A/N: As always;

Enjoy.

Disclaimer: All characters of the Harry Potter series (hereafter known as 'legal property') are the sole ownership of J.K. Rowling (hereafter known as 'owner of said legal property'). No infringement on any copyright of owner of said legal property of the legal property is knowingly intended. Published by author (hereafter known as 'other') for entertainment purposes only. No monetary or personal gain was knowingly made by other with the publication of this story, which was based on ideas and characters created by owner of said legal property as they pertain to legal property. No plagiarism of legal property or of any ideas of the owner of said legal property was knowingly intended by other. This statement is fully transferable and is legally held binding for all chapters of the story Family Ties as they are presented under different chapter headings and titles for individual chapters.

CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT: PLANNING

"Figg!" Came the disbelieving statement from Eric. "I hardly think some interrogator battering the poor girl is going to get us much better out of her."

"And I seriously doubt you've ever seen her work, Matterson." Orion cut him off sharply. "Few people ever have."

Bale took up Orion's position. "He's right, Eric. Arabella Figg is the best the department has at interrogation. When they just can't crack the nut, she's the one they bring in."

"I fail to see the need for anything more than simply questioning the girl, Orin." Matterson scoffed. "She's not an idiot."

"No one thinks that." Bale replied. "But sometimes Ms. Figg can help people remember things a bit...clearer."

Eric studied his brother for a few moments. "Fine." He stated finally, turning to Orion with a none to happy look. "Get your interrogator, Mr. Black."

One fire and one very carefully worded explanation later and Orion had told Arabella what they needed of her. He had stuck to facts, but only telling her as much as he felt she needed to know to do an effective interrogation.

He had also explained to Sirius that he couldn't tell Arabella what he knew about any of the 'Powers'. That the less she knew, he told him, the safer she would be.

Standing in the foyer still, Arabella looked around at the assembly.

"Well, none of you even remotely resembles a fifteen year old girl. So I am assuming my charge isn't here yet."

"All in good time, Ms. Figg." Bale stated. "I'm sure Becca will be along presently?" He added, turning to Orion.

Turning to the stairs, Orion shouted up them. "BECCA!"

Fifteen seconds later, the errant 'Power' appeared at Orion's side.

"Becca," Orion said, gesturing to where Arabella stood smiling at the girl, "this is Ms. Figg. She's a friend of ours who needs to ask you a few questions."

The girl's eyes immediately widened. "Questions?" She asked. "What sort of questions?"

"Well, certainly not the kind that are answered any better while standing in a foyer." Arabella stated, directing the girl to a side doorway. "Lets go into the front room, all right?"

Becca obediently allowed herself to be steered to the front room, and eventually to a sofa, where she cautiously took a seat and watched as Arabella pulled a chair up in front of her.

"What sort of questions are you going to ask me?" The girl nervously asked again.

"We need to find where Richard lives." Eric answered her, standing near the fireplace with his arms tightly crossed in front of him. "You are the only person who has ever been to his house, Becca. So we need you to be able to locate it."

The girl's eyes widened further. "But I've told you," She explained in a slightly higher pitched voice, "I don't know where his house is exactly. He never told me. And I only ever saw the inside of it."

"That's fine, Becca." Bale answered her growing anxiety. "But Ms. Figg is going to try and help you remember some things you may have forgotten. Help you remember things clearer. If you can do that, may we can find Richard's house, and rescue Connie."

At the mention of her friend's name, the girl's eyes widened even further. "Connie?!" She cried. "Richard has Connie?! Elder, we have to get her away from him! He'll hurt her!"

Orin met the girl's frantic plea with his usual stoic expression. "We will, Becca. But we need your help to do so. Now please, turn around and pay attention to Ms. Figg."

Becca obediently turned back to face Arabella, a fierce determination lit behind the girl's wide-eyed stare.

"All right now, Becca," Arabella started, "I'm going to ask you a few questions. And I want you to think very carefully before you answer. Don't just blurt out the first thing that comes to mind. Think about your answer first, then tell it to me. You understand?"

Becca thought for a moment, then gave Arabella a quick nod.

"Very good. Now, Becca, I want to ask you about Richard, all right? Now try to think for me........when did you first meet him?"

Becca paused for a very long time before saying anything, her wide eyed stare showing nothing but her single-minded concentration. "I........I'm sorry." She stated finally, shaking her head in defeat. "I don't remember exactly."

Arabella gently patted the girl's hands as they lay clenched tightly in her lap. "That's all right, Becca." She reassured her. "We'll work on that together. I'm sure we can get to the answer if we both try."

Becca managed a small smile and another small, quick nod.

An hour later, Arabella finally got up from her chair, leaving a partially dazed looking Becca barely following her movements as she walked over to where the three men stood watching.

"That's all I'm going to get out of her." Arabella said, referring to the information she had managed to extract from the girl over the past hour. "She honestly is doing the best she can." She added, turning to Bale. "But she simply never bothered paying much attention to details from what I can tell."

Bale frowned at the answer. "How can one 'not' pay attention to details?"

"Because people categorize things differently." Arabella replied. "Two people may witness....say a robbery. Where one person may be able to tell you everything down to what each person in the area was wearing, the other may not even remembered if the robber had a weapon. But they could tell you if the sun was shining that day or not. Becca.....can tell you if the sun was shining."

Bale let out a loud sigh of exasperation, but Eric was already stepping around him.

"I am sure Becca did the best she could, Orin. Let's see if it was enough."

Walking over to where the girl still sat on the sofa, Eric took the chair Arabella had been sitting in so that he directly faced the fledgling 'Power'.

"Becca?" Matterson stated, snapping his fingers in front of her.

Becca reacted almost as though he had slapped her, jumping slightly at the sound. Quickly looking around the girl turned back to him finally with an apologetic look. "Did I fall asleep?" She asked. "Ms. Figg was asking me some questions.....and......I must have gone to sleep."

"Well, that's all right." Matterson assured her, patting her hands in a similar manner and offering her a small smile. "But now you and I are going to do something very similar, all right? I am going to ask you some questions, and I want you to think before you answer, yes? Just like you did for Ms. Figg."

"Did I not answer Ms. Figg's questions right?" The girl asked in dismay. "Will we not be able to help Connie now?"

Matterson shook his head slightly. "You did very well for Ms. Figg." He told her. "But I need to ask some questions of my own now if we are going to be able to find our sister, all right? Now, this will be just as you did for Ms. Figg. It is just that my questions are a little different, that's all."

Off to the side Bale gave another loud, exasperated sigh. "We don't have all day, Eric." He stated to his brother.

Matterson's smile never so much as wavered in the smallest way, nor did he even for a second break eye contact with the girl in front of him. "We have as much time as this will take, brother." Came the well-measured response. "I don't interfere with your work, so please stay out of mine."

Orion was sure his superior would have some response to the curt dismissal. But instead he simply fell into an irritated silence as he stood watching Matterson question Becca.

"Now, Becca, we're going to start out very general, and slowly begin to narrow things down, all right? We'll start with....can you tell me where this Richard lives?" Matterson asked the girl.

"In his house."

Orion was sure the Deatheater would come out of his chair at the response. But Matterson didn't so much as raise an eyebrow. The only reaction he gave was a slight grimace creeping into his smile.

"And that is....where?" He asked carefully.

Becca shook her head. "I don't know. I mean......, I never saw the outside. Richard always promised to show it to me, but he never did." Her expression suddenly brightened. "But he said you might never know his house from the outside.

Matterson raised his eyebrows slightly. "Why is that, little one?"

"I ask him once.....his house seemed so large inside, I said it must draw attention from the outside, being so big. He said it didn't matter how large it was on the inside, because on the outside he could make it anything he wanted. He said he could make it a box in an alleyway if he desired."

Matterson's smile widened. "Now, you see, Becca. You have told me a great deal in that one sentence and done very well."

The girl positively beamed under the praise. "I did?"

But Bale wasn't nearly so easily impressed. "Barely."

"I didn't remember that before." Becca said happily. "Will you be able to find Connie now?"

Matterson gently brushed the back of his hand over her cheek. "Not yet, little one. But we off to a very good start. Let's continue. But this time," he added, gently taking hold of the girl's hands, "I want you to close your eyes and visualize each place we talk about in your mind for me, all right?"

For another hour Matterson carefully questioned Becca. And with each question Orion could clearly see the influence of Arabella's work coming out. With each question the girl was able to build on the amount of details she remembered. But even as she began to expand on her memory, Matterson began to narrow his search until he centered the girl on one room. Apparently an entry to Richard's house. Matterson had literally backed the girl up through the house, starting at the last room she remembered being in so that he had as clear a picture of the house as possible.

As the Deatheater worked, Orion watched as his superior was quickly working alongside his brother. With each detail Becca brought out, Bale was adding it in scale to a small model he had conjured up of the house as closely as he could approximate it from Becca's memories. Every detail she added, so did he. From a chair to a pillar to a vase on a table; everything was carefully added into the model.

Watching the miniature construction, Orion continued to listen as Matterson carefully and skillfully maneuvered the girl where he wanted her to go through the house.

A path Bale seemed to be following with the tip of his wand through the maze of corridors he was reconstructing based on what the girl was saying. Every so often Bale would turn to his brother, who, though never acknowledging the stare, would gently alter his questioning and lead Becca somewhere else.

"I don't get it." Orion said as the questioning started to wind down. "Your brother, one of the most ruthless people I know..., and that's saying something...., is sitting there, coddling a frightened, young girl into talking to him....and doing a very good job of it."

Bale continued to look over his model. "And that is surprising you...why?" He asked.

"Because I would not expect Eric Matterson, Deatheater extraordinaire, to coddle anyone into doing anything. He generally just tells people what to do and they could do it or risk the consequences. But most of the time he doesn't even bother with telling them to do anything, he just 'consequences' them for the fun of it. But he's treating that girl like she's made of china. And she's obviously responding well to the treatment."

Bale glanced briefly over at where the two sat still talking quietly, then turned back to his own work "Likes don't always attract, Mr. Black."

Orion raised his eyebrows. "Pardon?"

Bale stood up and turned to face his agent. "Likes don't always attract." He repeated. "You understand the concepts of light and dark magic." He went on, though not bothering to wait for answer. "Eric is dark magic, or at least, that is the 'pool' he draws from. I am light magic, in so much as that that is the magic I manipulate best. Becca is also light magic. As is Richard, most likely. That is all it seems our Mr. Barantor knows how to call.....thank goodness. But because Becca and I are essentially the same, as you understand it, Becca feels threatened by me. I'm an 'elder' of her clan, if you like. But to her, Eric is just....Eric. She feels she owes him no great deference...no loyalty. They are polar opposites. And in a fight she could likely defend herself for several minutes. Against me, Becca would literally be fighting herself."

"So with your people this all comes down to who could beat you up?"

"It 'comes down to' understanding your superiors and showing them proper respect, Mr. Black. Becca understands that."

"Then it's a wonder she bothers with you at all." Matterson replied, coming to stand next to his brother.

Orion studied the man with a new, more cautious note. A look that did not go un-noticed by the Deatheater.

"Do reign in your paranoia, Mr. Black." He stated. "I am no more or less than my brother."

"With the exception that you are, for all intense and purpose, dark magic." Orion replied.

Matterson met the statement with his brother's same stoic expression. "Your people have an uncanny ability to simply and immediately fear whatever they don't understand. And as such, they give it a name they feel is equally deserving.

Suppose we reclassify my magic, Mr. Black. Instead, referring to it as 'wild' magic. It's not the same, calm, tame power you are use to harnessing. It's more volatile. More powerful. Something that only the strong and truly skilled can handle. Does that make it still 'evil'? Does it make those who are able to tap into it and manipulate it 'evil'? Or does it make them stronger? More daring. More adventuresome than your average wizard?"

Orion stared back at the man. "Somehow I never classified Voldemort as 'adventuresome'."

The Deatheater leaned a little closer to him. "Then go look in a mirror and ask those questions." He stated in a low, level voice.

Bale brought the exchange to a quick end, having already brought Sirius over to study the model he had constructed from Becca memories.

"If you had to apparate into the house, where would you start?" Bale asked Sirius.

Sirius studied the model for a few minutes. "The entrance way is out." He started. "Entrances to houses are usually the best guarded, being viewed as the weak links in a structure's defenses. We need to look for a place he would be least interested in protecting."

"That would be my room." Becca spoke up. The girl was now kneeling on the sofa, leaning over the back as she watched the three men discuss what to do next. "As much care as he ever gave to me, I doubt he cares less what happens to my room."

Sirius considered her comment. "She has a point." He said finally. "Richard likely has the least amount of security around that area."

"If it even still exists." Matterson put in.

But Sirius shook his head. "Even from what little I've heard of Becca describing him this morning while we were working with Bo, this 'Richard' does not sound like someone who would waste his time rearranging his house. If the area is done serving it's purpose, he is more likely to simply forget it than waste what he views as his valuable time eliminating it."

Bale nodded. "That makes sense. So we'll focus on Becca's old room."

"We'll need to focus on a distraction as well." Sirius put in. "Something to draw him away from the house while we're there."

"What about the castle?" Orion put in quickly.

A resounding 'No!' filled the room.

"Not my castle!" Becca all but wailed. "Haven't you done enough to it?"

"Castle?" Sirius questioned his brother.

"The castle used to be Becca's...."

"Is!" She stated firmly, cutting Orion off sharply. "It is my home! It belongs to me."

"It's a pile of rocks, girl!" Orion stated sharply.

Becca faced him with utter defiance. "It is still my home!"

"Fine. The castle is Becca's home." Orion corrected. "Richard seems to watch over it, since it draws people like London central station for some reason."

"It is likely a focal point." Bale pointed out. "A place where one can access magic easier than anywhere else. Some people are very in-tuned to such places. Heudros may have been one such person, choosing that place to build Becca's castle for just that reason."

"It's a comfortable place." Becca stated. "It's my home."

"Just the same," Orion put in, "I can go to the castle with Bo. That would likely be enough to attract Richard's attention. Draw him away from the house. Once he's there Bo and I can work to detain him while Orin and Eric try to rescue Connie."

"What about me?" Becca chimed in quickly. "What do I get to do?"

"You get to stay here with Sirius." Orion replied. "Neither of you is in any position to face this boy if it comes to a fight."

"I can fight!" Becca stated. "And I can help."

"You can't fight well enough." Orion told her. "Not against someone like Richard."

"Then I can do shields." Becca stated. "Bo's been helping me make them stronger, and holding them up longer. While you and Bo fight, I can protect you. And I can set traps. I'm good at traps. And wards." She quickly put in with a pleased, smug smile. "I set all the wards in the castle. I'm really good with wards."

Orion started to refuse her again, but stopped himself abruptly. Thinking back, he had to admit that Becca could indeed produce and hold a fairly strong shield. And some of her traps were exceptionally well planned. And he couldn't argue the complexity of the wards they had encountered.

It was the wide-eyed enthusiasm he met when he looked at her that bothered him. That single-minded determination that all too often disregarded the potential danger.

"If Orin agrees," he said finally, "you can go with Bo and me. But if you do, you'll do only what I tell you and you'll do it when I tell you. Is that understood?"

But Becca had already turned her pleading gaze to her uncle for approval.

"You heard Mr. Black, Becca?" Bale asked her.

Becca quickly nodded. "What I'm told. When I'm told. I heard."

Bale turned to Sirius. "What do you think?"

But Sirius didn't seem to be paying attention to the present conversation. Instead he was studying Bale's model. "While Eric was questioning her, Becca said from her room she wasn't sure how to get to the cellar, since she wasn't conscious when Richard took her there."

Bale nodded. "What are you thinking?"

"Becca said she knew it was a 'cellar', since Richard told her that directly." Sirius said. "And if it's where he keeps his prisoners, mostly others of his own kind, he may not risk having a door to it at all. It may only be accessed through a ward."

With his final word, four pairs of eyes turned towards where Becca still leaned over the back of the sofa.

Looking up, the girl regarded them with a puzzled stare. "Is something wrong?" She asked.

"I believe there's been a slight change of plans, little one." Bale commented with a tight, controlled smile.

Q&A

Silverfox:

Just how does Eric expect a strategist to work, if he doesn't know the possibilities available to either side?I never meant to say Richard having Conny was a good thing in general, merely that it was improving Becca's safety ... and that of any unfortunate humans happening to be in the same house with ? Oh, just don't remind me of that! (It's so perfectly true. *sigh*)

Eric is not exactly big on social networking, you have to understand. He's also not very big on sharing. The fact that he has gone along with things as far as he has is amazing in and of itself. Currently, he's only in the whole matter for Connie's sake. He very badly wants to get her away from Richard. Probably even more than Orin does. Eric is just a good deal more stoic about it. And that's saying something, as that Orin tends to give the word 'reticent' a run for it's money.

Lindenmc:

I am really enjoying your ability to throw some truly impressive curve balls! It is so refreshing to see you've mastered the fine art of cliffhanger endings. What a well-crafted group of characters; they are all possessed with the ability to surprise us. Lindenmc

Ohhhhhhhhh! Thank you, Dear. That's the best stroking my ego has had in a LONG time.

cyiusblack:

update soon

I do try, Dear. But.....it's...ummmmm........it's kinda been that Olympic thing going on for me the past two weeks. I'm afraid I've been something of an Olympiholic lately.

All reviews are as of 2/28/2010.

And a big WOOHOO! to Canada on their gold metal win at the Olympics today.

And kudos to the American team for their silver metal. But for heavens sake, guys! Stop looking like someone smacked your best friend with a hockey puck! Even the bronze medallist Fins looked happier than you. You played a fabulous, exciting, great game.

And that's saying something from me. I hate hockey!