A/N: Yes, the title is exactly what it suggests. Why? Well, first and foremost, because I was absolutely set on ending that last chapter where I did. Secondly, because I'm the author, and I can. So there. Pfffft!

Anyway, I don't know that I have much else to say. The story is just going gangbusters in Enhanced Statistics. Who'd have ever thought so many people would enjoy a completely OC story.

I am impressed.

Also, just got a chance to see some pictures from PoA (the movie) in Newsweek. *sigh* WHAT were these people thinking? From AGES ago they had the possibility of snagging Christine Bale as Lupin. Ohhhhh, I felt in love with those eyes.

What do I get? Some actor(?) I've never even heard of that looks about as much like Remus Lupin as I do.

Now, do I even need to say anything about Gary Oldman as Sirius? (Looks about at the silent crowd.)
I thought not.

As always...,

Enjoy.

Disclaimer: *Looks into mirror.* Pffft. Don't look a thing like Rowling. Which at this point, might be a good thing. Darn sure don't look like Harry Potter. Therefore I guess it is safe to assume none of this is legally mine, except those characters you don't recognize as being any part of the Harry Potter series, which just goes to show that I still have a few original ideas of my own. So there! Anything else belongs to J.K. 'It had to happen. I SWEAR! I said so in interviews!' Rowling and her 'Who gives a frig, it's making us money' publishers.

CHAPTER THIRTEEN B: FOLLOW UP

Within seconds Charly found himself practically bodily pulled out of the bar and out onto the street.

"What's the matter, mate?" Charly stated as he yanked himself free of Treaks' grasp and righted himself on his feet. "Don't care for a little nightlife?"

"I'm not your 'mate'." Treaks replied sourly, reaching for his wand. "And we have work to do. Preferably without a fifth of scotch in you. Honestly, Misser, do I have to sober you up every time?"

Charly's eyes never once left the man in front of him as he looked very much like a man fighting for his balance. But as soon as Treaks fired off his spell, Charly dodged it with startling accuracy, a pleased smile on his face as he stood back up to face Treaks.

"Ha! Mithed m........"

The second spell hit Charly dead center, knocking him back a few feet. Pausing for a second, Charly finally shook his head a bit, then turned a disgruntled look back to the man in front of him. "Now what did you go and do that for!?" He stated hotly. "That was a right good bender I had going!"

"And we're not going to get anywhere tonight with you falling all over yourself."

"Ain't nothin' wrong with a nice, right bender."

"And we have work to do, Misser!" Treaks reminded him, his own voice raising slightly. "Or have you conveniently forgotten about that?"

"Merlin's Beard! Settle down, Treaks. No matter you Deatheaters are such a uptight lot. You never have any fun."

"Fun?" Treaks stated with an overly apparent sneer. "Is that what this is to you, Misser? Fun? Then I would say you Aurors have a very strange definition of the word. Or was that punishment you received for your last screw-up just a warm-up for you?"

"I messed up once!" Charly shot back.

"Well, for your first, it was quite a show. What in magic's name happened to this wonderful plan of yours to put an end to your partner's relationship with this woman you reported he was seeing?"

Charly frowned deeply at the man. "He was suppose to talk to her. I know Orion. He would sit and discuss the matter to the last detail. Somewhere in there he was suppose to realize that he and this bird he's seeing had absolutely nothing in common and bring this whole affair to an end."

"Well," Treaks gave him a smug smile, "I would say you don't know your partner as well as you say you do then."

"It was likely this stupid bird who was responsible. She probably realized she was almost out the door and employed all of her ample charms to keep him interested."

Treaks face shifted to a very hard expression. "The point is," he continued before Charly could say anything, "you messed up."

"It was the last time." Charly shot back.

"Really? Because quite frankly, I think you're headed for more 'fun' then you'll know what to do with."

Charly stared back at the man with a questioning look. "What do you mean?"

"You're last little fiasco, Misser. You told that idiot partner of yours that your injuries were due to a Deatheater ambush?"

"So?"

"Does the name Katlin Griss ring any bells for you, Misser?"
Charly gave the man a wry smile. "No. I've been under a rock most of my professional life."

"Well, that certainly explains a lot." Treaks replied with another sneer.

Charly returned it. "Katlin Griss is Voldemort's top agent. Every Auror knows her."

"Well, she got wind of that story of yours and has jumped on it like water on a fire, Misser. Given how much time she was devoting to it, I'd say she already suspects you were lying."

"Why does she even care?"

"You reported that a group of Deatheaters attacked you, but nothing was ever reported among our people. Such an attack would have been grounds for a great deal of boosting. Griss already suspects the report was a lie. She likely wants to know 'why'. And she's already starting to unearth proof."

"What proof?"

"Griss dug up the records and reports of missions and every random attack in the last month. There was nothing there, Misser. No reports, no planned attacks. Nothing. The woman is no idiot. She's going to start piecing things together and know that you lied about the attack. What she's going to do with that information I have no idea. She could well use it to blackmail you. Now," Treaks jabbed a finger in Charly's chest, "the question is, what are you going to do about it?"

"If I'm asked, I'll say the attack likely wasn't reported."

"A group of Deatheaters.....attacked and injured an Unspeakable....and they're not going to talk about it? Trust me, Misser, you'd best have a story ready. And it had better not be that one."

Charly waved off the man's warning. "I'll have something ready." He replied. "And since I know it may be coming, I can be prepared. Not easy fooling your own kind. But I've got time to work on it. Don't worry about it."

"Worry?" Treaks laughed. "The last thing I am is 'worried about it', Misser. Personally, I think the master knows enough to realize that he needs you alive. But when this is over, I wouldn't raise a finger if he chooses to beat you to death for being such an idiot."

"Such a kind sentiment." Charly replied. "I really missed out, I did, not having you for a partner."

"Just make sure you come up with a convincing story this time." Treaks stated sharply. "I need you alive as much as the master does right now. Preferably in your current position. Which you may not be if your superiors find out you lied about that attack."

"Just leave it to me. Now, what did you need this meeting for so desperately?"

"First off, to warn you about what Griss has been up to."

"Fine. You've warned me. What else?"

"While you're trying to come up with your convincing story, we'll need to throw Griss off your trail for a few days."

"How?"

"I already have a plan in place. Griss has been engaging in some....odd behavior lately. What I have planned will not only get her off your trail for a while, but answer a few question of my own about what she's been up to. I just need you to play your part."

"All right. Anything more?"

"The master said he was aware of factions in our area who have expressed an interest in joining him."

"I was at the last meeting, Treaks. Get on with it."

"What you don't know, Misser, is that Voldemort is also aware of these factions. And he is sending a group of Deatheater Elite to scout the meeting."

"Voldemort? Why does he care what a pack of malcontents is doing?"

"Because they aren't his malcontents. Voldemort is aware of the growing stronghold of the master in the north. We both know that. He's concerned these smaller factions might be trying to form an alliance with the master. If they are, the Elite are to stop them."

"Well for magic's sake, try and stay out of the way, will you? The Department is, as usual, already ahead of you on that meeting and have got it's own people who are going to be scouting that meeting as well."

"To do what?" Treaks asked, his voice dripping with condescendence. "To take notes and report back to your superiors? It would take you Unspeakables days to just decide if you should have ordered coffee or tea. Elite take a much more direct approach."

"What? Make sure no one leaves the pub alive?"

Treaks gave the man a tight smile. "Well, no one of any consequence."

Charly sighed to himself. "Just keep in mind that there will be Aurors at that meeting as well. Try to be discreet for once. Now, what plan do you have in line to sidetrack Griss?"

Treaks gave Charly a small smile. "All I need you to do, Misser, is to pass on a bit of information."

Q&A

skahducky: I'll say it again. When I pick up Rowling's books, I'm looking for a little escapism. A little reality vacation for about a hundred or so pages at a time. If I want to get in touch with an angry, hostile, confused, hormone driven teenager, I'll go down to the local mall. A few should be vandalizing the place apart almost any day of the week that I can pick mine from.

Now, come Book Six, or even Book Seven, and Rowling can turn this depressing little story of her's around and make it something enjoyable again, folks, PAR will be the first one in line to apologize, declare her the greatest writer of all time, and personally offer to slap for her anyone who disagrees.

But I won't spend my nights worrying about it, O.K.?

sweets: Sorry. I did warn you things would get a bit confusing for the next few chapters and you'd better have those score cards out, folks.

Actually, I didn't find you 'slow on the uptake' at all. If anything, you seemed a good deal more intelligent than most people I met that weekend.

What do you mean 'it has to do with Katlin'? How could it not. Most things in the story either have to do with Katlin or Orion. (Or Charly, or Treaks, or Bale, etc.).

Sorry, you did miss out on the one bright spot of the convention. Sunday Brunch. Man! Those people now how to COOK! Put PAR right in the mood for spending LOTS of money at the auction. (I really should be banned from those things.).

The only adjustment I would recommend to the Quidditch gamemaster is don't mark the Snitches so obviously. With so many people on the field, some random person just walking through holding a small gold ball would hardly get much more notice than a real snitch.

True! All true!!! I saw it folks. It was UNDERHANDED!

Actually, good thing their declaring it fouled didn't make a difference in the end. PAR would have gotten upset. And you've seen PAR upset. Not pretty. Not pretty at all.

The wand is still on the 'three week walk away' list. And the more time goes by, the less interested I am getting, which was the whole point to start with.

Sailor Sol: Like I said, open your wallet and say 'HELLO' to that two hundred dollars you still have there. Because trust me, the people running this convention would have found a way to separate you from every penny you had before kicking your broke butt out the door.

Most of the planners, organizers, and runner of the convention did not seem overly enthusiastic about having another go. Such amateurs. Most of what they complained about are the things convention running is all about. You have expenses, folks. You should plan for them. There are guests. They are there to be entertained......by you! It's your job! Get with it!!! You do NOT need to hold your convention next to a theme park to entertain your guests. Good planning on your part would negate the need to entertain them OUTSIDE of the convention. You do not need to FEED us. Any convention goer worth their salt can find food in a ten mile radius by small alone. Though few even care as that they brought enough snack food in the cooler in their room to last for days.

Cliffhangers. How I love that word.

I'm kind of surprised that I didn't get one review that said 'Treaks? Who's Treaks?' Good reviewers. Somebody had their score card out.

'Abandoned' is noooooooot quite the feeling Charly's having right now.

Actually, yes. I have big things in store for Charly. And I have big things in store for Orion. (You'll note those were not together.).

I think poor Sirius has been through quite enough right now without someone else whacking him for fun and profit. (And shock value.). However, now that I have seen Gary Oldman as Sirius.....................kind of looking forward to movie Five. *PAR quickly runs off to Chamberofkeys website to reacquaint herself with a few good renditions of Sirius.*

Oh, thank you Lord, for giving us the letter A, and the letter U. (Kind of sounds like Sesame Street, doesn't it? Although actually, I'd give that over to your review. 'AU. What power they hold! Yes, with the letter A, and the letter U, put together, you can create anything. Whole new worlds, just waiting to be discovered'.)

Ahhhhh, another happy reader. Makes PAR happy!

Silverfox1: Uh oh! Somebody got hit by Fanfiction's latest........thing. Little name change there, Dear?

I am SOOOOOOO happy PAR isn't apparently a popular choice. Actually, I'm the only one!

Charly's motives are far from self-serving. If the man has one ultimately redeeming quality...........(hmmmmmm, author wonders if she should go on?). Nope! Sorry. Too much information. Have to wait. But to be fair, I will say this. Charly's actions have nothing to do with anything in his past. Well, not his far past, anyway.

As for 'I know what birds are like', more accurate would be two 'birds' standing about saying, 'I know what Charly is like'. Boy gets around.....and around, and around, and around.....!

Reviews are as of 08022003. If I missed you, you know what to do. (Yell and scream and shame me into groveling for your forgiveness next time.)