Feallan Steorra
Chapter 14: His True Intentions
Author's note: Ok, kittens, let's get the yarn rolling… Uh, some of the spells were made up so yeah… (thank you Latin dictionary ^_^)
Harry landed hard on his feet. Ripples of shock ran through his legs, his knees gave way and they bent; he fell forward. "Ow…" he grunted.
He looked up and around him. It was dark and a light fog lingered on the weather-softened ground. Black trees towered like sentinels in the night, rigid to the cold. Harry knew he should have worn another sweater. "Lumos," he held his wand in front of him and a light was emitted from the tip of his wand. Carefully, he walked forward, trying to find his friends.
It wasn't long before he found them. He stopped in an area in the forest where the trees made a circle, fencing in two large boulders in the middle. Hermione was tied to one rock, her head hanging against her right shoulder. She was still knocked out, due to Harry's calculation, because she wasn't fidgeting compared to Ron. Ron was tied to the other one, trying to wiggle his way free. "Nox." The wand went out.
Ron went wide-eyed as Harry approached him. "Harry watch it! He's here somewhere!"
"Just a second, let me get you out," Harry grabbed the ropes. "Where's the attacker?"
"Right here," came the voice. The figure came from behind the boulder, white wand in hand. "Expelliarmus!" the person said.
Harry flew back, wand coming out of his hand, and landed on the ground. Harry landed, back against a tree. He grunted in pain. Slowly, he opened his eyes and saw dancing red dots before him. The impact scattered his sight. It took a few moments to regain it. The pulsing in his head began and then a slight ringing in his ears. When he did, he watched as the figure pulled off his hood. "You…" Harry gasped. "I should have known."
Orion Morell stood tall, looking at him straight in the eye. "Maybe if you did, you could have saved your friends. Now, after months of planning, I can fulfill my debt to my master."
"You mean Voldemort?"
Orion sneered. "How is it that a boy can escape Lord Voldemort 3 times? What is so special about you?" He was interrupted by a weary groan. The both turned and saw Hermione's eye flutter open. Orion smirked. "Good to see you awake, Ms. Granger."
She blinked, then realizing the situation. Ron was tied up, Harry was sitting against a tree wandless, and Orion stood, armed. "Orion, what--?"
Orion came toward her. "You know Hermione, you really are too trusting. Weasley had all these complaints against me yet you pitied me. All because you yourself are a rejected soul," he said, the tip of his wand brushing her cheek. She pulled away from him. "You are very pretty, Darling…for a damn Mudblood."
Hot anger burned in Harry. He slowly got on his hands and knees, creeping towards his fallen wand.
"Accio wand!" Orion suddenly turned and his hand to Harry's wand. It flew to him. "I wouldn't move Potter. You may get hit again."
"Leave him alone," Hermione pleaded.
"Yes, leave him alone, let him be…You think I give a damn about what you say?!"
She gulped, "I thought you did, you scum. I thought we were friends."
"We could have been more Darling," Orion snapped. "I can ignore the fact that you have dirty blood; you do appeal to me, no lying about that. But your god-forsaken loyalty to Potter told me it would never happen. I was seriously thinking of bringing you to my side…" he shook his head in disapproval. "Tell me, Darling, why was it that every time we talked, Potter came up? Why is he such a dominant part of your mind?" Orion came towards her, almost pressing against her.
Fear seemed to be painted in her eyes.
"Get away from Hermione, you filthy little--," Ron commanded.
"Utterance repressous!" Orion held his wand to Ron. Ron, in that very instant, became silent. No sound came out of his mouth. Orion quickly turned to Harry, who came charging towards him. "Disjunct!" Harry fell to the floor. He tried to pull himself up, only he couldn't. He felt his body couldn't move, no matter how strongly his brain told him to do so.
"Don't bother," Orion smiled proudly. "Your joints can't bend. Didn't think I knew so much magic, did you? Lord Voldemort was a superb teacher."
"Are you telling me…?" Hermione asked quietly, "everything you told me was a lie. Your parents…"
"No, that was true. My father was a follower of the Dark Lord but pleaded innocence once your prat-Potter encountered the Dark Lord all those years ago. Last summer, when Lord Voldemort returned, my parents panicked and they ran. When he was close, I showed him the way to my parents."
Hermione gasped. "You mean you set them up for You-Know-Who to kill?"
"My parents were weak."
"That's horrible! What an evil thing to do!"
"There's no such think as good and evil, Darling," Orion smirked. "Only power. The strong survive and the weak die. That's how it is."
"You're wrong," she snapped.
"What? You mean bravery, righteousness and justice prevails over all?" Orion laughed. "The words of a true Gryffindor."
Only power…Harry remembered Voldemort saying that during his encounter with him. It was his 1st year at Hogwarts and that was when Voldemort was weak, seeking the Sorcerer's stone.
"With the Dark Lord rising, it gave me a chance of power. First, I needed to get to Harry Potter, my master's foe. He wanted him to suffer, to finally get his revenge. Then, I had a brilliant idea: go to Hogwarts and find out what I could about Potter. I soon realized as I watched at the train station and during the welcome feast that you two were always with him. His friends are important to him."
"If you were only after me, why did you attack your housemates?" Harry asked from the ground. "What about Ginny?"
Orion shrugged casually. "When the Hat sorted me to Slytherin there was a bit of a problem. So, I had to not fit in Slytherin otherwise Hermione would never trust me. Those four sorry excuses for future Death-Eaters kept pestering me, so I shut them up. As for the Little Red, she was trying to find an explanation for my curse's marks. The girl figured out the markings were my namesake. She was close; I had to take care of her."
Ron clenched his fists, beginning to free himself, regardless of his silence.
"I thought that if I split the happy trio, Harry would be alone, vulnerable." Then a spark twinkled in Orion's eye. "But soon, I realized Harry's strong heart and his undying love for his closest friends. Then," he turned to Harry, approached him and knelt before him. "I had a revelation. The best way to destroy you, Harry Potter, is to destroy you from the inside. So sit back and watch as I kill your friends…right before you."
