A/N: Oy! The trouble I had with this one!
First I wasn't sure where to put it. Then I wasn't sure if it was here. Then I had time line problems with it.
as I said.....Oy!
But here it is, folks.
And as always,
Enjoy.
Disclaimer: Honestly, folks. Haven't you figured this out yet? Do you want to see the bank statement?
CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX: SCENES FROM A RESTAURANT
After their last meeting, Charly had begun to stick to his partner like proverbial glue. The smile on Treaks' face when they had last parted had sent up every warning flag Charly thought he had. The man was up to something, and it couldn't be anything good.
And Orion wasn't making things any easier for him. Since the attack on the Deatheaters lair, he had hoped the man's disposition might brighten a little. But it seemed to do just the opposite. Every day his mood seemed a little darker. His attention a little less focused.
After several weeks had past, Charly began to wonder if Orion had ever severe the connection between himself and the power. But questioning him about it, Charly quickly learned, was the quickest path to a fight with the man. But more than once he would sit across from his partner and look into the man's eyes and swear he didn't know the person looking back at him. Orion was starting to shut down from people. From the outside world in general. But mostly, from his partner. A feeling Charly didn't like one bit.
And for that very reason Charly had practically forced the man to accept an invitation to dinner with him that night.
For the most part the evening went much as Charly expected it would. Orion sat at the table across from his partner, watching him eat with the same half interested look that Orion watched everything for the past several weeks.
So far Charly had made it through his appetizer, soup, salad, and was currently working on the main course, a basted breast of chicken, all the while discussing what they should have for desert. The problem was, it was a fairly one sided conversation. For one thing, Orion wasn't eating anything. But he was well on his way to his fourth scotch. And the only contribution he had made to the conversation in the past ten minutes was suggesting his desert be a fourth.
"Merlin's Beard!" Charly finally stated, shoving the basket of rolls across the table as Orion signaled the waiter. "At least have a little food with your alcohol."
"I hate mixing food and alcohol, Charly." Orion replied with a slight smile, handing the waiter his empty glass and quickly ordering another. "It kills the taste."
Charly sighed and went back to his meal.
"Is your liver even still speaking to you at this point?"
"No. It just sends me postcards every now and then to let me know it's still alive."
"Well, keep up the way you're going and those will stop one day soon."
Orion happily toasted the man across the table with the glass the waiter had just left and quickly downed half the drink.
"I thought that was your desert?" Charly asked.
"Actually it's my main course."
"How did you figure that?"
"Well," Orion reasoned out with a surprising amount of clarity that showed he was even paying half as much attention as Charly credited him with night, "you had an appetizer, I had a drink. You had soup, I had a drink. You had salad, I had a drink. That's three drinks. You're on your main course," He added, toasting the man again with the last half of the drink before quickly downing it, "and I'm behind." Orion quickly looked about for the waiter again as Charly shook his head and went back to his meal.
"And I'm going to end up taking a sodding drunk home to sleep it off at my place." Charly commented.
When the remark failed to get any answer of protest, as it usually did, Charly glanced across the table.
Sitting in his chair, Orion was now staring transfixed at a table a few booths away from where they were sitting.
"Got to be some bird." Charly stated, turning about in his seat to see what Orion was gawking at. "I know that look on your face. Sober or not you can always......"
But Charly stopped abruptly as he caught sight of what had his partner so entranced.
Sitting in the booth, closest to the end of the seat, was Katlin Griss.
Charly turned quickly back to his partner, whose eyes hadn't shifted from the other booth.
"Orion!" He stated, snapping his fingers in front of him. "Let it go."
But Orion didn't even acknowledge he had heard Charly let alone that he saw anything past the woman sitting at the end of the booth, laughing at something one of her companions had said.
"Three months." Orion whispered after a few moments. "Three months and I would still know that laugh."
"Orion." Charly said in a low, warning voice. "Sit! Stay!"
Orion shifted his gaze suddenly to the man across from him. "I'm not going to do anything, Charly."
"Famous last words?"
But Orion's expression suddenly changed to one of dismal disbelief.
"What?" Charly asked.
"She's with Johnathan Treaks." Orion replied just above a whisper.
"Who's a Deatheater Elite, Orion. No big surprise. She's out having dinner with her friends." Charly chanced another quick look. "Too bad their not all Deatheaters. We could have a spot of fun tonight. Not sure about the other couple though."
"But......Johnathan Treaks? Charly, she hates the man."
"She got on with life, Orion." Charly told his partner pointedly across the table. "Which is what you're suppose to be doing. All right? Best for everyone and all that?"
But Orion's gaze stayed fixed on the small gathering in the booth. Charly glanced up just to see a small smile form on his partner's lips.
"Oh........, dark corners of a pensive! She looked at you, didn't she? I know that smile." Charly quickly threw his napkin on the table and got to his feet. "All right, mate. That's it." He said, pulling out his wallet and laying several bills on the table to cover the meal as well as Orion's drinks. "I'm not even going to let this get started." He grabbed Orion firmly by the arm and pulled him to his feet from the chair. "Let's go."
Orion tried to pull free of the man's grip to no avail.
"Charly!"
But Charly hardly gave his partner time to think let alone act as he steadily directed Orion for the door of the restaurant, which unfortunately, with no detours, took them right past Katlin Griss' booth. Orion gave a sharp pull on Charly's hold on his arm, trying to turn towards the booth. But Charly was quicker tonight and pulled him back around and shoved him quickly past the booth.
Had Orion been sober, everything would have gone just as Charly hoped. But the redirection of Charly's shove proved too much for his feet to sort out and instead of sending him towards the door, Orion tripped right over Katlin's table, practically ending in her lap.
Charly immediately reached for the back of the man's shirt as he noted Treaks had pulled Katlin about in a supposed attempt to keep Orion from falling on her. But Charly knew all too well the move was so much more. It was keeping her from even seeing him at all.
With a solid yank, Charly had his partner steadied back on his feet and headed for the door.
"Little too much to drink." He offered as they passed the table.
Treaks returned Charly's smile with such a look of self-satisfaction it was all Charly could do not to release his grip and let Orion have a go at the man. But he held firm to his partner and continued to head for the door.
"There's a good boy, mate." Charly said finally, shoving Orion out onto the sidewalk and quickly directing him down it. "Lets go have a nice nap, all right?"
But Orion pulled away from him, turning an anger stare on him.
"What did you do that for!?" He demanded. "What did you think I was going to do?"
"The list of stupid possibilities is almost endless."
"For instance then?"
"Try talking to her?"
Orion opened his mouth, but closed it just as quickly.
"Orion," Charly stated a little more sympathetically. "Look, I know how much you loved her. Merlin's Beard, man! You were going to marry the woman. I've known you for over twenty years, and you've never taken so much as one step towards the 'm' word. But Orion," Charly continued on, trying again to direct him away from the restaurant, "mate, you made a mistake. A big one. And......this was the only way to fix it. You know that. Now just.....let it go." Charly rested his hands on his friend's shoulders as he stood in front of him, looking him squarely in the eye. "It's what's best for everyone, all right? It's what's best for her, Orion."
Orion met Charly's stare with his own, hard, cold one.
"All right?" Charly asked again.
Orion paused, but then slowly the coldness in the stare melted as Orion dropped his eyes and slowly nodded.
"That's my mate then." Charly replied with a pleased smile. "Come on. We'll go up town and see if we can't find us a couple of birds to take your mind off things, hey?"
But Orion held back, finally shaking his head as Charly walked back over to him.
"I just want to go home, Charly." Orion stated a little forlornly. "It's been a very long night."
"All right. But why don't you stay over at my place tonight?"
Orion managed a genuine smile for his friend.
"Don't trust me?"
"I think you've had a good bit too much to be trying to apparate home, Orion, my boy. So come on then. I've got a nice lumpy couch just waiting for you."
Orion allowed Charly to lead him off down the road. An hour later he was bunked down on Charly's sofa, softly snoring away the rest of the night.
Q&A
nessie: I'm sure you weren't the only one slightly confused by Treaks not being a Deatheater, Dear. But the point is, he's not. Just as Charly stated, when they began working for the wizard in the north, they had to drop their separate affiliations. So just as Treaks is not a Deatheater, nor is Charly an Auror. they are agents for the wizard in the north.
Chibi - kid. Works for me.
Very happy for you on your grades.
Harry, right now, is either about to be born or just born. Keep in mind Voldemort hasn't come into his full power yet. And Harry defeated him when he was just about eight months old.
Happy Birthday, Dear. I hope you enjoyed it.
Thank you for being understanding. I do try to post as regularly as I can.
As for Gentle Persuasion, yes, the woman is very good at what she does. And one point I was surprised no one made a comment about was that Arabella and Katlin are in the same field. They are both interrogators. And if push came to shove, I would have to say Arabella is better at it than Katlin, and with a lot less blood loss involved.
Sorry, but yes, Sirius is not in Family Relations very much.
How do I know how old you are, Dear? Just making sure the PG13 is being properly enforced. And of course it's not graphic. How could I do that to Rowling's work? 'Show a little respect', I say.
Oh! THAT flame. Yes, I remember that one. And I believe I responded to that one that if there were a Mary Sue in that story (which there wasn't), the closest to me would be Analisa, not Arabella.
I should go looking for that story. But I have read a few stories where half way through I had to sit and ask 'Did you even bother reading the original?'.
Sailor Sol: Dear, I need some help with this. Why would they go after Sirius? Much as I love to write about him and would throw him into this story as just a cameo appearance in a heartbeat, to my knowledge he doesn't show his furry little hide in this story at all.
Vermont in the dead of winter? Sounds nice. All peaceful and quiet and white.
The real world is kinda' on my tail right now. Hopefully things will settle down soon and I can take a break from the running around I'm doing.
Silverfox: THAT'S what I should have put. 'Next chapter'. Not 'next week'.
Man, you come up with the best stuff.
Let me see if I can sort this out for you. I did say Bo was not easy to explain, just fun to write about.
In answer to your question, no, Charly and Treaks are not wrong in their assumption of how dangerous Bo would be without Orion. Without Orion, Bo would have no purpose. No guiding force. He would be just sort of 'there'. Orion is sort of Bo's translator in the world he's in.
And again, keep in mind, please, that Bo is not a person. He's an entity. it makes a tremendous difference in trying to understand him.
What Charly and Treaks are wrong about is the understanding they are working with that Orion is Bo's host. He's not. And, yes, I know you've heard me say before that he is. But I have always (tried) to paraphrase that with 'channeler'. The host of the Power is simply the physical 'structure' that allows it to stay here from wherever it was called.
Bo's host is the oldest Black male capable of serving as a host. Who does that leave?
Talon.
And Talon is the one who put the power in the boggart. As is he the one who has absolute control over it (as much as anyone does). You actually are missing a chapter here that I left out for several reasons, in which Orion has a run in with his father for what he did to the Deatheaters lair. Not for what he did 'to' the lair. But how he did it. Talon's biggest thing with his eldest son was that he never use the Power, which is exactly what Orion did.
So, no, Orion is not the Power's host. His father is.
Are we all good and confused now?
Back to your question. Would Bo take revenge if someone killed Orion? Is the Pope catholic? I mean, I would not want to be that person, Dear, that's for sure. Talk about your 'no safe place in the world to hide' scenario.
Now, with that in mind, lets take a little look back at a comment Charly has made several times in several different ways. A comment that boils down to that the wizard in the north does not, under any circumstances, want Orion killed. Now, knowing what you know now, why do you think that is? Man might like to live?
Aside from avenging his friend, would Bo do any other harm? Think about it, Dear. He's out to avenge his friend being killed. How would he know when to stop? That would be a three year old on a really BAD temper tantrum.
Will you ever get to meet Talon? Well, as you read already, you nearly did. But due to a great many factors, his chapter was dropped. Will he ever make an appearance? Oh yes. Just not any time soon.
Skahducky: Skahducky, I think that was about the longest review I've ever had from you. And such a nice one. With a theory! Oh, PAR just loves theories!
Yes, Bo does listen to Katlin. Would he ever hurt her? Depends on what she does. Bo's ultimate responsibility, as he sees it, is to Orion. If Katlin were to attack Orion for whatever reason, all bets are off.
Bo tries to scare everybody.
Wait! You lost me, Dear. 'The only way Katlin would do that is if the memory charm was removed, which she might be willing to do if she's asked by Treaks to go after some Death Eater because that's what Orion would seem to her at the time'.
Why would Treaks ask Katlin to go after her own people? And Katlin does not see Orion as Deatheater. She sees him as an Auror. Or perhaps I just misunderstood the statement, Dear. Try me again.
Ok, going on. If Katlin did realize she had a memory charm on her, she would likely assume it was not Voldemort who put it there, and she might point the finger at Dumbledore, assuming he was not part of the memory charm (Which he was, by the way. Figures into the story later. But it unfortunately blows the rest of your theory.).
She would find 'something out about the truth of her past in there'. I find that statement rather interesting. Mostly because I am hoping that, one, people have started to question if what Orion told Katlin was even the truth, and next, she would check it out herself.
Loved the theory, Dear. Keep 'em coming. Keeps me on my toes.
FAMILY LIFE
texasjeanette: Very glad you are enjoying it, Dear.
GENTLE PERSUASION
The Unicorn Whisperer: Well hey, Whip! *Hugs*
Of course, I remember you! How's Zimmy? Haven't heard from that one in a while.
Indeed, the boy will have trouble getting anything past his godparents. And to make things worse, in Family Relations, now it looks like he's off to live with Sirius' brother, Orion, whose an Unspeakable, and reads body language like a second language.
I wondered how many people noticed just how gradual the effect was on Harry. There was a reason it was written that way. Usually, while interrogating for the Ministry, Arabella is out of the room almost before she enters it. But with Harry, she had to fight her way past his natural ability to ward off an Imperious Curse. He was also aware of the fact that she was up to something, even if he didn't know exactly what.
My goodness, you were just really on top of this story. I'm happy when someone catches just one thing I throw in. You caught both of them. Yes, there was a reason Sirius used numbers. Over and above the reasons he gave Harry (the fact he said them too quickly for Harry to actually remember them), numbers are harder to remember than words. I can only think the words your looking for are 'memory retention'. And it is much better for things in context (words) than a series of unrelated numbers. But what Sirius was trying to show Harry was not that Arabella could just get someone to tell her something, but that she could pull it out of their memory if she had to. Even if the person themselves didn't remember what the thing was. And as I pointed out to a friend who read this story, what Arabella is doing isn't an Imperious Curse. If it's anything, it's more closely related to hypnosis. Just a lot quicker and a lot stronger.
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