Chapter Four: Guidelines To A Relationship
Orion returned to work only a few days following his escape from the Deatheaters lair. Even Bale had suggested that returning to work so soon might not be the best idea. But Orion was simply looking desperately for some way to occupy his time. He had no idea when or if he would ever see Katlin again. And truth be told, he was more concerned than he wanted to admit as to how badly she might have been injured by the spell. And every day that went by that he didn't hear from her was one more day that his concern grew.
Nearly two weeks after his escape, Orion sat at his desk working over several pieces of parchment when a small, snow white owl suddenly startled him as it landed with pin-point accuracy on his desk.
The little owl walked cautiously across the pile of papers to the edge of the desk. The look on its face one of utter irritation. Finally it regally stuck its leg out for Orion to take the letter attached to it.
Orion watched the little bird as he carefully untied the letter, swearing the bird was giving him a decidedly unfriendly stare.
"If you aren't female, I swear I'll become one." He stated, staring down the little owl, who met his gaze without flinching.
Charly, sitting on the desk opposite his, immediately fell forward on his desk, hands clasped tightly in front of him.
"Oh, dear God!" He prayed fervently. "I swear I shall dedicate myself to a pure, religious life if that bird is just named 'George'."
Orion looked over at his partner as he unfolded the letter, shaking his head as he turned his attention to the piece of parchment.
The contents of the letter were actually quite short. They gave only a time, a date (that night), and a location. The only other instructions were that he was to bring the owl, Marie, back with him then, rather than send her with a reply.
A simple, unceremonious letter 'k' closed the note out.
Orion glanced over at his partner as he folded the piece of parchment and stuffed it in his robes.
"You will be happy to know that your life of decadence is safe once again, Charly." He answered Misser's pleading look. "For this bird is a 'Georgette'."
Charly sighed quietly as he pulled himself up, shaking his head as he walked out of the office.
Watching him go, Orion slowly slipped the letter out of his robes and reread it again, a small smile playing across his lips.
That evening Orion spent setting up as romantic a scene as he could pull from his memory. The note had stated the meeting place was to be the alleyway were they first met. But he wasn't planning on spending their evening there. Anymore than he believed those were Katlin's plans either.
He started with a bottle of champagne chilled in the livingroom by the sofa. Followed by soft music, soft lights, and a soft rug. Providing they ever made it to the bedroom, he left that for Katlin to do what she wanted with, certain she could think up something wonderfully entertaining, if not down right erotic.
At the appointed time, Orion apparated to the alleyway and settled in to wait. He didn't discard the idea entirely that this could be just another trap. But he had come prepared this time with a Tag, just in case. No matter what happened, he could always apparate out of trouble.
And so he waited.
And waited.
And waited.
And waited.
An hour after the scheduled time, Orion finally apparated home. The Deatheater hadn't even put in an appearance and he had been left standing in the alleyway feeling more foolish with every passing second.
Why hadn't she come?
Orion spent the rest of the night rolling the question around in his mind. But none of the answers suited him. And so several hours and two thirds of a bottle of champagne later he finally settled on the one that simply seemed the easiest to accept. He had been set up again.
Orion awoke the next morning to an empty champagne bottle next to him in the bed and the soft hooting of the small snow-white owl seated on the beam at the end of his bed. A small smile formed as he stared at the little bird.
Well, if nothing else, at least he could have a little revenge this time.
Orion tied an envelope to the leg of the tiny owl and sent it off. Most people would likely call the act childish. But somehow it gave him a certain amount of satisfaction.
That evening Orion answered the knock on his front door to find Katlin Griss standing there with a very unpleasant look on her face.
"Well, this is something of a surprise." Orion stated calmly. "I thought the meeting was for last night."
Katlin held her hand up and turned it over. A small pile of ashes got caught in the breeze and scattered as they shifted out of her hand.
"A Howler!" She stated in a heated voice. "You sent me a Howler?"
"I don't like being stood-up, Katlin."
"So you sent poor Marie back with a Howler just so you could get your little slice of revenge on me because I didn't show up to keep you entertained all night? Most people would consider that a little childish, Mr. Black!" She stated, shoving past him as she stormed over the threshold.
Orion went after her.
"All right. If it was undeserved, then explain it to me. Where were you?"
Katlin turned sharply back to him with a very unfriendly smile on her lips.
"I wasn't aware I had to explain anything to you, Mr. Black."
"Then why did you come?"
"To give you one anyway. Just so you have something to think over on all those very lonely nights you have to look forward to." She stated, punctuating 'very lonely nights' to make sure he understood every word.
Orion stared back at her past an unreadable expression. Despite her statement, one fact remained for him.
She had come.
"At the last minute, Voldemort called a meeting of his Elite Deatheaters, of which I am one. You don't hand in excuses as to why you can't attend those meetings. Least of all 'because I have plans to spend the evening in a Auror's bed instead'. I've never found that one to go over very well with the dark lord."
Orion paused for a moment. "So your excuse is 'you were at a meeting'?"
"It's not an 'excuse', Orion. It's telling you where I was and why. And why you'll likely be sleeping alone for a very long time as far as I'm concerned."
"And how do I know that's the truth?"
"Check your bed."
"The meeting part." Orion corrected.
The little owl took flight from Katlin's shoulder as she felt the muscles underneath her tightening. The last thing she wanted was to be in the middle of a fight.
"How dare you!?" Katlin hissed at him in a low, dangerous tone. "After what I did for you........after I helped you escape.......you still would stand there and accuse me of lying!?"
"And that could have been nothing more than a set-up as well."
Katlin suddenly looked shocked. "A set-up?" She questioned, her expression quickly altering back to one of extreme annoyance. "A set-up!? You think I bothered having you captured, used other Deatheaters to do it, didn't let Johnathan just have you to take to Voldemort, took the responsibility of your escort on myself, went thought that whole embarrassing episode with you just to try and sort things out with you....for us, helped you escape, stunned myself to make the whole thing look real, got injured to boot, and to top it all off had to suffer Voldemort's punishment for what happened........"
"Punishment?" Orion stated abruptly, cutting her off. "What punishment?"
Katlin stopped, giving him a sarcastic smile. "Honestly. What did you think? That the dark lord is handing out awards to those that let prisoners escape? Especially ones as important as you?"
Orion eyed her carefully. "What punishment?" He repeated.
Katlin paused for a very long time. "It wasn't pleasant." She finally answered in a whisper. "And all I got for it was more of your mistrust." Katlin turned to where the little owl was sitting higher up on the bannerrail of the stairs. She raised her arm and whistled for the little bird, which came immediately to her call.
"Come on, Marie." She told the owl, turning to Orion with a deep scowl. "We're going home."
But Orion reached out and grabbed her upper arm to stop her. The action met with a slight cry of pain as Katlin froze in his grip.
"Katlin?"
Katlin pulled back as Orion released his hold on her. Her eyes met his questioning stare.
"From the spell." She said a little too quickly. "There are still bruises."
Orion stood in silence staring down at her. He knew well enough when he was being lied to. What concerned him more was that she was lying this badly.
"What did he do to you?" Orion asked in a very soft tone, running his hand gently over her arm this time.
"Nothing more than I deserved. I should have left you to rot in that cell."
"For all the good it did you, your probably right." Orion replied. He had expected her to have been hurt by the spell. That was a given, and he had spent days worrying about how she was because of it. But he had never thought that Voldemort would target her specifically for his escape. "But suppose I could make it up to you? For not trusting you when you've certainly given me no reason to do otherwise?"
"How?"
"I don't know yet. But I'll think of something, all right? Just give me a chance." He added with a smile, trying to dispel some of her anger.
"Unlike what you've given me?" She snapped back at him.
Orion sighed quietly. He wasn't going to deny her her right to be angry.
"And suppose we make a pact." He added. "We never discuss business between us again. If you're late....or you can't come at all due to a meeting....or a mission...or anything else involving Voldemort and his Deatheaters, it's just....'business'. That's all I need to hear. All right?"
"Why should I have to give you any explanation at all?"
"Because if you don't, I'll just worry."
"You're assuming there'll be a next time." Katlin replied.
Orion could definitely hear a little of the coolness leave her voice. "Well, if there isn't, you'll never know just how sorry I can be."
"I think I've seen how sorry you can be, Mr. Black." She stated firmly.
"Katlin....," He replied softly, giving her his best, most charming smile, "have pity on me. Stay tonight."
But Katlin pulled back from him, the anger in her eyes only slightly diminished.
"I have to go." She stated. "Business." She added curtly.
Orion watched as she attempted to disapparate. But nothing happened.
Katlin tried again, then turned a suspicious gaze on Orion.
"Why can't I disapparate?" She stated indignantly.
"Anti-apparation fields. No one can apparate in or out of the house unless I want them to." Orion paused for a moment. "Kind of kills the whole 'grand exit thing', huh?"
Katlin narrowed her eyes at him.
"They end just at the end of the path to the door." He informed her quickly.
Katlin eyed him for a few more seconds, then swept past him, slamming the front door after her as she left.
Q&A
ENEMIES
skahducky: Ahhhh, the words every writer longs to hear. 'I wasn't expecting that.' Thank you, Dear. You've made P.A.R. happy.
Daughter or not, she will get punished. Just not for what you might think.
FairyTale: I was told to go read your stories. That you are very good. So I will have to go check you out.
Poor Orion. The most mis-understood character since Aaron Richards. People went from hating him in Family Relations to loving him in Enemies. That just goes to show once again that you can't always judge a book by its cover people. Or even by the first few pages for that matter.
I'm very glad you like my Q&A's, Dear. Thank you.
English is not your native language!? Could've fooled me!
Well, to a point, you have Orion down pretty well. He is a very distant person. Despite how he came off in Partners, Orion likely hasn't had a relationship in his life that didn't last over a week. But this one feels different to him. And he's not sure why. And perhaps it scares him just a little to be with someone he feels that connected to and have them be as wrong for him as anyone could possibly be.
How will Charly react to meeting Katlin? I really hope the chapter lives up to all the expectation being placed on it. I am still pretty confident I won't get flamed too badly.
Does Katlin become Orion's wife? Yes, I might have a lot of explaining to do. Then again....I might not.
As far as DE's and their philosophies go, Katlin is in the right company, believe me. She is totally devoted to the cause. And she has good reason when you get into her history.
Have you read ahead on this story or so? I actually have a scene somewhat similar to that in here. (But yours is very cute and much funnier.)
Indeed, 'business' is not discussed. Although I think you'll find that a rule that is overlook more than once on both sides.
As that you are a darned good writer yourself, feel free to throw ideas at me. I give credit. And my characters are not trademarked (yet).
nessie: And apparently you can review as well. Yeah!!!! And I'm glad you like Katlin a bit more now, Dear. She's going to be rather prominent in the story.
No-Name: Thank you. *Smiles.*
Eva Phoenix Potter: Actually, both characters have valid points in their views of the relationship. The only thing they both agree on currently is that, regardless of how strange it may seem, it works for them.
Katlin is a wonderful enigma. The best part of writing about her is that she is a character that I actually do understand very well. She sees something she wants, but she isn't sure if she's ready to deal with the social (not to mention the political) ramifications of going after it. She's very dedicated to Voldemort, but she's also a woman finding herself very attracted to the wrong type of man.
Florida is very warm, Dear. And wet. And humid. And hot. And full of bugs, and daily storms, swamps, gators, ahhhhh.....*hugs self*....home!
Currently Cypress Gardens future is up for grabs...literally. There is a park owner in Georgia who wants to buy it and I think it's a bit of a race to the finish line between him and the state who gets the money together first. We'll have to wait and see.
Werepup: Carple tunnel? Ohhhh, P.A.R. knows about this one, Dear. Both hands. And yes, it hurts a great deal. Especially in the mornings. I'm given to wearing braces at night. That helps some, and I'm not keen on the surgery.
No, Dear, pain does not stop a writer from writing. Very little can do that.
It's not my stories that will make you reach any level you aspire to, Dear. It is your own innate ability and your devotion to developing it. And if the true desire is there, nothing will stop you.
Arania: Thank you, Dear. I did check out mugglenet. It's been a long time since I visited that site and yes, it is an excellent Harry Potter website. They do a good job with it. But understand where 'the best' is concerned, I am a long time Leaky Cauldron fan. (No matter how many times they change their &*%^$# name and address.) (I'm sorry. P.A.R. felt the need to swear a little.)
'She finally defied big V for him'? What makes you think she did it for him? Very little altruism here, Dear. Purely selfish motives, I afraid.
Their situation has been complicated long before this.
Roll: So, 'Semmel' is Bavarian for 'roll'. P.A.R. can go to bed happy now. She's learned something new today.
'Bretze' sounds familiar to me. I think I heard that word somewhere before.
Rambling is fine, Dear. P.A.R. doesn't mind. I learn about you guys when you ramble.
You sort of answered your own question, Dear. (Men!) He's a man, Dear. Honestly!
Actually, I did answer this one in another review.
Actually, Orion doesn't think that their happening to be in the same place at the same time is a coincidence. He thought Katlin was there as a distraction.
Did he think that over later? Yes.
Did he realize he might have been wrong? Yes.
Does he realize how much 'stuff' he's in now? Well, currently, yes.
Yes, Dear, he is an Unspeakable. But it's that darned pheromone cloud that keeps clouding the view.
GOOD HEAVENS! How could you spoil the book like that!!!!!!!? Yeah, big revelation. That's the same as saying 'something happens in this installment of the series'.
FEVER
Lions Blood: Thank you, Dear. I'm glad you enjoyed it.
Silverfox: Is he too stupid to realize he's mortal? No. Just convinced he's a little harder to kill than most. And with good reason. But that comes up later.
Voldemort's fortress. Alleyways. What's the difference?
Can Orion hide this from Charly forever? Absolutely not. But he's going to make a solid go of it first, knowing full well his partner is going to be none to pleased about things.
UnrepententReader: I'm so glad you liked the chapter. Especially the conversation. It was very hard to put that to paper and have it come out making sense as well as be believable. Thank you.
sweets: Working and going to school can be tough. And you might also want o check out usajobs.gov or .com. I'm not sure which. They list a lot of government jobs all over the world. Very nice site.
Cypress Gardens is indeed The Continuing Saga. Currently some park owner in Georgia is interested in buying it. Who knows?
Orion is a bastard in his own right? Well, he can be. But he can be a decent sort too when he wants to.
I'm very glad you gave the story a try, Dear. And even more so that you are enjoying it.
lilahp: Yes, Dear. All for you (and my wonderful curiosity.)
What is it you're writing home to mom about, Dear, that she won't understand?
I did go to Mugglenet and found the story there. It was quite interesting, and I had not heard any of this before.
Glad you enjoyed the chapter. And although they seemed to be downplaying it, they were both very well aware of the danger they were in. Especially Katlin.
As for her helping him to get away, she had no choice, really. She didn't expect him to be killed. She was quite sure Voldemort would keep him for questioning due to his status in the Ministry. It was a very unexpected surprise to her when she found out he was scheduled to be executed and that just didn't fit into her plans at all. And she was the one who got him into the situation, she felt obligated to get him out of it.
Orion is in very little trouble. He got captured. He got away. That's all the Ministry is interested in.
Katlin has a very good reason to see Voldemort like a father. But that is all part of her background story. And sorry, no evil Aurors from the past. Katlin and her parents actually knew very little about Voldemort or the Ministry or anything else way back when. How they all crossed paths is part of the story.
I'm assuming you meant 'to catch Orion', not 'Sirius'. And why would she go to all that trouble? For the very reason she said. She wanted answers. Was it the reason she thought, or was there something there she could use later? For good or bad, why he let her live was something she wanted an answer to.
That little pendent is actually important to the story in many ways. And you'll see a lot of it.
I am a bit better these days. But I have good days and bad ones. Thankfully more good than bad.
The joke was very cute, Dear. Thank you.
FEVER
Lions Blood: Thank you, Dear. I'm glad you enjoyed it.
FAMILY LIFE
Katherinelou: I'm sure the wedding will be crazy too, Dear. If they ever get there.
Actually, one of the cutest wedding day stories I've read was one called Slapped. Can't remember the author right now, but it was worth the read.
Starlette: Ohhhh, such a good reviewer. Nice long reviews.
So glad you enjoyed the story, Dear.
Your comments about Arabella made perfect sense to me, Dear. No problem. And very nice they were, too.
I do agree. Some stories make Harry out to be a little too perfect. And I am the first one to say I have been guilty of this. The whole point in many of my stories is trying to have the kid show a little more emotion than in the Canon versions, where I think he shows near to none.
Happily ever after? Phffft! You don't know P.A.R. very well, Dear.
I enjoyed writing Sirius. And I always will. I think he is a very interesting character to play with. There are just so many things you can do with him.
Ahhhh, someone remembered poor Sirius' injured leg. No, Dear, it is not healed. If you read the previews to Family Life's sequel, Family Relations (posted at the end of several stories and chapters of other stories), Sirius is walking with a cane due to his injured leg.
Family Life is indeed sequeled, Dear. It, in fact, has two sequels. Family Relations, which I am currently working on, and Family Ties, part three of the Family story arc.
I enjoyed your rambling very much. I hope you enjoy my stories.
TRIED AND CONVICTED
Starlette: Wow. Chapter by chapter. You gotta admire that kind of dedication.
The first chapter was not one of my best and purple water and I went around quite a bit about that chapter and some plot holes in it.
Actually, no one else thought of that, but you're right. If Sirius was guilty, why would James and Lily have been so cordial to him in the previous story. Good point. Gold star. (*) Enjoy.
Yes, actually, Harry did know his mother in The Bonds That Tie. He also recognized her int he picture Lupin showed him. And yes, it was actually stated that Lily went off to see Harry while James talked to Sirius in The Bonds That Tie.
Actually in the P.A.R. Harry Potter universe, Snape and Lupin were friends during their school years. That story is in progress with no current release date. The story is titled Proper Friends.
THE BONDS THAT TIE
Starlette: Why would anyone in their right mind NOT like chapter by chapter reviews? I do them. And I have messed up my computer some how and can not get rid of that indentation, so live with it, please.
Anyway, Keep in mind in this story that No one is really sure which side of the fence Sirius is on. That was the whole reason Dumbledore had Sirius staying with Remus in the first place. So that Remus could sort of keep an eye on him.
Personally, I love doing Baby Harry stories. They're easy, they're cute, and they draw a crowd every time.
No, you were not misreading. At that point Dumbledore knows Sirius is there. But both are being careful because the ministry is also sniffing about looking for Sirius.
Aaron Richards is Remus' pack leader. He is the werewolf who (in the universe according to P.A.R., came to Remus' parents after Remus was bitten and helped him (and them) adjust to his new state. And pretty much everyone jumped on the 'Aaron Richards is a bad man' bandwagon. I have no idea why. He is the most 'guilty before proven innocent' character I have to date. (With Orion Black running a close second.)
Why didn't Remus think of Hogwart's before? He was a bit stressed. Not thinking clearly. All that stuff.
Basically CPR is what they did on Sirius to get him breathing again. P.A.R. is a big fan of CPR. It is also what Sirius used on Harry in Fever when he stopped breathing.
Why did the ministry suddenly knock on the door? Pure coincidence.
The line thing is a writing tool, Dear. Very good for making readers look at the story the way you want them too. I didn't want that all in one paragraph. It would have read very badly if I had done that. Breaking things down to smaller sentences cues your reader into that something is going on that is suspenseful and gives them a bit of what the characters are feeling.
Indeed, the light was James' way of rescuing them and getting them to Hogwarts.
Remus' not wanting to hand Harry over is a relation to his werewolf instincts. He's in a very stressful situation. Nothing is making sense to him, and basically, he's confused. Now here comes a happy little house elf saying, 'Give me the kid. I'll take care of him.' Remus doesn't know that house elf from a hole in the wall and he's not letting go of anything until he's sorted things out a little better. It's very 'werewolf instinct'. Stay with what you know until you know better.
Yes, indeed. Aaron Richards is a bone-chewing, fur-shedding, tail-wagging, 100% werewolf.
Chapter 13. Wow. Lots of questions. First, Why didn't James mention Peter? Call it whatever you like. Author oversight. Poor story layout. I just wasn't focused there while writing this.
Why doesn't Sirius ever tell anyone Peter was the secret keeper. He's somewhat ill at the moment. And I think he did elude to it with Remus when he was in jail. He was just too sick to get the whole story out.
He's not just waltzing about outside. He's actually a bit delirious.
The thermometer thing was one of my better scenes.
Chapter 15 was one of my favorites to write because it was mostly just for fun. And the whole thing between Remus, Aaron, and Sirius I loved writing.
Thank you, Dear. I'm glad you enjoyed it. However, I can't really comment on your guess. All I can say is what I usually say in these situations. You're on the right track, but your train left the station without all the passengers on board.
Reviews are as of 05242003. If I missed you, I am sorry. Please let me know and I'll get you next time.