Pre-A/N: So, 'what', you may well ask, 'is a pre-A/N'?

Well, folks, that's what I put in when I already finished the chapter and something happens that prevents me from posting and I want to say a few words about it.

In this case, yes, I was all set to post this last week, but suddenly found my account had been frozen out.

Now, 'why' remains a mystery. Especially to me, since FFN appears none to interested in enlightening me to the transgression. For all I know, I called the legitimacy of one of them into question while they were standing next to me at a crowded bus stop. Who knows. But, as I sit typing this, I can only hope the ban on PAR has been lifted and I can get back to business.

A/N: Ummmmmmmmm..., speechless. First time for everything.

And 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 FOURTEEN: REGAINING CONTROL (PART TWO)

Apparating to the Deatheater lair, Voldemort took Orion in by a side entrance he doubted even Katlin was aware of, since she had never once mentioned it to him.

Orion tried his best to look the part of a man who had never been within the Deatheater lair before in any great detail. But the truth of the matter was he probably could have led Voldemort to where they were going. And gladly would have done so.

The private rooms within the lair that belonged to Katlin Griss.

Inside her private apartments, Katlin sat behind a large desk, going over several papers when a knock sounded at the door.

"Come in." She stated loudly enough to be heard outside the door.

Katlin looked up as the door opened. She dropped her quill when she saw who it was, replacing it within seconds with her wand. Since almost the first day Moody placed the unrecognizable charm on Sirius, Orion had broken it between Katlin and Sirius, feeling it was better she could see him for who he was. And now the man stood before her, although she had no idea what her brother-in-law wanted or how he had gotten into the lair. But her curiosity heightened even more at the man standing next to him. Orion never came to see her at the lair with anyone, least of all Sirius.

Something wasn't right, and she chose to play things safe rather than the way her body wanted, which ran along the lines of shoving her brother-in-law back out the door and jumping her husband right there.

"Well, now." She stated in as level a voice as she could manage. "This is an interesting surprise. A criminal and an Auror coming to visit. And to what do I owe the pleasure, gentlemen?" She asked, keeping her wand leveled at the two.

"Well," Orion stated evenly. "I don't deny being an Auror, Katlin. But this man is no criminal. Well," He reconsidered, "sort of."

Katlin focused her wand on the other man. "There are many in the ministry who say differently."

"And at this moment, I'm one of them." Orion agreed quickly.

Voldemort gave the man next to him an irritated stare, then turned his attention back to Katlin.

"Do you know who I am, Katlin?" Voldemort asked her.

"Sirius Black." Came the unhesitant reply.

Voldemort shook his head. "No, Katlin. I am your lord, Voldemort."

Katlin gave a short, derisive laugh. "I had heard you were insane, Black. But I never thought you were going around trying to prove it."

Orion took a cautious step forward. "Katlin, listen to him." He stated carefully. "He is telling you the truth."

Katlin's eyes shifted ever so slightly to those of her husband. She knew above all else, Orion would never lie to her, but this was simply too much to believe.

"Voldemort is dead." she replied steadily. "He was killed in the southern lair several weeks ago. All the Deatheaters know this, although we have kept the news as much out of the hands of the Ministry as we can. But apparently you at least have found out." she added, training her wand on Orion. "And you and your insane brother came up with this lame plot to try and fool us." She gave a short snort of laughter. "It is positively ludicrous."

Orion wasn't the least bit surprised Katlin could deliver news of Voldemort's supposed demise so dispassionately. For years he had watched her slowly slipping further and further from under the man's spell. The things Voldemort had done in the past few years had shaken her believe in him badly. To the point she questioned if the things she had heard others say about him didn't hold at least a fair share of truth. That the man she had loved and adored and served so loyally wasn't the man she thought he was at all. A struggle he watched her wage within herself for years now, trying to come to a decision as to where her faith should be placed.

"Katlin," he spoke carefully, fixing his stare on her, "I am telling you the truth. This is Voldemort."

Katlin tilted her chin up as she returned his gaze measure for measure. "Prove it." She said defiantly.

"How?"

"Tell me something only Voldemort would know."

Voldemort fixed his stare on her. "The day before this happened I told you what to expect. I told you I had found a spell that would allow me to inhabit the body of another person."

Orion turned abruptly at the man next to him. "You said you told no one!"

"I told one just hours before I executed the plan. My highest ranking Elite." Voldemort answered, keeping his eyes on Katlin.

Orion shifted his gaze back to Katlin. He had wondered since his talk with Voldemort earlier why, if he had told Katlin about his plans, that she hadn't warned him. Usually such secrets were off bounds between them. But this one had involved a danger to her brother in-law.

But by his own words Voldemort had only told her about his plans hours before executing them. She likely hadn't had the time to say anything to him. And once the spell was done, what could she have done? To have told him then was too dangerous. It would have branded her a traitor, and if she survived after that it would have at the very least banded her from the lair, something that would have spelled disaster for her. Katlin depended on her continued access to the Deatheaters and her position with the Elite for her very survival. At least as long as they still trusted her, she knew Voldemort's plans.

A careful nod told her he understood her action in withholding the information. But whether she needed the reassurance or not never showed in her expression as Katlin turned back to Voldemort.

"Why come here with him, of all people?" She ask, gesturing with a nod of her head towards Orion.

"His presence assured me that you would listen to me." Voldemort replied. "Black has been your lover for years, Katlin. While I have never particularly favored the arrangement, he has given us a good deal of information for the privilege."

Orion saw the slight wincing in his wife's expression. And he knew the cause. She hated whenever Voldemort had anything to say about the relationship she had with the Auror. She had told him many of the conversations she had with the dark lord over it. Carefully aligning it to fit in with Voldemort's own plans and believing he could use it as an important source of information trading. But she could never hide how it made her feel. She had always told her husband that Voldemort always managed to reduce the relationship to something that plain and simply made her feel dirty. She always left such meetings feeling more like a prostitute than a man's wife.

But he had always done his best to console her on the matter, reminding her they couldn't exactly tell Voldemort the truth. Although he did suggest several times it would be interesting to see what Voldemort would do if he knew that his head Elite had married the second highest ranking Auror in the Ministry of Magic. A speculation he could always depend on to cheer her up as he presented different scenarios to the event.

"That was a serious risk to take." Katlin replied, her stare focusing on Orion.

Orion lifted his head slightly. Even if Voldemort didn't catch the tone, he heard the statement all too clearly. She was angry with him. And the answer as to why came all too quickly.

"Sometimes," Katlin continued in a neutral tone, "Mr. Black isn't as attentive as he should be, and he is, therefore, not always welcome in my presence."

Ah. The old argument. She wasn't seeing him as often as she wanted to.

Orion simply favored her with a small smile.

"I shouldn't be too angry with him, Katlin." Voldemort replied to her. "After all, Mr. Black has supplied you with some very valuable information over the past few months. Why, much more of your charms, and I would wager we could make a very good Deatheater out of the man."

"Don't flatter yourself, Voldemort." Orion put in curtly. "Your Deatheater is simply a good..."

"I have no need to hear your crude references about my Deatheaters, Mr. Black." Voldemort cut him off sharply. "Especially one of my Elite. And you would do well to speak very carefully about this one especially. I tolerate this relationship only because of the information you bring us. Nothing more."

Orion turned his eyes to Katlin. Standing slightly behind the man, and sure he was out of Voldemort's line of sight, he slowly wet the tip of one finger and caressed it slowly over his upper lip.

"Always." He said quietly. But with a pleasured smile, he watched his wife's eyes narrow. If no one else had been in the room with them, he had no doubt he would be on the floor, on his back at this point, well on his way to being stripped naked. But as it was, he was simply having fun watching her fight for her composure.

"Indeed." Katlin replied, her voice showing no hint of change whatsoever. A feat, given her building state, Orion doubted few people could have accomplished. "And if the Auror isn't careful," Katlin continued, a small smile playing across her lips, "he might find I have other ways of getting information out of people."

A cough behind him distracted Voldemort for a moment.

"Are you alright, Mr. Black?" He asked, turning briefly to the man, who was now nearly doubled over in a coughing fit.

"Fine!" Orion stated, gaining control of himself as he pulled up straight again. A positively indecent stare fixed on his wife.

It met a perfectly smug one. Katlin knew very well what reaction the comment would get, and Orion hadn't disappointed her one bit. It had been a risk, to be sure. But she was willing to take it to prove two could play his game, reminding him with one sentence what her specialty was when it came to satisfying her husband's desires.

"Katlin," Voldemort regained her attention, "I need to regain control of the Deatheaters. I need your help to do that."

"I can't convince them of something they have already been told is impossible." Katlin replied. "Most of them think you are dead. There is little I can likely tell them that will convince them otherwise. Especially if I stand there with an Auror, no matter how insane they believe him to be. They will simply believe I am under a spell of some sort."

Voldemort waved off her concern. "Currently the majority of them appear to listen to you and follow your orders. Tomorrow morning I want you to assemble them in the hall of the lair. Once there I need you only to maintain control of them for a short time. I have ways to convince them on my own I am who I say. But without your help, I would never even get the chance. In this body, they would attempt to kill me on sight."

Katlin considered the situation for several moments, casing a quick look at her husband. Orion gave her no more help then a slight shrug, stating he was leaving the decision up to her whether or not to go along.

Finally she straightened her shoulders and fixed her gaze on the man with Orion. "Very well." she replied. "I will take you to the lair tomorrow morning. But if I find out this is some sort of Auror trick...if you fail to prove your claim, the first spell that will hit you will be mine." She warned solemnly.

Voldemort consulted his watch in a manner that indicated he wasn't the least bit offended or concerned by Katlin's declaration.

"I really see no point in my returning to the castle as I am to address my people in the morning." He stated, turning to Orion. "I'll show you to the anti-apparition lines, Mr. Black, and then return..."

"Wait a minute." Orion stated suddenly as a perfectly wonderful idea came to light. If Voldemort believed his relationship with Katlin was nothing more than 'quid pro quo', than there was certainly no point in missing an opportunity.

Voldemort turned an irritated stare to him.

"What is it now, Mr. Black?"

"Well," Orion stated thoughtfully as he gazed at his wife, "it would seem to me as though I've been something of a rather large help to you here."

"Your point?"

Orion focused his attention on Katlin.

"I think some sort of reward is in order." He stated unabashed.

Katlin's eyes widened. Although at first they shown with pure delight, she quickly masked it under a different emotion altogether.

"What?" She stated indignantly.

Voldemort had kept his stare thankfully fixed on Orion the entire time.

"I find that comment somewhat inappropriate, Mr. Black."

"And I may find my memory fading the next time you need information on an Auror operation." Orion shot back, his eyes never leaving Katlin.

"And whereas I may be many things to Ms. Griss," Voldemort stated in a low, level tone, "you will find one thing I am not...is her pimp!"

"Do tell."

Voldemort turned slowly to Katlin.

"And what would you have me do with him?" He asked her cordially.

Katlin looked all the part of a woman insulted beyond words.

"Throw him out." She stated in a low hiss.

"It appears a lonely night for you, Mr. Black." Voldemort stated, taking him none to gently by the arm.

"Wait!" Katlin spoke up suddenly as they started for the door.

Voldemort turned back to her with a questioning stare.

Katlin met it with a small, well-crafted smile. "On second thought," She said in a voice as smooth as black silk, "perhaps instead Mr. Black has earned himself the right to become a bit more familiar with some of my other methods for getting information. And he has, after all, been such a help to you tonight, my lord," she added, walking over to Orion and suddenly yanking him towards her by the shirt, "I think he has more than earned himself a 'reward'." Katlin hissed at him between clenched teeth.

"Methods?" Orion asked quietly, staring down at the vexed woman before him, fighting hard to keep the smile off of his face.

Voldemort sighed to himself as he let go of Orion's arm. He walked slowly to the door before turning back to the two.

"One day, Mr. Black," he stated slowly, "you might just learn the virtue of keeping your mouth shut." Voldemort turned briefly to his Elite. "Not too much, Katlin." He stated before stepping out the door, "I may still need his help tomorrow."

"Good." Katlin answered as the door slid closed after him. "He just might be able to walk by then."

As soon as the door shut, Katlin turned her stare up to her husband. But there wasn't a trace of her earlier anger in it. Now it held promises of a night that would surpass whatever he had thought up to keep himself entertained during their long separation.

"So, Mr. Black," She purred to him as her violet eyes stared up at him with pure desire, "what will it be tonight? Reward...or punishment?"

"Oh, definitely 'punishment'!" Orion stated in a low, lustful whisper as he quickly pulled her into his arms and closed his mouth over her's. He broke away a few seconds later. "After all, your dark lord is going to need some screaming to go along with that threat of yours, Mrs. Black."

Katlin giggled under his lips as he pulled her back into another heated, passionate kiss.

It was going to be a very good night.

Q&A

Skahducky:

I understand that most Death Eaters are dunderheads, but some of them, as Voldemort told Orion, are intelligent. Were any of the Elite involved in the attack in Diagon Alley?

I still think Voldemort's up to something. He still doesn't seem entirely innocent to me. (Sorry about the short reply; I'm rather busy today.) Anyway, this is a great chapter. Please update soon!

Actually, no. Those were just plain old Deatheaters who happened to be in the right place at the right time. A first for some of them, I'm sure. They saw Harry wandering around Diagon Alley with apparently no more protection than two adults and, figuring it would be an easy matter to kill all three of them off, decided to have a shot at gaining a few brownie points. Unfortunately for them, it did not work out quite as they planned. Just goes to show you should never really piss off Voldemort.

Do you honestly believe that Voldemort isn't up to something? He's has, after all, been planning this for a very, very, VERY long time.

MasterLupin:

Na I would have to say again that Harry is prone to manipulation, in OotP Voldermort didn't realy have to try to get Harry to fall into his trap. Then in HBP Harry demonstraites his lack of stratigic thinking. So I would have to say that Harry is prone to manipulation. I wonder will Voldermort ever realise what is truly going on between Orion and Kate?

I have always said that a lot of what the boy depends on to staying alive is pure dumb luck.

Katlin and Orion have worked very hard at making people see exactly what they want them to of their relationship. Very few people know it for what it really is. Among them are Dumbledore, Orion's family, Arabella, Bo, Charlie, and (oddly enough) Orion's boss, Orin Bale. And might I add that that is another one of those relationships I just have far too much fun with for my own good. Orin and Katlin play off of each other better than almost any other two characters I have. And you will be seeing more of them in the future.

All reviews are as of 01292006.

And remember;

Why is 'abbreviated' such a long word?