A/N: Honestly, folks, the week has been so long, I'd write a whole other book just telling you about it. So I'll stick to the important stuff.
Yesterday was my Mom's 82nd birthday, so I just wanted to say 'Happy Birthday, Mom. I love you'.
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 FIFTEEN - REGAINING CONTROL (PART THREE)
The following morning Orion awoke with the biggest smile on his face he'd had in weeks.
Married life certainly agreed with him. He could do a lecture series on it. Because once you found the right one, there was nothing better in his opinion than to waking up beside the same woman for the rest of your life. And for him, said woman was currently curled up contentedly in his arms, her soft breath caressing the hairs on his chest as she peacefully slept on.
Yes, Katlin was definitely 'the right one'.
Orion leaned down and gently kissed the tip of her nose. "Rise and shine, Love." he said softly. "The dark lord is waiting."
Katlin's only response to his words were to wrap her arms tighter about his middle and snuggle closer to him. A response that did little to encourage him to follow through with his own suggestion any more than she appeared to be.
"Katlin," Orion slowly began to extract himself from her arms with great effort, "time to get up, Love."
The suggestion met with as much success as the last one had. But this time she not only snuggled closer, but turned herself in his arms so that her body was now laying over his. "One good reason." Came the muffled response as she pressed her lips to his skin and began an extensive and intricate exploration of his chest with her tongue.
"Give me a minute." Orion replied as he waited to see where her current course of action was going to lead. As she began to plot what seemed like a firm course down his abdomen he doubted he could have come up with a reason if he had it written on a cue card and held in front of him.
When she finally reached her destination his brain short circuited completely. "Nope." he managed to ground out, "Can't come up with a single one."
An hour later, Katlin sat before a vanity table brushing out her hair as Orion sat impatiently on the bed waiting for her.
"We're going to be late." he stated for the tenth time.
Katlin's response was exactly the same as it had been the other nine. "No, we're not." And left it at that.
"It's your fault, you know." Orion stated. "I tried to get you up an hour ago."
Katlin got up and sauntered over to him. "And you fought me every inch of the way." She purred, lightly kissing his nose as she moved passed him to collect her robe.
"Just so you understand that when Voldemort asks, I fully intend to blame you for the time." he warned her as they headed for the door. "And I just might elaborate if he asks nicely."
Katlin huffed at the threat. "Right. There's something he'll want to listen to. And while your making our excuses," she added, turning back to him as she pointed to his leg, "put a limp in that gait of yours, please. I have a reputation to uphold."
Orion gave her a wicked grin. "Trust me, after the last hour, it's not that hard."
Katlin returned the smile as she opened the door. "That's what the last hour was about, Love." She answered with a quick kiss before they left the room.
Katlin had sent word out the night before that all Deatheaters were to assemble in the hall in the southern lair. Standing now before the assembly, as she waited for Voldemort, she scanned the crowd for those who might make trouble. Of course, there was always Treaks, standing with the group of Deatheaters he had recruited to his own whims. When Voldemort had presumably died, Treaks had tried to assume power, attempting to usurp Katlin's position. But the Elite had already fallen in behind her and most of the Deatheaters as well. What few Treaks was able to recruit were, in Katlin's opinion, of no consequence. He had a few in his entourage that caused her a certain amount of concern, but for the most part they were the same malcontents she had always had to deal with, who had simply now found a new leader. Shortly she reasoned they would grow as tired of Treaks as they had of following Voldemort and would swing their allegiance to the next would-be fool looking to seize power.
She carefully made note of where several others were and stationed Elite near them to make sure any trouble was quickly dealt with.
When Voldemort finally arrived some fifteen minutes after she and Orion had, Katlin quickly took her position at the railing of the platform that stood overlooking the room below. She did not call for silence, but simply waited for the room to grow quiet.
The wait was not a long one. Few Deatheaters or Elite would willingly disrespect their dark lord. Just as few would risk the same offense to his second-in-command, who was, for all intense and purposes, now their leader.
"A few weeks ago," Katlin began, her soft voice carrying through the hall with as much force and command as if she had shouted, "our dark lord was killed by the Auror, Sirius Black. Such an offense would not willingly go unpunished, but the Auror had appeared to vanish from the face of the very earth and has not been seen in months. Until now." Katlin stepped back and allowed Voldemort to step up to the rail next to her. "Fellow Deatheaters, my fellow Elite, I present before you now, the Auror, Sirius Black."
A quick mummer ran through the crowd as the Unrecognizable Spell was undone with Katlin's pronouncement. Several wands came up, but Katlin was quick to draw her own and aimed it at those gathered below, as did the Elite positioned among the others in the crowd.
"The first of you to fire a spell will be the first felled by my own." she stated, leaving no room for anyone to speculate as to her sincerity. "You will hear me out."
The room grew quiet again as wands slowly disappeared again under robes. Katlin patiently waited for things to quiet down before continuing, watching for signals from her Elite that they had things still under control.
"This man," she continued, "appears to be the Auror, Sirius Black. And he is, in fact, that man. But before Voldemort was attacked by the Auror, he had made provisions for himself whereas Black's own attack would serve our dark lord's purposes.
What many of you were not aware of in the weeks leading up to the attack on Voldemort was that the body our dark lord had so painstakingly created for himself had failed him. The body was dying. It became necessary for our dark lord to find another. A body he knew to be healthy and capable of supporting him in his need. Before the attack, Voldemort enacted a spell which allowed him to possess the body of anyone who mortal threatened his own ailing body. The man who foolishly did so was Sirius Black. But his attack was not unexpected, and Voldemort had, in fact, choreographed the entire event to suit his purpose. With Black's attack, Voldemort was able to take possession of his body and continue to live."
Katlin paused in her statement to let her words sink in for those below.
"The man you see standing next to me, my fellow Deatheaters, my fellow Elite, is not the Auror, Sirius Black. This man is your dark lord, Voldemort, returned to lead you."
Katlin had steeled herself for almost any reaction her words met with. From stunned silence to all out attack, she had run every scenario in her mind. And so the one she got did not completely surprise her.
A soft laugher echoed up from below. Not from the crowd itself, most of which turned to the sound, but from a sole member of the group.
Katlin expected to be facing Treaks, but instead found herself glaring down at a member of the Deatheaters. An older female who Katlin recognized as a long time thorn in her side named Marla Durbanks.
She was definitely going to enjoy convincing the others of her sincerity in this matter.
"I have always thought you such a serious one, Griss." the woman said, barely keeping the humor out of her voice, "so much so that I never took you for one to play practical jokes."
Katlin stared down at the woman as though she were something of little consequence. "Jokes?"
"You expect us to believe this man is Voldemort? That the dark lord foresaw his own demise and prepared for it by planning to steal the body of an Auror? That is ludicrous!"
The woman was on the floor, screaming in agony before most realized Katlin had even spoken the curse.
"And my word is not to be questioned by any, least of all the likes of you, Durbanks." Katlin declared . "I speak. You obey, not question." Katlin just as quickly resheathed her wand in her robes as she turned back to the others. "Does anyone else question my word?"
Not a soul moved below as a few cast wary glance to the woman still moaning on the floor of the hall.
"Very well." Katlin stated. "Then as you have listened to and obeyed me these past weeks, so will you now listen to and obey our dark lord."
Katlin stepped back to allow Voldemort his place overlooking the Deatheaters assembled below. For a moment he simply stood silently and surveyed the scene.
"Tell me," he stated in a voice that carried like a slow roll of thunder through the chamber, "who do you see before you?"
A pin could have dropped outside and Voldemort would have bet he could have still heard it. That was good. It meant they were thinking things over.
"You see before you the Auror, Sirius Black, am I right?"
There was a mummer of assent, but still no one spoke out loud.
"You are all aware the Auror Sirius Black is not a sane man. But even he is not so irrational he would walk into this lair, with his brother, and make the claim before you I have made. Therefore you must assign to it some level of truth. Your own head Elite has stood before you now and professed her belief. She has done so because I was able to convince her. Just as I am now going to convince you."
Voldemort turned slowly to Katlin. "You have done very well, Katlin." he stated. "But your presence here is no longer needed. I wish you to take Mr. Black and personally escort him from the lair. Then return here."
Katlin knew better than to protest the dismissal. It would raise Voldemort's suspicions. But certainly no more than her own were at being sent away from the meeting.
"Are you sure, my lord?" she ask carefully. "If there is trouble..."
"Katlin," came the slow warning, "escort Mr. Black from the lair please. Then return here."
Katlin concealed her unease as well as always and quickly took her leave from the man's presence, practically dragging Orion out with her.
"What was that about?" Orion ask as soon as they started down the hallway. "Why did he send you out?"
"I don't know." Katlin replied hurriedly as she moved him quickly through the corridors, "but I want to get back as soon as possible and find out why. So move!"
"He's up to something." Orion put in quickly.
"No doubt. And the sooner I get back, the sooner we'll know what."
Back in the chamber, Voldemort listened to the two depart before he addressed the Deatheaters again.
"As you can see," he started, "rumors of my death, as they say, have been greatly exaggerated.
Not a soul below moved, but kept their attention focused on the man above them.
"Some of you remained loyal to me during my absence." Voldemort went on. "You continued to carry out my desires and my wishes as you knew I would want them to be. And those of you who have done so will be rewarded. But others of you," his voice dropped to a menacing growl, "others of you have seen my departure as a cause for running rampant in the streets. For carrying on as though you had no one to answer to for your actions. That was a dangerous mistake. Because you did have someone to answer to. You will now answer to me."
The group grow noticeably restless as several glanced around them.
"Larser, Mackins, Brimms, Pol, Raines...," the list went on for several moments as each name mentioned connected to a person who slowly came forward.
Voldemort watched as the group assembled below him.
"Each of you," he stated in a low, menacing voice, "took it upon yourselves to stage an attack in Diagon Alley a few days ago. That, in and of itself, was bad enough. But you chose as your targets a young boy and a woman."
No one in the group that now stood in the forefront of the assembled Deatheaters dared so much as move. They failed utterly to see, if this was indeed Voldemort, why he suddenly cared about the age or gender of who they attacked. Especially since the boy had been Harry Potter and the woman Arabella Figg, a well-known Auror to the Deatheaters.
Voldemort gave them little time to contemplate his words further as he continued. "You attacked the boy Potter and his guardians, of whom, at the time, I was one."
"There was no way for us to know it was you, my lord." One of the Deatheaters called out. "It was Roberts who declared the attack after all. We just did as we were told."
"By a low ranking Deatheater?" Voldemort stated. "You did not need much convincing then, you pathetic fool."
"Aye." came a low, rasping voice from within the group below. A large, burly man stepped out of the group and turned to face them. "Aye, you are a pathetic group." he stated in disgust. "You stand here, listening to the rantings of a lunatic! You believe this insane fool is Lord Voldemort? Do you really?" The speaker turned to face the man standing above him. "So," he stated in outright challenge, "you are Lord Voldemort? Back from the dead then, are you? Fine. Then you know who I am. And you can address your 'punishment' to my face."
Voldemort narrowed him gaze at the man. "Yes, I know you, Roberts. And a weaker, more pathetic man there never was in my presence."
Voldemort directed his wand at the man, who fell to the ground the instant Voldemort uttered the curse.
Leaving the man to his fate, Voldemort turned his attention back to the others, who now watched the man above them with noticeable apprehension.
"Mr. Roberts is not paying for his actions." Voldemort informed them. "He is paying for his insolence. The rest of you will share his fate if you show similar defiance. Those of you who do not wish to share that fate would do well to pay attention. The first point is that there will be no further unscheduled attacks. Not against muggles, half-bloods, or Aurors. Anyone who chooses to continue in these practices will answer for them. Our only enemy at present is the wizard in the North. He is gaining strength and followers every day. I will not have my resources being tapped by petty squabbles with the Ministry or anyone else. Since none of you has been able to bring this man to me, the only solution seems that I go myself to deal with him. But the man has proved himself to be only slightly more clever than I anticipated. He has put a Fedelis Charm on himself, and his secret keeper is more than a bit reluctant to help me locate him. Therefore, this person needs to be...persuaded. Brimms!"
One of those in the group below stepped forward slowly. "Yes, my lord?" he asked.
Voldemort leaned slightly over the rail. "Since Mr. Roberts is incapacitated at the moment, you are now leader of this..." Voldemort waved his wands over the small group gathered below, "...this group. If they seek to redeem themselves in my favor, they will do as you say. If you do not wish to join Mr. Roberts, you will do as I say."
Brimms bowed low before the man above him. "My loyalty has always been to you alone, Voldemort." he stated as he righted himself.
"Fine words, Brimms." Voldemort all but sneered at the man. "And you will now be given the chance to prove them."
"My lord?"
Voldemort pulled back up to his full height, staring down at the man. "You, Brimms, and the rest of these...," Voldemort waved his wand out at the group again before him, causing them to pull back slightly, "...followers of mine, participated in the attack in Diagon Alley for whatever reasons of your own. Reasons I don't pretend to understand or even much care about. My only concern is that in doing so, you interfered in my plans."
"But my lord," Brimms began, "we had no way of knowing tha..."
"Silence!" The word brought the man to an abrupt halt in his explanation as he quickly pulled back a few more steps. "I have no interest in your pathetic excuse, Brimms. Your only interest here should be in redeeming yourself in my eyes. A chance you are about to be generously given."
Brimms executed another low bow. "For which I am grateful, my lord."
"I am pleased to hear it." Voldemort again sneered at the man. He did not suffer fools gladly, but this particular one would serve his purpose well. "Because after today Brimms, you are not to take it upon yourself to do anything more than you are told. You will only attack who I say. Not whoever strikes your fancy. Is that clear?"
Brimms bowed again. "I live only to serve my lord."
Voldemort studied the man as he rose and looked back up at him. "You know the man you saw here tonight, Brimms? The one who stood next to my head Elite?"
"Yes, my lord. He was the Auror, Orion Black."
Voldemort nodded slightly. "That is correct, Brimms. And here are your orders." Voldemort fixed his stare on the man. "Kill him."
Q&A
MasterLupin:
Hmm. Well I am thinking that the 'ball' is in Voldermorts court and he is about to do some amazing things with it. I am betting that Voldermort will begin another stage in his plan to world domination at this meeting that he will attend. Post again soon.
Well, the ball is definitely in his court, and he certainly isn't wasting time batting it against the net. Things are definitely going to get more interesting as time goes on. But you can be sure that Voldemort isn't just making random choices here. He has a purpose in mind, as the next few chapters will show.
Skahducky:
Seeing as Voldemort is back at the lair, it shouldn't take very long at all for him to notice that Orion and Katlin really love each other. They were barely able to keep it a secret during that conversation they had earlier. Anyway, this is a good chapter. Please update soon!
Actually, Voldemort is about as clueless as everyone else about Katlin and Orion's true relationship. Although I have toyed with the idea of his finding out that not only is his head Elite truly in love with the Ministry's head Unspeakable, but that she's now his wife, I have yet to come up with a suitable reaction on Voldemort's part that I can actually write and keep the rating Fanfiction friendly. Therefore, to date, he hasn't a clue. As far as Voldemort and most of the rest of the world is concerned the relationship plays out as a sex for secrets thing. Orion is utterly smitten with Voldemort's head Elite and will do anything to keep gaining her favors and Katlin is simply playing him for a sap while milking him for Ministry secrets.
As for Orion and Katlin keeping their relationship a secret during their previous chapter's conversation, believe it that these two could carry on a conversation in front of anyone that had everything in it except them rolling on the floor, and no one would likely even notice.
Sometimes it isn't what you say, but how you say it.
All reviews are as of 02/19/2006.
And remember;
Why is it that people will order a large hamburger with everything on it, extra large fries, and then a diet coke?