A/N: It's been a very interesting week.
Disclaimer: As a matter of fact, I did write it. Characters are mine, except for Dumbledore, plot is mine, story is mine. Only thing not mine is the setting and all things Harry Potter related. Other than that............its mine, all mine!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Chapter Thirty-Seven: Someone To Watch Over Me
Katlin watched as another Deatheater threw a curse at the Auror he was fighting. The battle had gone well for them. But the tide was turning and she was certain Voldemort would call off the attack soon.
If he didn't, she would.
Almost on cue with her thoughts, a loud blast, much like a loud horn being blown, echoed across the valley they were in. Time to pull back and return to the lair.
Katlin breathed a sigh of relief. The battle had been long and bloody for both sides. But it was still payback for the Aurors. Revenge for the destruction of their lair. And they still fought with the determination of wanting to avenge friends and family members lost in the attack.
Katlin fired off a few last spells as she headed towards the disapparation point. But just as she fired off the third spell, a sudden flash of light attracted her attention. An Auror off to one side had taken advantage of her preoccupation with finding her own last minute targets and aimed a spell at her.
This was the danger she was always warned about by Voldemort about carrying on too long in a battle once you were to pull back. You get careless trying to get in a last few attacks. Katlin tried to pull her wand about in time while thinking up a counter-spell to stop the one headed at her, but her mind went suddenly blank.
She was going to be hit.
On instinct she threw her arms up in front of her, and waited for the spell to strike.
But all that registered with her senses was a bright flash of light.
Immediately bringing her arms down, Katlin barely had time to realize what had happened when a hand grabbed her arm and pulled her away.
"Girl, you have a guardian angel." The another woman in black robes told her.
Katlin turned to see the same Deatheater she had been watching earlier pull her after the others heading for the disapparation spot.
She looked about quickly to see where the counter-spell might have come from, but things were simply happening too quickly. Before she could think of anything else she was at the disapparation point, returning to the safety of the lair. She never saw the man in the black robes standing off to the side, his long, black hair hidden under his hood as he watched her disapparate with the others.
As soon as Orion arrived at work the next morning Charly was directing him back down the hallway to the meeting hall.
"Another general assembly." His partner grumbled as they filed in behind the others. "Twice in a month. That's too much."
As soon as Bale apparated behind the podium he started speaking. Orion could tell from his superior's voice the man was agitated, speaking in a rapid, forced tone.
"As some of you already know," Bale started, "in the battle last night Larry Taylor was seriously injured. He is currently at St. Andrews." Bale paused as a murmur ran through the assembly hall. "The doctor's presently aren't sure if he'll survive.'
A complete silence fell over the gathering.
"Three reports were received so far that the Deatheaters appeared to specifically target Taylor. Even after he was down, they continued the attack.
This was clearly an attempt by the Deatheaters to resort to torture of one of our agents."
Another murmur ran through the hall; this time a bit louder than the last one.
"Each of those responsible has been identified." Bale went on. "You are to familiarize yourselves with them before the next time we meet the Deatheaters. These three are to be marked to be taken out as quickly as possible. That should send a clear message to Voldemort and his Deatheaters on how we view this type of action."
As the group began to file out of the assembly hall, Orion sat for a few moments listening as Charly discussed the meeting with the Auror next to him.
This whole situation with the Deatheaters was getting too civilized and clean, he thought. Currently the whole thing boiled down to simply who could get the jump on the other group. Who could learn the others plans? Who could ambush who?
What was going to happen when both sides discovered one day that they had a full-fledged war on their hands? And that the rules they had been playing by no longer applied? War wasn't tit for tat. It wasn't about getting even. You fought to win. You fought for your life. For your cause. Your beliefs.
On nudge on his arm drew Orion out of his thoughts.
"You OK?" Charly ask.
Orion gave him a nod as he got to his feet. "Just thinking."
That night Charly stood at the door of the small pub. As soon as Treaks entered Charly grabbed the man and shoved him back outside into the darkness.
"What do you think you're doing?!" Charly yelled at the man as soon as they cleared the door and several other patrons coming in.
Treaks met the tirade with a neutral expression. "Me? I'm no the one yelling my head off for the whole street to hear, Misser."
Charly grabbed the man's collar and pulled him up until they were face to face. Nothing but anger showed in the Auror's expression. "You're people have taken to torturing Auror's. Why?"
"We've been torturing Aurors for ages, Misser. What's you're point?"
"My point is you usually aren't doing it in the middle of a battle."
Treaks gave the man a small smile. "Oh. That."
"Yes. That."
"You should be grateful, Misser."
"Grateful? That your group of magical pigs nearly tortured one of our agents to death in the middle of a battle?"
"Yes."
"And why is that?" Charly ask, pulling Treaks up closer to him. The arrogance of the man was wearing thin on him.
"Because that man could just as easily have been your partner."
Charly slowly let the man's shirt slip from his grip. "My partner?"
Treaks pulled free from the man in front of him, the smile never leaving his face. "The night the lair was destroyed, someone saw the one responsible. He gave that description to Voldemort. The man was tall and thin, with long, dark hair. Since Voldemort didn't have any better description to go by, he simply ordered the deatheaters to target any Auror that fit the description. The general idea was that they were to be killed on sight." Treaks shrugged. "The fools dragged it out instead and the Auror was rescued before they could finish the job."
Charly stared back at the man. "You're targeting Aurors?"
"Pay attention, Misser." Treaks noted with a touch of irritation. "Just ones that fit that description. Which oddly enough," he added, fixing a firm stare on the man before him, "your partner does...to a tee."
Charly was back in the man's face in a split second. "You want to talk about paying attention?" He ask. "Where have you been every time the master has said 'Black is not to be killed'?"
"And I haven't killed him."
"Yet."
"If Black does something so stupid as to draw attention to himself....say.... destroys a lair......."
"There is no proof Orion was responsible for that." Charly quickly defended his friend.
Treaks stared at the man for a moment in something close to disbelief, then quickly shifted back to his neutral expression. "Of course." He added dryly. "Just the same, if the Deatheaters have decided that they are going to kill any Auror who has long, dark hair, and your partner simply happened to fit that bill, what fault is there of mine in that? I'm not the one trying to kill the man, nor did I facilitate the circumstances that led to it."
Charly smirked at him. "And I'm sure the master will see it just that way."
"He won't have to." Treaks stated.
"Really?"
"Despite what you may think, Misser, I have no desire to oppose the master's will. Only serve it. And in that interest, I am going to do everything in my power to see that your partner is kept alive....just as the master wishes."
"And how are you planning to do that?" That smile had appeared on Treaks face again. The one Charly hated so much.
"You'll see." Treaks replied, just before he disapparated.
Katlin awoke to a feeling that left her whole body with a pleasant tingling sensation. She stretched out under the covers and tried to reclaim as much of her dream as she could.
In it she had been making love with someone. He had been strong and handsome, gentle, and compliant with every one of her wishes. Whatever she asked of him, he did. He touched her in all the right places, in all the right ways, and at just the right times. The only bad part of the dream was she could never see the man's face clearly. But she could certainly describe every other part of him.
She gave another contented sigh as she finally roused herself out of bed. She had a meeting to get to. There was no time to lay about in bed all day and dwell on dreams.
The problem was the dream was so enticing. It practically begged her for a few more moments, promising to return if she would just come back to sleep. And the further she got away from the bed, the more insistent the pleading seemed to come.
Katlin laughed slightly as she shook her head. Just what she needed in her life. An imaginary lover. But as she stood before her wardrobe, a sudden realization flooded over her. As she looked over her clothes, she mentally compared them to her life. She had beautiful things to wear. Voldemort had made sure of that. It was sometimes part of her work. Men were rarely interested in a woman dressed in a plain, old, ordinary outfit. And so she wore what he wanted, presenting the beautiful, powerful leader of his Elite that everyone expected her to be.
But underneath the appearance, she could not have been more different. When she was at home, alone, a plain pair of pants and a t-shirt was what she preferred. When Kristen had been alive, she was one of the few people Katlin had felt she could be herself with. The other woman had even applauded her for it, congratulating her on once and a while just being herself.
That was her life, she thought. To the world outside, everything was perfect. People envied her. But underneath, what no one ever saw, was how very dissatisfied she was with things. The only thing she enjoyed truly was her work. And now her mind had apparently conjured up this fantasy to fill one of the many voids in her life.
Katlin shrugged as she reached into the closet and pulled out an outfit. No point in pondering things that she couldn't change. What men loved, she knew all too well, was the illusion. That was what got her missions completed. How she looked. And in part, it was even what helped her maintain her position in the Elite. How she looked determined how people looked at her. It was a fact of life.
Just as was it a fact of life that she forever kept her one secret hidden from everyone around her except Voldemort.
She stared into the image in the mirror as the illusion stared back at her, dressed in its beautiful cloths, covered now by a dark robe.
All just an illusion.
Q&A
ENEMIES
nessie:
Shame on you, wishing such a thing on my poor character. Besides, Orion and alcohol are old friends. Man's been drinking for a very long time. The only respite his liver got was when he was with Katlin.
And he didn't just drink for fun, he drank for a reason, which got knocked out of the story along the way, sort of. In Control, you'll recall, Orion used Bo to destroy the Deatheaters lair. But in order to do that he needed the emotional trigger for Bo to latch onto. Now, think about your day. Your week. How many times do you get so mad you could just....do someone permanent bodily injury? Now think if you really could, just by thinking about it. Just by wanting it badly enough.
Man drinks for a reason.
And playing its part in here is the fact that Orion is not Bo's host. He's only the channeler. Which makes it even worse. Bo and Orion aren't connected the way the Power is to its true host. So Bo doesn't quite understand Orion the way he would his host. Originally all he connected to with Orion were his emotions. But Orion found a way to actually talk to the boggart, which gave him a considerable edge.
How far are we going? Well, in this story, the 'Azkaban incident' is not mentioned, mostly because Sirius is not in Azkaban at this time. However, you do get a look at how Orion feels about things once his little brother is sent to Azkaban in a story called From The Depths of My Soul, which was at one time a chapter of Enemies, until PAR sat down and looked at her timeline a little closer.
This story goes right up to Voldemort's defeat by Harry. Nothing more is mentioned about it than that.
Yes, I said Harry was 8months old. My error. I couldn't remember how old he was and I didn't feel like looking it up at the time. But that doesn't change much about my answer. So the time line is stretched by four months? No biggy. It all still works.
*Applauds* FINALLY! Someone is giving poor Charly a break! Remember that 'Aaron Richards incident', folks. Give the poor guy a chance.
Glad you liked the chapter, Dear.
In regards to Family Relations, and I'm not asking you to be happy about it. Indeed, just accept that life is sometimes very unfair. But if you hold out long enough, say..........., Fall, you'll get rewarded.
And I truly think you'll like Runaway. It's a very cute little Katlin/Harry story that should be up next.
Sailor Sol:
I understand, Dear. One can tend to get fixated on Sirius.
A military school, huh? That's got to be loads of fun (not).
11 and -3? No wonder all the dang northerners are coming to Florida.
Throwing loops are what makes this fun for me, Dear. And there's no end of them in sight.
As for Gentle Persuasion:
*Notes. Notes. Where are my notes? Thought I answered this one before.*
Oh well, said it before, say it again,. I need a good secretary.
Anyway, if this is a repeat, just ignore it, Dear. Putting out three stories at once is NOT advised. Take it from me.
This story was incredibly fun to write. I only wish I could have found my original notes from it. (Makes note to self. Need secretary to stay organized.) ( Promptly looses note to self.)
Arabella is without a doubt very good at what she does. And a large part of how her 'talent' works is to keep the person very focused. If they veer off course too much, it breaks the link. She 'holds' them by not allowing their mind to wander to something else.
I am so glad you liked how it was delivered. It was fun to write, but very hard to get the point across as to what was going on. I am glad to hear from someone that I did a good job of it.
skahducky:
Hmmmmmmmm. Well, Dear, your train's out of the station, but not all your passengers are on board, I'm afraid. And you do have one part of it that is almost spot on. I mean, have ya' been peeking at my notes?
But I'm afraid for the rest? See second sentence.
And Dear, you're stuck on Deatheaters, you know that? Katlin didn't go out with a 'Deatheater', she was dating an Auror. (Bit worried about the Deatheater fetish, Dear.)
Still love the theory though.
In regards to Gentle Persuasion, I'm pleased you thought so, Dear.
This was no charm or spell. It was the power of Arabella's will, coupled with her voice. The two working together form a very power force of manipulation...or persuasion, if you prefer. As stated, it's a type of hypnotism, only a great deal more powerful. Think of it as hypnotism backed by the power of magic.
I'm glad you enjoyed it.
As for Family Relations, Dear, did you miss the warning at the top of the last posted chapter? Or is this just wishful thinking? This story is off on hiatus, Dear, until Fall 2004. Sorry.
FEVER
Basilisssk: Thank you.
FAMILY RELATIONS
Von:
*Pushes others (gently) aside and drags Von to the front of the line*
Come here, Dear. We need to have a talk. And I'm putting you first for several reasons. One, because we need to have a talk. Two, because I'm hoping everyone else will read this.
OK. First, you're reviews were very good. You caught a lot that others seemed to have missed, or just didn't mention.
Yes, indeed, Arabella is purposely trying to keep Harry away from Sirius. This was no mistake, folks, or just something thrown in for fun.
Now, next part. I am ardently coming to Arabella's defense here. Yes, she manipulated Harry with her 'talent'. Was it wrong? Depends on how you view the situation when attached to the statement, 'the end justifies the means'. She had very good reason for doing what she did. She needed Harry to sign the document without a lot of questions, and she didn't particularly wanting him talking about it...to ANYONE. Why? Well, that's a large part of the story.
Arabella doesn't feel she 'deserves' custody. In fact, she gave the choice of custody over to Orion. Not herself. And (all together now) 'there's a reason for that' as well.
Reading the other stories is not a overall requirement, Dear. I mean, you will understand Family Relations without it. Just some things you will definitely miss. For instance, those reading Enemies are already one up on the rest of you as to one of the reasons Orion and Sirius do not get along. And I also strongly recommend Runaway as a 'must read' for Family Relations. But Enemies will definitely be the biggest help to you in understanding things a bit better. Especially characters that will appear in Family Relations that were previously unseen in any other story to date. But if you choose not to, there's always Q&A to straighten things out for you.
And I do understand it is hard to get into a read a nearly completely OC story. And it is not everyone's cup of tea. But currently it's been 4000+ peoples cup of tea, for which I am grateful.
Fall in my neck of the woods, Dear, which is many moons away.
I need a keeper to help me 'keep', as in 'things in order'.
Essence of Magic:
OK. Back to our regularly schedule line-up of reviews. (See above.)
I am NOT ebil. I just like torturing my rea......I mean..., keeping you guys in suspense.
Check me out in Fall 2004, Dear.
Voltora:
Curious name, Dear. I always thought so. Any story behind it?
Anyway, you are so cute. I just loved those little inserts. gave PAR a nice smile.
First off, let me say I sincerely hope that when Family Relations gets up and running, that people will go back and re-read those first three chapters again, because there's a LOT going on there that no one is seeing right now. Every comment Orion made you'll look at differently once you're a bit further into the story and you better understand what is going on. Orion is no fool. And he knows exactly what he's doing.
Now don't go and jump on Orion. REMEMBER the 'Aaron Richards' episode. Give him a chance to prove his case.
Sirius is angry, no doubt. But not for the reason you think.
Yes, indeed, Family Relations is currently running much longer than Family Life. Due to this it will probably be broken up into story arcs, of which there are three in that story. What does that mean? Not much really. It's just PAR's little loophole way of staying under the 50 chapter limit. It also helps me better organize the story. Try working on writing a 50+ chapter story where you are working, not on the chapters in order, but where ideas come to you. The first chapter of Family Relations was not where I started this story. And I haven't written it chapter by chapter either. So it can get very confusing without some sort of organization built into it. Hence - story arcs.
Enemies and Partners will give you a very good background on our boy Orion. But more so, Enemies will give you a good background on other characters that will be appearing in Family Relations, who, without any background understanding, will confuse the heck out of you. Especially Bo, Orion's boggart.
I would look into cleaning out those cobwebs, Dear.
Reviews are as of 04022004.
And remember;
Next time you think you're perfect, try walking on water.