished basement, set up very much like the Department of Mysteries. Then she understood. "No. I won't help you bring him back."
Orrin raised an eyebrow. "You really did do the thing properly, didn't you?" He shrugged. "I don't expect you to bring him back. I just expect you to figure out how it's done. I know you won't do it for me-but you won't be able to resist. You've never been able to resist learning something new when the opportunity presents itself."
Thea looked over at him, non-plussed.
"The physics books?" Orrin was all but smirking. "Did you really think they showed up at Hogwarts for no reason? Once we knew you were the one who could succeed, I made sure you had what you needed to make that happen-just like I made sure you would end up at Cambridge."
Thea shook her head. "But how..." Her eyes widened. "You killed his parents, too." She had always thought that Jax's parents had been killed as a result of the war, but apparently, Orrin's crimes went deeper than she had realized.
"It sent the two of you running off into the muggle world, and I knew you couldn't resist the opportunity to learn more," Orrin explained. "We moulded you, made you into what we needed, and now you've come to us. I think I will leave you down here for a while to consider your options-you'll find every magic and physics book you could want. Do you honestly think you'll be able to resist?" With that, he headed upstairs, leaving Thea alone down in the basement.