A/N: This is a chapter that was originally part of Family Life, but got taken out due to that story's length. The reason I am including it is because it has elements in it that figure into Family Relations.
Although it was part of a longer story, I think it functions very well as a stand alone.
So I'll leave you to it. I think the story is pretty self-explanatory. If you're desperately interested and you won't sleep nights if you don't know, this chapter came right around Dreams Revisited in the story.
And 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 knowing 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 the story Gentle Persuasion.
GENTLE PERSUASION
"Sirius," Harry asked as he sat at the large coffee table in the living room of Arabella's cottage, working over one of his summer essay papers, "I know what you do for the ministry. Or what you did before. But what about Arabella? Was she fighting the Deatheaters, too?"
Sirius looked thoughtful for a moment as Arabella looked up over the rim of a book she was reading on counter-curses. "Well, we all fought Voldemort and his Deatheaters in our own ways, Harry. Each according to his or her strengths."
"But Arabella..., she's so......so nice. It's just hard to imagine her fighting in a battle."
"But you've seen me fight, Harry." Arabella reminded him kindly.
"But that was different." The teenager contested.
"How so?"
"Well..., that was........it wasn't in a battle."
"Felt like one to me."
"But that was just you, me, and Sirius."
"Thank you." Sirius interject to being last on the list. "Harry, first off, your godmother has fought in quite a few battles, trust me. But," he added with a slight shrug, "she is, as you say...., 'nice'." He added, giving Arabella a condescending smile.
Arabella returned a dark frown. "Perhaps you'd like a demonstration of how 'nice' I can be, Mr. Black."
Sirius pulled back slightly, then turned his attention back to his godson. "Remember, Harry," he quickly went on, "we each went with our strengths and worked in what area we were best suited for. For your very charming godmother, that was interrogation."
A short, half-stifled snort of laughter escaped before Harry could stop himself. He turned around to see Arabella giving him the same look she had just given Sirius.
"I'm sorry, Arabella." He apologized under her glare. "But you just don't seem much like....well, much like an interrogator."
The expression slowly shifted into a sweet, but dangerous, smile. "Really?" She drew out the word carefully.
"Well, interrogators are rarely 'nice'." Harry defended.
"Harry," Sirius prompted his godson's attention back to him, "you've heard of the old phrase 'you can catch more flies with honey....'?"
"Well, yeah." Harry admitted.
"And her pleasant disposition isn't your godmother's only talent."
"What else?"
Sirius smiled at Arabella. "Feel up to a demonstration?"
Arabella shrugged.
Harry suddenly felt very nervous. "What sort of demonstration?"
"Nothing that will hurt, Dear." Arabella replied.
Sirius directed Harry's attention to him. "It's really very simple, Harry. I'm going to tell you something...."
"....And I'm going to get you to tell me what it was." Arabella finished for him.
Harry thought about the offer for a moment, then nodded. The whole proposition seemed a bit silly to him, really. Sort of like a game. But his curiosity was peaked enough to want to see what his godparents were up to, so he agreed.
Sirius quickly turned him around so his back was to Arabella. As Sirius started scribbling on a slip of parchment, he glanced back quickly to make sure she wasn't sneaking up on him or so. That would be just the sort of set up Sirius would lead him into. But Arabella was now sitting with her own back to them, paying them apparently no attention at all.
Sirius glanced over Harry's shoulder, then turned back to his godson. "OK, Harry," Sirius said, "Now listen carefully.
Harry tried to listen as best he could as Sirius rattled off a series of eight or so numbers in a whisper. He said them so quickly and so close together that Harry barely caught them at all.
When Sirius finished Harry quickly pulled back. "Sirius, I can't possibly...."
But Sirius quickly stopped him with a quick glance over his shoulder. "Shhhh!" He warned. "Doesn't matter. Just try and remember what I told you, all right?"
Harry sighed quietly, then nodded.
"Good. Now Arabella is going to get you to tell her what I said, OK?"
"That'll be a good trick." Harry said. How could she get him to tell her something he couldn't even remember himself.
"Just keep it in the back of your mind." Sirius instructed. "And I want you to fight her, OK? Try to resist."
Harry frowned at his godfather. Although it still felt like a game to him, he was beginning to think it wasn't much of a good one. But he did as Sirius said as he steeled himself up for any assault Arabella might try.
But the one that came wasn't what he expected at all.
A gentle hand laid on his shoulder and the softest, sweetest voice he ever heard called his name.
"Harry?" Arabella said, gently but firmly turning him to face her. "Tell me what your godfather told you."
Well, if she thought being nice was going to break him, Harry firmly told himself, she had another think coming.
"No way!" He stated with a fierce resolve.
Harry thought for sure Arabella's gentle demeanor would waver slightly under his blatant refusal. But instead the smile on her face only widened slightly.
"Now why do you say that?" She ask softly. "Don't you want to tell me?"
"Nope." Came the determined answer.
"Ohhhhh." Arabella cooed at him. "Are you sure? Think a bit about it. You want to tell me. Think of how happy it would make me if you told me . It would make everyone so happy. Especially you. You want to tell me, don't you? For us to be happy?"
Harry found himself listening to her words more than he wanted to. But more than her words; her voice. It was as soft and sweet as he had ever heard it before. The kind of sound he imagined his mother's voice must have been. All he had heard of her voice was the sound of it crying out in terror right before Voldemort killed her. And the determined sound of it in the graveyard during the tournament. But this was what he imagined it sounded like when she sang him to sleep as a baby. Or cooed at him as she held him. It was soft and gentle....and oh so very persuasive.
Harry shook his head slightly, but a hand caught him under the chin and turned him back to his godmother's face.
"Harry," the voice asked again with its velvet caress, "what did your godfather tell you? You want to tell me, don't you?"
Harry started to answer, but this time, somewhere between his brain and his mouth, the word got lost somehow. All he wanted to do was keep listening to that soft, sweet voice. To keep it talking.
"Harry? What did your godfather tell you?"
"I........." Harry gave himself a mental shake. Where was that great ability to shake off an Imperious Curse when you needed it?
"Tell me, Harry." The voice continued. "Make me happy. Make us all so very happy. What did your godfather tell you?"
Stars above, how he loved that voice. He decided he could listen to it forever. And he would do anything if the voice just wouldn't go away. Do anything it wanted, give it whatever it wanted, if it just wouldn't leave him.
"I..........he said........."
But something suddenly rose up in his mind. A type of warning. He wasn't to go on. He had to stop.
"No." He barely managed to get the word out.
"Ohhhhh, please Harry. You want to tell me"
The voice sounded so sad. He hated how sad it sounded. Like someone crying even though they knew no one would hear them or come and comfort them. And it dragged him right in with it. A sudden wave of desolation swept over him, leaving him feeling as drained as if he had just run a long race. And lost.
"Harry, you can tell me. No one will be angry if you tell me. We'll all be very happy if you do. Think of how happy it would make me. How happy it will make all of us."
Harry did think about that. And he wanted the voice to be happy again. "He said....." But he stopped again.
If he told, the voice would go away. The thought struck him with startling clarity. Telling wasn't the way to keep the voice talking. He had to keep refusing. Tell it something else.
"I......I'm not sure." He heard the words slur out. "Not sure." He tried again, shortening the sentence in favor of clarity.
"Yes, you are." The voice went on. "You know. Think about it for me. You do know."
Harry managed somehow to shake his head. "Nope." He giggled slightly. "Not gonna tell." He giggled again. All he wanted was to keep the voice talking. And he had found a way to do that. Just keep refusing. He would beat the voice at its own game.
"Tell me." The voice asked again.
Harry paused for a moment. Something had changed. Not in the voice. But in what it made him feel.
All along he had listened to the voice. Loved the sound of it. The words it said. The comfort it poured over him. He never wanted it to leave.
But suddenly the sound of the voice, with its gentle, soft tone, filled him with an unexplained unease. A feeling like knowing you forgot something but you weren't sure what.
Harry tried to pull back slightly. Just to give himself a little distance from the voice. But something held him fast.
"Harry, tell me." The voice repeated.
The feeling of unease grew with each word. He had gone from never wanting the voice to stop to being willing to do anything he could to get away from it.
Denial was always good.
"I.....I don't know." Getting each word out was a concentrated effort.
"Tsk, tsk. tsk." the voice admonished him kindly. "It's not nice to lie, Harry. You know better than that. Now tell me what your godfather said."
Harry tried to shake off the lethargy that had seized his brain, but he found he could hardly move even the smallest muscle in his body.
The voice pressed on. Every word coming like a weight on his already heavy body.
"Harry, just tell me what your godfather told you. If you do, you can go to sleep then. You want to go to sleep, don't you?"
Stars above! Did he ever! "I......I don't remember." He said honestly. "He said it too fast."
"Now that wasn't very nice of him." The voice caressed his weary senses. "But I'll help you remember, all right?"
Harry felt himself nod slightly.
"Just think back to what you think you heard." The voice suggested tenderly. "And just repeat that to me."
Harry thought back. He remembered the first few numbers and he started to repeat them. But something in the back of his mind leap forward and stopped the words in his throat so the sound came out like a half-hearted attempt to speak.
"Try a little harder, Harry." The voice said. "Whatever is stopping you is just trying to hurt you. But you want to tell me."
Harry shook off the mental block. He started to repeat the numbers as Sirius had told them to him. And with each one he said, the one after it seemed to appear in his mind as clearly as the one before it.
But abruptly the series of numbers came to an end, and he fell silent.
Finally it was over and he could go to sleep. The voice had promised him he could.
Slowly he felt his head falling forward. But with a sudden strong shake he found himself bolting back awake.
Before him stood a very pleased looking Sirius and Arabella.
"You OK, Harry?" Sirius asked.
"Ummmm....I guess so." Harry answered with a slight slur in his voice. "What happened?"
Arabella turned a small piece of parchment about, showing a series of numbers written on it. "Is that what Sirius told you?" she asked.
Harry looked over the list. The first few looked right, but he couldn't tell if the others were or not.
"I'm not sure." He replied. "I don't remember all of them. Sirius said them too fast."
"Trust me, they're right." Sirius replied, holding up the piece of parchment he had been writing on previously. Harry quickly compared the numbers. Each one matched exactly in order.
"But how could I have given Arabella those?" Harry stated. "I couldn't even remember the numbers. I don't even remember them now. You said them too fast."
"Saying them fast was part of the demonstration, Harry." Sirius replied. "I said them just slowly enough that you would hear each one individually, but too fast for you to remember them."
Harry gave a disbelieving frown. "So how could I recall something I don't remember?"
"Because Arabella is very good at what she does." Sirius answered, giving Arabella a slight peck on the cheek.
"So what was that?" Harry asked, turning to his godmother.
"It's what I do as an interrogator for the Ministry, Harry." Arabella replied with a small smile. "And you did very well, by the way. Most Deatheaters don't hold out as long as you did."
"But it's just an Imperious Curse." Harry reasoned.
Sirius shook his head. "It's a great deal more than that, Harry." He explained. "Some people can fight the Imperious Curse. You yourself are one of them. But we have yet to come across anyone who can fight Arabella's ability."
"Can anyone do what Arabella does?"
Sirius shook his head again. "Arabella's gift is very rare among wizards and witches, Harry. Those who do have it usually just have it come across as a very strong charismatic influence. But Arabella can actually manipulate someone into telling her something or doing anything she asks, just by gently persuading them to do it."
Harry looked at his godmother with a renewed sense of awe as he carefully began to consider if he was ever going to be able to get away with anything ever again.
"Oh, stop worrying." Arabella seemed to read his mind as always. "I don't do it as a party game, Harry. It's part of my work."
Harry nodded slightly, but as he turned back to his essay, he still wondered just how easy living with his godparents was going to be.
Q&A
Family Life
MerlinHalliwell: I'm glad you enjoyed it. And I hope you enjoy Family Relations as well.
julie: Ahhhh! Another one day speed reader. Well, I'm glad you enjoyed it, dear. And I must say I am quite impressed that you read a 122,000+ word story in one day. That says a lot for the story if it could keep your interest that long.
Thank you.
Family Relations
Essence of Magic: Hey, Ess! Where ya' been, Bud?
Well, you have sort of seen this before, Ess. Yes, I did post the first three chapters of Family Relations before as a preview. But they are slightly changed do to continuity errors I have since corrected. Nothing major in chapters one or two. But three has several major changes that will impact the story overall. Watch for it.
Three novels at seventeen? That's very good. Anyone can write a novel, but it takes a really good writer to finish one.
Buffy Summers: You'll forgive me, Dear. I don't do the numbering thing with my reviewers. (In less, of course, you numbered yourself and not Fanfiction.Net numbering you.)
I'm glad you are enjoying Family Life's sequel. It has been a long time coming. Unfortunately, you are only getting a preview, and this will be spelled out at the end of the third chapter. I have to finish Enemies first, then post Runaway. But even if you are not into OC stories, check out Runaway at least so you won't be at a total lost as to who some of the characters in Family Relations are.
You've read Family Life 20+ times? Dear, I have other stories out. And they're fairly good.
No, no, Dear. Cliffhangers are good things. *Smiles* Especially for writers.
Actually, Dear, they rise from the depths of my disks, but why split hairs, huh?
So glad to make your day a little better, Dear.
nessie: Yes, Dear, you are right. You have read this before. It was previewed last year a the end of several stories. However, the chapters have been revamped due to continuity errors. Not so much in one and two, but definitely in three.
I'm sorry you miss Sirius, Dear. We all do. (Bad old Rowling!) However, I would like to reiterate, Sirius is not in Family Relations much more than you are seeing him now (sort of). He leaves the scene very soon and well......, I talk too much. You'll see.
Yeah, yeah. I know it's been a long time coming. And it's going to be a bit longer, as that this is only a preview. (Lets see if PAR can make that three year mark!)
Well, Chapter 16 was a good chapter. I'm glad you reviewed it. (What was that chapter? Don't have my notes with me. Hmmmmm........, OH! Wait a minute! That was The Truth About Cats And Dogs if I'm not mistaken! *Gives nessie a stern look* Are you 18 or better, Dear?)
A flame?! I had a flame?! Where?!
Thank you, dear. We're working on the updates as best we can.
Ummmmmm............, sorry, Dear. The next chapter is Chapter Three. Also already posted as a preview. But there are changes, so it sort of counts as a new one.
fan: Ah, other poor soul to whom I must reiterate Preview!, Dear. You do not get the whole story here. I have one story to finish and another to post first. However, I am looking at this year as the posting year for Family Relations. Might be December 31st of this year, but hey! 2004 is 2004. And if its December 31st at 11:59PM, I still made it!!!!!!!!!
Oh. So glad you liked Family Life, Dear. Thank you.
Ummmmm...., you kind of missed the warning about this story, didn't you, Dear? Sirius is only in the first few chapters. He then all but exits the story....sort of.
And be kind to poor Orion. 'Innocent until proven guilty'. He has a very good reason for what he is doing.
Bluetiger: Ah, another of my 107,000 readers being heard from for the first time. Good to meet you, Dear. I am glad you are enjoying the story. However, please do not hate PAR when this story is only posted to Chapter Three. This is, after all, only a preview. Not the actual story.
BellaMonte: Ohhhhhh1 A new reader! And such a nice one!
Well, let me introduce you to a little PAR tradition, Dear. (*) There's your gold star for being the nicest review I got this go round. Thank you. I hand those out occasionally to acknowledge especially good reviews or when someone catches some little convoluted hint in the story. Mine are usually full of those.
Never apologize for not reviewing, Dear. I have Support Services and, with it, Enhanced Statistics. At least you are reading, and my hits keep racking up. So, thank you for reading. And on that note, I do know I have many avid readers. And I am very grateful for all 107,000 of them (at present count). (Shameless self-promotion.).
In all humility, I agree. The Family Life series is a good refuge to run to in the post-OotP world. It's there, it makes sense, and it delivers pretty much what we were expecting, but never got.
I don't know what to say about your review. Rarely am I left speechless by a review. But yours managed that.
Your writing shows you have a good solid background in using words. I hope you write yourself. I would love to read some of your stuff. As an English major and, by your own words, someone who has read a LOT, you know that even garbage can get published if it is well written.
Again, where were you people when my editor was whipping my poor shattered writer's ego with my rough draft!?
I am glad you understand that writing and working take up a great deal of time, and sometimes there simply isn't enough time in the day for both. This weekend was suppose to be my weekend off just for me and my beloved computer. I ended up with four hours to write. And next weekend isn't looking any better. *Sigh*.
I am so glad you liked the relationships in this story (and expressed that so well). To me, it is the relationships that make a story. My current story, Enemies, is completely driven by the relationships within the plot. There is little else moving this story. But the relationships are so complex and intense, I feel little else is needed.
By the way, what year exactly are you in college?
In closing, let me just add this warning, as I have in so many other answers here in Q&A this week. These chapters are a preview only. Family Relations is not due out for a few more months. But I promise the wait will be worth it, and we always have June's movie premiere to look forward to.
Again, thank you for a lovely review.
WeasleyTwinsLover1112: No.
(And I'm using your number because I simply can not believe that 1112 other people came up with this name, so you had to have added that yourself and not been numbered by Fanfition.Net.)
Reviews are as of 03122004.
And remember;
May the road rise up to meet you,
May the wind be always at your back,
May the sun shine warm upon your face,
The rain fall soft upon your fields, and,
Until we meet again,
May God hold you in the palm of His hand.
(Because PAR is part Irish. Happy St. Patrick's Day!!!!!!!!!!!!)