A/N: Not much to say, folks, except,
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.
Chapter Twelve: Five Minutes Alone
A good morning walk. That was what she needed.
At least that was what Arabella had told herself. A walk in the crisp, sold solitude of the morning. That would help her think.
But she gave a startled paused as she came around the corner of the castle, staring up at the sky. A flock of vultures had suddenly taken to the air at her approach and were now flying off, their wings beating the air noisily.
"Retched creatures." She muttered as she watched them soar away.
"Most felt I should have one as a pet." A voice spoke up behind her.
Arabella turned about abruptly, finding Voldemort leaning against the castle wall.
"What?" Still shaken slightly by the abrupt encounter with the birds as she came around the side of the castle, it was the most intelligent thing she could think to say at the moment.
"Most feel I should have a vulture as a pet." Voldemort repeated. "Even when I was in school, most of the other students felt I should have had one of those," he added, pointing to the retreating birds, "instead of an owl."
Arabella frowned. "That's a horrible thing for them to have said."
Voldemort shrugged, walking slowly towards her. "I can almost identify with them."
Arabella met his stare as he stepped up to her, willing herself not to step back. "Really?"
"Both are necessary evils, to coin a phrase." He replied. "Vultures serve a purpose, just as I do, though most people don't want to see it."
"Vultures aren't evil." Arabella answered before she could stop herself.
Voldemort's gaze fell from her's. "No." He said. "They aren't." He lifted his head again, the cold blue eyes again meeting her's. "Well, in the eyes of most people I suppose we really aren't so similar then." He gave her a small smile. "Do enjoy your walk, Arabella."
Arabella watched as he turned and started back towards the castle. Everything Orion had told them the night before coming back to her as she observed the man walking away from her.
Who was he now? If she called out to Sirius, would he turn and answer her? Or would Voldemort turn back to her, laughing at her simple attempt to reach past the spell to the man she loved? Or would she look into the face of someone she didn't even know, and thereby have no way of guessing their response?
Had Voldemort, as Orion suggested last night, truly been caught in a trap of his own making? In order to accomplish his goals, he needed their help. He needed Harry. It was unlikely when he embarked on this mission of his to find this other wizard that he expected things to turn out as they had. Voldemort would have balked at the terms that he had to rely on the whims of others, let alone a fifteen year old boy, to accomplish his well laid out plans.
Arabella almost smiled at the thought. The predicament he found himself in must be grating on his nerves beyond belief.
But as she watched him past each slow step he took, there was something odd about his demeanor. Something almost...sad. And no matter how hard she tried to fight it, she couldn't help but feel a bit sorry for him. For as things stood at the moment, he was, more or less, stuck at the castle. Almost a prisoner there until the others decided what to do. She had only thought of the situation as having the enemy in their camp. She never saw it from his point of view before. Of having to literally be living in the enemies camp.
'But he had brought it on himself', she told herself sternly.
'But he had come offering information they needed', the other little voice in her mind countered.
'He was holding Sirius hostage'.
'He had kept to his promise not to hurt him.
'He was blackmailing them'.
'He was trying to help the only way he knew how'.
'Everyone deserves a chance', a third little voice broke in over the arguing of the other two.
"I was going to walk down to the lake." She heard herself saying before she could even stop the words. "You can come along if you'd like."
His reaction was not at all one of the ones she had expected. The man who turned back to face her did so with a genuine smile. One that didn't fade in the least as he walked back over to her.
"That's very kind of you." he replied in a voice that sounded very much like relief.
Not able to think of anything else to say, Arabella replied with a slight shrug and started off across the field.
Voldemort gave a small smile, then hurried after her. "So, what brings you out so early in the day?" He asked as he walked along side of her.
Arabella cautiously recalled Orion's warning in dealing with Voldemort. To help Sirius, a handshake was better than a slap. "I like early morning walks." She replied, forcing a small smile to her lips. "It helps clear the mind."
The man seemed to respond to the smile as his overall rigidness seemed to ease slightly. "And does your mind really need that much clearing?"
"A great deal, in fact."
They walked on in silence for a few seconds.
"Anything I can help with?" Voldemort finally spoke up.
Arabella continued walking for a few more moments before answering him.
"How dangerous is this wizard? Really?" She suddenly asked.
Voldemort paused at the question, staring ahead of him as he thought over the answer. "Very." Finally came the reply.
"How do you know?"
"Aside from the fact he has killed nearly every spy I've sent to gather information on him?"
"Aside from that."
Voldemort stopped abruptly, causing Arabella to stop as well as she turned to him. "I have been tracking this wizard for some time now. Watching, listening, learning what I could of him. He started a few years ago as little more than a whisper among a few malcontents. Now he is a leader that they don't fear voicing their support to. That is what worries me more than anything."
"Why?"
"His followers are that confident of his power to protect them. Those who leave my ranks rarely show their faces for years afterwards...fearing retribution for being...disloyal."
"With good cause I'm willing to bet."
"Disloyalty is not a characteristic I chose to reward, Arabella." Voldemort replied in a tone that hinted slightly at the man beneath it. "And 'yes', they pay very dearly for it. But I have learned of several of those who have left my followers, only to join with this wizard's ranks, and are quite open about it. Even trying to sway others to do the same." Voldemort paused for a moment, folding his arms across his chest. "I am touted as being the most feared wizard of the century. My followers knew better than to cross me. Now I have those, who should be hiding under rocks for fear of what I will do if I ever find them, practically knocking on my door, trying to spread their diseased beliefs to their one-time fellow Deatheaters. They would not dare be so bold if they didn't feel confident in the power backing them."
"So you feel this wizard is more powerful than you?" Arabella asked, looking for any information he hadn't felt the desire to impart to them.
A dark look passed over the man's face. "I'm saying that his followers feel that he is. And that's far more dangerous."
"You're actually starting to worry me."
"Then my time here hasn't been completely wasted."
"You're sole goal was to frighten us?"
"My goal was to wake you up to reality. You and all of Dumbledore's mindless sheep."
"You really fear the man, don't you?" Arabella ask.
"I don't fear him." Voldemort corrected her with no attempt to hide his disdain for the subject matter. "I despise him."
"Why?"
"Because he looks at the world far too innocently. And he would bring everyone one of you down with him because he refuses to see the reality of things. You all follow him around like he is your panacea for all the problems in your lives. And he will drag you all down with him when the end comes, merrily whistling some little tune while he continually tells you everything is just fine."
Arabella met the man's stare straight on. "I think you underestimate the man."
"And I think you overestimate him. How sad that one of us, ultimately, has to be wrong."
Q&A
FEVER
Kcmprincess:
I am glad you enjoyed the story, Dear. I am still writing, and have several stories up on the site. This story, however, is finished.
Harryisagod:
I'm glad you liked it. You can visit my author's page for a listing of my other stories.
Why do you wanna know?:
Sorry, Dear, Fever is a completed story. I will not be adding any more to it.
FAMILY RELATIONS
tolazytosignin:
I just saw your review today. I hope you realized this story is continuing under the same title with a slight variation. If you go to my Author's Page, you can pick up the added chapters since September.
MasterLupin:
It just ocured to me that Orion has children, or rather it just poped up to the foreground of my mind( if you understand my meaning, it's hard to describe). Yet it seems that he never spends or lately hasn't spent any time with them. just an observation. Soory to hear that nothing worked out the way it should have.
Yes, Orion does have children. Five, to be exact. Where they are in this story will be discussed (very briefly). The main reason they are not seen or heard of in this story is because it is simply too long as it is. Adding additional characters would simply add chapters, and I don't need any more. Orion's children and how they came to be are part of a story called In The Family Way, which will be posted after Family Relations.
Steel-Pheonix:
I am glad you are enjoying the story.
hug-me:
Thank you, Dear. I am glad you liked the chapter. Than hand, is, unfortunately, getting worse. We'll see how things go.
skahducky:
It just dawned on me how long you've been planning this whole wizard in the north thing. Orion knew about him in Enemies, right? That was before even Voldemort's first downfall.
You said Voldemort is no fool, and I agree with that, so doesn't it seem possible that Voldemort already knows all the stuff Orion said and has figured out a way to counteract that? Being nice to Voldemort is pretty hard, but I suppose it'll be easier since he still looks like Sirius. It was wonderful to see another update from you! This is another great chapter. Please update soon!
My! Someone HAS been paying attention in class!
Yes, indeed. The wizard in the north has been on the books since I wrote Family Life. The character has evolved since then, but is still pretty much the way I envisioned them to be. And yes, Orion knew about him in Enemies. And that was before Voldemort's first downfall.
Not entirely. Remember, Voldemort manipulated the original spell, so, as an untested spell, it has incredible potential to go wrong in ways no one yet knows.
But consider this. What if Voldemort knows what Orion knows and has already figured out, not how to counter it, but how to make it work for him? As I said, Voldemort is no fool, and he has been planning this for a very, very, very long time.
Yes, being nice to Voldemort can not be a lot of fun. However, as that he looks and sounds like Sirius, it takes the edge off a bit.
All reviews are as of 12/18/2005.
And remember;
Why do you never see a newspaper story saying "Psychic Wins Lottery"?