A/N: OK, folks. This is one of two chapters that will finally put you on level of what's really going on in this story. But take my advice. You want to do yourself a favor? Read this chapter, then go back and re-read the last chapter of Runaway: Escape. In there, Orion looked to Sirius before he said something to Hershel, to which Sirius shook his head. That little scene will take on a new dimension for you once you've read this chapter.

Also, if you feel so inclined, go back and read the last few chapters of Family Life.

Then, go back and re-read the first three chapters of this story. Trust me, you will see them in a whole new light after reading this chapter, guaranteed.

Past that, all I have to say, is,

as always,

Enjoy.

Disclaimer: All characters of the Harry Potter series (hereafter known as 'legal property') are the sole ownership of J.K. Rowling (hereafter known as 'owner of said legal property'). No infringement on any copyright of owner of said legal property of the legal property is knowing intended. Published by author (hereafter known as 'other') for entertainment purposes only. No monetary or personal gain was knowingly made by other with the publication of this story, which was based on ideas and characters created by owner of said legal property as they pertain to legal property. No plagiarism of legal property or of any ideas of the owner of said legal property was knowingly intended by other. This statement is fully transferable and is legally held binding for all chapters of the story Family Relations as they are presented under different chapter headings and titles for individual chapters.

: All characters of the Harry Potter series (hereafter known as 'legal property') are the sole ownership of J.K. Rowling (hereafter known as 'owner of said legal property'). No infringement on any copyright of owner of said legal property of the legal property is knowing intended. Published by author (hereafter known as 'other') for entertainment purposes only. No monetary or personal gain was knowingly made by other with the publication of this story, which was based on ideas and characters created by owner of said legal property as they pertain to legal property. No plagiarism of legal property or of any ideas of the owner of said legal property was knowingly intended by other. This statement is fully transferable and is legally held binding for all chapters of the story as they are presented under different chapter headings and titles for individual chapters.

Chapter Ten: Reunions

When Harry stepped into Dumbledore's office, he was met by a very strange gathering.

But the first person his gaze settled on drew his attention away from any other person in the room. Sitting before the Headmaster's desk was his godmother, Arabella.

"Arabella!" Harry flew at his godmother as she stood and swept him up into her arms.

"Harry! Oh, Harry. I didn't think I could miss anyone so much in my life!" Arabella exclaimed past tears of joy at seeing him again. "How are you? How have you been? How has Orion been treating you? Oh, look at you. You've lost weight, haven't you? Hasn't he been feeding you right?"

"Arabella, I haven't lost any weight. And Orion's been treating me fine." Harry wrapped his arms about her again. "I just want to come home. When can I come home?"

"Well, that's what we're here to talk about, Dear. So come and sit down. We all need to have a talk."

As Harry took a seat next to his godmother, he slowly took in the other occupants of the room.

Sitting next to him on his left side on the other corner of the Headmaster's desk was a very nervous looking Analisa. Curled up in her lap, nestled in the material of her black robes, was her small, black kitten, Diamond, who she was absently stroking.

Behind her, with a hand resting on her shoulder, stood Professor Snape, looking uncharacteristically as nervous as Analisa did.

Orion had stationed himself behind Arabella's chair, assuming the air, Harry thought, of an over-protective bodyguard.

The one person Harry didn't see who was most conspicuously present by their absence from the meeting, was Sirius. A fact that left Harry with a very worried feeling.

As soon as Harry was settled in his seat, Snape leaned over and whispered something in Analisa's ear. She listened attentively to him, her eyes half hidden under her long, black lashes as she lowered her head. She answered with only a slight nod and immediately turned her attention back to Diamond.

"Well, Harry," Dumbledore asked with a pleasant smile, "I suppose the first thing to ask is how things are for you?"

Harry looked about the room again. He hadn't gotten the impression from Orion's mention of the meeting that it was just going to be idle chat.

And with Snape present, it was almost a guarantee.

"I suppose everything is all right." Harry answered quietly, turning to look briefly at Arabella, who gave him a kind smile.

"And how are you getting on with your new uncle?"

"Orion?" Harry asked, picking his words with great care. "Well, like I told Arabella, he's all right. I just...I wish I could go back to living with Arabella and Sirius though. I mean, it's not that Orion isn't being real good to me. It just...I miss them. And Orion said I couldn't see them, but he wouldn't say why."

Harry turned briefly to Orion, who was simply watching the boy with an almost bored stare. If Harry had offended him with anything he said, he certainly didn't show it.

Dumbledore pushed his glasses back up his nose from where they had slipped nearly off the end of it. "Well, Harry, that's a large part of why I asked Orion to have you come here today." Dumbledore said. "To try and answer a few questions I'm sure you have. And, of course, so that you could visit with your godmother, who I was sure you missed very much. But first, I'd like you to answer a question for me."

"Yes, sir?"

"How has your godfather been?"

"Sirius?" Of all the things Dumbledore could have ask him, this struck Harry as the oddest.

"Have you suddenly acquired another, Potter?" Snape hissed at him.

"Severus, please." Dumbledore stated softly. "Now, Harry," he added, turning back to the boy, "what I meant was, when you were with him the last few weeks, before you went to live with your uncle, had Sirius been acting...like himself?"

Harry turned to Snape for a moment, then to Arabella, and finally back to Dumbledore "I suppose he's been all right. He's been a little...tense lately, I guess."

"In what way?" The headmaster ask.

Harry noted that the comment had seemed to strike the interest of Orion more than anyone else in the room, who looked up from his brief study of the floor to focus his attention again on Harry. "He's just been...I don't know,...sort of moody. And he's been snapping at Arabella a lot. He yelled at me once. And I mean,...that's just not like Sirius. But...he's been through a lot lately. And he says his leg hurts him. He says that's why he would get angry sometimes. He doesn't mean it. It was just his leg hurting him."

"Anything else?"

Harry thought for a moment, turning again briefly to his godmother. He desperately didn't want to say anything to get Sirius in any trouble. And from the looks of how things were evolving, the meeting had something very important to do with Sirius.

Arabella gave her godson a comforting smile.

"It's all right, Harry." She assured him, gently brushing her hand over the unruly patch of hair on top of his head, reading his stare as correctly as she ever did. "Sirius isn't going to get in trouble from anything you say here, I promise you."

Harry nodded and turned back to Dumbledore. "Well, there was the thing at the adoption agency."

"What thing, Harry?"

"Well, when Orion showed up, and he showed Sirius the papers he had to take custody of me..." Harry shuddered inwardly at the memory. The look in his godfather's eyes had been murderous. "I've never seen Sirius that angry. Even when he was going to kill Peter in the Shrieking Shack. I really thought he was going to attack Orion."

Analisa suddenly looked up.

Dumbledore turned to her. "Analisa?"

"He wasn't expecting that." Analisa replied quietly. "He had done everything he could to push the adoption through. But he had no idea about the change in custody. So that sort of threw a monkey-wrench into all his plans. It would have undoubtedly upset him. And considering who was responsible..."

"That being our Mr. Black." Dumbledore supplied.

"You know how he feels about Orion Black, sir. Orders have stood for years to kill him on sight."

Harry listened to the puzzling conversation. "Ahhh, sir?" Harry cut in suddenly.

Dumbledore turned to him.

"Sir, Sirius may not like Orion, but I doubt he would ever really...hurt him."

"Nor do I, Harry." Dumbledore replied. "But nor do I believe that your godfather is who we are dealing with."

Harry gave Dumbledore a puzzled look. "Sir?"

Dumbledore leaned over his desk. "Harry, Analisa has something to tell you, and I want you to promise to hear her out, and listen to what she has to say very closely. Because what she has to say is not to be taken lightly. She has put her own life in great danger giving us this information."

Harry turned to the woman sitting next to him. Next to him he felt Arabella's hand rest on his shoulder.

For a few seconds Analisa sat staring at the floor. At first Harry wondered if she was going to say anything at all, or if she had changed her mind. But very slowly Analisa finally turned a very worried and frightened stare to him.

"Harry," she began slowly, "the man you were living with, the one you think is your godfather...,Harry, it's not Sirius. That is Lord Voldemort."

Harry sat for several seconds in absolute stunned silence, staring blankly at Analisa. He could feel Arabella's grip tighten slightly on his shoulder. Suddenly his expression came back to life as he frowned at Analisa's statement.

"He's what?" His disbelief clearly ringing through in his words.

"The man you see as your godfather, is actually Voldemort."

"But...but it's Sirius." Harry stated. He turned quickly to look at Arabella, then turned back to Analisa. "I think I would know my own godfather."

"Harry, do you remember being back in the lair?" Analisa asked him. "In the chamber when Sirius attacked Voldemort?"

"I was unconscious for most of it."

"Well, what you did see, and even parts that you didn't, Harry, were all very carefully orchestrated. Voldemort, in fact, manipulated them so that they would go exactly as they did. From the moment he took your godmother, I believe Voldemort knew exactly how things were going to progress."

Harry studied the woman next to him for a moment. "Did you?" He asked quietly.

Analisa sat in silence for a few moments, then dropped her eyes. "I didn't know everything, Harry. I didn't know he was going to attack your godfather. I...I did know about the spell Voldemort used, but I swear to you, that was all I knew about."

"Spell?"

"The body Voldemort was in, Harry, the one you saw in the chamber, was the body he created partly out of your blood."

Harry nodded as a small shudder ran through him at the memory of what had taken place in the graveyard at a time that seemed ages ago. Again he felt Arabella's reassuring hand tighten slightly on his shoulder.

"Shortly after that body was created," Analisa went on, "Voldemort began to sense something was wrong. The body wasn't...right. It was as though it were fighting him. Working against him. Keeping him in pain. Then shortly after that, he began having seizures. Violent attacks that would last for several minutes.

Very soon after these started Voldemort reasoned that the answer had to be that the body was defective somehow. That the transformation hadn't gone right. And so he decided that he needed a new one. Voldemort knew a spell that would allow him to transfer his consciousness into another body."

"Like what he did with Professor Quirril." Harry remembered.

"Exactly." Analisa replied. "But that spell had specific parameters that needed to be followed. Ones that didn't suit the current situation. So Voldemort had to adjust the spell. When he was done, he had a spell that allowed him to transfer his consciousness onto another's body, and gain complete control of it. When you were attacked in the chamber, and were unconscious, Sirius attacked Voldemort. He used his wand and drove the tip into his heart. The injury should have killed him. But Voldemort anticipated the attack. He even perpetuated it. He, in fact, did everything he could to get your godfather angry enough to do exactly what he did. Attack him."

"Why?"

"Those were the parameters of the spell, Harry. The person who Voldemort took control of...he could only do so if the person had put his own body in mortal danger. He couldn't leave the body if he injured it by his own hand, or if the injury were by accident. It had to be the result of a deliberate life threatening injury."

Harry was stunned. "But...but why Sirius? Why not one of his Deatheaters? They would have considered it some sort of honor to give themselves up for him."

Analisa shook her head. "I'm not sure why Voldemort chose Sirius. All I can tell you there is you can bet there was a reason, for Voldemort rarely does anything without a reason."

Harry sat for a moment thinking. Then suddenly a frightening thought came to him mind.

"But...but if Voldemort took over Sirius' body," Harry asked quietly, "then where is Sirius?"

"Most likely he's still in his body, Harry." She answered quietly. "He just can't regain control. My guess would be that the changes you have seen in your godfather have been subtle. Not something that happened all at once. It was likely something that even Sirius himself didn't notice right away. But by the time he realized what was happening to him, Voldemort would have regained enough of his will to force your godfather into a dormant state."

"Then...what's going to happen to Sirius? If Voldemort has control of his body...and he doesn't need him anymore..."

"Voldemort isn't going to kill Sirius, Harry." Analisa explained quickly. "I don't think he can. He needs Sirius, or at least some part of his consciousness, in that body to keep it alive."

Harry turned slowly back to Dumbledore. "Is this the reason Orion took me away from Sirius and Arabella? Is this why he stopped the adoption?"

"We didn't want to alert Voldemort that we knew who he was, Harry. At that time only myself, Analisa, Professor Snape, and Arabella knew what was going on." Dumbledore replied. "But we needed a brief diversion while we planned how to deal with the situation. For that we called in Sirius' brother, Orion, who offered the idea of the change in custody. As Analisa pointed out, it was just enough to throw Voldemort off balance. Something he would never have suspected because he wasn't aware of the provision Sirius had made."

"But surely he's begun to figure out that something's going on. I mean, Orion won't allow Sirius or Arabella even near me. I haven't seen either of them in nearly a week."

"Well, that's going to end today, Harry. You've already been reunited with your godmother. And as for you godfather..., well, it would appear you will be seeing him again very soon as well."

"Seeing him?"

"Voldemort has asked for a meeting. All of us together, here at the castle."

"Here at Hogwarts?" Harry ask in alarm. "But I thought Voldemort couldn't come into the castle?"

"He was able to enter the castle with Professor Querrill. This situation isn't much different, Harry."

Harry turned quickly back to his godmother, then back to Dumbledore. "Why does Voldemort want to meet with us? Doesn't he have what he wants? A new body?"

"Voldemort only said the meeting was important." Analisa put in. "He said it concerned all of us."

"He talked to you?" Harry asked, turning to her. "Why would he come to you?"
"I've been an intermediary for him for some time, Harry. Anything to keep the lines of communication open, as it were. If he were to cut us out, we would risk losing your godfather. But as it is, it would appear we have something Voldemort wants very badly. That's why he's called for this meeting."

"What do we have that he wants?"

"Aside from most of the people he wants dead very badly in this room right now," Analisa answered flatly, "I would think very little. But he hasn't revealed that yet. We'll simply have to wait until tomorrow."

"Tomorrow?"

"Voldemort had wanted the meeting for tonight." Dumbledore added. "But it will take a bit of time for your uncle to put in place all the spells we'll need to make sure that Voldemort...behaves himself while he is here."

Harry didn't press for details. He could barely sort out what he had been told as it was without adding more to it. Instead, when Arabella took him by the arm and led him out of the room, he simply followed her, deeming it the simplest thing to do.

Q&A

Family Relations

Silverfox:

Well, Hershel is certainly his own person, that's for sure. And liking him or not is strictly a personal choice. Having created him, I have to say I love the character. Currently I am co-writing a romance novel and Hershel sort of grew out of that. All the men in these things are perfect. Perfect face, perfect body, rich, great personality, and tear-my-cloths-off-and-love-me sexy. I decided while switching back and forth between projects to see what would come of a character just that perfect, but with one major flaw, that being that no matter how perfect he may seem, people simply can't tolerate being around him. And given the choice, what would make someone like that choose to stay that way? For Hershel, the motivation was simple. The same thing that started him down this path to begin with...the hunger for power.

I don't know that Bo is s much misunderstood as 'understood' by Talon. The relationship between them goes a lot deeper than I think people realize right now, through no fault on the part of 'people'. You guys just don't have enough information yet to make all the connections. But boiled down, remember that Talon is the host to the 'Power'. No one is closer to it than he is. The 'Power' is, in fact, a part of him. Regardless of the fact that it resides now as 'Bo' and has its own corporeal body to inhabit, it is still linked to Talon as the host by the parameters of the original spell. That is why, no matter what Orion may do with his ability as a channeler to the 'Power', Talon will always know. It is also why no one in their right mind would ever directly challenge Talon. Not even Hershel, who depends perhaps a bit too much sometimes on their long standing friendship to keep himself out of Talon's line of fire. Given the right circumstances, even Voldemort would not likely last to firing off the first spell against the man before he found himself little more than a pile of ashes on whim.

So, why doesn't Talon save everyone a lot of trouble and just get rid of Voldemort himself?

Simple. The man values his sanity...literally. And even driven to that point, he would still be host. And which would be worst? Controlling the 'Power' in the mind of a three year old, or having no control over it at all and having it lose in the mind and body of a raving lunatic?

Sort of a nasty Catch-22, you see.

Hermione would, indeed, most likely have not even gone down in the cellar in the first place. She probably wouldn't have gotten much further than Orion's library. He has a lovely restricted section.

I have currently three cats.

A black 17 -year-old who is still queen.

A tabby 11-year-old who thinks, occasionally, that she is queen. The black one usually straightens her out pretty quick, though.

A brown tabby 2-year-old who has no interest whatsoever in being queen at all, and who can love you to death at 15 paces.

Hershel doesn't want you to feel sorry for him. He far prefers fear to love. The only exception to the rule here is Katlin, who is currently holding the dubious title of the man's only trusted friend.

MasterLupin:

True. Curiosity can kill a cat. But truly, Harry has very little to fear from his current family relations. Generally he is headed well on his way to be a much adored, overly spoiled grandson and nephew.

All reviews are as of 09/10/2005.

And remember;

God's mercy on those who lost their lives to terrorists on 9/11.

And please remember that while a great many people suffered from Hurricane Katrina, so suffered a great many animals.

The national Humane Society of America is also in need of donations. Please help if you can.