A/N: I'm running late, folks. So here's your choice. Author's Notes or story?

I thought as much.

And as always,

Enjoy.

Disclaimer: It wasn't mine when I started. Still isn't mine. Situation currently stable.

WEDDING PLANS

Things had been stagnant a little too long for Johnathan's liking. He had hesitated long enough with his plans, and it was long past time to set them in motion. However, his plans for the Auror would have to wait. First things first. And that meant his plans for Katlin.

Although the plan wasn't exactly a new one. It was one he had been working on for some time. Almost from the day he joined the Deatheaters. He knew he had worked himself as far up in the Deatheaters ranks as he could. He was an Elite and just one step down from Voldemort.

And that step was blocked by one person.

Katlin Griss.

No matter what he did, no matter how well he served, no matter how hard he tried, he knew all too well he would never usurp her position with the dark lord. So, if you can't go over your barrier, you can't go around it, and you can't go under it, Johnathan reasoned the only thing left to do was married it.

And that was exactly what he intended to do.

Months ago he had gone to Voldemort and made his request. To marry the top Elite. At first Voldemort had seemed more than a little hesitant. He had, in fact, out-rightly refused the man's request. But eventually, weighed down with Johnathan's arguments, he had agreed.

Even Katlin had accepted the order with little protest. She had, in fact, viewed it for what it was. An order.

Once they were married, Johnathan had everything planned out. Slowly and carefully he would manipulate her under his control, and then through her, Voldemort. Eventually he would be the head of not only the Elite, but all the Deatheaters.

Johnathan smiled happily to himself as he walked down the corridor of the new lair. His plan was a good one. And it had been progressing very nicely. All before the Auror got involved in things.

Nothing kept life interesting like a few twists in one's plans, he told himself. And that was exactly what the Auror had been. Katlin could profess before Voldemort all she wanted that the relationship was just some mission she was working on to get information from the man. But, thanks to Misser, he knew so very much better. Despite the irrationality of the situation, Katlin had fallen in love with the man and he with her.

Well, the second part of the equation wasn't hard to understand. Katlin was a beautiful woman. There was no doubt of that. But how could she have been so stupid? An Auror!? But as Misser continued to feed him information about the situation, Johnathan began to see the benefit of it. Katlin was digging her own grave with Voldemort over the man. Taking risks she normally wouldn't, she would eventually slip up. But when she proved to be more cautious than he anticipated, he had hoped to help things along by exposing her actions for what they were before all the Elite as well as Voldemort. To totally discredit her. That would eliminate his need to end his happy bachelorhood too soon.

But he hadn't counted on Voldemort's love for his 'daughter' blinding him as badly as it did. She had fed him a story Johnathan was sure the dark lord would see through as clearly as he did. But Voldemort had accepted it, and he had been severely punished for interfering in an Elite's mission and possibly endangering it.

Once they were married, that was the first of many marks against the woman she would pay for. How many times had he suffered humiliation and pain because of her and her interference? Why could the woman not just accept her place and stay there? Just play the part of the good, dutiful child, go on harmless missions, interrogate prisoners, and leave the rest to someone more qualified to handle things?

She was suppose to be a show piece. A tool for the Elite to use. For him to use. He was not suppose to be controlled or overshadowed by her. He shouldn't have to be taking orders from this woman. She should be taking her orders from him. He was more skilled, more qualified, and better prepared to be Voldemort's second-in-command. She got there simply by circumstances.

Johnathan sighed to himself and shook his head. Well, once he was where he needed to be, he would be in control of the Elite and the Deatheaters. A control he would use to serve the master as long as it suited him. But Voldemort had promised things too. Things that weren't coming to pass. If this other wizard made the same mistake of thinking he could be strung along forever, with no real progress being made, well, he was still in control of his own separate army. And as long as he was married to Katlin, that was a control he wouldn't lose.

But first he had to get married to her. And she certainly wasn't running to the alter.

So perhaps she needed a little push.

Thankfully, things with the Auror had gone the way the relationship should have and the Auror was no longer a stumbling block in his plans. Misser had explained it all to him. A memory charm was perhaps a bit extreme, but as that he knew of it, he could help it along. Making sure no one questioned her about the 'mission' or any details of it. It was over. It had ended badly. No one would dare bring it up in front of her. And soon the whole thing would be forgotten.

Johnathan stopped outside the door to Katlin's room in the new lair and paused as he steeled himself for what he was sure he was going to have to go through. All the same old arguments and run-around about why she felt he was rushing things. But it had been months now, and he didn't feel that argument would hold water much longer.

Finally he knocked on the door.

An irritated voice inside told him to come in.

She was going to make such a wonderful wife.

"Katlin, do you have a moment?" Johnathan asked, although he wasn't particularly interested if she had one or not. They were going to have this talk.

Katlin continued to work over the parchment on the desk that stood between them without even bothering to look up at him. "Can't it wait, Johnathan?" She stated in a bored tone. "I'm busy right now."

It seemed whenever he came calling, she was always busy, be it business or social. But that too would end once they were married.

"I think this matter has waited long enough, Katlin."

Finally she looked up at him, and he was sure by the look in her eyes she knew what matter he meant. But he was ready for her arguments this time, and that fool Black had helped him gain them.

"The destruction of the lair was a devastating blow to our people, Katlin. They need something that will keep them from dwelling on the incident."

"Something?" Katlin asked slowly.

"I think the time is right for us to go forward with our wedding. The engagement period had gone on long enough. And the timing is perfect."

"For what!?" Katlin stated in an irritated manner as she got up from behind the desk. "To provide the Deatheaters with something new to gossip about?"

"To show them unity, Katlin. Their two top ranking officers marrying. It will help bring solidarity back to the ranks."

"Gossip." Katlin stated firmly, going back to her work. "That's what it will bring to the ranks."

Johnathan frowned down at her. She was still choosing to be difficult about this. Well, no matter.

"Love, you are showing less than the enthusiasm one would expect over our planned marriage."

"Johnathan!" Katlin stated, getting up to her feet again behind the desk. "The lair was destroyed. We don't know how. We don't know by who. You'll have to excuse me if I'm not out shopping for a wedding dress and bridesmaids right now!"

"And yet you should be, Love." Johnathan informed her coolly. "This marriage is just what the people need right now. And it is something Voldemort himself has sanctioned.

Katlin eyed the man with the same cool indifference. What he said was true. Voldemort himself had given the order. She was to marry Treaks. It was what the dark lord wanted.

"Fine." She stated in as expressionless a voice as she could manage.

Voldemort wanted this.

"One month." Treaks informed her. "That is when the date shall be set. I shall go and inform Voldemort myself of our plans." An insincere smile crept across his face. "I look forward to the day, my Love."

Katlin remained on her feet until the door closed behind the man. Only then did she allow herself to collapse back into the chair behind her again.

'My Love' she huffed. The only thing about her the man loved was her power and her position. Much as everything else in her life. But Voldemort himself had told her he wanted the marriage to take place. And even though he had not so much as mentioned it in months to her, Johnathan was very keen on reminding him.

One month.

Katlin tried to focus on the positive aspects of the situation. But for the life of her, she couldn't find any. And the end result would be the same. She would be forced into a loveless marriage to a man she could hardly even stand to be around. Not that it mattered. She was sure Johnathan harbored many of the same sentiments about their impending wedding. It was simply a means to an end for him. Nothing more.

Katlin tried to focus back on her work. She had agreed. Without argument. There was very little else she could say or do at this point.

One month. The words rolled forlornly about in her mind.

What could possibly change in one month?

Q&A

Silverfox:

Oops! Sorry, Dear. You came in just under the wire last week. I was just posting when I saw your review.

Ahhh, questions about Bo. I love 'em.

Actually, any writer will tell you the questions they get the most are about the characters they've written about the least. Hence...., Bo.

Your questions are far from boring, Dear. I live for questions.

So, let me try and answer a few.

OK. Bo is, as I always say, a bit hard to understand.

Where do you draw the line between the person and the entity? You don't, because there is no 'person and entity' here. I never classified Bo as a 'person'. He is an entity. Not a person.

Bo absolutely has a sense of self. He acknowledges himself as existing. But keep in mind Bo doesn't think like we do. That's a large part of his problem here. He's not in his 'realm', and I use that word loosely. It's better to say Bo exists in our realm, but he doesn't exist in it as we do. Before 'things' happened, Bo wasn't restricted by temporal barriers, like walls and such. They just didn't exist for him. Now, not only do they exist, he's confined by them, as well as can he manipulate them, as well as other solid objects. remember the set up in the house when Johnathan tried to attack Katlin? To Bo, that was just 'fun'. Perhaps in this you can start to understand just why Bo is so dangerous. Bo knows he's powerful. How could he not? But he doesn't quite know how to yield that power in an always proper manner in the situation he's currently in. He's also trying to figure things out with a very limited data base. He only knows what's he's told.

Now, just for fun, (and a little more information for you), let's revisit a little subject people may have WAY missed.

Remember that Bo is the Power, Talon is the host, and Orion is the channeler of that power. Now, everything was going great while the power lived through its host, right? With the exception that the Power eventually drove its host insane.

Now, along comes Talon, who, watching what the Power did to his own father, decided this wasn't the way he cared to go. (And I can already hear the questions starting on that one!)

Orion told Katlin that his father put the Power into the boggart to try and stop it from continuing on in his family. And he was partly right.

Partly.

Now, before you get mad at me, let me point out two things. One: Orion could only tell Katlin what he knew to be the truth. Two: I am spilling some beans here.

Talon's whole purpose in putting the Power in the boggart wasn't just to keep it from his son's. He also was doing a bit of deductive reasoning there. The Power only lived through its host. That was all it knew. And it wanted to learn. So it enticed the host to use it so it could learn about the world it was in since it could only do so through its host when the host used it. Talon reasoned that, perhaps, if the Power had a body of its own, it could learn faster and better, without damaging the host if you found it an appropriate one. So he needed something that was human-like, not too bright, and operated almost solely on instinct. (Not much sentient going on there.) And perhaps if the Power had a body of its own, it might choose to stay there.

Talon wasn't actually out to hurt Bo, or punish him for anything. He was, in fact, trying to help (Yeah, yeah, it wasn't totally altruistic, I know.). Which explains his lack of totally hating the poor thing.

So, why was he confined to the cellar? Several reasons. First off, for the very one Orion said. Talon's first and foremost desire in all of this was to keep Bo away from his son's. Second, for the reason I've already said. Talon knew just how dangerous Bo could be. And now even more so. He didn't think it was safe to first give the Power a body of its own to manipulate, then set it loose in the world. Not until it was a bit better acclimated to its new situation.

So why did Talon react the way he did when he found his son in the cellar? For the exact reason Orion said. Everything Talon had tried to do was, in his eyes, destroyed. And whatever trust he had of Bo, vanished that day. He felt the entity had tricked his son, and lied to him. That all the while it had been in the cellar, it had solely been planning its escape. And it wasn't above using any means that presented itself. Even a young, impressionable, defenseless child.

This forced a huge rift between Talon and Bo, and Talon was not keen on listening to reason...at the time.

Has he mellowed on poor Bo? A bit. But he was burned, and he doesn't want to be again. But he does understand that perhaps Bo didn't do what he did out of pure maliciousness, but because he truly didn't understand the danger. But the man is cautious.

Moving on, what separates Bo from a person? Not much. But look at it this way, would you call a spirit a person? If so, we're in for a long night in philosophy class, Dear, because I wouldn't. And before you even go there, 'no, Bo is not a spirit'.

No, Dear. See above. Bo - Power. Talon - Host. Orion - Channeler.

Talon is an interesting character to be sure. But currently he's just where I want him. In the background. To bring a character like him into a story that already has a main character would be to completely re-route the story over to him. And if you think the father is interesting, wait till you meet Mum. I mean, there's a father, right? So there has to be a mother there somewhere.

Talon has very little....almost nothing at all....to do with the relationship between Sirius and his older brother. Those issues are all theirs alone.

Oh, yes! The wizard in the north knows all about Bo. And for good reason. And the good reason is the good reason to read Family Relations, which is where things tie more together. Keep in mind that Family Relations is the middle segment of a story arc. So a lot is going to happen in that story. (Not a tease! Not a tease!)

The wizard in the north spends his nights worrying that the Power might be able to track him down. You bet. The last thing he wants is to be confronted by Bo.

The Ministry and the Deatheaters know nothing at all about Bo.

Ummmmmm......, you kind of have things a bit backwards here. Does Charly know about Bo? How could he not? Bo is the whole reason Charly can do magic in the first place. And don't get me wrong there. Charly does not channel his magic off of Bo in any way, shape, or form. He channels it off of Orion. There is a connection there. Just not a direct one. But Bo came up with the spell that Orion used to allow Charly to do magic. Also, Charly has Orion's wand. (Which begs another question I've often wondered about why no one ever thought to ask. If Charly has Orion's wand, who's wand does Orion use? Don't think I've ever mentioned that before. And it is important to the story. It is a 'P.L.O.T. D.E.V.I.C.E.'.) Anyway, Charly uses Orion's wand, which makes him privy to a lot more than you think as to what goes on in his partner's life. For instance, does Charly know for sure that it was Orion that destroyed the Deatheaters lair? He'd swear to it on anything you like. The point is how he knows. Now, even though Charly knows about Bo, he didn't know everything. And a lot of what he does know he knows because the wizard in the north told him. So, was that information accurate? That remains to be seen.

That should give you something to think on.

As for Family Relations, keep in mind there is a tie in between the two stories. A lot of what you learn in Enemies will tie into Family Relations.

Does Orion want to use Harry as a new host for the Power? Ohhhhh! Dear, that would be very bad of him. Even Orion wouldn't do something like that. Even if he could. By the parameters of the original spell, the Power can only be passed on to members of the family, or those considered part of the family. Orion stopped the adoption before it happened. So Harry is not considered part of the family yet. (Something else for you to think about, Dear.)

skahducky:

Well, if you're sure, Dear. But you sure seem to have been reading over my shoulder.

Where are my notes. Half computer, half head.

Now............., how can I tell you what part is right? That would negate my bothering with the story at all. But man, you are absolutely spot on with it. Nearly word for word.

You are the ONLY person who asked that. (*) Have a gold star, Dear. What is dear Katlin's secret? Which figures prominently into a lot of what she does in her life. Who knows the secret? Just who I said. Two people. Katlin and Voldemort. Want something to think on, look at that. What would only those two people be privy to? Need more? Look at what was going on then, and look at Katlin now. And I am not talking psychological here. That's all you're getting.

I know Fall 2004 seems a long way away, Dear. But when you're the one working on the story, it seems a lot closer for some reason. Sorry, no upping the release date.

Sailor Sol:

I loved your comment, Dear. 'He should dye his hair or something.' All I could think while reading that was 'or something'. You'll see what I mean in a few more chapters.

Will Katlin remember soon? Hmmmm....., how far to go with this? Dear, what do you think the dreams are? (Man, I hope no one else is reading this.)

Military school is fun, Dear? That's a new one on me. But having never been in the military, what do I know? Just doesn't sound like much fun to me.

Three stories and school would be a challenge.

Reviews are as of 04112004 at 3:00PM, or somewhere around there.

And remember: Easter......Passover. Whatever you call it, a wonderful thing happened today.