A/N: Well, folks, you might have noticed I missed last week. Nearly missed this week too. And there's a reason for that.
I have had a REALLLLLLLLLLLY bad past few weeks.
Not as bad as the people involved, but bad.
On April 20th, my father had a stroke and ended up in the hospital. The only person with him at the time it happened was me. People, let me assure you, this will scare the nu-nu out of you if you ever see it happen to someone. Strokes can be silent. People never even know they have them sometimes. But my father's was not such. It started with an attack of vertigo, which he has been prone to lately due to an inner ear infection, then proceeded onto a stroke. The scary part is you have no idea what is happening and the person can not tell you. So let me give you some advice. If someone with you nearly collapses, and can't answer what's wrong when you ask them, save both of you some time and trouble and just dial 911.
Thankfully, my father is a doctor and he knew what was happening. When he started to lose feeling in the right side of his body, he had Mom take him to the hospital. Unfortunately, my dad is a doctor and that makes him a bit stubborn about being in hospitals. This all happened at about 7:45PM. By 8:30 we were at the hospital. By 11:30 my dad was wiggling his fingers and toes and asking if he could go home now, he was fine.
We were very lucky. My father returned home last Sunday and is doing well.
So I went to work Monday.
On April 28th, one of the women I work with, a gentle soul if ever there was one, lost her 48 year old son to a sudden heart attack. The funeral was yesterday.
Friday night, when sitting down on my bed, the top half of the frame collapsed and I found my box spring was now sitting on the floor.
Somewhere in the middle of this week, I came home to find one of my cats had decided she didn't like her food anymore and proceeded to redeposit it on my bedroom rug and my sofa. She is now an out door kitty. And before you get all upset at me, understand, this was not a first time occurrence. I have been faithfully putting up with this for years. This was just the last straw. I mean that rug is dang near ruined.
Wednesday night I was given the music I have to sing for Confirmation mass on May 5th. The majority of it was new. Great. One week to learn this stuff.
Also this past week, my brother got his Phd. Good news, you say? Not to me. You see, I have been working on my Master's for over ten years, and the reason I haven't got it is that my school and I have a disagreement (which, do you really want to hear a ten year saga?), and now I get a front row seat to how happy and proud everyone is of my brother. I am not rising to the occasion, I'm afraid.
Oh, and one of my fish has disappeared and left no forwarding address. *Looks at the other two.* Uh oh.
So folks, it's been a long pat couple of weeks. I apologize for missing you last week, but what can I say. I was a bit busy.
Hopefully things will now settle down a bit. My family could use a little peace and quiet.
Also, what you're getting ready to read is actually three separate chapters combined into one. Hence, the headings. You'll see what I mean.
And as always,
Enjoy.
Disclaimer: You know the drill.
Not. Not. Not. (Not mine. Not infringing. Not making money.)
CHAPTER FORTY: MEETING AGAIN - FOR THE SECOND TIME
Charly And Treaks
The night after Orion had spent with Katlin, Charly found himself being dragged out of a bar into yet another back alleyway by a serious enraged Treaks.
"You know, I'm going to have to start drinking sooner, or your going to have to start showing up later." Charly informed the man before him. "Because you rarely show up in any mood I want to be a part of sober."
"Mood?" Treaks fumed at him. "You want a 'mood', Misser? Let me see what I can do for yours. I have some information you appear not to be aware of, or I'm sure your mood would be much the same as mine right now."
Charly took a draw off of the whisky in the glass he had managed to hold onto while Treaks dragged him out of the bar. "O.K.. Shoot."
"Your partner, Black, is back seeing Griss." Treaks stated in one well punctuated sentence.
Charly nearly choked over his drink.
Wiping his mouth off on his sleeve, he turned a heated stare to the man before him. "You're lying! Orion is done with her. There is no way they could be back together."
Treaks gave the man a very self-satisfied sneer. "Really? Because that is exactly who Griss spent last night with. All night with."
"And how do you know? Did you stand at the window all night, or did they just send you the video in the morning?"
"Katlin didn't return with the others from the battle last night. I waited at her apartment, but she never returned there either. I checked every other place or person she might have gone to. No one had seen or heard from her in the last 12 hours. When I finally found her, back at her apartment, I asked her where she had been."
"And she told you to your face she had been with Black?" Charly asked, his tone verging somewhere between admiration and skepticism.
"She told me she had been injured in the battle and had gone to see a friend of her's. A doctor."
"Sounds reasonable."
"To you, I'm sure it would. The point is, she was lying. And badly at that. When I asked what this 'friend's' name was, she blew up at me. Started yelling at me and threw me out."
"Girl's got some sense after all." Charly muttered. "Point is, you have no proof she was with Orion."
"And Katlin is a creature of habit if nothing else. Since the memory charm, she's been spending her nights either at her apartment or at the lair. Now suddenly she become secretive about what she's doing and lying like a muggle about it when I ask where she's been."
"You still haven't proven any real problem exists."
"I don't wait for problems to walk up and introduce themselves, Misser. I believe in dealing with things while they are still manageable."
"And your manageable solution would be....?"
"I'll let you know." Treaks replied. And with that same un-nerving smile Charly was seriously starting to hate, disapparated.
************************************
MEETING AGAIN FOR THE SECOND TIME
Well, he tried.
And he tried, and tried, and tried.
He had tried for nearly a week.
But finally Orion had given in.
He called her.
Of course, there were risks. But he had run the scenario over in his mind so many times, promising himself if he got it all narrowed down to every possibility he could make the call, he was sure he was ready for just about anything.
Sitting on the sofa in his den, he could barely get the fire lit fast enough to make the call. He would stick to voices only. No pictures. That would be best. And it suited his goals for the call as well.
"Yes?" The voice answered from within the flames.
The sound was like a suave on his frayed nerves. The longer he had fought the desire to see her again, the worse the pain within him had gotten.
"Hello, Katlin." He answered in as normal sounding a voice as he could manage. It was never good to sound desperate, he reminded himself.
There was a notable pause before the voice responded.
"Who is this?"
"Just a dedicated doctor checking on his patient.'
The voice turned hard and cold. "How did you get this connection? How did you know where to find me?"
"I told you. I'm dedicated."
"And you can answer the question or this will be the shortest call of your life."
Orion sighed quietly. He had expected her to be piqued that he went so far as to track her down and call her. But he was ready for that.
"I had a patient come in yesterday. The man was a Deatheater. I asked a few questions.....you know...just making conversation, and got your name."
"A patient." Came the disbelieving tone. "Who not only willingly told you he was a Deatheater, but told you the name of another Deatheater? What was he doing? Handing out lists?"
"First off, the man has been my patient for a very long time. And he trusts me. Not that he had much choice. After a few times of coming in for some rather....odd treatments at less than regular office hours, one does start asking questions, you understand."
"Then when you got too curious, he should have killed you." Came the casual reply.
"And I told you, the man has been my patient for a very long time. Since he was a young child." She hadn't broken the connection yet, anyway. And Orion was taking that as a good sign.
"He still wouldn't have known where I live." Katlin pointed out.
"Maybe not. But you forget, I work for the Ministry. They're very good at finding people."
The voice suddenly became alarmed. "The Ministry knows where I live?!"
Orion quickly answered the question, trying to calm her down before she cut the connection. "No, Love. I do my own research. The Ministry just gives me the access to what I need. They rarely question what I'm looking up or why."
"You sound very well connect with them." Came the hardened accusation.
"I work for them, Katlin. No great mystery there. And I have for a very long time."
There was a short pause. "I see." She replied finally, in a tone a little less icy this time. "So, you got my name from another Deatheater."
"Yes."
The question came snapped back at him through the fire. "What was his name?"
But he had well anticipated this trap. "Katlin, the man is my patient. I can't tell you his name. That's privileged information."
"And I rarely know of Deatheaters who so freely give out information to strangers."
"And I'm not a stranger to the man, I told you. And it wasn't 'freely given'. The man was as suspicious as you are. I had to tell him quite a good story to get your name out of him."
"What story?"
Orion smiled at the question. This was going better than he anticipated. "If you come over, I'll be more than happy to tell it to you."
Silence.
"Think of it as a medical visit." He added. "I would like to check your eyes again."
"My eyes are fine." Came the answer. Each time she was answering him her tone was a little less cold.
"From what I remember, you eyes are gorgeous." He practically purred at her. It never hurt to bait your trap with all you had when your prey was this skittish.
Silence.
"Come on." He coaxed in a soft, seductive voice. "You're dieing to see what I actually look like, yes?"
He could practically hear her interest peak through the fire.
"I don't know how to get to your house." Came the casual reply.
Orion smiled at the little flame. "And a gentleman always escorts a lady." He replied.
***************************
Orion didn't think he could possibly have been any more pleased with the evening then when he stepped out of the small flames and into Katlin's apartment. But his enthusiasm waned quickly as he met with a long thin wand pointed directly in his face. A face that quickly etched itself into a deep frown.
"'Hello' would have worked just fine." He stated.
"You smell like an Auror!" Katlin stated firmly, keeping the wand leveled at him.
Orion gave her first a shocked, then a deeply disappointed look. "Damn!" He stated. "And the girl at the counter swore it wouldn't make me smell like an Auror!" He quickly ran a hand over his cheek, then sniffed it, responding with a deep frown. "But you know? I think you're right. It smells just like Auror."
"No simple doctor would know the things you know how to do." Katlin responded firmly. "They're all Auror tricks of the trade. And you're smelling more like one every minute."
Orion crossed his arms over his chest. "How so?" He stated bluntly.
"You know they're tricks. How they work. How they get information. That all spells 'Auror' to me."
"Really? Because what it spells out to me is a man very desperate to see an incredibly attractive woman again, who has occupied most of his waking hours and who he couldn't wait to see again. Right down to tricking a long time friend into giving him the information he needed."
"Friend?" Katlin asked slowly.
"The Deatheater who gave me your name?" Orion reminded her. "He's not just a long time patient, he's an old friend. And I didn't like one bit tricking him into giving me your name, because I know doing such a thing could get him into serious trouble with his contemporaries. So, over and above the fact that the man is my patient, I wouldn't give you his name because such information could get him rather severely punished, if I understand the Deatheaters very well."
Katlin considered the information for a few moments. Then very slowly her wand lower a slight bit. "You don't understand us at all." She replied. "Such a thing could get him killed if anyone found out what he had done."
Orion watched her wand slowly lower, but not all the way.
"Look," He tried to soothe her fears a bit more, "if I seem to do things like an Auror, it's probably because I've worked for them as a staff physician for years. You start to pick up things no matter how subconsciously."
The wand stayed where it was.
Orion sighed to himself. "All I wanted was to see you again." He stated a bit forlornly. "I didn't mean to frighten you or make you angry or suspicious. So perhaps it would be better if I just left."
He turned back to the fire.
"What is your name?"
The question was asked so abruptly, he almost wasn't expecting it.
Almost.
Orion smiled slightly, but quickly hid it under a neutral expression as he turned back to her.
"What does that matter?" He ask.
"You know mine." Katlin stated in a bit less authoritative voice. "But I don't know yours."
Orion smiled at her. "Come to dinner with me, and I might tell you."
The wand quickly came back up. "You will do as I tell you! What is your name?"
Orion huffed at her. "Oh, that'll get you far." He stated firmly, crossing his arms back over his chest as he defiantly met her stare.
"Answer me!"
"Not unless you have dinner with me."
Katlin returned his frown. "You're manipulating the situation."
"Believe it." He replied with a slight smile. "I have something you desperately want. You have something I want. So we trade. Another one of those little 'Auror tricks of the trade' I'm so good at."
Katlin frowned deeper at his statement. "You have nothing I want."
"Then you're perfectly satisfied never knowing my name?"
Katlin paused.
For a very long time.
"I'll tell you what." Orion offered, hoping to nudge her along in the right direction. He quickly pulled his wand out of his jacket pocket handle first and tossed it to her. Katlin barely caught it in time. "You hold onto that for the evening. Fair?"
Katlin stood for a moment, staring at the wand in her hand. Slowly her eyes slid back to him, the smallest trace of a smile curving over her lips.
"Fair."
**************************
Although being without his wand for the evening made him more than a little uneasy at times, Orion had to admit it had been more than worth it.
He stretched out under the covers, then quickly grabbed the body next to him and tossed it over to his side of the bed.
"Magic above, woman!" He stated as a slight shriek answered his act. "Is sleeping all you do in a bed?"
A sheet covered head pulled up and stared him down. "Is your memory that short!?" She stated, smacking him lightly on the nose.
He pulled up closer to her. "Remind me."
Two cloth draped arms quickly encircled him and dragged him back down to the bed over her. Reaching up he carefully pulled the cover back to be greeted by a warm smile.
"Well?" She ask.
"I'm still waiting."
"And so am I."
Orion gave her a puzzled stare.
"You made me a promise last night." She reminded him. "Time to pay the piper, Mr. Doctor."
Orion suddenly understood what she was eluding to. Thankfully, he was ready for this as well.
"I don't know that you've actually quite earned that yet." He stated playfully, nipping her ear.
Katlin shoved him back. "And you haven't paid for anything more." She stated.
Orion sighed and pulled back, laying over on his back again on the bed. "And if I don't tell you, are you going to curse me?"
"In the worse way possible."
"Meaning?"
"I won't come back."
"And if I tell you, you will?"
"Maybe."
"Kiss first."
Katlin frowned at him. He could tell he was pressing her limits.
"Just one." He promised.
Katlin frowned a bit deeper, but then gave in and leaned down to him.
Two warm arms wrapped themselves about her thin frame and pulled her tightly against the body under her. All of which she gave in to with little resistance. A gentle but eager pair of lips quickly broke from her's and traced a path around her jaw line to her ear, where his teeth found her ear lope and gave it a gentle tug.
She heard a gentle whisper in her ear.
Katlin pulled back in surprise. "Sier?" She asked bluntly. "What sort of name is that?"
Orion frowned at her. His brother never complained about his childhood nickname.
"It's a perfectly good name, I'll have you know."
"Perfectly good? It sounds more like your parents got bored half way through naming you and quit."
"I'll be sure to regal them with that tale some day."
Katlin laid back on the bed and played the name over several times as she thoughtfully tapped her chin.
"You know, you can call me anything you like." He finally stated when the name didn't seem to be gaining much favor with her.
Katlin thought for a moment, then shook her head. "Sier just doesn't seem to suit you." She finally said.
"Suit me?"
"Not much of a name for a doctor. What do the other medi-wizards call you? Dr. Sier?"
A finger lightly thumped her on the nose. "You're not getting a last name that easily." He stated. "I'll have to think up something very special for you to do in exchange for that."
He didn't want to get into details too much. Especially what he might be called at his supposed job. Katlin was thorough if nothing else. She would likely check the name out if she knew all of it. This way she only had a vague first name to go by. It wouldn't get her very far. He was safe for the time being.
Safe to keep seeing her.
Safe to have her in his life again.
Safe to hold her in his arms through the night.
And this time he wouldn't let go. He's make sure he wouldn't have to. He wouldn't make the same mistake.
"Sier?"
Orion pulled out of his thoughts to find Katlin giving him a questioning stare.
"Where were you? You seemed like you were on a whole different planet."
"Short trip." Orion replied with a smile. "Did you miss me?"
Katlin paused for a moment, then returned his smile. "Terribly."
"I've been looking forward to the homecoming party."
"You'll like it." She replied with a mischievous grin. "Only two guests."
Orion pulled the covers back over them as he pulled her back to him. "Sounds perfect."
***************************
BUT WHERE DO YOU FIND THE TIME?
Charly had spent the first few days of the week just watching his partner. The man was definitely a good deal happier than usual. A point that left him more than a little uneasy. All the signs pointed to Treaks telling the truth. Orion was back seeing Katlin.
When his partner's actions had told him all they could, he figured it was time to get it straight from the horse's mouth.
He planned his approach as well as he could. Early in the morning, when Orion wouldn't be looking for anything. That was the best time to hit him with something like this.
"Oy, Black." Charly announced, coming into his partner's office. "I got a question for you."
Orion didn't look up from the parchment he was working on. "I got to get this report to Bale this morning, Charly. Can it wait?"
"'Fraid not, partner. Kind of important."
"All right." Orion stated, looking up as he shoved the parchment out of the way. "What's on your mind?"
"For starters, you."
"Me? What have I done?"
"Kind of what I'd like to know, mate."
"Meaning?"
"For weeks now you've been coming in here looking like your pet dog just died. You hardly say two words to anyone and, when you do, all you do is snap at people. Then one day, suddenly, you're the hit of the office. You're smiling, you're pleasant. You're even being nice to Bale."
"And you're unhappy with this because......?"
"I want to know why the sudden change. Because, mate, the last time you were like this, so help me, you were seeing Griss."
Orion grabbed the parchment and pulled it back under him. "Charly, you really need to get yourself a love life of your own, you know? Because the amount of time you're devoting to mine is starting to worry me a little."
Charly grabbed the parchment and pulled it back away from him. "Then tell me I'm wrong." He stated firmly. "You look me right in the eyes and you say, 'Charly, I am not seeing Katlin Griss again'."
Orion sighed as he reached over and grabbed hold of the parchment. "Fine." He replied, pulling it back onto his desk. "Charly, I happen to have it on very good authority that currently Katlin believes she is seeing a 35 year old doctor named 'Sier'."
Orion leaned back over the parchment on his desk, barely suppressing the small smile on his face before Charly grabbed a handful of his hair and pulled him up to face him.
"'Sier'?" Came the sharp, short question. "Isn't that the name we used to call your little brother?"
Orion looked positively shocked, then equally amazed. "Strange that!" He exclaimed. "What are the odds?"
"None I would bet on." Charly replied solemnly. "So what's up? Your little brother went to medical school, got the fastest degree in history, is now sleeping with Griss, and you're happy about it? What is the woman planning to do? Sleep her way through you're whole family?"
Orion frowned at the suggestion. "I hope not."
"Me too." Charly replied, less than convinced by Orion's story. "So Griss is seeing a doctor who just coincidentally has the same name as your little brother's nickname?"
"No." Orion replied.
Charly almost got in a sigh of relief before Orion went on.
"I said she 'believes' she is seeing a 35 year old doctor named Sier."
"Believes?" Charly asked slowly, not liking one bit where this was seemingly going.
"Well," Orion replied with a small smile, "I'm not 35."
Charly stared at the man for nearly a half a minute. "Do I need to get my decoder book out for this one?" He asked finally.
"It's very simple, Charly."
"Then explain it to me."
"Katlin believes I am a 35 year old Medi-wizard named Sier."
Charly nearly jumped the man, but settled for a solid grip on his shirt. "You!" He shouted down at the man he practically had his hands wrapped around the throat of. "She's seeing......you're seeing her again!? And where did you get off telling her you were a Medi-wizard?"
Orion seemed utterly unfazed by the assault. "The same place she got the idea I was 35. She told me."
"She told you you were a doctor?"
"Sort of."
"Well she sure didn't just pull that name out of thin air, partner."
"Noooo...., that one I supplied."
Charly's right hand found a handful of his partner's hair. "Black, if I don't get a straight answer out of you, I swear, what I have in my hand will be prominently displayed on my wall tonight."
Orion followed the grip on his hair as best he could, trying to ease the tension on it. "Not the hair! Not the hair!"
Charly slowly eased his grip. "And you didn't give her your real name because?"
"Because she would know the name. And I couldn't risk that she might recognize my name. Even remember it."
"And the fact that she wouldn't shag an Auror didn't hurt your motivation either?"
"She did once."
"And I'm hoping between the two of you at least one isn't gung-ho on repeating their mistakes. I mean once I can see, Orion. But twice?"
"Charly, I'm not going to screw it up this time."
"Mate, I'm not even questioning that. I know lots of people that keep making the same mistake over and over. And we have a word for them. Stupid!"
"Thank you, Charly. Supportive as ever. And you're so sure I'll screw it up again?"
"No, mate. I'm positive. Because this can never work. You or Griss, one of you will suddenly decide this isn't working out anymore.
But I'm not your keeper, Orion. You want to screw up your life over this piece of fluff, be my guest. But where do you find the time to keep doing this over and over? That's what I want to know. Do you honestly have nothing better to do than to keep dragging this problem back into your life?"
"Katlin isn't a 'problem', Charly. She is, without a doubt, the best thing that's ever happened to me."
"That is the 'best thing' that has ever happened to you? Then you, my friend, have had a sad life. Orion, your life was good before you met the woman. Granted, it seemed a bit better while you were with her, but things went downhill, and at a rapid pace. And it'll happen again if you don't do something to stop it first."
"Like what?"
Charly paused for a moment, making sure he had his partner's full attention. "Break it off, Mate. And do it now."
"Have you lost your mind?"
"No, but I'm beginning to wonder about you quite seriously."
"Charly, this is serendipity. It was meant to happen. You can't fight something like that."
"I suggest you try." Charly replied in a firm, level tone. "And try hard."
"I did." Orion answered. "It didn't work. She came back into my life, Charly. I can't just let this opportunity go."
"Fine." Charly stated, standing back up and facing his partner with a hard stare. "What are you planning to do, Orion? Quit the Department, go to Med School, get a diploma, take an aging potion, and change your name? Great Magic, man! Why don't you just set her up with Sirius?"
"He's not 35 or a medi-wizard either."
"Maybe not. But he's further ahead in this game than you are. I mean, there's a heck of a lot less to change!"
Orion turned his attention back to the parchment on his desk. "It's not open to discussion, Charly. I am not breaking it off with her. If I can see her again, I will."
Charly started to say something more, but stopped himself. Instead he simply stood for a few moments more staring at the man at the desk, then turned and left the office.
Outside the door he paused for a moment, leaning against it as he stared at the opposite wall. What was it Treaks had said? He believed in dealing with things while they were still manageable?
Charly took a deep breath as he pushed himself away from the door and started down the hallway, wondering what Treaks 'manageable solution' was.
Q&A
ENEMIES
Sweets:
Being married off is bad enough. But to a groom who hates you and with whom you share the feeling, it's worse. But Katlin is loyal. An attribute you will hear connected to her many times by different people. And it will always prove true. The problem is when loyalties become divided and you have to make a choice.
But currently Katlin simply views things as 'this is what Voldemort wants', and so she does as he has ask.
Bio and math? In the same semester. You got balls, girl. Where are the easy courses. Underwater Basket Weaving 101 and such?
By the way, what's the major?
The wedding was......interesting. I'd kill to get rid of the tape.
Nope, a memory charm will kill love off like a 357 Magnum puts holes in car doors. But another spell.............! (Think about it, Dear, then go back and re-read Chapter Thirty (by my count, not Fanfiction's) It's Really All A Bit Confusing, taking special note of the end.)
Cute idea about the memory charm thing though.
As for Family Relations, indeed, Orion plays a big part in Family Relations and reading Enemies will help you understand that story better.
Again, all I can say is what I have said before and hope people believe me. Orion is not doing what he is doing because he is having a slow summer and has nothing better to do. He is doing all of this for a very good reason.
Hope the exams went well.
Silverfox:
*PAR apologizes to her computer*
I know its long, but I can't just ignore her!
(Just kidding, Dear.)
Yes indeed, I shine those things up before I hand them out.
Oh, I just love it when someone, having read Family Relations, looks at it...., realllllly looks at it, at what's going on, takes a guess, and hits the nail right on the head (in a choice between two, as you did). Regarding Arabella's actions. Dear, I'll help you out on this. Look back over the story so far. What has she been trying to do? She is desperately trying to keep Harry, not away from Sirius, but from ever being alone with Sirius. If she went somewhere, she took Harry with her. So poor Harry ended up going on some pretty weird errands with his godmother. I mean, what fifteen year old boy wants to go shopping for a wedding dress? Or skip the dress part. What fifteen year old boy wants to go shopping?
I'm helping again, Dear. Pointing you in the right direction. Taking Harry away isn't good for Sirius. It's good for Harry. It isn't doing anything for the person he's being taken away from.
The last thing on this earth Orion Black will ever do is out-rightly harm his little brother.
I understand finding time to read, Dear. Believe me. It eludes me most of the time. Probably how I got to be so good at speed reading. I had to fit books into the time frame allowed. I had four hours to read OotP, so I used them.
Actually, Bo got a very small taste of the world through his host. And not because Talon ignored him. But Bo had no way to communicate with his Host outside of the normal relationship. And Talon had severed that by giving Bo a body of his own. Bo didn't really start learning anything until a little boy got overly curious about what was in the cellar.
Men? Logical thought? I don't think so.
Parrots = intelligence. Works for me, Dear. But then, I've lived with an Amazon Red-head for 36 years, and you will never convince me that bird isn't intelligent. Every night when my Mom puts dinner on the table, she sits on her top stick (The parrot, not my mother), where the view is best, looks over what's on the table. If she finds something there she likes, she slides down the bars to the open front door of her cage and squawks until she gets what she wants. Intelligence comes into this in the fact that she has us so well trained, we give it to her.
Well, the 'person' thing comes down to the 'person' part of this for me. As I've said before, Bo is just an entity. He's pure power. No form. And he didn't really have a lot of personality until he joined with the boggart.
More of a toddler than a spirit? Definitely. But I think I've been saying that all along. Orion sees his friend as little more than a perpetually hyper three year old.
When your lover is a Deatheater, when is it ever a good time to meet Mum?
Well, now I just have to slap you. Because I have to pull out my Acme Loophole and use it. And these things are so darned expensive. The 'Power' isn't split yet, obviously, since it is in Bo. (Follow carefully now.) It's potential is split. The 'Power' recognizes all of the family; host, channeler, or other. So Bo would never hurt Sirius, even though he has no direct connection to him, because he would recognize him as 'family'. Even better, he would recognize him as a potential host. Now, Bo has a link with Orion but not with Sirius? Sort of true. Sirius has the latent ability to use Bo just as Orion does, and to be a host. He has not yet tapped into that ability.
Keep in mind, Orion had to perform a spell to become a channeler of the 'Power'. Sirius could perform the same spell and get similar results. Someone not connected to the family in some way, shape, or form, could perform the spell all day and get nothin'.
Dear, does any of this help?
I realize the explanation isn't much, but the loophole was very small.
Ummmmm, might I suggest that one big reason Talon and his wife might have for keeping Orion alive is he's their son?
You have the next part sort of right. Charly got some of his information about Bo from the wizard in the north. But Charly knew about Bo's existence long before that. Orion told him. The wizard in the north just filled in a few of the blanks. His picking Charly wasn't random, believe me.
Dumbledore has nothing to do with the murder of Orion's contact in Austria.
The Sorting Hat would have reason to have a small grudge against the Black family. After all, Orion's father.............'had a talk with it' once, and got his eldest pride and joy resorted. That's right up there with telling the hat, "Oy! You made a mistake. Try again."
But no, the hat has nothing to do with what's going on.
Katlin knows about the wizard in the north, but she is far too loyal to Voldemort to be a spy.
Voldemort is not in need of professional help..........well, not for that anyway.
How does Voldemort know about the 'Power'? Hard work. Voldemort has approached the Black's as potential allies only to be turned down flat. This is not advisable to do to Voldemort. He tends to take offense. And in taking offense, he will look for ways to annoy you. He finds these ways by digging into your family history and getting a'hold of as much dirt as possible. You go digging in the Black family history and it's amazing what you'll find. Did I just give you a handful of useful information? More than ever before. So Voldemort didn't get his information about the 'Power' from Charly or Treaks. He got it from doing a little homework.
Now, does that mean he knows about Bo? Well, yes and no. But that comes out in Family Relations, so I won't bore you here with details.
Ohhhhhhhhhhh no, Dear!!!!!!!!! Do not make the assumption Johnathan Treaks is an idiot. He is not. Not by a long shot. The man is very dangerous, and very capable of proving it.
Severus is the wizard in the north? Wow! That's a new one! It's still wrong, but it's new.
Severus is working for the wizard in the north (and you're sure of it)? Wow! That's a new one too. It's also still wrong, but it's new.
So you assume Orion is using his first wand 'again'? Dear, when did he stop exactly?
Orion got his wand before he became a channeler? Now come on, Silverfox! I know you better than this. You think things out too well to make this mistake. Not so. He became a channeler before he went to Hogwarts. Remember that the whole reason he became a channeler was because he was afraid of going off to school alone and Bo suggested coming with him. Also, the whole reason he has two wands to begin with is because he was a channeler for the 'Power' and the hat was trying to sort one of the two 'personalities' it encountered. The question is, which one was he sorting first? Without the 'Power' would Orion have still been sorted into Slytherin? Or was the hat trying to sort Bo and not Orion?
*Hand goes up in the back*
Wait! Wait! But Orion's father got rid of Bo, forcing him out of his son before he went to Hogwart's. You said so! So how would the hat have known anything about Bo if he wasn't there?
*Frowns* Sit down!
Actually, valid point. But the 'Power' had already touched Orion. That you never get rid of.
The second wand would have a closer connection to Bo? Not at all. In fact, the reason Orion kept his original wand is because it has the closer connection to Bo. (Now go back and look at the last part again, and know that I am perfectly prepared to totally screw up any assumptions you are about to make about the answer to that question. Why? The Sorting Hat looks at your personality. Nothing else.)
Actually, Harry can not be a host unless the 'Power' accepts him as part of the family. But in order for it to do that, the majority of the family must accept the person as well.
Hope I gave you a few new points to think about.
nessie:
OK. Point for my side, point for your side here.
My side, I never said he was thirty-five. Only that that was what a half-blinded Katlin said he looked like to her. Orion is indeed, in this story about twenty-eight. Sirius is no more than six years younger, since they were at Hogwart's at the same time.
Your side, yes, I did say his eyes were grey and switched them to blue. Counter point? See above. I never said they were blue, only that that was what Katlin saw. (Little loophole there, but I'll give you the point anyway......oh....(*) and a gold star for catching it.)
I know Fall 2004 seems like a long way away, Dear. But only to you. To me it's just around the corner and I had better get this story done fast!
Consolation? Well, I'm not sure if it is or not, but know that I have been promising this story at regular intervals for about a year and a half now. And I have yet to actually post it. Soooooooo, will it actually come out in Fall of 2004? I'm really trying, Dear. I swear.
I do not find superlicious in my spell check, Dear. But then, neither is 'nu-nu's' from the Author's Notes.
At work they insist I have a whole separate language I have created to use just for my e-mails. The problem is when I type an e-mail, or when I'm typing off the top of my head and not looking at something, I tend to type about 130 words a minute. The down side of that is I tend to also make mistakes. LOTS of mistakes. And I don't check my e-mails before I hit the 'Send' button. Or at least I didn't use to. Now I do, and spend a terrific amount of time making corrections.
You find short hair sexy? What's wrong with you, Dear? Oh well, you're going to be very happy soon then.
skahducky:
Thank you. I liked it.
Didn't Orion promise he would leave Katlin alone right before she got the memory charm? Well, that depends who you ask.
Anyone else? Yes, he did. Word for word.
Orion? Well, sort of. What time limits were we talking here?
Taking her home went a bit far? What about spending the night with her, Dear? And in the morning the man did everything but purpose to her. Orion crossed so many lines in that twelve hour period he lost sight of the original one within the first hour.
Breaking his promise to her? Again, who are you asking?
The rest of the world? You bet.
Orion? What sort of time limits are we talking here?
Glad you liked it, Dear.
SIRIUSLY BORED
enb2004:
So glad you enjoyed the story(s), Dear. If you like good humor, I recommend The Ultimate Harry Potter Cliche Catalogue. You won't regret it.